DANIEL D. MOSES [photographer & filmmaker] THE BLOG

[Inspiration] If it ain't got that swing

2012-01-24T13:44:00.000Z

It's great to draw parallels from people from other creative disciplines, especially such as Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who is always a joy to watch. He tells us here how he started out learning to play drums and his approach, which I can draw inspiration from as it's how I learnt my craft as well. By watching and emulating people better then me, you eventually forge your own path. I used to sit watching TV and Films a lot, copying and reworking, that's how I learnt how to shoot, edit and structure productions. Honestly, this is the best way to learn anything especially for creative skills and this is how I teach people to go about any kind of visual making. Also features a lush jazz version of "Miss You" from Stones backing singer Bernard Fowler. Happy Ruby Tuesday!

Hands Free DSLR shooting

2012-01-20T13:43:00.000Z

New weird camera contraption alert! Just got a new steadycam/rig in my quest to find a decent rig to support my DSLR shooting. The Cowboy Studio Shoulder Support Pad. Enables some hands free shooting, which I have demonstrated here by awkwardly holding a cup of tea in one hand whilst taking a photo in the mirror in the other. Will be testing this out soon in a writeup.

[Inspiration] Very Early Kodak Moments

2012-01-20T11:29:00.000Z

With digital placing a heavy toll on film, we learn that Kodak film has filed for bankruptcy protection. Here is some of the very earliest colour film test footage here from 1922

Tel Aviv Street photos published in PoV Magazine

2012-01-16T09:54:00.002Z

My photo essay on Tel Aviv has been published and featured here in the first issue of PoV Magazine! Read it online and download it from here at www.povmagazine.co.uk It features some excellent photography, poetry, stories and art from various contributors around the world, around this issue's theme "Streets"

New Business Cards (with rounded edges)

2012-01-16T09:25:00.000Z

The usual plonkering around with a new design for my business card has yielded this, ever so slightly different from the old one, design. Sticking with the white background (which leaves ample space for people to write what a prat I am after meeting me) and sports rounded edges.You may now "oooooooooohhhhh" collectively. Thanks to the good people over at Moo for making these.

Cornershop at LSFF screening

2012-01-13T11:29:00.000Z

That's us on the screen!

Last night went down to the Roxy bar in Borough to see the Cornershop Music Video I DP'd on last year "Supercomputed" being screened and got an exclusive look at their new video. It played as part of the London Short Film Festival, night of 2 and a half hours of music videos! Quite an inspiring night of short form artistry exploring the vast creative possibilities that music videos can bring from simple concepts to fully blown short films. Am really hoping to produce more music videos this year, with a few in the Feburary pipeline, it's great to see that short form is alive and well!

A few honourable mentions here for some videos that I particularly liked a lot.

"Severed Dreams" - Ruarri Joseph / Dir. Ian Bucknole - Funny and emotive story about a boy who carries his robot friend into adulthood

"Golden Tree" - Martin Brooks / Dir. Ninian Doff - Really funny professional display of no handed bike moves

"Staring Out The Window" - Fulton Lights / Dir. Ninian Doff - Another one by the same director, involves a band of pigeons playing music in the park!

Jargon VA ft. Tinie Tempah / Dir. Ian Pons Jewell - Policeman goes on a rampage after taking some questionable substances. Very funny saucepan eyes

Young Souls / Dir. Dean Chalkley - The trailer is below as I can't embed the full video, but you can watch it here. Beautifully shot by photographer Dean Chalkley, and the music has inspired my Northern Soul Spotify playlist. Worth a watch

'The Syndicate' launched!

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000Z

Bit of a plug for Systir Productions new dark web series "The Syndicate" which I designed the poster for last year and took some stills (I'm also flexing my acting chops getting strangled somewhere in Episode 2!). We had an excellent cast and crew screening last week in the Old Queen's Head, the whole series looks incredible. Check out the first episode here and if you like what you see and want to see more, then check out Episode 2. There's 6 parts, so to keep up with when they're all released, follow the Systirs on Facebook and Twitter.

UK films urged to be more 'mainstream'?! Frankly insulting to filmmakers

2012-01-12T14:09:00.000Z

David Cameron set out a new direction in a vague hope of reviving our flagging UK film industry yesterday by urging the industry to “...support "commercially successful pictures". It’s that simple apparently. Buy into something which is going to be a huge hit. I literally don’t know why anyone hasn’t thought of it before and why it hasn’t been tried.

How do you identify the commercial success of anything before it's been made?! If we knew that, there would be no problems with this industry as pointed out by Ken Loach. For the PM to urge people to make more “mainstream films” is frankly an insult to filmmakers and generally all in creative communities. How do you classify what is going to be mainstream? Leaving aside the fact that most mainstream stuff today is total shite, it's subjective and market driven. Are we expected to produce rubbish based on what the current trends demand? Of reality shows, watered down nonsense and over- budgeted brainless guff. Well, yes apparently. Im not against commercial films, nor are they beneath me, I love blockbuster films and would love to see British Film industry get back on it's feet and be as good as any Hollywood output.

I’m not going to pretend that the arts industries are any more important than health, manufacturing, education, welfare or defence and rightly so. I am simply standing up for the industry which I care about, work in and want to continue to work in for many many years without seeing it disintegrate. It's easy to get a bit arty farty about it, but I accept that it is an industry and for an industry to thrive it has to make money, but this is a artistic creative industry first, that has to be able to express itself as is the nature, if it's sole purpose is to make money it might as well be the banking industry. At last count, the creative sector contributes 7% of the UK's GDP, raising £4.5 billion and is responsible for employing 6% of the workforce in an already oversubscribed industry which will see this number rise. As a comparison, Finance is 11% and Agriculture is about 0.9%. [as a very rough estimate].

In his speech on Tuesday about something or other, Ed Miliband responded to a question on funding for the arts with the breathtaking revelation that “yes... we need to find new ways of funding the arts industry”. Brilliant. Glad we cleared that up. This industry has never been funded properly and in this austerity generation, it looks doubtful that it will be for a while to come. I'm glad that the chorus of the creative community all responded at the start of last year with a collective cry of "screw it, we've got work to do and we're going to get on with it", getting projects off the ground using crowd funding sites like Indie GoGo.

I love films, and the process of filmmaking, I believe it’s the only complete art form (hold your rock throwing!) My longstanding view that films should have the ability to entertain and educate, ideally at the same time without you realising. It should be able to inspire people’s thoughts, ideas and aspirations and should have the freedom to allow for more intelligent and original storytelling. It's a reflection of our world as it is now, capturing and documenting the times we live in in whatever format the story is being told in. We cannot stifle voices even in the smallest of ways, by urging people to make more mainstream films in order to gain funding. We have to develop and nurture this country's talents across the board, allow a diversity of voices for better narratives to shine through, get a brighter cross section of better storytelling to bridge cultural divides, challenge people, and maybe, just maybe inspire some peace in this Jubilee and Olympic year!

PoV unveil new cover

2012-01-06T11:56:00.001Z

Hello to my friends over at PoV Magazine as they unveil the cover of their first issue. PoV is a Magazine based on a new theme every issue, this one is 'Streets'. "A place for writers, poets, artists, illustrators + photographers to show their stuff and keep their juices creative"

It's out on January 16th and features my photo essay about the streets of Tel Aviv. Check them out and see what else they have in store!

Captain SKA- What's The Point of Nick Clegg?

2012-01-05T11:56:00.000Z

A new bit of Captain SKA musical tunery fresh off the presses for your enjoyment and perusement, simply asking one question........

[Inspiration] Jeff Harris: 4,748 Self-Portraits and Counting

2012-01-04T10:54:00.003Z

I'm a big fan of self portraiture, so glad to stumble across this on TIME Lightbox, a really inspiring photography project from photographer Jeff Harris who has been taking a self portrait of himself every day since 1999. It's an epic journey that has seen him document his life as he battles with cancer with portraits that range from simple sofa shots, to celebrity photographers to him on the operating table. Worth a looksee.

http://lightbox.time.com/2012/01/03/jeff-harris-self-portraits/

Happy Nu Olympic year!

2012-01-01T12:28:00.000Z

Greetings all, and welcome to the largely symbolic first blog post of the new year that really carries no substance of anything at all, other than to announce that it is the new year and this is the first blog post of it, and it is largely symbolic.

In the dawning hours, European leaders are warning of a "...grim 2012..." which is nice, but never mind, it's 2012, a Jubilee year, an Olympic year, a.. wait isn't the world meant to end?! Ahh well, enjoy every moment of it, I'm sure there's something to look forward to... isn't there?

Here's a picture of London blowing it's GDP on fireworks at midnight

Oh, 1 final thing.....

2011-12-31T16:44:00.003Z

Oooops, I only mentioned 10 things I achieved this year, here's the 11th ;)
THIS YEAR... I wrote 100 blog posts on this blog!
See you on the other side
x

11 things I've achieved this year & my year in photos!

2011-12-31T14:00:00.000Z

And thus endeth the year of 2011 and what a year it has been; the world has fast forwarded it's self combustion, bad news for Western economies and for all dictators around the world, but what has heartened me is the spirit of the creative community who I am pleased to say entered the year with the collective feeling of "fuck it, let's get on with it, nothing's gonna stop us". I started the year with goals to revitalise my creative work, make exciting new collaborations across different areas, finally get some original work out and to basically do some good for the world in some small way. On this final day of the year, I am pleased to say that I have achieved mostly all of the above!

THIS YEAR... I have developed a recognisable photography style that I can call my own.
THIS YEAR... I had no need for my HDV camera, as all my filming was on my amazing DSLR.
THIS YEAR... I have made over 20 new exciting collaborations across Film, Music, Performance, Charity and Corporate and strengthened old collaborations.
THIS YEAR... I have worked in some way with loads of great musicians including Captain SKA, Punkture Sluts, Maroon Town, Cornershop, Paradigm Shift, Tolis Zavaliaris, BlindMinded, Yiddish Twist Orchestra, Shtetl Superstars, Beatitude.
THIS YEAR... I have worked with LOTS of very funny people including Clarkson & Crouch, Rule of 3, The Jelly Moustache, and my very own Movement For Gloom; confirming for me that my life's mission is to bring laughter into the world.
THIS YEAR... I did my first ever International shoot as Director in Germany for DHL on behalf of an advertising agency.
THIS YEAR... I finally found a use for my ridiculous facial hair and raised over £1300 (as a team) for Movember in an attempt to combat Testicular and Prostate and Cancer.

THIS YEAR... I have been involved in an unfeasible amount of weddings as an usher, filmaker, photographer, bystander and er... a guest.

THIS YEAR... I confirmed (mainly to myself) that now, more then ever we need more satire in the world and thus brought my Movement For Gloom to prominence, with a view to teach people that politics is so entertaining (and also begin my unofficial march for world domination).

THIS YEAR... I had my short film "Suspect Number 4" described as a 'Symphony of Chance' screened at a celebration of the work of choreographer Merce Cunningham.

Headshots, Short Films, Funny people, Zombies in the 50's, Bankers, Hobo Bands, Weddings, Murderous dancers and a heap load of Gloom. From January to December, this is my 2011 in photos!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danieldmoses/sets/72157625545254739/

Headshots: Alan Mandel

2011-12-30T22:00:00.000Z

Another successful headshot shoot today with actory type Alan Mandel. Despite being a bit rainery outside, my favourite headshot wall was utilised and Alan's head was lit by, always flattering natural light, a single Nikon Speedlite and an umbrella with dramatic results.

See what Alan's been up to at his website www.alanmandel.com

If you would like to book a headshot session, please visit my minisite at www.danielmoses.com/headshots

Holiday photos

2011-12-27T14:30:00.000Z

Some festive image profferings

In defence of Humbuggery

2011-12-25T15:27:00.000Z

"Christmas a humbug, uncle!" said Scrooge's nephew. "You don't mean that, I am sure." "I do," said Scrooge. "Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough." "Come, then," returned the nephew gaily. "What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You're rich enough." Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment, said "Bah!" again; and followed it up with "Humbug."

It's that time of year again where the halls are decked (?!) and everyone is unfathomably merry for reasons best described as "seasonal". Yes, the holiday season has arrived and everyone is expected to be jolly. Well I'm here to stick up for the many "Humbuggers" out there (NB: definitely need a better name then "Humbuggers") those who decline to see the jolly side of the festive season and see the mulled wine glass half empty (why does wine taste better when it's boiled up to beyond frothing point?)

