BTS of “Groove1”
“Groove1”
“Groove1” is a music video starring Beepbeepchild the producer of the song, as well as two rappers Daisy and Sixtyuptown. The song is funky, fun and energetic and it was our goal to show off that energy in the music video.
Before we get started, you can check out the music video here if you haven’t seen it yet!
This music video was special to me, because it was my debut work in Vietnam as well as my first time collaborating with young Vietnamese Director just P !
Being new to the production world in Vietnam, this was quite a challenge for me to navigate, but I must say, I was incredible lucky to have the support of such a wonderful crew who were ready to help solve any difficult problems along my side.
We shot this one the Sony A7III and a couple sony lens (real low budget) :) oh there was also a few shots on a gopro 7 as well.
Lighting:
2x Aputure 300x
1x Aputure 600D (I’m not even sure if we even got this tbh)
4x quasars or pavotube
Due to budget constraint as well as location, we couldn’t bring too much lights with us. We also had alot of set up in 1 day so we needed the ability to move quickly.
The Location
Original diagram
This is one section of a bigger location that we ended up having to recycle multiple time to try and create different looks with. On this side of the court we wanted to utilize this interesting row of metal chairs. I ended up replacing the 2 overhead light with 3 quasars so we could dial in the colors that we want. I also have 1 more quasar hiding on top but more frontal to the artist to bring it more light on their faces. I also have the grip team block the light coming from a door? on the left side. Then I stuck with the lighting diagram and had a 300X shooting through a diffusion on a warm tone to bring in some more fill light.
Final result
Final result
This next location is also in the same space, but now we turn it around 180. This is badminton/ basketball court. We ended up creating about 3 looks for this court and I’ll go over them all.
1st Scene: Basket ball playing scene
For this scene the director wanted to have an ultra wide angle to where we can see 1 rapper performing while the other playsbasket ball in the back. For this shot we set up a key light for the performer, and our plan was to have a 600D shooting through 1 of the window in the back right corner. However, on the day of shooting I noticed we were getting a good level of light from those windows anyway so we ended up not using the 600D. I had the team close all the curtain on the left, but leave out a small section to balance out the frame.
2nd Scene: Mug Shot scene
For this scene we utilize the black back board of the court to create some sort of detective works, trying to piece the evidences together. For this set up we Use a 300x on a spotlight mount pointing toward the blackboard from the bottom. Then we have another 300 on a softbox for a top light. I wanted those “racoon eye” effects similar to what the cinematographer on God Father did for their characters. We had a ton of fun on this set up and it was definitely my favorite!
3rd Scene: Performing scene
For this scene we wanted a silhouette look of the singer with a mic, so we utilize the middle part of the court. We also lit it mostly with the 300x through a spotlight and let everything else fall into darkness. We had a rug on the bottom of the floor hoping it would make the space look a bit different from the rest. Additionaly I had another 300 on a softbox on the right side to bring in a bit more fill for the artist’s face.
The location
When the director brought up that he wanted to do a scene underwater, I immediately said yes! to his surprise. I’ve film underwater before while diving with oxygen tank. However, I hadn’t light anything underwater up until this point. But I thought to myself, the concept still apply right? so I had a stronger more direct source to back light the subject and with a harder source I was hoping to have enough power to punch through the water and potentially give me those light beams! I later on had my team a another softer light to fill in the front of the water! The result came out a lot better than I thought. We also used the same set up for this hilarious shot of one of the rapper through an extra’s legs.
The location
This partying scene was a bit of a hurdle for us. Originally we wanted to have this scene at a different spot of the house. However, while being on set that day, we agreed that it was best to shoot this scene in this sofa area of the house. For some reason I had a really hard time lighting this scene. We ended up trying a bunch of different looks before landing on this set up you’ll see in the final. We ended up with a single tube key-ing them from the left. A 300x on a spotlight for the back right and various practical, and color tube around the room.
We also quickly swap things around for a look similar to the performance scene from the 1st location as well. Took out the practical and moved the keylight to the right side and we had a different look for this scene.
The location
This location was actually a new apartment that I moved in after moving to Vietnam. We wanted to shoot a scene in the bathtub where the artist smokes. The set up for this was simple but the actual rigging was a challenge. My apartment did not allow any drilling so we couldn’t hang certain for the bathtub. The wall was also very slippery tiles so taping anything was also very difficult. I don’t know how my gaffer and grips did it, but they hung up a black certain from the ceiling to where the tub ends to keep lights from bouncing all around the bathroom. Then we placed a tube light on the far side wall to key the subject!
We have 3 more scenes that I’m not including in this blog because I think the lighting for those are fairly simple. I also don’t have all the necessary BTS photos and diagram since it was so long ago :P
OVERALL This was definitely a very fun project! I learnt to really utilize everything we could find to quickly put a scene together. I also learnt to communicate and plan ahead so that we can be as efficient as we could. There were many scene to get through but we had very limited time. I think this project turn out pretty well! If I could do one thing different, I wouldn’t use a gopro and would actually in vest in an underwater case as well as getting a fisheye len for the ultra wide angle look. The quality on the gopro just wasn’t good enough.
BTS photography: TCO
CREDITS:
Artist: BeepBeepChild, Daisy Le Garçon, SIXTYUPTOWN Mixed And Mastered: Cuong Do Executive Producer: Dong Nguyen Project Manager: Duong Nguyen Art Director: Xuocroikia Label Team: Tan Pham, Minh Truong (Hot Panda Media) Actress: Bui Ngoc Tu Cameo: Cuong Do, Trung Nguyen, Trang Le, Su Le Set Location: HOT PANDA MEDIA Additional support: blueocean.08, Khang Nguyen (DTR) Music video by: DART TEAM Director & Art director: Phuc Nguyen Director of Photography: Phat Nguyen Producer: Qui Rua Script supervisor & 1st AD: CAMI DINO 2nd AD: Van Anh AC: Qui Rua Gaffer: Tuan Khang (LJVE) Lighting Assistant: Van Thoai, The Anh, Phuc Vinh Editor: Phuc Nguyen Colorist: Phat Nguyen Set Design: Phong Hai, Ngan Ho Stylist: Trang Le M.U.A: Trang Le, CAMI DINO BTS Photography: Thinh (TCO)