Click here to view the embedded video.

We’re bringing in more directors this season, as well, and messing around with some more interesting camera shots.

Here’s some teaser pics for you:

Can’t wait for these to be released!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I keep shooting more and better things, so I’m sure I’ll update it every so often, but for now, it’s a pretty good showcase of what I’ve done.

But I’ve had the opportunity to work in a couple music videos recently and they can be a blast. I’ve also been on some atrocious music video shoots. All depends on the Director and Producer, really. Just like any shoot.

I was 1st AC and B-Camera Operator on the video for  Johnny Hi Fi’s song, “Policitian”. We shot for two days in Oakland and Emeryville, with all kinds of special effects work and a huge inflatable kiddie pool inside a music studio. The video just premiered this week and it looks pretty good:

Click here to view the embedded video.

We had a great time, I got to work with great people and learned a lot.

More recently, I DP’d a music video for “Beaten and Left Blind” by Landmine Marathon, a death metal band from Phoenix. It’s the first time I DP’d a music video, and it was great. We were in an ugly old shack and a cemetery in Oakland and I think the visuals are pretty rocking.

The song and video are about the original story of Cinderella – before Disney got their paws on it. It’s much more violent, as you’ll see when the video comes out.

I have two more music video shoots coming up in the next couple weeks. I’m looking forward to them.

So, new tack: I will shoot as much as I can, and put whatever I’ve got together into something interesting and post it on a weekly basis. This will also give me the chance to get used to using Final Cut Pro X, which I’m liking more the more I use it.

So here is this week’s entry, in which I experiment with my new slider, and try some hand-held shooting at the horse track.

But then it dawned on me that I shouldn’t wait for other people to provide me with opportunities to shoot video. It’s my trade and I need to constantly hone it. So I decided to shoot something every day, whether it’s on my 60D with lights and tripods and sliders and jibs, or it’s just a cat video on my iPhone. There’s no substitute for practice.

To the best of my ability, I will upload a new video every day, and hopefully some of them will be interesting. I’m also going to use Final Cut Pro X to process all the footage, and try to take advantage of the keyword system so that I can keep track of the camera and settings and see if any interesting data comes from that.

So here’s Day 1: I call it, Tilt and Rack Focus With Candle.

I shot it with my Canon 60D with a Nikon 55mm f/3.5 lens, using natural light, with the following settings:

• ISO640
• f/3.5
• 3300K
• 1/50 Shutter

I practiced the tilt and rack focus several times to get the timing right.

Anyway, I’m hoping that most of the entries in this series will be more interesting than this one, although I’m sure many will not be.

With that, I’ll see you tomorrow with another mini-movie.

But of course this stuff doesn’t come for free, even with everyone working without pay, and using basically the equipment that I own, we still have to buy props and food for everyone, so Nick set up an IndieGoGo campaign to fund the 2nd season. Please go and contribute – the more we get, the better the 2nd season will be.

In case you missed it, you can see all the Friend Zone episodes on our YouTube channel: ocelotwebworks.

While we get the next season going, we’re working on another web series, Armageddon, Inc., a comedy about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The pilot is done and I entered it in an online short film/web series contest. Please go and give it a vote and help it get into the finals. (It’s listed under “David Smith”)

In between all of this, I’ve been getting some interesting jobs – corporate and indie films mostly. Meeting some cool people, and paying the bills.

I’ve also been adding to my equipment. I upgraded from a T2i to a 60D. It’s still a crop-frame, and so the picture is not quite as luscious as a 5D, but it’s damn good and it has all the ISO and white balance settings you need, plus the swivel screen.

I also got a 4′ jib arm. It’s probably the smallest jib arm you could ever find, but that’s good because it’s light, and I can use it on my Manfrotto 501 HDV tripod without too much trouble. Being so small, you need to plan your shots well to make use of it – wide shots won’t show much movement with a 4′ jib, unless there’s something really close to the camera. But moving between things that are a few feet away from the camera makes a really dramatic shot.

That’s about it for now. Until next time … stay out of the friend zone?

Click here to view the embedded video.

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