GEAR // Sliders, Drive-ins & Dives

So on a recent shoot with Guy Fieri (MY NEW BEST FRIEND) at his behemoth Times Square restaurant, I yet again rocked the double slider set-up, marking the 8 billionth time I've used this set-up. So I figured it was high time I got my own. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I'm a huge fan of Cinevate's Atlas 10 slider.

At least,  that review was of what I thought was the Atlas 10... SAY WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? #PLOTTWIST

After receiving my Atlas 10, I opened it up and exclaimed, in the words of She, "WHY IS THIS SO THICK? WHAT IS THIS EXTRA GIRTH THAT I WAS NOT EXPECTING? MY THIS IS SMOOTH."

Side-by-side, the rail on the Atlas 10 that Adorama rents out (left) is essentially half as thin as the actual Atlas 10!

And the carriage itself is also only about half as big! (the Cinevate logos above are the same size) So what exactly is this bizarro anorexic Atlas 10 that Adorama is renting out? #SCANDALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

It seems like this thinner 35" rail is actually part of the vertical kit that Cinevate makes for the Atlas 10 (note the carriage sizes above). Now, I'm not sure why Adorama opted for a whole bunch of just vertical kit rails, especially since they'd have to then separately order the end caps and feet and re-build each slider... Oh Adorama, what a quandary of a business you are.

While it is heavier, I do actually welcome the wider rail and carriage. A MkIII with a 70-200 pretty much maxes out the Adorama Atlas 10, but the version I have now at least feels like it'll handle much, much more. I get a little less travel with the wider carriage, but it does let me put a beefier head on there as well as a larger camera package~

So those looking to throw down for an Atlas 10 after playing with Adorama's, BE WARRRRRRNED, it's not quite gonna be what you expect it to be...

...unlike Guy Fieri's restaurant, which is EXACTLY what you expect it to be:

TOTALLY. MONEY.   

FOOD // Obsession of the Month: Broken English @ Mad Sq Eats

Madison Square Eats is back! And while these food vendor fests are usually filled with unfortunately overpriced and undersized fare, there's a new vendor this year that makes me go, EHRRRRMAGERRRRRRRRRD. 

Broken English sells il trapizzino, which are triangles of warm of and crusty pizza dough cut open to form a pocket and stuffed with warm and hearty stewed dishes, like oxtail (pictured belowwww)

They've got all sorts of options, from pulled chicken with rosemary and white wine to ratatouille to even beef tongue. The intensely Roman man behind the counter touts, "DIS IS-AH REEL ROMAHN FUD." Then he showed me his collection of chariots and centurian garb. 

The kicker? THEY'RE ONLY 5 BUCKS. Get two and and a soda and you've got yerself one of them fancy pants Manhattan lunches you can Instagram to make your out-of-state friends jealous. 

Madison Square Eats is only going on until Oct. 19th! Located at 5th and 25th in Worth Square~ 

BTS // Taken 2 & Looper

Because you'd be lying if you said you weren't stupidly excited to watch Liam Leeson beat up more Europeans and JGL do a weird Bruce Willis impression...

BTS // Total Recall

So I've yet to see Total Recall (definitely not because I was watching Step Up Revolution for the 9th time), but there's a really neat shot in the trailer that I had been wondering about for a while (@1:05):

There are a couple frame wipes, so my theory was that they have their set choreography, and they'd break that sequence into 4 or 5 camera moves. They'd do one move, cut, shift the camera over, do the next move, cut, shift the camera over, and so on and so on and stitch it together in post with the frame wipes. And all the people that fall in the foreground are composited in later. That's how I'd do it, anyway, especially for the next Bon Appetit piece where Jean Georges tries to get arrested by heavily armed customs officials for importing French truffles and un-pasteurized Camembert cheese but then KILLS THEM ALL INSTEAD. (That'll be in the September issue~)

Total Recall was actually in this month's American Cinematographer too, but I completely forgot it was there because the cover story was the Dark Knight Rises, which was maximum amounts of more interesting. But on a flight to LA for a shoot yesterday, I finally got around to reading through that article (after buying a 9ft tall replica of the Easter Island statues for my study off SkyMall), and they don't even talk about that shot! BOO.

But alas, the answer is actually in the bts footage over on Trailer Addict!

And the answer was just get two more cameras and have them all going at once on their own remote crane rigs, have their ending frames overlap and just paint out the rigs in post. DUH. So simple, I mean, just look at this video village. EASY.

Here's the rest of b-roll that's sure to make you sad you don't poop solid gold:

And then here's the b-roll to Hope Springs to make you happy again! :D

Oh Tommy Lee Jones~ Your perma-frown never ceases to tickle my fancy, but your series of Japanese Boss Coffee commercials will forever be my sole inspiration for working in this industry.

FOOD // Yunnan Kitchen and the New York Mag 2012 Cheap Eats List

Earlier this month, New York Magazine released their Cheap Eats list for 2012. All their coverage is available online on their website, but you can probably still catch this July issue for your bathroom flipping pleasure (WHO SAYS PRINT MEDIA IS DEAD?). 

