Nice Shoes

Rome wasn't built in a day, neither was the heavily buzzed neoclassical video portrait of Kanye West, which took nearly a month to realise in post. Nice Shoes' creative director Aron Baxter and colourist Ron Sudul take Kee Chang behind the scenes

Video artist Marco Brambilla's "Power"-a 90-second video portrait of Kanye West intended to build buzz around the rapper's most recent single of the same name-seems like the kind of creative experiment that most record labels would balk at. It's the sort of anomaly walking a tightrope between art and commerciality that comes around once in a blue moon. And boy, is it a breath of fresh air when it does.

Underpinned by the theatrical concept of a ruler presiding over an empire that has become both corrupt and brittle, West is superimposed on a neoclassical tableau brimming with historical references, the most prominent being Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. And although events are not described in full detail, the conditions under which they might occur are insinuated through the clever use of visual cues moved around like tectonic plates to create a drama-fueled landscape.

To bring the mammoth project to life, Stink London approached Nice Shoes NYC to handle the post. "One of the most in intrinsic things that we considered was that, like the Sistine Chapel, the portrait needed to embody beautiful qualities," says Nice Shoes' creative director Aron Baxter." We didn't want it to feel manmade or electronic. In essence, we wanted to create an environment that felt really natural."

When Baxter pulls back the curtain on the painstaking month-long post process, it sounds no less complicated than herding cats. "All the models were shot with the Phantom at 500fps against a green screen, which in this case wasn't slow enough. We ended up slowing the elements down further in post. Logistically coordinating the speed ramps in relation to the composition of the portrait was one of the biggest challenges. And beyond the composition itself, we had to make a lot of little decisions along the way to get the look and the feel right for the piece."

His creative problem solving skills no doubt stems from experience. Prior to crossing the pond and joining Nice Shoes in 2003, Baxter studied graphic design at Ravensbourne and Nottingham Trent University, cut his teeth working on the set of films like Tim Burton's Batman, and earned his chops in visual effects at MPC and Condor in his native England. In his time at Nice Shoes and Guava (previously the VFX wing of Nice Shoes that has since merged with its mother company), he has worked on high profile spots for MasterCard, American Express, Calvin Klein and Smirnoff.

Suffice to say, "Power" was a highly calibrated team effort, and colorist Ron Sudul was another key player who emerged from Nice Shoes' impressive stable of talent to lend a hand. "To get that fresco look, we went for a soft palette and pastel-y colors; nothing too contrasty or blown out," says Sudul. "Obviously, we made a lot of subtle tweaks to the individual elements as well. It was really nice and easy to do because we were able to color correct the foreground, Kanye, the models, and the background, independently. We had a really nice workflow."

Sudul's backstory is no less interesting or noteworthy than Baxter's. Hailing from Long Island, New York, he was attending NYU and mulling over the idea of transferring to a culinary school to become a chef when he took up a summer job at Nice Shoes. Sudul has since been with the post house for it's entire 13-year history. Sudul explains: "I started out in the shipping department and moved up through the ranks. I loved the people and the vibe, so I ended up staying. Ibasically learned everything by watching and doing. I thought it was the coolest thing ever."

As so often happens-not only in post, butall areas of production-curveballs are thrown when you least expect them. Given that most of the modelsfeatured in the video were shot in the nude, MTV's suddenoffer to debut the video-a TV-friendly version, of course-presented a new set of challenges that would likely give any post house heart palpitations. "That was definitely a quandary because we had to cover everything up," recalls Baxter. "Our solution was to get creative with the lighting and strategically shroud the models with garments, jewelry and fabric in a way that wouldn't compromise the look and feel of a fresco painting. There was no one right answer."

Despite the video's many permutations from conception to birth-they're now even discussing the possibilities of a 3D version-Baxter and Sudul joyfully recount the experience as if they would do it all over again tomorrow. "Working with like-minded creatives is incredibly rewarding," says Baxter. "We give all of our clients the special care and attention they deserve as opposed to bigger post facilities where they take you in and sort of push you out the door." Sudul adds: "At the end of the day, when the client loves what you did and you're also happy with what was accomplished, it's the best feeling in the world." Indeed, the proof is in the delivery.