Brad Kelly Films

Resume

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 23:11:00 +0000

Filming a project for the new "Lost Museum" in Salem, MA.

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 23:15:00 +0000

It was a fun time filming for an installation, over the summer, at the new "Lost Museum" in Salem, MA. Part of the Gallows Hill Theatre complex. It opened this fall to rave reviews (on TripAdvisor).

One of the challenges was to shoot vertically, 9:16 rather than 16:9 as the video will be played back in portrait orientation as part of the exhibit.

My trusty Canon C100, a special 90 degree rotating tripod head, mics, lights and a fog machine and the scene was set. Costumes, make-up and script by Erik Rodenhiser. Check it out if you're in Salem!

Video portrait of a ghostly 19th century merchant.

Shooting ghosts in Salem. #videoproduction #sfx #paranormal #ectoplasm

Gallows Hill Video Portraits in Salem, MA (more to come)

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 02:01:00 +0000

Announcing My Theatrical Debut (...for Video Design) in "The Last Jews: An Apocalyptic Comedy" at Boston's Playwrights' Theatre

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Thu, 08 May 2014 19:46:00 +0000

I'm pleased to be working in Boston theater at the moment! And as I'm not an actor, I'm especially pleased to be able to stay behind the camera. Camera? Theater? What, you ask?

Playwright Larry Jay Tish has a new play up and running for one more weekend at the Playwrights' Theatre at BU in Boston. "The Last Jews: An Apocalyptic Comedy" is a funny farce that is rooted in the legacy of of one of history's darkest chapters. It also may offend Canadians.

A Boston Globe article gives some insight into Larry and the concept of the play:

Larry Jay Tish, "tackles humanity at its most inhumane with “The Last Jews: An Apocalyptic Comedy.” It’s set in a North Dakota bunker after a Canadian-led genocide has wiped out all but two Jews, Gertrude and Morty, who hadn’t spoken to each other since their bitter divorce two decades before."

Set in the near future, the play called for some video elements -- characters "skyping" with each other, security camera footage, a fake newscast -- to be presented to the audience via a communication screen inside the Sierra Club bunker where most of the play takes place.

I was pleased to work with Larry and Director Margaret Ann Brady and some talented actors to get these scenes recorded, edited and delivered for playback during the live shows. In previews, I was happy to see that the video played seamlessly and was non-distracting, which is really the point, to serve the play in telling the story at hand.

The video elements even received a mention in a review on Boston Arts Review (where it wasn't called out for ruining everything): "...and Brad Kelly’s video design for the television news broadcasts is an effective and awfully clever comic coup. Mazel Tov."

The play runs through May 11th and is funny and hopeful and gets you thinking about the absurdity of hatred, even as you're laughing.

See you in the theater!

"Better Homes and Gangsters" in Pre-Production with Albion Park

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 19:08:00 +0000

We here at Albion Park Productions are deep in the pre-production process on our first feature, our working title is "Better Homes and Gangsters." For now. We think it's funny, suspenseful and moving. The staged reading proved that its potential wasn't just on the page. We were pleasantly thrilled by the response from the actors and others in the room. We look forward to bringing this bit of cinematic fun to the big screen. And eventually the big screen plasma in your living room.

The script is finished. The parts are mostly cast and the actors committed to the shooting schedule. SAG (Screen Actors Guild) paperwork is being shuffled and submitted. LLC's are being created, lawyers are being consulted and paid. Boy are they being paid. Before anyone else gets paid, the lawyers must be paid. One of the first things we got for our money was that we should probably think about changing the title. Apparently a certain magazine might choose to make trouble. Must we start killing our darlings before we've even really begun? The law is a tough, expensive master.

Principle photography is still a few months away. The budget is....well, the budget money is in the process of being raised (stay tuned here, hint, hint...). It's amazing how many moving parts there are to getting a film underway, even before the first frame is shot.

