We didn’t really have a plan but the video turned out pretty OK:

I talked to Patrick and the gang after a show just this week. Hopefully we’ll be whipping up something new really soon. And this time we’ll do a little more pre-production if we’re going to shoot the whole video in one night.

You can check out the trailer below:

I’m gearing up to shoot another in a few weeks…hopefully with more stunning results!

We spent the first day on location scouting spots where the various scenes would take place. That included the amusement park. Awesome. I shot in black in white using Fuji FP-3000B to preview the locations without color.

Madelaine Hoptry (or “Hops” as I labeled her), who plays Brooklyn in the film, enjoyed letting me sneak up and scare her many times throughout the shoot. This was taken just a few minutes after the first time…it wasn’t so bad.

Tim Brosnan plays Brooklyn’s father, Simon, in the film. Tim was well acquainted with my lens by the end of the shoot. And I with his…

Pedro’s Pleasure Done was where we were to shoot the pool scene the next day. This would bode well for the film’s aesthetic.

On day one of shooting we went straight for the pool scene. I switched to color film (Fuji FP-100C) to capture the lush colors of South of the Border on shooting days, as the film was shot in black and white.

I knew someone would get in the pool, I was just hoping it wouldn’t be me. Luckily, Chris “Hollywood” White beat me to it…but only by a few minutes.

Hops, now in character as Brooklyn, lounges while we set up lighting. This acting thing looks tough…

Yep. Really tough. Tim Brosnan as Simon.

Simon and Brooklyn pose for an awkward family photo.

Ronnie Gunter arrived on set several days in to play Dillon. And we all got to play underneath a roller coaster that looks like Speedy Gonzalez.

Then the weather got a little nasty and it became difficult to get Polaroids of the rest of the shoot. So I caught up with actors Traysie Amick and Vicky Saye Henderson for a posed shot on the final day of shooting. It was also the final shot in the film packet and got jammed in the camera. We had to take it out manually and the photo got a little overexposed in the end. All part of the process, I suppose.

Of course I couldn’t go the whole week without jumping in front of the camera, especially at this location. And I had to show off the rig…

Thanks for the cast and crew for putting up with my incessant need to spend 5 minutes developing photos on 40-year-old technology. While we were shooting a film on a DSLR.

More photos can be seen here!

And check out the Kickstarter for Chris’ new film project, Taken In.

Tyler is a very earnest performer, but his mood comes through in his between-song banter.

It’s really tough to catch his eyes, though.

Oh yeah, I mentioned video. Here is “Stay Gone.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Z8qKqH4zM

The rest of the photo set can be seen here.

My friend Lisa Justice needed some black and white headshots post-haste, so we went out to falls park last Sunday to keep away from the stuffy studio look.

Now, even though we shot 150+ photos, the ones we chose to use tended to be very similar in pose and composition. We had both warmed up a little bit, gotten loose and were having fun with what we were doing.

We kept a few in color for later use, as well.

Keep in mind, this was the day before it snowed the most it has in 20+ years. We had waited until noon to shoot because the temperature was in the mid-20s all morning, as is still evident from some of the shots we didn’t choose for her portfolio…

She’ll probably kill me for putting these up, but sometimes you have to show what’s behind the smoke and mirrors.

The full set can be seen here.

So I started with some generic shots of the two of them together against the rock wall waterfall.

I feel like this next one could be advertising a new Law and Order or something of that nature.

We moved around the corner and got some solo shots of Nicole.

This is when the fun began. I knew Nicole would be entertaining to work with in front of the camera.

I brought in the flash for some added dramatic effect as well.

Russ, as always, kept it professional.

Like I said, we were having fun, and these were for Nicole’s new job…as a model. But not really.

Straight from Law and Order to CSI: Miami auditions.

The “serious” shots were over from this point on. Plus, we found some cool metal curvy shapes for the requisite metal background shot.

In the end, it was much more fun that I expected – just good people in a good location having fun. I could do these corporate shoots all the time!

The first band I actually got to shoot was Gold Lake playing Kenny’s Castaway’s.

Then I hopped a train to catch MEN at Santos Party House.

The next night, I spent about 7 hours again at Santos Party House honing my low light skills. First up was Lower Dens.

I got to keep my spot next to the stage for Tamaryn, but all my light got taken away…

This was seriously the darkest show I’ve successfully shot. I had to wait for the projector to hit her face to get anything worth keeping.

It was time for a visual flashback to the 90s with Dom.

Marnie Stern then came on and destroyed it with talent and an amazing stage presence.

The night was growing old, but there were beers and shots of whiskey to keep me going for the Drums, who, incidentally, almost hit me in the face with a kickdrum pedal.

These might-be-Brits had more style and swagger than anyone I’d seen yet.

I called it a night and made the twoish-hour multi-train walking trip back to Brooklyn in time to edit photos until 4:30 AM…

And then do it all over again.

I finally got to check out the Bowery Ballroom with about 15 other people and Young Buffalo, who are easily one of the best acts I caught the whole time. They all pulled vocal duties and switched instruments between songs.

I stuck around the Bowery Ballroom for James McMorrow, a singer-songwriter type.

I hurried across town again to the Cake Shop, where the band I was trying not to miss was an hour late. Then I stuck around for another two bands and finally caught Eternal Summers, who had played 3 shows that day and finally went on around 1 AM.

While waiting on the show, I got to meet fellow long-haired, bearded, 29-year-old Daniel. Nice guy and good drummer.

Not sure I’d do it again, but I had a good time and saw many more bands than shown here. Then again, they weren’t all that good…so they get no photos. I think I’ll stick to shooting bands one or two at a time from now on.

I’ve been meaning to make a post of bands I shot at the CMJ Music Marathon since I got back a few weeks ago, but I figured I have a ton of old and new band photos from local shows that deserved a little promotion as well. Enjoy.

We Are Now tears it up in a neighborhood basement.

And the crowd digs it.

That same night our friends the Dirty White from Florence played as well.

New friends Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun from Atlanta played Meatheads a few weeks later in the summer.

Locals Map/Map followed that night.

The Dirty White returned to town recently to play Meatheads.

It’s hard to capture Josh’s frenetic style in a still shot. I gave it a try anyway.

I seem to be missing about three shows from the past summer. Hopefully I can find where those photos wandered off to and get the posted. Check back soon for CMJ photos, but until then, check out http://flametal.smugmug.com/Music to see more of the band photos I’ve taken over the years.