everything's cozier in the snow...

yup. snow. Someone told us it NEVER snows here in Ireland. But today we got our first snow of the season. I feel much more at home in the city now that it's white. It's like a little taste of Vermont while I'm away. My bedroom is cozier, hot chocolate tastes better, and a good run burns more on the lungs.

I'm spoiled with the Vermont weather and don't get too excited about a couple inches anymore, but everyone here seems to be pretty excited by even just a dusting. Snowball fights seem to be all too common, much like at home. However, while my buddies and I can have a good brawl at school, I don't remember ever waiting on the streets as a kid and asking passersby, "are you American?" and then wailing them with snowballs if the answer wasn't "yes." Irish are more keen on this kind of fun. I don't really know what I was expecting when I answered "no I'm not Irish" to a line of young Irish boys grasping fresh snowballs in each hand. I immediately knew my mistake as the fatal words slipped from my mouth. For a second I thought they were gonna let me go, but sure enough, three icy pieces of ammo came rapid fire to the back of my bed. I've learned by now that if in contact with a group of kids in matching track suits, just keep walking. It was funny until I kept walking and turned to see one of the boys running after me with a new hunk of snow, which he launched over the suburban brick wall barricade, crashing into me again. Another thing I've learned - sometimes people just need a little taste of their own medicine. When he came at me a third time ready to unload, I came right back at him with a good, "fuck off."
Game over.

Okay so you're imagining these cute little boys playing on their snowday, trying to have a little fun with strangers on the street, and I'm that bitch who's waltzing through like Scrooge on Christmas. Think again. These "little" kids really aren't so little, and the last group like this to come at me threw a lit match in my hair and laughed like it was the greatest trick they ever played.

Don't worry mom - I'm safe.

Alterosa

My band!

With 87 submissions from the HotPress contest, we took a long time to create short lists, and shorter lists, our top three songs, and then battled it out for the final selections. You would think with only seven directors and 87 songs to choose from, we wouldn't have a hard time finding different interests. But of course almost all of us overlapped for our top three choices.

When it came down to making our final decisions, I had to battle it out to get the band I wanted. Our teacher didn't want anything to do with it, and stuck us in a classroom to figure it out. Luckily everyone was great about discussing and everyone ended up happy with who they got. I was lucky enough to get my top choice.

My band's called Alterosa. They're actually from Cork, which is about three hours from Dublin. So I took the train to meet them a few weeks back, and they're fantastic. I didn't get to meet the drummer, and he unfortunately is unable to be in the video shoot, but the other three members took me for dinner and a drink and we talked over my weird idea for the video. They are totally willing to do whatever I envision (excluding nudity) which is fantastic as an artist. We've heard some horror stories of previous students who really couldn't shoot what they wanted to, because their band had a bit of a diva attitude, or managers got in the way.

Jenny is the lead vocalist, Cormac plays guitar and sings, and Kieran plays bass. In addition to their musical talents, Jenny is studying for her PHD at Cambridge, and Cormac is in Law School while simultaneously training for marathons. Needless to say, Poppa Epstein is pretty impressed with the artists I've landed, without even hearing their music.

Their description of their music: Alterosa's unique style reflects diverse influences, ranging from Portishead and Interpol to Nine Inch Nails. Dark organ sounds, driven guitars and arresting rhythms combine with understated vocals to create an intense mood that commands attention.

The track will remain a surprise. I'm trying not to give away anything about the video. Hopefully I can keep my mouth shut until it's done.

production week

This week is 'production week' for our music video class. This means all classes are cancelled, and we have the week open to shoot our official videos. Some have scheduled shoots on these days, and the rest of us are available to crew and do pre or post production work on our own videos. While some people are already in the editing lab working on their cuts, I won't actually be shooting my video until December 4th and 5th. It's not ideal to then only have about 5 days for editing,but it's allowed me a lot of prep time which was very much needed. Prep work includes selecting crew, securing locations, props, insurance, equipment, scheduling, test shoots, signing contracts... all that great, tedious, logistical, stuff.

