Lets Talk About ... The Sugars

THE SUGARS - GOSSIP
Aurora Fearnley

What a lovely bunch those Sugars are, the name truly fits. From day one in Leeds I've heard about and seen The Sugars continually, ironically it's when they are in London when I get the chance to work with them. The day started with the band arriving from an overnight drive, bless em. They still looked fab all day and were in great spirits throughout the shoot.

It's always a bit nerve wracking to meet the band after pitching an idea, being on such a short time scale we hadn't had chance to meet up and chat yet. The video was conceptually post modern, with the film crew all part of the cast. The narrative was based around the interaction of the crew discussing the musicians, mainly the uncomfortable atmosphere created by gossiping. Hopefully a reflection of our modern day obsession with celebrity and gossip magazines.

On this shoot we had the always reliable support of Joe Mcdonald as our DOP and Camera operator, with the joyful Jason Torbit on Steady cam (all day!!). Again the brothers T came up trumps, spending the day in every role required, it would be unjust to call them runners. George, Sophie and Kelly the all female AD team, dubbed aurora's angels, were consistantly amazing. I can't help but mention Kev, the everyman. There isn't a role for Kev, he's onto it before you think to ask it, a superstar on set. Joe costello also put in a welcome appearance,

It has been a fun shoot. One moment that stood out was all of the crew standing around yelling insults at the band to get genuine close up reactions, what good sports. Think i might need to buy them all a pint next time in in Brick lane.

Grammatics - The Vague Archive

Grammatics - The Vague Archive from LEFT EYE BLIND on Vimeo.

The video is for the forthcoming single 'The Vague Archive' by Grammatics. The single is released on Dance to the Radio and is available on 7 inch and digital download from November 17th 2008.

Available from
townsend-records.co.uk
7Digital.com
iTunes
&
All good independent music retailers

Directed by Matt Maude
Produced by Jamie Donoughue
Edited by Aurora Fearnley

DOP: Joe MacDonald

1st AD: Aurora Fearnley
2nd AD: Kelly Ross

Production Assistants:
Kev Marchant
Mark Trifunovic
Peter Trifunovic

Gaffer: Alex McCormick
Best Boy: James Bridger

Left Eye hearts Adam Conlon

We're lucky in our work that we get to shoot with a bunch of brilliant collaborators. Without them, our videos would just be ideas. Due to their talents, passions and abilities, they make our work realisable and desirable.
In the first of our 'look at us' series, we take a peek and a poke at Adam Conlon, DOP extraordinaire.

We've worked with Adam on three of our biggest shoots. Firstly on Mother Vulpine's Keep Your Wits (DOPing with Rob Gardner) then on subsequent shoots for Wintermute and Grammatics, he's worked in woods and shot in studios, slowed down super slow mo and run with wolves. His vision, ability to communicate and charismatically qualities to offer up great ideas have made Adam a brilliant sparring partner in the work we've done. His website can be found here, and we ask that if you're looking for a DOP in the future, Adam is your man


Here is Adam's profile:

"If you’re reading this, chances are you already know me or have heard of me from somewhere. However for those who do not know me, I will tell you a little bit about myself. Primarily I'm a Cinematographer / Lighting Cameraman / Camera Operator based in Leeds, Yorkshire. I'm freelance, shooting Music Videos, Commercials, Dramas, Corporates and recently a Feature Film. Although my principal love is for the photography of a production, I have also been known to direct, produce and edit, usually on lower budget Music Videos. My site is a collection of some of my work to date, with all available videos linked to for your viewing pleasure. I hope you enjoy the work, and if you’re interested in working with me, don’t hesitate to get in touch."

http://www.adamconlon.com

Production Diary - Rochelle

Rochelle - Fer De Lance

I should let you into a little secret. It’s a small one though so don’t go clearing out important memories or pin numbers to hold it within your brain space.
This video was made on nothing. And by that I don’t mean it was made on thin air and candy floss. I mean it was made for very little money. I’ve been lucky enough to work on some pretty high budget work. In music videos and adverts where budgets are so big that money gets thrown in the air and people dance on king sized beds naked, rubbing themselves in dollar bills.

