Commercial: "LA Weightloss"

___In the middle of August I worked as a swing grip/electric on a commercial shoot for LA Weightloss. We were working off of the 5 ton truck at this amazing house in Malibu high in the hills. It was a pretty small crew but we still got some great looking shots. One of the setups was in a bathroom that had two big windows that looked out into the canyon below. The D.P wanted to retain the detail outside in order to see the canyon so he stopped down a lot. This meant we had to blast the bathroom with light in order to get the exposure inside close to the same stop as the exposure outside. We blasted two 1.2 HMI's through a 4x4 frame of 250 for a key, then bounced a 2k mighty into the ceiling to raise the ambient level. We floated a 2 foot 2 bank Kino around for fill as well. We also used various Lekos as specials to accent certain background elements like cabinets or the bathtub. We used a mirror board outside and reflected it in through a window off screen to up the light level in the background as well. It was really tough to raise the light level inside the bathroom to match the light level outside in the canyon but in the end the image looked great despite the insane amount light we had to pump into such a small space.

A couple other setups were in the kitchen in which giant sliding glass doors were visible in the background of the shot. The D.P wanted to once again retain the detail outside in order to see the infinity pool, canyon and ocean backdrop. Instead of trying to blast the whole kitchen with light, we spent a lot of time cutting rolls of ND6 and carefully taping them over all the sliding glass doors. This brought the outside light level down two stops so it was a lot easier to match that light level in the kitchen. We used a 1.2 HMI through a 4x4 frame of 250 for key and two Image 80's for fill and ambient. The image 80's are nice lights for pretty pieces because they are a big soft source and really fill in shadows nicely. The last few setups of the day were outside in the pool. We used mirror boards through 4x4 frames of 250 and opal as key and an 8x8 ultrabounce for fill. We also used mirror boards to accent certain spots in the water behind the talent. Overall it was a solid day and because it was a small crew I had a lot more responsibility in terms of gear. I'm really getting to know this 5 ton truck and am starting to feel comfortable with all the equipment and how it is stored. A couple more gigs on this truck and I'll be even more confident with all the gear.

Commercial: "Eleven Skin"

___At the beginning of August I worked as a swing grip/electric on a commercial shoot for the skin care product "Eleven Skin." We were working off a 5 ton truck plus another 30 fixture add on order from Acey Decy lighting. We had an entire day to pre-light for the shoot so it was a pretty relaxed environment as there was no serious rush to roll. We were shooting on a giant stage stage in which we had to light about 270 degrees worth of set. The set consisted of a circular step up stage in the middle where 4 chairs were positioned for the talent to sit around and discuss the amazing product at length. The background of the set was built to look like the outside of a house, complete with giant doors and a ton of windows. I would say when all was said and done we hung about 50-60 fixtures in that place. Most of the lights that played was hanging from the massive grid above the stage. We started by hanging nine 6K Barger lights in a circle around the circular stage in order to bath the talent in soft light. We then used a serious of Lekos to accent anything the D.P wanted to draw attention to in the background. We put them high up in the grid and tilted them down at steep angles to throw hard beams of light on different cabinets or other elements of the stage. Lekos are really awesome lights because they are super controllable as you can cut the beam from any angle with the blades as well as focus or defocus the beam by pushing the lens further or closer to the globe. You can also switch out the lens for a narrow or wider beam. (we used a combination of 19, 25 & 40 degree) It was a lot of work to hang each fixture but it was fun because I got to learn to drive a scissor lift.


Once we hung all the lights from the grid, we accented other items of the set by hiding single Kino bulbs behind them. We hid two bulbs on the side of a staircase so that the stairs looked like they were illuminated, as well as a few other bulbs behind display cases to draw attention to the products in them. To give life to the background set, we covered each window and door with 1000H (tracing paper) and then bounced a combination of 5K's and 2K's off the white wall behind the set back through the 1000H. This gave a soft glow to each window and door as if the sun were shinning through. We finished off with various accents from a few tweenies and Lekos on baby plates positioned on the floor off set. It was amazing to look at all the lights that we put up at the end of the day. I checked out the generator and we were running just over 1000 amps. That's definitely the most power I've pulled on any set since I've been in L.A. I like being a swing Grip/Electric because I can learn both the grip and electric side of things. I'm pretty set with most of the grip stuff, so I tried to hang with the electrics on this set. I learned a lot about 3 phase and also about SACO cable, which I had never worked with before. It's a giant cable that splits off into about 8 Edison plugs at the end. This cable was really useful because we could hang it in the grid and run a ton of lights off of one main cable. Overall, it was a great shoot and I learned a lot about both the grip and electric side of things. I've worked off the same 5 ton truck a bunch of times now and I am really getting to know the ins and outs of all the gear and where it all belongs on the truck. Hopefully I'll continue to work with the same crew as they are all great guys.

Music Video: "Triple Threat"

___Last weekend I worked as a 1st A.C on a music video for a song called "Triple Threat" by an artist know as "The Analyst." The video was directed by Austin Ahlborg, who developed an amazing concept and visual style for the video. In the video, "The Analyst" is depicted as 3 separate individuals in 3 separate worlds, each representing a different part of his personality. Throughout the video, these 3 separate characters and their respective worlds intertwine until they eventually become one. We were working with a Sony F3 and a set of ZEISS CP2s. This was my first time working with the F3 but it was pretty simple as the menu structure and exterior configuration are VERY similar to my EX1. We also had the AJA External recorder in order to bypass the native compression of the F3 and record PRORES 422 files via CF cards. The AJA was a bit tricky at first but with some troubleshooting we got it up and running correctly. This was also my first time working with the CP2s. It was refreshing pulling focus with them as opposed to the DSLR lenses that have been so popular in the indie world lately. It was great having precise marks on the lens for accurate pulls. The D.P, Wess Tracy, liked to shoot between a 4.0 and a 5.6 so he made my job a bit easier as the depth of field was not crazy shallow. I respected him a lot for this decision as I think with the rise of DSLR's, the hand held shallow depth of field look is just way overdone and played out at this point. We had some awesome set design and locations and I agree with Wess completely that it would be a waste to throw it all out of focus. Sometimes I feel like not many people appreciate frame composition and wide shots anymore. Everyone just wants close ups with nauseatingly shallow depth of field so it was cool that Wess didn't like shooting wide open.


