Humbled to be chosen in San Antonio Current’s Best of 2012, “Best Video Artist (Shorts)”. Thank you everyone for your awesome support! Also, a HUUUUGE thank you to my amazing production team, Ralph Lopez, Ismael Rodriguez Cervantes, Richard Jemal and Erik Seime! When Rosemary and I bought our first camera 2 years ago, we had no idea it would lead to any of this. Filmmaking has given us some wonderful opportunities that we are extremely grateful for. We have some amazing project’s coming up, please stay tuned!!!
5DM3 with Zacuto EVF, Gorilla Plate Adapter, and HDMI Pincher
I received the new Canon 5D Mark III two days after it was launched. I have had some time to play around with the new system and although not revolutionary like the 5DMII, it definately has some upgrades that are important to me. I will be posting another blog post with my thoughts on the camera, however, in the meantime, below is a short outdoor test video I shot last week on the Texas/Mexico border.
I have received a few questions on the test video above and will start sharing my responses below.
Q. Very nicely done, I must say, did you use a glidetrack? What in camera “picture processing”settings did you use? -RuneL via CanonRumors.com A. I used a IndisliderMini (which I don’t recommend) for the first 2 shots. In camera, I started with the Neutral Picture Style, modified with Stu’s recommended settings below:
Start with the Neutral Picture Style Set Sharpness to zero—all the way to the left Set Contrast all the way to the left Set Saturation two notches to the left
Q. Very nice. did you do any post processing to sharpen the video? -Jacques via CanonRumors.com A. I did add sharpening in post with Premiere Pro’s built-in “Sharpen” effect. However, for each shot it differed, but I don’t believe I ever went above the 40 mark.
Q. Great vid. Can you tell us what settings you used on your export from Premiere? Did you use the Vimeo HD preset? My exports from premiere into Vimeo never seem to be this sharp (I assume this is 1080p 24fps). Thanks!-Ben M. via Vimeo.com A. Hi Ben, great question! Just so I don’t miss anything, I have taken a screenshot of my export settings and uploaded here for you: foursandyfeet.com/images/export_settings.jpg
Q. Very Nice ! Did you used All-i or IBP codec ? -Matheus Oliveira via Vimeo
A. Matheus, I used All-I for this. Thanks for watching!
For the second year in a row, I competed in the San Antonio Neighborhood Film Project sponsored by the Office of Cultural Affairs and the San Antonio Film Commission. The short film project is meant to “highlight the hidden and not-so-hidden treasures of San Antonio” and had it’s most entries to date, totaling 68 shorts from filmmakers across the city. My entry last year, “Southtown Pedicab” won in the Southside, and this year we moved to the Northside with our romantic, under-dog, dancing tale, “Believe” starring HollyAnn Ovard and Richard Simkaitis. For the second year in a row we were fortunate to take 1st place in our category!
Probably the most asked question I get about this film is how the idea came about. Most of the time a reply jokingly, “watching dancing with the stars of course!”, and although I am laughing when I say it, it fact, it is mostly true. My family and I have watched the show off and on for some time and I have always been impressed how the producers of the show would mix different styles of music with seemingly opposite styles of dancing. So I had the idea of using dancers to showcase a neighborhood, but crap, I didn’t know anyone. So I hoped on Google and started searching for San Antonio dance studios, found a few, but not quite what I was looking for. With a few more clicks of the mouse I came across Ballroom Dance Academy. After clicking through their website for a while I found exactly what I was looking for, a competitive dance duo made up of HollyAnn Ovard and (more…)
Porsche Cars North America has announced director Michael Koerbel the winner of the “My Daily Magic” contest for his film “It’s a Magical Life”. Narrowed down from hundreds of entries to just 10 semi-finalists, public voting for the final three commenced in September.
The objective of the contest was for each participant to create a 60-second film that featured their personal perspective and interpretation of “everyday magic” – a premise that is part of a larger “Engineered for Magic. Every day” Porsche campaign to challenge perceptions that sports cars should be reserved for Sunday drives or special occasion trips. Instead, Porsche seeks to highlight the thrill of high performance and everyday practicality are not unique in and of themselves but can be mutual.
This week I was fortunate to have my entry into the Porsche “My Daily Magic” Film Contest embedded on a number of automotive blogs. Although our film “Sweet Dreams” did not take home the grand prize (congrats Mike!), I am extremely proud to have been chosen as a finalist and apart of a group of talented filmmakers, many, USC and NYU film school alumni. When I purchased my first camera in late 2010 I used it primarily to capture images of my family, I never dreamed it would lead to all this. As apart of the experience I was invited to race cars at Porsche’s very own exclusive racetrack, Barber Motorsports Park, in Alabama (pics). Then we were flown out for the red carpet event in downtown Los Angeles for the premiere, click here for those pics. 2011 was a great year and it will be very hard to top all this. Again, a huge thank you to all of our supporters and those that took the time to vote for us, I greatly appreciate it!
This past weekend we participated in the annual San Antonio 48hr Film Experience. For those unfamiliar with the event, basically you are given a genre and a location, then granted 48 hours to write, shoot and edit a film which must be under 8 minutes in length. This was my second 48hr challenge I have been involved with, the first being last year, with “Wild Sunday”. I was lucky enough to talk producer-extraordinaire Ralph Lopez, “Katrina’s Son” and “Lilia” fame, into working on our team. His wealth of experience, knowledge and can do attitude were a god send. He was able to take care of everything from catering, to additional gear, to getting me power into the cave with a generator and 500′ of cable. Thanks again Ralph! Over 20 teams participated and all entries were (more…)
For the second year in a row, we brought home an award from the Texas Music Coalition Music Video Awards. We were lucky enough to win Best Composition, which included best direction, best cinematography, and best choreography. We are especially proud of this award as it marked the 1 year anniversary of winning my first video award and also because we shot this piece with no budget and just a crew of Ismael and I. The event hosted by Studio 14 Hundred, was great and it was different from others I have recently attended. It was outdoors with a stage and large projection screen and we could not have asked for a better weather. The evening was filled with friends, free drinks, food, and live music in between the awards announcements. Check out the pics below to see more!
