A New Season, New Shoots, & A New Office

The month of May was crazy. Moving apartments, photo shoots for ProFoto (separate post to come soon), a music video with the band "Hypernova" and the opening of my production office and studio, COMMON MACHINE PROD. in Miami, FL with Brett O'Bourke in the Moore Building of the Design District.

COMMON MACHINE PROD. is a documentary film and video production company. Brett O'Bourke, Executive Producer, has produced for Discovery, A&E, Oxygen, and Lifetime. Not to mention he has also held the title of "Editor in Chief" of several print and online magazines, including the Miami - Flavorpill.com.

Also joining our crew in Miami is Director and Editor, Jorge Rubiera. Jorge and I are currently shooting the his feature independent film "Meniscus" in North Carolina and Miami. He is currently in the midst of editing our piece on Russian composer, Alexander Knaifel in Ireland.

Dividing my time between NYC and MIA will be great and while I've now taken on the role of Director of Photography at CM, I'm looking forward to a strong season of pitches for my commercial and advertising clients.

Ireland Documentary: Alexander Knaifel, Russian Composer

This is my third trip to Ireland and I'm always amazed at the hospitality, conversations, and adventures that take place here each time I come.  I'm working with Jorge and Raul Rubiera of Swamp Valve Pictures on a documentary on Alexander Knaifel, Russian composer.  His music provided the inspiration to Jorge's movie "Meniscus", which I'm working on as the DP. Everything is going really well and Alexander's music is very modern.  The best night so far followed Mr. Knaifel's performance at a really nice pub located high on a hill within the small town of Drogheda, Ireland.  The composer, the musicians, and our crew enjoyed a night of local folk music at a charming pub with an endless supply of Guiness and whiskey.  Getting the gear and instruments down the hill at sunrise was a symphony of sound in itself.

Swine flu seemed to be plastered all over the news, but at Ollie's, it was business as usual. 

CONVERSE & CORNERSTONE Promotion Video Shoot, NYC

I've said it before and I'll say it again... opportunities to work with clients with a good team, visually oriented, and a great rep to boot are fantastic for everyone involved. Just recently I finished putting the final grade on a behind the scenes video I shot for a New York City rock band called "The Flying Machines" sponsored by Converse and Journeys and produced by Cornerstone Promotion. This winning band was selected from a pool of 4800 entries for the national competition. We gathered in a unique recording space in Manhattan called Sear Sound and I documented the nip & tuck of the album under the guidance of Grammy award winning music producer Mario P. Petralia.

I captured all of the HD imagery using the Sony EX-3 coupled with 16mm B&W Kodak 7222 that was captured using a Bolex. The 16mm telecine transfer was performed at DuArt in NYC. The two formats were edited together using Final Cut and graded using Magic Bullet. The final piece will be displayed on the Converse website and distributed within Journey shoe stores nationwide.

Nautica South Beach Triathlon, Miami Beach, FL

The day started off at 4:30 am as I made my way towards 2000 + incredibly fit athletes milling about their Treks and Cannondales. Power Bar wrappers covered the ground and a hint of icy hot permeated through the air. After a quick introduction and the Pledge of Allegiance we marched five blocks on the sand to the sight of an amazing Sunday morning sunrise and the start of the Nautica South Beach Triathlon. I love being challenged at these particular sporting events which require you to capture the thrill of the competition while showcasing the overall ambience of the cities who play host to them.

This shot above was one of the first frames I made at the competition, which features pro-level athletes storming the Atlantic in the first leg of the triathlon. In order to be mobile, but still provide this unique perspective, I boomed my Canon 1Ds Mark II 10 feet above my head utilizing a Manfrotto monopod. In order to trigger the camera I called upon the Pocket Wizard receiver / transmitter in combination with the PocketWizard CM-N3 Motor Cord. I metered for the sunrise, prefocused the camera, and put the lens to manual focus.

In the run that followed towards the water, I barely even realized that I had chased the triathletes well beyond the shoreline and ended up about waist deep in the ocean... A few more steps and it would have been a call to Canon.

The client was extremely happy with the overall take and I look forward to next year's race.

Winter Music Conference Video Documentary, Miami Beach, FL

Every year thousands of dance music enthusiasts converge on the balmy shores of Miami Beach, FL, in the middle of March for a festive fun filled event called the Winter Music Conference. Common Machine Productions tackled this annual event for a web documentary focusing on the New York "Super Club," Pacha. I am the DP and camera operator for CM. For five days we endured the occasional spray found at the Miami Beach pool parties. All that sun was just so warm and nurturing we just had to complain...

The completed 12 minute documentary will be viewed and distributed over the night clubs youtube and commercial website.

Summer Is Just Around the Bend

I was working at my desk a couple of days ago on beautiful day in March when I heard a trumpet blast announcing the arrival of spring and summer... the Mr Softy Ice Cream truck jingle. As a kid growing up in New York summer evenings always concluded with a strawberry shortcake or a vanilla cone topped off with chocolate sprinkles and when I heard that sweet sound I could only think that cold days of winter are behind us. To celebrate this occasion I pulled out a stop motion video I shot in Central Park on an incredibly warm day in Sheep's Meadow, Central Park last July, 2008.

Go grab your ice cream...

Fashion with Friends, NYC

Friends Elizabeth Marz, makeup artist, and Marissa Waters, stylist, and I got together one recent Saturday afternoon for a shoot on the roof of my building. It was unusually warm for the mid-February day and the sky was a beautiful cadet blue. Inspired by a recent Japanese anime, Marissa pulled a wardrobe fit for Blade runner and Liz complimented the attire with an equally impressive hand at the makeup and hair. In the end, a day intended for fun, turned into a great collaboration... big thanks goes out to Dasha from Elite NYC for bearing the above average but cold temps :)

Here are a couple of the non-retouched images: