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.

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.

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.

- – - – - – - – - : – - – - – - – - – : – - – - – - – - -
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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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…