Shawn Schaffer

Hello everyone! Well whether it’s Christmas you celebrate, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, or whatever your preference, I first want to wish you a happy and healthy holiday season.

This year has truly been a Christmas miracle for me, just as I would normally be getting ready to settle in and do some major housekeeping and office work due to the decline in workflow during the winter months, projects just keep coming and I am keeping very busy.

For starters, following the thanksgiving feast, I shot a short promotional spot for Ellis hospital featuring stories of patients they’ve helped continue to live their lives. It was a good shoot, here’s a snapshot to gander at:

Following that shoot, I was very excited for the arrival of my new camera, the Sony FS-100

Sporting it’s Super 35mm equivalent sensor and it’s 1080p / 24p recording it makes for such an amazing image. Much to the chagrin of my wife, while I was playing with the camera I took a snapshot of the LCD to show the latitude the camera has in an available light situation, check it out

It’s already been put to work an may I say it is a remarkable camera. Can’t wait to start buying some new incredible prime lenses, that’s the next thing on the list as well as the Convergent Designs Gemini 4:4:4 drive.

Back to the work front, in addition to being the Director of Photography on the Comedy Warriors documentary, I am also working as an assistant editor, logging the footage and organizing it for the talented individual that will eventually be editing it. In doing this, I am buried in Macs, see for yourself

During all of this I have also been continuing my efforts in expanding and helping to launch WheelhouseTV with my business partner Patrick Reilly, we proudly put out our first billboard for a client. We designed and created this billboard for our client Dent Concepts

We also designed and created a billboard for another of our clients Doctor Suds hopefully I’ll have pictures up soon.

Next on the slate was the pre-lighting and planning for a new health show being produced in the Hudson Valley, entitled “The Good Health Show” hosted by Larry Hughes. The show is the creation of and produced by St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie.

We shot THIRTEEN of these microsodes in ONE day, which is why the pre light was necessary. We created a green screen virtual set for our host and guest. It was a productive day, but we got it done with going into any OT, so I’d say that is a victory.

Here’s a couple snaps shots including one of our virtual set designers concepts for the shows background.

After breaking down and packing up it was back on the road to Rhode Island to shoot a commercial for the Rhode Island original that is often imitated, but never recreated, New York System Hot Wieners. We shot at the shop where it all started in Olneyville in Providence. We sat down with some hot wieners done up all the way and some fries and coffee milk, another Rhode Island original, and shot a new concept spot for them on the new Sony FS100. It came out looking great, here’s some working shots from the shoot.

Look for that spot to be coming soon from WheelhouseTV. Also keep an eye out starting in January for the Good Health Show microsodes playing during your local news if you’re anywhere from Southern Albany, NY south to Westchester County.

Lastly to report, I just finished a location scout for Vistech Lithography inside the Watervliet Arsenal in upstate New York. This business operates almost entirely in a clean room so in order to do the scout, Producer John Heaney and I had to suit up before heading in. Oh what clean fun….

That’s all to report before the new year, but there’s a LOT going on once the calendar turns to 2012. Headed out west to LA in January for more shooting for the Comedy Warriors project with some big names in the comedy business. Also in February, I will be headed back to LA finally to do the color correction on Love Orchard, the feature film I was the Director of Photography for back in August, some post production set backs in turn delayed that step in the process, but everything looks to be in line for progress now.

Many, many other things in the works for 2012 as well. Onward and upward.

Until next time, I hope everyone has a great holiday and new year. Stay healthy, stay happy, and stay busy!

Cheers!

Hey everyone!

What a month it has been in the interim between my last update and now…if last month’s word was “nomad” or “carnie”, this month was definitely “diversity”.

First off, some housekeeping for the web site, if you check out the Demo Reel / Video page, you will see I’ve added the trailer for the feature film “Traveler Zero” that I was the Director of Photography for that was shot last year. Production on the full length feature film is set for 2012. Also, if you visit the Music Videos page you will see I’ve added the latest music video collaboration between Director / Editor Rob Soucy, Director of Photography Sam Gove, and myself as the Gaffer / Lighting Design for the song “Empty Glass” by New Hampshire rock band Defeater, recently featured on the home page for NPR and landing on MTV2, MTVU, and Fuse at the end of the month.

I’ve also begun work on my new Director of Photography reel, expect that to go live by the end of 2011 as well as my first Commercial Reel for my work as a Director of Photography.

We begin with my interview on Impact on the Arts, which you can see below. Special Thanks to Heidi Philipsen for having me on for such a great interview. I look forward to being a guest again sometime in the future.

I left almost immediately from that interview and hit the road to Philadelphia to begin work on the new trivia show coming soon on the Speed Channel, “Pumped”, from the creators of “Cash Cab” and hosted by stand-up comedian Greg Fitzsimmons.

We set up our camp at Sunoco station just outside of Philadelphia for three days and sought out our unsuspecting motorists to play our game. Much like Cash Cab, the potential contestant has no idea what’s going on when the host poses the challenge to answer some trivia questions and win some cash. Questions typically were from the world of motorsports, but a variety of categories were subject to being a part of the game.

I had a great time working through the rain and cold with such a great crew. I certainly hope the show gets picked up for a second season so I can work some more with those guys.

Shooting a game in the rain, a real triumph of human perseverance (or greed) over the elements...

Shooting in to the evening hours, contestants vie for cash and prizes...

