Samsung - Los Angeles

Last October our creative efforts were concentrated in the greater Los Angeles area producing still and motion based visuals for Samsung via San Francisco based Turner Duckworth.  The project was one largest of 2012, launching us into the familiar world of product, people and environments all swirling together amid a wide range of Samsung based technology.  TV's, tablets, phones, and appliances were central elements we worked in and around, seeking authentically genuine moments through our documentary "story-telling" approach to image capture.

One of the main themes for this shoot was "moments of discovery" in which we were exploring the reactions to situations and products within a scene.  It's always a continual challenge in the pursuit of crafting custom imagery and perhaps Turner Duckworth Design Director - Brian Steele said it best when asked for a quote to describe the process:  'Constantly thinking of ways to make any shot better, Jonathan embraces collaboration. He has a great understanding of when to abandon an angle or setup, and when to mine deeper to achieve the best possible results. With a great feeling for light and composition, he has an uncanny knack for pulling an honest moment out of a staged scenario.'

The crew count was quite sizeable and inevitably there were a lot of moving parts to coordinate.  With any project, big or small, it's always important to have the right people in place to help bring every detail to life.  One of the main details of this production was the constant prescence of the color "Samsung Blue" being woven throughout each and every scene through wardrobe and propping.

Although the main focus was on still photography, we brought on a Los Angeles based DP and A/C to capture many of the same scenes.  In between shots we also had one of our crew members filming behind the scenes footage with crew commentary specific to the production.  Keep an eye out for the companion, motion edit which will debut soon on the blog, coinciding with the launch of our new JCP branding and website.
   

Samsung - Los Angeles

A Martin Patrick 3 Lifestyle - Short Film

We are proud to present the short film "A Martin Patrick 3 Lifestyle," a poetic narrative produced for the Minneapolis based men's clothing and accessories boutique Martin Patrick 3.  The film premiered in Minneapolis' warehouse district on the evening of April 11th as part of the pre-party for ENVISION: Artopia.   

Another fine creative endeavor from start to finish, made possible by the incredible efforts and generous contributions of the JCP team and colleagues:

Jonathan Chapman - Director of Photography
Ravi Katkar - Principal Talent  
Chadwick Nelson, Splice  - Editor
Tanya Silver - Producer
Sam Trewick - Styling, Art Department, Poster + Promo Design
Ashlee Ellert - Hair + Make-up
Eric Schleicher - 2nd Camera Operator
John Fontana - Location Sound Mixer
Patrick Meehan - Boom Operator
Nathaniel Schmidt - AC / Continuity + Promotional  
Michael Sandness, Splice - Colorist
Kelly Pieklo, Splice - Sound Designer / Mixer
Coelement - Motion Graphics
Flashlight Photo Rental - Lighting / Grip
Emily Pritchard - The Social Lights
Bryce Bordenkecher - JCP for MP3 Event Photography
Excerpt from Tennessee Williams "The Glass Menagerie"

A Martin Patrick 3 Lifestyle - Short Film

Behind the Lens - MN Twins "Winter Baseball"

"Opening Day means spring. It means, literally, an opening: of buds spreading and jackets unbuttoning; of little birds' mouths gaping; of rubber bands being released from neat's-foot-oiled baseball mitts that have been held tight around a ball all winter."  Frank Deford

The timing of a pitch, a swing of the bat, and the sliding of a runner into a base all speak to the rhythms that begin to reawaken our baseball senses at this time of year.  Today is opening day for major league baseball and this afternoon the MN Twins ball club will be in full stride towards securing their first win of the season.  Here at JCP it is also opening day for a new behind the scenes segment called "Behind the Lens."

From our post on March 21st when we introduced the project for the MN Twins Community Fund, "Winter Baseball," via Martin Williams, we showed the :60 edit and today we are pleased to share our first "Behind the Lens" of that same project.  We would like to thank all of the people who made this happen from the first meeting at Martin Williams to the brisk shoot day out on the ice, to opening day.  We all put forth our best efforts and would like to take a moment to thank everyone listed in the credits along with a special thanks to: Tanya Silver; Heather Blackford; Matt Nelson; Eric Schleicher; Tasty Lighting; and Picture Factory.

