Headless Owl Records Video: Behind the Scenes

Before the holidays, we had recently released our first music video for Headless Owl Records featuring Kyle Cashen...Ever since we've been meaning to do a quick behind the scenes post for you so you can get a better idea of what we did to make the video happen...

Turns out today's the day...

This was a wicked project for us as we got to collaborate with some of our favorite people: Andrew Stratis and Kyle Cashen of Headless Owl Records, and sound magician (technical term) Jordy Walker who recorded and mixed the track.  Having worked with these guys on various projects over the years, it's super rad for us to see how much everyone has expanded their talents and their expertise over time...there was also coffee, food, and tons of terrible jokes flying around so all in all it was a good work day.

Often a music video is created by playing the pre-recorded, studio produced song out loud and having the musicians play along with it.  Headless Owl wanted to do something a bit different.  They wanted to have that 'live' feel to this release and so actually wanted to record the song right there in the location during the shoot.

In order to do this, we set  up the first shot in terms of camera angle, etc. and then Kyle ran through and played the song a couple times until he and Jordy were happy with the audio.

We then played that live audio back in the more traditional video sense with him playing along to it so that we could have a few more angles to play with in the editing of the video.

All in all, it was a full day of shooting/recording, but the process had really just begun...

Jordy Walker then takes the audio back to his studio and fine tunes it, and then outputs the final audio file to us.

At this point, we get into editing mode which is the forgotten, but oh so important role of both photography and video...and video has a whole other realm of software/processing techniques separate from the photography world.

The audio gives us a baseline to start aligning our video to, by cutting in the different angles to create a flow, as well as tweak colour, ensure timing is matched, etc.

In the process of all this, rough cuts are sent around to the various parties involved to ensure all of our visions and expectations are met.  These projects are always a truly collaborative effort as it takes a variety of very specific skills to make it all come together.  And let's get serious, with this particular group of crazy perfectionists, a few drafts did float back and fourth...

But we think, in the end, it was worth it.

SO, hope you guys enjoyed the video, and we're stoked because we have many more video projects coming up in this new year...

Again, big thanks to all involved and to see more from everyone check out their links below:

Produced by Headless Owl Records
http://headlessowl.com

Written and Performed by Kyle Cashen

Sound Recorded and Mixed by Jordy Walker
http://www.jordywalkermusic.com

Kyle Cashen - Think it Over from Headless Owl Records on Vimeo.

GBP's Faves of 2012

It's the last day of 2012...so we decided to round up a few of our faves from the year!  Turns out that's a really hard task, and we both have different favourites, so there's a bit more than expected, and even at that, I know we missed some...

BUT here's what we've got...looking forward to 2013 and HUGE thanks to all of our clients, family and friends who support us in doing what we love to do...you guys = the best.

Yukon Music: The Lore

This past Saturday night we had the pleasure of covering a CD release concert for local Yukon musicians The Lore.

This was the third time we've worked with The Lore, made up of Lauren Tuck and Kelvin Smoler as we did a promo shoot for them this summer, followed by a conceptual shoot for the cover art on their new album, and now this live show.

We've gotta say, that the conceptual shoot we did with them for their album art is some of our favorite work of the year...we had a great team working with us which makes things go all that much more smoothly: Katelyn Smolne was the hair stylist and Akiko Allen was our makeup artist, both incredibly talented ladies at what they do!  It also just so happens that  Lauren and Kelvin are always incredible to work with. Talk about two people who put everything they've got into their projects...and the show on Saturday night was a perfect example of that.

SO, we figured, in celebration of their CD release we'd release some of the images from their Emergence shoot with all of you! BIG thanks to the Takhini Hot Springs for allowing us to use their great facility for the shoot...i'm sure Lauren and Kelvin were both very grateful for being in some beautiful hot springs vs. an icy Yukon river for this one!

And if you haven't yet, check out The Lore and grab their digital download here:
http://kelvinmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-lore-emergence 

Yukon Music: Boyd Benjamin

2012 has been quite the year for us in terms of working with musicians, which has been something we've always loved to do.

We've worked with artists covering the genres of Hip-hop, rock, indie,  Fiddle music, and even collaborated with Yukon's newest record label, Headless Owl Records, over the past 12 months and we're already planning more music projects well into 2013!

So on that note, we thought it was time to feature some shots we did with the amazingly humble and talented Boyd Benjamin...

Boyd was fantastic to work with, as we're finding most of the Yukon musicians we work with are, and we were stoked to be able to help him really blend both traditional and modern looks into his shoot...

Looking forward to working with you more over the years Boyd!

In the studio: Family/Maternity Shoots

Alright, so the weather got a little crazy there for a while... -35 can be a bit trying, but we do live in the Yukon after all, so we're not complaining....and really, it just gives us even more excuses to do some work in the studio, where it's warm and coffee is always a flowin'...

