The older I get and as more time goes by, I realize just how much there is to know in this world. And then, it dawns on me. When I really start to think about it, even in a lifetime, there is no way that any human being could even come close to being all knowing and all seeing. And this applies to music as well. So when I was called upon to assist with another music video shoot for HNM, even at my age, I was about to learn about another genre of music. Imagine that!? And being such a music aficionado, I, in my naïveté, thought I’d heard about every kind of music known to man….in existence! But, no….. Even as music serves as my constant companion and ubiquitous soundtrack as I move through my habitual routines – at work, in my daily commute and, sometimes, even in my sleep, I found yet another genre to add to my book of knowledge. Now did I ever hear this kind of music before? Well, sure….in its various forms. I’ve heard it in it’s subtle origins and in separating its elements, I’ve detected it in its punk and folk music roots, but if you came to me and asked me if I ever heard about Oi! music prior to last Saturday, I would have said “Excuse me….?” As fate would have it, I would soon have my introduction to Oi! music and, hence, she would come in a sweet and petite package better known as Jenny Woo.

So it was Saturday afternoon, and I was once again, making my way to our next video shoot. I was a little nervous as I was already running late and since I had to drive to the Park and Ride, park my car, and hop the bus, once I got to my proper stop, I still had to cross the bridge to get myself over to the Quebec side. I had no idea how far I needed to go and if there was even any bus that would take me to where Andy and the crew were working, if it proved to be a far trek.  But, I was lucky this time. I’d just gotten off of the 95 at Lebreton Flats and looking across bridge, I saw that I could easily walk over to the Hull side of town. Not only that. This time, it wasn’t freezing cold outside like it was on our last shoot, but it was rather a gloriously sunny day with a pleasant breeze. I called Andy to see how close I was getting to their location and it turns out that I was exactly on the same street that they were on….I just had to walk 5 blocks more and I was there.  Sweet! Everything was just peachy and I felt that this day was going to be smooth sailing….

So when I met up with them, they were in mid shot, capturing Jenny as she was walking down the sidewalk on Eddy Street. And then I heard it, the Oi! music! It was playing from a portable music player so that Jenny could follow the beat of her song. When you meet Jenny Woo for the first time, she totally strikes you as a very friendly and outgoing young lady with a very professional and courteous demeanor. You warm up immediately to her even more when she flashes you her great smile. As the shoot went on, we engaged in light hearted chit chat and it was becoming more and more apparent to me that there was a lot going on with this girl…and I wanted to know more about her. So instead of my usual recount of the video making process (since it went so well and hiccup free), I decided that I wanted to dwelve into the mind of the music maker this time and shine the spotlight completely on the artist. Lucky for me, Jenny was so open and had graciously accommodated my request for an interview, sharing a few details about herself – some personal life experiences and insights about where she came from, where she is and where she is headed. Check out the Q & A below and get to know a little bit about Miss Jenny Woo for yourself!

How old where you when you picked up your first guitar?

Jenny: I am really fortunate to have come from a family where music has always been really appreciated and respected, and so I was lucky enough to be enrolled in piano lessons at the young age of six years old! After I had a basic understanding of music and music theory, it wasn’t that difficult to pick up on guitar, which I started playing when I was thirteen. I decided to switch to guitar in my teenage years because it’s a lot easier to play in a rock n’ roll group with an electric guitar than with a grand piano!

What is your most memorable gig or favourite place to perform?

Jenny: I have played a lot of really great shows across Canada and in Europe over the last three years, but I would have to say that the best gig I have ever played was last summer in Germany. It was the first time I had ever played in Germany, and I was really nervous because it was a gig that was organized fairly last-minute in a remote town in the Black Forest, and I didn’t know anyone there and I knew only a couple of words in German. To my surprise, however, everyone was really friendly and even knew the words to some of my songs! I was blown away by the fact that people half-way across the world had been listening to my songs and had made the effort to drive 3 hours just to attend this small gig. It was a huge confidence booster for me, and I made friends at that show that I keep in touch with to this day.

So you have upcoming gigs lined up in Europe. Tell us about that.

Jenny: Yes, I am playing a mini-tour in Europe this September, and hopefully another one in May 2012. I am signed to a German record label called Randale Records, and since a lot of the publicity work that the label does is focussed in Germany, it makes sense to tour there in order to support my upcoming album release. The record label helped organize a lot of the gigs for me, and I will be playing in Hamberg, Schramberg, Duisberg, and Leipzig in Germany, as well as a couple of gigs in Karlskrona, Sweden, and a couple of gigs in Holland. I am really excited to meet a lot of new people, and travelling while playing music has always been my dream so I can’t wait to get out there and live it up!

