Directing Master Wide Shot for Hustle

The other exception was the more serious Canon C300 collaboration I did with Paul Antico and Michael Murie from the short film called “The Cost.” The clips I included here are also shots in which I was the DP. You can watch “The Cost” here.

Slider Shot of Murie for The Cost

Singapore Skyline Timelapse Work

The Singapore timelapse work was shot with both a 60D and a GoPro Hero 2.

Even though I’m a strong believer in the phrase: “it’s not about the gear… it’s about the story…” you can really see a big difference between the 60D and the C300 in how the clips hold up after compression and uploading to vimeo.

Fifties on Pool Table from Hustle

I want to thank Mike Sutton, Kessler Crane, Dan Chung, Preston Kanak, Chris Loughran, Dan Berube, Paul Antico and Michael Murie for supporting my work and for helping me to move forward from my many years as TV photojournalist to the possibilities that lay ahead in this exciting digital age.

Baylee Wide Shot Screen Grab

Dan and Baylee at the Table

It all began innocently enough as a 3 hour test shoot using Canon’s new Cinema EOS C300 digital cinema camera. Boston Creative Pro User Group (BOSCPUG) Founder/Producer and buddy Dan Berube received a C300 loaner on short notice from Canon to carry with him so he could have it on hand at the San Francisco SuperMeet which Dan produces. Realizing the opportunity, Dan dialed up Boston based cinematographers Chris Loughran, Ben Eckstein and myself to see if we were interested in collaborating on an impromptu shoot for BOSCPUG with Dan and his brother, cinematographer Donald Berube. Working together collaboratively has been something Dan had been talking about doing and this seemed like the perfect opportunity for a BOSCPUG collaboration. Michael Murie from Notes On Video was also invited to do a BTS on the shoot.

Dan Oversees the Action

Dan pulled it together rather quickly. We gave a shout out to my friend Baylee Ricci who does some acting to see if she would be willing to model for the shoot. Then Dan called Felt Boston, a popular bar and pool hall located next to The Paramount Center at Emerson College in Boston to arrange the utilization of their space. They agreed. Suddenly with very little planning we were on the set of what would become the BOSCPUG collaborative short “Hustle.” At the time, however, we had no title for the film. Film? It was just a camera test! Nor did we actually have a story! We had a few lights, a Kessler Crane Lite, a Kessler Pocket Dolly – even a Glidecam.

Screen Grab from Michael Murie

Don and Dan Berube had just been trained on the C300 at Canon and were already familiar with shooting with the camera. Don set up the C300 and its C-Log camera profile for filming and we were ready to go . We lit the set and started shooting establishing shots of Baylee at the pool tables with a few guys who came along to assist. Ben Ekstein brought along a big Panasonic 17″ LCD monitor, an Arri 1K with a Chimera soft box, an Arri 650 and a couple of 300 fresnels. Chris Loughran added his Glidecam, Dan and Don had a nice assortment of Canon “L” Series lenses: 16mm – 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 70 – 200mm IS and some smalI LED lights. Dan also arranged with LensProToGo  to provide two additional “L” Series lenses, a 14mm and 35mm, of which LensProToGo provided great service. I brought the Kessler Pocket Dolly and the Kessler Crane Lite (thanks to Mike Sutton and Kessler Crane).

Don Sets Up Profile (Screen Grab from Michael Murie)

Ben Rocks the Pocket Dolly

Chris, Ben and I took turns setting up various shots. Don was invaluable working with us by showing us where all the buttons were located and the easiest way to change ISO and f stops. After about an hour the C300 became very easy to operate. Ben got some really smooth slider shots on the Kessler Pocket Dolly. Towards the end of the shoot Don and I set up the Kessler Crane and shot the crane moves and Chris rocked his Glidecam around Baylee and the pool table at which she was “hustling.”

