Jump into the cycle

We just had our first couple of kick off brainstorming sessions for the new music video. And we’ve already got a concept and a possible location. It feels crazy to think that we all went through the exact same process last year at around the same time, when I met up with my friend who was one of the writers for the concept for the first music video, Porcelain Doll: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XlkTAQogqr4. We then met the director of the video and the rest, as they say, is history. Amazing how quickly this year went by and equally amazing that we all decided to do it all over again.

Super excited about it–my energy levels are really high these days, I can’t help myself. I almost feel like I could convince myself to run a marathon on the fly. Almost. It’s magical, I can sit in front of a computer for hours and hours a day at a job that is rewarding only because my co-workers are awesome, and fantasize about the beautiful locations we may be shooting at.

Blank

It’s been a few weeks of blank. My brain had run out of any ideas or impetus to get things done. I think I’ve turned a corner, though, because last night I started working on sketching out the last song on the album. Once I finish, I will have drafts of three additional songs after Porcelain Doll. That will leave me with two to finish the album. Then I can start hunting for a producer to help me mix and master the tracks and record live instruments. (Yay. 🙂 )

Great Things Ahead!

It’s been a fantastic start to the weekend so far–Porcelain Doll won best music video at the Epidemic student film festival, I’ve finished a draft of an arrangement for Colours (the entire song!), and the weather is simply glorious today. Cheers, everyone. Looking forward to a nice long walk and some gelato in the sun later today. If this streak continues, this could end up being the best weekend of the year so far. 🙂

New Music Video – Porcelain Doll

Two incredible and packed days of shooting are now over. A few years ago when I first started playing in bands, I never got to the stage where I could envision making a music video for an original song. It took a village, as they say, but it’s now real.

Yesterday we filmed at Amnesia (a bar in the Mission). A lot of friends of people involved in the project had volunteered their time and accessories and showed up in 50′s style vintage attire for the shoot. It was loads of fun to dress up and get pictures taken, and to see everything get visualized in beautiful black and white footage. There is so much effort involved from the film crew in pulling all the tiny details together; it’s difficult to imagine it would be so intense until you actually witness it.

As it was my first time working with an entire filming crew everything was fresh and extremely interesting. (Photos of behind the scenes of the shoot will be up soon!) I wanted to see as much of the process unfolding as possible. I also really enjoyed meeting creative people from all over the world; the crowd was very international.

Today’s shoot took place in a heavily cobweb infested, dusty, cold and dimly lit basement under a warm and inviting coffee shop in the Inner Richmond. It was really cool. :) The setting was perfect for the remaining shots, with just the right amount of creepiness.

Karl, a German actor who migrated to the US in the 70s, played one of the main characters. He was the only actor present for today’s shoot. It was a treat watching him as he’s great and a real character. I also enjoyed a couple of conversations with him when we had downtime.

I was the last person to get filmed on the set and it was almost a magical moment when the film crew said, “it’s a wrap!” today.