Hybrid production studio Vitamin applied its distinctive touch to “The Story,” the latest music video from Maroon 5 and director Bob Carmichael, which uses hundreds of still photographs and a blaze of animated graphics to tell the tale of the band’s recent world tour.
The basis for the video are photographs taken by Bob Carmichael, an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy Award-winning commercial director and a Nikon-featured music photographer who captured the images while traveling with the band in 2008 and 2009. The photos document live performances as well as back stage moments and scenes of the band traveling across the U.S by bus and plane. The video climaxes with performances by the band in Washington, D.C. during official inaugural balls celebrating the election of President Barack Obama.
Carmichael, editor Brad Wetmore and Vitamin Creative Director Danny DelPurgatorio, who had collaborated on an earlier Maroon 5 video, reprised their roles to create the second generation of a unique video format they are calling “Photographic Video.” “The first video covered the band’s tour of Japan and once it went viral, we were able to track several hundred thousand hits,” says Carmichael. “The beauty of the format is that it is truly a unique visual experience and it begs to be seen many times by viewers who are looking to see new perspectives on all the images that are flashing by. It is a great web format and we want to apply it to many other bands as well as brands.”
Vitamin’s team of designers and artists enhanced the photographs by applying bright, poppy graphics and color treatments. The graphic elements emerge organically from the photos and help drive the story by linking still frames together and creating dazzling transitions.
“A lot of the graphic elements were inspired by the band’s stage show,” says Vitamin Creative Director Danny DelPurgatorio. “This is what we used as the basis for our design.”
DelPurgatorio added that the team had to walk a fine line and not push the graphic treatment too far. “The photographs provided a really great foundation. There was a lot of candid and personal moments that show how the band operates on a day to day basis,” he explains. “Our biggest challenge was to enhance the photos and help tell the story without distracting from it-we had to find the right balance.”
In seeking to achieve that balance, Vitamin worked closely with Carmichael and Wetmore. “During the production, we sent a lot of stuff back and forth as we had new ideas or things we wanted to try,” he says. “It was a very collaborative process.”
The Story recently made its world debut on the website for the charitable group, Harlem Children’s Zone. It was done to draw attention to the group’s work in providing educational and social services in its community.
Vitamin is located at 232 East Ohio Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611. For more information, call 312.664.6683 or visit www.vitaminpictures.tv.
