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.
It is no secret that I love documentaries. I’ve watched a ton of them, even ventured out and made one myself. So it is without reservation that I say… “Searching for Sugar Man” is the best documentary I have ever seen. It took me a few weeks to really warm up to that statement because of the magnitude of such words. But I can no longer deny it. The documentary itself is superb. The animated bits were done by hand by the director himself. He shot parts of it with his iPhone. He went broke and nearly didn’t finish the film. But what gets me the most is the story of Rodriguez. This has to be one of the greatest stories ever told. EVER.
I simply cannot get over that it is real. It is a fairy-tale; simply unbelievable.rnrnNot only am I obsessed… but now I am a fan. Not only of Rodriguez himself, but especially of his music, and Malik Bendjelloul for telling this unreal (but totally real) story. This film won the Sundance Film Festival’s coveted “Special Jury Prize” and “World Cinema Audience Award”, and has been nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Documentary Feature”. Obviously I am not alone in my praise.
Special thanks to Charlie Smith for turning me onto this film. It is going to be a tough act for all documentaries to follow.
Get More: rnPretty Little Lie, Blackberry Smoke, Blackberry Smoke Videos
Since joining up with the amazing team over at Southern Reel in November, one of the many projects we have been wrenching on is the music video for Blackberry Smoke’s “Pretty Little Lie”. This was my first chance to work on a proper music video, and what an honor to be a part of the team tasked with the video of the first single off their new record, “The Whipporwill”!
I am very proud of how this video turned out, as well as proud of everyone involved for adding their own touches to make this video what it is! This was a team effort, and it shows.
And if you look closely… you might recognize the guy smoking the tires up in the Camaro! ;)