Greg Fitzsimmons breaks it down in our opening segment

Following our wrap on “Pumped”, I returned home for a couple days, but was promptly back on the road to work on a half hour infomercial for the Transforma Bra. I’d give more info on what the product exactly did that was different than bras for the last century, but I have no idea…I’m a guy…

Aside from helping construct the lighting setup in the studio, which took a full day and then some, I was shooting the testimonials of these women who were trying the Transforma Bra for the first time. It was fun hearing some of their anecdotal stories of their problems keeping “the girls” in line. Everything came out looking great and I’ll be certain to scour my late night TV for the show…don’t judge me for watching TV at 2 am looking for bra infomercials…

The dozens and dozens of lights hung from the studio grid to create the Transforma Bra talk show like set

Another satisfied customer tells her tale of struggle keeping "the girls" in line and secure

After a brief “layover” home, I was on my way to Providence, RI to shoot some video for Dr. Suds, a full service detail shop attached to Dent Concepts Paintless Dent Repair shop, both of whom are clients of WheelhouseTV, the full service production house that myself and my business partner Patrick Reilly run in North Providence. While there, we checked out the storefront that will become our offices in January 2012.

Wheelhouse TV is a full service video production, graphic & web design company based in Providence, RI. We are a one stop media shop providing script to screen video production for television commercials and web video, as well as professional graphic design and web development solutions. If it needs to be seen, it’s right in our wheelhouse. Please visit our web site at www.wheelhouse.tv or you can follow us on Twitter at www.followwheelhousetv.com, like us on Facebook at www.likewheelhousetv.com or check out our YouTube Channel at www.watchwheelhousetv.com

Here’s our soon to be new digs. The sign should be arriving in December.

The soon to be home of WheelhouseTV on Mineral Spring Ave in North Providence, RI

After returning home from meetings and shoots in Providence, it was back to work with the fine folks at Concepts on a few new infomercials, including Stretch Genie for shoes and SeatBelt Mate to keep that our seatbelt from creating irritation on your neck while driving. For this shoot we had to employ the resources and space of RollerCoaster Studios in New Jersey, here’s a couple snapshots from that shoot.

Lighting the Jeep for it's close up as well as our at the wheel testimonials from our satisfied customers

A car full of happy travelers who aren't getting rubbed the wrong way by their shoulder straps.

Top's down and the "wind" blowing through their hair and no red irritation on their necks from their shoulder straps

Next up to bat on the schedule was a return to Providence for more meetings and shooting for clients, including our newest client, ADW SwitchUps watches, a Providence based company producing some pretty slick watches that can be changed with your mood and your style. We are in the process of revamping their web site as well as producing new web and video content for the company. We are glad to have them on board as a client and look forward to working with them in the future. Check them out at www.adwstore.com 

After returning again from Providence, it was back to New Jersey for another shoot with Concepts, this time for Burger Magic, the handy device that creates perfect, juicy burgers every time and believe me, those burgers looked and smelled so good, the crew was really looking forward to sinking their teeth into some at lunch time, only to discover we had a deli platter waiting for us….disappointing, but that just motivates me to buy one when they hit the market.

Peter framing our TV family sitting down to a delicious burger dinner.

Our TV Family enjoying the bounty of juicy burger goodness placed before them

Shooting product shots of all the great deals you can get when you order now

Following Burger Magic, I transitioned to the aftermath of eating too many delicious burgers…a shoot for a Funeral Director….I traveled down to Poughkeepsie to shoot at the Warren G Miller & Son Funeral Home for a video discussing the importance of pre-planning ones own funeral arrangements. A much more somber shoot than what I had been on, only to have creepiness factor amplified by the open casket in the room I was shooting in with a real live (or dead I guess) body in it awaiting their wake AND having to more closed caskets with Post-It notes with last names on them hanging out in our staging area for the gear….splendid….

Framing up our speaker with the teleprompter attached for the informational video on pre-planning (open casket not seen here)

Following that uplifting shoot, I went to Manhattan to be surrounded by some real heroes as I continued my work with the Wounded Warrior Project. Just like last year, I got to walk in the Veterans Day Parade with the Warriors as we marched from 5th and 26th all the way to 56th. It was a true honor marching with these men and women of the armed forces who have fought for us during our conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This year’s participation blew away last years, the Wounded Warrior Project was represented this year by over 400 Warriors and their families marching in the streets. Thank you to all the veterans, past and present, who have defended the freedom of our country and to the ones we’ve lost, you are not forgotten.

My Media Pass for 11-11-11 Veterans Day Parade

Out in force with vehicles and all, we marched through the streets.

Just a small portion of the Wounded Warrior Project collective

Marching proudly with the warriors while wearing my WWP beanie

Shortly thereafter, I began prep work for Comedy Warriors, a feature length documentary being made by Galileo Media Arts which pairs five Wounded Warriors with five A-list comedians to help them make their dream of working in stand up comedy come true. It is such an absolute pleasure working on this project, seeing these men and women who have sacrificed and lost so much going through a thing so grim as war, turning to the healing power of comedy and laughter to get them through their problems. Some of the comedians that will be helping these aspiring comedians are Bob Saget, Zach Galifianakis, Brad Garrett, and Lewis Black, among others.

Here’s a shot from the set up of the press conference that was held this past week in Albany, NY for the promotion of the film.