My two producing partners are doing a lot of the heavy pre-production lifting with me. And once we start production we'll be putting on our "real" hats: Art Hennessey will be directing. Amanda Good Hennessey will be the lead actor and I will be director of photography. Anyone want to line produce?

Creating an online "presence" for a movie that hasn't shot a single frame yet, is challenging. With that in mind, we recently headed to some tennis court on a very chilly fall day with two of our actresses braving it in tennis whites, to try and come up with some images that might hint at the kind of flavor that our upper-class-meets-underworld script encompasses. A little bit screwball, a little bit dangerous, a little bit awkward.

Amanda Good Hennessey and Alexandra Hynes make nice for the camera

More to come as this comes together. See you on the courts!

Up On A Roof: Storm Clouds Over Somerville Timelapse

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 15:41:00 +0000

Storm Clouds over Somerville, MA, July 29, 2013, A Timelapse from Brad Kelly on Vimeo.

Dramatic stock music rolls in over the Boston area last night. Also, some awesome summer storm clouds.

I was rolling on some timelapses yesterday when some freaky Ghostbusters worthy clouds moved in.

Shot at 4 seconds per frame and edited using Quicktime and Final Cut Pro.

Game of Thrones Ascent Footage to Air on HBO this weekend

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Sat, 11 May 2013 18:19:00 +0000

Last month HBO requested the raw interview footage I shot, with Steve Webster of Impact Design,
of the hot local game design folks Disruptor Beam, for the Game of Thrones Ascent trailer.

Turns out they've incorporated it into a featurette that is airing on HBO starting this weekend! I haven't seen it yet and I'm mighty curious to see what they've done with it.

Best of all, I can now cross the "have footage I shot run in an interstitial featurette on HBO" off my bucket list. Onward and upwards!

The featurette started airing yesterday and is scheduled to air at these times, as well:

Game of Thrones Ascent Featurette Air Times: May 11th-13th

Saturday at 2:29pm on HBO Signature

Saturday at 5:17pm on HBO Signature

Saturday at 9:39pm on HBO

Sunday at 1:07am on HBO Signature

Sunday at 1:33am on HBO Zone

Sunday at 1:08pm on HBO Zone

Sunday at 6:58pm on HBO2

Sunday at 7:12pm on HBO

Sunday at 11:01pm on HBO Signature

Monday at 3:48am on HBO

Monday at 9:39am on HBO

Monday at 12:04pm on HBO Comedy

Monday at 9:00pm on HBO Zone

The Oblique Sector is in a streaming partnership with Film Armada as part of the extended Nantucket Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 18:49:00 +0000

Our short film, The Oblique Sector, premiered a year ago at The Nantucket Film Festival.

The Albion Park Productions team spent a glorious and eventful several days on that quaint little island taking part in the festival scene and the old-time whaling seaport atmosphere: Meeting, greeting, taking part in Q&A's, catching other interesting films and enjoying the parties, workshops and readings for which the NFFest is justly famous. Then it was over. Back to work (and on to the next festival).

Fast-forward nearly a year: We received an email from the Nantucket Film Festival inviting us to participate in a "streaming partnership" with Film Armada, as an extension of the Nantucket Film Festival 2012. Film Armada describes itself as an "Online Theatron." For the duration of the NFFestival, our short would be available streaming online and all revenue associated with ad sales and "tickets" sold to view our film would go entirely to us. After the festival, our short would be withdrawn or we could choose one of two options to leave it up as part of Film Armada or the NFFest archives.

What's to lose, right? Licensing agreements were signed, digital files were delivered, and The Oblique Sector is currently available (for the rest of today) online here: http://www.filmarmada.com/film/682441/oblique-sector

How this will play out financially remains to be seen. I haven't purchased that yacht for the visit to Cannes next year, but who knows. It's a new world out there when it comes to distribution and revenue streams and to an extent, it's about trying out new concepts and ideas and seeing what sticks.

