Change with Film: Minimalism + IAMDYNAMITE Music Video

I've been experimenting the last several months with a more minimal process of filmmaking, partly out of necessity, and enjoying it:  Less people, less camera equipment, and less complication.  All the gear and tools I need to create, I can carry in one backpack with my own two feet- that is a liberating feeling!  It allows me to shoot and move fast while adapting and improvising on the way.  It can make filming much more fun.  Although I do enjoy shooting projects with large crews of close friends and colleagues with fancy film equipment, this is a nice change for now.  I don't have to create a production schedule around many actors, crew members, etc, which often causes delays, stress, etc...  When I want to make something, I just do it.   One-man crew style if I have to.  Boom!

Above is the new music video I directed for IAMDYNAMITE "Where Will We Go."  If you haven't seen them, you need to.  They're on tour right now.  They are incredible performers and awesome to see live.

I shot this video with the tiny GoPro Hero2 HD camera along with GoPro's headband mount.  We shot guerrilla style moving all around the beautiful city of Ann Arbor without permits for two days.  We were able to move fast and almost unnoticed as it was only a two-man band, myself, one assistant and a small camera.  We could walk down the street and film almost unnoticed.  Most people may have thought I was just being obnoxious walking down the street with a loud boom box.  Moments after passing, they would realize and say something like, "Oh my god!  They're making a video!"

Adjusting the camera mount on Chris Martin.

It took some practice with the band (Chris and Chris) to get used to the camera setup on their head.  For example, it was necessary to really exaggerate the facial expressions of the performance, mainly the lips, to make it look good or natural for the camera with its wide fisheye lens, even though it felt somewhat unnatural.  After a while, the headband mount became uncomfortable so we improvised more padding with a gel foot insole we bought from a convenience store.  After a rehearsal shoot the night before and a few hours on set, the Chris' had it down and the performances were able to shine.

Aside from concentrating on performing and moving while staring into a camera that is six inches from your face, which is difficult to do when you're walking through the woods over rocks and tree roots, the Chris' would also have to roll and stop the camera since I would often be hiding off screen with the boombox for playback.  When we filmed this, GoPro had not yet released their WiFi BacPac accessory so there was no way for me to monitor the camera while filming.  I would watch the performance from a hidden distance and review playback on the small LCD screen later.  Without a monitor, we had several 'lost takes' in the beginning:  "Yes!  That looked great guys!  ...Fuck!  We weren't recording... let's do it again..."

I give a lot of credit to Chris and Chris.  They each did about three full takes at each of the several locations.  It was a lot of work and they kept the energy every time.  By the end, everyone was pretty exhausted, the band rightfully so.

For me, it was more exhausting editing the video.  If you think you are dizzy from watching it once, imagine watching it for eight hours a day for a couple of weeks.  I hope you enjoy it!  Otherwise, I just killed a lot of brain cells for nothing...

Change in Karma: Camera Gear, Lost and Found

Lost Flyer by Kelly

Kelly and I park our car near the marina on Douglas Island, AK. We shoot a few photos across the water of Juneau, we get back in the car and drive across the bridge to Juneau library.

After parking the car I realize the back door hatch is wide open! Either I forgot to shut the door or I didn’t close it all the way and it popped open. There was no way to notice the wide open door while driving because our car is filled with so much crap that you cannot see a thing out the back, let alone hear a sound. Nor did anyone honk at us on the 8 minute drive to indicate that our life possessions we’re dangling precariously from our tiny car.

This is our stuff that was in our car while the back door hung open...

I’m panicking as I survey the back of the car, fearing what may be missing. My camera bag… it’s not there! My chest clenches and I say my favorite swears for a full minute. We jump back in our car and immediately retrace our route back to Douglas Island. Nothing. We retrace the route a second time as I repeatedly hit the steering wheel and yell my favorite swears. I hit the steering wheel so hard that my hand is sore and I hope my car allows me to vent my frustration without ejecting my airbag.

The disappointment of my idiocy and losing the camera bag sinks in.

Luckily, my camera was in the front of the car and not in the bag. However, I still have lost all my accessories valued at approximately $500. Not to mention important photos still on my memory cards.

In further idiocy, I don’t think my bag had a name tag on it… If it did, it was probably my old home address and phone number. Even if someone tried to return it, there would be a likely chance it may get lost in the mail…

[Insert a long string of swear words here.]

It’s approximately 7pm and we’re scheduled to leave Juneau on the ferry the following afternoon. Kelly and I have little time to employ lost and found efforts...

We post a listing on Craigslist even though it’s not widely used in Alaska.

We file a police report. [P.S. This is probably the best place to return something if you cannot find the owner yourself.]

And last but not least, we used the good old fashioned “Lost” flyer. Kelly drew up the flyers while I taped them all over Douglas Island: the marina, parks, cafes, gas station, library, telephone poles and more.

We get on the ferry the next day with less photographic resources to document the remaining part of our expedition. My tripod is also rendered useless because both tripod plates we’re in the camera bag…

We arrive in Sitka, AK the next morning. I check my voicemail, fingers crossed… nothing.

I’m really hoping for good karma at this point. Earlier this spring I found a wallet while running through the woods. I went to the address on the license which was a halfway home where no one heard of the guy. With no luck finding him myself, I went to the police who were able to track him down through an employer on the check stub. I hoped that this one-hour good deed would come back to me one day…

And it did!

The next day I received a voicemail from a woman who had my camera bag. Apparently, it fell out of the back of my car in front of her home where someone later found it and brought it to her door. The next day, she had found our illustrated “Lost” flyer at the café!

Boom! The old school "Lost and Found" flyers actually worked! What a relief! The kind woman even fronted the money to ship the case back to me. Thank goodness for her and thank the goodness of Alaska!  After receiving the bag in the mail, I sent back a small reward check along with some good karma I’m sure!