Looking at my "busy"

"If I only had a couple more hours in the day....."

I think every one of us has either said or thought this phrase, but I have learned that for most people, including myself, the end of that sentence would likely be, "I'd fill it up with more work and I wouldn't have any time to do what I want".

Being busy can often be a negative thing. It can add stress to our lives, it can put a strain on our relationships, and it can put our priorities all out of whack. Sometimes, its all we can do not to let the "busy" in our lives take over completely.

I'm as guilty as anyone of using the phrase "I'm just too busy". Anyone who knows me has probably heard it a time or two. For most of my adult life, busy has been something that I've tried to avoid at all cost, but to no avail. But recently, I've looked at my busy life and seen it in a different way. My "busy" has made me able to have such wonderful experiences with some very special people. I think back to all of the events, films, and projects that we've worked on, and I have fond memories from all of them. I am blessed to have been able to work with and for some of my favorite acquaintances.

Then I think about how blessed we've been to have the opportunity to work at all. While there are many people in the world who are struggling during this holiday season, I can't help but thank God for all of the projects and clients He has sent our way. It has given us the opportunity to try new things, make videos that we're proud of, and as mentioned before, meet wonderful people.

So during this holiday season, if you find yourself, like me, feeling busy and nearly overwhelmed, try looking at your "busy" as a blessing rather than a burden. It has made all the difference in the world for me. Happy Thanksgiving!

- Enrico Marcellino

Back in the USA

We're back, and all we can say is......WOW! What an experience. One thing that was a definite take-away for us was the fact that there are 4 million orphans in Tanzania. As we reflect on the things that we saw, lived, ate, and captured on film, we can't help but become a little emotional. There are moments in life when things get put into perspective, and this was certainly one of those moments for us. Being over there made us feel blessed for having the opportunity to do what we love every day.

As we start the process of piecing together the footage that we have shot, undoubtedly, we will begin to relive the same feelings we had while we were over there, and that's definitely a good thing. This experience is not something that should ever be forgotten. There are over 4 million reasons to always remember the days that we spent in Tanzania, and we look forward to helping those reasons in the future.

SAFARI

Day 4

Today was great! We got to go to the orphanage at the UAACC and play with the children. It was wonderful! They were all so sweet and they all just loved playing different games with everyone that was there.
After lunch, we all hopped into the jeeps and headed towards the Bouganvilla Lodge. On the road to Bouganvilla, we were so blessed to see many amazing scenes that can only be described by seeing what we saw.......

The Masai women doing laundry


Our photographer, Jessica Peterson, gets REALLY close to a giraffe


The giraffe takes off running after it sees me


A masai man walks his goats


Stanley takes some footage of the Ngorogoro Crater

It was truly amazing to see animals, which we would normally only see at Animal Kingdom, ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!

We arrived at our hotel and checked into our rooms, which were VERY nice. Our dinner was really good, and we were greeted by the head chef of the hotel several times throughout our meal.

Tomorrow........SAFARI!

Slums and High Class

On the second day of our journey in Africa, we saw both sides of Tanzania. The first part of the day we drove through the poor part of the town Arusha. Some of the kids on the sides of the streets didn't have shoes and their clothes were completely tattered. Their houses were made out of dirt and logs. There was trash in the street. People were pushing carts where normally animals would be. Kids were playing soccer with balls made out of trashbags and tape. Simply said, it was pretty devastating.
We made it to the orphanage and we met some adorable and charming children. We handed out candy, and strangely they all sat down and quietly ate their candy. The gave us a tour of the orphanage and then we went to their school. We played with them on their playground and had an awesome time. We then gave them balloons and they had a blast. We got some great shots of the children while we where there and also had a very sobering experience. You can view some of the photos from Good Hope here.
And then we saw the opposite side of town. We went to this ultra luxurious resort called the "Coffee Lodge". Think 5 star resort and put it in Africa and add a field of coffee plants within view. Our meals were delicious and we all spent an average of $12 when it would have cost us closer to $30 in the states. The only people at this lodge were foreigners.
We finished off the day going to the Masai market. Imagine a close quarters flea market with very pushy salesmen at every booth saying, "You come into my store. Looking is free. I give you... special price." At least we got to negotiate pricing! All in all it was a very busy and eye-opening day.
Tomorrow, we finally have some time to spend with the children that live in the orphanage on Pete's property here at the UAACC. We also will be leaving here to go to the Bouganvilla Safari Lodge, where we will stay for 2 nights. Stay tuned!

First Leg of the Journey

Our journey began on Tuesday morning at 11:30am EST. We boarded the plane, took our seats, and prepared for our day of flying. 3 flights, 6 meals, 11 in-flight movies, and 27 hours later, we arrived at the Kilamanjaro Airport. Though it was 1:30 pm EST, it was 8:30 pm in Tanzania. The first thing we noticed as we walked across the tarmac was the smell of the air and how different it was from the US. Stars everywhere, almost down to the horizon. After battling a line of fellow travelers to obtain our visas (only two immigration employees for the entire airport), we went outside to meet our host, Pete O'Neal, and our guide, Juma. We packed up the vehicles and headed for the United African Alliance Community Center (UAACC) where we will be staying for most of our trip.

