Filming a music video. It’s about creating an environment.
Ever wondered what goes into producing a high energy, fast paced music video for a technical death metal band? Well, we have some insight into filming a music video.
In February, Miceli Productions HD had the privilege to capture The M6: Meredith Monk Music Third Generation, a vocal ensemble dedicated to continuing the legacy of legendary composer/singer/director Meredith Monk. The members of the group were among 19 singers chosen from around the world to participate in a professional training workshop offered by Monk and the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall in January 2006, culminating in the Meredith Monk Young Artists Concert at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. The M6 is Sasha Bogdanowitsch, Sidney Chen, Emily Eagen, Holly Nadal, Toby Newman and Peter Sciscioli. Bios are here.
We used several angles and specialty mic-ing to capture this amazing performance at Trinity College‘s Austin Arts Center, but the key was to make the video all about the music and let the voices come to the listener. We found it truly amazing and we hope you do as well.
For more info, photos and video links on The M6 go to their Facebook page here.
Miceli Productions strives to capture artists’ work with the highest integrity.
Call us if you have a project to immortalize.
Miceli Productions HD (203) 936-7761.
7 Locations, 4 days of filming, and 1 inspiring song. Miceli Productions is proud to the music video announce the debut of Shane Michael Taylor‘s first single “Warrior Cowboy” from his debut album I WILL STAND.
We first met Shane in September to talk about the preliminary script he had written with Heather MacDonald, a mutual friend. Right from that first draft, we wanted to work with him to make his vision for this song come to life. We spent a few months in pre-production – scouting locations, hiring designers and crew and contacting several experts to give us the details we needed to make this come together. This production had a lot of moving parts – multiple locations, props, costumes, several actors and extras, green screen shoots, voice over recording, After Effects editing, sound track editing and a cameo by Director of Photography Mike Miceli’s ’89 Mustang Convertible (which Mike and Shane promptly took out for a spin after the shoot, top-down in January. Brrrr.)
Ultimately, we filmed in 7 locations over 4 days, including Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Waterbury Train Station, Waterbury Hospital and Mary Our Queen Church in Southington. Some of the footage is actual footage taken by soldiers in Afghanistan, a true reminder to us that the battles our service men and women fight overseas are indeed real.
Through overcoming his own life struggles with cerebral palsy, Shane felt inspired to raise awareness for America’s wounded soldiers that come home struggling to move forward, past their own injuries, just as he has had to do. We hope you take away his message that “[W]e all have challenges and it’s easy to get discouraged sometimes. In spite of that, we all must find what we’re meant to do and walk through our own fires in order to fulfill our purpose. This song echoes that message that no matter how rough life gets, and no matter how much pain and sorrow we have, our spirit—who we are inside—cannot be destroyed.”
Thank you to our Cast, Crew and Consultants. We appreciate you getting behind this music video and making it a reality. Special Thanks to all of the following:
Shane Michael Taylor
Peter Schutz, playing the role of John
Logan Miceli, playing the role of young Shane
Justin Soccodato, playing the role of young John
David Stickney, Commander, Bravo Company
Nick, Fox Company, Connecticut Army National Guard, Southington Readiness Center
Rev. A. Waine Kargul, Pastor, Mary Our Queen Church, Southington, CT
Matthew Burgard, PR Specialist, Waterbury Hospital
Jessica D’Addario, Make-up & Hair
Matthew Smart, Costume Designer
Brian Chawner, After Effects Artist
Brian Byrne, Camera Assistant & Post-Production Editor
Alicia Millane, Set Photographer & Production Assistant
Jason Facey, Miceli Productions Intern
For more about Shane Michael Taylor visit www.WarriorCowboy.com
CLICK HERE for Behind the Scenes: Filming Shane Michael Taylor’s Music Video “Warrior Cowboy”
Quadriplegic Country Artist Storms Onto Music Scene
Debut Single Inspired By America’s Wounded Soldiers
Nashville, TN—To raise awareness of the plight of America’s wounded soldiers, country music artist-songwriter Shane Michael Taylor has announced “Warrior Cowboy” as the first single from his debut album I Will Stand. The song, penned by Taylor and two other Nashville songwriters, was inspired by him seeing a news segment showing the struggles, courage, and sacrifice of U.S. soldiers and the battles that they still face when they return home.
Born with cerebral palsy and sentenced to life as a quadriplegic, Taylor has a special appreciation for those who overcome great obstacles in life. He has worked hard to shatter physical and emotional roadblocks that he encountered on is journey to fulfilling his ultimate dream of becoming a country artist by utilizing a team of Nashville’s finest vocalists. He is living proof that challenges and despair can be conquered by utilizing our minds to their greatest potential.
