Thursday, April 23 2015

Ever have one of those days where you don’t feel like your self just enough that it makes you better understand who you are?

Sunday, June 16 2013

Since Harry and Stacy are still in Halifax and it’s father’s day today I decided to visit my parents for the weekend.

Dad stopped by Wallace studios Friday afternoon in time to watch me direct our last two segments. We even had him mark the last slate of the day and I got a great little video of him doing it from behind the monitors!

Saturday was a lazy day of yard work and plant shopping with dad. It’s the first time I’d mowed his backyard in a decade!

Afterwards I couldn’t wait anymore, so I headed off to the Cineplex Odeon Mississauga (formally the Famous Players Colosseum) to watch THE MAN OF STEEL.  I’ve got to say that the Colosseum has improved in the digital revolution. Image quality and sound levels in theatre 9 were terrific. It also felt great when the making OPENED UP to expand to scope, which you just don’t see anymore.  I’ve grown so used to complain about everything to do in the suburbs that I was struck by how pleasant an experience watchinh a movie at the old Colosseum was.  Famous, you certainly broke the mold back in 1995 when you started the multi plex revolution in Mississauga!

Sunday, June 16 2013

Since Harry and Stacy are still in Halifax and it’s father’s day today I decided to visit my parents for the weekend.

Dad stopped by Wallace studios Friday afternoon in time to watch me direct our last two segments. We even had him mark the last slate of the day and I got a great little video of him doing it from behind the monitors!

Saturday was a lazy day of yard work and plant shopping with dad. It’s the first time I’d mowed his backyard in a decade!

Afterwards I couldn’t wait anymore, so I headed off to the Cineplex Odeon Mississauga (formally the Famous Players Colosseum) to watch THE MAN OF STEEL.  I’ve got to say that the Colosseum has improved in the digital revolution. Image quality and sound levels in theatre 9 were terrific. It also felt great when the making OPENED UP to expand to scope, which you just don’t see anymore.  I’ve grown so used to complain about everything to do in the suburbs that I was struck by how pleasant an experience watchinh a movie at the old Colosseum was.  Famous, you certainly broke the mold back in 1995 when you started the multi plex revolution in Mississauga!

Wednesday June 5 2013

I’m three days into SIMPLE THERAPY, a three week StudioM job that I’m the director and cinematographer for. Stacy and Harry both came to Wallace Studios for lunch and the whole cast and  crew got to meet them.
It was important to me that everybody see a bit of my personal life. My family is what I truly am, and the more transparent my personality is to those around me, the more I am myself. I am confident, and I can cut right to the heart of what I’m doing.

Friday, May 17 2013

It appears to be nine months since my last entry… I’m sat on a bench at the Lightbox thinking I’ve mistakenly arrived for a cancelled Film In A Day. At least I’ve got a booster juice to keep me company.

The last nine months have been busier than the five I did manage to write about. Most recently I completed work as the cinematographer on OUT WITH DAD’s 3rd season, which was the most fulfilling professional experience of my career thus far. I can’t say enough about the people of that cast and crew; their positive attitude and excitement for the show’s message of unconditional love and acceptance. When I learned of OUR WITH DAD years ago I knew straight away that I simply HAD to shoot this show, and it’s the first project that I really pushed myself into. The experience had paid off in spades and I could not be happier with the results.  Our first trailer will debut in a week and change at Jonathan Robbins’ CLUTCH screening at the REVIEW, and j can’t wait to balance the color and contrast in resolve, then see it on the big screen! I honestly believe this is my best work to date, and I’m a bit surprised it looks as good as it appears to in the gag reels Jason put up for all of us missing each other and the shoot.

Thursday August 9 2012

The last month has been very busy.  Flew out east to Nova Scotia for our mini family vacation, and Canadian Superbike Round 4.  Landed Wednesday afternoon and had all day Thursday with Harry,  Stacy, and Karen. Spent Friday through Sunday at Atlantic Motorsport Park with the vroom vroom superbikes, and got back to Karen’s sunday night.

Mini vacation included; buying Karen a new notebook computer and wifi router so she could use it anyplace in the house,  taking Ezra to see The Dark Knight Rises at the only IMAX theatre in the Maritimes let him navigate and captured all of our wrong turns on a license plate mounted GOPRO camera,  and lost Karen’s car keys at Conrad’s Beach resulting in quite an expensive vab ride fir Tracy, back into town for the spares.  Just got a message from Stacy that the keys returned via purolayer thanks to the war amps tag on the chain!  I guess they didn’t end up in the Ocean!

I flew home Saturday morning, leaving Stacy and Harry in Dartmouth to play gaffer for Kevin Rasumssen on THE JUNCTION for 7 days of nights with Pete S and Matt Richards.  A quite green production crew lead to a lot of delay, but our well oiled tech team managed to scramble out a pretty great looking and well lit 1950s Toronto.  On my lonly day off I managed to catch a sad remake called TOTAL RECALL snd a hilarious sci fi comedy called THE WATCH, as well as sneaking the climax of DARK KNIGHT RISES in true 15/70 IMAX twice. Somewhere in there a shot a StudioM Pantene spot, skyped with stacy in the rain under a tree, and discover a 2for1 sushi deal on queen street.

Stacy and Harry got back in the middle of my night and Harry met me at the door at 8am as I  dragged my feet (and a big rubbermaid of duvateen).  We went straight to the park where I faught back the world’s heaviest eyelids all the way to 1030!  Got Yorgos camera back frim repair, and got Ians camera for my Idea Workshop shoot next Monday.

Now I’m in the back of AJ’s Pontiac listening to Faith No More’s Album Of The Year for what feels like the first time on a projected 6 hour drive to Mont Temblant Quebec for CSBK round 5.

Saturday July14 2012

Camera and lens damaged on WEEKENDERS QUITTER day 2.  Yorgo’s 7d and a Vistek 24-70 slipped off a tripod head and hit the concrete.  This’ll be a heavy repair bill that could threaten the next WEEKENDERS movie.  It was an accident, but it was me holding it, and I carry a heavy respocibility for the miss-hap.

Thursday, July12 2012

Rigging day a William F Whites for Mike Cameron’s WEEKENDERS “QUITTER” improv feature film.  My gaffer Sheldon has big ideas involving a lighting board and 15 kenos hung over the offices.  15 kenos; this is a record for me.  Having cart blanch at Whites us pretty awesome, and I felt I needed to contain my self from over engineering are lighting.  In the end there will be onky one stand in the office which jaws will need to dress, and we opted not to rig anything in the wearhouse scenes, in favor of rolling stands that will move about according to the blocking.  This was done to give the Whites guys turn around on sinday night before theur 7am start back in their own wearhouse.

Brandon and I reworked the hours and turn around in favour of the crew, as Mike and Yolanda had over planned their days in favour of the actors improv time.

Going to be a long weekend of  night shoots.

Monday, July 9 2012

Friday, Saturday and Sunday was CSBK round 2 at Autodrome St. Eustache Quebec.  Got to know some more riders, got a lot of race footage, and got taken out for dinner Saturday night by the Pirelli tires guy from the US.

Wednesday, July 4 2012

Drove out to Mississauga after few hours sleep to return the CRV and have a late lunch with ma, pa, and grandma (and Stacy and Harry).