I ran 8 miles along the American River bike trail.
Sunrise Blvd. to Old Folsom. It may have been 7 because the trails are unmarked, but I think it was 8. At any rate, I think that's the longest distance I have ever ran. woo-hoo. We will see how far I go next weekend.
(Update: The next weekend I ran 9 miles. My goal is to get to 10)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Koval’s Trade Market
Just finished post on a spot for Koval’s Trade Market. This was a branding spot for a new food store who is competing with Whole Foods and Trader Joes, while offering prices comparable to Raley’s or Vons. This a great opportunity to have a new business with no image history and create their public perception from scratch. We decided to go with a glossy, visually appealing ad. We shot it in HD with the HVX200, with a 35mm lens adapter using an 28-105 sigma zoom lens. We also had a .5 wide angle adapter we put in front of that for some semi-fish-eye shots. The spot turned out nice.
(update: 8/16/07) Here is an h264 version: http://www.emrl.com/j/downloads/Kovals16by9.mov
Here are some set shots:
Setting up for a dolly-out shot in the cheese Isle. Mike on Dolly grip, and Jeff Bloch on lights. In the foreground is Mark, the store liaison.
Here is the shot.
Jeff operating the jib for the opening shot.
Here is the shot, starting in a tight CU of the Koval's logo on the basket, then pulling out and up over the store.
Changing lenses in the wall-o-foods aisle.
Here is the shot. The wide angle adapter adds nice barrel distortion, vignetting, and chromatic aberration.
Working with talent in the hot foods section.
Here is the final shot, splitscreen with a CU of the hot foods.
(update: 8/16/07) Here is an h264 version: http://www.emrl.com/j/downloads/Kovals16by9.mov
Here are some set shots:
Setting up for a dolly-out shot in the cheese Isle. Mike on Dolly grip, and Jeff Bloch on lights. In the foreground is Mark, the store liaison.Here is the shot.Jeff operating the jib for the opening shot.Here is the shot, starting in a tight CU of the Koval's logo on the basket, then pulling out and up over the store.Changing lenses in the wall-o-foods aisle.Here is the shot. The wide angle adapter adds nice barrel distortion, vignetting, and chromatic aberration.Working with talent in the hot foods section.Here is the final shot, splitscreen with a CU of the hot foods.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Failsafe - 10x10 challenge
This last week I worked on a short film for a 10x10 challenge. (10 minute film in 10 days) I’ve always questioned the desire of people to do those, I mean if you are going to go thru the effort to make a short film, why limit yourself to one where you are under prepared and don’t have enough post time?!? I guess it’s like what I went through at film school. I always said I would never again partake in such an exercise, but last week… I did.
Why? For me it was an opportunity to work with friends, some of whom I hadn’t worked with in several years. We shot for 3 days, but I could only do the first 2. Unfortunately for me, they were night shoots that turned into overnight shoots... also I say, never again…
At any rate, I get to see the final film tonight, hopefully it will turn out as good as it looked through the lens. I also got to work with some great people and some great equipment. Here are some set stills taken by Andy Pischalnikoff (http://www.doctorlegacy.com/):
Night 1, an airplane hangar in Lincoln, CA.
The Director, Eric Espera.
Night 2, night interior and exterior. Here I am building my new light, a 7’ 1k softbox. It took a while to build and rig, but once it was set, we were lit for the scene.
Setting the light 20’ up with a mafer clamp on to a 2x6 beam. The light had a safety cable, I wish I had one!
Once the light was set, it was worth it.
Another angle with the director and myself in the corner.
I got to fly a glidecam, yea! Always love that.
A Dutch camera trick my friend and SoCal DP Eric Petersen showed me on my first film. Thanks Eric!
