Deliberate Industries

"The Last Song" by Tim Halperin - Music Video

2011-06-09T00:44:00.004-06:00

WATCH IN HD!

I had the incredible opportunity to operate the camera on the music video for Tim Halperin's "The Last Song". After a successful Kickstarter campaign and with the help of many talented people working for little to no pay, this truly amazing video was born and lives on forever on YouTube. I'm so glad that Tim shot a little behind the scenes footage, because this was the most complex, intricate and timing-sensitive shoot that I have ever been a part of. The shot where Tim is suddenly transported in a convertible, onto a movie set, took 19 takes and 30 feet of dolly-track.

Here's a little peak behind the scenes, shot by Tim on his phone:

As you can see, the video was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, using Zeiss CP.2 primes (and a GoPro for the underwater shots). We also had a Fischer 10 dolly, lot's of track, a grip/electric truck and a full crew.

I feel blessed to work with the team of co-directors Jonathan Combs and Joe Childress, producer Rachel Clary, Elizabeth borders, 1st AC Sam Ryan, D.P. Jeffrey Waldron and the rest of the talented crew (which can be found here).

And let it be known that Tim Halperin, after 3 grueling days of shooting, at 2am, in the dark, in a field in the middle of nowhere, wouldn't leave until he had helped us pack the grip truck. What a humble, ludicrously talented man. And what a song!

DeliberateIndustries.com Website Up in 1 Week

2011-05-31T10:43:00.003-06:00

The graphic design team "The Unlonely Kids" are getting very close to finishing the new website for my production company "Deliberate". It goes live on Monday 6 June 2011. It will be a new place to find all of the commercial work that we've done, as well as our short films, in their entirety. Sadly, the .blogspot address that I've been blogging at for the past 6 years will die at that point. Onwards and upwards.

-Anton

Life Update (Career), 24 May 2011

2011-05-24T22:42:00.006-06:00

Something has definitely changed within my personality, drastically, and it has affected the way I act and interact with other people. In the past, I've been praised for my happy, naive spirit. That part of me has either matured or died. I'm not sure which yet. Now, that's not to say that I'm not happy anymore. But there is a certain, sweet innocence that exists in some people, usually young children, that I used to have, which at the moment, has left me.

I should stop here and explain something. This is it:

I make it a point to share everything necessary. I have no secrets anymore. As a child, I was a liar and in order to absolutely destroy my adroit ability to be dishonest, I feel I must be completely forthright. This personal policy has no professional boundaries even if filmmakers (my ultimate career ambition) are held in high regard for being aloof and mysterious. My life choices will not be a mystery to anyone who wants to know what I do and what I believe.

I lived in Dallas from 2005 through 2007 and then L.A. from 2008 to 2009, those two cities taught me a lot of lessons; more so how not to behave, rather than the opposite (meeting so many posers, con-artists and pretentious wanna-be's has made me very non-trusting and suspicious within the "film" industry, when I used to trust people implicitly). Traveling around the world, through the richest and the poorest countries (roughly 46 so far), staying in 5 star hotels while on film jobs, hostels and campgrounds while backpacking, taught me a lot about what makes me happy. Now, as I approach my 28th birthday, I feel wiser, but more aware of my own shortcomings and inabilities than ever before. At the same time I am more aware of my absolutely undeserved, good-fortune and blessings. I am in the best possible health that I can be. I was born to an upper middle class family in one of the richest countries in the world. I am, from what I can tell, fairly intelligent, and college educated. I am statistically, at the very top of the world, as far as potential goes. There is some guilt that goes with this privilege. I have no excuse for not being one of the best at what I do and what I do is tell stories and display the virtues of products and services by creating visually pleasing video imagery, through camera-placement, lens choice, lighting and sound design, and by setting people and talent at ease and helping them to achieve the best on-camera performance and in creating believable characters. I want to do more of this work. And ideally, I would spend every work day crafting these stories with the camera lens, light and human performance. But the reality of my current situation is that I spend most of my days in the edit-bay.

Right now I am in the midst of editing a documentary about my cousin, a missionary-chiropractor who works in Bolivia, that I conceived of and shot. I am cutting down and putting the finishing touches on my short film "More Than It Is" and readying it for film festivals. I am working on commercials for my clients and I am writing the story for a short film that I will be shooting in Iceland in early August 2011. I am happy with all of this work, but I am not happy with where I am as a filmmaker. I am very aware that I have a lot to learn and I know that I am responsible for acquiring and mastering these skills. As I continue to edit these projects, I see first-hand, every morning, that I am not yet the filmmaker that I want to be, and this is not because I don't have the financing, the tools, or the luck, it is simply because I haven't learned how to be a great filmmaker yet, but I'm working on it and I will get there.

I'm also living in Fort Worth, TX again, for the first time in six years. I'm hesitant to call it a home, because I still work in Los Angeles, and I'm just as much a vagabond as ever, but I'm using this city as a jumping-off point for my work and I'm happy to be currently spending my days here.

A Scene From "More Than It Is"

2011-05-23T01:47:00.003-06:00

Charlie invites Josh out for a night on the town in Christchurch, culminating with a drum and bass club and some awkward dancing.

I'm Having A New Site Designed

2011-04-15T01:15:00.002-06:00

This blog has existed for about 6 years. It's time for some changes. I'm not sure the platform yet, but I think I'm going to move my personal activities to antonseim.com and hopefully my personal blog will become antonseim.com/blog. Right now, I'm having a website designed for my film production company "Deliberate Industries," which shares the name of this blog. I know that Google will find this confusing, but I haven't yet figured out how to rectify the situation. This blog reads like a novel of my life over the last six years and I love what is within it. If you've been sticking with me since the beginning, thank you. I'm not going anywhere.

"American Girl" - Cover by Green River Ordinance

2011-03-04T04:21:00.001-06:00

Here's the latest video I directed, shot and edited for Green River Ordinance's "Covers EP".

My Work

2011-02-22T02:21:00.002-06:00

After scribing countless emails with links to my various video work, which is all over the internet, I've decided to put together this post, to collect a lot of my work in one place, with links to the corresponding YouTube and Vimeo videos.

Director:

Client: Oink Art LTD - "Alchemy"
- view video - rt: 5:36

I have also shot and edited over 100 product review videos for Oink Art LTD, which have gained over 7 million views on YouTube.

Client: Green River Ordinance - "The Weight"
- view video - rt: 4:20

I shot and directed 6 music videos for the band Green River Ordinance "covers" EP, also including "Baby" and "Stuck in the Middle"

Client: Florida Baby UK - "Traveling With Children"
- view video - (from 2:04 - 2:34)

This video was filmed for Malt Films London and was directed by Robert Hindle. I shot and directed 5 separate films, including the dream sequence of this video, all on location at Walt Disney World Orlando.

Client: Required Team Gear
- view video - rt: 4:55

Promotional video featuring the CEO of a sports clothing distributor. Shot on green-screen and motion-graphics heavy.

Client: Click Here - "Prance Like a Man"
(Holiday Themed Spoof Rap Video)
- view video - rt: 3:03

Shot on the Red One camera by Digital Shakedown, this video was shot for The Richards Group's "Click Here" agency.

Client: Metro PCS
- view video - rt: 3:25

The CEO of Metro PCS has a video chat with Ranjit and Chad, the stars of their popular "Tech & Talk" television commercials.

Client: Lonely Planet "Eating in Ho Chi Minh"
- view video - rt: 5:17

Traveled to Vietnam to film an eating tour around Ho Chi Minh city.

Client: Moana Turquoise, Tahiti
- view video - rt: 2:25

Traveled to the island of Huahine in French Polynesia and filmed this promotional video for a tour company.

Camera Work:

Client: Capture The Market - Apartment Property Videos
Fourth and U, University Village, Niguel Summit,
Alicante, Cross Pointe, Ballena Village, Venu, Studio 40-41,
San Regis, Cielo, Gas Company Lofts, Tower 737

I've shot over 100 apartment properties, mostly across California.

Client: HEB "Behind The Scenes"
- view video - rt: 1:37

Behind the scenes footage of what goes into launching a new ad-campaign for HEB grocery stores.

Client: Team Tiger Awesome - "Vampires...Suck"
- view video - rt: 3:00

Early comedy spoof of the popularity of vampire movies, filmed for Team Tiger Awesome.

IMDB - view imdb page for Anton Seim

Camera Credits for Project MyWorld, Get Out! and Fed Up! Television shows.

Project MyWorld: Shooter Reel
- view video - rt: 1:22

Television show for Direct TV Channel 101 - traveled from Los Angeles and across 1o different European countries in search of love and adventure.

This is just a very small sampling of some of my work on the web. This post exist mostly for future reference.

My Internet Whereabouts

2011-02-19T23:12:00.002-06:00

I've kept up my visual diary over at http://www.antonseim.blogspot.com and I will continue posting a few pictures from every day of my life, usually taken with an iPhone 4. It's less about the art and more about keeping a log of what I did on what day, who I met and interacted with and where I was located.

I'm talking with a team of graphic designers about making a company website for Deliberate Industries, my video production company, as well as a personal website (antonseim.com) which will host my varied creative endeavors. More blogs to come soon, in the meantime, follow me on Twitter for the minute-by-minute: http://www.twitter.com/deliberateanton

Washing My Knees

2011-02-15T00:22:00.004-06:00

All of us have routines that we follow day-to-day. When I shower, there is a pattern I follow, an order to the products I use and the way I wash. I always start out with a bar of soap and suds-up my thighs, then my calves (bare with me here, we're going to stay in the realm of PG, I promise). But the other day, I decided to wash my knees. This was out of the ordinary, but as soon as I did it, I suddenly realized that for my entire life, I'd been neglecting to wash a part of my body that actually, probably accumulates a lot dirt. I mean, just about every day, at some point, I crawl around to do something. And now, for the rest of my life, I think I will wash my knees. My point is that often, we think we know how to do something, when in fact, we're just following our routine. And all of a sudden, we can have a revelation that actually changes our behavior, and it can happen at any age.

I've often heard people describe their early twenties as a journey of self-discover, as in, "I'm not getting married young because I need to find out who I am first." As a student of philosophy, allow me to poke some holes in that reasoning. The idea that you don't know who you are as a young person, presupposes that you were either created by God to be a certain way and have no control over it, or you are a product of DNA and upbringing and once you discover who you are, then you will be able to get to doing whatever it is that you were either made to do or are pre-inclined to do because of your genetic make-up and nurturing. I would say that while those other factors do indeed make up a portion of who you are, your physical make-up, personality traits and customs, you also have the ability to choose the kind of person you want to become. Rather than saying that you need to find out who you are, it would be better to say that you need to find out what kind of person you want to be.

The other thing, and the purpose of this post, is to say that people, throughout their lives, change. No person, who lives to be a ripe old age, dies the same person, with the same habits, patterns, and especially beliefs as they had when they were in their 20's. Now, some people may change much more or less than other people, but, like I described above when I decided to start washing my knees, if we live long enough, we will continue to make discoveries throughout life, because we are merely human, designed to live on a tiny planet and the universe is infinite.

2010 In Pictures (Part 2 of 2)

2011-02-08T02:13:00.001-06:00

I've decided to completely copy Yvan Rodic and make antonseim.blogspot.com a visual diary of my daily life, documented in photos I've taken on an iPhone (sometimes DSLR photos as well).

Here is part two of my 2010 in pictures (start from the bottom).

2010 In Pictures (Part 1 of 2)

2011-02-05T01:51:00.002-06:00

I think I've decided to make my personal blog a photo-journal (yes, very much inspired by Yvan Rodic's "Visual Diary"). I take photos on my iPhone nearly every day and they are a great documentary of my life. Here are over 100 photos, representing the first half of 2010 for me, start from the bottom.

On Over-Insurance

2011-02-04T16:30:00.002-06:00

Before I get started, I just want to say thank you for the comments and notes of encouragement. I had no idea you were still reading this blog and it's been extremely encouraging to hear that you've enjoyed my latest writing. I've decided to just keep going and I owe it to you.

In 2006, I was in Italy, shooting a television show called Project MyWorld. I really had very little experience as a camera operator at that point, but I'd shot a documentary in Brazil on my own and gotten noticed by the company producing the show, so they brought me on as a camera operator and paid me a very low rate, plus per diem - they could have paid me nothing, I was having the time of my life. We started shooting in L.A., flew to Spain, went to La Tomatina festival (giant tomato fight in the streets of Buñol), drove across the Southern coast of France, Nice, Cannes and Menton and were in Northern Italy. We'd just parked the van and were walking through the streets of a very dense old European town and just as I was stepping out from between buildings, a hand grabbed my shirt and yanked me backwards, just then, right where I was about to step, a giant tour bus roared down the cobble-stone, single lane street at forty miles per hour. Had I taken that step, I'd be dead. I have many stories like this.

I'm naturally a pretty fearful person. As a kid, I was slow to try new things. I loved extreme sports, but my friends quickly advanced past me because I was too cautious. I've always seemed to know the stakes if I get hurt. Many people learn this slowly as they age and take steps to protect themselves, as insurance for the unpredictability of life. They go to college and get jobs as investments, put away for their retirement, have kids young and get mortgages on houses in the suburbs. Those aren't bad things, but my argument, is that they aren't necessary things.

I heard an idea on the Radiolab podcast that as we age, we actually experience time exponentially more quickly. When we are 8 years old, Summer feels incredibly long, because those 3 months represent 3% of our entire lives up to that point, whereas summer at 30 years old only represents .8% of our experience on Earth. And as we age, that percentage continues to decrease, making time actually feel like it's advancing ever more quickly. My point is that life is short. My life easily could have ended in that town in Italy 5 years ago, but it didn't. And the last five years have been good. We don't know when we will die, but we know that we will die. Our over-insurance often makes us too timid and we don't take chances we probably should. I'm not necessarily talking about sky-diving and race-car driving, but I'm talking about the "what-if." What if I fail? What if people don't like me? What if people laugh at me? What if I don't know the answer? So what? We are all human and life is short.

As I get older, I intentionally take more chances. I read a Tweet recently that said "right now is the oldest you've ever been and the youngest you'll ever be again." That's only a half-truth. We are indeed subjects to death and God's plan for our lives, but we have freedom over our choices. We can choose to stay physically fit, mentally healthy and happy. I struggle with anxiety. One of my biggest fears is that I will lose a limb, or my sight. I've spent way too much time in my life worrying about being maimed. But you know what? I still have all of my fingers and toes and my eyes work great! What is the point of worrying about something that does not exist? It is truly wasted energy.

Over the past few years, I've traveled to 46 countries. That is a hard figure to wrap my mind around and yet, it's only a small portion of the 193 to 203 of the recognized countries and independent states in the world. I've had the chance to experience a lot, but I've barely had the chance to touch the surface of all there actually is to experience. It's easy to look at the lives of others and wonder "what-if." What if I had that house? What if I had that husband? What if I had that car? What if I could sing like that? What if I were born rich? We don't think nearly enough of what we do have. That is a key ingredient to happiness, looking at what you have and appreciating it.

