Superstar Revisited

Nearly a year ago I worked on a project known as Superstar. The music video is finished, and I couldn't be happier with the results.

You can click HERE to read my previous post highlighting the production and my work as Director of Photography. Gifted, the songwriter/singer has worked with artists such as Ne-Yo, Jagged Edge, and Bei Major. He's also performed beside Miguel, Brian McKnight, and Marques Houston. In summation, he's got talent.

This production pushed my knowledge to its full extent, but the experience helped me understand the importance of lighting. Soul, aesthetic, and opinion do not pervade the depths of a camera. It should not dictate the experience. A strong cinematographer does not rely purely on the strength of the camera. They intertwine a mixture of movement, lighting, and placement to capture the director's vision. A cinematographer is a visual storyteller. The camera is his workspace, but light is his foremost tool.

Check out the behind the scenes video to learn more about the cast and crew of the music video too.

Superstar

Mission accomplished once again everyone. 

"Gifted Johnson"-Photo courtesy of Sumerlin Photography

I recently finished working as Director of Photography on the music video for R&B artist, Gifted. The guy is an eccentric fuse of positive energy, catchy lyrics, and superb beats. Gifted's songs emanate experience. He has a lengthy songwriting credits, the most notable being Ne-Yo, Jagged Edge, and Bei Maejor. Point being, he understands how to make a hit.

Gifted has performed on staged with Miguel, Brian McKnight, and Marques Houston so his experience within the music industry is extensive and rich with stories of high-profile meetings and hobnobbing with the famous. He has been around the block. After writing and performing for those who have gained notoriety, he wants to build a cult of personality all his own.

The song is called, Superstar. Produced by Bei Maejor, the song retains a flirtatious, and upbeat spirit. It sounds like a song you would constantly turn up when you're listening to the radio. This is where the music video comes in.

Friend and colleague, Micah Russell, pitched the idea. He wanted a music video with influences from a notable amount of current artists including:

Kanye West

Miguel

Fitz and The Tantrums

Usher

Micah's treatment (a write-up of a creative idea for a music video) revealed an interest in mixing various eye-catching colors during performances of the song within a studio (Miguel, Fitz and The Tantrums, and Kanye) while interlacing narrative style imagery from outside locations and clubs (Usher). It became my job to create an atmosphere worthy of each of these scenes.

The first thing I began working on was lighting plans (a floor plan detailing the movement of talent and where lights will be placed to illuminate them) for the entire music video.

These lighting plans encompassed the entirety of the shoot for each day. I set up floor plans for various scenes such as within a club or studio style lighting.

Photo courtesy of Sumerlin Photography

The experience was amazing. Now that my job is done, I'm looking forward to seeing what the editor brings together. Until then, check out this Behind The Scenes video highlighting me as well as my director and other individuals who made the project come together.