Hollywood being what it is, a frontal assault is sometimes necessary — the guys from Tactical media Group, Jon Barton’s outfit are the subject of a documentary being cooked up by the denizens of Picrow.
Working title: Full Metal Hollywood.
Malibu’s R.E. star, Tom Hackett, is an active guy! This is why, at the request of Southern California Ford and with Director Jason House behind the camera, we followed Hackett in the Ford Edge Crossover across the California landscape — from Malibu to Mammoth Mountain! Over the course of two separate shoot days— and with the aide of intrepid Stealth Crew all stars Cesar Vega, Nicole Vaskell, and Andrew Thompson (not to mention the rest of the wonderful crew!) — we proved just how much one can accomplish while still making a small footprint (not to mention staying warm in freezing temps!) Most people would say you couldn’t shoot all of those locations and do running footage all at the same, but with the crew, the car, and the can-do attitude — we did just that!
Director, Ben Nussbaum, DP Scott Kassenoff and producer Bo Clancey hopped on the Pulse Slither to find inspiration for a way to share this funtastic vehicle with the greater public. For weeks the whole picrow staff was riding 30 different Slithers around the office. But what Ben and editor Joe Remerowski came up with was simple: let the kids tell the slither story!
“There’s no script, you can’t say the wrong thing; just relax and be yourself”—With those words, a new campaign for Heald Colleges via Corinthian was born, and the Stealth Crew came together to make it happen. With Cesar Vega producing, Jason House behind the camera directing and shooting, Andrew Thompson coordinating, and a guest appearance by second camera maven, Joe Remerowski, the team was up to their usual guerilla-style/small footprint approach, shooting interviews with real graduates of the school, and having fun all the while — all in all, a good day out!
The first interracial kiss on TV seems to come from Nancy Sinatra’s 1967 variety show Movin’ with Nancy, but the first scripted interracial kiss on tv, the one that is etched into our popular imagination comes from Star Trek when Lt. Uhura, Nichelle Nichols, famously kissed William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk in 1968. We might agree that Science Fiction, while it is often criticized as being formulaic and downright cheesy, continues to make some rather radical statements as is evinced in this year’s underdog blockbuster District 9. And while Pictures in a Row is not currently in development on any Science Fiction extravaganzas, we can say that our history extends from this future-leaning genre.
In 1955, Westheimer Company was one of the most respected visual effects houses. For 30 years its studio doors were open to industry. Providing Hollywood effects for The Empire Strikes Back, The Heart is a Lonley Hunter, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Dynasty, and Lassie, among others. The Westheimer Company was an important presence and industry training ground in the field of visual effects. Founder, Joseph Westheimer, was born in Los Angeles and grew up playing on the Warner Brothers lot where his aunt was a secretary to production manager Bryan Foy. At the tender age of 15, Westheimer began working as a studio messenger and then he eventually moved to the prop department. After obtaining a degree in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Westheimer went back to Warner Bros where he got a job in the special effects department—at the time the largest department of its kind. At Warner, Westheimer worked with other top special effects people including Edwin DuPar, Hans Koenekamp, and Warren Lynch. After starting the Westheimer Company, he continued to actively develop new special effects styles, propelling him to win an Emmy Award in 1968 for Individual Achievements in Cinematography and winning an Academy Class III Scientific or Technical Award in 1975 “for the development of a device to obtain shadowed titles on motion picture film.”
Westheimer also trained respected effects editor Richard Edlund, who is reported to have done everything at the studio from sweeping the floor, to rotoscoping the USS Enterprise, to playing “Thing” in The Addams Family title sequence. After four years studying under his “mentor,” Joseph Westheimer, Edlund went on to join George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic team and win two Academy Awards for Star Wars (1977) and Raiders of the Lost Arc (1981) and two Special Achievement Awards for The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
Imagine, if you will, watching the USS Starship Enterprise flying across the night sky, all the intergalactic characters it holds and all the places it would go. Now imagine that 11-foot long and 200-pound model sitting in what is now the Picrow stage. The model, designed by Walter Matta Jefferies and built by Richard C. Datin Jr., signifies both our film world past as-well-as our imagined future. Visual Effects make their way into many films these days, but it would seem that they started out in genre, which is to say that they began in action, science-fiction, and horror flicks. What is unique about VFX in cinema and television is that they show us what we can only imagine, they make these fantastical realities come to life, and they creatively provide us with new ways to see the potential of film as well as the world itself. From the miniatures that were shot here on Seward Street to the computer graphic lighting and texturing that comes into the scene in post-production, VFX has come along way and with no small thanks to Westheimer and his studio’s pioneering work.
