Go To Team, High Definition Video Production Services

Atlanta crew heads to NOLA for Superbowl XLVII

2013-05-22T06:00:45-07:00

I was pretty excited to find out I was on assignment to go to Superbowl 2013 , not to mention it ended up being in New Orleans this year. I teamed up with Charleston DP Dave Baker and we covered a whole slew of things during our week there. We did some interviews with the quarterbacks and some of the players as well as some red carpet events and stand ups with awesome talent from NFL. Once the lights came on, I got to see my first live Superbowl! Upon the finishing of the game, we got a chance to get down on the field and into the mix with the players and fans where I got a chance to shoot on the Sony F3. When all was said and done, we had a blast and put out some exciting video!

-Jeff M

CLT Shoots Pilot EPK’s for CBS, FOX and NBC.

2013-05-21T06:00:59-07:00

Pilot Season is wrapped up and what a great experience it has been. Over the past few weeks I shot EPK content for CBS’ drama pilot Reckless, J.J. Abrams-produced series Revolution on NBC, and Fox’s Sleepy Hollow thriller. These shoots were pretty straight forward. We were tasked with shooting interviews and broll with various cast and crew members raging from the writers, directiers, editors, VFX Specialists, DP’s, wardrobe, and art department. Pictured below is Costume Designer Roland Sanchez.

HDX-900 monitor shot. We slapped some art wrok in the background and brought in a clothes rack to transform this tiny, white-walled room.

These EPK’s were shot on the HDX-900 with my 5D being a B-cam or second angle. These options gave us great flexability for shots where there wasn’t much room for a full size eng camera. The 900 definitely helped with following the action and snap zooming on my wide angle lens. Sometimes we had the luxury of actually being on set where we didn’t really have to construct a background but we also had the challenges of turning white walled rooms into a believable wardrobe for one interview. I cant wait to do more of these in the future, It’s always fun being on set and seeing all the moving parts of a film set in action.

Interview with British actor Tom Mison. He is cast as the lead in Fox’s Sleepy Hollow.

British actor Tom Mison has been cast as the lead in Fox’s Sleepy Hollow

Dallas Crew Shoots Draft Day Feature for the NFL Network

2013-05-20T06:00:39-07:00

Shooting an interview with Coach Keith Thomas in his former office.

The 2013 NFL Draft is coming up. One of the top prospects, Lane Johnson, grew up in a small town in east Texas called Groveton. I made the trip down to Groveton to shoot a feature on Lane Johnson and his relationship with his high school football coach, Keith Thomas.

Just imagine how cool this looks thanks to the MYT Slider.

I got to work with Canon’s C500 and C300 on this project. I really enjoyed working with these cameras. Upon arriving in Groveton, my second cameraman and I set up for the interview with Lane Johnson. We decided to do it in the locker room. There was a lot of color and texture that made for a cool background. I ran the wide shot which was mounted to a MYT Slider. I used Canon’s 16-35mm f2.8 lens. For the close up shot we used Canon’s 85mm f1.2 prime lens.

To light the interview we kept half the lights on in the locker room to achieve a more natural look. I used my 400w Kino Flo as a key. My 200w Kino Flo light was used as a fill. We hung one 300w Arri fixture from the ceiling with a scissor clamp. This fixture was used as a backlight. After the interview we shot a scene in the weight room with Lane and his coach chatting about the old days.

You just gotta love Canon’s 85mm f1.2 prime lens.

To save some time, I split off from the rest of the crew after the weight room scene. I shot some b-roll in the weight room while the other cameraman and audio guy moved equipment into the adjacent building to start setting up for the interview with the coach. We used a similar camera and lighting set up for the coach’s interview.

Lane Johnson and his high school coach relive the “glory days.”

Our day ended on the high school football field. We shot a scene with Lane and Coach Thomas looking at old pictures. I manned a wide slider shot using the 24-70mm f2.8. The second camera used the 70-200mm f2.8 to shoot close up shots of Lane and the Coach. After shooting some “hero shots” of Lane and Coach Thomas we were able to let them go. We finished the day with shooting some b-roll of the football field and Groveton, TX signage.

