Boat Safety begins not with oars, but with determination and courage. Each vessel, port and starboard, must be deemed seaworthy. Each sailor in aforementioned vessels employ must be judged by a court of the deep seas as being buoyant and intrepid. For every barnacle accounted, there must be a jib, pulley, and aft. When the nigh winds howl at ye wooden leg, a boat safety expert must welome them not with merely a grimace, but a defiant scowl, your good eye glistening with the grit of the anticipation of battle. To safely maneuver a boat from one channel to another strait, from these waters to those shores, from bay to bight to tomorrow’s evanescent anchorage, a true practitioner of boat safety must muster an unparalleled depth of knowledge of all things life preserver, choke, and mast. Unto each sail, may ye flap in safe waters, and unto each mooring may ye sway in safe harbor, for where the creed of boat safety travels, thereunto all men shall be safe boating.

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Ariana Grande, Jimmy & The Roots Sing “No Tears Left to Cry” w/ Nintendo Labo Instruments

Ariana Grande joins Jimmy and The Roots to perform “No Tears Left to Cry” with Nintendo Labo instruments. Each instrument is made from only cardboard and a Nintendo Switch and is being played live.
As one of four camera operators on this shoot, I had the pleasure of filming Ariana and the Roots while they were busy having a great time and recording this Nintendo themed cover of her recent hit.  Who knew cardboard could sound so sweet?

Tina Fey Surprises Fans While They Thank Her

Tina Fey surprises superfans while they film video messages to her, sharing how her career and Mean Girls impacted them, and Jimmy surprises Tina with a heartfelt message of his own.
A particularly fun shoot for the Tonight Show, Tina’s warmth and humor had cast and participants laughing out loud by the end of each segment.  It was a true pleasure to be part of.

CHIVALRY (short film) from Jono Freedrix on Vimeo.

Chivalry

Last year during the frigid winter of 2017 I had the opportunity to DP this funny short film directed by my good friend Jono Freedrix. Starring the inimitable Bob Greenberg as a hapless rube of love, Chivalry is a concise satire of the norms of male-female relationships as explored in one date.  
Shot all in one day on location in Brooklyn, NY, this film was a great opportunity to work fast and creative with an awesome crew, cast, and director.

Jimmy Fallon Makes Blake Shelton Try Sushi

I really enjoyd working on this digital short that I helped shoot for the The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – Directed by Dan Opsal and created by an amazing crew, this shoot was a lot of fun to be on.
Both cast and crew were laughing the whole time, and the edit came out funny and seamless.  Not bad for a day’s worth of work by some very talented people!

Rad Dads

Fathers day is almost upon us, and in true media fashion so are father’s day videos.  Here’s one I am thirlled to say I had the good fortune to work on as cinematographer.  These dads look super sweet in drippingly smooth 180 fps, frolicking with their daughters near the Brooklyn waterfront.
Shot for Refinery29 and directed by the always talented Kirk Larsen, this video was a pleasure to work on and twice the pleasure to watch!

U2 Busks in NYC Subway in Disguise

This shoot was an incredible prank of epic proportions.  During their week with the Tonight Show, rock legends U2 decided to busk in the NYC subway in disguise, and we filmed it!  A sound like you’ve never heard on a subway platform, U2 exploded their dulcet tones onto an unsuspecting and mind-blown audience.
When they removed their costumes and Jimmy came out as the announcer, a curious audience became a wild one and the rest of the 15 minute concert became an impromptu, energy-fueled rock fest.  5 DSLR’s, 3 Iphones, 1 GoPro, and one pair of spy glasses (and an amazing audio mix) attest to that – click play!

Jack Black and Jimmy Fallon: More Than Words

Having the opportunity to work for the Tonight Show occasionally is a true pleasure, but on days like this one it is also an honor.  Jimmy brought in Jack Black to recreate, frame by frame, the music video of “More Than Words” by Extreme
I was lucky enough to film one of three cameras, and watch true comedic genius unfold at a stone’s throw.  Check out the video for the original song to see how detailed and awesome this recreation is – all it’s missing is Jack Black’s tongue twistingly hilarious stank face.