Tell us one thing that is not well known about yourself, but that would surprise people to know.

Jenny: Like most people, I have a few small, hidden talents – one of my uncommonly known skills is my ability to find Waldo in “Where’s Waldo” books. For some reason or another, Waldo always seems to jump out at me, and I can locate him very easily. Now if only that skill translated into an ability to find my keys and the remote control which always seem to be hidden in my apartment…

You have recently left your hometown of Edmonton, Alberta to come to Ottawa. How is that adjustment going for you?

Jenny: It’s always hard to move to a new city, and to leave good friends and family behind. That being said, I really like Ottawa and find it to be a very manageable city to get around in – it’s big enough to have a lot of interesting things to do, and yet it’s small enough to get around in comfortably. I also like the fact that it is so close to Montreal and a few other cities, which is great for gigging and also for spending the weekends exploring and trying out new things. Overall, I’m still working on building up a social network and finding my place here in Ottawa, but I am really happy here and I feel like there is a lot of room for me to grow in Ottawa.

Where would you like to be 5 years from now and what do you see yourself doing?

Jenny: In terms of my musical career, I would like to release another full-length album, as well as some split albums with a few bands that I really respect and would love to work with. I would also really like to tour in Indonesia and through South East Asia. In five years from now, I would still like to be writing songs and improving my vocal chops and guitar skills, which are definitely life-long projects.

If you had the chance to work on a project with another artist, who would that artist be?

Jenny: I have always really wanted to work with Franky Flame, who is a well-renowned artist in the punk community in Europe. He plays currently with a band called Superyob, and has had a really long and rich musical career, which has influenced a lot of the songs I have written. I am really lucky, in fact, because I might soon be realizing this dream – Franky Flame and I are currently working together to release a single on Randale Records sometime next year, and I really looking forward to working with him on this project. I think that there is a lot that I can learn from him, and hopefully we can come up with some great songs together.

On a more personal note, besides music, what else fires you up in life?

Jenny: Besides music, I am really impassioned by a lot of social justice issues; I worked for Amnesty International for a few years trying to promote awareness for human rights issues, and I am right now really interested in issues relating to human trafficking. I am also a strict vegetarian and I do my best to promote animal welfare on a local level. Other than that, my friends and family are really important to me and I do my best to spend time with them and to continue building strong and rich relationships with them.

Who is loaded on your MP3 player these days?

Jenny: These days, I am listening to a lot of power-pop and pub rock. I saw the Vancouver band the Transmitorz play here during the Ottawa Explosion festival, and I was really blown away – I was so impressed that I purchased a few of their releases at the show and have been playing them constantly ever since. Their songs and sound has been influencing me for the last couple of months, and the songs that I have been writing for my band, The Birds of Prey, incorporate and build off of their energy and super-melodic vocal lines.

Where do you draw your inspiration to write your songs? Do you do better in happier times or when you are confronted with personal struggles and challenges?

Jenny: A lot of people have commented that my songs are super positive and optimistic, and I think they are. Most of the songs on my last album, “Alberta Rose,” have been about overcoming obstacles, not accepting defeat, and trying to find hope in seemingly hopeless situations. You might think that I write these songs in happier times, but in fact, I do my best song-writing when I am confronted with personal challenges. I believe that we are defined by how we meet and deal with the challenges and problems of everyday life, and I have always grown the most personally and learned the most about myself when I’ve found myself in tough times. It’s pretty natural for me to turn to song-writing when I have the need to express myself or figure out a problem, so it makes sense that most of my songs are written in the face of personal struggle.

So there you have it, folks. I hope you enjoyed getting better acquainted with Jenny. If you met her in person like I did, you’d get a very cool vibe from her. To me, she is a breath of fresh air! Not only do you have a great young talent with goals and aspirations in Miss Woo, but you also have an individual here who is down to earth, very personable, passionate and someone with a social conscience. For me, one of the greatest pleasures in life is not only discovering new music, but also meeting new people and finding out what makes them tick.  I really liked what I found in Jenny and I will be following her as she continues to break into the Oi! music scene, building a captive audience of her own.

I had a great time working with you on your video shoot, Jenny! You now have a new friend and fan in me! I’ll be cheering you on as you blaze your new trail. Go get ‘em girl!  I know you’ll do us Canucks proud in Europe!

Godspeed and Happy Trails!

Watch the video:

Tina

HNM was at it again, shooting yet another music video and this time, it was at a location known as 34 ½. Why 34 ½, you ask? Have you ever heard of these kinds of addresses before? I have, but only in recent times on television when you see them featuring shows in really obscure places, like little neighbourhoods tucked away in the back alleys of New York City.  So when Andy e-mailed me with the location details of the next video shoot, I’ll admit that this address itself held a certain amount of intrigue and wonder for me. Although I am intimately acquainted with Ottawa and the surrounding area, I’ll admit that this area was one of those streets where I have had, previously, little reason to be. So, armed with my Mapquest directions and my camera, I ventured out, in minus 30 weather I may add, to find this place on a Sunday morning. And to tell you the truth, it was one of those mornings where I really wished that I had nothing to do but stay in my warm and comfy bed, cuddled up with my husband and the pups – my idea of the best way to victoriously run the meter out on this dreadfully cold day – on my terms. But duty was calling me and I was excited about this next HNM project. And, I had to remind myself of another reason to be grateful – it was going to be a great day because the sun was actually making an appearance, which was something that we had not previously enjoyed for what seemed like weeks on end on this particular round of Winter. So off I went on my little Sunday adventure….

Location, Location, Location…..

As I followed my Mapquest route, straining my eyes to find this place, I wished I had asked Andy to give me a landmark to guide me towards my destination. You know, like “…head down this street and turn left at the Tim Horton’s…” I seem to do well with those kinds of directions. Don’t give me “Oh yeah, just head East on this road and then take this road west bound…”.  For some reason, I just haven’t made friends with good ol’ North, South, East and West yet. Besides, I always catch myself looking for the direction of the sun when given these compass points and that is very distracting when you are already feeling a bit lost and disoriented. But I digress…

Anyhow, I continued down the street, and suddenly the addressed were going up… 56… 86…. Oowwwww! I’m going the wrong way. The first left I could take gave me the opportunity to turn around and I was back again on my path to hopefully find my rightful location. A little nervous that I would drive past 34 ½, I actually pulled over on a side street, hoping that my gut feeling that told me that I was probably close to our inconspicuous location was not just the feeling of hunger and a little anxiety about being, for all intents and purposes, lost.

The Phone Home…..

Feeling the cold and a little nervous at the thought of appearing unfamiliar with this neighbourhood, I pulled out my cell phone, reluctantly pulled off my gloves and dialed home to get assistance. My husband Fred answers, “Hello?” “Hi Honey, it’s me” I reply. Just as I say that, I hear that dreaded 3 beep warning that tells me that my cell phone battery has run dry and just as I am stammering “My cell battery is low and I need help…” I am instantly cut off…  “Oh crap!” Just great! I’m lost, it’s flippin’ cold out here and Fred is probably freaking out by now because maybe he thinks I am in jeopardy because;

A – I called and my cell went dead and;

B – I used the word “help.”

Man! Okay, I have no choice now, I just had to suck it up, be a big girl and just find my own way. My next thought had me crossing this busy street at the next opportunity and hoping that my bet paid off because I was quickly feeling the effects of this cold winter morning and I was really not interested in testing my weather tolerance. Oh, why had I chosen to wear a skirt and high-heeled boots for this gig?   I mean, really?!  But, I am who I am and the girly girl that I am, I just have to be me. So I guess this particular morning, I was determined that I was going to be “little miss who would not let the cold weather get the better of my fashion sense” me.  Oh stupid me! Stupid, stupid me!

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway…..

Having made my way across the street to the sidewalk (after carefully manoeuvring traffic), I stopped, took a deep breath and concentrated. I mentally recalled the e-mail that Andy had sent me. Now he said something about a garage and the colour green. But all I saw in front of me was a low rise apartment complex. The address was not 34 ½ sadly. Determined not to overlook this very crucial detail in Andy’s e-mail, I was guided by my inner voice to venture behind the complex and lo and behold, discreetly tucked away behind those low-rise apartments, I saw a garage with green trim.  I was hopeful and a little afraid at the same time. Was this the place?  Upon closer inspection, I saw the number 34 ½ affixed near a door that looked like the entrance. Oh man, this had to be the place! Then I noted that there was also a van parked out back, a white one to be exact. Oh, it’s a white van… Anyone born and raised in Ottawa knows that what you hear in the local news about those white vans is never good. They always seem to be in those places where shady stuff goes down. Okay, so it made me a little edgy. But, I was done with wandering the streets aimlessly, and suffering from the biting cold, and at that point, I had resigned myself to the fact that this was probably the place that I was supposed to be to meet up with the gang and the band.  But I hate not being sure about things. What if this is someone’s private property and I am mistaken? What if I walk into a situation where I surprise the occupants with my unexpected visit and it just so happens that a seedy deal is going down? What if I am run off the property with a gun?  I have no idea what to expect. You see, I’m rather shy and unsure when in unknown places and my natural inclination is to always proceed with caution and with a little apprehension, even when I am invited to be somewhere. Oh, and did I mention that my imagination has a tendency to run away with me at times? With my reticence growing, I scanned for a doorbell. There was none. But why would there be one on a garage? But again, it did have its own address. Cringing, with my hand freezing from the cold, I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and holding my breath, I cautiously knock on the door and wait. As I finally exhaled, I saw my breath vaporize thickly in the air. Please, please let this be the place. I’ll do anything to avoid having to awkwardly explain to a stranger why I am there. My worst fear was that I would be confronted with an annoyed tenant. And that would not be good because I would be nervously slurring my words due to my mouth freezing from the cold as I explain my presence and unwillingly blowing saliva bubbles out of my pursed lips (because that’s what happens, much to my annoyance, when I feel self conscious and timid).