Enjoy the little things. Tell your friends you love them. Life is a gift.

One More Writing Exercise

2011-02-01T23:56:00.002-06:00

I've been writing stream-of-consciousness posts late at night for what, 4 days now? Like I said in pervious posts, my writing ability has gotten out of shape and I'm trying to jump-start my brain to get into the groove of writing again. My plan this evening (1:35am as I type this), was to just write as much as I possibly could before becoming totally exhausted, but tonight I'm actually feeling quite sleepy, so this post will be relatively short.

In the past, I think I've shied away from writing my true feelings on the subject of God because when one outs oneself as a Christian, one gets put in two categories, either pious or annoying. When you're thrown in with the pious group, people give you way more credit than you deserve and then when you screw up, which is inevitable, suddenly, you've corrupted Jesus, you're a hypocrite and Christianity is a bogus religion, God doesn't exist and the floodgates of sin open, lust abounds and everyones joins together in worshipping golden idols. When you land in the annoying category, you're just another self-righteous Jesus-nerd who has no sense of humor and is constantly Jesus-juking and Debby-downering every conversation. I happen to think I'm pretty cool (has a less cool thing ever been said?). I consume popular culture like it's food and I'm so desensitized that I often say, "nothing shocks me anymore." Yes, I'm a Christian and I believe the words and stories in the Bible, but I also like "R" rated comedies, Louis C.K. and Sara Silverman. There, now that I've proved myself to not be up-tight, I'll continue my previous thought…so, when I started this blog, I used to have to fight to write in a more God-less way. I'd find myself typing out that God was leading me to do something and I'd erase it and write that I "felt" a certain way. Well, these days, I can't help but think that me showing my spirituality as a Christian-believer, can only help my image, especially if I'm going to live up to what I say. And I'm still not going to say much. God has never spoken to me in a clear voice, at least not yet. I feel the comforting presence of God in my life, but just like everyone else, I don't know what big life decisions to make a lot of the time.

I've been taking time to read the Bible lately. I've been reading the Bible pretty consistently since I first opened it in 2002, but just recently, I've been reserving the best time of the day, the time that I'm the most focused and most alert t0 read about a chapter and to highlight a few verses and write them on notecards - side-note, I'm about to go to bed and I'm wearing my retainers and as I type this out, and in my head, I'm talking with a lisp, because that's how my retainers make me talk. I can't stop. Back to the Bible. I think I've always read the Bible with such a healthy dose of skepticism, that I'm constantly searching for something wrong with it. I think I'm going to find a glaring mistake that will then make me read with more caution, eventually making me just put the thing down, discounting it as just another corrupted ancient manuscript. And yet the opposite seems to happen. I'm constantly falling more and more in love with God's word. As I study scripture it continues to unfold, the same book, Romans for example, that I've read probably more than ten times, continues to get deeper, more complex, more comforting and contains deeper wisdom. Even now, I don't know what it is. I know the Bible is special and I hear people say that it's "God's word." Even I said it a few sentences ago, but I'm still not completely sure how to read it. All I know is that I love it. I can't get enough of it.

I said that I was going to pick the guitar back up and I finally did tonight. The tips of my fingers on my left hand sting like crazy. While I'm knocking out this to-do list of better habits, I'm going to sign off from this post and actually go to sleep before two a.m. This has been fun. I'm looking forward to continuing to write every day. I'll soon be transitioning this kind of post to antonseim.blogspot.com. Thanks for reading!

My Last Night In Bolivia

2011-02-01T04:35:00.006-06:00

Working In The Wee Hours

2011-02-01T03:04:00.002-06:00

I've flipped my body schedule for the last few months, so that I'm staying up until 3 or 4 am and then waking up around 10 or 11am and starting my day again. I've been working out with a group of guys who call themselves, "The Future Body Builders of America," and because they all work, or have families and schedules are erratic, they've decided that the best time for them all to meet at the gym is around 9pm. A few months ago and for much of the last year and a half, I've been in a relationship, which I'm not in anymore. Back then, I had to get up early in the morning, do my work and then I would go and spend the evening with my girlfriend starting at 5 or 6pm. In order to do this, I had to be done with my work before 5pm, and thus, if I didn't get up early in the morning, either I wouldn't have enough time to get my work done, or I'd have to cut work short at the end of the day. Now that I'm single again, I can work straight through 6pm, until about 8pm, before I get ready to go to the gym. I'd prefer getting up and working out first thing in the morning, but I'm getting free training and free access to an amazing gym, so for the time being, I'm going to continue on this schedule. I'm more of a night-person as it is, which I hate to admit, but it's true. I really admire people who get up at 5 or 6am everyday, and I hope to one day have those habits myself, but with my caffeine intake during the day, coupled with the constant buzzing in my brain of goals and to-do lists, I find going to sleep by 10pm a near impossibility.

Early in life, my dad instilled in me a love of physical fitness. I started competing in races at age 5, actually winning the first quarter-mile race I ever ran. After that it was golf camp, baseball camp, track camp, swimming camp, soccer, basketball and then golf in high-school. I ran the Stockholm marathon in 2003 at age 19 and continued to workout throughout college. Now, as a freelance camera operator, I find it essential to my work to maintain a peak level of strength, endurance and flexibility. In the times when I've let myself get a little out of shape, I've found it hard on my body to even do my job, which requires carrying up to 50 pounds of camera gear around for sometimes 12 plus hours a day. My work also often takes me on whirlwind adventures around the world, where I just won't be able to use a gym for a month or two at a time. Knowing that I sometimes won't be able to workout because of work-travel, I like to take advantage of the down-time, to always be improving my level of fitness.

For nearly two years I've been a digital vagabond. I've been able to do incredible video projects all over the world, without really being settled anywhere. I told myself that during this time, I would be searching the world for a place to call home. I've considered Sydney, New Zealand, Paris, London, New York and Austin. For the time being, I'll continue to travel, as I have a full slate of projects that will take me halfway around the world again this Spring and Summer. And then, within this year, I will move to a semi-permanent residence, having a real address again. I'm looking forward to this move. I think I got caught up in thinking about where I should be and I wasn't really appreciating where I was, and that's a bad way to think. So while I have these opportunities, even if my bank account is low and I'm living on prayer, I'm going to make a conscious effort to enjoy the places that God takes me. I must look like I'm carrying the weight of the world, because lately, close friends keep asking me "what's wrong." Nothing is wrong, I've just been a selfish kind of coward, thinking I have it bad when everyone else can see my good fortune. I'm so thankful for the life that God has given me to live. There was a time, my Sophomore year of college when I sat alone in my room desperate to know if I would ever get to do any of the amazing things I dreamed about. If I could have seen a list of what I'd have a chance to see and accomplish between then and now I would have been astounded, I wouldn't have believed it. Knowing that now, I need to start living like it's true and stop wallowing in delusional self-pity. I really wonder if this is just a self-realization, or if all of us would feel this way if we stopped and thought hard about where we've come from? I've got great gratitude for God's provision over my life and I owe it to Him to look like it to everyone else.

Why I'm Continuing To Write In Stream-Of-Consciousness

2011-01-30T22:21:00.003-06:00

If you want to read this, you can, it's not exactly private information. I don't have much private information, maybe my social security number, my credit card numbers and my bank statements, but other than that, my life is an open book. I want it to be that way. I'm writing here lately less for you, than simply for me to get back in the swing of writing. As I've said before, many times, I consider myself a writer before anything else. Before a cinematographer, before a director, I am a writer. But in my absence from this blog (as well as screenplays, journaling, short-stories), I've gotten out of practice.

I made a decision a few weeks back, nearly coinciding with new years, 2011, although, by no means a New Years resolution, to start nurturing my love of movies, music and literature. Since then, I've spent about 2 hours each day watching movies and catching up on documentaries and about the same amount of time reading. I haven't yet picked up the guitar again, but that will be happening soon as well (the tips of my fingers ache thinking about it). I've gone through these phases while I've aged, I keep thinking, "I've passed my prime." It's been happening since I was 15. I thought that by not running cross-country my sophomore and junior year of high-school that my career as a runner was over. Then, I tried out for the team my senior year and ran the fastest 5k of my life. I have a hard time convincing myself that I'm young. I always think I want to be older, wiser, more mature, more established and then I get incredibly nostalgic for my youth. I've heard my grandfather say on many occasions, "Anton, I'm rich enough to have what only the young can enjoy." I desperately want to squeeze all of the enjoyment out of every moment of my life, from now until I die. When I sleep, I want to sleep long and deep. When I laugh, I want to laugh hard. When I run, I want to run fast. And on and on.

I was thinking the other day, what if, at a certain age in my youth, I set out to learn skills that would make me an incredible spy. What if I spent a year in Spain learning Spanish, a year in Russia learning Russian and a year in China, learning a dialect of Chinese? What if I learned Krav Maga, how to pilot a plane and fly a helicopter? What if I altered my looks and worked out until I was chiseled and great looking? I think that by 27, the age I am now, I could have mastered these things, even if I didn't start my quest until after college. I would be James Bond. I would be Indiana Jones. And then what? I would still be subject to age, disease and chance. I would still get old and die. This is the direction my thoughts always go. They crescendo and then they hit the reality of being human.

You and I are going to die.

Not only are we going to die, but we only have a certain window of youth and maturity, in which to really accomplish anything great. So what is there? There is family. If I were to get married sometime soon and have children rather quickly, around age fifty, I'd be sending my children out into the world so that hopefully, they would be able to make their own incomes and eventually take care of me as I become elderly. They might have children of their own and then as a grandfather, I could look out upon my legacy and have great pride for the generations that God had raised through me. And really, I don't think it gets any better. Human populations are growing and the earth's resources are getting used up. Our bodies evolved to live on earth, not any other planet, so this globe is all we have. To live a good life, it takes an incredible amount of foresight and responsibility. That, and often, common grace (the idea that God lets us keep living, even though we're selfish and don't necessarily deserve it). So as I'm still relatively young, I'm going to keep pondering these questions and continue in my quest to live a humble, good life.

Preview To A Bolivia Post

2011-01-29T01:44:00.004-06:00

For two weeks in January of 2011, I was in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, shooting a documentary about a Christian chiropractor, who provides free care to orphans and poor people. I'm not quite ready to write a whole post about the experience, but here are some photos as a preview:

Continuation Of An Update - 29 January 2011

2011-01-29T01:29:00.002-06:00

I'm on a roll, so I'm just going to keep going. Writing is funny that way, I guess it's the same with all kinds of different brain exercises, chess, crosswords - they all get out of shape without practice. And I'm definitely out of shape as a writer. I don't know if I've shared this in such plain text here before, but my greatest ambition in life is to be a great writer. Not an intermediate, sometimes, slightly qualified, once published writer, but a GREAT writer. I want to write novels. And I'm not without material. I have indeed written many short stories, some of which I've "published" here. I mean really, what could be better, than in the twilight of one's years, to be sitting at a big desk, typing away, lost in one's own thoughts, creating worlds. There is no time when I'm at peace the way I am when I am writing out a story. But at the same time, it's hard for me to actually sit down and bring a piece to completion. Owen Wilson described writing the screenplay for Rushmore to "sweating blood." He kind of stole that from Jesus, but it's a fitting analogy. Characterization is hard and takes a great deal of concentration. It's certainly much easier to sit down, as I'm doing now, and to write stream-of-consciousness, whatever comes to mind.

I like this blog because it is an easily accessible compendium of my adult life. I sometimes wish I had written it even more of a personal journal, although that is not what anyone wants to read in the moment (not that I have a lot of readers, pouring over this site for entertainment). It would just be nice to be able to hop on any computer anywhere and access a memory from a time gone by. And for that reason, I'm going to start posting more of the photos I take nearly every day on my phone. I have two years of nearly daily photos that really tell the story of where I've been. So those will start appearing soon.

Where We Are, Where We Came From

2011-01-28T01:14:00.003-06:00

There was no struggle in naming my business. I started this blog six years ago and just kept writing here, at first, never stating my last name - and then one day, I just decided to put my full name in my bio, thus, allowing a Google search of my name to locate my blog. After I made a video for The Richards Group advertising agency as a solo director, they Googled my name, found this site and they linked to my blog as my company website, thus driving traffic to it from important people all over the advertising world.

So I went and registered the name Deliberate Industries as an L.L.C. and that is the name I worked under for all of 2010. Coincidentally, I've had my best year ever, as an employee of Deliberate Industries. The problem with my blog sharing the same name as my business, is what was once just a personal space to nearly anonymously share my thoughts, this simple website is now the landing page for my professional career as a filmmaker. For the last year I've been very hesitant to share anything very personal, the way I used to, even going so far as to create a secondary, private Twitter account for myself, which clients are strictly banned from viewing. I like to work with individuals whom I have a relationship with, old-fashioned, trusting and friendly. I work hard for my clients. When I say that I'm going to do a project, I do it and I do it by the deadline set forth. Last year I pulled as many all-nighters as I did in college, finishing, exporting and uploading videos so that they'd be viewable by my clients first thing when they arrived at the office in the morning. In return, I've built some really important and meaningful relationships and gotten opportunities to do really fun and inspiring video projects. A few times, the people who've hired me haven't lived up to the bargain themselves, sometimes paying way later than what we agreed upon (this was a rare occurrence in 2010) - it's something that just baffles me. For the first time, over the last year, I hired crew to help shoot the videos I was hired to make. I almost always pay up front, and if I ask the crew to invoice for the job, I make sure before taking on the project that there is enough cash in the company account to pay everyone, even in the event that the client defaults on payment. I refuse to grow bitter even when I've had a couple bad experiences working with small businesses and entrepreneurs. I'm going to continue to work with the same level of integrity that I expect from everyone else.

The really hard thing about running a business is that it's affected the way I carry myself online. I used to video blog, write stories and jot down my emotions in blog format. Now I feel like everything I post online needs to pertain to my career as a filmmaker, or make me look smart, or link to something that is educational and shows that I am relevant.

I'm sick of being so guarded.

The reason I started writing this post tonight, at two in the morning, is to say that last month I ended an 18 month relationship. I'm kind of sad about it. On one hand, we both have peace about breaking up and that is a rare thing and a good thing. On the other hand, we spent 18 months getting to know each other, hoping for a future together and now we can barely be friends. Being single affords me some luxuries that people in committed relationships don't have, for example, traveling the world on a whim, which I do regulary. There is nobody at home missing me. There are no children missing their father. I'd actually much rather be married by now, but I'm not married, not because I'm defective or because I missed some opportunity, I'm just not married yet. I choose to see the positive and I'm making the most out of where I am in life. Some could say that the constant world-travel doesn't exactly lend itself to the opportunity to meet someone to be committed to, but I don't believe it works that way. God made me a certain way, adventurous, disarming, even possibly charming, I'm using those qualities now, to get the most value out of where the circumstances of my life have brought me. And that place is directing videos, writing stories, making connections around the world and serving people in need. I don't have a lot of money saved or invested and I'm not even bringing in a lot of money in income at the moment, but I have a feeling that is going to change and I'm not anxious for it. I like where I am. I like the freedom of not having possessions and not having the responsibility of maintenance.