Prior to media arrival, the press conference announcing Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor.

Production will take place over the next six months as these Warriors develop their skills and routines under the mentorship of the stand up counterpart. Production will take place on both the East and West Coasts and will be completed by Summer 2012 for a late 2012 release.

Again, I am so happy to be a part of such an outstanding project and look forward to continuing work on it.

On the horizon now, besides eating tons of turkey on Thanksgiving and avoiding all retail stores Black Friday Weekend, are a couple shoots for Ellis Hospital and Home Depot, as well as shooting a talk show set entirely on a virtual set, and a trip down south to Alabama to do some commercials for one of our WheelhouseTV clients. I also have my two week trip to Los Angeles in January for color correction on Love Orchard and continuing work on Comedy Warriors.

That is all for now, so until next time, stay healthy, stay happy, and stay busy!

Cheers!

Hey everyone,

So it’s been a couple weeks since my last update, but with good reason, I’ve been busy working and traveling to a number of states for projects.

Following the Hip Hop Abs shoot, which landed me at both City Stage in Manhattan and Brooklyn Studios in Brooklyn, I was hitting the road again to work on a Chestnut Communications shoot for Kerasal.

Immediately following that I headed home to work on the trailer for a pilot of a new show “Weekenders” from MovieQuest Productions, the brains behind “eScape”, the hit sci-fi web series. We shot over the course of one long day and into the night, but we’ve got some great looking stuff in the can, can’t wait to see this show take off.

After a brief half day off, I was back on the road to Manhattan to do three more days at Cedar Lake Dance Studio for the conclusion of production for the Hip Hop Abs half hour infomercial. It was a four camera shoot with a great crew and some real troopers for our dance team who danced 10 hours a day for those three days.

After those three days in Manhattan, following wrap on the third day, me and the guys were off again, driving from Manhattan to eastern Pennsylvania / western New Jersey to work on an Applebee’s commercial, in conjunction with the History Channel for the upcoming Veterans Day Weekend.

And again, just as quickly as we arrived, we were back on the road, going from western New Jersey to Central New Jersey, Browns Mills, to be exact for another shoot with the Chestnut Communications folks for Cystex and Cranberry Wonder, a health supplement drink. And what better place to film a commercial about a cranberry product? In a cranberry bog of course!

Once we could no longer chase the sun and had captured all the great footage we could, it was time to head home for a brief rest, brief being the key word.

The next afternoon I was back on the road to Rhode Island to begin to lay the groundwork for Wheelhouse TV, a full service, multi-media production company based in Providence that my colleague, Patrick Reilly and I will be launching January 1st, 2012.

And while I was there, what better way to relax and let loose than to play some vintage baseball, 1884 style, no gloves, wool uniforms, vintage crafted bats and balls, it was great. I played second base for the Olneyville Temperance Cadets, we won over the New Hampshire Granite 20-13.

Following our meetings, I again returned home for a brief stay, departing the following evening for New Hampshire to work with the talented Rob Soucy and Sam “Star Fox” Gove on our third collaboration on a music video. This one was for the song “Empty Glass” by Portsmouth, NH rock band Defeater. The video had a period theme and was shot on the 7D with my Nikon Primes. Everything came out great and I’m very excited to see the final product.

Finally, after logging all those miles and hours, I returned home for a three day stretch, the longest I’ve been home in nearly two months. However, the homestay is short lived as I am hitting the road again today for Philadelphia for three days to work on a game show for SpeedTV called “Pumped” from the creators of “Cash Cab”. I’ll be returning on Sunday night / Monday morning and be home again for a few days before heading back to New Jersey for a couple days at TriStar Studios, among other projects in the pipeline.

But before I leave today, I just finished being interviewed on Impact on the Arts TV Show, hosted by Heidi Philipsen. We discussed my work as a Cinematographer, specifically my experience on the feature film “Love Orchard” starring Kristanna Loken and Bruce Dern. I had a great time on the show and would like to thank Heidi for having me on.

As always, I’ll try to give my report from the road as time allows.

Until next time, stay healthy, stay happy, and stay busy!

Cheers!

Hello again everyone!

Well, after a successful week of editing and some infomercial work with the folks at Concepts, I had a relaxing weekend, which consisted of going to the day game of the Yankees vs Red Sox double header, great game, Yankees won 6-2 behind a strong start by AJ Burnett.

Anyway, the beginning of the week brings the return to work. I’ll be in manhattan today, tomorrow, and Wednesday working on the finishing touches and shoots rounding out the Hip Hop Abs 60 Day Challenge shoot.

I’ll return home Wednesday night, followed by an editing day Thursday, and then back to the NYC metro area Friday for a shoot, back to upstate NY to shoot a pilot Saturday, then relaxing Sunday watching football before returning to northern NJ for a two day shoot followed by traveling to Pennsylvania for a shoot for Applebees.

Updates will follow, but in the meantime, here’s today fun at City Stage in manhattan.

So now that I am finally caught up in my updates, I can start making better use of the WordPress App for the iPhone.

Today I am with the fine folks of Concepts in New Jersey on an infomercial shoot for Pillow Puppets, the lovable, huggable, stuffed puppets that are a pillow as well.

It looks like a great product for kids. The day has been going well so far, working with Peter Mariuzza and Robert Ansbro as usual.