As a result, all of the people who worked on this video, did so for nothing. Nothing at all. NOTHING

Everyone either forgoed their fee or worked at a reduced rate equivalent to giving away their time for free. Every single person.
That should say something for the sixty odd people that are on the credits for the video . All the dancers that rehearsed for hours for it.
The crew that traveled for it.
The production team that has been working on it for months.
For Phil Wood, our brilliant camera operator who drove up from London for the shoot.
For Sarah Hartley, who sewed all of the girl’s costumes for the drones.
For Rob Gardner, the incredible Director of Photography who put off another (well paid) job to work on our low budget shoot.
For Sophie Dowd who worked tirelessly over the weekend as our 2nd AD despite her Monday to Friday, all hours job on Emmerdale; and for everyone else who if I could mention, I would.
Working on nothing, means that you have to work for everything. Every last bit of kit is measured for what it is worth, and every minute is well spent. For that, I am in Jamie Donoughue’s debt. Although I’m lucky enough to call him a colleague, I was blessed to have him work on the shoot as my producer. It is often the role that goes without the most credit, and you deserve the most for your work Jamie. It’s hard to be told to get everything for nothing, but you did an incredible job, especially when most producers do a ’great’ job of getting nothing for everything.

The two days of the shoot we’re probably the best shooting days of my life. More than anything because the crew we had we’re a joy and privilege to work with. The dancers we’re awesome, and a constant supply of energy and enthusiasm, frolicking, licking, friendliness and fun. And the band brilliant both as performers and supportive friends. It was brilliant for me, to see our little idea come to life, see the whole crew perform with such professionalism, the band drill their performances with such energy, that at times I had to pinch myself. It’s what happens when you’re doing your dream job.

For the weekend, where we had to get so much done on such a little time scale, Aurora Fearnley held my head in her hands for the majority of the time. She’s a brilliant first AD (the person who tells you what you have to do, and how quickly) and a fine friend. Her skills as an Assistant Director are only bettered as her work as an editor, and in the ensuing three week aftermath of the shoot, her experienced skills surpass her young age. She is responsible for so much of the finished film, from the cuts to the colour, the pace to the grade, in that, it is your work too Aurora.

Although this video carries my name as the director within these credits, it has been the hard work of Joe Costello, the co-director and SFX creator that has transformed the idea of the video into the video’s ideals. Without him, my brain would have been blown apart many times over, and I thank him for keeping it intact.

During January, I honestly didn’t know if the video was ever going to get made. Over the month Rochelle lost a member, changed record labels, and looked likely to blow out so big on the world that it fully justified them placing the video in someone else’s more trustworthy (or experienced hands). Throughout it all though, I had Joe ringing me and supplying our bodies with caffeine, thrusting the video in front of us regardless of what was going on around us. And it worked. Without him, this would have been a different project.
You’re a talented man Joe, and I thank you for it.

The band too were just fantastic, and considering it was their first time on camera, they did an amazing job. Lydia in particular something incredible in coming in and overcoming some pretty nervous nerves to do so much within the video.

Production Diary - Sky Larkin

Sky Larkin - Molten
By Matt Maude








Katie has been a friend of mine for ages, in fact we go way back to when she was in a teeny band called Saving Lenny. I only call it a teeny band because all the members were teenagers. They were in fact brilliant. I still miss them.

However, new days bring new bands, and Katie's Sky Larkin had been part and party of my Mp3 since I've had one (last month).

When Katie rang me and told me that their London based film crew had dropped out and that their next single now needed a video, I jumped at the chance. Head long into the low ceiling of my box like room. Recovering from a short spell of unconsciousness, I was told, however there was no money. Not a penny.

Apparently friendship is priceless, and I therefore went about creating a video that was priceless. Or another way of putting it, free

I've never done animation before, and using Sky Larkin's track I had the chance to go creative crazy using techniques I'd never done before. I shot the whole thing in Hyde Park to match the LS6 living that the band had all grown up within, and used locations within a moment's walk of their respective bedrooms. In some scenes, their actual bedrooms.

The video involved a lot of walking around my house (or others) with my Z1, looking at the lyrics and thinking what would work for different sections. As the video goes on, I tried to match the lyrics with the visuals as much as possible, hoping that persistent viewers would spot something different every time they viewed it.

