“A lot of music DVDs are made from a shoebox full of odds and ends a band has accumulated,” says award-winning video director Jim Swaffield. “They have a bunch of random content and they decide they want to re-purpose it into a DVD — so they bring in a team after the fact, to try to figure out how to make it work.”

Swaffield would rather start new. “Where I see the real potential of DVD is in ‘purposed’ projects, where the content is originated specifically for the medium by filmmakers who understand it,” he says. “The best DVDs will be holistically made by directors who originate a concept, shoot it, post it and author it — they’re involved all the way through.”

That’s exactly how Swaffield created “The Preacher’s Son: Vibe Session,” his new DVD starring hip-hop artist and former Fugees frontman Wyclef Jean. It was no born-in-a-shoebox miscellany. Applying his 20 years of experience directing music videos in every format from 35mm to HD, Swaffield and the crew at his New York company, Relevant, used DVD Studio Pro 2.0 and Final Cut Pro 4.0 to conceive a freshly-imagined work — one that would play in a unique way for each viewer.

“My idea was to make a DVD that would let fans engage and interact with the artist in a new way,” he says. “Vibe Session” creates this up-close feeling by offering viewers choices and blending navigation and functionality throughout the program. Wyclef Jean addresses his fans directly, talking them through the DVD’s special features and encouraging them to participate in the experience he and his band are creating.

Getting Close on DVD
Swaffield had no trouble getting Wyclef on board with his vision. “Clef immediately understood our idea,” says the director. “It went perfectly with what he wanted, which was to have a live session feel — to hearken back to those famous 1972 Bob Marley and the Wailers “Concrete Jungle” studio sessions in Kingston.”

The concept also offered marketing appeal for Jean’s label, J Records. While the music-only version of “The Preacher’s Son” can be purchased online via the iTunes Music Store, the DVD is packaged as a CD bonus, available only through record stores. “Vibe Session” represents an emerging trend to boost retail sales by adding value to album releases, giving fans a new experience that’s engaging and relevant to their media habits. As single songs increasingly dominate online music sales, music DVDs like Swaffield’s may herald the rise of a new opus form to supplant the traditional album.

Classic and Next Modes
“Vibe Session” complements the CD with top-quality digital audio, recording session and location shots and lots of banter between the musicians. Swaffield drew heavily on advances in DVD Studio Pro and Final Cut Pro — including multiple angle video and 24p advanced mode — to deliver a richly layered look and sound.

Viewers can watch the DVD in what Swaffield calls “classic play” mode or “next level” mode. In classic play, the songs and scenes unfold without audience navigation. “You can just put it on and let it play through like an album,” says Swaffield. Clef and his band jam as they’re filmed with organic-looking hand-held cameras. “It’s raw and intimate,” says Swaffield, “with the cameras real close to the talent.”

The director has more treats in store “for those fans whose fingers are more comfortable on the remote than off it.” Next level combines the tracks with what Swaffield calls “dimensional content people can explore and interact with” — such as Clef appearing in pop-up windows to tell little stories.

A Fresh, Live Vibe
Swaffield’s DVD invites interactivity. “Between songs, you can click out to the menu and play around with it,” says Swaffield. “In one pass you’ll hear Clef talking about the song’s meaning, and in another you’ll see the band working out the chords.” In addition to three or four variations of each song, the DVD stays fresh by playing the tracks in a unique order each time through.

Wyclef Jean is enthusiastic about how well “Vibe Session” keeps the spirit of his music alive. “When we jam, it’s all about the vibe,” says Jean. “We wanted to capture the vibe of one of our live sessions — and really bring the fans into that experience. The DVD turned out to be the perfect way to do this, both in the real, up-close way it was shot, and in the way the programming makes it come to life as you experience it.”

Dimensional Navigation
To create Swaffield’s dimensional experience, “Vibe Session” has functionality threaded throughout its contents. It’s a fresh spin on the way DVDs traditionally work. “Usually you have a menu at the front end that leads you to chunks of linear media that play out like a movie,” says Swaffield.

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