Help Rebuild Restore Japan

So...the whole thing that's going on in Japan right now, due to the massive earthquake and tsunami, really bummed me out.  I can't even begin to fathom what it must've felt like to see that wave coming right at you.  What would your last thoughts be?  What about that fight you had with your wife, but never got to say sorry?  Or that gift you bought for your kids birthday, but were never able to deliver it?  It's extremely heartbreaking.  Anyway, I can't physically do anything because I have a business to run and a woman to marry in May, however, I want to do something.  I figure, since I'm an "artist"...I could create and design something that would show the strength of a nation who can and will get past this unfortunate catastrophe.  So I designed this poster, which I then turned into a Tshirt.  Let me tell you a little bit about the design.  The red circle obviously represents Japan's flag.  The gridded nation is supposed to represent the "building block" of Japan.  The crack represents just that, a minor crack.  Regardless of the magnitude of the earthquake, it's just a minor crack, and Japan being one of the strongest nations, will overcome it.  The flourishing flowers represent regrowth...and the person donating to receive one of these items represents hope for someone who was affected by these events.

Poster:

Poster/$15.00

TShirt:

Small/$25.00 Medium/$25.00 Large/$25.00 XLarge/$25.00 2XLarge/$25.00

Behind the Scenes - ALLVOI National TV Commercial

Yesterday morning I filmed a national ad for this phone company called ALLVOI.  I've been making their graphic national ads for a long time, but yesterday they gave me an opportunity to actually film one of their ads.  It was a fairly simple concept, a testimonial ad, so not much pre planning went into it.  I mean, we just find people, have them sign a consent, and record them saying a line or 2 about the product.  On a normal day, this would've been a problem, but we ended up filming it during the India Day Parade on Madison Ave.  Finding people was the least of our problems.

Looking through the monitor on the camera.

Me overlooking the filming of a scene.

Our crew consisted of 4 people.  This is def. one of the smaller crews I've worked with, but in a situation where there's hundreds of people around you, I wouldn't suggest any more crew members.  It was:

Raj Belani - Director













Omkar Gauchan - Director of Photography

Brian Murphy - Sound/1st AC

Orietta Leva - Make Up















We shot this ad on the RED ONE camera.  The next best thing to film, but apparently it's already started taking over film.  There were quite a few movies that came out within the last year which were shot ENTIRELY on the RED ONE.  I've actually been using the RED ONE for quite a while now, and I believe I'm going to make it my standard camera for live shot productions.  I will no longer take jobs that don't have a budget for the RED ONE or for Film.  I'm done with HDV  There!

One of the major things I was worried about that day was direct sunlight.  The worst thing that could ever happen on an outdoor shoot, is direct sunlight.  It casts these nasty shadows and highlights, that can only be diffused by huge silk screen rigs, which weren't an option yesterday.  But, THANKFULLY, it was a cloudy overcast day.  God had put up natural diffusers for me.  Needless to say, the footage came out incredible.  Here are a few frame grabs.

Jay Sean Photoshoot

So, I have great relations with AVS TV Network, and every time the director, Mr. Raju Sethi, does a high profile interview, he calls me and says "hey dude, I'm doing a pretty big interview with this guy and I'd like you to take some photos of behind the scenes and some portraits for my blog"...This time, that "guy" happened to be international pop sensation Jay Sean.  Was I nervous? Kinda....Because I was meeting Jay Sean?...no, because I knew I would have maybe 10 flashes off my camera to get the shot I need.  That's one thing you realize quickly when dealing with major celebrities, is that when a photographer is taking pictures for a magazine/network blog, they rush you....and by "rush"...I mean, like 5 minutes, TOPS!  To get a great photo in 5 minutes is extremely difficult, I sometimes do 3 hour long photoshoots and only get 1 or 2 great pictures...so to cut that down to 5 minutes is....hasty.

Anyway, I was instructed to head to Universal Music Group in NYC for the shoot.  I arrived about a half hour early, because the last time I did a shoot with a major celebrity, I arrived a half hour late...Somehow, if I made up in time for this one, I'd forgive myself for the last one....I don't know.  Moving on...

