Janna Pelle Video Bodypaint

Alternative-pop singer/songwriter/keyboardist based in Brooklyn, New York. Lovechild of Lady Gaga and Fiona Apple with the alter-ego of David Byrne. Pop, electronic and soul with a dash of sarcasm.

WHAT WE DID:

Janna Pelle - Music video, City Life. Alternative Pop Musician. Younger Brooklyn audience but building recognition. 15-35 years mainly.

I actually saw Trina's work on some New York Blog that i follow and I saw the Brooklyn Bridge and the one in DUMBO. I had already written the song called "City Life" and I was just starting to put pieces together for the music video. I saw her work and I said nothing says city life more than this, I wonder if she'd work with me. So I reached out to her and she was super nice and really into the project. She was telling me that she'd just moved here from San Fransisco. I read the purpose of the (camo) project, like an homage to New York City women and I just thought it was so aligned with what the concept of the song was that I really wanted to work with her. Not only did she accommodate, but she was also really flexible because she was so busy during that time. It was during Halloween season and she told me that she was doing parties and Halloween is always one of the busiest times for her. I was worried that by the time she got back from all of her travels that it was going to be too cold to do what we  were trying to do. It was already pretty cold. I think it was October 26. I remember she was flying out of the country the very net day. We did the paint in about 4 and a half hours, she had brought her suitcase with her and then head straight to the airport. It was really amazing. I really appreciated that she was so accommodating and it was important enough for her to squeeze in.She painted me into the Empire state building. She did her still shot, but we also have the whole video. It took about another hour after she had left, but I stayed in the same place and we took a bunch of shots of me singing and we did a time lapse kind of thing. So the beginning of the music video is her painting me. It looks really cool. You can see the process as it's happening. It's throughout the video. In the beginning, I just have the base colors on me and by the end, I'm totally camouflaged into the Empire State building. It was on YouTube. A lot of people liked it. I'm actually working with a PR company right now to try to get more views and keep promoting it now that there's a lot of different versions of the song. So it's still in the works to get as much traffic as the premiere.

FEARS:

I had worries or fears after hiring her; how it would turn out, if the scene that I chose wouldn't look as good as I thought it would in my head. I didn't have any worries before hiring her. I was kind of annoying, we were supposed to do it somewhere else on the Williamsburg waterfront, but then last minute I found out that you couldn't have space heaters unless you had a permit and that propane is illegal in all of New York, which I didn't know. So we ended up not being able to do it there because we couldn't have space heaters. We ended up doing it on the Penthouse of my friend's apartment and it turned out way better because it's a more unique view of Manhattan on the roof. I guess my main concerns were that were were a lot of moving parts. I feel like a person who is commissioning somebody like Trina to work on a project like this, even though I know a lot of photographers, videographers and creative people. I didn't realize you needed permits for certain things like space heaters. And there are just a lot of unknowns that the average person hiring her might not now that would make things complicated or stressful before a shoot. I wasn't worried about Trina, she had been super nice to me the whole time and was always really excited about the project. It was more the limitations I wish I had someone to help me out with. To foresee all the problems before the shoot.

FAVORITE PART:

My favorite part was learning how Trina works and seeing her. When she took out her palate, I looked at it and there were not even 10 colors. Blue and dusty tones. It didn't seem like she'd be able to blend me into the scenery with the colors she had so it was really interesting to see it happen on my body. It was really fun. She was a comfortable person to work with; conversational the whole time. I got to learn about her and other projects she's done and other musicians she's worked with. She told me she never did anything like this for a music video before, bur she's done other music videos and has done bodypaint for the Dresden Dolls. So it was just interesting learning about the other work she's done.

“Trina is really good at what she does and you wouldn't expect somebody who is painting your naked body to make you feel so comfortable. It could be pretty awkward for some people to have someone painting your crotch. She just made me feel really comfortable. She is an interesting person and genuinely excited about the work she is doing.”