The song to me always sounded like the good times you had with you friends, the kind of fun that is seamless and without effort, and I hope the video followed suit.

It was a creative blast to work on this video, and as was there no pressure of a big crew it meant it was a lot of fun too. Working with Katie in particular was awesome, and she had brilliant ideas, endless enthusiasm and made great hot dinners. Her gran (June) provided much of the characters within the video, possessing as she does, an entire house of porcelain. It was an all around Harkin help that put the video together.

The video can be seen here. While I was shooting it there very few photographs I took, but I did take some band promo ones, interspersed with the Polaroids that actually featured in the video.


Sky Larkin - Molten from Matt Maude on Vimeo.

Production Diary - Mother Vulpine

Mother Vulpine - Keep Your Wits
by Matt Maude

Matt Bigland has been my best friend since we were small. Think ten years old small. We're the best friends who share each other's names and have, over time, began to look a little too similar to one another.

If I had another brother, it would be Matt

Back in early 2007 Matt approached me and told me about his idea for the video for his band's first single. At the time, Matt was the leader man of a band called Mother Vulpine, a band who within their short shelf life, prospered to the extent that they played to a sell out shows on the stages of the Astoria, Apollo and others like it on a support tour with the Eagles of Death Metal.

His idea featured a rather large butcher being pursued through an ageless haunted forest by a hungry and heartless angry wolf. The band, wolfish in name and wolfish in nature would be in hot pursuit too, suggesting that the band and the wolf were one at the same.

Suffice to say, the idea itself was ambitious and the budget was ridiculous. With no money and no source of funding from any sort of record label, we sat long and hard looking at our respective bank accounts. Signing a grand out each from our accounts wasn't exactly digestible or advisable, but it got us there with fifty quid to spare. From there, we started planning it out, step by step, shot by shot until finally we were sat on the wooded crop of the Otley Chevin, ready to shoot one very wet and early Saturday morning.

The two day shoot was absolutely manic. From the off we were running behind after a very tricky first shot and looking at the watch, we split the crew into two halves to pick up the pace. On the Saturday we had to shoot all of the wolf sequences, all of the slow motion stuff and all of the quad bike tracking shots as we could afford them all for one day. Suffice to say we wrapped just before darkness fell, and not a moment before.

I won't go into too much detail as it borders on unprofessional but you know the expression: Never work with animals or children.
They mean never work with trainers or parents.

Our 'wolf trainer' / dog handler was an absolute twat.


Back as a whole crew on Sunday we charged over the Chevin shooting all the band sequences, cut aways, and the more complicated verse set ups. At one point, about 3PM Sunday afternoon both Matt and I were falling over through to lack of food. Thankfully a chocolate bar and double decker sandwich appeared from the nowhere (or actually from Louise Pracey Smith's good thinking) and we recovered the feeling in our limbs.


In March 2007, after the two day shoot and a two week edit, the video was finished and ready to shine on MTV's 120 Minutes and the Riot. Stedicam work, a high speed slow motion camera, a quadbike tracking rig set up, a wolf, no lights, a crew of fifteen including two DOP's all culminated into a video we are all truly proud of.



Mother Vulpine - Keep Your Wits from

Production Diary - Royal Vendetta

Royal Vendetta - Soothsayer
by Matt Maude

It was my first proper video where I was going to get paid for a budget. A BUDGET! BIG TIME! ACTUAL LIGHTS!?! A CAMERA BETTER THAN MY DICK IN MY HAND AND A MOBILE PHONE IN THE OTHER?

I got three hundred smackers...

My lights therefore came from IKEA (I took them back) my tracking shot came from hanging a camera out of the car, and I shot it, edited it, and directed it. The only help I had was my flatmate who drove my car, and my friend who took the dubious title of first AD when he came down for half an hour and ate a sandwich.

The premise of the video was that of a dodgy looking geezer (played by actual lovely geezer Rob Silva - his dad knows Desmond Tutu don't you know?) out on the robbing. After sneaking into a secluded car park and breaking into a car his actions catapult him into a dark world filled with revengeful repercussions, hooded spirits and no escape. The band play out, narrators of this ghostly world, taunting and tormenting our anti-hero as he spirals further and further down the disturbing rabbit hole.
As the video end, our hero looks on unrepentant and undefined, disturbed, crazed, gazing on to a darkening fading world


Despite no budget, no crew, and lights provided by IKEA, the band were great, the parkour kids fantastic (even the one who nearly got hit by the car) and considering what little light we had, that children as young as 13 were back flipping through the air and that a car was going round and round in a circle at 20mph in an enclosed space I was glad no one died.

