A while back I got the chance to work with native Birmingham group, Dat2.
Dat2 is a hip-hop collective consisting of Thad Weller, Mario Leonard, Dave Johnson, and Squeeze (you wish you had a nickname that awesome). Their sound is fast-paced blend of hip-hop, rock, and soul. What really made them stand out in my opinion, was there use of live band in their recordings in comparison to most music that works strictly on synthesizers and pre-recorded beats.
Their frontman, Thed, has quite the personality which becomes quite evident as you work with him. I could describe him, but I'd rather let the footage do the job.
I Don't Got from Micah Russell on Vimeo.
Music Video
Artist: Dat2
Song: "I Don't Got"
Album: "Live From Malcolm's Reading Room"
Director: Micah Russell
Director of Photography: Xavier Burgin
Camera Operator/Assistant Director: Alex Newberry
This the first time I've worked on a video project where I wasn't the head of it. This is also the first time I've been with a team that had far more experience than I did. Director,Micah Russell, is a TCF senior whose body of work speaks for itself. You can check out some of his work here. Camera Operator, Alex Newberry, is another TCF senior at the University of Alabama whose work precedes herself. Check it out here.
I learned a substantial amount about working with individuals who are more experienced than me. You must be willing to realize there will always be individuals who are more knowledgeable in your area of expertise. You must choose whether this is a positive situation or an adversarial one. Are you going to learn from them or resent them. As far I'm concerned college is not the place to have an elitist attitude on any subject.
Micah ended up not only being the director, but the post-production editor for the video. I ended up working on two specific parts of the production. I took the main character out to the majority of the locations before filming and photographed him in action to give Micah a feel of where we could shoot the ongoing action.
The actual story in the video differs, but the feel of the video becomes apparent from the pictures we took before we went into production. Overall, the experience gave me a good lesson on the necessity of pre-planning, story-boarding, and just having a good general (visual) idea of what you want to do.
I'm planning my next short film now so all of this will come into play.
To check out the video plus other work I've done click HERE
hahahha wow that collage of photos is pretty funny.
ReplyDeleteI had a blast putting it together. I really might do more stuff like the collage as well.
ReplyDeleteYOU DID SUCH AN OUTSTANDING JOB!!! WOW, I really enjoyed the video :D Their music is awesome!
ReplyDeleteHey - You are pretty awesome for being the Rookie.
ReplyDeleteThe lesson I have learned in filmmaking is that everyone starts somewhere. We were all the rookie at some point. (But you will always be my rookie, hah.) What makes a person good is their passion, drive, and willingness to learn. It also helps to be surrounded by people with those same qualities. Also, a spirit of willingness to be open minded and help others grow because no matter how much you know or how talented one might be there is ALWAYS something you can learn... EVEN from the rookie.
You are going to be great, and I want you to know that even though I might call you Rookie - I view you as my equal and hope to work on many future projects with you!
That means alot Alex. You have definitely made me jump leaps and bounds this semester when it comes to understanding the mechanics behind what we do.
ReplyDelete@Dee O.
-I just want to keep getting better and better lol