I’m at FACT!

(Go to the youtube page to watch it in HD!)

This song has been stuck in my head and now I hear it everywhere! When my radio is turned low, I catch myself thinking “man that sounds like T-Pain! No way, could this be the song??” Then I’ll turn up the radio and it turns out to be some country song. I even read emails with the same cadence as the song, which is kind of fun. You know, even the sweetest email can sound pretty hard when you say it with the same attitude as that song =)

Let me rewind a bit: last week Chris Sotelo asked me if I’d be willing to help him shoot a lil’ video. Hmmm.. let me think about th- oops, my mouth already said yes. Must have been muscle reflex. Somehow the memory of saying yes to Chris is associated with good and happy things. Chris has the kind of talent where he could create a documentary on paint drying and it’ll still be ridiculously creative and entertaining. But a music video with Marah (his wife) and Justin Capadocia too? And one that’s based on I’m on a boat?? As an opening to Philippine Student Association’s (PSA) annual FACT conference??? Sign me up!

So how was it? Let’s just say they know how to have a good time! I had a blast filming these incredibly gifted people. There was no rehearsal before each shot -Chris, Marah, and Justin just communicated by telepathy and some crazy chemistry. Behind the scenes, Peter Catanus, Marah’s brother, did an amazing job mixing the audio and he also did a dope job being the voice behind Justin. In fact, the whole video was a group effort. I’m just glad I got to be a part of it. Now if you’ll excuse me..

“I’m at FACT! I’m at FACT! We at FACT! …”

Welcome back from Europe, Glenn and Nicole!

Glenn and Nicole were both in my small group years ago. I still remember the day I guessed the person that Nicole was seeing. After being impressed with myself for guessing I remember smiling thinking, “Glenn’s a good guy.” That was four years ago and now they’ve been married for just shy of two weeks! Congrats!!

To the newly weds: this video is a welcome back present from your honeymoon =)

P.S. For a peek of how the video came together, see the post below!

Glenn & Nicole’s video – a little background

How did this video come to be?

I ran into Glenn during my photography workshop extravaganza over the summer, which I’ve made quite a few posts on. Although I was looking into photography, I had been itching to get into videography too. So as a way to dive in, I offered to make a short music video of their wedding. That was literally the day before I received advice to focus on photography instead. Talk about strange timing.

It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I don’t like retracting an offer I already made. Plus, I really like Nicole & Glenn. Add on the fact that I’m really, really stubborn (just ask Cassie).. and from what you see today, I’m sure you can guess what my final decision was.

I’m really pleased with how the video came out and I hope you guys like it too! (Otherwise, I will personally apologize to the bride and groom for sticking a camera in front of their face the entire day) If you like it, I can’t claim credit for all of it, though. Huge thanks goes to Jon (Taft) and Min Soo who helped out at various times of the day. Both are really talented and I was impressed with the footage they shot. Taft also put up with me as I went into OCD overdrive mode the night before the wedding despite being past 2AM in the morning.

Late night OCD

I also received excellent feedback from Taft & Cassie to help me refine the video to what you see now. I also shot along side with talented photographer, Kenny Nakai. I can tell Kenny gets into it and his energy is contagious! Much of the footage you see was the result of his coordination. And logistically it would not have been possible without the proper equipment.  A big thanks to Dan for lending me his camera. It might sound trivial, but as the owner of these VERY expensive cameras, I’m thankful he entrusted me with it.  Thanks also to Connie, who let me borrow a macro lens!

And lastly, the biggest support came behind the scenes from Cassie and my family who continue to support me as I venture precariously into an unknown future and possible profession in the wedding industry!

A First. (What is small group?)

“I have very simple tastes, I am always satisfied with the very best.” –Oscar Wilde

Is drinking coffee healthy or unhealthy for you?  Do black holes really exist or will they be replaced by a new theory in a few years? Will most things we know about biology be obsolete by the time I die? Can something be found that doesn’t taste good when wrapped in bacon?

I don’t like wasting time dealing with life’s uncertainties. I’d much rather spend my time learning absolutes. Two plus four equals six. Always. Can you tell I like math?

All this to say that believe it or not, this is one of the reasons why I avoided video editing for so many years. I identify well with Oscar Wilde’s quote in that I only like the best. The absolute best. The first camera I ever bought was a digital SLR. I’d rather not take any pictures than use a point and shoot. Not just because of the image quality, but its ergonomics.  And the question of what software to use to edit photos is simple (at least it was 4 years ago); Adobe Photoshop is the 600 pound gorilla and it’s here to stay. It’s the undisputed leader. It’s the best and there’s no question about it and… I dig that.

With video and sound, it’s not so clear. The quality of consumer cameras just didn’t cut it. And with editing, there’s a myriad of programs with no clear winner. Final Cut Pro? Adobe Premiere? Avid? The list goes on.. The last straw was video technology itself, which I discovered during my teenage years -the heyday of me “backing up” my DVD collection*.  We have multiple frame rates, interlaced & progressive, various codecs, multiple aspect ratios, etc. I just want one standard! And dangit it better be the best standard!

