Slightly Mad
Our video projects have been some of the most interesting, fun, and absolutely consuming work we’ve done over the past two years. Heidi’s latest video began as an idea in the fall of 2020, first with the song by Queen. We toyed with the movement and concept for a few weeks, but quickly latched onto the zombie idea from a suggestion by Heidi - and let’s be honest zombification through infection is a bit more on everyone’s mind these days. Every time I watch I Am Legend I have to say it’s a bit too on the nose. So we moved from a fun day at the carousel to a slightly darker transformation. All this was taking place while Vanda and I were trying to find a space for the studio so production got pushed back several times and we had further delays sourcing a good SFX Makeup Artist (spoiler alert* we found two, Shannon Mulligan and Mel Licata) and the carousel. We could have possibly shot it guerrilla style, but I was glad to be able to take our time at Jane’s Carousel because we had a lot of moving parts with the dancing and the fake ice cream. We shot the green screen footage over the summer but had a while before we could get the carousel shot done in early November, thankfully before the weather got too cold. Sasha did a great job making the fake ice cream and keeping the cones coming while Heidi and I tried to get a natural take of the cone smashing on my head. Jerry wrangled and passed the cone while Vanda was hefting the camera rig and shooting. Dancing and chasing the light was a bit of a challenge but our crew really came together, and Heidi was a trooper dancing through the pain of her feet out on concrete so we could get it done before her surgery. As with so many shoots we ended up with so much great footage it was painful to have to edit it down, but ultimately a performance, or in this case a video, is about the overall story, rather than just a few beautiful moments. I’ll post some of the extra content in a few weeks once my brain has a chance to settle from the mush it’s turned into from the editing.
Some screenshots of the timeline while editing.