This update is necessary because I've been holding in details about who I am in the hopes that new clients would think I'm bigger than I am, but I've realized recently that my power is not in an office, not in the ownership of equipment, but in the training I've received and the way I'm executing my ability as a filmmaker, story-teller and director. I now have a solid reel of cinematography work, editing work, pieces that I have directed and even a finished narrative film. I always knew those things existed inside of me but my own belief in myself really doesn't matter to anyone else, not to someone who is going to hire me to complete a job, what matters to them most is the trust that is created in the relationship we have, my tangible history of completed production and the plan I've created and shared with them to complete their project. Where I am and what I have do not matter. What matters is that I'm honest, that I have integrity and that I continue to produce content with consistency. I can say whatever I want here, even if it comes from a place of vulnerability, because no matter what anyone thinks of me personally, my work speaks for itself.

This entire diatribe was written for me to say two things: I'm eager for the future and I'm happy now.

Recurrent Insomnia

2011-01-25T02:24:00.002-06:00

At some point in my adolescence I started staying up way too late. I don't think by nature I'm nocturnal, but I've trained myself to be this way. I'd much rather go to bed between 9pm and 11pm and wake up between 5:30am and 7:30am, but my habits lean more towards 2am-10am (it's almost 2:30am as I write this). I do the same loop on the internet: Check my email, check my Twitter replies, check my Facebook Newsfeed - it's unhealthy. And I suddenly realized tonight that for a year or two, I filled this time by writing. I'm desperate to bring that back.

Tonight, while I was sitting in the darkness of the Angelika movie theater in Dallas, actually seeing a film with my brother and sister, a rare pleasure, I was struck by how much I love independent cinema and how little I've nurtured that love in the last two years. So two things that I'm going to start making more regular in my life are attending cinema and writing words and stories. It's much healthier to express my thoughts this way when I have a lot on my mind, rather than to sit and stew and do everything possible not to face my fears and frustrations. Also, I'd like to go to bed earlier. I've said that for a long time, and I can't do anything about it tonight, but it's something I really want and I have complete control over it, so goodnight. As always, thanks for reading!

"Stuck In The Middle" Cover by GRO

2011-01-17T21:06:00.005-06:00

Here is the latest music video that I shot and edited for Green River Ordinance. It's the third in a series of 6 cover songs recorded by GRO that I shot in Dallas, while GRO recorded an EP of covers available for purchase on 03/01/11.

Living With Missionaries In Bolivia

2011-01-17T20:42:00.002-06:00

Staying with long-term missionaries while I'm here in Bolivia for two weeks is really opening my mind to a life-style/life that I didn't really understand, or even know existed. Some of these people have been in the mission field 8, 10, 16 years. Their kids weren't born in the United States, but have American passports, most of them with duel citizenship. They grow up being told they are Americans but for the most part they don't fully even understand American culture or have any allegiance at all to the far away "United States." It's really changing my idea of home, of being American and of "Christians'" place in the world.

In Bolivia

2011-01-11T20:47:00.002-06:00

I've been in Santa Cruz, Bolivia for 5 days, staying with missionaries, living in their nice little house, down a dusty, dirty lane, behind an iron gate with a padlock and spikes on top. Santa Cruz is the biggest city in Bolivia, in the lowlands, with about 2 million people living in a dense urban area. I have been shooting video every day here, but I haven't been taking many pictures. I'm shooting a documentary about my cousin, a Christian chiropractor and missionary here. That's the focus of my stay and we've both been working hard. In the coming days, once I get a little more footage in the can, we will enjoy some more cultural, possibly even touristy experiences. I just really needed to write and update, since so many generous people donated money to have this documentary made and to get me here. Thank you.

I Launched The Documentary On Kickstarter

2011-01-05T12:26:00.002-06:00

I did the majority of fundraising through Christian Chiropractors Association, but I want to extend the opportunity for the independent film community to be involved as well (or anyone who likes supporting independent projects). As I've written before, I'm headed to Bolivia for two weeks to shoot a documentary about my cousin, a chiropractor and Christian missionary, giving free chiropractic care to the poor in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The final film will simply be launched for free online and available to anyone who would like to see it.

Please go to my Kickstarter page: http://kck.st/fiFowW if you would like to contribute. Even five dollars helps!

P.S. I thought Santa Cruz, might be a small town - turns out it's the BIGGEST city in Bolivia, with nearly 2 million people (wiki).

Update: Bolivia, Pediatric Chiropractic Documentary - Bare "Bones" Schedule

2011-01-03T21:14:00.004-06:00

My cousin sent me the following schedule for my first week in Bolivia:

Friday (January 7th) - El Ebenezer (15 boys with physical and mental disabilities)
Saturday (January 8th) - Megumi girls (16 girls "orphaned")
Sunday (January 9th) - Church :)
Monday (January 10th) - Mission of Hope hospital/ Mi Rancho (street girls)/ Los Patitos (day care)
Tuesday (January 11th) - Posa Verda (Tribal tour)
Wednesday (January 12th) - Cristo Viene girls (24 girls abused) Mission Prayer meeting
Thursday (January 13th) - Cristo Viene boys(31 boys abandoned/ Nacer 50 (street boys)
Friday (January 14th) - Mi Familia (daycare)/ el Alfarero (8 street girls)

It's intense, exciting and perfect! And that's only week one!

"The Weight" by The Band - Cover by Green River Ordinance

2010-12-16T06:53:00.002-06:00

The latest video that I directed, shot and edited for Green River Ordinance. The second in a series of 5 music videos for their covers EP, due out in March 2011.

Shooting a Documentary In Bolivia!

2010-11-26T01:14:00.009-06:00

Just to warn you, before we even get started, I’m going to ask you for something in this blog post. I’ve had an idea for a documentary swimming around in my head for a long time, and I want to make it. My cousin Heather, a chiropractor from Wisconsin, decided a few years ago, shortly after graduating from Chiropractic school, to go to Bolivia to be a missionary. The thing is, the interesting thing, is that she went there as a missionary to practice chiropractic on children. I don’t know if you know this, but I come from a long line of chiropractors. My grandfather is a somewhat name-worthy chiropractor from way back; my mom and dad are both D.C.’s (that’s an abbreviation for chiropractor, fyi), two of my aunts, three of my uncles, my cousin and my brother-in-law – all chiropractors. My entire life I’ve been immersed in holistic medicine and the art of chiropractic. Whether you believe in it or not, or whether you’ve ever gotten a chiropractic adjustment, I think we can both agree, physical therapy is good for people. And that’s what my cousin does in Bolivia now, full-time, for free. And the most incredible, interesting and unique thing about her practice, is that her patients mostly consist of orphans and street-kids - all children who don’t get a lot of tender-loving-care in their day to day lives. Warms your heart doesn’t it!?

Heather also wanted me to mention that along with chiropractic, she teaches the Bible, acts as a mentor, teaches nutrition and does counseling. Also, she's been "working once a week at a clinic for the poorest of the poor and the majority of the patients are adults."

And so for the last few years I’ve been thinking through her decision to leave her country and spend her time doing chiropractic on kids, with no material pay-off. I think it’s tempting to think that she’s getting a life-long vacation. She doesn’t have the stress and worry that come with maintaining an American lifestyle, she’s supported by donations, she gets to eat Bolivian food and probably drinks those big, glass-bottle Cokes made with real Cane-sugar. Or does she? I don’t know actually. And that’s why I’m going to make a short documentary film about her in January 2011. I imagine it takes a great sacrifice to leave your family (and trust me, she’s got a great family) and dedicate your life to something that will not pay off in any material way. And I think this film will be important. I believe that God gives every single one of us a gift, or a talent, and it’s our job to use them. Mine is hopefully filmmaking, or story telling (but I’ll let you be the judge of that). Heather’s gift is loving on kids and aligning their backs. She shows them that somebody loves them and tells them that Jesus loves them and shows them that God sent her to go and to love them. That’s a lot of love!

This documentary will take a little bit of money to make. I am not being paid to make this film and I am requesting that you, if you have a heart for missions, or, if you believe in chiropractic and want it to be used to heal children in need all over the world, I ask if you would consider donating a little bit of money to make this short film happen. Christian Chiropractors Association, a legit 501(c)(3) non-profit is teaming with me and has agreed to make sure that all donations will be tax deductible. If you would like to make a donation, please send any amount to:

Christian Chiropractors Association
2550 Stover, B-102
Fort Collins, CO 80525
(Just write "Anton Documentary" or "Bolivia Documentary" on your check)

I need about $3,000 by January 5th, to make this movie. Whether you donate $5 or something more, it’s all good, every bit helps! Any extra money that is donated will go straight into Heather’s Bolivia account and will help her continue her work there.

More than anything, I’ll need your prayers for this trip. I’m traveling with a bunch of my film gear and that’s stressful when I’m flying to Pittsburgh, let alone South America. Pray that my very expensive luggage with make all of it’s connections. I put a lot of pressure on myself when I try to tell a story and there’s always the worry that I’ll just straight up fail. So you can help me out greatly by simply praying that I will not fail completely in my effort to make a compelling documentary. The dates of my travel are January 6th 2011 – January 21st 2011.

I hope to travel around with Heather as she sees patients and to film cinematic shots of her giving adjustments to children. I will conduct interviews in Spanish and English with people who know her and will collect stories about how chiropractic has made a positive impact in these children’s lives. I will also document how Heather lives day to day and how she’s adjusted to life in Bolivia. This will hopefully be humorous and will highlight the fact that people get by in a more simple way than most Americans are used to, and will show some of the idiosyncrasies of the Bolivian culture in Santa Cruz. Although Heather's work encompasses more than just adjusting children, the documentary will focus specifically on orphanages and how Chiropractic benefits the children there.

I can’t thank you enough for reading all of this and for thinking about helping me in making this film. I love you. PLEASE, email me if you have any questions.

GRO Performing "Baby" by Justin Bieber

2010-11-17T16:38:00.012-06:00

Watch it in HD! It looks and sounds better!

I recently directed a series of 5 new music videos for Green River Ordinance, all famous cover songs, for a new EP. The band was a pleasure to work with as always, just very gracious people and passionate musicians. The recording of "Baby" was sort of thrown in last minute and the band learned the song on the spot and put their own groove behind the lyrics. I'll post the rest of the videos as their edited, about one every two weeks.

We didn't have a huge budget, so we were forced to get creative. For lighting, aside from some borrowed Kino Flo's, we bought 9 cheap lights from a local "big box retailer":
Our lighting setup was very simple, with the idea basically being, the more lights that we can shine into the lens, the dirtier the image, the better. We achieved this by removing all of the lamp-shades:
The bulbs in the center, stand-up lamps (which were only $9.99) were soft, daylight balanced CFLs, the 5 yellow bulbs in the octopus lamp in the back were 50w, party bulbs and the back-lighting in the booth and behind Jamie were (A25) 40w bulbs, all purchased from Home Depot for a grand total of $35.

We shot on a Canon T2i with 2 L-series lenses, a 16-35mm f/2.8 and an 85mm f/1.2, and a naked Panasonic HVX-200 video camera:
After the shoot, all lighting was returned safely to it's home. It now lives happily with poor college students:
For a way more in-depth and beautiful look behind the scenes, check out photographer Sara Kerens' blog, here(1), here(2) and here(3).

Sara Kerens, getting the band to strike a pose:

Tokyo Travel Video

2010-10-27T08:40:00.002-06:00

I'm not getting back into this full-time just yet, but in the midst of many other video editing projects, I decided to finish out this travel video that I shot in Tokyo two years ago. It's actually the very last video in my "Around The World In 30 Days" series, although I'm skipping about 7 videos by posting this one.

My camera battery died at the end of filming this video, just as I was delivering my grand speech, wrapping up my entire experience, backpacking around the globe. Alas, the is it.

Change Is In The Fall Air

2010-10-24T13:19:00.001-06:00

The slow decent into Fall each year is something that has always fascinated me. I spent my formative years in North Texas, where Fall is something a little more subtle than other Mid-West parts of the country, but it tends to be the one time of year when the weather outside is quite temperate until one day, the cold gray clouds roll in and settle for the rest of Winter.

I could go on about the weather forever, but I'll just stop right here and save you some unnecessary reading (I just wrote another paragraph here and then deleted it, don't worry, you won't miss it).

For the last 3 years I've been nearly transient. I'll take you through a quick walk of my "adult" life thus far:

2001 - December 2004 : The College Years, marked by a summer spent interning in L.A., a summer study-abroad to London and backpacking trip, and a summer study-abroad in Spain and a more extensive backpacking trip.

2005 - 2006 : Assistant Editing in Dallas, my first and last real job.

2007 - 2010 : Freelance Video Shooter, Cinematographer, Director, Editor, Production Company Owner, and full-time Traveler.

I'm now 27 and the time is coming for me to set down some roots. While yes, my family lives in DFW and that will always be "home" for me, it's just not where I want to live. My plan for the last few months has been to get my resources together and move to Austin in early 2011 to establish my production company. After three years spent traveling the world, I've realized something very important: There is no Shangri-La. And this is coming from a person who's traveled to the Kingdom of Bhutan, a place that is actually called the last Shangri-La.

I became somewhat obsessed with proper urban development in college, after living in London and taking high-speed trains across Europe while backpacking. I came back home to Dallas-Fort Worth and became rather displeased with the city infrastructure (or complete lack of one). So for the last few years, as I've meandered my way around the globe a few times, visiting somewhere around 45 countries and 6 continents in the process, I've been on the lookout for the perfect place to live and work. I really loved Sydney, Australia, but then I heard about their "cut the tall poppies" mentality and that somewhat shattered my idea of Utopia once again. I'd love to live in London, but it's cold and dark half the year. I'd love to live in L.A. but it's smoggy and overcrowded and congested. I'd love to live in New York City, but it's expensive and compacted. You see my point.

Austin offers decent weather, a decent city infrastructure, a plethora of small businesses, a creative environment and some natural beauty. It's a pretty good in-between city for this point in my life. S0 I think I'm going to give it a shot. In the future, I'd like to live in London, Paris and New York City for a while as well as spend some extended time in Australia and New Zealand. This world is far too amazing, too diverse and too beautiful for me to stay put too long.

Resurecting My Writing

2010-10-11T22:25:00.003-06:00

Over a year ago, I traveled to New Zealand and shot a film. It's been a long road, with a few patches of nothing getting done, and the film is finally, almost ready to be shown. I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't start any more major projects until the film was completed. I'm not one to focus all of my attention on a single project and as a result, it's hard for me to finish anything.

