DiNapoli is In

This fall, we worked on a series of doc style political ads for the campaign of NY State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.  We want to send a big congratulations over to him and his team as yesterday marked his inauguration.  

Click here to check out the spots. 

2010

I’ve wrestled with doing a year in review entry as the possibility of it coming dangerously close to a family Christmas card frightens me; however there is something alluring about  the new year providing an opportunity for reflection and recognition…so here goes: 

In 2010 we continued to divide our time between the US and Singapore, finding adventures in both hemispheres. We premiered two of our films, Shooting For Democracy and In the Spirit of Laxmi and were able to dip our toes in the pond of film festivals and the general whoopla that surrounds the screening circuit.  Bend Film Festival, set in idyllic central Oregon, was the highlight of our tour.  Bend had a fantastic line-up of films, awesome parties, great directors, and we were proud to be a part of it.

We had fun working with friends and creative minds such as Owen Palmquist on the film ‘Bad Air’, a short doc on the air quality in the San Joaquin Valley, Justin Matley on Going With the Flow, a film featuring speech therapist Phil Schnieder as he follows the journeys of three patients who stutter, and photographer  Scott A Woodward on our Singapore bird singing shoot.

Mike celebrated his long running working relationship with producer Chris Billing as their film, 'Lost Sparrow' had it's Television premier on PBS's Independent Lens in November.

We had some great video collaborations this year with non-profits including; The Chain Reaction Project in East Timor, the Our Time group in NYC (film soon to be released), and Mike worked with Run Riot Films on their doc for DC Central Kitchen.  

The biggest change for our films themselves this year was the incorporation of the DSLR system into the core of our production work. The quality of video images these cameras produce combined with their small-ness and portability have made them indispensable and tremendously fun to use. The Cannon 5D and 7D are now staples in our production kit. 

Below is one example of our work from the last year which was shot using the Cannon 7D. The clip is from our ‘Sea Nomads’ shoot on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. The focus of our shoot was the Baju, a fishing community that has lived in close connection with the ocean.   Mounting ecological and economic pressures challenge their traditional way of fishing and way of life. This piece is our first pass at a portrait of this community.  

For this shoot we teamed up with the writer Johny Langenheim and photographer James Morgan; the two are incorporating content and research from this shoot, and are working on a year long project for the WWF on the coral triangle region. 

In closing we wanted to say that one of the best parts about our semi nomadic existence is getting to see (and stay) with friends when we travel. We really appreciate being supported by and getting to see so many awesome people. Thanks to all you who were there with coffee dates, extra bedrooms, film screening support and inspiring ideas!