Wild Morning

Whew...I gotta take a breath. This morning was one of the craziest things ever...like really I don't think I have ever talked with that many clients at once. I think at my peak I was emailing, texting, and trying to call about 7 or 8 different people. Each one with a whole other thing. These past two days have been absolutely insane and this month is on the verge of picking up in a big way. Like tomorrow runs the possibility of filming some stuff, this Sunday I am filming stuff. Monday-Friday next week looks filled up. The only pause I am going to have is my birthday which is July 14th and with the way things are looking I may have to put off relaxing Saturday and Sunday that weekend. I don't know but I can barely keep up. My mind is racing right now...

Random Movie Fact: In the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, Jules's character was originally written to have a gigantic afro, but a crewmember obtained a variety of afro wigs and one jheri curl wig. Quentin Tarantino had never thought about a jheri curl wig, but Samuel L. Jackson tried it on, Tarantino liked it, and it was kept.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Updates!

So I think it is high time to post some updates on what is going on over at my end of things. As of right now I am gearing up to do another music video for local rapper Kane Mayfield. I am trying to shoot the video on the 18th but things have stalled lately so I have to try to get that back on track. I am still going through the psuedo training run at the company that has hired me for production/post production help. I was suppossed to come in today to do an editing test, but it is being postponed until tomorrow. In addition I am still booking more stuff right now, I have been getting good bites but nothing is sticking, hopefully soon things will really start picking up for freelance stuff, but we will see. Right now is just that weird limbo time for the summer, but a major project will pop up sooner or later.

I am going to start spitting out random movie facts every day on my blog now I think...so here is the first random movie fact:

The inspiration for the Alien creature laying eggs inside of its victims and a new alien popping out of them comes from the braconid wasps which lays its eggs inside another insect. As the eggs grow they begin to hatch out of the insects body instantly killing it. Much in the same fashion as the creature does in Alien.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Music Video in the Works

Well a follow up music video is officially in the works for local Baltimore rapper Kane Mayfield of Mania Music Group. The song has been selected, story fleshed out and a small crew of video people assembled. This time around the feel should be much more cinematic but that is all I can really say now, everything else is hush hush so that when it drops it comes as more of a surprise for everyone. I am really excited about this one and hope to have something with some sweet quality!

Anyway in other news I have an interview/meeting with a local production house about I think an upcoming video gig this weekend, or maybe it is about getting a job there. I am not sure really we never said which one it would be, just kind of agreed to a time to meet and chat. So we will see what happens, I kind of would love a job right now but then again if he just asked me to work on a job by job basis I would be happier because I want to be able to hardcore freelance myself. Either way I am not complaining just gotta see where today takes me.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Media Arts Festival '12

Well I just got back from the 2012 Towson University Media Arts Festival with a pair of Second Place videos! Both Love is Undead and Hello! by Kane Mayfield got Second place in their respective categories (music video and shorts). Not only is this a nice step up from getting Third place last year with Spiritus it is also an accomplishment to submit two separate works and then have them both become finalists...then have them both place second. I feel strong about these videos and I am glad to see them get the recognition they deserve. I have to give an even bigger shout out to the two videos that beat me out this year I Tell 'Em Towson University in the music video category was a well put together video that they somehow got a ton of people to be in which is amazing (I know how hard that can be to pull off). Also to Do Not Duplicate in the shorts category was great too, a pretty sweet opening credit sequence and also some cool shots added in the mix as well.

Overall this year was much better than last and I hope to keep submitting as many years in the future as I can especially if some friends of mine end up going there next year...I can just have them submit works for me lol. Great night...lots of fun...can't wait for more festivals.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Editing Has Begun

Well now that everything is all done on Voicebox the process of editing the film together is underway. Last night I officially started the editing and things are coming together rather nicely. The film I would say is about halfway done and it is a little over 7 minutes long so far, which is great. I hope the final product will be around 15 minutes but that is a lot to shoot for. If it ends up over 10 minutes I will be happy though. The shots all look amazing and that is before color grading so I am very happy, it is usually the other way around at this point which is a nice change of pace. The biggest obstacle with this film is going to be sound, I can already say it is going to a be a beast just because I need to foley the majority of it, then mix the sound in evenly. I am not saying I am lazy but I tend to start taking liberties with sound when it becomes too difficult, just saying. However things are right on track.