Film Armada is in beta. And in some ways, it shows. It's not really clear to me how much it costs to view our film, but it's reportedly $3. However, signing up and logging in to the site, it appears there is a $10 minimum purchase of credits, so that raises the "random casual viewer" bar fairly high, right off the bat.

And our film is represented by a rather awkward frame grab (automated, I presume?), as you can see below.

As any of you who have seen the film know, The Oblique Sector is not really about Amanda Good Hennessey's chest. Sorry, Amanda! I think we can blame it on the bot.

Hello, Cape Cod! The Oblique Sector is an Official Selection of 2012 The Woods Hole Film Festival.

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 21:59:00 +0000

Albion Park Productions is thrilled to announce that our short film, The Oblique Sector, is an Official Selection of 2012 The Woods Hole Film Festival!

Thank you, Kickstarter supporters for helping us continue our festival run!

WOODS HOLE FILM FESTIVAL

Movie Maker Magazine called the Woods Hole Film Festival "one of the coolest 25 film festivals in the world."

We're looking forward to visiting the festival and interacting with other filmmakers and seeing some great films (as well as our own!) down on Cape Cod. Should be the perfect time of year for a visit. Hope to see you there!

SCREENING DATES:

Monday, July 30th at 7pm

Saturday, August 4th at 5pm

For details about the festival: http://www.woodsholefilmfestival.org/2012/

To purchase tickets: http://woodshole.festivalgenius.com/2012/films/theobliquesector0_jasonmreulet_woodshole2012

(They just announced the schedule, we'll be getting our trailer and graphics on festival genius soon!)

Thanks for all of your support!

iPhoneography in Print. An Article on My Cellphone Photography in the Somerville Journal

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:39:00 +0000

The February 16, 2012 issue of the Somerville Journal has a full page article about my cellphone photography.

Old School / New School: iPhoneography on the printed page.

I was contacted by Jillian Fennimore, a reporter from the Somerville Journal, who had seen my iPhone shots in various tweets and postings online and asked about doing a brief article on them for the "Somerville Life" section of the paper. I was happy to oblige! The world is infused with little moments of visual poetry if we pause to look. I try to share that online and I was pleased for the opportunity to share my images, with perhaps a different audience, in print.

In the article, I mention the wise saying that when you see something extraordinary, the best camera to use to capture the image is whatever one you have with you! For most people these days that is their cellphone.

Since getting an iPhone, even I admit that I'm less inclined to carry my Nikon around with me, in favor of knowing the iPhone, with its halfway decent camera, is as close as my pocket. This is convenient and makes me look less like a photo dweeb.

However, I'm also more likely to miss out on serendipitous moments that might demand high resolution and the capabilities of a professional camera (such as my fortuitous luck, in capturing the Harvard Square meteor in high resolution with my Nikon, last year).

As a visual artist, I'm drawn the slightly surreal and unexpected beauty in the everyday things around us. These images, I find, are almost always unexpected and unplanned. They rise up out of the environment like a sort of visual haiku. Even hitting with the force of a poem, a visual poem, if you will, if you can look for a moment in a mood of contemplation. Perhaps, the visual equivalent of a William Carlos Williams haiku, like his famous poem about the Red Wheelbarrow:

so much depends

upon

a red wheel barrow

glazed with rain water

beside the white chickens.

This reads, to me, like the perfect description of a great iPhone photo of a poor American family's backyard in the 1920's. Provided, of course, that the iPhone had been invented then, and possessed by an iPhoneographer of William Carlos Williams' sympathetic imagination and a good 99¢ iTunes photo app.

Nothing enables a (post) modern visual haiku-ist better than a cell phone with a decent camera. I'll admit I'm partial to the iPhone, but I'm sure there are Droid phones and Blackberries, etc. with equally competent cameras in them.

