Color Grading + HD Finishing: Serving Indie, Series & Docs » Producer

Wellington Greenmarket

James — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:48:50 +0000

“This is fantastic….wish we had met years ago!”

That was the reaction from my first time client after seeing his :15 second commercial that I produced and created for him.

My client was recommended to me by Rob Nelson, who is one of the finest photographers in South Florida!

The commercial I produced is unique for a number of reasons:
First, it is comprised solely of photographs, some taken by Rob in his studio, and some that I took on location at the Wellington greenmarket.

Second, there is so much going on at the greenmarket that I wanted to show as much as I could on screen. But in the TV world, :15 seconds goes by so quickly, what to do?

After sketching out some ideas, I drew my inspiration from the graphics driven title used in in the classic television series, Mannix, which used split screens in the opening title sequence to convey energy and excitement.

Using split screens helped me convey more of the Wellington Greenmarket in a brief amount of time.

Credits: Producer, Writer, Director, Motion Graphics, Senior Colorist.

SLC Fair 2012

James — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:51:55 +0000

This is a :30 second commercial that I produced for the 2012 St. Lucie County Fair. 
Fairs like this one are timeless. They are a unique slice of Americana, so I turned up the fun and saturation button to 11 for this one.

The concept of the commercial is fun and excitement that will make you feel like a kid.  
Color correction done in DaVinci Resolve.

Credits: Producer, Videographer, Editor, Motion Graphics, Senior Colorist

Sarasota Opera

James — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:19:25 +0000

Bill Wagy from Bill Wagy Productions rang me up and asked me to design an animated intro for a film he was shooting about the Sarasota Opera, one of America’s finest venues. The SO has a unique logo that I felt could play a central role in the animation.

The Opera company is world-renown for its performances of Verdi, so I chose Verdi’s Triumphal March from Aida.

Credits: Motion Designer, Producer, Animator.

Star Trek

James — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:11:30 +0000

Beam me up!
Wrapped production on a new :15 second commercial for the Star Trek Exhibition at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Complex.

View the spot, and how I created it here.

Kennedy Space Center / Star Trek

James — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 22:35:36 +0000

This is a :15 second commercial that I produced to support a contest for tickets to the Star Trek Exhibition at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Complex.

I modeled the Enterprise in Cinema 4D; the ship, transporter Fx, space starfield, etc., were composited in After Effects. The sound Fx, music and voice-over were added in Final Cut.

Live long, and prosper.

Credits: Producer, Director, Motion Graphics Designer

JS Foundation

James — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:27:13 +0000

This is a :30 second commercial that I produced for a client who is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The client already had a pre-existing standard definition commercial. I was recommended to them, and they asked if I would step in and re-image the spot in 1080 HD.

The client’s agency sent me the green screen video via ftp. After looking at the video I felt I could help the client achieve their objective.

I generally work backwards, so the first thing I did was to design the motion graphics animation for the logo, which you see at the end of the commercial. Everything else flowed from that; the look, feel, and pacing. The client approved all changes, and chose the background color.

Even though the commercial is in high definition, all graphics are 4:3 title safe. This is a practice that will one day become a thing of the past when everyone is watching television on high definition sets.

Once approved, I uploaded the finished commercial via ftp for broadcast by local television stations in the Cincinnati market.

Credits: Producer, Director, Motion Graphics Designer

Growing an HD commercial

James — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:12:51 +0000

I just wrapped post-production on a new :30 second commercial for a client in Cincinnati, Ohio.

You can see the finished commercial and read about the unique challenges here.

CSI:CBS12

James — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:52:21 +0000

This is a project that I conceived whilst watching CSI on television recently.
One of the commercials within the show promoted the CBS12 News team.
I had one of the those creative moments, and thought why not put the two together?

Unfortunately, due to music licensing rights, this promo could not be broadcast.
And in fact, it never did. This was simply a creative exercise, and way too much fun to do.

Credits: Producer, Director, Motion Graphics Designer

Baby Models :30

James — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:43:25 +0000

This is a :30 second promo for a May sweeps series on some of the people who are cashing in on baby models. Undercover video, great sound bites, and a compelling story line.

That purveyor of fine voice-overs, Chris Corley, gave me a great performance to work with. The title card was created by the great talent of Bob Saley.

Creatively, this was a fun project to work on. Thanks to all involved.

Cabinet Liquidators

James — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 20:16:11 +0000

This is a :30 second commercial that I Produced and Directed.
Shot mid-week at 2 locations in one day, edited Thursday, and approved Friday.
The client was a joy to work with, as was the agency that reps them.
One of the most enjoyable productions to work on.

Credits: Producer, Director, Motion Graphics Designer