Now, before you start throwing rocks at my head and cursing me into oblivion, take a moment to consider these words what I am writing here. My words come from a place of logic, experience and complete and utter frustration with the human race. Anyone who has ever worked over the Christmas period in retail before, will know the utter depths of insanity that it drives you to and the depths of insanity that other human beings indulge in on this auspicious of periods in the calendar. You see Christmas in retail begins at some point after summer (such as it is in this country) has ended, and the sound of Christmas songs played on a loop usually hit around October time, and as much as I love hearing the silky smooth tones of Frank Sinatra, I can't listen to him singing about chestnuts, roasting or otherwise, on a loop, especially with the swirling of shoppers, calmly losing their heads as they panic as to what to buy their loved ones, lest they disown them at this festive time.

This year I stupidly braved Oxford Street and my local supermarket for a quick trapse around the shops and nearly had a panic attack with flashbacks to days gone by working in retail, which revealed what I can only really describe as 'Sodom and Gomorra'. People rushing around despite not being able to move properly, children screaming at their parents "I want this" "I need that" "I must have this" and the parents duly obliging; whilst frustrated shop assistants bedecked in 'festive' tinsel run around like headless chickens to please the aforementioned arses, standing in a queue for 25 minutes, being rammed by a woman with a trolley whilst a small man tries to cut in front of me in non so subtle ways. You don't WANT this, you don't NEED that, this is how the summer riots happened!! People selfishly wanting (and taking) stuff they didn't need and inflicting violence on buildings that stood in their way. (The children I saw hadn't started rioting, it should be noted, but give it a few years....) I'm no expert but this is not what the spirit of Christmas is all about, be grateful you have a home and a family. *sanctimonious harumph

As for a White Christmas, well you can stick that as well, every year millions of people wish for a "white christmas" only to be disappointed when it doesn't come and apparently "ruins christmas"; but on the odd occasion that it does come (literally can't remember when it has ever snowed at Christmas) oh the chaos! Of course I concur that a snowy London is indeed very pretty to look at, and as a 'visual artist' I appreciate the aesthetic muchly, I shot some lovely pictures a few years ago when it snowed (in February). Surely people know that the whole London transport system or indeed the whole city can be brought to a shuddering standstill of confusion and panic when an errant leaf languishes itself casually upon a train track, the horrifying truth is that London is simply not designed to cope with anything larger then someone sneezing. In addition to that my mild Asthma, which makes itself known to all and sundry without fail every December time at the slightest whiff of chilliness, really can't cope with any snow. I'll will be resigned to the house to look at the snow from behind a window, lest I be out in the cold for too long and cough up my insides al over your festive selves.

Merry Everything, Humbugs to all, this yuletide day!

Movement For Gloom: Christmas Card

2011-12-23T10:23:00.000Z

A little festive episode from the Movement For Gloom! It's Christmas time at the Movement For Gloom and after an elaborate plan for the annual official Christmas card goes awry, Daniel sees what Chris has conjured up....

Movement For Gloom will be back in the new year! Ideas are being formed so stay tuned and catch up with the rest of the series if you haven't already on our YouTube channel

The Syndicate - Trailer

2011-12-21T12:30:00.000Z

Doing a bit of pluggage for our friends over at Systir Productions, (formerly Marmalade Productions). Here be the trailer for their new webisode series "The Syndicate", all 6 episodes are being premiered online on 13th January at midday! I'm in this for an incredibly brief but powerful performance as "man being strangled", I also took some production stills and designed the poster. Follow them and be their friends over on twitter and facebook and check out their new website and watch the whole series!

Merry Everything!

2011-12-20T15:41:00.001Z

Merry Everything!, a photo by Daniel D Moses on Flickr.

It's the end of year where greetings are exchanged, holidays are celebrated and people reflect on the year in a kind of prosaic manner. This year I started a doomed political party of morons, raised a lot of money for charity, made new connections and strengthened old ones, taken many a picture and filmed many a thing in moving image form. Thank you if you have been a part of any of these things, or even if you haven't, have a great holiday whatever you're doing and look forward to seeing you in 2012 if the world hasn't already rioted itself into oblivion

Peace, Love and Humbugs

Dan

xxx

Showreel scenes: Sapphire Joy

2011-12-17T09:50:00.002Z

"Secrets & Lies"

On Sunday, I shot some showreel scenes for actress Sapphire Joy in South London. Scenes were extracts from play "Blue/Orange" by Joe Penhall and the film "Secrets and Lies" which we shot in the beautiful cafe "The Brockley Mess". Finished scenes in the new year!

Turkish Wedding

2011-12-14T09:47:00.000Z

A quick pic from a wedding I shot on Saturday. A Turkish affair in East London brought with it a whole new cultural format of weddings to adapt to; turn up at this time and we'll take it from there! Spent a great day following the preparations with the boys in the barbers in Dalston, with slightly hurried official family pictures in Broomfield Park in Palmers Green, sadly just missing magic hour, before heading to Tottenham Regency Suite for the service and the excellent party which was brought to life with an energetic Turkish band all evening. Tebrikler Umra and Gokhan Murad!! More pics in the new year

'Supercomputed' music video in the LSFF

2011-12-11T18:20:00.000Z

Very excited to learn some news about a video I DP'd earlier on this year. The music promo for "Cornershop" track "Supercomputed"has made it into the London Short Film Festival! Directed and Edited by the bearded wonder Justin Rhodes, shows a little slice of life in an East London barber shop.

#Movember Timelapse

2011-12-09T10:00:00.000Z

The donations have kept coming in, over £1300 raised from my incredible team the "Movement For Groom"! Keep donating if you haven't, www.mobro.co/DMo want to see if we can get it to £1500 by end of the year. Here's my timelapse video of my Movember journey and my ridiculous face in many ridiculous poses.

Rule of 3

2011-12-04T22:00:00.000Z

Happy wrap photo (L-R Brooks Livermore, Roisin Rae,
James Card, Me, Howard Cohen)

A ‎6am wakeup is ever so slightly better then 3.30am, and sooooo for my 4th and final shoot of the week I rode to Beckenham to shoot some excellent comedy sketches again with Howard Cohen of The Jelly Moustache and 'Rule of 3'!

A great shoot with some very funny people we shot 3 relationship based sketches based on their stage show. Edit should be finished early next year, follow them on twitter @ruleof3comedy

Arri Alexa

2011-12-03T22:00:00.000Z

Waking up at 3.30am, yep must be a shoot day! Went to Kingston today to do production stills on a short film shot on the Arri Alexa camera which produces beautiful images in slow motion.

Introducing Beatitude!

2011-12-03T10:30:00.000Z

Back in June, on a sunny summers day I DP'd an exciting music promo with Beatitude for their track 'In The Space Between 96,000' "...a homage to Lin Manuel Miranda's 'In The Heights'". Reworking '96,000' with their own lyrics, this is a flavour into their forthcoming musical 'In The Space Between'. It's already earned them a tweet from the man who inspired them within an hour of it going up! Dig this video and follow them more to come from these guys!

http://www.beattitude.co.uk/

Captain SKA live

2011-12-02T08:30:00.000Z

Shot some great footage from a great gig last night in Kings Cross featuring a terrific sounding Captain SKA, blistering through their hits and some surprises as well. New single out very soon!

Movember Week 4 Roundup

2011-12-02T08:00:00.000Z

And so endeth the month of Movember on a high, the first thing that should be said is the amount of money that my awesome "Movement For Groom" raised which is £1k and still counting! This was the target that I wanted to achieve when we started, am so happy that we managed it. It's been an amazingly positive month with enough projects to keep me busy and my Mo meeting new people and travelling to other countries. With the Mo starting to curl downwards a bit, I can now add possibly my favourite name call "You look like a circus strongman", which implies I look like a circus freak. Terrific.

Unfortunately my award winning Mo did not appear in Shortlist magazine :( but no matter because we raised a buttload of monies. Massive massive love and thank you to everyone who supported and donated to me and the team, and big manly backslaps to my amazing team who grew their facial hairs so valiantly for everyone's amusement. Men, go and get yourself checked out and I'll see you next year where I intend to double our efforts!

Check out my photography project on my flickr set here. Video timelapse coming soon

TOTAL MOney RAISED THIS WEEK: £1000 +

Donations are still open! Please keep giving anything that you can to help our campaign. We're raising monies to fight testicular and prostate cancer, one of the highest killers in the UK especially for us menfolk. www.mobro.co/DMo

Here’s a picture roundup of my week >>

MO SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK : RON BURGUNDY

And we end our spotlight with San Diego's lead news anchor and his manly manly face hair. His moustache is a powerful aphrodisiac. Hairs from his moustache brush are incredibly sought after to be used in love potions and fertility centres around the world. A truly inspirational moustache from a time when men were men and moustaches were moustaches, that reminds us all to 'stay classy'.

The Boss is coming back to London!

2011-12-01T09:30:00.000Z

Bruce Springsteen. E-Street Band. Hyde Park. July 2012. Disgustingly excited. Tickets. Boom!

£1k raised for Movember!!

2011-11-30T20:00:00.000Z

This just in! My amazing team the Movement For Groom have reached our target donation of £1k!!! :D

Amazing stuff, very proud of my MoBros and massive thanks and love to everyone who donated and who supported our face caterpillars. What an incredibly positive month.

Donations are still being taken at www.mobro.co/DMo help us raise more! Movember Week 4 final update coming next week.

The Van Man

2011-11-30T06:00:00.000Z

3 dancers, a van, a humungous yeti dog and genuine free range eggs.

Some striking images from a successful promo photo shoot today with C-12 Dance Theatre for their new show "The Van Man".

Very very pleased with the images from the shoot in Hatfield. More to come!

Headshots: Jonathan Clarkson

2011-11-27T14:00:00.000Z

Great headshot session yesterday with actory type Jonathan Clarkson (Clarkson & Crouch, Not Barking But Howling, Movement For Gloom)

If you would like to book a headshot session, please visit my minisite at www.danielmoses.com/headshots

Movember Week 3 Roundup

2011-11-22T18:19:00.000Z

This has been a successful week 3 all round for me and my apparently menacing Mo. It's at this stage that I have now become comfortable with the fact that there is in fact a massive caterpillar residing on my top lip. It's also at this stage that it starts to get very bristly, the hairs go a bit wayward and is very itchy. I was advised from a former MoBro that when the Mo gets a bits itchy that I should rub conditioner into it, which I tried, it made it a bit more itchy for a time, before settling down. It is also at this stage where you start getting recognised by other MoBros all over the place. At MoBro Mellors play "Much Ado About Nothing" this week I was stopped in the reception by a large guy with a trucker tash. "Sorry mate, I know this is a bit weird, are you doing Movember?" (What gave it away?) "Could I get a picture of you, sorry, you look like one of my mates" (Is your mate George Michael? (the latest of the name calling this week)) Ummm sure, why not. I mean he's a random guy Ive never met before asking to take a picture of my face for posterity purposes, nothing wrong with that in the month of Movember, cos MoBros look out for each other...... right?! Other MoBros like Mellors seem to be struggling with their facial follicles, mainly because of blonde hair, others are flourishing with MoBro Towndrow even auctioning off his to be dyed purple (a disappointing ishly purple colour) but admirable none the less.

This week though, my Mo has been travelling on many adventures of note. It has been to Sopwell House in St Albans where it unexpectedly met many other Mo's for a fundraising charity dinner for Pancreatic Cancer that I covered, and it also went to Germany where I directed a DHL corporate video in the style of a Bruno Mars music video, as you do. A bizarre experience to say the least, directing with a moustache instead of a beard means you can hone your 'thoughtful chin stroking whilst looking at a shot' look to something a bit more specialised. Having temporarily dispensed with the phrase "I don't normally look like this, it's for charity" I had to bring it back at passport control, to quell any doubts that the 19 year old kid with floppy hair and different glasses in my passport picture, was in fact me.

Not content with adding the technically accurate but morally ambitious phrase "International Director" before my name, I can now add the equally morally questionable phrase "Award winning Moustache" to my lexicon of self promotional guff. Wilkinson Sword UK are running a promotion this month, and I am one of the featured "Mo of the Month" to adorn their gallery, it may also mean I appear in an advert in Shortlist magazine next week! But we'll see. Follow the latest from the photography project on my flickr set here.

TOTAL MOney RAISED THIS WEEK: £426

Please give anything that you can to help our campaign. We're raising monies to fight testicular and prostate cancer, one of the highest killers in the UK especially for us menfolk. www.mobro.co/DMo

Here’s a picture roundup of my week >>

MO SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK : SALVADOR DALI

A slightly different style of Mo, and one that I would certainly have to have a lot of patience to perfect, the intricate stylings of Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali. Last year voted the best moustache of all time with good reason!

"Since I don't smoke, I decided to grow a moustache - it's better for the health. However, I always carried a jewel-studded cigarette case in which, instead of cigarettes, were carefully placed several moustaches, Adolphe Menjou style. I offered them politely to my friends:

'Moustache? Moustache? Moustache?'

"Nobody dared touch them. This was my test regarding the sacred aspect of moustaches."

Nicki's Smile

2011-11-21T18:26:00.000Z

Rachel Stevens, Daniel Blake
& Maureen Lipman CBE

Last night photographed the launch event of charity "Nicki's Smile" which was setup after Nicki Blake died last year from Pancreatic cancer at the age of 33. It's a fund hosted by Pancreatic Cancer UK to help raise funds to support specific initiatives aiding research and early diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer giving it the higher priority it needs. A successful event at Sopwell House, St Albans featuring guest speakers Maureen Lipman CBE, and Rachel Stevens raised over £150,000 in tickets and auctions. Please support this amazing charity as it launches and grows. http://www.nickissmile.com/

Maureen Lipman CBE speaks with gusto

First international shoot!

2011-11-18T18:45:00.001Z

Back in London Town after an excellent but knackering few days in Cologne, directing a fantastic corporate/music video shoot working with amazing people. Adding the technically accurate but morally dubious phrase "International Director to my name. Thanks to the amazing guys at Studio Planet Nippes and Charlotte Stevens of the Rudeye Dance Agency and Maverick Advertising & Design for their work. Here's a wrap picture. Bloggings to follow!

Movember Week 2 Roundup

2011-11-15T09:30:00.000Z

We're at the half way mark now and I'm pleased to say that the Mo's are flourishing across the board, to an extent. It's after a week that bristles start poking out, this is plain to see judging by posts from MoBro's all over the place on Twitter (follow using the wittily titled #tashtag). Observing people as I do whilst travelling, I notice a lot more men sporting moustaches who I'm pretty sure do not ordinarily have moustaches on their face, a freemasonry of moustaches. Following a week of awkward confusion, where men all over the shop didn't know what to do with their clean shaven faces, and some even claimed to have lost their special powers (*cough MoBro Revens) a week where the Mo did start to show. Getting used to this bit of facial fuzz is an odd experience for some, MoBro Palman has taken to stroking his every 5 minutes, possibly because he can't believe that it exists, others like MoBro Towndrow have taken to it well, having an early start to his ginger sprouting.

Me, well my Mo has reached an admirable length, and as a measure of this success, the name calling has begun. So far I've been been called an (predictably) "Iraqi used car salesman", "something you get on a wanted poster" and "one of them villains you get in a silent 1920's movie". Tied with the reaction that "your moustache is really creeping me out" from members of my family, all in all adds up to a successful second week I think, even if my Mo suffers in self esteem. I have though taken to using the phrase "I don't normally look like this" as a kind of pre cursor to every conversation this week from teaching, to editing, to meetings with corporate clients. This week I will be taking the Mo to Germany on a shoot, where I'm sure it'll be welcomed, may have to trim a bit though. Follow the latest from the photography project on my flickr set here.

TOTAL MOney RAISED THIS WEEK: £317

Please give anything that you can to help our campaign. We're raising monies to fight testicular and prostate cancer, one of the highest killers in the UK especially for us menfolk. www.mobro.co/DMo

Here’s a picture roundup of my week >>

MO SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK >> A 1920's MOVIE VILLAIN

Thought I'd spotlight this apparent villainous streak my Moustache seems to be having on people. I quite fancy getting a stove pipe hat and tying someone to the railroad tracks whilst a jaunty piano soundtrack plays. The "dastardly whiplash" as it's known has a flamboyant twirly moustache to symbolise it's dangerous nature. Here is a short silent film directed by the legendary Mack Sennett, a different kind of moustache to the one in the picture on the left, but I do like the way he's twiddling it though.....

CATCH UP ON WEEK ONE <<

111111111111

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000Z

It's a really obvious posting to schedule in, but it's worth marking because of the uniqueness. It is the 11th of November 2011 and at 11 minutes past the hour of 11 clocks and calendars around the world will in fact read 1111111111 (add an extra 11 if your counting milliseconds). Remembrance Day, Nigel Tufnell Day, Friday, whatever you do this 111111111111 make it a good one.

Stones 50th?

2011-11-10T18:20:00.000Z

As people await the arrival of landmark year 2012, the Olympics, and possibly the end of the world, we also wait in hope of another monumental Rolling Stones tour and perhaps a new album to boot on what will be their 50th anniversary year. I last saw The Stones in 2006 and that was an experience I would like to duplicate very soon. If you haven’t seen them live, you really haven’t seen a Rock’ n Roll show! With a combined age of over 271 years they are STILL the best in the business, and with any new work still at a consistently high standard. So as we approach the new year will we see Mick, Keith, Charlie, Ronnie and amazing supporting band on a stage again? Pray to the G-d of Rock ‘n Roll!

Movember Week 1 Roundup

2011-11-08T18:17:00.000Z

And thus ends the first week of Movember, a rollercoaster ride of bristly excitement… nah actually s'been quite quiet. I kicked November 1st off as excited team captain of the "Movement For Groom", a ramshackle group of MoBros who I've harassed into joining me on this little adventure; MoBro's Revens, Tolkaciovas, Krendel, Walker, Mellors, and a last minute recruit MoBro Palman, making it a magnificent 7 to take the fight to cancers testicular and prostate. Later in the week, we would be joined by MoBro Towndrow and MoBro Evans, rounding us up to 9 awesome moustache growers.

The rules of the campaign are that you are to start off clean shaven and grow your Mo from there, for some this was a disheartening prospect, MoBro Revens for example had purportedly not shaved his face since he was 17, MoBro Mellors and Walker had complained they looked like a 17 year old again (did something traumatic happen to these guys at 17?) Henceforth a lot of messages of a whinging nature came through the wire; scratches, scrapes, blood, nicks, spots, and sore skin appeared, as beardless faces all over were introduced to the world for the first time in years and moved flinchingly into the light. For me, shaving is an arduous multi step process if you have as much facial hair as I accumulate. Sanding it down, trimming it a bit more, scraping it a bit, before hacking it off with a chainsaw, and then perhaps getting a clean shave which lasts approx. an hour before that 5 o clock shadow starts creeping back again.

I set myself a challenge for a photograph a day as you probably would expect, except that within the first hour I had already made a video and taken enough photos for an entire photo essay in itself. After a few days, I started to limit myself to a 2GB memory card, as anything larger would just encourage me to take more pics, on this I can get about 70-ish frames, which I would narrow down. I'm well used to self portraiture, so I was interested to develop this project into something interesting and see where it would lead me. You can follow this on my flickr set here.

This would invariably be a slow week as people struggled to stubble (alliteration, nice eh) on their top lip, 1 reaction I had after 5 days was "is that it? pah". Well, it's only made my facial hair more determined then ever to reach for the stars. More soon….

TOTAL MOney RAISED THIS WEEK: £80 (team)

Please give anything that you can to help our campaign. We're raising monies to fight testicular and prostate cancer, one of the highest killers in the UK for us menfolk. www.mobro.co/DMo

Here’s a picture roundup of my week >>

MO SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK >> TOM SELLECK

Magnum PI, Three Men and a Baby and of course that part what he did on Friends. Yes Tom Selleck and his moustache are world famous as a kind of standard bearer for what a moustache could and should be. It even has its own twitter account. We all want a Tom Selleck moustache and by heck we'll strive for one, in the mean time I shall live vicariously through the Magnum PI theme tune which is now my phone's ringtone. Here's why (it makes every movie better)

An exciting week

2011-11-04T22:30:00.000Z

There I was thinking the only mildly exciting thing to look forward to this month is growing the hair above me lip, until this week it actually was! From famine to feast again for a while with a plethora of very exciting projects which have begun working/meeting on this week.

I started the week with some sketch rehearsals and read throughs for funny people “Rule of 3” part of the comedy group “Jelly Moustache”, which I’ll be shooting early next month, check them out. Music wise, I’ve been rocking with “Paradigm Shift” again, as I began shooting rehearsals on Thursday for their EPK video to publicise their forthcoming EP which should be ready in the new year. Also have begun concepting another music video which am very excited about with the “Punkture Sluts” who I had an excellent photoshoot with at the start of the year producing some striking images. The tone is going to be very dark and we’ve been looking at loads of different things from Jim Jarmusch to Michele Gondry; shooting at the end of the month.

To cap it off, quite a random job which can only be detailed in the following way: Directing a corporate video for major company starring 6 of the CEO’s shot in the style of a Bruno Mars music video. Oh, and we’re going to Bonn, Germany in about 10 days time to do it. Full shoot writeups coming your way sooon!

Movember Week 1 roundup coming next week. Here’s a music video I looked at for research directed by Michele Gondry for Björk - Bachelorette

Ready Steady Mo!

2011-11-01T14:48:00.002Z

Movember has begun! The face has been shorn. Please get to donating to fight testicular and prostate cancer , updates as and when! www.mobro.co/DMo

Ready Steady Mo: Movember 2011 from Daniel D. Moses on Vimeo.

Shtetl Superstars

2011-10-27T12:41:00.001+01:00

Just cut together a promo for "Shtetl Superstars" from a big gig at the "Sziget Festival 2011" in Hungary. The "Shtetl Superstars" are a "...jumping, ska hip hop satire on Europe’s obsession with immigration, written by two of the global Jewish/Gypsy scene’s leading figures...". Follow them on Facebook to see what they're about!

Hamah White - Actor Showreel

2011-10-26T11:02:00.000+01:00

Another showreel from the DDM factory of dreams for @HamahW hite, actress who you may recognise as the Chief of Staff from 'Movement For Gloom'. Stalk her on twitter @HamahW if you like, and see what else she's been up to on her spotlight and casting call pro page.

More reels at www.danielmoses.com/showreels

DMo does #Movember!

2011-10-21T12:19:00.000+01:00

I have decided to donate my face to Movember this year. “During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in the UK and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.”

It’s quite simple, I grow a ridiculous moustache on my ridiculous peanut sized face and you all get a bloody good laugh out of it cos you know I'm gonna look like a Freddy Mercury/Iraqi used car salesman tribute act; in exchange I want your money to help fight prostate and testicular cancer and promote mens’ health. See, simple like. I’ll be blogging my Movember month here on me blog of course provide lots of photo updates as you would expect, I may even turn it into a photography project. I’ve already done a test run the other week to see how it’ll look, utterly ridiculous.

Visit my page here to donate NOW! http://mobro.co/DMo and if your a MoBro already come and join my team search for team MOVEMENT FOR GROOM

“Suspect No.4” / Part 4: Merce Circus

2011-10-17T13:34:00.000+01:00

>> This is the final installment of a 4 part project writeup, on short dance film "Suspect Number 4". Catch up on 'Part 1: Chance Procedures' ; 'Part 2: Through The Looking Glass' ; 'Part 3: Symphony of Chance' here

(Suspect Cast n Crew L-R: Daniel, Annie, Katherine, Amandine & Adam)

At Stratford Circus, ‘Merce Circus’ was a celebration of the work of Merce Cunningham and one of the final ever performances of his dance company. The place was buzzing and we were welcomed with a video of Merce’s dances which were projected onto a wall outside the venue, always a fan of open air cinema! The company performed one of their final shows to much acclaim described by The Daily Telegraph as “A colossus of 20th-century choreography”.

After the show, the audience were spilt into 4 groups where they had a chance to participate in several activities, in keeping with the spirit of saying yes to opportunities, “...diving in head first, full of excitement, abandon and love...” some had a chance to make their own Cunningham inspired dance routine, others a workshop, others a musical concert by Japanese musician Takehisa Kosugi who has been the Musical Director for the company since 1978. His experimental style uses everyday objects to create sounds, and his violin distorted, kind of creating an organic soundtrack. I drew links with this for our sound design for ‘Suspect Number 4’, which unexpectedly was in keeping with the Cunningham overall style!

I’m not snobby to where people watch films, I don’t care if people watch them on an iPod, computer or on a tiny fob watch attached to their waistcoat as long as they watch them; but nothing beats watching a film on a big screen with loooooouuuuuuddd sound! And happily, that's what we got. Of the 5 films, ‘Suspect Number 4’ was first up and it looked h’amazing on a big screen, Ben’s sinister score with the impactful sound design was so loud it could be heard from the other rooms in the building whenever the door swung open, garnering amazing reactions and a few open mouths! The other films were great, more abstract then ours, all interpreting the brief in different ways.

