Commercials, Jam Sessions and Visitations.

Good afternoon/evening/whatever. This blog is dedicated to the events of the past 4 days (since Friday, 08.08.08)

Aah, Friday. Bill Maher with Chip. Fifth row. Close enough to watch the man spit out (literally) every other word. It was kind of gross after a while. Say it, don't spray it, Bill.

Funny, albeit his cynicism is really a downer at times. I do admit he makes a few good points when it comes to politics, sex and uhh...I think that might be it. His rant on pharma was good, especially when he discusses big pharma being part of the downfall of Americans (getting prescribed something for anything), obesity and steroid use in food (and I'm paraphrasing):

"Why do you think that 8 year old girls have tits? And they've got McGwire testifying in front of the Senate about steroid use in baseball....WHO CARES?! The steroids are in the meat...the food we eat. Unless we're eating McGuire, it's none of our business."

So, yeah. It was good. Except Chip was none too happy with his religious rant. Maher is an aethiest and is not afraid to hide it. Chip....well, lets just say that Chip was going to be one of the many who wanted to walk out during the tail end of the show, where he basically ripped WESTERN religion a new asshole. I thought it was funny. Of course I did.

After Bill, we met up with Liz and found ourselves at a party. A theme party. A EUROTRASH theme party. Oh god....

We didn't stay long.

Saturday. Oh oh oh....saturday. It was (to say the least): ONE FOR THE BOOKS. Saturday was the "TECH SCOUT" for the shoot we were holding on Monday. If you're not familiar with what a tech scout is, it is (after you've picked your shooting location, you go to the location and do the following:)

• Note everything you wish to bring onto set in terms of set dressing, special effects, large equipment, etc. and where it will be placed on the day of filming.
• Placement of any cranes, generators and all production vehicles
• Quantity and lengths of trucks, generators, large equipment
• Cabling plans in and out of any buildings
• Creating sets prior to shoot.
  

The plan was that after the TS, there would be a little shindig. Since we were filming at Corey's house (he's one of my CD's....oh....CREATIVE DIRECTORS), the filming crew would peace, and me and "the boys" would hang out for a bit.

Chip and I overslept. We were supposed to be there at 11:30...in MARIN. Which means a long ferry ride (45 min.) and that's not counting the subway time it takes to get to the ferry. Whoops. We wake up at 11 a.m. We finally arrive at Corey's house in San Rafael (Marin County) at 1:45... yeah. Tech scout was complete, and it was...."party time." My Creative directors (Peter and Corey...Bob was on an Ikea trip for his daughter whom is leaving for college in 2 weeks) and the director for the commercial, (JOHN) are all musicians.

Corey, Peter, Chip, John (the director), Rob (The producer from Barbary Post) and myself all hung out, snacked on some good foods and broke out about 10 guitars for a little "jam sesh" complete with audio set-up, mics, speakers, amps, bass and electric guitars, harmonicas, maracas and tamborines. They played tons of stuff from Dylan to The Dead and even Chip got to play a few of his originals. Overall, it was interesting listening to four guitarists jam out.

The end of the day had John (the director) take us back into the city since we had missed the last ferry over. I asked John if he had any plans, or if he was just going to return to his hotel room. (He was in town for the shoot - he lives in Delray Beach, FL) and after this shoot was flying to LA to shoot for Apple. Yeah. He rules.

He said he'd love for Chip and I to join him and Ken (the owner of the production/filming company) at the Hotel Majestic bar/restaurant for cocktails and dinner. So...we did. Three glasses of wine later (for me) and a few bourbon-gingers (Chip), some Kobe beef Tartar, Mozarella and tomato salad and Gnocchi later....it was time to head home.

At 10:30 we had another guest arrive at the apartment: Brandon, one of Chip's new fellow band members (Taylor Lee's band). I laid out lots of hors d'ourves (sp?): see below. we hung out until about 1:30 and then it was crash time. Brandon was the guy that held the part we went to the previous night, btw. Sorry, no pictures from the Eurotrash party. I wish I had....yikes.