Tomorrow it’s editing with Heidi Philipsen on the infomercial for Simple Three as well as continuing editing on Her Telling Heart as it begins to take it’s final shape picture-wise before being sent off to our composer for the score.

Here’s some of the fun from today so far:

That’s all for now. Until next time stay healthy, stay happy, and stay busy!

Hey everyone! Sorry it’s been awhile since updating, soooo much has been going on in my life, both personally and professionally. So rather than give you the month by month and drag out updates for 2011 into 2012 at this pace, here’s the short of it.

May was a busy month for me, I worked on a number of great projects, including a CBS promo for their fall lineup with a focus on Blue Bloods. We shot for a couple days in NYC, day one in and around Manhattan at various landmark locations. The second day was spent on a massive green in a studio doing shots of Eddie Going, our superb Tom Selleck stand-in hanging from a helicopter ladder “flying” around the city.

Peter Mariuzza lines up his shot in Manhattan, look out for the helicopter! (added in post later)

A stunt driver flies past the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan to deliver a time sensitive document in this promo

Eddie is hanging out on the rope ladder imagining he's dangling hundreds of feet above NYC, don't look down!

Eddie puts on his Tom Selleck face so the vfx guys can put Tom Selleck's face on Eddie in post.

I also worked on a promotional spot for Porsche through the History Channel. We got to rock out first on a car trailer on day one, then we got to play the lead vehicle with a 40 ft jib attached while we got great driving footage of the new Porsche Carrera on day two.

On the Camera Car hanging with the 1200 HMI cruising around town.

Tony Grazia and the gang from my POV on the trailer pulling our camera car.

Setting everything up to go for a ride towing around our $100,000 prop car

Setting everything up in the morning. Day Two involved letting the Porsche loose on the roads while Peter Mariuzza got to play around with the jib to get some great stuff.

Mixed into May was also a couple of commercials for such products as Lipoflavonoid (say that five times fast) and Stopain for the folks at DEG, an internet spot for Salesforce.com of a true Lego Maniac, a few days with the folks at Concepts on some new infomercials, and some medical interviews and event coverage for stock as they are repeat customers

Showing off a demo of how the GripStic works, this was a product I'd totally buy, worked great!

Jumping into June, fairly quiet for production, more pre-production and planning than anything. A couple more days with the folks from Concepts on some infomercials, and a lot of pre-production work on the educational and parenting tool Practical Goals, which is still in pre-production purgatory (better, faster, cheaper – pick any two, but you can’t have all three) so that should be shooting by the end of the year.

Moving into July, I continued my work with the folks at Concepts as well as working on some Corporate video fun shooting interviews and b-roll for the Watervliet Arsenal in response to the state’s backing the Arsenal by providing it a huge grant for expansion. The Watervliet Arsenal is responsible for contributing MANY things to our society and specifically our armed forces including the armor plating that goes on the military humvees. I also worked on an educational video for the folks at Human Relations Media on the value and importance of reputation for a young adolescent in middle and high school. That was quite the experience working with new people, I enjoyed it thoroughly and look forward to working with them again.

Some interviews with folks involved with the Arsenal discussing how important the Arsenal is and how key it was for NY to provide the grant for them to expand.

An interview with NYS Assemblyman Ron Canestrari about the state's involvement in expanding the Watervliet Arsenal.

Setting up for real people to check out and try Furniture Fix on this saggy old lumpy couch we set up in the mall.

Going through the motions prior to a take for the "negative" reputation scene with one of our "delinquent" students

In July, I also re-teamed with the folks at Galileo Media Arts to produce a new 30 second spot for Nemer Volkswagen here in the Capital District which will be posted on my Commercials page in conjunction with this post publishing so head on over and check that out. July closed out with a flurry of spots for Concepts as well as the early tinkerings on a longer term project developing media for a prominent funeral director in the Hudson Valley region which involves footage of the changing of seasons, nature, tranquility, the symbolic nature of sunsets and time changing nature, basically an excuse to shoot some really beautiful stuff, which is what I enjoy doing, making pretty pictures.

August was the meat and potatoes of my update. In July, I began post-production work as the Editor and Color Correctionist on the Edgar Allen Poe inspired short film “Her Telling Heart”, written and directed by Heidi Philipsen. While working closely with Heidi on the project, she had begun negotiations to be the production coordinator on a feature film coming to the area and they were in search of a Director of Photography. Heidi recommended me and through a series of interviews, meetings, and a lot of cheerleading on behalf of Heidi and the Unit Production Manager Nunzio Fazio, I successfully landed the role of Director of Photography on the feature film “Love Orchard”, starring Kristanna Loken, Bruce Dern, Ian Duncan, Patricia De Leon, Jose Maria Yazpik, Leigh Strimbeck, and number of other incredibly talented actors. The film is directed by award-winning Director Farhad Mann. Having already shot the second unit footage in LA and Arizona with acclaimed Director of Photography David Herrington, I had a lot to live up to.

My talented "A" Cam Operator and good friend Sam "Star Fox" Gove manning the RED MX with a sweet Angenieux 25-250mm zoom lens on it on Day One of production.

Director Farhad Mann looks on the monitor as we prep for a take in the courthouse with Bruce Dern, Leigh Strimbeck, Patricia De Leon, and Jose Maria watching the proceedings of the case.

I was blessed to have such an opportunity, as they could have easily gone with someone from NYC or LA, but I was fortunate enough and worked hard enough to earn the respect and confidence of the powers that be to be hired on as the Director of Photography.