I Hate Being Single Season 2 Ep4:

Rob Michael Hugel makes web series like a popcorn maker makes popcorn, but instead of popcorn they are 8-10 minute mini masterpieces of ironic comedy and brooklyn-warped giggles.  Of course with cinematography by moi.
Here, in episode four, Rob hangs out with a friendly dude who lives a super relaxing lifestyle outside of Williamsburg – wait, what’s the catch? Press play to find out!

I Hate Being Single S2 Episode 3:

Rob Michael Hugel don’t stop, won’t stop, and don’t even know how to begin how to quit!  And I can’t stop filming it!  Cinematography by me on this RMH gem from season two of I hate being single!
Here, in episode three, Rob dates a sassy woman with a mysterious job that holds juicy surprises.  After you finish reading this fortune cookie description, please watch to learn more and also to laugh!

I Hate Being Single S2 Episode 2: Marriage Meat

I’m super excited that new episodes of I Hate Being Single (season two) are being released.  The brainchild of Rob Michael Hugel and featuring cinematography by yours truly (me, duh!), this show is not only funny but also super-duper fun! Here’s the link to episode one in case you missed it!
Here, in episode two, Rob has a hallucinatory episode during which he just nearly gets fake married? What the WTF does that mean, you ask? Only one play-button way to find out, my friend!

Mila and Daddy's Holiday Card to You from Boat Safety Films on Vimeo.

Mila and Daddy’s Holiday Card to You

Boat Safety Films rolls merrily into the fluffy snowdrift of 2015 one be-slippered foot at a time, and invited you to join along, all the while slogging down a thermos of egg-nog with one hand while dispersing a hearty dose of yuletide menorahs with the other.
This family favored art project short features Mila and Daddy wishing you a happy holiday season and making you a card.  Oh and there’s singing.  Who could really ask for more?

Jiminy Glick (Martin Short) Interviews Jimmy Fallon

Yesterday I had the honor of filming a true legend of comedy in a ridiculous sketch – Martin Short brought his talk show host character Jiminy Glick onto the Tonight Show to interview Jimmy Fallon.
Between glazed doughnuts shoved into gaping mouths, endless brazen faux pas, and one amazingly applied fat suit, this sketch might be one of my favorites!

Who Are You? – As seen on MTV’s Made

Two years ago I filmed a short episode of Rob Michael Hugel’s webisode I Hate Being Single that was intended to air in an upcoming episode of MTV’s Made.  The episode was put on hold and then never aired sadly…until last week! Out of the blue comes our short, resurrected from the grave and on national television! Yahoo!!! 
Filmed on a chilly Williamsburg day in 2012, this short is a sweet exploration of puppy love gone wrong, and done so right.  Sometimes you have to learn the hard way – no – wait – every single time.  Great work Rob! Can’t wait for season two, filmed last winter and coming out January 2015 to an internet near you!

George Burton Quintet LIVE at Smalls ~ Stuck in the Crack from Boat Safety Films on Vimeo.

George Burton Quintet LIVE at Smalls ~ Stuck in the Crack

Last May I had the great pleasure to direct a three camera shoot for the explosive pianist George Burton.  Set at Smalls Jazz Club, one of New York’s most famed and dynamic jazz rooms, the George Burton Quintet played with energy and gusto.
This was the first song of the night, written and arranged by George.  Entitled “Stuck in the Crack”, the song explodes out of the gate as the band members show off their chops and chemistry in a dizzying display of musical synergy.

State Of Rock: Deek Slaghill from Boat Safety Films on Vimeo.

TBT ~ State of Rock: Deek Slaghill

The time comes every once in a while for a Boat Safety Films retrospective – and here it is! Today’s look into the past features the inimitable Dave Garlitz goofing off under the pseudonym Deek Slaghill.  A burnt out legend of the esteemed rock and roll genre, Deek looks back into the past with little more perspective than a baked potato.  What beautiful, hard rocking perspective it is though.  As we look to develop new State of Rock episodes here at BSF, watch this initial ridiculous exploration with us.

Mother’s Day Classic Note Game

Here’s a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note, don’t…

…wait, that’s a Bobby McFerrin lyric, and meanwhile what I’m posting is an actual note I wrote to my mom some years back on an undated mother’s day.  Although it is nowhere near mother’s day, she unearthed this gem from her archives, and after reading it over I decided that it needed to be shared for maternal posterity.  So please enjoy this simple ode to all foreign mothers everywhere – except I am deeply sorry to inform all other immigrant children that my mom is, in fact, the neatest. (and coolest)

2014-08-27 16:41:43

House of Cue Cards

As always, it is a pleasure and a treat to film for the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.  Here’s a fab little sketch I worked on earlier this month parodying the popular Netflix series House of Cards. Jimmy plays the role of Frank Underwood, and hilarity ensues.  Click here for part 2 of 2 to see the dramatic conclusion!

Free Ikea Pencil

free ikea pencil screenshot 1

Today I made a little jest and wrote a humor piece about a Free Ikea Pencil.  Useless as an item upon leaving the grounds of the Ikea store, the idea of somebody posting a listing for a free pencil and endorsing it heavily tickled my idea fancy.  Sadly, the moderation and flagging team at Craigslist, where I posted it in jest, has found it inappropriate and since removed it.  C’mon fellas!  What’s the harm in a little fun?

As a testament to its existence, I’ve posted it in its entirety below.  Enjoy, and please contact me if you’re interested, the pencil is still available.

 

free ikea pencil screenshot 2

 

Everyone’s Bee Team Interview

Sometimes you have to collaborate with your daughter, draw some vectors, and add some expressions to a subset of after effects layers.  Sometimes you have to wake up, shine your shoes, put on your top hat, reconfigure your attitude, and razzle dazzle. Sometimes you have to go to the festival, talk about your movie, have a cabernet, and smile for the camera.  
This video interview with the “Everyone’s Bee is Important” team is just such an example.  Mila and I were interviewed at the LES Film Fest about our film, and had a ridiculous time hamming it up for the camera team.  Giving an interview is always tough, and made non the easier by simultaneously posing as a human jungle gym.

George Burton Quintet live at SMALLS ~ Us from Boat Safety Films on Vimeo.

George Burton Quintet Live at Smalls ~ Us

Recently I had the great pleasure to direct a three camera shoot for the explosive pianist George Burton.  Set at Smalls Jazz Club, one of New York’s most famed and dynamic jazz rooms, the George Burton Quintet played with energy and gusto.
This was the third song from the second set, written and arranged by George himself.  Entitled Us, the song weaves pensively in and out of sine curves of emotion.

Everyone’s Bee Team at Festival Premiere

This past spring, I had the opportunity to work on one of the most fun projects ever.  During one of our routine silly singing sessions, my three year old daughter Mila improvised a song that would become an overnight hit amongst friends and family.  Entitled “Everyone’s Bee is Important”, it was the absolute pitch perfect combination of irresistibly cute and dead-on perceptive.  Amazingly, it even has a chorus.  After the audio file had an overwhelmingly positive first run via email and text message, I decided that it would be a perfect voiceover to use as the basis for an original animation.  A few trips to the cafe later, I had some preliminary storyboards up and running, and moved forward from there.  storyboards fixed 1You can only imagine my excitement when I found out that the finished movie would screen at the Lower East Side Film Festival, whose past and current judges include the likes of Susan Sarandon, Judah Friedlander, and Dana Brunetti.  Regardless of the competitive nature and possible awards, I was thrilled in fact only to have the film show on the big screen, and allow a wider audience than the built in family network to have a chance to see it.  That’s also when I started to become excited about bringing Mila to the screening! LES ScreenshotAfter putting the final stylistic touches on the film just days beforehand, I showed it to Mila at the kitchen table for the first time.  She was thrilled!  The very first thing she noticed was that there were some sounds other than her singing in the background of the movie.  “What are those noises, daddy?” She asked, referring to the stellar sound design created by Carl Sondrol.  Carl approached the sound for this short very organically, describing to me over the phone that he didn’t want to use any prefab sounds, and that every noise included would be recorded specifically for the film.  Knowing Carl to be one of the most creative film-audio professionals I’ve worked with, I informed him that he had carte blanche to do as he pleased, and to make it as fun and creative as possible.  In my experience, this approach yields the best results when working with trusted professional artists.

