Guess what? Tomorrow is our first big shoot day and I am psyched! Everything is falling into place. The camera is being prepped, my wardrobe is selected, and I’ll be picking up a small grip and lighting package to sweeten the deal.

I’ll be directing the look and subject matter of this video as well as appearing on camera. It will be interesting since I haven’t appeared on camera since my roommate’s short film back in 2002. Our second day of filming will be Saturday, May 23^rd at a private residence in beautiful LaCanada and Post Production is scheduled to begin on May 25^th.

The plan is to present the final cut of my video on Monday, June 1^st.

The team at Murphy-Goode winery has released this video to help inspire bloggers and wine lovers to pursue the dream.  How great would it be to make money and drink wine at the same time?  I like to think of it as a labor of love and hope that the opportunity provides room to explore the more scientific side of winemaking.  I want to know what kind of oak David Ready (winemaker) likes to use and why.  American, French, Hungarian?  Are they picking their Cabernet at 25 degree brixs like everyone else?  And what’s their opinion on the Alexander Valley growing conditions versus Napa Valley.  Am I crazy to find this all fascinating?

Hi Fans. I am very pleased to announce that my Murphy-Goode video will be captured on the Red One! This state of the art camera is the most popular tool in Hollywood right now. This camera was used on such films as “Jumper”, “Angels & Demons” and can be seen on the new fox series “Southland”. For more information, please go to the Red One website and check out their demo reel.

This will be my first time working on the Red One. I’ve been told that the footage has to be reformatted before it can be edited which can take 6 hours for every hour of footage. Before this I used to work with the Canon XL-1, which is still a favorite of mine. I’m very curious to know what kind of issues other Murphy-Goode contestants have had when it came to filming and editing their videos.

Today I met up with my good friend and video editor Donna Mathewson. She was kind enough to offer her home office to record my voice over for the Murphy-Goode Video. After three hours of reading and re-reading my lines we successfully completed our session with some great material. She is going to edit the piece on Final Cut Pro and will start by selected the best takes from my session and prepping them for video.

Today we had our first official  Pre-Pro meeting and the topic of discussion was the shooting schedule.  My Cinematographer Michael J. Kerber and I discussed the location photos from the winery scout last Friday, and he suggested that we film the interior scenes first and then move outside to capture the magic hour light between 7pm-8pm. This will look amazing especially in the vineyard with the sun setting in the background.

I’m so excited about this project and can’t wait to share it with you. Michael J. Kerber is an amazing Cinematographer and an all around genuine guy. We first met at film school back in 2000 and have been friends ever since. In 2003 I produced a short film called “Night Jobs for Men” which he photographed and can be viewed on his demo reel. Please check it out.