WOW! Wonderful news today. A presentation pilot I shot earlier this year for the “Annoying Orange” show was picked up by Cartoon Network. More to come…
« Posts under television
Annoying Orange pilot
Day five of five:
It seem the day has arrived when I can speak of hushed things. Today we finished shooting the presentation pilot for the “Annoying Orange” television show. It went better than expected. Now it’s in the hand of post production. Here’s a bit of what I can talk about.
The stage (EVS in Glendale) was quite a sight with half painted blue and the other in green. The blue side had 5 in. worth of dirt to dub as exterior. The green side of the cyc had a set. Somehow we made it work. Why the “Let this be your last battlefield” paint job. (Star Trek, Season 3, Episode 14 – look it up.) It was a decision the VFX vendor (Mechnology) and I thought would work best for dealing with the objects, people and props combinations we would be working with. You’d be surprised how difficult blue screen is to get these days – apparently no one asks for it.
The Epic was… well… epic. Despite a handful of hiccups, which are to be expected on such a new camera, we never lost time or anything critical because of it. The size of the camera is small but still has some weight to it. By and large, the camera’s form factor give it all the joy of shooting with a HDSLR but all the great features of the Red One and more. It’s definitely a camera the show will be able to grow with. I look forward to the ability to shoot stills with the camera in an upcoming firmware update. That ability will make shooting plates so much easier and faster. I also love the wireless remote. So nice to not have order a specialty gadget to do that and it’s especially useful when shooting FX work where you don’t want to bump the camera while starting and stopping. Kudos to our DIT Eric Ulbrich who kept the workflow working and Danny at Digital Film Studios who put together our camera package. Thank you both.
As I said, the show is deep in post production. Hopefully I’ll be able to share the fruits of our labor in the coming months or better yet, maybe you’ll see it on television. When I can speak of these things, you shall know.
Last thing, I want to thank the amazing crew we had and not just Camera, Grip and Electric but also Art Department, Wardrobe, Make-up and Sound as well as the production staff who kept us going. Cheers.
Day one:
Wonderful day. Only two scenes behind but nearly 40 setups. Awesome crew. Funny, funny stuff. Great seeing the script come alive.
Red Epic behaved wonderfully. Did have a minor hiccup a few times and that was a “battery voltage spike” warning which forces you to reboot. Have heard of this in Red forums but not a big deal. Amazing startup time. I am so accustomed to minute long reboots with the Red One, now no real wait at all. Dare I say it’s almost a comfort starting or rebooting.
Took a while figuring out the Weaver Steadman – it’s been a while but did work like a charm.
Prepping for a television pilot
2011-06-11: 2311 hrs:
It’s official, we’re shooting with the Red Epic! It’s gonna be great. Can’t wait to report back.
2011-05-23: 1618 hrs:
For the past three months, I’ve been prepping for a pilot that shoots this June. My lips are sealed about it but I can say it’ll be fun for me, funny to some, and hopefully you’ll see the show later this year. As of now, here’s the a brief skinny on what’s the what. We’re shooting on the RED and there will be lots of traveling mattes on this one as well as a few miniatures sets and a guy in a squirrel suit (seriously!).
We recently did some pre-records of the show’s voice talent at Anarchy Post in Glendale. Those who graced the recording booth were such familiar names (if not voices) as Malcomn McDowell, Harland Williams, Tom Kenny (the voice of “SquarePants SpongeBob”) and Rob Paulsen (voice of Pinky from “Pinky and the Brain”) as well as Justine Ezarik of iJustine. It awesome putting them in front of a mic and letting them go. We should get the animatics later early next week with the official voices in. Again, wish I could share but… yeah for me! Looking forward to watching it all start to come together.
V-Twin TV – Ft. Lauderdale
27 Aug to 2 Sept -
Travel Day:
A storm is on its way and yet it’s dry in Texas. We’re right now hanging out at a bar in the terminal in Houston. It seems that in Texas you can’t buy a drink until after noon. Weak.
Two things are happening today that don’t inspire much confidence. The first is that plane went down in Kentucky just after takeoff. On the bright side what are the odds of lightening striking twice? (Actually it’s about 1 in 280,000.)
The other is Hurricane Ernesto. News this morning said that it has shifted and is now on a course toward Florida. Super Weak.
Funny thing. I’m still at the terminal and i have to use the “facilities” and as I’m about to sit down, there’s a mosquito hanging out at the edge of the water. The last thing I need is a bit in the rump. So as I move back to figure out how to deal with my little friend, I tripped the sensor and the toilet flushes. With that problem solved. I don’t really have a point here.
