Angel City Outcasts video shoot used with permission by Josh Kirkwood
Brooks Institute’s School of Film offers a popular elective course, PRO326 Music Video. This course was designed by faculty member Judy Trotter and taught with the support of her husband and business partner, fellow faculty member Tracy Trotter. This course is intense as students pitch, gather talent, and produce a music video to screen during a huge campus screening event during week seven of the session. I had the opportunity to speak with three students about their experiences in this course.
What was your role(s) in the creation of this music video?
Josh Kirkwood: Well I must start by saying this undertaking was a solo project. Basically everyone who has a project they want to do needs to pitch it to the class. Then the class votes on which projects get green lit. This session there could only be five projects out of ten pitched. I was not green lit. This set me back as you can imagine, but I had a really solid idea and had already spent weeks planning with the band. I could either give up the project, or be willing to accept sole responsibility for its outcome. I chose the latter. Predominately I was, and am, the Director/Producer, but filled about a dozen or so other positions throughout the process of making this video.
Nate Wehrman: I directed the Citizen Zero music video by Machine 22.
Machine 22's Citizen Zero shoot - photo used with permission by Kenneth Keeler, photo credit: Hannah Singleton
Kenneth Keeler: My role as the director of photography was to create a visual look with the camera and the lighting based on the vision Nate had in mind for the music video.
Who worked with you on this video?
Josh Kirkwood: As I mentioned, this was a solo project and I was the only one responsible to the class for its completion. Now, this is not to say I did it alone. That would be impossible. I had a truly wonderful and talented crew working with me through the production process. Josh Smith is hands-down the best Director of Photography I’ve worked with since coming to Brooks and is a pleasure on set, despite all his sarcasm. – Haha, kidding Josh. A few others worth mentioning are Sean White (AD), Paulo Uchoa (Brooks Alumni and Cam Op), Robert Woodward (Steadicam Op), and Melissa Dayao (1st AC). I think I had as many as thirty people involved in the shoot as a whole so I apologize to those I’ve left out, there’s just too many. But to all of you, your work is greatly appreciated and will not be forgotten.
Nate Wehrman: I worked with Kenny Keeler (DP), Timothy Ayer (Prod.), Sean Atchenson (Steady cam), Jb Jacobs (Editor), Nick Compton (AD), and Danny Kerbs (Key Grip)
How long did it take to coordinate this project before shooting began?
Josh Kirkwood: I started the preproduction stage about two weeks before the session began, so right around the end of February. I met with the band and discussed ideas to prepare for the pitch to the class. After not getting green lit, things were tough. I expected to have a producer helping me get organized, but ended up doing all of it myself. After about seven weeks of preproduction we were ready to shoot.
Nate Wehrman: Machine 22 is a band that consists of some of my best friends from back in Minnesota. This project has been brewing for the last six months but the past two have been “crunch time”.
Kenneth Keeler: We were in pre-production for about two months. That included everything from working with the band to working out dates for them to fly out that would fit their schedule and the crew’s. I met with Nate countless times to collaborate on the lighting and the camera work and at what point in the song certain effects, like the rain, would go off. While me and Nate were working out the creative aspects, producer Timothy Ayer and the rest of the production team were talking with vendors for renting film equipment, calculating the budgets to make sure we were not overspending, getting insurance and permits, and scouting locations for a junkyard. The list of how much actually went on in those two months could go one forever.
How did your group come up with ideas on who to shoot and how to put it all together?
Josh Kirkwood: For the most part the band and I came up with the story and concept for the video, but I had a lot of help from my writing partner and girlfriend Kayla Magee. Angel City Outcasts’ new album is coming out May 10th so when I approached them about making a video to promote it, they were interested to say the least.
Nate Wehrman: I pitched the treatment that I had been perfecting for a while now to my music video class and with Kenny’s help we were able to execute my vision completely. Often you get close to what you originally envision, but it’s not quite the same. This video was EXACTLY what I pictured.
How long did it take to find locations and build sets, etc?