Please Don’t Touch Work In Progress

But much to my relief, as the door opens, I see a very familiar and reassuring face. It was dear Lorelei. “Hi Lorelei.” I say with a sigh of relief. She says hi and welcomes me in. In the background, I see Andy and Dave working away as they set up the equipment and search out those electrical outlets. As this was the first time that they had ever been out to this location, looking for places to plug in their equipment was looking a lot like they were on an impromptu Easter egg hunt. Actually being inside 34 ½, I could see that this garage was actually converted into a space for local bands to play. Near the door to the immediate right, you saw a dusty coca cola machine, but I could not tell if it was stocked and ready to serve should anyone have a thirst to quench. On the other side of the door to the left, I noted that there was a window to an office. Taped up on this window were signs with hand written instructions advising the frequenting musicians what to do, what not to do and who to contact if you need to know more about your expected conduct. And there was some colourful language peppered in here and there for good measure and effect.  On the bottom far right corner of this window, you saw an empty Tim Horton’s coffee cup, some masking tape, a pen and a sign with that familiar cross bar, but in this instance, this particular sign says “Please Don’t Touch Work In Progress.” And behind the window inside of the office, you could see a few toy trucks propped up against it. When I swung my gaze over to the far left hand side of this jamming space, I noted that Descendant had set up their gear, and their band banner was hung high behind the drummer.  Aha! Here was going to be the focal point of this shoot, I was guessing. And then I scanned over to the right of this room and noted that there were 2 couches there, facing the band’s set up.  Lorelei shows me across this room to another adjoining room where she tells me that we are temporarily storing our stuff, safe and out of the way while we work.

So where were the band members of Descendant, I wondered. Not too long after that thought popped into my head, the first to walk through the door were Raffaele and Sarah.

Enter the Players

Raffaele – or Raf as he is better known – is a tall guy with an adorable smile. He’s wearing a black graphic ball cap backwards and has a very polite demeanor. For some reason, I could tell right away that his heritage is Italian. Could this be because I am married to an Italian myself? His girlfriend Sarah is very petite, pretty and sweet. After introducing myself to them, I explain why I am here and ask if it would be okay to take pictures to document this shoot. It becomes quickly apparent that they are both very easy going and friendly and that they have no problems with me carrying out my behind the scenes work. Through a little more chatting, I soon discover that Sarah also has an affinity for photography and we talk a little about cameras and the pros and cons of a point and shoot versus a really professional and very expensive SLR.

Not long after, we meet Danielle, Chris and Mat. Danielle is a nice, attractive blond who soon makes her way over to Sarah, sits on the couch beside her and starts to engage in chick chat with her. Chris, the drummer, I note, is wearing this really cool jacket with a black and white graphic of an artfully done skull and one of those gentleman hats which totally suits him. And finally, I meet Mat, the bearded guitar player with an amazing head of hair. Having long locks myself, I am almost jealous of his shiny mane with its obvious thickness, full of vitality.  So thus far, after meeting these nice young folks, I am put at ease and confident that this day will go well for all involved.

The Phone Call….

Now we were awaiting the arrival of Sean, the bassist for the group.   But here is what really freaked me out during this shoot. In between getting the gear perfectly positioned and in place, discussing the angles and shots with the musicians and Lorelei and I chatting about the cold, lack of sleep and how we thought the day would go, something very odd was said.  I think it was really in jest at first, but Lorelei comes up to me and says something to the effect that she hoped that the Bassist didn’t get into an accident. You see, Sean was in Kingston and making his way back to Ottawa that morning. There were some delays in his departure and this was confirmed as Raf made a few phone calls earlier, but no alarming news was forthcoming until his cell rang while we were filming. At that moment, his tone changed from easy going to concerned. My heart sank. It was Sean and he was calling to inform Raf that he had gotten into a car accident. He was fine, but his car was a write-off. I looked at Lorelei in disbelief and all I could say was “That’s what you said. You said it! Oh my God, you said it!” meaning that she called it – like she had a premonition. She looked at me and said. “I had a bad feeling this morning.”  I literally got goose bumps! I shook it off quickly as I knew that no one was being taken away in an ambulance, but it left me feeling a little more chilled in that garage which was already only about 13 degrees celsius to begin with. So what’s next? What do we do?