Chris on Glidecam

Our time to shoot at Felt Boston was limited, so in order to save time we disconnected Ben’s 17 inch monitor so we could be more mobile. But we didn’t notice an orange ac power cord between the tables during one of the high shots with the crane. That cord was later removed in post by Autodesk Smoke artist Tim Montgomery and the film was then graded by DiVinci Resolve Colorist Rob Bessette at Finish Post of Boston. See what both Tim and Rob did here.

Dan originally wanted this camera test to develop into a story, but because of the short notice in receiving the C300 loaner and the limited time we had to shoot at Felt Boston, the best we could do was to film these various scenes. It wasn’t until the shoot was nearing the end and I was taking a quick bathroom break…

Cue the Angelic Voices

when I had an “epissany” in the stall. I suddenly remembered the Scorsese film “The Color of Money” and decided right there in the men’s room that Baylee could become the pool hall hustler, beating all the guys for money at the end of the film. I ran back upstairs, threw the idea at Dan, who okayed and we immediately started shooting closeups of sinking balls in all the pockets, mostly handheld because the clock was ticking. Then we did a few more closeups of money changing hands.

My Epissany Comes to Life

Then Chris mounted the C300 to the Glidecam for a couple of interior shots of Baylee at the tables. We then moved outside of Felt where Chris followed Baylee with the Glidecam as she strolled down the rain soaked street past the Paramount Center with a knowing smile. Those became the closing shots of the film.

Baylee's Knowing Smile

Our time was up at Felt that night so we wrapped. Dan was flying out to the San Francisco to produce the San Francisco SuperMeet so he asked Chris to piece together a rough cut while he was away. Dan imported the C300 footage into Final Cut Pro and handed both the project and the footage on a hard drive to Chris.

Pablo Strikes a Pose

Pablo Outtake Screen Grab

When Dan returned from the SuperMeet he really took the reins on the edit to build what is now the story of “Hustle.” Dan found a good outtake of Pablo, the actor with the long hair, in which he seems disgusted and walks out after realizing he’d been hustled by Baylee, which further developed his character. “Hustle” was finally starting to take shape. But after Dan worked towards a final cut, we thought “Hustle” still needed a few more pickup shots to really make it cohesive. Dan felt that it needed an establishing shot of Baylee walking into Felt Boston right after the opening crane shot of the Paramount Theater to make it clear to the viewer that Balyee was in fact going into Felt and not the Paramount. In addition, we wanted to get a nice overhead closeup of pool balls breaking to be inserted with a smash cut edit so we could bring the viewer inside Felt; a closeup shot of Pablo’s hand slamming money on the table right before he walks away; a closeup of Baylee’s grinning face after she sinks a ball to seal the deal that she was in fact the hustler; and finally, we needed to re-shoot the opening crane shot of the theater marquee with the C300 (I had shot the original scene myself one night with my 60D on spec). So Dan booked Felt Boston again for a quick shoot to get 6 more shots that would be added to Dan’s final cut. Both Dan, Don and Baylee met me outside Felt where we wasted no time. The 6 pickup shots were as follows:

Don Adjusts Kessler Crane

Don and Me Working the Crane

1. @ :00 Don and I set up the Kessler Crane for the new C300 crane shot of the Paramount marquee

Baylee Walks In Screen Grab

Wetting the Sidewalk Screen Grab

2. @ :08 Baylee walking into Felt Boston. Here we had to wet down the sidewalk with buckets of water to match the rain soaked street from the first shoot.

Lining Up Cue Ball Shot

CU Cue Ball Screen Grab

3. @ :18 closeup of the stick on the cue ball

Dan and Me Setting Up Overhead Break

Overhead Crane Screen Grab

4. @ :20 overhead crane shot of balls breaking for the smash cut

Throwing Down Money Screen Grab

5. @ 1:46 closeup of Pablo’s hand slamming $50 bills onto the table (we actually used Dan’s hand for the shot)

They've Been Hustled Screen Grab

6. @ 2:00 closeup of Baylee’s winning smiling

Now we needed a soundtrack. We were looking for a real raunchy jukebox sound. We used Led Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks” as a proxy for Dan to edit to because of the nasty harmonica and of course Plant’s searing vocals. But because of copyright issues we knew we would have to replace it for the final BOSCPUG short.  Chris offered to help record an original track since he’s is no slouch on guitar (he’s actually scored some stuff himself including the open to this TV show “The Vanity Project” on which he was also the DP).

Green Bullet Harp Mic

Harp Soaks Next to Fender Strat

And I have been known to grab a guitar and blow a few blues riffs on the harmonica now and then. So we all decided that Chris and I could create our own soundtrack that would somewhat resemble an instrumental similar to Levee Breaks, but instead of doing a cover of the tune… we would make it our own. So Dan, Chris and I got together for a fun day of recording this original soundtrack. We rocked out on a couple of guitar tracks, some keyboards and blues harmonica using Logic Pro. Dan also brought “Hustle” to Soundtrack Studios where Brian McKeever did an excellent job on adding all of the foley you hear in the short.

Chris Adds Keyboards

Dan and Chris Listening to Soundtrack

There you have it. That’s the skinny on how a short test with the C300 became “HUSTLE.” It was a great experience collaborating with some very talented folks from BOSCPUG and within the city of Boston. The good news is… there’s already more collaboration in the works.

Check out Rob Bessette’s excellent work as a Colorist (Rob graded “Hustle”) with before and after shots here.

Scott Simmons has just posted more insight into the making of “Hustle” with “The C300 short Hustle and some before and after images” over at ProVideoCoalition.com

Check out Michael Murie’s cool “Hustle” BTS shoot from Notes On Video

Also check out another collaborative effort by Paul Antico, Rick Macomber and Michael Murie with “The Cost” – again shot on the Canon C300.

Thanks to Dan and BOSCPUG for the opportunity, and to Ben, Chris, Don and to Baylee our lovely star! Also thanks to Norman Lang, Todd Mahoney for helping as part of the crew.

Special thanks to Mike Sutton and Kessler Crane for use of the Kessler KC-Lite Crane and Pocket Dolly; and to LensProToGo for their great support; and to our “other” star of the short – FELT BOSTON

All footage was captured using Canon C-Log Gamma mode.

Lenses used were Canon “L” Series glass: 14mm, 35mm, 16-35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 70-200mm.

Glidecam 4000HD was used for stabilizer shots.

Kessler KC-Lite Crane was used for crane shots.

Kessler Pocket Dolly was used for dolly shots.

Edited in Final Cut Pro 7 just prior to Canon releasing their XF Plugin for Final Cut Pro X.

Graded in DaVinci Resolve by Rob Bessette at Finish Post to test the dynamics of the Canon C300′s XF codec, which held up beautifully with no issues through finishing.

Tim Montgomery of Finish Post used Smoke to remove an orange AC cable from three shots in the background and to show how well Canon’s C300 XF codec stood up in post.

Original music recorded in Logic Pro by Chris Loughran with Chris on guitars and keyboards and Rick Macomber on harmonica.

Foley for “HUSTLE” by Soundtrack Studios

Still photography by Don Berube and Rick Macomber

BOSCPUG. Be a Part of It. boscpug.org

TWITTER: twitter.com/#!/bosfcpug

SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Baylee Ricci: facebook.com/pages/Baylee-Ricci/186673944729344
Canon USA: cinemaeos.usa.canon.com
FELT BOSTON: feltboston.com
LensProToGo: lensprotogo.com
Finish Boston: finishedit.com
Soundtrack Studios: soundtrackgroup.com
Rick Macomber: macomberproductions.com
Ben Eckstein: benjamineckstein.com
Chris Loughran: chrisloughran.tumblr.com
Donald Bérubé: donaldberube.mobi
Rob Bessette: finishedit.com
Terry Frechette
Brian McKeever: soundtrackgroup.com
Tim Montgomery: finishedit.com
Michael Sutton: twitter.com/#!/MNS1974
Kessler Crane: kesslercrane.com
Blackmagic Design: blackmagic-design.com

Baylee does The Hustle

The Getaway

Chillin'

Little India Welcome

Crab Man

Back in Singapore again. I’ve pretty much seen most of this tiny island by now, even if it keeps evolving each time I come back. The Chinese are pumping money into the economy and the current commercial construction here would make your head spin. One of my facebook friends said it best when viewing a photo of Marina Bay Center I posted: “What planet are you visiting?”

