I have been quite fortunate that my last two months have been riddled with projects and jobs. Besides editing the documentary "Product of the Philippines," I have had a chance to shoot a couple of music videos for two VERY talented artists.
The one I present here is by Amai Kuda called "All My Fine Shoes." It's a very catchy song with significant undertones. One thing I realized about the artists I have been working with is that I find their music quite unique and artistic. I have been fortunate to attract that kind of talent and I hope to continue in that path.
The reason I say this is that they are very open to collaborating on a creative idea that does not necessarily fit the usual mold of what a music video (these days) is supposed to look like.
Limited by budget and time, it forced us to think about what we could do creatively to come up with a visually stimulating music video.
This music video was really fun to make and when you see it, I'm sure you'll know why. We tried to create some theatrics despite our budget give the audience something a little different.
Here is the other music video by Kwesi Immanuel. This one had absolutely no budget and was a real challenge to time and cut together but a great experiment!
Kwesi Immanuel "Battles Won" Music Video from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
Lastly... My first music video with the Subnodes which was shot in Fall 2009.
Ko Ping Music Video from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
I hope you are all enjoying some of the stuff I have been working on as I enjoy sharing them with you all!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
"Producto Ng Pilipinas" (Product of the Philippines) & Trailers
**I know I have not put a post up in quite some time, the reason being I've been working on a lot of projects while still finishing up my documentary. I knew that I wanted this post to be more about the process of shooting the documentary as well as having the trailers done **
It has almost been a year in the making. I know for some films, particularly documentaries, a year does not seem that long, but to me it has definitely been a journey. Although planning the documentary started December (2009)/January of this year (2010), the seed was planted almost five years ago while I was still at Boston University.
I remember coming home one summer and my father introducing this brand new, home-made peanut butter to me. My brothers and I thought it was delicious and definitely unique from the Kraft and Skippy brands we're used to. My father told me a little bit about the person behind the peanut butter and I thought it would make for an interesting documentary. (Funny thing is, I never ever thought I would shoot a documentary. I thought I would stick to commercials, fictional narratives and music videos).
The process of putting this film together had its smooth points and then had its turbulence... So, all-in-all, it was what I expected. As with every project, short-form or long-form, there are speed bumps and the only thing you can really do is try to minimize these speed bumps through preparation.
Once my project was pretty much green-lit (flight to Manila, crew and interviews booked), I put together an extensive production package including a 35 day schedule, a shot list, a budget and tentative script....
One thing I immediately realized during this shoot was how important it was to be flexible. Unlike short films, music video and commercial work that I was used to, documentaries are difficult to control. I had prepared a lot of shots which did not eventually happen because of the circumstances of being on a documentary shoot (run-and-gun style). So you have to be adaptable to the situations.
This, however, did not mean I was not able to translate my vision. I opted to simplify my shots and try to make my shots as cinematic as possible. One thing I did NOT want to lose out on was the potential cinematic aspects of making this film. We took a lot of wide-angle shots (I fell in love with the Sigma 10-20mm).
Post-production was a whole other can of worms. Just when we thought the toughest bit was over, I ran into some significant problems in post-production that could really not be helped...
At one point, one of my 4 2TB hard drives (yes, I was running 4 hard drives, daisy chained... real indie...) crashed on me. I literarily felt my heart drop... Though we had backed up all the raw footage, the transcoded* Canon 7D footage was on that hard drive.... And transcoding all that footage took me almost 3 weeks.
(Note: Transcoded: "turning Canon raw h.264 codec into an 'editable' codec - e.g. Apple ProRes 422).
Fortunate for me, it was a software corruption and not a hardware malfunction. I recovered my hard drive and transfered the data to another hard drive. I was back to work, though I lost two weeks of editing time. I was sweating bullets... Losing that much information really puts you in a hole.
One thing I realized about this process is that you are at the mercy of your technology. My hard drives are not bad at all! However, it doesn't take much to cause a problem in them... So BACK EVERYTHING UP! It's expensive... and I was broke for about a month but it will be worth it. Sacrifices for the sake of the film.
