Music Video Shot on RED Now in Production

Rolling through the streets of Detroit, Del Padre Digital recently became a player in the filming of a new music video for one of hip-hop’s rising stars.

We’re in the midst of editing now, after a whirlwind shoot in several locales in Michigan for Johnny ‘The Greek’ Saxx’s single Take Me Away. This will be the premiere video from his latest album, The Protagonist, released this year by BP/Universal Distribution.

Del Padre Digital’s creative director, Mark Archer, was pulled into the project earlier this month to serve as its director of photography. This created an opportunity not only to film in various challenging locales, from a cigar room to a Bentley cruising down Lake Shore Drive, but also to test the mettle of the firm’s new Red ONE 4k camera.

Mark Archer and lighting specialist David St. George film at Blue Sky Studios

“We shot a number of staged scenes at Blue Sky Studio in Troy, Mich., which is a state-of-the-art, fully-equipped production facility,” says Archer, “as well as at one of the state’s hottest night spots – The Harem Lounge. All of these locations posed challenges, but also unique, exciting filming scenarios.”

The plot of the video follows Saxx through a number of ‘high-roller’ scenes, from mansions to parties with plenty of bling in tow. The footage was shot over two days, and is currently being edited at Del Padre Digital’s suite in East Longmeadow, Mass. It’s slated for completion at the end of this month.

Saxx is already a cross-over draw in Greece and other Mediterranean countries; his previous videos are available on ANT1 Europe, as well as Viacom US.

Science and Storytelling

There’s a science to storytelling, and Del Padre Digital is currently at the forefront of the latest techniques.

Del Padre is one of several partners in a cutting-edge educational project funded by the National Science Foundation that is poised to change the face of science education. We've joined forces with the Space Science Institute of Boulder, Colo., the SETI institute in Mountain View, Calif., NASA, and a number of science centers and museums of varying size to help launch STEPS, or Science Theater Educational Programming System.

STEPS is an application being developed for use by educators in museums across the country. It will create interactive presentations to help science educators of all types stage theatrical presentations for museum audiences, using state-of-the-art technology, live action sequences, animation, and other components.

Del Padre Digital has been tasked with developing the multimedia aspects of STEPS, utilizing the latest tools in digital design to create a software engine with groundbreaking, yet easy-to-use functionality.

As part of this endeavor, Del Padre Digital’s creative director, Mark Archer, recently attended the Theater in Museums Workshop at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. There, the STEPS team was able to glean information regarding the strengths, challenges, and opportunities facing science education today, as well as film a trailer announcing STEPS.

“We were able to take part in discussions that have to do with all parts of ‘science theater,’ including audience participation, script writing, funding, producing, and the use of improvisation,” he says. “Plus, we were able to film while we were learning, creating an informational video featuring members of the STEPS team.”

Del Padre Digital's creative director Mark Archer (right) films at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis with STEPS founder Brad McLain of the Space Science Institute.

The video will be shown at the ASTC (Association of Science Technology Centers) annual conference, to be held at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pa. Oct. 18 to 21.

“The attendees at the ASTC conference are a core audience for us,” says Archer. “This is a groundbreaking project – there’s nothing else like it out there. We’re trying to create an early buzz.”

STEPS is slated for completion in 2010.