Hope covers Lullabye by Billy Joel

18/11/2018

She did it. She made me cry. A man who’s experience at boarding school spit me out with the emotional capacity of a spoon. That, and my newly understood logician personality traits.

Photo by Clem Morris

A next level performance

A match made in heaven. Really. Lullabye and Hope. I am so proud of her and I am so proud of this work, I’ll let it speak for itself...

Okay, I’ll give you some insight into the creative process...

The concept

I have to say. I didn't put any real time into planning this. I just figured it out on the day and it happened to all work out rather well.

Hope has expressed interest in shooting in the snooker room at Childwickbury, so I went ahead with making that the location. The piano was in tune enough with itself for us to go ahead with the shoot with the little notice we had.

It just happened to suit the song perfectly. With Hope wearing her sparkly suit, she might have just been at a party, or there was a party in the room, but there is no evidence of it - empty glasses etc. The haze provides an atmosphere reminiscent of old English pubs or smoking establishments. The room itself is more that of a gentlemen's club perhaps? Many unanswered questions accidentally make it a curious viewing. I've very happy.

Gear

Canon XC10
DJI Ronin M
Arri spot lights
Haze machine with light grade haze
Shure SM7B
AKG C414 XLS
AKG C414 XL II
Apogee Ensemble FireWire
Microphone leads
Microphone stands

The introduction of haze into my arsenal of tools has been very welcomed and was long overdue. It provides a beautiful effect when shooting at night and using very hard lighting set ups; bare bulbs under lampshades and two focused spots from Arri. You can 'see' the light as it reflects off the moisture in the air. Like my favourite - early morning dew as it is warmed by the sun and evaporates.

Performance

I feel that with this performance, Hope has broken through to a new level. My believe in her potential has been unshakable since I first saw her on that stage at the arts fair over 6 years ago. Now, she is on her road to becoming that potential.

There will be many twists and turns, but she’s already made it in my mind. It is only a matter of time before she gets the big break she needs to launch her into the public eye. And I'll be there for her when that happens.