For the last several years I have worked with producer Jacqueline Boulden on a series of honoree videos for WOMEN’S WAY‘s annual call to action event in Philadelphia. Working on these videos always proves to be an interesting and enlightening experience. The honorees are women who have dedicated themselves to shaping a brighter future for women, girls, and their families in the Greater Philadelphia region.
I really enjoy doing these videos because we shoot and edit them quickly – in just a couple of days. It feels a like I’m working in TV news again except that the production value is higher and the pieces end up in the 2-3 minute range.
This is one of the videos we produced for the 2010 event. It’s a brief profile of Dr. Mariana Chilton, a leading expert on hunger and poverty in America.
Today’s shoot was for Comcast corporate in Philadelphia. I was to travel to the West Chester office and shoot and interview and some b-roll for an internal production.
I used the Sony EX-3 outfitted with a Letus Extreme35 depth of field adapter. This setup makes for a nice looking interview if you get the lighting right. I’m not sure I pulled it off on this one!
I wanna go on record as saying that I absolutely love shooting interviews with the Canon 7D. The shallow depth of field is unsurpassed. If you want this look from one of those fancy new pro-sumer HD cameras, forget it.
Today I’m shooting mostly b-roll for a corporate project. However, the day started with an interview with County Commissioner Jim Cawley. Anyone who has shot news has undoubtedly shot interviews just like this one. A tiny room, minimal elements and no separation from the background. This is where a DSLR really shines. I used a fully manual Nikon 105mm micro lens at f/4.
On a recent trip to a tall building I became mesmerized by the beauty of the rain running down its smooth glass surface. I was lucky to be carrying my Canon 7D and three lenses so I went to work and this is the result.
music: A Gift from Afar by Scott Rockenfield. [iTunes link]
This was one of those last-minute unplanned experiments that turned out pretty nice. I have a friend with a nice home furnishings store called the Country Squire and he’s never had any video of the place.
I decided to shoot some stuff with my Canon 7D and Glidetrack and see if I could throw something respectable together in a few hours.
I got some really nice tracking and sweeping shots with this setup. In fact, every single shot in this video has some GlideTrack element in it. It’s a great tool for video.
I shot this time lapse on a recent trip to my parents’ place in Central Pennsylvania. Living in Philadelphia, I never see this kind of sky. We have so much light pollution that it would be impossible to get this kind of shot.
This was shot over a 5-hour period with the Canon 7D using an intervelometer set for repeated 30 second exposures. I just let the thing run overnight and by 6am the battery was dead. Huge bummer because it was just starting to get light outside. I’ll have to try it again sometime now that I have a better grasp of what I’m doing.
This was a really rewarding Super Bowl for me. I had a ton of fun shooting for Showtime last year but most of game day was spent off the field as I ran around getting shots of the Lonbardi trophy, championship merchandise and other behind the scenes stuff.
Rob Parker and Nick Kolias shoot during pregame (photo credit Joe Thiel)
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This year NFL Films thought enough of me to assign me as the “A” camera for the Disney commercial that they’ve produced for the last twenty-odd years. It’s the 3rd time I have done the Disney shoot but I have never been the main ground camera. Even so, I managed to get Heinz Ward on camera when he was the MVP of Super Bowl XL in Detroit.
Disney commercial crew (L – R) Jerry the security guy (Tampa), Nick Kolias/sound (Seattle), Rob Parker/camera (Philly), Kevin Young/Disney producer (Orlando), Bob Hitchcock/Disney runner (Orlando), Jim Scully/production ace and life line (Chicago). (photo credit Pat Maher)
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This game was close until the end and that makes for some interesting tension in the Disney realm. No one was sure who we’d be focusing on until there were just a few seconds left in the game.
As the final seconds were ticking off the clock, we got word that we’d be going for Drew Brees. My soundman Nick Kolias and our security guard Jerry grabbed my shirt and we sprinted for Brees. I knew it was going to be an absolute scrum and it didn’t disappoint.
To my absolute elation, our runner Jim Scully had beaten us out there and was holding Brees by the waist, guiding him to us as best he could. Jim told Drew we were the Disney crew and Brees agreed to deliver the lines just as soon as he hugged a few guys and delivered the first official sound bites to the League reporter who was standing with us.
Getting into position, ready for Brees to deliver the line. (screen grab credit Carl Koster)
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By this time the scrum was thinning a bit and it became easier to get our bearings. Brees was facing my camera as he finished with the League reporter. I yelled, “Drew, I’m goin’ to Disneyworld!” He repeated it. “Say it again!” I yelled. “I’m goin’ to Disneyworld!”
What a pro. We had him do Disneyland as well and he delivered it twice with gusto.
We wrapped up by shooting some shots of Brees celebrating and hoisting the Lombardi trophy.
The footage from my camera, two other ground crews and a few CBS cameras was digitized into the editing system on location and the final product was prepared for broadcast.
Back in the film days, the Disney commercial always aired the following day. Then when they started shooting video, the commercial would air just after the game ended. That proved to be too much to tackle and now it generally makes its debut on SportsCenter on Monday morning.
I was killing some time this afternoon in Fort Lauderdale and decided to try to get a time lapse of the bridge near my hotel. I grabbed my trusty 7D, my intervalometer and my sticks and headed out back to see if I could capture the bridge as it opened for large boat traffic.
It was very windy which makes for fast-moving clouds but that also means that the image alternates between sunshine and shade. The bridge cooperated and opened after 5 minutes of shooting!
Do you remember when gasoline was $1/gallon? I know, some of you geezers remember when it was 50 cents. Today’s video is from 1999 and the gas pump shot confirms it.
As I was going through some old tapes, I came across one of my favorite stories from my days working in TV news for FOX in Philadelphia – Y2k preps. It’s funny how crazy some people were getting over the overhyped computer glitch that some said could send us back to the stone ages.
It’s fun to watch this video more than decade later. Presented by Tracey Matisak, produced by Mary Fay and shot and edited by Rob Parker. Enjoy!
I shot this time lapse with the Canon 7D. I was hired by O’Keefe & Associates to shoot the second camera for a two camera interview for ESPN’s Outside the Lines program.
I set the 7D to shoot 1 frame per second and created a movie using QuickTime to generate a 30fps image sequence. The lens is one if my favorites, the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8.
The Crew: Denis O’Keefe (DP), Kevin Trainor (sound), Rob Parker (2nd camera), Jeff Sicile (PA).
