I love this song! The Urban Monks are a band that I first saw in concert performing note-for-note Beatles albums with the KW Symphony. Being a bit of a Beatles fan I took note and was sure to catch as many shows as possible. A few months later it turns out they had been hired to play at a wedding I was shooting (kate+andrew). They saw some of the footage and said, “wow, that’s really cool,” and since I was already digging their music, the idea to work together on a project came naturally. This is my first attempt at a music video; watching all the innovative videos in the 90’s was one of the things that attracted me to film making in the beginning (See Weezer’s video for Say it Aint So, another “guys jamming in a living room” style music video that I love, and drew inspiration from). Producing this has been a fun detour from my normal work and a great excuse to experiment. By now I’ve heard this song approximately 3.6 million times and it only gets better with each listen.
The song is called “Hook in my Mouth” by the Urban Monks. Composed by Pete Oldridge. Produced by Pete Oldridge and Rob McFee. Engineered by Rob McFee and Nick Iden. urbanmonks.bandcamp.com/
Lead voacals: Pete Oldridge // Bass guitar: Dave Neigh // Keys: Ryan Kimmich // Drums: Jonny Sauder
2nd Camera: Ben Kane // Best boy grip, PA, and BTS camera: Steven Yu
Kate and Andrew were kind and trusting enough to let me into very private moments of their day and not hold back at all. We had arranged for them to meet in a little clearing by a creek, in the shade of a gigantic tree, where they took turns reading vows to each other a few hours before the ceremony (sometimes called a “first look”). The experience was truly a powerful one, and something I won’t soon forget.
TL;DW (Too Long; Didn’t Watch): This is the 10-15 minute Feature Edit of their wedding! For their Highlight Edit, which clocks in at about 3 minutes, check out my previous K+A blog entry. The “Feature Edit” allows a wedding film to breath a little, and really delve into the personalities and quirks of the couple. One scene in particular gets me laughing every time: look for the little red and white mushrooms in Kate’s hair, and the unique history lesson she invokes regarding them. If you fall in love with Kate and Andrew (which is very likely) and just can’t get enough of them, check out their engagement photos as well!
And now for something a little different. Well, Kate and Andrew are unique people. Their wedding was no-frills, old-fashioned, rustic bliss. I wanted the video to truly capture their sweet, playful personalities, and the character of the entire day. It’s rough around the edges, at times grainy and out-of-focus, like an old home movie. The Super-8’s from a time before video… the wedding itself could have been out of the same period.
The song is “The Thought of You and I” by Ma Petite (licensed through the artist). 2nd camera was Steven Yu, and my assistant was Jack Szatko. I shot Kate and Andrew’s engagement photos earlier in the year at the same location: check out the big gallery or the blog post!
