The making of the Atomism Music Video

Ever wonder how the White Light Riot's music video Atomism was created? It was a multiple step process:

First all the members of WLR where filmed (HD) in front of a green screen. Here they nodded there heads, spun around, and of course sang to the tune. Mike Schwandt (lead singer) got semi-sick spinning around and around while singing the entire song... I thought he was going to puke. Then I made it him do it again the opposite direction. He was a trooper and we made it through without any vomit on the carpet. The green screen actually was a make shift, college kid arts and crafty one... stitched together different pieces of green fabric by a 50 Records skillful employee:) Her fingers now hurts from the labor and was pulled to landscaping duty.



Next step was importing the footage into the computer, the green screen was keyed out and multi filters were added to create a black n white, high contrast appeal. Through out the video are elements from the cover art and inserts of the "Atomism" cd. This design is what inspired the overall feel of the video. Smoke, fonts, high contrast, and odd objects, just instead of static - in motion. The motion of the figures was also all done within post-production.

Now the rough draft and timetable was complete.



Now let's add some color.
Some animation was imported via flash for the initial test run and then some live footage of the graffiti garden in Duluth were used for texture. Again many filters and different movements were added to make the piece have more depth and sex appeal.



One scene removed from the final product was the light bulb drop scene. Other elements were also moved around until the final product was making everybody ooze with excitement.



After multiple views there was some concern, especially when watching it on a large screen, that the editing could cause seizures thus the warning at the beginning... nobody needs to get sued right?

Any other questions? Ask away and I'll try to answer. I know my grammer is all over the place but that's not my job:).

***Try to find the creator somewhere within the film***



Moving

The making of the Atomism Music Video