New York-based production house Bodega Studios once again teams with sister companies Northern Lights and Mr. Wonderful to craft the inspiring new music video, “The Understanding” for Brooklyn-based Americana band Jones Street Station. Click HERE for a free download of “The Understanding” via Bandcamp.

Shot in contemplative black and white inspired by Gordon Willis’ timeless work with Woody Allen, “The Understanding” is directed by Bodega’s Executive Creative Director Adam Reid and stars Danny Pudi of NBC’s Community as a solitary observer of daily New York City life. Northern Lights editor George Carty cut the video on an AVID, with compositing in Autodesk Smoke provided by Mr. Wonderful.

Reid and Jones Street Station first crossed paths when the band provided much of the music for Reid’s 2010 debut feature Hello Lonesome and the partners have been searching for projects on which to continue collaborating ever since. With a cinematic structure and emotional core, “The Understanding” provided a compelling opportunity to intertwine narrative storytelling and music. Notes Reid, “The song is constructed like a film, starting off a bit mellow and contemplative, easing its way into a soaring chorus in the middle, and then pushing through with all-out jubilation at the end. A classic three act structure.”
Reid called upon his extensive photography experience to shoot the entire piece in a single drizzly New York day and create the video’s evocative style that Reid describes as “low budget, big heart.”

The video opens with the young man, played by Pudi, waking up and starting his day, taking in a panoramic view of Central Park through the telescope at his window. He wanders the streets of downtown Manhattan alone before stopping for breakfast at a local diner. His meanderings are interrupted when his attention is drawn to a miniature camera in a storefront window. He purchases the tiny camera and sets off to put it to use.

The young man spends the day roaming the city, taking pictures of street scenes and strangers with his new camera. Working with Mr. Wonderful’s VFX team, Reid uses the back of the camera’s display screen to depict the snapshots that he takes and convey the illusion that camera is authentic. In Central Park, the young man connects with one of his subjects — a pretty young woman played by a real-life college friend of Pudi’s. The pair strike up an acquaintanceship and spend the day together, ending up in the recording studio where the young woman works. In the studio, Jones Street Station are recording “The Understanding,” as we see footage of the band’s performance intercut with the growing mutual attraction between two newfound friends. Together, they sit in with the band in a celebratory recording session that evokes the song’s lyrics, “Where are my friends who are lost and alone?/May they find their way back home/Then you’ll understand,” as the video reaches an uplifting resolution that affirms camaraderie and personal connection.

About BODEGA

Bodega Studios is a bicoastal integrated production and content creation coalition. Whether producing for agencies or working direct-to-client with brands and TV networks, Bodega’s award-winning directors writers, producers and creative directors bring big ideas to life at any stage.

With sister companies in VFX/design, editorial and audio, Bodega’s holistic approach to storytelling strengthens the brand or show’s message. Advertisers and entertainers like VW, SyFy, Food Network, Subaru and KIA have embraced their one-stop-shop capabilities, generating some of the most original promos and web content in advertising and beyond.
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