During my not so brief six and a half year stay at Texas A&M University (at least I emerged with a Master’s), two student organizations have held a very special place in my heart. The first is, of course, Impact – an organization that I have had the great opportunity to make many videos for over the years. The second organization is Aggie ARTISTS; a group of people at A&M that love being creative and love loving Jesus. Imagine my joy at finding a group of people that share in the same beliefs and talents.
I have always wanted to make a video for ARTISTS and in my final semester of college I finally had the chance. I wanted to make something that would capture the creativity inherent in all of the ARTIST’s members; and what better way to do that than actually film them creating something. I don’t believe anyone had a set idea of what they would do once they arrived, but they all brought their art. For three hours, some played instruments, a few sketched and worked on abstract pieces, friends sang together, and nearly everyone painted.
Because (nearly) all good videos need music, I turned to two of the talented musicians in ARTISTS to lead their talents in the form of piano and guitar playing. My original vision was for a layered track where instruments were played separately but came together into one song. Lauren and Zac really helped bring this idea to life with their talents.
It has been a good two years getting to know the people in ARTISTS, and I have graduated with the knowledge that I will continue to be friends with many of them for a long time. I would also say that it only seems fitting that I make at least one video for them before I leave – it is the best gift I can give for an organization that has given me such a great community.
Besides the people in the video, I also really enjoyed creating it from a technical aspect. I always enjoy trying new things and my recent obsession with vintage photography (thanks Instagram!) led me to experiment with a different color grade in Magic Bullet Looks. Couple that with some light leaks and things started to look pretty good. One of the last effects I applied was a free medium film grain from Gorilla Grain. It made everything pop and really separated the look from regular DSLR footage. I filmed the musicians on my own – big thanks to Lauren and Zac for putting up with my demands to continue playing the song over and over. The actual painting footage was shot over three hours with help from Ashley Stineman and Taylor Stanley.
For more information about ARTISTS, check out ARTISTS.TAMU.EDU
Would you like a promo video made for you or your organization? Please contact me.