One of the coolest things about working on a project like this is you can see your work develop and your style and technique improve. As the editor of my own work, I learned to think more as an editor while directing. And this is another facet of filmmaking that I was beginning to tap into: being able to think ahead.
As a filmmaker, you have to be able to think a few steps ahead WHILE shooting. It's easier said than done because on-set or on-location, you are constantly bombarded by other responsibilities like picking your shots, talking to your crew and your talent. You have to learn to see the bigger picture as you are shooting a tiny piece of it. I am no expert at this by any means, but I think the fact that I started to realize this is crucial to my growth as an artist and filmmaker.
I know this was really long winded, but I haven't written in a while and I had a lot to talk about after finally seeing my film through to fruition. I've started sending the film out to film festivals world wide (about 20 now by my count), and I hope to get into a few of them.
Ultimately, I want the world to appreciate the story of Ehje and enjoy my work. I worry sometimes, like I'm sure many other filmmakers do, that it will not be appreciated, but I suppose you just have to have faith in your work and the efforts you've put in and hope for the best!
"Producto Ng Pilipinas" ("Product of the Philippines)
Trailer #1
Producto Ng Pilipinas (Product of the Philippines) Trailer 1 from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
Trailer #2
Producto Ng Pilipinas (Product of the Philippines) Trailer 2 from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
It has almost been a year in the making. I know for some films, particularly documentaries, a year does not seem that long, but to me it has definitely been a journey. Although planning the documentary started December (2009)/January of this year (2010), the seed was planted almost five years ago while I was still at Boston University.
I remember coming home one summer and my father introducing this brand new, home-made peanut butter to me. My brothers and I thought it was delicious and definitely unique from the Kraft and Skippy brands we're used to. My father told me a little bit about the person behind the peanut butter and I thought it would make for an interesting documentary. (Funny thing is, I never ever thought I would shoot a documentary. I thought I would stick to commercials, fictional narratives and music videos).
The process of putting this film together had its smooth points and then had its turbulence... So, all-in-all, it was what I expected. As with every project, short-form or long-form, there are speed bumps and the only thing you can really do is try to minimize these speed bumps through preparation.
Once my project was pretty much green-lit (flight to Manila, crew and interviews booked), I put together an extensive production package including a 35 day schedule, a shot list, a budget and tentative script....
One thing I immediately realized during this shoot was how important it was to be flexible. Unlike short films, music video and commercial work that I was used to, documentaries are difficult to control. I had prepared a lot of shots which did not eventually happen because of the circumstances of being on a documentary shoot (run-and-gun style). So you have to be adaptable to the situations.
This, however, did not mean I was not able to translate my vision. I opted to simplify my shots and try to make my shots as cinematic as possible. One thing I did NOT want to lose out on was the potential cinematic aspects of making this film. We took a lot of wide-angle shots (I fell in love with the Sigma 10-20mm).
Post-production was a whole other can of worms. Just when we thought the toughest bit was over, I ran into some significant problems in post-production that could really not be helped...
At one point, one of my 4 2TB hard drives (yes, I was running 4 hard drives, daisy chained... real indie...) crashed on me. I literarily felt my heart drop... Though we had backed up all the raw footage, the transcoded* Canon 7D footage was on that hard drive.... And transcoding all that footage took me almost 3 weeks.
(Note: Transcoded: "turning Canon raw h.264 codec into an 'editable' codec - e.g. Apple ProRes 422).
Fortunate for me, it was a software corruption and not a hardware malfunction. I recovered my hard drive and transfered the data to another hard drive. I was back to work, though I lost two weeks of editing time. I was sweating bullets... Losing that much information really puts you in a hole.
One thing I realized about this process is that you are at the mercy of your technology. My hard drives are not bad at all! However, it doesn't take much to cause a problem in them... So BACK EVERYTHING UP! It's expensive... and I was broke for about a month but it will be worth it. Sacrifices for the sake of the film.
