prop master nyc

Art Director for Music Video |Shaindel

(BEFORE)

20141013_104712 copy

So basically this room was full of storage stuff when I walked on-set. Myself and two PA’s cleared everything out– it was actually great because when we removed the paintings from the walls, they left dust-shadow boxes behind to make it look as if the characters really had just moved into a new home!20141013_104638

Those stacks of CD’s on the right were the most work to move. I also cleared out the chairs to really give the room a desolate feeling. The clutter of chair legs underneath the table filled up the space too much. In my mind, the movers had brought over the table, but most of the chairs hadn’t been unpacked yet.

We cleared it out in about 20 minutes. The owner of the house was amazed at the difference.


(AFTER)

20141013_093248

We debated about whether the curtain should be there or not. In the end, we had to put it up because outside, a religious structure was visible, and so the continuity of the narrative would have been compromised.

Stills from the music video:

shaindel scenic designshaindel scenery design music video

This might sound way over-detailed, but I set the box at that particular angle so that if you extend the lines of the box horizontally, the girl is contained within that little space in the corner… for example, if you extend the line of that one flap of the box in the middle, it intersects her head.

The photobooks on the table and in the box are all family photos depicting parties and good times with a Hasidic Jewish family. Originally I had the box and table filled with religious texts, but opted for the family photos to go with the idea of the past, and old memories, and relationships instead.

For the close-up below, I found this fabulous picture frame that went with the rustic look of the environment, and had an older, tarnished feeling like old memories.prop master nyc

Here is the music video if you’d like to check it out.

Shaindel is a Hasidic Jewish Singer, and makes music to inspire women and girls. It was great working with Shaindel and all of the Hasidic actresses and their families. Everyone was warm and welcoming, a very caring and spiritual group of people who I hope to work with again in the future.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *