Jill and I filmed this video for Alabaster right in the middle of production for Jekyll & Hyde. Besides risking creative burnout, I found that there were amazing advantages to drastically changing gears right in the middle of a two-week production:
- Working on “Overcome” helped clear my creative mental blocks that had been building up for “Jekyll & Hyde,” ultimately making the latter a stronger piece.
- Shaina (Alabaster’s lead singer) was in both productions (somehow) so we had plenty of time to get comfortable and communicative by the time filming started for “Overcome.” Had we jumped straight into her music video without having filmed “Jekyll & Hyde” a few days before, we wouldn’t have had anywhere near the artistic rapport that we had on this set.
- Hair & Make-up artists were shared between the two projects, facilitating communication on that front.
- Rented lights, lenses and other gear was shared between the two projects, adding production value to both.
- A certain type of creative momentum carried me through this production. I found that the harder I pushed myself the more I had inside of me. Something about going beyond the comfortable, more stagnant realm of careful planning and extensive production paperwork helped visuals flow to me.
Alabaster was a fantastic group of people to work with, and a refreshing example of hard work and humility in the music industry. Their work is excellent (also thanks to their talented producer, Joel Casey Jones) and I’m sure I’ll be hearing their music all over the city once their forthcoming album is released.
Some gorgeous production photos by my wife (Jill) are here.
If you prefer to watch on Vimeo, here’s the music video there:
Alabaster – Overcome (Official Music Video) from Garrett Wesley Gibbons on Vimeo.
