Hello 2012! 2011 had some fun stuff going on... you've got some pretty big shoes to fill...
2011 Highlights:
*I got married.
*I worked on a nice variety of documentary, art, industrial and commercial work. New territory included some great transmedia work with Kinetic Fin, and my return to commissioned film (doc for hire sort of stuff).
*I finished up work on a compelling documentary, "Different Is The New Normal." This was a great film on a boy with Tourette's Syndrome and aired on PBS in the fall.
*I attached myself to a very important documentary-in-progress, "Coached Into Silence."
*I bought a home and subsequently set up a sweet gear storage setup in my new garage.
*I shot (2nd) an episode of Animal Planet's "Confessions: Animal Hoarding."
All in all, I had a great year, both professionally and personally. Let's hope 2012 continues the positive trend.
CHIN CHIN!
Showing posts with label industrial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label industrial. Show all posts
05 January, 2012
22 September, 2011
Jaguar/Land Rover USA
A few months ago, my frequent colleague, DP, Roger Grange, called me to gaff a series of videos for him for Jaguar/Land Rover USA. It was a fun, productive 2-day shoot at the US headquarters of the company. It was varying sizes of talking-head shots in front of and inside these very nice - and very expensive - cars. We had a relatively small crew for this - Director, DP/Operator, AC, Gaffer (me), Key Grip, PA, Hair/MU, Art Director and some brand reps - but we managed to make it work. Take a look at the final product(s) below (click the pic).
The most fun we had was lighting the cars right. Lighting talent for this sort of thing is pretty straight-forward, but on top of that, we had to work hard to capture the unique style of these vehicles. We had to, of course, get exposure, but beyond that we had to accentuate the contours of the bodies while at the same time managing reflections and glares. It took time, but in the end we got what the client desired. Below are some snapshots of the set and some of our lighting setups.
Side note: we regularly made use of 2 of my favorite lighting tools on this shoot. Blondes (2kw open-faced fixtures) and "The Whale" (a 3'x4' white softbox with removable black skirts which allow you to use it traditionally or, with the skirts removed, as a large space-light).
 |
| Roger and Me in front of a Range Rover we were working with. |
22 June, 2011
Recent stuff...
Been a busy few weeks:
-Shot an interview in NYC for an NHK Japan Special Documentary regarding the nuclear crisis over there. Had to light and shoot according to a formula they use - basically matching the look of their pieces. Also encountered one of the first really good reasons not to bring on a sound mixer. "Oh, it's going to be dubbed into Japanese, so it's really not worth it."
-Gaffed a video for Bayer (Aspirin co.) for DP, Roger Grange. Another situation where we had to match a look, except this was even more precise. The client (a great, top-tier marketing co.) had a swatch for the color of blue on the background that we had to replicate. The result was great, though, and it was a short, relatively easy short with some great people I like to work with.
-[Almost] shot a spectacular interview with former NHL star, Sheldon Kennedy for "Coached Into Silence." We arrived, loaded in, set up a wonderful shot and then found out that of the 12 different people the producer confirmed with at the location (to remain nameless), none of them really had any say in the matter. Kennedy and his friend/colleague Wayne McNeil gunned so hard for us at the location, but ultimately the location didn't budge and none of the aforementioned 12 answered their phones that day... Ultimately, the crew got to sit down with Sheldon and Wayne a bit to figure out what was next. The situation really seemed to set Kennedy and McNeil on fire and they offered to secure us location in Toronto that would be even better (and more relevant) than the pompous, elitist one that had ignored our efforts here in NY. Air Canada Centre, here we come!
-Shot a music video in Tribecca for local artist, Andrew Watt. Kinetic Fin got me involved with this one and though it was a lot of work, I think something cool will come of it. Also got to meet a couple of really great people in the process. AND on top of it all, 2 hours before wrapping on the last day (and leaving Tribecca for a very long spell - I don't make it down there much), I ran into a friend I haven't seen in 10 years. So random...
That's it so far. This Sunday, I'm headed off to Phoenix with Matt Johnston from Kinetic Fin for the PDMA Conference on Social Product Development & Co-Creation. Should be a good time.
More good stuff on the horizon... keep checking in...
-Shot an interview in NYC for an NHK Japan Special Documentary regarding the nuclear crisis over there. Had to light and shoot according to a formula they use - basically matching the look of their pieces. Also encountered one of the first really good reasons not to bring on a sound mixer. "Oh, it's going to be dubbed into Japanese, so it's really not worth it."