As our segment producer aptly pointed out, “we’re not in Oklahoma anymore.” It’s also the calm before the storm.
This is the first trip where I was able to stay in touch with my girl back home via iChat video. It’s cool because I get to see her and no so cool because I miss her a little bit more. Ah, to be young and in love!
Day One:
This time we’re at Eddie Trotta’s new custom motorcycle shop, Thunder Cycles. Eddie is by far and away one of the most respected custom bike builders in the nation. So why doesn’t he have his own show? Well because he’s a bike builder and not a cartoon like so many of the folks you see on TV. Ouch.
We have no idea what this cool looking ring of coolness is for, but after ten minutes, Photoshop made it a Starrgate (thanks for the joke John). “John! Come back, the shoot’s not over and the hurricane hasn’t arrived yet!” You can click on the image and see a larger version. – - [ We later found out it was going to a lighting fixture. ]
Eddie Trotta, Producers Glen and John
Sound mixer Ray and Mike (they’re both from the Florida area)
Camera Op Rich (also a Florida local)
Today’s moment of Zen:
Day Two:
It started raining but Ernesto was a bust. It rained, but hardly the deluge. It was windy, but hardly a tempest. The community is freaked-out. Long lines at the gas station, windows boarded just about everywhere and stores closing early. All for a heavy downpour. (Ernesto turned out to be a big deal after it passed Florida. It hit the Carolinas and lower New England states hard.)
Here’s a note posted on the shop restroom. These rules should apply everywhere.
Today’s moment of Zen:
[ I love industrial art/warnings ]
Day Three:
How cool is this – Eddie Trotta and Burt Baker in the same room.
The best moment? We’ll I’d have to say it was when Burt explained how his transmissions are made by an extrusion process. Extrusion is a process of shaping a material such as metal or plastic by forcing it through a die. So to describe how the process works, Burt used the human process of excreting waste matter from the bowels through the anus. A jumbled mass of waste (the aluminum is formed by the anus (the die) into a cylindrical poop (the product). What a teacher.
DON’T DO IT JOHN – LIFE IS WORTH LIVING!!!
We lived through the expected Armageddon. Ernesto amounted to about two hours worth of rain and wind and that’s it. What a disappointment. John and I both got room in the top floor of the hotel hoping to witness the devastation take place. We didn’t even see lightening.
Day Four:
Highlights of today… sayings to add to your day-to-day conversation:
While having sex, holler to your partner, “spell my name backwards!”
You don’t want your bike build by Joe Black from behind the railroad tracks!
Don’t force it, use a different hammer.
And now, today’s moment of Zen. Ohm mani padme hum.
Day Five:
How’s this for a workaround. The wide-angle adapter we use (shame on Century Precision Optics) causes a minor vignette on the lower right corner of the image. To prevent this, you simply can’t zoom out all the way. Well when you’re on the run it can be tricky without some help. Solution. A janky kludge that’s wonderfully simple.
I attached a tie-wrap around the non-moving section of the barrel between the focus and zoom ring. Under that, I placed another tie-wrap with its locking section’s protuberance on the barrel leaving the belt section perpendicular to the zoom ring and hanging over above the zoom ring’s notches. I cut it to about four centimeters and taped it to the chassis. It has to be attached this way to leave some space between the tie-wrap handing over the zoom ring and the ring itself because the notches will catch if the tie-wrap’s belt is pressed on top of the zoom ring. To work, the zoom ring has to have it’s zoom knob attached. And to set it, just zoom the lens to where you want it to stop, move the second tie-wrap in front of the zoom notch and tape it down. (The following pictures will do a better job of explaining it than I can.) We needed it to stop on 05 every time and it did just, stopping as you’d expect it to stop if the tie-wrap wasn’t there.
“Bones” – Eddie’s airbrush artist
The color of the setting sun. It was a bit drizzly and the sky’s hue was a rich canary yellow. It’s a bit creepy since it’s so unexpected and unfamiliar – not a typical Los Angeles sunset.
Your final moment of Zen.
V-Twin TV – Oklahoma City, OK
24-26 Aug – Another pushpin goes on the map for places I’ve visited this year. We’re in Oklahoma City visiting, get this… Brass Balls Bobber & Choppers (is that a company name or what!?). It’s a relatively new company, but with a long and successful pedigree. The co-owner and builder is Sam Wills – world champion racer and builder. His business partner and company creative designer and marketer is Dar Holdsworth – a successful businessman and avid bike enthusiast. Together, they’re positioning themselves on what might very well be the next big craze in the two-wheel market.
- – - – - – - – - : – - – - – - – - – : – - – - – - – - -
Ever wonder what happens when a motorcycle tire gets too close to a bumper. Opps. For what it’s worth, the shots were great.
