The Black Violin Music Video

While we were filming in New York, we got this call from Black Violin‘s manager saying they needed a music video for their single “One Step” which would spearhead their new album Take The Stairs and the tour to follow.

“So, can you do it?”

“Uh, hell yeah, we can!”

“We only have two weeks to produce it. Still interested…”

“Two weeks? Yeah, you got it.”

So, yeah, we actually only had two weeks to produce the entire music video.

And when we say the entire music video, we mean THE ENTIRE MUSIC VIDEO.

First things first, we have to pitch the concept to Wil and Kev.

Before we get into all that though, there is something you should know about us… we think BIG. Seriously, we aim for the stars. We usually have to take a step back and tone down our ideas, but we didn’t want to do that with this music video. We had a vision for what we wanted to accomplish and how we would do their song justice, so we ran with it.

We pitched Wil and Kev two concepts:

1. A typical video — a safe video — that we hoped they wouldn’t go for
2. The video we wanted to create: an intertwining story depicting the harsh reality that everyday Americans and foreigners face in the U.S.

They picked the daring concept. It, too, spoke to them. They could envision the impact it would have — how it would bring issues to light, create discussion, and ultimately lead to positive change. If you haven’t seen the “One Step” music video yet, then watch it out on Youtube.

When we say, “we dream big” …this video production was no different.

First off, we were working under a serious time crunch. Fortunately, we’re effective under pressure. After pitching the concept to Wil and Kev, we had to write the script so they could see the entire story second-by-second.

Buckle up. Let’s do this.

After listening to “One Step” on repeat for 8 hours, we had the script written in its entirety. You can read it here if you’re interested in seeing how creative concepts like this one grow from an idea to a script and finally to a professionally produced music video.

Once the script was approved we had to acquire permits, locations, talent, props, and everything else that went into production.

This one was tough. Bless Amy for her perseverance (and for putting up with our larger than life ideas).

What was so challenging for Amy, you ask?

• she had to lift a grand piano onto a rooftop in downtown Los Angeles
• she had to convince a school to allow us to bring an assault rifle into the classroom
• she had to find two boats for us to use and film from in the opening scene
• she had to get the team from Fort Lauderdale to L.A. and back in a day’s time
• she had to scout talent (and if you’ve seen the video, you know it’s a diverse selection of people)

These were just a few of the special tasks that Amy needed to take care of. There was still the whole production that needed producing. And you know what… she got it done.

Now that everything is in order, we can start filming the “One Step” music video.

One of the special additions we brought in for this production was the Atlas Lens Co. Orion Series 44mm Anamorphic Lense. This piece of masterwork engineering helped make the rooftop scenes with Wil and Kev pop! We wanted this scene to feel ethereal and weightless. The Orion 44mm Anamorphic Lens produces these super crisp sun flares, which became iconic to this sequence.

At minute 02:07 controlled sun flares interject with striking beauty, signaling a turning point in the song. The tone changes; the music changes; everything changes. That’s the moment we saw what all the hard work had accomplished.

There’s so much to tell about this production. Check out our portfolio to get the full scoop and see more from Behind The Scenes.