"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." ― Plutarch

From an early age we are learning from each other and our environment; a life long process that never stops.  As with any project, we are always gaining new knowledge and furthering our professional education in the field.  How fitting it was that our final shoot of the 2011 calendar year was for Capella University, an institution here in downtown Minneapolis focused on formal higher education.

We spent the better part of two days crafting images for their online and print collateral within an actual school we sourced as our base for the shoot location.  With the addition of talent, both adults and children, the environment quickly took shape as a living, breathing school setting.  The interaction between teachers and students couldn't have been better to create a little slice of the education process allowing us to capture some truly great "Aha!" moments.   The two days flew by and we walked away with new knowledge, and a great library of images.

In our ever increasing world of advanced technology, we have become more and more intrigued by non-digitally based techniques and trades.  In the same vein as the JCP Newsprint promo, we have been exploring the idea of creating a few short run promotional items that allow for collaboration with local artisans and craftsmen here in the greater Minneapolis area.  Our search along this path led us to a small shop rooted in the Northeast side of town called Angel Bomb Design & Letterpress.

Todd Thyberg, the owner and operator of Angel Bomb showed us around his warehouse based work space and introduced us to the Heidelberg letterpress machine.  This press dates back to the first half of the 20th century and has been a workhorse of German engineering ever since its inception.

As a designer, Todd has been working in the industry for the past 15 years and made his way into the world of letterpress about 5 years ago with a press given to him by his father.  He's always been a fan of this historic printing process and explained to us that it's about "making something with your hands."  In a time when our lives are increasingly becoming "digitally consumed" there is something "refreshing" about taking time away from the computer screen and using a different part of our brains to problem solve, get our hands dirty, and create something tactile that appeals to several of our senses and is ultimately "made by hand."  He went on to comment that there seems to be a shift in society towards a return to the things we once produced in an artisan or craft manner.

During our time with Todd, we discussed having a set of limited run beverage coasters produced on the Heidelberg.  In 2011 we partnered with Eight Hour Day to refresh the JCP brand.  Minneapolis based Jason Braun worked with these new JCP design elements to concept the design and look of the coasters.  It only seemed appropriate to document the experience of our day "on press."  It was great spending time with Todd, and seeing the Heidelberg in action as our coasters came to life.  We hope you will enjoy a small visual slice of the operation including an exclusive audio clip of the press in action. 

In the world of decking there are a variety of options for choosing the materials to be used for construction.  Perennial Wood is the latest addition from the Eastman Company which is sure to be a game changer.  The Perennial line will have all the attributes of real wood without all the natural pitfalls that can potentially create problems for the owner down the road.  The idea behind it is to have a great looking product that will ensure years of use and beauty in spite of aging, weather conditions, and everyday use by the owners.

Shine Advertising brought us on for this collaboration, under the art direction of Audelino Moreno.  Over a period of two days last summer we worked in a remote location north of Minneapolis to photograph one of the first decks made from this new product. The goal was to capture beauty shots of the deck with and without people in various forms of activity or rest depending upon the scene.

The product release is slated for the first quarter of 2012 with availability through various retailers in the northeastern part of the U.S.  The print ads above are currently running in northeastern markets in such publications as Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes & Gardens, Country Living and more.  In addition to the print ads above, a brochure was created for the home improvement retailer Lowe's who will be carrying the Perennial Line of decking.

Thanks again to everyone at Shine as well as our production support and talent.  It was a great project and perfect time of year to spend a couple of days out under the sun, on the deck...

Marking the start of the American Birkebeiner Ski Race, we are pleased to present the final edit of "Salomon" the latest in motion from JC|P.

The "Birkie," the largest cross country ski marathon in North America officially kicks off today.  Celebrating 39 years, the race features a variety of course lengths with the longest race at 54 kilometers.

Many of you will be ensconced in the fast action of the Birkebeiner race, but we hope you will take a few moments to view our take on the classic winter sport featuring skate skier Karl Herber donning the latest gear and apparel from Salomon kindly provided by Gear West.  Thanks go out to Elemental Motion Media for their work on the edit, sound, grading, and graphics.

Without further ado, let's ski!

