Go To Team, High Definition Video Production Services

Nashville Crew Shares Telly Win With Other SPEED Crews

2012-05-25T06:00:00-07:00

Edsel Ford looking good with a GT 40 behind him.

I have a cool job. It’s something that I don’t take for granted. It’s nice to be able to contribute to cool shows and work for great clients like SPEED. It was about a year ago that I, along with several other crews, worked on a SPEED special about the legendary Carroll Shelby. It turns out the program just won a Telly. It’s funny, I never got to see the finished product but I guess it turned out pretty well. LOL. If you didn’t hear, we at Go To Team love making cool TV. Off to the next shoot!

Check out the piece that won a telly!

LA Crew Gets Down & Dirty with Fox Sports

2012-05-23T06:00:00-07:00

Almost every week for this 2011 NFL season Go To Team’s Skip Clark has been on the road for Fox Sports. He’s been shooting scenics and games for the NFL On Fox pre-game show on Go To Team’s new Sony F3. After visiting a number of east coast cities like New York, Boston, and Washington, DC, it was time for some time closer to home: San Diego. Skip made the trip down the 405 to I-5 with apprentice Ryan Ricker and they spent Saturday in the sun shooting all spots in San Diego. But it wasn’t all fun in the sun. Rain moved in for all of Sunday and that made for a messy game! The best angle for football is always low so that meant that Skip was in the mud for most of the day. All that rain gear he’s had for hurricanes over the years came in handy!

Nashville Crew Shoots Big Printers in Huntsville AL

2012-05-21T06:00:00-07:00

I feel like a broken record every time I say this but the best part about my job is that everyday is different. Well, my shoot in Huntsville, AL was definitely different. I spent the entire day shooting big industrial printers. Armed with my trusty HDX-900 and a Nano Flash I got to work.

The first printer was a little tricky to shoot. It was very close to the wall and difficult to move. The fabric I brought to use as a background just wasn’t falling off enough because the printer was so close to the wall. I decided to switch to black fabric instead. In the end it gave the footage a slightly more dramatic look. With no distracting pattern in the background all the focus was on the product. I set up a few lights to evenly light the printer and high light some features. Once the client gave the thumbs up I started shooting the printer in action.

The second two printers were out in the warehouse part of the building. This made the process easier because there were no walls to fight. I lit the other two printers the same as the first. I filmed them in action and then shot some beauty shots of what they actually print.

This was scheduled to be a day and a half shoot but we accomplished everything we were sent there to do in just a day. On the way back to Nashville I transferred all the footage from the Nano Flash to a hard drive. The next day I shipped out the hard drive and tapes to the editor in Chicago. I can cross shooting big printers off of my bucket list now.

Industrial label printer hard at work.

Close up of the ink jets.

LA Crew Heads to the Big Apple for Fox Sports Pre-Game Show

2012-05-16T06:00:00-07:00

Talk about iconic. Times Square. The Brooklyn Bridge. That’s what New York is all about. And that’s right where Go To Team’s Skip Clark headed when he was there earlier this NFL season. Skip’s been traveling almost every week to a different city to shoot beauty shots for the Fox Sports pre-game show. Equipped with his Sony F3, a complete set of Arri Ultra Primes, and a uniquely rigged telescope tripod head, Skip’s been shooting time lapses that Fox uses for billboard shots and music video. The telescope tripod head can pan very slowly at a variety of different speeds – taking over an hour to pan just 180 degrees! – and the long pan makes the time lapses more dynamic. It means a lot of babysitting, but the shots are worth it!

Nashville Crew Hits the Road with America’s Most Wanted

2012-05-14T06:00:00-07:00

I’m just going to cut to the chase; I love shooting for America’s Most Wanted. For starters there is never a dull moment, their interviews are fun to light, and you get to work with the men and women in blue. My latest journey with AMW took me to three different states in only three days.

You can't tell but that's a rug behind him.

I spent the first day in Atlanta shooting interviews and broll for a
capture story. I was rocking the Panasonic HDX-900. This shoot definitely challenged me a bit. That’s because they had just moved into the home we were shooting in. So there were no pictures on the walls and the house just didn’t feel complete. The other challenge was I could only shoot in one room. Luckily the room was pretty long but it was also narrow. In the end I was able to get three different looks in that room thanks to some creative lighting and set decorating. After the interviews were finished I shot some broll of the family making dinner. We then packed up, rearranged some furniture, and I hit the road for Spartanburg, SC.