In other news I submitted Kane Mayfield - Hello! and Love is Undead to the Towson Media Arts Festival this year and hopefully I will be able to place with one of these videos. I wish I could submit Voicebox but the limit is 10 minutes for submission and also it will not be done in time to submit by noon tomorrow it is safe to say. It is ok though I have plans for this short that reach beyond the University so that is where my aim is. Wish me luck though in the festival this year, it always gets me so nervous.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Fortunate Day

So today has turned into quite the fortunate day for me. It is my first day back to school since spring break and I getting to ease into really easy for sure. Last night I got an email from my math teacher saying class was cancelled which was my 8am class so no waking up at 5:15 to get ready for me. I then realized I had a meeting at ten about my film but I managed to get that pushed back until Thursday. After all that I realized I had a midterm in my Film and Literature class but then got an email saying that was postponed until next week. So today has been an easy transition to get back into the swing of things for sure. I am having a pretty lucky day.

As far as plans for the film I am going to try to use Towson for my high school looking scene and then I am thinking of having a big yard sale on April 7th in order to save up more for my film. I mean I think I will have a good chunk of money from work and then taxes came back right in the nick of time but I could use that little bit more for things like food and drinks. I don't know for sure but I will see. If I do decide on that then I will post more details soon.

Also I think my DP and Sound guy get back from Europe today and I can't wait to talk to them to get everything straight for filming. I hope it all works out as far as their schedule because I can't do it without them. Finally the registration for the 48 hour film festival starts today this year and I am going to see if they want to have a group for it or not. I know I do for sure but that is just me.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

February is Over

So the month of February has finally come to a close and I think this past month held many ups and downs for To Tony Productions. It was a busy month from the beginning since I was focusing very heavily on the photography side of things and got to do two actors headshots and even semi booked a third one which I have to follow up on tomorrow to make sure it is still happening. In addition I made more headway in my zombie film Love is Undead which has been slow and steady for the most part (that is something that I would for sure like to have done by the end of March). Also I finished up my first script since the summer for my upcoming short film Voicebox which I am still in the pre production phases of it. My first ever music video was released this month to a lot of positive feedback and I must say I couldn't be happier about that. With that being said the music video lead to my first write up in The Towerlight since 2009 which was huge for me. Just yesterday I booked two more music videos in May which is very exciting.

All in all February was a good month to me and I hope in March to release my zombie short film and to be 100% ready for the production of Voicebox. Other than that I also hope to get more photography gigs and to work better on the technical side of the camera.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Writing, Writing, Writing

So right now I am working on the treatment for another music video for the talented Mr. Kane Mayfield of Mania Music Group. This video is going to be more directed than the last in the sense that we are not just going to show up at a location and roll. We are actually going to put some time and consideration into the lighting, costume, directing, etc. I am having a little bit of trouble with the third verse but I think I found a good solution for it, I just hope we can get past this point so that we can film and I can edit it up. I only say that because of my next point.

Today I am hoping to finish up my script for my directed study film entitled Voicebox which is my biggest undertaking to date and something that I hope comes together beautifully because that is what it deserves to say the least. However that is why I wanna get done the music video so that is not eating up too much of my time, which would suck if it did because for Voicebox I need to have my focus up to 100 million percent.

I just finished up my first experimental project last night, I am debating whether or not to put it up since for 17 seconds it has a ton of nasty language, I am going to see how everyone reacts to it in class tonight and go from there. If I do good I will put it up...maybe lol.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Updates For the Masses

So today I was going to try and upload the second actors headshots from two saturdays ago but I saw that I am almost filled up on my storage space on here. I didn't even know that was an issue but apparently you only get a gig and I am 98% there so if I want 20gb I gotta pay 5 bucks for a year which I assume is a pretty fair deal; I am just not all uppity about paying for storage. I mean I probably will so it is whatever. This is my website so I need to have the storage space to back it up.

