A few time lapse video tests with our GoPro HD Hero2. Enjoy!
Clip 1: Southington Sky
Clip 2: Leaf frozen in pool ice
Clip 3: New Haven Harbor
Jess works on actor Peter Schutz
Depending on the size of a project, we often work with other artistic professionals and we’d like for you to meet them. So we asked our make-up artist Jess a few questions. She’s got a “real” day-job, but she loves the artistry of face-paint.
1) What’s your professional and educational background?
“I started playing around with make-up color at a very young age. When I was child all of my Barbies and Dolls were covered in make-up and nail polish. When I became old enough to wear make-up I became obsessed with it! I was always asking my friends if I could do their make-up or give them make-overs starting at age 14. Of course, at that age it was wasn’t something I took seriously but I seemed to have a knack for it.
I went away to college and continued to do make-up for my roommates and friends while obtaining degrees in communication and business with a minor in public relations. I have been working in the Insurance Industry for over 10 years now and a few years ago I found myself really missing the excitement of giving someone a makeover. I missed being able to make someone feel good about themselves just by applying make-up. My friends were still coming to me for tips on skin care and make-up application so I decided to take a second job selling Mary Kay Cosmetics and Skin Care.
I started my Mary Kay business in 2010 and have attended numerous training seminars and conferences on product application and color technique. In March 2012 I will be completing my certification in Airbrush Make-Up application. Airbrush make-up has become my latest obsession so I decided to buy an airbrush machine and get my certification. Airbrush can be used for both make-up application and spray tanning.”
2) How did you get into make-up consulting? And why?
“A close friend talked me into make-up consulting. After years of friends and acquaintances asking me to help them with make-up eventually, through word of mouth, people I didn’t know were asking my opinion or asking me to do make-up for an event. It seemed to make sense for me to take my passion for make-up and skin care to the next level and invest in my own business.”
3) You seem to really like the artistry. Would you consider this an art form?
“Like most make-up artists I use make-up to bring out someone’s natural beauty and I am a firm believer in “less is more”. However, I also love to use make-up to express what I’m feeling. On a day I’m feeling moody or dramatic I’ll wear darker eye colors but on a day I have lots of energy or I’m feeling motivated, I’ll wear a bright lip color. For me, make-up is not only about enhancing one’s natural beauty, it’s a way to express my emotions.”
4) What have been your two favorite clients?
“Right away a bride I did make-up for named Amy comes to mind. I started working with Amy about 8 months prior to her big day and Amy had adult acne. Amy was tomboy who admitted she knew nothing about make-up. She was really concerned about covering up her acne for her wedding day. I suggested we try treating her acne instead of covering it up. Amy was very skeptical that her acne could be successfully treated. We tried several different skin care regimes until we found one that worked for her and after about 3 months her acne was mostly gone. When her wedding day came around her skin looked flawless and we were able to focus on using make-up to bring out her eyes rather than cover up her acne. Amy went from being so self-conscious and not wanting her picture taken to loving her skin and being photographed. She has been married for over a year now and still contacts me regularly for advice on her skin and make-up.
Another favorite client was also a bride, named Kate. Kate was very self-conscious about the dark circles under eyes. I gave Kate an under eye serum that helps treat dark circles and puffiness. She used the serum twice a day for a month. The day of her wedding her dark circles had gotten considerably lighter. Kate loved wearing lipstick so I used a vibrant red lip color which brighten up her whole face (and matched her cool shoes!). After the ceremony Kate called me in a panic because she cried through the entire ceremony and now her eyes were puffy and red. She left the concealer I had given her for touch-ups in the limo so I told her to get two spoons from the restaurant, run them under cold water and put them over her eyes for a few minutes. She texted me about an hour later saying my trick worked perfectly, her puffiness was gone and her waterproof make-up was still intact. She couldn’t believe how many little tips I had taught her and how beautiful and confident she felt just from a little eye serum and lip color.”
5) What’s your favorite product/tool and why?
“I have to pick just one??!! My personal favorite product is my eye brightener. I work a lot and as a result I’m sleep deprived! I put a little eye brightener in the corner of eyes every morning and it really makes my eyes pop and it brightens up my face. You would never know I didn’t sleep the night before. I don’t leave my house without it on!”
6) Give us the one tip you’d like everyone to know… For general everyday makeup or for film makeup….
“When doing make-up on yourself or on someone else just pick one feature to accentuate and focus on that. When I’m doing someone’s make-up I find their best feature, whether it’s their eyes, check bones, lips etc., and that is where I draw attention. Only stick to one feature, otherwise you’ll end up applying too much make-up.”
Thanks for talking with us Jess!
A first look at some of the footage for Shane Michael Taylor‘s debut music video WARRIOR COWBOY.
