Making Of

Music Video Director Spotlight: Timothy McConville

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:13:54 EDT

This week's featured music video director is Timothy McConville. His website says he's is a "Director, Producer, Maker of Things" and that's not just lipservice. He's got quite a bit to show for himself and this week's $99 Music Video proves just that. He's not only in the Brooklyn band Dutchess but he directed the latest music video as well. Music aside, his work has also been on the Discovery Channel, PBS and the History Channel. Clearly he's got some experience which makes his sage advice in this week's interview all the more worth listening to. If you haven't see it yet, what on earth are you waiting for?!? Saunter over to his website to watch his reel and see the other fantastic work he's done. 30 second documentaries, anyone?

(images from behind the scenes of "White Piano" which you can also see here) (and to bone up on what you know about Tim's great band Dutchess, godownload three FREE TRACKS from RCRD LBL)

What is the best advice you've received about making a music video?

Music Video Director Spotlight: Mad Dog Digital

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:28:15 EDT

When faced with new equipment and a desire to have more to show for yourself, David Jackson of Mad Dog Digital did what any sensible filmmaker would do: made a music video. If you’re curious to hear more on the process and inspiration behind this week’s upcoming music video, watch Rob’s interview with Mad Dog Digital man David Jackson.

Want to know more about Mad Dog Digital? They’re not what you’d call a typical music video directorial team. Mad Dog Digital is actually a Dublin-based a web design and digital advertising agency with in-house production. Clients they’ve worked with that us state-side would recognize include Rimmel cosmetics and Coors beer. Pretty impressive, eh? If you’d like to see more, head over to their webby site where you can watch their reel and see all their work. In the meantime, why don’t you jaunt over to Hoarseboxes' MySpace page and listen to some of their up-beat jams while you get pumped for our first official user submitted $99 Music Video!

Notes from the Director: Chris Piazza on "Elevenses"

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:11:11 EDT

For the video I did with Neil Halstead, we definitely scraped by on a series of soft bribes – for instance, I drove my friend Matt to the beer depot to pick up a keg for his party and, in exchange, he agreed to be an extra in the video.

But aside cashing in all the owed favors from everyone that I know, my special effects designer (and all around wizard) Jayel Draco and I definitely had a few low-budget tricks up our sleeves from our years working together on video projects. Jayel was eager to show me this live-action animation technique he’s been honing on another gig for a while. Using After Effects, he was showing me how he could “nudge” live action footage to exaggerate things like facial expressions and body movements – think the “Black Hole Sun” video but less 90s. So when I was coming up with the concept for Neil’s video, I really wanted to find a way to use that. I felt like giving a really cheap-o looking ghost some really expressive (and blinking!) eyes could look pretty neat and, if I do say so myself, the final product IS pretty neat. I love the idea of throwing a lot of subtle special effects into videos – especially if it’s a mixture of animation (like the eyes) and compositing (like the ghost walking through the girl’s bedroom door) or old-fashioned camera tricks (like the split screen at the end to “eliminate” the ghost’s reflection from the mirror. I feel like the best special effects are the ones that you DON’T notice – personally, I get numb looking at an all CG action sequence. So when I make a video, even if it’s only for $99, I like to mix it up, keep the audience on their toes, asking “how’d they do that?”

PS: How great is the Project Jenny, Project Jan video for “Junk”? Kathleen, Kit, the crew, the dancers and the band totally rocked that one.

Notes from the Director: Kathleen Grace on Project Jenny, Project Jan

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:40:14 EDT

Jack and Melissa asked me to explain how spam, twitter, and Windows95 pop-ups play into "Junk." So not get all post modern mind f***, I see my laptop as a fourth screen that I digest (iphone, tv, cinema). It's another window from which I see the world. With the advent of Twitter and the endless update, I found my windows being broken- in the middle of the night on my phone because my friend was on a quest in Tel Aviv. So many 140 character updates were crowding out the real story. So when I heard Junk and the lyrics:

Spiders in my mailbox
Spiders in my bed
Sick of killing all these spiders in my head
They keep me up all night
I try to kill them in my sleep

It reminded me of the frantic feeling I get from these updates. Then I wanted to make them organic and come alive. I wanted them to attack us. Hence the dancers. Oh and the milk...that is longer story.

Featured tweets are from:
@epicfu
@zadi
@caseymckinnon
@newteevee
@rocketboom
@andrewbaron
@feliciaday
@mdfsmash
@sarahcooley
@sharonfeder
@savvyauntie
@kathrynjones
@iJustine
@scobelizer

This week’s $99 Music Video band, Project Jenny, Project...

