Birdland Album Cover and Spotify Loops

Because Jon had reliably produced several animations and illustrations for them in the past, contacting them for this project was a no-brainer.

After a quick phone consultation, Jon determined that the client's goal was to ground the EP release in reality without losing the whimsy of previous animated releases.

The title "Birdland" is a reference to the band's home studio, so the idea was floated to shoot video on location. The band is camera shy, so the project features their pet dog Watson intercut with closeups of instrumentation.

Timeline: 1 week (3 hour set-up & shoot + editing and cover design) Budget: $300 Deliverables: • Four 6-8 second gifs for Spotify canvas • Album Cover

The tight budget and timeframe for this project meant I had to produce this content solo, dressing the set on the fly and adapting to challenges as they came. I knew setting up lighting would cut into our time, so I called ahead and asked the client to identify the largest room with west facing windows to take full advantage of the afternoon sun.

As soon as I arrived, our actor nipped me in the leg to remind me who was in charge. Working with animals is always a challenge, but by the end of the shoot Watson and I were fast friends.

Watson Lead actor

I started with a quick tour of the property, pulling props that resonated with the music's themes as we went. I staged it in the agreed upon room and adjusted the blinds to create some nicely textured lighting.

The client and I managed to get the tie on Watson without much difficulty, but getting him to sit still was a real challenge. Treats and regular breaks helped the process, and we eventually got enough footage (about an hour) that I was confident I could produce four killer visualizers.

After sorting through a ton of footage, I color graded and cut together 6 short video loops for the client to choose from. I used speed-ramping to get the most out of each 8-second clip, and added effects like noise and light leaks to highlight the bright, nostalgic qualities of the the lyrics and music.

In the end, the band was so thrilled with the results that they decided to add a couple more tracks to the EP to take full advantage of the content.

Mike Wickman Emotional Coyotes