But the film is almost done.

I've been writing on this blog for five years. The last year has been the slowest year for writing out of all of them. I've been reluctant to post anything because I've felt guilty to not be working on my film, I've worried that the people I make videos for would read my writing and think me crazy or immature, and I think I've just been burnt out in general.

I'm feeling a lot better now and I'm itching to get my writing back into shape. So I'm going to start writing here again, lot's and lot's of text, fewer pictures and video, more stories.

Thanks for sticking with me.

Video Shoot For Green River Ordinance

2010-10-04T22:35:00.005-06:00

This week I'm in Dallas directing a couple videos for the band Green River Ordinance, who are recording an EP of cover songs (really great songs). We're going with a natural lighting setup with lots of dirty frames and lens flares. I'm having a ball. The talented photographer Sara Kerens came to set today and took some pictures and has already posted them on her blog. Click this link or click on the picture below to go to her blog and see them nice and BIG.Photo by Sara Kerens

Summer 2010 Will Be Remembered Fondly

2010-09-21T23:47:00.014-06:00

These pictures only graze the surface.

Going To Disney World With Your Baby

2010-09-02T00:26:00.002-06:00

Earlier this summer, a U.K. based production company called Malt Films, hired me to shoot and direct some web-spots for floridababy.co.uk about traveling from the U.K. to Disney World with your baby, and what to expect when you get to the park. Robert Hindle, directed this viral video (based on the "Look Who's Talking" baby inner-monologue concept). It's adorable and funny as well. And I shot the dream sequence at Disney World which begins at 2:03:

I also shot and directed these other informative spots while in the Disney World parks:

These two videos were shot at Orlando Airport (everything on the airplane was shot by Robert Hindle in London):

I'm really grateful that Malt Films trusted me to shoot these spots on my own in the U.S. - It was a fun experience (even if it was one of the hardest shoots of my life). The shot list and the structure of the videos was planned out by Robert Hindle, who is a mad genius and the creator of the creator of The Lone Filmmaker vlog series on Youtube. I highly recommend you watch his entire series from start to finish. It's the story of his struggle to make a feature film completely on his own, while being documented by his girlfriend Gabby. The series really becomes fascinating when their relationship starts to break down. And the series continues!

L.A. For The Weekend

2010-08-22T01:05:00.003-06:00

Freelance work has taken me to the San Francisco Bay Area for the last month. It's been great work and well-paid. However, it's been solitary. I've been stationed mostly in suburbs, so I haven't even been able to really spend time with the few people I know in the region. I was given the option to stay in hotels over the weekends, but instead, I opted to drive six hours back to Los Angeles each Friday night, to hang out with my best friend Ben and our L.A. family over the weekend. After church today, I'll be packing my things once again and driving my rental car 8 hours North to Reno, Nevada for my last shoot-day on Monday. From there I'll fly back to DFW for a few days to spend some quality time with loved ones and then I'll be flying back to L.A. for another 3 week gig.

The lifestyle of a freelance video maker (camera operator, director, editor) is a tough one. Nobody tells a young hopeful filmmaker how hard it will be to maintain close relationships should they actually achieve their dreams. One of my goals is to lovingly pass this knowledge along to the new guard.

All that is to say that all of this work is a huge blessing. And I miss you when I'm on the road.

I Haven't Forgotten About You

2010-08-19T02:54:00.002-06:00

I've been working for the last few weeks. Every day. Every dang day.

This is a good thing. This means money, and fulfillment (although not in that order). It also means fun, because I like what I do (specifically camera work and directing in this case). I have a three day break coming up, for which I'll fly back to DFW and RELAX. Then I'll fly BACK to L.A. to rush into another job, this time working as a camera operator on a cooking show (10 shoot days over a 14 day period).

Possible Travel Plans:

I'm kicking around the idea of going to Iceland for a week, the first week of October. It's the low season (tourism-wise) and the airfare is very cheap.

Drop me a line. How are you doing?

Knight To D7 - Short Film Trailer

2010-08-12T02:02:00.002-06:00

Written by Angelo Restaino, Directed by Nathan Scoggins, Starring BRETT MACK, ANGELO SALVATORE RESTAINO, MEG CIONNI, HECTOR ELIZONDO and JACKÉE.

I Want To Go To Iceland

2010-08-10T23:41:00.005-06:00

I love the far North and the far South (speaking in terms of hemispheres) in the summertime. Scotland, Minnesota, and the South Island of New Zealand are some of my favorite places in the world to be in the summer months (Tasmania and Patagonia are on my list next!). The days are long and cool and the tough, dark Winter weeds out the weaklings, leaving strong people with rich character. This year, I can't stop thinking about Iceland. I've already missed my Summer window I'm afraid, but right now, I'm in the middle of a long stretch of freelance work, meaning that I'm going to have a little extra money this Fall. I looked at plane tickets and found that the cheapest airfare to Iceland is from late September to mid-Fall. In July, the days are 22 hours long. In January, the days are only 4 hours long. In October though, the days are 9 hours long, still leaving plenty of time to take in the scenery.

I'm very seriously looking into flying to Iceland for a week, to shoot some video, meet some locals and get to know the culture a little bit. Maybe Iceland's recent ad-campaign is working on me subconsciously?

Check out a few photo sets from street/blogger, fashion/photographer Yvan Rodic: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Let's Get Some Shoes

2010-08-02T14:27:00.002-06:00

What do you think? Which are you favorites?

What I Want To Do With My Life

2010-07-30T14:30:00.005-06:00

3 Things:

1. Spend as much quality time with my family as possible (mom, dad, brother, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins).
2. Live my dream of making films and writing novels, while traveling around the world.
3. Have a family of my own and spend as much quality time with them as possible.

That's why I do what I do, and I wish everyone could do it.

Knight To D7 - Short Film - Behind The Scenes

2010-07-25T00:32:00.001-06:00

I shot these videos, behind the scenes on a short film by Greg Wilson and Angelo Restaino, produced by Emily Moss.

Very good experience. I think it's going to be a powerful short film. Find out more on the film's website here.

Asked About My Faith And The Film Industry On Formspring

2010-07-12T00:51:00.003-06:00

Fellow video blogger, Josh Leo, whom I admire, asked me, "how does your faith inspire the kind of videos you make?"

This is what I answered:

When I first consciously became a Christian at 19, I contemplated dropping my film ambitions and becoming a missionary. Then I saw a TV show called Travel The Road, which was about missionaries and I saw the potential to merge the two. When I graduated from college, I took a job in commercial post production. I spent my vacations going on international mission trips and making short docs about the trips. A production company next door saw a film I shot in Brazil and asked me if I'd like to come shoot a TV show for them in Europe - and that's how I got started as a camera operator. Later on down the road, I was shooting a "bikini travel show" for the same company. Recently, I'd felt morally convicted about some of the content I'd been producing, so I decided to just stop working on certain projects. I lost a lot of money in the process but I gained a lot of free time. Basically, I want to be deliberate in what I produce, not necessarily only making evangelical content, but deliberately making content that expresses my integrity and the things that are important to me - specifically travel, enjoying life, inspiring children, choosing to be happy and preserving and cherishing the natural environment. It's really important that believing people work in the film industry among unbelievers and share the light of Christ by working hard and being nice, trustworthy people.

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 - Wide Open - Quick Lens Test

2010-07-12T00:36:00.004-06:00

I shot this on July 1st at Pardees Cameras in Sacramento, CA. I was in Northern California shooting commercials for apartment complexes and stopped into the camera store to buy something. They had the full line of Sigma lenses, which are much cheaper than Canon L-series and fit both full-frame Canons such as the 5D, and APS-C cameras such as the 7D and T2i. So I grabbed the 50mm, popped it on my Rebel T2i and opened the iris. I really liked the primes, while I wasn't so keen on the Zoom/Macros.

If you don't care about cameras or lenses, but do care about my face, here's a nice close-up of it.

For a very fast lens under $500, I was very impressed with the depth of field. However, you absolutely cannot shoot handheld while wide-open with this lens. Not only is the DOP too shallow, but the jello-effect of the rolling shutter in really amplified while wide-open.

Here are two still shots of my EF-S 18-135mm (taken by the Sigma 50mm, not of the Sigma...):

Why The Drobo S Is A Good Choice For Video Editors

2010-06-18T12:08:00.004-06:00

I'm slowly but surely cleaning up this mess.

This is a quick post about why I bought a Drobo S, to use as my main storage for HD video files. As a video editor, I'm constantly buying new external hard-drives for projects. HD video files take up huge amounts of data. Now that cameras are shooting on solid state memory, rather than on tapes, footage is not archived unless it is backed up on multiple hard-drives. This means that for every project at least two hard-drives much be purchased. The process gets annoying and confusing quickly.

The Drobo S is a box that allows you to insert "internal" harddrives, one on top of the other, and it automatically RAIDs them, or backs them up. You can stack 5 two-terabyte hard-drives at a time inside the Drobo S, giving you 9 actual terabytes of backed-up space. If a drive ever fails (which all drives eventually do), the Drobo will show you a red light, at which point you just buy another drive and pop it in, in place of the failed drive and the Drobo automatically goes to work putting the data back in the right place.

I own a few 2 terabyte external G-Drives - the Apple store lists them at $330. The Drobo S, by itself is $799. I bought two 2TB Hitachi sata hi-speed drives at Fry's for $118 (on sale) a piece. If I fill up all 5 drive slots in the Drobo S, that gives me 9TB of backed up storage space for a total of $1389. If I were to buy 18TB (or 9 2TB G-Drives), which would give me the same amount of backed up storage space, I'd spend $2970. Also, it bogs down my computer to have multiple daisy-chained drives - the Drobo S allows me to keep all 9TBs running simultaneously, and the 7200RPM drives, going through an *eSata card are very fast (the Drobo S also has two firewire 800 ports).

*The newest generation of 15in. Macbook Pros DO NOT have an Expresscard/34 slot for the eSata card. Instead, they have a single SD card reader. This was a HUGE design flaw by Apple. I do not recommend buying a 15in. Macbook Pro that does not have a Expresscard/34 slot. Here is a link to the IOGEAR 2 PORT eSATA EXPRESSCARD/34 - GPS702e3 that I purchased from Fry's for $39.99. The 17in. Macbooks still have this slot, but they are huge and impractical for travel.

The Questions I've Been Asked So Far On Formspring

2010-06-13T23:29:00.003-06:00

I'm having a ton of fun with this. It feels like therapy.

What made you choose to just start doing random video hoping for work instead of getting a 9-5 production job with a business?

I started editing yearbook-style videos in highschool, wedding-slideshows, softball banquet videos etc. I went to TCU and got a Radio-Television and Film degree. I graduated a semester early and immediately landed a bunch of freelance editing work. I had no idea how to manage my time, my money, or how to be diplomatic in client relations and I felt in-over-my-head. So I got a full-time position at a commercial post-house, first working in "the vault" and eventually working my way up to assistant editor. I desperately wanted to be working on productions though. I went to Guatemala and Brazil and shot mini-documentaries about Christian mission trips and edited them at work. The production company next door saw some of my Brazil footage and asked me to come to Europe to camera operate on their show "Project MyWorld." So I quit my job and shot the show, but when I returned home, I still wasn't ready to go completely freelance, so I started working at another post-house for an even higher assistant editor rate. I was miserable and I was editing videos in a week with the same budget as my salary. I felt incredibly under-valued, so I quit, started my own video production business and never looked back.

Working freelance is hard and takes a special kind of person. If you're that kind of person, it presents an incredible amount of freedom. I hope to never go back to working 9am - 9pm again (even though I still sometimes pull 24hr days working for myself!).

What do you do to stay fit?

I've been working out and running my entire life. I've always been naturally skinny and when I trained for the Stockholm Marathon in 2003, I got all the way down to 144 pounds, which was just too skinny for my 6'1" frame. Two years ago, I started eating a ton of leafy greens, kale salads and quinoa. I did the P90X workout program 6 days a week and drank protein shakes by Cytosport (Cytogainer) after my workouts. In about 2 months, I went from 150 to 170 with a single digit body fat. I've trimmed my workouts back a little now. I still workout 6 days a week. I do one day of legs, two days of chest and back, two days of arms, and one day of mixed cardio and running (alternating abs and core, resting a day in between). I eat complete foods, rounded, small meals, limit my meat intake (especially red meat - I have a hamburger about once a month), organic produce, take in protein after my workouts and load on carbs the night before my workouts. I'm now about 160 pounds and I have about 9-12% body fat. I can run a 5k in about 19 minutes, I can do about 20 wide-grip front pull-ups at a time, and I could run about 15-20 miles on any given day. My job as a documentary camera operator requires strength and endurance and I want to make sure I'm ready in case the CIA ever wants to send me on a secret mission.

What are you the most passionate about?

I am passionate about making things right. People are not good to each other and I refuse to just accept that it is just the state of the world. I'm passionate about proper urban development to the scale of human beings, the conservation of nature, limiting pollution and making people aware that there is a way to not just be a constant consumer - I want to share the love that I feel in Jesus with everyone I come in contact with, even people who oppose me. In short, I'm passionate about practical education. I believe that education is the way to a better life for everyone on the planet. If people understood the greater ramifications of the small things they do, I believe we'd more consciously care for each other.

What the most frightening experience you've ever had while filming abroad?

Off the top of my head, filming in the Mathare slum in Nairobi, Kenya was a freaky experience. It's one of the top 5 most dangerous in the world, because it's run by the Mungiki cult. They're notorious for beheading people. I just felt that something wasn't right and we left, seconds before a Mungiki started approaching our car. Also, I've almost fallen to my death off two different cliffs.

Ask me more questions! http://www.formspring.me/antonseim Thank you.

Ask Me Some Questions Please

2010-06-11T18:17:00.005-06:00

I've jumped on a new interwebz bandwagon called formspring. If you've ever had a question for me, this website may be a good format to get it answered. Ask me about running a video business, making independent films, or my faith in Jesus; ask me anything you want. I'll do my best to answer honestly and concisely.

You can find my formspring page here:

Last Year At This Time

2010-06-08T23:10:00.004-06:00

This is so weird. I had decided to write this blog post and was sitting here trying to think of a title and was saying in my head, "well, I'm happy..." - It was almost a year ago exactly that I wrote a post about how depressed I was. Having just returned from New Zealand and Australia, I had this overwhelming feeling that things were going to get very tough and it was going to be exactly a year before I would be able to get back on my feet. And here I am now, exactly one year later, writing to tell you how happy I am!

