Recently Litewave Media took to the ice at Amelie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning, for a Volvo TV commercial shoot with Victor Hedman, one of the top defenders in the NHL. The spot was produced along with Moore and Scarry Advertising for Crown Automotive Group and will be airing soon! Our Tampa video production company was thrilled to be back on the ice as we filmed with the Lightning last year for a production as well.
Director/DP Christian Cashmir & 2nd Cam Tony Ahedo plan out some action shots of Victor with the Sony A7s Mk2 & DJI OSMO.
Crown Automotive brought in seven cars and SUVs and set them up on the ice rink as a back drop for the shoot. The Litewave Media Tampa video production crew began work lighting the cars, with only a short window between the Lightning’s practices to set up. Our production crew brought out 5 cameras to film with including our Canon C300, Canon C100, two Sony A7s mk2’s, a DJI OSMO, and a myriad of Canon L series lenses – all from our Tampa video camera rentals package.
The Litewave Media Tampa video crew at work filming Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The crew filmed some lines with Victor and the teleprompter, but the shoot really charged up when Victor got on his skates, and the camera team chased him on the ice.
Director Christian Cashmir and 2nd Cam Operator Tony Ahedo go over lines on the prompter with Victor Hedman.
We used the Sony A7s mk2 mounted on our MoVi M5 gimbal stabilizer as well as the DJI Osmo to capture smooth creative action shots and POV shots of the hockey puck. Some 120 frame slow motion footage accented the skates tearing up the ice.
Director/DP Christian Cashmir gives chase to Victor Hedman with the MoVi M5 gimbal camera stabilizer.
Victor Hedman stylishly skids on the ice as the Litewave Media team captures it in slow motion
One of the highlights for our gaffer, was incorporating our newest light, the ARRI Skypanel S60 from our Tampa grip truck rental on the shoot. The Skypanel packs quite a punch and acted as the main key light to illuminate the shots of Victor with the Volvos.
Our ARRI Skypanel lights up the shot as Christian Cashmir directs with producer Andrew Hebert & Devon Mackinnon runs sound.
The shoot literally went out with a bang as the hockey stadium fired up their Tesla coils and shot electricity charges for our cameras to capture. This electro static footage will be used for a dramatic insert shot in the commercial. The Tesla coils typically only fire up at a hockey game when the Lightning scores, but we were able to turn all the lights off in the entire stadium so that the coils were the only thing lighting the arena – it made for quite a unique effect!
Looking to capture a Tampa TV Commercial production or Tampa video production? Contact us today to see how our teams can work together to build your business. Find us on Facebook and make sure to subscribe to the Litewave Media blog to stay up to date on all of our St Petersburg video production company news!
[All behind the scenes photos captured by Joe Malo]
Recently our Florida video production company had the chance to work with Grand Villa, a resort style senior living community with multiple locations throughout Florida, to film a TV commercial campaign at one of their communities. We went to their St Petersburg, Florida location to learn more about the services they provide to their residents, take a tour of the facilities, and brainstorm ideas for the commercial.
Director Christian Cashmir and grip Sasha Sebesta film with our Dana Dolly and Sony a7S II.
Tampa video production services
Once we had a chance to sit down and speak with the marketing team and get a feel for the community, our production team was excited to draft a script for the project and provide our Tampa video production services. With multiple communities throughout Florida, Grand Villa is one of the more popular retirement communities among seniors, hosting a friendly staff, resort-like amenities, and high quality assisted living services.
Makeup artist, Nikki, puts final touch-ups on makeup before filming the 60’s flashback dinner scene
The video production process
Working together with Grand Villa marketing team’s Ben Rizzo and Clint Dockery, Litewave Media founder Christian Cashmir and writer Mike Garland planned out a fun, emotional story to film. Over the course of a week, the team transformed the idea into a fully developed commercial production- complete with storyboards, costumes, cast, and crew. The concept of the shoot was to journey through the life of a woman at milestones in her life, shown through various decades encompassing the 1950’s, 1960’s, and present day. Our Tampa video production crew was ready to begin filming!
Steadicam operator Eric Coughlin, director Christian Cashmir, and Grand Villa’s marketing guru Ben Rizzo review footage in between takes.
Stocked, locked, and ready to rock, we drove our St Petersburg grip truck to Grand Villa to begin our first day of filming. Their St. Petersburg location was a great choice for production as it boasts tennis courts, a pool, coffee shop, multiple hair salons, and a grand dining room complete with its own cafe. With multiple areas perfect for cinematic storytelling, our crew began filming with our Tampa video equipment rental package. Using our Canon C300 mkII and Sony A7sII video cameras with Canon cinema lenses, director Christian Cashmir helmed the production, bringing his technical skill and directing expertise to the project. Alongside Steadicam operator Eric Coughlin, our Tampa video production crew flew in our Arri and KinoFlo 4 Bank lighting kits, and also filmed scenes on our Dana Dolly.
Our Florida video production crew films a scene on Steadicam for the Grand Villa commercial
We recorded a little time lapse of one filming location (shot by grip Sasha Sebesta):
On day two of the shoot, our Tampa video production crew planned to travel in time to the 1950’s. But, since our time machine was out of batteries, we decided on the next best thing: Johnny Rockets, a 50’s-style diner. Our crew loaded up our grip truck and set forth. With a vintage theme, leather seats, and decor reminiscent of the 1950s, Johnny Rockets was the perfect place to film a scene for the Grand Villa TV ad campaign. The quiet restaurant was transformed and set ablaze with colorful costumes, laughing actors, crew members, and of course a classic dish of ice cream. (The crew may have had refills)
Actors Lexi, Linda, and Chris during the second day of filming at Johnny Rockets, a 50’s-style diner.
Post Production Time
After a lively, creative shoot it was time to head back to our Tampa Bay video studio to begin the editing and post production process. We hired a top notch voice-over actress, who we captured in our sound booth and Tampa recording studio. Our post team even created a visual effect sequence to augment the great work our production crew started.
The cast and crew at Grand Villa St. Petersburg celebrate completing the first day of filming.
Our Florida video production crew had a great time working with the Grand Villa team on such a fun project. The TV commercial will air regionally in Florida. You can also watch the finished commercial below!
Over the last few weeks, our Tampa video production company has been busy shooting new TV shows for Netflix and Discovery Channel as well as TV commercials and Florida corporate videos right here in our own Tampa video production studio. We’ve also had the opportunity to work on an independent feature film with some pretty amazing actors.
Our Florida video production crew recently worked with the one and only Burt Reynolds! We were able to operate a teleprompter for Mr. Reynolds for his entire time on the production. “It was a great opportunity to work with Mr. Reynolds. I used to watch his movies, and now we are filming together”, says Litewave Media crew member Steffen Thiel.
Our Tampa video production crew member Mike Garland with acting legend Burt Reynolds.
On another recent project, we were happy to welcome the team from the Special Operations Warrior Foundation(SOWF) to our Tampa video studio. SOWF is an excellent group dedicated to supporting the families of wounded and fallen Special Ops Heroes. “The foundation is great! They help these families both financially and spiritually to get them back on their feet. They’re just an incredible team of caring people who know what it’s like to lose a family member like that and want to help in any way they can,” says our own Tampa video crew member and Air Force veteran Mike Garland. Litewave Media founder, Christian Cashmir was on set for the TV commercial as 1st camera assistant as well as Andrew Ortoski who gaffed the shoot. Litewave Media’s own Johanne Castagan, Rich Brito, and Steffen Thiel also worked on the shoot. Look out for it on ESPN where it will air nationwide!
5 Hour Energy’s TV commercial production filming at Litewave Media’s Tampa video production studio.
Check out the commercial below:
Our Tampa video production team also had the great opportunity to work on a new Netflix series called “Captive” which will be airing this summer. Director of photography Christian Cashmir operated our MoVi M5 camera gimbal for the show with our Sony A7s II on-board shooting in 4k!
