MUSIC VIDEO: Greenhorse "Don't Leave Me"

Last year I had the privilege, nay... the DELIGHT to work with a band called Greenhorse. They are local to Los Angeles and have been working pretty hard to develop a unique sound and style.

From the moment I met with them and listened to their music, I was hooked. They seem to capture the very essence of my preferred music listening needs. I have been obsessed with their new album The Shapes of Dragons which you can get on BandCamp or iTunes.

Sometime last year (I don't recall just when) I met with the band and shared some ideas for a new music video. Here are a few screenshots of my concepts based on their ideas:

We spent a good 12-14 hours filming in the dead of night. Our locations ranged from Downtown LA, to Hollywood Boulevard, to Studio City in the Valley, to all the way out into the Palmdale Desert.

I shot the entire thing with a Canon 7D with zoom lens and my GoPro Hero 3. A lot of the GoPro footage didn't make the cut, but looked pretty cool anyway. Would love to share a making-of sometime when I get the time.

The video was edited by my good friend and master editor Aaron White. He turned the concept I had and the notes I gave him into a pretty impressive first cut. I couldn't believe my eyes! He had captured exactly what I was thinking. After a few tweaks he sent a finalized cut and this baby was ready to be released.

The band released the video on their YouTube page last month and it has already climbed to 1,000 views (which I would love to see doubled, tripled, quadrupled... etc.)

Take a look and enjoy! As a reward for watching and sharing, I'll post some behind-the-scenes pics tomorrow:

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Utah and/or Bust

From StGeorgeNews.com

We're heading to Utah!

We'll be traveling Friday up to Provo and will be in Utah until Tuesday morning. Although we have some plans, we would love to see you and film some fun videos for YouTube.

If you have anything you think we would love to film, or just would like to help out, send me an email or tweet (@splanderson).

As a result of our trip, the video for tomorrow may not get finished in time, but we will for sure have something up tomorrow morning before we embark on our journey - so stay tuned!

Until then, here's a fun little behind-the-scenes shot of Eric working with the Flycam:

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We Need Your Bucket List

Yes. That is a shot from the 2007 Jack Nicholson/Morgan Freeman film The Bucket List. And no, I am not promoting that film in any way.

This post is about you. It's about the things you want to do in this life. Your absolutely positively can't-wait to do list. What are your ultimate dreams? Can you share them with me and help us get a new series on YouTube made?

The Show

A series of 3-5 minute videos chronicling a new person each week fulfilling the best items on their bucket list. We have already begun filming and are now reaching out to a wider group of people to get them involved. The show will be on my YouTube channel, the first episode will premiere on June 10th, 2013.

Our last shoot went extremely well and we all had a really fun time together. (Here is a totally selfish photo from that day to show you how awesome it was.)

My Bucket List

The idea for this show came about just after I finished the 2013 Los Angeles Marathon. After fulfilling that item on my bucket list, I took an inventory of what was next. My list was so large, that I couldn't even figure out what was next.

After asking around to several people, I realized that the more they spoke about what was on their list, the more my list grew. I knew right then that there was a chance to be able to fulfill the items on my list through others. I felt the need to document it all.

Need You Now

We need you now! We need your stories and your ideas. Please get your mind working and help us by letting us come and film you fulfilling your dreams.

You can comment below with your bucket list ideas, or you can send me a personal email. I will reach out to you as soon as possible, and we will begin working out logistics for filming you for our show.

(Not every idea can be filmed, even though I would really love the opportunity. There are no guarantees that we will be able to film you, and you should do your best to be patient with us while we figure everything out.

Also need to note that although we will do our best to find sponsors and partners to help finance each activity, a majority of the costs of your activity will need to be coming from you the individual. The crew that will be filming will be paid for by the production company, so you will only need to account for your individual expenses.)

This show will be better with you! So please, don't hesitate to speak up and contact me!

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Frightfully Fortnightly

A friend of mine from the film school days - Jacob Floyd has a remarkable blog where he writes truly insightful (and grammatically correct) reviews on Independent Music, Rare Films, and current Media Culture.

I suggest everyone take a trip down to his blog The Fortnightly to learn a thing or two about the world around them.

He is featuring a series of October-appropriate movies this month by watching a Horror Film each day and reviewing it. The latest have been films like Pandorum, Antichrist and Paranormal Activity. He also has a great glossary of Horror Film term that are spot on.

Truly engaging and intellectual. Check it out!

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Lecture Film

The Invention of Lying

Starring: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, and countless others
Written by: Ricky Gervais & Matthew Robinson
Directed by: Ricky Gervais & Matthew Robinson
Produced by: Ricky Gervais, Dan Lin, Lynda Obst and Oly Obst

Now I don't want to alarm you, but I'm about to negatively review a movie (I know, shocker right?). The film The Invention of Lying has one of those premises that is almost so simple, you hate yourself for not thinking of it first.

Well before I get into all that, let me tell you that I like Ricky Gervais. I admire him, I do. I thought that Ghost Town was a grossly underrated and under-appreciated film. (Seriously, go rent this or something.) I "liked" the original Office series, and enjoyed bits of Extras. I can't say enough about his personal appearances because they're brilliant. But when it comes to his material, I'm not sure if I'm quite there. I get the whole sarcastic, backing-out-of-own-words sort of comedy that he is really good at, but I can't seem to stand it for more than a few minutes at a time.

Anyway, about the premise - it is pretty amazing. They had me sold with the trailer. I knew exactly what this film was about. I was along for the ride. Once the film started to hit its stride I was prepared for it to go in some amazing/crazy direction. Unfortunately I was disappointed because from the mid-point on I was almost utterly bored.

Some of the sweetest and most amazingly acted moments came in the mid-section of the film (which is odd because of how swiftly it turned south from that point). There's a part around the middle of the film that is so sweet and so genuine that it almost made me cry. I won't give away any spoilers, so here's a photo from that part to tide you over:

What this film needed was a serious revamping of its editing. It could have used a few more pass-thrus. I would have liked to see a good 25 minutes shaved off of the entire thing. It's understood that for a director to do something like that it is similar to getting rid of their own children, but in the case of film- sometimes you need to let them go.

It is unfortunate when a fiction film features and makes fun of ridiculously slow-paced non-fiction films about history, yet the very film that is making fun is almost as slow paced and boring as the non-fiction film it features. (Okay, so maybe not that bad.)

Summation:
Place: Arclight Hollywood
Price: Free (thanks Tim)
Atmosphere: Decent - nothing bad to report
Verdict: You should probably rent this one, but don't forget to rent it - because you need to see it. If only for educational purposes.

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