A few weeks ago my friend Adam came to me with a video concept. He is releasing an album this February under the name Apt and wanted me to help him make some shorts to promote the show and release of the album. His concept for the videos was simple: Adam reciting a verse from his album acappella + different location for each song + black & white.
The project interested me because I felt like Adam had thought it out enough for it to have some substance, but still left me creative room to feel like I wasn’t just someone he knew with a DSLR that shot video.
Also because he said the magic words: Black & white. I love black & white.
A few nights before filming I scouted out some places around Provo. I wanted to stay away from an overly gritty feel, which I think would be disingenuous, but also wasn’t interested in filming anything that was too, for lack of a better term BYU-y. (Rap while hiking the “Y”, getting frozen yogurt or going on a scavenger hunt anyone?) Luckily there are enough places with character in Provo that I didn’t have to work too hard to find suitable locations to shoot.
The night that we filmed these was cold, cold, cold, so we rushed filming more then we probably should have, but I’m still delighted with the results. Adam is a performer and didn’t have any trouble nailing what he needed to do.
We thought about dubbing in audio after, but on review of the footage I found that I really liked what the ambiance the on camera audio brought. In these ads you can hear dogs barking, train horns, cars, footsteps and lots of other gratuitous city noises that would normally be considered unwelcome. In this case I think it works, since these videos are supposed to have more of a grassroots feel.
The thing I was most excited for was the color conversion. Why? Because Adobe has heard and answered my prayers, releasing Lightroom 4 Beta with the capability to do color correction on video. There is lots of software out there that can edit video beautifully, but the problem is that I don’t know how to use that software. I’ve been working almost exclusively with Lightroom ever since it came out and have been a pretty loyal user of the program. I’m really excited to see what I can do with these new tools.
There’s a learning curve involved because compressed video doesn’t have the natural color latitude that a raw photo does, but I’m learning to work within those bounds. It will take some getting used to however.
All things considered, I’m really excited with how these turned out. For the time we spent on these I think they turned out beautifully. Most importantly I feel like I’ve learned a little more about video after making these.
I’m definitely considering this work a success and am thrilled that I consistently get the chance to work with such talented people, who I often can consider friends.
Adam is releasing his album Do Yourself In on February 4. Preorder it here or get it after the release date here. If you’re in Utah and you don’t come to the show at Muse Music Cafe you’ll really be blowing it.
(Shout out to Cody and Caroline who kept us company that night. They even make a guest appearance during the last video.)
Next post is about shooting his album cover. Look for it soon.
