Ok trombone
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Ok Trombone, Game Over
Directed & Edited by
Paul A. Notice II
Cinematography by
Elliot K. Guilbe
Music by
David Whitwell (Trombone)
Connor Parks (Drums)
Gabriel Zucker (Piano)
Choreography & Performance by
Regine Bellinger
Riccardo Valentine
Recording Engineer
Nicholas R. Nelson
Mixing & Mastering Engineer
Ryan Streber
This was the story of witchcraft and blackness. Ricarrdo and Regine are already magical people. So, it was only natural to seek them out for “Ok Trombone, Game Over.” I imagined two Black witches working together to seemingly escape, then capture and defeat a danger that we cannot see. In a way, that’s the life of Black folx working for liberation - a lot of people can’t see the magic, nor the danger it saves them from.
For inquiries on video editing & video production, email: paul@thenoticeblog.com
Giffen Good
Imagine something that becomes more valuable, the more you sell it. That’s a Giffen Good. Jim suggested we do something on Wall Street and Time square to centers of capitalism. All we needed was a Dancer who could embody the everyman trapped in this world of consumerism and superficial valuations. I suggested the uncanny Orlando Hunter, a stunning performer & choreographer I met a couple of years ago. And everyone agreed. But we had no idea just how much brilliance he would bring to set that day. Having a Black body infiltrate spaces of Whiteness and Commerce, not meekly - but unapologetically - changed this entire piece for the better. We became starkly aware that both Orlando and I were once considered a Giffen Good. The performance transformed into a defiant act in the face of statues of men long dead, who once sold us on the steps of Wall Street. I would orbit the camera around Orlando’s face, as he looked up into the Time Square lights, or craft continuous long takes following Orlando - it creates a certain intimacy with what he’s experiencing.
Directed by
Paul A. Notice II
Jim Costanzo
Edited by
Paul A. Notice II
Music by
David Whitwell (Trombone)
Connor Parks (Drums)
Gabriel Zucker (Piano)
Choreography & Performance by
Orlando D. Hunter
Recording Engineer
Nicholas R. Nelson
Mixing & Mastering Engineer
Ryan Streber
7 Generations
The energy in this piece was palpable and electric. Originally, Max was slated to choreograph and perform alone. But Liv wanted didn’t want to wait to dance, so she joined him. It became a dance-off between the two performers. Both pulling from Latinx and Afro-Caribbean dances and mixing it with the Jazz age style, swing dancing. A dialogue between two bodies. The editing here is more kinetic, increasingly picking up pace as the song moves forward. I wanted it to be a dialogue of dance between two people, where the music creates the world and the dance creates the language.
Directed & Edited by
Paul A. Notice
Cinematography by
Elliot K. Guilbe
Music by
David Whitwell (Trombone)
Connor Parks (Drums)
Gabriel Zucker (Piano)
Choreography & Performance by
Regine Bellinger
Riccardo Valentine
Recording Engineer
Nicholas R. Nelson
Mixing & Mastering Engineer
Ryan Streber
Concertino D’Hiver Op.327 (1953) by Darius Milhaud
This was a classical dive into minimalist filmmaking. Just as Dogma 95 required filmmakers to use lighting only present in the scene, no SFX, no practical effects - no bells, no whistles - just the music and the musicians. I used a motion stabilizer for the camera, and orbited around the performers in long, continuous takes. The darkness shrouding the players, in contrast to the harsh overhead stage lights give it a dynamic feel, while the seamless transitions and directional cuts between clips give the illusion of one long continuous take from start to finish. I wanted the frantic pace to be complemented with a calm and drifting camera. Observing musicians in the midst of the privacy of performance.
Directed & Edited by
Paul A. Notice
Music by
David Whitwell (Trombone)
Connor Parks (Drums)
Gabriel Zucker (Piano)
Choreography & Performance by
Katrina Reid
Recording Engineer
Nicholas R. Nelson
Mixing & Mastering Engineer
Ryan Streber
Prospective Opposition II
This was an off-the-cuff shoot, one Tuesday back in January. I had just returned from filming in Haiti, and David prodded me into shooting just a simple take on one of his pieces. The idea was simple. A single-camera top-shot observing someone make a somewhat overly ceremonious process of preparing a simple cup of coffee. But the focus was off during the first take, so we did another, and decided to hop back and forth between the two. During the editing process, the layers began to appear on what was created. These were White hands, creating a consumable of pleasure, and yet - in this moment of personal solitude and leisure - something disturbs him.. And that something grows and swells until he simply can enjoy the fruit of his labor. It became an abstract understanding of why privilege cannot shield the human mind from the suffering of others. That wealth and leisure can only blind people from the suffering of others for so long.
Directed & Edited by
Paul A. Notice
Music by
David Whitwell (Trombone)
Connor Parks (Drums)
Gabriel Zucker (Piano)
Recording Engineer
Nicholas R. Nelson
Mixing & Mastering Engineer
Ryan Streber
Poulenc Trio
This piece morphed into many different forms in its early stages. At first, David wanted something of a re-enactment of the piece. The Story goes that high some society women commissioned an artist for some chamber music. And instead of giving him a nice dainty piece, he gave the heavy loud brass and crass instrumentals. Almost as if to thumb his nose at high society. So originally it was going to be a dancer performing as a wealthy person, who somehow gets their comeuppance in the end. But it seemed too simple - too much from the male gaze. We were lucky enough to have Liv doing the choreography on this piece, and she took the film to a different level of subtlety and insight. She still performs wealthy, but in the context of her surroundings, and the subtle nuances of class signifiers, creates a world where her character is by nature - out of touch.
Directed & Edited by
Paul A. Notice II
Cinematography by
Elliot K. Guilbe
Music by
David Whitwell (Trombone)
Connor Parks (Drums)
Gabriel Zucker (Piano)
Choreography & Performance by
Regine Bellinger
Riccardo Valentine
Recording Engineer
Nicholas R. Nelson
Mixing & Mastering Engineer
Ryan Streber