In 1988, the movie “Cocktail”, starring Tom Cruise, was filmed in the parish of Port Antonio in Jamaica. This September, I filmed in Port Antonio for a client that owns several villas there called Frenchman’s Cove. Parts of this hotel property once served as a movie set for “Cocktail”. Today, the area is very secluded and provides a perfect getaway for adventurous vacationers. It is the most beautiful area in Jamaica because it has remained untouched by tourism. I have posted several photos and one of the videos I created to advertise for the villas of Frenchman’s Cove. The photos are compliments of my photographer sidekick, Phillip Glickman.
And me with a legit Rastamaan (we look like best friends)….
Before I left for the UK, a reporter from Business Week interviewed me about my company’s use of The Rackspace Cloud. The reporter was writing a story about Cloud technology which is a form of web hosting that is growing exponentially (Amazon and Rackspace are the top two in the industry). My website is hosted using The Rackspace Cloud. The reporter wrote the article from the perspective of two companies, one of which is mine!! Sixth Seal has its first major publication!! Being an entrepreneur since I left the womb (literally….I had my first business car at the age of 7), having my name and company mentioned in this magazine is a DREAM.
Tomorrow, we film our twentieth and final interview for the Montagu documentary. Interviews are a very important part to telling a story because a nararator alone cannot tell the story effectively. It is more believable and more alive when told from the people who actually were there to experience it first hand. So, it’s just as equally important that the person being interviewed look and sound good on camera. Prior to this trip, I spent several months researching and planning how we could quickly transform a room into a well lit and great sounding set for an interview. Phillip and I put together this video to show a few of the many homes we transformed into a set. I also added in some images of the actual interviews themselves so you can see the results!!
Phillip and I arrived in London five days ago, we dropped off Jake at the tube (he has some other film work back in the states), began a whirlwind of filming and now we are down the home stretch back at Beulieu. A few highlights from London: We filmed Lord M at Parliament after obtaining exclusive permission. The next day we had a run-in with the UK police for filming…that’s a whole other story. I interviewed the former president of the Bank of England, and then Phillip and I wondered around his estate with our cameras….amazing. We also interviewed a man whose home served as a former embarcation point for British soldiers during D-Day. His house was on the coast of the Solent and had THE MOST breath-taking garden. He served Phillip and I a gin and tonic and his cook made us some tasty sandwiches. I also interviewed the former head of English Heritage which is the group created by Lord Montagu that maintains and protects all British historic houses and monuments (such as Stonehenge).
After just reading what I wrote, I realize it sounds like a lot more fun and play than actual work. However, I can tell you that’s not the case. A lot of detail and planning goes into every day….but it has been very very enjoyable to wake up and work every day!
I need to get some rest because tomorrow is a BIG DAY. I’ll be going up in a helicopter to do some filming over Beaulieu. This is the real deal. Imagine what you see in the movies when the camera glides above the sky scrapers in a big city or over the waves in an ocean…..that’s what I’ll be doing tomorrow. We have a special crew coming out and I’ll be directing the shots in the cockpit next to the camera man. It’s going to be sweet! I bought a flip cam and will be doing behind the scenes footage from the cockpit of the helicopter. Stay tuned…..
On our final day at Beaulieu, Lord Montagu took us out on his boat to ride the waves of the Beaulieu River. We had lunch, wine, and in the process did some video and photos….rough job! Lord M has always been extremely energetic and on-the-go his entire life, and at age 83 he is still the same. We took this opportunity to film some b-roll of him in his element. The river was BEAUTIFUL. Lord Montagu owns the river, and it is one of the only privately navigable owned river in the world! He owns the actual river bed, and that is truly unique. I collected some clips from our day out and quickly pieced them together for a little vid for you to enjoy!
As of a few days ago, we departed Bealieu and headed for London. We have several more interviews and other places to film including Oxford, Kent, the Westminster Abbey, and Parliament (where we have already filmed and I had an interesting run-in with the UK police…I’ll fill you in later about that!). I’ll be posting pics tomorrow or the next day showing our continued filming in London……we have some great surprises! Cheers!!
This past week has been awesome and very draining. We have been filming so many spectacular sights (ex.-wild horses running along the beach, a landscape of yellow flowers with the sun setting in the distance, amazingly lush gardens, old ruins and monuments….etc) and in between we have filmed thirteen interviews. Filming interviews is a time consuming and very thoughtful process. Everything has to look great, sound great, and then the content delivered from the interviewee has to be great for it all to work and be effective for the film. For this documentary, we have a total of seventeen interviews……that’s a lot of time and a ton of questions! It has been a challenge to step back in time to the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s and ask questions that would reveal something new for this documentary, but as I review the footage each night I’ve been very pleased with the results. I’ve been fascinated by the stories and rich history being unfolded on camera.
