Particular Book: Rube Goldberg Machine

Using books as domino pieces.
the idea is to get as many books as possible and play around with them in a studio.



INTRO:







The opening scene would include having some b&w ambiguous image which would slowly transform into a layer of books on the floor. So we start with a blurry image of smoke and then just before the focus reaches the books the second part of the first verse ('I don't read from that particular book') comes up.



Then we start building our domino composition (using stop motion perhaps).


At the highest point of the song (3:48) the domino pieces start falling that way portraying the denial (I don't read from that particular book).
The structure includes the traditional "build something and then destroy it" leitmotiv.
The very last domino piece could be that special ' particular' book'





Once we build the domino line, we can then have a variety of interesting shots mainly from up above etc.

Making a music video (in an uber creative way)

As you all (hopefully) know, I am making a music video for Hardback Fiction in a month or so. Had a little bit of disaster two weeks ago when the band member that I am working with announced that :
1. He's not in the band anymore
2. The band wants to promote a different song

****Panic attack****

It's all good now: Dave (the previously mentioned band member) is going to help me out on set and beforehand.
At the moment we're waiting for the band to finish the final recording and then we will be able to get things rolling.
I changed my initial idea that was submitted before Christmas so I now have to all the paperwork, sketchbooks, storyboards etc all over again.
The good thing is, that me and Dave meet up almost every week and exchange ideas, findings, concept examples so I thought I'd put some of this important stuff here.
Here's the playlist that I keep on updating for the references and styles we're gonna use while making the music video:

The Playlist


The whole process is really organic but I find it hard to drop my initial ideas and switch to others.

Concept for the Client Project

After discussing my ideas with several different people, I've made some amends.
At the very beginning, my plan was to make two different products:

Music Documentary
Home sessions

But after actually trying to imagine how these two very different types of video are going to work, I realised they won't. So I did my research. The plan was to find if somebody had done a similar project before.
Deborah, my client project supervisor expressed her opinion about my strengths and skills and she thinks that my calling card is narrative.
Had a similar conversation with Jools, he mentioned atmosphere as the main feature that describes my work. This made me think about how I actually approach all my projects. Don't really know if it's a positive thing but I do a lot of things instinctively e.g. on shoot I tend to do a lot of spontaneous decisions which later turn out to be the best bits of my work.

But anyhow, this post is about my client project.
My chosen client is a gypsy jazz band Maniere Des Bohemiens.





The band is quite new,they've been playing for the last couple of years together. They're not signed to any label but as the violinist Rob mentioned, they're not aiming for a contract, there's not much money in this type of music in the industry. Instead, they prefer doing live cozy gigs that attract their certain audience.
My plan was to represent the band for the first time, to make a music documentary explaining where this band comes from, who are the band members, how they came together to play their music etc. Also, the whole concept of a gypsy jazz band means (in my opinion) that these people are constantly traveling from place to place, 'home is where the heart is'. This led me to the idea of 'Home sessions', a series of live performances taking place at different locations such like Hand & Heart pub, one of the member's actual house where they rehearse, theatre , outdoors, etc.
Having rethought my idea, now I want to mix the live performance with some content and narrative. The viewer would have two different experiences:

1.If you watch only one segment of the series, you get the flavor of the band and their music but your don't get the whole story behind it.
2.If you watch the whole thing, you then have a full understanding about this particular band.

I seek for narrowing the distance between the band and its audience. Knowing how the music you like was born, puts you on the whole new level of connecting with the band.
As I see the structure of one of the home sessions it would go like this:

1. Create a 20-30s opening sequence for the whole documentary and use it at the beginning of each separate home session.

2. A short interview. Three main keypoints:
The origin of the band.
The present of the band
The future of the band

3. Live performance

4. Closing interview (I'm after some authentic stories, e.g. from their childhood, when and how they were first influenced by music.






Some examples of such documentaries:

Mumford & Sons Gentlemen of the Road series:




trailer:





Adele Live in her own home:





Jonsi Go Quiet acoustic version of his new album filmed in his own home:





The bottom line of this, of course, is promotion and introducing the band to the viral YouTube and Vimeo world.

Thank You video final edit

72 hours till the deadline and luckily there isn't a lot to be stressed about.
The only bit that's left to do is the paperwork.


Here's the final edit of my thank you video.
I managed to shrink the thing to 1:20s. Will see what the first responses sound like tomorrow at the tutorial.