One of the coolest things about working on a project like this is you can see your work develop and your style and technique improve. As the editor of my own work, I learned to think more as an editor while directing. And this is another facet of filmmaking that I was beginning to tap into: being able to think ahead.
As a filmmaker, you have to be able to think a few steps ahead WHILE shooting. It's easier said than done because on-set or on-location, you are constantly bombarded by other responsibilities like picking your shots, talking to your crew and your talent. You have to learn to see the bigger picture as you are shooting a tiny piece of it. I am no expert at this by any means, but I think the fact that I started to realize this is crucial to my growth as an artist and filmmaker.
I know this was really long winded, but I haven't written in a while and I had a lot to talk about after finally seeing my film through to fruition. I've started sending the film out to film festivals world wide (about 20 now by my count), and I hope to get into a few of them.
Ultimately, I want the world to appreciate the story of Ehje and enjoy my work. I worry sometimes, like I'm sure many other filmmakers do, that it will not be appreciated, but I suppose you just have to have faith in your work and the efforts you've put in and hope for the best!
"Producto Ng Pilipinas" ("Product of the Philippines)
Trailer #1
Producto Ng Pilipinas (Product of the Philippines) Trailer 1 from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
Trailer #2
Producto Ng Pilipinas (Product of the Philippines) Trailer 2 from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Kwesi Immanuel "Battles Won" Music Video
I just finished shooting and editing this music video called "Battles Won." The artist's name is Kwesi Emmanuel; an independent Folk/Reggae style musician based in Toronto. He is a very talented and soulful musician who I had the pleasure of collaborating with.
This was an ultra low-budget shoot that took some planning and praying that we could even pull off. We kept it simple and tried to focus on execution.
Our initial concept for this video would have cost too much and we did not have the budget to execute it, so we just wanted to try something more experimental.
We basically shot the entire music video at 60 fps and reversed it. Sound simple enough? Well... The song is meant to be sung in-sync. That meant we had to speed up the song to 250% to compensate for the ramp in frame rate from 24 fps-60 fps.
I guess you're all thinking that's pretty easy too... well, now you have to reverse it. I'll let you all think on that for a minute and what that meant the artist had to accomplish...
We basically shot the entire music video at 60 fps and reversed it. Sound simple enough? Well... The song is meant to be sung in-sync. That meant we had to speed up the song to 250% to compensate for the ramp in frame rate from 24 fps-60 fps.
I guess you're all thinking that's pretty easy too... well, now you have to reverse it. I'll let you all think on that for a minute and what that meant the artist had to accomplish...
I hope you all enjoy it!
Directed by Jullian Ablaza
Cinematography by James Hellyer
Art Direction Jess Finch
Production Assistant Yolande Ammon
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
"Ko Ping" by the Subnodes
Here is a music video I shot almost exactly a year ago with the very talented Gigi Nimako as the lead and music by the Subnodes (Ekow "Deuce" Nimako & Derrick Pierre) - a very talented alternative hip-hop duo based out of Toronto.
The approach to this music video was almost more of a film narrative. I had never shot a music video before but I wanted more than just the typical cookie cutter video formula: Band rocking out with their instruments plus the occasional female eye candy.
We chose to go with a more subtle approach where the duo would appear in different parts of the music video and play several different characters. This film was also an official selection at the Reel World Film Festival here in Toronto last summer (Summer 2010).
Though the budget was very low, I do not think this kept the message from coming across.
I am shooting another very low budget and very guerrilla style music video soon. So keep an eye out for that!
Ko Ping Music Video from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
The approach to this music video was almost more of a film narrative. I had never shot a music video before but I wanted more than just the typical cookie cutter video formula: Band rocking out with their instruments plus the occasional female eye candy.
We chose to go with a more subtle approach where the duo would appear in different parts of the music video and play several different characters. This film was also an official selection at the Reel World Film Festival here in Toronto last summer (Summer 2010).
Though the budget was very low, I do not think this kept the message from coming across.
I am shooting another very low budget and very guerrilla style music video soon. So keep an eye out for that!
Ko Ping Music Video from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Ok Go "End Love" Music Video
This band Ok Go makes some of the coolest music videos. You may know them as the band who did the music video with treadmills called Here It Goes Again, which was supposedly done at a very, very low cost.
Besides their catchy hipster tunes, they make some awesome music videos. The one below is called End Love (introduced to me by my good friend and DOP James Hellyer) and it was done as a one-taker (something I've been dying to try) and they apparently shot about a million frames in 18 hours of shooting. And yes... A MILLION FRAMES.
This kind of shoot requires a lot of patience, planning and choreography. They were constantly ramping and slowing down the frame rate, but remained in lip-sync.
One of the details that impresses me is despite the constant ramping speed, the lighting remains consistent and is not distracting. To those not in film, when you shoot slow-motion you are ramping the frame rate, hence each frame, whether digital or actual film, needs more light for proper exposure. The reverse is true about shooting fast-motion: longer exposure needs less light. In a one-taker like this, the camera probably has some kind of automatic sensor or someone was paying A LOT of attention and was constantly changing the aperture according to the speed.
In addition, it was a pretty sunny day there in Los Angeles where they shot, so the lighting exposure changed throughout the day meaning you had to compensate for this as well (morning, noon, evening and then night).
This music video was probably a WHOLE LOT of work but it paid off!
Anyway, this is a neat music video over-all and just a lot of fun. I really like it and I thought I would share it with you all.
object width="720" height="480">
Besides their catchy hipster tunes, they make some awesome music videos. The one below is called End Love (introduced to me by my good friend and DOP James Hellyer) and it was done as a one-taker (something I've been dying to try) and they apparently shot about a million frames in 18 hours of shooting. And yes... A MILLION FRAMES.
This kind of shoot requires a lot of patience, planning and choreography. They were constantly ramping and slowing down the frame rate, but remained in lip-sync.
One of the details that impresses me is despite the constant ramping speed, the lighting remains consistent and is not distracting. To those not in film, when you shoot slow-motion you are ramping the frame rate, hence each frame, whether digital or actual film, needs more light for proper exposure. The reverse is true about shooting fast-motion: longer exposure needs less light. In a one-taker like this, the camera probably has some kind of automatic sensor or someone was paying A LOT of attention and was constantly changing the aperture according to the speed.
In addition, it was a pretty sunny day there in Los Angeles where they shot, so the lighting exposure changed throughout the day meaning you had to compensate for this as well (morning, noon, evening and then night).
This music video was probably a WHOLE LOT of work but it paid off!
Anyway, this is a neat music video over-all and just a lot of fun. I really like it and I thought I would share it with you all.
object width="720" height="480">
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Bed Head Fall 2010 Commercial - "Dream in Luxury"
I recently shot a web commercial for Bed Head Pajamas, a couture line pajama company based out of Los Angeles. Their pajamas have appeared in various daytime shows such as Martha Stewart and countless prime time network and cable shows such as How I Met Your Mother, Medium and the HBO powerhouse True Blood. Bed Head Pajamas also made it to the big screen as it was featured on Sex and the City: The Movie.
For this shoot, I decided to create three dream like situations for each of the girls and their pajama patterns. I also wanted to be more experimental with the shoot and Bed Head was kind enough to give me a lot of creative liberties. However, I did make sure to remember that the centerpieces of the shoot were the pajamas.
Enjoy!
Bed Head Homepage:
www.bedheadpjs.com
Bed Head Pajamas Video on Website Link:
http://bedheadpjs.com/fallcollection.aspx
Bed Head Commercial "Dream in Luxury" Fall 2010 Collection from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
Bedhead "Dream in Luxury" from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
Directed/Edited/Shot by Jullian Ablaza
Music Composition by Chris Lee (Fiction Music)
For this shoot, I decided to create three dream like situations for each of the girls and their pajama patterns. I also wanted to be more experimental with the shoot and Bed Head was kind enough to give me a lot of creative liberties. However, I did make sure to remember that the centerpieces of the shoot were the pajamas.
Enjoy!