Josh Kirkwood: The locations were probably the most time consuming aspect of the preproduction process. We shot at the Paramount Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains for the first day of shooting. We had to shoot both interiors and exteriors in just one day due to budgetary limitations. I was in constant contact with National Park Service Ranger Tony Hoffman, the film coordinator for the region, for over a month prior to the shoot. I visited the location several times to scout and plan, even once with both my DP and AD.
Nate Wehrman: Surprisingly, we found our most crucial location in two days. The stage was a different story… We had to build a stage that could retain water for the band to splash around in, and we were working on a tight budget. After numerous terrible ideas of my own, Kenny called me one day and said “Yo, I’ve got our stage problem taken care of. I’ve been playin’ with Legos since I was three.” The next day he showed me plans to build a stage using grip equipment and speed rail. the whole process took two days of heavy labor.
Kenneth Keeler: It took about a month to find a good junkyard location and as the shoot dates got closer we started to build our water stage two days before the first day of the shoot. The white set up took about two hours to set up the back drop and light the scene. On day two, when we shot at the junkyard scene we arrived two hours early so we could tell the owner where we wanted the cars placed and stacked. It took us about three hours to light the junkyard and set dress everything.
What was it like to coordinate with a working band on this project?
Josh Kirkwood: Working with Angel City Outcasts was a real privilege for me in all honesty. I’ve been a huge fan of theirs for three years or so and to have the opportunity to direct a music video for them is an honor. We met several times during the preproduction process and discussed what each party wanted out of the project in the end and I’m sure we both got it. At this point the band actually hasn’t seen the video yet, but they will soon. Right now we’re trying to organize a way to project it at their record release show at the Troubadour on May 8th as its official unveiling.
Nate Wehrman: Like, I mentioned before, I am blessed to have such talented friends who are willing to place trust in me to shoot their first video. Since I’ve known the band most of my life, they were extremely easy to work with. Even while they were shivering from the icy water on the stage they always had smiles on their faces. Everyone on the crew commented on how personable all of them are. “They don’t want you to be a fan, they want you to be a friend” as one of the crew told me.
Kenneth Keeler: It was an amazing process. The best part about music videos is that the band has a passion for what they do just like we have a passion for what we do. That combination made it just a fun experience because they were so heavily involved in the creation process.
About how long did post-production take after the filming was complete?
Josh Kirkwood: I spent about ten days in post-production. After shooting, I took a few days off to relax and recoup because, remember, it’s a solo project. That’s right, I prepped, organized, synched, edited, and color corrected the footage myself. Each one of those processes took about two days each.
Nate Wehrman: JB and I spent the last two weeks sleeplessly in the digital labs. The cut still isn’t quite where we want it yet, but within the next month we should have a final version just in time for the release of Machine 22’s new EP “Off The Record” – June 11th.
Kenneth Keeler: They edited the film in about a week and a half, I believe, and it took our visual effect tech, Bert Beltran, two days to do the effects.
What advice can you offer to future students who will take the music video class?
Josh Kirkwood: As far as advice for future music video projects go, I would say, “don’t be afraid of the solo project.” I realize I probably made it sound intimidating, stressful, and overwhelming. Well believe me, it was exactly that. But at the same time, I had so much fun and learned all sorts of things I would have never been exposed to if I had just latched on to another group and worked on a project I didn’t really care for. It was definitely the biggest challenge so far at Brooks, but isn’t that the point? I’ve proven to myself how strong my passion for filmmaking is and I’d like to see more students here do the same.
Nate Wehrman: If there is one thing I’ve learned from the Judy and Tracy Trotter, it is that preparation is the key to success. You must be ready for anything, because everything that you thought was going to be easy is going to find a way to throw a curveball at you.
Kenneth Keeler: The best advice I can give to future students would be: Never think your ideas are too big, and always have fun doing what you do.
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Angel City Outcasts, Best Music Videos, Brooks Institute, California Film Schools, Citizen Zero, Film schools, filmmaking, Judy Trotter, Machine 22, Music Video, Music Video Production, Music Videos, Tracy Trotter