Day two started off with setting up for an interview at the Spartanburg Sheriff’s Office. The detective hooked us up with a pretty big conference room. The catch was we had to push a giant conference table out of the way. (I swear I’m a cameraman and not a furniture mover so please don’t get any ideas) After shooting the interview with the lead detective we spent the rest of the day getting broll. The victims of the case we were covering sold motorcycles so we got shots of friends ridding their bikes through the South Carolina countryside. Before we knew it the sun had set. We were supposed to shoot one more interview that night but the interviewee backed out at the last second.

One of three interviews in that narrow room.

Nothing like bringing out the big guns AKA the HMI's.

The final day with America’s Most Wanted started with three more interviews at the sheriff’s office in Spartanburg. We shot the first interview outside so I pulled out a few HMI’s. The other two interviews were shot in the same room we set up in yesterday. We then headed over to an impound lot to shoot a car that had been torched. After a quick bite to eat we headed out to Cowpens, SC for the final interview. On the way we grabbed some scenic shots of South Carolina countryside. With the final interview in the can we shot a few more scenic shots before we lost the sunlight. I handed the tapes to my producer, said our goodbyes, and I was back on the road again. Can’t wait to shoot for AMW again!

Nashville Crew Goes Behind The Scenes With “The Champ”

2012-05-11T06:00:00-07:00

The NASCAR season is in full gear. I headed down to Charlotte to shoot behind scenes footage of the new Sprint commercial with Jimmie Johnson. It’s no secret that I love NASCAR so I must say I was pretty pumped to be shooting the five-time Sprint Cup champion.

I was shooting on the Panasonic HDX 900. The client wanted to walk away with a digital copy of the footage so I attached my Nano Flash to the camera via HDSDI. When we wrapped I dumped the footage to my Nexto hard drive. Then all I had to do was plug the Nexto into the client’s hard drive and copy over the footage. In this business it’s crucial to have backups and by using the Nexto not only does the client walk away with a copy but I do as well. Of course, we also have the tapes as a backup too.

It’s equipment like this that makes the day easy and worry free. That’s the way I like it because I can just focus all my energy on “The Champ.”

LA Crew Shoots With James Caan for Fox Sports

2012-05-09T06:00:00-07:00

Every week Fox Sports opens their show NFL pre-game show with a tease segment titled ‘The Journey.’ It’s a re-cap on the past week and a look ahead to the current week of football with highlights and footage from the season. But a big part of that segment is the celebrity voice-over. Each week it’s a different celebrity that Fox brings into the studio and Go To Team’s Skip Clark is there almost every week to DP the shoot. But sometimes it’s not in the studio. Recently, when James Caan was in for the shoot, both of the Fox studios were booked and Skip was forced to use a boring multi-purpose room. No biggie. Just a lot of black solids to cover all the floor-to-ceiling windows and then some big fresnels and some scrims did the trick. Skip used the 1K and 2K fresnels lamped with just household lamps (thanks to Gaffer Garret Graves!) to shoot toward the lens and lend that Hollywood look, but then layered the shot with some single net scrims raked with lekos to fill out the shot. Using Go to Team’s Sony F3 all the layers worked well together to create a lot of depth and Go To Team’s Wally Dolly portable dolly system added just a little movement to make the shot dynamic.

Charleston Crew Provides “The Goods” for a Myrtle Beach Car Dealership

2012-05-07T06:23:27-07:00

Go To Team recently sent Charleston based DP Dave Baker and Craig Goodale to Myrtle Beach SC to help create some Car Commercials for The Morgan Group. They used a Panasonic 17 inch HD monitor with a Microjib, 800 watt Bron Kobold HMI, and a Panasonic HVX200. They kept things rolling smoothly and quickly as they toured the dealership, highlighting various vehicles. As the gear was being packed up, the HD footage was handily transferred to a client Hard Drive from GTT’s Nexto drive, and before the sun set, several spots were shot, gear was packed up, and Baker was on his way back to Charleston to prepare for the next shoot

LA Crew Helps Create a Rod Laver Documentary

2012-05-02T06:53:00-07:00

Outdoor setup for the still photo

Los Angeles based crew, Dan Lowrey, has been working on a documentary for the Tennis Channel on Rod Laver’s life story. Lowrey interviewed the legendary Australian tennis player in San Diego using the Canon 5D and 7D. Dan enjoyed having full creative control for the hour long documentary. He spent one day shooting old photos and videos of Rod Laver’s tennis matches using haze machines, a slider, and some amazing lenses! The documentary will air later this year.