As we drove to the camp, we passed many local people that were walking along the side of the highway in the darkness. It was amazing to see, because there were no signs of lights or houses for miles, so it was clear that these people were walking a great distance to get wherever they needed to go. We got to the dirt road that led to the the UAACC, and there was a sign there that said 2 kilometers to camp. Although it was a short distance, it took about 15 minutes to get to our destination due to the conditions of the roads. Bumpy is an understatement. At times, it felt that the vehicle might tip over. When we pulled up to the gate, we saw the flames of torches coming towards us out of the darkness. We heard music, and singing, and as the gate opened, we were greeted by a dance troupe who led us all the way to the pavilion at the camp. They continued to dance for us for about thirty more minutes and after that a fellow traveler from France provided further entertainment.

Our accommodations are like that of a camp. The food is delicious, consisting mostly of breads, meats, and rice. We visited two orphanages here in Arusha; Cradle of Love, which caters to helping babies from 0 - 3 years of age, and Havilah, which takes care of children from 3 - 11. Both were eye-opening and we all really enjoyed the interaction we had with the children. We got some amazing footage of the children laughing and playing, and we even got to feed about 30 babies at Cradle of Love, which was one of the best highlights of the trip so far.

Tommorow, we visit another orphanage. We look forward to connecting with the children there and seeing how things are being done in Tanzania. More to come!

The New Arrival

Yesterday, on August 14, 2010, little Madalyn Brooke Newmyer came into the world, and Barefoot Empire Films was there to capture it all, well, almost all. Parents to be, Nicole and Jason Newmyer, patiently waited throughout the entire night. While they waited, they speedily typed updates and messages on their facebook pages, answering eager friends and family who were inquiring as to the status of the delivery.

At around 7:45am, the final stage of the process began. Also there to give moral support were family members, some of which came across the country to be there for the special day. Cellphones captured photos and video of baby Madalyn as she was prepared to be handed to her parents for the first time. As more visitors came to see the baby, status updates would change and give minute by minute info on Madalyn's progress.




Because of the presence of a particular kind of cellphone, we decided to put together a spec "commercial" type teaser video for the family. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YCN4SKa9uI

We want to congratulate Nicole and Jason, and be one of the first to welcome baby Madalyn to this new world!

Principal Photography Wrapped!

Sunday's shoot for the piece named "THE DELIVERY" as part of the CollabFeature THE LOST BACKPACK was a huge success. The very talented Surely Alvelo and Jose Vasquez were the additional cast that joined Enrico Marcellino. The two of them really brought extremely passionate, emotional performances that took the production to a whole new level.



BEF was proud to provide the camera used for shooting. It was our Panasonic Lumix GH1, with RED prime lenses courtesy of CineBob via Josh Coffin. It was very strange to see the entire rig put together because the tiny camera body got sort of lost with the huge lenses, but the picture turned out amazing! We were very lucky to also have a few Full Sail students join us on set. They were extremely professional, efficient, and positive during the entire experience. Mattias Eggert was our sound engineer and set photographer. We were also very blessed to have 11-day old Mateo Putt as our newborn baby. Mateo was outstanding at timing his crying for us just at the right possible moment. A big thanks to Tim and Magally Putt for trusting us with their beautiful son!

Brian Shephard has already started editing and will have the final edit done within the next few weeks. The next step for this film is for Enrico to fly to Detroit, Michigan to shoot the beginning and ending establishing shots for this scene. Because all of the scenes run together, its important to have continuity throughout. More photos and videos to come as we have them! Stay tuned.

"THE LOST BACKPACK"

BEF is involved in a fantastic project going on.........ACROSS THE ENTIRE WORLD! Okay, so let me explain. There's a project called "THE LOST BACKPACK". Its a feature length film being shot over the next few months from the collaboration of 20+ filmmakers from all over the world. These filmmakers made the cut from thousands of applicants. One of the chosen few is Brian Shephard.

Brian has worked with BEF on the 3 videos shot for Florida Hospital during their "Thanksgiving Community" program. They can be seen at our vimeo page at:

http://vimeo.com/8078964
http://vimeo.com/7341187
http://vimeo.com/7584504

So, the way the filmmakers collaborated on this project is that they picked a central theme (the backpack) and wrote 20+ short scripts to be put together in sequential order into the feature. Stanley Pomianowski will be helping out on the production side, while Enrico Marcellino will be the lead actor in Brian's piece. This is a wonderful opportunity for BEF, as it will give Brian, as well as us, INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE! Current distribution is unknown at this time, but more to come as we have details.

The shoot is on Sunday, August 2nd. Stay tuned for more!

ARMOR OF GOD

Every so often I get to make a 30 second intro for a show broadcast to the Hope Channel. I made one earlier about “Great Prayers” and it involved lighting someone’s hands on fire. After giving my actor some pretty serious blisters (and one scar) I decided that I might be done with fire (for now, anyway). This series is called “Armor of God.” I typically film on a dark soundstage because most of these Christian sermon series are set in Biblical times and the easiest way to fake Biblical times is to be devoid of background, but for this one they wanted a modern day twist, so we filmed in a medical warehouse. Forest Lake Church, the producers of this show provided me with full riot gear: helmet, boots, Kevlar vest, police officer belt, and best of all a real life taser gun. Don’t worry no one got shocked!