-Gaffed a video for Bayer (Aspirin co.) for DP, Roger Grange. Another situation where we had to match a look, except this was even more precise. The client (a great, top-tier marketing co.) had a swatch for the color of blue on the background that we had to replicate. The result was great, though, and it was a short, relatively easy short with some great people I like to work with.
-[Almost] shot a spectacular interview with former NHL star, Sheldon Kennedy for "Coached Into Silence." We arrived, loaded in, set up a wonderful shot and then found out that of the 12 different people the producer confirmed with at the location (to remain nameless), none of them really had any say in the matter. Kennedy and his friend/colleague Wayne McNeil gunned so hard for us at the location, but ultimately the location didn't budge and none of the aforementioned 12 answered their phones that day... Ultimately, the crew got to sit down with Sheldon and Wayne a bit to figure out what was next. The situation really seemed to set Kennedy and McNeil on fire and they offered to secure us location in Toronto that would be even better (and more relevant) than the pompous, elitist one that had ignored our efforts here in NY. Air Canada Centre, here we come!
-Shot a music video in Tribecca for local artist, Andrew Watt. Kinetic Fin got me involved with this one and though it was a lot of work, I think something cool will come of it. Also got to meet a couple of really great people in the process. AND on top of it all, 2 hours before wrapping on the last day (and leaving Tribecca for a very long spell - I don't make it down there much), I ran into a friend I haven't seen in 10 years. So random...
That's it so far. This Sunday, I'm headed off to Phoenix with Matt Johnston from Kinetic Fin for the PDMA Conference on Social Product Development & Co-Creation. Should be a good time.
More good stuff on the horizon... keep checking in...
09 January, 2011
A year in review
2011 starts off slow (I'm taking it easy because I'm getting married in 6 days)
So, 2010 in review:
* Budapest
* A feature film I shot in the spring, "Director's Cut" is produced (and is currently at the Hollywood Reel Independent Festival and other festivals)
* "One Night Only: Barbra Streisand and Quintet Live at the Village Vanguard" (which I was a key camera operator) is released on DVD
and Blu-ray
(and DVD/CD combo
) and subsequently goes platinum.
* I shot a number of great videos with Kinetic Fin for Gevalia Coffee.
* I shot a very nice tribute video for Ruth Messinger featuring a pretty awesome interview lineup, including Mia Farrow, former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, NY Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof and more.
* I shot second unit and b-cam material for a nice series of videos for Columbia Business School.
* I became a HDSLR convert (I'm not a an evangelical HDSLR shooter but I've discovered it's an amazing tool for a lot of things).
* Some fun industrial work for Nokia, Wunderman, PwC, BBCAmerica, and Kraft Foods.
* Gaffed and shot NY material for a feature doc, "Small Matters" (currently in post-production, eying a PBS run).
* I lit a commercial photo shoot... for video. That was different. For designer, Ippolito.
* A whole bunch of other little things...
...I learned a lot this year, as a cameraman and gaffer and filmmaker in general. When I was assisting, my years tended to yield lessons on practice - new lighting principles, methods of operating, craft-based things like that. As a working cameraman (and occasional gaffer for other D.P.'s), my years have brought about fewer and fewer new technical lessons. This year was sponsored by... "Compromise."
2010 was a great year and there's some pretty fun stuff on the horizon for 2011, not the least of which is getting married. More on that (and the great video team I hired for the event) and other stuff in February, when I return...
So, 2010 in review:
* Budapest
* A feature film I shot in the spring, "Director's Cut" is produced (and is currently at the Hollywood Reel Independent Festival and other festivals)
* "One Night Only: Barbra Streisand and Quintet Live at the Village Vanguard" (which I was a key camera operator) is released on DVD
and Blu-ray (and DVD/CD combo) and subsequently goes platinum.* I shot a number of great videos with Kinetic Fin for Gevalia Coffee.
* I shot a very nice tribute video for Ruth Messinger featuring a pretty awesome interview lineup, including Mia Farrow, former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, NY Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof and more.
* I shot second unit and b-cam material for a nice series of videos for Columbia Business School.
* I became a HDSLR convert (I'm not a an evangelical HDSLR shooter but I've discovered it's an amazing tool for a lot of things).