With the big day finally at hand, Mila and I packed up and got ready to go to the screening.  We headed into Manhattan a few hours early so we would make sure to be on time, grab a quick bite of dinner, and mingle with our fans.  Here are a few shots of the anticipatory subway trip to the big festival. mila subway fixed 1mila subway fixed 2It was a beautiful and sunny late afternoon when we arrived in the Lower East Side, but before the festival we had to grab a quick dinner to recharge our engines.  Stopping in at a local Thai restaurant, Mila ordered her standby favorite of dumplings, and we shared a cool lemonade between the two of us. ice tea sippin fixed 1After arriving at the LES fest, which was being held that night at the Anthology Archives on 2nd and 2nd, we greeted the crew and went on in to inspect the theater (and stash our stroller in the back).  Mila carefully explored the dark and cavernous screening room, making sure that we got the very best seats possible.  This was Mila’s second time in a movie theater, the first having been several months previous to see the children’s animation festival at the IFC center.  2nd time at the movies to premiere your own film? Not bad…

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 presetAs we settled in and the screening began, Mila kept excitedly asking when our film would play.  A few shorts in, when the Boat Safety Films logo started to roll, she excitedly pointed to the screen and yelled out “that’s our movie!” And so it was.  Soaking up the excitement of the moment, Mila’s eyes remained glued to the screen.  The uproarious applause from the theatergoers after the title cards concluded brought the perfect touch to an awesome experience.  After the screening was over, Tony Castle, one of the festival’s organizers, asked Mila and me up to the front of the theater for a short Q&A.  I did most of the talking, but I got the funny feeling that I wasn’t the focal point of most of the attention.  Siri Betts-Sonstegard, a festival-goer in the row behind us, snapped this shot of us watching the film.

Processed with VSCOcam with 3 presetAfter the screening let out, Mila and I posed for a few obligatory shots on the red carpet/step and repeat.  What a perfect memento of a story-tale night.  Strolling back to the subway in the crisp dusk, I told Mila that we had to start brainstorming our next project.

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 presetWatch the movie HERE

 

George Burton Quintet live at SMALLS ~ Bernie's Tune from Boat Safety Films on Vimeo.

George Burton Quintet live at SMALLS ~ Bernie’s Tune

Recently I had the great pleasure to direct a three camera shoot for the explosive pianist George Burton.  Set at Smalls Jazz Club, one of New York’s most famed and dynamic jazz rooms, the George Burton Quintet played with energy and gusto.
The songs from the gig will be released weekly until the entire night’s performance is available for viewing.  Although a touch on the long side for internet video, the dynamics of the ensemble and the whimsical video editing should work to keep eyes on the screen – and ears in harmonious revelry.

I Hate Being Single in Tribeca Film Festival!

Brainchild of Rob Michael Hugel, the hilarious web series “I Hate Being Single”, which I had the pleasure to film, is now featured in the Tribeca Film Festival’s online offering HERE. A tale of missed connections and the search for love set in modern-day Williamsburg, IHBS serves up equal portions of irony, spot-on improvisation, and quirky Seinfeld-meets-Curbed story lines.
The episode featured in the festival is is EP 1 of Season 2, but you can see all of the IHBS catalogue (season 1!!!) and more HERE on their youtube page. Don’t forget to check out the instagram feed as well for continual updates and behind the scenes moments. Super fun you guys!!!

