We are very excited that a video that we shot in the beginning of June is nominated for Music Video of the Year in the 2014 J Awards, triple j’s* annual celebration of music. The winner is announced at the J Awarwd ceremony on Tuesday November 18th, which is in a few hours.
The video is from Australian hip hop artist Illy. The song, One for the City, called for a big city backdrop and what city is better suited than New York.
At the beginning of June, artist, label rep, producer and director made their way from Australia to New York where they hired the Freedom360 team to shoot and consult on 360° video. A couple of busy days ensued.
The ‘crew’ completed by a production manager, driver and make-up artist ventured through several of New York’s distinctive neighborhoods. A white van served at the same time as transport vehicle and headquarters. From Dumbo to Chelsea, from Washington Square Park to Midtown, even around Manhattan on a boat, up to a Manhattan rooftop with an iconic view of the Empire State Building and back to the Brooklyn waterfront. The weather was not cooperative. An early morning Brooklyn Bridge shot was ruined by sustained rain. But as most times, New York just gives you enough to be amazed again and again. Hence, the sky was gorgeous for the rooftop shot and the weather gods were gracious during the boat ride.
The equipment for the shoot consisted of two Freedom360s with GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition cameras one shooting and one recharging, one Explorer Mount, a Nodal Ninja Travel Pole, some small short custom poles, a table top tripod, weights, several battery packs to recharge between takes, clamps, the Tri-base Suction Cup Mount, a couple of things that I can’t remember and the backpack mount (modelled by Matthew Mascheri from Dome3D) with some modifications. We also brought one laptop along to download and review footage between takes and to make a first rough stitch for the director to view.
All in all this shoot was an exciting experience. Congratulations to everyone for the nomination and good luck!
Artist: Illy
Label: Warner Music Australia
Production: Starchild Media
Director: Mark Alston
Camera and consultation: Freedom360
Editor: Erfan Khadem
*triple j is an Australian radio station with an emphasis on Australian music.
Fantastic job guys. This is truly one of my most favorite representations of what can be done with 360 video technology and how to use it in a non-conventional matter. Thank you for describing the entire process, this will go a long way helping some of us who want to create the same type of content!
Cheers!