Even The Times is writing about it:

“The coalition is accepting entries through Jan. 21, 2012, on the Web siteArchitizer. The winning design will be announced on Feb. 1, 2012; the winner will receive $5,000, the runner-up $2,000. It is expected that the winning entry, if it is accepted by the City Planning Commission and the City Council, will be completed in time for an unveiling on World AIDS Day in 2014.

‘The redesign of the grounds of the old St. Vincent’s Hospital has afforded a unique opportunity to create a meaningful public space,’ Mr. Arad said. ‘My fellow jurors and I are looking forward to reviewing proposals that imagine both a neighborhood park that will serve the surrounding community, and a significant memorial that can serve as a symbolic touchstone as we commemorate 30 years of the AIDS epidemic.’”

To read more about the competition, visit: www.architizer.com

It was a fast turnaround for this shoot, about 48 hours! A little more rushed than we’re used to, but sometimes pressure is good. The videos screened at a summit for the Municipal Art Society of New York. Having two cameras on this really saved me. We had less than an hour with each architect, so coverage was paramount. We did what we could with available light since we were pressed for setup time, and then we augmented with my homemade “covered wagon” light, a softbank of high-powered daylight fluorescent floods, which Rockwell liked a lot. I was expecting to see green in these fluorescents, but never did. Really useful little light.

I’ve already started looking at buildings in a different way: trying to imagine what the initial sketch model looked like, and what design elements make each building unique and beautiful (or ugly). Check out the videos below:

This was a pretty barebones shoot, but the final video really came together nicely. I’ll post it here shortly. Looking forward to many more shoots with Christian and his team.

In July I was asked to be part of a group headed to Raleigh, North Carolina, and Sofia, Bulgaria – a video and photo series for IBM. I was already pretty slammed with shoots, but I knew I had to experience Bulgaria, a place I never imagined going. I’m really glad I did.

It was a small crew and we each wore many hats. As a D.I.T. I helped establish a data wrangling system. At certain times we had four or five cameras shooting stills and video – Teddy Symes and I had to keep track of it all. There were more than a few late and/or sleepless nights, but we managed somehow. I also had the opportunity to assist our awesome still photographer, Theo Rigby, who was tasked with taking portraits and candids of nearly every face in both offices. He kept his cool like a total pro in every situation. It was inspiring.

Last, but not least, I was put to work getting some motion control time-lapse of the offices. We used the Kessler Oracle system, which took some getting used to. Using it in conjunction with an intervalometer I could program it to do a slow move down a slider, making the time-lapse shots a little more dynamic. I also used it as a motorized slider to create some video portraits of our subjects, which ended up looking really nice in the final cut.

This shoot was brilliantly produced/shot by Nick Bruckman and Yoni Brook. Part of the reason I enjoy working in film is that I’m in a different “office” each day. It’s so far removed from the big corporate engine that makes our country go. It was a very strange experience to be in a sea of cubicles in some office park for two weeks with limited access to daylight (I’m exaggerating… slightly). But Nick and Yoni kept it fun and I met some of the happiest Bulgarians ever (including my cab driver to the airport who wore a hot pink Nike track suit and loved AC/DC).

It was a great team and satisfying to see it all come together so seamlessly. Here we are pictured with Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boyko Borisov.

The location was a public school in the Bronx. The date was the 18th of July. There was a heatwave and when we arrived we learned there was no elevator. That meant hauling all our lights and cameras up to the 4th floor in a stuffy library with no AC! We were sweating just thinking about it. When the rental company (who shall remain nameless) didn’t show up with some of the camera gear, we had to improvise. Luckily my lens package covered our two cameras perfectly.

The piece follows a school nurse who teaches a class to elementary school kids about how to control their Asthma. With more and more children diagnosed with Asthma, it’s a good cause. The American Lung Association also plays a big role in educating teachers and schools on how to eliminate Asthma triggers such as old carpets and chalk dust. The more you know…

I will try to post the spot when it’s done.

Architizer is a new online community of architects sharing their work (videos included!) Check them out here: http://www.architizer.com

Here’s the video:

Dairy farmers don’t have it easy to begin with, let alone organic dairy farmers in Maine running their own company and asking people to spend more for milk at the grocery store. The reason it costs more is because the farmers have to spend more. The reason it’s worth it is because the milk tastes better and is healthier for you. The farmers are accumulating debt and struggling to survive. They have milk on the shelves in Whole Foods and Hannafords, but they still need sales to pick up or they are in trouble. I was finally able to spend some time with the farmers on my trip up to Maine, and seeing their desperation – but also their perseverance – first hand makes me really want to fight for their cause. These guys work so hard, but they aren’t currently earning what they deserve.

Anyway, I don’t want to give away too much of the film (which will be really great!) If you are in New England, try MOO Milk. It’s really very good. Go visit the farms where your food comes from. Checkout the film “Betting The Farm,” and support MOO Milk if you can.

New York Times Video
Betting The Farm
MOO Milk Website
MOO Milk on Facebook

We interviewed a number of experts on Meningitis, and those directly and indirectly effected by it. Again we used the Canon 5D Mark II with L Series zooms. I’ve been using zooms mostly for documentary projects, but they still make me feel lazy. Time just doesn’t permit the constant changing of lenses. What really saved us was the Bi-Color LED Litepanel. They were easy to carry on the plane and really shined in Tungsten mode when we didn’t have to try to overpower daylight from the windows (which just isn’t possible with their punch). We brought a series of power adapters and 220v bulbs for our backlights only to discover that most countries had 110v power sockets as well. Go figure.

My second trip to Austin in a few months, turns out it’s a pretty cool place. I only wish America had come up with their slogan “Keep Austin Weird,” a hundred years ago. We’d have a lot more local cuisine and culture. Portland, Maine seems about as close as it gets on the East Coast. We met some incredibly strong and dedicated people on this trip. And while shooting any video, specifically documentary, on the 5D these days can drive me bonkers because of the limitations and workarounds, I much prefer working on projects that have a strong social message. A project which, in this case, can even help save people’s lives. I’ll tolerate hours of insufficient legroom and piss poor in-flight entertainment on Delta in order to make that happen.

Here is the final video:

There was a bit of a learning curve with stop motion, but eventually we figured it out. We’re impatient filmmakers and learned the hard way that stop motion requires about three times the number of frames you think it will. We put a lot of hard work into it and I think it turned out well. Now we feel completely confident in animation and have integrated it into a number of upcoming projects. It’s going to be a very busy winter!