Okay, first, watch "I Need a Car" and see the clip on facebook, then read how it was completed.

I usually don't do stuff last minute, but it must have been fate that I was thinking about WJXT's Morning Jam Contest when I was approached by a guy who asked me to help him win a car. Unfortunately, I only had two days to complete the project. GULP! So, I threw all caution to the wind and did a true "run-n-gun" production. 

Thankfully, the hard part of the project was done - he presented me with a completed audio recording! Without good audio, video projects can never do well, because they will only ever look as good as they sound. Having a half-decent track was the starting point.

We took Chuck's audio and lyrics, ran out, and started shooting. After a few scene changes, calls to potential talent, and even securing a bicycle built for two, the footage was in the can. Then the fun started...

Editing can be a nightmare when you shoot without a shot list, which makes me glad that I both shoot and edit, since I can shoot for the edit to work. Otherwise, we would have had some problems. Certainly, I was sure to cover the action with some extra shots, but pretty much, I only got was needed to tell the story effectively. Editing and effects took me about 10 hours to complete. Honestly, the biggest challenge in this video was about 4-5 hours of CGI (and some dozing through the night) done on about 15 seconds of footage where our musician (Chuck Davis) was cut from his chroma shot and placed over an animated web page and other fx.

In all, I'm pretty pleased with how the video turned out. As of this point, it appears to be showing strong on WJXT's facebook contest page, and it's getting tons of votes. You can follow the contest here. If you visit the contest while it's in place, certainly, click to vote for "I Need a Car."

The video is also available in HD on vimeo.