La Cakerie Grand Opening

Today I was with my friend Zach (not the one from the pictures put up yesterday), shooting some footage of the grand opening of the new bakery, La Cakerie in Towson. Zach has contact with the owners and investors of the company and he was asked to film the grand opening today and asked me to tag along, so since I had another client postpone on me, I was able to come and work as a second shooter. It was cool, I got to get all the smooth artsy cut in shots while he focused primarily on getting the wide angle stuff so it was a great pair. The place is in a nice little part of Towson and if you have the time it is worth checking out, the food is delicious and they have great prices on everything. La Cakerie!

In addition to that, I am working on some photo edits for the charity event I did last weekend, I am sorting through a lot of them and if it wasn't for the hurricane I would have had them done a lot sooner but Sandy kind of slowed things down since I didn't have power...however here we are and they should be finished soon. Got some other things coming down the pipeline right now but I am waiting for things to flesh out before I go too deep in discussion with them.

Random Movie Fact: In the 1987 film Masters of the Universe, the reptilian henchman Saurod's throat was made to expand and contract by having the performer, Pons Maar, blow into a tube that ran from his mouth to the throat of his costume.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Music Video Deal!

So To Tony Productions is partnering up with [kp] mag (another local production company) to give away a music video at a next to nothing cost. However we are looking for a truly awesome and great band to do this video for. This is a huge deal and just because the cost is severely reduced does not mean that we will be cutting corners on the video end, we want to make something amazing! So if you are a band or know a band that would be interested please email us at totonyproductions@gmail.com, send us a little bit about your band and also any samples of your bands work would be awesome. Thanks in advance and remember this is a one time deal only so don't delay in sending an email.

Random Movie Fact: In the 1998 film Bride of Chucky, when Jennifer Tilly is dancing for Chucky, there is a brief appearence of the top of one of her nipples. This is revealed in the DVD commentary by Jennifer herself.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Ending...

So today was the end of my car photography stint that lasted about three days. The company I worked for was just simply asking too much out of me for not enough pay. While it would have been a nice way to earn extra cash, in the end it just really wasn't worth it. Not only considering that but also the drive to the place was quite the haul so all in all just not up to the level I needed it to be. In other news I am also stepping back from a local record label I have been working with for a few years now. I am not naming names or pointing fingers, I just think creatively we are seeking two separate things. It was fun, I learned a lot, I still love all the guys to death I just wanna go my own way for right now. Maybe sometime in the near future, some level of collabaration will be feasible but for now not really.

I think right now is just a time for me to carve my own path with To Tony Productions, I am getting into a little bit of everything just to try it and gain experience. As time goes on I know we will be able to gain a niche but for now it is a lot of experimentation with what works and what doesn't work. Well I will keep trucking forward and hopefully you guys will stay informed on what is soon to come.

Random Movie Fact: In the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, at the end of the sequence in which Dorothy and the Scarecrow first meet the Tin Man, as the three march off singing "We're Off to See the Wizard", there is a disturbance in the trees off to the right. This was long rumored to be one of the crew (or, by some accounts, one of the dwarf actors) committing suicide by hanging himself, but it is in fact a large bird stretching its wings.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Stress Coming

Well the music video is either totally off or just plain postponed for a while. Client was trying to get me to switch the whole direction of the video last second and also just plain trying to get me put in a risky situation. Without insurance and all that, I just didn't feel comfortable all around. I was talking to his upper management today so hopefully they can chat with him and straighten things all out but for right now things aren't looking too chipper. More work coming up soon though so there is plenty of time to make good content this month. Let us not make this a wasted day!

Random Movie Fact: In the 2006 film The Science of Sleep, Sam Mounier gave Michel Gondry the idea for the film when Gondry asked the then 10-year-old Mounier to come up with a bed time story. Literally the next day, Gondry began writing the script.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Fourth of July to everyone! I hope it is a good day for all of you and yours. May today bring fun filled joy, hot dog eating, and safe firework launching to all! Be careful and if you are somewhere hot like here in Maryland, make sure to stay hydrated. Our country is a great one and thanks to all those who have fought for freedom I can voice my opinions and thoughts on a blog such as this. I love this great country and hope our liberty can ring forever!

Random Movie Fact: In the 1972 film adaptation of the musical 1776, In the song Is Anybody There, sung by John Adams, the lyric "Yet, through all the gloom, I see the rays of ravishing light and glory" were from a letter by the real-life Adams to wife Abigail the day after the Declaration was adopted.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Worst Fear

Today I want to ask a question instead of talking about me...what is your worst fear? Lets start with me, my worst fear is getting lost while driving or as it is known in the scientific community, mazeophobia. Now it is your turn...leave a comment below and share your worst fears.

