Earnestine & Hazel's

The South- where roots, place, family, and tradition are the essence of identity. - Unknown

A few weeks back a project for Target's RED magazine had us traveling once again down to the Target House in Memphis, TN. No doubt it’s a favorite location to spend a few days working, as well as time experiencing this fine slice of southern living. While in Memphis, we were fortunate to secure access and spend an afternoon shooting stills + motion at the legendary Earnestine & Hazel's.

The passage of time leaves its mark on places we inhabit, and in turn upon those who inhabited these spaces. Earnestine and Hazel’s at 531 South Main Street in downtown Memphis, TN (having a colorful history as a sundry shop, bar, hotel, and brothel to name a few) is one of these places that has been around long enough to fill volumes with tales of triumph, defeat, jealousy, reconciliation, love won, love lost. It’s a breath of old, fresh air that circulates a certain mystique of smells, sounds, and visuals to all who enter the front door - the wealthy, the poor and everyone in between.

The building containing Earnestine & Hazel’s speaks for itself and the location made for the perfect setting for the test shoot we put together including two local models and a talented wardrobe stylist. Our talent Kaycee and Cassie were wonderful to work with and fit nicely within our vision of this project. Sona Amroyan brought many options for wardrobe and as a fashion designer herself, pulled a few original pieces from her collection to augment what we already had in mind. The still and motion visuals captured are different from what we have done in the past. We implemented a variety of light modifiers, which added to the overall look and helped us push this project in a new direction. The importance of testing is still paramount for us in an effort to create new looks and try out new ideas. There is no fail in a test only learning and building upon a foundation of the tried and true.

Enjoy a slice of life from a historical venue in Memphis, and be sure to check out the next post when we unveil the long awaited “Of Feather and Brace” a motion based tale of hunting one year in the making.

Earnestine & Hazel's

Land O' Lakes in PA...

"Farming looks easy when your plow is a pencil, and you're a thousand miles from the corn field." - D. Eisenhower

It feels as if we've been on the road more than in town these past few months. Travel has taking us nearly everywhere, from east to west and from urban to rural. A late summer project for Land O' Lakes via Colle+McVoy brought us to the beautiful countryside of middle Pennsylvania. We spent two days profiling two dairy farm families that have been associated with Land O' Lakes for many years.

We were tasked with creating stills with guidance from our art director Barrett Haroldson who designed the "Our Story," section of the Land O' Lakes website shown above. Despite the early mornings and late evenings the days went by quickly. Mike, Maria, and their four children were more than gracious with their time. Rural Pennsylvania could not have been a better backdrop to spend a couple of days. Work rarely seems like work amid environs such as this.

We have a backlog of new work and some interesting blog posts in line for weeks ahead. On deck, a lifestyle + fashion based project shot in a former Memphis brothel. The next JC|P Motion installment "Of Feather & Brace," will follow. A short narrative profiling the life of a hunter alone in the woods with his black lab, "Lady."

Land O' Lakes in PA...

"The Bike That Meant Everything"

"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Every so often an editorial assignment comes our way that has a different angle than most others and ends up leaving a bit more of an impression upon us. A call from Bicycling Magazine led us to a unique project that would turn out to be as much about an inanimate object as it would the people around it. The diversion from the usual editorial project tasked us with capturing the essence of a road bike, but not just any ordinary two wheels on a frame; this was "The Bike That Meant Everything."

The original owner and rider, Brad Rogers, saved up enough money from his job to buy the Bianchi SS when he was 16. Expensive as it was, the bike turned out to be the investment of a lifetime providing years of rider satisfaction, adventure and mobility that only deepened an already established love of bikes and biking. Brad's wife and children explained to us how important this bike was to him even after he was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and no longer able to ride. Although his time in the seat had come to an end, the longstanding history continued through his daughter Mikaela who developed a special rapport with her dad's bike and would routinely ride the bike to work until the day it went missing from the storage shed (pictured above) in their backyard. All those years of service and the personal history built up through each push of the pedals were gone. A few months later, thanks to an online posting, the keen eye of a fellow biker, and Brad's diligence in finding his beloved Bianchi, the bike was returned to the family.

Although Brad is no longer here, his bike remains as a tangible memory and a treasured part of the family's shared history. Read the full story by Frank Bures via bicyclingmagazine.com

"The Bike That Meant Everything"

Fall 2011 "Newsprint" Promotion

"Design is an opportunity to continue telling the story, not just to sum everything up." - Tate Linden

Fall is here and so marks the first quarterly installment of the JCP Newspaper. The idea is one that has been in the back of our minds for quite some time. We were looking for a different way to send out the newest work in an unconventional, albeit traditional printed format. A newspaper seemed the most likely answer to what we were looking for. It has the ability to showcase a number of new still + motion projects as well as allow ample room for well thought out and executed design. Unfolding a 17 x 23" newspaper, viewing full spreads of imagery on 35lb. paper seems a refreshing way to share work in an era of all things electronic.

