Projects / Films

Aug 4

The Canon 5D in Big Sky Country with the MARINES

I am on the road again directing for Bandito Brothers www.banditobrothers.com/ and loving it. As a filmmaker, I am taking advantage of this inspiring, creative tool (a 5D camera) while stretching the budget. Our goal is to show the influence of the Marines around the globe while…

Jul 16

Color Grading the 5D MKII for Case Combines

There have been so many great comments on the BTS of the Case Tractor commercial that I wanted to share the 30 second spot with you. I am always comparing the 5D to Reversal Film Stock because you have to get it close in camera.

Jun 14

A Hybrid Shoot In America’s Heartland for Case Tractor

Three weeks ago I was selected as the director for a national commercial campaign for Case Tractors. It would be my first solo directing gig after signing with the Bandito Brothers one month ago. In the commercial world, an advertising agency is hired by the client, which…

Jun 1

The Making of The Carnival Sequence from “The Last 3 Minutes”

Episode III “Carnival” was on Day two of our four day shooting schedule. This day was a very ambitious one because we had four company moves. We started at the ranch house location, moved to meadow location, then on to the main street location for the street fight.

Shane Hurlbut and Director Po Chan viewing the shot

May 17

The Making of The Vietnam Sequence From “The Last 3 Minutes”

We are going to give you a special treat on this blog. When I travel around the world, many people come up and ask me about the one shot helicopter crash in Terminator:Salvation. So I thought this was a fitting place to talk about all in one shot sequences…

May 4

The Making of The Janitor Sequence From “The Last 3 Minutes”

When Canon and Hurlbut Visuals teamed up on this joint venture, we wanted to put together a trilogy of Behind the Scenes videos where I narrated about what goes on inside my head as a cinematographer. We also wanted to show that even though there is a planning process…

Apr 16

The Making of “The Last 3 Minutes”

When Shane told me he wanted to shoot behind the scenes footage of “The Last 3 Minutes” I was very excited as I had only used the 5D MKII for narrative work. I knew that using the 5D for run and gun style documentary work might be a challenge and loved the idea of diving in head first.

Apr 7

"The Last 3 Minutes" Canon 5D 24p Firmware Shines

As the pressure from commercial production companies and the ad agencies started to inquire about needing 24p and that they could not deal with the rendering time of all the twixtor files, the 7D started to rise as the premium capture. That is when the aha moment happened for me. I thought, why is everyone asking for second best when the Canon 5D is king.

Mar 30

Color Correction: Put Your Best Foot Forward

My first experience with the 5D DI color correction was for the Terminator Webisodes produced by the Bandito Brothers through Wonderland Sound and Vision. McG asked me to be the Director/Cameraman for these alternative marketing shorts that were going on the Internet.

Mar 15

Keeping It Small

I have been doing research on other sites recently and checking out the monster camera configurations that people are creating. I question if that is the right path based on the two things attracted me to this camera; the filmic looking sensor and the size.

Feb 12

The Power of Focus

Focus is probably one of the biggest obstacles that the 5D encounters. So many of our colleagues have questions and wonder why it is absolutely essential to have a focus puller. They are the backbone of this amazing technology. Shooting with practical…

Feb 3

Cinema Style Lenses

I am back on land and ready to tear it up. The January newsletter has been a big success and I thank you all for your comments and suggestions. This is a collaborative effort and we value your input.

I have been getting many comments from people…

Dec 16

A Media Manager Has Your Back

In the world of HDSLR technology, media management is a very important position. Every Elite Team member has held this position at some point during the untitled Navy Seal Movie to gain an understanding of HD image capture in a small footprint work-flow system.

Dec 3

Navy Swimmer: Mountain Rescue & Sea Rescue Sequences

Here is the breakdown for the Mountain Rescue portion of Navy Swimmer.

– 1-camera in deep water housing which captures underwater and split level shots
– 1-camera mounted on the Navy Swimmers helmet to capture him exiting the helicopter and being lowered down in between the rocks…

Nov 27

Navy Swimmer: Pool Training Sequence With Real Time Workflow

The Bandito Brothers Production Company has a very unique work flow. I have adopted the Bandito Brothers “Real Time” shooting module and combined it with “traditional” filming. Here is how we made it work for the Navy Swimmer commercial.

Imagine prepping, shot listing and then…

Nov 13

"Where’s The 5D" Winner Josh’s Visit To The Set

Josh came down to San Diego on Wednesday to join the me and the Elite Team for a 5am call. He stayed at the Indigo Hotel with us (my treat) the night before because I didn’t want him to have to drive all night for such an early shoot.

Nov 2

We Have A Winner To Our "Where’s the 5D" Contest

The “Where’s the 5D” contest was so close that the winner Josh beat our runner up Tim by a single shot. Josh will claim his prize this Wednesday when he visits me on the set for the day.

We decided to add a runner up prize…

Oct 30