Monday, February 8, 2010

THE END OF THE COLD WAR (IN REVERSE)

It all started, with the teaser trailer for their new EP, it all started with a music video Vern and I did for them in 2006 which gave me my blood lust for the amalgam of music and film, it all started with someone with the screen name bloody knuckles aol messaging me in 2000. This is the story of the Cold War and why I am one of it's kids. Here's the 2006 version of a Cold War Kids video Vern directed and I produced:
And this is what a Cold War Kids video that Vern directed and I produced in 2010 looks like:
More on my history with the Cold War Kids, Vern and I in another post, but here are some behind the scenes shots of us testing out the underwater camera housing, The amazing yacht I got for the shoot (for a 36 pack of Coors Light & a Bottle of Rum) and filming on the edge of a cliff cheating death to get the right light for the convertible scene.

While we were filming the teaser trailer which was an ambitious 6 locations in one day, with multiple scenes in each location, including a performance piece in The Cold War Kids brand new performance space which you can check out an MTV video of here. Below is photos of Vern and AC John Raines filming on the edge of a cliff cheating death to get the right angle for the convertible scene with Johnnie & Noel. I was mostly have a panic attack that there'd be an earth quake or they'd trip and i'd have to explain to Vern's pregnant wife why he's now Polish goo splattered on the side of a cliff.

While we were filming, Nathan Willett, lead singer and I were talking and realized that the footage we were getting would make a great music video. It was debatable whether the label would go for it as EPs traditionally don't sell very well, and CWK were going to put it out on their own initially. It was a strange turn of events with the label, but the teaser came, they were happy and they green lit the Audience video.

Vern wanted to do underwater shots and some sort of boat, preferably a sail boat. So I have a friend who went on a party boat months back and I reached out to see if we could borrow it, they respectfully declined because we wanted to go pretty far out in the water, and it's a harbor boat. Accepting defeat, I hopelessly checked Craigslist for a non-insane boat owner...30 minutes later my friend writes back, we have a 50 foot Yacht in San Pedro (exactly where we're filming), and a captain and a crew, will that do? Vern and I, after getting a complete boatner, were like...how about drinks tonight? Here's just a few photos of the Yacht.
Original Family owner since 1954, it was built for them.
Their grandfather thought it'd be funny to plate everything on the boat that was brass with real gold. What a sense of humor.

We had 14 people on board with a ton of props, craft services and equipment and it was still comfy. The family, when they sail to Catalina say it sleep 12 comfortably. I kept asking if they wanted money and they said, nope, we just like people who like our boat! Seriously cool people. A HUGE HUGE thanks for Oliver and Cat for hooking us up!
Next the underwater housing, for an HVX 200 there are only 2 underwater camera housing companies in LA that carry a housing for that camera. One wasn't sure if it'd be back from Indiana on time and the other one was this guy who had the shittiest store front like a quarter mile from LAX, and he had no finger nails and so much dandruff on his shirt a thought it was a pattern, but he makes pretty cool housings, this one he made specifically for the Sarah Connor Chronicles TV show and we were the first people to rent it since. Here are some photos of John and Vern testing it in the AMAZING Adam Ganser's (seriously, favorite dude that I can't wait to work with!) pool.


So we did a day of shooting on the open seas somewhere a couple hundred feet off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes, and honestly had the time of our lives. We had also had a day of footage from the teaser trailer and did one more day performance at Maust's art studio though when it went to be edited there were some continuity issues, so they went in and did another quick day of shooting band performance and yet one more day of the couples in the studio. And I must say it turned out great. Also they were recording for some footage for the back drop for their live shows and also came up with this awesome video:

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