That's a Wrap

Finally after weeks of snow and freezing cold, the weather is wonderful again. Finally I can finish shooting my short film. I only have one scene left, but have been waiting for good weather. We are finishing shooting tomorrow. Finally in the can! I hope to move it into post in late May.
In the meantime I've got several adoption movies in the works.

Workshop for Adoptive Families in Denver Area

Do you have video and photos from your adoption trip? Are you using these items to share your adoption journey with friends and family? Or to help your child understand her story?

If you do have video and photos from your trip, or hope to eventually, I invite you to join me for this free workshop I am hosting.

WHEN: Saturday, April 11th 10-11am
WHERE: Chinese Children Adoption International
upstairs conference room
6920 South Holly Circle
Centennial, CO

We'll be discussing what it takes to turn that pile of videotapes and photos into a magical DVD that you'll be proud to share with others. Whether you hope to make your own, hire the experts, or just want more info, you'll come away with a better understanding of the process involved in making this amazing DVD that is waiting to be crafted together for your family. See you there!

What Inspires Me

I love hearing what inspires other artists. As for me, I spend A LOT of time looking at other people's work. The form doesn't matter; film, photography, print, web, or music. I feel I have something to learn from all these wonderful art forms. Of course, I see a lot of stuff the does not inspire me. But that's ok. We all come from a different place in expressing our art.

Now there are a few that stand head and shoulders about the rest. A few that move me to tears...and here they are. I guess I could call these "The Torrie Awards". Here is what moves me:

Motion Graphics: I get a lot of inspiration from the mo-graph world. These guys are on the cutting edge of technology and can make anything look surreal and beautiful. But absolutely my favorite piece of mo-graph continues to be the opening titles from HBO's dumped series "Carnivale" created by A52. I feel like a puddle of mush inside every time I see this piece and think, "Now THIS is the level of excellence I want to attain somday."


Film-making: There is a guy named Mark Allen and I love love love his stuff. He makes Michael Parks' paintings come to life. His imagery it totally bizarre and haunting but oh so rich and luscious! I love his use of costume, makeup, color, light, composition... everything. He also composed the music on this piece. He is just one step beyond in my book. (click pic to see film)

I have favorites in other categories but will save that for another post. These two pieces are my above-all favorite inspirations. They remind how far I still have to go in my own artistic journey.

Dusting off the Camera

I recently dusted off my camera and started shooting again. This is a big announcement from me. Except for a few corporate clients, I haven't shot anything in 5 years. The reason? Well, it seems I developed some negative associations to my camera. I didn't even realize this. But every time the idea of shooting came up I would cringe and feel conflicted inside.

Recently I had this great idea for a short film. That's when I realized my camera aversion needed to be dealt with. It was pretty easy to trace my disdain for shooting back to my beginnings in the world of wedding videography. I spent 5 years of my life running around sweating like a pig with 30 pounds of gear on my 100 pound frame. The microphones and the headphones never worked correctly and the company I worked for wouldn't replace them. I always felt cardiac arrest coming on when hoping to Goodness the gear would work each time. Also there were the micro-managing bosses to deal with. Also, all this time I was busting my behind while being totally discredited by the "Real Production People". For some reason "they" do not see event videography as high-quality production. (sounds like another blog post coming on.)

So all these things conspired to make me hate my camera. I can't believe I've harbored this anamosity for 5 years. Hesitantly, this week I began shooting my upcoming short. It took some time to get re-acquainted with my camera, but I think that slowly I am learning to like her. It helps when I can shoot on my own terms... and use equipment that works :)

It's a Small World

My husband and I are experimenting with a photo technique called "Tilt Shift". This effect turns a regular scenic shot into a miniature model look. Here is our first attempt with this technique. I think it would look better without the big shadow, but I still think the result is pretty cool. I can also use this for my adoptive families' videos. Many of them take a scenic shot of the Chinese city from their hotel room window. The tilt-shift would work great on those shots. The key really is that you have to be "looking down" on the scene.

ORIGINAL SHOT:

TILT SHIFT:

It's kinda hard to see here. But you can check out some awesome tilt-shifting here. And also the opening titles for the new show Doll House uses tilt shift with video.

New Movie Posted

My my it's been a long time, my friends. I have been working diligently on making new movies. I just have been terrible about posting here. So to get the ball moving again I have posted parts of a movie I finished recently. This one is actually our adoption movie for our second daughter. You can see it here on our personal blog. Enjoy!

New Ways to Share Your Story

I am delighted to now offer you photo book service! This is an awesome way to make something unique and useful with all those photos you have building up on your hard drive. Come on, admit it. They are just sitting there taking up precious space. Don't worry, I'm guilty of it too :)

A customized photo book makes a special Christmas gift too. Here are a few ideas that make incredible books: Baby Stories, Anniversary, Through the Years, Photos from your Hobbies, Vacations, Memories of a Loved One, Adoption Lifebooks, just to name a few.

If you have seen the books from Shutterfly or a similar site, the books are similar EXCEPT all you have to do is send us the photos. WE DO THE REST! I look forward to working with each individual to create a book that is special to you and allow you to love looking at your photographs and sharing them with others! click on my profile to email me for more info about this service.