Marina Bay Sands Resort

Since I’ve already done all the tourist locations, I wanted to make a short film about something really local this time. Something not so pretty, but that would still tell an interesting story from the perspective of my camera. So I took the advice of one of my friends from Singapore, Ana Luis. She said I should check out Tekka Wet Market in Little India where I would find a huge enclosed warehouse with row after row of stalls filled with local people, exotic fresh seafood, prime cuts of meat, fragrant Indian spices and fresh fruits and vegetables. The name “wet market” btw… comes from the constant wetting or spraying down the stalls and floors around the fish and poultry. It can get nasty in there!

Tekka Wet Market from Above

Tekka Wet Market Women

Blue Crab

Prawns

I met my friend and assistant for the shoot, Rosalita Selamat on location early in the morning and began shooting almost immediately. The smells of the Indian spices and the stink of some of the fish was enough to wake me out of whatever jet lag stupor I may have been experiencing as I entered the building! Rosa had a good chuckle when I kept leaning too far into the fish stalls and dragging my camera strap through the fish. Man, that strap was stinky after that! I’ll also mention it was very hot and humid in there!

Rosa Selamat

Fishy Tails

Big Fish

For this DSLR film I used a Canon 60D utilizing a mix of handheld shots, some slides and static shots with a small tripod. The 60D flip LCD came in handy for the run and gun style of shooting I prefer on these types of shoots where there’s no time to set things up as the action is happening so fast. I had tweeted some friends before the shoot about proper shutter speeds to use when filming with indoor 50 kHz fluorescent lights in Asia. I wanted to avoid that nasty flicker you tend to get if you are not careful. I ended up varying those shutter speeds from 50 – 100 depending on where I was shooting in the building. It seemed to take care of the problem. I used an H4n for audio but the room was really loud and bustling for interviewing.

Curry Powder

Indian Worker

Colorful Melons

Fruit Peddler

After a long and sweaty shoot I was rewarded with a nice lunch at the Hawker Food Center (in the same building) consisting of fresh boneless fish masala, roti chapati and a nice hot cup of famous pulled Indian tea with my friend and assistant on this shoot, Rosalita Selamat. Rosa is a talented photographer who lives in Singapore. I want to thank her for her time and for keeping the shoot happy with her infectious laugh and smile.

Hawker Center Lunch

Fish Masala

Rosa Shooting Singapore Skyline

So enjoy the short film from footage I shot there.

Soundtrack: “Hot Bollywood” by Downing and Mayer

buy it here: amazon.co.uk/Traditional-Indian-Music/dp/B007DM8EAG

Fish Peddler

Peeking From Behind Railings

When we first saw Ginger at Northeast Animal Shelter seventeen years ago, my two daughters fell in love with her big eyes and beautiful orange coat. We knew right then and there that she was “The One.”

New Kitty Hiding Under Furniture

But when we brought Ginger home, we quickly realized that none of us in the family knew anything about taking care of a cat. So while researching about the best way to care for Ginger, I decided I would produce a “how to” video about kitten care. A video that would not only teach kids how to care for their new kitten in a simple step by step manner that kids could understand, but one that would also be hosted by kids. And since my two girls grew up with a camera regularly shoved in their faces by their photojournalist father on a daily basis, who would be better suited for the job?

Young Talent

Ginger at Her Bowl

I wrote a quick script and started shooting right away, doing take after take of the girls in front of the camera, trying to hang on to an ever squirming Ginger (see the bloopers in the end credits).

Under the Bed

Your New Kitty had a nice run selling in pet stores and online for a few years: Amazon ad and reviews

This version has been cut down considerably for the web, but the memories of sweet little Ginger as the star of the “Your New Kitty” video will always be with us.

