I wanted to create an animation that travels through all of the seasons, and eventually brings you right back where you started, as a visual “cycle of life”. The plan is to also showcase various illustration styles along the way. 

I started out with autumn because it can be the most dramatic season, with all of the bright colors and strong winds. Also, I have always been a big fan of Halloween. I created the house in a woodcut-looking style mostly because I did a lot of pen-and-ink illustration years ago. I also wanted this to be a dimensional environment. This was accomplished using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects and Cinema 4D.  read more...

WHY? WHY? WHY?  This three letter word is both the bane of my existence and the driving force behind my job at Citizen Pictures where I have been freelancing, on and off, since 2005.  I’ve worn a nice selection of hats at this video production facility, from PA to marketing assistant, from writer to producer, but my primary position has been that of researcher for the programming department.  Or content, as they call it now.  I literally search the world for story ideas that will be featured on cable network shows like World’s Best Beaches, Honeymoon Hotspots, Giada’s Weekend Getaways and Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin, to name a few.  WHY, of course, encompasses all of the traditional reporter questions - who, what, when, where and how, but it boils down to WHY are we doing this story, with this character, on this show.  read more...

  Every holiday season, the young at heart gather together and create adorable, edible creations called "ginger bread houses". With icing splattering on everything, and candy sprinkles littering countertops and carpets alike, these colorful creations have entertained for millions of years, when the cavemen first invented the tradition.  read more...

A recent article in the New York Times suggests that touch…even the slightest physical contact…can quickly and effectively communicate positive emotions.  read more...

I didn’t want to like her at first.  Her exaggerated hairstyle, makeup, and enthusiasm were too much to bear in a 30 second spot.  The antiseptic white, dream-like “superstore” she inhabited and teased crown screamed to me: “I’m from another era – one in which you could trust people!”  Meanwhile her Chuck Taylors whispered seductively: “Do you like Death Cab, or are you older and more into Pavement?”  It seemed righteous for me to find the Progressive Insurance “Flo” commercials stupid, annoying, and manipulative.  But, Flo grew on me, and like many others (check her Facebook page) I fell hard.      read more...

Shooting good High Def video in the backcountry is much like backcountry skiing or snowboarding – you never really know what you’re going to get.  It can be sunny, no wind, in the 30’s, and everywhere you point the camera you get a postcard kind of shot.  Battery life is no issue, lens fogging, snow on the lens, cold fingers, setting up for shots is all easy.  Or, it can be pure survival.    read more...

It was an interesting feeling, not completely unknown, but I hadn’t felt it in awhile. I was scared. I don’t get afraid much anymore when I’m producing a show…I get nervous, I get nauseous, and I’m prone to panic. That’s not fear. But I found myself afraid when I was down in New Zealand last week…I shouldn’t have been, but I was. We were in the Waitomo Caves, which if you look them up are these tremendous underground caves in the northern island that snake hundreds of feet below the rolling shires.   read more....

For all of its creative fronts, production is a very technical, tough profession.  You need to put in your time in the field, schlepping gear, and working long days for nothing.  You put in your hours and if you are lucky enough, someone takes you under their wing and nurtures your career.  Having a mentor in your corner is crucial.  Here’s the rub, women directors and executives in the film industry are few and far between.  Which makes female role models for aspiring filmmakers almost non-existent.  Even when there is someone bright, lucky and determined enough to break through that glass ceiling – they are often met with backlash.  It’s happening right now to Kathryn Bigelow, the director of The Hurt Locker.  Bigelow is the only female director to win an academy award.    read more...

Watch TV on any evening and you’ll see a bevy of glitzy, cutting-edge commercials designed to make us want new cars, soft drinks, cable services, snack foods, you name it.

That’s why I watch TV in the morning.  CNN or MSNBC usually.  Why? 

Because that’s where I get to watch the best commercials on TV:  financial commercials.   read more...

Look, I’ll say it.  And I don’t care if I’m the first to say it. “Giada at Home”, the Food Network series that we feverishly produce here in Content, is posing huge dangers for everyone involved. (I’m sorry, people, but someone has to come out with this.)  Frankly, it’s a frightening situation and I’m not going to cover it up any longer.  Producing the post production for “Giada at Home” has challenged my sense of self, taken a toll on my health and is certainly not a job for the weak of will, weak of wallet or weak of appetite-control.   read more...

Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn boast millions of users in multiple countries. The numbers are impressive, but what are some ways we can use all of this social media to our advantage?   read more...

