CeCe gets "Wild"!

I've been balancing multiple projects lately, and thankfully after a year's worth of hard work, I am really starting to get some awesome projects falling into my lap. Over the last couple weeks, while doing conception work and filming the "Broken" music video for Fivefold, I took a few days to pump out a new cover video for the multi-talented CeCe!

MissXtoTheO came through St. Louis recently to film her long awaited cover version of Flo Rida's "Wild Ones." Low on cool ideas, I had been wanting to work with chroma key for a while now and just didn't have the right project to do it with. This video presented me with the opportunity when I realized that we needed something fun and dancey and VERY short notice.

I decided to mix in a little bit of lyric video flair, since CeCe changed most of Flo Rida's lyrics to more appropriately fit her own story. The end result came out particularly well (in my opinion) and I am definitely considering it as one of my most creative and finest works so far in 2012.

Keep watching, and look out for a brand NEW Vice Vega cover video coming this Monday... Check out the pics on Instagram below!

-P

"Part of Me" launches 6 hours ahead of Katy Perry's music video

What a race to the finish line the last 24 hours have been!

When news came down last week that Katy Perry was releasing the Official music video for her new song "Part of Me" on March 21st at 7:30pm, I knew I had my work cut off for me! We had just filmed CeCe's version of the brand new track on the Saturday prior (March 10th) and I hadn't even started the edit yet. faced with a creative dilemma, I put my brain to the test and began toiling away at making this the best video it could be in the shortest amount of time!

Here's a little Behind the Video: Wanting a "colorful" and "empowering" feel for the new cover video, CeCe suggested finding an area filled with amazing street art. Well, in St. Louis, MO the best place to find the most creative and beautiful graffiti is at the levee wall on Leonard K. Sullivan Blvd., just next to the Mississippi River.

The painted wall stretches for at least two miles south of the Arch, showcasing some of the most talented street artists in the St. Louis Metro area. While we were there, we were lucky enough to encounter a few of them, who were kind enough to let us film them as they worked. DRONE, DEATH, DESU and KARNAGE allowed us to film them in action and even took a minute to permanently mark CeCe's place on the wall. 

I also decided to experiment with some stomp motion photography and shoot continuous photos of CeCe walking around the riverfront, with the graffiti wall in the background. I was extremely happy with how they turned out and am possibly looking forward to doing an entire video in stop motion in the very near future!

Anyway, that's all for now, expect new videos from Kyle Jordan Mueller (with The Dangerous Summer) and SteryoType Clothing real soon!

Thanks for watching,

-P

CeCe launches "Part of Me" on 3/21!

So Katy Perry divorces Russell Brand... so, naturally she has to release a song about it right?

Yep. She did.

Well, CeCe did not miss a beat and ran into the studio with Andrew Kremer at AKAudioMedia and Cut a quick cover of the new track, just in time for the Official Video release on March 21st.

MTV (apparently they DO still play videos) will premiere the new Katy Perry video at 7:30pm on Wednesday evening and we will have CeCe's cover up and streaming on the internet earlier that day!

If you are a Katy or CeCe fan, you will LOVE this video, it's fresh and different from the other videos you have seen CeCe do in the past. I am very excited to release it and had a blast directing it!

Stay tuned,

-P

Russian Roulette, Rabbits, Motorcycles and Mardi Gras...

I'm talking bout my February so far kids. Its been crazy.

I had a slow January, which allowed me to focus on Post-Production on The Stakes (formerly "The Game"). We filmed over January 7-8th and I quickly jumped into editing the film over the next three weeks. After finishing the initial edit, the film is currently going through the sound process (music and foley). A trailer is almost finished and should be on the web within a week's time. Just as a reminder, the film will not be released online. In order to see it, you will have to physically leave the comfort of your home, cubicle, bathroom, etc and head to a local showing or film festival to see it. Which I hope you will, cause it's pretty damn good and it would mean a lot to moi.

This month, I have had a new project every weekend. Shooting a web promo for Ritter Cycle Racing in St. Jacob, IL, a look in the studio of CeCe's first original recording and a trip down to Mardi Gras to film a promo for the cover band, Queen's Blvd. All of that leads into this weekend, when I will be travelling to Decatur, IL to film my first music video since October, with R&B singer D-Willz.

With more projects on the horizon, spring is looking to fill up quickly! So if you are interested in any kind of video work, please DO NOT HESITATE to contact me at Patrick.Slusser@me.com.

Depending on your budget, we can now film your project in 4K (and above) resolution on RED, or in 1080p on DSLR. Feel free to ask for price quotes.

-P

MY TAKE ON SOPA & PIPA

I believe two things in life... Never talk about Politics and Never talk about Religion. 

It's something that you have to learn first hand, especially as a teenager, but it is something that I will not fail to attempt to pass on to my children. So, in short, you will NEVER hear me speak about my Political or Religious beliefs on this, or any other website.

That was a Disclaimer. Today, we are dealing with the passing of the SOPA and PIPA acts against online piracy in the United States. Now, I'm sure that everyone has seen the videos, read the articles, posted their images and such, but let me take a second to talk about how these acts impact artists.

I ride the line of right and wrong when it comes to these acts. I am a young, upcoming filmmaker who desires to work in the film industry some day, but I currently make my money by filming other young artists, who record cover songs for YouTube. The SOPA and PIPA acts would not only destroy the structure of YouTube, which we love so much, but it would also put a hault to these talented artists getting their voices or talents seen/heard worldwide. Not only that, but it would also stop the distribution of my art.

As many of you know, I try my damndest to create original music videos and short films, outside of the cover videos that I direct for such artists as Kyle Jordan Mueller, CeCe Frey and others. We curently live in a world where young filmmakers like myself can have their works seen worldwide without the help of major studios or "Music Televsion." That is an unbelievable blessing and an opportunity that generations before ours would have killed to have. In less than One Year, my videos have reached over 630,000 viewers on YouTube alone, without the help of any internet meme or viral fad. Try to imagine the possibility of something like that 20 years ago. 

I spent 5 years of my life working in Music and Movie retail and I watched its steady decline as two companies I worked for went bankrupt and thousands of employees lost their jobs. I've seen (like so many others have) the movies that we love, become oversaturated with CGI and poor content, just to save a few bucks, as major production studios close their doors forever and constrict the amount of original content coming out of Hollywood. This is a life that I long to have, but yet the future seems so bleak.

I ride that line, just like everyone does. I enjoy our freedoms, but hate what it has done to an industry that I love so much.

The fact of the matter is, the SOPA and PIPA acts will not save the film industry, it will not save the music industry (which is a whole 'nother story altogether). In the long run, it will just cause more problems for the American public and progress us more into the future of 1984 than 2014. 

Do what you believe is right, but make informed decisions. Thanks for letting me speak my peace.

-P