It's a fact, however, that almost any cell phone photo needs a little post-processing work, to bring out its best. Most shots come out a little flat to begin with, by design. That's where the apps come in. The article mentions a 99 cent app that I use. For me, that's Camera+. ($.99 when I bought it - seems to have gone up to $1.99, for the moment) Truly, 90% of what I post online has gone through this app. It's not perfect, but it does a great job, overall. There are plenty of free photo apps, too, that do amazing things, including the ever popular Instagram (as well a some very cheesy apps).

So much of what we shoot these days never gets printed. In fact, the definition of what a photograph is has probably actually changed. For many, printing their photos today, is a rarity. And even more so with small, low-res mobile photos. Witness the demise of Kodak.

Consequently, I've rarely printed an iPhone photo, assuming them to be too lacking in pixels to look good. So I was pleasantly surprised with how good these ended up looking printed on newsprint in the Journal. Long live print! There is something to be said for a photograph that has an actual physical presence.

This issue of the Somerville Journal will be on newsstands until next Thursday. Get yours soon, as it's sure to be a collectors item! Some years hence, there may be no physical paper published anywhere, having all moved online and to iPad-style devices.

But, for now, here's visual poetry on the printed page. Little visual haikus of Somerville life!

Outtake: Rosebud Diner in the Rain

UPDATE: The Somerville Journal has now posted the article online.

Somerville Night Live

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Doing my Lorne Michael impression. Red Sox cap maybe not the best choice.

I produced and directed my first show for SCATV Ch.3 in Somerville last night. It was a live hour with some very talented cast members (and crew!). It was a SNL-ish mixture of skits, short films and news updates with a strong local Somerville slant and a seasonal holiday flavor.

It was precarious, as live events often are: Key actors stuck in traffic, crucial video files exporting with only minutes to spare, balky studio equipment and twenty odd cast and crew rushing around mustering costumes, props and script changes. Invigorating to say the least!

I didn't sleep for two days prior as more than half the show content was created in the final 24hrs. In fact 90% of the skits & films were written, and in the case of the short films (excepting Father Pike) were shot and edited, in the space of three days. Rehearsal? HA! We laugh at you and your "rehearsals."

Art Hennessey and Amanda Good Hennessey did the lions share of fleshing out our concepts into workable scripts. Not to mention managing the actor chaos backstage with admirable aplomb.

I was also really happy create some "Lord Somerville" short films out of Art's essays. Lord Somerville is an enigmatic top-hatted anachronism who strolls around observing the Somerville scene. Look for them to pop up online separately, too. Hopefully, we can do more of these!

Jason Reulet, of Oblique Sector fame, came up with a great musical theme for our "Eye on SCATv" news breaks.

Erik Rodenhiser took a break from his North Shore theater endeavors to break out his "Andre" character to host a few segments. Although, I cringe at the thought of seeing Andre do any more yoga. One downward facing dog was enough.

Some other talented performers brought their lightly scripted/improv A-game, including Sheryl Faye, Floyd Richardson, James Saguinetti, plus relative newcomer Sunil Dikshit.

The show will be re-broadcast in Somerville a few more times before moving on to Cambridge (CCTV) and then the Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN). Eventually, it will hit the web and I'll post the link.

I look forward to doing this again, only with a little less hectic creative process next time.

Lord Somerville scans the scene for the subject of another essay.

Kickstarter Success! The Oblique Sector movie festival tour gets fully funded. And Red Rocks Film Market news.

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:26:00 +0000

A huge "Thank You" to everyone who contributed to our Oblique Sector Kickstarter campaign and put us over the top!

I shot and edited a short appeal video this summer and we had no idea if we would find enough backers to raise the funds necessary to keep submitting the film to festivals, a surprisingly costly part of the independent filmmaking process. You can see our video below:

We were overwhelmed by the generosity of the kind folks who pitched in and gave us over $3000 (so far)! We're thrilled to keep The Oblique Sector out there on its festival run.

And if you'd like to help you can still get on board train and grab a DVD or other cool awards by donating before midnight tomorrow. We are very grateful!

In other news, we are pleased to report that The Oblique Sector is available at the Red Rocks Film Market in Utah, this weekend.

