A shoestring budget goes a long way with some creative hustling.
Nostalgia! This music video was created ages ago and shot on a DSLR, but what shines for me in this is the concept and the passion. The director and I went over to the band's apartment on Oak St in San Francisco to chat about possible concepts. The apartment was bursting with creative energy, filled with incredible musicians, producers, and photographers. I saw the sunlight thick with dust coming off their shelves of records and said, "What if we just filmed this?"
I co-wrote a storyline involving the whole band starting their day together, going their separate ways, then meeting again for a show. I immersed myself in the band's personalities, and we wrote scenes true to everyday stuff they would actually be doing - running errands, buying new guitar strings, shopping for records - with their song connecting them together, even when they’re apart.
It was two 20 hour days running around San Francisco, complete with handmade lighting rigs (cinematographer Jesse Dana built a 1k out of Christmas lights and set up the string of bulbs for the last scene), pushing around dollies, calling friends for favors, and trying to create an atmosphere of fun.