Au Revoir Simone’s Interactive Music Video Turns Song into Coloring Book
Project: Au Revoir Simone – “Knight of Wands”
Director: Eli Stonberg
DP: David Kruta
Steadicam Operator: Jeff Melanson
Today marked the debut of Au Revoir Simone’s “Knight of Wands”, off of the band’s third album, Still Night, Still Light. Check it out right now at theknightofwands.com. We shot this video in Brooklyn, NY with a small crew in a tiny apartment over the course of one day. Once again, it was a pleasure working with director Eli Stonberg.
Mashable had a nice writeup of it. An excerpt is below.
“The video, directed by Eli Stonberg (who has worked with bands like Passion Pit and Nada Surf) and illustrated by Chris Sanchez is a creative effort that asks audience members to directly interact with the music and the world the band has spun via melody.
Videos like this — and those created by musicians like Arcade Fire and Andy Grammer — demonstrate how the oeuvre of the music video is changing as the web continues to become a destination for music and entertainment.”
Once you click “Play,” you are taken to a coloring book page featuring band members Heather D’Angelo, Erika Forster and Annie Hart standing in what appears to be a haunted house. A palette of colors to the left allow you to fill in the world they inhabit, and, as you paint, a phantom flits through the frame, adding to the eerie atmosphere created by a song drenched in keyboards, dreamy vocals and periodic handclaps.
You can also watch the video on Vimeo, and be sure to check out director Eli Stonberg’s site.
Enki Studios shoots the City of Gold
Earlier this month, David Kruta and Jeff Melanson of Enki Studios flew to Dubai to shoot a feature with Jonathan Bregel and Khalid Mohtaseb of Next Level Pictures. We are wrapping up the last few days of production here and heading to Bangkok soon.
During our downtime, Jeff and I have been collecting footage for a montage of the city. Below are some quick stills I pulled and graded. Dubai is an incredible city and offers a rich variety of culture and sights. I’ll post more as they come along, so make sure to check back for updates.
Footage shot on Canon 7D and Canon 5D MKII with Canon zooms and Zeiss ZE primes.
Visions of an apocalyptic future come to life with Director Will Simmons
Project: Source
Director: Will Simmons
DP: David Kruta
Gaffer: Jordan Parrott
Steadicam Operator: Jeff Melanson
1st AC: Teresa Rhinehart
Earlier this year, director Will Simmons approached me to shoot a pitch teaser for his feature length script “Source”.
A century after the nuclear holocaust, mankind drifts towards the precipice of extinction. The discovery of a source of infinite energy ignites hope for the future, but its whereabouts are shrouded in secrecy and controlled by those who lust for power. After an enslaved mercenary uncovers the truth, he must decide whether to fight for survival or sacrifice for the greater good.
An ambitious project, we shot 14 pages over the course of four days, including extensive action sequences shot handheld and with Steadicam.
We shot on RED with the Mysterium sensor and Red Pro Primes. I lit the background with three ARRI 1.2k HMIs with 1/4 CTO, and subjects with a 1k tungsten in a 32″ chinese lantern. Specials were scattered around the set to provide accents, in the form of 300w and 650w tungsten fresnels, and incandescent practicals.
Below, my crew and I prep a shot as the actors review the scene.
Here, 1st AC Teresa Rhinehart and I discuss a shot. We made extensive use of Steadicam, and due to our small lighting package, we shot wide open most of the time. Luckily, Teresa is a fantastic focus puller and was able to nail most shots on the first take.
Will and I spent a significant amount of time discussing the world in which the story is set, and how the environment would look, in addition to how a group of mercenaries would light a warehouse with practicals. Glowsticks came up early in the discussion, but were scrapped because of their limited glow time.
Overall, the look of “Source” is dark, and I focused on using silhouettes and darkness to accentuate this. As you can see, there are almost no hair or edge lights used, and the actors faces would go from light and fall off into darkness. Unfortunately, the M sensor doesn’t do well with low light, so I exposed a bit brighter than the final look, which will show in the final grade.
Gaffer Jordan Parrott really came through on this shoot. In the below shot, he was able to edge the gun from the right of frame with a special, without casting light or a shadow on the ground.
Overall, the shoot was a fantastic experience with a great cast and crew, and I look forward to seeing this made into a full feature.
The “Source” teaser is currently in post-production and will be released soon.