All American Rejects at the Diamond Ballroom
We outsource some of our video production (and writing and photography). The above video was produced by Tanner Herriott who worked at NewsOK for many years. I liked this video for its transparency and rawness. The guys in the band were just shooting the breeze and seemingly answering quite honestly to The Oklahoman’s Gene Triplett. And the outtakes that we’ll put to use were excellent as well.
Jabee vs Hanson
Our “Got It Covered” series features local musicians covering songs made famous by Oklahomans.
Thursday, Kyle Roberts and I produced a segment with local hip hop artist Jabee covering Hanson’s 1997 hit “MmmBop.”
The venue is Saints Pub in the Plaza District. We recorded audio with our Zoom recorder and we recorded it two ways: XLR out into channel 1 and the on board “stereo” mic that captures the room sound. Video is shot with a Canon 7D using a 24-105mm lens.
Jabee didn’t sing Hanson, rather he gave a brilliant performance by rapping to a sampling of “MmmBop.” Inspired stuff.
My favorite part of the above video is yours truly saying “MmmBop” was No. 1 in the US for three years instead of three weeks. Heavy sigh…
Static: Denver Duncan on a Water Taxi
Kyle Roberts had the idea of taking Static on tour by visiting Oklahoma landmarks or places easily recognizable.
My friend Chad Huntington at the Bricktown Water Taxis has always been great to work with, so I thought we could put an acoustic artist on a boat for a Static session. It turned out better than anticipated. The audio is outstanding, given the 20mph winds on Tuesday. Also, the sunlight through the trees captured by the Canon 7D with 14mm lens provides some dramatic images.
Equally impressive is Denver Duncan’s vocal range. His falsetto is right on key.
Meet Cami Stinson
I’ve produced a few other videos with Cami Stinson. Most recently, she performed with Cara Black on our Static Holiday Sessions, giving “Silent Night” a chilling sweetness with a side of gospel. Maybe some soul.
Cami also performed a solo set earlier in 2010 in a Static session at the OPUBCO Studios.
Cami is headed to perform with world renown musician Mark O’Connor in North Carolina tomorrow night. Watch the video for more background on that angle.
I’ve also caught Cami’s performance at the Prohibition Room in OKC. Great jazz. And atmosphere. With a roster of beverages and an open-late kitchen. One of OKC’s better late night gems. Even my Dallas friends enjoyed the past-midnight corner booth. That was a few months ago.
I’m looking forward to an upcoming Prohibition Room session, details to come.
Earlier today, thanks to PR ace and friend Rob Crissinger, I caught up with Cami during a noon break at ACM@UCO.
She expected a print interview.
I had a camera bag and tripod. We knocked out a quick 10-15 Q&A. I mixed in a few past tapings and downloaded her latest song. The above interview is a decent look at the talented singer-songwriter. Go see her and the other jazz wizards on a Monday night at the Prohibition Room. Maybe take a class from her at ACM@UCO.
And best of luck to her this weekend performing with one of her heroes.
Static Holiday Sessions: behind the scenes
Final Cut Pro timeline of Static Holiday Sessions edit
I caught wind of this idea last Monday, an email from PR ace Rob Crissinger to entertainment guru George Lang:
What would you think of coordinating a small “Static Christmas Concert” at Blackwatch Studios in Norman. It would be a one-hour taped show where performers sing their favorite Christmas song in front of a live audience of family and friends. Performances could be interesting pairings: Matt & Joe Stansberry, Sherri Chamberlain & Graham Colton, Daniel Walcher & Skating Polly, Dr. Pants & Jabee, etc. doing their take on a Christmas classic.
Now that’s a great idea.
Some emails were exchanged. George and I met. I then met with the advertising crew with thoughts of a sponsorship. We called Jonathan Fowler at Fowler VW in Norman on Friday morning. Jonathan immediately saw the value and cool factor.
Crissinger worked the angles for a venue over the weekend. We landed on Urban Roots in Deep Deuce, just north of downtown OKC after learning Blackwatch was booked on Monday. The artists were already scheduled, it made sense to switch venues instead of trying to reschedule 12 artists.
On Monday morning my crew included David Jones, Todd Fraser and Kyle Roberts. Billy Davis created some Static Holiday Sessions animations to use in post production.
We began shooting just after 11 am and had five videos shot by 1 pm. Cami Stinson and Cara Black recorded “Silent Night” with organist extradonaire around 3 pm.
I left the footage compressing overnight Monday: we shot about 32 gb using three Canon 7D cameras. We captured the audio using two Zoom H1N recorders, there was no audio board. We had a light kit, but mostly relied on the good natural light the Deep Roots Studio provided. Pretty bare bones set up.
Including an introductory video by George, we had seven videos to edit Tuesday. Monday wasn’t a day off by any means, we still had our day jobs of the usual OPUBCO video production both in studio and field, including crew off for the holidays.
I finished the final video, Cami Stinson and Cara Black, around 9 tonight. Created a quick pre-roll for Fowler VW of Norman.
And watched the social media take over.
You can watch all of the videos at static.newsok.com, including the Holiday Sessions and the previous sessions recorded by Tanner Herriott. We debated using the black and white look (removed the saturation, reduced the black levels some) that Tanner used, or going with the color. Finally we landed on staying with the look that Tanner had used.
3 Things You Should Know: Jonathan Fowler
CLICK HERE FOR MOBILE VERSION OF VIDEO
I’ve interviewed Jonathan Fowler a few times. Norman Music Festival. Wimgo videos. BlockParty OKC.
Great guy. Talented guy. Here are a few more excerpts from the interview at this past weekend’s fashion show event on Film Row in downtown OKC.
Here’s some cool stuff. Check out the Buzz blog on the Fowler VW site and on Facebook. Fowler has been involved in the production of 10 holiday songs from local bands called “Nice People Holiday Compilation 2010″. And, Merry Christmas, you have an opportunity at the free download. Plus, there are versions on vinyl.
Be sure to click on the cool concept VDub sessions too.
