Underground Music Video – Nadia Ackerman
Nadia came to me to create a video for a recent song called “Underground” from her new album Ocean Master released via Spectra Records. We worked on some concepts for the shoot and had a solid storyboard. During the shoot I came up with a technique that Nadia absolutely loved. The film technique took the music video in a whole new direction and inspired the final cut video.
It amazes me that even a clear vision of direction can always be altered.
Credits:
Underground
Filmed By Spencer Gordon
Produced and directed by Spencer Gordon and Nadia Ackerman
Makeup By Esma May
Music and Lyrics Written by Nadia Ackerman
From “The Ocean Master” – Spectra Records 2012
Nadia Ackerman – Vocals and Piano
Harvey Jones – Synthesizer
Jon Ossman – Bass
Produced By Harvey Jones
http://www.nadiaackerman.com
The Dead Exs – All Over You – Couch by Couchwest
The concept about this video for The Dead Exs was getting it all in one take. The singer, David Patillo, originally wanted to do a dry run without video for the first take however I stated that I’m gonna roll video because you never know that take may be the ONE. We did 7 takes and guess what? The first take, the rehearsal run was the one that made the cut.
We submitted the video to Couch by Couchwest. CXCW is the slackers alternative to SXSW. During the week of March 11-18, 2012 musicians from around the world submit videos recorded on a couch, porch, bathroom…anywhere but the stage…for our enjoyment from the comfort of our living rooms. All in hopes to bring together as many people as possible who are stuck home while all their friends are stuck in the crowds of Austin, TX. So crack open a beer, crank up the volume, and enjoy the couch!
By the end of the CXCW week The Dead Exs video was the 4th most viewed! YAY!
The Dead Exs perform “All Over You” from the album Resurrection.
David Pattillo – guitar, vox
Wylie Wirth – drums
Spencer Gordon – film & edit
Oyster + Swimwear = March Madness Basketball
(FREE download of brochure click on image.)
Oyster‘s swimsuit samples were straight out of the box for this photography shoot. Francess, the co-owner of the Brooklyn based company, was very excited to be photographing her “JUMP!” Spring / Summer 2012 line of swimwear. Even though the samples had their imperfections that did not stop our photography production from moving forward. That’s only one of the obstacles we had to deal with that day. There were a few other challenges for example Oyster likes to work with “Real” models. Fortunately one model (Bryson) had worked with Oyster before but the other model (Margaret) was quite green. A new model can take up additional time and can cause a shoot to go off schedule.
I’ve worked with many NEW models. Patience is the key. Working with new models in a friendly helpful way makes them feel comfortable. By the end of the shoot Margaret was slam dunking the poses!!! The second challenge was we were on a basketball court and when school let out, well let’s just say March Madness look out! So we had to work with the kids and their pick up basketball games to negotiate them out of our shots. We eventually got one kid with his skateboard to be in a shot, which was perfect!
How did we come up with the basketball theme? Francess states “We wanted to challenge the idea that swimwear needs to be shot in exotic locations with busty, bombshell models. The Oyster customer is not interested in being overtly sexy, but sex appeal comes through in her confidence.” Oyster prides themselves working with natural-looking models that represent a more realistic young, female demographic.
Finally our biggest challenge was time. Being on location you never know when the weather is going to turn. The make up artist ran a bit over pushing the photography off schedule to a full court press pace. The forecast was for rain that late afternoon. For once the weather man was right that day. As our model walked onto the basketball court for our last shot the sky started dribbling rain drops. Francess was very concerned we were not going to finish. I told her not to worry. By this time the kids were gone and we had the basketball court to ourselves. We moved over under a large tree that provided us enough cover to do one last lay down shot that was the “layup” to wrapping up the photography shoot. Even though we started behind schedule due to hair & make up, model constraints, location elements I was able to shoot our entire shot list and still finish on time.
Oyster’s Spring / Summer 2012 swimsuit line launches this Friday March 9th. If you are in the NY area come attend the FadMashion Show click here.
Featured Article on PDNonline / PhotoServe
“The Artist” – Best Picture…. Really?
The Artist (2011) Poster
Does “The Artist” deserve Best Picture of the year? The actors Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, did and excellent job. Uggie, the Jack Russell, was superb and deserves notoriety however did not receive any. Michel Hazanavicius did a tremendous directorial of this film. Cinematography by Guillaume Schiffman was right on the money with subtle camera tricks. However, “The Artist” does NOT deserve Best Picture from The 84th Academy Awards. NOPE… Here is why. I found myself bored and force fed throughout the picture. “The Artist” lacked an engaging story that holds the viewers attention.