Sleeping Beauty

Another Favorite Spot

Ready to Pounce

On Her Chair Again

Getting Some Love

The vet told me that by instinct cats will never let you know when they are ill. It’s a defense mechanism they use to ward off predators that may see their weakness. Ginger’s final days were spent quietly at home. She would not eat or drink. When we took her to the vet they said her kidneys were not functioning and it would be best to let her go. During the final moments of her life I looked her in the eyes, petting her gently between the ears and under her chin. It’s not easy to let someone go. First time for me.

Adios Ginger. You were truly a star. You were “Your New Kitty.”

Sorry for the 4×3 format and the horrible interlacing artifacts in the movement.

Shot on an old Sony Hi8 camcorder
Edited on Avid Xpress
Talent: Ginger the kitty along with Coree & Taylor Macomber

Sunrise over East Coast of Singapore

For me… traveling to Singapore has become like slipping into my favorite pair of shoes. Comfortable. It’s become my favorite city to visit – metropolitan, diverse people, great food and they speak English. I’ve also grown somewhat accustomed to the long trip – almost 24 hours to get there. From New York it’s about 14 hours to Tokyo. Then another 7 hours to Singapore. Not that I’m advocating drugs… but self medication is a must to help pass the time quickly.

For this trip I was lucky to have the use of a Kessler Pocket Dolly thanks to my friend Mike Sutton (@mns1974 on Twitter). When I travel I like to pack light. The Kessler Pocket Dolly is the perfect size to slide right into your one checked bag along with shirts, pants and undergarments. All used as extra padding. A few shots here and there with the Kessler Pocket Dolly adds nice production value to any film. Since I packed the slider, I left my sticks home, instead going for my trusty Gorillapod. It saves space and added weight from your luggage. I’ve really become adept at finding new ways to use it on DSLR shoots.

Running with the Monster Cam

As a TV photojournalist I’m big on the handheld run and gun style of shooting. Especially with these small cameras. Much easier than the huge monster Sony XDCam 700 I shoulder at CBS Boston. For the Singapore film I used creative handheld methods like slow rocking on my feet to get a fluid look as well as finding level surfaces to place either a camera or the Pocket Dolly. The subtle side to side or pushing in and out rocking shots look much better than trying to handhold a camera perfectly still. You will always see those tiny vibrations that way.

I brought two cameras with me tucked safely in my carry on backpack along with my carry on 15″ Macbook Pro laptop bag (where I keep my meds stashed). I used a Canon 60D and my new GoPro Hero 2. For lenses I was packing my lovely Canon 50mm f1.4, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 and my run and gun fav – the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8.

I got some surprisingly good timelapse stuff with the GoPro, although I had to crop in during the edit to lose the exaggerated fisheye perspective. I left a few of those shots “as is” for the effect. During the morning sunrise timelapse a huge crow landed right next to the GoPro and tried to grab it. Lucky for me I was standing right there or we would have had another “Seagull Stole GoPro” type episode!

GoPro and Tokina 11-16 on 60D timelapsing city

I also did some timelapse work with the 60D and the Tokina 11-16mm lens because the GoPro does not hold up well once the sun goes down. The GoPro has too much gain noise from the auto settings.

Most night shots were done with the 50mm f1.4 as those extra stops become precious on a shoot like this! I tried to “find the light” when I could. That lens also has great bokeh.

50mm f1.4 Brew Bokeh

More 50mm at night

As for audio, I have discovered with DSLR one man band travel shoots, nothing beats the Rode VideoMic Pro plugged directly into the camera. It packs well. Setup is fast and it’s not complicated to operate. The key to success is manual settings in the camera menu so there’s no auto gain (AGC) issues. It’s a must. Check your levels and you’ve got a nice shock mounted mic for great nat sound. Just don’t fiddle with the camera when recording and make sure you keep an eye on the cable connection. If you move around a lot it can come loose.