 In other news the premiere of Hello went great yesterday! It almost broke 1,000 plays in a single day, I think when  it was all said and done it was like 980 or something like that. That breaks all former records held by any of my video premieres, the most for a single day for me before I think was like 500 views in a day.  I got an outpouring of support which I didn't expect at all but so many people that I knew reposted the link and it got out there for people to see. Plus the artist Kane Mayfield himself knows so many people that they all checked it out as well. It was a great day to say the least. I am so happy with the video and I am so glad to have all this love and support from everyone.

Can't wait to put even more content out there for everyone...oh Love is Undead is 99% done, all I need to do is add the zombie sounds and clean up the bullet sounds and I am done! Can't wait to put it out there for everyone to see.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Kane Mayfield - Hello!

Well here it is! My first ever music video! It is a great moment for myself because this is yet another part of film/video industry I was able to take on. I have been wanting to do something like this since I first started making videos and this was my time to do it. Let me know what you think.


Kane Mayfield - Hello! from Mania Music Group on Vimeo.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Loading Up On Work

Now that school has started and my schedule is completely set I am really trying to give myself a lot of work which is turning out to not be a hard thing at all. As of right now I am still applying finishing touched to Love is Undead; which has the music set, 95% of the audio is done, color correction is great, now all I need is the blood/bullet fx, some foley work, and end credits. Also I am getting a little push from my friend over at Mania Music Group to try and do his next music video before SXSW in March. This would normally be possible but the song in which he wants to do a video for is a bit tricky and I am trying to come up with a way to do it without it being cliche. Also still booking as always for Headshot packages so anyone out there looking please hit me up whenever either on here or by email at mind_confided@yahoo.com

In other news the music video for Hello by Kane Mayfield is dropping this Monday on either youtube or vimeo. I can't wait for everyone to see it and let me know what they think of it. It is my first video content dropping in a long long time.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Editing Nearly Complete

Well last night I was cleaning and finishing up the last touches on my newly redone room and after a long day of cleaning I sat down to my computer and decided to edit. The project I finished up was the music video for Kane Mayfield the song of course being Hello which is really a tribute song to a lot of different locations that Kane himself has been at and lived at. The way I had to edit it was basically create 9 video tracks for B-roll and 8 video tracks of different spots we recorded him performing at. After that I would listen to the flow of the song and depending on how each few bars went or maybe one bar after the other went I would select one of the 8 locations we shot at and go with that. Then the ones I didn't want I would just cut and discard. It took a long time because I had to go with the very best shot for those few bars because I was getting rid of all other options once I cut out a video track. It was time consuming and probably not the most practical way to get the job done, it took about 2 and a half hours; but I got the job done. Later today Ashley is coming over and she will watch it, let me know what she thinks, then maybe I will ask Zach to come down and see what he thinks. If I can get approval from both then I will send it on to the label owner and get his approval. After all that we should have a final cut to be sent out.

I hope it gets there and I don't have to do a whole new cut...that would be very disheartening.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Music Video Is Over

Well yesterday afternoon we officially wrapped on the Hello music video for Kane Mayfield. It was a tough and grueling shoot considering all the places we had to travel but it I feel as though something unique will come out of it. The last spot we filmed at was Federal Hill here in Baltimore since it was a shot to me that summed up the entire city in one location. So at the end of the day we got footage from DC, New York, Baltimore, and Virginia, pretty crazy.

