Musical Locations

A couple of days ago, Ryan and I had the honor of shooting a short piece for Crystal Woodman Miller, a Columbine survivor, who has turned the tragedy she went through into a message of hope.  

Since Columbine, Crystal has traveled around the world to share her experience with people who have encountered similar acts of violence.  We had a great time with Crystal although the shoot almost didn't happen at all.

Two locations cancelled on us at the last minute, a couple crew didn't show, and one extra didn't show as well, that's why you'll see me walking in the background.

However, the guys at "The Old School Bagel Cafe" were fantastic, we called them at 1:30 and showed up to shoot at 3:00.  We shot after they closed and squeezed everything in by sundown. It was a miracle.

We shot on a Canon XH-A1 using a Redrock Micro w/ Zeiss lenses 35mm, 50mm, & 85mm.  For lighting, we had 2-1K's, 1-500w, and 2-250w's, and a massive set of windows on the west side to let the sun set in on our scene. 

Here's a couple of stills pulled from the footage.  Thanks again to "The Old School Bagel Cafe"!

A steaming cup of hot... water... they had already cleaned out the coffee.
This is Petra, the "extra" (more like a friend) that showed... she was brilliant, professional & patient, with us while we were shorthanded.
Here's Crystal, mid-sentence, it's hard pulling a still of somebody talking.
The flower in the ashtray is part of the story that Staples (Ryan) came up with... get it beauty from the ashes... huh... nice.
What did we learn from this... Always secure a controlled location.  When one owner says that they never have customers after 2pm, they're lying.  And when another owner says they think that you can shoot there, plan on them saying "no!"  

Over all, I think it turned out real nice, it was chaotic, but it all worked out in the end.

Box 7235

Two weeks ago, a couple of us headed up to The Salt Flats, in Nowhere, Oklahoma (actually it's near Cherokee.) It also just happened to be the coldest day all winter with 35 mph winds, making the windchill 11 degrees F.

But thanks to the Staples' stubbornness, and the 2 1/2 hour drive to get out there, we proceeded with the shoot.

Miserable, doesn't even begin to describe it. Ben, our one and only actor, was an amazing sport about the whole thing. All of the crew was bundled up, but Ben was out there with nothing on his ears or his hands, and I didn't even hear him complain. In the end, the short turned out great!

Staples has already finished the edit and we're preparing for the web. It'll be on our websites March 20th.

So, make sure you catch it, joshmckamie.com & staplesx2.com. It is my favorite of the last three that we've done.

Here's a couple of stills. It was a lot colder than it looks.
Staples and Ben talking in the coldDustin Faust and I, freezing.

OTS (Over the Shoulder)