American Christian rock band NEEDTOBREATHE recently utilised Bandit Lites rehearsal space, Venue One, to film a series of five music videos. Their seventh studio album, Out of Body, was released 28 August and features 11 new songs that range in topic from first love to fatherhood.
The group’s first video release, Hang On, was filmed at Bandit Lites rehearsal space, Venue One. “I was approached by Dustin Reynolds, Production Manager for NEEDTOBREATHE back in May and he asked if we might entertain hosting the band in Venue One, our rehearsal facility for some video shoots, and of course we were thrilled to have them here,” said Bandit Lites Vice President, Mike Golden. “The direction for the video was to start static and grow with the song,” explained lighting designer Jonathan Wuthrich.
When the scene begins, the band is rehearsing in Venue One with only ‘work’ lights. As the music swells, the lighting starts to mirror this progress, culminating in strobes matching the intensity of the band. “All this paired with the video feedback tricks made for a visually dynamic experience,” he said.
With a tight filming schedule comprised of five videos over two days, swapping out fixtures for each shoot was not practical, and Bandit Lites supplied Elation Smarty Hybrids and Robe Robin 1200 LED Washes.
“I knew we needed a hybrid fixture as one song needed tight beam looks and another called for a functional wash,” explained Wuthrich. “The lights were hung in a simple grid format and a handful of towers on wheels to provide the most flexibility for each track.”
Wuthrich relied heavily on the Elation Smarty Hybrid, using its flexibility to craft different looks, saying, “I wanted to have a fixture with colour mixing so we can dial in the right colour temperature in addition to the hybrid tricks. There are a lot of toys packed into that light to shape the beam.”
An example of that flexibility is seen in the variation from the videos for Hang On and Mercy Shore. Hang On featured the ‘work’ lights slowly coming alive with the frost filter in combination with zoom/focus shapers to create a soft wide wash, while the lights were used as a tight beam to be in the style of an art installation for Mercy Shore.
“Working with Lighting Designer Jonathan Wuthrich is always a sincere pleasure and this time was no different,” praised Golden. “Jonathan built a system that could handle the rigors of lighting five different videos, and they are coming out beautifully. We look forward to the day we can work with our friends at NEEDTOBREATHE again.”
Special precautions were taken to keep the filming safe and socially-distanced including a small, mask-wearing crew. “Robert Dyar was the Video Producer for this event, and he came over for a site survey and things immediately fell into place,” said Golden. “I was extremely impressed with the safety protocols and efforts made to keep everyone safe, and I give both Robert and Dustin my highest marks for pulling this off.”
“The people at Bandit are always a pleasure to work with,” finished Wuthrich. “Mike Golden and Don Lockridge made it super easy and took care of all the little details. Craig Richter, our onsite tech, was always on point with making sure the rig was operating at 100% throughout the entire shoot.”