The filmmaking group, Restraining Hollywood, were in charge of this prideful video. This is their newest project since premiering their feature IN HARMS WAY. And it’s just in time for Christmas. Brandon Van Vliet directed and Kevin Horn shot this video.

I participated on the last scene. By the third day, they had already shot on several locations including the opening garage bit, inside a moving vehicle and inside an apartment with the Christmas tree. The final scene to shoot was the dance party of women and half-naked men.

Kevin’s lighting set up was two 500w’s, dance lights, christmas lights, and a fog machine. The fog went along way to diffuse the light and amp the dance vibe up. To add more flash and edge to the image, I used a mirror partially covered in tape (to create unique shadows) and bounced light from a 300w into the crowd. Using a mirror, I had full control of where to aim the light and I could maneuver it as quickly as my body allowed — with out the danger of a hot bulb.

The song is titled Another Christmas Alone. Watch the finished video below:

Jon’s approach to the video was unique: we had over a half dozen cameras and five camera operators capturing an improvisational performance. During each take, Graham would listen to a pre-created track of abstract sounds as inspiration.

My camera was set up on a slider off-center in front. Peter Jensen set up his camera on his homemade dolly and covered the master shot. Jon and his assistant, Shelby, shot handheld from the sides. We had several simple hd cameras close up to the drum kit with one hanging right above Graham.

To light the scene, we utilizes two tree stands with four lights each.  Above Graham we hung a china ball to keep him well lit.

Jon will work with Graham to find the right take and then begin the editing process. With so many cameras to choose from, he will have a plethora of options for the video. The soundscape that Graham was playing to will also be mixed into the final video.

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Video Produced and Directed by Guy Harrison
Shot and edited by Jeffrey Schwinghammer
Voices by Jason P. Schumacher, Guy Harrison and Elle Park
Zombie Make Up by Gabe Wimmer

Executive Producer – Carolyn Faacks

Feet Actors:
Guy Harrison
Elizabeth
Marin
JD
Carolyn Faacks

Here’s the synopsis:

In Harm’s Way is a gritty crime drama about the interconnecting lives of drug dealers, criminals, cops, a washed up actor, a sociopath and an innocent man and a woman all on a deadly collision course with each other.

There is plenty of video content about the film to sink your teeth into:

• A Theatrical Trailer
• This film already has a prequel!
• This Behind the Scenes has plenty of information from much of the cast and crew.

We had a wonderful time meeting incredible talented filmmakers from all over. It was an eye-opening experience for me as I try to take my craft to the next level. There is a lot to learn just from watching how other people overcome challenges.

My top 3 films of the Flyway Film Fest were:

• Sawdust City – An extremely well crafted story of the 2 estranged brothers reuniting for Thanksgiving in Wisconsin. This film relies on its talented cast and clever writing to carry it. Everybody should check out this film even if you might not get all the midwest humor.

• Silver Tounges – I mentioned to Rick Vaicius, the founder of the Flyway Film Fest, this is the kind of film I want to make. Everything, from its story to its cinematography and its editing is charged with a striking and confident vision. The entire audience was wrapped up in the power struggles between the two twisted leads.

• Tony and Janina’s American Wedding - Our short doc led into this amazing and well realized documentary about a family torn apart. I was profoundly amazed to see a film tackle a similar theme but tell it far more effectively. Most notably, it did so with out traditional interview or narration, and it was filmed over 3 years. I will consult this film if I try to shoot a feature documentary in the future.

 

Recently, I worked on Jared Sherlock’s promotional reel, editing together the best his live performance footage into a fast paced popping video. Jared’s performing abilities are diverse with the ability to scale his production larger or small depending on the needs of his client.

With the previous reel, we highlighted his overall style with an emphasis on the visual splendor. This time around, I am supplementing performance footage with interview style video to hit home on “who is Jared Sherlock?”.  The goal is to give prospective clients a clearer image of what Jared can bring.

For the interview segments, we want to put him in front of an all white background. Keep it simple and professional.

Instead of paying a bunch of money to rent a studio or buy a fancy backdrop, I went to Handcock Fabricks for a 90in x 4yd piece of white muslin fabric. From Home Depot, I bought 3 long sections of 3/4in pvc pipe and some connecting pieces. PVC is super easy to put together. This was all for under 30 bucks.

I put the strongest light I had on the white screen behind Jared to illuminate it as evenly and brightly as possible. I set up more lights to the right as his key light. I also set up a reflector to the left and relied on the afternoon sun to raise the general light level.

My initial design was functional but I will need to add more pvc for support. It’s own weight causes it to twist and bend. But as a DIY quick and dirty solution it works remarkably. A few more lights will seal the deal.

Check out Charlie McCarron’s blog for more details about the producing song.

Christ Ballas did a wonderful job on the aging make-up for Charles Hubble, the lead actor. I give all actors respect and reassurance but I couldn’t help myself from treating him even more politely like I would an elderly person.

The final day was filled with plenty of abstract and green screen shots with a depressed old man. Having not seen the script, just the synopsis, I couldn’t access how the story is going to play out. I do know that all the talented people that put their time in to it crafted a beautiful looking film.

For this video, Guy’s script was to have a bunch of feet characters talking to each other. As you can see from the gallery, I had to keep the camera low to the ground. I used my slider to add energy to the shots. Shooting only knees down proved to have its own challenges. We had to set up a platform about the viewing area for the actors to hold on to for balance.

Prop and visual effects artist, Gabriel Wimmer, helped out in the early morning to dress one of the feet actors with zombie make up.

Stay tuned for the video.

KnightArts recently reviewed Brian Laidlaw and gave him some most deserved praise. You can also listen to a bunch of his tracks too!

I worked with Brian Laidlaw on his Alpenglow music video. He is a talented guy who writes some great lyrics.

Read more about him here.