Film

31 May

Posted at 15:40h in Art, Film, Music by
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Poster titled Music Triumphs Homophobia showing the Boston Gay Men's Chorus and a rainbow pride flag

Now Available on Prime

Wow! I’m so excited that everyone can now see this film on Prime. It was an honor to be part of creating this powerful documentary. Music Triumphs Homophobia tells the story of the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, a singing group that travels the world, spreading its message of love, acceptance, and equality. In this documentary, you will see how they advocate for LGBTQ rights all over the globe.

I had the opportunity to shoot some of the interviews in Boston. Members of BGMC shared their stories, and it was incredible to hear. The bravery, tenacity, and love that poured from these individuals was truly inspiring.

Remote Documentary Production

We filmed these interviews in Boston with our director working remotely from Los Angeles! The team from The Video Garage made it all possible. We used the Red Helium and sent an SDI signal from the camera through Zoom so that the director could see precisely what the camera was seeing. The director was able to approve the lighting that we had planned carefully during preproduction without catching the red-eye.

Shooting in the studio was great because we had a solid internet connection, it was easy to make adjustments, and all of our interviewees came to one place so we could work quickly. Overall it was a very smooth process because everyone had excellent communication and a desire for collaboration.

behind the scenes of the documentary interview set up featuring the camera and lighting and an empty chair waiting for the person to be interviewed

Want to use remote production for your documentary or film?

Reach out to me through the contact page.

01 Dec

Posted at 13:59h in Film by
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This holiday season, catch the Lifetime movie, A Show-Stopping Christmas! It was a lot of fun creating this Christmas movie. Serving as the film’s director of photography was a whirlwind. The script gave us so much to work with, and the entire cast and crew brought director John Stimpson’s vision to life. To get you up to speed, here is a quick synopsis: A passionate theater director has to keep her beloved theater from being sold by making this year’s rendition of “A Christmas Carol” into the biggest success ever. With the help of a Hollywood actor, it may not be impossible after all.

Creating a Look with the Camera

The goal was to create images that appear rich, deep, and saturated, and at the same time, warm and festive to bring the holiday mood to each scene. We chose the Arri Alexa Mini paired with the Cooke S4 lenses to capture this film. The superior color sampling of the Alexa, plus the sharpness, contrast, and depth provided by the Cookes, helped create the look. Camera operator Scott Lebeda framed up these beautiful shots while 1st AC Felix Giuffrida kept each frame in focus. I relied mainly on the Tiffen Satin filters for filtration, which have become a favorite for beauty work. 2nd AC Richelle Topping managed the filters, lenses, and all of our camera accessories, in addition to keeping track of reports and slating.

Approach to Lighting

The overall approach to lighting was high key to match the stage light provided by the theater. We used the existing stage lights and augmented them with our film lights and diffusion for the scenes in the theater. The Arri SkyPanel S-120 was the perfect tool for lighting the large seating area.

In the frame above, the main character Riley listens as Sam auditions for the role of Bob Cratchit in “A Christmas Carol.” Gaffer Dave Hallas rigged par cans from the balcony to backlight the actors and create gentle lens flares. Pools of light hit the seats, and we have a layer of garland peppered with Christmas lights along the back of the theater. Our actors are lit by the LED stage lights controlled by the house lighting board operated by G&E’s Henry Thompkins.

Learn More

Each scene of this film has a unique behind the scenes story. If you would like to learn more please comment. You can also follow me on Instagram to see more behind the scenes content.