HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
TIME TO CELEBRATE….
I found myself with a little down-time between gigs the week of my birthday so I decided to spend the week celebrating in the studio. Definitely more fun than admin tasks and well, it never hurts to have some new work to show for your time too. ; )
SHOOT PREP
I started by thinking about what it means to celebrate your birthday once we’ve departed childhood. We’ve lost some of that ability to celebrate ourselves, to be happy for US for a day, and to really indulge without a moment’s worry about what that cake and ice cream will do to our self-esteem afterwards. I wanted to create imagery that encourages you to pat yourself on the back, to acknowledge all your hard work and your generous nature… images that say it’s ok to be excited about cake and not to sweat the little things. Images that encourage some over-the-top revelry and silliness. It’s your birthday, you do you!
THE SKETCHES
Drawn up in Procreate, my sketches ranged from quick and off-the-cuff to contemplative and challenging… problems would need to be solved in how to execute some shots, and on set, some would need to modify to fit the props and shot intention better. Over all it was a fun creative exercise.
THE PROCESS
Every day I pulled together my best, most crafty, self and started making cakes, building sets, and solving problems. I employed some creative rigging throughout to allow me to reach through a cake, to become a gift message in a gift back, to create confetti that stays put, and to rig up a whole mess of mis-matched candles. Pairing the original sketches with actual props I could get my hands on brought me to some very spot-on executions and, in one instance, a total departure from the original set design.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Want a peek into the creative process on set? Take a look at my Instagram story highlight and watch me animate and set up shots along the way.
THE RESULTS
The Disco Slice
The first, and best, slice of cake. Originally, I wanted this to have a silver streamer curtain behind the cake and bright yellow/gold table surface. The problem was, with all that texture behind, the yellow candle was getting very lost and the background was upstaging the cake itself. Instead, I placed a small disco ball behind the cack between the table and wall, dressed up the table itself with wrapping remnants and a patterned table cloth. Rotating the disco ball while the candle flickers became a fun little way to bring some extra life to the shot.
LIGHT ALL THE CANDLES
Who’s counting anymore? Don’t sweat the details, just have fun and make a wish. This was a quick opportunistic shot. I bought so man different packs of birthday candles to try and pair just the right ones that I had a glut of options. Rather than return them to the store, I decided to make them the hero of this fun little animation. I played with lighting them one-by-one and blowing them out, but ultimately, I just loved them each burning along waiting for your wish.
LeT there be cake! And Eat it too!
A silly, absurd little animation that took a fair amount of prep to execute, this image is meant to evoke the celebratory moment at every party when the cake comes out! HURRAH! Let’s eat cake! Comical, weird, and chuckle-worthy. Check out the BTS on Instagram.
The GIFT
When you’re a kid, all the colorful baubles and toys are what you’re after. When you get older you just want that self-confidence back and you want to believe you’re doing well. This is a little personal moment to give yourself that pep talk and toss aside the imposter syndrome.
Birthday Selfie
It’s a bit of a thing for me, not to take life too seriously. It’s ok to get a little silly and to look for ways to have fun, on set and in life.
Claim that Disco Slice
Let there be cake!! (Or whatever you enjoy in life) I don’t actually eat sweets, but to me, the cake can be anything that puts a smile on your face. Make those things a priority even when it’s not your birthday.
Note: I nearly didn’t bother with this shot, but I’m glad to have it in the mix. It was a super simple set, but with an exceedingly difficult hand posture… trying to match my sketch was painfully (literally) tricky. But hooray! We did it!