Why? For me it was an opportunity to work with friends, some of whom I hadn’t worked with in several years. We shot for 3 days, but I could only do the first 2. Unfortunately for me, they were night shoots that turned into overnight shoots... also I say, never again…
At any rate, I get to see the final film tonight, hopefully it will turn out as good as it looked through the lens. I also got to work with some great people and some great equipment. Here are some set stills taken by Andy Pischalnikoff (http://www.doctorlegacy.com/):
Night 1, an airplane hangar in Lincoln, CA.The Director, Eric Espera.Night 2, night interior and exterior. Here I am building my new light, a 7’ 1k softbox. It took a while to build and rig, but once it was set, we were lit for the scene.Setting the light 20’ up with a mafer clamp on to a 2x6 beam. The light had a safety cable, I wish I had one!Once the light was set, it was worth it.Another angle with the director and myself in the corner.I got to fly a glidecam, yea! Always love that.A Dutch camera trick my friend and SoCal DP Eric Petersen showed me on my first film. Thanks Eric!
Monday, August 06, 2007
Antique Trove - The Musical!
I've just finished post on a 1950's Technicolor style musical commercial for a local client. The budget was small, and we put way too much work in on this spot, but it was just too much fun to stop…
This is my Father playing the roll of “The Dad”
And again, showing the lighting setup.
Here he is in the final composite.
This is a frame grab from the final edit, staring Susan Fore.
You can view the spot online here at: www.emrl.com/j/downloads/AntiqueTrove.mov
This is my Father playing the roll of “The Dad”And again, showing the lighting setup.Here he is in the final composite.This is a frame grab from the final edit, staring Susan Fore.You can view the spot online here at: www.emrl.com/j/downloads/AntiqueTrove.mov
Monday, July 16, 2007
New Music Videos
The new music videos for Freex and Olson Olson are done! The Freex video was for the song “Box”. It was shot inside a 7’ box.
You can download it here (9 megs):
http://www.emrl.com/j/downloads/Box.mov
The Olson Olson video is for the song “En Passant”. We shot the performance footage on a white cyc stage at The Studio Center in Sacramento. The narrative footage was shot in HD with an HVX200 (for the slow-mo) with a 35mm adapter. We shot near the American River and in a Safflower field outside Davis.
You can download it here (9 megs):
http://www.emrl.com/j/downloads/Box.mov
The Olson Olson video is for the song “En Passant”. We shot the performance footage on a white cyc stage at The Studio Center in Sacramento. The narrative footage was shot in HD with an HVX200 (for the slow-mo) with a 35mm adapter. We shot near the American River and in a Safflower field outside Davis.
You can download it here (13 megs):
Here are some location stills:
Shooting on a bridge over the river.
Hunting butterflies in a field at 60fps.
Trying to figure out the HD->SD in camera downconvert workflow.
Justin, Guitar.
Tom, Drums.
Wading thru the safflower field. I had to wear shorts that day, Ouch!
Directing Jennifer, the singer. Note Justin with playback.
A snake slithered by during the shoot. See if you can spot it's cameo in the video...
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
If I lived in springfield...
...this is what Siobhan and I would look like:
Super cool. I made it here:
http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html?cid=us&deeplink=avatar&deeplink2=undefined
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Yellowstone!
This last weekend was my father in law’s 60th birthday. We celebrated the event at my in-laws cabin up by Yellowstone. Siobhan drove up the week earlier with her mom. I left after work Wednesday and picked up my cousin-in-law Zach at the train station. From there we picked up a rental car at the airport for the long drive (for only $150 for the week, it was well worth it not to put the miles on my car…)We drove through the night, stopping at the Red Lion in Winnemucca, Nevada.
We got up early with the hopes of making it to Rigby Idaho by 4pm. Why Rigby Idaho? Rigby is the home town of Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of electronic TV capture and Display. He came up with the idea in the 1920’s while plowing his families potatoe (Quayle Rules!) fields at the young age of 14! Rigby Idaho also houses the Philo T. Farnsworth TV and Pioneer Museum. They are open from 10am to 4pm, and I’ve missed them before. We hauled our little Chevy Colbalt as fast as reasonable and made it there by 3:45. Enough time to pay the admission ($2) and enjoy the simple homage to someone who changed the world with and Idea in a potatoe field. The museum was nice and quaint, but I think Philo deserves more…
After the Museum we drove up to the cabin and got to visit many relatives from Kentucky, including Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandpas and Grandmas. A rare opportunity.
The next couple of days we spent touring the park. It’s basically too amazing to go into details. Amazing geology (geysers) , wildlife (buffalo) , and food. (buffalo burgers) If you’ve never been, go. Give yourself 3 days.