A lot happens on the stage of 736 Seward.
Occasionally, when it’s more convenient for us to multi-task during a shoot, we shoot on our stage here at Picrow (the same stage where Joseph Westheimer shot some of the original Star Trek effects of the USS Enterprise). Here is an image of the early Starship Enterprise from the 1960’s.
And below, check out the photos from our recent use of the stage to film a talk radio spot. It is difficult to believe it is the same space, and nearly 50 years later.
Recently Picrow filmed a public service announcement to promote volunteerism sponsored by—believe it or not—the US Navy! The Navy is promoting volunteerism at the individual and organizational level. We followed some of their volunteers around Los Angeles to see all of the important different things that we can all give our time to.
Volunteers help restore an adobe at the Los Angeles Arboretum.
Morgan Freeman, Amnesty International, and YouTube joined forces with Peter Lang to shoot a call to arms. For International Human Rights Day we are asking video artists and activists, filmmakers, artists, and rabble-rousers to create a video about a non-profit of your choice, concerning a Human Rights Issue that is close to your heart. Shot by Peter Lang here at the Picrow stage and edited by Joe Remerowski, this spot encourages others to take inspiration from stories of leaders like Nelson Mandela, and to use the medium of YouTube to spread that inspiration. Spread the word to help protect Human Rights by going to http://www.youtube.com/videovolunteers and submitting your powerful story of individuals coming together! Siyahamba!
Pictures in a Row’s Ray Baum, Gus Vasquez, and Steven Kellebrew (along with John Eggette from Producer’s Air Force and a few other people) put together Chuck Hood’s wooden mock-up of an F-16 and put it to work in the Air Force part of a spot for USAA, the insurance giant that caters to US service members and their families — Baum and company managed to curb their natural interest in what would happen if they installed a jet engine, and carted the whole thing out to the former Norton Air Force base, where ex-Air Force fighter pilot Chris Vasquez and Navy Blue Angel Len Anderson teamed-up to make a convincing show of a living breathing base attached to the tactical air command. That day, and the other three days of the shoot were all about making a paean to the men and women in the armed services — two spots, a :60 and a :30, as tribute and praise, with a little of what it means to serve thrown in.
The rest of the shoot relied heavily on an incredible group of guys brought by Jonathan Barton of Tactical Media — JB’s people rose to the challenge of recreating documentary-style footage of people in the field in Afghanistan and Iraq or on board ship absolutely wonderfully and with tremendous esprit de corps — all without any help from the military. Jon Barton’s people — and Jon himself — were phenomenal. Bob Hope’s old ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains and inner Lytle Creek at the 5000-foot level stood in for Afghanistan, as did Blue Sky Ranch in Santa Clarita. The USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum played the part of a more modern carrier.
Peter Lang was the director, Sharon Groh produced, with David Quartararo executive producing, but much credit should be given to Jon Barton and everyone he brought — Brett Lynch (former Navy Seal), Marvin Jordan, Zach McCall, Dotan Baer, Santiago Zapata, Darius Cottrell, Matt Anderson, Robert Garcia, Wade Harlan, to mention a few — all were great. We couldn’t have done it without their tireless invention and willingness to do anything for the shot.
The agency was Campbell-Ewald, and we had a wonderful, engaged team: Al Majewski, art director, Jeff Warner, copy writer, producer Laura McGowan (!!!), and creative directors Jon Stewart and Doug Blanchard. START Editorial in Detroit handled the cuts with editor Louis Lyne at the helm. Eric Maurer from Postique Detroit did the color. All succeeded in accomplishing remarkable work in a very short time.
USAA was founded in the 1920’s under the name United States Army Automobile Association by a group of army officers who were refused automobile insurance as a result of having been enlisted in the army. In an effort to provide themselves with auto insurance, they began the USAA, and today it is a Fortune-500 company, consistently rated highest in consumer surveys. This is their first venture into broadcast. Picrow is proud to have been a part of it.
Here are some pictures of Uriah, the star of Lexi Alexander and Gregory Nussbaum’s new film LIFTED. Produced by Deborah del Prete and Coronet Films: starring Uriah Shelton, Ruben Studdard, Trace Adkins and Nicki Aycox this is the story of a kid who is LIFTED through a passion for R&B music that he shares with his father!