I’ve had the opportunity of shooting some awesome models recently, So I thought I’d share some of my selects from the last few weeks.

Although the band Crash Karma is new to the scene, many may remember the members by their previous successes. Edwin (I Mother Earth), (Jeff Burrows)The Tea Party, (Mike Turner)Our Lady Peace, and Amir Epstein (Zygote).

The treatment for Fight, called for all the members having their heads photographed and mapped onto 3D geometry to look like paper craft. I decided that the lyrical themes in Fight would be accented by referencing the style and look of soviet constructivist propaganda posters. Art for the sake of purpose is what drove the soviet constructivist movement, and I thought that it was fitting for “Fight” (a strong call to action).

Working with the band was definitely an interesting experience. What you see and read in the media is a very different from what you see in person. Each one had their own unique vision for the video, and each one had varying opinions. As a director you sometimes have to find creative ways of addressing client concerns, but ultimately in the end you have to give them what they need (not always what they want.)

Once the grants came in, I had to find my crew. I ended up calling an old friend (Joel Tellier) from school who since then has gone on to work in various mediums and jobs in this business. He has always had a facination with music videos, and strong compositions. Joels strengths lied in motion graphics so we worked closely in tying the 2D sections and 3D sections together As we began discussing the logistics of the video, another coworker who overheard what we were working on (Trevor Dalmer), and volunteered to help out with “some” art design work. Without these two peices coming together at the same time, I don’t think the video would have ever found it’s look.

Originally, the treatment called for the band fighting an ominous villain and defeating it. This was a starting point, but in no way could this hold up for longer than 30 seconds. The villain eventually took form as a sort of Rock Monster / Golem who had the ability to control the environment around him. Buildings took on symbolic shapes, rather then detailed complex cities to stay true to the simplicity of the soviet constructivist style. We made sure that the 3D Elements of the video weren’t complex and detailed to make sure that the 2D sections integrated into the video seamlessly.

The first few days on the project were spent pulling references of Early 1930’s and 40’s Soviet Propaganda. That quickly spilled into Art Deco construction of buildings, and more contemporary Soviet Inspired films / shorts and commercials. What makes this video compelling to most viewers, is the transition from 3D to 2D poster art. The poster art frames helped us overcome the challenge of making the band members look cool while fighting a monster three times their size and weight. The creative process was simple. Once we identified which shots would become poster frames, I animated and rendered a frame that Trevor would use to recreate in the Poster Art style. Joel would then animate the poster building to match the tempo / mood of the song.. and tada… some pretty intense kickass fight scenes.

Sometimes I get asked how many people worked on this project, and I find it hard to answer, because various people came in to help out at different times. Fredric animated 50+ shots in the short time he was on, and Karim managed to comp together most of the video in an even shorter time. Thanks everyone that helped Here are the full list of offical credits below:

Credits:
Client: Crash Karma
Manager: The Management Trust
Production Company: Guru Studio
Director: Yurie Rocha + Joel Tellier
Creative Director: Frank Falcone
Producer: Christina Shepherd + Sharon Nelson
Art Director: Trevor Dalmer
Animator: Frederic Djoenaedi
Compositor: Karim Zouak
Design Artist: Keith Lee
Simulations: Bryan Huo

Check the Video and some Work in Progress Art below:

Joel and I after living in the studio for weeks.

Brick Brewery was looking for a way to capitalize on CG to bring their Red Baron beer to the attention of as many people as possible. The media buy meant that it would be played for the first time during Hockey Night in Canada, during the Outdoor Winter Classic hockey game on Jan 1st. tying their brand to the event was a win-win situation, and we were able to bring some brand recognition to their microbrewery out in Waterloo.

I learned a lot about Canadian advertising standards, and it explains why so many Canadian Beer commercials are the same. One cannot be seen drinking beer, one cannot get the impression beer makes them better at somethingetc. Anyone brave enough to go through them can find them here:

http://www.adstandards.com/en/Clearance/AlcoholicBeverages/ASCAlcoholicBeverageAdvertisingClearanceGuide.pdf

The goal of this spot was simple. Establish brand identity. Establish the clear bottle. And find ways of making this distinctly Canadian… all in 15 seconds.

