We had a blast working with the chef instructors and the students at the school and shooting all over Portland. Hopefully you enjoy, and are inspired to whip up a delicious dish… or maybe even enroll in the Culinary, Baking & Pastry, or Culinary Management program over at OCI. (It’s a ad, so I had to add that).

Actual would like to extend a huge thank you to Grochau Wine Cellars, Kobos Coffee, Wealth Underground Farm, and the Portland Farmers Market for welcoming us into your spaces, showing us around, and letting us shoot. We were lucky enough to sample some delicious wine, coffee, and farm fresh vegetables along the way.

Also, a big thank you to the crew that made this ad possible, from concept to final product: Director – Annie Tonsiengsom, Creative Director – Bradley Mosher, Storyboard Artist and Creative Collaborator – Dan Schaefer, Producer – Janique Robillard, DP – Bradley Sellers, 2nd Camera – Aaron C. Wong, 1st AC – Eric Macey, 2nd AC / DIT – Tim Gowen, 1st AD – Ryan Montgomery, Production Coordinator – Jean Herbold, Gaffer – Jim Davis, Swing G&E – Jake Lyon, Anthony Argostino, and Jaime Ginesky,  Art Asst. – April Jones, Editor – Greg Day… you guys were all amazing and each played a role in the success of this project.

Since I love my iPhone, Annie recently got an iPhone… Jean is on an iPhone… I don’t want to rule one way or the other. My take on this is that you’ve got options. And, especially in a pinch, your iPhone will have you covered.

Best for you to watch and make your own decision. It’s a really great comparison video.

Thank you, Robino films for this awesome video. If any of you want to check out more of their work – here’s a link to their Vimeo page.

Actual industries had the pleasure of working with the city’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and Rachel Lipsey of Old School Craft Services to produce the series of How-To videos that will show you everything you need to know about getting your food scraps into your green roll cart.

The one thing the videos don’t review, are what actually happens to the food scraps and yard debris. This OregonLive.com article will fill you in on the details if you’re curious. Check it out here.

Thank you to our wonderful crew – Boyd of Zebra Media, Brian Mazzola, Tim Gowen, Jake Lyon of Downhill Productions, Ben Fleuter – for making it happen!

If you did not already know Actual Industries has finally launched their new website! Hats off to our friend Lee Ritter for doing an excellent job and making us look awesome! Anyhow, take a gander it’s pretty great (in our opinion, hopefully you’ll agree)!

While you watch, try to keep track of the album covers you recognize and let us know.

‘I need nothing’ is an original concept from Cãoceito + Burdman, shot by Moopie. Its premier happens as a tangential project of EXD’11 (a super cool international biennale dedicated to design, architecture and creativity; a forward-thinking platform that cultivates and analyses contemporary culture through discussion and reflection).

From Cãoceito: ‘Useless’* – the motto of biennial’s current edition – was the kick-off, and the thought on how album covers (vinyls, in this case) enable people to ‘listen with the eyes’ the main goal of the project. At a time where digital audio files dominate but where traditional mediums still seduce fans, the album covers, being useless for some, stay relevant for others.

*definition of USELESS : having or being of no use : not able to give service or aid

What do you think?

His exceptional kinetic text video about “word as icon” caught our eye recently.  Ji has an incredible gift for clean design that brings an idea across quickly, playfully and effectively.  It makes my brain smile.

For more examples of his clean, yet complex approach to design, check out his mischievous guerrilla art campaign called The Bubble Project, or his Google logo design for MacWorld 2009.

Ji is definitely one to watch.  He’s been a Creative Director for Google and Droga5, and he’s freelanced for W+K, S+S, Publicis, BBDO, and many other top agencies.  He seems like a very interesting, fun person and we look forward to seeing more of his work as he continues to push the envelope.

Here is an update on some of the things that will make your camera-crazy life more interesting than it already is!

iPhone SLR Mount

We here at Actual love two things very dearly. iPhones and DSLR cameras, particularly the beautiful lenses that accompany them. Well, if you don’t mind carrying around a lens three times the size of your iphone, then we have the perfect toy for all of you camera junkies! Introducing the iPhone SLR Mount by Photojojo! It’s handheld, and attaches to the your iPhone as if it were a permanent case. No more silly filter applications or grainy zoom features on the 3Gs and 4! Say goodbye to pictures that simply don’t do a moment justice! Say hello to a stronger forearm (weird?)! The case adapter will attach on to any Nikon or Canon EOS lens, giving your priceless iPhone pictures the depth of field and beauty you deserve. At only $250 (lens not included), you can have this gem and the attention that will come along with it – albeit good or bad. Personally, I might stick with my camera over mounting a thousand-dollar lens to my iPhone. But that’s just my opinion! For others, the iPhone and this case might replace their camera altogether… (I would hate to see the day). Feel free to tell us here at Actual what you think about the iPhone SLR Mount from Photojojo. Are camera cases taking over the world? *cough doubt it*
It’s up to you to decide!

Fisheye, Macro, and Wide Angle Camera Phone Lenses

The second little gismo I have for you today is from the same company, but slightly more practical. Photojojo presents you with the Fisheye, Macro, and Wide Angle Camera Phone Lenses! Unlike the SLR Mount, these work with any camera phone. It’s inexpensive, there are no hidden catches, and you can carry them right in your pockets. The awe-inspiring science behind them are… magnets? That’s right! Just like the SLR Mount, you can take those bland, uninspiring camera phone pictures and turn them into interesting, “holy crap how did you do that with your phone” pictures simply by attaching the magnetic ring to the back of your phone. The fisheye lens will shower you in toe-tingling super wide 180 degree angles, while the wide-angle/macro lens will take any picture and instantly upgrade it to cool status. Friends will now flip through your camera phone library and silently boil with jealousy at the awesomeness of your portfolio. Only once they have seen your works of art do you reveal your secret – the small, portable, magnet-attachable inexpensive camera phone lenses from Photojojo. Did I mention they were inexpensive? Ranging from $20 for the Wide/Macro lens, to $40 for both lens sets, its hard not to whip out your plastic and place your order. So what are you waiting for?

