'Families of Pipes' - My Creative Decisions into Making this Film
Don’t get me wrong, I love making videos for my clients and making good work for them. But every once in a while, I get an ‘itch’ to try something different that typical client content doesn’t lend an opportunity to do. That’s what led to me making the short film ‘Families of Pipes’. It was a project that allowed me to make what I wanted on my own terms, (well mostly). This film allowed me to celebrate my brother’s talents in a creative and personal way.
What led me to make this film is that I wanted to do something with my brother before he went to Yale this fall to start his Master's program. Since he is still living in Minnesota, this might be the last opportunity I have to make a video about him and his talent for playing the pipe organ. That was the reason behind the title of this film, ‘Families of Pipes.’ He says in this film, ‘families of pipes’ when talking about all the different pipes in the organ, but I made that the title of the film also as a nod to our family ties.
Making the film ‘black & white’ is probably the boldest choice I’ve made for this film. I was going back and forth with the idea leading up to the shooting of this film, but I’m glad I made it. I edited the film in black and white with a film grain effect and now it is hard for me to imagine the film in color. I feel like it harkens back to the old horror genre movies from the 20’s and 30’s that starred the likes of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. With the pipe organ being one of the oldest, most complex instruments, I felt that having a clean, polished look to the film would take away the character and history of this instrument.
All the music in this (except for the opening piece) was played by Noah. Most of the clips you see in the video are also him playing the piece that you hear as well. I felt it was important to not only tell Noah’s story but to also showcase his talent in small ways as well throughout this video. There are videos on YouTube of other organists showing their skills, but it’s just showing a performance. Who knows, maybe someday he’ll need me to record a performance.
With so many up-and-coming filmmakers making flashy content about products or cars, I wanted to create something that was unique and personal. How many people can say they made a black and white film about their brother playing the pipe organ? Making videos and content for other people can be fun and rewarding, but sometimes you have to take the time to make something that you want to make where you have the freedom to make bold decisions like I did in this film. Not for a paycheck or for someone else’s approval, but for your own creative gratification and to have some fun in the process as well.