For most of the last year, I've been living in Dallas-Fort Worth, staying with my family. The year wasn't as travel-free as I thought it would be. Shortly after coming back from Australia, I ended up in Barcelona, visiting my brother, I stopped in New York afterward and spent some time in L.A. (August 2009 and April 2010). But for the most part, my days have been spent in DFW. Things were slow freelance-wise and I ended up taking a position as a P.A. on a television show shooting in Dallas called The Deep End - it was a great learning experience, just observing production on such a major scale, but after 4 weeks of 16 hour days, getting paid about $1,000 a week (roughly $12.50/hr with no overtime) - I quit. It also turned out to be a good decision to work on the show in the long run because FOX took out heavy taxes from my meager wage and it saved me from having to pay a bunch at the end of the year.

Sometime around December 2009, freelance video work started picking up speed. I got busy. Busy-ness has been a blessing, both for the income and also just to give my mind something to focus on other than anxiety. A few days ago, I turned 27, and while I feel older (like a true-blue adult...finally), I'm also in great shape, healthy and happy. What more could you ask for? So I've been saving my money, finishing my movie and investing in my company. There are a lot of projects on the table, video work, a television show, and a movie. Things feel very different than they did last year. I feel good.

Here are some of the "investments" that I feel really good about. Just some little film-gear bits and bobs:

Canon T2i, EF-S 18-105

Miller Compass 15 Solo Alloy Tripod
5600k Flolite LEDs

It's not much, but I've always been hesitant to buy gear. When we have major productions I rent the best of the best, RED ONEs, Kinos etc. - But for day to day use, for those ideas that just pop into my head, this stuff is perfect and allows me to be shooting and creating all the time. I feel inspired and invigorated.

Cambodian ATMs give U.S. Currency

2010-05-26T13:29:00.003-06:00

This video is from my Around The World In 30 Days Video Blog series:

I went to Cambodia to see the temples of Angkor Wat - those will come in a later video blog. I found the Cambodian people to be very friendly.

"More Than It Is" Film Trailer

2010-05-20T09:41:00.002-06:00

More Than It Is - Theatrical Trailer 1 from Anton on Vimeo.

Directed by Anton Seim
Director of Photography - Jonathan Nicholas
Starring Cherie Ditcham and Beth MacDonald
Edited by Keenan Hiett

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
Lenses used: Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8 and Minolta 50mm f/1.4 (with adapter)

For the story of the making of "More Than It Is" click here.

The Making Of "More Than It Is"

2010-05-20T00:36:00.025-06:00

*Click here for the trailer*

We had three main film inspirations going into the making of "More Than It Is" - First, Brook Silva-Braga's documentary of his year long backpacking trip around the world, "A Map For Saturday." We actually stole the title of our movie (with permission from Brook, of course) right from one of the lines in his film. Our second inspiration was the Duplass Brothers' classic "mumblecore" film "The Puffy Chair." Shot on hand-held SD video, we figured, if they could get away with it, so could we. And we had the benefit of new camera technology that would allow us to shoot HD and use traditional 35mm lenses, giving us really wide shots when we needed them as well as very shallow depth of field. The third movie that inspired us was Tarsem's "The Fall." Shot on location in twenty-four different countries, what we took from "The Fall" was that beautiful foreign locations add a lot to a movie. So we decided to make our movie in one of the prettiest places on the planet, the South Island of New Zealand.

Charlie and Josh Dance in a Scene From "More Than It Is"

"More Than It Is" is the story of Josh, a young American guy, convinced that his one chance at true love is with an English girl named Leila who he hasn't seen in a year. Through a social networking site, Josh sees that she's now working in New Zealand - so he flies there to surprise her and tell her his true feelings...only to be turned down on the spot. Realizing the bizarre thing that he's just done, Josh sinks into a lonely depression. While waiting to fly back to the States, Josh meets Charlie, a beautiful, free-spirited backpacker who is traveling around the world. She invites Josh on a road-trip across the South Island and soon he's put his love-sickness behind him, as he takes on the role of a vagabond backpacker. But the fun can't last forever and soon real life sets in, the euphoria wears off and everything gets muddled once again.

The Filmmakers:

"More Than It Is" was written and directed by Anton Seim, who also plays the lead roll of Josh. The impetus for the story, may or may not have been inspired by actual events in Anton's life. Jonathan Nicholas was the very talented Director of Photography. The budget of the movie essentially got split between the two filmmakers, with Jonathan purchasing all of the camera gear (Canon 5D Mark II, L-Series lenses), as well as his own plane ticket to New Zealand. The other lead role of Charlie, was played by Cherie Ditcham. Jonathan was the entire film crew - camera, audio and lighting. The actors wore Lectro wireless microphones at all times and audio was recorded remotely by Jonathan using an MAudio digital recorder (all audio gear was graciously provided by Nick Ballard of Ballard Productions).

The crew, Jonathan (with all his film gear), Cherie and Anton - Arriving In Christchurch

Jonathan carried all of his film gear with him at all times
(about 40 pounds, including 7 lenses...overkill?)

Jonathan with his Canon 5D Mark II (the camera he used to shoot the movie)
He shot the majority of the film handheld.

After about 20 hours of flying, from L.A. to New Zealand,
we immediately shot the last scene of the movie at the airport
- a scene Anton finished writing while on the plane.

There are two female leads in the film, Charlie (played by Cherie Ditcham) and Leila. We flew from L.A. with Cherie, but we found the Leila character in New Zealand by posting an ad on a Kiwi Job-Listing message board. When Beth MacDonald, who plays Leila, wrote us back, we simply couldn't believe that she would actually be there when we landed. Beth agreed to meet us for a drink the night before our shoot the next morning and Anton set out to convince her that we were actually filmmakers. She was a delightful, beautiful, knew her lines, and was excited to be a part of the film!

Anton meets Beth MacDonald in person for the first time,

the night before her first day of filming.

There were other characters in the script, meant to be played by real backpackers, so they were pretty much impossible to cast without meeting them in person. A Brazilian named Felipe Carpinelli Sabbag was one of the first backpackers to respond to the initial casting ad and was immediately texting Anton from the time the crew arrived in New Zealand. He turned out to be a great addition to the cast.

Felipe Carpinelli Sabbag (Brazil)
(Anton needs that footage for a BTS doc!)

There was a funny part in the script about an English guy who brushed his teeth naked. We mentioned the part to a backpacker we met named Pete Johnson and he immediately said he was game. Pete became one of our favorite characters in the film.

Pete Johnson (U.K.)

The Camera Department - Shooting On The Canon 5D Mark II

The Canon 5D Mark II is a digital SLR camera that shoots 8bit 4:0:2 HD video onto Compact Flash cards at full-raster 1920x1080. Because it's a full-sensor SLR, it uses 35mm lenses and has a depth of field equivalent to traditional film cameras. Using this camera gave us the look that big-budget movies have, but allowed us to shoot on the sly, sometimes filming in busy restaurants without anyone knowing that we were making a movie - it just looked like we were taking pictures across the table! However, when we left to begin filming in New Zealand, Canon had yet to release the new firmware update for the camera, so we had no control of our in-camera audio levels and we had to shoot 30p rather than 29.97 or 24p. Jonathan made it work. And as you will see, the result was beautiful.

To say that we were on a budget is a huge understatement. We had no budget! When we began shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, we only had one battery for our camera. When the remaining juice got to about one-fourth remaining, the LCD screen would sometimes go black and we'd have to stop the scene while the battery charged long enough for us to get another take.

Anton looking worried because the camera is NOT WORKING.

The camera was new to both Jonathan and Anton so when it went down,
there was nothing left to do but pray and wait for the battery to charge.

One of the most crucial elements of the film was the campervan. We rented from a fantastic company called Cruzy Campers and even though it was the off-season, they agreed to deliver our RV straight to our hostel and for a fantastic price no less! The campervan would be our set, our DIT station and our home for at least 5 days of shooting on the road.

Anton was alarmed to find out that it was a standard transmission and Jonathan had to drive for the first half of the trip until Anton got the hang of driving a stick for the first time (and on the left side of the road no less!). Anton had to learn how to drive because the Josh character drives the campervan in the film!

Jonathan at the wheel of the campervan.

Using a cigarette-lighter car-AC-adapter, two Macbooks and a slew of portable hard-drives, Anton dumped footage from the camera while driving to locations.

Driving DIT Station

With the boys sitting up front, constantly planning what to film next, Cherie rode in style in the back of the campervan.

Cherie said, "you know Anton, I'm used to getting my own trailer."

The entire film, including the epic road-trip from Christchurch to Milford Sound and through Queenstown, only took 10 days to shoot and it's some of the most fun we've ever had in our lives. "More Than It Is" will be beginning a run of film festivals starting late summer 2010, with the hope of many more films to come.

That's A Wrap! The crew has a celebratory drink,
on their last night together in New Zealand

Anton Seim, Cherie Ditcham and Jonathan Nicholas

Special Thanks:

Thanks to Charlie B's Backpackers for letting us film in the hostel, and thank you for your immaculate kitchen, one of the best hostel kitchen's we've ever encountered. Thanks to Andrew from Cruzy Campers as well as Campa South - y'all treated us well and the campervan was fantastic! Thanks to all of the backpackers who agreed to be in our movie, Pete Johnson, Felipe Carpinelli Sabbag, Kyohei Kojima, Mayumi Sekizuka and Beth MacDonald.

And thank you for reading and watching. Enjoy it, and go travel, the world is filled with beauty and adventure!

London Fell Through

2010-05-11T21:01:00.006-06:00

It was supposed to have been a done-deal, a week spent in London directing a commercial at the end of May. But it fell through, for the second time. I hadn't heard from the agency in a week and the reservation for my plane ticket had since expired (thank goodness I hadn't already purchased it), so I had time to prepare myself to be disappointed. I got the official call to tell me it had been cancelled first thing this morning. It was actually quite freeing. Now I don't have to prep the job and I can officially move on to other things.

Keenan Hiett, an editor I met last year, recently moved to L.A. and has agreed to edit my film "More Than It Is" for a small fee. This is a blessing. Almost a year has passed since the original production (May 5 - May 17 2009) and I was beginning to lose hope. Keenan has even edited a fantastic theatrical-length trailer that I will be finishing this weekend and posting next week on Vimeo. I'll of course be promoting it like crazy on Facebook and Twitter, so don't worry, you wont miss it!

I'm living in Dallas-Fort Worth for the rest of May, enjoying time with my family and friends (and girlfriend "hello!"). At some point in June I will probably drive back to L.A. to shoot a cooking TV show for 9 days. I'll be subletting a bedroom from my best friend Ben (so no lease!) and I'll be heading up to San Fransisco in late June to begin filming commercials for an apartment company there.

It's been a busy year so far. My production company, Deliberate Industries, which shares the name of this blog is doing great business and freelance camera and editing work are steady. We are also currently in talks with a few different major U.S. television networks, to shoot a travel show based on the sizzle reel we shot in Australia and New Zealand last year. I can't share the details of that development just yet, but I'm very excited at the prospect of more travel and filmmaking adventure.

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to L.A.:

Honest business people at the DFW Airport:

The San Fernando Valley, flying into Burbank Airport:

Here is my camera setup for the apartment commercials I was shooting, including my Flolight LEDs:

Cole and I video-chatted quite a bit. I used to giggle every time I video-chatted. It has started to feel quite normal...:

A small sampling of some of my L.A. family. We picnicked at a remote part of Griffith Park, on the Burbank side:

My standing desk setup in my sublet apartment. It was really comforting to have all of my books close by. I'm going to start doing that all the time:

The assortment of snacks ($65 worth) that I brought on my 24 hour drive from L.A. to Fort Worth:

You Wouldn't Think

2010-04-25T20:41:00.003-06:00

It's probably not apparent by these pictures (in which we're all on our phones and ignoring each other completely) - we had an absolutely wonderful weekend together.

We all went to Lake Arrowhead, CA for the weekend and shared a cabin while attending the 2010 Lake Arrowhead Film Festival. Our friends' film "Grande Drip," took home the award for "Best Ensemble Cast." It was a great little festival with a lot of spirit. It was a fun and relaxing weekend, full of inspiration.

Update - April 2010

2010-04-19T01:56:00.001-06:00

In an effort to be more vulnerable with my words (inspired again by my good friend Kyle - writer, artist, musician), I'm here to write, stream-of-consciousness to give you a look into where I am in the days of my life. So here goes:

On Good Friday I flew back to Los Angeles and moved in with my friend Jessica for the month of April. I had booked about 9 days of camera-operating work in the Southern California area, shooting b-roll of apartment properties for a Texas-based company. Shortly before leaving Dallas-Fort Worth, I filmed internet commercials for my client Oink Art LTD and another new client, also an online retailer. Traveling with the raw footage, I would also be editing those commercials in between b-roll shoots. It is the most work I've had at once in nearly a year. It is a huge blessing to be so busy and I am quickly falling back into the groove of long, diligent days.

*break* (each time I step away to focus on the project I'm working on, I will start a new paragraph)

**I wrote this a few days ago. After typing this out, I pinched a nerve in my neck while stressed out and editing during an all-nighter. This was a very unhealthy night for me. I know you don't want more excuses as to why I'm not writing. I have some big plans, but I'll just wait to share them until I can actually make-good on the promise.

More soon.

Happy To Be Working, But Very Tired

2010-04-09T01:10:00.002-06:00

I desperately want to write a post right now, telling you how blessed I am with work, and how exhausted I am by it all. I'm back in L.A., I'm shooting apartment properties all over Southern California for a great client, I'm editing videos for Oink Art LTD, another great client, and I'm supervising an edit on a web-commercial I shot in Dallas two weeks ago for yet ANOTHER great client. It's just that, to do this all properly, I need to work about 20 hours each day, 7 days a week. But it's just taking everything out of me. I am running around on auto-pilot. My clean clothes are running out. The weirdest thing, is that I don't have anything specific planned a month from now. Not one thing. Not a vacation, not a baby, not a house to buy, not a city to live in...my life could look exactly the same in a month, or totally different. I just don't know. And at the very same time, I can't see the end of this workload. It's a very confusing time, but man, am I glad to be working.

I'm SO Sorry I Haven't Updated

2010-04-04T23:35:00.001-06:00

There is no excuse. I'm in L.A. - I have so much work. I will update fully shortly. Once again, I'm SO sorry. I'm well.

Some Images From The Roadtrip

2010-03-20T23:25:00.006-06:00

I spent the last week on a roadtrip from Fort Worth, Texas - to Austin, Texas - then to Santa Fe, New Mexico - Williams, Arizona - The Grand Canyon, and finally to Los Angeles. Here are some photos from the trip.

Mural on the side of Domy Books in East Austin:
A really freaky looking photo journal called "The Hyena and Other Men":
Halcyon Coffee Shop, Austin, Texas (with just a hint of Kyle):
Wind farms as far as the eye can see, South of Lubbock, Texas:
We were greeted by a sudden blizzard while driving into Santa Fe, New Mexico:
From Williams, Arizona, we drove to the Grand Canyon on a cold, but gorgeous day:
Cole gave me a great haircut on the steps of Jessica's apartment:
We bought two Ahi Tuna steaks at Trader Joe's and pan-seared them. A delicious departure meal:
It was a great week. I found some time to do a little editing work in the car, and we set-up the apartment I'll be renting in April, so it wasn't completely work-free, but it sure was nice to get away for a week and have a little adventure!

