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This blog is no longer being updated. It's here as an archive of some of the work I've done. The Vimeo videos will continue to update automatically as I add more videos to the FishVidz channel. So here! Enjoy some underwater video:

Kai Elua Women at Oceanside Paopao 2010

Race date: August 28, 2010

Producer - Videographer - Editor

Dana Point, CA -
Using an external audio recorder, I was able to get good sound while keeping the camera safely in its waterproof housing. Having a very cooperative and enthusiastic change coach like Lillie Droutsas didn't hurt either.

This is a look at the top women's team for Kai Elua on board their escort boat during this year's Paopao race in Oceanside, CA. The women paddled hard and made a series of great changes in order to win a 3rd place Masters finish (10th overall)...

Music courtesy gmz under Creative Commons license

IMUA wins 2009 Whitey Harrison Race

Race date: August 8, 2009

Camera Operator

Dana Point, CA -
In preparation for the upcoming 2010 paddling season, Andrew Waldron released another edit of last year's Dana Point race, this time with a focus on the IMUA mens team and their big win. It was a good day to be on IMUA's escort boat...

IMUA Wins the Dana Point race from Andrew Waldron on Vimeo.

Format Change

Starting this year, 2010, I am putting two dates on all posts going forward -- the date of the event and the date of the post. Prior to this, I was backdating my post dates to the date of the event, shoot or installation (which explains things like the 1996 date on the Macy's Satellite Network post).

Iron Outrigger Championships

Water Camera Operator

San Diego, CA -
Another race in the series sanctioned by SCORA, the Southern CA Outrigger Racing Association. This time, it was a pair of six-person races out in San Diego's beautiful Mission Bay.

While Producer Andy Waldron shot from his perch on the bow of a 12' dinghy, I shot from the water and caught rides on various support boats from one turn buoy to the next, similar to how we did Malibu back in March.

What blows me away is how cool the support crews are to videographers and photographers... not just those shooting from the deck, but even the ones like me that need to be constantly dropped in and picked up at every turn. As paddlers themselves, for the most part, I think they appreciate the publicity that we're trying to bring to the sport, and they do everything they can to keep us safe and put us in a good spot to shoot.

Reef Check at Isthmus Cove

Underwater Camera Op (1 of 3)

Catalina Island, CA -
This was a training video shoot for Reef Check, an organization devoted to monitoring and restoring the health of reefs along the California coast and worldwide. As part of a 3-camera crew, I followed one of two teams as they went through the basic activities of a Reef Check survey.

Scenario-based training videos like these come with their own set of communication challenges when the action is underwater. Topside pre-production meetings -- along with waterproof shot sheets, slates and clear hand signals -- are key to a successful production.

For more about Reef Check and how you can help above or below the waterline, check out their website.

PaddleMe Malibu to Marina Championships

Water Camera Operator

Santa Monica Bay, CA -
Some competitors and support personnel came from as far away as Hawaii and Australia to compete in this and other upcoming Southern CA paddling events. I was part of a 5-camera crew put together by an avid paddler who is also part of the local film and video community. We had two shooters riding on the back of SeaDoos with Canon HV20 cameras in Epic housings, an HV30 on a handheld gyro rig on the deck of the camera boat, a Sony CX12 attached to a remote-control helicopter (!) and myself in the water with my Seatool HC3 rig. The camera boat would drop me in the water at points along the race course, we'd shoot the competitors paddling by, and then leapfrog past them all and do it again. And again. Water temp: about 57 degrees F. Video package coming sometime in the Spring or Summer.

Behind the Scenes: Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

CBS Mobile Technical Director - Chief Engineer

Miami, FL -

This trip for CBS Mobile was not just a week of behind-the-scenes coverage of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show for CBS Mobile and MediaFLO. It was also the grand re-opening of the Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach, and it was a huge party and a great event.

One of the unique features of our workflow for the final two evenings was the use of P2 cards and a video-over-IP connection to FloTV in San Diego for quick-turnaround, near-live production. While this may have been done by other production companies for other events, I'm not so sure that anyone ever got their connectivity via the mini-bar network before....

Yes, we were sending video over the same hub normally used by the mini-bar to tell the front desk that you've taken a beer or a can of Pringles!

While there, I had a chance to take advantage of the underwater scene as well, spending two days diving and shooting video off the Fort Lauderdale, FL coast on local wrecks and reefs...

Like my other underwater videos, this clip is available with more description and in HD on my page on Vimeo.

X-Games

Videographer (1 of 2)

Carson, CA -
Two days at the Home Depot center shooting the coolest sporting event of the year for CBS Mobile...

The first day, I spent most of my time at the top of the vert ramp, training the DVX-100B on Sandro Dias and his buddies as they practiced for the skateboard vert competition.

The next day, we followed Moto X champion Ronnie Renner from his hotel to the pits to the Speed and Style competition, where he took the silver.

Here's a marginally-acceptable re-encode of the original CBS Mobile Andy MacDonald Package that I shot the first day in Carson:

Digital Shootout Bonaire

Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles
(Photo by Gabriel Beyrent )

On the final night at the Digital Shootout Bonaire 2008, I took third place in the video competition. What a great experience, diving in the crystal clear Caribbean for a full week, shooting every day with my Sony HC-3 and Seatool housing.

Diving with some real pros in the underwater imaging community was a blast, and I learned a ton from them about how to get a good shot in the water. The classes in the afternoons and the slideshow parties at night really rounded out the experience.

Anyway, here is my third-place winning video:




There are more of my videos from this event at Vimeo. Eric Cheng of Wetpixel also kept a fun video blog on his Digital Shootout 2008 Live Coverage page. It includes some video by me and some of me, as well as lots of the awesome photos that the still photo participants (the majority of the shooters at the event) turned in.