* Some fun industrial work for Nokia, Wunderman, PwC, BBCAmerica, and Kraft Foods.
* Gaffed and shot NY material for a feature doc, "Small Matters" (currently in post-production, eying a PBS run).
* I lit a commercial photo shoot... for video. That was different. For designer, Ippolito.
* A whole bunch of other little things...
...I learned a lot this year, as a cameraman and gaffer and filmmaker in general. When I was assisting, my years tended to yield lessons on practice - new lighting principles, methods of operating, craft-based things like that. As a working cameraman (and occasional gaffer for other D.P.'s), my years have brought about fewer and fewer new technical lessons. This year was sponsored by... "Compromise."
- While working on the Ruth Messinger piece, for the higher profile interviews, the crew went in with the mentality that the subject could walk in any minute and demand to do the interview then. Working faster that we'd have normally liked was the compromise for having access to these folks.
- On "Director's Cut" the production had much less time and money than ideal. We compromised on setups to get the movie finished.
- For the BBCAmerica videos which took place in real, functioning focus group sessions, we had to have high production values in terms of lighting and camerawork, but at the same time, we, the crew could not infringe upon the participants' comfort levels. Usually, what's out of frame doesn't matter (leading to forests of c-stands, messy rigging contraptions and stuff like that just out of the camera's view), but for this, it had to be pretty. Even a clean-looking large Chimera overhead was too "movie-set" for the clients liking. But they loved when we rigged a very large chinese lantern overhead (it felt "homey"). Meanwhile at the PwC industrial I gaffed maybe only a month or two prior, the client insisted we use the Chimera for it's "expensiveness." In that situation, meanwhile, it would have been a LOT easier to rig than the large Chimera. Compromise...
2010 was a great year and there's some pretty fun stuff on the horizon for 2011, not the least of which is getting married. More on that (and the great video team I hired for the event) and other stuff in February, when I return...
26 August, 2010
Current, recent and upcoming projects.
"AJWS" (doc short) in production
lighting cameraman
Dir/Prod - Philip Dolin, Particle Productions
A short interview-based video celebrating 25 years of the AJWS.
"UB Ideal" (promo) in post-production
lighting cameraman
Dir/Prod - Larry Locke, Larry Locke Films
Video about the Ideal program of the University of Bridgeport.
"NELP" (promo) in production
lighting cameraman
Dir/Prod - Immy Humes, The Doc Tank
Video for the National Employment Law Project
"Velvet Noir" (commercial/promo) in pre-production
director of photography
Dir/Prod - Bradley Farrell, Kinetic Fin/Gevalia
A choose-your-own-adventure style video for the release of Gevalia Coffee's new flavor.
"Columbia Business School" (promos) in post-production
cameraman, 2nd Unit
Dir/Prod - Philip Dolin, Particle Productions
A series of documentary promos for the Columbia University Business School internship program.
lighting cameraman
Dir/Prod - Philip Dolin, Particle Productions
A short interview-based video celebrating 25 years of the AJWS.
"UB Ideal" (promo) in post-production
lighting cameraman
Dir/Prod - Larry Locke, Larry Locke Films
Video about the Ideal program of the University of Bridgeport.
"NELP" (promo) in production
lighting cameraman
Dir/Prod - Immy Humes, The Doc Tank
Video for the National Employment Law Project
"Velvet Noir" (commercial/promo) in pre-production
director of photography
Dir/Prod - Bradley Farrell, Kinetic Fin/Gevalia
A choose-your-own-adventure style video for the release of Gevalia Coffee's new flavor.
"Columbia Business School" (promos) in post-production
cameraman, 2nd Unit
Dir/Prod - Philip Dolin, Particle Productions
A series of documentary promos for the Columbia University Business School internship program.
16 March, 2010
A discussion of "format-agnostic"
In my last post, I referred to myself as format-agnostic when discussing the choice of camera for one of the projects I'm currently working on. For a variety of reasons, lately, I've been thinking a lot about the multitude of cameras and video formats and film stocks available for motion-picture production. As a note I enjoy shooting both film and video, though the breadth of my recent work has been exclusively some form or another of digital capture. I am not, however, pro-digital.
