Hello everyone. I’ve just created a new sound reel. Often producers request to see samples of my sound work. So I’ll go online, collect links and send them off. After another recent request I felt inspired to collect some recent samples of my work and cut them into a promotional video reel. Although we are all impressed with the stunning visuals, try watching them without the sound! I’ve been really excited to be doing more audio work in the past 12 months. Exciting projects have included Love in the Year 2000, The Painted Mara, f5 Lasercats, TEKsystems Thrift Shop parody and most recently A Damn Dirty Night. Next week I’m off to Roslyn Washington to record sound for Frink.
As the sound picked up I added a Tascam DR-680. My Zoom H4N is now there as a backup. I purchased the superior Rode NTG3 shotgun to my kit alongside my Rode NTG2. To me 9 foot carbon fiber boom pole I’ve added a 12 foot aluminum pole. The short one I use for indoors and the long one for out. I also purchased a windjammer and blimp for recording audio in high wind situations and a Petrol sound bag.
So this week added wireless. I pulled the trigger on the Sennheiser ew 100 ENG G3 Wireless Deluxe Kit which includes the Voice Technologies VT500 Lavalier Microphone, Electro Voice RE50/B Omni-Directional Handheld Mic and the plug in transmitter for handheld mic or transmission from a sound board.
This reel includes clips from Causality, f5 Lasercats, Love in the Year 2000 , The Painted Mara and TEKsystems Thrift Shop. Although I am certainly available as a production sound mixer and boom operator I am still active and working as a director, editor, cinematographer and photographer. All creative and professional inquiries are welcome!
I’m on the plane preparing to depart Ted Stevens Airport in Anchorage for my flight home to Seattle. Anchorage is a hotbed for film and culture. Or is at least well on it’s way. The folks in the Alaska film office are really friendly. I registered with them as a director, sound and camera guy. Sometimes in helps to have parents on Alaska. But heck, I sure miss them most of the year. I’m hoping my networking efforts will lead to work in the growing production industry in Alaska and throughout the Pacific Northwest.
I also enjoyed the lively theater in Anchorage. In particular off Broadway hit “Freud’s Last Session” at Cyreno‘s Off Center Playhouse in Downtown Anchorage. Me, my brother Wayne and niece Carmie all took in a day of skiing at the municipal ski area “Hilltop”. The slopes were mostly gentle which suited us just fine. It was the first time on a lift for Wayne and Carmie and my first time since 1985. At the end of the day we were all swooshing down the slopes like pros.
I really enjoyed the photo ops in the Chugiak Mountains near my parent’s home, at Hatcher Pass and on the frozen lakes. Hopefully I will have some more of those to share with you here soon.
As always Alaska, you offer so much and always leave me wanting more.
The friendly Eskimo prepares to fly me to my home.
Me, my brother Wayne and niece Carmie, having an excellent time at Hilltop Ski Area.
With warm December temperatures, these ducks decided to hang out at Reflection Lake in Anchorage.
I took this photo looking South from the Chugiak Mountains above Anchorage
Seattle’s had been experiencing a very mild Winter until the epic snowstorm of January 2012. While maybe not epic to those outside of Seattle it was a welcome break from the regular. Now that rains has returned and slush flows freely in the streets I and many like me have returned to the norm. My response to the brief exposure to cabin fever was to double down my focus on creative pursuits doable in or near my home.
A Winter Road
The first project was a set of HDR photos of the farm up on 88th. It’s a lovely vista with a peak of Lake Washington in the distance. I hope that 10 years from now that it isn’t being converted to Apartments!
The Yellow Bird
The next project happened when I was getting ready to ride my mountain bike in the snow. I had the door open as I got my gear ready for the ride. I saw lovely yellow and black bird flying around the porch maybe looking for some shelter from that snow. Suddenly he was in the house. I grabbed my camera and shot some video before I attempted my rescue. Watch the short film to find out what happened next. Turns out he was a Townsend’s Warbler who had been fooled my our mild winter.
My other big projects this week were two days of Gaffing and Cinematography for the web series GLITCH and a portfolio set starring my bike in the snow. I’ll try to post that group soon. It includes an interesting 360 degree panorama of my bike in the snowy forest. I’ll search for a place to host it online.
Other good news this week includes 3 jobs in addition to GLITCH, includes documentary and portrait photography commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Dr Donald and Mary Malins, a promotional video for Dex One – Rooster Down Tattoo Gallery and a series of videos for an Eastside SEO guru. The week before I landed a gig to do work as a boom pole operator/sound mixer for a short film highlighting the treatment on Filipino veterans of WWII. 2012 is off to a good start!
This is a website for a short science fiction film I worked on this Spring. I was a Boom Pole/Sound Mixer. I also took some kick ass production stills during my breaks. Check it out. In talking recently with the director Dave Miller I believe the premier will be coming up later this Fall. The film was shot on 35mm film on $150 thousand dollars of professional equipment donated from Panavision. I was balancing things quite nicely with my Zoom H4N digital recorder, Senheisser ME67/K6 Shotgun Mic, K-Tek Boom Pole and Senheisser HD 280 Pro Headphones
Lucky is a “relationship representative” who saves prospective couples the time and drudgery of courtship by professionally standing in for one of the parties on a first date. She evaluates the level of likely interest in the other party on behalf of her client. In the year 2000, the use of relationship representatives has become so widespread, it is a near-certainty both parties are representatives standing in for their respective clients. Lucky finds herself in an unusual predicament and a role for which she never rehearsed, when she is assigned to meet with Lena Nigari, a young woman doing something unheard of — going on a date herself.
