GUINNESS

Ryan and I stopped by the Guinness Factory in Dublin last month.

The Guinness Museum is actually housed in an 8-story tall building that is the shape of a giant Guinness glass which was sort of cool.

There's a 5-minute long, old black and white film that plays on a loop all about how the barrels used to be made by hand onsite. Ryan's been here before and this is actually his favorite part of the whole tour.

Guinness only uses a particular strain of yeast and they apparently keep some backup samples of it locked up in a vault on the premises.

The harp.

Little known fact of the day:
In 1951, a guy who ran the Guinness brewery got in an argument with a friend over what the fastest gamebird in Europe was. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any reference book in the library to solve this debate. He knew that countless arguments like his were going on every night in pubs all over Ireland. So he commissioned a couple of brothers from a fact-finding agency to compile a book of these types of facts. The book was originally given away for free as a marketing promotion, however once offered for sale it quickly became a bestseller in both Europe and the United States. The compilation was called The Guinness Book of Records.

Weird right? I never put together that the beer and world record people were one in the same.

The bar atop the Guinness Museum has floor-to-ceiling glass walls and 360º views of Dublin. And everyone up there drinks the same thing. (Except me, because I don't drink beer)

Cheers.

ARMED & DANGEROUS

We produced a short commercial a couple weeks ago for a new firearms tech company.

Which of course makes sense, because as you guys know, we're really into guns and bullets and stuff like that.

Anyway, we worked on this project with The ID Agency of course. The device we featured was a prototype and everything is all NDA-ed out, so we're probably not supposed to talk about any of the details just yet. The project went really well though - we handled everything from casting and locations to shooting and editing. We shot over 2 days, one in December at a private gun range in Simi Valley and then in early January we rented a little apartment up in Hollywood and shot there for a day.

The place we got in Hollywood had really nice decor but it was super tiny. And we were shooting it as 2 different homes for the sake of our project, so we had to get really creative with how we moved around the furniture and positioned the cameras from scene to scene.

Casting and working with actors really took me back and reminded me of my time in Film school. We only held auditions for one afternoon but we were thankfully able to find some really talented people which was nice.

Anyway, don't be surprised if someday you see this photo on the About page of Ryan's Wedding videos website.

STUFF

Some new things laying around 0484 headquarters.

My brother got me these UNDFTD x Converse collabs for Christmas. These are actually my most like adult looking shoes. These are basically my new dress shoes. I'm going to try to pull these off at weddings and stuff.

Our boy Tim from Barton Perreira hooked us up over the holidays. Matt and I stopped by the BP offices a few days before Christmas and he let us grab whatever we needed for gifts. We copped these and a few other pairs. I'm not great at buying stuff ahead of time so Tim was a real lifesaver. These glasses made for killer presents - they're not cheap. Shout out to Tim, we owe you one.

Matt made a new board this week. He actually needed one since he left his last one at the beach a few weeks ago. (Don't tell him that I told you that) We've both been super flakey with stuff like that recently. A couple months ago, we lost a suitcase with a laptop in it at the Mexico City airport for a little while but we ended up recovering it. And when we were in Orlando we left our 85mm lens on the NASCAR team trailer and it drove away, back to North Carolina, before we realized it was missing. Don't worry, Tayler's Crew Chief shipped it back to us. Shout out to Rick from TriStar Racing.

MAGIC KINGDOM II

More flicks from Orlando.

Our boy Tayler got himself a new NASCAR Nationwide deal for 2012 with Green Earth Technologies and G-Oil. In early December, Matt and I went down to Florida to shoot some video with him as he track tested his new ride. I'd have posted these sooner but his sponsorship deal was actually not yet public etc etc.

Anyway, we went down to Walt Disney Speedway, inside the Magic Kingdom, and shut things down for the day and spun some laps.

Green Earth Tech is a cool company - they make a bunch of environmentally friendly biodegradable products including engine oil. We got to meet their whole crew and stop by their offices etc. Perfect sponsor for Tayler - glad to see him back on the track. Never thought I'd say this but Matt and I are actually really excited for the NASCAR season to get started.

Weird, right?

Shot a bunch of coverage all day. Mounted a 7D inside Tayler's car, shot some PSA stuff and then a really chill interview at the end of the day.

Anyway, we're working on a new video for his site that'll launch next month before Daytona. Stay tuned.

ROSE FLOATS

Matt and I went up to the Rose Parade in Pasadena last week and shot some video.

We were filming for Shriners Hospitals for Children. The week before the parade, while I was in Ireland, Matt went up and shot some footage of the Shriners float being decorated - interviewed some of the kids and volunteers, etc.

