My short motion graphic on my grandfather, Wild Bill Guarnere has recently been posted on You Tube and is starting to garner some attention. The short was created as a celebration of my grandfather’s numerous accomplishments while an enlisted man and has become a favorite of the folks over at his website (built by Pixeldust Films, of course)!
The motion graphics were created entirely in After Effects, and, I’m proud to say, the music is being used by permission of the late Michael Kamen, who composed the soundtrack to Band of Brothers. I’m proud of this piece, and I’m placing it here directly from You Tube. To see the original, head on over to my portfolio page and check it out in the Multimedia Player under “Motion Graphics.” It looks better on the Pixeldust Films site, as it’s less compressed. You Tube compresses everything yet-again to help them with their obvious bandwidth issues…
Looks like my Villanova sizzler reel is getting all sorts of attention over on You Tube. I'm not saying it's going to make me famous, but it's been favorited a couple of times and is being syndicated to some other websites as well. For those who may not know, Pixeldust Films was asked to shoot a short fan reel of Villanova hoops fans heading to the Pavilion to watch the Nova-Seton Hall game. Anyway, I'm embedding my You Tube video here as well so I can keep the hit count high. Hope you enjoy it!
I’m not a huge fan of college basketball, but somehow I always end up near it: In the early 90s, my then-rock-band played the Final Four in Charlotte, NC. One of my good friends has been taking me to the Big East in New York for 2 years running, and recently, I was asked to go on a journalistic assignment by a California destination video firm to capture some footage of the Villanova fans getting ready to take their seats at the Villanova Pavilion.
This was one of those cool shoots where it was totally up to me where to take the camera. The company that hired me gave me a “shot list,” and it was then on me to go find the shots. There was no interest in the game itself for this piece, but rather, it was all about profiling the many types of people who make up Villanova Basketball’s fan base. Naturally, I knew I’d eventually end up outside the Pavilion, but it occurred to me that there might be some good footage in the bars...boy was I right.
So many bars, so little time
As I started cruising towards the Villanova campus, I knew there were tons of bars. On a tip from a friend, I singled out a few bars that were most likely to draw hoops fans through their doors. I started out at Kelly’s on Lancaster Avenue. A nice bar, and perhaps more of the kind of bar that would accomodate alumns rather than students. The place was more on the elegant side, and definitely for those sports fans who wanted to watch the game on TV from the comfort of their chairs. After explaining to the owner what I wanted to do in his bar, he happily agreed and let me speak to some folks. Everyone was so great, and I have to say I miss everything-college. There’s just such a difference in priorities, even for the alumns, who for a moment harken back to the days when they were students. Everyone’s cares seemed to just float away...of course, the beer wasn’t hurtin’ anything! As I was “on duty,” I couldn’t partake…
After about 50 cents worth of my 75 cents depleting from the parking meter, I decided on a tip from some folks in Kelly’s bar to head about a block east to Maloney’s Pub. Not only was the place completely jammed, but it was jammed with Villanova seniors who were, among other things, celebrating 100 days until graduation. When the bouncer saw me, he motioned to the bartender, who I believe was also the owner. When I explained my purpose and presented my credentials in the form of a business card and a high definition camera, he happily let me in. The students immediately noticed the camera and the noise levels went up to about 120 decibels. I happily spoke to many students, as well as some “seniors” who joked that when they heard it was a “senior” party they mistakenly showed up thinking it was for the soon-to-be-retired. There were rabid Villanova hoops fans everywhere, and they gave me a lot of great shots.
Back to the Pavilion
I got to the Pavilion about 4:30 to shoot in advance of a 6:00 pm game. It was pretty empty when I got there, but it started picking up very quickly. He helped us identify the players as they were arriving, and I had a chance to briefly interview one who gave us the opening voiceover in the movie below. I had great responses from the many hundreds of fans who started to make their way to the game, and I looked down at my shot list and saw that I had accomplished my mission. I then started getting some great “b roll” shots on campus and began to pack up for the day as I was losing my light anyway.
It was a great day at Villanova and the surrounding areas. I was thankful to everyone for their cooperation in my quest to chronicle Villanova hoops! Check out the movie below!
Yesterday I had the unique pleasure of being involved in a shoot of the TV Series “Extreme Makeover.” The company for whom I work during the day is sponsoring a Philadelphia episode and I was asked to step in as an “extra.”
We ran the Art Museum steps ala Rocky Balboa and then followed Ty around Philadelphia recreating some of the scenes from the original Rocky production. In addition to making it on the Channel 6 news locally, I did one better by forcing the production assistant to let the extras off the bus for a “snack” at Pat’s King of Steaks in South Philly. I was the winner of the eating contest (it wasn’t actually a contest, but it always is to me) by chowing down 2 “wiz wit,” an order of fries, 5 munchkin donuts from Dunkin Donuts, a coke, and a coffee. Needless to say, I didn’t feel like running very much after that episode.
After that, we went back to the Marriot in Philadelphia for lunch of all things. I didn’t eat, but instead found a piano at the end of the hall and entertained my fellow castmembers while they ate their Subway hoagies.
It was a great day for a great cause and I was proud to participate. Not to mention I had an opportunity to see how Hollywood goes about making films, which of course was a wonderful by-product of the whole event.
“My” episode airs sometime in April. More to come on that!
I’m not a huge fan of college basketball, but somehow I always end up near it: In the early 90s, my then-rock-band played the Final Four in Charlotte, NC. One of my good friends has been taking me to the Big East in New York for 2 years running, and recently, I was asked to go on a journalistic assignment by a California destination video firm to capture some footage of the Villanova fans getting ready to take their seats at the Villanova Pavilion.