We had started the process exactly 8 weeks ago to the day (1st October) when Annie and Adam pitched the idea to me, and now we had come full circle. A great project coupled with a fascinating way of working, chance procedures and a willingness to explore, which I can apply to other projects in the future. Props to Annie and Adam from C-12 and all the performers for making it happen. We’re going to be sending the final film into festivals and the like, but here’s a short trailer to whet your appetite!

Suspect Number 4 [trailer] from Daniel D. Moses on Vimeo.

Or on YouTube if you prefer!

Inspired Atonement

2011-10-15T17:28:00.000+01:00

Last week was Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. A solemn day where one reflects on the year gone by and atones for any sins inflicted, and thinks ahead to the coming new year marked by a 25 hour fast. It is probably the only day of the year that I actually take seriously, not using any electricity, you are restricted to fasting, sleeping and reading (and going to synagogue). This year on my reading list (probably do the most reading I ever do) were some inspirational people who have changed my life in some way: "Woody Allen The Complete Prose" , George Harrison "I, Me, Mine", Walter Murch: "In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing", and various articles about recently departed Apple genius Steve Jobs. It's quite a curious thing to put yourself through such pain for 25 hours no food no water, but it does make you appreciate food and drink so much more! Pain is good for the soul, it toughens you up makes your stronger, makes you more sure of yourself. Reading about these people who have informed my life fed my soul, whilst it was in pain and provided a sort of balance. Comedians, Filmmakers, Musicians, Editors, and Creatives, here are a few things I learnt

"It is frequently at the edges of things that we learn most about the middle: ice and steam can reveal more abou the nature of water then water alone ever could"

- Walter Murch, Film Editor

"Thought: Why does mam kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage" - Woody Allen, Comedian, Writer, Filmmaker

"Try to realise it's all within yourself,

no-one can make you change

And to see you're really only very small,

and life flows on within you and without you"

- George Harrison, Guitarist (The Beatles)

[on iMovie]"... Job's digital revolution is helping revolution in other ways. The Iranian director Jafar Panahi was sentenced to six years imprisonment and banned from filming. Trapped at home in Tehran, Panhani made a movie, titled 'This Is Not A Film', which screened at the Cannes Film Festival. It was partly filmed on his iPhone, and smuggled out of Iran on a USB stick hidden in a cake. The film screened at the London Film Festival on October 18, and it would not be there without Steve Jobs"

- Excerpt from feature in The Times newspaper

“Suspect No.4” / Part 3: Symphony of Chance

2011-10-10T11:44:00.000+01:00

>> This is the 3rd installment of a 4 part project writeup, on short dance film "Suspect Number 4". Read 'Part 1: Chance Procedures' ; 'Part 2: Through The Looking Glass' ; 'Part 4: Merce Circus' here

I had ended up with nearly 4 hours worth of footage from the shoot, enough for a feature presumably, but my challenge was to construct a murder mystery narrative in the space of 3 minutes. Still working with the Merce Cunningham “chance procedures” I ploughed into the edit, not fully knowing what I was about to edit....

Sample of my timeline

LOST THE PLOT

Now, I can’t obviously give you the plot here other then it’s a murder mystery based on the board game Cluedo, someone dies and someone done a murder, and some dancing in between. I started by cutting together the 7 dances so I could see what I had to work with. All cut together nicely as sequences in their own right which I would come back later to finish. The challenge now was to begin piecing together a picture of the fictional event and the character’s involvement; the dances with the exception of the victim’s were meant to have taken place after the dinner party, showing them wallowing them in their implied guilt and suspicions, and hiding their weapons.

Constructing a narrative after you’ve shot everything is hard, I like to scribble things down and work out an edit on paper first, and break it down into sequences so it’s clear in my head then play around with everything on the timeline. The first cut was terrible, it was a mess of abstraction that garnered initial feedback such as “eh?”, “looks very abstract” and “is it about a self harm group?”. Back to the drawing board....

Scribbly notes

20-30 scribbly pages of notes, various flash cards, post it notes, and white board squiggles later, I was still none the wiser what the narrative should be. We shot a group dance scene in the grounds of the garden, this acted as a lynch pin for everything else, cross cutting between this and the dances as flashbacks. To tie it further together and to give it a more emotional grounding, I tried to work it around how the victim was feeling at different stages of the story through different levels of paranoia. This was coupled with several reveals designed to shock at various stages, which I moved around a lot for impact.

I wanted to create a mood of unease and heightened paranoia, so I moved onto creating visual effects and grading. Creating a double exposure look, made it look quite trippy; elongating and accentuating dance moves at key points, juddering around to fit with a moment. This was done by doubling up clips and staggering the top one slightly on the timeline, changing the opacity. The colours from the DSLR were great, I dimly lit a lot of shots which the ISO handled ok, but I wanted to give it a darker, grungier look, desaturating each person a bit and changing the tones of the image. Each character wore black with a hint of their character’s colour on them EG. Red hat for Miss Scarlett, Green hairband for Rev. Green etc., I would have liked to highlight each person’s colour more, but was near impossible because of the colours of the rooms! Miss Scarlett’s room was mostly green, Rev. Green’s room was mostly red, Mr White’s room was quite yellow! By this time, the timeline had ended up looking frantic, as were the squiggles on my 20 pieces of paper.

BOOOM!

Music and sound design are vital in guiding and enhancing a narrative along and one of the many things that I love about filmmaking. A good score can really give a film a lift, set a mood and put ideas in your head about theme, all without you even realising it. When I edit, I like to use soundtracks to cut to, to help me form ideas about the cut, the music, the mood, the shape and the colour of the sequence that I’m editing (also I can pretend that my film has been scored by some of the great film composers!) To use as guide tracks I played around with tracks from the soundtrack to ‘The Social Network’ (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) , ‘Black Swan’ (Clint Mansell) and ‘Casino Royale’ (David Arnold). I liked the abstract, electronic vine of ‘Social Network’ which leant itself to the intro quite nicely, sounds coming in and fading out, a very non descript piece. The dark, contemporary and dramatic nature of Clint Mansell’s excellent ‘Black Swan’ score which takes you through a journey really worked with what was going on in my film, and also had an unintentional dance link. The James Bond track “African Rundown” I did try to give the ending a bit of pace, but unfortunately left everyone I showed it to in stitches, because it’s a ridiculously overblown chase track that I have used a million times before, with horns that summons images of lions and tigers leaping out at you after every turn.

I enlisted my good friend Ben Revens of the excellent band Paradigm Shift to compose the music. By day he is a VFX artist, but by night he is part time rock star (of sorts), a talented keyboardist who was stupid enough to mention that he had always wanted to compose the score for a film. The finger of fate tapped him on the shoulder to lead the charge to conjure up a euphonious arrangement to accompany the histrionic visuals (this is getting very dramatic now, but it’s fine cos it fits with the drama of the piece, go with it). We talked through the tracks and the feel we were going for, really wanted something contemporary with hints of danger and melded in a lot of sounds and more abstract elements influenced by the main tracks I was working with (not the Bond track though, there aren’t any lions and tigers in this film). The aim was to begin it sparse to build up the tension in stages, as the dances progressed and the victim’s paranoia grew, with flourishes at various points to highlight dance moves and pointed actions. Whilst all done on his keyboard, Ben managed to broaden the sound out using percussion like church bells, traditional keys, strings and To insert a human element and give it a bit of backbone, the drums that underpinned it had a heartbeat rhythm to it which really worked to the dances and fit in with the victim’s growing tension.

My usual un-nuanced use of sound design generally involves a lot of loops that just go “BOOOM” very loudly... actually, used quite a few of them here as well. Don’t judge me, it’s a brilliant 'crash metal' loop that “BOOOM”s pretty well, it’s exciting to listen to. Alright it’s not that exciting to listen to, but it does go BOOOM” (can you go BOOOM? No, didn’t think so. Didn’t think so). Adding to the overused crash metal booms I decided a wall of sound to accompany Ben’s terrific score to heighten the tension, movements and narrative.

During the shoot, I was eager to try out my new toy the Zoom H4n audio recorder, so after each dance, we recorded foley sounds of the performers doing their dances in their rooms, just in case I would need to use it at any stage. As it happened this was the best decision I took, as it was instrumental in building up an organic wall of sound not only to highlight movements and provide a grounding, but a more unsettling feel to stages of the dances. Adding filters to parts of the foley would distort and heighten sounds to such an extent as they sounded a bit supernatural. My favourite filter on Final Cut audio filters was one called “Reverberation” which allows you to pick where the audio is placed EG. in a tunnel, an auditorium, a small room etc. to give it differing ranges of reverb. This built up nicely and soon I had an army of audio, from gasps to laughter, shuffles to stamps, footsteps to all sorts of things creaking.

GERRY FOX

It was 5 days till deadline day, and we had a cut which we were nearly happy with. East London Dance had arranged a meeting with an award winning international video artist called Gerry Fox to watch the rough cuts and advise on how to improve them before I locked the final picture. Gerry was really impressed with the cut we showed him, describing it as a “really powerful piece” “....a symphony of chance...”, which I was tempted to rename the whole project as. He liked the subliminal nature that I had given to some of the images and the double exposure look, which he saw as the separating of the characters as they danced.

His feedback was amazing, it’s always refreshing to gain feedback from people who haven’t seen anything you’ve worked on before and for them to spot things that you haven’t spotted at all. I have a real problem with brevity especially with editing, people think editing is about just cutting stuff out, when actually I see it more about joining things together, giving it shape and colour. We had a remit of a film which could stretch to 3 and a half minutes, it had to be punchy and impactful and tell a narrative and that is usually better then to have something which is overlong and has a lot of the same images in it making it less powerful. In the cut we showed Gerry, our intro was about 30 seconds long and gave a kind of overview of what was going on before the title card. The first thing he pointed out was that this basically gave a lot of what was about to come away to the audience, building the fear was part of the journey that we had to take people on. The impact of the titles coming in abruptly also felt like it was stopping the dance film aspect, halting the continual involvement of the viewer temporarily to read the title of the film which almost felt like we were introducing each character one by one “a numbers game that doesn’t quite resolve.... setting something up that doesn’t come to fruition”.

This was all valuable advice, just thinking about how the intro should be structured, cutting it down to a 10 second unsettling flavour of what was to come to ramp up certain elements. Based on these notes, I duly went back to the edit to make these changes, spending the remainder of the week (to Ben’s mortification) re cutting new versions every day, hacking it down so we ended up with close to 3 and a half minutes as possible. To his credit, Ben spent 5 days working on the score in total getting it done in a crazy timescale, and when I say days I do in fact mean evenings/mornings! The whole score sounds amazing, really dramatic, lots of textures and works well with the sound design. 11 versions after I first started, with our final version cut, with credits done, looking and sounding swanky as a panky in a hanky (technical term), I was pleased and proud of everyone’s work in getting this “Symphony of Chance” made. Now all that was left to do was get the thing screened a week later at Merce Circus....

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish"

2011-10-06T12:34:00.001+01:00

Peruse the airwaves of Twitter and Facebook this morning, and you’ll find lines much quoted from Steve Job’s famous Stanford speech have sprouted legs in tribute to the inspirational technological trailblazer’s passing. The former Apple CEO changed the world in immeasurable ways, whether you realised it or not. Marrying a vision of technology ahead of it’s time, with a desire to house it elegantly and beautifully; his contribution to the world left it’s mark on the music industry, the arts, business and computing in all areas making it accessible to all. Using Apple products have helped progress my career in filmmaking and photography, and made the process easier and more enjoyable.

His passing is marked by accolades from world leaders to rivals, even the Google homepage this morning has paid a subtle tribute. His reminder that “If you haven't found it yet, keep looking and don't settle...” reaches out to our desire to progress ourselves and make a positive impact in the world. This video has been hocked around too many times to remember, but I have a feeling it’s significance will be felt in years to come. The Apple logo is half bitten into, reminding us to stay hungry, the career of Steve Jobs reminds us to stay foolish.

RIP Steve Jobs

שנה טובה Happy Jew Year!