Here’s a great example of good nat sound captured with the Rode mic:

11-11-11 One Day on Earth

Finally, this time I wanted to add narration to the film to give it more of a mini doc feel or Henry Hill feel from “Goodfellas”. So I asked two of my Singaporean friends, Rosa Selamat (@rosarecruits) and her husband Rizalie Mohamed (@LambchopMojo) to donate their services, again using my Rode mic to gather the sound.

Rosa at MBS

Jojo at cafe

To do this correctly you must do the interviews in a controlled, quiet location and you have to get the mic in very close to your subject. If you are doing on camera interviews it helps to use a portrait lens like a 50mm or 85mm on a tripod. For my film, since I was planning only to use their audio for narration over b-roll of them, I just handheld the camera and did the interviews off camera. If I had more time and gear I would ideally have lit a room or found some good natural light and done their interviews in front of the lens. However, because of their work schedules, location logistics and my vacation I decided this would be the best choice. Besides, I like the style of not seeing a talking head on the screen. Sometimes that’s just darn refreshing.

It's Clean Here

This blog was originally featured on DSLR News Shooter. Thanks to photojournalist and DSLR shooter Dan Chung for his support.

Healing Hands

I had the pleasure of shooting a promotional film for the Natural Living Expo presented by Spirit of Change magazine. It takes place in Sturbridge, MA. and it’s the largest Holistic event of its kind in New England.

Shot on Canon 60D and Sony EX1

For more info please visit their website: Natural Living Expo

You can also like them on facebook: Natural Living Expo on Facebook

Natural Living Expo

Sunset on the Charles River

Up until the final moments before sunset I still had no idea what I was going to do for One Day on Earth this year. As a matter of fact, I had been so busy working all day, I was about to blow the whole thing off and head home… until I saw the sun setting across the street from the TV studio along the Charles River, a place where only a few weeks ago had been the staging area for the world famous Head of the Charles Regatta. I hustled over there with my gear and slogged through soaking wet grass and 3 inches of mud to get to the river just in time to set up my sticks as the sun was going down. At the time I had no clue that I was about to be surrounded by flocks of geese that probably come to the very spot in which I was currently encroaching upon at dusk every day. I suddenly found myself in the midst of them, flying around me and landing right next to me. I was so still while documenting them, I think they saw that I wasn’t a threat to them so they stayed within reach of my lens. I got lucky on this one and I was glad that I had thrown my gear bag and sticks in the car when I left the house for work in this morning!

In for the Night

Politely All in a Row

Watching the Flock Come Home

Cinematographer/Editor: Rick Macomber
Camera: Canon 60D
Lens: Tamron 17-50mm f2.8
Cutting Tools: FCP 7
Soundtrack: Parting of the Ways by Kevin MacLeod

Prism Student

This is the extended version of the promotional film for Northeastern University’s Math Department. It includes information from professors and students about the Prism Program, the Coop Program and the Reaserch and Graduate Studies Programs.
Special thanks to Brian Sullivan for shooting the interviews with the former co-op students at John Hancock.

Math Professor

In class.

Camera: Sony EX1 and Canon 60D
Cutting Tool: FCP 7
Grading: MBL

Ben Ekstein bedazzled by light

So… what do you do when you are invited to hang at a lens test party with a bunch of cinematographers slinging cool gear and a promise of free food? A sort of lingerie party for guys? You shoot a BTS short film of course! And that’s exactly what I did as DPs Ben Eckstein, Chris Loughran and the gang scrutinized a plethora of lenses ranging in price from $350 to $20,000 on a Panasonic AG-AF100. But not before consuming some big beefy burgers and washing them down with ice cold beer.

The meat of the story

Where are the lens and bottle caps?

Chris Loughran and Ben Ekstein comparing shots.

Ki Pro Mini set to ProRes 422

Loughran slapped a Ki Pro Mini compact field recorder set to ProRes 422 on the AF100 rig while the rest of us assisted Eckstein lighting the set – his kitchen. Well actually they helped while I documented with my Canon 60D and Tamron f2.8 17-50mm lens. I told the boys to go easy on the Tamron putdowns, but you can scrutinize this BTS film here for yourselves. It’s not a bad piece of glass for run and gun work… and I picked it up on CL for $350.

