My reel for 2011. Some incredible images captured, as well as soon incredible memories. I wonder what 2012′s reel will look like?

About 6 months ago, I shot a remake music video for “Welcome to the Jungle” by the wonderful Nina Martinez. The re-recording of the song was also rerecorded by my good friend and producer/composer Jonas Friedman at Emerging Music Group, who also helped write the score and edit foley with me on the film as well.  An extremely talented man that Mr. Friedman is.

This was by far one of the most all-encompassing music videos I have worked on thus far. Nina and her team came to me with a tour-de-force comic book concept for the video; Nina to be a superhero saving young souls from the underworld of which they descend into. The video was shot at 5 different locations over the period of 4 days, primarily in Bridgeport, CT. Locations were meticulously scouted and dressed as well by our art director, Chris Hancock. We were fortunate to get permits for some locations from the city of Bridgeport with as little as 5 days before the shoot in some cases. We lucked out.

This video features several skit scenes.  I have done opening skits on the majority of the videos that I have worked on, however this one is far more ambitious in that respect.  This required tedious sound dubbing in post, and also the presence of proper sound capture and a gaffer on set for dialogue capture on set.  I had never actually worked with a sound crew or boom operator before, and Aaron Miller, who is pictured below, was a pleasure to work with.

This was the first major project that I used a Canon 5D2 to shoot on.  I have to say I very much enjoyed using it.  The size is liberating.  You can shoulder the camera easily and get it into plenty of tight spaces as well.  Of course there were the usual image artifacts, however every camera has its work-arounds.  All in all, the low light performance and shallow DOF was great.  Shooting in high light was difficult at times due to the sensitivity of the large sensors, so ND’s had to be used.  Again, a slight work around.

A very special thanks to all of our cast and crew on this video.  It was a moderately large endeavor and everyone came together to create a fantastic piece of work.  You know who you are.

]]> http://nickforte.com/2012/01/09/welcome-to-the-jungle/feed/ 0 nickaforte IMG_6123 IMG_6212 IMG_6210 http://nickforte.com/2012/01/05/the-spielberg-affair/ http://nickforte.com/2012/01/05/the-spielberg-affair/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:51:09 +0000 Nick Forte http://nickforte.com/?p=691 ]]> I was very fortunate enough to have been given a pass to a private screening of Steven Spielberg’s new film, “War Horse” back in November. The screening also included a private Q&A with Mr. Spielberg at the end of the film, which featured discussion on the film but also his career as a whole. I brought my good friend Tyler with me who is also a huge Spielberg fan like me.

When the film ended, and the crew were setting up cameras to shoot the Q&A (which would be simulcast around the world to live audiences) we were trying to come up with serious questions to ask Steven. We were incredibly giddy to see Mr. Spielberg as one could imagine – we were also very very close. I then [jokingly] proposed the idea of making the “Auto-Erotica” joke from Jurassic Park to Steven, with regard to asking if any of the horses in War Horse were ANIMATRONIC robots produced by Stan Winston studios, whom has produced many of the famous beasts on the silver screen. (Gennaro’s character in Jurassic Park asks John Hammond if any of the scientists are “Auto, auto-EROTICA?” What he means to ask, is, are they animatronic; robotic) I thought it was clever, yet an informed question.

I wasn’t completely serious about making the wisecrack to Spielberg. Spielberg then came out, I gave him a standing ovation and the interview started. It was insanely awesome. I forgot about the whole thing and was totally enthralled just listening to Spielberg talk. Then about 20 minutes into the interview, Tyler leaned over and asked, “Hey what was that Stan Winston joke again?”

Oh no.

Of course, moderator Mark Harris called on Tyler.

There were only 2 questions taken from the New York audience, where we were. Out of 300 people, Tyler was one of them. Go figure. I’m convinced Tyler has an innate ability to attract trouble. Below are two versions, one is the mash up that I did on my viral channel with Tyler, entitled “The Spielberg Affair” and the second is the actual clip where Tyler asks the question.

I have to say, Steven was a champ about the whole thing. He got the joke – I’m not sure the audience did. I don’t think the moderator did. Spielberg answered the question seriously as well, which turned out to be just as interesting as the rest of the questions asked.

It should be noted that Tyler was very nervous while talking through the Mic, the sound was huge in the theater, and the audience could hear his voice trembling as well. Take note of the hand motions, as our friend Kevin says, “Like an Italian mother.” Spielberg was also looking DIRECTLY at Tyler when answering the question as well. So nerve-racking for Tyler. Epic for both of us afterward. Tyler for the win.

43:40 is the big moment:

I am seeking to shoot a short film on someone who fulfills these criterium. This film will be featured on a new internet startup seeking to display stories of individuals who have an inspiring or unique life story. The shoot for this would like be one day for a few hours, not much of a time commitment by any means!

Potentially millions of people will see this story and is a great way to gain exposure, and/or have your message communicated to the world! The company that approached is seeking stories that are colorful and are hoping to push these short films viral. I am very excited about this project and am now looking for that perfect backstory! Email me here if interested: nickaforte@gmail.com

An amazing film by Eliot Rausch + Phos Pictures that loosely illustrates the format for this:

“Eleven” is my latest 25-minute documentary that explores the lives of eleven veterans who have served from World War II up until today. This film was a project of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at The University of Connecticut.

Interesting backstory; Dr. Brian Chapman, Director of Outreach and the OLLI program, is my former employer.  I worked for the OLLI program during college and continued to work there after I had graduated.  During my time there, I helped promote the program through shooting promotional films and the like.  I have since moved on to shooting and directing full time, however Dr. Chapman and I have remained in contact, and he thus approached me to produce a film for OLLI’s annual Special Veterans Day ceremony at the campus.  Last year, Dr. Chapman and Lucien Lafreniere (producer on Eleven) were able to screen James Gandolfini’s WarTorn for the event before it was even released.  This year, they approached me to collaborate on a film of our own for the event.  For anyone who has seen WarTorn, this is a very high watermark.  It is an incredibly powerful film.

Ours would be slightly smaller in scope production-wise, however the stories are just as tremendously moving.  Eleven features military veterans that have served in conflicts ranging from over 70 years, starting from World War II.  This film also captures a breadth of experience that is very unique – you will hear experiences from men and women from all different branches, deployments, and training specialties.  The film aims to capture what their service meant to them, how it impacted them, and how their lives were changed after they served.  The film serves to commemorate these individuals and preserve their legacy, and also the rich first-hand isight into the conflicts during which they served.

One of the featured veterans, Wilfred Cabana, speaks with UConn Waterbury campus director Dr. William Pizzuto

It was an honor to be involved in this project.  It was humbling to take part in a project that would commemorate and preserve the history of the fine men and women who have served our country.  Having worked with both Dr. Brian Chapman and Lucien Lafreniere at OLLI for some time before this project, I was fortunate to thus have a working-shorthand with them.  Dr. Chapman served as an executive producer for this film, helping us form the overarching message of the film and also serving as our liaison with UConn for production on-campus.  Lucien Lafreniere is a Special Assistant to the Director at OLLI; he is also a UConn undergrad and also president of the VA’s Connecticut Chapter.  Lucien served as a producer and his role was vital in finding the veterans interviewed in this film.  He is also the person interviewing the veterans in the film.  You can see him in a few of the wide shots!

Production lasted only 2.5 days, with a time period of about 3 weeks to edit the film before the premiere; we shot about 20 hours of footage.  Post production was not fun.  I have since made a number of polishing edits to the film before uploading to the web – however least it be to say that I was working on this film until literally hours before it premiered due to the time constraint.  The idea to make a film as “filmic” as we did was a fairly last minute decision.  I believe this decision paid off tenfold however.

Technicals:  The film was shot on a Canon 5d Mark II, and a Sony HXR NX5U.  Audio was captured with a Rhode NT5 condenser microphone with audio running direct into the NX5.  The Canon barely has an option for on-board audio and is almost sonically defunct, so lots of syncing was necessary as the footage from the 5D was preferred due to its superior quality.  This added to the nightmare of editing on this film.  (There is a piece of software called Pluraleyes that does all of this automatically!) You will also see in some wider shots TWO microphones being used; this second mic was a Sony ECM-XM1 Shotgun Microphone that I had running into a separate Boss BR900 digital compact-flash recorder.  This was a safegaurd incase audio went down on the NX5.  I ended up mixing both together in the end.  The film is edited in Final Cut Pro, and I used Soundtrack Pro for various audio edits.  Grading was done entirely in three-way color corrector in FCP, and compressor used to convert the H264 footage from the 5D to ProRes422 24p.

Wil Cabana cut this Nazi armband from a fallen German soldier at Omaha Beach durng the Allied invasion of Normandy

Francis and Toni Escott met while they were both serving in the United States Navy

Ah yes.  The score.  My good friend Jonas Friedman at Emerging Music Group scored our film without even seeing more than a few minutes of rough cuts.  Jonas and I have worked on a number of recordings in the past and he really came through for me on this project.  We had a few meetings initially in which I explained what the project would be, and played a few VERY rough minutes that I had edited.  The majority of our process was by email and phone, talking about various concepts and themes that I thought would compliment the film best.  Jonas not only delivered a fantastic score, but did so without seeing any of the finished film, and turned out 6 amazing pieces in about 3 weeks – he wrote, recorded, and mixed everything himself.  A testament to his talent and work ethic.  This guy is amazing and consistently proves that he is the best around.  Visit his website (link above) and listen to more of his work.  Get used to it – you will only hear more of him as the years go on.

