Bri Bagwell and ColoredLion.com have done many projects together including two music videos, countless photo shoots, her website and crowd funding campaigns. Bri emails us wanting a lyric video… oh and she needs it in a few days because Ford wants to feature it on their site. At first we talk about doing something simple with a few photos and a plain background but then it hits me. I live in one of the coolest cities in the world so why don’t we just film a girl in cowboy boots walking around Austin. Since we had zero time I call up my girlfriend and demand (errrrr, ask extremely nicely) that I film her walking around town.
We used a brand new toy called a Nebula 4000. This is a handheld 3-Axis Brushless Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer. Basically it allows you to capture smooth, free-floating shots BUT only with cameras+lens weighing up to 2.2 pounds. We have only had this new stabilizer for a few days but this project sounded like a perfect way to see what it could do. The first ‘set’ was the railroad scene (0:52 seconds into the video) and this was done by holding the stabilizer/camera upside down and ninja walking next to our model. Every shot was the full song and after two different runs I was dead. The exciting/terrible/difficult thing about film making and photography is that you are consistently confronted with unique situations and problems. A very quick solution was dreamed up to simply screw a light stand into the handle of the Nebula 4000 and this way one could hold it upside down but at chest level. Downside is that you have no way to see what you are filming. Sounds like a fun plan to me and it worked actually better by having a more stable grip and walk.
We kept the camera about 1 to 2 inches off the ground the whole time and filmed the video with the brand new (and not available in the US) Canon EOS M3. After finishing out our locations it was time to download the footage and begin building the typography in Adobe After Effects. Since the timeline was so short we decided to slightly cheat by building the lyrics in After Effects and tweak the timing in Adobe Premiere. This allowed for much quicker editing. The first draft was produced late into the night of the same day the idea was created. The final version was finished the next afternoon and the video was featured the day after on Ford’s Music site.
We hope you enjoy our lyric video for Bri Bagwell‘s song “My Boots”
Lyrics:
Every time that I find trouble
Every time that it finds me
When I hang my head
I see that pair of boots there on my feet
Every night I can’t remember
Every night that I see red
It comes as no surprise
I wake up with those boots beside my bed
I’ve run barefoot in the grass
Worn out the highest heels that I have
But I swear that devil and cowhide leather
Get together and hell breaks loose
And it can’t be helped
So I don’t blame myself
I blame it on my boots
They’re a little rough around edges
They like running wild and running free
Something in their sole is outta control
I swear that they’re a whole like me
CHORUS
These boots are made for walking, talking, drinking, finding
Where to cause a scene
I put em on, I take em off
And it’s not my fault
What happens in between
—
Screenshot of the video featured on Ford’s website:
