Ohio Film Music Video Challenge
Backward Slate decided to produce two entries for the Ohio Film Music Video Challenge, one featuring singer/songwriter Gretchen King , the other featuring face-melting rock band Swiss Army Mouth. Two completely different music videos, two entirely different styles of music, both shoots bitterly cold.
Feb. 21st 2009 – Call time was at 5:00 a.m. and it was guerilla filmmaking at its finest. The first set up for the day was downtown at Broad and High. Gretchen did a great job pretending to be warm, while the wind and cold air battled with us. From there, we moved on to the freeway, literally, as Dday risked life and limb standing next to the fast lane of 670 while Tiffany and Gretchen circled the exits in the car, racing the sunrise. After a few attempts we got our shot and it was time to move on to Alum Creek. Once there, we got some great footage in the deep woods after about a mile hike, during which Max lost his shoe to a mud hole. We then headed to Gretchen’s hometown of Massillon for our final shots at one of Gretchen’s old stomping grounds, a graveyard with a mausoleum. The location was beautiful, but the weather was not, and we had only 15 minutes to get our shot before the rain and snow forced us to head home. The drive home was two hours plus, during which Max and Tim treated Tiffany to their rendition of the music from “Rent.” At the end of the day, we were thrilled with what we got, and as Dday said to Max in Massillon, “I hope you like it!”
Click HERE to listen to Gretchen’s music, including “In This Town,” the song featured in our video, and to check out her photos, many of which are also featured in the video.
February 28-March 1, 2009 -- Call time was a little later than Gretchen’s shoot, but it was exponentially colder. Max and Dday arrived at Whetstone Park of Roses early to commandeer the shelter house and start a fire. Base camp went up as cast and crew trickled in, including Dan Buckley, stunt coordinator, and Brian Mong, football consultant (because none of us know anything about sports). We split into two units, filming establishing shots while Swiss Army Mouth and the kids scrimmaged. (Is “scrimmaged” a sports term? We think it is. “Practiced?” “Rehearsed?” We don’t know.) BSP has said before that we don’t want to work outside in the cold with children, so naturally we decided to pull four children outside into the freezing cold for two days. It was slow going at first. The kids were excitable and full of energy, while the band was stiff and full of cigarette smoke. However, everyone eventually loosened up, found focus, and fought through the cold (and not with each other). It was a weekend of hard hits, great shots, some babysitting, potential hypothermia, and a lot of fun. And one dirty pacifier that Max found on the ground and inexplicably put in his mouth, not even on a dare. Cast and crew were even willing to work through lunch and snack on the ample craft service table in an effort to sally forth and get out of the cold. Special thanks to the makers of hand warmers.
Check out Swiss Army Mouth’s Myspace page [link] to hear their music, including “Song 5,” featured in our video.
The final deadline is March 11th, so look for both videos on YouTube. We’ll keep you updated with links and voting information.
Special thanks to Leigh Hopf for the Swiss Army Mouth production stills.
View more photos from the shoot below!!
~posted by Backward Slate
