Olson + Bauer -> Behind the Scenes...

Up to this point, the blog has been a venue to highlight finished still + video projects; however, for this installment we thought it would be great to add a behind the scenes look at the Bauer Hockey Athletic Camp 2010 via Olson.

Each of the nine players we photographed were suspended on an 8'x 5' sheet of 1.25" Plexiglas set into a custom iron frame sourced by producer Jim Graham of Power Plant Productions. The force exerted by the blades upon the surface of the Plexi turned out to be 100psi per hockey skate blade. With a professional NHL player above, I needed to ensure that he wouldn't come crashing through, which explains the need for the robust dimensions of the Plexiglas.

In addition to the still photos, composited by retoucher Brad Palm, take a moment to view the time-lapse sequence, compiled by Elemental Motion Media, of the crew and the NHL players that converged in Atlantic City to produce the still images.

Olson + Bauer -> Behind the Scenes...

Let's Go Fly -> Premiere

The newest addition to the growing JC|P Motion archive launches today. We are proud to present "Let's Go Fly" a collaborative piece brought about by the efforts of a great crew and talented post production team. As we've moved forward into video since the launch of HDDSLR cameras it became obvious very quickly that the most important and essential element to pull together any type of motion based project is seeking and building relationships with those in the film + video industry.

We would like to call out a few individuals that really helped shape and mold the piece from beginning to end into the final piece here on the blog.

Adam Duguay, of Elemental Motion Media, worked with us to finesse the finer points all through the editing process. He has implemented a cutting edge technique to help bring the grading as close as possible to the color corrected stills I initially provided as a guide. In addition to all of the editing, Adam has also brought my logo to life in a new animated form which is featured in this piece and will be present in all video projects going forward.

Katie Kirk and Nathan Strandberg of Eight Hour Day have been with me since the beginning working their design magic to elevate everything they touch to an amazing end aesthetic. Credit for the custom opening illustration goes to Katie and her sensibilities regarding the piece as a whole. She has helped guide us in a different direction graphically from our past motion designs, which has been a welcome change and will certainly influence our approach to the next project. Thank you both for your contribution to the piece.

"Let's Go Fly" is the third collaboration with Alex Horner who worked with us on filming "Un Jour Dans La Vie d'un Coureur" and "Bright Lights: Metal In The City." Alex has always brought a great sense of technical and visual insight to all our projects, and we have enjoyed seeing the various perspectives he provides as our second camera operator.

This piece is the first to have audio captured on location while we were filming and allowed us to bring in Patrick Schaefer. Patrick did a great job and helped educate us on the importance of slating a scene to make sure the audio is synced with the video when it comes time for the editing process. When you hear the birds chirping think of Patrick with boom in hand, mixers set and the record button on.

Without further ado..."Let's Go Fly"

Let's Go Fly -> Premiere

Curves and Discs -> Zimmer Spine

Our good friends at nFusion out of Austin, TX brought us on once again this year to continue to build as well as update the image library for Zimmer Spine that we started in 2009. This year we spent two days shooting in Minneapolis at a local hospital as well as Zimmer's recently remodeled HQ.

We've had great success in the recent past, securing a local hospital for a few projects and suggested to nFusion that this facility be used as the main location for the first day of shooting and production with Zimmer Spine. Having access to a real operating room helped our talent to ease into the roles of portraying a surgical team working alongside a Zimmer Spine representative. With an optimal environment such as this, it made it much easier to achieve a realistic look as well as increase and take the overall production value to a higher level than they were used to.

Our second day of shooting was spent at the Zimmer Spine headquarters in Bloomington, MN where various doctor / patient / Zimmer Spine Specialist scenarios shaped up nicely throughout the day. From conference room seminars with reps and surgeons, to a hands on practical experience in an on-site operating room, we had amazing surroundings for every scenario with each shot layered in realism and contemporary architecture.

