Chasing two dreams with one video

They came to Manhattan not knowing a soul. Their hometown in County Donegal, Ireland, was a small, quiet place — nothing like New York City, nothing like them.

Grainne, Joan, Angela and Marie Therese Diver — aka the Screaming Orphans — came here seeking fame, fortune and exposure. Creating upbeat rock with a dash of Irish influence, their sound features seamless harmonies — the product of years spent performing together as children.

Like the Screaming Orphans, Tisch senior Anna Maltezos came to the city to pursue a dream. The Chicago native wanted to make it big in the entertainment world.

She enrolled in Tisch's film and television program, and took advantage of all the benefits of living, working and studying in New York. While learning about and creating films at Tisch, Maltezos also interned at Saturday Night Live.

When the band contacted Tisch's film department seeking students to translate the lyrics and music of "Circles" for a music video, many students responded to the ad, but the band was quickly taken by Maltezos' vision.

"We always said we wanted to play for college kids," said Joan, the band's drummer and lead singer, adding that they came here because the members felt their music would find a more receptive audience in America than in Europe.

The girls had found luck early in their career, touring the world with Irish singer Sinead O'Connor on her 1997 Gospel Oak Tour. Although they were able to get a taste of live performing, they still wanted to establish a solid base for themselves in America.

"We were working with a college agent who had seen us, and he said the American college scene was very different from Europe," Joan said. "He said to get to the bigger colleges we needed to make a video because that's how you get accepted. That's why we approached NYU."

The band thought working on the music video — for their song "Circles" — with film students was its best option. After all, like the Screaming Orphans themselves, college students come to the city to develop and showcase their talents, starting out with not much more than some raw ability and determination.

"There are a lot of very talented people in Tisch, and I'm lucky to work alongside them," Maltezos said. "My internships also help me feel less naive, but everything is still a learning experience."

Maltezos said that before she approached the band members with ideas for the video, she listened to their music to get a sense of what style they would want and to make sure she could become devoted to the project.

"You have to enjoy the material," Maltezos said. "It's your project — your baby."

After considering and discarding several concepts for the video, Maltezos finally dreamed up an idea that stuck with her: At a house party, people start passing around a View-Master toy. When they look inside, they see images of the band performing. Slowly, the party scene itself becomes images in the View-Master, and the band — playing on a stage resembling a View-Master slide — becomes the focus as the partygoers surround them and dance. During the performance sequence, a pair of eyes watches the scene from above and, at the end of the song, the scene is captured in a still image as the toy is lowered from the viewer's eyes.

Tisch alumna Dana Palmer, the video's producer, said that because the video focuses on the band's performance, it will be much different than most music videos that are popular now.

"The 'Circles' music video will be unconventional compared to what we normally see today," Palmer said. "We're going to focus on the band's talent and the aesthetic aspect of the View-Master concept, rather than the physical attributes of the girls."

The band members are also grateful that Maltezos and Palmer are willing to listen to their ideas and not simply use the video to promote their own work.

"It's great because they're not just like, 'Well this is what we're going to do, whether you like it or not,' " Grainne said. "Sometimes it's like, just because you're girls, you're put in short skirts. Me in short skirts? No way!"

Joan added that Maltezos is devoted to accurately portraying the band as if it were playing live.

"I'm the lead singer, but I'm also the drummer," she said. "There's an oddness about that, and Anna loved that fact. She really wants to focus on us playing, and have the video work around that. She really gets us."

The video is a unique opportunity for both the band and Maltezos to promote their work and use their new connections in the city to their advantage.

"It's great to work with Anna and Dana because we want a career in music, and they want a career in film," Joan said. "It's all linked up."

And since New York City is such an imposing environment for pursuing a career, working closely with Anna and Dana gives them comfort — like an impromptu family, Grainne said.

"We're surrounded by the city," Grainne said, "but we're a team, and we're all kind of moving forward in life."

Maltezos said she learned her most valuable advice for making a music video from one of the head production designers at SNL, Keith Ian Raywood.

"He said that the best music video is a simple idea taken as far as it can go," Maltezos said.

With that in mind, the next challenge for this family is raising the money to fund the video shoot, scheduled to run from May 25 to 28.

"We don't get paid to do this — we're paying to do it," Maltezos said. "But music videos are my passion. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't worth it."

The team currently has $4,400 in its budget, and wants to raise at least another $10,000 before the shoot. Costs include filming equipment, stage construction, production fees and wardrobe.

"Thinking about it gives me a headache," Maltezos said. "It's scary, but it will get done somehow."

Despite the hard work ahead of them, Maltezos, Palmer and the Screaming Orphans are confident that the show — or in this case, the video — will go on.

This won't be the first time the band has stood up to the challenges of living and working in New York and beat them at their own game.

"When we first moved to the city, we lived off of celery and potatoes," Grainne said. "It's not that sad though, because we could walk out in the streets, and we had the entertainment of the world before our eyes."

And the band hopes that with added exposure from the video, it will be able to devote a little time to other pursuits — like finding boyfriends.

"We have the worst time because we play at night," Grainne said. "The boys start drinking and flirting with other girls, and we're on stage thinking, 'Hey, you should be waiting for me!' And then by the time we're done, they're already off."

The Screaming Orphans will be hosting a fundraising party on April 27 at the Newgate Bar & Grill, 535 LaGuardia Place, open to the public. The band will be performing live and there will be drink specials, a raffle and entertainment all night. More information on Maltezos, Palmer, and the Screaming Orphans' video can be found at www.circlesmusicvideo.com