Back in May, I picked up a new daily… a Hellrot Red 1993 BMW 325is. My friends Alie and Jeremy were moving out west and needed to sell this beaut! It just to happened, that gas mileage in The Destroyer™ was bleeding my wallet dry, and I needed something slightly more fuel-efficient. That put me in the right place at the right time to pick this car up cheap!
I immediately snagged some Raceland coilovers and slammed the hell out of it on a old set of Racing Dynamics.
I have some funny plans for this car that are light years from happening. For now I’m just enjoying some gas-savings and having a fun daily again! This car has humbly reminded me how good I am at driving like an absolute maniac. Kindred spirits we are… kindred spirits.
Sometimes life picks up speed and all you can do is buckle down and hold on. The past year definitely embodies that sentiment. Since joining the team at Southern Reel back in November 2012, life has been a non-stop adventure. Chock-filled with photoshoots, video shoots, editing, designing motion graphics, touring 25 cities with the band, and everything in between… I feel like describing it all as “non-stop” is a massive understatement.
The best part about doing what you love is that it doesn’t feel like work. Working with amazing, talented people that are equally as happy to be doing what they do makes the whole package even better. In all honesty, it is totally unreal!
That being said, I wanted to update this site with a touch of what we’ve been up to. This is really just the tip of the iceberg, but a few of the bigger projects under our belt since my last update.
Starting things off… is a music video that is easily the hardest I’ve ever worked on anything ever. I got to design all the props (including the giant wooden signs outside the bar), dressed the sets, had my hand in shooting, editing, and post-production. This was the most physically/mentally demanding project I have ever worked on. While a fair share of my hand was involved, this was truly a team effort. Everyone at Southern Reel came together and worked immensely hard on this video. I am crazy proud of our team for pulling it all off… especially Cole Cassell, who directed this video.
BTS:
Back in March, Mike Williams and I spent a few days at the Southern Ground Studio in Nashville to shoot this BTS of The Wood Brothers recording their new record: The Muse.
Then in July as their record was being released, we shot/edited this music video for The Wood Brothers on location at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville.
In August I got to edit this video for one of my favorite bands, Blackberry Smoke.
At the end of September we shot another music video for the Zac Brown Band at Coy Bowles’ wedding.
And lastly, a video that I did not shoot/edit… but one that I just finished the motion graphics for on the plane late last night… and a collaboration I am really excited about!!!
Every once in a while, a body of work comes along that makes me re-evaluate myself as an artist. Renan Ozturk’s 2013 reel is one of those works. I can’t quite decide which he is stronger at… getting himself to the insane locations to shoot these shots, or actually shooting the shots themselves. It has to be a tie. That being said, once tied together… they make for a breathtaking three minutes and eleven seconds.
Showcasing the last several years of my motion design and compositing, this reel… to me… is unreal. As an artist, I can rarely step back from my own work and say “Wow… I made that?”. A proud feeling for sure.
This reel is without a doubt a quick rabbit-punch to the throat that will leave you yearning for a second viewing.
Special thanks to everyone I’ve worked with along the way that has helped me to learn, grow, and develop my craft in ways I never thought possible. For a full breakdown of my roles in all of these clips, click here.
