Flathead Productions

My New Blog Site!

Justin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:18:32 +0000

To find out what productions have been going on please visit my new blog site here: http://heavensentfilms.com/blog/

This site will no longer be updated and all content from this blog has been relocated to the new site. Thanks for following and see you at the new blog.

-Justin

Forgotten Towers

Justin — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:24:06 +0000

I had a lot of fun filming these old Lifeguard towers sitting in the bushes far from the beach. The beach was located over a huge sand hill or dune and the wind was blowing like crazy on the other side. You can tell it was very windy by watching the tops of the trees in the video moving around a lot where the towers sat. The beach scenes of course looked crazy windy which they were. This made it impossible to keep my wide angle Rokinon 14mm lens clean for each shot. Also, I carried my Igus slider and tripod out there to film this crazy wind. After the fact I figured out that sand isn’t good for either a wide lens (or any lens for that matter), tripod, or a slider. Although I do have to say the Igus slider did pretty well out in the elements because there aren’t any roller bearings to get sand stuck in. It slides on a type of plastic which doesn’t need any lubrication for smooth camera slides on the rails. The wind however did get in my eyes every time I tried to get shots of the sand blowing past me at my back. My body seemed to make a funnel of sand in between myself and my camera equipment. In the end though it was really fun to get these shots and make a fun edit to go with the images I captured. Music choice was from Artist: Mindthings. Album Life’s Path. Song Cold Water. Great place for Creative Commons Music can be found at http://www.jamendo.com and http://incompetech.com/
Enjoy.

Behing the scenes with Easter Eggs in the Movie

Justin — Wed, 25 May 2011 19:14:28 +0000

Kara is now 2 years old and her party was a blast for everyone there thanks to her parents and grandparents for opening up their house. The atmosphere in the backyard was as if you stepped into a disneyland ride. Disney music seemed to be all around us because of the speaker placement (hidden in bushes) which set the atmosphere perfectly for Kara and of course all of her guests including my daughter who immediately wanted to play. As you watch the scenes I put together see if you notice a couple things I list here. First there is a Jedi fight going on in the background where it seems one is towering over the other in combat but don’t let the small Jedi fool you. He continues to battle in multiple scenes and doesn’t give up. Also, can you find a clown following Kara to her new water & sand toy? (hint – shadow) These little easter eggs aren’t necessarily in order either but the last one is when Kara talks on camera. Do you know what she says in the jump house at the camera guy? (hint – it’s in the last sentence and “Uncle”) Also, what does she say when she is kneeling with her hands together. (hint – you don’t need a hint for this one silly)

I definitely enjoyed filming this party and putting together a fun movie for the Day and Curtis family to enjoy. Hope you enjoy it too.

Music is from the movie Finding Neverland composed by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek. Songs used were The Peter Pan Overture and Forgotten Overture.
Technical aspects. I used a Glidecam HD4000 with my Canon T2i and a Rokinon 14mm lens. I am still getting used to balancing it properly but I am finding that making it heavier helps a lot. Not good for my arms but good for filming for short….very short durations. The other lenses I used was a 55mm f1.2 FD lens and a 135mm f2.8 FD lens for most other scenes not using the Glidecam. My slider is an IGUS Diy build with a tripod attached and now my bogen 501 fluid head instead of my magic arm attachment.

