I spent the last few days working with SHOOTER INC. (one of my favorite production houses) on a project for PETA. The project was directed by Scott Whitham and produced by Maureen McKenna.

We shot nearly 40+ PETA employees delivering lines against a seamless gray backdrop. We shot at PETA’s DC offices in a makeshift studio. The video is going to be PETA’s flagship video for the next few years to come. The footage will be cut together with archival material and some fresh graphics, I think its going to look awesome.

Tech wise we shot on the Panasonic HPX170 with Letus and a Canon 50mm 1.4. We light it all with a Joker 400 with a Chimera… if I could only own one piece of lighting gear, it will be the Joker HMI.

This past week I spent a few days working on the feature documentary Men of the Cloth. The film, directed by Vicki Vasilopoulos is about the dying art of tailoring. I’ve been shooting the Philadelphia portion of the film, which follows Joe Centofanti, a 91 year old tailor who owns a shop in Ardmore, PA.

I’ve been really enjoying working on this project. Two thoughts keep going through my head when shooting… #1 - I have a great appreciation for anyone that can work with their hands. I feel really fortunate that my own work it is not only creative but also very, very hands on. #2 I hope I’m still shooting and passionate about it when I’m 91!

In an unrelated note i currently have an article on the website SportsShooters.com. I was asked to write about my experience using the canon 5d mkII and 7d for international doc work.Check it out!

Its not a coincidence that I travel a lot for work. In fact i often seek out opportunities to travel and my next big trip is no exception.

Over the holiday break I received the final production schedule for the feature documentary Play Money. It was the longest itinerary I have seen in a while. It includes 8 flights, approximately 18,000 miles, 40 + flying hours, 4 major US cities (Portland, San Fran, LA, Chicago) and finally wraps up in Japan!

While some would dread that much travel (Okay, I don’t like flying but I have gotten use to it) I welcome it! Once the shoot is wrapped I’ll be traveling a bit on my own in Japan and Korea so if you happen to be in Busan, Seoul or Tokyo drop me a line!

I’m starting to get pretty good at sitting on long flights. Last week I headed to Nagoya, Japan to shoot a short doc with Director Tony Gilmore and producer Tammy Chu. Unfortunately the 5 day shoot turned into a 4 day shoot after getting stuck in Detroit for 24 hours, but thats the nature of the beast.

The project was about Craig Morrey, an american father stuck in an extremely difficult position. His son Spencer has an extreme case of CB, which requires 24 hour medical care. Due to a custody battle and international child abduction laws, Craig is stuck raising his disable son alone in a foreign country.

We shot the entire project vérité style on the Canon 7d. We used a Zoom H4 for sound and used the old school “double system” approach. We shot in various hospitals, on trains and in downtown Nagoya. I’ll be adding much more about the shoot on my blog shortly.