Miniature Atlanta Airport

This two-shot masterpiece is the result of boredom while sitting at a Chili's Too overlooking the runway while waiting for your flight. Took the thing on my iPhone, as I didn't have my 7D on me, which obviously results in auto-exposure flicker and adjustments that I could do without. Then I took the footage in to After Effects and applied the camera blur using a gradient as a depth map to create the tilt-shift effect. This effect has probably (no, definitely) been overdone, but I still think it's fun, so I just wanted to take a chance to figure out how to do it. Also learned how to do the scribbly sort of text and apply 3D shadows in real environments just for fun. Did you catch the vroom? I have no idea why I put that in there. If anybody watches this video and wants to figure out how to do any of these things also, you could check out these things that I used: Tilt-shift: http://www.cleverbits.com/tiltshift.php Scribbly text: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln_rtwYd9eU (I had no idea there was a scribble effect in After Effects. Made it much easier than I thought it was going to be) 3D shadows: http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/3d_shadows/ Song: "Swing Tree" by Discovery (the real version is quite a bit longer) http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/swing-tree/id319345775?i=319345888

This is a video that I made a couple weeks ago from footage that I shot while eating at the Chili's Too at the Atlanta airport before boarding a flight. I had been up to this spot before and knew that it was the perfect perspective from which to get this kind of tilt-shift effect, so I was excited when we got sat at the exact same table this time. Didn't have my 7D on me, so I just busted out the ol' iPhone, rested it against the glass and let'er roll. Then I took that footage into After Effects, applied a lens blur with a depth matte, and voilà, miniature planes! Miniature baggage carts! I also decided to apply some sketchy-looking (as in drawn-on, not dangerous) text just for fun and because it was something that I wanted to learn how to do. Then I applied 3D shadows to the text to make it feel like it's in the space. It really makes no sense... it's meant to look like it's drawn-on over the image, and yet, also a part of the image. Oh well, I like it.

Overall, the whole tilt-shift thing has been really overdone, but I do think that it's a cool effect that can be used effectively. I'm excited to have learned how to create this effect in post, and hopefully I can use it more extensively in a piece sometime.

Team Ramrod

Production Company: The Famous Group | www.thefamousgroup.com Director: Joel Lava DP: Connor O'Brien Edit/Sound: Parker Wilson © The Famous Group 2010

Well the Rams are 0-2, but it certainly wasn't for lack of an awesome open video. I edited this for them awhile ago, but can now finally show it since it has played in the stadium. I also was lucky enough to go on the shoot for this one, which was a blast. Got to hang out at the Rams practice facility, throw some footballs at targets, and even had time to work a little, setting up the lights and grabbing many of the b-angles that were used in this piece with a 5D (The rest was shot on RED). The post was all done here at Famous, and in the end I think it came out pretty cool.

A couple other fun facts about the piece:

• Everybody on the team was great, but surprisingly the most outgoing, easy to to work with, and nicest (he shook everybody's hands after he wrapped) was the very large and very intimidating James Laurinaitis. Did I mention he was the son of a pro wrestler?
• The open was originally edited with A.J. Feeley for all the quarterback shots, but after he went down with an injury we had to change everything out for the Rams #1 draft choice Sam Bradford. Oh well, it was probably only a matter of time anyway.
• And finally, those flames were actually there, and they were actually very hot. The looks on the cheerleaders' faces the first couple times they went off were priceless.

Time for lapses!

Ok, so this actually isn't a very exciting timelapse, but decided to post it as it's exciting to me. I just got an intervalometer after stretching my birthday money which was intended to just be used for a bike. So now I'm very excited to start trying some timelapses. This particular timelapse I decided to grab real quick when I got home from work today and there was some nice color in the sky. Dinner was already on the table so I didn't have time to go to a cooler location, so I just shot it from our porch. Wish I could've gotten out there earlier to get a longer timelapse with a little more movement in the clouds, but oh well... maybe next time. There seems to be a bit of flicker. Not sure what may have caused that. Maybe some of you smart people on here that have done more of this would have a clue. Anyway, looking forward to doing more of this and honing another skill! Music: CCR - "Lookin' Out My Back Door" http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lookin-out-my-back-door/id139988948?i=139989045 *Note: This was actually taken lookin' out my FRONT door.

After stretching some of my birthday money that was intended for a bike (thanks moms and Lauren!) I was able to get an intervalometer for my camera as well, giving me the opportunity to shoot some super-sweet timelapses!... or in this case, a very average timelapse.

I got home from work today and noticed the great color in the sky. Anxious to try my new toy I quickly ran outside and set the camera up. Unfortunately there wasn't a whole lot of daylight left by this time, but it was still fun to get a first legitimate timelapse. Anyway, I'm hoping to explore this more and I think I'll be able to create some pretty cool stuff. Can't wait to post some more here!

The 4th of July, Unfocused

Something I shot just for fun on the 4th at the fireworks show in Palm Springs, CA. I can't take any credit for this idea though, as I completely stole it from the incredibly talented Lloyd Choi, who did it first and better (http://vimeo.com/6157370). Wish I could've spent a little more time on it because I think some very cool things could've been done with playing with the speed more and reversing clips, but frankly, I just don't have the time right now and I wanted to get SOMETHING up. In the end, I'm happy with it though. There's something about unfocused light that I just love. Maybe sometime I'll have a chance to play around with this a little more and do something really cool. Also, I left it available for download because I think these are just some cool elements that could be used in motion design, so feel free to use them. I'm going to try to get a higher resolution upload up soon. Camera: Canon 7D Lens: Canon 50mm 1.8 Music: Explosions in the Sky (I had to) - "The Birth and Death of the Day" http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-birth-and-death-of-the-day/id319136556?i=319136657

This is just a very hastily made video that I created with some of my footage from the 4th. I had seen the idea previously here: http://vimeo.com/6157370, and I was just kind of mesmerized by it. So at the next chance I had to capture some fireworks footage, I decided to give it a try. I've always loved the look of out-of-focus light, and I think fireworks have to be the most exciting form of this that I've seen. Wish I would've had a tripod for this, as I think it would've made it a little better, but I was just traveling light and taking all the video from my back while watching the show. Also, sometime I'd like to spend a little more time on the edit. I just really wanted to get something up, even though I don't have a lot of time right now, but I think some very cool things could be done with time remapping and reversing the footage. Maybe sometime.