Nothing a little spray paint can’t fix.
A motley crew if ever there was. From L to R. Dar (co-owner, Brass Balls) / DK (our sound mixer) / John (Segment Producer) / Sam (co-owner, Brass Balls) / the rouge himself (me)
The featured bike – Dar’s baby. That’s one hell of a nice bike!
Our producer can best be described as “inventive”. He found what I think is the best use of the “Hoodman”. We have two for our DVX100 cameras but they don’t usually see much use until now. He attached one to his PDA to reduce glare and thereby making his movie watching more enjoyable. The method is that he rips movies to reasonably small movie files and uploads them to removable media that he can watch from his PDA. I wonder if you’ll be seeing their product now marketed to travelers?
A very happy man.
V-Twin TV – Hesperia, CA
15-16 Aug – Blogs, at their best, are informative, educational, and even enlightening. At worst, they’re nothing more than scrawling about things no one really cares about. This entry is more of the latter.
I just got back from a two day shoot in the high desert. We shot the frame manufacturer Daytec in Hesperia, CA for V-Twin TV. It was a very straightforwards shoot so no production related tips to share.
So the only bits I found worth mentioning are the following…
One of the more endearing characterists of my former apartment in North Hollywood was a phone jack in the bathroom. So when I walked into my hotel room’s bathroom and saw the phone on the wall next to the “john”, I thought to myself, “I like this hotel.”
One last tidbit, I had to get some ice last night and while passing the front desk, I noticed the free newspapers – one in particular caught my eye and my “ulnar nerve”. Who could have possibly thought this was a cute or cleaver title for a magazine about old people?! It may not be cute or cleaver, but it sure is funny.
I couldn’t miss this opportunity to share the “senior moment” joke…
As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his car phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife’s voice urgently warning him, “Herman, I just heard on the news that there’s a car going the wrong way on 280. Please be careful!”
“Hell,” said Herman, “It’s not just one car. It’s hundreds of them!
V-Twin TV – Denver, CO
27 July
Denver bound. Flight’s delayed, so I’m still in Kansas. Get me out of here!
You don’t see this everyday in California. I don’t think I want to see the tornado shelter!
We are all a little tired – some more than most. Drool spot on the table? Maybe, maybe. (Thanks John!)
Dissolve to…
It’s wide open country. It’s dry and hot. We’re in Longmont – a 40 minutes drive north of Denver. Looks like there’s been lots of community growth around here. They’ve got construction going on everywhere. Off to eat. More later.
The sunset tonight is amazing. It smells like dirt here.
July 28
A venue and a photo shoot for today. Star Days is an annual event featuring Yamaha Star motorcycles (and some bikes that the only thing left after modification, is the Star engine). It’s also a touring event among other things.
Some pix from the photo shoot for next year’s Star calendar.
John (Prod/Dir) and DK (sound mixer) – end of the first day.
10×20 Chimera – the featured bike is on a flatbed. We’re in an rundown sugar making factory. (A sad note about the location… I was told that the owner bought the land at time when the sugar factory was up and running. The seller failed to mention that the factory was giving up its lease. It’s since been shut down and the owner can’t afford to sell it – there’s asbestos in the building – and he can’t afford to clean it up either. Now that’s messed up! Caveat emptor.)
So much for the welcome mat…
One of the featured motorcycles and the builder. This photo isn’t bad but it pales in comparison to the photo they took. The photos they took are exquisite. They’re using the new Hasselbad H2D-39 – a 39 megapixel, medium format camera with a sensor that’s twice the size of a 35mm sensor.
July 29
Old guys rule. The truth is this guy’s son IS the VP of HD. Life’s a hell of a thing. As he tells it, “I’ll give him my shirts when he give me a harley.” So far that hasn’t happen.
Some riding footage with one of the calendar winners. We got some shots of him riding between Longmont & Niwot. Ah, the knights of Niwot. I believe they require a shrubbery.
Rocky Mountain High (high Colorado)…
30 July
Homeward bound. It’ll be good to be home. It’s a silly thing but a fly hopped a ride on the flight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. That little guy will either die on that plane or exit out in Phoenix, Ontario or Los Angeles – just over 1000 miles (1600 km). Happy trails.
V-Twin TV – Kansas City
23 July – Overland Park, KS
Somewhere over America. You can click on the image to see an enlarged version. What’s up with the PacMan imagery?
We got in a couple of hours ago. We’re in Overland Park just outside of Kansas City.
First stop, a place to eat. When in Rome… We went to a KC Masterpiece restaurant. Not bad, not bad.
Lots of eating options around here. It’s been gentrified like most American cities that have reached a certain size.
24 July
John (segment producer/director) and DK (our sound mixer) admire and discuss the bike we’re featuring.
Some shots from the back and side of the chase van. I love the fact that most vans now have sliding doors on both sides.
For this shot, I sat in the back of the van. As a safety measure, I kludged a harness using some climbing “runners” and a few carabiners.
I have a long runner (approx. a five foot loop), that I twist into a figure eight and wear it like a vest with the twist on my back. Along the line on my back I add a butterfly knot (a.k.a. lineman’s loop) and attach a carabiner. That carabiner is clipped to a series of runners secured to one of the back seats. Don’t try this at home kids unless you know what you’re doing and know what kind of equipment to use.
Another shot from the side of the van.
Well?!
I saw this at the place we ate dinner at. This goes out to my good friend… you know who you are!
V-Twin TV – Delhi, CA
18, 19, 20, 21 July – Delhi, CA
On the road again… This time it’s the central California valley. Farms, fields, cows and cheese. And hot, hot, hot. They tell me “at least it’s a dry heat”. Somehow that fails to disquiet me.
We’re at Backroad Chopper in Delhi, CA. An agricultural community in the heart of the Golden State. Backroad makes choppers but they also make bobbers and other bikes (look at me, I sound like a “easy rider”).
Segment producer getting some shots while we wait for a train to race. Only one thing, no train!
I made this insert slate from one of the backs of a DVD cover. A quick and easy way of marking the head of the tape.
That’s it for now. Next stop, Kansas City.
V-Twin again – Jonesville, NC
12 July – Jonesville, NC
It’s back to North Carolina for another episode of V-Twin TV. It’s HOT, it’s HUMID, it RAINED!!! I took a walk to a corner mini mart that’s about a 200 meters away. I came back soaked. I know you’re thinking, “wow, you must be really out of shape!” No (well, maybe a little) but it was because it’s oppressively humid. You could see crepuscular rays streaking from every street light as the moisture hung in the air like a stinking, heavy, wet blanket.
13 July
So what’s it like here? Everybody smokes at restaurants. And the food is awful (or at least the places we’ve been to). IT’S A DRY COUNTY!
Every small town we’ve gone to someone always asks, “why are you here!?” Everyone seems to know the folks at the shops we’re featuring, they’re just surprised we’d be in their little town or perhaps not realize how recognized those shops are in the V-Twin community. It’s a bit funny to say the least.
Here are some pix of the bike we’re featuring called “Bloodlust”.
17 July
Home for a day and then I’m off again to central California. More from the road then…
Ah, a moment of Zen…
Morton Custom Cycles in Concord, NC
LOCATION 3 OF 3: V-Twin TV (Speed Channel)
To quote the man in black… “I’ve been everywhere“. So far on just this shoot alone I’ve been in or passed through:
Orlando, FL / Daytona, FL / Omaha, NE / Sioux City, IA / Sioux Falls, SD / Raleigh-Durham, NC / Charlotte, NC
[ Click to enlarge ]
Travel Day (17 March)
to Charlotte, NC from Sioux Falls, SD
We just finished driving to the airport in Omaha, NE (heading for Chicago Midway) and I’m sitting at the terminal gate waiting on a plane that’s now an hour late. The news of the delay spread as a rumor and jumped from passenger to passenger like the “telephone game”. It has, only a few minutes ago, been confirmed. We’re off to a great start!
The drive here was a reasonably long drive – 175 miles. I’ve been driving these past few days. I just took it upon myself to drive. It’s been nice to be sure and I think I needed it – a bit of normalcy amongst the foreignness around me. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a driving fool.
The view from the driver’s seat is filled with nothing but big skies with puffy cotton ball clouds and vast, open land dotted occasionally by farm houses and silos. Wherever you look, you find these islands of trees that surround the barns and farm houses like wagons circling settlers in the mist of an attack. In this case, the attack usually comes from the wind, snow and heat. Everything here is dry and dead right now. I haven’t seen a bird once during the past three days. Whoa, I take that back. I did see three hawks in the span on five miles. It was like déjà vu – each bird of prey was facing east and sitting on a tree that looked remarkably similar to the last. I marvel at how quickly the snow covered ground of Sioux Falls faded away to the barren land of Iowa.
Much of that South Dakota snow finds its way onto the underside of cars, trucks and semis and from time-to-time that buildup of dirty snow and muddy ice falls off. On really big trucks, when large loads of snow and ice fall off, (pardon my crudeness) it really looks like a horse in a parade taking a dump! It’s funny – real funny when you’re tired – in this case, it’s no big deal if you go over it. And then there’s the dead skunk in the road that took at least ten miles to get the smell out of the van.
