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.
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 company now has an equipment arsenal that includes the RED Scarlet, one of the first 5k ultra high-resolution cameras on the market. “We’re gearing up to shoot a new independent feature film and the extra resolution and RAW files will enable us to bring our special FX and color grading to a new level,” says founder Christian Schwier.
Litewave Media’s RED Scarlet Camera in Tampa, FL
Hollywood films like The Amazing Spiderman, Prometheus and The Hobbit were all shot using the new RED 5k camera technology, counting Peter Jackson and Steven Soderberg among its fans.
For years, film makers have been discussing what would replace film. Some felt it was HD, but now RED has created a camera with enough resolution to replicate the quality of 35mm. And in fact, this camera has a higher dynamic range – besting that of film. It’s an exciting time for film makers.
Taylor, camera operator and Steve, DP prep the RED Scarlet camera for a shot
The Tampa video production company‘s expansion also includes video post production hardware and software. Litewave Media has upgraded three of its video editing suites to include the new Adobe CS6 Production Bundle with CUDA certified graphics cards. “We’ll be using Premiere Pro and After Effects for video editing and post workflow with the RED 5k files,” he explains. “The new software acceleration enables us to edit in real-time just like regular HD files.”
Schwier is quick to point out that the ability to do higher end film production is a great upgrade for the Tampa video company, but it won’t replace the extensive video equipment currently being used. “Our clients and our Tampa film crew are excited about having choices,” he says.
Director Christian Schwier with the RED Scarlet video production team in Tampa
Clients of the Tampa video production studio can look forward to the same high-caliber quality they’re used to while also having options like the RED Scarlet for higher end productions.