So here's a few shots of one of our recent family shoots we did here in the GBP studio.  Matt and Michelle's adorable little guy (come on look at those baby blues!) is about to turn two and as you'll see, he's also got a little brother or sister coming along as well!

The beauty of working in studio with kids is that it gives them a good chance/space to get comfortable and just start to play and let their energy and personalities really show, which is our favorite part of working with these little guys.

So, hope you enjoy, and if you're ever looking for us during the next cold snap, you know where we'll be...

Sarah Macdougall Music Photography

So, as you may have noticed with the release of our first music video for Headless Owl Records this week, we just so happen to be in quite the music mood lately....So, with that in mind, we figured it's about time we share some of the shots we did with the lovely and crazy talented Sarah Macdougall for her current tour!

Sarah is yet another incredible Yukon musician that's out touring the world and just so happens to have just won the "Roots Solo Recording of the Year" award at the 2012 WCMA's!  We were so stoked to get a chance to work with her, and often have her album playing on repeat as we edit here in our studio...

So hope you all enjoy, and if you are looking for some new music, head to her site at http://sarahmacdougall.com for more info!

It's all about the family...

It's blog time again and this week we've got fall family photos taken just before the snow came this year...twas a short but beautiful time...

As with all of our family shoots, our favourite images always end up being the ones where we capture everyone just interacting together, sharing some laughs.  It's family just being a family, not standing around awkwardly in their 'Sunday best.'...And it doesn't hurt when you have two ADORABLE kids-nice work Tyler and Becky! 

Now, the fun part about this week's post is seeing who's the first to find the hidden baseball in one of the shots...

We heart local music...

So seeing as how we spent the day shooting our first ever music video,  we're in a bit of a music mood tonight...

This got us thinking about the other shoots we've been doing lately with a bunch of rad local artists and we thought it would be the perfect time to share one of them!  

We had the pleasure of working with the extremely talented Kelvin Smoler and Lauren Tuck who make up The Lore, in preparation for their upcoming album release.  The album drops this December, so be sure to keep your ears open for details.  We were so excited to work with these two as they have an incredible energy, are open to trying out new concepts/ideas and are just plain old awesome to work with.

Stoked to hear the new album guys, and looking forward to more shoots in the future!

And then there were 2...

Well we figured it would be a good time to share these recent family photos we did because we officially have a congratulations that's in order!

The Martin family just had their adorable new baby boy 2 weeks early this week!  Luckily Mom and Dad were ready at a moments notice so all was in order!

We've heard that there is one proud big brother on the loose now, and we're stoked to be able to do a newborn session with the family in the coming days too!

So congratulations to the Martin's-can't wait to meet little Jayden in person soon!

And the winner is...

Ok everybody, today we are stoked to announce we have a winner of our GBP Adventure Pants Extravaganza Contest!!

First off, we have to say thank you to everyone who took the time to send in your submissions...we had an AWESOME time reading through them and it was certainly not an easy decision...in fact they were so good we're practically mad at you guys for making us work so hard...

Hiking, snowmobiling, canoe tipping, animal scouting, mad sledding skills, amazing snacks (that one really had us....) It was NOT an easy choice.


BUT in the end, we did come to a decision and instead of trying to explain ourselves, we decided to just have a guest blog this time around and show you the full submission....

They may not have a conventional family, but what we love about the Yukon are the families we often find ourselves a part of...

So let us send out a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Jenn Roberts and the Fat Tire Ballerinas!

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I have a husband, a sister, nephews, mom and dad – even a dog.  But my family by choice is a group of winter biking women sometimes known as the Fat Tire Ballerinas.

We’re not a private club either.  Got a bike? Got a vagina?  Join us.  Sometimes we’re a family of two, sometimes a family of 10.  Exclusion isn’t the name of the game here.  Some of us wear matching jerseys and some fight being that cool.  Some of us are into riding marathon distance epics and others prefer a fast downhill whoosh on fat tires.  Everyone loves getting together for a ride on local Whitehorse trails.  

Sure, we could ride with men-our friends and spouses-but there is something just a little bit special about a group of women ripping around the trails without that added testosterone.  After all, the bike played a role in the emancipation of women in the late 1890's.  Susan B. Anthony famously said "[the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world.  I rejoice every time I see a women ride by on a bike.  It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammelled womanhood." 

The family I’ve made – not the one I was born into or the one I married into - that’s the FTBs.  These women are my family by choice and we’re tight.  Whether we are mashing across Fish Lake in the spring or wiping out on a super steep descent we’ve got our adventure pants cinched on tight!  

Sometimes those pants are actually down skirts but hells ya, we’ve always got ‘em on.