Some two camera action with our talented camera department.

(L to R) AC Seamus Donahoe, "A" Cam Op Sam "Star Fox" Gove, "B" Cam Op Patrick Elliott, and AC Kevin Barry getting close and personal for some coverage.

Me taking a look outside to track the setting sun to get our shots in before daylight runs out.

Checking out the monitor in a nice comfy armchair, soooo much better than an apple box

With our aggressive 15 day shooting schedule to shoot over 90 pages of the 113 page script, we got to work. I began pre-production for my end of things August 1st and we were starting principal photography on August 6th, tackling the meat of the film first, the courtroom scenes that accounted for 37 1/2 pages of the script with four days to complete it in. We plowed through, getting some incredible shots and performances by all parties involved, which included local favorites Kevin Craig West, Mark Musto, Michael Hayes, and others.

Going over the scene and screen direction with Farhad and our lead, Ms. Kristanna Loken.

Getting ready to shoot the master shot for an outdoor scene involving a lot of extras choreographed to swarm our talent.

Coffee in hand, ready for the day, waiting for the sun to rise over some obstructions for optimal key light.

Running some source light from about 20-30 ft. in the air is always fun, supervising that no one dies lol

At the conclusion of our 15 day schedule, we left nothing behind, got everything in the can, except for some minor second unit pick up shots, and we have a real winner I feel. It’s the little Indie that could I think and I will be sure to keep you all up to date as it proceeds through post-production, which includes me going to LA to sit with Farhad Mann and the color correctionist, whom also color corrected The Dark Knight, for two weeks to really give it my personal touch. I am extremely excited to be given such an opportunity to carry on in the process after wrap and see it through like a real Director of Photography gets the chance to do on a regular basis on larger pictures like this one.

Director Farhad Mann and I watch a camera rehearsal at the Inn at Hudson.

Some hands on work from Director Farhad Mann, shouldering up the 45 lb RED MX for some handheld action during a paparazzi scrum.

Overseeing the hoisting of our "street lamp" outside our restaurant for some nice added color, the light would be gelled to match a sodium vapor street light.

Unfortunately, the real moon is on the other side of the house, so using a couple 1200 HMIs, we will create our moon. Checking the heat of it to see if I have to make Gaffer Chris Bauer's day worse by having him fire up the Genny to run 4K HMIs or not.

I also want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank my amazing crew, whom all busted their asses for those 15 days and more to help us bring together such a great film. Farhad Mann, Nunzio Fazio, Jim Whitworth, Kevin Moon, Heidi Philipsen, Montana Mann, Sam Gove, Patrick Elliott, Chuck Grady, Adam Richlin, Kevin Barry, Victor Trejo, Seamus Donahoe, Evalena Ritland, Rebecca Gold, The Hester Sisters (Kris, Jessica, and Meagan), Jason Milani, Tabatha Beshears, Brent Singleton, Shawn Tiano, Joe Hedge, Matt Van Gelder, Dee Dee Thomas, Chris Bauer, Matt Kessler, John Hudak, Rachel Saltzman, Jennifer Gonyea, Ananda Strazzini, Josh Litton, Tim Scott, Jessica Farkas, Candace Coons, Donna Gagnon, Joe James, Lisa Carlson, Mike Kane, Gaby Allen, Clayton and Steve the power sound duo, and so so so many others, you were all absolutely fantastic and it was a pleasure working with each and every one of you and I sincerely hope to do it again soon and often.

Just some of our wonderful cast and crew attending an evening with Bruce Dern, what great stories he has.

A little goofing around after wrap on the last day, I autographed our own Jen Gonyea, leaving my mark on her forever, both mentally and now physically.

Some classic Chris Bauer antics, when people say he's a blank slate, he is, or at least his shirts are. A new day always brought a new white shirt and a new Bauer Power statement. Vive la France!

The man himself, Mr. Bruce Dern and I during some down time on set. What a great guy, really hope to work with him again. I've been "ordered" to pay him a visit while in LA in November, yes sir, with pleasure.

The lovely and talented Kristanna Loken and I following her picture wrap on the last day of production. She was a pleasure to work with and light, it was honestly impossible to poorly light her, even when it was necessary to make her look bad, it proved to be a significant challenge, she is naturally an incredibly photogenic person.

Following his picture wrap, the talented and friendly Ian Duncan and I pose for a photo. Wonderful actor, looking forward to more from him soon.

Moving ahead into September, where we are now, was my next major life change. On September 3rd, 2011, I married the love of my life, the mother of our beautiful daughter, and my best friend (yes they’re all the same person), Tiffani Jansen. We had a small ceremony with immediate family and went to Atlantic City for four days and three nights for our “honeymoon”. We were supposed to be in Las Vegas for 12 days, 11 nights back in August, but then I was offered “Love Orchard” and had to make a change of plans. We are doing a Save the Date for next year to renew our vows and have a full blown ceremony and reception.

Following our small ceremony, the principal party people posed for a picture. (L to R Maid of Honor Summer Miller, my beautiful bride Tiffani (Jansen) Schaffer, myself, and my Best Man Andrew Zych.

Our sweet little girl Lily trying some sweet cake frosting at Mommy and Daddy's wedding. Aunt Trisha was there to make sure we didn't spoil our dinner.