2011-09-28T10:00:00.000+01:00

Wishing שנה טובה Happy New Year to all my Hebrew Boys 'n Gals around the world. Shalom xxx

“Suspect No.4” / Part 2: Through The Looking Glass

2011-09-18T12:28:00.000+01:00

>> This is the 2nd installment of a 4 part project writeup, on short dance film "Suspect Number 4". Read 'Part 1: Chance Procedures' ; 'Part 3: Symphony of Chance' ; 'Part 4: Merce Circus' here

I was armed with my trusty Nikon D7000 and a Nikon 14-24mm wide angle lens, and we had our excellent crew of Annie and Adam, with Chi Lin and Tommima ably assisting us and our Cluedo cast of talented performers: Lydia, Saffron, Katherine, Kate, Munier, Amandine, Andrienne. Working with these ‘chance procedures’ we worked out a process for each dance piece, the performer would rehearse the choreography, and adapt it to the space, interacting with objects etc. I would then attempt to take it in and work out all the shots needed for the scene. Anything that didn’t make sense, we quickly adopted a mantra of “its abstract, so its fine”. I usually work with a shotlist or at least some kind of scribbles that make sense to me (occasionally) but I dispensed with this quite early on owing the chance nature of the project; working out what shots were needed and doing a mental edit in my head as I went along.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Through the noose

I decided on a range of shots to cover all bases, and I’m pretty sure that I broke the 180° rule a number of times but it’s all abstract so it’s fine (it’s not fine, follow the 180° rule kids) filming from a distance in tandem with the voyeur approach and up high and static in tandem with a detached clinical surveillance approach. Wide shots and close ups to cut to providing an unsettling vibe, as did shooting through and behind obstacles like glasses, through/into mirrors, reflective surfaces, through a window, unusual angles high up, and in some cases through a hanging noose to frame a shot. I even stuck the camera in cupboards and bookcases, high and low framed by crockery and books to make sure every terrifying angle was covered and that we included small details like Cluedo cards and artifacts from the game and the Cluedo box in every room with a dance piece in it (see if you can spot them in the final film).

I’m a big fan of in low budget in camera effects and using random implements to achieve these effects. In the Captain SKA music video that I shot earlier this year, there is a ‘transformation shot’ that looks a bit trippy [1:55 in the video], which was achieved by waving an empty champagne glass around in front of the lens for a bit. A simple solution which made it look like some heavy post production job; I wanted to achieve the same look here as well so hunted round for something to wave around in front of the lens eventually falling in love with a large magnifying glass which seemed to fit the circumference of the wide angle lens perfectly. Sellotaping it to the lens at every given opportunity to the bemusement of everyone; it worked with the convexity of the lens and gave a floating soft focus outer edge to each shot I used it for, distorting everything to the nexus of the image.

A CHANCE TO BREATHE
We shot in 2 locations, Annie’s dad’s house in Palmers Green, a fascinatingly decorated town house with a wealth of depth to it (thanks Paul and Tricia) and we spent a day in National Trust run Eastbury Manor House in Upney (thanks to East London Dance for arranging this). I love shooting on location, for one very simple reason, everyone is afforded the chance to breathe. It's a simple thing which we take for granted, but when your on a slightly smaller set with hot lights, creative temper’s flailing, a lot of people getting on top of each other (figuratively speaking of course.....unless it’s that kind of shoot) and a limited amount of time, people start to lose the plot a bit. Being outdoors or in a bigger location frees up a lot of space despite the restrictions and pressures that shooting involves. It gives people a chance to find their own space in the production and work better. A large Tudor built gentry house, Eastbury Manor provided us with a variety of different textured rooms to shoot in with amazing grounds surrounding it. Featuring hefty doors, a winding staircase, lots of nooks and creaky floorboards, I was determined to get the most out of the space as possible! With good cloud cover, we used the gardens for the main dance and a small courtyard for one of the dances (complete with dead pigeons!) The goal was to perhaps make it look at least as if the houses were one and the same (and if they don’t, it’s abstract so it’s fine!)

CAMERA AS PERFORMER?

Poor Man and His Steadycam

Being a dance piece, it obviously required movement, not just from the performers but from the camera; the difference between just straight filming dance and the idea of “dance on film”. I didn’t want to use the tripod in a lot of this at all (and ended up not using it all for anything) so I dug out my ‘Poor Man’s Steadycam’, which I blogged about a few years ago. It’s a home made steadycam from a guy in America made from lead piping and weights, here are a few photos of me with it taken by Adam. You can see it has a grip on the main pipe and then a second arm to hold as well, I hadn’t used it with the DSLR before, and it was a bit tricky as I had to keep one hand on the focus ring as well as attempting to hold it steady. Steadycamming is something I haven’t had a lot of practice in, it does involve contorting your body a bit, keeping your back straight and legs out, which is pretty painful after a while! (Note to self: once again, consider warming up before intensive shoots). In Eastbury Manor, the opportunity to do some running chase shots up the winding stairs was too good to pass up, although the angle of the steadycam dipped slightly so the shots I ended up with looked down ever so slightly. During the individual dance pieces themselves, I found myself moving with the performers, being involved with their characters’ process to the extent that Annie wanted to turn the camera on me and film me ‘dancing with the camera’, apparently I’m quite graceful (which is interesting, seeing as someone once remarked I reminded them of Kermit the Frog... something about the way I moved...) This informed what I was shooting with the idea of “camera as performer” being involved in the process as much as the performers were, feeding into the concept of “dance on film”.

Here are some short tests that I did running around Eastbury with the steadycam, which looks like the opening to "Evil Dead", I should have gotten someone to film me doing it to put in the corner of the screen. I’ve obviously set it to suitably over dramatic music quite needlessly for no one’s amusement but my own.

It was a great shoot and an interesting way of working, despite the time constraints I even had time to get a cast and crew photo, something I forget to do on just about every shoot I’m do! Of course, everybody loves the clapperboard (not to be confused with the ‘clipperboard’, which apparently is what people think it is called). Just part of my standard kit, it actually wasn't needed as I wasn’t syncing up any sound and with the absence of shotlists nor was the information on it. Having explained this, it still didn’t deter everyone from posing with it for pictures and ‘clapping’ with it noisily. I obligingly indulged. Now left with nearly 4 hours worth of footage, I retire to Final Cut to begin the final chapter. Here’s a selection of production stills from the shoot.

>> This is the 2nd installment of a 4 part project writeup, on short dance film "Suspect Number 4". Read 'Part 1: Chance Procedures' ; 'Part 3: Symphony of Chance' ; 'Part 4: Merce Circus' here

Super Heavy - "Miracle Worker"

2011-09-15T11:10:00.000+01:00

Just discovered this gem of a new tune for Jagger fans everywhere, his new supergroup "Super Heavy" with Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, Damian Marley, and A. R. Rahman. This is the first track "Miracle Worker" with a bizarre video with Jagger prancing around in a pink suit, peering out of what looks like his own voodoo torture shop, screeching "AAAAAWWHWHHWHWHHWHHHH!" every verse. It is however a top tune and a top line up, am totally digging everything about this sound. The album comes out next week, quite intrigued to find out what's in store. For a taster, theres a few videos on their website from their jam sessions, awesome sound. Watch the video to "Miracle Worker" here

The Quest for Aurorae

2011-09-09T12:24:00.000+01:00

A recent edit that I did for Lonely Leap Film who are working with the Royal Observatory Greenwich producing a few short films for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition 2011. They went out to film photographer Ole C. Salomonsen inTromsø, Norway, the visuals are stunning. This was such an interesting story to cut together, and really inspiring for lovers of Timelapse photography! Here is the finished film, its features in a gallery at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Maroon Town - Watching The Trees [music video] online!

2011-09-05T02:00:00.000+01:00

Here is my latest offering of the Music Video variety, which I shot back in July for the rather excellent Ska band "Maroon Town" showcasing their latest infectious track "Watching The Trees". Featuring the acting talents of comedian Rob Hoey and starring most of the band, as usual shot on my Nikon D7000 DSLR and features some of the timelapse photography that I blogged about a while ago. I'm really pleased with the final video, and I hope you will be too, enjoy! (I have a small cameo, see if you can spot me!) Heres some spiel about the tune

Radical ska and rap collective, Maroon Town, return with a stark commentary on the way we are systematically choking up the planet - and ourselves. Maroon Town are the recognised pioneers of this genre and boast in their line-up MC Rubi Dan (also part of the hugely "Heatwave" bashment/dubstep and reggae sound system) and Captain Ska whose searing indictment of the UK's political elite "Liar Liar" was a viral smash in December last year.

"Watching the Trees" is a naggingly catchy ska lament with echoes of the band's original Jamaican influences as well as peers like Manu Chao and the Gorillaz.

The band say : " In our rush for growth, our insatiable appetite to consume we are plundering nature and starving the planet of vital nutrients that are critical to our survival. We either confront this or stick our heads in the sand like an alcoholic who drowns himself in booze to forget. Its our choice.... "

“Suspect No.4” / Part 1: Chance Procedures

2011-09-01T18:44:00.000+01:00

Just catching up on some bloggings from last month, here is the first part of one of my latest projects with C-12 Dance Theatre.

>> This is the 1st installment of a 4 part project writeup, on short dance film "Suspect Number 4". Read 'Part 2: Through The Looking Glass' ; 'Part 3: Symphony of Chance' ; 'Part 4: Merce Circus' here

CHANCE PROCEDURES
It was pitched to me as a 3 minute dance film based on Cluedo using ‘chance procedures’. The last part worried me slightly, as it suggested a lack of intel before we even started shooting and visions of disorganisation started to occur in my mind. These were quickly dispelled after a quick reality check set in with the realisation that this is pretty much the way I usually work!As I blogged about last month Annie and Adam from C-12 Dance Theatre had won a commission from East London Dance to create a short dance film based around Annie’s concept. The project is based on 'chance procedures', in recognition of choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was renowned for this and his risk taking choreographic processes. This infiltrated its way through everything, choosing the performers themselves, what characters they would play, the choreography, the weapons, the rooms, and ultimately the shooting and narrative as well. It’s a crazy way of working, but I love a good creative challenge! 7 talented performers were chosen from those that applied from a hat, and spent a day with Annie choreographing their individual dances after playing the game Cluedo to decide characters, weapons and who did what to who and where they did it (steady now). Their individual dances would revolve around the aftermath of a murder at a dinner party, reflecting their individual feelings, guilt or connection to their murder weapon in their room, which would later be adapted to their surroundings on the shoot.

REAR WINDOW
This rehearsal was the day before the shoot and I was unable to attend, so in order to prepare we looked at various visual references to help establish a style for the piece. Inspired by Hitchcock thrillers, murder mystery and ideas of voyeurism and surveillance, I wanted to shoot in a reportage way which is what I am accustomed to, a bit documentary. The obvious Hitchcock reference looked at is with the film “Rear Window” which is all told from Jimmy Stewart’s character’s viewpoint from his sedentary position from a top floor apartment window (he has broken his leg). He watches the world outside his apartment unfurl through the eye of his photography lens. The framing of the shots intrigued me, such as this one *points left* where the subject is seen in the distance across the way through their window, through the branches of the trees and through Jimmy Stewart's window (and probably through his own camera lens), giving a depth ridden and multi layered shot.

VOYEURISM vs. SURVEILLANCE

Shooting into mirrors, reflective surfaces, through windows and objects and from differing viewpoints high and low would give it an alternative view, playing into this idea of voyeurism and surveillance. Looking at an exhibition from the Tate Modern last year called “Exposed - Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera” it argued that the difference between Voyeurism and Surveillance is the distance between the subjects. Voyeurism is more personal, an invasion of personal space in a more subjective light, moving around to capture what the viewer wants to see. Surveillance is from a fixed position somewhere usually up high, it's more objective capturing events as they happen without imposing any unique standpoint on it. I hoped to bring these two positions to my shooting, switching between the objective which provides a more clinical documentary overview of events, with the more subjective voyeuristic view almost editorialising events however sinister they became.Ready for shooting off the cuff and adapting to whichever of our great locations we had in store, I prepped my equipment including my trusty Nikon D7000 and prepared for anything to happen!

If you haven't seen Rear Window, shame on you! Here is the trailer

This is the 1st installment of a 4 part project writeup, on short dance film "Suspect Number 4". Catch up on 'Part 2: Through The Looking Glass'; 'Part 3: Symphony of Chance'; 'Part 4: Merce Circus' here

10 Reasons I love riding the DLR

2011-08-18T09:24:00.014+01:00

The last few weeks I've been trekking it down to Greenwich to edit for Lonely Leap on some exciting projects. Going south of the river is a bit of a novelty to a North London boy, and for one main reason.... Riding the DLR. The electronic railway in the sky has thus far been a joy to me in stark contrast to the rubbishy conditions the Tube affords me, of which I talk about a great length on my Twitter. Seeing as I have a few stops left on this journey, here are a few odes to this novelty ride....

1) Friendly welcome: The second you get on, a friendly voice welcomes you to the train and the stop in the morning, quite a change from the gruff "STAND CLEAR OF THE DOORS... NOW".

2) No driver: It's electronic apparently, whilst a terrifying prospect whilst suspended high above the Thames, also a bit of a marvel could this be the future?

