Shenandoah - “ Heaven Bound” - Capitol Records, Nashville

We shot this in an old shipyard.  We had to build a shower on the docks, a steam whistle, and provide practical props such as wrenches, hammers, and hard hats for the talent.  We also ran the foggers to create atmosphere, and ended up using co2 canisters to make blasts of steam.  We also utilized a huge ship propellor that was on the docks as one of our props, and that worked out well.  We learned that old shipyards are covered in grease, and so was the crew by the end of the day.

Sprung Monkey - “Party Like A Rock Star” -  Red Line

There may have been a million props on this one.  The director had no clear vision of what he wanted to do, so he kept changing his mind on what he needed.  We learned this quickly in pre production when we were developing a props and decor list, because he had trouble answering most of our prop questions. We planned for a chaotic day by buying everything we thought might work, with multiple choices.  It turned out well, because we had something in our bag of tricks to make every shot work.

Keith Harling - “Coming Back For You” - MCA, Nashville

This was shot on the beach in one long day.  We built a controllable fire in a fire ring, as well as supply beach towels, oversized party drinks,  beach props, and umbrellas for the extras.  We used a propane tank off camera to make the fire, and with some adjusting the height of the flames could be controlled depending on how the wind was blowing.  That helped the director keep the production moving, rather than wait for the fire to grow by adding more wood.

Martina McBride - “I Love You”, “Wild Angels”, “I Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”, “ Anything and  Everything”, “From The Ashes”

(CMT Showcase)

This was shot in the backyard of a private home, and wasn’t produced like a stylized music video at all. We bought flowers for the background and an old stool for Martina to sit on.  I The old stool is actually a new one that we aged and distressed to look old.  She wanted something a certain height and all the old ones we found were too short.  The producer loved the stool so much she still has it in her kitchen.

Trace Adkins - “The Rest of Mine” - Capitol Records, Nashville

This was shot at Balboa Park in San Diego because it looks a lot like Spain and parts of Mexico. We created a church interior utilizing key props, candles, and existing ornate wall. We also built a small altar. The director wanted an old photo for one of the actors to hold.  It had to stir memories of the lead characters’ past, so I offered a picture of my mom in her wedding dress - everybody loved it, including my parents, who saw it one night when they were watching CMT.

Terry Clark - “If I Were You” -  Mercury Records

This was shot at an old farm out in the hills of San Diego.  We created fog and rain at night, as well as supply props and decor for several different set ups.  We also created an outdoor vegetable stand, and dressed a barn interior with key props and made a collection of photographs that were key to the song’s storyline.  Bring a raincoat on shoots like this.  Boy did we get wet.

Donny Osmond - “Hold On To Life”  - Donny Osmond Entertainment

This was done as a promotional video for the trauma care unit of a major hospital in San Diego. We supplied all of the props, dressing, cars, rollerblades, build a bedroom within the Sea World “City Streets” set, dressed a hospital room, and built a mock up of part of a billboard with a break away railing.