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WORK & MONEY
ANATOMY
OF
A VIDEO
by Michael Kaplan
Published November 11, 1996
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N'Gai "Zodiac" Poindexter has gone from neighborhood troublemaker to production assistant (thanks to a producer who used Zodiac as an extra and took a personal interest in him) to director in his own right. His highest profile project to date has been a video for Onyx's "Walk In New York." Already a veteran of four low-budget video productions, Zodiac breaks down the process for us.
- Zodiac receives a cassette of the song along with a budget for the desired video. Competing with maybe a half-dozen other hopeful directors, he listens to the tape and writes a two-page treatment, outlining what he hopes to shoot within the financial constraints.
- Once hired, Zodiac brings on his team: accountant, producer and second director. They divvy the budget, hire a crew and devise a shot list.
- Locations are rented, artists create sets, permits get secured, cast and crew are finalized, a date is settled on with the group. Through all of this, Zodiac tweaks his planned shots to perfection.
- Shoot day begins just after dawn. "It's like going into a boxing ring," Zodiac says. "It's all up to you, with your good ideas and strong production team at your side."
- Shooting wraps, equipment gets returned to rental companies, film is processed and transferred to tape. Zodiac works with a tape editor to produce a rough edit, complete with color corrections and some special effects. This goes to the record label and artist. The coming week gets devoted to fine-tuning the edit to the client's specifications.
- Upon the rough's approval, Zodiac does an online edit, adding the remaining special effects. "Then," he says, "you start warming up for your next shoot."
Michael Kaplan's work has appeared in such publications as "New York," "Movieline," "Swing," and Tripod's "Tools for Life" magazine.
© 1996 Tripod, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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