It was a blast getting to work with the C500 and C300. These cameras are pretty cool. While they aren’t perfect, they do shoot a great picture, especially when you’re rocking some Canon L Series glass. I also had a blast working with fellow Dallas DP, Bob Chestnut. It’s always nice to get to work with talented people. It certainly makes the day go a lot smoother.

Be sure to look for this piece on Lane Johnson. It will air on April 26^th on the NFL Network. I can’t wait to check it out!

Lane Johnson and Keith Thomas stare down the camera for this “hero shot.”

Lane’s old high school football jersey. I used the 50mm f1.2 prime lens to get this beauty.

Screen grab of the wide slider shot from the interview with Coach Keith Thomas.

Charlotte Crew Shoots Hailstorm Testing for Weather Channel

2013-05-15T06:00:34-07:00

So did anyone else watch that hailstorm unfold live on Weather Channel a few weeks ago? If not here’s a little BTS commentary from the shoot, enjoy!

When you talk about recreating mother nature at a lab in the form of wind turbines and hail cannons, there’s a good chance that Weather Channel and Go To Team will be there to cover the action. This was exactly the case on a recent shoot with Jim Cantore and I at IBHS in Richburg SC.

So you are probably asking yourself…. What’s IBHS? IBSH stands for The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Saftey and they were conducting the first ever full-scale hailstorm in an indoor controlled laboratory setting. Pretty cool right?! Historically speaking, there has never been a test of this scale conducted before so you can imagine the intensity involved not to mention all of the other media outlets surrounding this event. We first set up inside the lab with a lock down shot of the facility for TODAY Show to bump to periodically. We also shot a few standups here with Canotre as he gave us some pre test analysis.

Various other media outles shooting from the observation deck.

What started out as a laid back morning would soon escalate into a full fledged camera gear/audio blitz throughout the controlled access facility with the several back to back camera positions, one being on scissor lift. Meanwhile our live truck op was dodging the droves of other media and PR people to reroute our fiber lines to each location. The shoot was intense but equally as fun in the end. It’s always cool to see science and meteorology unfold right in front of you!

Canotre and I standing by to inspect the hail damage to the roof and vinyl.

Having never worked with Cantore before, I learned really quickly that he wants to be “a snake in the grass” so we had fun running around together to get all of the shots we needed. My passion as a videographer has always been a culmination of creativity and shooting as much cool stuff as often as possible. What a rewarding shoot capturing “NATURES” special moments even though it wasn’t really nature, which made it all the more interesting. I had a blast and I can’t wait to wok with the Weather Channel folks again.

Charleston Crew teams up with AXStv

2013-05-14T06:00:26-07:00

Charleston Director of Photography Dave Baker and Joel Hinrichs recently teamed up with AXS TV to cover Basketball at the College of Charleston. Beauty shots, scene sets, and Coach interviews were easily handled by the Panasonic HDX900.

Dallas Crew Shoots for ESPN’s “30 for 30” Series

2013-05-13T06:00:24-07:00

Shooting an interview in the office of Dallas Stars president, Jim Lites.

One of my absolute favorite series out there has to be ESPN’s “30 for 30.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that I didn’t enjoy. They’re always shot beautifully and tell a compelling story. Needless to say, when I found out I was shooting for the series I was pretty pumped.

The “30 for 30” I worked on was about con man, John Spano and his attempt to purchase the Dallas Stars hockey organization. The film’s director, Kevin Connolly, flew out to Dallas to conduct the interview and make sure we got the necessary b-roll. And, yes, this is the same Kevin Connolly of the hit T.V. show, “Entourage.” Seriously, somebody please pinch me. Actually, wait, don’t.

Comerica Bank Headquarters in Dallas, TX.

My day started off in downtown Dallas. I shot some b-roll of Comerica’s Headquarters and the surrounding buildings in the banking district. Afterwards I headed over to the airport to pick Kevin up. From there we headed out to the University Parks neighborhood to get some b-roll of Mr. Spano’s old house. We also shot some b-roll of the old office building at which John Spano use to work.

The medium shot from the Jim Lites interview.

Kevin and I then headed up to Frisco to shoot an interview with Jim Lites, president of the Dallas Stars. I was shooting on two Canon 5Ds. We set up for the interview in Mr. Lites office. Kevin liked the hockey memorabilia in his office so we made that the background. I used a 400w Kino Flo as the key and a 200w as a soft fill. For the backlight I used a 150w Arri fixture. For the background, two 300w Arri fixtures were used.