One of the interview setups

Old film setup

Raleigh Crew Gets Dunked On

2012-04-30T06:00:00-07:00

March is basketball and Raleigh Cameraman Jimmy Hall has been in the thick of it.

We spent a couple of days in Alpharetta Georgia telling the story of Shaquille Johnson (AKA 747), who many in the US consider to be the best high school dunker in the country. We emptied our pelican cases on Shaquille, shooting with three different cameras: Panasonic HDX 900 (with Nano Flash), Canon 5D Mark 2, and the Go Pro Hero 2..we also pulled out our new versatile 5ft MYT slider.

We interviewed Shaquille’s family, friends, and coach, we were looking for the voices that had inspired and drove this young man to his success in high school athletics. We wanted to showoff Shaquille’s dunking mastery, so we did some really cool setups to expose his diversity and agility.

If you didn’t get a chance to see American Family Insurance Second Annual High School Slam Dunk & 3-point Championship on CBS before NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four then checkout our work we did with Shaquille.

http://youtu.be/X4kgGmrXvMc

Nashville and Charleston Crew head to New Orleans For Some March Madness

2012-04-27T06:29:22-07:00

When it comes to the NCAA basketball tournament the only sure bet is Go To Team. Yeah, your bracket might be busted if you write in GTT instead of Ohio State or Kansas but at least you’ll walk away with some stellar video footage. Charleston based DP, Dave Baker and myself (Roggg Woodruff) made the trip down to New Orleans for Intersport.

There's nothing like starting the day with a 5D and a sunrise.

With two HDX 900s and a Canon 5D at hand, we spent the day in New Orleans shooting an Enterprise Rental Car vignette with former NBA star, Joe Dumars.The day started just before sunrise. The producer and I made it to the top of a downtown hotel building and captured the sun rising over the great Mississippi River. Afterwards I captured a few more b-roll shots with the 5D before heading to the local Enterprise Rental Car facility. It was there that I met up with Dave and together we started to set up for the first of three location shoots with basketball legend, Joe Dumars.

The first set up was outside with Mr. Dumars and a couple of Enterprise employees. We used one of the 900s as a wide safety shot while the other 900 got cut aways. The 5D, with a 70-200mm lens attached, was used to get a close up shot of Mr. Dumars. Afterwards we packed up and made our way to a jazz club. It was there that Joe and a few Enterprise employees enjoyed some jazz music. Once again, we used three cameras to cover the scene. Our day was scheduled very tightly so we had to take advantage of three cameras. Using two HDX 900s and a 5D allowed us to do fewer takes but still get all that was needed.

Close up of Joe Dumars at Blue Nile.

Mmmm shallow depth of field, yum.

Our final location was at a restaurant that’s been around for over a hundred years called Commander’s Palace. Joe and the Enterprise employees hung out in the kitchen at the chef’s table. Space was limited so we used one 900 to get a wide shot and the 5D to get a close up of the chef and Mr. Dumar. It was already pretty well lit in there so we just candy striped a 400w Diva to give the shot a little punch. We finished just in time for Joe to catch his flight. Afterwards I shot some kitchen b-roll with the 5D and a 16-35mm lens.

Dave gets his "time-lapse" on in Lafayette Square.

With a few hours of daylight left, Dave and I split up and headed out to get some more b-roll of New Orleans. We then met up at the hotel and handed the tapes over to our producer. In the end it was an action packed day, and that’s exactly how we like it. With the tapes out of our hands and batteries on charge the only thing left to do was grab an adult beverage on Bourbon St. and enjoy the city of New Orleans.