Following that, like the very next day upon returning from our honeymoon, I was back to work, doing pre-production for Simple Three, a parenting tool, for which we were shooting two 15 minute infomercials for to be included on a DVD with the product when it’s ordered. The two-day shoot went well and I will begin post-production on that beginning next week. After that I continued doing work for National Grid, filming their relief and recovery efforts following the tragic events of Hurricane Irene and the Tornado the followed, tearing through most of the Hudson and Mohawk Valley. It was very sobering to see just how many people lost everything, but also very uplifting to see how so may who lost so much have kept their spirits high and continue to see the glass as half full. The speed at which services and the basic life essentials are being restored to those affected has been amazing, hats off to the efforts of National Grid and all those working towards a return to normalcy.

That’s it for now, on the horizon for me this month are some more dates with the folks at Concepts, as well as a trip to Pennsylvania to do a shoot for Applebee’s for the History Channel, as well as shooting the pilot for a new drama with a twist from talented writer-director Mike Feurstein, whom I shot the highly successfully sci-fi web series “eScape” for. Further out on the horizon, I am in talks right now to travel to Nigeria to shoot a feature film in or around November, after their heavy rain season passes, so I will keep you all up to date on that as well.

So until next time – Stay healthy, stay happy, and stay busy! Cheers!

So we are getting closer to being caught up. Finding the time to update on a regular basis can be difficult at times, but hopefully once we are current, I will be able to just update on the fly with the awesome WordPress App for the iPhone.

April was light in regards to on set work. I was doing a lot in the editing room, but some of the month of April was spent on set. I worked again with the folks at Concepts for a hair product for Clairol to add highlights to your hair easily and without a visit to the stylist. Being a guy, that is about as far as my description gets in regards to details so…..here’s some pictures!

Collette watching on the monitor while Pete works his magic making the models look lovely.

The lighting set up for our models involved blacking out about 40 feet of 12 foot high windows, building a backdrop of sparkling costume jewelry bead curtains, and more.

Shortly thereafter, I rejoined the Concepts folks for a longer form program for another product, Miracle Slippers. Honestly, the slippers were extremely comfortable, I think getting the product should start being included in the pay for the gig.

This particular longform spot involved us going to the mall to get testimonials, which for anyone that’s worked in the business knows, as soon as you set up a camera or lights, people are drawn to it like moths to the flame. This also means a lot of “What are you guys shooting?” and “Is this for a movie? Can I be in it?”. The upside is, in this case, yes they could be in it. We needed real people’s reactions to the product so they got their time in front of the camera and we got our testimonials, win win.

Here’s some snapshots from that shoot:

While shooting exteriors for the product, Gaffer Robert Ansbro takes shelter beneath the 40 x 40 reflector while illuminating the talent and the product on their feet.

A nice set up in the kitchen showing the versatility of the Miracle Slippers as the well crafted soles allows for heavy traffic, while it's "miracle" allows for complete comfort while doing so.

Everyone gathers at the mall while we begin shooting our testimonials and product demos.

Collette stands next to Matt Howe as they look to see what else they want to get from these shots and testimonials.

A screen shot of another satisfied customer.

Another shoot I was on in April brought me to the same studio they shoot The People’s Court in. I was a little saddened by the fact that it wasn’t shot in a courtroom, but rather a built set that’s about 75 feet by 150 feet inside of larger open space that’s about four times that size, which is where we were shooting a Healthcast for the Osprey – Grey Healthcare Group on their green screen. Here’s some shots from that:

Matt Howe walking through the set for one last look at our lighting before we get rolling.

Beyond the smoke and mirrors of the People's Court, it's just a constructed set...oh and Santa Claus isn't real either

Some fun during the downtime. Thanks to the location manager for firing up the studio lights for us.

ORDER IN MY COURTROOM!

That’s about it as far as on set work goes in April. The other stuff was primarily in office work and editing, you know some corporate grind stuff to do for pay, not pleasure, but we gotta do what we gotta do, staying busy is always better than the alternative.

We will have our May update posted this coming week and then we will be pretty much caught up, woo hoo! In the meantime, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay busy. Cheers!

Hi All!

Okay so we are now onto March in our parade of updates. March started off with no rest, to say the least. Lily had just been born on February 24, she came home on February 26 and I was on an airplane March 1st for Nashville. I started off the month in Nashville continuing work on the Wounded Warrior Project. This time I was brought to a huge Country Music Convention being hosted by the subject of the video piece I was shooting, the voice of Country Radio for the last 40 years, Mr. Bob Kingsley.

While there, I was privy to all kinds of VIP treatment, being the guest of the man in charge. Record label after parties and interviews with some of the top names in Country today as well as some of the future names of Country. The kindest gesture of all while I was there was made by Ms. Taylor Swift, whom I was scheduled to film an interview with the second day I was there. However, she was unavailable, having just returned from the Asian leg of her current tour and preparing to move on to the European leg. She went above and beyond a simple apology from a Administrative Assistant, she sent a lovely letter and cupcake to my room as an apology. She continues to be a class act all the way. Her was her token of kindness to me:

Taylor Swift sent this cupcake and letter to my room as her apology for being unable to make it for our interview..

This project also afforded me some chance meetings with other country stars and some great people, including former Hootie and the Blowfish frontman and now platinum selling solo country artist Darius Rucker.

Darius Rucker and I following our interview. Really nice person.