It was definitely a crazy weekend full of insane camera moves and lighting techniques, straight from the mind of Austin Ahlborg. We pulled off some insane camera moves that we really had no business pulling off with the equipment that we had. What was cool about this shoot was that nothing was impossible. If Austin thought it up in his head, he was going to figure out a way to pull it off, regardless of if we had the right tools. If a shot didn't turn out as planned or wasn't working, Austin would improvise and find a different way to pull it off. One shot was supposed to consist of the Artist sprinting down a narrow hallway with a home made"doggy cam" attached to his chest. The shot ended up being too shaky and it just wasn't working out the way Austin and Wess had hoped. Instead of cutting the shot, Austin opted to put the artist on the dolly WITH the doggy cam and pull it down the hallway at 1000 miles an hour instead. Despite that being insanely unsafe and crazy, we did it anyway and the shot looked amazing. For these "doggy cam" shots as well as a few other shots in the video we used an 11-16mm zoom in which the artists face was extremely close to the lens. I really liked the look of all these shots because they came off very uncomfortable and weird and that's the look I think Austin and Wess were going for. Also, this lens offered a wide depth of field at a close distance and it once again broke the mold of the nauseatingly shallow depth of field look that is so stupidly popular right now.

Another memorable shot consisted of "The Analyst" hitting his head on the wall (which was playing to the viewer as the floor because the camera was tilted 90 degrees to start) then rolling forward in a chair while rapping to his female companion at a table. Another complex shot consisted of connecting two dollies together on the same track with 2x4s. The artist was on one dolly while the camera team was on another. This allowed the artist to "float" down the hallway while rapping. Austin and Wess also constructed a vest that had a built in 1k Tota light attached to it. So the artist was not only floating, but also emitting 1000w of light from his chest. Overall it was a crazy fun weekend of shooting. I think the creativity and uniqueness of this video will really make it stand out among the masses. I can't wait to see how it turns out in the edit.

Music Video: "Pepe Aguilar"

___At the beginning of August I worked as a swing Grip/Electric on a music video for spanish guitarist Pepe Aguilar. We worked off of a 5 ton truck and were shooting with a 4 camera set up. We had 1 ALEXA as A camera, 2 Sony F3's as B and C cam and a Cannon 7D as D camera. We lit the location with an array of Leko's and Pars. We posted up 6 "trees" surrounding the set and mounted a combination of 4-6 pars and Lekos on each tree. Each light had a specific band member that it was to be focused on. We also had six 9 light fays that were positioned behind the performers to bring up the ambient level in the background as well as create a soft back light. We also brought in a few tweenies and positioned them on baby plates to create splashes of light on background walls and foreground elements.

It was great to have a 4-5 hour pre-light time to concentrate on getting everything perfect before the cameras rolled. Once we were done lighting I volunteered to dolly grip so that I could talk to the guys in the camera department about the ins and outs of the ALEXA. It was cool to talk to the lead camera operator as he was really nice and answered all the questions I had about shooting on the ALEXA. This was the first shoot I worked on that shot on it so it was great to learn so much right away. Overall it was a great shoot with a great crew and I hope I continue to work off this 5 ton truck in the near future.

TV Series Pilot: "Love Finder"

____At the beginning of July I worked as a Key Grip on a TV series Pilot called "Love Finder." It was a 7 day shoot and we were working with a 1 ton lighting and grip package. The shoot consisted of some pretty involved night exterior set ups as well as a bunch of scenes in a night club which offered an outlet for some creative lighting techniques. I was really impressed at the area we were able to cover for night exteriors even with a small package.
The biggest light we had on the truck was a 2k Fresnel but we were still able to light every night scene properly.


One of the setups I was most proud of was a night exterior in which the main character walks down a long patio along side a house and then stops to talk with another character at the far end of the patio. (LEFT) This was one of the widest night exterior shots and one of the most complex lighting setups of the entire 7 day shoot. We used the 2K Fresnel on a high roller to illuminate the bushes and ground on the far side of the patio as well as a Daylight CFL softlight behind camera to provide a backlight as well as additional ambient "moonlight". We then strung an array of tungsten bulbs under the bushes along the bottom of the patio walk way to back up a few practical units that were in frame. We then placed 2 Kinos with tungsten bulbs and an additional tungsten softbox on the inside of the house shooting out onto the patio walkway to provide a warmer light source motivated from the house. The tungsten softbox at the far end of the house also provided the key for the second character.

One of the other locations that was pretty cool was a night club on Santa Monica called Voyer. The producers had a connection there and we were able to get the location during the day when the club was not open to the public. It's a great looking place and added a ton of production value to the film. (ABOVE) We used a fogger a lot in this location as well as a mixture of party gels on a bunch of 650w fixtures. The smoke gave the colored lights shape and created a cool atmosphere. I have heard that the pilot is being pitched to networks like SPIKE TV and Comedy Central. I hope it all comes together in the edit as we were able to capture some pretty sweet images.