Thursday, October 1, 2026
Anthony Natoli is eager to wrap up the project he’s been putting together for almost a year — four music videos, one for each season, shot entirely on iPhones in locations around Valley Stream and around the country.
“It’s about creativity, overall,” Natoli said. “What you can do with nothing is really the most impressive thing to me.”
The project was inspired by a calendar he received from local artist Mike Stanko. Natoli considered writing a song for each month, which evolved to a song for each season.
He drove from Montauk to New York City in January, filming at a variety of spots for the winter video. He spent the spring driving the perimeter of the country, capturing scenes of “spring awakening,” he said. The summer video was shot mostly in Valley Stream, including in front of his Marlboro Road home. During the shoot, he happened by a professional film shoot where he met former village resident, actor and director Ed Burns, who had returned to film a spot for a production he has in the works.
“He was a cool guy,” Natoli said. “He gave me some pointers and advice.”
Natoli said his forte is producing and songwriting. In one production, he played a ukulele that had “Luna” displayed on the instrument’s neck in memory of his cat that had died. He reached out to Luna Guitars, of Tampa, Florida to get the company’s permission to use their name. They gave it, and the conversation resulted in them offering to sponsor future projects.
He also contacted the makers of an iPhone application called NightCap Pro, which enables a phone’s camera to take pictures at night or in low-light situations. The company promised to pitch Natoli’s video idea to Apple for the brand’s “Shot on iPhone 6” campaign, but Natoli said the difficulty of keeping up with technology’s rapid pace became an obstacle.
“By the time I got the 6, the 6S came out right after,” he said.
