Photo Printed in The NY Times

It has always been an honor to be affiliated with the amazingly talented Debate Society, A Brooklyn based theatre company comprised of three very close friends of mine, including my best friend. Their theatre is unmatched, always unique, and always a must see. So I am very happy that they have received a slew of positive reviews for their new play, Buddy Cop 2. Most recently, this rave review from the New York Times. And I'm very lucky to have my photo beside them. It wouldn't be the wonderful photo it is, without their months and months of hard work and creativity that they always put into their pieces.

Please check it out if you have the chance!!

City Beautiful Carpentry Video

I hope you will enjoy my latest work. I produced this video for a local woodshop, citybeautifulcarpentry.com. Shot and edited myself and I'm pretty darn happy with it.

City Beautiful Carpentry from Ian Savage on Vimeo.

Best Camera

I wanted to share with you my newest obsession, the I-phone App Best Camera and it's accompanying online community.

I have long used several I-phone applications to edit my I-phone photos, as well as upload them to twitter and facebook and flickr and such. But recently I glanced over the article headlines on apple.com and came across an article about the Best Camera app, designed by photographer Chase Jarvis. And I can honestly say, it is totally awesome. I have done little else with my free time but spend it with this application. I even went back into my archives, from Day ONE of my I-Phone days, picked all my favorites, loaded them into the phone and then edited them, and uploaded them to the best camera community and at the same time, a new flickr set. And it was all SO EASY.

Thank you Chase Jarvis, for an amazing application. If I could make three requests, it would be simply to allow you to personalize your home page's address, to be able to search for a photographer by name on the Photographer's page, and finally, and what I would like to see the most, is a simple NEXT and PREVIOUS button, when scrolling through your (and other's) images.

Here's the Flickr set of all my faves:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

If you have any interest in I-Phone Photography, definitely take a look at this application (only $3) and the community. Chase also has a book out, "The Best Camera is the one that's with you." Which is really nicely done, a great coffee table book and source of inspiration.

Star Trek: A New Frontier

Firstly, and very important, if you read this blog entry and you haven't yet seen the new Start Trek already, you should stop what your doing, walk out your door. head to the closest movie theatre and go see it. Then you can come back and enjoy this post. But if you read ahead, it will drastically ruin the movie for you.

Now that that's out of the way. Star Trek is the BEST. MOVIE. EVER.



And I'm not saying this lightly. And no, I don't think you need to "be a Trekkie" to enjoy this film. Within the first few moments of the film, I'm going to say somewhere around the 10 min mark, I was crying my eyes out. This moment, this gut wrenching moment, this truly heartfelt and emotional scene was so strong. When you start out a film like this, what it does is it zeros you out. It's like having a blank canvas put in front of you and you know what the range of the piece is going to be. It prepares you for the rest of the two hours, which felt like they flew by. Not once did I feel like time was moving. I have never in a film, felt more emotionally invested so soon in. This moment, the birth of James T. Kirk, was just powerful, touching, and sincere. And I do want to say, these tears were the best kind you could ask for. The entire scene, they were welling up in my eyes. And in the final moment, when George Kirk jokes about not using his father's name (Tiberius) but his wife's Father's name (James), this was such a real conversation that echoes true life. Immediately you realize this is not a Science Fiction film. This is just GOOD MOVIE. And he was born, and his Father dies and then the flood gates opened up and the tears were streaming down my face....and it felt SO GOOD. Embarrased, I didn't want my friend to see that already, 10 mins in, I was a mess. But out of the corner of my eye, i saw the shine of his own wet face, and he saw mine, and gosh darn it, if we weren't in a movies theatre we probably would have hugged and cried some more. But then we laughed, and then we were on to the next scene, which was action, and from that moment we were glued. Just GLUED to the screen.



If I ever need to cry, I will pull that moment up in my mind and replay it, and I know without a doubt it will work. Now I could go on and on about the rest of the film. How it is a beautiful tribute to the series in so many ways. I could talk about the amazing casting and the top notch writing. I could give you a play by play account of all the great action scenes, and I could reveal storylines that again, which just ruin the film for you. But I won't. I gave you the first ten minutes of my experience in that dark theatre. And for now, I think that's enough. I am definitely going to see it again. maybe even tonight.



