Drowned Madonna: How did you get in touch with Madonna?

Stefan Smith: I connected with Madonna through some people who I had worked with on Mariah Carey's Tour last year.

DM: Have you ever worked for Madonna in the past?

SS: I had never met Madonna before, of course I was very excited with the idea of working with her. She is an icon you know.

DM: What does it feel like to work for such an icon?

SS: It was such an honor to work on both "Vogue" and "Don't Tell Me".

DM: How did you prepare to work on "Vogue" backdrop video? Did you received the demo of the song?

SS: To prepare we listened to the song, which was brilliantly remixed especially for the show. "Vogue" is not a short track either, it's at least 7 minutes long. Also we watched a video tape of the rehearsal to get a sense for what Madonna and the dancers were doing during the number. All the animation in the video piece were designed around Madonna's choreography. For example when she comes out of the stage, Madonna does a number of poses. The room would move when she moved, with each one of the poses. When she turned upside down the room did the same.

DM: What other info did you get? What else did inspire you?

SS: We looked at some photos and some fabric swatches from the costumes. Many of the colors and patterns in the final video piece came from the costumes. They were fabulous. All of the colors were designed to compliment the look of the performers on stage.

DM: We assume that Madonna made some changes to the choreography during the rehearsals. So it must have been hard to meet her wishes, isn't it?

SS: This proved to be a challenge later on during rehearsals as Madonna would sometimes change the dance numbers, refining them, making them perfect. I can testify that the dance routines were timed to the second. It was such a privelidge to watch them work. Madonna's live performance is umatched by anyone alive today.

DM: Tell us more about the concept of the backdrop video for Vogue...

SS: The concept of "Vogue" is very hard to define. In one sentence I would have to describe it as...A journey into the maddness of Vogue. As for the meaning, you must draw your own conclusion.

DM: Well, what did you intend to make?

SS: I wanted to re-invent the concept of the backdrop, like they used in old movies and plays. We strived to make something modern but with a classic sensibility. As it turns out, "Vogue" was the opening musical number, Madonna's first appearance on stage. I knew it had to be something brand new, something that would get people excited.

DM: You realized a 3D video that had a great impact on the audience. The scene was really amazing! Tell us something about the technique you used to do this great work... and the softwares you used.

SS: The Louis the 14th rooms were created in the computer using a few different softwares. The main ones were the Discreet Logic Flame and 3d Studio Max. These were used to design and animate the rooms. Once we had a design we were all happy with we went to watch the rehearsal and see how it looked on stage.

DM: So, you had the privilege to attend the rehearsals and see how it worked...

SS: Seeing Madonna performing in front of something that you made is pretty unbelievable, especially when it is so large. It was a lot to take in. The video screens made up over 1200 square feet. Things look very different when they are on the stage.

DM: Tell us more about the process...

SS: That's pretty much how the process went. We would work on the piece all night and then go and watch it in rehearsal the next day. Sometimes she would perform the show and sometimes just the dancers would perform so she can watch the show running with the video.

DM: What did you get from this experience?

SS: There's nothing quite like sitting on a bean bag chair next to Madonna in the middle of an empty arena as she comments on the day's work. I will never forget it.

DM: And... what about Madonna?

SS: I won't discuss my personal interaction with Madonna, but what I will say is that I always found her very gracious. She has an incredibly sharp wit, she never misses anything. Also, I know its hard to imagine, but Madonna is even more beautiful in person. I found Madonna and everyone around her to be so incredibly talented. They are all such wonderful people too, like a crazy big family. There is never a dull moment. Madonna seems to bring out the creative best in everyone, she is quite remarkable that way. Of course it was stressful at times, anything worthwhile is going to be difficult. Everyone worked so hard, they are all very dedicated. But no one works harder than Madonna. No one. Personally, I have never worked harder or had a better experience than this project.

DM: They said she so perfectionist and bossy, is it true?

SS: You asked if Madonna is a perfectionist and bossy. The answer is that she is perfect, and she is the boss. Ha Ha!

DM: Let's talk about your latest projects...

SS: Recently I have also directed a videos for Ashley Simpson and Jessie McCartney. I also directed the tour visuals for Anastacia, for the European tour this year.

DM: Thank you so much for giving us this interview. One more question... The re-Invention Tour hasn't been broadcast and the DVD hasn't been released yet. What is to be expected?

SS: Everyone should watch for the upcoming broadcast of the show. Not sure when or where it will be broadcast, but I know it is being edited right now. Hopefully the DVD will be available soon, it is going to be amazing.

Please, if you choose to use this interview or part of it credit DrownedMadonna.

Scroll down the page for the caps.

Special thanks to Vincy.

The Power of Madonna's Fans

After DrownedMadonna.com announced that the backdrop video for Vogue RIT performace was available at the official website of the creators of the visual effects, the website gained 30,000 hits.

This is what Pusher website published on the homepage giving prominence to this little web event.

Caps from the backdrop video for "Vogue"