The Oblique Sector Playing in Two Film Festivals This Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:46:00 +0000

We are proud to announce that we have been accepted to two new festivals.

Both are happening this weekend and if you have some Frequent Flyer miles to burn you could see our film twice!

The Oblique Sector is now an Official Selection of:

Atlanta Underground Film Festival

and the

Pawtucket Film Festival

Here are the details:

Atlanta Underground Film Festival

Saturday, Sept 24th - 11:30pm - COMEDY SHORTS II program

The Goat Farm Arts Center - Goodson Yard 1200 Foster Street NW, Atlanta

For details on tickets and directions: www.auff.org

If you've got any friends in Atlanta, please feel free to spread the word!

Pawtucket Film Festival, RI

Sunday, Sept 25th - at 3:30pm

Blackstone Valley Visitor Center

175 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI

For details: www.thepff.com

We will attend the Pawtucket screening. Please let us know if you will be there, too!

FOLLOW US:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/obliquesector

Facebook: http://facebook/obliquesectormovie

www.obliquesector.com - for updates and trailer of our film

As always, thanks for your support!

Albion Park Productions heading to Nantucket with "The Oblique Sector" for the 2011 Nantucket Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:12:00 +0000

I'm looking forward to getting on the ferry in Hyannis tomorrow for the ride across the sound to Nantucket where our little film, The Oblique Sector, is having it's world premier at the 2011 Nantucket Film Festival!

Sadly, (or not!) both screenings are sold out, but rush tickets are usually reserved for the day of, so if you're on the island, you've still got a shot to get in. We are screening on Thursday and Saturday.

Follow the Albion Park Productions team on twitter for the latest:

Official film twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/obliquesector

Producer/Cinematographer, Brad Kelly (me): https://twitter.com/#!/bradkellyfilms

Director/Lead Actor, Jason Reulet: https://twitter.com/#!/jasonreulet

Writer/Producer, Art Hennessey: https://twitter.com/#!/ArtHennessey

Writer/Lead Actor, Amanda Good Hennessey: https://twitter.com/#!/Amandagh

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/obliquesectormovie

We're looking forward to meeting others in the filmmaking community as well as enjoying the festival and seeing as many other films as we can. Not to mention, enjoying the impossibly quaint surroundings of the former 18th century whaling capitol that is Nantucket.

We'll also be rubbing shoulders with other festival participants such as Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Vera Farmiga, Seth Meyers, and special 2011 NFF honoree, Academy award winning screenwriter Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby). Good company!

See you on the island!

My Judgment Day May 21 Billboard Photo On Slate.com

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Fri, 20 May 2011 06:11:00 +0000

My "Judgement Day May 21 Billboard Over Budget Copy in Cambridge, MA" photo makes the Slate.com website.

Slate calls it "clearly photoshopped." It isn't, but it is post-processed (with the Camera+ iPhone app) heightening the contrast on the clouds. It's a cellphone photo, so it obviously won't stand for much post-processing, but those clouds were really there. That's pretty much been our weather around here for as long as I can remember. It's photo #2 in the slideshow. I'm also credited with the next image, too, but I've never been to Lebanon, so obviously that's a mistake.

I guess we'll find out this weekend if Mr. Camping's math and biblical scholarship skills have improved any since 1994.

"Thumbosis" Our 48 Hour Mockumentary Now Available Online

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Mon, 09 May 2011 17:47:00 +0000

Is today's younger generation all thumbs?

A short mockumetary.

"Best of Boston" winner at the 2011 48 Go Green Film Competition. It was a Top 16 Finalist and screened at NAB on April 13, 2011 in Las Vegas.

I blogged about this earlier.

"Thumbosis"

A mockumentary with the assigned theme of "Save the Next Generation."

Required character: Morgana Johnson, Ph.D.

Assigned prop: keys

Required line of dialogue: "When does she arrive?"

