Bound to Secrecy
Like all other aspects of ★, the entire UNBOUND project was shrouded in secrecy.
I was first brought in to listen to the record and discuss a potential release plan in the summer of 2015. As with the musicians and everyone else who worked on the album itself, I signed a non-disclosure agreement before hearing the music or getting any meaningful details.
I subsequently attended a meeting of various marketing, publicity, and business people to brainstorm ideas and propose concepts. It is where I first raised the notion of the Instagram miniseries. Shortly after that meeting I received word that a treatment should be drafted.
UNBOUND was a small production. But perhaps deceptively so...We had a writer. Producers. Director. Camera people. Production assistants. Make up artists. Stunt people. Editors. Sound and visual effects artists. Actors. A dance troupe. LOTS of extras. We filmed on public streets. In bars. In a cemetery. And a burlesque hall. A lot of people were sworn to a lot of secrecy, memorialized through the signing of a binder-full of non-disclosure agreements.
Have a look at Episode Seven. The drummer and dancers never heard the whole song they were performing to. We created a 20-song drum loop sample that they rehearsed and played to. They had no idea what project they were working on.
Now have a look at Episode Nine. None of the people in that street scene knew what artist they were working on a project for. The video below illustrates how we taught them the pace to march at.
Security was tight on-set as well. We ran closed sets, which meant only people working on the project could be on-site. No friends, family, etc (the lone exception being the day we shot our young boy flying but fear not, his parents signed NDAs, too).
No one was allowed to text, email or make phone calls from set. No personal photos, video or social media posts. In fact, we collected all mobile phones at the start of each day.
But don't leave with the impression that it was all serious business. We had lots of fun. Like this time our writer Carolynn Cecilia Rick-rolled an entire room full of cast and crew...
I was first brought in to listen to the record and discuss a potential release plan in the summer of 2015. As with the musicians and everyone else who worked on the album itself, I signed a non-disclosure agreement before hearing the music or getting any meaningful details.
UNBOUND was a small production. But perhaps deceptively so...We had a writer. Producers. Director. Camera people. Production assistants. Make up artists. Stunt people. Editors. Sound and visual effects artists. Actors. A dance troupe. LOTS of extras. We filmed on public streets. In bars. In a cemetery. And a burlesque hall. A lot of people were sworn to a lot of secrecy, memorialized through the signing of a binder-full of non-disclosure agreements.
Have a look at Episode Seven. The drummer and dancers never heard the whole song they were performing to. We created a 20-song drum loop sample that they rehearsed and played to. They had no idea what project they were working on.
Now have a look at Episode Nine. None of the people in that street scene knew what artist they were working on a project for. The video below illustrates how we taught them the pace to march at.
Security was tight on-set as well. We ran closed sets, which meant only people working on the project could be on-site. No friends, family, etc (the lone exception being the day we shot our young boy flying but fear not, his parents signed NDAs, too).
No one was allowed to text, email or make phone calls from set. No personal photos, video or social media posts. In fact, we collected all mobile phones at the start of each day.
But don't leave with the impression that it was all serious business. We had lots of fun. Like this time our writer Carolynn Cecilia Rick-rolled an entire room full of cast and crew...