The roads here are long, straight, and generally wide open. Eight miles-per-hours is the norm. These roads offers a driver a Zen like quality. Solitude and a time to focus without much thinking – at times, so much so, a chance to forget oneself. And then there’s the time where you get to think and be a little introspective. Thinking of home and friends and family and those things left behind and undone.
It hasn’t been a huge amount of time away but it’s been a lot longer than just a weekend jump. (Today marks the 12th of 18 days away.) I miss my bed and the girl I share it with. I miss her touch, her affections, her smell, her gaze. Just a bunch of guys on a road trip is fun for only so long. And let me tell you I really miss her profoundly delicious cooking that just shouts “home” to me. I think I only had two good meals this trip so far. I miss the waft of cooking as I come in the front door, I miss stinky cheese, a good Tequila cocktail, bread from La Brea, and the variety and taste of anything that’s not from a nation-wide chain restaurants. I miss Tivo, my couch, my crappy truck, my other clothes and shoes. In general, I miss home in Los Angeles and the familiar.
Signs abound here with “Omaha” written on them and with each, I am transported to my childhood my memories of watching “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”. How I loved watching that show each week and how terribly disappointed I was when it stopped airing. It was a family event to watch the show together. But hell, all good things must end.
Bye, bye Omaha…
Up, up and away. Thirty-thousand feet in the air with Chicago sprawled out beneath me and our heading is set to Raleigh, North Carolina. Below Chicago is a systematic pattern of grids. Tracks flow north and south and east and west like engineer’s paper. I love it – I have to guess that it’s easy to get around in such a set-up. My only disappointment is that our delay gave us no time to eat some authentic Chicago pizza!
Someone passed gas near by while on the plane and even with the fan aimed straight at me and set to full blast, it isn’t enough to keep the stink away. (I think someone did it on the flight out here too.) It’s a full house tonight – everyone is suspect! Tip to the traveller, always check-in online. We always do it and we always get to go in first.
All of Shy-town beneath my feet…
That’s my room in the cross-hairs. Shui!!! – Thanks Google Earth
I hate getting “juked”! In this case, the vending machine here has drinks for 80¢. I’m thinking it’s the usual 16 oz. can – what a bargain. Nope. It’s this tiny 10 oz shot. I know it’s only 6 oz. less but a matter of principle. One usually expects a 16 oz can from a vending machine and you should get one – especially when there aren’t any signs saying otherwise. I’m grumpy because I’m tired.
Anywho, it’s late here – back to -6 GMT. A thousand winks for me. Happy St. Paddy’s day…
When we drink, we get drunk.
When we get drunk, we fall asleep.
When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven.
So, let’s all get drunk, and go to heaven!
Travel Day (17 March)
to Charlotte, NC from Durham, NC
(Trees, trees, trees and I can even hear a few birds.)
(More rivers, waterways and lakes – I love bridges and trains.)
(Bikers on the road with jackets that say “North Carolina Outlaws” – HA! – the last guy on the right, his jacket says, “Probational Outlaw” – I think John said it best – “is he a pledge?”)
(I forget it’s “Hardees” here and not “Carl’s Jr.”.)
Morton’s Custom Cycles (20-22 March)
Concord, NC
Leaving for Cali this morning. We’re driving from Charlotte to Raleigh-Durham then stopping over in Phoenix and finally landing in Burbank. Here are some pix from the past few days. I’ll leave you with this… “Sweet! Like a warm toilette seat!” (How’s that for southern wisdom.)
Waiting in the terminal right now – let’s see how long the batteries last. That bit of southern wisdom came from Dan – one of the shop’s mechanics. I’ll have more on Dan later.
You can’t throw a stick in any east coast, southern state without hitting something that has some Civil War significance. Except perhaps where we were. Still the antebellum influence can be seen in the streets, architecture and even to this day, its people.
The part of Charlotte we were at is eerily reminiscent of South Coast Plaza and the surrounding communities. Affluent people, big cars, large property lots, and an attitude which I think anyone from Orange County would easily spot. If you can get past that (which is a bit hard for me) the what I saw here was nothing short of beautiful. Rich red brick on colonial style homes, fanciful Romanesque columns and round-a-bout drive ways with fountains in the center. Cherry blossoms in full bloom, staggeringly tall, old growth trees, and bold emerald
Running out of power. To be continued… same bat time, same bat channel!
The “M-tric” logo is a girl passing gas. The slogan… “Selling the best looking sound”!