Wastepaper Basketball

It’s been an exciting transition recently as the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon has become The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. It’s always a pleasure to be on shoots with the talented comics and crew there, but this one was a new level of fun.
Featuring LeBron James as “The Accountant”, and spoofing a retro video by Kurtis Blow, Wastepaper Basketball crumples all previous standards in comedy/basketball spoofing and deposits them neatly into the nearest rubbish bin. I gleefully operated one of the cameras.

#Hashtag2

This video is the second installment in the very popular Hashtag series (see Timberlake) that I was fortunate enough to shoot for the newly christened Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Featuring Jonah Hill of cinema fame, this incarnation of Hashtag also guest stars a very famous surprise cameo at the very end. Watch all the way through to find out who, and don’t forget your popcorn tub!

Super Sprowtz at the White House!

Last summer, a continuing collaboration with BFD productions and Radha Agrawal of Super Sprowtz brought me to the American White House! What an amazing opportunity to spend an afternoon on the white house lawn. Nothing like being ogled by tourists under the blazing American sun to make your patriotic vein swell proud.
It also didn’t hurt to be working with White House Chef Sam Kass, Peter Linz (Walter in the Muppet movie), Sasheer Zamata (SNL’s newest cast member), Matt Klinman (UCB, The Onion, Adult Swim), Moujan Zolfaghari (UCB), and Justin Brown (UCB). Written by the talented Kemp Baldwin and produced by Tony Castle and Roxy Hunt of BFD Productions, this silly little PSA brings health to children’s faces, in a fun way.

#Hashtag with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake

Among the multitudes of shoots I’ve done, this one in particular stands out as possibly one of the most fun times on set…ever.
With direction from Dan Opsal and funny language from Mike DiCenzo, Justin and Jimmy drip with pure comedy juice. The only thing funnier than watching the cut of this skit was actually being there to see it behind the camera. And yes, the cookies were #delicious.

Change Generation | Skylar Tibbits from BFD Productions, LLC. on Vimeo.

Self Assembly Lab

Earlier this summer I had the pleasure of shooting in Boston with long time collaborators BFD Productions. We visited Skylar Tibbets at MIT and learned more about 4D printing.
What is the 4th D? Time. Materials that change over time. Structures that are programmed to mutate and self assemble. Amazing. See the original article on Fast Company here: http://www.fastcoexist.com/3017126/change-generation/new-mit-3-d-printing-innovations-create-printable-objects-that-assemble-th

Joking Bad (Fallon Breaking Bad spoof)

Last month I had the pleasure of operating camera for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s Breaking Bad spoof: Joking Bad. Shot over a period of several weeks, this epic goof was a true pleasure to work on.
Written by Dan Opsal and Mike DiCenzo, and directed by Dan Opsal, Joking Bad pays serious attention to sets and costumes in creating a side-splittingly accurate comedy-world depiction of Fallon’s Walter White.  Keep an eye out for the real Breaking Bad cast cameos!

Change Generation | Super Sprowtz from BFD Productions, LLC. on Vimeo.

Super Sprowtz

Some vegetables are green, some are orange, and some vegetables are six foot tall and memorize dance routines…wait…what?!?
Last spring I filmed this short for BFD productions for one of their ongoing series for Fast Company. Led by Radha Agrawal, Super Sprowtz is a vegetable puppet troupe that claims to “change children’s health one vegetable at a time.” Click HERE for the full article.

Change Generation | Wanderu from BFD Productions, LLC. on Vimeo.

Wanderu for FastCompany

A short piece I edited and co-shot about Wanderu, a new startup that aggregates ground travel info into an intuitive web interface.  Also my first 3D graphic!
Directed by the stand-out duo over at BFD Productions, Tony Castle and Roxy Hunt. www.bfdnyc.com

www.wanderu.com 

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