Looking Back to 2007: "The Defenders"

     Looking back five years ago this month to 2007, I was working on a set design for "The Defenders," written and directed by Brian Frette. This play was done in association with the Zoo District Theatre Company, and was performed at the Inside the Ford Amphitheatre space. "The Defenders" was a stylized spin off parody of the popular television show, "The Avengers." The show was a success and full of dark humor, original music and exciting combat scenes. Our team earned five Garland Award Honorable Mentions for this production. I was also nominated as an Honorable Mention for Best Set Design.
     Though this show was in many ways your typical small theatre experience with late nights and total exhaustion; this production was an incredibly rewarding and educational experience. I learned my physical limits and the depth of my dedication to theatre. I also learned to push my designs to be more functional while remaining very abstract. In the end, I was very pleased with the outcome of my scenery design which was only enhanced by strong collaboration with the lighting designer, Rachel Myles, and the director Brian Frette, who also did the props and furniture for the production. For me, this show was one of the "good ones" that comes along every once in a while and stays with you over time, reminding you why you love theatre.

The Damsells & The TC4 Music Video Releases

     It's official! The two music videos for The Damsells & The TC4 that I worked on have been released!!!

"How Deep Is The Night

 For "How Deep Is The Night" I designed the theatrical lighting. This video was shot last fall at Studio/Stage and directed by Peter Monro. Aaron Torres was our Director of Photography, and Adam Genzink our Key Grip. This video was shot in one, very long, night. We had many more production elements, like scenery and lighting effects, we had planned on using but in the end we ran out of time and had to simplify everything. However, I think the end product probably reflects a much more cohesive and balanced video.

"Be My Lovin' Man" 

For the second video, "Be My Lovin' Man," I designed the set and lighting. This video was also shot last fall at Studio/Stage. This cute spin off on the '70's television show "The Dating Game" is much more than just a music video. It's almost like watching a mini episode of the popular dating show but with a different twist on the ending and a much more colorful appearance. I had a lot of fun designing this video, and since it's been shot I now see how I could have done some things differently. All in all I'm very happy with the outcome. Please enjoy!

To view "How Deep Is The Night" Click Here.
To View "Be My Lovin' Man" Click Here.

For the list of complete production credits for both videos, please view the links on YouTube.
 

The Damsells & The TC4 "Lovin' Man": Music Video Shoot

Well a couple days ago we just wrapped up the primary shooting for The Damsells & The TC4's fourth music video. The concept of this video is more or less a parody of popular tv show from the '70s, The Dating Game. For this video I designed the set and the lighting. There are 3 sets involved in this shoot. One set for the ladies, the second for the 'dreamy' male contestant and a third for the band. We decided to keep it cute, retro and pink! By using the white cyc with saturated blue colored lights, the pink flats really pop out from the background and give some depth to the space as well as additional color. Here's a sneak peak at one of the sets and the lovely ladies.

This video will soon be in editing stages, which will be done by Michael Guerena, who is also the director. There is not a release date currently set but keeping my fingers crossed for before 2011. I'll keep you posted.