Random Movie Fact: In the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead, George A. Romero, creator of the films that this movie pays homage to and lampoons, was so impressed with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's work that he asked them to appear in Land of the Dead, the fourth part of his Dead series, in cameos as zombies.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Start of the 48 Hour Film Festival!

So this afternoon/evening is the start of the Baltimore 48 Hour Film Festival. This is the second year I am participating in this awesome event, this year under the group name Towson Avengers! This year I am working with a fresh group of completely different people from last year, from the talent to the crew it is all new faces. I am excitedly nervous for the competition since I have assumed the role of Director of the piece. I have not been able to dedicate as much time as I have wanted but I know we can still make something awesome this year. I am looking forward to not only finishing a film, but getting it in and seeing all the other great works that come out of the competition.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Graduation

Today I graduated from Towson University! Shout out to my fellow class members and all the friends I made at Towson these last four years. I love you all and wouldn't be here without any of you.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Tree of Life Review

The Tree of Life is one of those films that comes along and it is made out of pure love by the director. In this case it feels as though every shot in this film was thought of for hours before it was filmed, and Terrence Malick perfectly crafts them together. The film to me only really loses the audience is when we are sent to Sean Penn's character, all grown up and lost in a modern world. I understand the concept of having a character lost in the world but we get it, after 20 minutes of flashing into his world I found myself very bored and wanting to go back to the world of his childhood. This innocent town takes place around the time of WWII and is magical with the people and the kids that occupy it. The strongest character in the whole film is Brad Pitt as a patriarch struggling with the decisions he made in youth and how to raise his own kids. Early in the film I had a lot of respect for him but the film very smartly shows that it is not just a case of bad kids but rather a case of bad fathering by Pitts character. The inclusion of space as well as even dinosaurs adds a huge space to this film but all the different metaphors are just too much for even me to catch. This film is like the closest thing you can get to watching a novel...it is like a smart book that you love even though you don't always understand it.

I found this movie visually amazing and the non conventional editing was pretty amazing. This is a special film but it is a shame that it is so hard to pry into. I want to say so much but I find myself at a loss for words because of the sheer epic scale of this film. It is a movie that will challenge you and if you don't mind a long film that seems to be constantly hiding something from you then check it out. If smart dramas just aren't your thing then this won't be for you. Give it a chance though, I did and didn't regret it one bit.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Big Changes For Tomorrow

So today I have been running myself ragged in a day that should have been a lot more chill, mainly because my morning class got cancelled but I didn't realize it until after I got up to Towson which sucked. So after being up for all that time I went back home took a shower then got my hair cut, then came back for an audio interview, now I am going to class, then ditching my last class in favor of talking with a good friend about being DP for my next big film project.

Tomorrow is making me nervous because I have the all important meeting with the principal of my old high school. This is vital to the film because I need this location since the majority of the story takes place at the high school, if I get shot down it will be devastating. We will see how it goes but I shaved the beard and cut the hair and bought a nice outfit all for tomorrow. It is huge to me.

Other than that I can really start to see all the shots I want for the film and the vision is really starting to come to life which is exciting because the more concrete idea I have, the better it will be come filming time.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Pictures from the Minimester

Well last night I decided to edit the pictures I took for my final project in Aesthetics of Film further to make them more appropriate for my picture reel. I know it has been a while since the last time I put up pictures so I think now is the time to do so. From my perspective I feel like the middle three are the strongest one but the first and last look pretty sweet too.

With the project we had to redo a scene from any movie we wanted and I decided to do a scene from 500 Days of Summer when Summer and Tom were talking on his bed. In the film it is presented pretty innocently but I set up to do two things very different. One was make it a lot darker, the lighting, the actions everything. Two was to change the scene to reflect the style of the whole movie and how the relationship was always in flux. I feel like I did a good job of both but you be the judge and let me know what you think.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Love and Sherlock Holmes

So yesterday I spent the majority of the day hanging out with a good friend of mine Joe just running around going to a few places. I got to shoot my first handgun which I sucked at from the start and then after that owned. We went to the Science Center which was awesome when I was a kid but kinda sucked now that I am older (should of expected that). Finally we saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows which I felt was better than the original in some regards and in others not so much.

This new film goes much further into the psyche of Holmes and decides to point out more of his quirky methods at time to the extreme for instance when he is drinking embalming fluid but other hits it right on the nose when he hates riding on the horse. I felt like the use of slow motion like in the first to show his thought process was again a very smart trick but when it was used on things such as a gun about to fire a huge explosive device it became a bit overused. The scene in the woods of them running away from the Germans was amazing and this by far was the best use of the slow motion effect in the whole film. The introduction of Moriarty was not overdone at all (as it can be in the Holmes universe) and his character was written in very well to fit the way the books had described him (he is a man who never gets his hands dirty). The ending is nothing short of a very Hollywood style but it still fits within all the workings of a Conan Doyle story. I would recommend a watch either in theaters or at home when it is on DVD. Not worth a rush to the theater really but it is still an enjoyable Sherlock Holmes film.