Marine Production in the Santa Monica Bay

Underwater Camera - Full Service Marine Production

Marina del Rey, CA -
This was a full day of shooting on, in and underwater in the Santa Monica Bay just off Venice Beach. Since my client was an indy production that is working on a short/trailer with a unique idea that has a lot of potential, I can't give too much away at the moment. Suffice it to say, they were willing to make an investment of time and resources to realize a cool idea that involved a good deal of time shooting HDV video at and below the waterline
I was able to supply the producers with the following production resources for a very full day of production:

- Location scouting from the water two weeks in advance
- 29' twin-engine powerboat to get to location, serve as production office, dressing room, camera platform, etc.
- Kayak for AP/AD and utility work
- Scuba gear for underwater work
- HDV camera and underwater housing
- Miscellaneous marine-specific grip/electric and safety services

Rather than having to book a boat and underwater videographer separately, plus gear rental and procurement of other equipment, the producers were able to simply show up at the dock with talent and scripts/storyboards in hand.

I see this as a new approach to independent production where the indy producer's script need not exclude marine locations, and production at and below the waterline can be feasible for any size shoot. Please contact me for details.

Return to Burning Man

Broadcast Engineer (1 of 3) - Live Camera Operator (1 of 4)

Black Rock City, NV -
Current TV was at Burning Man again in 2007, and I went along to coordinate setup of cameras and audio and shoot two live events. Saturday night's highlight, of course, was the burning of The Man. And just like the year before, we were right in the middle of it all, bringing you live multicamera TV straight from the Playa.

Here it is in its entirety as aired on Current TV:

After The Man burned, we had about an hour or so to get all of our cameras and transmitters over to Crude Awakening for another multicamera event live from the Playa. With live music, more fireworks and some serious pyrotechnics, this promised to be a huge one.

Here's the edited version of that event, with the biggest fireball I've ever seen in my life:

Extra Action Marching Band

Videographer (1 of 3)
San Francisco -
At the BOCA show, when the audience started writhing around, it got so steamy in there that our lenses were fogging up. Seriously. This ensemble is just pure sex. This is a cutdown of Robbyn Leonard's original piece, which was too hot even for Current TV.

TV Free Burning Man

Field Producer (1 of 5) - Videographer (1 of 5) - Offline Editor (1 of 5)

August 27 - September 3, 2006

Telly-award winning documentary
production in the Nevada desert

Black Rock City, NV -

"Although plenty of images and reams of copy are generated by each year's Burning Man, this year's live, real-time coverage of an event that celebrates live, real-time experience resulted from the confluence of several forces: two organizations with similar mission statements; video technology that was affordable, high-quality, and (as it turns out) very durable; and a group of dedicated people willing to endure heat, dust, and sleep deprivation to get their stories on the satellite uplink every day."

- Steve Tomich
DV Magazine Cover Story, December 2006

Magazine Article Here
DV.com version here

Here is one of our daily reports from the Playa. I did the night shots for the Flaming Lotus Girls segment and shot and edited the bamboo segment:

See more at the 2006 Burning Man page on Current TV.

Jeff Tomsik

Videographer
Aired on Current TV
Wadsworth, OH -
Jumping on and off a garbage truck with this dude whose OTHER job is modeling for Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister. As I'm riding on the outside of the truck with the Z1 in one hand and the other holding onto the rail, he's telling me how, yeah, he's looking forward to his upcoming trip to Paris to do a Vogue Homme spread with Kate Moss, but he's going to miss the guys at the sanitation yard. You can't make this stuff up!

Dr. Megavolt

Videographer (1 of 3)

Oakland, CA -
When I was shooting this at the Fire Arts Festival in Oakland, they warned me: (a) Wear rubber-soled shoes and (b) DO NOT go down on one knee to get a low-angle shot. Otherwise, I might ground myself and take a lightning bolt right to the head. These guys are crazy. Click the pic or click here for the video.

Don't Mess With Texas

Field Producer/Director - Videographer - Offline Editor

Austin, TX -
Kinga Philipps journeys into the heart of the Longhorn State to immerse herself in the people, the places, the culture... and the BBQ sauce. A great post-SXSW road trip with Kinga from Austin down to San Antonio.

A Post-Katrina Mardi Gras

(for Google Current)

New Orleans -
The journey from Bourbon St. to the Ninth Ward is a short drive but a very sobering change in atmosphere. Here's some of our coverage that appeared on Current TV and Google Video.

Google Current: Tied

More videography for Google and Current TV on the streets of San Francisco...

For the video, click the picture or click here

Mavericks!

Videographer (1 of 2)

Half Moon Bay, CA -
We shot at the 2006 Mavericks competition. I was on a boat with a Z1 (handheld). It was incredible being that close to the action! Here's the event as seen on Current TV and Google Video.

In Print: DV Magazine

Current TV featured in the January 2006 issue of DV Magazine. Steve Tomich interviewed me and some of the key Current execs for this article. This was also featured a month earlier on dv.com.

Macy's Satellite Network

Video Engineer and Project Manager

(For a full-screen view, click the picture or click here)

San Francisco -
I built this facility in 1995-1996 for Macy's Satellite Network, where I was the Technical Director for about five years. My role in particular for this project was to spec out and purchase over $100,000 worth of new gear and work with architects and contractors to actually build out the facility. Then I racked everything, did all the cabling (with some help from Great Circle Systems, who did the tie lines), tested and tuned it, and trained all the crew. Federated Department Stores' total cost was about $1 million. This was one of the last great analog facilities in the Bay Area, and with a few changes and digital upgrades it was used as the broadcast and post-production center for Macy's West until 2009 (More Pictures).