Behind the mixing board; Jonas Friedman is the composer of "Eleven," pictured here in his studio at EMG

Click here and listen to the full version of Jonas' piece: "The Nexus" from the film. Absolutely amazing.

I am very fortunate to have partaken in this film.  It is historically and socially significant.  As a novice filmmaker at the start of my career, this project really warmed up the idea of documentary filmmaking for me.  I have thought of myself in all the years prior as strictly a narrative guy.  For me, I typically thought of docs in the way of static cameras, poor composition.  However this is not true.  I learned on this project that documentaries can be visually compelling with regard to photography in addition to content – I have to thank Philip Bloom for his inspiration on this.  See some of his short documentaries here: www.philipbloom.net

Overall, I have found a new respect for peoples’ stories and also for documentary in general; it is really hard to do. There are no second takes.

Powerful imagery. Producer and Interviewer Lucien Lafreniere (right) stands with featured veteran Alfred Comeau; the Nazi flag pictured was also torn down from Omaha Beach by Wilfred Cabana (pictured above)

A short little film I put together for the sake of doing some low light tests on 5Dmk2.  The downtown Waterbury area is beautiful at night and full of historical landmarks.

Dylan Taylor is a professional touring drummer and producer who recently approached me to shoot a series of drum cover and promo videos.  Dylan is an incredibly talented musician who I had met in passing a few times in the past, however was given a formal introduction as of recent through his manager Adam Lopez at New Age Management.  As a drummer myself, I appreciated the range of songs that Dylan chose to cover for these pieces, running the gauntlet from pop, hip hop and rock. Mentored by John Miceli of Meatloaf, he has solid chops and a captivating visual style. I tried to capture this and work off of it during the shoot with a multiple camera setup, and using a high shutter speed and a good deal of closeups to make it filmic.

setting up a shot on the T2i

The first piece is simply a teaser trailer for the series, incorporating portions of  a live performance of “Kings and Queens” by 30 Seconds to Mars with an interview that we shot some days later.  The second which you see below is the actual interview integrated with portions of Dylan’s cover of “The Show Goes On” by Lupe Fiasco.  The first actual cover video is Pink’s “Raise Your Glass” at the bottom.

The shoot lasted approximately a day and a half, with the interview portion you see above being shot on a separate day at an exterior location.  I shot using my NX5U, Canon 5D, and a Canon T2i, and a basic 2 point lighting set up.  The recording space was small, and it was tough to find depth in the shots especially with the white walls, so I opted to go for a lot of overheard shots, closeups, etc.

All in all, we shot 5 pieces, the latter two are to be released in the upcoming weeks.  You can also view these videos on Dylan’s youtube channel here.  Be sure to follow him as well @itsDylanTaylor

I was recently going through some old drives when I discovered some footage that I shot in the downtown Waterbury area a few months ago. I shot this when I rented a Canon 5D for the first time and wanted to see what it was all about. Aside from absolutely falling in love with the camera, like so many already have, I made this brief timelapse whilst staying in a hotel that overlooks part of downtown and I-84. I completely forgot this footage.

It shames me to say I wasn’t even using this camera on the manual setting when I shot this, if I had, I would have had better control over the images. However they came back fairly well all things considered. Also note that the settings I used to import this were not optimal, hence the slight degradation in quality, however I will be sure to correct this when I do another timelapse with this camera.

I am considering going completely DSLR, and shooting EVERYTHING I do on them. Not to mention having a stills camera that would also be totally killer. The only consideration is the “state of play” as Phil Bloom put it – it is difficult to spend the money on a 5DmkII with the hopes that a 5DmkIII may very well relieve all of the drawbacks that come with DSLR’s. At the same rate, it is difficult to forego owning a camera altogether, especially when you are shooting events & projects for a living. Hopefully Canon is listening! Enjoy the video.

I was recently going through some old drives when I discovered some footage that I shot in the downtown Waterbury area a few months ago. I shot this when I rented a Canon 5D for the first time and wanted to see what it was all about. Aside from absolutely falling in love with the camera, like so many already have, I made this brief timelapse whilst staying in a hotel that overlooks part of downtown and I-84. I completely forgot this footage.

It shames me to say I wasn’t even using this camera on the manual setting when I shot this, if I had, I would have had better control over the images. However they came back fairly well all things considered. Also note that the settings I used to import this were not optimal, hence the slight degradation in quality, however I will be sure to correct this when I do another timelapse with this camera.

I am considering going completely DSLR, and shooting EVERYTHING I do on them. Not to mention having a stills camera that would also be totally killer. The only consideration is the “state of play” as Phil Bloom put it – it is difficult to spend the money on a 5DmkII with the hopes that a 5DmkIII may very well relieve all of the drawbacks that come with DSLR’s. At the same rate, it is difficult to forego owning a camera altogether, especially when you are shooting events & projects for a living. Hopefully Canon is listening! Enjoy the video.