Inspired by a rainy day in New York City, director Kristina Caruccis "Money" by Alessi's Ark makes great use of a GoPro, an umbrella, and the dance moves of choreographer Lexy Hulme. Shot in the very early morning in Central Park, the video relied on lots of prep time and trust in the concept, since Kristina was unable to see what was being shot during each take. We talked to Kristina about the technique behind shooting the video, collaborating with Lexy Hulme, and getting the video shot before being interrupted by tourists.
Doug: How is the camera effect in this video achieved and how did you come up with it?
Kristina: During a rainy commute I was listening to the new album from Alessi's Ark, The Still Life. Everyone was shuffling in the rain in such a way that they became faceless umbrella people. That sparked the idea of an umbrella as a character, whose eyes we see through. My last music video was very simple in terms of performance and camera work, and I was itching to push this one to the opposite extreme. How much can my subject and my camera move? I ended up rigging a GoPro inside of an umbrella with gaff tape , simple as pie! It was imperative to weigh down the umbrella as little as possible for easy maneuvering.
Doug: Did you run into any issues with the camera falling out or anything like that?
Kristina: The umbrella did suffer an injury during the first take ! We managed to bend everything back into place , but fear did momentarily strike our hearts that the camera was damaged. The main challenge was finding the best spot inside of the umbrella in terms of visibilty and center of gravity. That took some trial and error. There is a lot of funny footage of me frantically re-taping.
Doug: To what degree was this video choreographed?
Kristina: The star and choreographer of the video is the talented Lexy Hulme, who was really so much more than that on this project. Alessi is based in London and constantly on tour, so there was no opportunity to use her. She and I have been talking about collaborating for about seven years, but we are never in the same place for more than a night. One day I could not wait a moment longer and so I leaped out of bed and filmed a proof of concept. The footage was enough for Alessi to get on board with the idea, but it was clear that we needed a professional dancer. Lexy was referred by the great director/choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall. Lexy and I did two rehearsals where we nailed down a handful of specific beats to hit, but I encouraged her to keep it free and experiment. The main reference I pointed her to was the "Sixteen going on Seventeen" scene in Sound of Music where the oldest daughter has her first smooch; leaping with love!
Doug: What is the process of directing a video when you can't see what is being shot? Did you have to watch every take after it finished?
Kristina: I was watching from afar, but I did not see a frame of footage until a few hours after we wrapped. It was reminiscent of the days when I would only shoot on film, which of course I miss. You have to trust your vision and the people who you are collaborating with. We used what we learned from the test shoots to put our mind's eye inside of the umbrella and determine if we got what we needed. This was most unique in that my talent was also my camera operator, and Lexy knocked it out of the park in both regards.
Doug: I think I saw some footsteps from where she comes out of the fountain, so I assume there was more than one take. How many were there total?
Kristina: There were only four takes. There is an extremely limited window of time before a gaggle of tourists flood Central Park. We arrived just as the sun was rising, and wrapped by 6:30 AM. Our rehearsals and test shoots were incredibly valuable. It was like preparing for a live performance. There is one last secret take where I join Lexy and we dance our brains out like giddy fools. We were high on accomplishment. I'm smiling like crazy just thinking about it now.
Doug: The coloring of the video is great, and appears to reflect the title card at the beginning. What were the color choices inspired by?
Kristina: The palette was inspired by the 1960s French musical Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which Alessi sent along as a reference. The coloring process was challenging. GoPros are automatic everything, so I had no control over the exposure, white balance, depth of field etc. It was a very plain, very digital looking image to begin with. Magic Bullet Looks saved me because I was able to isolate Lexy and adjust the background almost as a separate layer. For example, the fountain was a nauseating green so I wanted to make it much bluer without affecting Lexy's skintone. Overall I wanted a very rich image to pay homage to those technicolor musicals that inspired all of the aesthetics, from the styling to the dance itself.