Thumbosis Extremis is what happens to young people who, perhaps already debilitated by Nature Deficit Disorder, overindulge in typing, texting and endless video game playing, rendering the digits of their fingers virtually useless from overuse.

You can also watch the film on 48 Go Green's official site: http://www.48gogreen.com/video/742/thumbosis

www.48gogreen.com/

Our comedy short "The Oblique Sector" an Official Selection in the 2011 Nantucket Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:32:00 +0000

Albion Park Productions (a new production company that I started last year with some very talented and creative collaborators) is pleased to announce that our very first project, a short romantic comedy by way of the Twilight Zone called, "The Oblique Sector," is now an Official Selection at the 2011 Nantucket Film Festival!

"Those dating sites never worked out for me."

We've set up a website for the short and you can check out the credits, trailer, and other news as it makes the festival circuit:

http://www.obliquesector.com/

Check the updates as there are several local screenings to be announced shortly.

Preview: Here's a peak inside the world we like to call, The Oblique Sector!

The Trailer

I had a great time creating this along with some very talented folks, including Director Jason Reulet, who pulled double duty as the Oblique Narrator, himself!

Amanda Hennessey not only co-wrote and produced, she turned in a great performance as our heroine.

My thanks as well to video-maven Sam Sacks, who broke in his new Canon HDSLR so we could shoot two camera coverage to get the restaurant scene finished in the limited time we had before the real diners came pouring in to Chianti in Beverly, MA.

We've got many good things brewing and I'm looking forward to our continuing collaboration!

Chemistry is filled with complicated equations, and romantic chemistry is no different.

Like us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/obliquesectormovie

Or follow us on twitter, if your prefer: http://twitter.com/#!/obliquesector

P.S.-Nantucket Film Festival...that's a great logo you have there.

"Thumbosis" Wins Best of Boston, Screens at NAB Show.

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:27:00 +0000

Over the last several years I've participated in a good number of 48 Hour Film competitions, usually with team Playomatic (and my frequent collaborator Steve Stuart) here in Boston (and in Providence, RI) and while we've won our share of awards, we've never won the the Big Kahuna--the "Best of Boston" designation awarded by the panel of film critic judges to the overall top film...Until now!

Video Drone

Our short mockumentary, "Thumbosis," was declared "Best of Boston" following the 48 Go Green Premier Screening on February 24th, 2011 at Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge, MA.

"Thumbosis"

A mockumentary with the assigned theme of "Save the Next Generation."

Required character: Morgana Johnson, Ph.D.

Assigned prop: keychain.

Required line of dialogue: "When does she arrive?"

The Heartbreak of Thumbosis

Taking a cue from Nature Deficit Disorder, a somewhat real, if controversial behavioral disorder postulated by Richard Louv in his 2005 book, "Last Child in the Woods:"

The young are the most vulnerable.

Our film spins a mockumentary around our own made-up disorder, Thumbosis Extremis.

Thumbosis Extremis is what happens to young people who, perhaps already debilitated by NDD, overindulge in typing, texting and endless video game playing, rendering the digits of their fingers nearly useless from overuse.

We trot out our expert (and required character) Morgana Johnson, Ph.D. to explain and illuminate the condition, as well as present treatment options, some more effective than others.

As with all our past films, I was cinematographer (as well as co-producer, co-writer and Box-O'-Joe schlepper) for Thumbosis. Filmed entirely on Cape Cod, I'm pretty proud of what we accomplished in only 48 hours with a tiny crew, from concept to finished film.

Is there hope on the horizon for Thumbosis sufferers?

Thumbosis was shot entirely with a Panasonic HVX200, usually utilizing a Brevis 35mm adapter and a selection of SLR lenses. My 24mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4 and 105mm 2.8 Nikon primes were the most useful on this shoot and account for 90% of all shots.

Only the "nature" shots were done without the Brevis and I took advantage of the 60fps capabilities of the HVX (which, on a 24fps timeline, makes for some very pleasant slow-mo) and it's excellent standard 13x Leica lens. The HVX has been around a good five years, but it's still a highly competent workhorse capable of very cinematic HD video.