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:39:00 EDT

This week’s $99 Music Video band, Project Jenny, Project Jan, has some very big news today (besides the release of their Making Of ‘Junk’, of course). It just so happens that this wily duo have a brand new release out today called The Colors EP. What’s it got in it, you ask? This collborative effort features Project Jenny, Project Jan working with their esteemed buddies Fujiya & Miyagi, fellow $99 Music Videos band Mixel Pixel, So Percussion, Adam Matta, Clack Singles Club and vocalists Katie Hasty of Numbers and Letters and Kellie Rae Powell.

Watch below for an idea for the level of music video perigree these guys have already achieved with their music video for ‘Pins and Needles,’ the song collboration with Fujiya & Miyagi. Just wait til you see what they’ve got up their sleeves this Thursday as they premiere a $99 music Video for ‘Junk’.

If this wasn’t enough to convince you to go pick it up, a percentage of the EP sales will be going to the 826NY Organization, so go get one for you and a friend.

Location Spotlight: The Bushwick Starr for Project Jenny, Project Jan

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:14:01 EDT

One of director Kathleen Grace's behind-the-scenes secrets is that she has an amazing talent for securing sweet locations for little to no money. And in web video, that skill goes a long way.

The Bushwick Starr was kind enough to help Kathleen and Project Jenny, Project Jan out by hooking them up with their incredible performance space for the day. And boy are we grateful for awesome companies like that. They are a full-scale performance venue dedicated to bringing a wide array of art and artists to Bushwick, Brooklyn. They offer a supportive space for artists to develop and showcase their work. What's not to love about that?

It’s because they are so steallar that we wanted to share with you guys about a cool performance festival that The Bushwick Starr is presenting. It’s their second annual new works festival, The Bushwhack Series. The artists participating in the series will present new work in theater, dance, film, lecture-performance, and trapeze. If you’re in NYC during May, you should try to check out the work and support nurturing art spaces like these. They are so important to the creative community.

Don't forget to come back Thursday to check out how they used every inch of the space to their advantage in Project Jenny, Project Jan’s video for “Junk”.

"On the Set" of Lowry's $99 Music Video

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:00:04 EDT

Director Kathleen Grace and Production Designer Jessica Trejos decided to paint Kathleen's bedroom to create the look of Lowry's video for "Whiskey." Kathleen sent us these pictures from set, although she laments that she didn't take a before picture! Although, I'm sure you can imagine what it looked like, white walls in a small brooklyn bedroom, transformed! Amazing what a coat of paint can do.

On Set with the Filmmakers

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:06:38 EST

La Strada (on “set” with the filmmakers)

La Strada is one of the best Brooklyn bands you’ll see live. I stumbled upon them one night at Mercury Lounge and became an instant fan.

A few days later, Melissa and I saw them play again in Williamsburg, at Spike Hill. She approached James, asked if he wanted to make a video, and the rest is history.

You really should go to their CD release party on March 5th at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

You won’t be disappointed.

(photo left to right: Band Members: Devon, Daniel, Brady, James, & Ted; Film Team: Jack, Rebecca, & Kit)

Liberty Island

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:43:04 EST

Why did we take James from La Strada to Liberty Island at 8am on a Sat in 10 degree weather to shoot?

1. Because it works for the concept.

2. Because it’s only a $12 ticket on the ferry. hahaha!

(from left to right: James Craft, Jack Ferry, Kit Pennebaker, I’m behind the camera!)

The Story of $99 Music Videos (So Far)

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:22:00 EST

As a filmmaker, I always wanted to make music videos.

For me, growing up on MTV meant a steady diet of them. I took them for granted, as if they were a natural part of a musician’s output.

Albums. Concerts. Music Videos.

Then, the music industry kinda imploded, and one of the first casualties seemed to be the music video. After all, since no one was buying CD’s anymore, it didn’t make a lot of sense to spend millions of dollars on promotional videos for them.

Then, online video came along and the music video seemed to be reborn. Only this time they were smaller, simpler, and more immediate. That… and they were cheap.

This gave me an idea.

What if we took cost out of the equation, made it more of a creative challenge (instead of a production liability)?

I mean… what if we were only allowed to spend 99 bucks? Could we still make something cool?

I chose $99 because (I don’t know, for some reason) $100 sounds like real money and $99 doesn’t. It’s just enough to get something made. That’s the area of creativity I was interested in.

Thus, $99 Music Videos was born.