If you’re familiar with the local Milwaukee music scene chances are you’ve heard of Abby Jeanne. And if you’re not, chances are you will soon. Having been the recipient of the most Radio Milwaukee Music awards and finishing her February residency at Company Brewing in Milwaukee, the artist continues to make waves in the music scene with her unique voice and style. She recently released several new singles and her newest music video, “Be in the Sun” was premiered by 88.9 Radio Milwaukee, shot and directed by Saturn’s very own Eric Olson and produced by Nathan Gerred, our marketing director.
Being in the creative industry it’s no surprise that our team is constantly thinking of new projects and ways to show off the extreme talent that lies within our studio walls—and this project was no different. It all came to be during the 88.9 Radio Milwaukee block party this past summer where, upon watching and listening to Abby Jeanne during her opening performance, Nathan had an epiphany for a music video featuring the artist. “She just has such a great sound; Eric and I both have such a love for music and I know the quality of video we can do, so it really came down to being a passion project,” Nathan says.
Nathan approached Eric with his idea and after a collaborative meeting with Abby Jeanne, it was decided: Nathan would produce the video and Eric would shoot and direct it. “I listened to the song and I just said ‘Wow, I love this’ and all these ideas started coming at me and I got really excited. [Saturn] has the best of the best and I knew this video would be incredible,” Eric says.
The video featured a few “firsts” for the Saturn team and the artist herself. It was the first time Nathan ever produced anything, and it was the first time Abby Jeanne had the opportunity to shoot a music video with Saturn’s high-level of production. Although Nathan was new to the producer role, he knew the video would live up to its potential saying, “I was lucky to have the support of our experienced rock star producers and Eric’s creative direction was awesome.”
And Eric’s creative vision eventually led the production crew to a covered alley in Chicago, commissioning a street artist and a 13-hour long day on one of the hottest days in September. “It was a really long, hard day, and man was it hot,” Eric says. “But Abby Jeanne gave the perfect performance with very little direction and our entire crew was amazing to work with.”
This project gave Eric the opportunity to use his skills to view the project as a whole, instead of just a piece featuring an artist’s talent—it became multi-purpose. “I thought about what we could use the video for after it’s done, so I tried our different camera techniques, I did a time-lapse of the street artist painting the wall mural, I shot production stills; I wasn’t just making a video, I was thinking about what other assets could be obtained from this shoot to use for our social media, marketing, promotions and so on so we can offer it to clients in the future.”
And while the actual video shoot day was long, what came after was the hardest part for Eric—editing, saying, “I edited the entire thing and it was tricky because there were so many different shots. It came together over a period of time but I’m really pleased with how it turned out.”
The premiere of the “Be in the Sun” video is the perfect example of Saturn’s wide-ranging talent and ability to view a project as multi-dimensional, starting with an enthusiastic idea and developing it into a complex product with multiple features and usages. “The things we can do [at Saturn] are amazing,” says Eric. “It’s really a true creative team and that’s evident in this video.”
To learn more about our video services and creative offerings, contact us here.
See the full “Be in the Sun” music video here.