Sly. Rocky. Rambo. Sylvester Stallone. He is known by many names, and is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. With a new movie coming out, Creed II, we got the opportunity to shoot the primetime open for the Thursday Night Football game with the legendary actor and filmmaker. In order to accomodate the Mr Stallone’s busy schedule, we had to shoot in a nearby location which meant being relegated to a hotel conference room. We were stuck in a somewhat pedestrian location but we needed to create a high-end look. This is a situation we are very familiar with. Our first step was to black out the entire room including the floor and ceiling. Then, together with Production Designer Laurent Turlure, we designed a tunnel made of over 60 light tubes that was large enough for Sly to walk through in order to create a visually dynamic backdrop that would allow for not only stationary shots, but also walking shots. We were working with a really great team and had a lot of fun on this one. Director of Photography: Jonathan Belinski Producer: Jesse Weiss Production Designer: Laurent Turlure
Making of World Cup Open / Jurassic World TV Spot
There is nothing else like the World Cup. The most storied teams, and the biggest stars all come together to battle it out on the largest stage with the eyes of the world watching. This year’s tournament coincides with the release of one of the summer’s biggest blockbusters, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. To mark the occasion, we got the opportunity to fly to Hawaii and film a commercial with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Chris Pratt. Mr. Pratt is a busy man with a tight schedule so we had to bring the studio to him. We took over the grand ballroom at the renown Turtle Bay Resort and created an improvised sound stage complete with a custom built set. Makeshift studios like this are often less than ideal, but when it happens to be located on Hawaii’s beautiful north shore, it’s hard to complain. This was definitely a fun one.
Swift Justice: Taylor Swift in NY & Justice League in LA
Sometimes the stars align on both coasts. In this instance, we had a pair of high profile projects promoting the some of the biggest projects of the year; the debut of Taylor Swift’s new album “Reputation” and the release of the highly anticipated hollywood blockbuster “Justice League”. In Los Angeles, weeks of planning had come together on the main shoot day for a new Justice League commercial. The entire lead cast was there, Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher and Ezra Miller. There were multiple custom built sets spread out over a huge soundstage. Director of Photography Jonathan Belinski helped develop the concepts, operated all cameras, and oversaw the entire production. On the same day in New York, Taylor Swift had an exclusive, over-the-top event to celebrate the release of her new album. Two stories of downtown Manhattan’s Fulton Market were converted through several days of construction into a custom, high-class lounge complete with a golden throne for the guest of honor, Taylor herself. It was a crazy few days culminating in one awesome night. After weeks of simultaneous preproduction, both shoots came together on the same day on opposite ends of the country. Needless to say, it was an action-packed 24 hours.
Making of “Tame Your Demons”
The rivalry between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier goes back many years to their 2015 bout in UFC 182. Since then, there have been several failed attempts at a rematch, and over the years Jones was forced to relinquish his belt to Cormier via league suspension. After a long wait, the epic showdown will finally happen at UFC 214. For a fight this big, the commercial had to be something special. The shoot was very ambitious and spanned several days and many locations. The sequence of Jones running through the woods was filmed in a reputedly haunted forest outside of Albuquerque. We were working with our friends at Wild Rabbit Aerial who flew their Freefly Alta octocopter drone with one of our Red Dragons outfitted with a Leica Summicron prime lens. It was a serious rig operated by a team of the best. Director of Photography Jonathan Belinski also operated many shots himself using a DJI Ronin gimbal system. Another challenging shoot was the night time training sequence with Cormier. A stark lighting design and kinetic camera movement were incorporated to heighten the intense mood of the piece. Some of the more intricate scenes were shot in the ring, where some brand new lighting was used. We were lucky enough to get to try a new unit from Cineo Lighting, the Quantum 80. The unit was built on a custom rig that was suspended above the ring to create a soft top light and it performed beautifully. It was definitely a very fast paced and exciting shoot to be a part of. Director: Adam Condal Producer: Eric Mazer Director of Photography: Jonathan Belinski Aerials : Wild Rabbit
Movie Star Treatment – Making of the Atomic Blonde Promo
We were so excited to get the opportunity to work with Oscar winner Charlize Theron on a promo for her new movie Atomic Blonde. We pulled out all the stops for this fast-paced, high profile shoot. Starting in a soundstage on the Universal Pictures lot in Los Angeles, the set was custom built, and a regulation octagon ring was brought in and constructed. The set was conceived in conjunction with an intricate lighting design that involved some of the top lighting equipment available today including the Briese 180. Director of photography Jonathan Belinski shot on multiple RED Dragon cameras outfitted with Arri Master Anamorphic prime lenses and used several methods of moving the camera including a camera dolly on track, a slider, and a 3-axis gimbal system. It was a fun and exciting shoot all around and as always we were working with a fantastic crew. Producer: Gina Mazzella Set Design: Laurent Turlure
Making Pursuit of Tone
We have recently been lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with Ernie Ball, legendary makers of fine instruments, on a new television series called “Pursuit of Tone.” This series profiles some of the music industry’s biggest names, telling their stories and sharing their creative journeys like never before. This really has been an amazing project to be a part of. Working with the fantastic creative team of Producer Dustin Hinz and Director Haven Lamoureux, we have had the pleasure of filming with such luminary musicians as Mike Ness, Buddy Guy, Billy Duffy, Butch Walker, James Valentine, Hunter Hayes, and more. The entire series is shot on 6K digital cinema cameras utilizing the latest equipment and techniques in moving camera stabilization. The small expert crew gets unprecedented access to the artist during an intimate 2-3 day shoot and the shot list is always ambitious. Pursuit of Tone combines the compelling nature of a music doc with the visual flair of a hollywood production. 