Chris handles the Cooke lens with kid gloves.

Focus is looking good with minimal lens breathing.

Chris sets up the monitor.

The set was lit flat with no dramatic effect and had minimal shadows. And although the test did not include any low light conditions or blown out white levels, each lens saw the exact same short scene with no changes made in the room.

Keith Wasserman does some banana shtick.

Brandon Vincent playing it straight.

Keith Wasserman was hilarious as 1st banana repeatedly ad-libbing his way through each take and lens swap with 2nd banana Brandon Vincent acting as droll straight man. Michael Murie and Matt Stapleton also shot some footage of the event while Ben Pender-Cudlip was drafted for iPad FilmSlate duty. Even Eckstein’s dog Schnitzel made a cameo appearance in my BTS short.

Schnitzel waits for a burger???

Michael Murie shoots some footage for his BTS film.

Ben Pender-Cudlip slating the scene.

Matt Stapleton adds another camera to the mix.

The results? Besides the belching and a few random SBDs… here’s the full report from Ben Ekstein: benjamineckstein.com/​2011/​09/​the-big-ole-lens-test-party/​

Lens lineup

The Lenses:

Cooke S4 35mm
Zeiss CP2 35mm
Zeiss Superspeed 35mm
Nikon 17-35mm
Olympus 14-35mm
Canon 17-55mm
Tamron 17-50mm
Sigma 30mm

Most of the lenses were provided by Rule Boston Camera.

Music by Kevin MacLeod “Scheming Weasel”
incompetech.com

More BTS fun from Michael Murie: youtube.com/​watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kYpk94BIIGg#!

Malay Family

Beef Rendang and Curry Dish

Singapore. It keeps calling me. Small – but big. A bustling metropolis – but super clean. People have asked me if the rumors about chewing gum being illegal there are true.  In a way… yes. Gum was banned in Singapore in 1992. The importing or sale of gum was banned as well. That’s one of the reasons the city stays so spotless. So it may not be a good idea to smuggle any Bazooka or Trident Spearmint into Singapore please. Unless you would like to risk a fine.

This trip to Singapore was planned for a while. I wanted to be there for Hari Raya this time. Everyone told me it was a must for a photographer or cinematographer. Or for anyone who likes to eat exotic food. Hmmm… I’m there buddy.

After fasting for the month of Ramadan, Muslims in Singapore celebrate Hari Raya by savoring spicy foods like beef rendang, ketupat, nasi padang and curry puffs, donning brand new colorful clothing and paying respect to their elders.

Geylang Woman

Malay Elderly Gent

On the eve of Hari Raya I checked out an area in Singapore known as Geylang, a festive neighborhood where Malay people crowd into sweaty tents to browse bazaars and pick out a last minute baju melayu, the traditional cotton outfit worn during the holiday. From the periphery of the tents the smell of Malay food beckons. Once inside you become immersed in a world of colorful flashing lights, bold cloth material and street hawkers selling food on bullhorns. It’s hot. It’s humid. And it’s a total trip.

Geylang Street Hawker

Geylang Food Market

Geylang Teen

Geylang Market

Baju Melayu

Colorful Clothing

Nora, Selly and Jali show off their Baju Melayu Clothing

After many days of trekking through the city streets and riding the MRT, I just had to relax with some good ol’ fashioned foot reflexology (which I of course had to document).

Foot Reflexology

Smelly Feet?

Singapore MRT

I must add that this city has one of the cleanest, most modern and efficient Mass Rapid Transit systems in the world.

Camera: Canon T2i w 17-50mm f2.8 lens
Cutting tool: Final Cut Pro
Soundtrack: “Fragment One… And I Kept Hearing”
by The Kenneth Bager Experience

on itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fragment-one-…and-i-kept/id339118919