I think that was the biggest learning experience of the whole thing. It's all good if no one dies.

Left Eye Blind loves Joe Costello

Back in Feb we had the joy to work with a fantastic director Joe Costello.
Here is a bit about the blond lovely lad.

Joe Costello

Joe Costello spent his early years learning to program computers, making animated short films on his Sinclair Spectrum. Combine that with an early love of camera work (that mostly starred the family cats) then you have the making of the filmmaker that Joe is today.


In Joe's work you can the emblems of this childhood; his strengths with special effects are easily seen, but also the wide eyed innocence of youth within his videos is palpable.

Like most music video directors, Joe got into the genre because the band he was in wanted one for promotional purposes. Being 50% computer geek and 50% videographer helps him to visualise the finished piece from the very beginning of a project, and understand the best way to achieve it.

Joe is one of those that multiples the budget of a project twenty fold purely because he puts his eyes and fingers across it. He's that guy.

Joe also enjoys sleeping during the day, eating bagels, knowing a lot about East Germany.


Hopefully you will have seen or heard of our latest video for Rochelle - Fer De Lance f or Southernfried Records. If not check it out below;


Fer De Lance TASTER from aurora fearnley on Vimeo.

or



Matt and Joe co-directed the video together, what wonders will happen next?

Just who the blazes are Left Eye Blind? Part 3

Aurora Fearnley

Aurora is best for her own narrative based, visually abundant music videos. They combine two of her favourite things music and film (or perhaps models and musicians?). She has sweet teeth and keeps her fingers, toes and earlobes in every pie and dessert around and is often believed to be in two places at once. This includes directing, producing and editing all sorts, from documentaries, events, live performances and short films to commercials and broadcast serials.

She is a 1st grade graduate from The Northern Film School in Leeds, where she has made a name as an organiser for the music video competition 20202 Vision and also now as director with Left Eye Blind. Her post production company Little Northern Light has been running for under a year and has already seen her flying to the middle east to work on the visually stunning "Sword of God" historical drama series.

Aurora is currently working freelance Internationally as a director, producer and editor for various companies and personal projects.

Ambitions to Make music videos for:
Bjork, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, crystal castles and MGMT

Just who the blazes are Left Eye Blind? Part 2

Matt Maude



After starting work within the industry as a camera trainee at aged 15, Matt Maude crossed between the sides of the camera often during his mid to late teens. Acting on the London stage and within several broadcast productions (including a series of the soap 'Crossroads'), Matt used the experience and privileges of being an actor to further inform his knowledge of camera, direction and editing.

After hanging up his acting credentials to work behind the camera, Matt started work within the music video industry. Given a lucky break by his older brother who was manager of the band 'Snowhite', he directed the video for the their first single which featured the young director on MTV2 circulation at just 18. Further promo work has brought subsequent music video experience as a director and producer, but also as a coordinator on projects 20/20/2 Vision and The Radar Festival.

Matt has also worked extensively in America and India on documentaries for PBS National broadcast and MSN home page web content. He is a part time lecturer at the Northern Film School.

Just who the blazes are Left Eye Blind? Part 1

Jamie Donoughue






Director Jamie Donoughue has been in the industry for nearly a decade. Initially training as a camera operator in his late teens Jamie studied Television and Film Production in Manchester. He Directed and Operated on various broadcast productions before moving back to Leeds to set up ‘Viewfirst Media Ltd.’ - a broadcast, corporate and web production company. Off the success of his company Jamie started investing in the Leeds music scene, working closely with up n coming talent from across the region, including releasing the highly rated ‘Leeds By Example’ album. As a result he moved into producing and directing music videos for a variety of artists across the UK before joining Left Eye Blind. He is known for his unique approach to videos, especially his use of original camera styles and filming techniques.

Jamie
Although now specialising in music videos, Jamie still works on a variety of other projects including TV pilots and short film.