On Friday, March 1st it was just another usual day at the office, editing projects, checking and replying to emails, until I get a call from New York City. On the other end is someone claiming to be from The Wall Street Journal. My first thought, great another telemarketing call, but after a couple minutes I could tell this was going to be different. “Hey Rod, this is **** for WSJ, you were referred to us, we’ve seen your work online and like your style, are you available to shoot an interview piece for us?” After of a few seconds of silence, I was able to move my mouth again, “Of course I’d be interested!” We chatted over schedule, format, and details for the next few minutes and ended the call knowing I should be expecting an email with all the details. At that time I still didn’t know who or what I was shooting, just to be in Austin Monday morning.
San Antonio based band, Ready Revolution and NBC The Voice Finalist, Devyn DeLoera, contacted us wanting to create a music video for their debut single, “Don’t Forget About Me”. We wanted to create something cinematic and fun. So we developed a story of Zombie’s taking over a live music venue and we follow the band trying to escape certain death. This was one of our biggest shoots to date, with over 40 cast members, 3 locations and a 10hr. shooting window. The small size of the Canon 5D Mark III allowed us to move along quickly and light enough to be lifted off the ground with an Octocopter..
Please check out the behind the scenes video shot and edited by Stephen Castro, below.
I hope you enjoy Alyssa Bernal’s latest music video cover of Ellie Goulding’s “Anything Can Happen”. Shot in and around downtown San Antonio over a 4hr time period.
Behind the Scenes video shot and edited by Stephen Castro of Miranda Studios.
We were asked by NIVEA USA to work with singer Alyssa Bernal to create a cover video of Carly Rae Jepsen’s song “This Kiss”. We had 72 hours to write, shoot, edit and upload this video with a budget of $150.00. Thanks to the help of (2) Canon 5D Mark III’s we were able to move quickly.
BEHIND THE SCENES shot & edited by Stephen Castro
Starring – Alyssa Bernal
Anthony Guajardo
Jennifer Ruvalcaba
Felicia Villareal (more…)
Just a little Halloween fun near the Alamo in San Antonio. Thank you to all the people we ran into and for being such good sports!! Won’t you come visit us in San Antonio.
Starring: Mando Guerrero, Alejandra Cavillo
Directed and Edited by: Rod Guajardo http://www.foursandyfeet.com
Camera Operators: Ismael Cervantes, Arturo Castro
Shot on: (1) Canon 5DMIII, (1) Canon T2i, (1) Canon T3i
Edited with: Adobe Premiere Pro CS6
Music: “Bonecrusher” by Chris Haigh
Licensed and provided by: Premiumbeat.com
We were approached by the Texas based theatre chain, Santikos, to create a special cinema promo. This cinematic spot was shot in San Antonio, TX., over two nights. The approach was to show the theatre as a complete destination. Not only can you go there to watch the latest blockbuster, but also enjoy a good meal or sip on your favorite beverage with family or friends. The video will be released soon, in the meantime, please check out the behind-the-scenes video and pics below!
Along with my good friend, Richard Jemal, we had the wonderful opportunity to interview and shoot Texas Senator Leticia Van de Putte. It was a real pleasure to sit down and talk with her. Just after a few minutes I could tell she was a true servant of the people. Unfortunately we are not allowed to post the video, but I did want to share the frame grab above. -Rod
Here is a quick review of the new CN600-SA LED Panels. Being able to control up to 4 lights with one remote is great. Ohh..I forgot to mention in the video, but the wireless dimmer switch will also work in the older version panels. Sorry I didn’t have time to shoot a segment on the light quality, but please check out Matt Allard’s in depth video HERE.
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
you were referred to us, we’ve seen your work online and like your style, are you available to shoot an interview piece for us?” After of a few seconds of silence, I was able to move my mouth again, “Of course I’d be interested!” We chatted over schedule, format, and details for the next few minutes and ended the call knowing I should be expecting an email with all the details. At that time I still didn’t know who or what I was shooting, just to be in Austin Monday morning.
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 
