Friday, August 26, 2011

TIFFANY & CO


I am now installing the window displays at Tiffany&Co. here in the Northwest. They do beautiful work, and it's great to be involved with such a historic company, with such a tradition of beautiful windows. Watch those windows!

OUTSIDE THE BOX




I recently was given the task of making a giant flower from a (giant) cardboard box, for a magazine photo illustration. The gag was a play on the idea of 'thinking outside of the box'. Here are 'before', 'during', and 'after' photos.

MAP


Worked on an infomercial with Kaleo Quenzer recently. Part of the gig was to 'colorize' a large printed map. By 'large', I mean like fifty feet long! It was fun to work with him on the project, and we all took pictures of ourselves on the big map.

BUTTON-HEAD ANTELOPE



Carrie and I collaborated on this button-covered antelope head. I carved the head out of foam and added the 'antlers'. Carrie directed Petra's 5th grade class in covering the head with hundreds and hundreds of buttons. It was donated to the school auction. I loved that thing, and wish we still had it.

SPACESHIP




Carrie and I worked together on this spaceship set for TMobile. The whole thing is made of 1/4" foam core. The details show that the command desk is made up of old keyboards, light switches, calculators, a thermostat -- even a Battleship board!

BIG NEWS!



Lynn Shelton's film, 'Your Sister's Sister', for which I was Production Designer, will premier at this year's Toronto International Film Festival on September 10. This was the film that we shot in the San Juan Islands last fall. Stars Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Mark Duplass. Ben Kasulke is the cinematographer. Great director, great cast, great crew, great time. Good luck in Toronto!!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

LOTTO CATS


There's a new bus and billboard ad for the Washington Lottery, on the theme of 'what would you do if you won?'. This lucky winner would make a cat park. I got to make the Cat Climbing Structure (complete with hammock, wind chimes, tree, pinwheels, etc), signs, and other crazy cat-person accoutrements. Jose Mandojana was the photographer.

Microsoft Surface

Microsoft makes a thing called the Surface, which is like a table-sized tablet computer. The touch screen display can be either flat or hang on a wall, like a tv. I designed and made the set for the little studio where they film demonstrations. Kennan Muzzy designed the lighting, which looks really cool through the translucent wall.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Kathryn Barnard Shoot






Here are some sets I made for Kathryn Barnard, for a BabyLegs shoot. They were all in-studio freestanding sets, usually just as wide as the shot you see. There's one of the Beach House, which shows the edge. Carrie Stacey was the prop stylist. It's always fun when we can work on a gig together.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

In the Clouds


Recently, I made a video set at Microsoft Studios. It was a discussion in an executive office, about 'the Cloud'. Kaleo helped me put this one together. I love those Brno Chairs.

Armstrong Studios



I had the chance, not long ago, to make a couple of sets at Armstrong Studios for a Starbucks project. Scott Pitts was the shooter, and he sent me a couple of shots from the day. It was a fun project (and it gave me a chance to express my love of fake brick).

Monday, February 7, 2011

Bing Shoot



The Wall Street Journal got photographer Gregg Segal (he's a big deal - look him up) to shoot a portrait of Blaise Aguera y Arcas (ditto). He was the main architect behind the Bing Maps. In a small hotel conference room, across the street from Blaise's office, I made a map-filled set, where he was photographed climbing through the window, looking thoughtful, etc. Gregg took a couple of shots with me on the set as a stand-in.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

My Tejon Adventure




More pictures from the Tejon Ranch shoot. Including a Gilligan's Island raft that I got to make. (I've always wanted to make one of those!)
It was a big production. We were creating an African Savanna in the California high desert. With zebras, and a giraffe, Land Rovers and motorcycles. Donovan almost stepped on a rattlesnake. It was a beautiful place to be, and I worked with a talented and interesting crew. Some really great people were on that shoot. (and the wrap party was the most fun Karaoke night ever!)

More Tejon Ranch







Here are a few more pictures of the finished Hut from the Eddie Bauer shoot at Tejon Ranch. Lauren Shields was the (amazing) Prop Stylist.

Rancho Tejon


This summer, I had the chance to go on a great shoot for Eddie Bauer. I got to spend a couple of weeks with a terrific crew in Tejon, California. It's in the high desert between LA and Bakersfield. In the middle of a cattle ranch, in the middle of nowhere, in 104-degree heat, with a howling blow-dryer wind -- we built a 16' x 16' free-standing 'African Savanna' lodge. With a thatched roof! We got the peeled poles delivered from Geronimo Pole in Northern California. It was daunting, to say the least. The nearest hardware store was an hour away. Donovan, Rafael, Ruffino and I built the thing in three days. Here's a picture of the three of them, just after we'd raised the framework for the roof.

Catalog shot



This shows how the set I described below is used in a catalog photograph. A deck, a little fake snow... you're there.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Seattle's Best Coffee


Did a funny job for Brad Lenz, on a video that went along with the rebranding of Seattle's Best Coffee. The SBC folks were 'taking over the Starbucks building' to announce the new look. It was fun to work on the roof of the Starbucks building. (Including up in the tower). I was roped into helping in front of the camera, too. In the video, that's me on the left side of the screen, in the van.