To say that being an independent artist is absurdly difficult would be an understatement.
Stability, direction and support aside, EVERYTHING costs boatloads of money - from instruments and rehearsal spaces to recordings and distribution. That's why, when my friend Alex Ezorsky approached me with a desire to make a music video with me, I immediately jumped on the idea. I let him pick his favorite song off of my newly released album, a pop/hip hop track called Zebra featuring a rising Boston rapper by the name of Cliff Notez. What happened next I couldn't have possibly dreamed of.
I hadn't seen Alex's work before, but being a film producer myself I could tell that he knew what he was doing. Though I hadn't seen it yet, I knew that his previous project had taken him 7 years to wrap up (you can see that work here: https://vimeo.com/316104326). I didn't have that kind of time frame, but as we started discussing concepts for the song I began to understand the true scope of this collaboration.
The song itself is based on a concept of constant change and transition. Wherever you are in life - whether you are experiencing highs or lows - that will change. The bad times are not permanent. The good times aren't either, so you may as well be fully present in them. I have been struggling wrapping my head around this concept for the last couple years, and I wrote the song as a reminder to myself.
Alex wanted to illustrate the concept of change through transitions: night to day, dark to light, winter to spring. Joy to misery. Over the course of a year, we tested, filmed, coordinated, planned, tested some more, filmed some more, and edited this gargantuan project together with nothing more than our two-man team and the occasional filming help of a friend. It culminated in a 4-consecutive-all-nighter streak leading up to the release... All told, Alex spent over 200 hours on VFX editing alone, and if you watch the video you will see why!
More info: youtube.com
Zebra official music video
Alec Hutson
(photo credit - Holy Smoke Photography, Photoshop manipulation by Warbird Creative)
Zebra still
Zebra still
