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.

New York University & BadStick

So I'm in New York at the moment. Awesome!

Tomorrow I'll be interviewing for a position in New York University's film program. Everything has been coming to fruition. USC admitted me for Spring 2013. UCLA called me back for their second step which is sending them your online portfolio (out of the five schools I applied to they are the only one who asks for an application with no visual attachments, only your personal narrative and ideas). I'm still waiting to hear back from The American Film Institute and Columbia University.

I talk about this a lot, but it's good to know the dreams I spoke of when I first started this site are the ones I'm living now. I feel like I'm cementing a future for myself, rather than allowing life to ease past me. I hold to a simple mantra; I want to live, not exist.

This wouldn't be an appropriate Que The Lights post if I didn't speak about a project I've finished as well. I'd like to introduce you to BadStick, a band running the bars around Tuscaloosa. I was approached by their drummer, Colin White, to shoot a promo video for them.

For most productions I'll link up with my usual crew, but everyone was busy so I decided to give a few of my students a try at shooting. This semester, I'm working as a T.A. (Teacher's Assistant) in our department's advanced videography class. I informed the class that anyone interested in getting hands-on experience with DSLRs are welcome to work with me. Two students got on board.

They did a great job. I stayed on the ground with the Canon 5D shooting a constant wide-shot while I allowed them to free-lance across the stage with a Canon T2i. 

It's pretty dope to be a teacher. 

I Can't Give You, What I Don't Got!

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 

I'll Meet You at North Greene

North Greene Records (which consists entirely of UA undergraduate students) has been working with me recently to finish & amp their resurgence into the rap game. The group purports that their sound is a unique compliment to the way we examine southern rap culture. I can get with it!

I'm always interested in working with individuals who I know work hard themselves. Friends, clients, models and co-workers should all have a similar concept of my work ethic- I'm thorough. Once I start a project-I'm GOING to finish it.

Most importantly, I have to feel a NEED to work on the project. It's the urgency that makes me work best. Any project I pick up I'm going to work with the kind of diligence that warrants and brings about more work. The client's project is a reflection not only of his subject matter, but my skill and propensity as a blacksmith of tangible redefinition (could've just said editing there. I'm being fancy on this piece)

I've learned you've got to be willing to help those around you in order to build a good rep. This goes beyond friendships

To clarify the guys I did this project for were my dorm-mates. We even went in together and produced an online radio station show for the campus our freshmen year. This plays into what I'm saying. It's not so much about the friendship (though that makes play a factor). It's more-so the understanding I can trust these individuals to stand by their word & work just as hard as I do. That's all I ask.

 Who is North Greene?