The first 5D was mounted with a 24-70mm f2.8 lens. This camera captured a medium shot of Mr. Lites. The second 5D was mounted with a 70-200mm f2.8 lens. I used this camera to get a close up shot of the Dallas Stars president. We used a smart slate and separate audio recorded for audio. It didn’t take long before we were set up and ready to rock.

The close up shot from the Jim Lites interview.

The interview went great. I was really happy with how the interview looked. The producer had sent me some examples of other interviews they had done for this project and I believe that I matched the style pretty closely. After the interview we headed back downtown to get a few shots of Dealey Plaza. It turns out that Kevin is a huge history buff and wanted to get some shots of the book depository and the grassy knoll. That pretty much ended our day. There were two more shots Kevin wanted but he really didn’t need to be there for them. I dropped Kevin off at his hotel and I headed out to get the final shots.

Kevin and the producer needed two evening shots. The first is a shot of John Spano’s former house and the second was a Dallas skyline shot. Once the sun started to set I got the shots. Afterwards I made sure all of the footage and audio from the day was on the hard drive and shipped that out to L.A.

A night shot of the Dallas skyline.

I had a blast on this shoot. It was great to meet and work with Kevin Connoly. He was awesome and super down to earth. I also had a great crew too. All in all, the day just went very smoothly. I can’t wait to catch this “30 for 30” in the fall of 2013 on ESPN.

Chicago Crew flexes creative muscles for UFC

2013-05-08T06:00:13-07:00

When I heard I was headed to Boca Raton for UFC I was extremely excited. Spring has not yet hit the Chicago area, so I was looking forward to getting closer to the equator and thawing out my gear. I packed up my flip-flops, shorts, HDX 900 and oh about 11 Pelican cases and flew like a bird down to the Sunshine State. Boca Raton, if you have never been, is a retirement haven. Beautiful beaches, high-end shopping and some of the best UFC training facilities on the east coast. I spent three days following some of the UFC’s best fighters, Rashad Evans, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Glover Teixeira, as they prepared for their upcoming fights. For this shoot, I got to flex my creative muscles because the look itself was to be very stylized. I created a cooler, blue tint look to my footage by using the overhead incandescent lights in the gyms along with my 400 W daylight balanced HMIs with a white balance of 4300K on my camera to achieve this effect. After I shot the training camps it was on to the interviews. I used the same look but made the image slightly warmer by bumping up to a 4600K white balance. I then moved on to shooting hero shots of each fighter at 60 fps so they could slow down the footage in post, all previous footage was shot at 24 fps. For this I used the same style of lighting as my b-roll but incorporated my MYT slider for that added motion to the images. I am a man of intense action and these fighters did not disappoint. Awesome shoot + awesome crew + awesome action = great shoot for GTT.

Nashville Crew to Austin for South-by-Southwest Film Fest.

2013-05-07T06:00:26-07:00

Shooting Olivia Wilde at premiere for “Drinking Buddies”

The Nashville and Dallas crews saw the stars come out in Texas… while covering SxSW for E! News, that is! The annual film, music and arts festival is a popular destination to celebrities and artists of all stripes, and they were not in short supply this past week. A few of the stars we lensed include (insert gratuitous name-drop here!):

Steve Carell, Jim Carrey & Olivia Wilde, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Josh Duhamel, Fergie and Dan Fogler, Scenic Route

Anna Kendrick, Olivia Wilde, Ron Livingston & Jake Johnson, Drinking Buddies

Matthew McConaughey, Mud

Selena Gomez & James Franco, Spring Breakers

Also bonus interviews with cast from Burning Love and Deadliest Catch!

Atlanta Crew heads down to Florida for Spring Training and Fast Cars

2013-05-06T06:00:18-07:00

Myself and Apprentice, Mark Phillips traveled down to Tampa for some spring training with the Phillies; however, we weren’t there to talk ball, we were there for SPEED to talk classic cars. We started the day interviewing Roy Halladay about his classic Corvette. We had some great early morning sun, so I went “green” on the lighting and used the sun.