Canon Lens Mugs

Finally, Photojojo presents you with one of the most initially horrifying, but insanely cool geeky must-haves for an SLR enthusiast. The Canon Camera Lens Mugs are the Da Vinci masterpieces of tableware, combining the intricate simplicity of an SLR lens with the practicality of a mug. “What can I drink out of said mug?” you might say. Well, I say everything! From coffee, to smoothies, to juice, to everything under the sun. Even plants have even been grown inside these lenses. The 24-105mm black camera lens has a lens-cap lid complete with focus and grip zoom rings that will surely keep the mug safely in your hand. The 70-200mm white telephoto lens is more of a travel mug, with a liquid tight lid and a rubber bottom to keep it safe while on the road. I only have a few words of caution – do not mistake this mug for your actual SLR lens! That would sadden me and the rest of the camera world. And everybody here at Actual.

So rave, give a thumbs up, or just comment and give your opinion about this month’s gadgetry from Photojojo. We would love to hear what you have to say!

Thanks, and have a great rest of the week (pray for sun)!

Jason Stack

Mustafa aside, one must wonder, how on earth do they shoot these commercials? Are they CGI? Is a green screen involved? Are they shot all in one take? Well, my all-things-film-loving friends, I have answers! One of the newest Old Spice commercials by Wieden+Kennedy (shot here in Portland, I might add) features Mustafa taking a “Scent Vacation” around the world. This piece seems to have been edited using multiple takes, green screens, CGI, and everything else a big production studio can muster up. With this behind the scenes video, all of this is refuted and put to shame. I will let you watch while your jaw drops to the brilliance of this behind the scenes footage of the shoot.

Enjoy! And men, be sure smell like a man, man, because, ladies, if your man uses Old Spice body wash, he could smell like Isaiah Mustafa, man.

- Jason Stack

So I am going to assume that many reading this have already seen the beauty that is The Mountain – a gorgeous time-lapse on top of a mountain in Barcelona, Spain by TSO Photography. As an avid time-lapse photographer, I would like to present you with a beautiful contrast to this video. Mindrelic has created a mind-blowing, sense-tingling, goose-bumping lapse of Manhattan. He brought his camera equipment to the top of a dozen buildings to capture the duality between serenity and chaos that is New York City, and he does so better than I have ever seen. Check it out -

With stunning transitions between night and day, and unreal movement in the image, I was inspired to write about his brilliance. To create the effect of “moving” while the world flashes by, he used a time-lapse rig made by Dynamic Perception that moves the camera very slowly along a track controlled by a small onboard computer. At a mere $900, you can [easily] create time-lapses that seem to glide across the image, giving your video a whole new perspective and a distinguished look that is so valued these days in the production industry. The only difficulty is finding that perfect shot – one that will leave your viewers inspired to create something in your spirit. All it takes is some trial and error! Practice makes better, and this guy has most certainly been around the block a few times.

Feel free to comment about your favorite time-lapse tips and tricks! I would love to hear about some DIY set ups, or some alternate ways to go about shooting.

Have a good one!

Jason Stack

I have a [saddening] story for everybody! The other day, we at Actual were discussing how adamant we are that Hollywood not exhaust its movie ideas and dive into the genre of board games. We thought to ourselves, wouldn’t it be absolutely ludicrous if a movie was released about… Battleship?

Well, my friends, I have bad news for you. One of our most beloved and destructive childhood games is in pre-production. Universal Studios, brilliant creators of Jurassic Park, E.T., and the never-ending American Pie series, have announced a new venture into the realm of board games. A movie so epic, it couldn’t have come from an original idea. At a measly $200 million production cost, starring the Oscar-deserving pair of Brooklyn Decker and Rihanna, it should be a bumpy ride! The IMDB description reads:

“A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals.”

Really? Somebody in Hollywood went through their childhood keepsake box and came up with this? All we can hope is that M. Night Shyamalan is the assistant director and has a surprise twist up his sleeve for the ending. This seems to me like a movie that is going to need to hype itself up beyond reason in order to make money in the box office (ahem… The Green Lantern). It comes out in 2012, which is also the end of the Mayan calendar. Coincidence? I think the only redeeming quality is Liam Neeson  - but only if he is as awesome as he was in Taken. Here is the link to James Cameron’s opinion on the issue:

http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/01/10/james-cameron-battleship-movie/

I think many of us can agree with the slight (or maybe severe) downward spiral of a large part of the movie industry. Unnecessary sequels, horrible acting, over the top special effects, and regurgitated story lines are the top box office hits, and I don’t know about you, but it sends me over the top like finding a hornet crawling on your windowsill just before you go to bed. What happened to the originality and art that went into movie production? In so many cases, we are left wondering why we spent half our day’s paycheck (including drinks, gas money, dinner beforehand, and the ticket itself) to sit through a lazy film that tried to capitalize on the things that made money only the first time around (ahem… the new Pirates movie). Anyways, I cried laughing when I stumbled across this during my nighttime internet browsing sesh, and immediately sent it to Actual. Our conversation turned into reality, unfortunately. In the future, I might consider renting this from Red Box, but only if its half off (¢ 50).

In other news, go see Super 8. Heard it was fantastic. Also, X-Men was overrated. Not deserving of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Bleh..