Yes, you read that correctly. Connie Francis and Electric Wizard are worlds a part, but not when it comes to my playlist! Actually, this wasn’t intentional, I just happened to want to listen to them both while editing the same photo set. One caused me to create a soft noire feel, while the other had me transfixed on a “Twilight Zone” effect. This is what happens when I mix up my music while I edit. Only this time the outcome was a little severe. You may have two very different artists you like to listen to while you edit, and may be this will inspire you to try it (on purpose).
Connie Francis
Not a lot of people don’t know this about me, but I LOVE Connie Francis. I like a lot of really old music from the 50’s doo-wop era, her’s especially. You’ve probably already heard one of her songs and don’t even know it. Classics such as “Stupid Cupid” and “Fallin'” are pretty well-known and are used in films like The Craft (“Fallin'”) and 2046 (“Siboney”). There was no real particular reason why I chose her music, but I Youtube’d her “Greatest Hits” album and let it play. Looking at the results, it reads as a brighter version of my Lana Del Rey editing style. Not really surprising if you’ve listened to both of them. I wanted to give this set a vintage feel even though it was a gritty set shot in downtown Oakland. I feel the music caused me to soften the rawness of the photos. Instead of going for the dark, edgy look like I usually do, I ended up brightening it all over for a more luminous version. The colors were exaggerated as well as the usage of my contrast bar (both in Camera RAW and Photoshop). The set looks more like a “bubbly” version of nightlife spilling into the wild streets of Oakland.
Other artists that I would compare and mix with her to would be: Adele, Amy Winehouse, Lana Del Rey, April March, The Beach Boys, Christina Aguilera (her “Back To Basics” Album only), Kings Of Leon, Sugar Ray, Smith, Anna Wise, Arctic Monkeys, Brazilian Girls, and The Delfonics.
My Top 10 Songs For Connie Francis:
“Stupid Cupid”
“Fallin'”
“Lipstick On Your Collar”
“Who’s Sorry Now”
“My Happiness”
“Where The Boys Are”
“Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool”
“You’re Gonna Miss Me”
“Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You”
“Follow The Boys”
Electric Wizard
Half way through editing, I randomly decided to put on this really bad 1970’s horror film called Blood Orgy of the She-Devils (it’s on Amazon Prime). My muse Connie Francis was tiring me out and I wanted something different. Following the theme of the movie, I put on Electric Wizard’s Witchcult Today album and started editing. This changed my artistic flow immediately. Electric Wizard is a Doom Metal/Stoner Rock band that started in the mid-90’s (Witchcult Today being from 2007). This music made want to do something a little out of the norm for my editing style. I still wanted to maintain the editorial aspect of the shoot but get weird with it, so I split the difference. Keeping the models intact (for the most part), I fooled around with the background using the “color fill” layer. I tweaked it to the point where it still looked like the location, but more of a dark, avant-garde version. The lights in the background were especially fun to play with. It gave the photo a creepy glow with inverted outlines of the architecture.
Some artists that I would pair Electric Wizard with would be: Deftones (of course), Rishloo, Gorillaz (Tomorrow Comes Today, Starshine), Incubus, Jimi Hendrix, Korn, Soundgarden (RIP Chris), Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, Tool, Portishead, Queens Of The Stoneage, System Of A Down, TV On The Radio, Funkadelic (Maggot Brain), Marilyn Manson, The Mars Volta, and Massive Attack.
My Top 10 Songs For Electric Wizard:
“Funeralopolis”
“Dopethrone”
“Vinum Sabbathi”
“We Hate You”
“Barbarian”
“I, The Witchfinder”
“The Chosen Few”
“Satanic Rites Of Drugula”
“Dunwich”
“Raptus”
So there you have it! My weird experience with switching up the music in a drastic way and getting back crazy results. I’m sure you have a few bands who are completely different from each other on your playlist. I suggest trying out this “method” and see what happens when you edit. If you wish to share your personal results or have any questions for me in general feel free to contact me!