I get there and they give me one of these cool Universal Music Group Visitor Passes.  That right there was the icing on the cake for me...I mean...I could've left after getting that pass and I would've been pretty good.  Look at it!! It even says the word TUES on the paper! Talk about DETAIL!  Had it not said "TUES"...I probably would've been disappointed.

One of the interns who works there took us up to a waiting room and had us hang out there till Jay Sean was ready to do the interview.  I don't have pictures of the waiting room, but man, that place was amazing.  Finally after about 20 minutes of waiting, we get called in and on my way in the room, I eavesdrop on a conversation between Jay Sean and Raju Sethi, overhearing the most dreaded words for a photographer "We'll send you a press photo for your article".  That pretty much means "I'm not feeling photos today, let's just do the interview".  I couldn't let that happen, I figured, I was gonna take his damn portrait whether he posed or not. 

SO I get in the interview room during prep time (each crew is given about 10-15 minutes to set up, and then about 20 minutes to do the interview) and I immediately find this cool little spot for a portrait.  While one of the crew members from AVS was setting up their video lighting, I utilized his position and started testing my lighting and framing of the shot.












I was pretty happy with the framing and lighting of the shot, so I just sat back and eagerly awaited the arrival of Jay Sean in the interview room.  He came in, in about 5 or so minutes and took a seat.  I started snapping, trying to get that perfect candid shot that could also double as a portrait, and here's what I get.

For some reason, I just wasn't feeling any of these, I would've had to be shooting for a lot longer than 5 minutes to get the "money shot", especially while doing candids, but he was pretty adamant about not posing and only doing candids.  Within a minute of me starting to shoot, the interview cameras were ready to roll...So I had to put my camera down during the interview because for some reason, the damn shutter on the Canon 7D is pretty loud and would screw up the audio of the interview.  So that went from 5 minutes to like 3.  At this point, I thought all hope was lost, because usually when the interview's done, they leave, especially when they've already said they're going to send a press photo.  Luckily for me, we made him understand that we need this image for the blog, it was necessary, and a generic press photo just wouldn't do.  The readers have to feel a sense of "connectedness" through a photo just for them.  He happily agreed, and BOOM!  The money shot!

I then did what I told myself I would NEVER EVER DO!  I asked for a picture with him.  Why?  I don't know.  He was totally awesome about it and said "Sure man"...So I walk up to him, and then I whisper "it's not for me you know...it's for my mom, she wants to send a picture of me and you to family and shit" and he said "Psh...Indian mom's...what are you gonna do?" and I said "I KNOW!"  I dragged my little brother, Shawn, in the shot, who also assists me on all my shoots, and we got our money shot as well:

And that pretty much concludes this entry.  Stay tuned!

Things you should know...

My name is Raj Belani.  I direct and create TV Commercials for a living.  I own a company called From First To Last Productions, Inc.  I've been in business for about 4 years.  I am also 2nd in command at my father's company RK Video Dub, Inc.  That has been in business for 30 years.  I am 25 years old.  I am getting married to the love of my life next year.  I still look at other women for fun, but I still love only one.  I actually look at alot of women for fun, but I promise, I love only one.  Notice the key word "look" and not "touch"...there's nothing EVER wrong with "looking".  I started photography about 6 months ago.  I deal with hot women pretty much 3 to 4 times a week.  Notice the keyword "deal" and not "touch"...There's nothing EVER wrong with "dealing".  I'm pretty damn good at what I do.  I am not cocky at all.

First of all, the primary reason for this blog is to keep clients in the loop, because I am deleting all of them from facebook.  I was never a fan of separating business from pleasure, but there comes a time to grow up, and show your professional colleagues a side of you they will respect.  There are more cons to having clients on facebook than one would realize.

For example, here are just a few things:

You tell a client your not in the office and that it will take an hour to get his project done....yet, your actually on facebook posting and stalking people...BUSTED!

You post about something terribly disgusting...let's say along the lines of comparing a really good burger to even better man sauce...and then they get all weird around you...BUSTED!

Incriminating pictures are never a good thing...BUSTED!

If there's a client you don't want to work with, you tell him your booked, but then you go ahead and post "Doing jack shit today!"...BUSTED!

Nonetheless, nothing good can come from adding a client to facebook, therefore, I will defer them here from now on if they MUST check up on me.