Browsing Category Portfolio

Gibraltar Videos

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Brent Pierce

A few months ago, I did a video series for Gibraltar, an insurance/risk management company here in town. They launched a new rebranding of the company. It was an awesome team to work with.

I did most of the videos on a green screen. As you can see below, the room that I had to deal with was very small. I used 4 lights for everything, had an assistant to roll the teleprompter, and I held the boom-mic and watched the camera. Simple setup. That’s how I like it.

Here’s a video I made showing the setup. Read More →

Baptism Testimony Videos

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Brent Pierce

In our college ministry at First Lubbock, we have done alot of baptism testimony videos. Students would decide that they wanted to be baptized, and we would record a short testimony about how they got to this decision. Very powerful videos.

Last year, I started a new setup. Basically, 2 people having a conversation in a black/dark room with emotional lighting. Not too dramatic, but still emotional. We usually used 3 cameras, sometimes 4. A couple of Sony EX3′s and a Canon 5D mkII.
I usually set up 4 lights on the 2 subjects. One overhead, 2 in front, and 1 behind (which is visible and creates cool looking flares in the camera). There is a rough sketch-up of the setup below.

Sketch of lighting setup. Click the image to enlarge.

Here are the videos.

Caroline Trujillo Baptism Testimony

Title: Caroline Trujillo Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:47

Title: Zack Ballinger Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:07

Title: Jamal Jefferson Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:55

Title: Candace Beutnagel baptism testimony
Runtime: 3:14

Title: Brandon Skelton baptism testimony
Runtime: 3:13

Title: Anthony Esch baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:33

Title: Andy Nichols baptism testimony
Runtime: 2:47

Title: Rachel Albers baptism testimony
Runtime: 3:18

Title: Michelle Leary baptism testimony
Runtime: 3:25

Title: Wittany Wimberly Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:03

Title: Thomas Freed Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:36

Title: Tahira Gibson Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:33

Title: Steven Garza Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:43

Title: Micaela Esch Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:49

Title: Karen Garcia Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 2:42

Title: Elissa Remert Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:32

Title: Daniel Howell baptism testimony
Runtime: 3:30

Title: Cody Simmons Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:23

Title: Chris White Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:59

Title: Kim Dettbarn Baptism Testimony
Runtime: 3:43

Thanksgiving

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Brent Pierce

I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Oklahoma at my grandparent’s house. I love it there. I took a bit of video to bring back. Didn’t plan on making anything out of the footage, but made a short and fun edit.

No matter how many hours you work a week, or how much traveling you have to do, ALWAYS spare the time for family. They need you, and you need them.

This was all shot with a Canon 60D, 28mm f/1.8, Rode Stereo VideoMic, and small shoulder rig. Color graded with Magic Bullet Looks and my Awesome Looks presets.

Enjoy

Watch on Vimeo.

Hope For Lubbock 2011 Promo

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Brent Pierce

This is the promo for Hope for Lubbock 2011. Last year’s promo can be found here. Opening sequence was done in After Effects, and the rest was edited in Final Cut Pro. The talking heads were shot with a Canon 5D mkII and a 50mm f/1.4. I only used 1 omni light with a softbox, mainly because I did not want to haul anymore gear than I had to down the hall. Lazy of me, I know. But it worked. Slight color grading was done in Magic Bullet Looks.

The song is by E.S Posthumus. A great band for some epic orchestral music.

Watch on Vimeo

Green Screen – Brie White Gomez

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Brent Pierce

We recently set up a new green screen in our studio up at the church. Last week, I decided to put it to use. There’s still some kinks that need to be ironed out, but I think it turned out pretty good.

Watch in Vimeo

I shot this with a couple of Sony EX3′s. When shooting on a green screen, it’s all about the lighting. And you want to have your subject pretty far away from the green screen. I am limited to a fairly small studio, so I managed what I could. Some of the shadows were a problem with the couch being so low to the ground, so to hide the bad key at their feet, I put a dark shadow under them in After Effects.

The shadows around the feet did not key very well.

The added shadow helped to hide the bad key.

Brent Pierce – Demo Reel 2011

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Brent Pierce

I am a filmmaker based out of Lubbock, Texas. I am available for travel. You may contact me for any of the following positions, including sub-positions (assistants):

Director
Cinematographer (Director of Photography)
DIT (Digital Imaging Technician)
Editor
VFX Artist

Name: *

E-Mail Address: *

Subject: *

Message: *

Watch in Vimeo

You Changed My Name

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Brent Pierce

Hope for Lubbock was a big event last year that Fist Lubbock put on. It was a time and place for the homeless and needy to get a good meal and get involved in worship as well. This is a music video I was a part of for Hope For Lubbock. You can view the promo here. Basically, it is the stories of real people in our congregation that had a radical change in their life, and how God brought them hope. Due to having to work around multiple people’s schedule, it was shot over about of month’s time. The audio is from the live performance during the event. We took the ~~boring~~ ~~overdone~~ classic cardboard testimony idea, and put a spin on it by writing the words on their arms.

