Last week I had pretty much worked myself into a tizzy worrying about this video that I had due for the UICA. They needed a "video/music" invitation for a fancy schmancy party they are throwing for big-money donors next month. They were supposed to write a script for me but I also jotted down a few ideas that popped into my mind. When we got to the script meeting, they had nothing and they liked all my ideas... or possibly they needed a fall guy in case any idea turned out to be a stupid idea. Who wants that responsibility? That is what consultants are for.
They chose my riskier idea of doing sort of a Dr. Seuss rap set to a rhythm track. If it worked, it would be funny. If it didn't work, it could embarrass a wealthy patron. That is a bit of pressure!
The shoot seemed to go OK. I got to shoot in the Blodgett mansion on Plymouth Ave. At the last minute, I had Bill Hebert come along to help with lighting and crowd control. Bill is exceptionally good at interesting and funny small talk. The last thing I needed was the pressure of keeping the talent entertained. But when I got home and I looked at the footage alone, it came off more corny than funny. The music would need to telegraph the whimsical in order to view it in the correct light.
Stephen Duren's trio agreed to try and pull something together for me. I met at their rehearsal on Tuesday and showed them the raw footage. No one laughed. We set up to record their session with a cassette recorder but it became clear to me that this would not work. I could hear a hum and also I had no cassette player to transfer it back to video. I decided to just use Stephen's camcorder and place it near the instruments and settle for whatever I could get.
They played around to they came up with a riff that I liked. I timed the 4 verses and decided to have rhythm under the spoken word and add the bass riff under the in-between segments. I stood in the middle of the musicians and, using my watch, cued the bass player when to come in and out. I was reasonably happy with the final take.
UICA liked it and I guess that is what counts. It went out yesterday. What do you think? UICA Video Invitation.
Lots of rain these last few days. The grass is greener.
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