I also got to meet some of country music’s stars on the rise, such as Summer Sweeney, whom Mr. Kingsley predicts will be a headliner by the beginning of 2012, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for her.

A quick snapshot during our interview with Summer Sweeney

And perhaps the biggest name of all was Mr. Toby Keith, who was in Nashville not only for the convention, but on his promotional tour for his new brand of Tequila he’s releasing. I got a moment to work with him and to get a picture on his way to his next media stop.

I was able to get a moment of the country superstar's time for a photo following our interview.

And lastly the man of the hour, Mr. Bob Kingsley himself. It was certainly a pleasure spending the week with Mr. Kingsley and his lovely wife in the midst of the whirlwind of events and media on hand for the convention.

The voice of country radio and I just prior to my departure for the airport.

I got to meet so many great people including such Country Legends as Jeffrey Steele, Rivers Rutherford, and more, including another crossover artist, former Staind frontman Aaron Lewis, who is beginning to make waves of his own in the country music scene. I look forward to doing it again sometime. And now for a fun photo!

Having a jam session with the King Elvis Presley

Upon my return from Nashville, I was home with Tiffani and our newborn daughter Lily for all of 24 hours, then I was back out the door for Providence, RI to do some new commercials and promotional spots for Dent Concepts and their new sibling business Mr. Suds. Like the Dent Concepts spots, we were going for a quick, funny commercial for Mr. Suds and we incorporated many different platforms of media in the spot in the planning stages, including music and animation. I’ll be sure to put the final product up once it’s finished, but in the meantime, here’s some pics.

A break in between takes for our actress Ivy during shooting the commercial for Mr. Suds.

While in Providence, I also shot a video FAQ section for the Dent Concepts web site featuring the talented Natalie Teager in front of the camera to answer all your PDR (Paint-free Dent Repair) questions.

Natalie Teager answering all your paint-free dent removal questions for the Dent Concepts web site.

And lastly, what’s doing a spot for a company called Dent Concepts without shooting some dents? Here’s a snapshot from our shoot for the before and after service video.

Shooting some before footage of the car that will be made new by Dent Concepts and their Paint-free Dent Removal service. Gotta make the ugly stuff look pretty too though.

Upon returning from Providence, it was home again for a day and then back to work, thankfully work was local this time, which is a rarity. After discussing the concept for the March Madness commercial for regional car dealership DeNooyer, we decided to go with an homage to the late 90′s Nike commercials featuring the basketball players under a single spotlight showing off their moves and passing the ball offscreen to another athlete. The catch is that Joel DeNooyer is not an athlete. So we had a collegiate basketball player come in and show up the car dealer in a series of vignettes and exercises shot in the same manner as the Nike originals. Here’s a few snapshots as well as the commercial itself, just click on the poster for the video and it will load and play. It can also be seen on my Commercials page.

Showing off some dribbling skills for the camera.

A look into the camera to see if the spot aesthetically matches it's well known predecessor

Other fun projects I got to work on in March was an infomercial with the folks at Concepts for a product called Jewel Spool. Here’s a couple shots from that shoot:

Just some of the folks behind the camera that make every go so well in front of it.

Collette, Producer / Owner of Concepts, looks on to give approval of the shot.

And lastly, to close out the month of March, I worked with the folks at Osprey – Grey Healthcare Group, on a shoot for Kapvay, a new drug for ADD.  Here’s a shot from that shoot.

Taking a step back to show all the goings on for the shoot. The studio was really cool, an old theatre gutted and repurposed, but the best part is all the original paint and artwork on the walls and ceilings in the cavernous opening that remains.

Well, that pretty much wraps up March, a couple other shoots I was on, but have no pics for, were a shoot for Chai Lifeline, a non-profit Jewish organization that works to provide critically or terminally ill children and underprivileged children with one of a kind outings and experiences. This particular shoot was for an day at the Windham Ski Resort in upstate New York, where the kids and parents were treated to a day of skiing, tubing, and other fun in the snow. It was a fun experience as I also had never been to a ski resort or rode a chair lift. I also did a piece for St. James hospital in Central New York for a women’s panel discussing health concerns at different stages in a woman’s life, educating stuff to say the least.

So that’s all for now on this hot and humid Memorial Day weekend. On my way out to enjoy the weather and the much needed time off. Next week we will climb closer to being in the present when I give my update for April.

Until then, be well, but more importantly, do well.

Cheers!

Hey everyone!

Sorry it has been SO long since my last update (two and a half months now), but there has just been so much going that I haven’t been able to give the appropriate time to updating my blog. There’s too much to update in just one update, so it will occur in three updates. This if the first, covering the remainder of February. Next week’s update will be March, the following week will be April, the week after will be wherever we are at in May and then we should be caught up. Okay? Okay.

Quick housekeeping notes, I slightly revamped the web site in regards to the video content. I have switched to a Quicktime Movie Player for more smart phone and iPhone friendly visitors to my web site. Also, I streamlined the files sizes, so everything should load much faster.

Be sure to check out the latest video additions to the site, the new DeNooyer “Sports Star” Commercial on my Commercials page and the much anticipated new music video from William Sturtevant called “Inspired”, which acts as a teaser to Will’s first single “Stronger” for which we will be shooting the music video for this Summer. That can be found on the Music Videos page as well as the new video from Indie songstress Sarah Fimm for her haunting song “Yellow”. Be sure to check those out.

