A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Making of the EDC New York 2016 Trailer

Tucked away in the back of a giant pro audio and video retail store near Northeast L.A. stands a massive sound stage. In it, boxes upon boxes of expensive camera and sound gear line the outer edges within the building. To the side, an exit door leads toward the common area, where an impressive display of gourmet snacks and not-so-gourmet junk food lines a kitchen counter. Next door, two dressing rooms are full of a day’s worth of costume changes, where a hair-and-makeup specialist meticulously grooms the two actresses in today’s shoot. Elsewhere, a near-empty room serves as a makeshift production office to meet any last-minute needs, and in the back room, two lounging runners keep up with the latest in celebrity news and reality TV gossip on the mounted big screen.

But the magic is happening inside the giant Stage One.

Prior to today, Stage One was largely empty. Beginning at 10am on this sunny day in early March, the on-site film crew began to build the set for the day’s shoot: the official EDC New York 2016 trailer, streaming in full above. Wearing many hats throughout the day, from set designers and builders to camera and lighting technicians, the crew is putting the final touches to make the set look as realistic as possible.

Smack in the middle of Stage One now sits a convincing film set mimicking the everyday, mundane details of an optometry office. Everything you could ever imagine in your eye doctor’s workplace is present here: a stained silver wash sink; a heavy exam chair, complete with a manual refractor, intense enough to evoke nightmares; a set of actual ophthalmic tools; glass jars filled with blue latex gloves, white cotton balls, and wooden tongue depressors; a framed college diploma mounted on the wall; an illuminated visual acuity chart cleverly disguising the letters E D C N Y; and a beautiful blue vase holding a bunch of yellow daisies (get it?) for a subtle touch of EDC subliminal messaging.

A crewmember adds one last iridology chart to the set behind the exam chair. “Now the room is complete,” he says. “It’s perfect.”

In a matter of hours, Stage One went from a near-empty studio space to an almost-IRL optometry office. Every microscopic detail and each single characteristic created for this shoot was carefully crafted to make the EDC NY visual clip feel real. The amount of specific precision behind each element of the set mirrors the spirit of EDC, where every detail is considered and each inch of the festival is used to its utmost creative potential.

It’s now 1pm. The stage is set, and the actresses are completing an initial round of dress rehearsals under the guidance of head director Charles Houle. After five hours of filming the same scenes over and over again and following dozens of retakes, the actresses are getting sassy in the friendliest of ways. They begin to ad lib their lines, to the surprise and eagerness of Houle. By nightfall, it’s a wrap for everyone, and the crew makes one last sweep for the remaining snacks in the kitchen.

Over the next few days, the Insomniac video team spends hours editing and adding layers of special effects to bring the visual to life. The result: a playful and detailed clip featuring one happy-go-lucky raver with a curious case of Electro Discombobulated Corneas, more commonly known as a case of the EDCs. The cure? Stream the EDC NY 2016 official trailer above and join your fellow Headliners Under the Electric Sky this May.

EDC New York 2016 takes place Saturday, May 14, and Sunday, May 15, at Citi Field in NYC. For more information, visit the official website.

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All photos by Jake West