Sam Sparro just released a new video for his song "I Wish I Never Met You" and I have to say its one of the most beautifully shot videos I have seen in a while. The director and crew did a great job with the overall look and feel. Sam has one of the best voices in the industry. .

This past Monday I had the pleasure of shooting Rammstein at Philips Arena here in Atlanta. We were not allowed to shoot the first 2 songs due to heavy pyro on stage so we shot songs 3,4 and 5. The show had the best stage production I have seen in a while. Seems like everything shot sparks, fire, or lit up somehow. Ended up shooting for The Silver Tongue music news and these are the photos linked from their site.

I've been meaning to talk about my favorite movies for some time now. There is nothing more common than someone carrying on a conversation about movies with me like I have an interest in them. Movies and team sports might be some of my least favorite things currently in life. Growing up I use to play all sorts of sports, baseball, basketball, soccer, cross country, track, etc. Also, I loved movies and watched a good bit of them in my teenage years. The only way to explain why I don't have an interest in them anymore is because I can't seem to get lost in them. Its the same reason I don't really read books. I love documentaries, magazines, articles, TV specials, anything that is factual. Hollywood movies and other TV shows are just too over the top for me to even sit through. Not sure if working in the entertainment ruined it for me but I am sure it doesn't help. Below are 3 of my favorites in no particular order.

Public Enemies.
Typically movies "based on a true story" stretch the truth a bit in order to add some sort entertainment to the overall story. Public enemies is pretty close to factual from the use of the exact bank that were robbed, to the way Dillenger escaped from jail, as well as his personal life. Great acting, great lines, no over the top Hollywood action scenes.


No Country For Old Men
Most of the movies I see these days are just slam packed with dialogue and action. Its almost like directors are trying to cram a 4 hour movie into 2. This movie does really well with giving you moments when there are no words but a story still unravels. It was a relief to see such a great story be adapted into a film without losing much of the original content. I read a comment in this youtube video from a person saying how they forgot there was a soundtrack because the movie is so intense at points. This scene is classic.


Exit Through The Gift Shop
So less of a movie and more of a documentary but still a must watch if you have anything to do with the arts. Street art seems to be the big thing right now in the art world and this movie does a great job documenting some of the greats like Shepard Fairey, Space Invader and the notorious Banksy. Does art have rules? Is it about the hype? Below is the introduction to possibly one of the smartest artists living today.

A while back I came across this commercial for Dermablend and thought it was really neat. Usually I am not a fan of tattoos but respect it when its done in an artsy, unique way. The guy covered head to toe in a zombie skeleton tattoo is Rick Genest. I have seen a lot of photos of him on forums but for some reason never looked more into him. Seems to have done a good bit of runway fashion in Paris. Really neat to see that genre sort of branching out from the generic model look. I need to buy some Dermablend in case I need to cover up all the lame tattoos I see.

Video starts out slow so you can skip to 1:20 and not really miss much.

Ive been a fan of Sam Sparro for some time now since meeting him in London 4 years ago. I remember sitting in my hotel room on tour watching music videos (they are way better in London compared) and the song Black and Gold came on. Looked up the artist and found out he was playing the O2 Festival on July 4th...5th? Really talented singer / songwriter who has had his music covered by Adele and Katy Perry to name a few. Finally coming out with his 2nd album and doing a tour which includes Atlanta, oh yes!

Been trying to learn how to paint the past couple of months and its been a slow process. Its hard to find the time to sit down and learn what works and what doesnt. I stumbled across this artist the other week and have been blown away by the portraits she paints with watercolor. Its very close to the style I want to learn. Seems like simple paintings but the technique is perfect.

Agnes Cecile

The Almost Kings video was released a few days ago. It contains footage over the course of 3 years at 6 different shows from Kennesaw, GA to Wilmington, NC. When I first started collecting footage, it was more for an EPK that I thought we would be working on. Then earlier in 2011, I figured that I had enough footage of this song to piece it together. Their home show a week ago allowed me to film a few final scenes to get it out into the publics eye. In the editing program, its really neat to watch all the footage. You can see the crowd grow bigger and bigger at each show.