Four centuries ago Shakespeare observed that “All the world’s a stage.” Now, the Los Angeles-based band Somersault Queen updates Shakespeare’s observation. In their new music video “In the Midst of Conversation,” the band treats the world as a stage for its song lyrics. This clever animated music video spotlights words in all sorts of locations including a movie marquee, a book, a dialogue balloon, and a cassette recorder. Following the movie, you’ll find an interview with Josh Cook—the film’s director—who is also a band member along with Cody DiGerolamo, Jeremy Lombardo, and Max Ramm.

Interview with Somersault Queen

MobileMovieMaking: Who exactly made the video?

Josh: The concept of this video was created through several brainstorming sessions between our band’s singer, Cody, and myself. This all happened during Covid-19 lockdowns so we would talk on the phone, tossing around ideas, and then I’d take what we talked about and create any artwork that we needed or one of us would find a public domain image that we liked and incorporate that. I would film bits and pieces and then send that back to him so we could decide what parts we liked and what parts needed changing.

MobileMovieMaking: And the hand performer?

Josh: The woman behind the gloves is my girlfriend, Christine. She also took the role of Producer, helping hone in all of our ideas for the video as well as coming up with several of her own.

MobileMovieMaking: What gave you the idea for this wonderfully different kind of music video?

Josh: We wanted the lyric video to be in the same vein as a Rube Goldberg Machine, or a nesting doll, where scenes would unfold into the next and we wanted the whole thing to be orchestrated by these majestic hands. In the early stages we shot some test footage and said that it felt like something you’d see in a Wes Anderson movie, so surely that was in the back of our minds while filming.

MobileMovieMaking: How did you plan the shoot?

Josh: Everything was based around the lyrics. Cody and I would brainstorm what we might want a certain lyric’s scene to look like and then figure out how to bring that to fruition as well as how to make each lyric flow seamlessly into the next one. There was A LOT of trial and error that took place during filming until we ultimately found a flow that worked.

MobileMovieMaking: What gear did you use?

Josh: This was filmed using an iPhone X and the FilMiC Pro app. It was filmed at 30fps and the playback was set to 60fps. FiLMiC’s remote control feature was used to monitor on an iPad Mini while filming. Three Neewer NL-660s were used for lighting. The overhead rig was the best part. The iPhone was attached, using a Joby GorillaPod to a ProMaster tripod. We then pinched the legs of the tripod between the seat and backrest of a tall office chair in order to keep it from falling over. It looked ridiculous!

MobileMovieMaking:How long did the shooting take?

Josh: Well, we didn’t want to do a ton of editing so we did as much as we could in one take. There are only 3 cuts in the final video. The longest part was getting the timing and flow of hand movements down. Once we had that it became a matter of getting a take we liked. As far as filming the takes that became the final video? That took a few hours. However, the planning and rehearsals took much much longer.

MobileMovieMaking: During the shoot did you encounter any unexpected problems?

Josh: So many problems! The main issue was that the iPhone would get incredibly hot after about fifteen minutes of use and begin to lag or sometimes shut off entirely. We had to consistently check the phone and if it was too hot, we’d have to turn it off for a few minutes and just wait. Tip: Charging your phone while using the FiLMiC Pro app is not recommended.

MobileMovieMaking: That’s helpful advice. Thanks.

Josh: The lighting was an issue as well. We initially had the lights hanging over the table, pointing down, but after filming some takes we noticed you could see their reflection so we had to set them up in a different arrangement.

MobileMovieMaking: Could you talk about post production?

Josh: For editing I used the Videoleap app. It’s another really amazing app that lets you do some cool stuff. I used it for the grain effect as well as some coloring. It’s cool because it lets you adjust the intensity of whatever filter or effect you’re using.

MobileMovieMakinng:  Is there anything else you want to say about the production?

Josh: It forced us to embrace limitations and adapt to them. Certain ideas didn’t even make it to the video because they were just too difficult to accomplish. It’s very easy to get frustrated when something doesn’t turn out the way you picture it, but once you accept those limitations, and adjust, it all tends to work itself out in a beautiful way!

MobileMovieMaking: What’s the best way for readers to keep up with your music and your moviemaking? 

Josh: They can find us on Instagram, Spotify, and YouTube. Those who’d like to purchase our music directly can go to our Bandcamp page.

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The editors of MobileMovieMaking have chosen “In the Midst of Conversation” as the Mobile Movie of the Week.