heavensent films Presents ~ Tamara 2.5 ~ BTS

Justin — Mon, 23 May 2011 04:36:09 +0000

So I don’t usually talk about my family videos but this one is my latest creation and I have been trying to get a more consistent look throughout these videos of my daughter Tamara. I have used my Igus slider in a lot of my videos but my latest addition has been kind of a pain to figure out. It’s called a glidecam and the model is the HD4000 which is huge for a DSLR like the T2i I solely use on it but with enough weights added to the bottom it flies great. I think the hardest thing to learn is proper balancing which I know I don’t have yet and can’t seem to get no matter how much tweaking I do with the thing. It’s also hard to hold for long periods of time if needed and when chasing a toddler around a park is needed it’s a huge workout to say the least. I was sweating like crazy after 15 minutes with of course multiple breaks after every minute of use. I use an awesome lens called a Rokinon 14mm that is all manual with aperture and focus ring. I definitely think a vest and arm like the steadicam merlin combo would work for long hours of filming compared to my bicep/forearm trying to hold the thing steady. In the end I would have to say that the glidecam is a must have if you want some fun shots that are without a doubt steadier than just handheld. And it’s fun for the the toddler that wants chased around all the time. Now just waiting for daughter #2 to get here and it all starts over again. Here are some behind the scenes (BTS) pics while filming Tamara. She talks to my camera as if it’s a cute dog or pet now. I think she has more fun when I am filming than myself. Check out the video and you will see her cuteness for yourself. Video is below the pics.

Daddy's camera is a pet I never had....

Getting ready to lasso the pet camera

Practicing the lasso technique

Time to lasso the camera.....I mean pet camera

heavensent films ~ Logo and Business Card Design

Justin — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:21:05 +0000

I just have to brag a little about my wife Ranya Adkinson’s design capabilities. She has made an awesome heavensent films website and also designed a really cool logo too. After designing the logo she then meticulously created the business cards which look amazing! There are pics from both sides of the card. I then asked for the photoshop file with all of the layers so I could animate her design. I think the logo really pops on black but also looks great over white when needed as seen in the animation below. The very simple animation was done in Motion 4 which I then brought into final cut and added to some recent videos as a watermark and ending animation.

and

Buick & NCAA Human Highlight Reel ~ Kelby Klosterman interview

Justin — Sun, 08 May 2011 21:43:00 +0000

I have been entering contests on www.zooppa.com and the latest one was for Buick during the Final Four. I was introduced to an amazing athlete who played for the University of North Dakota as their Quarterback. He led the team to a National Football Championship which later gave UND the opportunity to play Division 1 football. This isn’t the whole story at all. Kelby was introduced to a young man named Markus Bryant who was not only UND’s biggest fan but was also going through cancer treatments during their championship run. The entire team got to know this selfless young man who seemed to always have to right words of encouragement when the team needed it most. He would send them letters he wrote for the coach to read to help encourage the team when they lost. This type of selflessness is what Kelby talks about the most and his life was changed by this young man enough that he co-founded a charity in Markus’s name. Markus reluctantly agreed to have a charity in his name created because he didn’t want any of the spotlight on himself. Holiday Magic From Markus gives back to the community by delivering gifts to children who are going through the same things he went through and those who are less fortunate during the holiday season. The first year UND’s football team went out to distribute these gifts, Markus unfortunately lost his battle with cancer but his giving, selfless acts, and spirit lives on through this wonderful charity. If you want to get involved and make a difference in a child’s life then please go to www.holidaymagicfrommarkus.org

Here is the video entry for this contest.

UPDATE: This video won 5th place!

Glidecam Modification

Justin — Mon, 02 May 2011 21:28:23 +0000

I recently went to Matt Mingus’s T-ball game and wanted to try out my Glidecam HD4000 but with my iPhone4 mounted on the lower sled. This of course made it difficult to get it balanced but I wanted to try out some different editing ideas cutting from iphone footage and my T2i with 14mm lens. Here are some pics of the setup when I was done figuring it all out. But ultimately in the end after running around with it I decided it wasn’t going to work perfectly until I got a fisheye lens for the iPhone. Funny enough they do make them and you can find them on ebay for a pretty decent price.