All post-production was done by Cody Nitcher. I did the production and pre-production along with Cody. He did a phenomenal job editing this together and explaining each story. Telling a story without dialogue is very different from using dialogue to get your point across. It’s a more difficult, in a way.

Watch in Vimeo

HDR timelapse test

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Brent Pierce

Earlier this week I spent golden hour at The National Ranching Heritage Center to get a quick timelapse of the sunset. While setting up, I was feeling adventurous, and figured I would try something I knew nothing about, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR). This is the result of the test.

The camera setting was in manual. You usually want to use Aperture Priority when shooting sunrises/sunsets, but I was not sure how that would effect the HDR, so I left it on manual. I took 3 exposures for each image using the bracketing feature on my Canon 60D. One picture OVER-exposed by 2 stops, one correctly-exposed, and one UNDER-exposed by 2 stops.

+ 2 stops

+/- 0 stops

- 2 stops

Merged all exposures into one HDR image

I tone-mapped in Photomatix Pro, which is a phenomenal application for merging photos into 1 tone-mapped image. You can also create an HDR image with just one single RAW file, but it does not produce as good results as the bracketing feature. I adjusted the parameters until it looked perfect, then I batched the rest of my photos. It’s super easy. Almost too easy. This application is definitely worth the money if you are looking into getting into HDR.

Again, this was just a test. I noticed that as the sun went down and my images got darker, the shadows in the HDR images were very grainy and unusable (see image below. Notice how crappy the shadows are on the steer.) That’s why it may be smart to use aperture priority instead of full manual, but then you get into other problems such as flickering.

Alot of grain in the shadows of the steer

This quick test showed me how awesome HDR is. I see tons of potential in shooting timelapses like this. But, like everything, it CAN be over done and lose it’s effect. It also showed me how easy it is to marge bracketed photos with Photomatix. Seriously, try it. I cranked the below images out in about 90 seconds. Bracketed with +/- 3 stops.

+/- 3 stops. Processed quickly in Photomatix.

+/- 2 stops. Processed quickly in Photomatix.

“Here for You” before & after

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Brent Pierce

This is a quick intro video that I composited together for my church here in Lubbock, Tx. The story was simple: We are here for GOD, not any false profits or other material distractions that may bring someone to church. This video was played live with the band playing the intro to the song “Here for You.” The last scene of the wide timelapse of the sanctuary was played at the very end of the song. The audio in this uploaded version is just a placeholder.

On the left, is the original footage shot with a Canon 5D mkII and a Sony EX3. On the right, is the final result, after visual effects and color correction. I tracked the scenes in Mocha and composited them in After Effects. I made 2D text with the built-in text tool, instead of 3D text with Zaxwerks Invigorator, mainly because I only had 1 day to finish this. Then I brought them all into Final Cut Pro and stuck them together and color graded mostly with Magic Bullet Looks. I could have color graded inside of After Effects, but I like to apply color grades after the final edit, where I can see all the clips together and their output, even on something as simple and short as this.

The scene outside with the sky replacement timelapse was a bit of a challenge. Had I thought ahead and known I would be doing a sky replacement, it would have been quick and easy, but I shot the 2 shots about 20 feet apart at different angles, and about 15 minutes apart (with the sun setting fast). I key framed the corner-pin effect in After Effects to line up the 2 pieces of footage and graded the sky scene to match the original scene. It turned out good enough for the 3 seconds that it is shown.

Thanks for watching!

Watch on VIMEO

Screen shot 2011-09-28 at 7.31.34 PM (2)

Matt + Orlie Wedding Trailer via Stringer Productions

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Brent Pierce

Last weekend, you may have seen a few tweets from me while I was filming a wedding with my buddy Clayton Stringer. Although I no longer choose to produce wedding videos independently anymore, I am more than happy to offer my hand at being a second-shooter. It’s a great way to explore the world of videography and get some awesome hands-on experience. And, if you do it right, it can pay pretty stinkin’ well. My man Clayton is killing it over at Stringer Productions. Seriously, check him out. This is the trailer for the wedding we shot, edited to perfection.