The only unfortunate part of the trip was the demise of Mammoth Hot Springs. Mammoth Hot Springs and Old Faithful are the parks two big draws. About a year ago, there were some earthquakes and the springs dried up about 98%. The whole hillside used to be a rainbow of intense colors. Now it’s dried and cracked and looks like the moon:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/mammothcam.htm
On Sunday my cousin and I went canoeing along Henry’s fork of the Madison River. Very nice. A little shallow at times, but crystal clear. That afternoon Zach, my wife and I left back for California. After consulting with the GPS, I discovered that by swooping down past Salt Lake City, it only added 10 minutes to the total trip. I always like to drive a circular route rather than straight and back if I can. I was surprised at how nice that part of Utah is – absolutely picturesque. Soft green rolling hills leading to rocky peaks. Nice. After swinging through SLC, we hit the Bonneville Salt flats just as the sun set. Magic hour in a truly alien landscape. Totally cool. I’ve always wanted to shoot a music video or SciFi there. Again if you have never been- stop by if you can. I wouldn’t budget 3 days though. After about 3 minutes you get the point.
http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/bonneville_salt.htm
About 10 minutes past Bonneville is Nevada, and the first town – Wendover. Like any border town in Nevada, there are Giant Casinos. We stopped at Paradise Beach or something like that. Huge. Big as any Vegas casino. We ate at some aquatic themed restaurant. Shrimp cocktail and ribeye – yum! We stayed the night about an hour past wendover in some town I can’t remember. It had two hotels and a gas station. Next time we will just stay in wendover.
We got up early with the hopes of making it to Rigby Idaho by 4pm. Why Rigby Idaho? Rigby is the home town of Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of electronic TV capture and Display. He came up with the idea in the 1920’s while plowing his families potatoe (Quayle Rules!) fields at the young age of 14! Rigby Idaho also houses the Philo T. Farnsworth TV and Pioneer Museum. They are open from 10am to 4pm, and I’ve missed them before. We hauled our little Chevy Colbalt as fast as reasonable and made it there by 3:45. Enough time to pay the admission ($2) and enjoy the simple homage to someone who changed the world with and Idea in a potatoe field. The museum was nice and quaint, but I think Philo deserves more…
After the Museum we drove up to the cabin and got to visit many relatives from Kentucky, including Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandpas and Grandmas. A rare opportunity.
The next couple of days we spent touring the park. It’s basically too amazing to go into details. Amazing geology (geysers) , wildlife (buffalo) , and food. (buffalo burgers) If you’ve never been, go. Give yourself 3 days.
The only unfortunate part of the trip was the demise of Mammoth Hot Springs. Mammoth Hot Springs and Old Faithful are the parks two big draws. About a year ago, there were some earthquakes and the springs dried up about 98%. The whole hillside used to be a rainbow of intense colors. Now it’s dried and cracked and looks like the moon:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/mammothcam.htm
On Sunday my cousin and I went canoeing along Henry’s fork of the Madison River. Very nice. A little shallow at times, but crystal clear. That afternoon Zach, my wife and I left back for California. After consulting with the GPS, I discovered that by swooping down past Salt Lake City, it only added 10 minutes to the total trip. I always like to drive a circular route rather than straight and back if I can. I was surprised at how nice that part of Utah is – absolutely picturesque. Soft green rolling hills leading to rocky peaks. Nice. After swinging through SLC, we hit the Bonneville Salt flats just as the sun set. Magic hour in a truly alien landscape. Totally cool. I’ve always wanted to shoot a music video or SciFi there. Again if you have never been- stop by if you can. I wouldn’t budget 3 days though. After about 3 minutes you get the point.
http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/bonneville_salt.htm
About 10 minutes past Bonneville is Nevada, and the first town – Wendover. Like any border town in Nevada, there are Giant Casinos. We stopped at Paradise Beach or something like that. Huge. Big as any Vegas casino. We ate at some aquatic themed restaurant. Shrimp cocktail and ribeye – yum! We stayed the night about an hour past wendover in some town I can’t remember. It had two hotels and a gas station. Next time we will just stay in wendover.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Cinegear 2007!
Cinegear: Wooooooo!