Why I've Been A Little Quiet

2010-03-20T22:57:00.002-06:00

Five years ago, I started writing here for practice. Above and beyond all other things, I consider myself a writer. So everyday, I used to sit down, and usually stream of consciousness, I would just type out my thoughts and feelings. More recently, as my presence on the web has grown (Youtube (old & new), LonelyPlanet.tv, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook), I've been more spread out and thus, I haven't dedicated the same amount of time to writing on this blog. I've also had a hard time classifying what I write about. A one time, I had this blog, a political blog, a blog about film-making, and a video blog. I was just overwhelmed writing in all those places. So I decided to just write ALL of my random thoughts here.

This year, I applied for an LLC for my production company and changed the name to coincide with this blog. This is no doubt confusing for my clients, because my supposed company website is actually my personal, online diary. So I've been playing with the idea of changing this site to my company website. As I've been weighing all of these options and managing my other sites, I've been reluctant to write so stream of consciousness very often here any more. I apologize if you come here on a direct link to the homepage and are annoyed by the same old post over and over again. Thanks as always for reading. It means a lot.

I'm In L.A.

2010-03-18T03:02:00.002-06:00

Some pictures even got taken. Once I download them off my camera, I'll share them. The roadtrip was nice. Long. More fun with Cole along for the ride. Austin was warm and beginning to buzz with SXSW fever. In Santa Fe, we got hit with a 24 hour blizzard. We saw the Grand Canyon on a blue-sky day. Now we're in L.A., indulging in time spent with close friends and even taking in some of the sights. Tomorrow we're going hiking in the canyon (Fryman) and then to Venice beach.

Ok, pictures soon.

Anton Seim I & II

2010-03-11T02:00:00.006-06:00

My great grandfather, Anton Seim, born, Norway, 1887

Me, Anton Seim, born, Wisconsin, USA, 1983

My great grandfather died in 1951, so I never knew him, but I've always been quite proud of the fact that I bear his name.

This is he and his wife Johanna on their wedding day on June 28, 1914:

They were both born in Norway and spoke Norwegian at home.

Spending April in L.A.

2010-03-08T01:39:00.002-06:00

At the end of the week, I'll be packing up my car and heading (with Cole) to the South by Southwest film, music and interactive festival in Austin, Texas. I'll be spending the weekend there, seeing some friends and checking out all the free events at coffee shops around downtown. From Austin, I'll be heading to L.A., stopping first in Santa Fe to visit my best friend (he's currently there working on one of the biggest films of the year), then driving to the Grand Canyon for a night and then finishing the drive to L.A.

We'll be hanging out in L.A. for a few days, basically having a Spring Break "vacation". And then at the end of the week, we'll be flying back to DFW. What I'm trying to get at, is that I'm leaving my car in L.A. - I've rented a room with my friend Jessica for the month of April and I've booked a solid month of work, camera-operating on two different projects. It's not a permanent move back. If I don't book more work on into May, I'll pack up my car, this time cleaning out my storage unit, and I'll drive all the way back to Dallas-Fort Worth with all of my belongings.

In the coming months, I will be establishing a permanent office in Dallas-Fort Worth, while continuing to "commute" to L.A. to work with the clients I have made there.

Here's my schedule for March and April:

12 March - Drive to Austin
13 March - Spend night in Austin
14 March - Drive to Santa Fe
15 March - Drive to Williams, AZ (Grand Canyon)
16 March - Drive to L.A.
17 March - L.A.
18 March - L.A.
19 March - L.A.
20 March - Fly to DFW
21, 22 March - DFW
23 March - Fly to Minneapolis
24, 25 March - Minnesota/Wisconsin
26 March - Fly back to DFW
27, 28, 29 March - DFW
30 March - Fly to L.A.
April - L.A.
May - Drive back to DFW with everything I own.

Why I'm Buying a Canon 550D/T2i

2010-02-15T21:13:00.004-06:00

I bought my first Sony mini DV handicam about 10 years ago. At the time it cost me over $1,000. Since then, I've continued shooting video professionally and yet I've never purchased another camera. I hated the quality of DV and the hyper-realistic look of interlaced video. I longed for a camera that shot a progressive frame HD image through 35mm lenses. When the first HD digital SLRs started coming out I was over-joyed. Last May 2009, I shot my film "More Than It Is" using the Canon 5D MKii before the firmware update was even released. But for various reasons, it still made no sense for me to purchase a camera. One client wanted 480/60i shot to DV tapes, another wanted DVCProHD shot to P2, while another wanted HDV tapes. If I were to purchase cameras to satisfy the needs of all of my different clients, I'd be in debt way over my head with obsolete cameras filling my soon to be foreclosed home. It's always made more sense just to rent the latest and greatest camera for each job. But it's a major hassle, always tracking down the right gear last minute. Most of the time, it really doesn't matter what I shoot on, as long as I'm producing a good image. But I haven't wanted to buy a camera because there hasn't been a cost-effective option that still offers all of the functions I want.

With the release of the Canon 550D/T2i that all just changed. I'm still waiting for the RED Scarlet S35 to really fulfill all of my professional filmmaking desires. But the Canon EOS 550D/T2i* offers everything I need for the majority of the videos I make and it's UNDER $1,000! This camera, 1080/24p, 35mm lenses, costs LESS than the consumer video camera I bought 10 years ago!
When the RED Scarlet S35 finally does come out, I'll buy that too and with the 550D/T2i, I'll have a camera to lend to friends, to rent out to up-and-coming filmmakers and a second camera for live events.

I'm very happy about this camera. Check out Phillip Bloom's write up of some of the camera's features here, watch a pretty short shot with the camera here, and check out the camera on Canon's North American website here.

Via phillipbloom.co.uk, here are the frame rates:

1080p: 1920 x 1080 pixels at 30fps (actually 29.97fps)
1080p: 1920 x 1080 pixels at 25fps
1080p: 1920 x 1080 pixels at 24fps (actually 23.976fps)
720p: 1280 x 720 pixels at 60fps (actually 59.94fps)
720p: 1280 x 720 pixels at 50fps
SD: 640 x 480 pixels at 60fps (actually 59.94fps)
SD: 640 x 480 pixels at 50fps

*In North America the 550D is called the Canon Rebel T2i

Give A Tent To Someone In Haiti

2010-02-13T16:47:00.003-06:00

My bro and fellow blogger, Andy Merrick, turned me on to a great cause called A Home In Haiti. In 15 days, the rainy season will officially begin in Haiti. All buildings have pretty much been destroyed and if you lived in Haiti, after just witnessing your entire country get leveled by a massive earthquake, would you really want to sleep in a crumbling cement death-trap of a building anyway? So they need tents and they need them now. I've been wanting to donate to Haiti ever since the Tweets about the devastating earthquake started rolling in, before the major news organizations even began reporting it. And this is the cause I've been looking for. So I bought a tent. It cost just under $200 dollars and I'm proud that someone in Haiti will soon be calling it home.
Please go here and purchase a tent through Amazon.com. It all can be done very easily through the "A Home In Haiti" website and it will take you less than ten minutes. And ship the tent to Courageous Church 1330 West Peachtree Street Suite 560 Atlanta, GA 30309 (404) 461-9850. Andy says it's legit.

Connect With Me On Google Buzz

2010-02-10T13:46:00.002-06:00

I officially like and endorse Google Buzz. Follow me here.

This is where I will be posting links to things I like and want to share.

Don't Comment On This

2010-02-10T01:32:00.007-06:00

For a while, I just had an explosion of readers. After 5 years of blogging, I guess I finally acquired somewhat of a following. I guess that's what I always wanted. But it affected me in an unexpected way. I began to worry that my posts weren't applying to a broad enough audience, or that they were on too wide an array of topics, or that they were too personal, or too preachy. So I just started writing more infrequently. Well, the good news is that as a result of my reluctant posting, my readership dropped severely. And without commenters - now knowing that I can write without your JUDGING eyes, I am again free to share my deepest darkest secrets, here, in the privacy of my own personal public blog!

Oh yeah, and friend, your hair needs to be about 12 INCHES in order to donate it. Nobody wants to make mustaches out of your 6-7 inch hair. Give it a year!

And DO NOT go to Floyd's Barbershop to donate it. Just trust me on this.

If you want me to continue writing unfettered, please do not comment. I will just get self-conscious. It's better for me to think I'm all alone, with the hair donators.

♥ - Anton

After Circling The Globe And Nearly Dying Repeatedly

2010-02-10T00:41:00.009-06:00

On Thanksgiving Day 2009, Matt Chandler, (a pastor who I really enjoy listening to) had a seizure. It was soon discovered that he had a tumor on his brain. Almost right away he started praising God for giving him, of all people, a brain tumor that might kill him, and would certainly maim him, because it gave him an even greater ability and urgency to speak of God's love and grace in all things. It's been a crazy thing to watch and I've been greatly encouraged by it. In this Youtube video, recorded right before he went in for brain surgery, he said this:

"for those of you, who kind of - you just keep living in fear - and you would try to use this as an excuse to continue in that fear, don't you dare use me, as an excuse to continue in your lies. My hope would be that you would see that he is good in all things - and that he would never send any of us things he does not provide strength for..."

A while ago, I took a world-wind and somewhat impromptu trip around the world. It was such an intense experience, one that stretched me and tested me in so many ways - when I arrived back home in the States, I thought to myself that I could die happily right then and there, because I was so fortunate to have seen and experienced so much - I had been so incredibly and undeservedly blessed. I'd like to think that I'd be able to face the same situation as Matt Chandler with such grace. He's been an incredible testament of Christ's love radiating through a man.

I read the book of Ecclesiastes today. A book who's theme in the ESV study Bible is described as "the necessity of fearing God in a fallen, and therefore frequently confusing and frustrating world." God is absolutely sovereign and in control of everything, even the things we perceive as bad. While it may sound New Agey and self-helpy, to say that one must take on a mindset of absolute optimism, it's true. Know that God is good and loves you. And then take on the challenges of the day with gratitude. That is the way to peace.

To see how Matt is faring after surgery, check out his most recent updates on the Village Church Youtube page.

Updating My Demo Reel(s)

2010-02-09T18:09:00.004-06:00

A directing project I was really looking forward to (a commercial shoot later this month) fell through. I've decided to take advantage of the newly acquired free time by working on my reel and FINALLY finishing the rough cut of my film More Than It Is.

Also, I'm very excited for the website redesign of www.deliberateindustries.com that Bradley Benson Design will be performing. You can click the image above to see the embarrassingly thin, current representation of my reel on vimeo, or you can check out my new Youtube page.

The new deliberateindustries.com will be launching around mid March 2010.

Subscribe to DeliberateIndustries.com

2010-02-07T22:15:00.002-06:00

I wanted to do this in a more triumphal way, but I'll just go ahead and say it plainly - After 5 years of blogging on this website, I will soon be relaunching this blog as deliberateindustries.com - both a blog and a website for my production company. Stay subscribed in your RSS feed reader (if you don't do this already, I recommend using Google.com/reader, it's a great one), just drop off the .blogspot off the name and instead just use http://www.deliberateindustries.com. I will continue blogging here, possibly with even more tenacity, and soon I will also have a more personal journal up on antonseim.blogspot.com.

I'm really looking forward to the new site being designed by www.bradleybenson.com/!

Still Taking Pictures Every Day

2010-02-07T21:57:00.003-06:00

Click the image above if you want to see a selection of photos I've taken - one, each day so far in 2010.

I've been participating in a group called Project 365: The Things We See on Flickr.

Quick Update (Kindle vs. iPad)

2010-01-31T23:21:00.002-06:00

My absence from this blog is inexcusable. I've been very busy over the past few weeks, pre-producing a couple of spots that I'm directing. I have thoughts on this Kindle vs. iPad debate that I'd like to share in a big, long, expository post - basically, the iPad is an interactive digital magazine (a few weeks ago, this was a portrait of an impossible future) and the Kindle is an interactive, digital book (obvs). The Kindle has a digital ink screen (readable in direct sunlight), while the iPad has a backlit screen and a processor (10 hours of battery life for the iPad, vs. 2 weeks with the Kindle). The two devices are different and serve different market segments and are therefore not in direct competition.

I'll be back later this week with more of a complete update, including thoughts on the future of cinematography and filmmaking.

Thank you for your patience.

Three Trees Ranch - January 2010

2010-01-25T16:54:00.002-06:00

I had the opportunity to go my friend Matt's ranch this weekend. It was a great escape from suburban life and work for 48 hours.

Click the image to see the photos on Facebook.

Rejected Daily Photos

2010-01-19T02:13:00.003-06:00

I've stayed true to my word and I've been taking a photo every single day since January 1st. Actually, I've been taking many photos every day. This leaves me with the task at the end of the day, to choose the right photo to put up in the "Project 365: The Things We See" group on Flickr. It's been a great exercise and a lot of my favorite photos aren't actually making the cut, on account of them being off topic, or just too intimate. So, I'll post some of them here! Enjoy:

To subscribe to my photo set in your RSS Feed Reader, just copy and paste this link (right click, "copy link")

P.S. After the Christmas Rap Video project, a lot of new, important people have been visiting this blog (the video linked here), which has slightly intimidated me. Deliberate Industries has always been the ethos of my film production, so it makes sense that this web space would be reserved for ideas based on that name. However, soon I will be creating a new blog space and a seperate company space. In the meantime, I will post more often here. Thank you for reading.

Project 365: The Things We See

2010-01-12T00:40:00.005-06:00

Every day of 2010, I will be taking at least one photograph and posting it on my newly created Flickr account. The project, for me, serves a two-fold purpose. 1. To document my year. 2. To become a better photographer. The more pictures one takes, the more video one shoots, the more of an intuitive documentarian one becomes.The project was created by Justin and Christina Childress and is called Project 365: The Things We See. I'll be posting my photos to my 365 day photo set.

My Three Passions – A Map For This Blog

2010-01-05T15:42:00.003-06:00

Here is a breakdown of the things I write about, the things in which I claim to profess knowledge. This is a sort of map for where this blog will go and what will be talked about in 2010. In the past this website has been a journal and a journalistic experiment. Right now, it will just be a place to sort out the things I'm interested in, give us a chance to communicate and hopefully you'll learn something from me as well.

