The video is done! Well, pretty much. We set ourselves with today as the deadline to get the video done for online distribution and we made it. We finished the final stage, color correcting, last night. We have some tweaks for the broadcast TV version, but that is for after the holidays.
I have been working on the video with Michael J. Carrasquillo for a few weeks now. Mike directed, edited, color corrected the video and all the difficult and time consuming stuff, while I produced the video and helped out with some grunt work. Here are some frequently asked questions.
When can we see the video?
Soon. We will be announcing the Internet “broadcast” premier very soon. We will announce all the outlets carrying the video on http://atomicbrother.com
Was producing your first video hard?
Not really. I got the hang of staying out the way and surfing the net pretty quickly. And about the budget, to quote Mike, “the minute we said let’s do a video we went over budget!” We set out to do a low-budget video and succeeded. In money spent we haven ‘t broken 4 figures. In time spent we would have broken 5 figures easily if we didn’t do all the work ourselves. The filming was on schedule, we met the first delivery deadline, and we are working out the details of deadlines for the video for broadcast now.
What does a music video producer do?
Well, a lot and a little. In this case, as the producer, I established the budget and the deadlines and made sure that the project didn’t go over budget and wasn’t late. Also, I spent a lot of time importing video, sitting in the studio with Mike suggesting alternate edits and takes, saying “Yeah, that’s great! Let’s do this instead,” getting coffee and surfing the net and staying out of the way when I wasn’t needed, and just being there for comic relief. Mike would have gone nuts if he had to spend all those hours talking to himself.
Who directed the video?
The video was directed by Michael J. Carrasquillo. Mike is a friend of mine whom I met working for a band in 2003.
What are his credits?
Mike has worked on the R. Kelly “Trapped in the Closet” videos and DVD, and vieos by other indie bands. He is currently working on the new Bowling for Soup video and an independent movie. He also plays drums and is working on his own album. You can go to his website http://isol8ed.com to learn more about him and his projects.
What does a video director do?
That depends on who you ask. The text book definition would say something like “the director gives actors in performing their parts and the crew direction in performing their technical duties to achieve their visual interpretation of a script.” If you ask a director they will say they that their job is to re-write the script, conceptualize the video, direct the actors and crew, work the camera, act in the production, and edit the video. For “Take You Away” Mike directed the actors and crew, worked the camera, re-wrote the script, edited the video, color corrected the video, imported video tapes and made DVD copies. He would have acted in it too if he didn’t have to hold the camera!
What did you use to make the video?
We used 2 consumer MiniDV cameras, Apple G4, G5, iBook and MacBook Pro computers, Final Cut Pro and Soundtrack Pro.
Was it hard acting in the video?
James did an excellent job. It was difficult for him to start, but once action was yelled he just got right into it. For me it was difficult because I was involved in some of the technical stuff and setting up shots and tripods. So I was a bit distracted. Otherwise it was OK. But, it was MUCH easier than the music videos that I did with some of the bands in the 90s. Man did we suck as actors. Thank goodness that nobody has posted them online!
Where did you shoot the video?
We shot it at various locations in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Williamsburg? Are you guys hipsters?
You are joking, right?
