Producer Brad Nau tells me that his documentary on the legendary Spectrum in Philadelphia will debut on Comcast SportsNet on October 4th at 9pm. Set your DVR for “Building a Memory.” If you grew up in the Spectrum, you won’t want to miss it.
I was thrilled to be able to make a small contribution to the program, shooting interviews with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead and Philadelphia broadcasting legend Tom Lamaine.
I thought I’d take a few minutes to compile some recent interview footage so that people can see how I shoot heads. Many of these are lit with just one or two lights. When I have to work fast, I try to make the most of natural light. When I have more time, I still like to keep it simple and spend the time to get everything set just right. I guess you never have the perfect looking interview. You can always find something that you would change but it’s important to strike a balance and get the work done on time and on budget.
I had the good fortune of assisting a friend of mine on a shoot today outside the old Ortlieb’s Bottling House in Northern Liberties. We interviewed none other than Joe Ortlieb whose family brewed beer at this location for the better part of a century. At one time their flagship product paid homage to the man himself. Ortlieb’s became known as Joe’s Beer.
Interviewing Joe Ortlieb outside the old bottling works
Mr. Ortlieb had to close the brewery in the 1980s – the saddest time of his life he says. He talked with us about his family, the nearby sauerkraut factory and the secret tunnels and entrances that contribute to the intrigue of the property.
Maralyn and Joe Ortlieb pose for a pic with yours truly!
This video is being produced by Nobis Productions for Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association in conjunction with an EPA grant they got to explore the industrial history of the neighborhood.
Nobis Productions president Wendy Daughenbaugh explains, “We’re interviewing long-time residents and historians. Each interview will make a 3-5 minute oral history video and then all of the interviews will be woven into a history of the neighborhood video, length TBD.”
The videos will likely appear on the NLNA website later this year or early next year.
It’s hard to believe another football season is upon us. For the 5th year, I got the call to work on an ESPN show called Hey Rookie. The show follows several rookie players through their first training camp as they learn about life in the NFL.
Arrowhead Stadium – The pride of Kansas City
I went to Kansas City to shoot James Casey, tight end for the Houston Texans. Kansas City is one of the great barbeque cities in America and home to one outstanding NFL venue.
For barbeque, I take the advice of an authority, Bob Smith. A true barbeque aficionado, Bob spent decades searching for the best pits in America while shooting football for NFL Films. He ranks Smokehouse Bar-B-Que in Kansas City as one of the best. So do I! Try the burnt ends.
For pure football atmosphere, it’s hard to beat Arrowhead Stadium. The Home of the Chiefs is undergoing a much needed major renovation. I really like working there but the last two times I have been there, it has rained hard.
Rain can make an NFL game a thing of beauty, but there’s no chance of that happening in the preseason, believe me. So for those of you who think the life of a cinematographer is all glamour and glitz, I give you this…
With America’s newspapers failing left and right, these opportunities are becoming very limited. On this day I was shooting pitcher Pedro Martinez for Comcast SportsNet and I ended up in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Martinez was getting a physical exam in anticipation of signing with the Phillies and it was big news here.
I worked at the local FOX affiliate for 9 years but these days, I do very little of this stuff. It was a hoot to get back out there and rub elbows with my old colleagues from the local news stations.
The guy on the right is just some random fan who came up to Martinez and started goofing around.
Some of you may be old enough to remember a time when most of our possessions weren’t disposable. Remember when there were screws and latches and things could be repaired? Times sure have changed.
One of my recent projects has been to dub a bunch of old 3/4-inch U-matic videotapes to some newer – albeit disposable – medium. Thro-quo, as a few of my colleagues used to call it, was the first respectable portable shooting and editing video format for the broadcast industry. It was state of the art at one time and the stuff was darn-near indestructible.
I spent my early years in television news toting a tiny, single-tube camera on my right shoulder and a 40-pound 3/4-inch deck on the left. The two were connected by an 8-foot umbilical cord that transferred the images and sound from the camera to the tape. Old school for sure.
During my dubbing duties, I encountered a tape that had snapped inside the case. I needed to do some surgery if I was going to get that valuable old footage off the tape.
Way back in college I had an excellent audio teacher named Andy Skitko. In those days, I thought Mr. Skitko was cool because he drove a Volkswagen and I was really into them. Today, I think he’s cool because I was able to use the techniques that he taught me to successfully repair magnetic tape the old fashioned way, with scissors and scotch tape.
The 5 large screws prove that those old U-matic tapes were made to be taken apart and fixed. A few minutes later I was back in business, archiving those old memories and toasting Mr. Skitko.
My friend and colleague Brad Nau called me the other day and asked if I wanted to do a shoot for him in Atlantic City. I always have a blast with Brad but few of our shoots are as, well, interesting as this one.
Brad was producing a spot for Comcast SportsNet/Philadelphia on the 76ers dance team swimsuit calendar shoot. I was horrified as you can well imagine. Former Phillie turned TV presenter Ricky Bottalico was the master of mischief.
The Sixers hired famed Philly chick-flicker Michael Spain Smith to shoot the calendar and I must say, he was impressive. The guy was a real pro and it was a treat watching him work.
Brad, an exceptional photographer in his own right, was kind enough to grab several shots of me working. The images here are his work. Click them for larger versions.
That title is a little misleading. They’re not really interviews when the talent is delivering lines from a teleprompter. I got a call from KEF Media in Atlanta to shoot a few execs from Merck & Co., a pharmaceutical company with headquarters in the Philadelphia suburbs. I don’t shoot with my old Sony DSR-300 DVCAM very often these days but this shoot reminded me just how good that camera is!
Speaking of good, if you ever need an outstanding teleprompter operator, I highly recommend Michelle Cannon of Newtown Square, PA. Get in touch with me and I’ll give you her number.
I recently worked with my long-time colleague Courtney Brinkerhoff to produce a video that highlights the significance of the Digital Connectors program, a multi-city effort that gives inner city youth the resources they need to increase their digital literacy skills, become leaders and give back to their communities through digital community service.
We traveled to Washington, DC and Springfield, MA to capture the stories of the young men and women who benefit from the program. This video was played for Senators and Representatives at a reception in the U.S. Capitol for the official launch of the program.
Friday I joined Denis O’keefe, Kevin Trainor, Todd Wall and Rick Wright in shooting the annual Celebration of Life at the Philadelphia location of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. The event celebrates the hospital’s five-year cancer survivors with ceremonies in and around the hospital.
The stuff that I shot and edited on Thursday is played on the big screens for the assembled crowd on Friday.
