NINJASONIK & TEAM ROBESPIERRE VIDEO SHOOT FOR "HA HA HA" PHOTOGRAPHS BY BROCK FETCH |
Walking in to any video shoot for a friend's band is always fun. Biking down to Gowanus and getting let in to a warehouse by your friend who is dressed like an all-white Mr. Potato Head is even more fun. Ninjasonik and Team Robespierre's video shoot last week for their song "Ha Ha Ha" is kind of Cream's "White Room" meets Billy Idol's "White Wedding" meets Black Flag's "White Minority." |
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At first I was confused when I saw the treatment for the video. It was a lil confusing. Wasn't sure about it, but when we arrived at the director's house for the shoot her vibe and positive energy cleared that up! She combined her creative thought process with the unique vibe of the song! I usually dress myself and I take pride in what I am seen in, but the stylist understood me very well. It was dope like we were a team. And as we started the second day of shooting it all came together! I am stoked to see the outcome! And the best part about it all is I got to work with one of favorite bands and group of friends: Team Robespierre. |
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Initially, I wanted the Ninjas to ride horses and climb the trees while in royal outfits, but Telli was scared of all those things, so we settled on some running around in the park, singing into the camera on various locations, evading a school bus, and then playing with projections. Ninjasonik and Team Robespierre were amazing. They are all really creative and fun guys, and brought a lot to the shoots. It was super fun to film the video, and now we will see how it's gonna turn out! - Lina Plioplyte (director) |
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This video was unlike anything I've ever done, way crazier than a green screen, freakin' insanely incredible and fun, much like the song. I was unsure at first, but I'm super psyched to see how it comes out! Lina is a genius! Thanks to Julie Miller and all who helped make it possible. Much love to Team Robespierre. I was reflecting on when I made the beat the other night: it was over two years ago. I sampled "Ha Ha Ha" from Robespierre's Myspace page before I even knew them personally. We did a tour for a month with them. It was one of the best times of my life. They are one of the most underrated and one of the most awesome bands from New York. Can't wait to hear their new album! - DJ Teenwolf |
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Okay, so day one, I read the treatment for the video and I saw what they were looking for. I thought Where The Wild Things Are in a sense just to give a reference. But day one was kind of like where we didn't know what was going on, we just dressed in like, super colors. And then day two we were dressed in all white and like, in the dark and projecting what we shot before and I saw the whole vision. It was like really tight. Like, I knew it was gonna be tight anyway, but at the same time, to be a part of that, and see someone else's vision, or what they think they of our music, was really rad. This is coming from Ben Robey. Thanks. |  |
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Kevin sent me tracks from the album and "Ha Ha Ha" immediately inspired me. I sent it to Lina and she felt the same. Originally she was thinking horses in the snow. I think Telli vetoed the horses based on some guy named Christopher Reeve. Sounds suspect. Plan B was shooting the band in color and projecting it on them. The all white outfits came from a logistical place: we had to be able to see the projections on the band. But then we went all white everything. I love the way Lina shot the first shoot handheld and the second shoot, with the projections of the first shoot, uses a lot of dolley shots with the camera on tripod. I think the guys were skeptical, but when they saw the footage projected on them they got it. Jah Jah came with some killer ideas and the overall energy of the Ninjas & Team Robespierre was Killer. |
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Ninjasonik |
Team Robespierre http://teamrobespierre.blogspot.com/ http://www.myspace.com/teamrobespierre |