How many times can you watch a movie before you have trouble seeing mistakes? When does quality control take a hit and suffer? I would say… about 53, but it’s not science.

I stopped counting the number of times I watched Race Across the Sky when the number could no longer fit on my fingers and toes. Even as check disks come back from the DVD authoring company, I still watch them. I find something new every time, not mistakes but enjoyable moments, and that makes me love the movie even more. I will even watch the movie once again when the final DVD comes back, just to see the work that was put into the whole process and the stunning Blu-ray picture.

Andrew Moraski

I am the Supervising Producer of “Giada at Home”. I bet a lot of folks probably want to know exactly what that title means.  Well, our G@H LA staff wrapped production on Season 2.  We began in mid-November and finished just before Valentine’s Day.  In December, Citizen Pictures' new associate producer, Mallory Potock came out to Los Angeles to work on the set for three weeks and learn the ropes of our production at Culver Studios.  Unfortunately for Mallory, I was her means of transportation so she got to work my hours, in at 630 in the morning… out at 830…pm.  In any case, Mallory stepped up and embraced the fast pace and crazy hours of production on a cooking show.  I don’t know that Mallory really knew what I did either, but I can tell you that after a few weeks as my right arm, she tagged a photo on Facebook for me of sign that she found on a wall.  In so many words, she said it reminded her of me.  It is kind of funny, but it reminds me of me too.  It doesn’t matter how big the problem is, whose problem it is or how we are going to fix the problem… it becomes my problem, that is my job and quite honestly… I love it.  I make sure our little creative village at Stage 9 is a fully functioning factory for a couple months at a time and then I put it away.  I make sure everyone from the dishwasher to the art assistant, script supervisor to director, host to lighting director has what they need to do their job at 100 percent.  It is not always easy (trust me), but I embrace this challenge everyday.  I feel like I have climbed a Mount Everest when I have finished.  It is a great adrenaline rush and you can’t beat that feeling of accomplishment.  It is all about results… “Let me drop everything and work on your problem”.

Jenna Reynolds

One of the reasons I love working in production is that even though my job is the same, what I’m working on changes every day.  One day I could be learning about harvesting camel’s milk in Morocco and the next how to make homemade marshmallows.  It can be Christmas in July or Halloween in June.

With changing themes come changing props, and that is where things get interesting.   I don’t want to mislead you, my job usually has nothing to do with props.  Most of the variety of props and subjects are captured in the field… but every once in a while we need to do a pick up shoot on our stage.  And that’s when I  burst into action.  I run into the metaphorical phone booth as Heather Hansen, production manager, and run back out as Heather Hansen random-prop-master-extraordinaire!   read more...

Our wonderful friend and EP of Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin, Tim McOsker: on the zip line in New Zealand showing you how it's done "down under". Take it away Tim...

Being a production accountant who is really into cooking sometimes allows me to cross over into the production world, since we are a video production company that does the occasional local food shoot. Case in point, we recently shot 5 webisodes for Food Network’s website, featuring Melissa d’Arabian, and since I’m staff, the budget allowed (allowed being the operative word) me to help out on the food side for the shoot.  My friends say, “How Glamorous!” but anyone who knows production knows that it is usually long, hard hours…unless you think that being a dishwasher for 15+ hours is glamorous?!

The beauty of production work, however, is that you know you have a set time to get the job done, especially when you are on location. You have X number of days or hours, and limited funds, to get in and get out, so everyone is pretty much “all in.” Mind you, this is usually at the expense of your sanity and health. This set of webisodes started with a crew call at 7:30am in Longmont.  We endeavored, and succeeded, in shooting 5 that day, with some rather lengthy recipes to boot.  So ambitious!  In the end we wrapped and unloaded the set by 1:30am, Thursday, and it was a chilly 7 degrees outside. I know people thrive on production work, and my hat is off to all of you who go at it time and time again, but that was crazy!  Perhaps I am just soft from my cushy, desk accounting job…

http://www.foodnetwork.com/melissas-st-patricks-day-dishes

Heidi Brueggeman

Let’s face it. No one can resist a snuggly teddy bear who sells laundry detergent, or the puppy who frolics through the living room (causing his owner to spray the room with air deodorizer). No matter what the product, animals are perceived as adorable, cuddly, and friendly. Their innocence often invokes a feeling of empathy and safety. They seem to say “You can TRUST me, I’m a lizard!  Why would I lie?!”   read more...

