Take Up Real

mmmm…pretty footage.

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:08:37 -0500

mmmm…pretty footage.

Check out this cool ad that I helped make for figweddings.net....

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:48:09 -0500

Check out this cool ad that I helped make for figweddings.net. (I am the plaid blip in the timelapse portion of the video)

My co-worker Tim Musho came up with the idea from images and music videos like this one:

We painted our entire studio at fig east (our nickname for our studio) in chalkboard paint for the ad. Then mounted the camera at the ceiling and shot straight down. We experimented with ourselves before the shoot with Seth and Amanda and discovered that to get the depth we were looking for: we needed to hold our bodies up off the ground… which became a lesson in endurance to get the right shots.

Two days before the shoot we found out that to have Amanda’s original wedding dress, we would need to take it out of storage, the cost of which was not in our budget.

So we had to get creative.

I talked with one of our deejays, Megan Taylor about the problem and she suggested that we ask Belle Vie Bridal Couture, Vera Wang Chicago if they wanted to donate a dress. Megan made the call and in the next 24 hours we got Amanda down to their shop, got her fitted for a dress and was ready for our shoot. *whew*

Tim and I worked together to pose the couple during the shoot, experimenting with how we laid their bodies, where we wanted to cheat gravity for the illusion and then how we laid the dress and Amanda’s hair to achieve what we wanted.

After the shoot, Tim Musho, James Gustin and Michele Gustin drew the buildings and city on the floor, photographed them and later Tim finished the build.

To complete the branding Alvin Black worked his magic on the logos and added them in photoshop.

The final is what you see here:

Nice teamwork!

if you thought you have seen it all...

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:29:59 -0500

You haven’t until you have seen this.

I hesitated on posting about it, at first almost embarrassed that I went and had so much fun watching 45 minutes of well - members being twisted and turned into genital oragami. So yes, I went.

Went with the ladies Saturday night to see this at the Lakeshore Theater. I laughed, I blushed, I cried, I screamed in horror and giggled like a high school girl in sex ed…by far one of the funniest-just could not look away even though I knew I should, things I have seen.

I think the best part was the conversations leading up to seeing the show, and then leaving the show. So bring on the comments…I have heard them all by now. Definitely a conversation starter, unlimited source for jokes and just plain fun. If you aren’t shy and want a night out that you will be talking about in inside jokes for the rest of your life…it is worth it.

My personal favorites: The Brazilian, The Yoda and The Sea Anemone.

Watch... Keel. Short film by Ian Cottage

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:47:37 -0500

http://www.keelfilm.com/

Have not seen this short yet, But LOVE the trailer. Subtle use of sound and beautiful cinematography.

riding the redline 11.22.09 630pm

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:56:05 -0500

-never a dull moment. Wish i had video. totally random.
guy on the train, sitting with headphones-looking normal. Till all of a sudden, blaring through his headphones-venga boys : boom,boom,boom.
Then in the girliest voice you could hear from a man, he begins to sing along at full volume,bobbing his head to the music.
Everyone on the train starts to crack up. He keeps singing oblivious to his surroundings-gets up and walks off the train. ah the redline.

Taking it to the streets... The Dorthea Lange's of today.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:18:24 -0500

San Francisco’s People. Canon 5DmkII 24p from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

I have been watching film after film shot with the 5Dmkll and am amazed at what it allows film makers to do on a very guerrilla level. For a girl who used to make her films in college with a hi8 camera, convinced that her creativity alone could compensate for the quality (how is that a life lesson I am still learning) I used to say: it was about the filmmaker not the tools (out of touch with the fact that I wanted to play with the big toys too)…I find myself in an interesting quandary as of late.

When does it become about your tools?

I think that attitude served me greatly and will continue to do so as I grow as a filmmaker, my Sony VX 2100 and mac powerbook has not only made me money, gave me opportunities and helped me grow in my craft. But it allowed me to have at my disposal at any time- tools to create.

So why does this camera have me captivated? For the very same reason. I think this camera is leveling the playing field. Allowing talent the access to tools for creating films on the same level as big budget productions. Giving the little guys a chance to express what they have been seeing all along but could only come close to creating, and giving the seasoned professionals a new way to look at their work.

What excites me most is what it is doing for documentary work. Pieces like this one above by Philip Bloom- are getting notice on a wider level. It reminds me a lot of my favorite period of growth in documentary photography and in film.

This is my favorite photo of all time:

This is Migrant Mother, by Dorthea Lange.