We make a good set of party hosts, don't you think? It was 100% vegetarian. We kind of rule.

So, Sunday was a lazy day. But enough about that. On to MONDAY. The "SHOOT DAY" for the new Fall Honda spots. Awake at 6:30 a.m. to be at the shoot in Marin by 8. OY VEY. Brenda was none too happy. Three spots to shoot in one day. YIKES. There's so much to making commercials that I can't even fathom how movies are made. It blows my mind. It was nearly a 12-hour shoot. But honestly, the reason people like shoots boils down to one reason: THE CATERING. Best food ever. They feed you the most incredible (and sometimes odd) food. All day. From gourmet egg sammy's for breakfast, bagels with lox/capers or fresh fruit, snacks of fresh tuna and pesto sammy's, homemade guacamole/salsa, artichoke dip and chips to lunch of "Puerto Rican Soul Food" (broiled chicken, rice, redbeans and olives, plantains, arugula salad, avocados....wow!!), and tons of other little goodies...

Yes. The Catering is the reason.

So, the shoot went well. It was Brenda's first big commercial shoot. So, to honor the occasion I took lots of production stills. Below each photo, you'll see a caption. Enjoy.



The ride over to Marin...the world-famous....GG Bridge. And even more famous: FOG.

This is what the creatives and the Ad Agency people do on set: play online and read books. This is me, with Peter (in the hat) and Corey (with the laptop). They are my CD's.... rad, RAD dudes.


In the preview area. They set up a couple of screens so we could watch live feed of what was being shot on set.

Here is a closer shot of Peter and Corey. In the corner is Rob, from Barbary.

Corey makes a goofy face. That's a forte of his. :)

And here, we have Bob. Bob rules. He's the Executive CD at Baker street. And yes, that's a Ryan Adams & The Cardinals shirt he's wearing. Yes. Bob rules.

Here, we have Peter Angelos. He is an incredible writer, a wordsmith, and just an all-around chill guy. He is a Creative Director (copy) at Baker Street. The three previous images are of my "boys"...the three guys I work for. They're the best mentors I could ask for, and are responsible for some of the most famous commercials, such as Chevron Talking Cars, Levi's, Dockers, LA Raiders' "Welcome To Our House" campaign...and that's not touching the tip of the iceberg. I'm one lucky little Art Director to be working with such amazing talent. And oh boy...the stories I get to hear! One day, you'll get to hear the story from Peter discussing how he worked with Michael Bay on a spot (he directed "The Rock," and most recently, "Transformers") and how he got to have Paulina (from the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover) come in for a casting call just so he could tell her, "take off your pants."

It was part of the concept. The commercial called for a hot girl to drop her pants. That, my friends, is power.





The last three photos are of John Alper, the director. The guy that Chip and I went out with for dinner and Drinks on Saturday. Rad, rad dude. The top two are of him in his little director's chair doing what he does: directs.

In the preview room. Photo courtesy: Rob Thomas.




On set. Camera overhead shot for one spot. Moved to a dolly (bottom) for the second spot. Lots of craziness abounded all day. It was very busy, but really cool to watch an idea turn into a final piece.


Sunday night I made a stab at Stuffed Peppers. Lean 94% meat from Trader Joe's, brown rice, and a homemade marina. Stuffed, baked for 20 min., and topped with parmesan cheese.

Chip said it was the best meal I've made so far. I beg to differ, but they sure were tasty. As Rachel Ray says, "DELISH!"

Thursday we get new out of town guests....ones I'm so friggin excited to get: Chip's family!!!!!!

Ok, you KNOW there will be plenty of pictures from that visit. I can't wait. I miss them so much (as much as my own mom/dad/bro/sis) so it'll be great to have them around. I need some hugs from my new family.

And finally...I believe I've informed everyone about the exciting time I had proving I was a worthy hire when the Honda board accepted MY IDEA for the Labor Day event spot....it is my first commercial, and has probably paid my salary. And without further adieu...keep in mind, this is to SELL CARS. Clean, get the point across. No, it's not my best work, but its made with the client's interest in mind.

Enjoy. Love,
Brenda