Afterward, we took the HDX and slider to the car and got some beauty shots. From the side exhaust, to the finished interior, it was a sweet ride. We grabbed some B-roll of the stadium and called it a wrap.

-Jeff M

Nashville Crew Shoots for Hands on Nashville – MLK Day 2013

2013-05-01T06:00:49-07:00

The Nashville crew spent MLK day shooting with Hands on Nashville, a volunteer organization whose work surely justifies Tennessee as “the Volunteer State!”

Dozens of volunteers collaborated to paint a local, aging fire station. Even Nashville mayor Karl Dean picked up a brush to add a couple of coats himself.

Chicago Crew heads west for NCAA Wrestling Championship

2013-04-29T06:00:45-07:00

Loaded up my gear and headed west to the Great Plains for an awesome shoot with ESPN. I covered the NCAA Wrestling Championship in Des Moines, IA. My first ESPN shoot, woohoo! I was shooting HDX 900 for a few interviews with wrestling legends and tons of great b-roll of the matches. The shoot was focused on bringing awareness to the 2020 Olympic games, where for the first time ever, wrestling will not be an event. This was extremely sad news for all wrestling fans everywhere. We sat down with the Great Dan Gable to get his thoughts on the news. After our interview, we headed to the mats to capture a ton of artistic color to use as b-roll for the piece. Once again, getting the chance to be a proud Penn Stater, as PSU went on to win their 3rd National Championship in a row! Such an amazing shoot with an incredible crew. Hoping the piece will catch some awareness and looking forward to seeing the piece air as well as some of these great wrestlers give their all in 2020.

What happens at NAB… usually doesn’t stay at NAB it will most likely end up in your gear package.

2013-04-24T06:00:55-07:00

A few weeks ago I boarded a plane headed to Sin City for the Broadcaster’s ball aka NAB (National Association of Broadcasters). This was my first time at NAB and in Las Vegas (unfortunately, I don’t have a tale that can rival Hunter S. Thompson). I was excited, I have known of this mystical event for 15 years. Anxious, I wondered was NAB going to be as magical as it was in my mind or was I just another Bos in the herd. We hit the floor Tuesday and Wednesday rubbernecking everything we passed, but we were on a mission a mission to find that thing, or things, our goal was to outfit it was to accessorize! For us it is the year to accessorize, what is that item that will add convenience and beauty to our current arsenal…lenses? motion control? video recorder? remote control helicopter rig.

Look for updates on our new gear and how we are using it in the field.

-Jimmy Hall

Charleston, Charlotte Crews go Orange at UT

2013-04-17T06:00:10-07:00

Charleston DP Dave Baker and Charlotte Cameraman Ryan Dumville recently traveled to Knoxville TN to aid in the coverage of the University of Tennessee football game against Alabama. Using a pair of Sony F3 cameras, prime lenses, and a Slider, they were able to capture the vivid oranges and reds on the field along with scenics of the UT campus. Another cool shoot.

Dallas Crew Shoots for MAC Cosmetics

2013-04-15T06:30:07-07:00

Archie, Betty, and Veronica pose for a picture.

MAC Cosmetics is promoting their new lineup of makeup called Archie’s Girls. It’s named after the classic 1940s comic strip, Archie. I headed out to Fort Worth to shoot one of their promotional events.

A makeup artist applies some Archie’s Girls Cosmetics to a happy customer.

I was working with the Canon 5D this time around. The 16-35mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm lenses provided the perfect range of glass for broll and interviews. I spent the first hour shooting broll of customers receiving free makeovers by professional makeup artists. Then three models portraying the classic characters, Archie, Betty, and Veronica made an appearance. I captured footage of the models interacting with customers and taking pictures at the “kissing both.” Don’t get too excited, there was only “air kissing” happening at the kissing both.

To cap the day I shot three interviews with some of the event organizers. My “go to” lens for 5D interviews is the 70-200mm f2.8. I love this lens. The shallow depth of field is pretty sweet. I was a one-man band for this shoot so I also ran audio. That can always be a bit of a challenge but I had plenty of time to set up and run some tests to make sure the 5D was getting clean audio.

A screen grab from one of the interviews.

