Hi my friends.
Well, it’s here – my first music video. Enjoy, and please take a moment to share on your Facebook or pass it along to a friend you think might like it.
Backstory
I was in Fayetteville, AR for a few months with my parents (before moving to Richmond) and had the fortune to meet and become friends with Kai Drachenberg (3R Productions), a regionally-known photographer who has recently made the move to cinematography. Kai and I have a lot in common – we’re both very passionate about our art forms – and he took a real interest in my music. After meeting on a few different occasions, we decided that working together on a creative project would be a fantastic way to do something neither of us had ever done – make some real music videos. And how better to showcase his visual eye and my songs?
Crafting the song
This first video is of a tune I wrote last fall, called “If You Really Must Know.”
It’s an instrumental piece, and many who have heard it can tell I grew up listening to guitar players like Michael Hedges and Jeff Buckley. From a technical standpoint, it was a struggle and a joy – I kept hearing what I wanted to play but realizing I didn’t know how to do it, and so it took a couple intense eight-hour sessions to not just write, but learn to physically play this piece of music.
I spent hours finding chord shapes I hadn’t used before, finding new ways to show the melody above the chords, adapting my hand position, and then practicing it over and over again until the transitions became fluid. In the end, it’s one of the most technical pieces I’ve ever written, and it feels like a big step up for me in composition.
Technicality aside, I think it’s pretty, and unique, and that’s more important to me than all the rest.
Making a video
Working with Kai was less challenging – he’s the definition of ‘laid back!’
We’d previously spent a few days together (along with his younger brother Bryce) working on another project that I’ll be releasing later this year. So when we had the chance to use Studio 479 in Springdale, the studio came available around 10 p one evening, we just felt like excited kids off on an adventure.
We filmed two “live” songs that night, both by recording audio and video at first until we got an audio track we were happy with, and then continuing to do additional live takes to add more video. That means that a good portion of the visuals you will see are not actually from the audio take (there are lots of camera angles going on, as you can tell).
But Kai and Bryce did fantastic work, and Kai showed his skills in the editing room, giving the video a seamless quality that impressed the hell out of me.
Final touches
I sent the audio over to Dominic Gibbs, my producer in Nashville, to mix and master the two parallel mic tracks (you can see that we used two mics in the video) to balance the sound and give it that extra sparkle.
In addition, my good friend (and my old creative director) Bill Nutt helped with graphic design for the opening and closing cards. And thank you to Brandon Watts of Studio 479 and David Long for the audio equipment loan! In all, I really hope you enjoy this first music video.
I’m proud of it and honored that I get to work with such talented and creative people – and with people who have become true friends. So share the hell out of this (if you don’t mind) – and consider Kai Drachenberg for your next video projects (yes ladies, he does weddings).
Patreon
And in case you haven’t heard, I’m building my income as an artist through Patreon – an online crowdfunding platform that lets you pledge a small dollar amount to an artist for as many or as few months as you like. For me, I’m only asking for $5 – essentially the cost of a cup of coffee – to allow me to continue recording and releasing one studio-grade song every month for the future.
It’s an exciting dream – to have the capability to make and share my art, working with talented producers and filmmakers, and to do so consistently. It’s a big goal, but every little bit helps and I will get there.
So come along for the journey!
Cecil
