Summary
I was 16 and growing up in Chile when I filmed my first video ever for my brother and his friends, who were all jugglers. Upon finishing it, I realized I had just made a music video. This was the event that set everything in motion, even taking me across continents to study video production at Brigham Young University-Idaho. There, I used my talents as a song writer and storyteller to create music videos for advertising purposes. I found myself feeling the happiest when I was making music videos.
Because of that, I wanted to tell a story for this project that would be meaningful to me and my chosen audience, in a music video format. Although my religious beliefs are a key part of my life, my experiences with God are not like the ones everyone else says to experience. I have felt like an outsider within my own religious community. This is how the idea for “Seek, Knock, Pray” was born.
Project Vision
I chose three important goals for my music video from day one:
- To showcase and prove my proficiency as a video maker, as the result of my accumulated
experience from classes, passion projects, and various film job positions. - To successfully produce a professionally made music video in collaboration with the Music Department at BYU-Idaho.
- To grant involvement to as many participants as possible, to a reasonable extent, by providing an instance for creativity and artistry across multiple disciplines.
When I contacted the Music Department at BYU-Idaho about featuring one of their many choirs, it soon became apparent that I wanted to work with Dr. Paul Busselberg, the director of the University Choir. This choir gathers students from all majors and different age groups. This matched perfectly my goal of getting as many people involved as possible from multiple disciplines. I also pitched my project to groups like the Video Production Society at BYU-Idaho, Rexburg Madison High School, and freshmen groups in the film major. I also advertised my project through social media to invite any community members to participate. As a result, there were around 100+ individuals who participated in the making of the video at different stages, including choir singers, pianists and organists, music engineers, film students, construction workers, food science majors who helped with crafty, and several mentors in the film industry who advised me in different aspects of the film.
I met multiple times with Dr. Busselberg to discuss various original arrangements of his own authorship. This was one of my favorite parts of the project: to listen to the different recordings of his music, eyes closed, and let my mind create the visuals. Eventually, I chose “Sweet Hour of Prayer”, a religious hymn, as the song I wanted to base my music video off of.
Technical Aspects
The first thing I did was create a Creative Brief to outline the purposes and audience for my video:
The next thing to do was creating a script. In order to develop a solid idea, I met with professor Janine Gilbert, who teaches a screenwriting class on campus. After several meetings and taking some of her advice, I decided that my music video would be best planned through a storyboard and maybe an A/V script, as the story would have no lines.
Once I picked a song and created an idea, it was time for the BYU-Idaho University Choir to learn the arrangement. It felt humbling to see nearly a hundred fellow students come together to perform just for this music video. After Dr. Busselberg determined the arrangement sounded well, we did a professional audio recording at the Barrus Concert Hall at BYU-Idaho with the help of audio engineer Tyler McNiven.
Finally, I chose what camera equipment to employ along with Devin Shanklin, the co-producer of this music video. Among the many different options offered at BYU-Idaho, we decided that the best fit for the project would be using a Blackmagic Pocket 6k Pro, as well as a Sony FX3 and Sony FX6. We would use these different cameras in different tech rehearsals for testing purposes and make a final decision before filming.
Along with all of these things, Devin Shanklin and I visited multiple locations inside and outside the Rexburg area to find the perfect spot that would align with the vision of the project.
Filming Days
Although the production schedule and other video aspects were carefully planned and prepared in advance, many challenges presented themselves in the production of this music video. For instance, our original location (the Rexburg Tabernacle) fell through just around a week before the planned filming day for the choir. Then, the alternative location, Eagle Park, became suddenly unavailable due to a city emergency when my film crew and I had already set up all of the equipment, and talent had already arrived to perform. These are just some of the several challenges experienced along the way. I am happy to report that we were able to overcome all of them and still film, after some adjustments to production and post-production schedule.
Since a large portion of the video was filmed outdoors, effective use of natural lighting was key. I visited the chosen location several times to monitor the lighting at different moments of the day, and eventually I decided that the best moments to film were between 5:30 pm and 8:00 pm. This helped get optimal sunlight for backlighting, and for golden hour yellow and orange tones.
Post-Production
Post-production was conducted within several days of hard work. I received the assistance and guidance of Mario Mondragón, whom I have worked with in the past as an editor and colorist. With his help, the footage obtained came to life as outlined in the creative brief: cozy, warm, and welcoming. He also added some cinematic touches, which enhanced the overall look of the project.
Along with the editing process, it was necessary to create a promotional poster for the showcase presentation. The chosen picture was created by Chester Chen, who was also the official behind-the-scenes photographer.
Conclusion
This was one of the most fun and challenging projects I’ve worked on. Although the project called for at least 50 hours of work, I can confidently say that I’ve invested 90+ hours in all three stages of this production. I am satisfied to say that all my main three goals for this project have been accomplished as well: I was able to create, in a short period of time, a production that involved 100+ contributors from many different disciplines, and I created a professional, successful video that now the Music Department at BYU-Idaho will be able to use and share for future semesters with their choir students.
Ultimately, I’ve grown as an individual and filmmaker in aspects that cannot be accounted for in this blogpost or in the video itself. I know have a greater desire to create, and I am more confident and excited to let my own essence and ideas shine through in my productions. It is my hope that you may enjoy the results of this project as much as I do. Enjoy!