Saturday, May 22, 2010
iWraz Commercial
Thursday, May 20, 2010
New Cinematography Reel!
Finally! I've updated my Cinematography Showreel with work from late 2009 - present. I decided to keep this one short since my last one was way too long. I definitely feel solid about this one I've really progressed since 2009. Check it out!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Eric G. - "Riding With You" Official Music Video
I was the DP for this music video. I learned a lot from shooting this. Check it out.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Lee Charms "Heart Breaker" Music Video Stills
These are some stills taken on my camera phone of the shots I DP'd with Kentrell Stoakley for the "Heart Breaker" music video. Check it out.
I'm sorry for the poor quality. will update to a higher res.
I'm sorry for the poor quality. will update to a higher res.
Lee Charms "Heart Breaker" Music Video Shoot
Yesterday, I worked on the new music video for Lee Charms' track, "Heart Breaker". The video was shot in a studio in Brooklyn, the home base of NYC Jibs and directed by Lameika George. My good friend and partner, Kentrell Stoakley, filled the DP shoes on this one and did a great job with his choices of color and composition. I was an AC/Gaffer swing for most of the day but he allowed me to take over and Co-DP a few scenes (of course he was there so I matched his existing footage but with a little bit of my own style) which will be going in my new reel soon.
We shot on Lameika's Canon 7D with a rented lens package consisting of a 35mm EF, 50mm L, and 70-200mm L. NYC Jibs provided us with a large collection of toys. My favorite for the day was the "sub rental" HMI Joker package, which was our main work horse for the day.
The day wasn't perfect as our shot list for the day was a bit ambitious for our reserved time in the studio. I didn't count but the shot list spanned two pages of 12 font, single spaced haha. The day started of really slow for various reasons and four hours were chopped off our morning. We started shooting around noon. Although we started late and didn't get all the shots we wanted, What we did get was pretty amazing.
During a dance choreography scene, I ended up using a 2k tungsten with diffusion as a key and bouncing the 400w HMI's off of the white flooring as a low angle fill which, mainly cast highlights in the dancer's shiny clothing.
Lee Charms received a phone call on the shoot asking him to perform on the BET show, 106th & Park which is great news that people are watching him, especially for us up & coming filmmakers. Check out Lee Charms' music at this link.
Shout outs to Kim Brannon (AD) who I haven't seen in about two years, Chris Johnson who I also haven't seen in about two years (since the last Lee Charms video), and Jared Frost for kicking ass as an amazing grip. Also shout out to Michael Milia from NYC Jibs who provided us with great hospitality and made sure we had everything we needed.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
"NO" to the NYC MOFTB $300 Film Permit Application Processing Fee
From www.petitiononline.com
The film industry in New York City is under siege. The state production tax credit extension is still held up in Albany without approval for another year, having run out in June 2009. Films and TV shows are going to Canada, Los Angeles and other areas with better production incentives. And now Mayor Bloomberg and the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting (MOFTB) plan to assess a $300 fee for filming permit application processing.
In a quote from the Wall Street Journal in response to the question of whether this fee would deter new business, "Everybody I've talked to about this—and I've called a number of producers—they couldn't stop laughing because it's $300 one time," said Mr. Bloomberg. "They go anyplace else, they pay $1,000 every two weeks. And it's such a small percentage of their budget."
Are these producers independent producers on limited budgets? Are these producers of short films or internet content? Are these producers documentary filmmakers? Mr. Bloomberg and the MOFTB don't seem to understand that this sort of fee will most certainly have an effect on low budget films, short films, documentaries and independent TV pilots in the city. $300 is enough to pay a principal actor in an ultra-low budget SAG film for 3 days. $300 is equipment rental for a day (or an hour). A low-budget or short film with a budget of $20,000 has to count every penny. In a low-budget film, $300 can be the difference between filming in New York City or somewhere else.
We, the undersigned, hereby state that this $300 filming permit application processing fee is not acceptable to those of us who work in this already fragile industry, which brings in millions of dollars in revenue and employs thousands of New Yorkers. We believe this fee will inhibit, and possibly cripple, independent and low-budget filming in the city and we are dismayed by the proposal. It is estimated these fees will only bring in under a million dollars a year. Compared with the possible loss of both revenue for our city and jobs the film industry provides, this fee is not worth the damage it could potentially cause. Please do not allow this fee to further erode an already declining number of productions in New York City. In this struggling economy, now is not the time for a new fee. Whether a production is a major studio film or a short film by an independent director on a shoestring budget, New York should be the film capital of the world – for everyone.