Thanks to Patrick Meehan for capturing the behind the scenes footage and Nathaniel Schmidt here at JCP for putting it all together.  
  

Behind the Lens - MN Twins "Winter Baseball"

JCP for MP3 "A Martin Patrick Lifestyle"

Spring is finally showing its face and we are excited to announce the premiere of “A Martin Patrick 3 Lifestyle.” The short film is a collaboration between JCP and the Minneapolis based men's clothing and accessories boutique Martin Patrick 3.  The project is an interlaced venture of film and fashion that will debut at the official pre-party for the ENVISION: Artopia^® Spring 2013 Fashion Show.

The event is open to the public and is being hosted by Jonathan Chapman Photographer & Director, Martin Patrick 3, and ENVISION: Artopia^® Spring 2013 Fashion Show. 

Thursday, April 11, 2013 | 5:30 p.m. | Video Premiere at Dusk

Martin Patrick 3 | Warehouse District of Minneapolis | 212 Third Avenue North Suite 106 | Minneapolis, MN 55401

Complimentary eats by CRAVE Catering as well as cocktails flowing throughout the event.  Live music by DJ Bryan Gerrard.

Drop by after work to hang with industry creatives and fashion gurus alike. Multiple creative partners who joined in the production effort will also be present. We hope to see you and look forward to sharing our latest visual collaboration.

For more information including event updates, release of teaser trailers and artwork please follow the Facebook event page at http://bit.ly/JCPforMP3Premiere. 

Stay tuned to the JCP blog where we will be launching teaser trailers in upcoming posts.

Collaborative partners and sponsors include: Splice, Filmerkid Visuals, Flashlight Photorental, Coelement, City Pages, Ignite Models, RAW, FreeArts.org, Crave America, Rocco Altobelli Salon and Day Spa.

Poster / promo design by Sam Trewick - thank you!

JCP for MP3 "A Martin Patrick Lifestyle"

Minnesota Twins "Winter Baseball"

"You always get a special kick on opening day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen." - Joe Dimaggio

With opening day just a little over a week away, we are all excited to kick off a new season of Twins Baseball.  In anticipation of the new season, we were brought into a project created and concepted for the Minnesota Twins Community Fund by Martin Williams.  We worked closely with the team at Martin Williams and Volt Studios to visually bring the project to life upon the frozen surface of Brownie Lake here in Minneapolis.  Pre-production involved creating an accurate baseball diamond the day before by having our team outline the shape of the ball field with a 100' measuring tape and shovels to remove enough snow to reach the base level of the lake.  As additional support for the project, and essential for the big reveal shot at the end of the piece, we collaborated with Picture Factory who brought in their Cine-Star 6  to fly a camera over the whole scene capturing an impromptu game in progress.  Further production supplies and support were supplied by Tasty Lighting.  Music "January Hymn," by The Decemberists.

The final 30 second spot has begun airing on TV and will also be shown at the Twins Stadium once the 2013 season is underway.  We hope you enjoy watching the alternate 60 second version of the spot here as much as we did creating it.

Check back on opening day, April 1st, for a look at the behind the scenes video as well as nod to everyone who rallied to make this a success.  Go Twins!
 

Minnesota Twins "Winter Baseball"

City Target - Seattle

One of the longtime mantras of Target; "Fast, Fun, and Friendly" might now need to add "Urban" to the lineup as the newest iteration of Target stores has been gearing up with multiple city locations that have a smaller footprint and cater to the needs of a denser population.

We spent time in the downtown Seattle City Target in collaboration with Little and Company capturing the visual essence of the new store format for a profile story in Target's RED Magazine.  Nestled in the lower 3 floors of the Newmark residential tower just blocks away from the world renowned Pike Place Market - the location couldn't be better.  

