Production

Shooting the action sequences in the Trane AC commercials

Jun 1

It’s Hard to Stop a Trane: Shooting Action Sequences

How we shot the action sequences for a series of Trane AC commercials with extreme heat and a bus crash.

May 18

“Act of Valor” Workflow and Post Production

My name is Mike McCarthy, and as the production engineer for Act of Valor, I worked with Shane and his team in developing solutions to the obstacles presented by early DSLR filmmaking, both on set and in post.

May 8

“Those Kisses” Music on “The Ticket”

The running scene in “The Ticket” that uses my song “Those Kisses” reminds me why I got into the business of making music for films.

May 3

Po Chan’s vision for “The Ticket” discussed on the Digital Convergence Podcast

In this special edition of the Digital Convergence Podcast, Chris Fenwick delves deep into the mind and vision of Po Chan – a remarkable visual story teller, artist, and director of both “The Last Three Minutes” and “The Ticket.”

Low angle shot in the gaming area of the pier

Apr 20

Looking Inside the Canon1DC DSLR 4K Capture Project “The Ticket”

We have had an outpouring of positive feedback on Po Chan’s film “The Ticket.” Everyone at Hurlbut Visuals wanted to give you an inside look at how we used the power of this incredibly flexible, lightweight, DSLR platform, the A camera system that is the 1DC. It gives any filmmaker the ability to dream.

Getting in close with the 1DC with Canon 50mm Cinema Prime with MCS action cam rig

Apr 16

The Next Gen in Digital Film Capture: Canon’s 4K 1DC

When Canon approached me to test and shoot a short film for their new 1DC 4K DSLR, I was more than excited. After the first night of testing, one word came to mind. WOW!!!

Shane Hurlbut shooting El Pollo Loco commercial

Mar 28

The Canon C300 on an El Pollo Loco Spot

The current spot was for El Pollo Loco, and the concept was a very action oriented camera, with snap zooms and quick handheld push ins and pull outs. I thought the Canon C300 would be the perfect camera for this job, lightweight and maneuverable.

Mar 15

Crash Cam: Filmmaking Inside the Box

Let’s look at how the crash cam world has changed because of the Canon 5D. It has replaced the eyemo that used to be a clapper of a 35 or 16mm with bad lenses. It could be blown up, bashed into, driven over, or you could even have a car land right on it.

Behind the Scenes - Keith Urban "Act of Valor" Music Video

Mar 9

BTS on the Keith Urban "Act of Valor" Music Video

When director Scott Waugh called me to shoot the video for the “Act Of Valor” credit crawl song “For You” by Keith Urban, I was excited to have the opportunity to get the whole Elite Team back together. It was equally exciting to hear Keith’s amazing song, which supported the story perfectly.

Mar 7

Act of Valor In-Theater Q&A Session

We were in LA on February 25th for a screening of Act of Valor, followed by a panel discussion organized by Barry Anderson. Our friends from planet5D filmed the event, and we are embedding that video below.

Nestor Serrano and Roselyn Sánchez in Act of Valor

Mar 5

Shooting Act of Valor Q & A

We’ve had a ton of questions via Twitter, Facebook and the hurlblog about shooting Act of Valor, so I thought I would share them in a Q&A format. Thanks so much to everyone for your support and kind words about the film!

Feb 22

Act of Valor: Reinventing the Action Genre

When Scotty Waugh and Mike “Mouse” McCoy, the incredible directing team at Bandito Brothers, asked me to shoot Act of Valor, I was excited, especially after listening to their unique vision for the making of this movie. I was ALL IN. The idea of reinventing the action genre was our mantra. To be able to immerse an audience in a 3D experience that was shot 2D; to capture POVs that felt like you were in an intense first person shooter video game; to move a 2.5 lb camera in ways that you have never seen before. These were the ideas that started to swirl in my head after our initial meeting.