Hunger is that first moment of a potentially exhilarating interaction. A connection that completely electrifies you and a shock that echoes through your entire being. Call it love or lust at first sight, but all manner of thought floats through one’s mind in that first instance.
Hunger, filmed under the title In the Hearts of Wild Men — a name inspired by Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness — is the culmination of a four year process for me creatively. Born in 2008 out of two separate photo shoot concepts and a story with some potential (but limited-to-no visual appeal) this video was a passion project, a working vacation if you will. A way to recharge the creative batteries. December 2011 I found the spare time to take first steps towards pre-production for this short-film.
We make assumptions based on what we see on the surface, will we ever know our true Wild Heart?
Through Awesome Okanagan, I’ve been working with some colleagues (Mya and Carly) on “Wild Heart,” a 2012 Fall/Winter Fashion Show with Nikki and local salon Loyal Hair Therapy. It will be in support of local charity H.O.P.E. Outreach. This is the promo video I made for the fashion show, a stripped-down version of the nearly 20 minute visuals that will accompany the fashion show. The video will be synced to music.
It started out as a hashtag but it quickly became our mantra. A battle cry in the middle of the night, the quickest way to ward off bad vibes and hard times. I’m not sure if you’ve ever had this kind of feeling where you aren’t able to truly express exactly how you feel at a given moment, but I have that pretty often. Sometimes I get really effing excited, like so excited I think my eyes might pop out of my head, and that isn’t even hyperbole. I literally had that happen to me last weekend.
But sometimes you feel a love, or a passion, or just an amazing feeling that you want to share or explain but you feel powerless to do so. It’s frustrating. I’m not always that great at speaking or writing to express fully myself, or at least, I don’t feel what I’m saying can adequately deliver the soul of what I hope to convey. A lack of or failure to communicate.
I feel that video has become that medium for me. The mix of motion pictures, sometimes funny quotes, visually tender moments and just the right song are—what I can only assume is—the best way to spell out how I feel about something.
#summer2012 became more than just a hashtag. It was a thousand million moments, rigorously lived and completely embraced. It was challenges, and refusing to give up. It was seizing the day, and often annihilating the night. It was fake bands, road trips, swimming, live music, sunshine (and more than a few sunrises), surprises, animal costumes, pool parties, and saying “Yes.” #summer2012 wasn’t even only ours.
Early in the year my friends and I found ourselves bumping into people who felt the exact same way. “There’s something different about this year. Something in the air.” People could feel it and #summer2012 had a wonderful sound to it, almost eloquent. #summer2011 didn’t look as nice written down, and no one much cared for the sounds of #summer1992, everything just seemed to line up. Maybe it’s because we’ll all be dead by December 21st (right?!), maybe it was a fluke.
But maybe #summer2012 has been one of the best summers of our lives. And just maybe you felt the same way too.
A video series for Awesome Okanagan and Wet Ape Productions covering their new indie Music & Arts Festival, Keloha. One of my favourite parts of my job is how often I get to hang out with friends. Filming on-site in the sun for all three days interviewing your buddies hardly seems like work sometimes.
I just got back from the coast where, on July 1st we kicked off Year 3 of the PEAK Performance Project. We held our orientation for the new Top 20 artists (the best in British Columbia) at Surrey Canada Day where, throughout the day, a crowd of over 100,000 people came to enjoy their live performances. As always, it’s a pleasure to be involved and meet such creative individuals. I filmed and edited this piece.
This time last week, I was with some great friends in Montreal. I didn’t bring a video camera but had always been meaning to experiment with the iPhone 4′s HD video so this was the perfect excuse.
Sunday night at the Kelowna Community Theatre, some close friends Kingdom Cloud (@KINGDOM_CLOUD), Aidan Knight (@aidanknight), Said the Whale (@saidthewhale) and We Are The City (@WeAreTheCity) all performed on the same stage, which to be quite honest (and every one that went already knows) was completely awesome. This was less like a concert and more getting together with old friends and turning the stereo up way loud.
I got to sit down with all these bands and talk to them about the show for Awesome Okanagan and unfortunately we have to extend our apologies to Kingdom Cloud, Sven Peterson and Said the Whale as a technical mishap deleted all your interviews, probably the least awesome thing we’ve reported on yet.
Enjoy the rest of the video as I talk to We Are The City about night predators from the sky, getting a little too excited during Jackie Chan movies, and the possibility of an Aidan Knight/Debra-Jean side-project EP. Said the Whale, we promise to make it up to you. Kingdom Cloud, you’re here all summer, let’s make a music video.
If you’re familiar with me you probably already know I manage another blog called AwesomeOkangan.com. We hope to raise awareness, foster a community of creative people, and share everything we think is totally awesome about where we live. And to everything un-awesome, we find a way to instill all that sense of wonderment and elation. It allows me exciting opportunities like last Thursday night when I (finally) saw that talented Calgary native, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, at Habitat. We sat down after the show for a quick chat and fondly reminisce about the time I assaulted him during BreakOut West last year. This interview could be especially awkward because 1) the mic wasn’t recording the first time around and we found out nearly halfway through it, and 2) we’re totally wearing the same hair even though we specifically decided on each wearing two different styles beforehand. That last part was a lie, but this interview isn’t, so give it a chance.
Client: Western Canadian Music Alliance/BreakOut West Kelowna Host Committee
On a daily basis there was a 24-hour turnaround for titles, intros, communication pieces, visuals and daily recaps to play in all of the 8 venues of the BreakOut West Festival. Along with a multitude of print media, I was in charge of these motion graphics for the 2010 year of in Kelowna, BC.
This short launched the Fashion Show of Paparazzi – The Event on November 14th, 2009. Included photos by Shawn Talbot.
The event is an AIDS Fundraiser with all proceeds going to the Living Positive Resource Center and AIDS Research. Sponsors included Bernard Callebaut Chocolate, MAC, Hanna’s Lounge & Grill, L’Oreal Proffessionel, WestKey, Savour Magazine, Summerhill Pyramid Winery, Joanne Hendrix Design, TK Couture, Gunshy by Alicja Rosnowsky, DJ Altair and myself.
Video entry for Saxx & Freeride Boardshop Saxx Skate Video Contest. I started thinking about it on a Wednesday at 2pm. From concept to execution, from nothing I completed this entire project alone in about 30 hours.
Trip to Kentucky Lake right after a Death Cab for Cutie concert. Beautiful weather, heavy burns, and both good and bad news. We discovered, while we were away from homes, that areas of our town were on fire. This was reminiscent of the 2003 Okanagan Mountain park fires and we didn’t know exactly how we’d get home at first. But, on the up side, we dug a big hole.
