BEHIND-THE-SCENES of A LITTLE OFF THE TOP
It all started when…
I was an artist in residence at McColl Center (located in Charlotte, NC) in Fall 2021. I had recently received funding from Black Public Media to create a project about black barbershop culture, but didn’t have yet know which subjects I wanted to work with. Lucky for me, a friend from high school put me in contact with his barber who worked at BB’s Barber Salon. I went to visit the barber and found out that other barbers, and even their teen customer, wanted to be part of the project as well.
And so we arranged a recording session at the barbershop one evening. I gave the barber and customer a premise — a self-conscious teen customer comes in with a problem, and through the barber’s mentoring and support, leaves feeling more confident and sure of himself. The barbers and teen customer improvised their lines, and the result was something that felt very realistic, heartwarming, and rooted in cultural authenticity.
My team and I took this audio and animated them into photorealistic 3D models. The animation was achieved through a variety of means, including 3D motion capture and computer generative lip-sync animation techniques. We used a combination of programs including the Unreal Engine, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Premiere to bring the project to life.
Finally, the music was written by Steve Wallace, a talented lyricist and composer, who blends many styles, including jazz and hip-hop. You not only hear his amazing beats and melodies throughout, but also his voice as he raps a very catching intro song, that stays with the listener long after the end credits.
CAST AND CREW (from left to right)
Luis Reyes (VO actor)
Buck Massey (Barber & VO actor)
D Wiggz (Barber & VO actor)
Angela Harper (Associate Producer and VO actress)
William D. Caballero (Project Creator, Director, Producer, and Animator)
Jaime Tinsley (Barber & VO actor)
Brad Jones (3D Animation Director)