Doug (shop owner) gets a first try at the board bike almost done. All that’s need is to clean up the welds, grind down some parts, paint and wire it up.
Blair (our sound mixer) testing out a custom. Standing still is more my pace, too.
The last time I had to endure sleet was in West Virginia. Most of the time it felt colder in North Carolina than it did in South Dakota.
This is how I imagine the South. Distorted? Yes. Stereotypical? Yes. Idealized? Yes, again.
Terry’s Kitchen used to be a automotive paint shop. When the business when under, Terry started a restaurant. BBQ and fantastic.
Here’s one for the books. The day before leaving we ate at a restaurant call “Harper’s”. Fine dining at a reasonable price. They’ve got a great menu and an excellent wait staff, especially ours. At the end of the meal, I asked if she could break a twenty – bad move. She coyly said, “Sure enough” and looking me dead in the eye, proceeded to tear my twenty in half. I was dumbfounded on the outside and laughing on the inside. The kid’s got moxie.
Here’s something I you don’t see everyday in Southern California – water towers. I always assumed (apparently wrongly) that the towers were water reserves. I suppose in a small way they are but they’re mostly to keep the water pressure high in outlying communities. Sweet, like a warm toilet seat.
Dan and Rodney cleans up the last of the welds on the frame of the “board racer”. At the end of the shoot, I asked if they could let me try the mig welder. They said “yes” and that might have been the best thing about this trip. Tools, fire, sparks, and molten steel – how fricken sweet is that?!
Bojangles is kinda like KFC only a little more tangy and a little more southern. The best part, all you can eat Wednesdays! Not a raw vegetable in sight.
HOMEWARD
“Ding” you are now free to roam around the country… The production company is using Southwest on our trips. I think I like this airline. The service is good, the lack of seating order has been seems to work. The way Southwest works is you’re assigned a boarding designation: A, B, C. The sooner you check-in (we check in online the night before), the chance of getting an “A” improves – an “A” designation allows you to board first. The flight attendants on this trip home were especially funny. I think it’s their thing. She would say things like “this is a no smoking, no complaining, no whining flight…” or “should the cabin loose pressure we would not have shown up to work today…”. A list material, really!
Twisted Chopper in Sioux Falls, SD
LOCATION 2 OF 3: V-Twin TV (Speed Channel)
Travel Day (12 March)
to Orlando, FL from Daytona, FL
I forgot to mention that the show airs on Speed Channel on Tuesday evenings. It’s part of Speed’s 2-wheel Tuesday or something like that…
We drove in to today. Some of the crew is flying back to Los Angeles and one of the producers and I are now off to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I didn’t know I’d be going anywhere after Florida so I don’t pack much in the way of warm clothes. I looked around today for warm clothes and boots (they left me with my own vehicle). No luck. I understand there’s a mall near the hotel – I might give it a try there.
We’re staying in Orlando today before flying out tomorrow. I was surprised to find that the neighborhood around the hotel has a small Vietnamese community. I was hoping to grab a bite at one of these restaurants but everything closes a quite early around here. (That’s something I do miss about Los Angeles – open late just about everywhere.) Maybe I’ll get some pho when I get back.
Today was to be our day off, but with so much to do, it was more of a respite. One of my errands was laundry. I got jacked! The only place I could find charged $1.50 per load and a whopping ¢25 for 5 minutes on the dryer! For those of you who don’t usually use a laundromat, that’s a lot of money.
We’re staying at the Courtyard Marriott. I have to say, it’s a real nice hotel. Free high speed internet, free printer use in the business center, and clean roomy suites. If only every shoot was this nice. I even got to go swimming for a while. I needed that.
Everywhere around here you’ll find lakes.
This is an amazing looking school. I wonder what kind of person I would have become if I had attended a school like this?
My chop sticks – Plan B when I don’t get cutlery. Like this time! (Many thanks to my friend Aaron for getting me this birthday present.)
The sign on the clock above the shop says, “between the buns” – tee, hee, tee, hee. UPDATE: I was shocked to see that THIS hot dog stand was used in “Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector”!!! Check it out in the trailer. Can I pick a location or what?!
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector – (clip from the trailer)
Travel Day (13 March)
to Sioux Falls, SD by way of Omaha, NE
It’s 1 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. I’m somewhere over Georgia or possibly Alabama.