Bed Head Homepage:
www.bedheadpjs.com
Bed Head Pajamas Video on Website Link:
http://bedheadpjs.com/fallcollection.aspx
Bed Head Commercial "Dream in Luxury" Fall 2010 Collection from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
Bedhead "Dream in Luxury" from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.
Directed/Edited/Shot by Jullian Ablaza
Music Composition by Chris Lee (Fiction Music)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Making of "Producto Ng Pilipinas"
Last April to May, I set out to shoot a feature length documentary in the Philippines. The documentary was about an uplifting story a woman who literarily rescued herself and her family from extreme poverty by making a universal all-time favorite sandwich spread: peanut butter.
It was my first attempt at a production of this magnitude. I say "magnitude" because everything I've shot since then has been anywhere between 1 minute and 15 minutes; so, a 90-120 minute piece is significantly larger in scale than anything I have done.
I am going to try to tell you all as much as I can about the process of putting together this film without actually spoiling the documentary for you. I will give you an insight on my thought and organizational process and hope that this will interest you all as it is as much a part of the creative process as actually framing, picking and choosing shots.
One of the things I learned about documentary filmmaking was that as much as I can be a bit of a control freak, as almost all directors are, that it was just as important to be malleable as it is to be rigid in decisions. For example, I KNEW from the moment I decided to shoot this documentary that I was going to shoot it on an Canon EOS 7D - an HD-SLR. I specifically chose this camera for the purpose of maneuverability and sturdiness, despite the fact that it is a stills camera. Artistically, I chose it because I wanted to have the options of swapping lenses. One of the things I STRESSED the most going into this documentary and talking to my director of photography (James Hellyer) is that I want this documentary to be CINEMATIC. He did a wonderful job of getting all the shots I specifically wanted and did a great job of lighting interviews as well. I had worked with James on several occasions and I knew he would pull through as always. I want want to tell a story as cinematically and as artistically as my abilities will let me. It was a wonderful choice and I love my Canon 7D - I pushed that camera to the limit. So, for the camera, we had 2 Canon 7D bodies and 7 (yes, 7) lenses in our kit.
So, the camera was something I was NOT going to compromise on no matter what anyone said and it paid off.
Anyway, going back to being malleable... Originally, I had all these plans to shoot these spectacular motion/dolly like shots the way I would on a narrative project. It just did not work. We did not have the time or the logistics to put these kinds of shots together, so I rolled with it. I, instead, picked shots I could do in motion with a car and really made an effort to sharpen my skills with static, panning and tilt shots with a tripod. In the end, I think the shots look beautiful and it was a great way to continue to exercise fundamental filmmaking movements.
Another part of the project that took planning and I am really glad I did not try to skimp on was SOUND. My sound recordist Scott Brachmayer was amazing. He was patient, technically sound and always kept an ear out for issues. Let me tell you, for all those out there making documentaries, commercials, narratives: treat your sound man well, he will make or break your film and sound is the most important, yet most under appreciated job on the set. Because I chose to go with the Canon 7D HD-SLR, I knew I would need quality sound and it paid off. The sound coming off of the sound device was amazing compared to the on-board mic on the camera for obvious reasons... I don't think anyone has really used the 7D to this extent on a documentary shoot.
I now had quality footage and quality sound coming out of the documentary.
Of course, months before actually flying out to the Philippines I had to plan, plan, plan... I believe the saying is: Prior Preparation Prevents Possible Problems... the 5 Ps in filmmaking. I was not prepared to let anything go wrong during principal photography because I was lazy before the shoot.
So, I spent countless weeks awake up until 3 or 4 in the morning here in Toronto because I was getting in touch with people in the Philippines. For those of you who do not know, the time difference is twelve hours, thirteen during daylight savings. That meant I was receiving important emails between midnight and 4AM which I would need to respond to immediately. I worked and planned this shoot between the months of January and April.
It was difficult and stressing. I put together a huge binder with 5 redundancies (one for myself and a bunch for my crew). In that binder I put my interviewees information, my general and pre-planned interview questions for every single person, locations I wanted to shoot, budget and, of course, schedule. I had one month of scheduled shooting and almost every day was full. I broke down every day to what we were shooting and left a bit of wiggle room for problems and adjustments.