This City Target is one of three original stores of this type to debut; ready to serve a unique mix of office workers, tourists, and residents in nearby condos and apartments.  With additional City Targets in Chicago, San Francisco, and LA, the mega retailer is offering city dwellers an economical option in a boutique size.  It will be interesting to see how these new stores will be received as well as watching for possible integration into other urban markets.

We've been busy working on a number of fronts including a recent project in NYC for Ogilvy, a 23 hour trip to Alabama for Target, and prep for an upcoming production next week in Southern California.  Behind the scenes here at the studio it's been exciting to have Nathaniel Schmidt on board.  His new editing suite is nearly complete including a 50" monitor to showcase his editing magic.  In addition to all of this, we've been prepping still and film based visuals for the JCP brand refresh that's well in the works; once again tapping the talents of Eight Hour Day.  We're also psyched to be infusing the copy-writing talents of Charles Youel, the force behind ARTCRANK, on a new section of the website titled "Behind the Lens."  We'll also be teaming up with Charles on a forthcoming short film, produced by JCP, featuring NYC's Central Park.
 

City Target - Seattle

UHG - Work & Play

Projects vary with every client we work with and require different approaches for each scenario, which leave us with memorable experiences; one of them being a project we worked on last summer for United Health Group.

  

Hunt Adkins contacted us to create visuals for a recruitment lifestyle piece centered around a select group of superstar employees of United Health Group.  The creative concept centered around two scenarios for each employee; one illustrating their work life and the other representing an active experience they excelled at during their personal time.  Both images had to feel iconic in nature, demonstrating that the top employees at UHG work hard and play hard with equal amounts of balance and poise in their lives.  We wanted them to look heroic, knowledgeable and strong, yet approachable as members of the greater team.  For our blog post we've selected highlights from the outside of work, "play" series of the campaign.  Like nearly all of our projects, we not only shoot the hero campaign image, but as time permits work to shoot additional detail / story-telling visuals.  In the case of the UHG project these supporting images nicely augment the master shot we were hired to produce.

The project took us to many locations in and around the Minneapolis area including various UHG campus environments to create custom imagery for nearly 20 employees.  Location scouting took place over two days and became a matrix of logistics in and of itself.  Many of the subjects were flown in to participate, and coordinating their time with that of the locations and our crew was no small feat.  Our producer Tanya Silver once again did a great job lining things up to run smoothly, and as always our shining crew prevailed to help produce amazing imagery for our creative partners at Hunt Atkins and UHG.

Here it is, the heart of winter, and even though we are far from those long summer days, we continue to build on our past experiences and take on new scenarios in collaboration with agencies and clients alike.  Our latest adventure had us on a frozen lake, creating a little winter magic for a TV spot that you will have to keep an eye out for this spring.  Currently we are in NYC for a few days partnering with a new client as well as building relationships with new production partners.

We have a nice library of visuals queued up for a branding refresh that is well underway under the creative talents of Eight Hour Day.  It's always amazing partnering with both Nate and Katie as they truely bring the final shine to everything we exhibit.  The branding refresh will include updates to the portfolio, film reel, and the next iteration of the Newsprint promo.  There are a few other ideas in terms of promotion, that the new branding elements should nicely compliment.  We're always looking for creatively innovative ways to broaden both our experiences as well as how we present the visual elements of JCP.  Thanks for visiting the blog and stay tuned for some engaging updates and refinements...

UHG - Work & Play

North 47º - A Lake Superior Storm

 

“If you’re lucky, you’ll eventually find a few minutes to free your mind, let your wheels spin, and drift away to a place where something brilliant might wash up upon the shore…”  Rick Bannister, The Smith Journal 

Last November my 5-year-old daughter Frances “Frankie” and I set off for our once-a-year weekend together, bound for Northern Minnesota and a cabin on the shore of Lake Superior.  Travel “up North” is something most of us in Minnesota look forward to and welcome as often as we can accommodate.  It’s a destination that signifies something that is hard to put in words.  It seems it’s what it lacks that pulls you in, more so than what it offers.  Regardless of ones motive, the possibilities are endless amid the wilderness and waters of our some 10,000 plus lakes.  