1. Movie-Making

a. Filmmakers
i. Auteurs - Telling "their" story
ii. Story-tellers - Telling "our" story
b. Technology
i. Cameras
ii. Editing technology (software and hardware)

2. Urban Development

a. Great cities
i. Culture
1. Culture inspired by the city
2. The city as inspired by the national or regional culture
ii. Public trasportation
1. Trains, planes and automobiles
2. Trails, bike lanes, skate parks (also regular parks)
b. Urbanism at human scale
i. Defining space
ii. Places worth caring about (Thank you James Howard Kunstler)

3. Fashion

a. Functional fashion
i. Work clothes (semi-casual)
ii. Workout clothes (clothes to get physical in)
b. Classic looks
i. Going out (dress to impress)
ii. Going around town (clothes to both walk around and look good in)

*Sorry for the stupid bullet points. HTML and I aren't getting along today.*

My fourth passion, which is really my first, is the historical Jesus Christ. That will be no secret, but won't be talked about much here. But that's neither a promise nor a rule.

The Things I'm Doing In 2010

2010-01-01T18:40:00.003-06:00

•Launching antonseim.com (currently links here...) - a place to showcase my film reel, writing and bio, with a link to my bloggings.

•Finishing all of my travel videos on youtube.com/rrrconserve and moving my video making to vimeo.com/antonseim and youtube.com/antonseim

•Taking a photo everyday and posting it to flickr.com/photos/antonseim as part of Project 365: The Things We See, created by Christina Childress.

•Finishing editing my short film "More Than It Is"

•Finishing writing my feature-length screenplay "Cowtown Coffee"

More things...thinking about it for the rest of the evening.

2009 In Pictures Part 3 of 3 (Things)

2009-12-29T11:34:00.006-06:00

While in Tahiti, I had the opportunity to shoot my first real underwater footage for the TV show Get Out! The apparatus used in this picture is called SNUBA. You put a huge, very heavy helmet over your head, then air is pumped in from the surface, making the helmet buoyant. It's true that your movement is somewhat restricted - you're just walking across the sea floor, but SNUBA is cool for many reasons, your hair doesn't even get wet - you can even reach your hand up into your helmet to itch your face, while fully submerged.
The last few years have been spent shooting a staggering amount of video. It's become second nature.
This is my old apartment complex in L.A. (Studio City). While I enjoy living in L.A. and there are worse places. I can't say that I really enjoyed the aesthetic of my old apartment.
Here's our living room.
In 2009, I had a gig shooting online commercials for apartments all over greater Los Angeles. While the work was less than glamorous, it was incredibly lucrative and taught me patience behind the camera.
I convinced myself that I needed to put on 20 pounds to look like a "leading man" for my movie. So I took weight gainer and worked out for an hour and a half, 6 days a week. I got ripped. I also look like I belong on the cover of a romance novel.
I needed to get out of my apartment while writing the movie, so I house sat for my friends and spent a lot of time hanging out with their Boston Terriers.
This was our file-transfer station in our RV while we were in New Zealand. We would shoot all day and then transfer the HD video files while driving to our next location. It was a lot of work.
I got to fly on the A-380 from Sydney to L.A. It's currently the biggest commercial airliner. It felt like boarding a cruise ship and flew like a Lincoln Towncar.
While in Spain visiting my brother, we saw a full marijuana plant in a trashcan. This picture is definitely worth a thousand words.
I drove back from L.A. to Texas twice last summer and spotted this weird billboard. I'm sure the owner has good intentions, although they're sadly misguided.
Grady and I visited a few Medival villages while in the Pyrennes. It's hard to believe that these villages haven't changed for a thousand years.
The Genesis camera used to shoot The Deep End. I worked on the show for a month last September.
I left out a lot. On to 2010.

2009 In Pictures Part 2 of 3 (Places)

2009-12-26T17:48:00.006-06:00

I actually traveled less in 2009 than I had in the last few years, although it may not look that way by these pictures. The places I was given the opportunity to visit, were spectacular.
In late February, I flew to French Polynesia to shoot a television show.
We went on a SNUBA dive on the island of Bora Bora.
The French are the main tour operators around the French Polynesian islands.
On the way to a jungle trek on the main island of Tahiti, this tree had fallen across the road. We chopped it down with a machete and then drove over it in a Land Rover Defender.
I flew to Mobile, Alabama and shot an event that a friend of mine was hosting. It was one of my first stays in the American South. I loved it more than I thought I would.
I ended up on a beautiful Wine Vineyard near Malibu, California, shooting behind the scenes on a movie.

We traveled to New Zealand to shoot our movie "More Than It Is." This little RV was a big part of our movie, as well as our transportation and lodgings.
We went to Milford Sound, on the South Island, and I saw the most beautiful sunset of my life.
We flew from New Zealand to Sydney, Australia and immediately went and saw the Opera House and harbor.
We went and saw Bondi beach on a beautiful day, even though Winter was setting in.
Clint came and joined us in Australia and we traveled to the outback and hiked around Uluru (Ayers Rock).
One of our best days in Australia was spent hiking Kings Canyon.
It rained almost every day we were in New Zealand and Australia, but we had a brilliant blue sky for our hike through Kings Canyon.

We took a Great Barrier Reef diving tour around The Whitsundays.
I'm not SCUBA certified, but I was able to dive up to 13 meters.
I flew to Spain to visit my brother and we went up into the Pyrenees mountains and saw a bunch of medieval villages.
On the way back from Spain, I stopped in NYC to visit Clint and we went to Shake Shack.
We saw some bands play in Prospect Park, Brooklyn on a beautiful afternoon.
I spent a month working on the ABC television show The Deep End, which shot in Dallas.
I directed a holiday themed rap video and we layed down the music at a studio in Dallas.
Still more to come from 2009...

2009 In Pictures Part 1 of 3 (People)

2009-12-25T22:11:00.016-06:00

Before I begin, let me state clearly that these pictures are by no means a comprehensive representation of the last year of my life. 2009 was the best year I've experienced thus far. While I did not travel to the most countries in 2009, I still traveled very much, thus the majority of my favorite photos are from my travels. These photos are not for bragging rights, they are simply for sentimentality and hopefully, your enjoyment.
CC and I took on a 2 month workout partnership and got in the shape of our lives.For two years, I grew out my hair to give it away to Locks of Love. It was 12 inches when I went to donate it.Jessica came along to document giving away my hair.This horrible lady ruined my hair. Two years of growing it out down the drain.
I was in shock.
But I was happy to have it short again, so I bounced back.
It looked pretty good.
Reid and Jessica were two of my best friends last year.
In May, 3 of us flew to Christchurch, New Zealand to make a movie.
Cherie was my main actress.
A girl named Beth, was in New Zealand working and agreed to play a role in our movie.
Milford Sound made a great backdrop for a scene in our movie.
Jonathan, Cherie and I wrapped the movie in about 10 days.
Jonathan and I flew to Australia. We met a girl named Edith, from France and we all rode bicycles down to Bondi Beach.
Clint flew to Sydney from NYC and met Jonathan and I and we all began traveling together.
We went to the outback and visited the Uluru (Ayers Rock) monolyth.
Clint and Jonathan had heavy backpacks. Jonathan also carried about 40 pounds of film gear.
I carried my bag, my computer and a little Pelican case of audio gear.
Allison, a friend of Clint's, came and met us and we took a sailing trip around the Whitsundays and dove the Great Barrier reef.
Jonathan wins the award for my favorite cinematographer of 2009.
I flew to Barcelona and stayed with my brother Grady and his wife Berta.
Grady and I went to Tarragona and walked around on a pretty day.
Grady and I went up to The Pyrenees and went hiking with his friend Oriol.On the way back from Spain, I flew through New York and stayed with Clint (same Clint from Australia trip) for a few days, and we longboarded through Central Park.
Clint and a few other TCU buddies now living in NYC and I went to a concert at Prospect Park in Brooklyn.I drove back and forth between L.A. and Dallas 6 times in 12 months. Driving West, the sun is in your face all afternoon.
More to come...

Prance Like a Man - Behind The Scenes

2009-12-16T14:57:00.013-06:00

*Update: Watch the video here!*

DJ antler and 'Lil hoof

This month Deliberate Industries had the pleasure of producing a very special video for The Richards Group's interactive team Click Here. I was recommended for the job by director Chris Smith of Sugar Film Production. All I was told was that The Richards Group was looking to make a funny video to send out with their Christmas card. When I went in for the meeting, Creative Director Brian Linder enthusiastically told me that the idea was for a Christmas-themed rap video entitled "Prance Like a Man" - he then began rapping the lyrics for everyone in the meeting. His enthusiasm got me pumped up along with everyone else involved. That very same day, composer Gary Parks of Pure Evil Music and Sound Design had already put together a beat and Linder along with Corley Roberts went into Gary's studio and laid down the lyrics the next day.

Corley and Gary lay down the track at Pure Evil Music

Once I had a rough cut of the .mp3, I sent the song to cinematographer Justin Kirchhoff of Digital Shakedown. He liked it so much that he agreed to shoot the video for us on his RED One Digital Cinema Camera!

Director of Photography Justin Kirchhoff, operating the RED

Justin was also the eye behind the "Alchemy" video I directed for Oink Art LTD.

First location: Dart bus stop off Ross Avenue

We began filming the video at 8am on December 10th, which turned out to be one of the coldest days of the year. It was 24 degrees outside when we started shooting. Justin's hands were so cold that he could barely operate the camera and had to wear my giant snowboarding gloves until he got movement back in his fingers (you can see one of the gloves in the above picture of Justin).

Stephen Rupp, a talented improv comedian (member of the Curtis Needs A Ride troupe), came on to play "Prancer" our surreal reindeer/human character. The Isotoner gloves he wore were his actual gloves and if you ask me, they absolutely made the character. The two lovely dancers flanking him were Dallas Mavs dancers Paige and Mallory, who came with their own Santa costumes! They BROUGHT it. They also did all of their own choreography - with the exception of the body-squeegee move I taught them (you're welcome ladies, that one was for free).

Stephen sans reindeer mask

On the day, Brian Linder "DJ antler" and Corley Roberts "Lil hoof" absolutely brought it, NASTY. They had practiced their lines and knew every intonation exactly. Corley drank two Red Bulls before the sequence of them rapping on roof and channeled her inner Natalie Portman.

The result was an incredible performance.

Corley Roberts as "Lil hoof" getting up in the 12mm fish-eye

We finished shooting the video start to finish in one epic 10 hour day. It was a great experience and I can't thank everyone enough for being a part of this video.

Click Here's Brian Pierce and Jamie Squires "regulate" alongside Don Prancer

Special thanks to Blake McNay, our talented lighting technician (Blake [at] blakebusterfilms.com), the Dallas Mavericks Dancers, Calloway's Nursery, Pure Evil Music, our costume designer Kim Linder and of course, caffeine.

Brief History

2009-12-16T14:39:00.003-06:00

After my freshman year at TCU, I drove to L.A. and lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Westwood with 2 other guys. I got two different internships, one at a production company and one reading scripts for a major Hollywood producer. I didn't know anything and I was confident in that. I'd been producing small videos since I was a kid, and while I had a grasp of the basics of filmmaking, I knew I was an idiot, I was young, and I was hungry for knowledge and experience. After that summer, I went back to TCU and completed my film degree, making countless student films, and fumbling my way through the filmmaking process.

After graduating from TCU, I began working for three years as an assistant editor at a post house in Dallas, during which time I took excursions to Central and South America, shooting mini-documentaries on humanitarian mission work and travel. After putting together a reel of my travel and documentary cinematography, I began working as a camera operator on travel-adventure TV shows and documentaries and over the next two years I traveled to over forty countries for work. In 2008, I started a production company and began producing commercial work in Dallas and Los Angeles. Which brings us to the present.

I'm currently based out of both Dallas and Los Angeles, traveling back and forth, shooting video, and directing both commercial and narrative projects. My short film, "More Than It Is" which we filmed in New Zealand last May, is nearing completion and will soon start a worldwide run of film festivals, with the hope of turning the project into a feature length film. Jonathan Nicholas (a talented cinematographer) and I also shot a television pilot in Australia and we are working to sell a TV show based on our backpacking experiences. Two-thousand and nine was an incredible year for me, as you can see from the pictures on the right side of this blog. I'm VERY excited for the future.

-Anton

I Need Your Help, Please Comment

2009-12-13T23:52:00.002-06:00

I started a new film production company this year, called Deliberate Entertainment. The idea of living deliberately, is an ethos that has developed within me, it is a commitment to foresight, integrity and sustainability in everything I do.

The new video I directed called "Prance Like a Man" is going live on Tuesday and I'm thinking of linking this site to the video. The advertising agency who commissioned the video used the title of this blog "Deliberate Industries" as my company logo instead of Deliberate Entertainment.

So which do you like better, Deliberate Entertainment or Deliberate Industries?

Thank you.

Interesting Advice

2009-12-09T22:12:00.003-06:00

I have no idea who Charlie Hoehn is (found this via Kottke) - I liked some of the lines in this article:

"And therein lies the best career advice I could possibly dispense: just DO things. Chase after the things that interest you and make you happy. Stop acting like you have a set path, because you don’t. No one does. You shouldn’t be trying to check off the boxes of life; they aren’t real and they were created by other people, not you. There is no explicit path I’m following, and I’m not walking in anyone else’s footsteps. I’m making it up as I go.

It’s harder, for sure, and kind of scary sometimes. But it will allow you to look at yourself in the mirror and know you’re playing by your own rules."

For some reason I read this article backwards. In the paragraph just before the one I included, he used the example of The Joker from the Dark Night movie:

"My favorite part of The Dark Knight is when the Joker is talking to Harvey Dent in the hospital, and he says: “Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just DO things… I’m not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are.”

Now, being a Christian believer and all of that (Calvinist even), I don't agree that there is NO set plan in life - I don't believe that we exactly know God's plan, only that the plan is good. And that is what I find freeing. I love doing what I like.

(Just read the "about" section and the guy is a blogger and video editor. No wonder this speaks to my heart.)

Two Weeks Of Travel, TX to L.A. to TX to WA to TX

2009-12-09T14:09:00.006-06:00

It's starts with the bland suburbs of Dallas on a gray day.
Photo of a landmark taken from a speeding rental car.
Striking photo in a copy of Vanity Fair in my editor's condo in Burbank.
The Burbank Airport, small, fast, efficient.
Downtown L.A. in the distance.
Oysters of Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington.
Christmas tree in the lobby of the Suncadia Resort in Issaquah, Washington.
Canon 5D Mark II frames up the wedding rehearsal.
Me in my black Zara suit, with a 5D on a monopod.
My friends crowding into the wedding photo booth.
Volcano out my window.
And then I was back in Dallas-Fort Worth and it was back to work.