LA Video Crew Uses The Arri Alexa During Fox Supports PSA Shoot

2012-04-25T06:00:00-07:00

Go To Team now owns so many flavors of HD that it’s rare that we have to rent any gear! But that was the case when Los Angeles based Skip Clark was shooting this year’s Fox Supports PSA for the Fox Sports NFL team. Every season Fox Sports, through their charitable arm Fox Supports, picks a charity or organization to sponsor and this year it’s the Armed Forces Foundation. The organization provides for members of our armed forces as they come home to their families after serving overseas. Clark DP’d this year’s PSA featuring soldiers from both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars along with all the Fox Sports talent using the Arri Alexa. The camera gear came from AbelCine and the kit was completed with gear from Go To Team’s inventory including Go To Team’s new set of Arri Ultra Primes. There were two Alexas on the shoot to keep things moving – gotta keep the talent happy! – along with a trusty Go To Team Varicam, run by Dan Lowrey, for behind the scenes footage.

Nashville Crew Shoots for Synaptic Digital in Charlotte

2012-04-23T06:00:00-07:00

I headed to the Queen City for a shoot with Synaptic Digital. This was my first time working with them and I have to say I had a great time. We were shooting a news package on the big banking institutions implementing ATM fees. Armed with a HDX 900 in hand I started my day by shooting b-roll of ATMs, banking buildings, and bank logos. Afterwards we got a man on the street reaction to the ATM fees.

The next part of our day was spent setting up for an interview with a banking executive from Ally bank. Ally bank is one of the only banks that doesn’t charge an ATM fee. After the interview we filmed some city shots of Charlotte and people using ATMs.

Once we wrapped I dropped my awesome audio guy, Jamie off at his car. I then took my producer to the airport and wished him a safe trip back to New York. I look forward to working with Synaptic Digital again!

Singer Bahnz Selby Rocks Out for Orlando Director of Photography

2012-04-18T06:00:48-07:00

Bahnz and Beckmann discuss how to shoot the piano images

Bahnz Selby, a singer/songwriter who’s been in the music scene since age 14, and has toured with Jordan Knight (New Kids on the Block) and other nationals over the last four years, spent some time with GTT’s Orlando-based DP/Partner Dan Beckmann.

Bahnz on Guitar

Shooting with the Panasonic HDX 900, a Go Pro and a LipStick Camera, Beckmann and Bahnz captured amazing images for Selby’s collection of video clips.

Recently, Selby has opened for national acts, including Lifehouse, Filter, Uncle Kracker, Rehab, and Ryan Cabrera, to name a few. The crowds he attracts are epic, and a recent review from the Miami Music Festival put it this way, “Selby’s songs whistle in the sky, come down and plant those that surround. Almost cement like.”

Bahnz plays guitar while Beckmann captures it on the Lipstick Cam

Raleigh Crew Tailhooks onto the USS Eisenhower with Carl Edwards

2012-04-16T06:00:00-07:00

Working in this business, it’s never the same, it’s like being stuck on random play. One day you’ll be in a hotel conference room for 10 hours shooting green screen interviews, the next day you’ll be loading in a C-2 Greyhound flying a couple hundred miles off the east coast of the US for a shoot with Carl Edwards on the USS Eisenhower. One things for certain, this ain’t no commercial flight, no peanuts, no ginger ale, no moist towelette. The flight to the ship ends with a hook landing on the flight deck of the IKE, they call it a ‘arrested landing’. I’ll put it in perspective, 105mph – 0 in 2 seconds, no sh#!t.

Shooting with the Panasonic HDX 900 and a couple of Go Pro’s. I gave one Go Pro to Edwards so we could get his POV, plus trying to move through the ship with the HDX 900 can be treacherous because of the narrow spaces. We spent most the time on the IKE visiting sailors and thanking them for their service. Edwards signed autographs, took photos and got to know many of the sailors aboard the ship. The crew even baked Edwards a personalized birthday cake and sang “Happy Birthday” during his visit to the mess hall.

As the visit came to a close, we all suited up and boarded the C-2 Greyhound preparing ourselves mentally for the catapult launch off the ship, think 0 -130mph in 3 seconds.

Keep it stuck on random.

Nashville Crew Works With Hip-Hop Group, Arrested Development

2012-04-13T06:00:00-07:00

It seemed appropriate for me to make the drive from Nashville to Atlanta for an “Unsung” shoot with 90’s hip-hop group, Arrested Development, considering one of their biggest hits was “Tennessee.” Armed with a HDX 900 and Z1U I headed to ATL for three days of shooting interviews.