On the new Netflix show “Captive,” Litewave Media’s Christian Cashmir operates our MoVi M5 camera gimbal with Sony A7s II
Our next shoot brought us down to beautiful Anna Maria Island. Litewave Media’s Tampa video equipment rental and Tampa grip truck packages were on hand for this national TV show for Discovery Channel. Christian Cashmir served as director of photography on the show “Stranger Than Florida”, while Sasha Sebesta and Steffen Thiel worked as grips. The Litewave Media camera crew provided lighting, video, and audio gear for the high-end broadcast production of this national TV show.
Our Tampa video production company shooting an interview for the Discovery Channel show “Stranger Than Florida”.
Quite a few of the projects we film go to LA, New York, or elsewhere for editing and finishing, but many stay right here in St. Petersburg, Florida to work at our full service post-production facility, Litewave Studios. Our Tampa post-production suites feature state-of-the-art equipment, voice over booth, and modern editing programs to service large scale productions.
It’s been a busy few weeks at our Tampa video production company, but that’s just the way we like it!
Over the last few years, our Tampa video company has had the opportunity to work on a variety of exciting projects both at our studio and throughout the state of Florida. This week, our Tampa video production company has updated our demo reel with several new projects we have worked on. Check it out below, and let us know what you think!
Litewave Media’s video production crew on set of the award-winning film series: The Skyship Chronicles
The Litewave Media team celebrates the wrap of Isis Sonatra’s Tampa music video
Our Florida video production team has built custom sets at our Tampa video studio to film fun projects like the first episode of our web series The Skyship Chronicles, a live performance from Multi-Grammy-Award winner Chick Corea, and a TV Commercial for Heineken.
Litewave Media films legendary jazz musician Chick Corea on a custom built set at our Tampa video studio
We’ve also had the opportunity to travel and film thrilling performances and interviews with renowned bands like Foreigner and The Moody Blues, with legendary comedian Elayne Boosler, Boxing champion Keith Thurman and with Guinness World Record holder, tightrope walker Nik Wallenda.
Our Tampa camera crew captures a live performance from Foreigner
Aside from filming, Litewave Media also writes, casts talent, and coordinates crews and locations for films and commercial marketing videos. Our Tampa post-production companyspecializes in traditional editing with 3 Tampa editing suites as well as visual effects and 3D animation. Our new demo reel incorporates a number of these projects as well.
Our post-production team edits the short film “The Pirate Gypsies” at one of our editing suites
Our Florida video production company has had a blast filmingthese video projects over the years, and we cannot wait to see what the future of video production holds for us!
The Litewave Media cast and crew wraps filming of “The Pirate Gyspies”
Do you have a Tampa video production or Tampa marketing video you would like to film? Please contact us for a free consultation. You can like Litewave Media on Facebook to check out our latest video projects. Be sure to keep up with the blog for more Tampa video production news!
Litewave Media had a blast shooting this past week on a really unique photo assignment. As a Tampa video production company our focus is video, but every once in a while we strap on our Canon 5D mark III, sombrero and red cape, and become a Tampa photography studio. So this past Thursday, our Tampa photographers went on-site to Bradenton Riverwalk Skatepark to do a photography session with 4 time American Ninja Warrior contestant, Shinobi Poli. American Parkour will be running a story about him and his training academy, Shinobi School, next month. Shinobi owns and operates this Parkour school, one of the top schools in the country, right out of Tampa. He came to Litewave Media in need of professional pictures of his parkour moves in action, and of course… we said yes!
Litewave Media captures Shinobi Poli catching some air time
Shinobi is also Litewave Media’s go-to stunt guy for our Tampa video productions. He has choreographed several of our projects including, a fight scene for our Heineken TV commercial, a bar fight in a corporate video for Health-e-Systems, and stunt choreography for our very first feature length film Jules Dongu Saves The World.
Shinobi showing off his Parkour moves at the Bradenton Riverwalk Skatepark
Over the course of the afternoon, Shinobi performed almost 100 flips and stunts at the skate park to capture the Parkour photos. Our Florida photography studio had a great time shooting with Shinobi, and we can’t wait for our next project with him.