Bright Lights Big City by Heavy Mojo

I am very proud of this video.  I think it delivers the same over-the-top kinetic energy of an actual Heavy Mojo show, which is no small feat.  This was certainly not a solo effort.  Many thanks to:

• Eric De Fino (of Raygun.com).  450 or so edits on a 4 minute song.  That about sums it up.  He's an editing wizard. Thanks bro!
• Ryan Rodinis (also of Raygun) for his help finalizing the video when under deadline.
• Marc, Barbara, Hans, and company for assisting on set.

The Four Horsemen by The Whiskey Gentry

This is my first music video that I produced, shot and edited.  “Four Horsemen” is a gentle ballad about heartache, longing, and the slow creep of deep emotions that are easier felt than explained. Our goal was simple: we wanted to make a beautiful video, for a beautiful song, sung by a beautiful woman.

St. Vincent: Drink the Kool Aid. Show Devotion.

Six random events (or were they?) that led to this post:

1) Hear "Out of Work" on XMU a few months back.  Shazam it with the iPhone.  Buy it on iTunes while stuck in traffic. Make mental note that I need to check our more of this artist's stuff.

2) Catch her performance on Letterman.  Make mental note that I need to check out more of her stuff.

3) Forget to check out rest of her material.

4) In passing Ashley asks me if I want to go to some car show music party thing somewhere in the neighborhood.  I say not really, but while looking over her shoulder, I spot (incredulously) a sentence that says St. Vincent to play 'vey special show'. So I think to myself, hey, why not check out the show?

5) Turns out it's a Kia sponsored event, meant to help sell the new Kia Soul. In order to get free passes, I go test drive the new Kia Soul. (Not a bad car by the way).

6) I show up to a rather large space, with only 50 or so other guests, and get my mind blown away by the musical genius of one Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent. 

She's beautiful (Natalie Portman beautiful).  She can sing with insane melodic range and control.  She OWNS her guitar -- from insane solos, to intricate folk style plucking, to noisecore.  And by her mastery of all the effect pedals she uses, she's an obvious technophile.

Instantly, I became a fan.  Or devotee.  I'm not sure which. 

New Exhibit Just Announced!

I'm pleased to report that I've been asked by ART DEPARTMENT (an Atlanta art gallery) to showcase some of my work starting this Friday October 23rd, from 7PM to 11PM.

I'll be showcasing some of my better known images from my portraiture collection.  I'll also be debuting pieces from a new series of abstract images called "Look Up".  These new images are unique interpretations of my downtown Atlanta at night.  I think images are ominous, moody, and wreak havoc with your sense of balance. It's a bit of a departure from the work I've shown before, which it makes it more exciting to show it off!

I hope to see you there!

FOUR HORSEMEN ARE COMING

I spent two days this weekend filming a music video for The Whiskey Gentry.  Overall, I'm really pleased with how things went.  The song is a slow, beautiful ballad so I wanted to shoot imagery that felt like it did the song justice.  When I pitched the band, this is a snippet of the treatment I pitched them:

"Four Horsemen is a gentle ballad about heartache, longing, and the slow creep of deep emotions that are easier felt than explained.  The song itself is a blend of traditional country, gospel standardS and poetic story telling.  The Four Horsemen video will be feature the Whiskey Gentry, particularly Lauren Paige, in three settings: A Mine Shaft, Country Woods and an Old Warehouse.  The overall feel of the video will be dream like, with strong uses of black and white, light and shadows, moving focal points and shooting locations that evoke a feeling of loss, age, and darkness.  Lauren will serve as the counterpoint to the darkness by wearing white that will contrast against the darker, dirtier color palette, much like the promotional stills.  The final video is best described a collection of both literal and abstract imagery, edited to match the pace, tone and lyrics of the song."

We ended up shooting in four locations, three of which were in Dahlonega, GA.  The locations included a thicket of north georgia woods, an abandoned house, a ridge overlooking a valley, two different gold mines, and an abandoned factory floor in downtown Atlanta.  I have my editing cut out for me....

Here are a few snapshots from the shoot. I used a Canon 5DII as my camera.  Some of the footage is breathtaking, but you really have to work to get the shot you want.  The form factor and small size makes it prone to user hand wobble / shake, so I used a tripod a LOT.