Sometimes you go to France and ask your very well-seasoned production manager (Antonin Dedet) who has worked with the likes of Leos Carax and Jacques Audiard to kindly be your stand-in for Novak Djokovic at a defunct abattoir. He was such a good sport and even took us out for one hell of a memorable wrap party night on the town in Nice.
A few weeks ago, I went to the town of Tequila in Mexico to film the new campaign for Casa Noble Tequila. This was one of those projects that reminds me that the best part of filmmaking is meeting people and seeing new places. Here are some images taken from behind the scenes by my wonderful cinematographer, Max Goldman.
Just wrapped out filming this year’s new engagement campaign for Tiffany & Company. Production design (and this environment test photo) by the lovely David Gropman with lighting and cinematography by the Grandmaster, Philippe Le Sourd.
A few days ago I had the pleasure of teaming back up with the fine folks at Revolver Film and Clemenger BBDO. We did some filming with the Melbourne Victory FC for TAC at AAMI Stadium. We managed to shoot 3 separate spots in one day despite a crazy thunderstorm that positioned itself right above the stadium. Recce frames care of the super talented DOP, Ryley Brown .
Some location scout shots that I snapped from this week’s shoot for Hilton in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Got to finish the project with a fantastic meal at a really unique restaurant, Flora Farms.
Very pleased to have the Airwick Home Is In the Air film that I shot in conjunction with Droga5 shortlisted as part of the 2015 Cannes Lions.
Just wrapped out a shoot in Serbia with my mates from Cummins & Partners documenting the rise of the best tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic. Aces photographer, Tovo caught a behind-the-scenes moment of DOP, Adam McDaid riding the dolly, working diligently while I stood around looking pissed off for no good reason.
Branislav Kropilak’s photos of indoor car parks and illuminated billboard posts are simply stunning.
Sculptor, Isaac Cordal’s brilliant work uses small-scale figurines to make a big statement about his concern for societies relationship with our leaders, our environment, technology and each other.
Here are a few useful reference resources for film makers. FilmGrab and Cinema Squid are both growing archives of film still frames. Just Screenshots does the same thing, but also categorizes TV series and documentaries.
Alan Wolfson is a native New Yorker who has spent decades creating miniature urban sculptures that recall the changing landscape of NYC. Often, he creates with painstaking detail models of places that have actually existed, like Katz’s Deli (below).
Similarly, Michael Paul Smith creates scale model nostalgic environments that he photographs in a manner that would make you swear they’re real. All of the images that he creates are of a fantasy town that he’s named Elgin Park.
Artist, Simon Beck does a lot of walking in the snow to create stunning, intricate pattern illustrations (see below). Another artist named Andres Amador does something quite similar using a rake to create his temporary patterns on beach sand.
Here are a few quick street snapshots that I took last week, whilst location scouting on a project filming in Yangon, Myanmar.
Love this portrait of my grandfather, Bob.
I’ve always been bothered by the the sexist trope in which women are posed suggestively to highlight a stereotypically “masculine” object of desire such as a car, motorcycle or a guitar. I was particularly amused by this series of ads in which a Portland-based Ducati dealer paired images of men from around their shop in contrast to their female model counterparts. I think it does a good job to point out just how absurd the cliche is.
Some stunning photos from Ben Roberts’ series Amazon Unpacked - a look inside Amazon’s new UK warehouse.
This past Spring, I was extremely honored to be interviewed by The Great Discontent - a journal of interviews with creators of different disciplines and also, one of my favorite projects on the web. A very heart-felt thank you goes out to Tina and Ryan Essmaker for inviting me to take part.
.png)
This past Summer I went to Australia to direct an ad campaign (see film page) for Carlton Crown Lager with the fine folks of Clemenger BBDO Melbourne. I spent a good amount of time in the city, but also saw much of the Victorian countryside whilst scouting and on production. I had the great pleasure of working with so many lovely people that became fast friends. In addition to being taken to my first Footy match (Go Bombers), I ate and drank well. Here is a list of places that I visited and would be more than happy to find myself in again.
Cherry Bar (Melbourne, CBD)
A very cool, proper rock and roll bar/venue on the cobble stoned and graffiti covered AC/DC Lane (named after the band).
Chin Chin (Melbourne, CBD)
Probably the best Southeast Asian food I’ve ever had and amazing cocktails.
Long Grain (CBD/Chinatown, Melbourne)
Fantastic Thai food.
The Grace Darling Hotel (Collingwood, Melbourne)
I ended up here on more than one occasion. The Grace Darling is a particularly cool bar/venue in one of my favorite neighborhoods of the city.
The Rooftop Bar (CBD/Chinatown, Melbourne)
A sort of hard-to-find outdoor rooftop oasis of a bar/cinema in the very unique Curtin House Building.
Journal Cafe (CBD, Melbourne)
On my first day in Melbourne, my producer took me out for a nice, quick lunch here. If in the CBD, this is a wonderful little spot to grab a snack or coffee. The cafe is adjoined to the city library.
Cookie (CBD/Chinatown, Melbourne)
Had great cocktails and yummy finger food before heading upstairs to The Rooftop Bar for more drinks. Also, in the Curtin House Building.
Joe’s Shoe Store (Northcote, Melbourne)
A really cool place to get drinks with a locals vibe in the hip neighborhood of Northcote.
Builders Arms Hotel (Fitzroy, Melbourne)
Fitzroy is another great neighborhood and is located just next to Collingwood. The Builder’s Arms Hotel is a modern bistro of the farm to table variety.
The Everleigh (Fitzroy, Melbourne)
The best cocktails I had in Melbourne. This place is quite special - a sort of modern take on a speakeasy with ornate Art Deco design and serious attention to detail (both the drinks and atmosphere).
The Cullen Hotel (Prahran, Melbourne)
This is the where I stayed when in Melbourne. The Cullen is a modern artsy hotel that doesn’t take itself too seriously - not too large, not too small. A rather nice place to stay really, and it’s just a few blocks from the main drag of Chapel Street. The hotel hosts two restaurants - a cafe/ restaurant called Gramercy Bistro and HuTong (really good Chinese food).
Tall Timber (Prahran, Melbourne)
This was the lovely little cafe up the block from where I was staying. I stopped in a few times for a really nice coffee and breakfast.
Great Britain Hotel (Richmond, Melbourne)
A good proper pub and venue in the neighborhood of Richmond.
Bull and Mouth Hotel (Horsham, Victoria)
To be honest, this is a tiny town in the middle of nowhere surrounded by lots of farm land. It was the closest place to our shooting location to stay and eat . My crew and I went two nights in a row. One night I had the lamb shank which was pretty darn good. The other night, I ate the largest steak I have ever seen in my life. I wouldn’t mind stumbling back to this hole-in-the-wall pub/restaurant.
The Buffalo Hotel (Myrtleford, Victoria)
There’s nothing remarkable to mention about this place other than the fact that it was the only place in this tiny farm country town to eat in.
The Dispensary (Bendigo, Victoria)
In the sleeply town of Bendigo, a few of my crew and I found this unexpected spot down a little alley way. They specialize in all kinds of imported beers and serve really nice farm to table fair.
Little Africa (Melbourne, North Melbourne)
Hands down the best Ethiopian food I’ve ever had. They deliver to the bar next door - Prudence.
Prudence (North Melbourne)
A homey bar with a gorgeous beer garden and rather hip energy about it, set in an old row home. You can get Ethiopian food delivered to you from Little Africa.