Sorry, just a little excited. This weekend I went down to LA to visit a friend and attend cinegear. My good friend and best man picked me up at LAX and we headed over to the Expo. I've missed the last 3, so I was excited to see what's new. Afterwards we stopped by Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles - YUM!
Here are some pictures from Cinegear:
Socal DP and best man E. G. Petersen at the Briese lighting booth with their 11' umbrella reflector: http://www.brieseusa.com/index.html
Element labs was also impressive. http://www.elementlabs.com/ They have a 5 phosphor led light that does near full spectrum lighting. Most are white LEDs only, some use RGB lights to make white, These guys add Magenta and Yellow to fill out the gaps. They also make a *very* cool led panel display that can be as large as a building and can display full color motion imges. This display was showing a quicktime movie off of a lap top.
Here is Eric getting a closer look:
Some other items that caught my eye:
A 58k light from the people at photosonics. No, not 58k color temp - 58 thousand watts. 58 1k bulbs packed tightly in a 2'x3' box! This thing can only be turned on for 10 seconds max before it starts to melt the diffusion screen.
http://www.photosonics.com/soft-box-lights.htm
Dragon Grips was cool with their ladder platform and cross beam-less dolly track:
http://www.dragongrips.com/
These guys had a cool aesthetic for a rental house:
http://www.monsterlighting.com/
The Nila LED lights were 1,200 Par HMI equivelents, with less power and almost no heat:
http://www.nila.tv/id6.html
And this is where old steadicam ops go to retire...
Sorry, just a little excited. This weekend I went down to LA to visit a friend and attend cinegear. My good friend and best man picked me up at LAX and we headed over to the Expo. I've missed the last 3, so I was excited to see what's new. Afterwards we stopped by Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles - YUM!
Here are some pictures from Cinegear:
Socal DP and best man E. G. Petersen at the Briese lighting booth with their 11' umbrella reflector: http://www.brieseusa.com/index.html
Element labs was also impressive. http://www.elementlabs.com/ They have a 5 phosphor led light that does near full spectrum lighting. Most are white LEDs only, some use RGB lights to make white, These guys add Magenta and Yellow to fill out the gaps. They also make a *very* cool led panel display that can be as large as a building and can display full color motion imges. This display was showing a quicktime movie off of a lap top.
Here is Eric getting a closer look:
Some other items that caught my eye:
A 58k light from the people at photosonics. No, not 58k color temp - 58 thousand watts. 58 1k bulbs packed tightly in a 2'x3' box! This thing can only be turned on for 10 seconds max before it starts to melt the diffusion screen.
http://www.photosonics.com/soft-box-lights.htm
Dragon Grips was cool with their ladder platform and cross beam-less dolly track:
http://www.dragongrips.com/
These guys had a cool aesthetic for a rental house:
http://www.monsterlighting.com/
The Nila LED lights were 1,200 Par HMI equivelents, with less power and almost no heat:
http://www.nila.tv/id6.html
And this is where old steadicam ops go to retire...
Monday, June 11, 2007
Olson Olson music video
This weekend we began production on a music video for the band "Olson Olson" The first phase of production was on the white cyc stage at the studio center in Sacramento. Two weeks from now we begin production of the narrative scenes. The band helped out by painting the stage. Nothing teaches respect for the white cyc than painting it. In fact, the only errant footprint that day was one one of mine...
Loading the "Shabby Chic" Piano into place.
The final product, good as gold.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
I went to the movies.
I went to the movies this weekend and saw two really good films.
The first was the cheap theater screening of 300. I was wary of this film because of all the hype and the strong visual treatment, but seeing how this was a mythic tale, it went well with the film.
The second movie was "knocked up" Everyone over 16 should see this movie. Good film.
It's interesting to note that upon reflection of the amazing cinematography in "300", I realized that I went through the entire 2 hrs of "knocked up" and never noticed a shot, angle, movement, or lighting setup. In retrospect I'd say that "knocked up" has the better cinematography. Not once was I taken out of the story - not once. That's what makes for good cinematography, telling the story.
The first was the cheap theater screening of 300. I was wary of this film because of all the hype and the strong visual treatment, but seeing how this was a mythic tale, it went well with the film.
The second movie was "knocked up" Everyone over 16 should see this movie. Good film.