While we departed with cloudy skies and windshield wipers humming, rain or shine we were once again excited to be leaving town together. Along our route the weather turned increasingly cold, with clouds growing thicker and winds gaining strength.  I knew long before we arrived that my idea of hiking through the woods along the waters edge, was not what Frankie would consider fun amid weather like this.

Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes, signifies in many ways the gateway to the north woods.  The vastness and the unpredictable nature of the water is something that keeps it engaging in terms of trying to figure it out, trying to take it all in.  Upon arrival to the cabin approximately 5 hours north of Minneapolis the temperature was just barely above freezing.  The winds were blazing across the water with surf hitting the shore in a way that many at the resort, including myself, had not often experienced but were excited to be witness to.  I awoke several times during our first night, sleeping some 50 feet from the surging waves that pounded the shore and windows of our seemingly snug, yet audibly uninsulated cabin.  Throughout the night the storm continued to grow, ratcheting up its intensity by the hour.

In the morning after stoking the fire and a slow breakfast Frankie and I set out to explore.  Just steps from our door Frankie was quick to advise she’d had enough.  I brought her in and contemplated heading back out, camera in hand for whatever I might be able to capture.  I was now pleased I had packed at least a few essential pieces of equipment.  I figured I’d last about 10 minutes, but was certain I would come away with visuals unlike any I’ve captured of the lake in the past.

The North 47° motion edit, named by the geographic coordinates of the storm, was captured that morning in no more than an hour of shooting.  Time in the elements was punctuated by many breaks to the cabin with Frankie tearing off paper towels to help dry both camera, lenses, and my face.  With feet firmly rooted and backside to the wind I was able to grab no more than 2-3 second video clips, not sure what if anything would ever become of the footage. It was one of the most extreme conditions I’ve ever shot in.  Upon retiring to the cabin I found the view from our upstairs bedroom window almost as interesting as the waters edge.  Racking or shifting focus from blowing trees and surging waves to water droplets running down the window offered a quieter element to what I had just been struggling to capture outside.

Needless to say it was an exciting edit to see come to life.  All video clips that I captured were shot in slow motion at 60 frames per second (60 fps), a look that many in the realm of video are currently drawn to as camera technology continues to evolve.  NathanielSchmidt, one of our most recent partners in the world of video put the footage together against an audio track that quiets and compliments the wind, waves, and turbulent nature of the footage.  Upon completion we taped the talents of Coelement for graphic animation.

I am appreciative of each and every hour I am able to steal away to the North Shore, especially one-on-one adventures such as this with my kids.  Lake Superior never ceases to offer something humbling, regardless of the season...

North 47º - A Lake Superior Storm

Schwinn 2013 Catalog

A new year brings new opportunities and of course new work.  The debut of the 2013 Schwinn Catalog is out in select worldwide bicycle retailers showcasing their new line up of bikes ranging from Urban style to Cruisers, and Sport Hybrid to Mountain bikes and more.  It's a pretty sweet collection of bikes.  Design certainly hasn't been overlooked as the brand continues to evolve.  The matte black "Cruiser" model above even comes with a built in bottle opener.

Over two days of shooting for Schwinn we set up in multiple locations around the Minneapolis area, each lending to the perfect backdrop for each particular style of bike.  The results are evident in the new catalog as the bikes stand out with the complimentary environments adding to the strength of the imagery. 

We are quite pleased with how everything turned out.  It's refreshing to look back amid the cold of winter, at a mid-summer production, recalling sunny skies, green grass, as well as all the bikes and locations we paired up for this project.  

Happy New Year to all those we worked with last year.  We are looking forward to continued adventure and all that 2013 has in store!
 

Schwinn 2013 Catalog