In the mean time, along with my own prepping, I've been crewing for my classmates. For each video, the directors select their crew and assign each crew member a position. Some crews have been the whole class (all seven of us), and other crews have only one member in addition to the director. I've gotten to have the experience of working alone with the director and also being one of seven. It's amazing to see how different shoots run, due to crew numbers, locations, the production style, and the artists we're working with. But however different, every shoot so far has been a blast and so satisfying to wrap. Some productions have been as long as three, 13 hour days in a row. I'm a total sap and cheese ball like my dad, but I have to say... each time the director calls "that's a wrap!" and everyone cheers, I'm reminded of why I came here to do this program. And it feels great.

Since there are only seven of us, we all help out with bits and pieces of everything, in addition to having a more specific crew label. I've been assigned 'DP'and'AC' for the shoots I've been on. Working as Director of Photography is my favorite position, as I get to actually work the camera and shoot the video. Videos I DP'd for were I Phoenix, Codes, and BriBry.

SNEAK PEAK
Production 1: "On Your Radar" by I Phoenix. Directed by Anna Milshteyn


Production 2: "Home" by John Bleck & the Rats. Directed by Chris Daker


Production 3: "This Is Goodbye" by Codes. Directed by Paulo Testolini


Production 4: "A Poem I'll Sing Outloud" by BriBry. Directed by Erica Hart

Music Video Midterm

Unlike my previous assignments for music video, our midterm project had a number of constraints and requirements:
-song must have been on a top 10 list in the past three years
-2:30 minutes in length
-at least one minute of lip sync
-include musical instrument (whoops)
-at least one minute of editing with no shot longer than 3 seconds
-must use artificial light
-must have 3 different locations or "vignettes"

Our teacher gave us this long list to help guide us in putting together everything we've learned so far, and to prepare us for the final videos we'll be doing for our Irish bands.

Something went wrong with the export when it went onto vimeo - it doesn't lag in the real cut. For now, enjoy as is!

Special thanks to my classmates, Kathleen and Chris, for putting up with my wacky idea and singing in the shower...

midterm rough cut from Hannah Epstein on Vimeo.

two months later

So my friend just informed me that "my blog sucks." It's hard to believe I've been here long enough to say I've essentially missed two months of blogging.
Since I've been gone from online updates - I've made some videos, welcomed my family to the Emerald Isle, traveled through Europe, shot some gigs, and began production on official music videos for a handful of Irish bands.

Having my family here was a blast. Although I'm a bit jealous... they saw more of Ireland in one week than I've seen all semester. I've enjoyed seeing pictures of the countryside from their golfing adventures. But while they were in Dublin, it was great to show them around all my favorite places in the city. Thanks for coming Ma, Faj, & Brother, Sharon & Scott! (Arel... you were seriously missed)


I also ditched the fam for a day to shoot the HotPress Music show. Our class was asked to cover the show, which was kind of like a big trade show for music equipment, workshops with artists, and concerts going on throughout the day. It was a new experience to shoot a live event, and of course we all felt pretty kick ass with our Crew passes, shooting the performances from the press section up front. Some of the bands performing were those who submitted to the music video competition, so it was cool to be able to hear them live while we were still in the decision process.


Midterm break was awesome. I got to travel to Copenhagen to visit with Tess for a weekend. Nothing beats seeing the world with a best girlfriend.


KøBENHAVEN: Newhaven, Armeilinborg, Christiansborg, Fredericks Kirke, Christiania, Church of our Savior, Stroget street.

I also got to celebrate my Middlebury teammate's birthday! Steph and I took a photo for coach. Missy - look how strong we are!


Next I hit Rome with one of my NYU buddies, Erica.


ROMA: Colosseum, Forum, run along the Fiume Tevere, Vatican & St. Peters, Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiori, San Maria Maggiore, Spanish Steps, Pizza del Popolo, Borgehese, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Venezia, lots of pasta and pizza.

From there, I reconvened with Tess in Amsterdam before heading back to Dublin.


AMSTERDAM: Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House, Van Gogh museum, Red Light District, Heineken Experience


Copenhagen - loved.
Rome - Amazing. Colossal. so much art history. I dragged Erica to all the biggies!
Amsterdam - eh. My postcard to mom said "No need to come here." Although Van Gogh was cool. And Anne Frank. A number of people have referred to Amsterdam as "charming," but apparently you have to travel a bit outside the city center to see that part. We didn't make it that far.