One of the biggest blessings was having a good crew on hand. My DOP and Sound Recordist did a great job and when you're working with people day in and day out for a long period of time, you better get along, if not, it will be a LONG and painful production. Luckily, I had two great teammates for this documentary. So if you are planning a long shoot, choose wisely and do not compromise the quality of your production for anything and the quality of your personnel.
I could go on forever wit this post, but I will stop here. I have much more to write about from planning to my unbelievable rediscovery of my homeland, from technical problems to lessons learned.
For now, this will do. I leave you this first video we actually did while we were there. It just shows us getting to the Philippines and shots at the airport. Here are some photos from the trip as well.
It was my first attempt at a production of this magnitude. I say "magnitude" because everything I've shot since then has been anywhere between 1 minute and 15 minutes; so, a 90-120 minute piece is significantly larger in scale than anything I have done.
I am going to try to tell you all as much as I can about the process of putting together this film without actually spoiling the documentary for you. I will give you an insight on my thought and organizational process and hope that this will interest you all as it is as much a part of the creative process as actually framing, picking and choosing shots.
One of the things I learned about documentary filmmaking was that as much as I can be a bit of a control freak, as almost all directors are, that it was just as important to be malleable as it is to be rigid in decisions. For example, I KNEW from the moment I decided to shoot this documentary that I was going to shoot it on an Canon EOS 7D - an HD-SLR. I specifically chose this camera for the purpose of maneuverability and sturdiness, despite the fact that it is a stills camera. Artistically, I chose it because I wanted to have the options of swapping lenses. One of the things I STRESSED the most going into this documentary and talking to my director of photography (James Hellyer) is that I want this documentary to be CINEMATIC. He did a wonderful job of getting all the shots I specifically wanted and did a great job of lighting interviews as well. I had worked with James on several occasions and I knew he would pull through as always. I want want to tell a story as cinematically and as artistically as my abilities will let me. It was a wonderful choice and I love my Canon 7D - I pushed that camera to the limit. So, for the camera, we had 2 Canon 7D bodies and 7 (yes, 7) lenses in our kit.
So, the camera was something I was NOT going to compromise on no matter what anyone said and it paid off.
Anyway, going back to being malleable... Originally, I had all these plans to shoot these spectacular motion/dolly like shots the way I would on a narrative project. It just did not work. We did not have the time or the logistics to put these kinds of shots together, so I rolled with it. I, instead, picked shots I could do in motion with a car and really made an effort to sharpen my skills with static, panning and tilt shots with a tripod. In the end, I think the shots look beautiful and it was a great way to continue to exercise fundamental filmmaking movements.
Another part of the project that took planning and I am really glad I did not try to skimp on was SOUND. My sound recordist Scott Brachmayer was amazing. He was patient, technically sound and always kept an ear out for issues. Let me tell you, for all those out there making documentaries, commercials, narratives: treat your sound man well, he will make or break your film and sound is the most important, yet most under appreciated job on the set. Because I chose to go with the Canon 7D HD-SLR, I knew I would need quality sound and it paid off. The sound coming off of the sound device was amazing compared to the on-board mic on the camera for obvious reasons... I don't think anyone has really used the 7D to this extent on a documentary shoot.
I now had quality footage and quality sound coming out of the documentary.
Of course, months before actually flying out to the Philippines I had to plan, plan, plan... I believe the saying is: Prior Preparation Prevents Possible Problems... the 5 Ps in filmmaking. I was not prepared to let anything go wrong during principal photography because I was lazy before the shoot.
So, I spent countless weeks awake up until 3 or 4 in the morning here in Toronto because I was getting in touch with people in the Philippines. For those of you who do not know, the time difference is twelve hours, thirteen during daylight savings. That meant I was receiving important emails between midnight and 4AM which I would need to respond to immediately. I worked and planned this shoot between the months of January and April.