People Keep Moving….

Andy, Dave, Raf and Mat go over their options and eventually determine that doing close-ups of the lead singer and guitarist would be the best way to optimize their time while Sean found another way to get to Ottawa for that afternoon.  So the show does indeed go on and we make the best of what we can do for the time being.  Sean was able to make it some time after 4:00 p.m. that afternoon so we did manage to get the full band complement together for Sunday’s shooting schedule.

Still Learning…..

Did we encounter a few more bumps in the road that day? You bet.  It took a lot of time to do the initial set-up for the lights as one of the challenges with this particular location was working within cramped quarters. When we were able to manoeuvre our lights and finally find that ideal spot for them to shine, when we would actually turn the light on, we’d trip a breaker. We soon discovered that we were working with a weak power grid so we had to be really mindful of this if we made any adjustments with our lighting gear.  Even with these lighting issues, we still have to work within our limitations. And sometimes you just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best – that the camera is forgiving and captures whatever the director envisions in his mind. Although Andy’s camera does have a viewer, it is still difficult, at times, to determine how well footage will turn out until you get to the post production stage. And that’s where colour grading and effects become your best friends and solid allies in the creative process.

What else happened?  Well, Andy’s jeans took collateral damage as he ripped them from his pocket all the way down to his knee while climbing a ladder to get another camera angle. It’s just one of the sacrifices a good director makes to find the perfect shot.

And the smoke machine was a bit temperamental and had to warm up in order to be coaxed into pumping out some atmosphere enhancing smoke. But patience paid off and we were rewarded with this effect for the last few shots.

Anything else? Dave jokes that he and Lorelei almost got fired – again – this time because of clapboard issues. You see, there is this running joke on our team that when any one of us seems to be having technical issues related to our respective task, the rest of us just humorously rag on the weak one and we go on this little teasing rant.  We’ll say that the guilty party is to be fired and banished from the set forever, never to be heard from again……that is until one of us realizes that we can’t function without them. We go on to tell the guilty party how lucky they are that this is a small production, that we will take pity on them and at the end of the day, they still have a job with us, that is until they get fired – again!  This is all delivered in jest, of course, with a sarcastic smile!

All in all, while the morning set-up was a bit tedious, frustrating and slow going, the afternoon coverage with the crowd went much faster because of an easier shot list, the lighting was good to go and everyone was cooperative and very easy to work with.  Check out all my photos at the following link as I documented some of the process….

View the photos on Hotcakes New Media‘s Facebook page.

Oh and one last thing….

You’d think that we would have leaned our lesson by now, but because we had so much footage, we actually ran out of disk space near the end of our shoot – AGAIN!  Andy wanted one last take for coverage and was only able to run the camera for about 45 seconds before we had that dreaded “memory full” indicator.

So let’s add lesson #42 to our repertoire, folks. Make a check list and verify it once, twice and thrice before we head out to our next assignment!  But who would have thought we would need three hours of footage for a 4 minute song?!

At the end of it all, we got our footage, met some nice people along the way and hopefully, when all is said and done, we will have produced a video that will make our client happy and proud.   Andy has shown me a rough cut so far and I am really excited and pumped about seeing the finished product.

Before I go, I leave you with this thought.  As we spent some time at 34 ½, I wondered about Descendant and their future as a band.  What was in the cards for these guys?   Were they going to go the distance and make the big leagues as a metal act?  They certainly had the talent for it. And what about any of the other bands, for that matter, who have shelled out a few bucks a month in rent to play there?  All great bands start somewhere. Usually small and typically in a garage or a basement. So in between takes, I’ll admit, I did something a little strange myself. I strained my ears, closed my eyes and tried to hear all of the echoes of past gigs, wondering if, by chance, any one of those may have possibly laid the foundation for the future of the next big thing in music… if they dare to dream….

Creatively Yours,

Tina

CONFRONT Magazine has written an article on the process of making a music video, with anecdotal references to Hotcakes New Media‘s production of Ottawa band To The Rescue’s “Are You Bulletproof?”. The full music video is also posted at the end of the article. Please click here to read the article and watch the video.

You can also watch the video on our music video production site at: http://www.ottawamusicvideo.ca