SPCLSIGNS
VIDEO
DIRECTING/PRODUCING/VIDEOGRAPHY/EDITING
This is a recent project I shot with a local sign painter named Joe Giampino, aka SPCLSIGNS. I spent a couple days following him to different jobs he had around town, and had a conversation with him at his studio about his love for sign painting. When capturing the day in the life of a true craftsman, you naturally want to observe their every move because their skills lie in the details. This is the concept I wanted to incorporate in every phase of the project. Whether it was the planning, shooting days, or the edit, I wanted to do everything I possibly could to show the details and intricacies of SPCLSIGNS artistic process.
IT’S IN THE DETAILS
Well before the edit of this project, as I was dreaming up ideas of what the project could potentially look like, I thought it would be a great added detail to incorporate some hand painted text by SPCLSIGNS himself. I knew it would really help tie the story together, and provide some subtle context. I decided to have him paint the intro/outro credits, and the opening title. It was perfect except he had forgotten the silent but deadly ‘h’ in my name. But thanks to a little digital black magic, we fixed it up in no time.
MASTER OF A CRAFT
Something naturally changes when a master of a craft starts working his trade. From Bryce Harper’s terrible season to his favorite brush, SPCLSIGNS and I would talk about it all. But when he was fully immersed in his work, there were moments of nothing but silence and the ambient noise of the environment as he was tackling a more detailed part of his sign, while I was quietly strategizing how to capture that moment best. It was a challenge having to understand his process, learning where to be when something important happened, and doing everything I could to get the best shot while staying out of his way. I made it a point to get a good mixture of tight and wide shots. I wanted to be up close and personal to show the intricacies of the craft, but also tell the story of how isolating it could be when you’re alone on a ladder painting a sign in the cold. In the edit, my goal was to show the viewer how important this craft is, and how people like SPCLSIGNS are working hard to preserve the art.
Pre-Production: Producing
Meet with the subject, and understand his/her story
Cultivate the necessary interview questions to build the story that meets the client’s needs
Research the subject
Location Scout
Work with the subject, and write a script that we both agree on
Story board
Production: Directing/Videography
Operate and understand the functions of the camera in order to capture the necessary content
Understand principles of composition, and understand which shots can best tell the story
Travel to location and shoot the subject
Post-Production: Editing
Understand thorough Adobe Creative Suite (Premiere, After Effects, Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, Media Encoder, Bridge)
Edit the footage in a way that best tells the story
Color grade the footage
Mix the audio
Export in proper settings that meet the clients intended use of the content