So what is "the right format?" I think every filmmaker has an idea of what is the best format for their project. To some it's just whatever is the best quality, highest definition they can afford. To others, it's what looks the most appropriate - a gritty, grainy stock for a post-apocalyptic drama? Maybe a slick, clean, noise-free format for a romantic comedy? All these requirements they have are certainly valid, but ultimately for me, the right format is neither of the above. If I'm hired to shoot a project, I am responsible for delivering the image. If the production has no money and I insist on shooting 35mm and we run out of money before we're done, I've failed in my job. If the production blows their money on a RED package I wanted and then skimps on lighting, production design and other stuff that goes in front of the lens, all I'll be able to deliver is high definition crap. See, there are so many more important look-related elements than just the format we shoot on. With right stuff in front of the camera, it almost doesn't matter what's inside. Good lighting, good composition, good production design, and good talent can help even the cheapest camera look great. That's not to say that a Flip cam is the next wave of filmmaking gear. But if there's a story to tell and the talent is all there, maybe a handycam could work if that's all the filmmakers can afford. That said, there is one basic requirement I do have for the format I work with; control - the camera must not be Full AUTO. I must be able to control iris, focus, shutter speed (at least to lock one down) and whitebalance. With that, anything can deliver a good look for your film.
In the last 6 months, I have gladly shot the following formats and delivered results that very much pleased my clients with their respected release and exhibition types:
So what is "the right format?" I think every filmmaker has an idea of what is the best format for their project. To some it's just whatever is the best quality, highest definition they can afford. To others, it's what looks the most appropriate - a gritty, grainy stock for a post-apocalyptic drama? Maybe a slick, clean, noise-free format for a romantic comedy? All these requirements they have are certainly valid, but ultimately for me, the right format is neither of the above. If I'm hired to shoot a project, I am responsible for delivering the image. If the production has no money and I insist on shooting 35mm and we run out of money before we're done, I've failed in my job. If the production blows their money on a RED package I wanted and then skimps on lighting, production design and other stuff that goes in front of the lens, all I'll be able to deliver is high definition crap. See, there are so many more important look-related elements than just the format we shoot on. With right stuff in front of the camera, it almost doesn't matter what's inside. Good lighting, good composition, good production design, and good talent can help even the cheapest camera look great. That's not to say that a Flip cam is the next wave of filmmaking gear. But if there's a story to tell and the talent is all there, maybe a handycam could work if that's all the filmmakers can afford. That said, there is one basic requirement I do have for the format I work with; control - the camera must not be Full AUTO. I must be able to control iris, focus, shutter speed (at least to lock one down) and whitebalance. With that, anything can deliver a good look for your film.
In the last 6 months, I have gladly shot the following formats and delivered results that very much pleased my clients with their respected release and exhibition types:
- Panasonic DVX100 (mini DV, 480/24p). Webisodes, feature documentary, TV segment.
- Sony EX1 (XDCam EX, 1080/24p). Feature documentary, TV segment.
- Sony EX3 (XDCam EX, 1080/24p). Wide-release DVD/Blue Ray concert, music video, live multi-cam concert (big screen projection)
- Sony Z1U (HDV, 1080/24f). TV segment.
- Canon 5D MkII (1080/30p). TV spot, webisodes.
- Panasonic HMC150 (AVC-HD, 1080/24p). Feature film.
- Panasonic HVX200 (DVCPro HD, 720/24p). TV spot.
- Sony V1U (HDV, 1080/24p). Webisodes.
- Panasonic HDX900 (DVCPro HD, 1080/24p). TV segment, feature documentary.
- Samsung Piece-of-Crap-Quicktime-Camcorder. Viral video for the web.
Again, as a final note, I must reiterate that every format needs good lighting and appropriate visual design like sets, costumes and such. A cheap handycam with no (or bad) lighting will look terrible. But the same thing goes with a pro HD cam. But that very same handycam shooting a well lit scene and exposed right can look really nice - and if that handycam is the only thing you have that will shoot your story, it's the "right" format for you.
02 March, 2010
Karma?
So in my last post I mentioned something on the horizon that would be very exciting. That something was a trip to Sweden for the Gevalia work. Well, unfortunately, that trip fell through about a month ago. It's still happening but for a variety of reasons, the director has to now do it on his own. So I was a little bummed for a bit. Then, less than a month after Sweden went away, I got an opportunity to go to Budapest, Hungary for a shoot with a different client. I was reminded of the "even steven" episode of Seinfeld - it all tends to work itself out.
So Budapest was last week and it was cool. It was a very brief stay, arriving Wednesday afternoon and leaving for home very early Saturday morning. Thursday and Friday were shoot days and we did a lot of shooting. It was an industrial for an ad agency, Wunderman, involving one of their big clients, Nokia. Same sort of idea as my Texas trip last November. Anyway, all in all, it went well but it was definitely an eye opener. Early Thursday, about 40 minutes before we were due to roll, some of the producer's gear began acting up - a wireless mic that was do be on a key player in this shoot. Needless to say, this was a serious problem. Luckily, we had a great P.A. on board (a local) and within minutes, she was on the phone to a rental house arranging to rent a replacement wireless system. By the end of her conversation, we figured out the problem with the producer's gear and the P.A. arranged to have a replacement part also sent over. Within 20 minutes, the gear was there and we were rolling. The next day, we were presented with another issue - as it turned out, there would be two key players in that day's shoot (which was not the original plan). Luckily our system was working again and we had the rental on hand so yet again, things worked themselves out. Had we not had the unexpected and somewhat stressful mic failure occurred the day before, we wouldn't have had the second wireless system.
All in all, it was nice. With the work schedule, I didn't get to do much touristy stuff but I had some fantastic local food every day, saw a great gypsy band and stayed in a very nice, historic hotel (the Hotel Gellart).
Anyway, the weekend before Budapest, shooting commenced on a feature film I'm working on, "Director's Cut." It's a low-budget film with a rather small crew and the weekend was a great icebreaker. My frequent cohort, Bret Scheinfeld, is aboard as sound mixer and I've got a pretty nice support crew. Marcus, my gaffer, is cool, and I've got a couple of G&E-dedicated P.A.s that are really into it and very quick learners. I think the Spring shoot will go pretty smoothly.
So the most important rule we've got to follow for this shoot is the K.I.S.S. principal ("keep it simple, stupid"). There's just so much to get done on such a short schedule, so the setups need to be versatile and quick to change. So we're lighting things in broader strokes and keeping things relatively high key. It's a comedy, anyway, and the director definitely wants a brighter feeling for most of the film. Below is a still from one of our scenes.
A 4bank fluorescent for the key and a large diffused window for fill and ambiance. Behind the actor, a small HMI for edge.
We're shooting on the director's camera, a Panasonic HMC150. It's a prosumer model that shoots 1080/24p video to SDHC cards. If time and money allowed, I'd shoot 35mm for this - or at the very least Super16 or RED. But the budget is what it is and the schedule is tight so the best format available to us is what we've got so that's that. Besides, I'm a pretty format-agnostic cameraman. I really believe that with the right lighting, composition and settings (including digital tweaks and optical filtration), you can make great images no matter the format.
Coming up later this week is another shoot for Gevalia with director, Bradley Farrell (again with Bret on board for sound). It's a tasting party for a new blend and apparently there will be some "celebrities" there. 3 camera shoot at Gevalia's corporate kitchen with a Canon 5D and two HVX200. With the amount of coverage and the fact that at any one time a camera could be shooting in any direction, the lighting approach has to be pretty simple (and of course, good). The available light is pretty nice there - high ceilings with warm fluorescents for an overall base level. Accent lights under the cabinets and these small frosted pendant lights positioned over the granite islands. I'm thinking I'm going to fly a couple of 250w fresnels (flooded) crossing as back/edge lights (they'll be attached to the drop ceiling). I'm hoping that'll be enough but I'm prepared to bounce something into the ceiling from the front of the space if necessary.
So that's all for now. Pictures from Gevalia to come.
Bye!
So Budapest was last week and it was cool. It was a very brief stay, arriving Wednesday afternoon and leaving for home very early Saturday morning. Thursday and Friday were shoot days and we did a lot of shooting. It was an industrial for an ad agency, Wunderman, involving one of their big clients, Nokia. Same sort of idea as my Texas trip last November. Anyway, all in all, it went well but it was definitely an eye opener. Early Thursday, about 40 minutes before we were due to roll, some of the producer's gear began acting up - a wireless mic that was do be on a key player in this shoot. Needless to say, this was a serious problem. Luckily, we had a great P.A. on board (a local) and within minutes, she was on the phone to a rental house arranging to rent a replacement wireless system. By the end of her conversation, we figured out the problem with the producer's gear and the P.A. arranged to have a replacement part also sent over. Within 20 minutes, the gear was there and we were rolling. The next day, we were presented with another issue - as it turned out, there would be two key players in that day's shoot (which was not the original plan). Luckily our system was working again and we had the rental on hand so yet again, things worked themselves out. Had we not had the unexpected and somewhat stressful mic failure occurred the day before, we wouldn't have had the second wireless system.