Winning Video, Tension Speak “Choke”
Technical Specifications:
Camera: Canon T2i/550d
Lens: Canon EF 50mm 1.4
Color Graded: RG MBL and Colorista II
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Check out my recent interview with Sebastian Guajardo from the San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs. We talk about the upcoming SAHEARTS 2011 Neighborhood Film Project, SouthTown and discuss the tools provided by Drew Mayer-Oakes and Janet at the San Antonio Film Commission. -Rod
I had the awesome opportunity to make a brief appearance on San Antonio morning talk show, Great Day SA on KENS5 to talk about our entry into the Porsche/Reelz Channel “My Daily Magic” film competition, “Sweet Dreams”. This was my first ever live television interview, and boy was I nervous. The producers, Ralph Garcia, Cassandra Lazenby, and Kinya Cano were extremely welcoming and after a short meeting with host Paul Mireles, we were set to go on after the fist commercial. Check out the video above for the full interview. Again, thank you for your support!
I am 1 of 10 finalist in the Porsche/Reelz Channel “My Daily Magic” Film contest! Over the last couple weeks I have been busy writing, shooting, directing and editing my 90 second submission. Our entry, “Sweet Dreams” (above) was shot in 24 hours, all over San Antonio, with a Porsche provided Panamera S for 48 hrs. (more…)
I was hired by Los Angeles media firm, 24 Productions, to DP and shoot an internet commercial for Kisco Communities. It’s a bit out of the norm from my other projects, but one of my goals as a DP, is to take on as many different projects as possible in an effort to continue to learn and grow. Shot on Canon 7D and T2i(550D).
Coming Soon! A video review of one of the latest pieces of gear from our friend Chris at Express35.com. The all new Event Shoulder Rig was customer inspired and is marketed for those looking for something compact, ergonomic and balanced (comes with counterweight, yay!). There are (2) versions available, an offset version for those who would like to use their non-electronic viewfinders, like the LCDVF or Zacuto Z-Finder. This is perfect solution to get the eyepiece positioned directly in front of your eye. I will be reviewing the second option, the inline version which will allow me the option to utilize my Zacuto EVF Snap and perfect for newer cameras with the flip-out screens like the T3i, 60D, etc.. I have been putting it through it’s paces and almost ready to share my thoughts. Express35 is known for their high quality products, extremely reasonable prices and helpful customer service.. Their website is a must stop for all filmmakers on a limited budget.
If you would like to know when the video review is available for viewing, please leave a comment below to be notified.
Thanks!
Rod
**update 9/13/2011 - My finalist video has been completed and voting has started, CLICK HERE to check it out!
**update 8/12/2011 - I was notified on August 5th, 2011 that I am 1 of 10 finalists! Phase 2 of the contest kicks off this week, first with a trip to Birmingham, Alabama to attend Porsche Sport Driving School, then come home to shoot my finalist video with a provided Porsche. Excited!
“Oasis” - A man and his camera step out of the hustle and bustle of the city and find peace and beauty in the outdoors.
The Challenge: Create a 60 second video, under 50MB, focused on expressing the central idea of “everyday magic”. Click here for more details and rules.
My family and I spend a lot of time in the outdoors and find it very magical, so it seemed only fitting to shoot at our favorite camping spot. Shot entirely at Guadalupe River State Park, just minutes outside San Antonio, TX.
Contest sponsored by Porsche Cars North America and ReelzChannel.
I was honored to have my first short that I filmed accepted and screened at the 2011 San Antonio Film Festival. ”Unimaginable“, written by Cedric T. Smith, is a 22 minute dramatic short story about domestic violence in a same sex relationship. What was especially fulfilling was having a lot of the people that were involved having the chance to see it on the big screen in San Antonio. It was my first time to a film festival and I must say San Antonio’s home-grown 11-day event was a very memorable experiece. Films from all over the world were shown, from almost every genre available. I have some projects in the works, hopefully we will be invited to come back next year.
Check out some of the press we got and pics from the event below!
My third music video premiered for the first time Saturday, June 4th at the 2011 Short Shorts Film Festival in San Antonio. I was fortunate to win the Critic’s Pick and Taylor James Johnson picked up the Audience Award. Thank you to the organizers, John Lambert and Brad Milne for giving us an outlet to display our work. Also, a big thank you to the judges, Dagoberto Patlan’, Pablo Veliz, Bryan Ortiz, and Nikki Young!
“It’s All Good” is a story of a young man who lost someone special and how he was able to overcome his sadness by leaning on his friends. Directed, shot and edited by San Antonio resident, Rod Guajardo over 3 days in San Francisco, CA., February 2011. Shot on a Canon T2i/550D, with no crew and using available lighting, with the Canon 50mm f1.4 and Tokina 11-16mm f2.8. Edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and (more…)
Ever wondered what it likes behind the scenes of an ultra low budget film? Well, thanks to San Antonio photographer and video enthusiast, Richard Jemal, you can now take a quick peek inside. He was there as we started shooting our entry into the 2010 San Antonio 48hr Film Experience. Check out his footage below!
This past weekend we participated in the annual San Antonio 48hr Film Experience. For those unfamiliar with the event, basically you are given a genre and a location, then granted 48 hours to write, shoot and edit a film which must be under 8 minutes in length. This was my second 48hr challenge I have been involved with, the first being last year, with “Wild Sunday”. I was lucky enough to talk producer-extraordinaire 
