This is a continuation of the story behind the music video for “The Great Unknown”. Read part 1 here for an in-depth look at the concept, pitch and pre-production that led up to this shoot.

The first time I rode a bicycle in Manhattan was goddamn terrifying. I grew up in small-town Wisconsin, and hadn’t owned a bike for years. The flow of traffic, people and insanity around me was the exact limit of what every bicycle ride between the ages of 5 and 18 added up to teach me. Every once in a while, we get to experience productions that feel just like that. Thanks to every single set we’ve been on up until that day, we can navigate the chaos, push the right buttons and avoid smashing ourselves into car doors. Every moment spent on a job will have prepared you for the one you’re on right now. The Great Unknown was one of those shoots.

Our crew on the road was exactly three people. Myself directing, Sean as my director of photography, and Jenna as our AC, second shooter and BTS. We had more help in the first and last locations for acts one and three, but the heart of the video was just the three of us. Rolling with a minimal crew means minimal gear. Not only did we not have enough people to manage hanging up enormous diffusion frames or running power from generators, but we had to fit all of our gear into a Honda Element and be ready to set up as quickly as the band could build a drum kit. Every “road trip” scene would have to feature natrual light, assisted only by bounces and reflectors.

The load-out for the road portion of The Great Uknown looked like this:

Sony FS700 kit

Canon 5DIII kit (x2)

Canon L-series zooms and Rokinon primes

Phantom 2 UAV kit

Glidecam HD-4000 with X10 vest & arm

Sticks

Road Rags modifiers

6-in-1 reflector (x2)

All three of us have worked on lots television, advertisements and features that were much larger than this. We knew the limits of our kit, but also appreciated how streamlined our setups and breakdowns would be. As long as we didn’t let ourselves get too hung up on lighting situations beyond our control (read: many), we would be fine.