It was difficult and stressing. I put together a huge binder with 5 redundancies (one for myself and a bunch for my crew). In that binder I put my interviewees information, my general and pre-planned interview questions for every single person, locations I wanted to shoot, budget and, of course, schedule. I had one month of scheduled shooting and almost every day was full. I broke down every day to what we were shooting and left a bit of wiggle room for problems and adjustments.
One of the biggest blessings was having a good crew on hand. My DOP and Sound Recordist did a great job and when you're working with people day in and day out for a long period of time, you better get along, if not, it will be a LONG and painful production. Luckily, I had two great teammates for this documentary. So if you are planning a long shoot, choose wisely and do not compromise the quality of your production for anything and the quality of your personnel.
I could go on forever wit this post, but I will stop here. I have much more to write about from planning to my unbelievable rediscovery of my homeland, from technical problems to lessons learned.
For now, this will do. I leave you this first video we actually did while we were there. It just shows us getting to the Philippines and shots at the airport. Here are some photos from the trip as well.
 |
| The Arena |
 |
| C5 Highway |
 |
| Mount Sinai |
 |
| Best Friends |
 |
| Prisoner of Poverty |
 |
| Gathering Sound |
 |
| The Crew |
 |
| The Aftermath |
Friday, July 30, 2010
"The Cove"
(I am going to try my best to give my opinion without spoiling the story and plot of the film for all of you who may be interested in seeing this film).
Quote from the Film: "The dolphin's permanent smile hides its true feelings."
The Cove is one of the most powerful documentaries I've seen. The production quality of this project was excellent (Yes, I have taken into consideration the seemingly enormous budget they had for this undertaking), but more importantly the rhythm of the story telling. Any good filmmaker will tell you that it starts with the story. It doesn't matter if you have millions of dollars at your disposal; if you cannot tell a story properly, it's all a waste of time.
The most important thing The Cove achieves is awareness and this is the beauty of documentaries - they say it as one of the opening lines "I do want to say we tried to do this story legally..." The documentary is really about the clandestine methods this team used to expose the atrocities that occur in the small town of Taijin in Japan; the filmmaker Louie Psihoyos really spared no expense.
This documentary is straight out of an espionage movie, complete with underwater cameras, camouflaged devices and a team with important skill sets from free-divers to a moldmaker from the famous Industrial Light and Magic studio.
The documentary is beautifully paced. The overarching story is never lost but they make sure to bring in subplots, specifically Ric O'Barry's significance to the history of the popularization of dolphins and mercury poisoning.
Here is a trailer for the film:
And here is a commercial I really enjoy. It is a Japanese commercial and I thought of it right away when I watched this film.
Quote from the Film: "The dolphin's permanent smile hides its true feelings."
The Cove is one of the most powerful documentaries I've seen. The production quality of this project was excellent (Yes, I have taken into consideration the seemingly enormous budget they had for this undertaking), but more importantly the rhythm of the story telling. Any good filmmaker will tell you that it starts with the story. It doesn't matter if you have millions of dollars at your disposal; if you cannot tell a story properly, it's all a waste of time.
The most important thing The Cove achieves is awareness and this is the beauty of documentaries - they say it as one of the opening lines "I do want to say we tried to do this story legally..." The documentary is really about the clandestine methods this team used to expose the atrocities that occur in the small town of Taijin in Japan; the filmmaker Louie Psihoyos really spared no expense.
This documentary is straight out of an espionage movie, complete with underwater cameras, camouflaged devices and a team with important skill sets from free-divers to a moldmaker from the famous Industrial Light and Magic studio.
The documentary is beautifully paced. The overarching story is never lost but they make sure to bring in subplots, specifically Ric O'Barry's significance to the history of the popularization of dolphins and mercury poisoning.
Here is a trailer for the film:
And here is a commercial I really enjoy. It is a Japanese commercial and I thought of it right away when I watched this film.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Dir. Bruno Aveillan & Louis Vuitton Commercial
This is one of my favorite visual commercials. Bruno Aveillan is a French commercial director who I have been recently following. I really enjoyed this piece of his because of his amazing use of cinematography, his attention to detail and just the overall aesthetics that comes into trying to visually communicate the concept of "discovering your world."