All in all, it was nice. With the work schedule, I didn't get to do much touristy stuff but I had some fantastic local food every day, saw a great gypsy band and stayed in a very nice, historic hotel (the Hotel Gellart).
Anyway, the weekend before Budapest, shooting commenced on a feature film I'm working on, "Director's Cut." It's a low-budget film with a rather small crew and the weekend was a great icebreaker. My frequent cohort, Bret Scheinfeld, is aboard as sound mixer and I've got a pretty nice support crew. Marcus, my gaffer, is cool, and I've got a couple of G&E-dedicated P.A.s that are really into it and very quick learners. I think the Spring shoot will go pretty smoothly.
So the most important rule we've got to follow for this shoot is the K.I.S.S. principal ("keep it simple, stupid"). There's just so much to get done on such a short schedule, so the setups need to be versatile and quick to change. So we're lighting things in broader strokes and keeping things relatively high key. It's a comedy, anyway, and the director definitely wants a brighter feeling for most of the film. Below is a still from one of our scenes.
A 4bank fluorescent for the key and a large diffused window for fill and ambiance. Behind the actor, a small HMI for edge.
We're shooting on the director's camera, a Panasonic HMC150. It's a prosumer model that shoots 1080/24p video to SDHC cards. If time and money allowed, I'd shoot 35mm for this - or at the very least Super16 or RED. But the budget is what it is and the schedule is tight so the best format available to us is what we've got so that's that. Besides, I'm a pretty format-agnostic cameraman. I really believe that with the right lighting, composition and settings (including digital tweaks and optical filtration), you can make great images no matter the format.
Coming up later this week is another shoot for Gevalia with director, Bradley Farrell (again with Bret on board for sound). It's a tasting party for a new blend and apparently there will be some "celebrities" there. 3 camera shoot at Gevalia's corporate kitchen with a Canon 5D and two HVX200. With the amount of coverage and the fact that at any one time a camera could be shooting in any direction, the lighting approach has to be pretty simple (and of course, good). The available light is pretty nice there - high ceilings with warm fluorescents for an overall base level. Accent lights under the cabinets and these small frosted pendant lights positioned over the granite islands. I'm thinking I'm going to fly a couple of 250w fresnels (flooded) crossing as back/edge lights (they'll be attached to the drop ceiling). I'm hoping that'll be enough but I'm prepared to bounce something into the ceiling from the front of the space if necessary.
So that's all for now. Pictures from Gevalia to come.
Bye!
01 February, 2010
2010, huh?
This year has some potential...
Spent more time with director, Bradley Farrell of Kinetic Fin on a follow-up to December's Gevalia shoot. There will definitely be more stuff to come with Gevalia (including one very exciting bit that I don't want to jinx so I won't say any more). You can check out the previous spots here. I was D.P. for the product shots (with Bradley operating) and some pretty great guys shot the rest of the piece (the party, interviews and such). I can see some pretty cool stuff in the future with Kinetic Fin - will keep you posted.
I've done some more cool stuff with Philip Dolin of Particle Productions recently. He's the chap I went to Dallas with and have done some other pretty cool things with. One recent piece with him was a video on author, Barry Lynn, discussing his new book Cornered. Most recently, we shot author and professor, Bill Duggan of the Columbia [University] Business School. It was a follow-up to a class he had given (that we also covered), titled Strategic Intuition. Over the years, Philip has produced a number of videos for the Business School and I've had the pleasure of working on all of them. It's been very informative as we've essentially audited all of these great programs for free - the client has even joked occasionally about giving us honorary degrees. Anyway, just further reinforces my appreciate for the wide variety of things I get to learn working in documentary.
And totally opposite that, it is now confirmed that in the Spring I'll be shooting an independent feature film, "Director's Cut." There are some pretty great talents signed on and the crew is shaping up to be very nice (including my frequent collaborator, sound recordist, Bret Scheinfeld). There are two days in late February and then the bulk of principal photography resumes in May.