As always a big thank you goes out to producer Bobbi Peacock and all the crew and talent who helped pull together two fruitful days of shooting in a variety of locations.

Next up- we'll be departing for St. Louis shortly to spend a couple of days amid the environs of a dog show at the "Purina Farm;" shooting once again for Purina via Colle+McVoy. I am really looking forward to this project as there seems to be no shortage of visual options with camera in hand at a dog show. There will no doubt be a post coming from this in the future...

Curves and Discs -> Zimmer Spine

Ice Time...

”A fast body-contact game played by men with clubs in their hands and knives laced to their feet.” - Paul Gallico

Another year of sharpening skates and taping up hockey sticks has come to a close at the 2010 Bauer Athlete Camp where travels took us once again on the road for Bauer via Olson Advertising. Encompassing two days of shooting in Atlantic City, our time was divided between the ice rink and an elaborate indoor setup at a local hotel.

Day one took place at a local NHL practice rink not far from the legendary boardwalk city. The ice arena became the playground for a series of individual skill tests and scrimmages between all the participating players and we had the privilege of better than front row seats to a great exhibition of what goes into being a pro and taking to the frozen stage in the NHL.

The second day involved a large sheet of plexi-glass and nine pro players in full gear, but that's all I'll disclose just yet. This will be the subject of a near future blog post w/ a sweet "stop-action" video that unveils a behind the scenes look at how the most interesting part of the shoot came together.

Although I'm not an avid follower of hockey, I always come away with a new found appreciation for the masters of blade and stick after spending a few days on their side of the frozen hallowed ground they know so well.

Ice Time...

Nothing to do...

A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in. - Robert Orben

A recent evening with my son Wesley, up north, at the lake. Our fourth year together on this trip to a cabin just outside of Ely, MN. Just Wes and I and some time away at a favorite place.

Nothing to do...

Let's Go Fly... -> Part II

"Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it." - Winston Churchill

With any project there is always a degree of production which invariably focuses on the "details." The recent kite project, which is taking shape nicely to be the next JC|P "Motion" feature, was no exception as we brought on talent, crew, equipment, and props-both large and small.

The largest item procured was a beautifully maintained 1971 MG B roadster brought to us by the owner Al Anderson through a contact at Quality Coaches. The classic British sports car provided an alternative option to American iron. With the top down, the car provided a micro environment to photograph our mother and daughter amid wheat fields, tall grasses, gentle rolling hills and an almost infinite sky. On the smaller end of the spectrum we combed the internet and worked with a local prop stylist to secure several varieties of kites- not knowing what would work best to tell the narrative we had loosely storyboarded.

In between seemingly non-stop travel over the past couple months, we've been in contact and conversation with our editor at Elemental Motion Media who is taking the reigns of editing, color, and audio for this project. We're also partnering once again with EightHourDay and look forward to the design elements they'll be bringing to the final piece.

The details are what tie it all together. We're getting close to the final cut; our next installment to the JC|P Motion section of the site. Check back soon as "Let's Go Fly" is nearing completion.

Let's Go Fly... -> Part II

St George's University - Full Circle

The third time is a charm as the old adage goes which applies to our recent collaboration with the Halo Group creating another round of hospital / physician based imagery for the Grenada based medical school, St. George's University.

Similar to the last shoot we used a very minimal amount of lighting, this time from LED 1x1 Litepanels via Cinequipt. Small, portable, and extremely efficient, the LED panels provided a quality of light right in line with the client's vision as well as our desired workflow. We've been using these and other continuous light sources as often as possible in recent projects allowing for video capture alongside our still scenes with minimal change in equipment versus that of traditional strobes.

As always a big thanks to Bobbi Peacock for producing the shoot along with our wardrobe stylist Deborah Fiscus as well as Ashlee Ellert who took care of all our hair and make-up needs.

We've spent a lot of time in hospitals and clinic based environments as of late. A sure sign of the current and future visual needs of clients...

St George's University - Full Circle