Arrested Development founder, "Speech."

I was really excited to be shooting for “Unsung” again. It’s such a cool show. It’s basically a “Behind the Music “ but for groups who VH1 wouldn’t normal put the spotlight on. For three days we shot interviews with group members, managers, and music journalists.

“Unsung” has a very specific look for their interviews. They like the background to have a vibrant color with an abstract pattern for some texture. After my last “Unsung” shoot I went out and got some more gels so I was well stocked for almost twenty interviews.

The HDX 900 was set up to get a medium shot while the Z1U got a close up. As I’m sure you can imagine, we went through a bunch of tapes! The nicest thing about the shoot was that because we were in one of those large hotel conference rooms we not only got the depth we needed but were able to lock all of our equipment safely when we finished day one and day two. I look forward to the next “Unsung” shoot.

Former Arrested Development member, Dionne Farris.

GTT Teams Up with AMW and John Walsh in Charleston

2012-04-11T06:00:00-07:00

When John Walsh and crew traveled to Charleston SC to shoot standups for the “Americas Most Wanted” South Carolina special, GTT’s Dave Baker was there. With the use of a High Output provided grip truck full of gear, crew, and a dolly, the crew churned out several standups in a myriad of locations across Charleston.

Charlotte Crew Shoots for American Honda Motors, Inc.

2012-04-09T06:00:00-07:00

We love corporate shoots, so you can imagine our excitement to shoot with American Honda Motors, Inc. Our goal was to shoot an interview with the Director of Waste Management for Hendrick Automotive Group. My audio op and I spent a few minutes scouting the inside of the facility and before we knew it, the set was lit and the F900 was ready to roll tape. The office we choose didn’t afford us the space we would have liked so I shot through the doorway to achieve the depth I needed. 2 Kino Flos provided all the light we needed for the interviews and they looked great!

Next on the list was B-Roll so we wrapped out of the interview space and set up in the in the lobby. Here I was able to capture some of the nicely lit display cases and elements that looked cool. I eventually made my way outside to shoot exteriors and signage. This shoot was made even cooler when we found out that Mr. Rick Hendrick himself was inside touring the facility as we were shooting. Unfortunately it was such a short day and Mr. Hendrick and I didn’t cross paths but we made the best of our time and sent the client back with some great content!

Charleston Crew Shoots for “The Doctors” in Columbia SC

2012-04-06T06:00:00-07:00

GTT’s Charleston based DP Dave Baker and Craig Goodale traveled up the road to Columbia SC to shoot a segment for “The Doctors”. While GTT’s equipment is top notch and includes all of the latest electronic gadgetry available, the device which was the subject of the story; a lifesaving heart regulating device called the Impella that put GTT’s gear to shame! The story featured a woman whose life was saved by the device when her heart was failing from an infection.

PGA’s Bill Haas gives Raleigh Crew the Scoop on Wake Forest Tradition

2012-04-04T06:23:10-07:00

GTT’s Raleigh based cameraman Jimmy Hall recently collaborated with PGA Tour.com where they spent the day at Wake Forest University in Winston – Salem NC with PGA Tour player Bill Haas who had returned to his alma mater for homecoming. Bill is the third member of his family to play golf at Wake Forest University following his father, Jay, and Uncle Jerry. He was a three-time first-team All-American, four-time All-ACC, two-time ACC player-of-the-year, and 2001 ACC rookie-of-the-year.

The Hall crew had a full plate, shooting a couple of stories for the Golf Channel show ‘Inside the PGA TOUR’. Our first stop was at the Wake Forest Golf Facility with Assistant Athletic Director Mike Piscetelli for a quick tour where Wake Forest alum Bill Haas had practiced. After our tour of the facility we shot scenics of WF campus and later met up with Bill Haas for a sit down interview for the ‘Wake Forest Tradition’ piece.

Check out our work:

http://www.pgatour.com/video/r/shows/inside_the_pga_tour/2011/11/08/shows_haas_wakeforest_11inside45.pgatour/index.html

http://www.pgatour.com/video/r/shows/inside_the_pga_tour/2011/11/08/shows_exlcusive_wakeforest_11inside45_rev.pgatour/index.html