Communication is a key element in the creative industry. Whatever the project may be there are various levels and forms of communication that need to be fulfilled to make the project successful. Knowing how important communication is, this leads me to a form of communication that holds a special place in my heart. Primate communication. The communication between primates and humans has always intrigued me, but as I have learned the importance of communication I am fascinated by these animals and their ability to communicate with humans and each other.    read more...

Networking that is. 

I’m an online social networking junkie- I’m on LinkedIn, Facebook, have three email accounts, went through a MySpace phase, and as of 3 weeks ago… I also have a Twitter account. 

My latest networking craze…. networking events.  Where… bars and restaurants all over Denver.  My partner in crime…. Katie Jewett, our Sales and Marketing Coordinator at Citizen and the person from whom I stole this blog’s curiosity spiking title. 

So why networking events?  Why would I rather meet another business person face to face and have a conversation at a bar, instead of searching them on LinkedIn or Facebook, or maybe typing their name or company into Google, and just sending them an email introducing myself.  What is it about exchanging business cards and a smile that is so different from a friend request on Facebook?   read more...

Antimicrobial activity of camel's milk against pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. 

Let me explain.  As a researcher for Food Network’s Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin, I talk to some pretty fascinating people around the world.  It takes weeks and weeks to pull a show together and find that one person in the middle of a field of the rural country side of our decided country that is eating or doing something outrageous.   read more...

For the past 2 weeks I have been toying around with a new point and shoot digital camera while up at the mountains snowboarding. This little Casio Exilim FC100  9.1 megapixel camera packs a punch, it shoots HD video (1280x720 at 30FPS) High speed video at a smaller frame size (1000FPS, 420FPS, 210FPS). It also has a continuous shooting of still images option at 30FPS, which i know what all you video guys are thinking but this camera actually shoots 30 FPS of still images. Its not referring to the video options on the camera. It does video too, HD 1280x720, which is a bit clunky because of the size of the camera if your not a super steady hand you will make viewers dizzy. It does wonders with action sports, particularly outdoor bright bluebird days at the snowboard park. For $249.00 at B&H its well worth it for a pocket camera.   read more...

Many people ride the Leadville Trail 100 every year.

I grew up racing sailboats with this guy in Florida. His wife was in the Navy and they ended up moving away. A few years later she retired and they moved to South Carolina where he worked at a bike shop. A week before Race Across the Sky he was back in Pensacola, Florida for a sailboat race and ran into my parents. He asked how I was and what I was up to. When she told him that I was working on a bike movie, he asked about it. Once he heard it was Race Across the Sky, he told my parents that he already had his tickets and was going to try and get in to race it next year.

That’s one Leadville miracle.

My brother works on a ship in Houston guiding oil tankers to their slip. Each day he works with a new captain. A week ago he worked with a captain who’s into bike racing. My brother asked him if he heard of the Leadville trail 100 and turns out he raced in it, and saw the movie twice.

Bam! This was another Leadville miracle.

Another Leadville Miracle…you can now buy the DVD at www.raceacrossthesky.com

Andrew Moraski

“Social Networking” is one of the ubiquitous buzzwords of our age.  I’m rather sick of hearing it as I am bombarded daily with invitations to various events and webinars advising me how best to use it.  My professional title is “Sales & Marketing Coordinator” after all, and that is what it has all come down to in Web 2.0.  Selling things to people!  Of course!  I’m writing a blog after all, so I must preface this stating that I have zero grounds to criticize.  Social networking and the advanced global communication the internet provides us have meant many things to many people.  For me personally, the internet presents a much better way to shop and avoid standing in lines.  For some, it offers a way to connect with other people who want to become mermaids and mermen.  At work, I can’t imagine not scoping out companies and personalities by rapidly typing their names in my google search window.  Linkedin.com is my Encyclopedia Britannica.  I’m probably being redundant even covering this topic.   read more...

One of the great advancements in computer animation was the ability to use vector graphics. Programs like Adobe After Effects use both pixel and vector based elements. Since Computer and TV displays are made up of tiny pixels, the quality of any video or photo image is dependent on what resolution it was brought in. If you try to zoom in on it too much it will start to look blurry and pixilated. With vector graphics however, the file stores the lines, shapes and colors that make up the image as a mathematical formula. So you can scale a vector file up or down as much as you want and it will always be crisp and clean. This comes in very handy for animation.   read more...