New York City-based actors, singers, choreographers, musicians and talk show hosts have come together for a video rendition of Billy Joel’s song “New York State of Mind” to encourage the city’s recovery from the pandemic. The film was produced by NYCNext, a group of New Yorkers with a focus on the arts community, and directed by Joshua Seftel, founder/executive creative director of Brooklyn-based production company Smartypants.
Joshua Seftel
Shot in a variety of iconic locations, New York State of Mind features Sara Bareilles, Mario Cantone, Victoria Clark, Cautious Clay, Andy Cohen, Stephen Colbert, singer/songwriter Alexa Ray Joel, The Klezmatics, Idina Menzel, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Joan Osborne, Miss Peppermint, Ben Stiller and Suzanne Vega.
Locations included Birdland (Times Square, Manhattan), the Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn), Columbia University (Morningside Heights), La Casita de Chema (Bronx), Maimonides Park (Coney Island), NYU (Greenwich Village), Open Jar Studios (Times Square,), The Red Hook Winery (Red Hook, Brooklyn), Steinway & Sons Factory (Ditmars Steinway, Queens), Tom’s Restaurant (Upper West Side) and the Wonder Wheel (Coney Island).
“It was an epic undertaking, the equivalent of shooting 25 different music videos for one film,” reports Seftel. “We wanted to show the diversity and beauty of all five boroughs. Our shared vision with NYCNext and Tom Kitt, who were the perfect collaborators, was for each artist to wake NYC from its slumber and breathe life back into the city by singing this anthemic song. I hope the heart and confidence behind these performances will inspire audiences to do their part to give back in whichever ways they can.”
Let’s find out some more from Seftel…
What was this shot on, and over how long?
We used a Sony Venice with rehoused Leica lenses. Our DP, Drew Levin, did a beautiful job with the cinematography. Lighting was simple and elegant. Nearly everything was shot on Steadicam to create a feeling of movement and life. Filming across all five NYC boroughs took the majority of the summer.
Did you shoot each performance in its entirety or was each artist/performer given a particular part of the song to sing?
Many of the artists chose to do a rendition of the whole song. Others focused on certain lines or sections that Tom Kitt, the Grammy-winning lead creative on the music side, helped identify. What’s most inspiring is that everyone devoted their talent in love and support for NYC. That’s why I see this project as less of a traditional music video and more of an anthem for the city at this moment in time.
If most performed the song in its entirety, that must have made for a challenging edit. Who was the editor?
Our editor, Jeremy Medoff, spearheaded the edit while working on Adobe Premiere. When going through the compositions, it was an embarrassment of riches. Our approach was to bring to life the idea of NYC creatively awakening from a kind of slumber. The artists embraced this concept and gave these fun, unique takes and each performance could have easily stood on its own. It made us wish the song was longer so we could truly showcase everyone’s performance.
Who did the color grade?
Our team partnered with Harbor Picture Company’s Damien Vandercruyssen for the color grading. We all shared the same visual language and couldn’t be happier with the result: a rich, cinematic look that captures the diversity and beauty of NYC and its people. He used FilmLight Baselight.
According to Seftel, Billy Joel lent the organization the rights and permissions to use his “New York State of Mind” song to support the project. All artists featured in the film donated their time to the project.
This rendition of New York State of Mind will appear in taxi cabs, at New York City’s homecoming concerts, as part of the New York Stock Exchange’s outdoor events at Experience Square, and many other local venues and media outlets.