It's interesting to note that upon reflection of the amazing cinematography in "300", I realized that I went through the entire 2 hrs of "knocked up" and never noticed a shot, angle, movement, or lighting setup. In retrospect I'd say that "knocked up" has the better cinematography. Not once was I taken out of the story - not once. That's what makes for good cinematography, telling the story.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Demo Derby Season!
This Memorial weekend we took some time to enjoy the Sacramento County Fair, and the chief attraction: The Demo Derby!!!
It's nice to be able to get up close.
The moment before. I hate digital camera shutter lag.
Watch the dirt fly!
How did this happen? First time I've ever seen something like this happen... Can't wait for August and the State Finals!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The House is Done!
The remodel of the house is done!
mostly.
I still have some trim to put up and some windows to work on, but it's done enough to put on the market.
Here are some pics:
mostly.
I still have some trim to put up and some windows to work on, but it's done enough to put on the market.
Here are some pics:
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Strawberry Festival
We were supposed to make a standard “still picture with motion graphics” commercial for the Strawberry Festival. I wasn’t satisfied with that. We decided to do something a little more interesting...
You can download a 3-meg h264 version here:
http://www.emrl.com/j/downloads/2007StrawberryFestival.mov
(There's just something a little disturbing about a giant strawberry enjoying a cannibalistic meal of a smaller strawberry.)
You can download a 3-meg h264 version here:
http://www.emrl.com/j/downloads/2007StrawberryFestival.mov
(There's just something a little disturbing about a giant strawberry enjoying a cannibalistic meal of a smaller strawberry.)
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Paris
Sunday, April 8th
We got up early (5am) to take a tram and catch our flight out of Germany. ;-(
Siobhan was smart enough to book a 5 hour layover at the Charles de Gaulle airport. That gave us just enough time to take the shuttle into town for a quick climb up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. This has the best view of Paris, even better than the Eiffel Tower, as from here you can actually see the tower in the view!
After that we strolled down the Champs Elysées and found an outdoor café for lunch. Siobhan had a crepe, while I had ordered a hot dog. What I got is something different. It was a baguette split open with a frankfurter inside and covered in cheese and baked. It was good, just different. The mustard was definitely good. The French know how to do mustard.
We hurried back and caught out 747 flight back. This flight was via Air France. Air France sucks. I will just leave it at that…
We got up early (5am) to take a tram and catch our flight out of Germany. ;-(
Siobhan was smart enough to book a 5 hour layover at the Charles de Gaulle airport. That gave us just enough time to take the shuttle into town for a quick climb up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. This has the best view of Paris, even better than the Eiffel Tower, as from here you can actually see the tower in the view!
After that we strolled down the Champs Elysées and found an outdoor café for lunch. Siobhan had a crepe, while I had ordered a hot dog. What I got is something different. It was a baguette split open with a frankfurter inside and covered in cheese and baked. It was good, just different. The mustard was definitely good. The French know how to do mustard.
We hurried back and caught out 747 flight back. This flight was via Air France. Air France sucks. I will just leave it at that…
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Munich
Saturday, April 7th
We caught a bus tour to take us up to the alpine region above Munich to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle built by “Mad King Ludwig”
This castle was the final castle built buy King Ludwig II of Bavaria. They called him “Mad” because he spent so much of his country’s fortunes on extravagant, fantastic castles. Castle Neuschwanstein (“New Swan Stone in German”) is the most amazing, quintessential castle example you can imagine.
We caught a bus tour to take us up to the alpine region above Munich to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle built by “Mad King Ludwig”
This castle was the final castle built buy King Ludwig II of Bavaria. They called him “Mad” because he spent so much of his country’s fortunes on extravagant, fantastic castles. Castle Neuschwanstein (“New Swan Stone in German”) is the most amazing, quintessential castle example you can imagine.
Not only was it the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland, it also inspired Mel Brooks.
After the Castle we returned back to Munich and did quick rickshaw bike tour of the city, followed by dinner in a Hoffbrau house of roasted pork knuckle and dumplings… Mmmmm!
After the Castle we returned back to Munich and did quick rickshaw bike tour of the city, followed by dinner in a Hoffbrau house of roasted pork knuckle and dumplings… Mmmmm!
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