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nvlv · 7 years ago

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Lighting | Look Dev Reel - 2017 - Vol. 2 from Patrick O'Connor on Vimeo.

Here are some of the shots I had the opportunity to work on for Justice League (2017) & The Dark Tower (2017) @ MPC Vancouver.

Shot 1 (0:07) - Steppenwolf, Parademons, & Lair | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 2 (0:10) - Steppenwolf, Parademons, & Lair | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 3 (0:15) - Steppenwolf, Parademons, & Lair | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 4 (0:19) - Steppenwolf, Parademons, & Lair | Responsible for shot lighting on all characters and Obelisk - Environment and Volumes by Abraham Ibáñez

Shot 5 (0:31) - Aquaman, Parademons, & Skrunda | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 6 (0:33) - Tower | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Shot 7 (0:42) - Tower | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Shot 8 (0:46) - House Demon | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Shot 9 (0:49) - House Demon | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Shot 10 (0:51) - Glass Shard (Bottom Half) | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Shot 11 (0:53) - Aquaman, Parademon, & Skrunda | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 12 (0:55) - Steppenwolf, Parademons, & Lair | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 13 (1:00) - Tower | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Music | Unreleased C.Z. Wang Track (Ripped and Re-Edited from Anthony Naples NTS Radio - 25th January 2017 Mix)

Thanks for watching!

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thesunlounge · 6 years ago

Text

Reviews 257: People Plus

To enter the Mood Hut is to completely free your mind, body, and spirit, letting go of all notions of boundary, genre, and form in the act of total surrender to the immersive fantasy worlds of this enigmatic collective. Though one can still loosely categorize their sound by ill-defined references to sun-kissed haze house, lo-fi psychedelia, and stoner zoner ambient, the group has proven their longevity and vitality time and time again by venturing ever further out with each subsequent release. And as the years pass, it becomes increasingly hard to pin down or guess where these mysterious musicians will travel next. After a heroic 2017 run, Mood Hut slowed their pace to a simmer during 2018 with only one release: the colorful, smooth, and energetic jazz house vibrations of Local Artist’s Dancer / Dreamer 12.” But 2019 looks to be more active, starting with the evocative fusion landscapes and cosmic jazz dreamworlds of Third Space by People Plus.

The duo of C.Z. Wang and Joli B debuted People Plus last year, releasing an EP of ethereal drug fogs and jacking house beats on Incensio. But as good as Olympus Mons was, it did little to prepare me for the visionary exotica grooves of Third Space, which takes the duo’s hazy Vancouver vibe and launches it into the stratosphere by adding in touches of leftfield downtempo, interstellar acid jazz, tropical fusion, futuristic chill-out, and burning breakbeat funk. As well, a hyperlink printed on the A-side leads to the Casa de Haiku…a virtual reconstruction of People Plus’ studio. A vaporwave room floats amongst the clouds, adorned with the Third Space artwork and featuring interactive plant sonics, juggling orb lamps, rotating rugs and wall fixtures, glowing doorways, TV static, and Lynch-ian staircases that either loop back into the same room or head downwards into a glowing green cave (where snippets of the track “Jungle Room” are looped). There is even a playable synth and drum machine, allowing for simplistic recreations of Wang’s and Joli B’s otherworldly jam outs.

