MONDAY MOOD BOARD

click above image to view video

I can remember the first time I got Instagram. I had been watching my dad use Instagram for a few years and all I wanted was to have my own account. The thought of posting my own work to the public, curating my page, and watching other photographers make their art… it felt like the world was in the palm of my hands. I signed up, posted my first photo, and followed anyone that I thought had cool photos. Hours, days, weeks, I spent scouring the app for people whose work inspired me to create something for myself.

My taste in what I think is new and inspiring has changed since then, but I have only grown in my appetite for inspiration. In this blog (and the video you saw above), I want to share what is motivating me to create my own work. Not everything will be directly film-related, but all of them will be presented through a video of some sort.

(I will try and credit these artists to the best on my ability).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kiY87XLahk&t=3311s

The 1975 Live at The O2 - 2016

The last thing you want to do after a busy Friday night shift at a restaurant is to sit in a car for two hours. But that’s exactly what I did when my friend Michael Petry convinced me to watch the entirety of The 1975’s two-hour live performance at The O2 in London. It was the tour for their second album, “I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware”. I had been reluctant to explore The 1975’s music, however, after watching this performance, I had no choice but to become addicted.

This performance is shot in a way that brings you into The O2, not as a fan, but as an omnipresent viewer who had full reign over their own personal performance (alongside thousands of others). What captured me beyond the music and the cinematography, however, was the stage design. Throughout the whole show, my eyes were glued to the stage design and how the lights and colors blended together with the giant screen to create a world for the audience to get lost in. This song in particular, Please Be Naked, I remember saying to Michael, “I think this is the most incredible thing I have ever seen”. Tobias Rylander (www.tobiasrylander.com), is a conceptual lighting designer out of the UK who continues to inspire me in ways I never thought imaginable (his design for the last 1975 tour was absolutely incredible).

The song I used for the video is also off of the same album. It’s their instrumental track, “I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJTRVX9R5EA

Drake - Nonstop

Drake had just come out with his new album Scorpion and, along with every Drake album, everyone was talking about it. I remember liking a few songs but “Nonstop” was the one that stood out to me. A few weeks later, the music video came out and all I remember was watching the first half on repeat for a whole month!

The start of the video drew me in right away; the gritty black and white color grade, the lights pouring through Drake’s crew as he hypes himself up for his performance. All of that paired with a simple Jazz percussion that makes you feel like this is all building up to something big. He then delivers the first half of the song to a crowd that is bursting at the seams with energy. The camerawork makes you feel like you’re one of the people in the crowd being tossed around with your eyes fixed on Drake.

This music video meant a lot to me in terms of energy and how to start a video. That opening scene made me want to shoot behind-the-scenes for every concert; watching the performers gear themselves up for what could be the performance of a lifetime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0N6vRYcTk&t=388s

Sunday Service - LA Forum

It is hard to put into words how this video makes me feel. The incredible cinematography, the carefully picked color palette, the intensity behind the choir… I can’t help but tear up at least once or twice every time I watch this performance. I almost don’t want to put my own words next to something like this for fear that I won’t do it justice. All I can say is this performance fills me with dreams of creating something that makes someone else feel the I feel when experiencing something like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpUxgAXCK2E

LANY - THICK AND THIN

What else is better than Paul Jason Klein, on the back of an old BMW, driving at sunset in Malibu?

Nothing.

Beyond the subject matter, the whole video was shot in one take with a seamless feel as though everything happened in between a dream and reality. The effortless pace of this video makes me feel as though Paul was floating across the PCH. The colors in this video take me to a place and time that we all dream of; living in a place of peace, happiness, comfort. The colors have contradicted the lyrics of the song as Paul sings of a heartbroken by betrayal. Chasing the answer to his question, “Is this the end? I thought you’d be there through thick and thin”. This entire video inspires me to make something that is not only aesthetically pleasing but something so emotional and vulnerable as this.

https://vimeo.com/387563646

The Colorist - Kith

I came across this short film on Instagram and something about the cinematography stuck with me enough to find the full thing. Kith is a streetwear brand based out of New York and their known for its interesting and genre-bending collaborations. This film is a profile of James Little, a painter whose work is mainly focused on the colors and their relationship with each other. This short film is shot beautifully and comes with the wisdom that every artist should keep in the back of their head,

“What’s important when you use color is what you put next to it. It has to have a purpose and it has to be integrated”. - James Little

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlpfLnvunzM

Healy - Tucson (Stripped)

This is not only a great song, but the shot choice in this video really inspired me. The top-down view of Healy as he sits down and sets up his guitar feels so serene. The colors and how they blend together so well alongside the organized chaos of his home studio… I almost felt as though I was a guest in a private performance! This video is inspiring to me on so many levels and I continue to go back and watch this stripped session when needing inspiration.

https://vimeo.com/382050564

Guillem Cruells - 2019

I stumbled across Guillem Cruells on Instagram and was quickly taken by his work. This shot was taken from his 2019 reel where he stitched together pieces of his work throughout the year into an incredible 51-second video. I distinctly remember thinking to myself, “This is what I want my work to look like. This is what I want a year’s worth of work to feel like”.