Nordic or "cross country" skiing is a sport many enjoy amid the winter season in this part of the U.S.  It's no surprise we have one of the largest ski races happening just a few hours east of Minneapolis.  The annual Birkebeiner ski race kicks off next week and seemed the perfect time to debut the still imagery from our latest motion production.  This project is an homage to the Salomon brand and their line of cross country skis, boots, and apparel.

With origins in France, Francois Salomon started the company by opening a wood saw workshop in 1947, making ski edges in downtown Annecy, France.  With over 50 years of innovation behind the brand, Salomon products have extended their reach well beyond France and Europe with products currently available in over 160 countries.

Shot nearly one year ago on the heels of the final snowfall of the spring of 2011, we didn't have to travel far for our production.  Minneapolis based Theodore Wirth Park provided the perfect backdrop and terrain for our well seasoned model / skier.  Karl Herber a veteran skate ski racer and former "Birkie" participant was the logical choice to glide across the freshly groomed, corduroy patterned snow.  His expertise along with the latest in Salomon ski equipment and apparel, generously provided by Gear West, assured a professional and accurate portrayal of the beauty and ruggedness of this winter sport.

For the better part of the morning we crafted our skiing scenes, filming a variety of angles and ideas.  Our skier was great to work with taking on the hills, flats, and curves all along the circuit loop.

We hope you enjoy these stills as a preview of next week's Salomon motion launch to coincide with the 39th annual Birkebeiner race. 

Version A:

Version B:

Following up on the previous post featuring the still imagery shot for XtremeMac, the final two motion edits are now complete.  Thanks to our DP Alex Horner as well as Elemental Motion Media for their work on the audio, editing, and motion graphics.

We were excited when Martin Williams approached us to create a series of images to tell the story for the Integrity line of window products.  The history of Marvin Windows dates back to the first quarter of the 20th century as a family owned and operated company located in Warroad, MN.

We worked closely with MW creatives at to bring the production to life late last fall.  After prepping the various scenes with the correct products, our talent fit seamlessly and often passed for the real workmen on the job site that our location scout had sourced.  We managed to avoid all the 2x4's, carpentry tools, and even a fresh concrete pour to carry out our scenes without disturbing the work being performed.

This week we are on the road in San Diego, CA creating some inspiring new still + motion work for Schwinn Bicycles.  It's always nice to venture south to California, especially this time of year.  Couldn't be a better project, agency, and brand to be working on.

Launching today the March issue of Photo District News (PDN) features an article by Holly Stuart Hughes about the Fall Issue of the JCP Newspaper.  We were excited to get the call for the interview / profile and hope you will take a few minutes to check it out.  If you missed out on the Fall Issue you can catch up via the link here: JCP Newsprint.  The Winter Issue will be printing soon, hitting mailboxes in mid to late February.

We're back in the office and excited for the start of 2012 after some time away.  The first project-based post of the year features a production for XtremeMac, a branch of Imation.  They came to us last fall with a proposal for a one-day shoot involving stills and motion, eager to promote their latest Mac oriented accessories.  We started the conversation with their Senior Industrial Designer who was instrumental in bringing us up to speed on their needs and how we could possibly collaborate on the project.

The products from XtremeMac range from iPhone + iPad cases to various charging units and everything in between.  Our aim was to showcase these products in natural, real life settings with our talent interacting with the accessories.  One way we were able to achieve this, within the parameters of a one day shoot, was to work in tandem with our DP Alex Horner to capture a similar look and feel to the still content.  For each scene we were able to have Alex mirror the video footage with that of the stills being shot in order to maintain an overall consistency throughout both mediums.  Over the course of the day, we put the XtremeMac line of goods to the test in several unique locations around the Minneapolis area and came away with a broad range of both still and motion based content.

Under normal circumstances a shoot of this nature would probably be carried out in two or three days, but one long day was what our budget permitted. Our intrepid crew was instrumental in pulling it off with all production coordinated by Bobbi Peacock.  Looking back on this day of shooting it's hard to believe we managed to accomplish what we did, both stills and motion in so many locations.  I'm sure our crew was just as astonished with the number of locations, product and wardrobe changes, and overall hustling that occurred throughout the day.  Project requests for still and motion content continue to build and it’s looking to be another exciting year in the business.

Keep in touch with the blog as we will be posting the final edits from the XtremeMac video in the very near future.