Enrico was brave enough to agree to be the actor in this, which was especially bold because he had just had his appendix removed earlier that week! I naturally made him run, jump, and crouch down for various shots, but he was a real trooper the whole way through and never complained or even winced. Oh and did I mention that the warehouse didn’t have air conditioning? So it was a sweltering humid 93 degrees inside. Shooting these things is always an adventure.

I always rent a dolly to make these intros, but this time in addition to the dolly, we got to use our new slider for the first time. The slider is basically a bar about the size and shape of a two by four that has a sliding plate on the tope of it that the camera attaches to. The slider can either be used by placing it on the ground and getting really low moving shots or you can mount it on a tripod allowing dolly moves at any height really. It was easy and a joy to use.

Look for the video some time next week but for now enjoy this picture of Enrico.

PRODIGAL WINS AT FILM SLAM!

The votes are in, and the Enzian Film Slam audience decided that PRODIGAL was the best film at the festival.

This means a few things: PRODIGAL gets an automatic placement in this year's BROUHAHA Film Festival, which is a pre-cursor to the Florida Film Festival. It also means that PRODIGAL joins the ranks with other BEF projects (CONFESSION and HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS) as a potential contender for acceptance into the Florida Film Festival. But most importantly, it means that our old pal Jeremy is coming back to Orlando very soon!

Congratulations to Jeremy Rowland and everyone else who worked on the film! You deserve it.

If you STILL haven't had the opportunity to watch PRODIGAL, check it out here.javascript:void(0)

PRODIGAL screens at Enzian Film Slam

PRODIGAL screened at the July installment of the Enzian Film Slam today. About 75-100 people were there to see 6 different films from all over central Florida.

Some info on PRODIGAL :: This film was written and produced by Jeremy Rowland and shot up in Tennessee with the help of Southern Adventist University (SAU). Jeremy was one of the founding members of BEF and has enrolled in the film program at SAU, which is also Stanley's alma mater. The film was shot using the RED ONE camera and was masterfully directed by Chris Bohlender. If you haven't had a chance to see the film yet, please take a moment to watch it here.

There were very positive reactions to the film from several of the audience members, who made it a point to see Jeremy after the program and congratulate him on his efforts. Several people even recognized the BEF team from when they screened HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS at the Enzian last year!

Audience voting takes place by ballot during the screening and a winner will be announced within the next few days. More details to come as we know them!

Congratulations Jeremy!

2011 is fast approaching!

2010 is only halfway over, yet people are starting to plan their 2011 weddings already! We have been receiving a lot of phone calls from eager brides that are in the early stages of planning and are choosing BEF to be a part of their special day.

I can't help but reflect on how much we have learned over the past year. We started from very humble beginnings, but are eager to now take our product to the next level. We have added several key pieces of equipment to our gear, which will only add to the quality of the wedding videos we produce.

I hear many couples, who are heavily engaged in the late stages of wedding planning, say that they don't really care about having videography at their wedding. Sometimes its a question of price, sometimes they just never really think about it. To these couples who are having questions or doubts about having a videographer at their wedding, I would ask this: "Don't you want to re-live the moments leading up to that very special 'FIRST KISS as a married couple'?" "Don't you want to see what it was like for someone who attended your wedding?" "Don't you want your children to see the happiest day of their parents life?" You don't even have to hire us, but you should think about this really carefully, because that day can go by so fast, and all your left with is a photograph or two. (BTW, you should definitely hire us if you are going to hire anybody. Just putting that out there)

Photography is an extremely important aspect of any wedding. It can capture the absolute beauty and artwork of the most important day of your life. But a video can do so much more than that. It can take you back to that place, and give you the experience of those moments.

Alright, alright, enough of the sales pitch. If you know of anyone who is getting married either in the remaining months of 2010, or in 2011, be sure to have them contact us right away. Who knows, if they mention your name, they may get a discount!


If you haven't already, check out some of our wedding highlights at www.barefootempirefilms.com

Newmyer Maternity Photo Shoot

I had the amazing opportunity to work with Nicole and Jason Newmyer shooting their maternity pictures. Apart from being an absolutely beautiful couple, they brought some really creative ideas and were open and free to explore some different things on this shoot.

Photographer - Enrico Marcellino
Camera - Panasonic Lumix GH1 w/ kit lens / Canon FD 50mm 1.4

We have a blog!

So here we go, adding yet another point of contact for the world to know everything that is Barefoot Empire Films. There have been some pretty amazing things that have happened for us over the past few weeks. We are going to be traveling abroad to do some pretty amazing work with some pretty amazing people. More to come on that, but it will definitely be........you guessed it.......PRETTY AMAZING!

We basically just wanted to start this thing so that it doesn't look like we do nothing...........which we SO do not do.

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July!

Don't blow your hand off...........but if you do.........be sure to film it!



:: BEF ::