Still Here, Busy

2009-12-09T12:36:00.002-06:00

Hello there, it's Anton. I'm dealing with the guilt of neglecting this blog. Both for your sake (especially if you actually visit this blog in your browser...), but also because it's a great way to chronologically journal the happenings of my life and if I don't write, I have no record of what I've been doing. I've got a bunch of pictures from the last two weeks that I've taken in 2 mega-pixel glory on my iPhone - I'll put those up shortly. If you've been keeping track:

I started prepping a fun directing job (Christmas-themed rap video) that I'm doing for The Richards Group's interactive division "Click Here," then, I went to L.A. to work on my movie More Than It Is. I came back to DFW for one night and then flew to Seattle to go to a wedding and now I'm back in DFW and we shoot the Christmas-themed rap video tomorrow in Dallas. When the video is edited, I'll put the link up here. It should be live and virally spreading across the interwebs by Monday afternoon, December 14.

I've started a new blog, and I'm creating a new antonseim.com that will be something altogether different. I've decided to take my presence on the web even more seriously starting in 2010.

Love you.

Shooting Machine Guns In Cambodia

2009-11-28T20:24:00.001-06:00

This video is from day 21 of my "Around The World in 30 Days" series. I still haven't edited half of the videos. I'm working on it.

I look and act like a goober in this video. I am well aware.

The Pied Piper Of Hützovina

2009-11-27T23:05:00.003-06:00

Tonight I rented a documentary film called The Pied Piper Of Hützovina from Premiere Video in Dallas, TX. The film is about Eugene Hütz, the lead singer of the band Gogol Bordello. The film begins with filmmaker Pavla Fleischer, telling her story, about how she met and soon became smitten with Eugene Hütz, tracked him down and then followed him on his annual trek back to his gypsy roots through Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Siberia, where he plays impromptu gypsy music with real gypsies across the globe. The music is great. Eugene is fun. The story of Pavla's unrequited love is heartbreaking, yet, as a filmmaker, she's able to break through her own story and she unlocks the mystery of Eugene and his love of Gypsy Roma music and culture. The movie is a must see for any lover of music, travel, documentary and discovery.

I was fortunate enough to catch Eugene Hütz's band, Gogol Bordello when they played The Granada Theater in Dallas, TX. It was an incredible concert. Check out their upcoming world tour schedule here. Watch the movie The Pied Piper Of Hützvina.

Who Reads My Blog

2009-11-27T20:14:00.003-06:00

I have regular readers in Sweden, India and all over the U.S. I don't look into it much, but every once in a while it's fun to see where people are coming here from. In the past, I've tried to post things that appeal to a broad audience, I have no idea why, I guess I thought this was something bigger than it is. It turns out, most of the people who follow me on Twitter and read this blog, are some of my closest friends. So I'm going to start acting like it.

Thanks for checking in on me every once in a while. Go ahead and leave me your blog if I may not have it, or email it to the address over on the right. More good stuff soon, including a couple very personal updates.

Twitter, Facebook, Youtube

2009-11-23T00:46:00.003-06:00

http://www.facebook.com/antonseim

http://www.twitter.com/deliberateanton

http://www.youtube.com/rrrconserve

(although, thinking of switching to http://www.youtube.com/antonseim)

Also, http://www.antonseim.com currently links here, but hoping to create a personal website soon. Now the proud owner of http://www.antonseim.blogspot.com as well.

No idea how linkedin works.

I sure hope the net stays neutral. I have a presence here.

Painting of My Tahiti Photo

2009-11-21T17:49:00.003-06:00

I snapped this photo while I was in Tahiti last March and emailed it to my mom.
She really liked the light and showed it to a patient of hers who is a painter. Her patient liked it so much she painted a picture of it. I went in for an adjustment the other day and saw it and jumped out of my chair. I couldn't believe it. It's really nice:

Yvan Rodic's Visual Diary

2009-11-21T16:46:00.007-06:00

When I was a kid, I loved picture books. It's not that I don't like reading, in fact, I now love literature - But a picture says a thousand words and a really interesting, well-composed picture says even more. ALL of Yvan Rodic's (also know as Face Hunter) pictures are interesting. I have no idea how he does it, why he does it, how he pays for it, sustains it, etc. but he's been traveling around the world, non-stop for the last few months, taking fantastic photos and hanging out with outrageous people and I've been enjoying the heck out of his visual diary. You need to subscribe, now.

(click and make it bigger)

"When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself." (Jacques Cousteau)

Wisdom Of An Aging Man

2009-11-19T00:42:00.003-06:00

Something that I've realized recently, is that success is generally going to be envied. I know I've been guilty of it, over and over again. I've realized something else though - the things that other people create are almost always going to be way different than the thing you create. I have no interest in making crime-drama movies, I have no interest in making absurdist comedies, I have no interest in making horror movies - the list goes on. So why would I waste my time being jealous of someone else's success, when the thing that's made them successful isn't even something I want to make?

Cormac McCarthy is a novelist who is sometimes described as reclusive. He wrote "All The Pretty Horses," "The Road," and "No Country For Old Men," among others. He's 76 years old and he's a pretty wise old man. I have no interest in writing the sort of novels that he writes. I do however, have an interest in writing novels. Our culture doesn't value eldership, but you've gotta realize that a 76 year old man, a very intelligent man, is going to have much more wisdom that this 26 year old man.

So read this rare interview with Cormac McCarthy (Wall Street Journal Online) if that sort of thing interests you. And if it doesn't, at least read this excerpt:

WSJ: When you discussed making "The Road" into a movie with John, did he press you on what had caused the disaster in the story?

CM: A lot of people ask me. I don't have an opinion. At the Santa Fe Institute I'm with scientists of all disciplines, and some of them in geology said it looked like a meteor to them. But it could be anything—volcanic activity or it could be nuclear war. It is not really important. The whole thing now is, what do you do? The last time the caldera in Yellowstone blew, the entire North American continent was under about a foot of ash. People who've gone diving in Yellowstone Lake say that there is a bulge in the floor that is now about 100 feet high and the whole thing is just sort of pulsing. From different people you get different answers, but it could go in another three to four thousand years or it could go on Thursday. No one knows.

On Brain Development and The Quarter-Life Crisis

2009-11-16T12:41:00.003-06:00

From Justin Childress's blog, Serious Is Easy:

Apparently our brains don’t stop developing until we are are twenty-six. I wonder how that truth manifests itself over the course of our development. Do you suppose it will be possible to look back at particular moments in time and pinpoint when our minds were finally able to comprehend the depth of some profound insight? Sometimes I think back about when I used to wear pants that were 16 sizes too big for me and wonder “Huh. So, that was an interesting move of past Justin’s part. I bet he could have gotten a lot of places much faster if his pants hadn’t been caught in a continuous cross breeze.”

It also seems to be true (at least anecdotally) that a lot of young adults have their first “life crisis” around the 24-26 age range. I wonder if that’s because we’re coming to all kinds of realizations that we haven’t been able to comprehend before. Maybe that’s why failure looms so largely for some people. Maybe they couldn’t ever really see it at all before. “Through the looking glass” and all that.

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The Man Skirt

2009-11-15T19:07:00.004-06:00

On Friday night, I attended Fort Worth Filmmaker, Andrew Disney's "Me, You and The Most Talented People I Know" party at the Lone Star International Film Festival in Fort Worth. It was a great time. Big "thank you" to Andrew Disney and the whole "Searching For Sonny" Team.

Also, thank you for the reflective bar and all the entertainment value it provided.

After Watching 4 Months 3 Weeks And 2 Days

2009-11-12T20:49:00.004-06:00

4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a Romanian film about 2 young girls, college students, getting an illegal abortion in communist Romania in 1987. In 2007 the film won the Palm d'Ore at the Cannes Film Festival.

The movie is a hard one to swallow, but an important film nonetheless. It graphically shows both the abortion procedure, as well as the aborted fetus afterward. As you may imagine, an illegal abortion isn't an easy thing to obtain, and the man responsible for carrying it out, isn't a moral man. He may even be a psychopath, or a sociopath. He is certainly a monster. The movie is disturbing, but it isn't immoral. It's realistic and possibly even impartial.

I don't recommend seeing 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days. I don't know why I put myself through movies like this, or whether I'm masochistic (I don't think I am). But I love filmmaking. This is a story based on true events. I am sure that the human heart is a dark place. And after watching this film, I don't pity it's characters. I'm sure we all get what we deserve in the end.

Songs For You To Download and Enjoy

2009-11-12T11:53:00.004-06:00

Over the past few weeks I've been turned on to new music like never before. I'm devouring it. Here is a playlist, for you to download, of some of the songs that have been moving me lately.

"Sleep" by Azure Ray - Thanks Jessica!

"Two Weeks" - Grizzly Bear

"The Rain" - The Swell Season

"Meteor Shower" - Owl City

"40 Day Dream" - Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes

"Many Shades of Black" - The Raconteurs (Not new, but an anthem for me last month)

"Ottoman" - Vampire Weekend

Download them, or listen to them here: Deliberate Playlist Number 1

I like songs I can sing to, that might be apparent. I hope you enjoy them. There will be more of these in the near future. Let me know what you think.

Love,

-Anton

Three Movies For Tonight

2009-11-11T20:06:00.003-06:00

After going from working 80 hours every week, to going back to working for my own clients, mostly from home, I have free time coming out my ears. I never waste time, I'm always doing something, always learning something - today I had to go to Dallas and while running errands I stopped by Premiere Video on Mockingbird Lane. Premiere Video in Dallas, Texas is the best video store and video library that I have ever come across. I quickly grabbed three films I'd been wanting to see for a long time and left before I saw any more, because how many films can I actually watch in two days? I'm very excited. The first one called 4 Months 3 Weeks And Two Days, is about two college students seeking an abortion in communist Eastern Europe (Romania). The second called La Vie En Rose, is about Édith Piaf. And the third called Aguirre Wrath of God, is one of director Werner Herzog's great films.

You Deserve Something Good

2009-11-11T00:11:00.006-06:00

Free Again

2009-11-11T00:08:00.001-06:00

I quit that job. It was a wonderful opportunity and I'm grateful for it. When the TV show I was working on comes out, people will wonder why I gave it up. It was the right choice, although not an easy one. I worked about 32o hours last month, and those were only 5-day weeks. I didn't even have time to check my email. To go from freelance filmmaker, to full-time production assistant was a major, uncomfortable shift. I learned a ton. Looking forward to getting back to business. I already am.

Promise, American Cities and Blue Sky Days

2009-11-01T11:33:00.003-06:00

This morning, I woke up early and went to the church I used to go to in college, in Fort Worth, Texas. A friend of mine leads worship there (i.e. singer of the band). When I used to go there, between 7 and 5 years ago, the chapel area (the room with pews, facing the "stage") † was much smaller. The church grew and so they built a large, new, slightly ostentatious building, with stone walls and large wooden doors. My guess is that there were about a thousand people in attendance. I sat in the very back corner, and as I looked out over the congregation, I was marked by the homogeny of people there - mostly white, middle to upper-middle-class, between the ages of thirty and fifty. This in no way brought about negative feelings. I was just marked that herein this coming together of Christian believers, sat a large portion of the bourgeois class, the managing body of the city of Fort Worth. These were many of the people that make the city work, they are the employers. I have nothing deeper to say about it, but perhaps that revelation brought about some of the thoughts that are swimming around in my head now.

After church, I hopped in my car and drove up Montgomery Avenue towards Camp Bowie Avenue. To my left, before a quaint old neighborhood, dilapidated old buildings lined the long street - a sorry looking, tin-roofed Dairy Queen, a piece-meal wood-walled convenience store, some small, rusty old wear-house facilities and an old converted gas station, painted powder blue, with an old, full-size, propeller-driven fighter-plane mounted on a post over the top of the building. To my right, looking towards the downtown skyline, there was the Trinity river valley, the beautiful botanic gardens, the Trinity river park, the stock-show, the natural history museum, the Kimball art museum and the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum. How is it that this street, a gateway to one of our country's best art districts, could have such an aesthetically unpleasing facade? I took a right onto Camp Bowie, a street once paved with bricks and with the gorgeous lawns of three incredible art museums, the Kimball, the Amon Carter and the Fort Worth Modern on my right, I drove past crumbling vacant retail and poorly planned condos on my left. On across University Drive, as Camp Bowie became West 7th, I looked out over the new urban retail development still being constructed and the adjacent Montgomery Ward building, now urban lofts with first floor retail. And that mess of a strip-mall shopping center, Lorded over by the Target Super-center behind it. There is so much promise in the city of Fort Worth, and yet such a dichotomy of overlooked dilapidation and myopic development. If the city were a neighborhood, it would be a mix of mansions and slum-shacks as next door neighbors, happily coexisting. I don't know if this is a great thing, or a terrible thing. I wish it were more ideal. I wish everything in the city was beautiful, well designed, well manicured. I wish there was an amazing light-rail system, narrower streets, with bike lanes, pedestrian-friendly first floor retail, with living spaces sitting on top. But it's not that way and maybe it never will fully be that way. Maybe this is just the way it is and the way that it's going to be in American cities.

I drove straight up into downtown and took a right on Summit Avenue and turned onto the highway, looking out over a clear blue sky as the high overpass curved around the Amtrak train yard on the outskirts of downtown. And I drove back into an ever more homogeneous suburban landscape.

I'm actually looking forward to the future, both my own life and the developmental future of the United States. Beautiful cities and big trees and rivers and blue skies are things that bring me joy. I know that these things exist and that they are good. I'm looking forward to continuing to live out my ideals, putting them into practice through art and design. And I'm going to be happy, even though poorly designed suburbs still exist; even though there is environmental destruction continuing throughout the world, I know that the beauty that brings me joy, brings me joy for a reason, because it was created by a beautiful God. And I know that might sound silly to you. And I know that it's all worth preserving, even though it's a frustrating struggle.

† This is a big church, although not technically a "mega-church." It's contemporary, meaning that the "worship music" is played in a style of downtempo acoustic rock. The Christian denomination is "Bible Church" which is considered non-denominational. It's a pretty tame, non-fundamentalist brand of the Christian religion. It's most essential doctrine is the belief that the first century, historical Jesus, was actually God in the body of a man.

Eventual Revamp

2009-10-25T20:20:00.002-06:00

There is a good chance that until December 8th, I'll just be too busy to do anything good here. But maybe I'm wrong?

I have some great ideas kicking around in my head. GREAT ideas I tell you! Creativity is coursing through my veins. I guess I'll make money and gain some experience for a few more weeks while it lasts. And then, THEN - then it's on.

The Amazing Mechanics of High-Budget Television

2009-10-23T23:27:00.002-06:00

My mind has nearly completely been taken over by the TV show that I'm working on. I've been putting in 15 hours per day, 5 days a week, for two business weeks. It's been an eye opening experience. A great learning experience. I'm exhausted, but I'm proud to be a part of this TV show that we're all on a team to make. On the other hand, I've had no time to sleep, no time to maintain relationships and absolutely no time to write here. I'm looking forward to the days when I can wake up at 9am, walk across the house in my boxers, edit for a while, work out, go lay out in the back yard and cook myself lunch. I'm taking advantage of this experience while it lasts though.