Little Bo-Peep lost their sheep… and the sheep from space took over. Here’s what happens when a bad dream meets animal farm with guns, George Orwell style.

Band – Bo-Peep
Song Title – Power
Album – Vibe
Labels – Flightpath Records & Tours and 3rd Stone from the Sun Corp.. Available worldwide in every major music store, also online at Japan Files and iTunes.

Credits:
Producer – Ethan Green
Co-Producer, Director, Art Director, and Editor – Aaron Jenkin
Camera Operators – Edward Caughlin, Ethan Green, Aaron Jenkin, and Pierre Maugendre

Notes:
This was my third video on the Canon 5D Mark 2; I love this camera. My first attempt at stock motion was a 30 second Kraft Singles Cheese commercial. We shot the Kraft commercial in one day and edited it in three days. It was a piece of cake, or should I say cheese? I made the assumption that any stop motion was easy. Enter, Bo-Peep and “Power.”

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Bo-Peep is a punk rock girls band from Tokyo, Japan. Mika is the lead singer and guitarist, Ryoko is on drums, and Take is destroying the bass. They write their own music and perform live shows on a regular basis. If you see them, you will be instantly PUMPED. Recently they had an awesome writeup in a very popular Tokyo Magazine for English Speakers, titled Metropolis. They also went on tour in the US to promote their 3rd album, “VIBE” which will hit stores worldwide on May 29th. Alternatively, you can download the album at Japan Files and on iTunes.

The Experience:
The concept for this video was originally VERY simple. Of course as my brain ran wild, it went from a one month project to an obsessive five month perfection attempted, but very successful disasterpiece. Working with the band was nothing short of great, and in the end the video turned out just as we had hoped, but the hours put in to make the final result became uncountable and there were days when I thought I was going to go insane over not being able to get something technical to work. This video pushed the limits for me and everyone who helped. Four cameras shooting a live performance (We shot on 4 different cameras, including one with a fish-eye lens, to give the video a mixed look); 130GB’s of miniature footage; sometimes 20 takes to get a shot perfect; countless other hurdles. I now am a firm believer that shooting miniatures, even with the right equipment is one of the hardest things in the world. A speck of dust or a hair that you miss with the naked eye turns up so easily when you view it full screen. We got to the point where we had to check every take on a laptop monitor, to give it a pass or fail. Even our High Rez shooting monitor was not picking up all of the necessary details. Editing was not any easier than shooting. Since we were doing both simultaneously we had to learn new techniques AND invent new techniques to pull off all of the gags and ideas we had. Coming out of this, I feel like we can call this experience the miniature version of filming Apocalypse Now. At least we were in a studio for most of the shoot!

If you are interested in working with me on a music video and have an idea using miniatures or stop motion, let’s collaborate. As much as I hate the pain staking process, I love the outcome.

Special thanks to Bo-Peep for making such a rocking song and freedom to create a visual to match, Flightpath Records & Tours and 3rd Stone from the Sun Corp. for giving me the opportunity to work with the girls, Dean De La Cruz and Joe McDaniel for technical assistance, and Michelle Vines for letting us set our stage on fire in her studio space.

A fun filled group of barnyard animals make a grilled cheese sandwich on a farm in the clouds. Will they pull it off in this larger than life environment?

Credits:
Director Writer, Producer, Editor – Aaron Jenkin
Photographer, Editor – Brian Levin
Production Assistant – Sean Miller

Created for the Kraft Singles “Have a Happy Sandwich” contest. This stop motion advertisement was shot on a Canon 30D digital SLR.