If you do any sort of documentary, educational or promotional video work, chances are you will need to use b-roll: video footage that plays usually during an audio voice over, e.g. an employee being interviewed for a corporate promotional film is talking about how fun it is to work there, then the video cuts to […]
Featured Filmmaker Friday: Jen Moon and Reagan Zugelter of POSH (c180-031)
What do you get when you take about 30 women visual artists (give or take) on a cruise to the Bahamas? Well, today we’re going to find out as my guests are Jennifer Moon of Northernlights Fillmworks and Regan Zugelter of Studio Z Films. They are the co-founders of The POSH Retreat, an exotic and […]
Should Young Artists Study the Masters? A Classic Case of “No, but…”
Wow! I love my blog readers. One of the reasons I’m so passionate about writing this blog are YOU guys. The amazing dialog I get to be a part of every week with passionate artists. Even when we don’t always agree on a topic, I love the fact that you all can bring it on […]
Should Today’s Young Filmmakers Know the Masters?
UPDATE: Be sure to read the follow-up commentary once you’re done. My friend and photographer Carlos Baez is passionate about his craft and paying homage to the photography masters. Boy, don’t even get him started on the fact that so many of today’s young photographers have no idea who Helmut Newton is. Maybe it’s the […]
Gear Lust – Does it Ever Make Sense to Buy?
This year’s NAB revealed a whole lotta toys that makes us filmmakers drool like an 8 month old eating a double-chocolate chunk Its-Its ice cream and cookie sandwich at a 4th of July fireworks extravaganza at Disneyland. Some of the most exciting revelations were the new wave of professional camcorders designed to compete against the […]
Featured Filmmaker Friday: Kristen Souders of Bliss Productions (c180-030)
The first time I ever met Kristen* it was like meeting a celebrity. It was around 2003 or so. Kristen* was the owner/operator and creative muscle behind Bliss Video Productions (now just Bliss Productions), perhaps the premier wedding and event film studio in the San Francisco Bay Area at the time. When I had started […]
Filmmakers’ Foolish Fuss Over Frame Rates
So there’s this big debate going on in the world wide interwebs over some recent decisions made acclaimed, multi-award-winning filmmakers Peter Jackson (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy) and James “King of the World” Cameron. Is the fuss over some provocative film they’re creating that is challenging some social injustice? Nah! Oh, maybe the debate […]
A Podcast with Inspiring Filmmakers from Hollywood to Bollywood
Yesterday I posted the 29th episode of Crossing the 180, the filmmaker’s podcast that breaks all the rules. I originally started the podcast January 2010, but stopped four months into it. So for the better part of a year it laid dormant. I re-energized it a couple of months ago and it’s going strong with […]
Creating Work That Honors Both Your Style and Your Client’s Brand
Yesterday I wrote about the challenge of balancing a unique, signature style as a visual artist with authentically communicating the brand of your client. B2C studios (e.g. wedding filmmakers/photographers, etc.) will tend to benefit greatly from putting their style first. B2B studios (e.g. commercial photogs and video producers) have a more complicated task at hand. […]
Whose Brand Does Your Work Project? Yours or Your Clients?
I recently put the finishing touches on the promotional film for Shawn Reeder Photography. Shawn is an amazing photographer specializing in the Yosemite and Sierra mountain region. Shawn is one of those people who exudes this amazing sense of peace and generosity. He is Zen personified. It’s an undeniable and 100% sincere aspect of his […]