After getting clearance from the ASC, we quickly drew up some stills, and got everyone on board. A Team of 4 people including Me, Matt Hammill, David Calder and Hanung Lee saw it through, and made it on time to hit the airwaves.

The spot was created in Maya and rendered with a beta version of Vray for Maya.

Produced at: Guru Studio
Director & Compositor: Yurie Rocha
Lead CG and Lighting: Matt Hammil
Modelling and Texturing: Hanung Lee
FX: Dave Calder
Creative Director: Frank Falcone

Red Baron TV spot – “Pond of Dreams” from guru studio on Vimeo.

Photography allows you to capture moments that only happen once in a lifetime. Being there when a couple arrives home with their first newborn is one of them. I’d like to congratulate my sister and her husband for giving birth to such a beautiful child. I’m an uncle and couldn’t be happier!

Halloween was spent this year at my friends new condo. The lobby and hallways were unfinished, so it acted as a great backdrop for Halloween themed photos. The dark, paint splattered hallways created some interesting bounce light. Just one Vivitar 285HV flash was used, and bounced off the ceiling. The HDR look was achieved in post, and really helped bring out some of the details in the costumes and hair. Thanks Jeff for taking over and getting a few shots of Carol and I (Dog the bounty hunter)

Another friend got married, and it was great to sit back and enjoy this one from the seats this time. Everything was beautiful, so it made it easy to get some nice shots. These photos are for my friends, who were all part of this wedding. Congratulations to Victoria and Timothy, and best of luck in your future. Purple is my favorite color, and I had fun trying to capture Vic and Tim’s color theme in these photos. Enjoy!

Keith is a long time friend of mine who recently got married to his fiance Mary. He asked me to take photos of him and some mutal friends at a hotel before his ceremony. so I gladly agreed. Here are a few for you and the boys Keith. Mary, I hope you enjoy seeing the panic and excitement the guys went through that morning (I was the first one up).

I was at work one day and Jacquie called out from her producers office for me to speak with her. I was assuming I’d be quoting a job, or getting in trouble, but instead she asked me to shoot her wedding. At first I was a little hesitant because I had never shot a wedding before.. but she assured me there was no pressure, and that she just wanted some “simple quick candid snaps here and there” because she really liked my candid photos I’d post from other events.

Fair enough I guess, but not good enough if I wanted to take Photography more seriously. So after buying more equipment with the push from my fiance (yes.. a fiance that pushed me to get a 5D Mk2, and shes all mine) I headed over to the Rustic but lovely Toronto Distillery District to shoot the wedding with my Fiance as a secondary. The ceremony went a little off schedule, but once things started rolling, there was no time to even think.

Clouds rolled in just at the right time to get rid of some nasty hard light, but once the night came, I realized there was nowhere to bounce my flash off of, and I had no pocketwizards.

So I jacked my ISO to 3200, got the shutter speeds I needed and prayed the 135 2.0 could work its magic. ll the inside shots at the reception where pretty much lit with candle light. I’ve rented a few lenses now, and I must say the 135mm 2.0 is magical.

I’d like to thank Jacquie and Andrew for taking a chance on something they liked, My Fiance for supporting and getting some lovely shots. Heres a few samples. When I get the Flash gallery online, I’ll post it.

Gasol is needs a haircut badly.. but thats what makes him look so awesome

People occasionally ask me about some Caricatures I used to do. I didn’t think many people cared outside of Realgm.com, but I’ve had all sorts of attention from around the world regarding these quick sketches.

I took them down with my website a while ago, so I decided I’d put them back up and draw some new ones. The catch? It’s a facebook group… and with a little luck it might get some exposure..

Heres the group address:
NBA Caricatures Facebook Group

Here are my latest