Dorthea was part of a group of photographers dedicated to documenting the life of farmers during the depression; Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information. Their work is not only beautiful, but helped bring about changes in government policy, farming and midwestern life in the late 1930’s.

Recently, I have begun to feel that society is in a similar position. Instead of agricultural reform- we have economic reform. The new tools at the disposal of Dorthea’s time were still film cameras. Ours today are HD video cameras and instant distribution: Youtube, Vimeo and social networking.

Sure, Youtube and Vimeo has made EVERYONE and their brother a filmmaker, reporter and budding actor nowadays. It gets harder and harder to sift through home movies and student films to find a gem. (I read a post today that said, viral video is dead…a topic for another time.) I can not imagine if that had been around when I was a kid- to think of the movies and news casts I made with my cousins broadcast out for anyone to see.

I digress.

The Dorthea Lange’s are out there, hiding on your social networks, making films and videos. Posting, blogging and using these new tools to do what Dorthea did in the 1930s.

They are subtle. Not in your face angry rants, conspiracy theorists or bible thumpers trying to get your attention. They are artists and filmmakers interested in documenting what is, not afraid but curious. The type of people who see things slightly different. Who would stop everything and take a photograph. Who posts their work because they love it and want to share it.

When taking Migrant Mother, Dorthea said, “I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions.There was a sort of equality about it.”

Today this photograph is famous. When she took it, she did so out of curiosity. It wasn’t staged, it wasn’t on a set. Dorthea was hiking through a field taking photos of the crops and happened upon this woman and her hungry children. Makes you think about what your photographs of films like the one above could say 80 years from now.

That is what gets me so excited about the possibility and why I want to own this new camera myself. To take part in a movement I think will be studied by our future generations years later. History is opened up to be documented in a way that it has not before, it is open to anyone. Making a film is not an exclusive act.

So in the immortal words of Wayne: ” It will be mine…oh yes, it will be mine.” I just have to figure out how.

"Try going out with one or two friends, try using a camcorder to capture the beauty and transience of..."

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:51:08 -0500

“Try going out with one or two friends, try using a camcorder to capture the beauty and transience of the actual. It will be a fascinating journey in its own right, a solid foundation for reflecting life’s truths via fiction. Real people and real actors- both in front of and behind the camera-have an infinity of depth and learning step by step to respond to them, from the mind and from the depths of the heart, is the direction of true expressive power. It does not come from studying film,but from becoming fully oneself and making films which serve what vision already exsists.”

- Michael Rabiger - On learning to make films (The Midwife’s Tale)

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:20:21 -0500

"Postproduction turned out to be an object lesson in Zen acceptance, demonstrating what I later found..."

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:45:28 -0500

“Postproduction turned out to be an object lesson in Zen acceptance, demonstrating what I later found true for other art forms- that the creative process is a labyrinth in which only the imprisoned can grow.”

- Michael Rabiger

Photo

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:31:16 -0500

Love this!

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:26:54 -0500

Love this!

"…that’s what you call mystery meat navigation."

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:53:25 -0500

““…that’s what you call mystery meat navigation.””

- ABIII ~ fig web designer, when discussing new site navigation

this is amazingly risky and thought provoking. a must watch

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:05:16 -0400

this is amazingly risky and thought provoking. a must watch

as heard on the train

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:04:47 -0400

Never a short supply of entertainment on the redline.
Tonight i learned a new word: duff.
designated ugly fat friend.
As in:
“i’ll pass on that man, this guy ain’t takin one fo da team- she a duff”
ah, the redline.

friday flashback: Starship and Mannequin

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:28:23 -0400

friday flashback: Starship and Mannequin

camera-gasm. Dear Universe, Just putting this out...

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:23:19 -0400

camera-gasm.

Dear Universe,

Just putting this out there…Help me figure out how I can personally own a MarkII with 2 nice lenses. I will gladly do the work.

Thanks!

Melissa

Is so excited!!! my first order from Irv and Shelly’s...

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:50:35 -0400

Is so excited!!! my first order from Irv and Shelly’s fresh pics came today. All local organic veggies and fruits! 25.00 and a huge crate of yummies, a list of all the farms I supported and recipies. Yay for eating good.

(thanks for the tip emily)

you know you are in a small town when…. (taken in trenton...

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:57:15 -0400

you know you are in a small town when….

(taken in trenton michigan on a shoot with co-workers Tim Musho and Megan Taylor)

koi pond

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:48:27 -0400

koi pond

~ kiddie land on 35mm

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:44:58 -0400

~ kiddie land on 35mm