That's about all there is worth reporting for now. Future stuff may include my own feature, festival follow-up stuff for "Johnny B" and hopefully a lot more.
Until then...
Spent more time with director, Bradley Farrell of Kinetic Fin on a follow-up to December's Gevalia shoot. There will definitely be more stuff to come with Gevalia (including one very exciting bit that I don't want to jinx so I won't say any more). You can check out the previous spots here. I was D.P. for the product shots (with Bradley operating) and some pretty great guys shot the rest of the piece (the party, interviews and such). I can see some pretty cool stuff in the future with Kinetic Fin - will keep you posted.
I've done some more cool stuff with Philip Dolin of Particle Productions recently. He's the chap I went to Dallas with and have done some other pretty cool things with. One recent piece with him was a video on author, Barry Lynn, discussing his new book Cornered. Most recently, we shot author and professor, Bill Duggan of the Columbia [University] Business School. It was a follow-up to a class he had given (that we also covered), titled Strategic Intuition. Over the years, Philip has produced a number of videos for the Business School and I've had the pleasure of working on all of them. It's been very informative as we've essentially audited all of these great programs for free - the client has even joked occasionally about giving us honorary degrees. Anyway, just further reinforces my appreciate for the wide variety of things I get to learn working in documentary.
And totally opposite that, it is now confirmed that in the Spring I'll be shooting an independent feature film, "Director's Cut." There are some pretty great talents signed on and the crew is shaping up to be very nice (including my frequent collaborator, sound recordist, Bret Scheinfeld). There are two days in late February and then the bulk of principal photography resumes in May.
That's about all there is worth reporting for now. Future stuff may include my own feature, festival follow-up stuff for "Johnny B" and hopefully a lot more.
Until then...
21 November, 2009
Everything is bigger... except the lighting setups...
So Dallas was cool. Didn't actually see much of it (working, you know?) but what I did see was nice. The hotel was SWEET and the food was great.
As for the shoot, the producer managed to get together a budget to fly me down there and put us up in a nice place, but other than that, the production's hands were sort of tied. So we had to make do with only what we could bring with us (which wasn't much) - no rentals or anything. As for lighting, all we could manage was a softbox setup (daylight and tungsten) and a small fresnel. And you know what? It turned out pretty darn well. I've always said you can make great images with very little more than skill and Dallas really drove that home. Sure, we fought a little with the finicky sun and didn't have much to work with location-wise, but I think I was able to get some really nice lighting and composition for our interviews. I should really start taking pictures on-set.
Also, the PAs in Texas are awesome. There are great ones in New York, but there are also a ton of people who are just "trying to work in film." It seems like in Texas - and other non-NY locales - that the PAs are not trying to do anything. They're working and that's that. This is what they do and they know their stuff. The first day, we had Ben - young guy with a lot of camera and grip experience. The second day, we had Tom - a real veteran. He's done it all, from being a stand in for Chuck Norris on two seasons of Walker: Texas Ranger, to producing an indie feature and even a string of large-scale live events. What a guy! Nice, totally knowledgeable, and constantly one step ahead of the game. On top of all that, after we wrapped, he found us a great Texas BBQ joint. Wow.
As for the shoot, the producer managed to get together a budget to fly me down there and put us up in a nice place, but other than that, the production's hands were sort of tied. So we had to make do with only what we could bring with us (which wasn't much) - no rentals or anything. As for lighting, all we could manage was a softbox setup (daylight and tungsten) and a small fresnel. And you know what? It turned out pretty darn well. I've always said you can make great images with very little more than skill and Dallas really drove that home. Sure, we fought a little with the finicky sun and didn't have much to work with location-wise, but I think I was able to get some really nice lighting and composition for our interviews. I should really start taking pictures on-set.
Also, the PAs in Texas are awesome. There are great ones in New York, but there are also a ton of people who are just "trying to work in film." It seems like in Texas - and other non-NY locales - that the PAs are not trying to do anything. They're working and that's that. This is what they do and they know their stuff. The first day, we had Ben - young guy with a lot of camera and grip experience. The second day, we had Tom - a real veteran. He's done it all, from being a stand in for Chuck Norris on two seasons of Walker: Texas Ranger, to producing an indie feature and even a string of large-scale live events. What a guy! Nice, totally knowledgeable, and constantly one step ahead of the game. On top of all that, after we wrapped, he found us a great Texas BBQ joint. Wow.
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