When I got back to Dallas I copied over the footage to the client’s hard drive and sent it out to LA. It was a pretty fun shoot. I always have a blast shooting broll on the 5D. I can’t wait to do it again!

Betty and Veronica looking good in those updated outfits.

Chicago Crew: Shooting for charity ain’t no rarity

2013-04-10T06:30:18-07:00

There is no such thing as “down time” at Go To Team. When I am not shooting for one of our awesome clients, I am reaching out to the community by doing one of our infamous charity shoots. This week I geared up the F3 and headed to downtown Chicago to meet up with our friends at Family Focus, a non-profit that dedicates their time helping families give their children the best possible start in life. If you keep your ear to the news wire, you are well aware that there is an ongoing issue of violence in the Chicago metropolitan area. This charity provides a safe haven for kids, after school hours, to concentrate on their studies and focus their minds on academia and other specialty programs. They even have a production class where they are writing, shooting and editing a documentary! I got the chance to shoot what really goes on at Family Focus as a fly on the wall during their after school programs. I shot a bunch of nicely lit interviews that they can use for training and promoting awareness in the community. I had a blast! Who will be our next charity shoot? It could be you! Check out some of my interview screen grabs below!

Dallas Crew Heads to Houston for the NBA All-Star Game

2013-04-08T06:30:58-07:00

With the NBA All-Star game in town I made the trip down to Houston. I was shooting on the Panasonic HDX-900 with a Nano Flash attached.

Dwayne Wade and his children discuss parenting with Lakewood Church pastor, Joel Osteen.

Our main assignment was shooting the stand ups and V.O. for a recap segment called, The Daily Zap. After each night’s event we headed onto the court and met up with our producer and reporter, Jared Greenberg. We would then shoot the stands ups, etc and call it a night.

Throughout the weekend we also covered press conferences and other events happening throughout the city. One of the events we covered was the Fatherhood and Family panel discussion at the Lakewood Church. An array of former NBA stars were present including Dwayne Wade and pastor Joel Osteen.

The last day was certainly the craziest. At first, I had a late call time but that changed rather quickly. One of the producers I had been working with called to see if I could help out another crew. Apparently one of the crews in town was wrapped for the weekend, had shipped their gear home, and was at the airport when then got the call that they were needed for one more shoot. Without lights, grip gear, or even audio they definitely were in a bit of a jam.

I made my way over to the shoot location and got to work. We used most of my HMIs to light the interview. They were shooting on two RED cameras. After the interview we headed over to the convention center to shoot a little scene between two actors. They were without an audio guy so I stepped in. I must say that strapping on that audio bag was a pretty weird feeling. I haven’t worn this thing since I was a Director of Photography Apprentice for Mr. Skip Clark three years ago. Anyways, I got the talent mic’d up in no time. We shot the scene. Before I knew it we were wrapped. Everyone was very thankful that I was able to help out. It was no big deal though. I love what I do and was glad to help, even if it meant running audio for a little bit.

Daily Zap reporter, Jared Greenberg does a stand up after the 2013 NBA All-Star Game.

All in all this weekend was pretty fun! I had a great time working! I can’t wait to do it again!

LA & Nashville Crew team up for Padres Spring training

2013-04-03T06:30:08-07:00

It’s that time of year again! Spring training kicks off in Phoenix and Los Angeles based crew, Dan Lowrey, is all over it! Lowrey spent a few days following the San Diego Padres around while they prepped for the upcoming season. Craig Goodale tagged along to help out with the shoot. Dan and Craig assembled a large set to make the shots as cool as possible! Be sure to check out Lowrey’s coverage this year on FOX Sports!

Dallas Crew Spends Super Bowl Week in NOLA for the NFL Network

2013-04-01T06:30:17-07:00

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to work for Fox Sports during the Super Bowl in Dallas. It was nothing short of an unreal experience. Fast-forward to 2013 and I find my self on the road to New Orleans to shoot for the NFL Network. Armed with a Varicam, HDX-900, and Sony F3 I got to work in “The Big Easy.”

A shot taken in Armstrong Park on the Sony F3 with the 16mm Arri Ultra Prime.

The NFL Network kept me pretty busy in New Orleans. On the first day I shot b-roll at various places around the city. I used the Sony F-3 and the Arri Ultra Primes to accomplish this task. I even got the MYT Slider out to add a little flavor. I could shoot with this setup everyday!