I never tire of looking out of an airplane window. I take picture after picture and wonder what’s going on down there. The twist and turn of streets, highways, byways, toll roads and dirt trails peeking through cotton candy clouds looking like the capillaries on a leaf. I think about all the lives I’ve flown over and the vast number of communities and moments that have just passed. Tens, hundreds, thousands, even millions of people. I can’t help but wonder what event in their lives I’ve just flown over. A traffic accident, a birth, a death, a fight, a promotion, a meal being cooked, a child’s first step, a first kiss? We live such insular lives until times like these awaken our thoughts that we really are not alone. Our troubles aren’t just ours. Within those sky-scrappers and farm fields, those shacks and mansions are people not really much different than you and me. And then, i peer out my window again and I continue to look down and think to myself, I’m a lucky man.
• • •
I drove us from the airport in Nebraska to the hotel in South Dakota. We had a GPS navigation system – it was funny to hear the unit say, “do this in for .3 miles”, then quickly followed by “do that for .3 miles”. Then, when we got on the freeway, it said “follow I-29 for 168 miles”… silence for a really long time.
It was 175 miles of this… Cold, dry Nebraska and Iowa soon gave way to really cold and snowy South Dakota. By nightfall, the temperature was down to 10° F (-5° C).
Twisted Chopper (14-16 March)
Sioux Falls, SD
John (director) getting some shots on the way to our hotel.
(Tuesday) This was a flat piece of sheet metal yesterday. It was all done by hand and various presses and punches. All of the gas tanks for their custom choppers are hand-made instead of stamped. In total, it’ll take three days to hammer and weld this out.
Windy today, 24° outside – feels like 12° with the windchill according to the weather channel. It’s funny, many of the folks who live in South Dakota don’t want to live in South Dakota but you stay where you know. It seems few people like cold winters. Still it is beautiful here at times. When we arrived, it felt like Christmas.
Wishing I was back at the cozy and warm hotel. Yesterday (Tuesday) was warm and enough of the snow melted to make mud, which is today frozen. It’s late at night right now and I’m in my hotel room. The wind is howling and just outside my window are a few pine trees swaying from the wind while a couple of bunnies are playing underneath their boughs.
One thing that freaked me out, and that I didn’t expect here, was how gentrified America has become. What happened to all the mom and pop shops? This part of Sioux Falls is completely inundated with nation-wide chain stores and restaurants. It’s a bit disgusting and too familiar for my taste. But on the other hand, the few local restaurants we’ve visited have been disappointingly awful. I don’t know which is worse.
Last day to play…
The tank more than half way done.
The finished tank – L to R – Blair (sound mixer), Jason (Twisted Chopper owner, builder), cheese… e me!
The fished tank with the signature gas cap.
Jason on the “rat” bike he and Kai made called the Mudshovel Bobber.
This is by far and away the best bike I’ve seen – the EXO-chopper. So much so, I want it. Ah, someday! Twisted Chopper
Mudshovel Bobber featured at David Mann’s Bob’s Back Museum Exhibit at Sturgis 2004 at Journey Museum.
Blair watches on as Jason welds.
Buffalo burger… yum!
Quiet Chad working on a prototype.
Kim and Kai behind one of the bikes we featured.
Well this marks the end of this leg of the trip. Tomorrow we drive back to Omaha, NE and then fly out to Raleigh, NC. We’ll be there two days and then drive out to Charlotte, NC on Sunday.
I think this was a much easier shoot than Daytona, the only difference is that it was a much more tiring shoot. Party, because we didn’t really have any time off, but also because this time I shot mostly handheld. I’d say roughly 80%. I think it produced much better shots but it did a number on my shoulder blades, biceps and lower back. If you think mini DV cameras are light as a feather, try adding a glass wide-angle lens to the front and holding it out in front of you for six hours out of an eight hour day – it adds up. The remaining time I used a Steadi Stick by Tiffen. It’s useful (I’d use it again I suppose) but limiting. The way it works is that you strap a belt on and an adjustable stick is attached to the belt and a plate that’s attach to the base of the camera. It helps support the weight of the camera on your hips mostly. It helped especially when we would do interview that continued for 50 minutes a stretch. Why not use a tripod… my back certainly wishes I did!
(John sits on Chad’s bike holding the shop kitty “Kitty”.)
John’s our field director/producer. He’s a good egg with a good head on his shoulders. He’ll come up with questions that just escaped me to ask. He also can spin a yarn with the best of them. He’s got some great stories both personal and production related.
