new U3 music video! watch "Wave" (Patreon)

{Public post}

Aloha, Patrons!

February newsletter is coming shortly, but first!  I'm excited to share with you our new U3 music video!

Watch "Wave" on YouTube: https://youtu.be/blgiJDRxBqQ 

Please take a moment to click through to YouTube, give it a thumbs up, and post a comment - it helps spread the word about my videos. 😊 Thank you!!  And be sure to subscribe if you haven't already.

About U3

For anyone who's new, U3 is my trio with 'ukulele friends Ukulenny and Abe Lagrimas, Jr.  Our debut album In Waves is streaming everywhere, and you can also get downloads and merch (like vinyl, cds, and sweet beach towels!) via our Bandcamp store.  This Friday (Feb 4) is Bandcamp Friday, meaning Bandcamp takes no fees as a show of support to its artists, so if you'd like to get merch, it's a great day to do it.

Behind the scenes: the beach party

When U3 was gathered together for the 'Ukulele Festival of Hawaii last summer, I wanted to take the opportunity to shoot a couple of music videos in support of our In Waves album.  While I've shot plenty of videos, making a music video with the band was a more complicated project - more people, more angles, more logistics.  I knew I needed help, so I invited my longtime collaborator Robert Gomez Hernandez to come to Hawai'i to shoot and to guide me in producing and directing.  Robert is the Bay Area filmmaker who shot all of my nice-looking videos, like Happy and La Vie en Rose and Here Comes the Sun and dozens more (I call this the 2.0 phase of my YouTube, after my webcam tutorials).  I trust Robert to always capture a beautiful shot, and I've learned so much from his directing style.

I thought I'd share with you some of the process of how this music video came to be.  With the 100 Days of Ukulele Project starting up again this year (on Feb 13th!  more info coming soon), I've decided to work on my filmmaking skills as one of my goals, and develop my process of scripting, storyboarding, and selecting shots.  There were times during the making of this music video that I struggled - just a reminder that we only get better with practice.  

My biggest lesson in this shoot was learning the importance of setting the framework, or the full shoot concept.  I knew I wanted to shoot the song "Wave," and I pictured a sunset, beach party vibe.  How could we create a scene that would reflect the band persona, look interesting / beautiful, and be easy and accessible to shoot?  Shooting in the limited "golden hour" of sunset requires location scouting, testing the light, checking the weather report, and having the entire crew and shotlist ready to go.  Robert led the way in mapping out the angles, directing our amazing crew of family and friends, and keeping the energy high.  After the shoot, I realized a hundred things I could have planned better.  But that's part of the process - tuck those lessons away for next time!

Thank you to our beach party crew, which includes members of our 808 Uke Squad Rich and Lien.  It takes a village, but it also takes a lot of planning and pre-production.  I look forward to exercising this muscle.  If you find this interesting, please let me know, and feel free to post any questions below.

Thanks for reading!

xo cynthia 🌺

Some crew pics!