Matt Powers in-car Formula Drift Long Beach 2011. Shot on Contour HD cameras. For Team Need for Speed. 1080/30p.

This song has been cemented in my brain thanks to Forum’s F IT video. Recommended by Andy Sapp. It’s my selection for Video Of the Week.

Thanks to Pittsy, this is my selection for Video Of the Week. This song, on Dangerbird Records, is going to be on repeat for a while…

Get acquainted, here on my blog, I will continue to share bits of content and entertainment that I enjoy and are relevant to my life and interests. Having finished Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point last month – here is a great short form documentary on trends and the essence of influence. It is incredibly well made. Well shot interviews, slick motion graphics, and interesting facts. The filmmakers did their research. They even reference Gladwell and have a mograph that shows the chain of influence from hip hop artists – Notorious BIG to Kid Cudi and Drake. DAMN.

INFLUENCES is my Video Of the Week selection. Take a 15 minute break from your busy busy busy life and watch it. Things don’t just come from a vacuum – they come from influencers.

Look, no hands! This video blows my mind. This is almost as amazing as an ice skating-barrel jumping competition. Video Of the Week.

Bathurst is an amazing circuit in New South Wales, Australia. It is home to the Bathurst 1000 and this year’s qualifying pole was won by Mark Winterbottom. This in-car run and helicopter chase footage give you a great sense of the elevation changes on Mt.Panorama. Plus the track’s high speed straights – especially running down the hill into the final 4 corners, narrow walled Esses, and its general “no room for mistakes” condition. Check out this video, and you’ll see why it’s my pick for Video Of the Week.

Video Of the Week – Something Good Can Work by Two Door Cinema Club. Pittsy, yes, thank you.

There are a few friends of mine who know my musical tastes and share a similar palette that recommend tracks for me. These friends are invaluable because music is constantly playing while I’m living my day. One of these such friends in Wes Pitts. Wes didn’t just recommend Two Door Cinema, he called me an insisted that I listen to them – because he had been listening to them for over a hour straight. An hour straight on his first listen to their music.

So immediately I shared them with those phsyically close to me. Hobo got an earful. Aya probably is sick of them by now.

Noni got an email and links.

Music travels by many means. Thanks Wes.

Video Of the Week, Pete shot this with a couple Go Pro HDs while we working on the Project Westy for Keep Drifting Fun. It was a solid Sunday of work. Checked a couple things off the checklist for preping the VW for some new paint. Thanks to Pete and Aya for helping me with the van!

My pick for Video Of the Week is this Free Gold Watch’s Promo. Free Gold Watch is a personal favorite of mine. San Francisco based and always pumping out fresh designs. This video takes you through the process of designing, cutting, sewing, printing a transparency, burning a screen, washing out, lining up a planten, and screening a multi-color t-shirt print. Inspiring and very well done. In all regards.

Now I just need to get my own press and start printing some of my own gear.

Free Gold Watch

Bob Moczydlowsky directs  72 Musicians, a documentary about indepedent musicians and the struggles that come with persuing a love of performing and creating music. I’ve known Bob for the past 3 years through working at the Sundance Film Festival.

Here is the synopsis from IMDB:

One stage, one chair, four days, 20 bands, 72 musicians. All speaking with a single, anonymous voice about art, poverty, booze, lies, class, hardship, food and failure. Oh, and day care. And rock ‘n’ roll.

Through a curtain of cigarette smoke, close up shots of eyes, mouths, and hands – anonymous voices – form one collective story about what it means to be an indepedent musician. Its inspiring, eye-opening, heart wrentching, and funny – all while being very real. Authentic and entertaining.

Do yourself a favor and check out the site. download a copy. or buy the raw footage and make your own documentary!

Video Of the Week = Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – 40 Day Dream (live)

After listening to the album recording on repeat a few times I did a YouTube search for the song and found this live performance. Which totally blew my mind. This is my anthem for the week. Such a big sound. I love it.

The Hobo has done it again. My pick for Video Of the Week is Joshua Herron’s Formula Drift 2009. Excellent song selection and shots of the personalities that make FD great. Glad to see Josh is doing big things in 2010. The best part is that Hobo was able to assemble this edit without attending two of the seven events this season. Make a small bag of popcorn and enjoy!

My pick for Video Of the Week is Winch Madness. Winch Madness combines great titling, good cinematography, a killer JUSTICE track, and the combination of wake skating, a gas powered winch, and some skilled riders. Hopefully you will be just as inspired as I was from watching it.

Impressive.

Video Of the Week – Fecal Face, Jeremy Fish Studio Visit.

Fecal Face, the San Francisco based art website, visits Jeremy Fish’s studio to check out his largest body of work to date – for his show Weathering The Storm. The video gives insight to mr.Fish’s process and inspiration for the collection. Which seems to be the storm that is the economic climate. The use of umbrellas and struggle against the storm are strong images – contrast to a usually upbeat Fish style. Still the anthropomorphic creations remind me of Richard Scarry’s humanized animal kingdom. Which is incredible, because anyone who can mix animals and juxtapose current world themes – is a rare talent. Which is why Jeremy Fish is one of my favorite artists.

