Director David Quakenbush posted this short behind-the-scenes look at compositing and some of the special effects work in Automaton, which is currently in post-production. It’s fascinating to see how much work is going into a single shot that is only a few seconds long!
If you haven’t read my previous posts about Automaton, I was one of the extras in the film. If you squint, you can even spot me as Android #4 in this video below :) Enjoy!
Below is a video for Re/Max Alliance, which I filmed and edited last month. This is one of the few videos I’ve done for DataSphere that was shot on my 7D. I still find the DSLR workflow in a fast-paced environment somewhat of a pain, but I really do love the film-like look.
Do you need an affordable custom video created for your small business, non-profit or community organization? Contact me!
Normally, I try to have the business owner or representative do the interview on camera in a casual, conversational way. But, sometimes things come up and they are unable to do the interview for whatever reason (in this case, the owner of Williamson and Company, P.C. had a cold and lost his voice). So, we improvised and had someone else record a voice-over from a written script on the spot. It’s always tricky to have a non-professional recording a voice-over, but luckily the person who ended up doing it actually had some prior experience. We had to move quickly and looking back, I wish I would have shot several more takes, but overall I think it turned out okay.
Do you need an affordable custom video created for your small business, non-profit or community organization? Contact me!
I was a camera operator / lighting assistant for the studio interview footage in this video made by HagarFILMS a couple of months ago:
In case you missed it, the second installment of The Hundred dance party took place on December 17th at the Beauty Bar. Below is a slideshow of photos I took at the event (you can see the full set here):
Don’t miss the next The Hundred dance party on 1.28.11, which will feature Kris Barman of InnerPartySystem and other guests!
Now that the holidays are over and there was plenty of time to recuperate from the lazy, yet socially-active and food coma-laden season, it is time to hit the ground running! There are many exciting things in store for VELFILM Productions this year, and I can’t wait to work on all of the amazing projects that are coming up.
Here is the last business web video I shot and edited in 2011 – Done Plumbing for KDVR/Fox31 via DataSphere:
Do you need an affordable custom video created for your small business, non-profit or community organization? Contact me!
For this first post of 2012, I think it’s appropriate to introduce the new VELFILM Productions showcase reel, compiled from some of the videos that I shot and edited over the course of last year. The reel runs a little long at almost 5 minutes, and is still by no means a complete representation of all the amazing projects I had the opportunity to work on. In fact, I just did a rough count and was amazed to discover that I worked on a total of about 90 video projects in 2011, several of which haven’t even been released yet!
Some of them were ultra low-budget one or two-hour shoots (such as many of the local business videos and some nightlife events); others were larger projects that took days or even weeks to complete (weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, film festival and performing arts events coverage). I even worked on several shoots for free, or on a volunteer basis. A lot of stuff didn’t make it into this video simply due to running time constraints, as it was already getting too long (such as the videos I shot for Montessori schools, fitness centers, NRW Wrestling events, weddings and a lot of other local business/corporate stuff).
It was difficult to go through hours of video footage and pick out individual clips or shots that would provide a decent representation of the kind of work I can do. I’m still not sure I succeeded entirely, so this reel will probably get updated, trimmed and tweaked a bit in the near future. Meanwhile, here is a brief video summary of 2011 at VELFILM Productions!
All in all, it’s been a pretty incredible year. Not only was it my first year of working entirely for myself and doing what I love, but it has also been a tremendous learning experience. I feel like I’m still taking baby steps towards having a profitable video production business, and I’m still learning as I go along – but I’m getting better at it. It’s not easy being a one-man band! My hopes for 2012 are that I will be able to grow and expand my skills in addition to expanding my network circle and collaborating on more projects with other creative folks in Denver. Here’s to a healthy, productive, exciting and educational new year!
Below is a promotional video I shot and edited last month for McGehee Davis and Associates, an accounting firm in Wheat Ridge, CO:
Do you need an affordable custom video created for your small business, non-profit or community organization? Contact me!
Here’s a promo I recently shot and edited for a local family-owned moving and storage company, All My Sons Moving and Storage. I thought it was adorable that they have toy trucks with their company name and logos on them!
Do you need an affordable custom video created for your small business, non-profit or community organization? Contact me!
In June, I was contacted by PETA to shoot a short video for their “Ink, Not Mink” PSA campaign, featuring a photo shoot with Chris ‘Birdman’ Andersen of the Denver Nuggets. Excited for an opportunity to work on that project, I jumped on it without hesitation.
The photo shoot took place in a spacious aircraft hangar at the Centennial Airport in Denver, with most of the crew flown in from Los Angeles. It was a pretty spectacular location, even though you only get a small glimpse of it in the finished video.
My job was to get b-roll and behind-the-scenes footage of the photo shoot and then film a sit-down interview with the Birdman himself. It was a great experience to observe an amazing photographer at work (Robert Sebree) and also to meet Chris Andersen, even though I’m not a huge basketball fan myself (shh, don’t tell anyone – I don’t even like sports). However, it was especially rewarding to play a part in supporting such a good cause and I’m thankful for the opportunity. The ads and the video were finally released last week I think they turned out pretty great!
WARNING: Some of the footage in the video below (the parts not shot by me) features unforgivable animal cruelty and is quite disturbing, so viewer discretion is advised.
My name is Vadim Elkind and I am a freelance filmmaker and photographer living in Denver. This blog contains the latest news and information about my media projects, photography, travel stories and other creative pursuits.
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