One-take videos bring unique perspective to Lincoln music industry

Images of a basement intersect with clips of softly glowing, colored lights along the wall of what appears to be a bar. The images cut back and forth recklessly until the guitarist of Flashbulb Fires begins strumming his guitar, leading the audience into their song "Pyramid Scheme."

The grainy, black and white video is a spontaneous one-take recording that was done in the basement of a house in Omaha in 2010. It is responsible for launching a creative audio-video project called Love Drunk, which brings local and touring artists off the stage and into unique performance spaces.

Originally from Denver, Flashbulb Fires was staying with their friend Django Greenblatt-Seay while touring through Omaha. Greenblatt-Seay had a small audio recording studio and some cameras lying around and, on a whim, a music video was made. Flashbulb Fires' one-take video sparked creative drive for Greenblatt-Seay, who then launched Love Drunk.

"It's a project that is basically a collaboration among several photographers and videographers," he said. "We shoot live, one-take music videos in places artists don't normally play."

He added that one-take videos allow the viewer to experience the song in real time, so everything seen and heard is happening in sync. Greenblatt-Seay works with a revolving crew and noted that there are about 34 people currently involved, with only half actively working. Love Drunk is a not-for-profit creative venture, maintained by the crew's passion for the art of recording. All music videos premier on the Hear Nebraska website and are archived at lovedrunkstudio.com as well as on their Vimeo site.

"The videos are great for viewers to watch," said Love Drunk photographer Daniel Muller. "It's all taken from one single song ... and you get to see slight variations from the album recording."

During the two years since it was founded, Love Drunk has created over 60 music videos which have captured artists in a variety of locations, from hot air balloons to skate parks. Choosing a location is often the last task the crew faces when preparing a shoot, but according to Greenblatt-Seay it always seems to deliver a good music video environment.

"It depends on the aesthetics of the song and the personalities of the band," Greenblatt-Seay said. "But I really like to shoot at businesses that are supportive of local music ... like the Black Market in Lincoln."

Love Drunk shot "Thunderstandable" at the used clothing store in downtown Lincoln. While they utilize space that supports local music, Greenblatt-Seay is also conscientious about working with musicians during the right time in their career.

"It's not very likely that we'll shoot a band that's brand new," Greenblatt-Seay said. "They'll get more mileage out of a video with us if they've already done some stuff, created some momentum on their own. If an audience demands videos out of that band then that's when a video is a good idea."

It is also appropriate to make a music video if a band has something to promote. Last spring, Greenblatt-Seay and several crew members, including Muller, toured the East Coast to shoot 15 bands in 13 cities over the course of 15 days. Their schedule required them to travel to a city, shoot the band, and then pack up and leave again. Greenblatt-Seay edited the videos as they drove to the next city.

"Love Drunk takes the time and effort of so many people," said Muller. "A lot of bands are like, ‘What's the catch?' But ... it's just for the love of it."

Love Drunk plans on doing another East Coast tour in May. Until then Greenblatt-Seay and his crew will continue to incorporate unique music videos into the burgeoning local music scene.

kelseylee@dailynebraskan.com