sirius thoughts

We’re getting ready to kick out a series of photos and a short art film from a sweet session we did a couple weeks ago featuring designs from Sugarpuss! As you can see from the karma shot, Jen Summers uses lingerie to inspire this line. Faces you might recognize include Jesse Bodas, Lisa Zomer and of course set meister Stacey. I am being flanked by the wonderful talent bundles known as Alexis and Angela. Hope this has wet your whistle!

Just returned from a week in Phoenix at the A’s spring training facilities shooting commercials for the 2010 Oakland A’s season. I had a great time working with director DJ O’Niel of Hub Strategy, and brought along Joe Mendoza to light and Aaron Meister to AC. I was thankful that I could bring in these key players as it proved pivotal to handling our super tight schedule. We scouted for a day and a half, picking angles, calling lenses, figuring blocking and light placement. It’s always nice to have a firm game plan going in to battle … especially since we had about two hours to shoot each spot.

The combination of key players worked together very well, including the producers/creative team from Hub and local hire keys as AD and Key Grip. So well that we were able to grab an extra spot one day and finish early every day (except the last day when we were just on time).

I’ll also have to give big ups to the A’s players who were wonderfully humored and let their natural talent come through. We ended up with some pretty funny stuff in the can.

Working with multiple players can always be a challenge as their time is tightly scheduled. Add in such variables as live bulls, firecrackers, tight restrictions on what can go on a baseball diamond and you’ve just opened a whole can of worms. But at the end of each day, and the end of the week, it was smiles all around. I’m looking forward to the next time we get together.

Early on in the process we talked about what camera to shoot on. Hub has an EX3 they’ve been using for the bulk of their work. We knew the schedule was going to be tight so we explored using a DSLR with video (like the 5D Mark II) as a light weight rig that would be easy to move around. Two things made us go in a different direction …

When we explored the scripts closer and crafted the shot list we saw we were after between 3 and 5 shots each spot. And I received a quote for a kitted out Canon 5D Mark II package with the proper accessories to shoot our setups (multiple lenses, focus rings, matte box, etc.) the quote wasn’t significantly less than a Red package (at least one in SF). I had a talk with Joe and Aaron about the different setups and we decided the best too was going to be Red.

I am no fan of carting large camera packages through airports, mainly due to the horror stories that I’ve heard from boxes tossed around spilling out. I usually open them and find both a TSA notice and things mispacked after they pawed through them, most often with something sharp resting against something it shouldn’t. Turns out, however that the price/packaging from our source in Phoenix wasn’t matching up. They were much too expensive/wrong equipment and it was cheaper to fly my package out even with USAir’s excessively stupid baggage fees.

The results are often what matter most, and the camera Red was the right call for this gig. And we kitted out their EX3 with a Pro35 adapter so the Red Prime package would work on both cameras. On set, I wasn’t terribly crazy about how they were matching up. But I’ll reserve my judgement until I’m sitting in the color session and it starts to get pushed around.

We’ve seen our way through the first installments of the series we did with Siam. The basement section has been processed and looking delicious. We shot this section last as we knew that even at her chipperest, she would only be able to withstand a few minutes at a time. Plus it took us all day to rig up the box truss and harness to place her up there safely. Such things we do for art.

I think when done, this series and the other section may hang on a wall together, but may not occupy the same frame as originally intended. But things change and you have to open to where the road leads you.

The (super awesome fun time) team reads as follows: photo: Jason Mitchell; production (set) design / retouching: Stacey Ransom; model: Siam, model: Patrick; hair / mua: Mil u Ranon; clothing designer (Siam): Meli Innes-Brown; wardrobe stylist (Patrick): Laura Hollabaugh; rigging / gaffing: joe Mendoza, Jesse Dana; grip: Mike Boyd Williams; set dressers: Rachael Nichols, Mike Boyd Williams; set construction: Tyler Murray; wrap crew: Jewlz Comita

Okay, enough already, show us the pics …

… and I’ll let you know when the short film comes together as well. We always like to double load.

We are starting to kick out our first bits of work from our Consumption series … and first out the gate is Absinthe. And we’ve melded the photo and motion works to provide a complimentary work for an enriched experience. The photos were captured using a fresh Nikon D3x at 1/250 with an old 50mm 1.2 at f8. And then we retooled the set to work with HMIs and Kinos to do the motion work on Red with the Red Primes 60fps with the lenses wide open.

While the short has a very simple narrative it does bring the story of the photo out a bit, and it leaves in of the subjectivity enjoyed by the still medium.

A taste of Absinthe … and for the movie click here.

Had an extremely prolific week last week with a pair of photo/motion shoots for our consumption series (described in an earlier post). As always you are as strong as the team you pull together.

For both shoots we had the scrumptious fashions of Meli. She pulled together a couple of gauzie numbers and a special bustle to hide a flying harness. The details are always what make the outfit with little red bows dripping down the legs and black leather straps.

On hair and makeup was the freaky stylie Mill and some fantastically big hair. I had to grab a couple specials just to highlight his concoctions. The makeup was superb and flowed with the concepts nicely providing a great punch.

And I am a bit biased, but Stacey rocked three kick ass sets to put our models into an ocean of goodness. She flipped one of the old-money sets from the first shoot to make a decayed decadance for our Absynth drinking damsel. You could put the two next to each other and you’d be hard pressed to see the similar bones.

We topped it off with some lovely motion captures that should cut into something interesting. I’ll hopefully run it through next week and have a little something to show for our efforts. I finally have the edit suite up and running at the studio. It’s painfully easy to work there in the little opportunity I’ve had so far. There is a photo shoot in there Sunday that will give me a some more time in the seat.

