sfBIG Trailer

Last week I had the pleasure of watching my coworker and his band perform. Every year sfBIG has a battle of the bands. A large crowd of marketing folks looking for fun headed to the Great American Music Hall here in San Francisco. Last year my coworker’s band, Rainbow Brite and the Flaming Cobra Death Skulls, came in second. They were out for blood this year.

My first concert shoot, I came armed with my 60D and 5D. I worked a 50mm 1.8 on the 60D and a 28mm 2.8 on the 5D. I didn’t have a loupe for the 5D so focus was tough at times. I pushed myself front and center before each band, and tried to get back for wide shots as their sets progressed. I had a Zoom H1 in my audio bag at my hip, collecting sound for at least one song per set. Next time I’d love to be able to just drop a mic in front of a speaker so I can collect more. Between diving, bobbing, kneeling, and trying to get the shots, I was battling along with the bands. It was hard work, but well worth the payoff.

Watch the trailer above to see what went down. Stay tuned for a longer length video of all the bands, as well as a special showcase for the winners.

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Cornhole Kids

Back from a nice, hot vacation in New England, here’s my ode to bags. Shot with my 60D with a fader ND. This is my first real edit of the summer. My last being my Cribs entry for work, which was shot with a FlipHD for fun.

Pulling the camera out was good for me, and I’m ready for more. I’ll be shooting a battle of the bands next week for a coworker, so hang in there!

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My First Corporate Film

Well, kinda.

One of the great events my company has is called Hax Day. You work with people from outside your team on special projects. Something I’ve always wanted to do was create a video that could be shown to prospective employees to show them what a day here is like. Luckily, our Director of Engineering was also into this idea. After spending the morning at the vet with Cheech (uuf another story) I rushed to the office to get started. Working with one of our Research Analysts, we had a list of questions to ask employees to get them talking. As expected, most were not very willing. Using my quirky nature and comfort in front of the camera, I handed my rig to Adolfo to capture the footage. Koushalya braved her own camera-shyness and jumped in for some shots. At the end of the day we had a good number of interviews, and had a lot of laughs.

That night I got to the duty of encoding and synching audio. The video was shot with my 60D using the LCDVF loupe. Adolfo shot using a monopod which helped him stabilize, especially for a first time shooter. Syncing 12 clips took me most of the night. I use the sound and wav form from clapping at the beginning of each clip, but the process takes time. I’ve thought about giving Plural Eyes a try, but for now I’ll wait to see if I decide to pick up FCPX. Clips synced I was able to edit pretty quickly, using stock music Adolfo and Koushalya choose. It’s silly and kooky and really hit the theme.

The next day, after multiple computer issues, we previewed the video to the company. Rousing laughs and even some ‘awws’ went round. The video is making the rounds and I’m happy with the results. We’ve talked about making a more formal video to be used for recruiting, and I’m already thinking of ideas. This is my first project that has been seen by more than friends. The first project I had to prepare for, the first project I had a deadline for. Considering I had an afternoon and about 20 mins of prep, I think I did alright. Bring on the next one!

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Mammoth II: Princes

Ah yes, Mammoth. Our annual trip to the land of awesome. A trip where I have grand plans of shooting non-stop and making an epic video. And I usually fail. Once again, I didn’t shoot enough and had to rely on footage of our friend Jamie acting like, well, Jamie. Then again that’s usually not a bad thing and great for a lot of laughs. On this trip I even have a little cameo in the video. New friend Daniel took over my 60D while we were at a party. He got some really great shots, pretty much everything at the beer pong party was shot by him.

This edit was the first thing I’ve worked on since 2010. I was super distracted at first and didn’t know if I’d get down to business. After pushing through it I got back in the groove and I’m stoked. Can’t wait to shoot this weekend in Tahoe. Hopefully this time I’ll finally shoot enough to have some more options.

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Holiday Fort Party

What do you get when you mix children’s clothing, an adult-sized fort, and a bunch of booze? A sleepover with footie pajamas and movie watching.

We had a blast this Saturday night hanging out, snacking, watching movies, and eventually singing karaoke until 4am. The best part was when we all got sleepy at about the same time. We were like little kids, all shook up and excited, trying to stay up all night. Then in one moment we were all on the couch or under the fort asleep or almost there. Great times with my pals, and a great way to celebrate the holidays a little early.

And if you’re interested in where “onesies for funsies” came from, check out the originalI Rock Onesies video. My onesie was the red penguin flavor in the video.

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