Seagull DSLR Viewfinder

Justin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:07:24 +0000

I recently saw an article on www.cheesycam.com that showed a viewfinder for dslr’s that was cheaper than the regular brands out there by a few hundred dollars. But I guess the question is Does this viewfinder compare in quality? First of all I don’t have the expensive brand viewfinders and this was my first purchase. After receiving the viewfinder in the mail only a few days after buying it on ebay I was in complete amazement. The build quality is exactly what I was hoping for. It’s made from really thick plastic, has very clear optics for the diopter (-4 to +4), and comes with a bracket with double sided tape. I am using it on a T2i so the bracket covers a small amount on each side of the LiveView area on the camera which doesn’t noticeably cover any of the display metering info. I chose to also purchase a glass viewfinder eyepiece cover from ebay. This was also on cheesycam’s website awhile back. I got this in conjunction with the viewfinder so that I could permanently attach the “bracket” that came with the Seagull viewfinder to the glass protector/eyepiece. this way I would easily remove the entire thing if needed. Once I received the glass protector I decided to remove the glass in order to not lose any stops of light when viewing the LiveView through the viewfinder. This was kind of accidental since I broke the glass after sticking the adhesive side of the bracket slightly off center. It worked to my advantage. Both of these products work great together or separately depending on what you would want to do with the viewfinder. I can easily say the Seagull 3″ dslr viewfinder is crafter really well and by saving hundreds of dollars for those low budget/no budget filmmakers this works great!
Glass viewfinder protector: Glass LCD protector
Here is the ebay item by Seagull : Seagull Viewfinder
Here is the VF Prime on Amazon: VF viewfinder
If any Seagull purchasers need another bracket go here: VF bracket
Of course I have not purchased this bracket myself but it looks identical to the seagull brand found on ebay so purchase at your own risk. For $10 it’s not a bad deal to try if you need another bracket. I personally like the blue logo from Seagull rather than the VF brand orange color but that’s a personal opinion. Either way the product will be the same and you can’t go wrong.

Boy of the Year ~ Matthew Mingus

Justin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:22:05 +0000

I had the priveledge to be involved with interviewing the Mingus family with Randy Ksar. Matt has been given the title “Boy of the Year” because of his very recent history with Leukemia. He is in remission now and can easily be seen as a courageous young boy who fought this difficult battle and won. From the short time I got to hang out at his house I could tell he is living a very normal life as can be expected with a loving and caring family. After interviewing his mother Kat and hearing the very familiar details of what he had to go through at such a young age it makes me realize how much life is so precious. Taking just the little things for granted is something we all should strive not to do and instead enjoy everyday we have with each other.

So, now for technical side of this interview and story. I shot this with 2 Canon T2i’s, FD lenses, diy Igus slider, glidecam hd4000 (t-ball game), zoom h1 audio recorder, sennheiser mics, and a diy skater dolly. After filming the interview, getting shots of Matt playing xbox with his sister, and on another weekend his T-Ball game footage, I ended up with a very informative and captivating story told by his mom Kat. Here is the video and go to www.10kin10weeks.wordpress.com for more information on how you can get involved. Thanks for everyone’s support!

Man of the Year ~ Randy Ksar

Justin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 03:39:07 +0000

I have been helping with the promotion and video production for the nomination of Randy Ksar for the “Man of the Year” campaign for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I interviewed Randy a month or so ago at night in his front yard because of the ambiance of that location. Some of the gear I used for this shoot was:
2 Canon T2i’s
Igus Diy slider (http://igus.com/) with Friction Arm (Friction Power Arm)
2 can lights with clamps (from home depot)
1 LED work light (home depot) (Home Depot LED Work Light)
Z96 LED (Z96 LED)
55mm 1.2 FD Lens
50mm 1.8
135mm 3.5 FD Lens
Zoom H1 audio recorder
Sennheiser wirelesss mic set

A lot of my equipment was purchased due to Emm at cheesycam.com and his many helpful reviews on a huge variety of dslr production equipment.

The whole production recording was shot within an hour and Randy did an amazing job telling his story of how he became involved with LLS and Team in Training. I enjoyed creating this video for such a great cause that he has been involved in for many years and raised a lot of money for too. To find out more information on how to get involved or if you would like to help please watch his story and check out www.10kin10weeks.wordpress.com. Together we will find a cure for cancer. Thank you for your donations and sharing this video.