The television premiere of the music video for “Warrior Cowboy” is set to coincide with the digital release of the single on March 27, 2012, when Taylor will make a live appearance on the WFSB-CBS talk show Better Connecticut where he will discuss overcoming challenges and unveil the music video. Taylor chose this song to be the first single because of its message. “We all have challenges and it’s easy to get discouraged sometimes,” he emphasizes. “In spite of that, we all must find what we’re meant to do and walk through our own fires in order to fulfill our purpose. This song echoes that message that no matter how rough life gets, and no matter how much pain and sorrow we have, our spirit—who we are inside—cannot be destroyed.”
Taylor explains, “The video takes it a level deeper and tells a specific story about a soldier and his brother and shows how they both fight their own internal and external battles, but their spirits stay strong throughout. Because I could relate to the challenges of wounded soldiers and their families, I felt that it was my duty to help raise awareness for these guys and gals.”
To listen to the song, please visit: www.WarriorCowboy.com
View the video
Check out the new sound of singer/songwriter Aaron Fry, a local Connecticut musician. Miceli Productions HD got together with Aaron to film and produce the debut music video for his single “Just What I’m Missing”. We filmed at the historic town green in Lebanon, Connecticut on one of those wonderful, bright, sunny fluffy-cloud days. Special thanks to our make-up artist Jessica for doubling as a model during the shoot. And additional special thanks to the the Governor Jonathan Trumbull House and Wadsworth Stable Museum, owned and operated by the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution, who graciously allowed permission to film on the property.
To listen to more Aaron Fry, go to aaronfrymusic.com
To see more of our music videos,
go to Miceli Productions’ Music Video YouTube Playlist HERE.
A first look at some of the footage for Shane Michael Taylor‘s debut music video WARRIOR COWBOY.
Day 1 of shooting we covered three scenes involving only Shane, two of which are in this video. We continued principal photography mid-January with additional cast and crew. By the time we wrap filming, we will have shot in 6 locations, including Mary Our Queen Church, Waterbury Hospital and Waterbury Train Station.
The video is actually a short film involving two brothers. Shane, the younger brother, has cerebral palsy. And John, the older brother, has taken care of Shane for most of his life, acting as protector and provider, especially since the loss of their mother many years ago.
The brothers are grown now, and John feels he needs to follow his desire to enter the Army, forcing Shane to deal with feelings of abandonment and solitude.
Keep watching for more behind the scenes footage and sneak peaks as editing and post-production continue.
For more information on artist Shane Michael Taylor
and to listen to the song CLICK HERE.
Another great filming location we visited was the West Haven Shoreline along Beach Street. Great dunes and sand, a pier and seagulls hanging out even in the winter! The late day view of Long Island Sound was beautiful and we found several great backgrounds to work with visually. We got a little sidetracked and started taking beauty shots of the beach. But since we could all use a reminder of summer fun in wintertime, here they are.
Look for Shane Michael Taylor‘s upcoming music video “Warrior Cowboy” to see how we incorporated sand backgrounds with green screen use.
West Haven Beach Seashells
West Haven Beach
West Haven Beach Seagulls in Winter
Grove Street Cemetery Headstone, Sculpture of two people walking together
Dec 3rd we joined with Singer/Songwriter Aaron Fry to film a music video for his song “Just What I’m Missing” from his self-titled album. The weather was crisp and clear and it was one of those days when everything just goes right.
Notice the beautiful Shelby Mustang we’re shooting? We met Joe, the car’s owner, as he was driving by. We saw the car driving down the road and decided on the spot that we *had* to have it in the video. (Special thanks to our makeup artist Jess for Flagging him down!) Joe was a great sport and the car is a-MAZ-ing.
This was filmed on-location on the historic Lebanon green and we were graciously allowed permission to film on the property of the Governor Jonathan Trumbull House and Wadsworth Stable Museum, owned and operated by the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution. Check out their website for visiting information:
For more of Aaron Fry music, check it out here:
https://www.aaronfrymusic.com/
"I hired Jennifer Blessing Miceli and Miceli Productions, LLC, to produce a short, thought-provoking, professional video for our website. The results were superb -- and on-time and on-budget. I will definitely hire this production team again."
Patrick VanHorn
Corporate Communications Manager
Giant Bicycle
Miceli Productions
One Factory Square, Suite 206
Southington, CT 06489
(203)936-7761
MiceliProductions.com