Compared to the HDSLR's all the rage today, this baby still rocks on a professional level, particularly with the form factor and high quality audio acquisition (balanced XLR's and phantom power, etc.).

Panasonic's own AF100 and Sony's F3 are starting to merge the best of both worlds; the gorgeous depth of field and interchangeable lenses of the DSLRs along with the high quality audio/video connections and rock solid build and workflow that professionals crave. I'm looking forward to maybe retiring the Brevis adapter with my next camera.

Devastated about the RED Scarlet. Pondering her next HD camera purchase. Should she go 4K?

The 2011 48 Go Green Film Competition is an offshoot of the 48 Hour Film Project. As "Best of Boston" winner, Thumbosis went on to compete against other winning films from around the globe and was a Top 16 Finalist.

As one of the Top 16, "Thumbosis" also screens today, April 13th, 2011, at NAB Show (National Association of Broadcasters Show) in Las Vegas as part of the "Best of the 48 Go Green" session.

A Thumbosis slideshow:

I'd love to be at NAB this year, but I can't fly for a while due to recent surgery on a ruptured achilles tendon (Ugh!). Ironically, fear of deep vein thrombosis prevents me from seeing "Thumbosis." You can't make this stuff up...

Super Moon Over Boston

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:23:00 +0000

The moon passed within 221,567 miles of the earth on March 19th. That's closer than it's been in over 18 yrs. Known as the Perigee Moon when the moon is closest to earth in its orbit, this moon has been dubbed the Super Moon, as perigee also coincided with the full moon. The resulting lunar spectacle was 14% larger and 20% brighter than when at lunar apogee.

NASA has a more complete explanation and video online.

With clear weather forecast I decided to try and get a photo of this once-in-a-blue-moon phenomenon. Not owning any super-telephoto lenses I had to improvise.

My 80-200mm zoom wouldn't really cut it as 221 thousand miles is a long way away. Combining my 2x teleconverter and the 1.5 crop factor of the Nikon D300 yielded an effective 600mm focal length.

The moon is surprisingly bright in the night sky and as it rises higher above the horizon it increases in brightness. I was able to get proper exposure at f5.6 with a shutter speed of 1/200th sec.

A sturdy tripod and some further cropping in post produced the view of the moon above. The incredibly beautiful orb that orbits our terrestrial home.

"Inexhaustibly For Anya," People's Choice Award winner screens again tonight

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Thursday, February 17
Marblehead Little Theatre, 12 School Street
Doors open at 7:00 PM, Screening begins at 7:30 PM
Running time: About 90 minutes
Free admission

"Inexhaustibly For Anya," a short doc I shot and produced for the International Documentary Challenge, in one long weekend with Steve Stuart last year, is screening tonight with other shorts at the Winter Film Festival in Marblehead.

Our short won the "People's Choice Award" for best film at the Marblehead Festival of Arts last summer at its premier.

The film tells the story of Marblehead's own Keri Cahill, founder of the Rebel Shakespeare Company and her heartfelt determination to bring Anya, the sister of her adopted Russian daughter, to the United States.

You can follow Keri's continuing quest on her blog, "Creating My Own Little Nirvana."

My Meteor

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 07:15:00 +0000

Sometimes being late and carrying your camera with you everywhere pays off.

On January 29th I walked to Harvard Square to catch a movie at the Brattle Theatre. I brought my camera and tripod figuring to get some snowy nighttime Harvard Square shots after the film.

Well, I underestimated the snow drifts and consequently, the time it would take to get there. I arrived late for the movie. Irritated with myself, I started my solo photo walk earlier than planned.

And then this happened:

Time to make a big wish, I guess.

I posted a little more here on Flickr.

Holiday House - A Short Doc About That House

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:34:00 +0000

It's hard to believe it's been nearly 5 years since my friend Steve Stuart and I made this short documentary in one weekend for the 2006 International Documentary Challenge.