Day 1 of shooting we covered three scenes involving only Shane, two of which are in this video. We continued principal photography mid-January with additional cast and crew. By the time we wrap filming, we will have shot in 6 locations, including Mary Our Queen Church, Waterbury Hospital and Waterbury Train Station.
The video is actually a short film involving two brothers. Shane, the younger brother, has cerebral palsy. And John, the older brother, has taken care of Shane for most of his life, acting as protector and provider, especially since the loss of their mother many years ago.
The brothers are grown now, and John feels he needs to follow his desire to enter the Army, forcing Shane to deal with feelings of abandonment and solitude.
Keep watching for more behind the scenes footage and sneak peaks as editing and post-production continue.
For more information on artist Shane Michael Taylor
and to listen to the song CLICK HERE.
Another great filming location we visited was the West Haven Shoreline along Beach Street. Great dunes and sand, a pier and seagulls hanging out even in the winter! The late day view of Long Island Sound was beautiful and we found several great backgrounds to work with visually. We got a little sidetracked and started taking beauty shots of the beach. But since we could all use a reminder of summer fun in wintertime, here they are.
Look for Shane Michael Taylor‘s upcoming music video “Warrior Cowboy” to see how we incorporated sand backgrounds with green screen use.
West Haven Beach Seashells
West Haven Beach
West Haven Beach Seagulls in Winter
Sometimes we get to spend the day in a great place looking for appropriate settings for scenes. One such location we recently scoped out was New Haven’s Grove Street Cemetery. One of our own (Jennifer Blessing Miceli) has made a hobby of photographing cemeteries and their amazing sculpture art and headstones. Here we share a few of those shots.
Look for Shane Michael Taylor‘s upcoming music video “Warrior Cowboy” to see how we filmed scenes in the cemetery!
Grove Street Cemetery Sculpture of a Weeping Angel
Grove Street Cemetery Headstone, Sculpture of two people walking together
Dec 3rd we joined with Singer/Songwriter Aaron Fry to film a music video for his song “Just What I’m Missing” from his self-titled album. The weather was crisp and clear and it was one of those days when everything just goes right.
Notice the beautiful Shelby Mustang we’re shooting? We met Joe, the car’s owner, as he was driving by. We saw the car driving down the road and decided on the spot that we *had* to have it in the video. (Special thanks to our makeup artist Jess for Flagging him down!) Joe was a great sport and the car is a-MAZ-ing.
This was filmed on-location on the historic Lebanon green and we were graciously allowed permission to film on the property of the Governor Jonathan Trumbull House and Wadsworth Stable Museum, owned and operated by the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution. Check out their website for visiting information:
For more of Aaron Fry music, check it out here:
http://www.aaronfrymusic.com/
‘Tis the season to spread sparkle, glitter and cheer! Here’s a little something that we whipped up for our friends out in Cleveland, OH at The Cleveland Orchestra. Fa la la la la!
When we get 30 seconds to tell someone about what we do at Miceli Productions we always try to fit in the concept of “custom” and “end to end”. Those concepts communicate all the creative services and options housed within our video and photo production company. Need a jingle? A voice over? To shoot on location? A script? A shot with a camera crane? Live animals? We’ve got you covered. This week we share with you a recent example from the Studio. A 30 second TV commercial spot for clients Gus and Barb Stubbs, Stubbs Art Studio, and their product line of Wearable Art. End to end in 30 seconds… GO!
Christopher Eaves in CANOPY (video still)
Christopher Eaves is a performer, digital artist and arts educator. His original work CANOPY – A Rainforest Odyssey premiered at the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, CT in their cutting edge multimedia gallery. It’s an impressive space, with high-powered Christie projectors, an 18′ x 33′ immerse screen, interactive floor projection technology and configurable media technology systems for performers working within the digital arts.
Miceli Productions HD was hired by Eaves to create an archival video of CANOPY as well as a short marketing video to be used in the booking and promotional materials for the show. Eaves creates all the amazing visuals that are projected and integrated into his original performances for young audiences. Our goal was to capture the essence of his unique performance on video. Click here to view this recent example of our work, and perhaps learn a little bit about the Rainforest.
Stepping Stones Children's Museum Multimedia Gallery
Michael Miceli rockin' the Vibram FiveFingers
When shooting on location producer Michael Miceli swears by the “freaky” footwear specially developed for endurance athletes by Vibram FiveFingers. We recently snapped a production shot of Michael wearing the shoes while working with our camera crane.
Looking at the website for Vibram FiveFingers is like peaking into the secret world of obscure sports…barefoot waterskiing, geocaching, technical tree climbing, paddleboard surfing. In the minds of everyone at Miceli Productions HD we agree filming on location actually fits well into that list! Cheers for happy feet!
