Shooting a Music Video in Echo Park's Deep Pool

This hot summer weekend we could all use a dip in the pool. Well, the local band Warpaint took that idea one step further.

The band's new video for the song “Warpaint” took them straight into the Echo Park Deep pool for a waterlogged filming session.

Click here to see the complete video, which features some footage clearly shot at the seashore, but then some dreamy otherworldly stuff that originated right here in the EP.

The Echo Park ladies in Warpaint collaborated with local director Ted Newsome on the production. Newsome is based at Two Headed Horse Productions on Glendale Boulevard.

A big lover of pools ourselves, we shot off a couple of questions by email to Newsome about working on the video at the pool. 

Here they are:

Echo Park Patch: Why did you decide to immerse the ladies?

Ted Newsome: When I heard the song and more specifically the line, "The world you find is underneath, the world is getting deeper" I knew we had to go underwater. I didn't know we were going to stay down there so long!

Echo Park Patch: Did you always think you'd be shooting in a pool, or did you try to do something in an ocean or lake first?

Ted Newsome: The original treatment had the girls going into a pool and popping up in the ocean then going back underneath to find themselves in a pool again with a tea party going on.I knew shooting in the ocean underwater would be incredibly difficult. So we began the hunt for a giant pool.

Echo Park Patch: Why did you choose to use the Deep Pool?  I can't imagine it was easy getting permission.

I chose Echo Deep because it was indoors and we could have more control over the light. It was expensive to pull a permit and rent the location so most of my crew had to work for little or no pay.I am eternally grateful and plan to return the many favors.

Echo Park Patch: I don't believe that pool has an underwater mirror.  What were the logistics of actually obtaining the underwater images?

Ted Newsome: We had to put up two 40-foot backdrops that the pool filters kept sucking in - it was sketchy and we almost destroyed the pricey backdrops. At one point one of the staff members from the pool got really upset  and said we had to remove the backdrop immediately because the filtration motors were struggling and the whole system was about to go down. Other than that, we rented some fancy underwater lights and custom water housings for the cameras and we were in business.

Echo Park Patch: Is this the first time you have done that kind of photography?  Was it difficult "directing" the performers, at least in the traditional sense?

Ted Newsome: It was incredibly difficult because we didn't have monitors above the water. I was in the pool, under water, in scuba gear for the first time in my life.I was struggling to breathe and it was impossible to communicate with anyone above once we went down. I had to yell direction to the girls then go under and use hand signals.It was very educational, and I will never try to operate a camera underwater and direct at the same time again.

Echo Park Patch: I've always found it to be a little dark in the Deep Pool, even with a skylight.

Ted Newsome: The darkness was key so we could control the light above and below the water.Once the sun started to set and the skylight toned down, our picture got REALLY beautiful. If we shot outdoors or in a brighter setting we wouldn't have been able to make it look so dreamy and gorgeous.

Echo Park Patch: Is it important that the video was shot in Echo Park?

Ted Newsome: Echo Park is home for my production company and most of our crew is from the eastside so it was great to shoot there and support the neighborhood.

Here's the link to a recent NPR story about Warpaint that will tell you more about the band.