But what I DO want to say, and this is a bold statement, but; I feel so lucky to have seen Star Trek in the theatres. To have witnessed the dawn of a new era. What J. J. Abrams has done, is re-invigorated the series. Re-invented it. Refreshed it. He has breathed new life into such a well known and timeless series. And the result, this new world he has created, now lies before us. I think it's akin to probably what people felt like walking out of the first Star Wars in 1977. "Please don't stop making these," they must have said. It could keep going and going and going. I felt like this was MY Star Wars. And I will hold all movies after this up to Star Trek as a comparison. It has set the bar, a new standard from which I will define all films on from here on out.

It is that good.

So Thank you J.J. Abrams, for a beautiful film. Thank you so much.
And if one of your personal assistants happens to leave (I've assisted the Coen Brothers), I would be honored to work with you.

A cleaner Greenway

BGI 106, originally uploaded by Ian Savage.

This past Saturday, Oliver and I joined a few volunteers and walked along the Colombia Street section of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway to get 'er clean. We found some truly bizarre trash, which you can see at the photo set above.

I was excited that we got to use official DOT Arterial Maintenance "grabbers" and when I joked about getting a neon DOT safety vest......I GOT ONE.

If you aren't familiar with the The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway I highly recommend you visit their website. It's pretty impressive, to be planning a 14 mile stretch of public space on the Brooklyn Waterfront, from Greenpoint all the way to Bay Ridge. For nearly 100 years, there has only been four public access points to the water's edge. This MAP shows the proposed route.

I implore everyone to help out any way they can, join the Initiative!

Building a Chicken Coop

Building a Chicken Coop 129, originally uploaded by Ian Savage.

This weekend Sheila and I headed up to our friend's home in the Hamdens ( Hamden,CT ) to help them build a chicken coop. It took us two full days, but I think we did a bang up job. Especially considering we were pretty much making it up as we went.

We are very jealous of their little Hamden Homestead. They have a fabulous garden, utilizing the WORD method: Wide rows, Organic methods, Raised beds, Deep soil. And they grow seedlings under lights in the basement. Click on the photo to see all the amazing garden and building action!

Not Christian Bale's Day

If you haven't heard the audio clip of Christian Bale freaking out then take a minute and go have a listen.....then listen to the re-mix, which is pretty funny, both can be downloaded from the same page.

I'll wait a min......Okay.....you've heard it?

So I heard about it this morning on the Today show, and they were all pretty unforgiving. My wife is also very unforgiving. But I'm gonna say something crazy here. I think I understand where he's coming from, much like how Whoopi Goldberg sides with him on The View today:



So I'll start by saying this. Yes, i think Christian Bale was pretty hard on poor Shane Hurlburt the Director of Photography of Terminator: Salvation (and by an odd coincidence Semi-Pro, which I JUST watched last night.) YES, I think Christian Bale has anger management issues and I'd like to think he seeks therapy for that. But who knows. YES, he has a past history with this type of verbal abuse.

But I think people are being too hard on him here. From the audio clip, it sounds like this wasn't the first time Shane was stumbling onto the set during a take. I mean, can't you imagine, as an actor putting yourself into character and then being distracted by some dude walking onto the set in the middle of the scene...and TWICE no less. I think Christian Bale is an amazing actor. Empire of the Sun makes me cry. The Machinist is haunting and his dedication to the role was insane. His role in American Psycho was certainly unique and I'd say brilliant. And for me, he's been the best batman so far.....although I do think his "batman voice" is a bit much.

And what was Shane Hulbert thinking? I mean WHAT was he thinking....He was "looking at the light?" Not much you can do about the light if you are rolling. Why not look at it after "cut." There's a time and place for everything and while the camera is rolling is a time to sit behind a monitor and be quiet. This is the nature of "Quiet on the SET!" which of course includes walking onto set as a no no.

So I just think, or I'd like to, that this had happened before in the day, and maybe this particular scene required more focus and maybe he was tired, who knows when it was in the day and he just snapped. I'm not condoning it. I'm not saying I would have handled it that way. And again, he has some obvious anger management issues, so maybe he should take up meditation or therapy to help him out.

