A Day Filming

Recently I spent a day filming a couple of acoustic tracks with Kristyna Myles and gang. The aim was to record two tracks, an acoustic version of Wouldn't Change A Thing which will be on Kristyna's album, and also a cover of Coldplay's God Put A Smile Upon Your Face. The link there is that Ken Nelson who produced that Coldplay record also produced Kristyna's debut album.

In the morning I went to meet Kristyna who had been getting her hair and make-up done, and her wardrobe sorted. I was completely in charge of my own make-up and wardrobe. After thinking about it very seriously for several days I decided to wear a T-shirt and some jeans. We were lucky that the weather was particularly good that day, and we were able to film outside. The idea with the first song Wouldn't Change a Thing, was to feature us playing it with several famous Manchester landmarks in the background. The first location was Manchester Cathedral, after which we went to Manchester City's football ground, then Old Trafford, Spinningfields, Albert Square, Exchange Square, Urbis, and probably a few other places I've forgotten about. 

We must have played the same song at least 40 times. At the start it's easy to concentrate, and I wanted to make sure everything was just right, such as playing the song at the right tempo, playing a good groove, and not doing anything too stupid with my face. Towards the end of the day the concentration slips a little and it's hard to remember if you're in the first verse or second verse, having played them both so many times already. The toughest challenge for me was having to sit cross-legged on the floor outside Manchester City's stadium. Everytime i got to the middle eight I developed an excruciating cramp in my legs. Maybe I should take up Yoga. All in all though, i was basically just strolling around strumming my guitar in the sunshine, which makes for a very enjoyable day. 

Hit Jump to read on and watch the video

The second song we filmed that day was just to be shot in one location, and we found a cool looking street in the Northern Quarter. Kristyna and I had to leave for a gig that evening, so we were pushed for time, and only had about half an hour to get the song recorded. We did two or three takes, and during one of them a massive lorry decided to reverse up the street. Which seemed highly unlikely as it wa such a tiny street. I kept playing the guitar whilst nervously glancing around to check none of the gear was going to get crushed, and the cameras kept rolling. In the end what we thought would be an unusable take turned out to be the best one. It's funny how things turn out sometimes.

You can watch the video here.