WATCH ON VIMEO

I was on a Canon 60D, and pretty much used a steady-cam and a monopod all day, with the exception of the ceremony where I started on a monopod then transferred to a tripod during the ~~boring~~ good stuff. Clayton was on a Canon 5D mkII, also used a monopod all day and occasionally rocked a slider, which is essential in event videography. Both the steady-cam and slider add such a cinematic style to a documentary. If you’re in event videography, I suggest investing in some sort of steady-cam and a slider. We had Manfrotto quick-release adapters on all our gear, so switching from a monopod to a tripod to the steady-cam to the slider was a cinch. We had a plethora of lenses at our disposal. We both love using primes, so that’s what we stuck to all day, again, with the exception of the ceremony, where I used a zoom lens from stage. Although you are limited to one focal length when using primes, they are great in low-light, and we had enough to choose from, that it was never a problem to find the right lens.

GEAR:

Canon 5D mkII. [link]
Canon 60D. [link]
Manfrotto 501 HDV tripods. [link]
Manfrotto monopods. [link]
Glidecam 2000 Pro. [link]
Konova slider. [link]

LENSES

Bower 14mm f/2.8. [link]
(2x) Canon 28mm f/1.8. [link]
Zeiss 50mm f/1.4. [link]
Rokinon 85mm f/1.4. [link]
Canon 200mm f/2.8L. [link]
Canon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS. [link]

UPDATE: Here’s the final video from clayton.

Astro Timelapse test w/ Canon 60D

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Brent Pierce

This is my first attempt at an astrolapse. I literally had no idea what I was doing, but figured I’d give it a shot.

Shot with Canon 60D with kit lens (18-135mm).
ISO 6400, 8 second exposure every 24 seconds.

If you have any advice, please share it. I love constructive criticism.

Thanks for watching!

Click to watch on Vimeo in HD.

Hope For Lubbock promo

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Brent Pierce

Last year, I made a promo for my church on an event called “Hope For Lubbock.” I fumbled with a few ideas, and 4 days before the due date, I decided to trash everything and start completely over, so I grabbed the Canon 5D mkII and our Glidecam, and went to town. Which, honestly, turned out to be a great idea.

I wanted something different. I knew I wanted words to be the main element to get “HOPE” in the viewer’s mind, with shots of around town to also be prominent, so people could connect better. I had watched a few tutorials on matchmoving, so I figured I would try that technique to add some edginess to the promo. Matchmoving is a bit time consuming, but I cut some time-corners when making the 3D text with Zaxwerks Invigorator. The presets in Invigorator made making high quality text very easy and simple. I used Trapcode Particular and Magic Bullet Looks. I also used Video Copilot’s Optical Flares, which is absolutely amazing. I don’t use it that often, but it is definitely one of my favorite plug-ins for After Effects.

This video turned out great, and for 3 days of work, I was proud of myself.

(Vimeo)

iPhone app promo

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Brent Pierce

Recently, I made an iPhone app commercial for my church. Basically, I got this handy iPhone 4 Photoshop template, and animated everything in After Effects. I did the audio in After Effects, which I usually don’t recommend, to line up the animations a little easier. I tried to stick with the “Apple” style, and be somewhat minimalistic and “upbeat.” And, since there is only 1 element on the screen, I had to make it exciting enough to keep the viewers interest for the full 30 seconds, so I animated the text to flow with the phone on the rotations.

(Vimeo)

TRON – University ministry promo

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Brent Pierce

Last week, I made this video for my church University Ministry, “NineThirty”. I set out with only a small idea; to make a promo that mirrored the “TRON Legacy” trailer as much as possible. The main key ingredient being the ending bumper, with the 3D text and blue neon-light theme. I used Zaxwerks Invigorator Pro to make the 3D text. Invigorator is a very quick 3D plug-in that gives you tons of control. I basically had my logo as an Adobe Illustrator file, and simply imported it into Invigorator. Check it out.

The original “TRON: Legacy official trailer” is below.

This is my version.

El-Salvador highlight video

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Brent Pierce

I just completed a highlight video for a mission team at my church who recently dug a well in El Salvador. The video turned out really well in the end, mainly due to the subtle filmic’ additions. You’ll see what I mean. I used a lot of the film burns from here. I used various transfer modes to achieve the effects that you see. I wanted to make it emotional, and really show that these people were living in extreme poverty, with absolutely no good drinking water. Disease was very common due to poor water. I wanted to build up to the point where they finally discovered water, and climax at that moment.

The opening title is a jpeg of white text on black, with the transfer mode set to “overlay” to reveal the time-lapse video underneath. Throughout the film, I used a long sequence of the HD films burns strung together over the clips, and used the transfer mode “add.” This gave the clips a ‘retro’ feel and brought them to life, with a little help from the ‘misfire‘ plugin, which comes with Magic Bullet Looks, to add the old film parameters. I also used many of the film burns randomly placed over different clips. I would place a film burn where I wanted, then play with the transfer modes and opacity until I got what looked good.

If you have any questions as to how something in the video was achieved, just ask.

(Vimeo)

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