I started editing it last night and just a smidge this morning but I am hung up on the introduction and what it should look like. This is always the hardest part of editing for me because for me that is the most important part of the video. Without a good introduction no one will keep watching because nothing grabs the audience. It is even harder for me because I have such a slanted view of what makes a good introduction since I love the New Wave so much I am hung up on wanting to do a Godard style introduction but I don't think anyone else will like that. Once I get over that hump though I think I will be good to go.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Setting Up

Ok so today is a long work day, pretty much just a throw away day if you ask me. However I am finally getting everything finalized for the rest of the month pretty much. So the samurai film is looking like it is getting filmed on January 15th which is a Sunday. It is going to be an all night shoot but totally worth it for a kick ass little short film. On January 17th I have to work on my final project for my lighting class so we again are going to be pulling an all nighter getting that done for class (it is due by the 19th). Before all the that on the 12th we have to do a lighting day for night short video for class which is due on the 17th.

In addition to that tomorrow I am going out to Federal Hill park to film the Baltimore portion of Hello by Kane Mayfield which should be simple and fast. Sunday is going to be another chill day even though work is all day again. Monday I am going up to DC in the morning to finish up shooting of Hello and also I am meeting with a local director in the DMV area for an Assistant Director job on his senior film. Then that night I have class at 5:30pm and in between I have to study since we have our first quiz that day.

Not only all that but I still want to find time to get to the reviewing of movies. If all goes well tonight I will be getting my computer back and can finally get back to the finishing up of these videos. I still have to edit Love is Undead and the Baltimore Humane Society video. Needless to say after the 23rd when the semester is over I will be taking off of work from the 23rd to the 30th for a much deserved break.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Made It Back

Well I just got back from my New York trip about two hours ago with my man Kane Mayfield. We were up there shooting some video content for an upcoming song he has which was a lot of fun. We hit a lot of big spots around New York including Times Square, PNC radio, Fader magazine, and Penn Station. It was a lot of fun but mad mad draining on the body. I got to take my first subway ride which at first was a little nerve wracking since I never did if before but after a few times I got the hang of it. Also I got to take my first New York taxi cab ride through the city which was fun because cabs have a cool little tv in the back with trivia questions and cool things like that. You can also pay by credit now which was pretty sweet.

We got up there at a little after noon because the bus was some crappy thing from way back when and the driver kept having to pull to the side to let it reset itself. The way back was a breeze but we had to wait from about 3 am to 6:30 am before we got the next Megabus back home. We spent the time in Dunkin Donuts which is a very interesting place at night in New York. We were at a party before that for some big name producers at PNC radio which was cool because I got to here their beats and that went on from about 8:30pm to 1:30am. I was really tired at that point so I just laid down as much as could in the other rooms away from the party.

I didn't even mention the most amazing meal of my life in New York. After hours of shooting at around 3 or 4pm we finally went to get something to eat at this pizza place. It was $10.30 for two slices of pepperoni pizza and a big water, but it was so worth it because I was starving. The whole thing was like eating a little bit of heaven and I haven't felt that good about a meal since after like MayhemFest 3 years ago or however long that was. I had a blast in New York and it was just as much of a vacation as it was work but I was glad I worked up the courage to go. Thanks again to Kane Mayfield for showing me all the hot spots and making this video run real smooth so far.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Today is the Trip

So as of right now it is almost 6 am and I am getting everything ready for my trip up to New York. I am catching the megabus at 8:15 and will be there at around 11:35am. It is a video shoot day as well as a big meeting day for the artist I am riding up with. It is sure to be an exciting time just hate that is the middle of winter, it is going to be freezing up there. I just gotta bundle up and shoot some video content. Got more packing to do so I will update you guys on how the trip went tomorrow. Short and sweet today.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

New York Trip

As I type I am planning out tomorrows trip up to New York which would involve me and two good friends leaving Baltimore at 8:15am getting there at 11:45am and then we wouldn't depart until 1:15 am that morning. I just hope I can get everything ready before then. It is going to be a fun trip but the mix of cold weather and camera gear never like to mix well. We should be able to get good footage still.

This will be my first trip to the heart of New York, as my last trip was only to the Statue of Liberty. I am equal parts nervous and excited as with all my trips. On the drive up I am going to try to finish up my take home final for school and then on the way back...maybe...try and edit this corporate video project which has been a thorn in my side. That is pretty much my weekend in a nutshell. Sunday I am just going to sleep to recover and Monday I might edit some more.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess