Amazing Space and what to do with it.

Two weeks ago, Sarah and I were asked to photograph another production company at work at a location on the lower east side of Manhattan.  The parent company of Target department store chain had arranged a benefit  to aid the Food Bank for New York City and some friends of ours were brought in to stage it.

"Just a little something we threw together" is how Lisa put it.

Lisa Archambault and Andy Spray and are the owners of Palm Productions LLC in NYC and they seem to know everyone that can do anything.   Their cell phones contain more than enough connections to stage any size event from a stadium rock show to lighting up the Plaza Hotel with fireworks.

For this event, they converted a giant, dusty warehouse - formerly known as Basketball City - into Manhattan's largest food distribution center and indoor party.  Not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.

We often attend events like this and stand their in awe of the lighting, sound and decor, the total experience, without giving a  single thought as to how it all comes together.  That first "oh my gosh" when you walk into a concert or convention and see the stage, sets and giant lighting rigs.

Very few of us get to see just what is involved in making these events come together.  The logistics of getting the stuff you need, getting it to the place you need it to be and then getting it up and running in time for the event.  Then, when everything is over, taking it down and getting it back were it belongs.

Not a lot of sleep involved here.

Having filmed during several U2 and Garth Brooks tours, we've experienced first hand, the process of   getting a rock show out of the trucks and assembled in an arena in 6-8 hours.  No simple feat.  Then it's back in the trucks and broom clean in four hours.  Oh yeah, and don't forget to feed the cast and crew, as well.  We've time lapsed the process more than once and it is pretty amazing.

For this event, Target in conjunction with other corporations that had donated supplies, had stacked a few thousands empty boxes that were to be filled with food by a small army of volunteers and distributed to those in need.

Apparently, Target does this all around the country as part of there Other Community Giving program.

Here, in a space about the size of a football field, just getting it "broom clean" might be a major undertaking.  Building a stage, video projection screens, lighting, supplying power and even cooling for a space of this magnitude, a logistical nightmare.  By the time we walked in, most everything was in place and Lisa and Andy seemed pretty calm, considering the amount of balls they were juggling at that moment.

In our  "You're only as good as your last production" world, this event was a phenomenal success.
Thanks for inviting us!

NYC Food Bank
Palm Production LLC
duckyou.com

Chuck's work featured on Sony's VideOn site

Another Cat Tale

This week, we headed back to Hersheypark for a few more days of HD filming of rides and attractions.  We had a lot to accomplish in a short period of time and we were grateful to the park's public relations department for organizing the logistics to move both camera crew and extras to each location.  


Our first opportunity was a small water park.  The early morning sun was still fairly low in the sky and the light was beautiful.  There was plenty of visual access around the perimeter and it was easy to get pretty shots of the kids having fun. 

Our biggest challenge was a wave of water vapor, every time one, of two giant water buckets tipped.   Arion covered the EX3 camera with a protective raincoat from Camarade and with the additional aid of a 4x4 polarizing filter, the camera and lens remained dry.

There was also a series of water slides and a terrific surfing ride called  Wave Runner which, if given the time, we would have happily put down our gear to try out. 

We moved seamlessly from one attraction to another, ending the day with a sunset, vista shot of the park.


The next morning, we started our day by mounting a POV (point of view) camera on a wooden coaster  called Lightning Racer.  Two cars, each with 24 passengers,  race around a classic, old style roller coaster and we wanted to show the point of view of the riders in the front car as they swoop down and around bends and drops racing the opposite car to the finish line.

I used the Sony EX1 for this, as it has a smaller profile as the EX3 with the same beautiful HD quality.   I added a unique, heavy duty base plate to camera from Juice Designs.  http://www.juicedesigns.com   The plate attaches to the camera chassis and strengthens the connection to my tripod while also eliminating any wobble that might be caused  using a camera with a plastic bottom.  It made a big difference in the camera's performance and our confidence in getting our camera back, alive.  Like they say about flying, "Any landing that you can walk away from is a good landing, but if you can use the plane again, it's a great landing."

We mounted the camera using the same still camera mount from Manfrotto that we used for previous rides, only this time we used bungee cords rather than clamps.  I also turned off the camera's stabilization as we wanted to catch some of the frenetic motion of the ride, without it just looking like crappy video.  A few trial runs and then a few takes with extras in the opposite car.  Each time we shot, we all gathered around the cameras monitor to make sure that everything worked as it should, which fortunately, it did.

The day moved on and we filmed S'Mores, the Kissing Tower, the Storm Runner coaster and kids eating ice cream.  Once again, the Manfrotto 536 carbon fiber legs, this time supporting a Vinten Vision 8 head was essential for gaining clear visual access to angles obstructed by buildings or safety nets.  It saved us a lot of time.  And speaking of which,  it was almost time to call it a day.  Just one more location to go.


Hershey's Zoo America had just obtained a pair of Ocelots and we were asked to film and photograph the new cats for their debut at the zoo.  There was a small challenge here.  Ocelots are nocturnal animals and tend to sleep during the day.  These cats had recently arrived from a zoo in San Francisco and they were not only timid in their new surrounding, but possibly jet-lagged, as well.  


We arrived at the zoo later that evening only to find two very shy, reclusive cats and very fortunate for us, one of the cats decided to give us a few minutes of face time.

Arion set up two small Lowel Pro Lights, point through the glass, with one on each side of the rooms enclosure.   He slowly adjusted the light level and direction of the lights, so as to not startle the animals.  The Nikon D3 had no trouble giving me a decent image at ISO 3200.   The sensor in the EX3 video camera is a lot less sensitive, yet I was able to get a good image, wide open at plus 6db.  Any gain higher than that would introduce totally unacceptable noise and grain.  


The results were worth the effort.  Our client's reaction?  "The shots are great!  We love it!" 
Our footage appeared on an ABC affiliate in the Harrisburg area, today.  Sweet!  


www.duckyou.com
www.hersheypark.com