The other film I watched yesterday was entitled Love which is a very intensely slow drama piece about a man up in space who slowly learns he is going to be up there for a while. It can be assumed that back on Earth man is slowly killing themselves through war. At the same time there are flashbacks to a civil war soldier who is on the quest for a mysterious ship that is near the Mississippi river. Throughout the film we watch this lone mans decent into madness as he has no human interaction aboard the space station. There is no real villain in this film or not secret he really finds. It is just a slow paced strange film which is not terrible but a bit too philosophical for its own good at parts. Sometimes shots get repeated but from different angles which is excusable but the fact that these shots are shown in slow motion several times make it very apparent that we have seen them before. It comes to an end in a less than satisfactory ending and the only real way to have it make sense is if you use the excuse that he must have died. I really love the concept and the majority of the execution considering how indie this film is. I'd say if you can get past the slow pacing and the almost cheesy soundtrack from Angels and Airwaves at times it makes for a very good film. If not though stay away it is not going to pick up the pace at any point really.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Time For Change

I feel as though I have done all I can with locations in this state. I have done plenty of video work here and feel as though now is the time to move out and start bringing you new and exciting places for video work. After this trip to New York I see how a place like that can truly bring out the best in a seemingly non existant story. Having exciting locations is a nice touch to add. I want to try and film more in places like New York, Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia; places that just have a life of their own. At the same time I want to go out west and film in the desert, that is my ultimate goal.

Maybe I am just in a rut right now and I need a change of pace or maybe I just need something exciting, something truly amazing to change the way I see life. I am a dreamer so when things get old I get into a funk where I can dream no more.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Ellis Island Trip

Well after a long while of editing I have all the best pictures from my trip to Ellis Island this year. I took 107 and narrowed it down to 23 or 24, I don't remember 100% but either way the ones I picked are my favorite from the trip. I recommend going to see the Statue of Liberty to anyone, it is really remarkable and I would go again if I had the chance to. For now though please enjoy these pictures and let me know what you think of them.

Thanks everyone,
Daniel Hess

More Pictures To Go

So even with this recent influx of pictures I am still not done, and still have a bunch more to get through. My last series of pictures to go through is from my trip to Ellis Island two weeks ago, which was pretty awesome. If you get the chance to go see the Statue of Liberty don't hesitate, just go...

Besides that I am also on the verge of getting a Polarizing filter for my L lens so when I do outdoor stuff it won't be so blown out, especially considering that the majority of my work is outdoor photography/videography anyway. Once I get my finances straight that is forthcoming.

Scheduling is underway as of right now for the final day of shooting for Love is Undead which I am expecting to be about mid to late November. From there I am going to edit it up, add original music, and then color correct. So a rough estimate for the film is to be finished in December hopefully mid to late December...maybe earlier at this point it is hard to tell. After that I want to submit it to the Maryland Film Festival which I think the deadline is late December (December 15th to be exact) for entries.

So again think positive thoughts for To Tony Productions, we are growing and maturing every day, slowly we will make our mark and people will see the potential that exists in this small company.

Thanks for the love,
Daniel Hess

The Weekend Was A Success

Well this weekend past was a huge success, however draining it was. Dogfest at the Baltimore Humane Society was great, all kinds of dogs and people and events all at once. A lot bigger than I expected to be but it was a lot of fun.

The football game ended up being Bishop Mcnamera vs. Good Counsel which was at Bishop Mcnamera High School. It took an hour and ten minutes to get there from the Human Society and it was a pretty boring game. Good Counsel killed it 35-0 over Mcnamera.

After that came the Funk Formal which we got to a little early since we thought the DJ was going to get there early but we got in for free and it was a unique party which I have never experienced before. The fact that it was in a graffiti filled alley in the city was awesome and there was all kinds of fun stuff going on, arcarde machines, movies playing, full bar. Not an ordinary party by any means. I am so glad to have been invited by Sean (the DJ) and to have been able to make it no matter how tired I was.

The next day I had to get up at 5:30 am after being out til 2:30 am to get to New Jersey. Thank god Ashley was there to help me get up because I couldn't do it at all, she had to actually pick me up out of bed...it was bad. It was a long drive in a packed van but seeing the Statue Of Liberty and the museums all around it was awesome. The ferry ride was cool and I got some amazing pictures to say the least. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

Well that was my weekend in a nutshell, easy to type out but a crazy experience that will not soon be forgotten. This Wednesday we are wrapping up shooting on my zombie short film as well, so October has by far proven to be the busiest and most fun month so far for myself and To Tony Productions. Wish me luck and I will have pictures/videos soon guys.

Thanks for all the love,
Dan