And while the term "modest prices" is delightfully vague, New York Mag certainly has had a history of having a slightly above average definition the phrase, at least to recent graduates who start blogs to distract themselves from finding work and then complain about the lack of work. (SHUT UP MOM, IT'S JOURNALISM) 

But alas, while waiting for the 6 train, I flipped through the issue ever-so-semi-casually, every now and then pretending to be dissatisfied with the cosmetic condition of the magazine so I wouldn't have to buy it when my train came. That is, until I saw Yunnan Kitchen on the list. 

Yunnan Kitchen is located around the corner from me on the Lower East Side on Clinton and Rivington, and for my money, was one of the most disappointing meals I've ever had. This isn't to say the food isn't good, it's solid. In fact, they have one of the best eggplant dishes I've ever had. 

// Charred Eggplant with Sawtooth Herb, Crushed Peanuts & Chiles - $9

It's supposed to be a cold dish, but we got there right when they opened, so the eggplant actually came out still warm, which I think is way better than had it been completely cold. You get a nice crisp from the char with a smooth buttery eggplant interior, which pairs wonderfully with the crunch and bite from the peanuts and chiles. 

// Braised Beef Rolls with Mint & Cucumbers - $10

Tender brisket contrasts wonderfully with cool and refreshing cucumber, with just bit of kick from the caramelized minced garlic.

// Stick Rice - $2

Properly prepared with just the right amount of softness and bite. 

Again, all these are delightful dishes at an albeit above average price point. SO WHY THE HATERADE? Well, another dish on the menu caught our eye when we were there:

//  Fried Pork Belly with Mint and Yunnan Spices - $10

Oooh, pork belly! You can never go wrong with pork belly. Pork is the staple meat of Chinese cuisine, we're masters of the stuff! Braised, stir-fried, twice-cooked, any way you have it, this has to be delicious! But then they bring us this:

I'M SORRY, YUNNAN KITCHEN, BUT THIS IS JUST A PLATE OF BACON WITH SOME LEAVES SPRINKLED ON TOP. 

I'm sure a lot of has to do with growing up with Chinese food at absurdly low price points compared to New York, but charging $10 bucks for two slices of bacon cut up into 2 inch pieces is just plain absurd.

FOOD // Tennesse Jed's COMBO FEAST

So the other day a bunch of us went out to Jones Beach way way out in Wantagh to celebrate my friend Natasha's birthday. Being the small, health-conscious, baby carrot and spelt cake loving lady that she is, us guys in the group decided that the perfect post-beach birthday meal would be A SHIT-TON OF RANDOM MEAT AT A RANDOM BBQ PLACE. 

Enter my new best friend in the world, Tennessee Jed. 

On every table, you get the delightful soda-crate turned condiment trough of sauces.

The "regular" tasted just like McDonald's BBQ sauce, so fuck that noise. But the other three, when together on a single plate, form what I like to call THE PERFECT STORM of sauce. You get the kick from the the hot, the tang from the sweet, and the chicken-finger nostalgia goodness of the honey mustard in every bite.

We all know building sandcastles burns about 12,000 calories a minute, SO WE NEEDED TO GET OUR CARBS ON. 


Oh, what's that Tennessee Jed? Tater tots covered in melted cheddar cheese, pickled jalapenos, smoked bacon and a mysterious white sauce? YES, PLEASE.

As filling as the Tornado Tots were (yes, they were called Tornado Tots), we figured we could use a little something extra, just to top off the meal.


Oh what's that Tennessee Jed? You have a dish that's a virtual Noah's Ark of BBQ? Let me think about tha- OH WAIT, YES PLEASE. 

 From the top:
- 1/2 Smoked Chicken
- 1 Rack of Texas Beef Ribs
- 1/2 Rack of Baby Back Ribs
- 1/2 Rack of St. Louis Ribs
- Texas Links
- Pulled Pork
- Brisket

Forrest back there is from Texas, and he approves.  

Oh yeah, and it comes with 4 SIDES.


Creamed Spinach? Awesome. Sweet Potato Fries? Beautiful. Mac 'n Cheese? Creamy Heaven.


Coleslaw? STUPID AND TERRIBLE BECAUSE NOONE LIKES COLESLAW, GABE.

VICTORY. *Note how the coleslaw has remained untouched. 

WE ARE MEN. 


Oh yeah, and Natasha got a burger or something stupid like that. Happy Birthday! 


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Tennessee Jed's 
3357 Merrick Road, Wantagh, NY
516.308.3355


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GEAR // Simulation COMPLETE

If there's anything I've learned from buying video games recommended to me buy old Japanese businessmen, it's that SIMULATIONS ARE FUN. And while toggling through all the menus of your favorite camera may not be so awesome that you'll want to marry 'em, it is quite useful when you've agreed to AC a shoot for a camera you know absolutely nothing about. 

The folks at Arri were the first to the party with their Alexa menu simulator, but now they have a menu simulator for their Alexa Plus.  

And Canon, not to be outdone by their former fellow Axis Power, has recently come out with a simulator of their own for the C300.  

And over at Abel, they've recently added the BlackMagic Cinema Balls Face Box to their Field of View Comparator (which I'm pretty sure isn't a real word). Now you can finally put an end to the fiery debate you've been having with that punk DVXUser member over what your uncle's sweet Canon FD lenses that you found in the attic would look like on an F65.