Pale ash project
entry no. 06
Over the years we’ve had a lot of projects and some are plan-heavy, others, more so concept and some are just about strategy in execution. "Pale Ash" challenged us in all departments. From acquiring locations, scouting for the right times of day, coordinating schedules, finding talent, getting the story right and making sure we had the crew and equipment to execute, we were challenged. This project was a true collaboration between our team and LAVE (Joey). The resulting film is something we are all extremely happy with.
This project happened because of our relationship with the artist, Joey.
Joey has been within our circle for a while and is someone who showcases talent musically and is a genuine person. When we began planning the project, everything worked so smoothly. Between a mixture of face to face meetings, constant texting and phone calls, we all put in time to make sure ideas and project concerns were handled properly. Joey very much acted as one with the crew which made it easy to collaborate.
The collaboration and communication made this project go smooth.
Story was at the forefront from the beginning. We figured once we got that generally figured out we would start figuring out the set for the film. The story is like reliving your first free summer as an adult. Having the ability to make your own choices, good or bad, and having that summer "fling". This storyline mixed well with our goals in creating something very cinematic. The track helped us visualize a lot of what we filmed as well as how everything was filmed.
The intro to Pale Ash wasn’t originally supposed to be used in this project, but after listening to both tracks together, we felt we could do something a little different. Together, they felt like the score of a movie and we decided to visualize something that built up and then entered into the actual song/film. With this, we were able to do some foreshadowing which helps draw you in as it builds.
Digging into the conception phase, we thought the idea of a love letter could be powerful, tie in lyrical content, and be a tool for telling the story. We wanted it feel like late 80’s to 90’s tone, so this inspired the use of the typewriter. Through the mixture of the typewriter scenes and actual story, we wanted to basically sum up his feelings in the letter visually rather than spell them out.
Execution had its own challenges. We decided to keep crew small for comfort and to draw less attention for public scenes. This choice forced us to make a decision for equipment that would allow us more shooting time, but not be cumbersome to move from place to place. The story called for a lot of motion and that’s how we got to the Movi M15. Pairing the M15 with the Canon 1dxmkii allowed us to work with a light rig, create steady shots and utilize the autofocus. This decision saved our budget, our backs and time in camera prep. With all of that mixed together we were able to execute our most ambitious project to date. Below you can watch the behind the scenes video Taylor shot on this crazy weekend.
"Pale Ash" was a project that allowed us to grow. The crew juggles multiple duties, we met problems with solution consistently, and rented intelligently. If anyone one of the things we faced weren’t handled properly, this project would not have been successful. We’re so happy to add this project to our portfolio and only hope to push the next projects further.
Crew
Ross Theisen | Director
Josh Emerick | Cinematographer + Editor + VFX
Taylor Tigner | AC + DIT
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