Leo Burnett SVP and Creative Director Kathy Petrauskas has a few director credits to her name, this time, for a music video with hip-hop/R&B artist Butch Cassidy. Cassidy’s long-anticipated comeback song, "Get On Up", is his first solo single after a storied career of collaborations with other legendary artists like Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Warren G and his late cousin, Nate Dogg. The feel-good song, produced by Grant Petrauskas, known as King Graint in the hip-hop community, is making waves in the music industry as the video reaches 300,000 views and climbing.
Behind the scenes, it was a passion project for the Petrauskas family. King Graint is Kathy’s nephew, who also writes music commercially for the ad industry. "This has been one of my most rewarding projects because I worked with my family," says King Graint.
To add to the family roster, his sister Lane, former Mullen Creative turned Skorch entrepreneur, was the Art Director and Producer, among many other roles on the project. “As a Creative by trade, I've gained a ton of respect for Producers since taking on the role for this project," says Lane. "It’s not easy."
Rounding out the do-it-all production team was DP, Kyle Sauer, who Kathy had met as an assistant DP on several McDonald’s productions. “Kyle is super-talented," says Kathy. "Everyone on the McDonald’s set knew it was just a matter of time before he would explode onto his own.”
It was a true run-and-gun operation – shot in one day and finished in less than a week. Given the song's summertime feel, they wanted to release the video before the July 4th holiday weekend.
The team notes securing permits in Long Beach as a primary hurdle. “The local police department outright rejected our request to film where Butch grew up,” recalls Lane. “The East Side has seen a lot of recent gang violence.”
Nevertheless, the team did not let the permit rejection halt production. In fact, they found a way around it – by renting a helicopter to film Butch from the air.
“After seeing the footage, we knew we had something we could entice a seasoned edit/color team with the hope that it would turn into a passion project for them as well,” says Kathy. So she tapped her longtime collaborators at the Chicago outpost of Deluxe’s Beast, Company 3, and Method Studios facility. Beast Editor Angelo Valencia and Company 3 Senior Colorist Tyler Roth worked to underscore the sunny summer look and laid-back feel using slo-mo shots and vibrant colors. Roth said, “Kathy and I worked to create a vibrant, summery palette separating the natural sand and concrete environments from the rich blues and greens. We’ve worked together for years now and I continue to enjoy the talent and energy that she brings to our projects.”
“This Petrauskas family project was something special. The music track is amazing, the footage was beautiful and Kathy fostered a very fluid and collaborative process throughout,” added Valencia. “There was a lot of heart put into this.”
Method Flame Artist Joe Madurski handled the finishing, while Head of Production Lauren Roth and Production Coordinator Tara Reeves post produced the video from start to finish.
