Walk Alone

October 2007

Walk Alone tells the story of a band coming together, combining the members’ individual talents and meeting up to form a stronger whole, hoping that their sacrifices will prove worthwhile and that they will succeed in a tough industry. The concept was written with the band in mind, taking the lyrics to mean the struggle of the band members to find success, with a red light being the visual representation for their metaphorical calling, bringing them into the desert together, where they meet and find their destiny as Autumn Tragedy, playing amidst fiery, burned-out cars.

Walk Alone was the first professional project I directed, so it will always have great meaning to me as a director and as a filmmaker in general. Victor Davoody and I brainstormed ideas for the concept in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and we both agreed that the song lyrics refer to the band. I was nervous about telling Rich Pineda, the lead singer, that I thought the concept should be focused around him and the band, and that I believed he was writing about himself, because I was worried about being wrong. Rich loved the idea, though, and thought we nailed the concept. I still enjoy watching Walk Alone and I continue to receive strong positive feedback on the video, which surprises me in the sense that I have grown a lot as a director since I finished the project. I especially love the first and last shots of the video, though, and think they are the strongest opening and closing shots I have had yet. The framing is excellent and the “cool” factor is really there, with Rich looking at the camera in a menacing way.

“Grain and Reshoots”

Walk Alone was a nightmare to film, mostly because of Victor Davoody and I’s inexperience at the time. We were new filmmakers, trying to make professional work, but not entirely sure how to do so. The first Walk Alone never showed to the public; the footage, shot with a Canon XH-A1, was too grainy to be useable because the Director of Photography had no clue how to use the camera, so he left the gain on during the entire shoot, resulting in footage resembling Snow White in a snowstorm. The shoot lasted almost 24 hours including driving from Los Angeles to Yucca Valley, California, and back again. When we decided to reshoot the video entirely, we had better ideas in mind, and a fuller crew, rather than just a camera guy and a few amateurs. We also brought with us a lot of additional equipment to make sure we could create a professional project. Again, though, the shoot lasted almost 24 hours and was a grueling production that none of us would repeat now that we are more experienced in the industry.

“Mutiny on Set”

Because we were shooting with fire, and could not afford a fire marshal or a fire truck on standby, several members of the became wary about shooting the performance footage at the end of the day at all. Bowen and Davoody thought everyone was clear with the day’s schedule, because the first video footage had been sent to the crew, with pictures of shooting locations and other details, but when the time came to shoot several crew members were threatening not to work. The shoot shut down for an hour while two groups talked over how to handle the situation separately. Finally, a compromise was reached, and the band moved further away from the fire, with the Director of Photography shooting in forced perspective to make the fire appear closer to the band. Friends of the band had left to find food for the crew and the band, but did not return for hours, resulting in a grumpy, angry crew and a tense situation. The shoot in general was a nightmare from every perspective, but many lessons learned. Safety always comes first on professional shoots. Additionally, nobody outside of the crew should be in charge of food because a well fed crew is a happy crew. Experience, unfortunately, is gained in the trenches of battle, so lessons must be learned the hard way.

Director: Jonathan L. Bowen

Producer: Victor Davoody

Director of Photography: Huy Pham

Editor: Brendan Collins

1st A.C.: Sunil Kapoor

Gaffer: Andrew Koch

Grips:
Bob Salatich
Michael Dehart