He combines shots beautifully as if every frame is a still photo. You can really feel the textures of each shot from the brick walls to the water droplets on the window. He captures the elegance from every location he goes to - not an easy feat.
I personally enjoy (and aspire to direct) commercials like this that go back to the fundamentals of cinema, where directors (even commercial directors) choose to SHOW and not TELL. The audial aspect of the commercial is simple and exquisite and works perfectly hand-in-hand with the commercial.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
New York, New York
This last trip to New York City was probably one of the best I've ever had. Though I'd been to New York several times, but this trip felt the most overwhelming. My best friend Guillermo and I covered a ton of ground in two days. I got to check out the Metropolitan Museum and see an art installation on the roof built from bamboo and cables (see photos), enjoy central park despite the blistering heat and eat at Lombardi's Pizzeria, which brags being the first pizza joint in New York.
I shot most of the stills in black and white on purpose - no desaturation in post. There's a rustic elegance about New York City that I felt black and white captured better than color.
Enjoy!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Inaugural Post & My REEL 2010
Hello All,
So I know I'm a latecomer to the whole blogging phenomenon, but I never really had anything to blog or share with the world until now. This being my first post, I figured I guess it would only make sense to explain why it is I'm blogging in the first place and what it is I am blogging about...
For those of you who know me, I make films and video and thoroughly enjoy photography. Filmmaking has been my chosen path in life and I love it. I know a lot of people probably never expected it from me, but it was something I always wanted to get into when I was younger but never really had a way of doing it or know how I was going to go about getting into films. It was in my undergrad at Boston University that I really embraced my desire to get into filmmaking.
Today I've worked on music videos, commercials and a feature length documentary (which I will probably be writing more about in the upcoming posts) all on a micro-level. I direct, produce and edit most of my own work, which is extremely stressful and time-consuming (for those of you in the business, you know what I'm talking about), but also very rewarding because you learn to become self-sufficient and you are constantly learning.
This blog is really about two things... It's a way for me to present my work to the world and a place where I want to be able to share my thoughts on film/video, cinema and photography with all of you. I want to be able to share my experiences as I grow in this art because it really is a process and I have a long, LONG way to go before I reach the ranks of the Jean-Paul Jeunets, the Aveillans, and the Gondrys of this world.
So I hope you'll all enjoy what I have to share with you and I really want to hear all your opinions and recommendations on films, photography and cinema as I am always looking for new inspirations and gain new knowledge.
So I know I'm a latecomer to the whole blogging phenomenon, but I never really had anything to blog or share with the world until now. This being my first post, I figured I guess it would only make sense to explain why it is I'm blogging in the first place and what it is I am blogging about...
For those of you who know me, I make films and video and thoroughly enjoy photography. Filmmaking has been my chosen path in life and I love it. I know a lot of people probably never expected it from me, but it was something I always wanted to get into when I was younger but never really had a way of doing it or know how I was going to go about getting into films. It was in my undergrad at Boston University that I really embraced my desire to get into filmmaking.
Today I've worked on music videos, commercials and a feature length documentary (which I will probably be writing more about in the upcoming posts) all on a micro-level. I direct, produce and edit most of my own work, which is extremely stressful and time-consuming (for those of you in the business, you know what I'm talking about), but also very rewarding because you learn to become self-sufficient and you are constantly learning.
This blog is really about two things... It's a way for me to present my work to the world and a place where I want to be able to share my thoughts on film/video, cinema and photography with all of you. I want to be able to share my experiences as I grow in this art because it really is a process and I have a long, LONG way to go before I reach the ranks of the Jean-Paul Jeunets, the Aveillans, and the Gondrys of this world.
So I hope you'll all enjoy what I have to share with you and I really want to hear all your opinions and recommendations on films, photography and cinema as I am always looking for new inspirations and gain new knowledge.
Before I go, here's a montage reel of some things I've shot in the past year or so.
Enjoy!
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