Alice: A collaboration with filmmaker Amanda Murphy.
As a filmmaker myself this film helps points out the power of collaboration. So often our creativity becomes stymied. We focus on future gigs, new production and editing software, new cameras. We forget that the reason we started this process was so that we could create and collaborate with other artists.
The production plan for the camera department was largely improvisational. My approach to the production was similar way I approached my Dutch Bikes piece; to discover the essence of a “process”. Of course more goes into it then that. Amanda and I are both graduates of the film program at Seattle Central. I should warn folks that some of the shots in this film may be difficult to view. For my part I am impressed with it’s overall quality. Amanda edited the piece nicely.
The project was filmed in Capital Hill neighborhood of Seattle Washington. The camera used was the Canon EOS 7D. The lenses used were the Canon 50mm f/1.8 and the Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-f/5.6.. Lighting was achieved through practicals. The music is from Nine Inch Nails Ghosts I-IV released by Trent Reznor under a Creative Commons license. I was attracted to the interesting decorations found around the studio apartment and included some of them in my shots. Amanda was a brave and talented performer/filmmaker.
The film program at Seattle Central is scheduled to end forever in 2014, barring an economic miracle. I am still holding out hope that the program can be saved. Perhaps with closer integration and a sharing of resources with the existing photography program and the schools Creative Academy? It would be sad for future students to miss out on an opportunity to create. Seattle’s art, film and media communities will miss the yearly influx of talented technicians and artists.
Thanks to some help from my friends at Bellevue College I have the privilege of being one of 6 students for the live webcast of Gale Tattersall’s master class on DSLR Cinematography this weekend at creativeLIVE studios on Seattle. If you don’t know him already Gale is the Cinematographer on the hit television series HOUSE MD. Last year he helped shake up the world of network television. The season finale for “House” was shot entirely on the Canon DLSR’s. This award winning episode was noted for it’s outstanding camera work and cinema like imagery. All this on cameras that cost less then $3,500.
At a recent meeting of the Bellevue Film Society we were making plans for the shooting of our short film REMINISCE. After the meeting a few of us got together to shoot a short promo video for creativeLIVE so that I could be in the running to be a student of Gale’s. My video was selected! I’ll be joining 5 other students starting Friday to learn directly from one of Hollywood’s master cinematographers. The class will be available for live streaming from creativeLIVE.COM and later made for sale as a DVD. Check out the videos below. The 1st has some information from Gale about this weeks class. The 2nd one is my winning entry.
I am living now in my new/old home town region Bothell/Kenmore. This is where I was brought home from the hospital after my birth and where I started elementary school. I finished elementary school in Bellingham. Later I graduated from Whatcom Middle School, Bellingham High and WWU/Fairhaven College. As an adult I have also lived in Seattle, Lakewood, Bremerton & Auburn. Now the long and winding road has taken me home to the Bothell/Kenmore area. Here as a kid me and my friends would hike up Swamp Creek, sell apples to earn money for the Canyon Creek Trout Farm and some adventures I just can’t mention here. Last night with my brother Tyler from Colorado and my niece Carmie from Alaska I enjoyed the fireworks at Logboom Park in Bothell. I brought my HD camera along and recorded some raw HD video. So for a patriotic flashback to July 4th 2011 please enjoy!
I was at the event she mentions in her blog. Actually two panels hosted by Seattle’s chapter of Women in Film. One on Film Financing and the other on Film Distribution. I filmed an interview with Scilla Andreen from Indieflix a few weeks back. I find the whole idea of making money very interesting. Especially for making films which are art.
Other good news. Me and Wenda Zonnefeld share a silver medal for our collaboration on “Marcell” from the Park City Film Music Festival. Here is the posting:
Silver Medal for Excellence in Original Music for a Short Film for the film MarcellComposer(s) Wenda Zonnefeld / Director(s) Michael Kleven
I need to learn how to use Kellie’s good advice now that I am an award winning filmmaker for Marcell! I am currently wrestling with pulling my films from Youtube and Vimeo and selling them, or learning how to give them away more successfully. My music video Ending the Dhoom is about to release. I am in love with it. But it cost more to make then I was paid. I’ll find it hard to remain a full time working artist unless I can find a way to change that trend soon!
Thomas Beale Cipher: How to Launch your film: www.tiny9.com/u/9841
10 Million Colors: photographs from the 2009 & 2008 Fremont Solstice Parade will be seen at the month of June at the 509 Winery tasting room in Fremont. Look for me Friday June 3rd for Art Walk. The artist will be in attendance for the opening. The musical group The Jelly Rollers will be providing music to go along with the fine wine and art.
A parade participant prepares.
Happy Face
Medical Marijuana Advocates at the Fremont Solstice
The photographs, all tastefully remastered in Lightroom will be available for purchse. The address of the 509 Wintery tasting room is 1300 N Northlake Way, Seattle WA 98103. Visit their website for more information about their fine selection of wines from Walla Walla. http://www.509wines.com/
Tricia posed for me at Logboom Park and the cement plant near Kenmore Air in Kenmore. She was a real trooper walking out into the abandoned construction site in her form fitting dress and heals. It was great to work with her. A really fun, lighthearted personality. Aesthetica does fashion, lifestyle and portfolio photography. Drop me a line and we can arrange a session at your convenience.