Another important detail is that I need to dial in the music to the piece. Something that will compliment it and find the right tone. Again, a chance to dabble in something hehe.

I’ll post up a couple of karma shots when I get home (writing this post while killing time at the tattoo shop). I want to make sure you know everyone who’s responsible for what has become. Especially cats like Joe Mendoza and Jesse Dana who helped hang Hattie through a ceiling from a box truss. It’s nice to have commrads with skills.

Received news the other day that two of our photos were selected for the 2009 APA Something Personal. There were a ton of entries for the 100 spots in the show and the judges committee consisted of top creatives at places like Goodby, Cutwater, Eleven, Wired, Elixir. And it gets cooler … there will be a happenin’ opening for the show at LeftSpace on Friday, Dec 11th (go get your free invite here). The turnout is apparently around 1400! And after the show one of the images will hang in Gallery 645 until the end of January.

I was chatting with Michael Winokur the other night and he said the entries were of a particular quality this year and having two photos in the show was pretty awesome. And here’s the super cool part … this image of Chase (Ford SF) nabbed a 4th place Judges Award! Too cool! Hope to see you there!

I had the good fortune to team up with Eric Shamlin on another project now that he’s made his move over to JVST from Goodby. As is happening these days, they had a campaign that needed the talents of both a photographer and director/dp. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles for the Nintendo Wii was making it’s push out and due to the concept at the time, they needed someone who could shoot a range of styles and stay true to the vision. The funny / ironic thing was literally the day before, Stacey and I were talking about career paths and shooting Resident Evil came up. So, uh, check.

As the industry goes with combining acquisitions, this was for print campaigns in SF and NYC plastered all over the trains and subways with corresponding web banners with motion.

And as a bonus, they opened it up to worldwide and the UK tossed in a concept.

Each setup for the US was shot both still and motion. In the directing I found myself playing the roll of the zombie to get the proper reaction when there were two ‘normal’ actors in the shot. I’m sure it must have hilarious to be down the hall from us and here me doing repetitive zombie roars (or shouting some non sequitur). And due to the cross shooting, I again chose to go with a gaffer (Charles Griswold from Little Giant) and a photo assistant (Lauren Stocker) to shape lighting and ideas … plus they’re good company on set.

We are gearing up an awesome shoot for November that is a push into our art series. This first set is a series of consumption. This refers not so much to food as is does to those things that we desire and take in and digest. It will involve a couple of fairly involved sets that Stacey will put together. A floor and a ceiling that are connected by a story. The two places go together but are never seen in the same image.  A diptych that confounds the simple observation.

Key players in our little art party include the uber talents of clothing designer Meli Innes-Brown who is hard at work on drafting something gauzy. Her work includes such things as:

On hair and make up is the fantastic fellow who helped us out this past Thursday on another shoot (pics to come soon) Mil u Ranon. He was a true pleasure to work with and I’m glad he’s coming in for this as well. His work that will be similar includes this photo:

And we have the striking Siam on board as our model who is seen both here and there. She will fit perfectly into our visions of the space and understand the delicate balance of the situation and how to behave.

Ah yes, all so cryptic … you’ll just have to wait and see.

You would think that the opening of the studio would be am all-consuming venture, bit somehow I found a way to shove in six hard-core days of production in there. This of course made the remaining time even more studio absorbant.

The jobs were pretty cool with one involving the zepplin, and the other one I can’t quit discuss yet.

So what’s left for the studio? What kind/color of chair for the studio / garage / lounge will best serve or clients and our budget. Chairs that will be used and abused by many to come. Something sturdy, comfortable and washable.

As with everything, it will be an evolution. Off to the pumpkin patch!

I couldn’t resist submitting another shot to Melissa Rodwell’s lovely and informative Fashion Photography Blog. (And I saw that another prior selectee had snagged a second week in the spotlight so I figured it couldn’t hurt.) You only gain when you take risks and this one paid off with another selection as shot of the week!

The shoot came about as we connected with Andreas Hinteregger, a hair stylist on a world tour to develop his wild hair portfolio and meet photographers. (He’s still on his trek – now in NYC – so find him and shoot with him if you can!) A few email back and forth and we were locked and loaded.

Our studio was in a horrible, no shooting in there, state of remodel and we were forced into our satellite stage (aka our garage). The smaller space limited some of our choices on set design and lighting. We had decided on a very H.R. Giger inspired look (with a sprinkling of Burton) for the concept. Stacey did an awesome job of pulling together a dynamic set out of found fabric and tubing from Scrap and Builder’s Resource that went up easy and could take an interesting shape. It also allow me to place lights behind it and give it a subtle glow that we could control to our desires.

This time we had the striking Sarah Jane from Ford … all 5′10 of her (and at 15 years old nonetheless). The tone on the set was very playful and we were able to take the concepts further into the fun zone. We had been kicking around this huge lengths of spirally hair, tying them to the set, and were getting into the “what else” stage. Stacey led the charge to start working the angle to get the hair to come toward camera (something we were all envisioning, but not how). Good teams produce great images.

On makeup, we talked ex-local Asheley Joy Beck into paying the Bay Area another visit and plying her mad skillz. She had a deft approach in matching the models and set to bring the concept together. She also saved the day for another of the concepts – seen in an earlier post – by coming up with an alternative to a look-essential bald cap (damn allergies). She’s welcome back anytime.

And Eirik Aswang provided the deliciously studded recycled rubber and grommet creations to cover the flesh and accent the concept. You can see in the image that the garment had these awesome wing bone stubs sticking out the back. It’s all in the details.

Enough talk … let’s image.