It seemed seasonally appropriate to put it online now. If you live on the North Shore of Boston it's likely you know the house in question.

I shot this with my venerable old Panasonic DVX100A (not so old then). The timelapses were done with a consumer Nikon camera with crappy compression--and show a lot of artifacting. I'd never shoot them that way these days!

As usual, scratching the surface of ordinary people reveals unexpected depths. Here's the blurb:

Holiday House tells the small town story of "That House" on Rt. 62 in Danvers, MA. You know the one you drive by as you head into or out of Beverly, that is usually overflowing with decorations for every conceivable holiday?

Who does that?!? Well, now you know! For Karen McCarthy and friends, it's a labor of love and a celebration of freedom, family and community.

This film was created by Brad Kelly and Steven Stuart in Danvers and Beverly, MA between Thursday, March 23, 2006 and Monday, March 27, 2006 for the International Documentary Challenge.

Floating Pool Footage and Photos Air on CBS

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:25:00 +0000

I've blogged about this interesting project before:

Now, CBS Ch2 in New York has featured a short interview with Floating Pool Lady architect Jonathan Kirschenfeld. The piece uses some of the B-roll footage and photos I shot in Louisiana of the pool/barge under construction, as well as upon its arrival in New York City, after the long journey up the East Coast by tugboat.

The Floating Pool Lady passes under the Verrazano-Narrows on its way to NYC

Sadly, the link seems to be broken on CBS2, but you can still see a rather low-res YouTube version of the "CBS Eye on NY" piece here:

The iPhone Crack'd

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:52:00 +0000

iPhone 4 meet concrete:

Well, it happened...

The iPhone 4 is definitely a slipperier creature than my old iPhone 3.

I was still getting used to that fact, and hadn't gotten a case or bumpers, yet, despite Apple's offer of a free one in light of the antenna/reception issue. This was an issue for me, but, after a few days of dropped calls I used a discrete piece of gaff tape over the antenna gap and that solved that problem.

But, alas, gaff tape doesn't provide any shock protection.

So when I dropped it four feet or so, onto a concrete sidewalk, this was the result. I'd dropped once already, with out major effect, but something about the angle of impact this time must have been unfortunate.

Now I'm wondering what to do. It still works, but the back is now a web of iShards and was shedding little chips for a time. I'm worried that the web will spread or a big chunk will fall out initiating a domino effect or leaving sharp shards in my pocket or in my hand.

One person told me to use super glue and wick it into the cracks to stop them from spreading. This sounds reasonable, but I'm worried it'll make the back an ugly mess. Not to mention making further servicing of the innards by Apple or anyone else difficult, if not impossible.

I found a company online called DirectFix that sells a replacement back for $99, but they're currently sold out.

And you have to do the repair yourself.

They provide an instructional video on how to replace the screen that gives a fascinating glimpse inside the engineering marvel that is the iPhone 4.

Let's just say that I'm really glad it's the back cover that broke and not the front, if I have to do this repair myself.

Here's the teardown video if you're interested in what's inside an iPhone:

At least my front screen is still fine and everything seems perfectly functional.

Even the camera still works perfectly, just don't cut yourself framing up a picture!

"Inexhaustibly For Anya" World Premier Screening tonight at the Marblehead Festival of the Arts

noreply@blogger.com (BradKellyFilms) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:06:00 +0000

Just a quick note to let you know that, "Inexhaustibly For Anya," the short documentary I shot and produced (in one crazy weekend for the International Doc Challenge) with Steve Stuart has its World Premier screening tonight on the outdoor screen at the Marblehead Festival of the Arts in beautiful Crocker Park on Front St. in Marblehead, MA.

The screening is scheduled to begin at 9pm. Keri Cahill, Nastia and other supporters will likely be on hand, as well.

Hope you can join us. The weather is supposed to be fantastic. A great way to start the Fourth of July weekend!