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Rig It Up

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Shawn

Friends, viewers, random people that don’t know how they got onto this website: I have a confession to make. Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit shaky. Wobbly, jello-y, and downright jittery. Hard to believe, I know, but it’s true. So, I decided it was time to get some stabilization…FOR MY CAMERA.

Oh man. I bet you didn’t see that one coming.

Up until now I’ve been using a craptastic monopod (not that I have anything against monopods! This particular one I own is just cheap. And also terrible) to add some semblance of stabilization to my DSLR shooting, but then I came across THIS:

It says BEST right in the title, so you know it has to be good. Possibly even…the best.

And now I own it:

It works great! Incredibly helpful, and a touch more professional than the rig you made out of PVC, wood, and black spray paint (DIY FTW!). Shout out to Caleb Pike at dslrvideoshooter.com for posting this a year ago. I feel so up to date now.

The rig is very flexible, the parts can all be used for other rigs, and I’m happy to announce that I’m over my case of the jitters.

Movies Under the Stars

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Shawn

Do you wanna watch a movie…about wanting to watch a movie? If that just so happens to be your desire right now, I’ve got just the thing for you to watch!

Oh, and I guess if you like Frozen you’ll probably like this too. Probably.

Irondequoit, NY is once again hosting its summer “Movies Under the Stars” event, and guess what? They decided to pick Frozen as the first movie to show. Honestly, how could they expect us to NOT re-write the lyrics and create a completely unique and original idea based on the famous song “Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?”, that has never been parodied thus far, to promote the event?

We had a lot of fun making this, and we finally got to use our Phantom 2 for something besides photos and test shots! Special Thanks and shout out to Emma Andriatch, our sure-to-be up-and-coming star. You’re welcome, Emma.

Also, did I mention we were on the news? No? Well…WE WERE ON THE NEWS! Woohoo.

Thanks, News 8!

As Good As Dirt

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Shawn

Semi-recently, I was a PA on a shoot for Dick’s Sporting Goods, and I learned that I was as good as dirt:

We needed to get the camera lower than the ground, but that’s impossible!* So instead, we got the ground higher than the camera.

Then we had to get the score card to stick straight up with less than a few inches of puny dirt to hold it. What does that mean? Call in a PA! They’re basically as good as dirt** (or better!) and not as puny (theoretically). I was even warned not to hurt myself while I willingly reached for a sharp, pointy object as it plunged toward my extremities.

Joking aside, the shoot was actually awesome! And also safe, I assure you. It’s always amusing finding out what I’ll be doing next in the all encompassing role of Production Assistant. I’m happy to announce that I did not get myself stabbed – not even a little bit.

I would also highly recommend that all future shoots take place on golf courses. Golf cart rides all day long!

*Impossible is nothing.
**PA’s are not dirt. This is a joke. GET OVER IT.

PUP-pies?

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Shawn

PUPPIES!? Surely not pup pies!?

NO. Just PUP. The Purpose United Project. But everyone loves puppies and therefore everyone will now read this post.

Get this app. Get deals. Support causes of your choosing. Save the world!

I was a Grip/Electric on this project because I believe in their cause. Trust me. You’ll forgive my misdirection about the puppies once you watch the video.

The Blacksmith

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Shawn

RØDE Microphones is in the midst of their My RØDE Reel Competition, and I entered a film! The only rules were that it had to be under five minutes and the required accompanying Behind the Scenes video had to showcase a RØDE microphone.

Check out “The Blacksmith” and “The Blacksmith BTS” on the official My RØDE Reel website at the following link:

http://www.rodemic.com/myrodereel/watch/1065

Or if you’re lazy and don’t want to see how cool their website is / don’t want to vote for me (HOW DARE YOU), I’ve embedded the youtube videos here for your convenience. (See how considerate I am? Perhaps considerate enough to be voted for? Ahem.)

The Blacksmith

The Blacksmith BTS

I haven’t directed or written a fiction short in about 2 years now, so this was a welcome opportunity to do so. I’m also a huge proponent of Behind the Scenes videos, so I was thrilled to make one and will continue to do so for my future projects.

Mystery Bird

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Shawn

Since it’s been almost a month since it happened, I figure it’s time to finally post about Improvamonium 2014.

RIT Improv hosts an annual two day improv festival and takes submissions from both college and local troupes. This year, Allie Trimboli and I, as alums, performed as Stereotipickle – our twoprov improv group.

I hadn’t improvised in almost a year. Allie has been living in New York. Oh, and I had a face full of mutton. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Let’s see what happened:

Here’s to six straight hours of improv! And that was only the first day.

FighterSource HD

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Shawn

People beat each other up right in front of me. I figured I should film it instead of trying to break it up.

FighterSource HD had some kind of tournament recently. They set up an MMA Cage in an Ice Rink in Cortland, NY to which Myles (the other Cage Cam Op) and I were attached. I was living life on the wild side – filming from a 2′x 2′ rickety platform with no walls and nothing preventing me from falling to my doom…until I was brought a Porta-Brace strap for safety. Thanks, Porta-Brace! You’re my savior.

We were using Sony NX Cams (which I despise) for the cage matches and also for the 2nd camera on the pre-fight interviews – both of which I was filming handheld. SO MANY HOURS OF HANDHELD. Arm amputation may be required. I’m currently typing this all with my left hand.

Other notable moments were a fighter’s dome piece getting cut open and spewing blood mere inches from my face, and me getting the chance to use magnets in place of CP-47s! Huzzah for innovation.

After all that, I left at 2:00am thinking one thing: How much do those ring girls get paid to look pretty and hold ‘Round 1′ signs for two seconds during each fight? Probably more than me.

Triumph Over Tea

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Shawn

A little over a month ago I got on a union commercial job as a PA. A little less than a little over a month ago I told a story about that job at my first ever Wham! Bam! Story Slam! hosted by Dewey Lovett at the Rochester Brainery.

Here’s a video of the epic tale of my attempted triumph over tea in all my awkward glory:

If you live in the Rochester area, I highly recommend checking these out. I also highly recommend going when I’m there so you can laugh at me instead of with me!

Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Shawn

We did.

At ICAT, even the snowmen are ready for Spring!

Worst Trash Can EVER

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Shawn

I mean, c’mon. What even is the point of this thing!? It’s way too expensive to be so useless.

The Worst Trash Can Ever

HELP.

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