For instance in “Speedy” the plot revolves around Harold ‘Speedy’ Swift’s attempts to save the last horse-drawn trolley bus in New York. The film contrasts the speed of life of the contemporary city with the pace of yesteryear, represented by this non-motorized mode of transport. It was a very smart move for the story to be about a current day topic of the time engaging the viewer through a constant choreography of witty occurrences within the main story. “Speedy” was brilliantly done and more importantly it was the story that made it so captivating. This was the last silent film to be released in theaters. In the clip provided you’ll see what I’m talking about. Please disregard the cheesy computer dialog, this was the doing of the person who posted the clip on YouTube. You’ll find in “Speedy” the story delights the viewer to the level that they don’t even want to blink because they will miss something poignant and funny.
“Speedy” is a 1928 silent film that was one of the films to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director of a Comedy. It starred famous comedian Harold Lloyd in the eponymous leading role. The film was written by Albert DeMond (titles), John Grey (story), J.A. Howe (story), Lex Neal (story), and Howard Emmett Rogers (story) with uncredited assistance from Al Boasberg and Paul Girard Smith. It was directed by Ted Wilde (the last silent film to be directed by him). It was shot on location in New York City. Incredible to see NYC at that time.
Here is an example of a short silent film I shot for a client. Interesting how the male character looks similar to Jean Dujardin of “The Artist”! I also used a dancer…. that’s a coincidence. If you’d like to see the stop animation version go to my blog Magic – Stop Animation & Silent Film Video by Spencer Gordon
Do you have a film or photography project to be shot?
Contact Spencer Gordon today!
Related articles:
Oscar Nominations: The Artist, a big score for a very French Film.
The Oscars and Movie Awards Season – Carpetbagger Blog – NYTimes.com.
Risa Binder “You Made It Rain.” – Paper Heart Album
When singer / songwriter Risa Binder contacted me to shoot an off the cuff unplugged music video where she performs at a sweet shop. Intrigued with the challenge for this musician I opted to take on the assignment. At the dessert shop Risa reviews some of the sweets and then performs an acoustic guitar version with musician Ryan Bull of one of her songs, in this video Risa sings “You Made It Rain”. We shot one cold rainy afternoon in Brooklyn, NY at One Girl Cookies. Since Risa was on tight budget I planned to do this assignment solo. The trick for me was how can I get two camera angles, be mobile, work fast and not disturb the customers with obtrusive video gear. I came up with the “J Rig”.
The “J Rig” consists of a Bogen flexible magic arm, 2 stud adaptors and 1 Adorama umbrella flash bracket. Mounted to this rig was a Nikon P7000, Hero HD camera and a Sony wireless stereo mic receiver. The rig worked perfectly allowing me to move freely and still be able to use the zoom on the Nikon P7000. I directed Risa to only look at the Nikon knowing that this camera will be the “A” footage. The Hero cam was set to it’s widest setting R4 giving the “B” roll an almost fish eye look. This worked perfectly due to the tight space we were shooting in at One Girl Cookies in Brooklyn, NY. After filming for 2.5 hours and a major sugar rush from the incredible Whoopie Pies we had what we needed.
As I began the edit process I presented Risa the first cut which was just over 7 minutes. Risa informs me that her record label Warehouse Records, LLC and publicist Shore Fire Media after seeing the quality of the video wanted to use the video to promote the release of her album Paper Heart. The one requirement was we had to cut it down to 3 minutes so it could be used on the Official Facebook Music Page. After a few more edit sessions cutting the acoustic song of “You Made It Rain” in half we finished in time for Risa’s February 14th release date of her album Paper Heart.
RISA’S DEBUT OF HER PAPER HEART ALBUM – EVENT DETAILS
WHO: Risa Binder – Vocals; Doug Yowell – Drums; Ryan Bull – Guitar; Lee Nadel – Bass; Chris Lopresto – Keys; Nadia Ackerman- Background Vocals; Anthea White – Background Vocals
WHERE: Rockwood Music Hall
196 Allen Street
New York, NY 10002
212.477.4155
WHEN: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 – 7PM
RSVP: jpage@shorefire.com
Are you a musician in need of video or still shots for your CD artwork, press kits and website? Contact me and I’ll be happy to discuss your project in detail.
