I first met Marcus Araiza during the San Jose 48 Hour Film Project in 2009. He told me about a music video he was directing and wanted to bring me on as the editor.

When I learned about the details of the project, I was definitely on board. The name of the band is Licked, and the lead singers, Ben and Cera, share a personal bond in that they both lost siblings to cancer. Ben wrote the song “Smiling Down” as a testament to the struggles his little sister faced in the fight against the disease. The song and video were also meant to make people aware of the disease and the fact that children are diagnosed at an alarming rate.

It’s is a touching song and video and I am happy to be a part of it.

In my correspondence with Marcus, we were sending video clips back and forth to each other. I found a very useful way for him to suggest a change in shot selection by creating a picture-in-picture version that includes nearly every take for each part of the song. Along with timecode, this proved to be an extremely useful way for Marcus (and myself) to know what footage is available for which part of the song.

Even on it’s own it stands as an engaging video simply by witnessing all of the takes that occurred in one viewing. Enjoy.