Photo Day!

So today was officially photo day to say the least. In the morning I went to Defender's Day at Fort Howard Park which is an annual reenactment of the Battle of North Point during the war of 1812. I went up to take cool photos and see the sights. It was a lot of fun and the costumes were amazing, the actors really made everything look authentic...if it was just them there I would have thought I just went into a time machine. It was a fun time for sure, kinda stinks I couldn't stay to see the whole battle reenactment but I had to go off to another photoshoot. The second shoot today was originally supposed to be headshots for an actor but they ended up cancelling due to an emergency. So I was left with a studio I reserved but no photos so I frantically hit up everyone on my phone to take photos. Finally two old friends who are dating now took me up on my free photo offer so I managed to get them to swing by and take photos of just him, and them together as a couple. It was a win win win for everyone, they got free photos, I got to use a studio setting for the first time, and also got to take portrait/couple photos for the first time so I got a lot of experience out of it. Today was a good day with lots to do, tiring but rewarding.

Random Movie Fact: In the 1992 film Dead Alive or Braindead, 300 liters of fake blood was used in the final scene of the film.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

More HDR Fun

So just about an hour ago I went to Fort Howard State Park to snap a couple of photos. I was not very successful in getting a huge number of cool photos but I got to work with some HDR photography again. Well posted below are the two images of the day. I had a little bit of fun with these so let me know what you think.

Random Movie Fact: In the 2009 film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, mr Weasley's shed of Muggle artefacts contains, among other things, two Remington Noiseless Portable Typewriters and an HP Laserjet 4.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Summer Production

So today I woke up (late in the morning of course) and couldn't help but think back on the past productions I have tackled over the summer months...wonderful times. Way back when in 2010 I was working on my True Docs series of shot documentaries facing subjects from the importance of dog care to family to heroin addiction, it was an interesting time for sure and without knowing it I captured two of the most important documentaries of all. The first one being on the subject of Family, which my grandmother did for me, only a few months later she would pass away suddenly which was heartbreaking but the interview she gave became very important. The next one I did was on the subject of Heroin Addiction and my cousin gave the most honest interview I think I have ever seen and even to this day people are still watching that video and finding some hope/truth in it. It is up to over 15,000 views on youtube.

The other production I did was Gas Guzzlers in 2010 which was a huge project which took what seemed like forever to make. Facing days where it was almost 100 degrees out myself, Jordan, Joe, Ashley, and Chad all went out to either North Point State Park or Fort Howard to film. We would mainly film from 10 or 11am to 3 or 4pm since at the time everyone except Ash and Chad worked at the same place. It was a cool shoot and taught me even more about making a found footage style film, I even got to screen it at Towson University that same December.

In 2011 that was a much slower season but one which was filled with praise I guess is the word. I am cheating a bit and counting May in this season since that is when I participated in the 72 hour film festival and what we got out of that was Spiritus. This film was the first project that I was a part of that won best in show, it was amazing. Then later on in June was the 48 hour which we got Nina out of, it didn't win anything but was a finalist at the screening. It was promising season in 2011 but a series of fallouts with friends ruined that...however what was to follow helped to shape me into the semi professional that I consider myself now.

This summer is proving not to be a summer for my productions or making a new film, but a summer of building connections and relationships. I am excited to see where this season takes me and I am sure the place I will end up is going to be better than I could have ever imagined.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Random movie fact of the day: 
In the movie Silent Hill the strange stumbling movements of the Dark Nurses when they first "come alive" was created by filming them walking backwards, and then running the film in reverse.

Side Work

This weekend was all about side work. On Saturday I filmed 2 monologues for a local actor from the DMV area. He did a great job and the monologues turned out awesome for what he was looking for. I finished up the DVD menus and all just a few minutes ago and tomorrow will be shipping it out to him. It was great to work on a small project like this and to get to know another local actor. It is great that I have been able to work with so many actors on something other than a film set, a lot more relaxed.

I am still on the verge of completion of Love is Undead and now that I got my Tascam DR-100 field recorder I can record the zombie vocals for the film. After that it is just a matter of making them work and then getting it all done. I am very excited to have it all finished up!

In a final bit of news tomorrow I am going to try to record a little short clip to promote donations for my upcoming film Voicebox. My goal is to get $3,000 to $3,500 dollars but I would be just happy with anything over $1,000 just to be able to pay crew. I don't know how things are going to go and I am very nervous so we will see.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Chad Fehr Headshots

I feel like I am spoiling you guys this is my third day of new content in four days but that will be it for a little bit I am afraid. These are the final edits of the headshots I did for another local actor Chad Fehr. He is a great guy that was very easy to work with, he landed the poses before I even asked him to which was great. You can find his facebook to get in touch with him for acting gigs on his Facebook. Enjoy the photos and as always any feedback is great.

Working Overtime

Yesterday the photoshoot sessions went really well. The overcast skies made for an amazing look and it provided nice even lighting. The first session was a little rough since my client ended up at Eastpoint Mall somehow instead of Fort Howard. However we met up with him and he followed us over. The shoot went until 1:45 and my next client was pulling up as he was leaving. The second session I was a little tired to be honest and it started up a little rocky but I feel like I got very solid pictures. I think in the future I want to start having more control, maybe even having an indoor set up here in my room or something like that. This is when having a whole house would be nice so that way I could set up a studio in a whole room, which would be set aside. Then life would be a lot easier. For now though I think it is good to keep doing outside photography. I just have to find a very neutral background which I will have to do a little searching for.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess