Our Tampa video production company had the pleasure of working with one of the most exciting live bands in the Southeast, Come Back Alice. The self-proclaimed Southern Gypsy Funk rockers had a distinct vision for their song Coraline: a Tim Burton-inspired dark mystical journey set in the late 1800’s. Our creative team was excited to write the script and turn the project into a reality with the band.
Come Back Alice gets ready to perform a take in the historic Don Vicente Hotel in Ybor
After completing the script, Litewave Media’s Tampa music video production crew scouted locations in the area. The historic Don Vicente Hotel in Ybor and Edward Medard Park in Plant City were selected as the shooting locations. These unique locales would bring the 19th century theme to life.
Some of the Litewave Media Tampa video crew with the band at Edward Medard Park
John Jones (Camera) sets up a shot in the park.
Filming took place over 2 days, in the hot Florida summer. All four band members, including lead guitarist/vocalist Tony Tyler, fiddle player/vocalist Dani Jaye, bassist Big Bad John, and drummer Yral Morris, made cameos in the video as a band of traveling gypsy musicians who the main character Coraline meets on her journey. Christian Cashmir, Florida music video director, led the Litewave Media video production team with a cast and crew of nearly 30 people.
Christian Cashmir (director) with Karleigh Chase (as Coraline) and Linda Roser (as the Shadow)
A mystical swamp sets the mood for the Coraline music video
Our Tampa post production company edited, color graded and produced the visual effects for the music video. We had a blast working on this project, and look forward to the continued success of this talented band!
Please view the video and let us know what you think.
–CREW–
Directed, filmed, edited and colored by Christian Cashmir
Additional camera & slow motion shots: John Jones
Assistant camera: Brandon Hyde
Makeup: Anya Yushchenko
Location coordinator: Jeff Zampino
Gaffer: Andrew Ortoski
Grip: Harold “Pinky” Hood
Grip: Lyssia Roussel
Visual FX: Rios Lopez
PA: Tony Cruez
Costumes/Props: Josh Todd, Jeff Zampino, Jenique Hendrix, Christian Cashmir, Kasey Ortoski
–CAST–
Coraline: Karleigh Chase
Shadow: Linda Roser
Axe Thug: Tom Parnell
Vested Thug: Josh Todd
….And of course the band as themselves!
“Coraline” was filmed on a Canon C100 and Sony FS100. Edited and graded in Final Cut Pro 7.
Our Tampa Video Production Company, a veteran of the Gasparilla International Film Festival (Litewave Media screened 2 films last year in the festival: Jules Dongu Saves the World and F ), was proud to be a part of a very exciting film premier this year. Litewave Media’s Christian Cashmir was the director of photography on the film Sisters, directed by Sabyn Mayfield and produced by Vivian Alvarez and Grant Johnson.
Christian (Cinematographer), Sabyn (Director), Vivian (Producer/Writer/Actress), and Grant (Producer/Actor)
Sisters was among another round of amazing talent and creative independent films this year at the festival. Sisters is a suspenseful drama about a mother who becomes blindsided by a soul-scorching event and finds a way to get through it, while also exacting a bit of revenge on the way. ABC came out to do a news story on the film at our Tampa video studio. (See the link below)
Litewave Media began work on the short movie last September after getting a call from Sabyn who had worked with our gaffer Andrew on his last film. The entire short was filmed within three days in locations all around Tampa Bay. One of the locations we used was the Bank of America building in downtown Tampa. The room was luxurious and the epic view was perfect for the ending sequence of the film.
The Tampa video crew filming from atop the Bank of America building in downtown Tampa
A number of the Litewave Media video production team worked on the film. Our Tampa film crew’s Christian Cashmir was the Director of Photography. Andrew Ortoski was the gaffer for the shoot. Mike Barnitt served as audio tech with Rachel, his boom operator. Anya Yuschenko also assisted with makeup. Josh Long, Pinky, Lyssia Roussel and Sasha Sebesta were all grips on the film. The remaining production crew were brought on by Vivian and her producers, who all worked so hard to bring her project to life.
The Sisters‘ Film Crew
After the screening, there was a quick Q&A session with Director Sabyn Mayfield, Actress/Producer Vivian Alvarez, and Director of Photography Christian Cashmir. The responses were positive and we received a lot of compliments on our hard work. Following the session, the Litewave Media crew attended the Gasparilla Film Festival’s after party and met up with actor R.J. Mitte from TV’s Breaking Bad, who also happens to be a huge steampunk fan (like us!). We got to talk about future plans for our next film The Skyship Chronicles with him. Blake Berris, known for Days of Our Lives, also joined in to talk about upcoming projects.
Left to right: Blake Berris [Days of our Lives, Big Bang Theory], RJ Mitte [Breaking Bad], Cathy Cromar [GIFF Coordinator], Christian Cashmir [Litewave Media]
The Litewave Media team also discussed a new film project with C.S Lee from Showtime’s Dexter.
Litewave Media Team with C.S Lee [Dexter]
To top it all off, Sisters recently found a distribution deal on the Shorts HD TV Network this fall….so keep a lookout to watch it on your local cable station soon!
Overall, the event was a blast! Litewave Media loves going to the Gasparilla International Film Festival to support the local Florida talent and encourage local independent films. We will definitely be there again next year!
Do you have a video project coming up? You can email our Tampa video marketing company at [email protected] for a free consultation. Please like us on Facebook, and be sure to keep up with the blog for more Tampa video production news.
Recording artist and international rap artist Isis Sonatra hailing from the Bahamas brought her dance crew all the way from Hollywood, FL to film with Litewave Media, Tampa’s leading music video production company. Isis recorded her song on the other coast, but came to Litewave Media to mix and master her track.
Isis Sonatra with her dance crew [downtown St. Petersburg, FL]
Litewave Media also recorded the vocal hook with singer Davia who flew up from the Bahamas to record at our Tampa music recording studio. Christian Cashmir assisted with producing the hook vocals for the track and our studio engineer Adam Klingman recorded, mixed and mastered the song. Once the track was complete the film crew began prepping for the video.
Filming Isis under our rain machine at Litewave Studios [Tampa, FL]
Our Tampa film crew shot scenes for the video locally at The Getaway Tiki Bar, as well as on Gandy Beach right near the bridge. The dancing scenes were filmed right in our Tampa video studio as well as on the streets of downtown St. Petersburg. The Litewave Media crew included Christian Cashmir (Director, DP, Editor), John Jones (Ninja Cam, Editor), Jeff Zampino (Coordinator, Set Design), Andrew Ortoski (Gaffer), Brandon Hyde (AC), Sasha Sebesta (Grip), Pinky Caesar (Grip), Tony (PA), Melissa Infante (Hair), and Anya Yuschenko (Makeup).
Purple Rain: filming Isis under the Litewave Media Rain Machine
Isis loved the music video we produced for her and had this to say about Litewave Media: ”I am so thankful that I found a video studio in Florida with the quality of L.A. and the touch of being at home. You guys rock!”
Isis is looking to film another music video next month for an upcoming track which our Tampa video production team is really looking forward to. Christian and Adam are also working on a new song for Isis as well which they plan to record with her this summer at Litewave Media’s Tampa recording studio.
If you are looking for music recording or music video production in the Tampa or St. Petersburg, Florida area, please give us call to discuss your project. We enjoy working with local talent and artists from all around the world in our studio. Follow us on Facebook to keep up with all of the latest news. Until next time!
Our Tampa video production company had the unique opportunity to produce a video presentation for Dixie Hollins High School’s 2014 graduating class. The school’s guidance counselor, Cynthia Burnett, who wanted to give the students more information on choosing Creative Career Paths and Entrepreneurship, approached us early in April about the project. Litewave Media’s founder, Christian Cashmir, gladly took on the task of advising and with the help of the company’s video production crew created an inspiring and fun video that young students could relate to. The Litewave Media team felt this was a great opportunity to help the students learn more about how to enter a creative field like film, video, photography, or music .
Our Tampa video marketing and post-production company pieced together clips of career advice along with snippets of some of our favorite video production work to give students an insight into the industry.
The video was well received and the school’s guidance counselor, Cynthia Burnett, raved about how the students and faculty enjoyed the video:
“I asked for a video presentation on Creative Career Paths and Entrepreneurship to add to my “This Could be You in 20 Years Series.” Christian, and Litewave media went above and beyond my expectation. It was “Academy Awards” awesome! The students were very engaged in the video. The ninth and tenth grade were especially engaged. The counselors and assistant principal were also very engaged in viewing the video and said it was a very good presentation. Thank you Litewave Media for helping to make the Dixie Hollins Spring Honor Roll Celebration a success!”
Litewave Media is proud to have been a part of this project and hopes that students will find a career they are passionate about. Cynthia has since shared the video with numerous other schools in the district in an effort to raise awareness on creative career paths. We are very excited about helping more students and developing the arts and creative careers in the Tampa area for many years to come!
Do you have a Tampa video project coming up? You can email us at [email protected] for a free consultation. Please like our Tampa video company on Facebook, and be sure to keep up with the blog for more Tampa video production news.
Our Tampa video production studio had the unique opportunity to work alongside Sims Crane & Equipment Co. to produce their reality show “Heavy Lifting” which gives viewers an inside look at the crane industry. Sims Crane is Florida’s premier Crane and Equipment provider and partnered with Litewave Media to make their vision a reality. Litewave Media also produced a series of training videos at their Tampa location. The entire project spanned a total of over 20 videos.
With a number of reality shows under their production belts, including ABC’s Shark Tank, TLC’s Extreme Couponing, and the Cayman Island’s Paradise Pawn, the award-winning Litewave Media film crew brought their expertise to the “Heavy Lifting” film set. The crew explored the daily trials of Sims’ crane operators, from erecting entire buildings to lifting whales at a theme park.
When Sims Crane first contacted our Tampa video production company, we set up a series of meetings to plan the logistics of the shoot. Director and cinematographer Christian Cashmir alongside producer Andrew Ortoski collaborated with Sims Crane’s director of marketing, Dean Sims on the creative direction for the show.
The Crane Yard at Sims Crane in Tampa, FL
With the use of GoPro Hero 3, the Litewave Media camera crew was able to film stunning overhead shots of the crane’s movements. Other video production equipment including the Canon C100, 2 Panasonic HVX200’s, 1 Panasonic HPX-170, and a Canon 5D Mark III were used for filming.
Sims Crane Crew with Litewave Media’s Andrew Ortoski (Producer/Camera) and Mike Barnitt (Audio)
Camera operators Christian Cashmir, Taylor Girard, John Jones, and Andrew Ortoski captured all of the action, while Jeff Zampino scripted the show along with Dean Sims. Mike Barnitt and Tom Hurxthal handled audio and Jamie Parslow served as grip. Christian Cashmir and Andrew Ortoski edited and tackled post-production work at Litewave Media’s Tampa post-production company.
Sims Crane also teamed up with our Tampa video crew in creating a number of training videos on crane safety called “Sims Crane Minutes”. These educational videos inform viewers on how cranes function and the potential dangers of operating a crane. Several of the videos were even selected by O.S.H.A. as official crane safety and training videos.
Candace LeRae with Litewave Media’s Tampa Film Crew
These safety videos were a unique opportunity for Litewave Media to get creative with Sims Crane. One video had the distinct style of “Film Noir”, beginning the video in black and white, as if it were an old-style detective movie. Andrew Ortoski created dramatic lighting and even simulated a thunderstorm in the rain. Candace LeRae was the beautiful femme fatale actress who brought the scene to life along with Sims Crane’s very own Safety Director, Bob Berry. The scene was shot in the Sims Crane headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
Litewave Media also produced another training video for Sims in the style of ABC’s hit TV series “Lost”. The video makes an homage to the Dharma Initiative videos within the series and was filmed as if they were found on an old film reel.
Litewave Media’s Video Crew Sets up for the Dharma Initiative-style Training Video
Do you have a Tampa video project coming up? Give us a call for a free consultation. Please like our Tampa video company on Facebook, and be sure to keep up with the blog for more Tampa video production news!
Our Tampa video production company was excited to film for Golf Magazine and Golf.com today for a segment with Graeme McDowell who won the US Open in 2010. Hailing from Northern Ireland, Graeme is one of the top 10 players in the world and has 9 European Tour and 2 PGA tour wins already under his belt.
Graeme with our Litewave Media Tampa video crew
Our Tampa video crew filmed a reality show-style segment where Graeme snuck up or “ambushed” amateur players on the course. He then would show them a few tips to help better their game, and even gave away some prizes including new golf clubs and his signature balls. Our longtime friend and client John Ledesma produced the show and worked closely with the Litewave Media team to ensure his vision was brought to life.
Litewave Media’s crew (Lyssia, Brandon) set up one of the GoPro video cameras
To capture all the action in a candid fashion, a combination of 3 hand held cameras and 2 GoPros were used. The crew only had one chance to get it right to maintain the element of surprise, but everything went off without a hitch. The Litewave Media team was able to capture a total of 4 candid “ambush” segments in the 3 hours they had with Graeme. The videos will run on Golf.com and be featured in Golf Magazine in the next few months.
Mike (sound) and Christian, Litewave Media’s director of photography, prepare to film with Graeme.
Litewave Media is proud to announce the trailer release for our upcoming independent film, “The Skyship Chronicles”. The movie is inspired by the Steampunk aesthetic and has elements of Sci-Fi and fantasy as well. Taking place in the late 1800’s, all aspects of the film had to look aged and authentic. The film was written & produced by our very own Jeff Zampino and directed by Christian Cashmir founder of Litewave Media.
The film was shot primarily in Tampa Bay, Florida. Movie sets including two airships and a post office were built right here in our Tampa video studio. The exterior of the downtown St. Petersburg library was also used for a climactic sword-fight battle scene. The crew even traveled to Tavares, Florida to film on one of the last steam trains in the country, as well as a ghost town set in Parish.
Post Production for the film is now nearly complete. A generous amount of visual effects has kept our our video editors and animation department on their toes. Our Tampa post production company is handling all editing here in our studio at Litewave Media. We invite you to view the trailer and let us know what you think. Please share it if you like it!
Our production company is planning a summer 2014 release for the movie online. Please check out the trailer and connect with us on facebook for more info on the film!
With her debut in 2014 approaching, singer/songwriter Sara Alina was seeking a Tampa film production studio to produce a series of music videos to coincide with her album release. After meeting with the Litewave Media team and touring the studio, Sara Alina’s management company formed a partnership, and collaboration began.
Sara Alina and director Christian Schwier collaborating in the studio
Litewave Media’s Tampa video company produced and filmed 5 music videos and an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) over the course of 2 months. “It was fun working with Sara and brainstorming concepts for each video, but it was also challenging because we had to maintain a consistent style and brand across all five videos. It was a big undertaking, but it was a very exciting opportunity for us,” adds Litewave Media founder Christian Schwier. One video will be released every 2 months right up until her CD release in Spring 2014.
The first two videos were filmed in Tampa Bay, Florida with three video cameras: a Canon C100, for the primary camera, a Canon 5D Mark III for additional angles, and a Sony FS100 for slow motion scenes. The Litewave Media camera crew included: director and DP Christian Schwier, camera operator John Jones and camera assistant Taylor Girard. Also on the music video team were set designer Jeff Zampino, chief lighting technician Andrew Ortoski, production assistant Harold “Pinky” Hood, choreographer Taylor Korin and make-up artist Anya Yushchenko. Editing, color grading and post production took place at our Tampa post production company with Schwier editing as well.
Christian Schwier, John Jones, and Taylor Girard ready their cameras in the studio
The first video release was Sara Alina’s EPK. An EPK is an introduction to who an artist is as a person and what they do. The Litewave Media team filmed this video at various locations around St. Petersburg, FL to give it an organic feel as well as some shots at our very own Litewave Studios. Throughout the day the video crew followed Sara around town documenting and interviewing her about her inspirations and goals as an up-and-coming songwriter. “Shooting this EPK was a learning experience. It was a great way for our team to learn more about Sara as an artist as well as for her to introduce herself to the world.” With a professional Tampa production company along with great talent and a fun positive atmosphere mixed in, it’s hard not to produce something we can all be proud of.
Here’s the EPK!
After her EPK release earlier this month, Sara debuted her first music video this week on YouTube. It’s titled “No Love” and was filmed entirely in our Tampa video studio. The video takes a modern spin on all of the stereotypes of “love”. A professional break dancer (Mario Boskovic) was brought in to be the symbolic representation of “love”, and throughout the video he gets beaten down and crushed which is displayed in his break dancing. Choreography was implemented by Taylor Korin. “For one of the more interesting shots in the music video, our crew rigged a basket of rose petals and a Canon 5D Mark III sixteen feet above the break dancer,” begins Schwier. “As he danced, we filmed the rose pedals falling in slow motion from the ceiling above. It turned out really neat.”
Break Dancer Mario Boskovic Takes a “Love” Beat Down
Seeing Sara tear a few heads off of teddy bears and smashing a vase of roses all while delivering a sassy smile surely made this music video unique, and we really enjoyed making it.
UPDATE 11.5.13
Sara’s 2nd music video “Fly” just went live this week. Be sure to check it out. It was filmed entirely in St. Petersburg, FL in downtown St. Pete, Fort Desoto Beach, and at Litewave Studios.
Make sure to keep a look out later in the year for the other music videos that we produced for Sara Alina!
Do you have a Tampa film project coming up? Give us a call today for a free consultation.
Please like our Tampa video crew on Facebook, and be sure to keep up with the blog for more Tampa video news!
When it comes to Fantastic Sams, the client chooses their hairstyle. In the case of their advertising though, Fantastic Sams sought out Litewave Media and their award-winning Tampa film crew to write, shoot, cast and edit a series of national quality TV commercials.
Fantastic Sams with the Litewave Media Film Crew and Cast
Litewave Media’s veteran Tampa video production company brought their comedic expertise to the project to create some truly unique commercials. Writer Jeff Zampino scribed three scripts, and director Christian Schwier along with the Fantastic Sams marketing team chose two which eventually became the “Night Owl” commmercial featuring a vampire who is in dire need of a haircut and the “3 Color Days” commercial featuring a Snidely Whiplash type character set in the 1920’s.
Larry Bukovey as The Vampire in “The Night Owl Special”
The Litewave Media team combined with the technology of their newly acquired Canon C100 camera, produced exceptional results. The commercials were filmed over a series of 3 days at the Litewave Media video studio‘s backlot and two Fantastic Sams locations. Video editing and special FX compositing took place at Litewave Media’s Tampa post production facility.
Actors Ed Olson and Serrelle Baker in “3 Color Days
The first of the two scripts promotes Fantastic Sams “3 Color Days” special, and takes place in the 1920’s and features a Snidely Whiplash character. Christian and his Tampa video company decided to give a vintage film treatment to this commercial. It begins in black and white then shifts to color when the female lead goes to Fantastic Sams to brighten up her style. The second script focuses on the salon’s late night hours and highlights characters who can only visit during the night. The main character is a friendly vampire…who needs his hair done, just like everybody else.
Fantastic Sams Salon Set
Be sure to stay tuned to your TV to see these two commercials next week!
[UPDATE 6/11/14 Videos online!]
As always, please like our Tampa film crew on Facebook, and keep up with the latest video news on the blog! Don’t forget to give us a call for a free consultation for your next Tampa video project!
Litewave Media recently filmed two segments for ABC’s daytime hit TV show, The Chew. Now in its second season, The Chew hired our production team to film a Guiness Record attempt at making the world’s largest cup of hot chocolate. The other segment was filmed at the world-famous Columbia restaurant and focused on the history of the Cuban sandwich.
Producers from The Chew, which stars celebrity chefs Mario Batalli, Michael Simon and Carla Hall, connected with our Tampa video company through our website. “After speaking with our team and confirming that we had the camera, lighting gear, and experience they needed, we were hired,” says Litewave Media founder, Christian Schwier.
Our Tampa video crew filmed the official Guinness World Records attempt for the largest cup of hot chocolate!
Directory of Photography, Christian Schwier, shoots the process of filling the gigantic cup.
The first shoot was at Tampa’s Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI). To wrap up its Festival of Chocolate, the museum attempted to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest cup of hot chocolate. “We filmed different interviews and segments all over the museum,” says Schwier, “but the main event revolved around a gigantic cup of hot chocolate that was stationed in the courtyard.”
Christian uses a Panasonic HPX-170 to capture Chef Jason stirring the record-breaking cup of hot chocolate.
When the record was broken, five large catapults launched marshmallows into the 880-gallon cup of cocoa as a 30-foot fountain of chocolate spouted from the cup. “It was a fairly windy day,” says Schwier. “So more than a few of the closest onlookers got soaked in cocoa! Our cameras even got a little on the lenses, but we survived!”
Our Tampa video crew, headed by Schwier as the Director of Photography, also included Mike Barnitt as Sound Engineer and Rachel Lappe as Production Assistant. They were joined by ABC field producer Lawrence Weibman, and on-camera host Jason Roberts, a famous chef and restaurateur from Australia.
Footage was shot on two Panasonic HPX-170’s in HD. To capture the sound, our crew used three Lectrosonics lavalier mics, a Schoeps boom mic, and a multi-channel Cooper sound mixer.
Chef Jason gets ready to sample from the giant cup of hot chocolate.
The second segment was shot at the historic Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City. “The focus was Columbia’s Cuban sandwich and its cultural significance to the Tampa Bay area,” explains Schwier. Originally called the mixto, the sandwich is made of ham, roast pork, swiss cheese, and mustard on Cuban bread that is buttered and pressed.
Chef Jason, Christian and Andrea Gonzmart, the great-great granddaughter of Columbia founder, Casimiro Hernandez Sr., make Cuban sandwiches in the restaurant’s enormous kitchen.
Although the history of the Cuban sandwich is a bit murky, some claiming it was brought from Cuba and others swearing it all began in Florida, there is no denying how popular it was with 19th century Ybor City cigar workers. As Sicilians and immigrants from other parts of Italy joined Spanish and Cuban immigrants in the cigar factories, Genoa salami and pickles were added, transforming the mixto into the Cuban sandwich. The Columbia has been making them since 1905.
Christian captures the beauty and architecture of the famous Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.
“In addition to seeing the huge kitchen where we watched Jason and the great-great granddaughter of the original owner make Cuban sandwiches together, we got a tour of the restaurant, including areas most have never seen before,” Schwier says. “We also interviewed patrons, but best part of course was when we got to sample some of the fine food ourselves at lunch!”
Chef Jason interviews Andrea Gonzmart in the dining room of the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.
This was our Tampa film company’s second gig with ABC in the past year, having shot footage for an episode of Shark Tank last fall. “The ABC crew was really great to work for and we had a wonderful time with Jason and Lawrence,” says Schwier. “We hope The Chew will come back to Tampa for another story in Season 3!”
To keep up on all of our video projects, be sure to like our Facebook page, and if you have a video project coming up, contact our Tampa production studio today: e-mail us at [email protected] for a free consultation. Are you ready for your close-up?
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