People Plus - Third Space (Mood Hut, 2019) The title track features the synths of Kenzo Niwa and begins in a world of rhythmic anxiety, with jacking kick patterns fading in and out while cymbals shuffle and simmer. Intoxicating and looping bass grooves join the flow…the track wanting to lock into a jazz house groove but instead blurring and morphing nervously amidst hovering smoke, shrouded noise, and dreamy Rhodes pianos. Eventually it all flows together, with scatting pianos chords and storming downbeat jazz rhythms flowing like Black Mahogani-era Moodyman, as celestial synth sparkles, zany squiggle spirals, and psychedelic tracers swirl around fiery fusion e-pianos. “Ascension” follows with four-four kicks storming beneath shuffling hat patterns, with everything flowing through soft dub echoes. Wiggly synth leads solo into the night and sustaining Rhodes chords cast a twilight glow while claps crack through reverb caverns. Eventually a breaky snare pattern enters…the song now soaring through starfields of future jazz and house perfection, with swinging bass riffs jamming out in support, marimba’s splashing through sea-spray slapback, and bending arcs of laser magic filtering between black hole vapors and fried solo fire. At some point, the melodic atmospheres and jazz break snares cut away, leaving a bass guitar to chug energetically beneath machine cymbals while snares and kicks vibe through flaming funk flourishes. And as the gliding groove returns, it now floats beneath a harp made of cosmic gemstones weaving oceanic spells while crazed fusion synths sing alongside melting e-piano dreamspells and scatting textures of electro-brass.

At the center of it all sits the epic “Jungle Room,” with new age mermaid drones flowing over a psychedelic Rhodes riff, all freaky future fusion magic backgrounded by static snares, sub-kick pulses, and heatwave chord flashes. Then comes one of the tightest and most infectious drum performances I’ve ever heard, as Jeff Barton sources a burning breakbeat jam out with hi-hats spitting fire and cutting against heady snare flams while big bulbous kicks pulse on an acid jazz groove. If that wasn’t perfect enough, People Plus then drop in this incredible plucked contrabass loop as the track morphs into blazing modal fusion bop swirled around by ethereal cosmic hazes. Subtle static riffs and acid blips intercut the stereo field and the kick drums sometimes pull away, leaving behind stretches of floating space jazz. And during one such rhythmic drop out, spiraling Rhodes strands flow above noisey clicks that eventually develop into freaky leads of fiery blues psychedelia as the mesmeric breakbeats resume their sci-fi glide, with everything soaring beneath tranced out voice cut-ups. I’m reminded of Fontanelle (and thus of early-70s Miles Davis), though it’s all imbued with atmospheres 90s chill-out and a dreamy rave haze. And as the song progresses, the mix is increasingly washed over by drunken brass waves and scorching static weirdness until a moment where it all explodes into a supernova of free jazz skronk. Then following a stretch where feedback tracers weave euphoria melodies over crazed Rhodes fluids and stand-up bass riff hypnotics, we cut into a dreamy coda…the vibe still breaky, but also floaty and spaced out…with oceanic wavefronts generating paradise fantasias that are periodically disturbed by sickly synthesizer colorations.

In “O.S.C. 1”, cowbells and percussive fluids are cut to pieces by hissing hi-hats, which bring with them tropical pianos and a lofi machine samba. Electro-toms circle through robotic fills and glassy keyboards drop dreamy jazz chords while animalistic calls are evoked by synthesis. Wobbling basslines slide upwards over tropical disco kicks and soft shakers, their tones sounding like cosmic tubas while alighting on mechanized fusion adventures and subdued funk solos. E-pianos transition into a bouncing rainforest funk riff and their gemstone trails are caught within crazed echo webs as we ascend into a chaotic climax, with the groove riding as smoothly as ever while blasting sirens and intergalactic sound streaks overwhelm the stereo field. It’s a night-soaked balearic jam out…the sound of dense jungle meeting white sand beach, with wavering guitars chords developing into descending arpeggios of dark desert spiritualism while ringing bells generate a golden shimmer. Closer “Journey to Being” is the most mystically aligned trip here and begins with crystal healing rotations, floating ice clouds, subterranean bass drones, and oceanic sparkles all underlying blasts of solar synthesis. Sumptuous subsonic pulses snake through exotica lines as a gaseous groove emerges, with slappy bass funk riffs locking in with barely there snares, pitch-shifting toms, hand drum tribalisms, and jacking acid lullabies. And after tapped rides flow through buzzing insect drones, glowing Rhodes atmospheres, cyborg breaths, hovering ocean hazes, and ringing glass bells, the song ends with fragile melodies of springtide beauty flowing down from a cloudy sky.

(images from my personal copy)

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