This is the first of four issues that will hit creative mailboxes worldwide over the next year. Be sure to check out the electronic PDF version if you missed out on the actual mailing. You'll find a download link on the home page of the JCP website.

Fall 2011 "Newsprint" Promotion

The Lot: Four Stories, One Space, Four Hours...

"The Lot" is a motion project based on the simple idea of one space telling four stories in four hours. Five models were asked to participate in four unique activities. A minimal storyboard, open to experimental interpretation, and creative vision fueled this project from concept to execution.

Thanks to all the crew and talent recognized in the credits for bringing the idea to life.

The Lot: Four Stories, One Space, Four Hours...

Full Sail in Marina del Rey...

"The sail, the play of its pulse so like our own lives: so thin and yet so full of life, so noiseless when it labors hardest, so noisy and impatient when least effective." - Henry David Thoreau

A recent project for Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles provided us with the opportunity to arrive a day early and work on a test shoot. The main objective was to have a small group of talent interacting on a boat sailing out into the ocean. Bobbi Peacock, our producer, put out the word and in no time at all we were walking aboard a 40' sailboat alongside talent making introductions and greeting the man who would be our captain for the next four hours. As one can imagine the setting was just right for this type of test; the perfect southern California weather coupled with a gorgeous sailboat full of great talent cutting through the dark salty depths.

The time we spent in the harbor of Marina del Rey was quite calm and gave us time to acquire a temporary set of sea legs, but soon enough we found ourselves rising and falling to the rhythm of 6' - 8' swells which our captain pointed out as being most unusual for that area. We faced a few challenges regarding the high seas, but it only added to the look and feel of the stills and heightened the overall sense of adventure. Sailing is all at once calm, dangerous, spontaneous, rewarding, and addictive in that it's nothing like a land based activity.

Keep your sights on the horizon for a future motion piece to accompany the still imagery.

Full Sail in Marina del Rey...

Broadcast spots for St. Elizabeth Healthcare

"Neo Natal"


"Orthopedics"


"Hope"

Our involvement with the Newport, KY based agency Intrinzic began several years ago with several still / print based shoots for US Bank. Todd Lipscomb was the creative director on these past projects and served in the same capacity for a collaboration this past May: five 30-second broadcast spots for St. Elizabeth Hospital. To date this was the most robust motion shoot we have been a part of and took us to a new level in terms of equipment, crew, locations, and overall collaboration on multiple broadcast spots. Todd knew this was our largest motion based production to date and was confident that our approach to "visual storytelling" was a perfect match.

We spent a full week in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky working on filming the five commercials within the St. Elizabeth hospital system as well as multiple locations throughout the greater Cincinnati area.

Our Minneapolis based broadcast producer Peter Mullin of 14Pics, couldn't have been a better fit for this project as he kept us on schedule and guided us along from the initial estimate request throughout the final shot on the last storyboard. Peter really showed us the value of bringing on a broadcast based producer for a project of this size and scope. His combined efforts, with the tireless energy of the agency based producer Megan Pautke, allowed us to focus on the creative elements rather than back end issues such as wrangling new born babies and hiring police to shut down roads.

Eric Schleicher our second camera operator helped us gear up with the latest color profiles from Technicolor as well as recommending the purchase of multiple items including the "Powered Cage," an HDDSLR housing, designed and engineered by Viewfactor that helps smooth out many of the bumps surrounding the HDDSLR shooting experience. Eric also worked each evening making sure everything was ready to go before we started filming at first light each day.

Mark and Luke our Cincinnati based gaffers were great assets with years of experience in the film side of the business. They helped out immensely with both lighting and logistics, offering skills and knowledge that traditional photo assistants typically don't possess on the still side of the business.

While this certainly was a great project, both creatively as well as having the budget to access great people, talent, and locations, more than anything it provided a greater sense of confidence as we continue to collaborate on the film side of the business.

Enjoy three of the five final broadcast spots, edited by Tate and Craig at Cincinnati based Red Echo Post. Watch for a longer "director's cut" at the Motion section of the site in days ahead. This additional cut will feature footage that the confines of a 30-second spot just couldn't incorporate.

Broadcast spots for St. Elizabeth Healthcare