But what I AM saying is, I understand Christian Bale.....I understand and I'm with you on this one, me and Whoopi. And Shane Hulburt? I bet you a million dollars will never wander onto another scene in his LIFE! I mean, would you, after a verbal lashing like that?

Awww YEAH!

That's me, with my fund-raisin 'stache!

Me and my 'stache only have TWO WEEKS left until the big 'STACHE BASH. Check here for the details of the last two major Mustache for Kid Events, where you have the opportunity to see me and my 'stache in person. This Thursday I will be attending the 3rd and Final Checkpoint at 8pm at the Bushwick Country Club in Williamsburg.

Stop and by, and let me and my 'stache buy you a drink!

There is still plenty of time to
DONATE........REMEMBER........IT'S FOR THE KIDS!

Shaving Day

Well hello, hello!

Last Thursday was the official Kick-off of the mustachaganza that is Mustaches 4 Kids!

A grand time was had by all and below is the flickr slideshow to prove it. Right now I'm currently still the leader in Donations, but I got some competition and they're gaining fast. Only the TOP FUNDRAISERS will be eligible to compete in the final STACHE BASH on December 13th in Dumbo.

Please help my and my 'stache make it into the competition and don't forget......IT'S FOR THE KIDS!

Mustache 4 Kids!

Hello my friends!

I am Growing a Mustache 4 Kids!

Starting this upcoming Thursday, the 13th of November, I will grow a mustache until at least December 20th to raise money for public school programs that are under-funded, or not funded at all. I have chosen some cool programs for kids in Brooklyn schools close to my house.

Throughout this process I will keep you all posted as to my progress through photos and video, right here!

Thanks in advance for helping my 'stache raise money......FOR THE KIDS!

Click HERE to go to my Giving Page, where you can view the projects and donate to the cause!

Kodak "aint what it used to be" and the Pope hates mail

So a few weekends ago I was shooting this wedding, and I brought my big-boy film camera, an old Pentax 67. I shot three rolls of 120 film. Now, usually, I go to a hip Soho place to get the negs processed with contact sheets. They turn it around in like two days. Top-notch quality work. But I LIVE right above a Camera store. So I was in no rush to get the film back, so I opted for a more convenient location for pick-up by going through them. They sent the film to KODAK to process and do the contacts.

What a nightmare.

First, Kodak received the film, processed the negatives and sent it back....sans contact sheets. At that point, if the store had contacted me, I would have said forget it and picked up the film. But they sent it back. The nightmare continued. What was estimated to take 10 business days, ended up taking 19. And after they sent my stuff back piece-meal, it was still ALL WRONG.

They printed the 6x7 film on a contact sheet, where the images were SMALLER than a 35mm contact sheet. They also had the extreme un-professionalism to just throw my negatives in an envelope, unprotected. WHAT GIVES! This is KODAK! What other name should we be able to trust on NAME ALONE than KODAK? So I paid for the processing, and refused to pay for the botched contact sheets. I voiced my concern at Kodak's handling of the negatives and their reply was, "Kodak aint what they used to be." Then the manager said right there and then, "That's it, we don't process 120 film through Kodak ANYMORE!"

So, I'm going to buy a flatbed scanner today and do my own damn contact sheets.

And just a quick lil story. The Pope is in town this week. I went to mail some stuff at a street mailbox and it was sealed shut. Sometimes these things stick or have mail crammed in there, so I struggled with it a bit. Then some guy comes up behind me and says, "The Pope is coming! No mail here."

I hadn't thought of that. It totally makes sense. Nobody wants any bombs thrown in the mailboxes! I wonder how they lock them shut? Probably from the inside, like jamming a chair underneath a door handle type deal?

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Parrots in HD RULE!

I'm a big fan of nature and travel shows. One of the things I'd most like to do (besides direct feature films, television, or be a travel photographer) would be a cameraman for one of these shows. I'm looking forward to Planet Earth and Blue Planet on my Netflix Queue.

