Stories

That’s right, St. John’s University in Queens is where they come from and as far as I can tell, if they don’t pass the bar, they can always model. We spent a few days shooting at St. John’s University and met a lot of really nice people in the process while producing images for the Dean’s Report.

We also met a cab driver who was one letter away from having a bona fide old time championship wrestler name, and found out it IS possible to drive to Buffalo from JFK after working a 10 hour day thanks to (I guess…) some wind that got our Jet Blue flight canceled. Had to get home – had a JOB the next day!

In this business, you don’t call in sick. Just ask Ali!

You’d be surprised just how much you can shoot while it’s raining. This was day 2 (above) of “shooting in the rain and getting away with it”.  My new old buddy, Ed, had us back (not quite to Albany) East to shoot stills at LeMoyne College yesterday in Syracuse and we managed to capture mucho still images along side DP, Kerry Shelton while he rolled during a TV spot shoot for the school.

Besides a productive day of work, we got to visit one of my all time favorite restaurants Strong Hearts Cafe, where I discovered this lemon coconut cupcake dealio that had magical properties. Oh and Shannon found something good too (besides the BLT).

No, just kidding.

Shannon watched my back yesterday with a tethered Capture One 5 PRO rig as I shot massive amounts of still images for Innovative Concepts in Entertainment at a new state of the art “fun center” filled almost completely with their games.

There’s something very odd about shooting still images with the same camera I shoot HD video with but I like it, and the results – Talk about fun.

That’s what they say.

Yesterday I shot another commercial for the local dairy council featuring cows, kids, and regular people all talking about the health benefits of dairy products. The day was a bit windy and cold and became a bit drizzly, but it was a successful day of work, I’d say (and I ain’t easy).

We survived, the cows came home, and new local celebrities were born (I love that). Moo!

I work on a locally produced feature length film entitled “Nicholas of Myra” as a camera operator, jib operator, and Steadicam operator. Recently I ventured out to Tonawanda Island where rough, stormy sea scenes are being shot this summer with actor Michael Dentico.

I man the 18′ camera jib while the water flies and the ship is rocked and we’re pages and pages closer to completing the epic film which is a historical account of the life of St. Nicholas.

I spent a day recently shooting more testimonials for the AAA of Western New York with producer/director Peter Cumbo, this time with a slight change over the past half dozen or so forays into AAA stories. We used a 2nd camera this time around allowing for a more intimate view of our subjects who tell real life stories about their great experiences with sometime saviors, the AAA.

Matching up the look of the Canon 5D MKII camera to the Panasonic HVX200A took a little work, but in the end I think the commercials will work well, so look for them on TV soon and let me know what you think.

It was back to Rochester, NY and Powerhouse 27 sound stage recently to shoot some greenscreen footage for Valvoline Instant Oil Change with director and recent birthday boy Matt Ehlers. Always, always, always a great experience. Thanks, Carol, Todd, and Matt.

A bunch of real nice people from GACTV in Nashville flew up to shoot interviews in mid August with country music icon Toby Keith while he was in town to play a gig at Darien Lake Theme Park Resort for Toby Keith’s American Ride Tour.

I was enlisted to serve as B cameraman while my sometime Steadicam operator, Tom Wills got in on the act and shot some very nice B-roll footage with my current favorite camera, the Canon 5D MKII, which I use exclusively for stills and HD footage.

Sandwiched in between gigs was a fun little film project shooting a short film with writer/director/actor Aaron Doolittle for the 48 Hour Film Project. Aaron wrote a nice little story and rehearsed his cast after which, myself and my small crew swooped in and turned 7 pages into 7 minutes netting us a “Best Director” and “Audience Favorite” nod after the screening in front of a huge audience in early August.

I recently shot a days worth of still images on a tv commercial shoot in Albany, NY for Excelsior College and was lucky enough to drive out there from Buffalo with 2 of my best friends who were also on the job.

We worked all day with a variety of on-camera talent and then drove straight home where I finally made it into my driveway by 11:30pm (not bad!)

The work day was productive and in the end I produced something like 300 images including some in support of the video setups being shot and portraits of the on-camera talent. (August 18, 2010)