3) Budget roller coaster: It's like riding a crappy roller coaster, which is absolutely fine with me, because I hate roller coasters and this is probably the level that I can just about stomach.

4) Stunning views: on a sunny or even moderately nice day, as you pass through station to station you are treated to some nice views over the river, especially as you pull into Canary Wharf, very dramatic.

5) Not that crowded: despite being on route to the business and financial centre of London, it's still not that crowded and I don't feel like I struggle to get a space.

6) People aren't that rude: unlike other TFL lines, people seem to be quite friendly and amiable.

7) Stations close to each other: find this a tad ridiculous, but like the fact that the stations are literally about 30 seconds apart from each other, splits the journey int bite sized chunks.

8) Above ground: I love any overground train for this exact reason, being above ground and not stuck in a tube gives you breathing space, something we take for granted. I would rather get the bus if it takes double the time then get the tube for this very reason.

9) Station names: "Mudchute" whilst I'm sure has some well thought out etymology, quite frankly sounds made up, but is in my top 5 station names.

10) Timelapses: I haven't attempted one yet, but Nicholas Hill has created an amazing time-lapse of what its like to travel from the front of a DLR train.

Dockland's Light Rail from Nicholas Hill on Vimeo.

"Suspect Number 4" wrapped

2011-08-17T08:36:00.003+01:00

An unexpectedly busy month in August so far, last week we wrapped on "Suspect Number 4" with C-12 Dance Theatre. A full shoot write up still to come, loads to write about, including my experiences with my old Poor Man's Steadycam, the prep and influences and of course some pictures! Here's the talented cast and crew

Timelapsing

2011-08-14T11:19:00.009+01:00

A few weeks ago, after I shot the "Maroon Town" music video, I whisked myself off to a quiet corner of North London on a beautifully sunny day to get some time-lapse photography of said beautiful day, clouds a floating and that, for my own enjoyment but also for parts of the music video. Wait, hold on, I'm sensing I may have lost a few of you here, I should explain. Timelapse photography as defined by Wikipedia is "….a cinematography technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing." Does that make sense? No, it didn't to me either, basically let's say that I wanted to capture clouds floating by in the clear sky and I wanted to speed it up a bit I would set the camera to take a picture every 4 seconds for example for a certain amount of shots, eventually ending up with say 600 shots which I could then smush together ('smushing' being the technical term for such actions) into a finished video which would show the clouds passing in the sky, doing what clouds do forming and reforming, swirling and dancing but all sped up. So it's the process of taking pictures automatically and speeding up things so that it looks cool, and not as my friend Sam figured "…so, it's just photography for lazy people…". This could be done with literally anything, people, water, more clouds, here are some great examples of Timelapse which I admire greatly, including one from the great Philip Bloom / Eclectic 3.0: The Roads Less Traveled

Needing some clouds footing by and some trees shaking up for the music video, I pondered on where in London I could find clouds and trees in the same place and eventually ended up in Regents Park, the Camden end which I had a wander around to find a nice spot. It was a blisteringly sunny and clear day, but not without a few clouds in the sky. I setup up my Nikon D7000 DSLR and used a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens to capture. The camera has a built in intervalometer which allows you to… wait don't leave. I'll explain! An intervalometer is basically a tool that sets up the timing of taking your pictures remotely. So I wanted to set the camera to take a picture every 4 seconds for a total number of about 600 shots. There is a formula for calculating how long your finished video will end up as, but I can't remember it and my GCSE Maths D Grade won't allow me to figure it out or care what it is. It was refreshingly nice to sit down and do nothing for a couple of hours in the sunshine whilst my camera just clicked away every couple of seconds.

Walking around the park I pictured trees, grass, people walking, boats and errr…. more clouds… I did get the odd looks every now and again of random park amblers, I love those looks, the look that suggests that perhaps you are a very strange person indeed for deigning to take a photo in a public place and how dare you point the camera in the direction I happen to be walking in. (These people oblivious to the fact that every other person in said area also sporting a DSLR round their necks) I did however attract some interest from people genuinely interested in what I was doing, one man broke away from his party to enquire on what the frame was (with the camera pointed upwards it does take the smallest of educated guesses) but I assumed he was a frustrated photographer enthusiast rather then worrying about where he was standing and if he was going to muck up my picture.

After getting lost and ending up at Baker Street, easy to do when you amble along in Regents Park (easy to do if your name is the same as the one at the top of this blog), I eventually made my way back to Chalk Farm and made pilgrimage to the top of Primrose Hill to sit quietly for a few hours to capture the sun going down across the London horizon. Quite a few people had the same idea on a Sunday evening as well! A swarm of people with cameras of big and small variety had set up camp in amongst the non camera people who just came to enjoy the view. Sitting down for more then 2 minutes is pretty challenging for me, so I surprised myself when I sat still for more then 2 hours to watch the sun setting. I didn't even move when a giant dog made a bee line for the tripod, but I come to loathe the man in front of me who decided to spend copious amounts of time with his compact camera either recording or taking pictures of the view generally being a nuisance to me by popping up every few minutes. Setting my settings on Aperture priority to capture the changing light, an amazing sunset greeted me, which didn't even end at 10pm when i decided to call it quits.

Here's what I captured, without any grading. Some of these may be used in the Maroon Town video which I am still cutting. More adventures in Timelapse as I think of exciting new ways to do em!

'Gloom' frontpage on iThentic website!

2011-08-10T21:33:00.008+01:00

In general showingy offy news, my comedy web series Movement For Gloom, convalescing after its successful first season, has made the front page of the iThentic website, spotlighted first in the carousel no less! Show it some love and we might even write you a second season!

If you haven't watched or even heard of my comedy web series Movement For Gloom, you should be ashamed, I've mentioned it enough times, but no fear there's always a chance to redeem, catch up on the entire series now on iThentic!

The "DDM DSLR Domination Rig of Death"

2011-08-10T14:00:00.003+01:00

As a photographer and a filmmaker, I have fully subscribed to the HDSLR revolution, film like video quality in something you can stick in your bag. I started shooting with the Nikon D90, which I used in the SCOPE campaign, and now I use the excellent Nikon D7000 for all my shooting. Converging both of my worlds as a photographer and a filmmaker is brilliant, and I love the fact that it has changed the industry in a relatively short space of time. It's not without its faults, being built as a stills camera foremost, the best footage from it are generally static ones, with moving ones suffering from rolling shutter. Sound is also a problem, having to rely on separate audio recorders like the Zoom H4n to record decent sound.

So, with stabilisation and sound issues in mind, I have started to fashion what I call…… *drumroll, big boomy voice… THE DDM DSLR DOMINATION RIG OF DEATH *a smattering of pathetic sounding handclaps… Right, well I might have to work on the name a bit, it's possibly a bit misleading (and crap), but we'll leave it for now. Perhaps I can abbreviate it to the first letters. The DDDRD? No? Alright.

More explanation on this as I develop it (or more likely as it falls apart)

YPTC Gala pics

2011-08-08T10:57:00.007+01:00

A selection of photos from the YPTC Gala at the Tabernacle theatre

Webber Wedding - Pt. 2

2011-08-04T11:51:00.000+01:00

And so, after over 1600 photos taken, only 550 remain as testament to the gruelling screening procedures imposed by this photographer. Cutting down to a selection of pictures is no easy task, especially if you take as many pictures as I do, but I think my brain has trained itself for what to look for and select as part of my post production workflow. Apple's Aperture programme makes it easy for doing this with a variety of colour codes and ratings to help sort the good from the not so good. I have my own signature grade which I always use as a starting point for grading photos, it's a play around with the saturation and vibrancy to give it a grittier look and pushing the definition to heighten the overall look.

Employing the reportage style of coverage dictates you should remain discreet and attempt to capture people as they are, capturing glimpses and reactions between people, I tried to pick these shots out though I could have gotten a few more of these. Other shots I included and enjoyed working on were the dancing wides, especially the Mariachi Band which enabled me to get some beautiful dynamic action shots of the bride swishing and swirling her dress.

Generally I think they've come out great, and have had positive feedback form the family here's a selection of the final batch. Enjoy

"Suspect Number 4": C-12 Dance Theatre on Film

2011-08-03T14:37:00.003+01:00

Had a great meeting on Monday with Annie- Lunnette Deakin- Foster and Adam Towndrow, directors of C-12 Dance Theatre, delighted to be working again with the ϋber talented C-12 on their latest project. Comissioned by East London Dance, it's a 3 min dance piece short film based on the board game 'Cluedo' featuring the same narrative as the game. << Here is a picture of our meeting, with Annie and I raising our hands like some kind of crap sitcom that's run out of punchlines; staged for no discernible or even logical reason at Adam's fervent insistence for this photo opportunity.

Some official blurb about the project here:

Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster (C-12 Dance Theatre) has been commissioned by East London Dance to produce a short dance film inspired by and in response to Merce Circus, the first and final time that the Merce Cunningham Dance Company will visit east London before it disbands at the end of this year, for more information go to www.eastlondondance.org or www.danceumbrella.co.uk Merce Cunningham was renowned for his chance procedures and risk taking choreographic processes. The film will be shown internationally on the following websites: East London Dance, Dance Umbrella and Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

Were shooting at the end of next week, but were looking for cast! Have a look here to see if you would like to take part and get in touch with C-12 asap http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=105008504991&topic=19668

Visit C-12's website here to see their past work (designed by yours truly) @ www.c-12dancetheatre.com also stalk them @c12dancetheatre and Facebook. More bloggings as we progress through the project this month!

"I love having a wedding photographer that isn't a wedding photographer!"

2011-08-01T10:30:00.000+01:00

This is a bit of a late posting, but something I thought worth writing up about. A few weeks ago I finished shooting my first wedding with photography for Leigh and Veronica Webber in North London. An excellent but knackering evening!

ORCHESTRATED REPORTAGE
For years now the people around me have been telling me to go and do Wedding photography, I used to cover events with video when I started years ago, but this is a slightly different ballgame. Whereas event videography generally (I say this as a generalment) requires you to document the activity of the day, dipping in and out, generally staying out of peoples' way and enduring the pathetic chorus of "I hope your not pointing that camera at me!" whilst watching people throw themselves in front of the camera; event photography requires all these skills plus the art of being able to be everywhere at all times, be unseen and also have the ability to orchestrate some events and get the best out of people whilst capturing the mood and emotion of the day. A daunting task, but fortunately I knew the family involved which made it that little bit easier.

LENS FETTISH
I plumped to rent a couple of lenses (thank you LensFettish) to aid my Nikon D7000 in this task. The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 which I had worked with before on the Punkture Sluts band EP shoot a fantastic wide lens with really sharp results which would come in useful for dancing shots. Also a midrange 24-70mm f/2.8 lens which I had never used before but with the same Nikon quality it didn't disappoint and stayed mostly on my camera the majority of the evening.

AT THE MERCY OF EVENTS
In my head I broke down my two different skill sets: reportage/documentary and a shoot/set up shots. With this in mind I approached covering this in the same way that I have covered onset production stills for film and music videos in the past. On a film set you have a job to be within the nucleus of the crew and get those moments that make the film, the set piece images, but it also allows you the opportunity to step back from the main circle of the set, remaining unnoticed to get different stories behind the scenes, but always at the mercy of events as they unfold.

Being a Jewish event and being the kind of person that I am, I was bound to piss someone off by getting in their way. Standing at a whopping 5'6"(rounded it up) I'm consistently baffled as to how much of a hinderance I am…always seem to bring out the best in people… I thought back to my days videoing weddings when my tripod so enraged some guests that they helpfully and thoughtfully decided to move it for me. The synagogue was quite wide with lots of space to walk around which was great, save for the squeaky floor and the self conscious clip clopping of my shoes as I attempted to duck and dive in between people, get the set piece shots, the entrances and exits, the falling over seven steps into the hall (2 year old flowergirl) and secreting myself behind the flower arrangements patiently, rising every couple of seconds like some kind of ridiculous photographer sniper on a very long hit.

"MILA!"
Pre wedding I had photographed the Groom and his merry men in a few locations including stairs, brick walls and outside a public toilet (their suggestion not mine). The guys were great fun to with and that is reflected in the final pictures, some of them a bit Beatles-esque. The groom Leigh, remarked "I love having a wedding photographer that isn't a wedding photographer!" which solidified in my mind my approach and where I was going with this stylistically.