So last night, flipping through channels after watching the season premiere of Lost, I came across an HD documentary on PBS called:



Parrots in the Land of Oz was a pleasant surprise. I usually go for the "here's a region, learn all about it" nature shows as opposed to the "parrots, and more parrots" kind, but I learned a lot of interesting things about Parrots and the region of Australia.

There is a species of tree that requires fire to reproduce, a lightning strike will cause the fire and only after the tree burns, do the seeds open and release. Interesting I say.

Also, there is a species of parrot called the Golden SHouldered Parrot that nests inside Termite mounds, and when they hatch, it coincides with the hatching of a particular species of Moth Larvae, that feeds on the PARROT POOP! How symbiotic of you nature!

Another interesting thing, there's a species of Parrot called the Budgie, and when they fly in their flock, their wings shimmer and camaflouge them from predators. They fly like that for safety in numbers, as birds of prey will focus on the weakest link. you can see the phenomenan in this preview:


But what was REALLY interesting is that schools of fish, most notably the Sardine, do this same thing for the same reason:



Isn't it freakin AMAZING that in the natural order of things, on this extremely diverse hunk of rock in space that there are different species, as different as can be really, one in the air, one in the sea, that are utilizing the same techniques for survival?

I think it is pretty darn interesting. And a weird coincidence that THIS happened to be the National Geographic Photo of the day yesterday. My cat also enjoyed the quality content and format of the show, as she paced, crouched, an was generally frustrated for two hours straight as she watched the program with us... never once taking her eyes off the TV. Note to cat owners: this phenomena is heightened if you raised your cat SPECIFICALLY to be a non-watching TV cat (she normally could care less about TV when it's on).

I'm taking the Weekend off from blogging, I have developed "blogger wrist" this week from all my computer work and need a break :)

Flickr Widget Test

The Power of Post

I've been searching for a new Blog Host like Moveable Type and Word Press. Not that I don't love the Blogpsot, but I'm looking for a new look for a new site. I found bestblog.wordpress.com really helpful in perusing all the different styles of blogs on Word Press. I came across this blog and that's where I got todays video.

This video is really great. They did some amazing stuff.

A continuing discussion on the 30 second spot

Well, sometimes longer than 30 second, but that seems to be the average. They always cut together like a 30-sec, 45-sec and full min of the same spot. I am just fascinated with commercials these days. There are quite a few smart campaigns out there right now. Kia is doing a great job with some very original spots, this is poor quality, but it's one of the most recent ones and I think it's great:



I can't tell you how many times, not owning a car of my own, having borrowed a car or rented a car I myself have pulled up to the gas station and been like, "wait, WHICH side is it on." I'm sure I'm not the only one, so I think it has wide appeal. These two are also quite good:

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I like the 30 sceond spot above, better than the full minute spot.



Very well shot and directed. It taps into that situation where I think anyone who has driven a car can identify with, trying to find a spot at the mall or grocery store. Have you ever slowly "stalked" people as they are leaving? That's how you get the good spots. Of course I'm sure you've all seen the MOST DOWNLOADED car commercial in history, that took 3 months, 606 takes and six million dollars to produce:



Here's the Making of that spot

Another good campaign going on is Burger Kings Whopperfreakout.com campaign, filmed using Hidden camera's and REAL customers. Just hilarious the reactions. Can't seem to imbed the one I like the most, only this documnetary, but the spot titled MONTAGE under Day 2 is my fave:



Here is a commercial that I also enjoy, on a softer, more emotional, "isn't that cute level". Use of music of course is key here, not to mention good casting on the little tyke:



And I've always enjoyed the cinema Verite feel of these Kleenex spots. The editing is superb:



They have UK versions as well, but I prefer the little bald guy better...something about his image that I like, non-intimidating I suppose. They also have user uploaded videos on their site, which is interesting, some (a kid with snot running out of his nose) I can see the relevance. But "cute baby splashing in a tub" doesn't say Kleenex to me at all, no matter how cute. Their campaign reminds me of that Free Hugs Campaign a while back, which was also well-done:



1,206,869 views on You Tube and over 1,800 comments. Impressive. Quite a few copies in other locations as well, all over the world. truly a movement, and the guy was on Opera.