Click here to sign the petition! Spread the word!
The film industry in New York City is under siege. The state production tax credit extension is still held up in Albany without approval for another year, having run out in June 2009. Films and TV shows are going to Canada, Los Angeles and other areas with better production incentives. And now Mayor Bloomberg and the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting (MOFTB) plan to assess a $300 fee for filming permit application processing.
In a quote from the Wall Street Journal in response to the question of whether this fee would deter new business, "Everybody I've talked to about this—and I've called a number of producers—they couldn't stop laughing because it's $300 one time," said Mr. Bloomberg. "They go anyplace else, they pay $1,000 every two weeks. And it's such a small percentage of their budget."
Are these producers independent producers on limited budgets? Are these producers of short films or internet content? Are these producers documentary filmmakers? Mr. Bloomberg and the MOFTB don't seem to understand that this sort of fee will most certainly have an effect on low budget films, short films, documentaries and independent TV pilots in the city. $300 is enough to pay a principal actor in an ultra-low budget SAG film for 3 days. $300 is equipment rental for a day (or an hour). A low-budget or short film with a budget of $20,000 has to count every penny. In a low-budget film, $300 can be the difference between filming in New York City or somewhere else.
We, the undersigned, hereby state that this $300 filming permit application processing fee is not acceptable to those of us who work in this already fragile industry, which brings in millions of dollars in revenue and employs thousands of New Yorkers. We believe this fee will inhibit, and possibly cripple, independent and low-budget filming in the city and we are dismayed by the proposal. It is estimated these fees will only bring in under a million dollars a year. Compared with the possible loss of both revenue for our city and jobs the film industry provides, this fee is not worth the damage it could potentially cause. Please do not allow this fee to further erode an already declining number of productions in New York City. In this struggling economy, now is not the time for a new fee. Whether a production is a major studio film or a short film by an independent director on a shoestring budget, New York should be the film capital of the world – for everyone.
Click here to sign the petition! Spread the word!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Eric G "Riding WIth You" Music Video Shoot
Three weeks ago, I was the DP for a christian R&B music video. The artist was singer, Eric G. The treatment was co-written/directed by Dan Norton and I and this project was intended for Dan's final project in his Production II and Editing classes in SVA.
We initially had two months to plan for this thing, but we both became massively busy and Dan had some important family matters to deal with, so we didn't really start getting cracking on the pre-production until a week or two before the shoot. We had about 3 or 4 meetings asside from our private brainstorm sessions.
Either way everything got changed on the night before the shoot due to many factors. We stayed up all night making sure everything was atleast 90-100% good before shooting. We shot for an entire weekend on barely any sleep.
We shot on the Panasonic HMC150, which I have to say is an awesome little camera. I loved using it with the SG Blade 35mm adapter and Nikon AI-S primes. We got some gorgeous footage.
We ended up running into a few problems during production. First, we were kicked out of almost every other location but luckily, Dan and I planned for this in advance and we were prepared to search for secondary locations. Also, we planned to shoot a concert scene where the main character goes to an Eric G concert. The problem was that SVA couldn't give us more than a three unit Arri package so we were hoping that our friend, Randy, who is the AV tech at crossbridge church would lend us some PAR cans to light the small venue. It turned out he was extrememly sick that weekend and not to mention he didnt have the lights in his posession. We ended up working with what we had and the footage didn't come out bad but, it would have been so much better if I had the gear I needed. My strategy at that point was to shoot as tight as possible using our 100mm lens. That gave us some room to move lights around for different shots. It was a pain in the butt but it worked out.
I think the best part of the shoot was getting to play with a Fuji Instax camera which prints little polaroids (which are now called instant film :P) Check it out:
A rough cut is finished and Dan is conducting minor tweeks to the edit so it should be posted online in about a week. Below are a few performance stills that a grabbed using my camera phone. Sorry that they're a bit low quality (LG Dare :(
(Don't worry, that's not interlacing!)
You can check out Eric G's music on his website at ericgsounds.com
We initially had two months to plan for this thing, but we both became massively busy and Dan had some important family matters to deal with, so we didn't really start getting cracking on the pre-production until a week or two before the shoot. We had about 3 or 4 meetings asside from our private brainstorm sessions.
Either way everything got changed on the night before the shoot due to many factors. We stayed up all night making sure everything was atleast 90-100% good before shooting. We shot for an entire weekend on barely any sleep.
We shot on the Panasonic HMC150, which I have to say is an awesome little camera. I loved using it with the SG Blade 35mm adapter and Nikon AI-S primes. We got some gorgeous footage.
We ended up running into a few problems during production. First, we were kicked out of almost every other location but luckily, Dan and I planned for this in advance and we were prepared to search for secondary locations. Also, we planned to shoot a concert scene where the main character goes to an Eric G concert. The problem was that SVA couldn't give us more than a three unit Arri package so we were hoping that our friend, Randy, who is the AV tech at crossbridge church would lend us some PAR cans to light the small venue. It turned out he was extrememly sick that weekend and not to mention he didnt have the lights in his posession. We ended up working with what we had and the footage didn't come out bad but, it would have been so much better if I had the gear I needed. My strategy at that point was to shoot as tight as possible using our 100mm lens. That gave us some room to move lights around for different shots. It was a pain in the butt but it worked out.
I think the best part of the shoot was getting to play with a Fuji Instax camera which prints little polaroids (which are now called instant film :P) Check it out:
A rough cut is finished and Dan is conducting minor tweeks to the edit so it should be posted online in about a week. Below are a few performance stills that a grabbed using my camera phone. Sorry that they're a bit low quality (LG Dare :(
(Don't worry, that's not interlacing!)
You can check out Eric G's music on his website at ericgsounds.com
Wale "Diary" Official Music Video
I recently worked on this music video as an AC under Clayton Combe. This was directed by Rik Cordero. It premiered on MTV2 just a few days ago! You can watch it at the MTV site here: http://www.mtv.com/videos/wale/511517/diary.jhtml#id=1568964
I learned a lot about the use of filters in different situations. Mainly the application of Pro-Mist, and Polarization filters. Thanks Clayton!
I learned a lot about the use of filters in different situations. Mainly the application of Pro-Mist, and Polarization filters. Thanks Clayton!
Jon Carlo "Te Necessito" Official Music Video
I worked on this as a grip. The director is Adonis Williams and the DP is Matt Workman.
Phar City feat. Range "Part Time Lover" Official Music Video
I worked on this as a grip/PA for the first day. There was a sudden 2nd day of shooting and the DP, Matt Workman ended up on another project by then so Cinematographer, Clayton Combe filled in as the 2nd Unit DP. I worked under him as a Gaffer/AC on that 2nd day because we barely had a crew. It was definitely a fun shoot!
J Martin feat. Magic Juan "Intentalo" Official Music Video
I worked on this music video as a grip/PA.
What I've Been Up To
Hey guys!
Most of you mentioned to me in person, "What's going on with your blog, you haven't posted in a while". The main reason why is because since the beginning of February I found myself in a whirlwind of projects. Work suddenly picked up and gradually increased since then. Everything has been Amazing.
I sort of fell into the world of music videos. For a while I was on these music videos as a grip or AC/PA but the past few one's I've been working directly under cinematographer, Clayton Combe, as an AC. I've also worked with cinematographers Matt Workman, Lindsay Mann, and Ryo Murakami.
Working with all these talented cinematographers has taught me an enormous amount and I had the opportunity to apply it all on a music video for the Christian/R&B singer, Eric G, who is becoming increasingly more popular on the radio.
Some directors I've worked with are Rik Cordero, James "Latin" Clark, Adonis Williams, and Berman Fenelus just to name a few.
I'm now dedicating to updating the blog at least once a week. But for now, I have ton's of new things I want to share with you so please stay tuned!
Most of you mentioned to me in person, "What's going on with your blog, you haven't posted in a while". The main reason why is because since the beginning of February I found myself in a whirlwind of projects. Work suddenly picked up and gradually increased since then. Everything has been Amazing.
I sort of fell into the world of music videos. For a while I was on these music videos as a grip or AC/PA but the past few one's I've been working directly under cinematographer, Clayton Combe, as an AC. I've also worked with cinematographers Matt Workman, Lindsay Mann, and Ryo Murakami.
Working with all these talented cinematographers has taught me an enormous amount and I had the opportunity to apply it all on a music video for the Christian/R&B singer, Eric G, who is becoming increasingly more popular on the radio.
Some directors I've worked with are Rik Cordero, James "Latin" Clark, Adonis Williams, and Berman Fenelus just to name a few.
I'm now dedicating to updating the blog at least once a week. But for now, I have ton's of new things I want to share with you so please stay tuned!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Crew Member Check List
I'm getting ready to Grip on a music video shoot tomorrow and I thought I would share my check list with you. This list is comprised of everything you should do the night before because everyone knows that so many things can be forgotten or go wrong the next day. Whatever you don't check or do the night before will surely become a problem the next day, big or small.
- Print the call sheet and keep a copy in your pack.
- Save all contact information from the call sheet in your cell phone if you don't already know them. (of course you mainly want to save people that you're more likely to interact with the next day. As a grip, I might not save the number of talent.) Who knows, you might get lost on the way to set and you might need to call someone to help you find you're way.
- Calculate the best travel route to the set. Be sure to check for weekend MTA delays. Print, write down, or save the directions in your phone.
- Make sure your cell phone is fully charged or on the charger before sleep.
- Set one or two wake-up alarms. I always forget this and you never want to be late to set. Such a bad look. I use my phone alarm as well as a regular alarm clock. If you feel like you won't wake up, request a wake up call from a friend, girlfriend/boyfriend, or someone on the shoot.
- Prepare weather gear for extreme conditions and have it ready and out the night before. (what if you wake up late and you're in a rush. It's best to have all layers of clothing ready.) For wet conditions, pack extra clothes in case you end up soaked. Nothing worse than being soaked for 12 hours.
- Prepare personal tools/pouch. All battery powered objects need to be tested for their battery.
Replace as needed. Bring extra batteries. (Remember that cold weather will sap most batteries very fast.) Only bring what tools you know you'll need. But of course whatever you don't bring you'll probably end up needing according to Murphy's Law.
- If you're in a position where you're using a piece of gear or tool that you've never used, Make sure you research, study, and ask other film buddies who might know about it. There's nothing worse than showing up to set like you know what you're doing and then you try to do it, and you do it wrong. So embarrassing! It's better to be honest and ask questions. It's ego/production insurance.
The reason I decided to post this is because I want to help others avoid the mistakes I made when preparing to shoot. You want to avoid any unnecessary issues that could prove costly to your future opportunities.
Happy Shooting!
- Print the call sheet and keep a copy in your pack.
- Save all contact information from the call sheet in your cell phone if you don't already know them. (of course you mainly want to save people that you're more likely to interact with the next day. As a grip, I might not save the number of talent.) Who knows, you might get lost on the way to set and you might need to call someone to help you find you're way.
- Calculate the best travel route to the set. Be sure to check for weekend MTA delays. Print, write down, or save the directions in your phone.
- Make sure your cell phone is fully charged or on the charger before sleep.
- Set one or two wake-up alarms. I always forget this and you never want to be late to set. Such a bad look. I use my phone alarm as well as a regular alarm clock. If you feel like you won't wake up, request a wake up call from a friend, girlfriend/boyfriend, or someone on the shoot.
- Prepare weather gear for extreme conditions and have it ready and out the night before. (what if you wake up late and you're in a rush. It's best to have all layers of clothing ready.) For wet conditions, pack extra clothes in case you end up soaked. Nothing worse than being soaked for 12 hours.
- Prepare personal tools/pouch. All battery powered objects need to be tested for their battery.
Replace as needed. Bring extra batteries. (Remember that cold weather will sap most batteries very fast.) Only bring what tools you know you'll need. But of course whatever you don't bring you'll probably end up needing according to Murphy's Law.
- If you're in a position where you're using a piece of gear or tool that you've never used, Make sure you research, study, and ask other film buddies who might know about it. There's nothing worse than showing up to set like you know what you're doing and then you try to do it, and you do it wrong. So embarrassing! It's better to be honest and ask questions. It's ego/production insurance.
The reason I decided to post this is because I want to help others avoid the mistakes I made when preparing to shoot. You want to avoid any unnecessary issues that could prove costly to your future opportunities.
Happy Shooting!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
"Anyone But Me" Season 2 Ep 1-3
The episodes that I worked on as a 2nd AC are now up on the "Anyone But Me" website. I even make a cameo in one of them! Please check it out.
http://anyonebutmeseries.com/
http://anyonebutmeseries.com/
Sunday, January 17, 2010
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