Anyway, last Monday morning we woke up at dawn and headed up there. We had an official parking pass along with our credentials but when we showed up at 7AM the street closures and detours were ridiculous. Police had closed everything down and were funneling all traffic further and further away from where we were trying to go.

So, around 7:30 we were nowhere near where the street of our parking permit, so we decided to scrap that idea and just pay for parking wherever. Only, by that time, there really was no parking available - even being sold - anywhere near where the Media Tower, where we needed to go, was.

The whole traffic/parking/detour situation was looking sort of dicey for a moment. Even though the parade was about to start, Matt and I actually weren't stressing too much about it - just because that's not really our style.

Anyway, right around 7:50 or so a woman walking down the street held up a parking permit and began yelling and offering it no one in particular. I jumped out of Matt's car while it was still moving and went to talk with her. It was a pre-sale permit for a sold out garage around the corner from where we currently were and had a face value of $28. I asked the woman how much she wanted - knowing that there was no other parking available for miles and that I'd have to pay her whatever she asked.

She looked at me, sort of surprised, and simply said 'Oh no, it's yours'. She turned and walked away. I was sort of shocked and amazed. I thanked her and ran back to the car. A traffic cop moved a barricade and directed us into the parking garage. We grabbed our gear and made it to the Media Tower just before the parade got underway at 8.

No idea where that woman came from, but that whole situation really blew my mind. Very grateful.

Rose Parade up close was amazing. J.R. from DWTS was the Grand Marshall - Matt had no idea who he was. Saw Kenny G hanging off of a float playing his clarinet or whatever it is that he does.

And our boys from the Shriners actually took home the Volunteer's Trophy which was cool. Really nice project - always cool to work with these guys - such a good cause.

IRELAND II

More flicks from the foggiest place on earth.

Flew LAX to Dublin. Had a layover at Heathrow - bought my Grandma some tea from the Harrods giftshop.

We shot a wedding the first day we were there - Irish Catholic ceremony at a church in Waterford and then a reception at a really nice hotel in Kilkenny. After that we had a few days to look around.

Watercolor of a little beach near Waterford.

Grabbed lunch in Kilkenny one day.

Some of the pubs and cafes had some legit signage.

Please excuse the locals and Lexus' that are trying to cramp my travel photos.

We drove out to the Ring of Kerry which is sort of like this coastal scenic route in southwest Ireland.

At this time of the year, the sun doesn't rise until around 10AM. And by the way, when I say 'sunrise', I mean 'the foggy clouds get slightly brighter'.

Rained throughout most of the day but we didn't let that stop us from hopping out of the car every once in awhile to shoot some b-roll. Nice views, a lot of sheep. Reminded me a little of the 17 Mile Drive up in Monterey.

Ryan and I and our Nissan Micra.

Driving on the other side of the road was as weird and disorienting as you'd expect. Had a couple close calls but if you travel with Ryan enough you get used to that sort of thing.

HAPPY 2011

Twelve images from a truly unbelievable year.

Vegas, the Justin Timberlake Shriners Golf thing

Wisconsin

Monterey, Shooting for Mercedes-Benz AMG

MotoGP at Laguna Seca, Jessica Hall, Ducati all day

Vegas, Ryan's bachelor party

Motor City, USA

Pikes Peak, Colorado with Vic from ID

The Hangover 3

Uncle Manny

Zacatecas, Mexico, Ducati fam

Walt Disney Speedway, Orlando, with the homie Tayler Malsam

Ring of Kerry, Ireland, freezing cold

Thank you.

To Ryan, Spellman, Shane, Petra, Rick, Tambio and Josh - for your blood, sweat and tears.

To Victor and the whole ID Agency crew and their whole network including Arrick from Ducati, Recaro, Bravado and Intelligun, etc., to Steve Malsam, Shriners Hospitals, Tim Cadiente from Barton Perreira, DJ Hapa, Jessica Hall, Maker Studios, Randy Moss, Momentum Worldwide, Jones Bell, Hit Music Central, Holocuren, Holdsambeck & Associates, SSW Holding Company, Bottega Italiana, Legacy Interactive, Iron Horse Jeans, Michael Louis Kelly, Sarah Barnard, Carlin Dunne, Greg Tracy, Alexander Smith and Mark Cernicky - for making this all possible.

To our family, and friends and the 6 of you (I'd like to think the traffic is slowly growing) who read this blog - for all the support and for putting up with us.

A really incredible year. Unreal experiences. Amazing trips and projects and opportunities one after the next.

And this is just the beginning.

See you in 2012.