Here’s one anecdote he shared from a book he owns and it is quite possibly one of my most favorite stories because it holds so true to production work…
Technical troubles developed with a huge new generator at Ford’s River Rouge plant. His electrical engineers were unable to locate the difficulty so Ford solicited the aid of Steinmetz. When “the little giant” arrived at the plant, he rejected all assistance, asking only for a notebook, pencil and cot. For two straight days and nights he listened to the generator and made countless computations. Then he asked for a ladder, a measuring tape and a piece of chalk. He laboriously ascended the ladder, made careful measurements, and put a chalk mark on the side of the generator. He descended and told his skeptical audience to remove a plate from the side of the generator and take out 16 windings from the field coil at that location. The corrections were made and the generator then functioned perfectly. Subsequently Ford received a bill for $10,000 signed by Steinmetz for General Electric. Ford returned the bill acknowledging the good job done by Steinmetz but respectfully requesting an itemized statement. Steinmetz replied as follows: Making chalk mark on generator $1. Knowing where to make mark $9,999. Total due $10,000. (From www.wikipedia.com – thanks John)
The folks at Twisted were incredibly nice, hospitable and above all genuine. It was a great visit and should make for a good segment. Snow, good people and a chance to admire a couple of guys who love what they do and strive for excellence. The aspect of the bikes they build that most impressed me was not just that they look good – real good – but that they make sure that the bikes are ridable and dependable. I wasn’t kidding when I said I want the EXO bike pictured above. I certainly hope to someday have these guys make me a bike. Sweet!
Many thanks to Kia, Jason, Jeff, Kim, Chad, Chad, and Chad.
Bike Week in Daytona Beach
LOCATION 1 OF 3: V-Twin TV (Speed Channel)
Travel Day:
6 March:
I just flew into Florida and boy are my arms tired! (Ha!) Back to Florida for Bike Week in Daytona Beach. I’ll be here all week… (No, that’s not a punch line to a joke.) We’re featuring some of the celebrities in the custom bike world. The show’s called V-Twin TV (airs on Speed Channel) and part of Easyriders Magazine.
I’m one of two camera teams covering the event. They’re expecting some quarter-million folks. Seems about right. I went to the corner market for some water and snacks and at one point I could hear in complete 360° a cacophony of rumbling choppers and roaring street bikes. Don’t know how much I’ll have to detail but I’m sure I’ll find something worth talking about.
(I can never get over the view from thousands of feet above the world.)
(The road from Orlando to Daytona seem to be all one-way with old growth trees on either side. It reminds me of “Miller’s Crossing”.)
Day 2:
8 March – Destination Daytona:
Not much to say so I’ll just show you my journal entry in pictures with a few notes.
It’s the winner of the Easyrider magazine 35th anniversary bike give-away. With the winner is Eddie Trotta – the bike’s designer/builder.
Eddie Trotta
The handlebar from the bike that was given away.
One of the bikes that I just loved – reminds me alot of the bike in Akira.
The food at the event almost unanimously sucked – save one place. This place had the best pulled pork sandwich I’ve had in a long time. I’ll be back again tomorrow!
No, that’s not a man – but yes, a little creepy. She’s one of the “beer girls” – they sell beer at booths.
Tim – the sound mixer assigned with me. Great guy and great mixer!
Now, your moment of Zen… You get two for today!
…any takers!
Day 3:
9 March – Beach Street & Destination Daytona
(Our team at Beach Street.)
(Back to Destination Daytona. Under the sign, just to the left of the freeway sign, is the two story, Harley Davidson dealership. Part of the project also includes hotel rooms and condominiums – all pre-sold before ground broke.)
(Oh you silly folks from Québec!)
As you most likely know, costal Florida is mostly swamp land. All over the place you’ll find marshes, swamps and pools of water. You’ll even find little canals and pools near the markets that look like motes and you really can’t help but wonder are they trying to keep the Evil Knight from getting in!
Day 4:
10 March – Biker Build-off & Awards
(We started our day with a visit to a swap meet where bike builders buy parts. Among the carney food vendors was one that had home made ice cream. The ice cream sucked. Next…)
(Billy Lane checking out and encouraging another local bike builder’s 10 day build.)
(It’s like this all over the place)
(Some homies from the old country. Love it! …at least they didn’t have a sicker with an ox on the side of the tank! Ouch!!!)
(If you look at the middle of the picture, that guy is chugging a 5 litre bottle of Jack Daniel’s – that bottle, incidentally, was one of three bottles passed around to the audience.)
• • • What did we learn today? That during spring break and Bike Week in and around Daytona Beach, you’re more likely to find big bellies on the street than big boobies. Very sad! • • •
One last bit of business, I won’t be home again until March 22. I’m off to South Dakota and then North Carolina. I miss Cali.
Day 5:
11 March – Blood, Guts and Gears & Dyno Drag
The week is over and so is this leg of the shoot.
(One of the coolest cars – I wish it was mine.)
(One of the coolest things I’ve seen all week.)
(One of the coolest people here – Dave Campos – The current record holder at 322 mph on a motorcycle.)
(How lucky am I!)