Here are the details on the show. If you are in the Los Angeles or OC area, check out:

Jeremy Fish: Weathering the Storm

November 8, 2009 – January 17, 2010

Laguna Art Museum. Laguna Beach, California.

“If you have ever been on YouTube and seen Rhys Millen’s videos…”

Here is Rhys’ segment on Last Call with Carson Daly. Thanks to Andy Sapp for the capture and post of this clip. It features a TON of footage from Climb Attack.

Sweet exposure for Rhys and Climb Attack. Very cool.

Andy Sapp. Never seems to stop impressing me with his multitude of talents, the man is a: designer, driver, cinematographer, editor, MoGrapher, and lumberjack quality beard grower, to name a few. Andy just released this edit, which is a cut from my footage from DMGGMASD. Drift Mechanik’s Gossip Girl Marathon and Some Drifting was a private drift event that took place at Nashville Super Speedway in November 2008.

Andy had contacted me while I was at Rice Boy Tv about the event. He bought me a plane ticket and personally picked me up at Nashville airport for the event. Rad. Few people have that kind of dedication and more importantly – that kind of foresight and vision. DMGGMASD was an incredible event. Hopefully, I was able to document the driving, friendships, and enjoyment that happened that weekend. Andy’s edit makes me smile and feel like I was able to capture some of that magic. Here is my pick for Video Of the Week. Andy Sapp’s A Soiree in the Hamptons.

So thanks Andy for the invite! My calendar is marked for this November.

Video Of the Week, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Stop.

By the time I return to Los Angeles, I will have been on the road for over a month. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is a rock n roll band. Yes, Rock n Roll. They are one of the few. Most music that is labeled Rock n Roll is far from it. BRMC is a rock band, their sound is timeless and its not an act – they kick a lot of ass.

This video is all about cross country travel. Road tripping from the west coast to the east coast. Which over the course of the last 20 days and 2,500+ miles – I’ve just done. It has been awesome to work with a crew of 6 on the Nation of GO project. Six super-talented-easy-going folks who made the trip enjoyable from day one to day twenty.

Enjoy, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Stop as my pick for Video Of the Week!

“I’m looking good, I’d hit on myself if I could…”

Jason Zada (nice reel and body of work – Digital Evangelist) directed this incredible one shot video for one of my favorite groups – Oakland native’s Wallpaper.

The ring light, time re-mapping, and color grading make this video an easy pick for Video Of the Week.

Wallpaper’s album DooDoo Face comes out September 22, 2009.

Formula D Las Vegas “All In” from Joshua Herron on Vimeo.

In case you have been absent from the internet for the past week- Hobo Herron’s video has been doing all the right things. That is why it’s my pick for Video Of the Week Joshua Herron‘s Formula Drift Las Vegas “All In”.

Set to Bloc Party’s “Banquet”, Josh does an excellent job of capturing the “high impact” moments from Formula Drift Las Vegas. Josh is in all the right locations – at all the right times. From Vaughn Gittin Jr’s smash to Ryan Tuerck’s bunny hop. Josh’s edit has the moments that made Formula Drift Las Vegas exciting to watch. Set to Bloc Party, the video has more amplitude and is faster paced then my edit to the Strangler’s “Golden Brown”. It could be the heroin and girl induced theme of the Strangler’s song- but Banquet is a far more energetic choice for the action depicted in Josh’s compilation.

Josh also does an excellent job of juxtaposing Pro Am footage with Pro footage. Capturing Forrest Wang’s nasty initiations and bumper rips on the outside clipping point to Justin Pawlak’s taillight exploding on contact with the barrier. The diversity in cars, drivers, and shots make for a strong edit.

Here is my score card:

• Cinematography: 4.5/5
• Edit: 4/5
• Music: 4.5/5
• Color Grading: 5/5
• Overall: 4.5/5

Cinematography, for being entirely hand-held was super smooth. One of Josh’s strengths. His ability to shoot hand-held is second to none. Editing, I feel like the pacing of the song and the edit don’t match. The edit is strong, but could have been faster paced. It might be my ADD calling, because I have a difficult time watching videos for more than a few seconds- my own videos included. Faster cuts for faster BPM. Music, superb choice with Bloc Party. Good energy. Dramatic changes in tempo and feel – great for a powerful edit. Grading is where this edit shines for me personally. Josh used Colorista and Looks to make an unobtrusive grade that is tasteful and is not over-done like our New Jersey edits. Which were intensely over-graded. Too good effect, but not for every video. Josh proves his versatility by making another solid edit from a parking lot drift course. Similar to his powerful edit from D1GP Anaheim. I don’t feel like this is Josh’s best video to date, considering the course, environment, and the action – the video is a huge success. Josh’s Las Vegas edit is better than my edit, which intentionally contains little drifting and is a humanistic study of the driver.

I wondered how viewers would react to my change in content and focus on driver over action. What do you think of Josh’s edit?

FIA GT3 VIDEO BATTLE from The SpeedHunters on Vimeo.

Rod Chong and Riley over at EA/Speedhunters have cut together a great edit of the footage we aquired in Italy at Adria Race Way.

Here is my pick for video of the week. With camera work by Rod Chong, Tripp Rhame, and myself. Enjoy.