Another nice piece of work Ray, well done.

It must have been nerve wracking knowing that if one person stuffed up everyone had to do it all again!

OMG Ray! that is just awesome!

Indeed, awesome and I too would have found shooting that nerve racking.

The only thought that came into my mind to make it better would have been to make more use of lighting. The long shadows were a bit distracting and I "saw" her sitting under a street light and then as the other performers entered bring up space lights.
Of course and as always, very easy for me to type, much, much harder to think of much less achieve on the day when there's a zillion other things to deal with.

Bob.

Cool Shot. Great Colors. Good Song. Attractive Artist.

The looong Shadows distracted me as well since there was no reference as to what was causing them. A 'prop' light of some sort would lend to a better understanding.

Some of the people were looking at the camera and/or looking off camera for direction or something. That too was a bit distracting as I liked the artist looking at the camera but I felt all the others should have been in there own little world as if to be inside her head.

Also, Nobody Fell Down, so I didn't feel the visuals tied in to the lyrics.

Thanks all, kinda blown away as on her official YouTube page its gotten over 11k views in less than 24 hours. That's pretty frikkin awesome!

As for the shadows, sorry if distracts. Not sure what knowing where the light is coming from matters in this case "no reference as to what was causing them". Its a farcical and irreverent video, lights, to me, don't need justification. I actually liked them when I was shooting (obviously or I would have dampened them more). Part of the goal, so to speak, was to have the viewers wondering whats coming next. Seeing a shadow is a visual clue that's something coming and on the opposite side of that it made for smoother transitions between the ins and outs of the cast. All things being subjective, I dig it the way it is.

As for the "Nobody Fell Down", they didn't want literal and actually chose me over others they had asked for a treatment in large part because I didn't want to do the obvious. Though I said it in the description I'll say again that I took my cues from the mood, pacing, and tone of the music as opposed to lyrical.

- Ray
Underground Planet

I think everything added to the "chaos" you were trying to achieve at the desired points.

As he is so often prone to under-statement, john_dennis said, "I enjoyed it.".

Wonderful vid!
The beauty to me is it looks very simple but I know it took a lot to coordinate all the people.

Personally, I didn't even notice the shadows, being a musician myself, I was paying more attention to the artist and the music. The visuals just added to the enjoyment of the song.

Great job!

Thanks guys, appreciate the kind words more than ya know =)

- Ray
Underground Planet

Gorillas on unicycles! A fresh new kind of genius.

Ray, that is an incredible production. I'm amazed by how different Shawn Colvin looks compared to 2007 at the Gershwin Music Awards.

How many takes were required for this shoot?

/jerry

I too was wondering about how many takes to get this excellent final product? I was taken by your lighting and really appreciated the way the talent remained lit throughout...i would like to see your lighting set-up to get the long shadows from the talent without the other performers strafing her face with shadow as they pass by. I most appreciated the jugglers tossing pins in close proximity to her head! I liked it a lot!

Thanks for the compliments! They really do make my day.

There's a fairly long blog entry below the video but to save you from going back and reading the whole thing: "All told, save a few false starts, somehow we were able to get this in about ten full takes, in fact we actually had a few to choose from out of those ten. With all the moving parts and it being a one take vid I really expected a much longer day. All credit goes to the cast and crew for doing such an amazing job."

Thanks again!

- Ray
Underground Planet

It's all subjective.

I would love to see it all in ESREVER... except for the artist.
REVERSE

And I would have loved to have used a spaceship, the Dallas Cheerleaders, and a big purple polka-dotted dragon but unfortunately we had neither a million dollar budget nor the time. But hey, thanks for sharing your ever so brilliant and insightful commentary, I'm certain it would have been a MUCH better video had you made it within the parameters of the task as stipulated by the label, the management, the artist, the budget, the time, and the resources available.

Between this post and your previous criticism of the lighting and issues with some talent looking at the camera it has become obvious to me that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. It's almost shocking how much my creativity pales to yours.

The video that I made that I was ever so proud of now only serves as a constant source of shame and an eternal glaring symbol of my own ineptitude. You win.

- Ray
Underground Planet

Apart from it being a good song with a great hook, the video kept me watching. I kept wondering what was next and a few of the performers were mezmerizing (seriously, I could watch the hula hoop guy and the ballerina all day).

Ray, outstanding work. I'm looking forward to seeing this on MTV, or CMT, or Much Music, or whatever. :-)

Thanks bunches Andreas, and I hope they get it on any one of them as well! Would defiantly be a highlight!

- Ray
Underground Planet

Ray, This video, as well as the ones you have previously posted are absolutely fabulous! You have every reason to be extremely proud.

Ignore the naysayers! I, for one, am growing weary of the elitist attitude of a number of posters on this forum.

Keep up the good work!
...Jerry

Well, I thought it was great - and I loved the gorillas on unicycles. I am amazed you managed it in one take - juggling and unicycles are prone to .... ending up prone !! While I noticed the shadows initially, it did, as you say, provide an interesting clue as to what was coming next.

mikey

Ray - excellent and inspiring, as always! Thanks for sharing, and keep up the great work.

Paddy
SCS

Thanks Jerry and Mikey! And in truth I was more nervous walking into that day of filming as anything else I've shot. Whole lot of moving pieces hadta come together near perfect without any cuts to hide behind.

One of the the coolest things to me, and I need to add this to the description, is that of all the little mistakes that various people made (like the hula hooper taking out the light that was behind him in the middle of the frame) the kids on the unicycles and the kids doing the acrobatics, didn't mess up once! Take after take after take they were solid as a rock in all their performances.

And thanks Paddy! You just made my day! =)

- Ray
Underground Planet

There are numerous threads on here where people want others, strangers to sing praise about their work. I simply don't see the need to pat someone on the back (or give them a vote in a contest) for any other reason other than I feel they deserve it. As I stated: Cool Shot. Great Colors. Good Song. Attractive Artist. I add - Awesome Atmosphere/Environment.

Likewise, I posted what I felt, for me, were the negatives. No one has to agree with me, same as I don't have to agree with them. That's the beauty of independent thinking and expression. It's also the beauty of these forums.

Let's not forget, we are all creatives and we all have different ideas. We all see, plan, and do things differently. It's ridiculous for any of us to think everybody will like our work. Notice how similar things as what I pointed out are also being spoken of on her official youtube page by others.

I know this video was produced within restraints, same as we all do. Be they budget, producer, wife, equipment, crew, etc. Had I known the original idea consisted of a spaceship, the Dallas Cheerleaders, and a big purple polka-dotted dragon, I could have imagined them creating even bigger shadows I guess.

Simply put; "It's a shame you miss the point of my posts, truly it is and it disappoints me that you just don't get it. You keep pretending like your posts aren't inflammatory and I'm the one with the problem."

Remember: you posted an OT. Serving up something that is totally dependent upon each individual's interpretation. No one's opinion, good or bad, will make you stop producing video. Critiques are a part of what we do. Anyone who produces video as well as you do has to know that. When we agree, we change. When we disagree, we don't.

All that matters is that the Artist, Label, etc. feel they got their money's worth. After-all, they are who paid for the video. Not us.
_____

Ever wonder what happened to the 'Ignore This User' button?