We’re quite happy to have been included in a couple of awesome art shows in Oaktown. First off we have our still and motion portrait of artist John Casey. It’s being included in his collaborative Hands Pants show at Swarm Gallery from Oct. 1 – Nov. 6th. John was fun and casual to shoot and the portrait idea lent itself readily to a both still and motion approach.

John came into the studio ready with drawn large hands, eyeballs (or replacements of) and a shirt in his artwork style. It scaled perfectly with the capturing of him drawing his own character on his face. To achieve a connection with the camera we shot through a one-way mirror allowing John to look directly down the lens. As it was a head an shoulders lock off, we could use a couple of 4×4 kinos to get a nice, soft lighting ratio and not over heat him. A little lighting from the spacelites on the cyc finished him off for illumination. I shot it on our Red One, overcranked 30fps for 24fps to help smooth out some of the actions. In post I then sped it up to cut the time down. As I reviewed the clip, I highlighted different sections to drop to normal speed to let his character and style come through. Thanks again to Tartufi for providing the perfect bit of music to compliment his rhythm.

The still portrait was a bit more conventional in lighting, primarily white to match his canvases. We have a couple of versions (mediums, wides, etc.) but chose a close up for the show to match up with the motion portrait. The finishing touches involved a few elements drawn by John, including his hair and mouth and a few of his customary hash marks.

Next up: Monsters!!!