Crew:
Director - Ramon Boutviseth
Producer - Kevin Peeples, Techinc Productions, LLC
Location Manager - Ken Bernstein
Director of Photography - Jeff Boomer Alred
Technical Director - Ryan Barringer
1st AD - Ken Bernstein
Homeless Man - Davis Osborne
Chief Lighting Engineer - Jack Kelly, Eye Dialogue, LLC
Second Electrician - Chris Hawkins, Eye Dialogue, LLC
Groomer - Brady Wardlaw
Behind The Scenes Photographer - Beverly Peeples
Playback Assistant / Engineer - Alana Desiree Almond
Production Assistant - Jordan Pinkston
Production Assistant - Kevin Tallman

Kevin Peeples, owner of Techinc Productions, comes to Mosaic Church where I setup and run lighting every Sunday night. We casually talked about lighting and video but the impact was made when we worked on a promotional video for CharlotteOne. I had been lighting CharlotteOne for about 3 months and both of us were brought in to do a promotional video by the leadership. A few weeks later we realized we had a second client in common: Carmel Baptist Church. This began a continual dialogue that has built a friendship and mutually benefited both our arts.

When he asked me if I was interested in lighting a Bo Bice video, of course I said yes. But I can’t help but get excited when a project comes along that could potentially be nationally recognized. I have spent my entire life working hard waiting for opportunities to work more prestigious jobs. Trying not to show my hand by smiling too big or getting too excited, I put on my best nonchalant attitude and waited to hear from the director. On the side note, I constantly debate whether it is better to show eagerness to work so that the client will trust me to get the job done well and in a timely fashion or to act like I don’t need the work so they respect my work and assume I am in high demand. Funny enough, I have found myself working a 80 hour week and making eager phone calls while I was driving or eating or even working to make sure a client doesn't’t think I am blowing them off. On the flip side, I have also scheduled my calls so I didn't’t call too much, sometimes sitting by the phone resisting the urge to call again. Ironically, my company had already worked with the director, Ramon Boutviseth, on Hopesfall’s Breathe from Coma. With a little history on my side, he agreed to Kevin's recommendation (Click here to read the press release).

After 5 years of networking in Charlotte, I have realized that every relationship is important. Every job is an opportunity to create a bond between you and another. Over time that network becomes strong enough that multiple people involved in a project have suggested me, leading to opportunities that progress my skills and expose my art to a larger audience.

Honestly, I have only worked with a couple dozen of independent films and music videos. My experience is mostly in live events. According to Kevin "the essence of a music video [is when] live and video become one." They didn't care that I wasn't a sold out film gaffer. They wanted live lighting experience.

When I was younger, I loved the story lines in music videos but every kid watches the way the guitar was played and the way the lead singer held the mic. The images created on music videos shape the next generation’s performance styles and the world’s vision of cool. However, no matter how great the artist, if he is put in an unattractive setting the video is likely to fail.

From the two projects I have worked with Ramon, I noticed that he shoots videos with 360° of visual. Seldom using a defined front of stage, the camera explores its subject from every angle. The performance feels less staged, more natural, and unrehearsed. The unstaged effect makes the artist real, putting the personality into the video not just an impersonal-untouchable rock star image.

Throughout the lighting dialogue, Ramon kept repeating the word organic. Organic was a little confusing, I kept digging through with questions trying to understand. He said it so much I wanted to slap him. What the hell is organic and how can I plan for it? Well I couldn't. The solution didn't come until the day of the shoot. Organic means efficiency- much like Mother Nature. Instead of cleaning up the cable or running the runs together, we ran every cable the shortest run possible without being conscious of location. If a cable was in the way we kicked it to the side but we were never wasteful. By invoking a sense of efficiency and speed, the result worked much better than trying to be unnaturally messy. This organic approach discards the sense of both order and chaos by removing personal preferences and treating each element without concern for the whole.

The second evolution of organic involved mixing light, a no-no on most video shoots. We didn't’t use CTB, CTO, or any color correction. We took it all unfiltered: both natural light, and halogens. By combining natural light throughout the room, ungelled pars, gelled amber on the blinders, and a hint of green on the background walls; a familiar look of clashing color temps creates an unpretentious setting. The video presented a common lighting situation in independent rock performance venues, industrial spaces, and homes.

To light the band members, we used 15 575w pars. Instead of trying to hide or show the fixtures, we just placed them in whatever location seemed to get the best look on the members of the band. At first, my stage lighting mentality kicked in and I put the lighting fixtures in rows. Ramon asks me to move the lights to different spaces and levels adjusting to light over amps and instruments. Once again, he threw the word “organic” at me. Trying to shake good lighting techniques and usual methods, I had to change my perspective. Instead of looking at the big picture aka lighting the band, I lit each individual without context to the band. The only rule was to keep the fixtures out of the center circle. The effect seems random but carry’s a natural order and visual purpose.

You will notice in the video that most the lighting is below head level. Because of the sun’s aggressive attack through the windows in the ceiling, we had to balance the shadows. We talked about covering the windows but we ultimately decided to work with nature. Competing with an unfiltered sun is nearly impossible. So I lit the shadows, and added highlights around the entire person. The design created a brilliant spatial depth with different hues coming from every direction.

The highlight of the performance of course is the custom 6x3 crowd blinders. Ramon didn't want it to look like a rock show but a practice, almost as if you are peering into the practice studio before Bo hits the road. Instead of renting power hungry blinder banks, we combined 54 Elation Opti 30 fixtures onto three 6x3 fixture panels made of 1” plywood painted black. We put each of the 3 rows on its own channel. Organically we just pointed the fixtures out but resisted our urge to create symmetry. Each blinder had a single dimmer pack with each row on an individual channel (3 Channels per panel). Our blinders are a simple DIY lighting system but added just enough punch to complete the visual rock feel.

For the most of the story on the road, Ramon shot el natural. Our job was to make the car looked like it broke down. We simply installed a small smoke machine in the engine and smoke away. Unfortunately we didn't have a wireless remote so Chris Hawkins, my master electrician, had to hide underneath the car during the shoot. The alley was a different story. We wanted to make it look like morning. We used a par positioned about 12 feet over head behind the shot imitating the height of a morning sun. Two more pars were placed on the side of the camera dimmed at 40% and 60% to fill in the dark spots with the same quality of light. The look was very effective giving a nice morning glow highlighting the passersby.

Truthfully, I expected more attitude. Between surpassing most of the winners of American Idol and his continued success, Bo Bice is down to earth. Very humble and cordial, Bo submitted to Ramon’s creative direction for the entire shoot. I accredit the video’s success for its honesty and organic nature. Bo is personable, approachable, and real. Contrasting with the untouchable rock star image, the video is a breath of fresh air bringing friendly warmth and unassuming honesty to an over produced music video market. I am proud of the fact that that I was given the opportunity to work with such a great artist and director and also that someone with such a gracious personality has risen to the top.