Quiet One - 'Intimate' (Concept)

Hello,

I wanted to spend a few minutes explaining the concept for today's live film session for Quiet One. It's a concept that I haven't seen done before and I've always wondered 'why?' Let me explain the idea I had a few months ago and then I'll explain where 'it's at' today. The concept is fairly simple, I want to play my album 'front-to-back' live, infront of you. It sounds easy, however there is one snag... You don't live here... So I was thinking to myself, what's the next best thing that I can provide to literally portray that level of intimacy but without you being here... It's simple. Once EPIC-M RED Dragon Camera. One Misé en Scene. One Me. One Guitar. I really want to translate the idea that you are just standing infront of me, watching me play. (I have attached a photo of me in rehearsals for a 'mock-up' reference of the end result) 

Now there were a few deciding factors that I needed to take into account. I wanted the location to be perfect. Like so much of the album, I wanted to find a venue that meant a lot to me. I had three venues in mind and I resulted in a small village hall that I used to live near. It's a bit of a dump if I'm honest, but, It was the location that I played my first ever show (to like an audience of 100 people) I remember feeling sick before my band performed and I remember the adrenaline was streaming through me. I look back at it now and smile but at the time it kinda meant the world to me. 

The setting and ambience is also really important to the 'intimate' set. I originally spoke to a team of people who create sets for film, theatre and touring bands and we went through a lot of options that sounded 'okay' but the more we thought about it the more it seemed like the set detracted from the performance. I wanted a subtle ambience, something that would match the album really well. And so I brought in an old friend who has worked with people like Jason Mraz, Mumford and Sons and a whole host of other acts as their stage and events designer. He suggested some things to me that would be both simple and would really let the music speak for itself. (I don't want to spoil that for you)

The next issue was quality. I've been a pioneer of HD video quality for a decade now, and now with the age of Ultra HD I couldn't resist bringing in a piece of equipment that has taken the film world by storm. I decided to opt for the EPIC-M Dragon by Red. I'd seen one in action a few months back and I remember looking at the output and thinking that it felt so real I could touch it. There is a big issue with filming in RAW 4K which is that the file sizes are so large that sharing is virtually impossible, and that would be a huge issue. So we've decided to shoot in RAW 4K and then downscale the RAW file into uncompressed (obviously) 1080p 30fps HD. This would make the video output slightly more manageable and it would also mean that we could offer the entire performance as a single downloadable package from Hurt.

Now to talk about delivery. Delivery of a 1080p 1Hour+ video is going to be a BITCH for Hurt, but it will be manageable. But instead of it being 'only' available on Hurt, it will also be available on the Hurt YouTube page. There will be a few differences between the Hurt Download version and the YouTube version. The differences being, the quality of the YouTube video will be significantly lower, the Hurt version has a few extra videos and some 'Live in Rehearsals' footage too as well as a video interview for each song.

Since day one I've wanted this project to be inviting, and although selling the albums obviously helps to keep Hurt alive and well, I want everyone to experience the songs. The live versions posted on Hurt's YouTube should help to resolve this issue.

I really can't wait to play these songs today and I can't wait for you to hear that album and experience it first hand.

Thanks so much for your support, you will never know what it means to me.

Ben