I've had 2 ushering experiences recently for my friends' weddings, so I appreciate some good ushering if it comes along. None more helpful a role then gathering people for the posed pictures, a role not even an army of Ushers kitted out with bulletproof vests and batons would be able to smooth out. After scouting out a few possible locations, I decided that the best place to shoot the posed photos would be behind the synagogue on a grassy area that looked great with the superb sunshine that thankfully had managed to cloud over a bit to diffuse the light a bit. The bride Veronica and Leigh were great to photograph, posing themselves (helpful) a lot of the time, had a lot of fun and also pretty photogenic (also helpful). Despite my work with theatre groups teaching me to work at a pacier speed, setting up posed shots at events is an activity fraught with time difficulties which are always bound to overrun, *the collective knowing rolling of the eyes from anyone who has ever worked with me in any capacity before… Being a Mexican/Jewish wedding, I was taught the phrase "Mila" which means apparently means "Look", something that I used for one set of guests and promptly forgot about in the ones that followed. Despite my experience working with children in the SCOPE films, I clearly hadn't learnt that children don't like to sit still……ever……in any context whatsoever. I may take a leaf out of Hugo Burnand, William and Kate's wedding photographer, and bribe them with sweets next time.

COMFY SHOES

By the end of the evening as I normally am, I was shattered beyond belief, running around, ducking, crouching, even considered a roll at one point and generally being everywhere at all times (something people were generally impressed with) when your as unfit as I am, is psychically taxing and I may consider a warm up before I do this again… I had forgotten how psychically and emotionally demanding covering an event can be and with the blisters on my feet complaining loudly in the week that followed, I resorted to wearing slightly comfier trainers instead of the pair of semi smart shoes that I choose to wear on a daily basis (a slightly odd experience after not having worn trainers for months).

I now have over 1600 photos to sort through, not uncommon for me and will prepare them for my signature grade to finish them off, a quick glance they are looking great, some nice pics of the happy couple dancing with the Mariachi band. Another write up soon on the post production process and a selection of pictures to gawp at.

Maroon Town Music Video shoot

2011-07-25T11:42:00.002+01:00

Quite excited to be riding a Music themed set of projects since the beginning of the year, so cue a music video for Ska band "Maroon Town". The breezy summer track "Watching The Trees" is about the destruction of our natural environment in tandem with our own wellbeing. We follow a basic narrative around our lead, played by Rob Hoey, as he stresses out watching the world collapse and crumble around him, he eventually joins the band in some weird opting out afterlife. The concept is meant to be a bit abstract with lashings of "Live and Let Die", no I didn't mistype that, you heard me right, this Ska band music video would have influences of Roger Moore's first outing as Agent 007. Using this classic scene as an end point, I attempted to recreate a New Orleans style funeral using a shopping trolley, more on that later…

We began shooting on Friday eventually, in North Acton, a mainly industrialised area with a curiously high number of Lebanese restaurants and cafes. Because of scheduling, we were essentially shooting the music video backwards starting with the band who, dressed as minstrel hobos/down and outs, were nonchalantly busking to their tune with acoustic instruments. The band consisting of Jake (trumpets), Charlie (keys), Duean (geetar), Carl (sax) and Kita (usually on bass but covering drums (a bucket) for the absent drummer) were great, really took to the idea and were jamming away in their hobo outfits, providing entertainment and bemusement for the clutch of people in cafes and businesses nearby. When Rob arrived, we filmed the setpiece shot of him crawling into a shopping trolley as he gives up, and whisked away by the band joining their world. It was meant to resemble the New Orleans style funeral scene in "Live and Let Die" which saw a colourful parade of people follow a casket in a merry dance.

After shooting a bit more in Acton, Rob and I headed down to Hyde Park which looked amazing bathed in a golden wash with the sun riding low in the sky. A lesson to be learnt here that the shots that you plan don't always turn out the way that you envision them! Filming on the street is a tough gig, it's an uncontrollable environment with many challenges. It's usually better to film where there are less people to stare into the camera and do a stupid thumbs up, but on this occasion I actually wanted huge throngs of people to engulf Rob as he makes his way through the London hordes. High Street Ken on a Friday evening however was not thronging (in want of a better word there) which was a shame. Another lesson to learn is that if you are going to guerilla film a shoot, don't lug around a very heavy, very half broken suitcase of equipment with you, it hampers you quite a lot #justsaying

Timelapses are quite an important part of the video, the chorus's are meant to be quite laid back and slow whilst the verses are more high tempo. I thought I'd cover these chorus's with my new favourite technique of time-lapse photography of clouds and trees and all manner of nature based things that move. So I took myself off to Regents Park and Primrose Hill to capture this on a gloriously sunny day, which I will cover in a separate post about Timelapse in a few weeks.

Moving the shoot to Clerkenwell a few days later, I was able to film Rapper Rubi Dan's parts. Rubi, a tall black man dressed in white, effectively as the narrator is omnipresent guiding us through the video/song, and to carry on the "Live and Let Die" references, is our "Baron Samedi" character, another homage paid to at the end of the video! A quick cameo from Rajan the band's keyboardist as a Chugger harassing Rob and plonking Rob in the middle of Upper Street for some people based time-lapse capped off a really successful music video shoot overall. Here's a selection of stills from the shoot, the edit is shaping up nicely so far, the footage looks amazing very very excited to cut this together properly!

Birthday!

2011-07-23T11:19:00.003+01:00

After a fairly hectic week of covering the YPTC gala shows (photos to follow) and shooting the Maroon Town music video yesterday (full write up soon), I am taking some time out for the annual overhyped nonsense that is my Birthday. No shingles this year, which is a good thing. Here's my Birthday Breakfast!

Doug Crossley - Actor Showreel

2011-07-20T11:15:00.002+01:00

Another actor showreel hot off the DDM press, for the talented Doug Crossley. Described by Lyn Gardener of The Guardian as "A young actor of promise", he engineered original musical and web series "Life Support" which he took up to York Theatre; and you might recognise him as Movement For Gloom's resident Pollster/Baker. Stalk him on twitter @Dwaglah if you like, and see what else he's been up to on his spotlight page.

"RING" app video

2011-07-19T11:13:00.000+01:00

An iPhone and iPad app video for my friends over at DoTank Studios:

RING is a synaesthetic generative artwork created especially for iOS. Use the built in controls to set up your perfect composition and then sit back, relax and enjoy RING unfolding in front of your eyes. Produced by the award winning artistic duo of Adam Hoyle and Julian Baker with sound design by the world renowned composer and sound designer Nick Ryan. Download from the app store here: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/baker-hoyle-ryan-present-ring/id436673440?mt=8

Shotlists, Storyboards and a New Orleans Funeral Procession

2011-07-18T11:13:00.003+01:00

Prepping for an exciting week! Am buried in a sea of shotlists and storyboards for the Music Video I'm shooting for Ska band "Maroon Town". Taking some inspiration from this classic scene in "Live and Let Die" Intrigued? Confused? Yep, so am I! Still looking for a Riverside/Canal/under a bridge/maybe industrial wasteland London location we can blag, any ideas?

Bowties

2011-07-17T11:13:00.000+01:00

Going to another wedding today, so have dug out a dinner suit for the first time in years. I've been experimenting with wearing a bow tie, but frankly it just looks and feels weird. I've never understood the point of wearing a bowtie despite being a massive James Bond fan. I am a BIG fan of neckties in general wearing my vast collection whenever its permissible to do so; but a bowtie is like a quarter of a tie. Is it there, is it not? It's like having an annoyance residing just beneath your chin, possibly ready to bite you should you anger it. Can you wear a dinner suit without a bowtie? I've taken the controversial step of choosing to wear a blue necktie today instead. http://yfrog.com/kfiulxqj

Direct Enterprise

2011-07-14T11:12:00.002+01:00

I worked yesterday with "Direct Enterprise" who run Business, Enterprise, Film and Media workshops in schools and colleges and it is our aim to give all the students we work with a very real experience of what it means to be in a working environment. We were in Charles Edward Brooke School in Camberwell and the idea was to concept shoot and edit 2 adverts for products or services of their choosing in the space of basically a day! This took me right back to how I used to work when I first picked up a camera, just working quickly and forming ideas on the go. The students that I took had some great ideas and were incredibly enthusiastic. Unfortunately the camera that I was working with wasn't as enthusiastic, and decided to corrupt all the footage that I had shot for the whole day, leaving me with hours of attempting to log and capture footage and 2 groups learning the harsh reality and unpredictability of working with technology that may at any point it feels like it let you down in the most horrible of ways. I recreated one of the videos from scratch using stills and graphics. Here's a link to the video that I created for them

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=241174432574263&oid=225347557498168&comments

Clarkson & Crouch Videos

2011-07-13T11:00:00.007+01:00

Having a few problems with the audio on a sketch, but I thought I'd post up 2 of the finished scenes that I shot for new comedy collaborators 'Clarkson & Crouch' a while back. These sketches explore the darker side of urban life in 'Broken Britain.' Their past credits include two Edinburgh Fringe shows "Away with the Fairies" and "Neighbourhood Watch" More from them in the future, for the second season of Movement For Gloom and possibly another original collaboration this summer, so look out for that. In the meantime enjoy these!

YPTC Gala pre shoots

2011-07-10T11:00:00.003+01:00

Some production stills for YPTC's Gala show at the Tabernacle Theatre at the end of this month. Here are some excellent ones from their musical "Requiem For Tomorrow" featuring the rival Urbans and Gators. I shot these with natural sunlight in a backalley using my reflector and Nikon Speedlite to give some harsh highlights and graded with my signature style in Aperture. Really pleased with how striking they've turned out, more on it's way, heres a few examples. Photos / © DANIEL D. MOSES www.danielmoses.com

Mick Jagger: Young in the 60's

2011-07-07T10:59:00.001+01:00

A lifelong fan of The Rolling Stones and all associated, I went with interest to a small photography exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of Mick Jagger. A small exhibition by the Bookshop in the basement, probably for fans not showcasing anything you haven't seen before, the original photographs from the album covers of Stones albums, some rare ones from random shoots. I didn't realise that on the photo for the album cover for "Their Satanic Majesties Request" which was shot by Michael Cooper of "Sgt. Pepper" fame, you can see if you look close enough the 4 heads of 'The Beatles' in the foreground embedded in the montage. I'm sure there are many puns to be had with the title of the exhibition, but the fact is at the grand old age of 60 something now, Sir Mick still looks good in front of a camera. An intensely weird looking , but incredibly photogenic man, his wrinkles and accentuated features seem to get better with age , as he still struts around the stage with the best band in town, probably showcasing the best advert for growing old. If you have a bit of time to spare in your lunchbreak, worth a quick visit http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/display/2011/mick-jagger-young-in-the-60s.php

Final Cut Pro X

2011-07-05T10:59:00.002+01:00

So Apple have released the much hyped newest version of Final Cut Pro, making the jump from version 7 to 10 (or X). It's been a talking point for the industry since it's announcement a few months ago, cheaper, lighter, streamlined with a new interface. My first impressions are not good to be honest, the new interface looks like "iMovie+", an interface which I actually can't stand in the first place! Selecting and cutting clips together is a ridiculous process, why on earth are project files called "Events"?! At this time, it cannot import old FCP project files as it is a new layout and operating system, but thankfully it can be installed alongside your existing version. Apple have decided to do away with the external additional programmes for sound editing and colour collection/grading and incorporated it into the new version of FCP. Handy yes, but the tools look simplistic and again remarkably similar to iMovie.

There are a lot of good features that I can see, being able to start editing as the footage is being imported, rendering in the background is great, as is better support for DSLR footage which is always exciting. But without support for bigger formats like RED, support for third party filters and it's basic design, I don't see the industry pros getting excited about this. Apple have decided to pitch this new product in between iMovie and FCP for enthusiasts who want to take their editing to the next level. I'm all for people being able to edit, its a great skill to have (although if you can't tell a narrative and structure an edit it's really doesn't matter what software you have) but Apple have stripped back the interface instead of building on a highly successful format that have served them well over the last few years that looks professional, friendly, and intuitive. Will the BBC, who edit on Final Cut Pro make the switch to Final Cut X? Time will tell if Apple have made the right decision or if it will retreat back in the face of pressure from professionals. But for now a lot of people aren't happy, especially this guy……

Doug Crossley - Presenter Scene

2011-07-01T17:17:00.002+01:00

Nearly finished cutting together a showreel for actor Doug Crossley. Amongst the material put together, we shot a quick presenter spot, designed to showcase his indie vibe. Shot on a Nikon D7000, with 50mm f/1.4 lens, and graded nicely using Magic Bullet Looks with a cross process effect. Watch out for the showreel in full in the next few days!

Captain SKA - Slipping Back in Time

2011-06-29T17:14:00.000+01:00

Brand spanking new Captain SKA video!