You’ll also notice I’ve added a page for my IMDb page. By going to this page and following my IMDb link, you can access and “like” my IMDb page (for all you Facebook users). You can also use it to keep tabs on any other projects I’m working on at any stage of development that have been listed with IMDb.

Now, on to catching you all up on the events of February…

First and foremost, at 8:47 PM on Thursday February 24th, 2011, my fiancee and I welcomed our daughter Lily Amelia Schaffer into the world. She was 8 lbs. 14 oz and was 19 1/2″ long. It’s true what they say, it is possible to love someone you’ve just met with all your heart. My little girl is my entire world and I can’t wait to watch her grow up.

Here she is:

This is my sweet Lily at only one hour old.

Lily at one day old.

On the work front, there wasn’t too much I was doing in the days leading up to Lily’s due date or that followed. The only project I was a part of after my last update and in the time period was a collaboration between ABC and JC Penny for the Academy Awards, featuring fashion blogger Geri Hirsch. Here’s a few snapshots from that shoot.

It's the beginning of the day and everyone is scrambling to get everything ready for the shoot.

Peter Mariuzza lensing up his shot on Geri Hirsch.

As day turned to night creating the same level of exposure became a bit of a challenge in the loft studio.

Geri Hirsch from the fashion blog "Because I'm Addicted" delivering to camera for the end shot.

Well, that’s all for now. As I said, next week I will update you all on what went down in March. Until then, be well and stay busy!

Hey everyone! I hope this update is finding everyone happy and healthy leading into Valentine’s Day. It has been very busy since my last post so I’ll dig right in to what I’ve been up to.

First up (and most recently) I got to work with one of my favorite sports figures, New York Yankees Manager, Joe Girardi, yesterday on a spot for Estate Motors. He was a very approachable and nice person. His time on set was short, only about four hours, but he told us about getting ready to head to spring training for the 2011 season, as well as his time on the Taco Bell commercial with Mariano Rivera for the XXL Chalupa. It was a pleasurable experience and he was kind enough to take a photo with me, very cool stuff. Here’s a couple snap shots from the set:

Joe Girardi and I after he had just wrapped for the day

A small look at building the set and lighting set up.

Director Kerry Franzman going over the actions in the scene with Joe Girardi

Joe during rehearsal

Joe delivering his line to camera

Another important figure I got to work with these last couple weeks was New York State Senator Kirsten Gillibrand when she came to the Watervliet Arsenal to announce the state’s support of the arsenal by giving them a grant to add an 8,000 square foot expansion to the arsenal that is responsible for much of the weaponry and armor plating for our military vehicles. Due to her busy schedule and the brief manner of our interview with her, I was unable to get a snapshot with her, but here are some pics from that shoot:

Trying to get my shot amongst alll the media, politician, and military personnel.

A rare moment in front of the camera for me while I await the Senator's arrival

The guest speakers discuss the arsenal's plans for expansion with the media.

I also continued work on the Wounded Warriors Project in New York City this past week as I traveled to the NYPD Headquarters to interview NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly as well as a two lieutenants who all take part in supporting the Wounded Warriors Project. They shared their stories with us on how they’ve worked with the Wounded Warriors and how they’ve touched them with the dedication to defending our country just as the officers have a dedication to protecting New York City. After going through a rigorous security check, we got in to talk with some of New York’s finest. Here’s some snapshots:

Director John Wager sits down with NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly to discuss the Wounded Warriors Project.

NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly sitting down with us in his office.

A Lieutenant in the NYPD tells us his story of visiting these brave wounded veterans in the hospital.

I also spent some time working on a spot for the folks at Park Ford. Here’s a look at that shoot:

DP Peter Mariuzza frames up the shot for rehearsal.

Enough cargo space to host your next tailgate party.

Rehearsing the second spot of the day.

A quick screenshot during production for the spot.

And lastly, I spent some time with the great folks over at Concepts TV Productions working on some infomercials for “TurboWhisk”, a Kitchen Product, and for the “Sewing Express” a small, battery powered sewing machine. As always, it was a fun time on set, and a tasty time on set for the “TurboWhisk” as all the goodies you can use in the making of was given to the crew. Who would turn down fresh whipped cream on a strawberry shortcake dessert or slice of lemon meringue pie? Here’s some shots from those shoots:

A peak in at the folks behind the scenes as some products are being prepped.

Some whipped cream for your hot chocolate? Yes please.

Prepping our side by side of mixing oil and vinegar using a spoon versus using the TurboWhisk

A quick easy way to whip up some vinaigrette

The Sewing Express at work fixing that torn garment.

Create colorful table settings and runners with some fabric and the Sewing Express.

That’s all to report for now. Busy schedule coming up starting on Monday, I’m working a spot for JC Penny in conjunction with ABC for the Academy Awards. After that I’m working on some other projects, including some more spots for Dent Concepts in Providence, RI, before I leave for Nashville for three days to continue work on the Wounded Warriors Project. My biggest accomplishment that I am most proud of should be coming soon as well, as my daughter Lily should be coming sometime in the next week or so, a scary yet exciting life change for me and my fiancee Tiffani, but I am looking forward to it more and more each day.

Until my next update, I hope everyone stays happy and healthy, and for my friends in the Northeast, I hope you all stay dry and warm as this winter is just unrelenting.

Take care everyone. Cheers!