The next morning my audio guy and I ventured over to the Superdome for Media Day. I was rocking the Varicam for this shoot. We shot interviews with various 49ers and reporters. In the midst of Media Day we got the call that we were needed for a Marshall Faulk shoot. Yeah, that sounds cool! We met up with the former football player and New Orleans native at his hotel. We spent the rest of the day with Marshall as he gave us a tour and reminisced about growing up in the Ninth Ward. You can check out the Marshall Faulk video by clicking on the link below.

Marshall Faulk tours his hometown of New Orleans

The week got progressively crazier but it was a blast. I covered the red carpet at the ESPN party. For that shoot I used the Sony F3 with the PL to B4 mount adapter. This way I could use my Canon ENG glass and the client was able to walk away with SXS cards for a quick turn around. I shot a NFL Play 60 segment with West Virginia Quarterback, Geno Smith. Oh, I was also lucky enough to work with former NFL player, Dhani Jones again. We had shot some Big Ten tosses up in Chicago a few months ago. The week ended with me covering red carpet arrivals at the 2^nd Annual NFL Honors Event.

Cee Lo Green is looking pretty good on the red carpet event for the ESPN Party.

It was so much fun getting to work with all the NFL Network producers. We shot such a variety of content over the week. I really look forward to shooting for the NFL Network more in the months to come.

Where in the world is Dan Lowrey? Catch him if you can!

2013-03-27T06:00:41-07:00

Los Angeles based crew Dan Lowrey started off 2013 with a big bang! He started off the year in South Africa for some fun in the sun. Right after his trip around the world he jumped right into Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. Dan spent his time filming all the exciting events along with some gold medal interviews for ESPN. Covered in snow, most of the crews went home to thaw back into reality. Not Dan! He caught the first flight straight out to New Orleans for the Super Bowl with The NFL Network. Filming everything from New Orleans scenics to the Playboy party. Dan ended his trip filming slow motion footage with the F3 on the field for the Super Bowl.

New Orleans on the field for the Super Bowl!

Lowrey staying busy with the snowboarders in Aspen

White shark diving in South Africa!

Dallas Crew Shoots for “Countdown to UFC”

2013-03-25T06:00:03-07:00

It doesn’t get much cooler than shooting for the UFC. With a fight coming up, we spent the day with UFC fighter, Johny Hendricks. Armed with an HDX-900 and a MYT Slider, I got cookin’.

A screen grab from our interview with Johny Hendricks.

We spent the day at a fitness center that is also the home of a traditional UFC octagon-fighting ring. I lit the ring using two 400w Kobold HMI’s. We killed the house lights to give it a dramatic look. Johny then hopped in the ring and did some training exercises. I shot this b-roll at both 24p and 60p with a resolution of 720p.

Next, we began to setup for a sit down interview while Johny went for a run. It wasn’t long before we had Johny in the hot seat. I used a Kino Flo 400w as a key and a Kino Flo 200w as a greaser. “Countdown to UFC” likes a very cool temperature look. I used HMI’s to light the background. All the Kino Flo’s bulbs were changed to the 5500k. I set the white balance temperature on the camera to about 4300k.

Shooting “Hero” shots with the MYT Slider.

After the interview, Johny Hendricks left to meet up with his family at Chuck ‘E’ Cheese. This gave us plenty of time to set up for some “hero shots” using the slider. I brought out the Arri 1K and attached a CTB filter. This light was pointed up at the ceiling. I used 1 400w Kobold HMI to hit the left side of our subjects face. A scrim was used to diffuse this light. We were shooting from an extremely low angle. I used two pelican cases as a foundation for the slider. Once we had Johny back in front of the camera we did a variety of framings with the slider movement. My producer added that cloudy affect you see to the right by clapping two pitcher rosin bags together.

Our day ended with Johny Hendricks participating in some more training. This was a pretty cool shoot. It was a lot of fun attaining this cool temperature look that they wanted. At one point I showed the producer the monitor and I asked him, “Is this too blue for you?” He smiled and responded, “The more blue, the better.” Yup, this was a good day.

Johny Hendricks is deep in thought while the MYT Slider makes it’s move.