Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Lacuna Coil "Fire" Director Brendan Kyle Cochrane

Its been a whirlwind of activity since we opened the midtown offices and we are ramping up for a number of productions. I can only share snippets of this as its still in post and going through the rounds but we shot 2 videos for Lacuna Coil an Italian rock band that are truly awesome to work with. We shot on location at the same place where they filmed a scene from Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" I don't want to give too much about the location as its a gem and also I'm still in post but I am really excited about this video the new alliances that can come from opportunities like this and the crew who kicked ass. I wish I could share more about the production but stay tuned for the video and go out and buy their records so we can make more of these!!

Usher "Untitled Performance"

This was definitely something different and I was truly grateful and thrilled to have been a part of this. Usher performed as part of a show called 'Fuerza Bruta' we were called in by anonymous liaisons to document for Usher this awesome performance. The show which is basically an interactive performance piece meaning the audience stands and is surrounded by this strange and wondrous world was incredible to watch and film. Particularly watching dancers swim above you. The music was also killer and the Rick Ross track featuring Usher is a video that if I could make I would blow the doors off what they normally would expect. We are getting approached by bigger and bigger companies seeking everything from Red technical support to full creative and production. I am really happy with the steps we are taking the client base we are establishing and the building blocks we are laying. Peter Gatien the old owner of the Limelight used to mix up the crowd having a small percentage of different demographics, cultures, people and characters. That lead to some of the best parties in the history of New York. I wanted to do the same thing with production. Establishing a hub where huge commercial companies and clients can go and also the little independent filmmaker or artist who just has a whole lot of drive and heart. Both will feel just as welcome and both will recognize the balance and potential in each others respective roles. We are rebranding our imagery, becoming a solid production resource for practically anyone and most importantly we deliver when its crunch time. So if you are a company considering putting together a full production - know we are committed and we are in it for the long haul. Thanks to Usher - he is an awesome artist!

'Diggy' "2 Up" Director Clifton Bell - Producers Brendan Cochrane and Executive JeVonne Cortez

A fun shoot for artist 'Diggy' who has a catchy sound and who will probably be rising the ranks of mainstream media if they market him correctly and he continues to produce. I'm probably more familiar with his parents era having grown up in Queens and being a huge Run DMC & Beastie Boys fan but those days are slowly fading and its amazing that kids today aren't even familiar with a lot of the pioneering lineage. Definitely want to express my thanks to GhettoNerd always enjoy working with Cliff and family and a really big special thanks to Canoe Studios who were stellar in there accommodations. BBQ, tiramisu and awesome catering on a hip hop shoot is rare and even rarer done well. The Canoe family are really good people and if I get the big budgets I would definitely like to bring them more business. Thanks to everyone who came out.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

NYLAHD NEW STUDIO SPACE AND COLOR CORRECTION BASE




NYLAHD opened a new studio space on 38th & 8th. To quote Director Clifton Bell "you have to speak it into existence" So here are the goals to be spoken. I want to follow a similar model to Ridley or Tony Scott; Direct & Produce TV, commercial, music video and film work and have a company that is a full service company. A company capable of providing everything from technical support to creative from pre-to-post production in virtually any genre and do it well. So here is to a great beginning to 2012. Our new office number is 212 960-3530.

Nike The Chance Director Jonathan Bregel DP Khalid Mohtaseb Executive Producer Tyler Ginter Producer Brendan Cochrane





Nike decided to go with a more intimate portrait and a more personalized portrayal of a main character which I think Jon was really passionate about. This second spot is definitely more cinematic in terms of the aesthetics - I miss the sporty action piece but am glad that this turned out the way it did and it opened my eyes both the Variable's capabilities and bold cinema in general. I'm waiting for someone to give me a shot at some real epic Bruckheimer type productions but I think working with these guys we are definitely on the right path. Big thanks to Nike, NYC Mayors Office, NYC Parks Department, Variable, all the athletes, their families, Elspeth, NYLAHD, Hannah, Dave, Tony, Joe and Big Shot Inc. & of course Spike Lee and 40 Acres - Spike I want to work on Old Boy you can shoot it on Epic!! + I have 10 years of real world experience!

Citibank Olympic Athletes Production Company A76 DP Marshall Coles Production Support Technical Services NYLAHD




One of the reasons I started NYLAHD was to make it the 'go to company' for every facet of production - ideally commercial, music video and film production. With new offices and full color correct capabilities, in house studio and three Reds an Epic X, Red MX and Scarlet X as well as full lens set and camera support NYLAHD can now service major league productions simultaneously. What was awesome about working with A76 was that they wanted our system on set and our guys matching different formats to send off to their post producer. In hindsight I learned a few things that would help for future productions but these guys are great to work with and the work product is stand out. Looking forward to more large scale productions. The system we own that these guys were using is a 12 Core Mac Pro with 24 Ram, Red Rocket, Cubix Expansion Chasis, Cal Digit Raid 8TB, Avid Control with Davinci Resolve, Adobe, Final Cut.

Nike The Chance Director Jonathan Bregel Variable Producer Brendan Cochrane DP Bruce Francis Cole





When I got the call from Director Jonathan Bregel to produce a Nike commercial I was grinning ear to ear. Jon had officially formed his company Variable with co-creative minds Khalid Mohtaseb and Tyler Ginter who at the time were busy with a Pennzoil commercial. These guys do outstanding work and are very demanding in terms of their standards as am I. So it was both an honor and refreshing to be given the reigns to handle what at the time was a heavy sports themed commercial. The Chance is basically a competition that encourages kids from all over the world to film their soccer playing friends and upload that footage in hope of getting signed by one of the best professional teams in the world. On top of this was the fact that this spot would be narrated by Spike Lee - someone whom I tremendously respect and admire - especially for films like the 25th Hour and Inside Man. I worked on Clockers years ago and seeing Spike and the body of work he has amassed was incredible. I really want to share so much here but hopefully we can collaborate one day. The commercial was shot over several days one day at Spike's 40 Acres location and another at Thomas Jefferson Park - thanks to Parks Department and all the kids who participated. Bruce Cole was the Director of Photography and I love working with Bruce. We had a Phantom. Camera cart, Epic X, Scarlet X and a steadicam. The commercial was almost in the final stages of post - when the powers that be decided they wanted a different commercial. So we shot another one see below. I hope that one day this one can see the light of day as it was energetic and really captured kids passion for the sport of soccer.