Related Links
Warehouse Records, LLC – Risa’s Record Label.
Shore Fire Media – Risa’s Publicist.
LYTRO Technology is Perfect for the iPhone 5
In the upcoming Inside Apple book by Adam Lashinsky, it’s revealed that Steve Jobs had expressed interest and subsequently met with the CEO of LYTRO, the makers the first light field camera.
Quote from the book:
The company’s CEO, Ren Ng, a brilliant computer scientist with a PhD from Stanford, immediately called Jobs, who picked up the phone and quickly said, “if you’re free this afternoon maybe we would could get together.” Ng, who is thirty-two, hurried to Palo Alto, showed Jobs a demo of LYTRO’s technology, discussed cameras and product design with him, and, at Jobs’s request, agreed to send him an email outlining three things he’d like LYTRO to do with Apple.
The light field technology by LYTRO is poised for the smartphone market….. especially the iPhone 5. I can’t tell you the number people I’ve seen who have simply no clue to touch the area of their screen to focus the picture. The LYTRO technology will eliminate this all together. Being “focused” on the moment before you is key. Having the ability to focus after the image is taken is a better way to approach an image.
I’ve actually had the pleasure of a hands on demonstration of the LYTRO camera. You can read about that experience on my blog post by clicking here.
LYTRO – as a camera I’d have to say NO, however as a technology LYTRO’s breakthrough will be a welcomed feature in any smartphone, tablet, digital camera or imaging device.
Related articles:
Steve Jobs Met with Light Field Camera (Lytro) Company’s CEO – MacRumors Forums.
Book details Apple’s ‘packaging room,’ Steve Jobs’s interest in advanced cameras.
Will Apple’s iPhone 5 be the only camera you’ll ever need? – Computerworld Blogs.
Nikon D4 Overview: Digital Photography Review
Nikon has finally released the news that the Nikon D4 will be on the shelves starting in February of 2012. Finally a Nikon camera with some cojones!!! I personally have been waiting for this camera since 2009 when I realized the Nikon D3s was sub-par. Some features I am excited to put the test are the facial recognition system, the 204,800 ISO which should be noisy but could play that up to create some interesting images. Ohhhh and finally the 1080p video… YES! That is the sole reason I did not purchase the Nikon D3s because it was wimping out at 720p for the video. I have to say was a bit upset to see the $6,000 price tag when the past price point for Nikon’s flagship cameras had been steady at $5,000. OUCH!!!
Here are some things to note about the Key Specifications for the Nikon D4:
• 51 AF focal points – When people’s faces are priority subjects, the Advanced Scene Recognition System delivers particularly outstanding performance. The camera’s auto-area AF mode accurately recognizes human faces and achieves sharp focus immediately and automatically
• D4 also has the all new card format.
• 16.2 effective megapixel, full-frame sensor (16.6MP total)
• 10fps shooting with AF and AE, 11fps with focus and exposure locked, 24fps 2.5MP grabs
• 91,000 pixel sensor for metering, white balance, flash exposure, face detection and active d-lighting
• ISO Range 100-12,800 (extendable from 50 – 204,800)
• MultiCAM 3500FX Autofocus sensor works in lower light and with smaller apertures
• Two sub-selector joystick/buttons for shooting orientation
• 1080p30 HD video at up to 24Mbps with uncompressed video output
• The D4 is designed for crisp stereo recording with a built-in external stereo microphone connector. Attach the compact Stereo Microphone ME-1 to record clear sound while significantly reducing mechanical noise. An external headphone connector enables use of headphones to effectively monitor and control audio in isolation. The indicators offer visual confirmation of audio level and the microphone sensitivity can be precisely controlled in 20 incremental steps.
• New EN-EL18 battery (21.6Wh capacity, CIPA-rated at 2600 shots)
• Twin card slots – one Compact Flash and one XQD
• Wired and wireless communication system
The D4 employs a built-in wired LAN function of IEEE802.3u standard (100BASE-TX). Moreover, the D4 is compatible with the compact, easy-to-connect, newly developed WT-5A/B/C/D* (optional) that realizes high-speed wireless transmission. Also, IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) data can be automatically added to the images within the camera. In addition to input with a camera, it is possible to add information to a series of images at high speed using an IPTC file created on a PC in advance. *Wireless Transmitter WT-4A/B/C/D/E is also compatible.
Below are some related articles.
Hands on: Nikon D4 review | News | TechRadar.
