[note: this is behind the scenes - the finished vid is below...] Ever since I was a kid I've envisioned shooting videos the old way...the "practical" way where the moves and gimmicks, the set changes and the moving walls happen in camera, in real time, and real space, as opposed to the numerous luxuries we have nowadays in post production. In short, the opportunity to live out that vision from when I was a kid... read more ›
1.1K reads
Apr
26
Apr
22
Want a better chance of getting hired? Read this: There are raging debates online all over the place about how to approach Art Directors and Creative Directors to show work. Email them, or don't. Do backflips for them, send them a carrier pigeon, only send a book, etc. Frankly, it's all over the damned map. As it turns out, some of those folks are my friends and they want to help us help them. And... read more ›
7.1K reads
Apr
14
Kate stepping in here to give you a bit of info from the business side of photography & filmmaking, this time about taxes. Yes, it is that time of year again. If you're in the ol' USA and didn't already know it, the due date for 2010 US Federal taxes has been extended to April 18, 2011. That may be really great news to anyone scurrying around to finish up taxes at the last minute. ... read more ›
1K reads
Mar
27
When I say shut down. I mean. Shut. Down. Another day of zero pictures, zero footage. We have a few crucial shots to get in the can before we can leave. I'm talking 'must have'...so we're not messing around anymore. It's do or die, but today it just wasn't happening. The beauty of shooting in a studio is that... read more ›
306 reads
Mar
25
I've been doing this stuff for a good chunk of my life - the only career I've ever had. And so when I'm talking about the quality of a day--the light, the crew, the shots, the vibe--I've got a fair bit to compare it to. Thousands of days on set. That said, today ranks pretty high on my list of epic days.... read more ›
575 reads
Mar
20
My alarm goes off. It's 3:45 this morning. I snooze till 3:56. Now I'm up, but barely. No shower. Pull on dirty bluejeans. Tshirt. Brush teeth. Some quick math tells me that I’d just enjoyed a luxurious 3 hour and 15 minute night of sleep. Moving. Slowly. And then I remember more clearly. Ah yes..heading out of town again. Excited--but remembered that the cab to the airport is due here in 20 minutes. Finish packing... read more ›
726 reads
Mar
07
This work deserves a more in depth sharing at a later date, but in short I've done some recent work with the(RED) project around new ways to document, cultivate and otherwise further explore the intersection of music with film & photography. Things beyond the music video, honestly. Real integration, raw integration that sprouts up organically or from small, simple roots. The particular work I was doing on the day we shot the above was literally... read more ›
782 reads
Mar
03
[Scott here with another guest blog post. Today I hope to save you some time and heartache by giving you the nuts and bolts of editing large volume shoots...] Painful memories I have: My first breakup, my first deceased pet, my first time moving, but perhaps most painful of them all is this; my first attempt at editing 15,000 photos. Such overwhelming volume, such slow progress, so many similar photos. Why, oh why, did they... read more ›
13.2K reads
Feb
24
Our digital cinema guru, Erik, wanted to take a minute to chat gear with you. This is his second guest post, so please give him another warm welcome... This post is another installment of a series that our staff is doing about the gear that we consider essential for our work...the stuff we don't leave home without. When shooting behind the scenes videos and even some of our commercial work, we shoot with HDSLRs whenever... read more ›
1.7K reads
Feb
17
[Howdy, Scott here again. This is the third of a three part series on the steps I take when location scouting as Chase's lead assistant. In the first two posts we discussed virtual scouting and weather. Now we've done everything that we can do from a desk and it's time to put the rubber to the road. Good old fashioned Location Scouting.] Let's assume we have decided on a region we think will have the... read more ›
2.6K reads