*Side story: I remember when encoding a DVD to MPEG I, VCD on my Pentium 266MHz Gateway Windows 95 machine used to take me 17 hours.  Kids are soft these days.  Then came MPEG II, SVCD.  Then the DivX codec broke out on the scene when it used to be non-licensed and free, followed by Xvid.  Now I can watch anime episodes in DVD quality and only taking up 150MB.  Those were the days.  I learned all about 29.97, 24, and 25 fps, aspect ratios, NTSC vs PAL, 3:2 pulldown, 2 pass encoding, and various video and sound compression algorithms.  All because I wanted to rip a 8GB DVD so I can watch a movie on my computer as a 700MB file without having to pop in the disc.  On a modern computer I could do the same rip and encode process in faster than real time.  That’s over 8Xs faster.  Isn’t technology wonderful?

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve gotten is “stop making excuses.” The quality of footage from the current crop of DSLRs is so good that I couldn’t ignore it anymore despite my best efforts. So enough of the lame excuses -I want to learn video now! =)  I own a Macbook Pro but in the end, I’m a PC guy so I picked up a book on Adobe Premiere and started figuring out how to put my Canon 5D MkII to good use and decided to look for excuses to use my camera’s video capabilities.

If I was going to get all this fancy equipment, I really wanted to put it to use not just for personal projects, but to serve a bigger purpose. This fit well with the ideas I wrote in my last post about giving back.  It turns out that there’s plenty of opportunities in my church for video projects.  I was definitely a bit nervous taking it on since I had never done a full shoot & edit before but I knew I needed a real project to force me to learn the ropes.  Plus, I knew that with the help of Suggey, a creative genius (who also happens to be my roommate), there were no excuses except for my lack of experience/knowledge.  I was set.

We did a “quick” 3 hour shoot without a script or storyboard -just some ideas rattling around Suggey’s head. With some input from the group, everything came together nicely. The above video is the culmination of our efforts in answering the question of, “What are small groups?” in my church.

Looking back on the experience, yes I loved the fact that I was able to learn a lot of technology. But more than that, I found that I love being where I am right now: in a college setting where I can meet so many people every year. One of the things I love about my church is that despite its large size of well over 500 people, it’s so easy to meet and get to know each person in smaller settings. I’ve never met half the people in this video and yet I had a lot of fun with them!

It was a project well worth taking on.

Givin’ Back – A Commitment

“Mama, all I ever wanted to do was fill my sensor with some available light photons..” – Oliver Peng

Lighting’s probably one of the most technical subjects in photography. There’s broad lighting, short lighting, butterfly lighting, Rembrandt lighting, cross lighting, optical triggers, infrared triggers, Pocket Wizards, Radio Poppers, manual control, E-TTL metering, gels, snoots, grids, barn doors, gobos, beauty dishes, ring flashes, bounce flash, direct flash, soft light, hard light, fill light, key light, reflectors, diffusion panels, umbrellas, soft boxes, yada yada yada yada.

Still with me?

I blame companies like Lastolite, Lumiquest, and Bogen and their endless array of products! Or maybe I should thank them for all the choices.. I’m a bit torn.

But there’s hope.

A Community of Openness

Recently there’s been a colossal push in the photography community to unravel the nuances and vagaries of light. I remember trying to dig up info on the subject only 4-5 years ago and coming up dry. Now there’s David Hobby paving the way over at Strobist, Zack Arias with One Light, Joe McNally’s amazing books, and a whole community of like minded photographers sharing knowledge. Man, now I’m spoiled! I don’t believe in keeping secrets so I’m loving this openness!

Don’t wanna be a taker

I got into photography because I love making great looking images. I love capturing moments of people important in my life. Not cuz I want to be the best in the competition. Or cuz I wanted to get rich off it. I don’t purport to be anywhere close to a guru, but if you’re a photographer, I want to share with you the things I’ve learned.

There’s a common theme I’m seeing from all the workshops I go to, the books I read, the DVDs I watch, and from the transformation of the online community: Give back! Let the old days where ‘masters’ guarded their secrets die.

To quote a book about sharing knowledge (I can’t remember which book!), “Will the competition use the information to their advantage? Yes. Will it negatively impact your business? No.”

So stay tuned for posts on tips n’ tricks =)

This post ain’t about photography…

Kevin Kubota, author of Digital Photography Boot Camp, wrote about giving back beyond just photography tips. Why not contribute our services to charity? Serve the community around us through our skill with no strings attached? I like it.

God’s given us various gifts and abilities.  Let’s think outside the box.  How can you use what you have to serve and give back?  I’d love to hear your ideas (photogs and non-photogs alike!)