Indie band Kafei - Alex Kahn, Doug Raus and Eric Henkels

dvDepot is always excited to work with student filmmakers. After two months of preparation, on Saturday March 6th, a group of NYU film students shot a music video for the indie band Kafei. The Lansdale, Pennsylvania band is comprised of Alex Kahn on guitar, keyboard and vocals, Doug Raus on drums and vocals, and Eric Henkels on vocals, keyboard and guitar. Guitarist Alex is an NYU student, as well. Check them out on tour or online! http://www.myspace.com/kafeimusic This video is for “Stay Close” off of their new album Intimacy Addiction. Read, watch and enjoy. http://vimeo.com/10537859

The Crew

In late January, director (and my good friend) Zoe Robyn approached me with the task of producing the video. I jumped at the chance to work with such a great group of people, all NYU film students. The production staff consisted of Zoe as Executive Producer and Director, Megan Pinson (aka me) as Producer/AD and Kathleen Sullivan as Assistant Producer/2nd AD. Mandy Mandelstein served as DP with Gabby Moses as her AC (who also served as onset photographer) and Josh Glass as DIT. Mandy also worked closely with lighting designer and gaffer Eric Mann. Joanna Naugle handled art direction. Elexa Cangelosi did wardrobe and makeup for the actresses. Divya Gadangi served as hair stylist.

On Set! Gaffer Eric Mann, DP Mandy Mandelstein, Director Zoe Robyn, DIT Josh GLass, DIT Gabby Moses

PreProdcution

Finding the right location, a large enough space which we could get on our small budget was the first task. Transforming that space – a large basement with black walls and a stage for the band – for the video was an undertaking. The art direction was an enormous amount of work. Joanna designed and created the three life size Barbie boxes, which along with the stage, served as the set. It took 12 large cardboard boxes and nearly a whole roll of duct tape to make them!

Art Director Joanna Naugle with her work.

Finding the right look and personality for the “dolls” was essential. Sara Nurmi, Chantelle Fuoco and Dasha Kittredge were all highly enthusiastic about the project and they were great sports when it came to spending an entire day in the Barbie looks Elexa and Divya crafted for them. We also organized a couple dozen extras to shoot a crowd scene, only to discover that we could not bring such a large number. It was frustrating to find out we had to eliminate that scene the day before the shoot. I was so concerned with finding enough extras; the regulations of our location never crossed my mind. However, eliminating that scene from the shot list and shooting schedule meant more time to work on other shots.

Zoe Robyn directing the dolls

The Budget

Realizing, however, just how much a shoot requires is always eye opening – equipment, art supplies, wardrobe, craft services, etc. Working with a low budget meant renting and borrowing equipment from several different places – some last minute essentials (apple boxes!) came from dvDepot. Eric and Mandy came up with a lighting set up which effectively lit the space according to Zoe’s vision, using as few lights as possible.

Gaffer Eric Mann checking out the lighting set up

At the end of the shoot, we did go over budget but only by about 100 dollars. The budget was broken down in terms of equipment rentals, art supplies, wardrobe, and craft services. Art supplies and wardrobe actually turned out to be the main areas where we went over budget. Chances are we could have stuck closer to the budget with better communication between all members of the crew. While the budget was broken down by department, the decided upon numbers did not make it to each crewmember who was then reimbursed for their particular purchases. Emergency purchases the day of the shoot were also not factored into the budget. Who knew we would run out of false eyelashes?

Mandy and Zoe working with the band

The Shoot

It’s a lot to ask a college student to be awake and alert at 8:00am on a Saturday, but not when it comes to a shoot. Shooting started at 9:30am and lasted until around 10:00pm. With Mandy leading the camera crew, the shoot went very smoothly. Her job as DP started months before the shoot. She and Zoe worked closely to create a look and tone for the video. While location scouting, her ability to visualize the shots before the sets even existed was an asset in planning. When it came to shoot day, Mandy knew exactly what she was looking for.

Director of Photography Mandy Mandelstein shooting on the Canon 7D.

During the shoot, my main responsibility was making sure everyone was happy, well fed, and in the right place at the right time. Shooting in a location with poor cell phone reception definitely complicates things! As it turns out, the greatest obstacle was completely out of our control. Kafei’s car had been towed earlier and getting it out of impound took far longer than expected, delaying the second half of the shoot by about three hours.

Cutting the crowd scene, though, meant we still had enough time at the location to finish shooting and clean up according to schedule.

Checking the shot out on the monitor

After the Shoot

Looking back, there were a few things that could have been done differently. During preproduction, a lot of time was dedicated to location scouting and casting, which was, of course, very important. However, waiting until just the week before to figure out the lighting set up and look into lighting rentals was a risk. One thing to keep in mind for the future is that everything takes more time than you think it will; planning is key. Zoe finished editing the video this week and the final product looks amazing. I am very excited to have been a part of this project. Watch “Stay Close” here! http://vimeo.com/10537859

The dolls destroying the set!