I’ve posted pictures of our work behind the scenes and the sights we have been lucky enough to enjoy each day. I hope you too enjoy these images. This place is beautiful and as one of the people I interviewed put it, “Beaulieu is timeless….and Lord Montagu has kept it that way”. Enjoy PS – Phillip and I head to London tomorrow for another week of filming. I’ll try to post more often…..I’ve been a tad tired as of late
Capturing a sunset via timelapse
Filming wild horses by the Solent coast
Two sisters I interviewed for the documentary.
The 3 Amigos on top of the castle (phillip on left, jake on right, random dude in the middle)
As Phillip says, “epic photo”.
In 1966, the motion picture “A Man for All Seasons” was filmed here at Beaulieu and won picture of the year. The same backdrop is my work space for two weeks. We’ve been filming all day long for three days and we have barely scraped the surface of this beautiful place. Today, we filmed near Lord Montagu’s beach house where we found twenty wild horses in a variety of colors walking along the rocky beach of the Solent (the body of water that separates the UK from the Island of Wight). I’ve compiled a few of the many amazing shots Jake and I have captured the past couple days. Please enjoy this brief video of Palace House, our home here in Beaulieu. **Note: This video has NOT been edited for color, contrast, etc. It is the RAW footage….it is amazing all by itself. Also, enjoy the pictures my sharp photographer, Phillip, has taken. I will update soon…..I think Phillip and I are going to enjoy a cigar on the palace roof….hehe.
Two days ago we arrived at Beaulieu and our adventure began. Palace House, my home for the next ten days, is epic. The building of the palace dates back to the 16th century. My crew and I are staying in the family dwelling area of the palace closed off from the touring public. A moat surrounds the palace and acres of lush green yellow and red paint the landscape of the gardens. Today was the first day of clear weather and our first opportunity to film the scenery. Yesterday, we had lunch (salmon) with Lord Montagu and his son (and heir) Ralph (pronounced “r-aa-f”). Then, Lord Montagu gave us a personal tour of The National Motor Museum which is absolutely incredible! It is every car lover’s dream. Here is a pic of Lord Montagu and me.
Today (Saturday) was our first day of filming. We filmed the bi-annual Autojumble which is a gathering of thousands of car enthusiasts who buy and sell vintage autos and parts. I’ve never seen or heard anything like it. I spoke with one man who was showing his ruby red 1956 Mercedes 190SL. When it was manufactured it was three times the cost of an average house, and it was Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite auto. One of the coolest sightings was an artist, Ian Cook. He paints large portraits of cars using electric toy cars!! He literally uses dozens of remote control toy cars as his paint brush…..how’s that for imagination?!? Phillip, my photographer, asked him how he came upon the idea. Ian said his girlfriend gave him a toy car as a present and said not to get paint on it. Ian did the opposite and it’s working out nicely for him. I bought one of his prints.
I must get to bed….we are filming Lord Montagu at his beach house in the morning. We have not had much free time today, so here are a few pics as a teaser We will post more tomorrow. ** I’ll be posting a video of the amazing scenery very soon too!!
Time to let the cameras roll! Tomorrow, I’ll be departing for the UK to film a documentary about a famous British Lord: Lord Edward Montagu. Two other good friends and professionals in their field will be helping me make this production happen: Jake Hamilton and Phillip Glickman. We’ll be spending most of our time at Beaulieu where Lord Montagu lives and where the National Motor Museum resides. We will be staying in a palace (yes, an actual palace) while we film at Beaulieu. Following our time in the UK, Phillip and I will be traveling around western Europe for two more weeks.
Watch my Vlog below to find out who and what we will be filming and a hello from the crew! ***Check back frequently for photos and videos of our travel!! We will be posting VERY often
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As promised, I’m going to be posting music that is independent and/or unheard on the “top 40″ radio you hear every day. So, I’m starting a weekly installment called “Music for your Mondays”. Here are a couple great diddies for your Monday. The first is “Hello Yellow” by Johnny Stimson. He’s a talented independent artist, and I’m using this track for a video I’m currently finishing up. I like his vocals and harmony chorus sound. The next is “How Many Loves” by Naomi. This is one of my favorite Electronic bands. I hope these help you make it through your case of The Mondays!! NOTE: I had to compress the music for my vlog, so the quality is no bueno. If you like the music, please visit iTunes to download the great sound. I’ll try and troubleshoot the audio quality soon.
PS – Stay tuned…..tomorrow, I’ll be posting info about my trip to film the UK documentary!!
Lord M has always been extremely energetic and on-the-go his entire life, and at age 83 he is still the same. We took this opportunity to film some b-roll of him in his element. The river was BEAUTIFUL. Lord Montagu owns the river, and it is one of the only privately navigable owned river in the world! He owns the actual river bed, and that is truly unique. I collected some clips from our day out and quickly pieced them together for a little vid for you to enjoy!