"Captain SKA's 3rd release is a lament to the current government's return to the Thatcherite policies that so devastated this country in the 1980's, and a call to take urgent action to stop the damage and violence to the UK's public services."

'Youth Aliyah' House of Commons luncheon

2011-06-28T10:58:00.000+01:00

Back to the Houses of Parliament I went, to cover the "Youth Aliyah Child Rescue" Yemin Orde fire update and fundraising lunch. "Youth Aliyah" are a charity that provides support to the children of Israeli villages providing them a new home. The reception was held in the historic Churchill Dining Room and was hosted by Lord Anderson of Swansea and co-sponsored by Dr Alan & Mrs Sheila Diamond and Mrs Adrienne Sussman MBE. To find out more and to see pictures from the event, click here http://www.youthaliyah.org/events/yemin-orde-fire-update-lunch

Yo My Show! A weekend with The Jelly Moustache

2011-06-22T15:52:00.003+01:00

Never happier then in the company of comedians, I spent the weekend with the Jelly Moustache, filming "Yo My Show!" a pilot featuring the talents of funny boys Matt Bell and Rob Hoey in all manner of ridiculous, nonsense and disgusting guises. After some excellent Green screen shooting in Greenwich, came some on location shooting near Alexandra Palace. Here's the stills, Chavs, Accidental Hos, Dudes, a 200lb Au Pair and Gordon the Gopher. Intrigued? Stay tuned for more news on the final programme.

http://www.thejellymoustache.com

Harry Haroon - Showreel

2011-06-19T15:25:00.000+01:00

A new showreel for actor Harry Haroon

DoTank Studios - 'Electro Beat Android App'

2011-06-06T12:24:00.002+01:00

A video for new Android app 'Electro Beat' drum machine, developed by the guys over at DoTank Studios, which is available for free download at the Android Store https://market.android.com/details?id=air.com.dotankstudios.beatmachine.electro&feature=search_result

Gloom photos

2011-06-04T17:38:00.001+01:00

Selection of production stills from my web series "Movement For Gloom"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danieldmoses/sets/72157626616313935/show/

'The Space Between' [music promo]

2011-06-03T16:59:00.002+01:00

Spent a fun few days shooting a Music promo, with my Nikon D7000 DSLR, in an unusually sunny London town for "The Space Between" - A new urban film musical exploring love, betrayal, violence and modern day life on the streets of London. Blessed with glorious sunshine, we shot in Camden Town and in a Graffiti tunnel at Waterloo.

Here's a selection of stills from the shoot; varied, dynamic and colourful, and the HD video footage looks immense! Stay tuned for the video soon!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danieldmoses/sets/72157626739664967/show/

Paradigm Shift Live @ Babalou [gig photos]

2011-05-27T16:01:00.002+01:00

An excellent gig from "Paradigm Shift" last night, who performed at "Babalou", a funky little venue in the basement of a church in Brixton

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paradigm-Shift/122699564406809

Testing new headshot lighting setups

2011-05-24T08:53:00.001+01:00

Very pleased with the results of this new lighting setup I tried for these set of headshots. 250w key light, with a 60w small reading light for fill, with my Nikon SB600 flash unit to light the background and give a bit of pop. Silver and Gold reflector when needed, under the subject. Tried to black out the window but couldn't get rid of the light completely at the top, so resulted in natural daylight, slightly blueish, creeping in. Which, with the flash, made for a great blue background. Retouched in Apple's Aperture as ever, I really love pushing the colours, I think they make for a much better headshot with a bit more life to them!

Gloom Election Special #3: Go Gloom

2011-05-18T14:29:00.003+01:00

In the final part of our Season Finale; Chris's press conference doesn't go quite as planned as serious questions are asked about the nature of Gloom's win in the election, Rob Talk attempts to uncover the truth, and an offer from the most dangerous man in politics prompts a new beginning for the Movement For Gloom. The Movement For Gloom Will Return! Stay tuned for outtakes soon

Featuring Music by Paradigm Shift
Music composed by Patrick Moore

YPTC Home poster

2011-05-16T13:43:00.002+01:00

New poster design for YPTC and their 2nd years play "Home" which is on at Camden People's Theatre at the end of June. Some production stills coming soon

Gloom Election Special #2: The Lord's Prayer

2011-05-11T14:29:00.002+01:00

In the 2nd Part of our Season Finale; Rob Talk has been with the Gloomers for a few hours now and has concluded that they are ill prepared, under equipped, immature and are now being stalked by a homicidal politician. The team's day of last minute Election campaigning is disrupted by Lord Monty's unnecessary wild goose chase, but is an end of day surprise all it seems?

Join us for the final installment next week!

Featuring Music by Paradigm Shift
http://www.myspace.com/ukparadigmshift

"Bagels" - Yiddish Twist Orchestra [video]

2011-05-09T13:42:00.001+01:00

Another tune cut from the Yiddish Twist Orchestra, live in Victoria Park last year performing "Bagels"

Gloom Election Special #1: Gloom Is Rising

2011-05-05T13:46:00.002+01:00

In the 1st Part of our Season Finale, it is finally Election Day in the UK, and the Movement For Gloom gears up for it's first major challenge since forming and the team are in a buoyant mood. With the arrival of reporter and all round annoyance Rob Talk and sinister goings on across town, one's thing's for sure, this isn't any ordinary election day.

Gloom Is Rising, Join us for Part 2 and 3 next week!

Featuring Music by Paradigm Shift
http://www.myspace.com/ukparadigmshift

#VoteGloom

2011-05-02T13:52:00.003+01:00

With the election in the UK only a few days away, Team Gloom have been busy readying themselves for the exciting feature length 3 part season finale which starts this Thursday May 5th on Election Day. If you think you know 'Gloom' you ain't seen nothing yet! Here's a taster of what to expect in this here trailer, join us across our networks to catch up on the series so far and get ready to #votegloom YouTube, Facebook, Twitter

Gloom Wrapped

2011-04-26T13:47:00.002+01:00

After 2 long weekends worth of filming, we have finally wrapped shooting on the "Movement For Gloom" 3 Part Election Specials to celebrate the season finale! Join us on our networks to #votegloom YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and be the first to find out when these episodes come out. It's an exciting time for the Movement as they face their biggest challenge yet, meet new characters and continue their boughts of unbelievable stupidity into their new beginnings.

Episode 17: Radio Show: Movement For Gloom

2011-04-21T13:56:00.003+01:00

Brand new episode from the Movement For Gloom here folks "Radio Show". The team take part in their first radio phone in session with notorious reporter Rob Talk, needless to say it all goes a bit wrong. If you haven't been following my new web series, "Movement For Gloom" charts the the rise and immediate fall, of an unambitious uninspiring and dysfunctional collective of people with mediocre expectations as they attempt to get elected to high office. Catch up on the series so far here at http://www.youtube.com/movementforgloom

JOIN US @
http://www.facebook.com/MovementForGloom
http://www.twitter.com/Movement4Gloom #votegloom

Stay tuned for some exciting news from Gloom in the next few weeks

Clarkson & Crouch sketches

2011-04-20T13:42:00.003+01:00

The Devil, an affair, pirates, and an unstoppable magic pot of porridge; it can only be "Clarkson & Crouch". Yesterday, I spent the day shooting with the comedy duo from Captain SKA's "Shame On You" music video, Rob Crouch and Jonathan Clarkson, whose credits include two Edinburgh Fringe shows "Away with the Fairies" and "Neighbourhood Watch". Rob Crouch and Jonathan Clarkson present sketches exploring the darker side of urban life in Broken Britain. Here's a selection of stills to whet your appetite, the finished video's will be online soon!

www.clarksonandcrouch.com

Life's Just Networking

2011-04-15T13:42:00.003+01:00

Was guest photographer at the networking event "Life's Just Networking" at 'The Duchess' pub in Battersea on Tuesday. A fun evening, where a number of short films were screened by filmmakers, followed by a Q&A and some upcoming pitches. 'Life's Just Networking' is run by the production team behind the upcoming feature film Life Just Is. For more information on the film please visit www.lifejustisfilm.com

Stills from Cornershop music video @ Ali's Barbershop

2011-04-05T13:44:00.004+01:00

A selection of stills here from the Cornershop "Supercomputed" music video which I DOP'd a few months ago using the Nikon D7000 DSLR http://danielmoses.blogspot.com/2011/02/cornershop-supercomputed-music-video.html Shot in Ali's Barbershop in Bethnal Green.

'Movement For Gloom' Update

2011-03-29T10:52:00.004+01:00

It's been a while since I launched my new webisode series "Movement For Gloom" heres some updates- the party political broadcast (which you can view below) has been launched and getting round the web, and a few episodes with our new characters have started making the rounds as well.

...Gloom is DDM Productions new interactive comedy webisode series charting the rise and immediate fall, of an unambitious uninspiring and dysfunctional collective of people with mediocre expectations as they attempt to get elected to high office. Showcasing new British talent, regular webisode videos will be topical and satirical, drawing influences from The West Wing, Thick of It and Arrested Development.

We're all over the main social media, so Join, Follow and Like the 'Movement...' to see how it progresses
Facebook, YouTube, Wordpress, Twitter, Vimeo, Funny Or Die, BlipTV

http://www.danielmoses.com/gloom

"Bei Mir Bistu Shayn" - Yiddish Twist Orchestra

2011-03-22T18:03:00.004Z

Just cut this promo together for the Yiddish Twist Orchestra from a performance last year in Victoria Park. Another song to come!

"BEI MIR BISTU SHAYN" - YIDDISH TWIST ORCHESTRA from Daniel D. Moses on Vimeo.

Live at Paradise Gardens Festival, Victoria Park, London, June 2010

It is always the seam on your trousers that attracts the most dirt," said Alf Wax, the great Whitechapel tailor, and back in 1950s London the same was undoubtedly true for music.

It was the seam of the big band and rock'n'roll eras that attracted musicians who produced what sounds now like the dirtiest, most deliriously danceable music of all - that delirious mix of classic Yiddish songs, West Indian Calypso and English beat rhythms that they called 'der shvitz'. When years later it crossed the Atlantic in diluted form as 'the twist' its roots were forgotten, and remained so, with the exception of a select few in the know who recognise Willy Bergman, its founder and greatest bandleader, as the lost hero of the sex n drugs British music revolution.

The Yiddish Twist Orchestra pays homage to the genius and paranoia of Bergman, the anonymous beatnik funkateer who got the slums - and salons - on both sides of the water dancing to that pounding Yiddish beat.

Arranger: Willy Bergman

Vocals: Natty Bo
Guitar: Ben Mandelson
Piano & Organ: Robin Harris
Bass: Javier Fioramonti
Drums: Saleem Ramen
Trumpet: Lemez Lovas
Trumpet: Steve Chadwick
Trombone: Paul Taylor
Sax: David Bitelli

Camera: Daniela Boban, Lucy Kaye, Marc Isaacs
Editor: Daniel D. Moses (www.danielmoses.com)
Artwork: Melamed (mlmd.ru)
Live Recording and Mix: Moshik Kop

With thanks to Chris & Sophie at Continental Drifts and Paradise Gardens Festival.

http://www.yiddishtwist.com

Cut by Daniel D. Moses www.danielmoses.com

'Cornershop' "Supercomputed" Music Video!

2011-03-15T18:46:00.000Z

Jan and Feb were spent shooting crazy haircuts in Ali's Barbershop in East London. Part documentary, part music video (a 'Popumentary') this was the latest video for the band 'Cornershop' with their latest release "Supercomputed" off their new album "Cornershop & The Double 'O' Groove Of". Directed & Edited by the bearded wonder, the rather excellent Justin Rhodes of Doko Films, and DSLR DOP Daniel D. Moses. I shot this on a Nikon D7000 D-SLR [1080p 24fps]

It launched today on the website The Fader:

"The video for Cornershop’s new song “Supercomputed” (ft. Bubbley Kaur) is a portrait in hyper-defoliation—a high-speed montage of clips (no pun intended) from an East London barbershop. According to the band: “the sight of brown men having hair cuts against Bubbley Kaur’s sugar-coated female vocals, and against the usual representation of Muslim men in the media.”

From: http://www.thefader.com/2011/03/15/video-premier-cornershop-ft-bubbley-kaur-supercomputed/

SELECTION OF STILLS COMING SOON

Jewish Book Week

2011-03-09T18:38:00.001Z

A selection of stills here from "Jewish Book Week" which was held last week in London. A series of incredibly engaging speakers included Lord Peter Mandelson, Lord Robert Winston, Man Booker Prize Winner Howard Jacobson and The Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland

www.jewishbookweek.com

Photos / © DANIEL D. MOSES
www.danielmoses.com