Litewave Media Produces Comic Con TV Commercials

Litewave Media Produces Comic Con TV Commercials

What happens when Spider-Man crosses paths with a Lady Gaga playlist in our Tampa video production studio? This year’s Comic Con TV commercials of course! For the last five years, our Tampa vIdeo company, Litewave Media has had the pleasure of working with the team behind one of the largest Comic Con franchises in the country to produce TV commercials and YouTube spots.

This year, our production company produced spots for San Francisco Comic Con, Atlanta Comic Con, Indiana Comic Con, Michigan Comic Con, and of course, Tampa Comic Con. The commercials will begin airing this March through the end of 2018. The one and only Spider-Man made an appearance and brought with him an arsenal of toys and collectibles for the spots.

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Got comics? Spidey strikes a pose on our Tampa video studio floor.

The 30 second TV spots as well as shorter commercial segments for YouTube were filmed on our ARRI Alexa Mini camera in 4k with Canon lenses. The spot was lit with our ARRI Skypanel s60 as well as a few Litepanel Astras, and our Altman Spectra 100 cyc lights. Check out our Tampa grip and lighting rental page for more info on our lighting packages.

The director sets up the next shot as the talent gets ready for his scene.

Director, Christian Cashmir, films on our ARRI Alexa Mini while Spidey gets into character for his dancing scene.

Our Tampa video crew had a blast spending the day with the web-slinging superhero. With shooting wrapped, post production and editing of the project took place in one of our 4k Tampa video editing suites. To finish off the spot in true Comic Con fashion, our own Christian Cashmir composed a Lady Gaga-inspired song just for the commercials.

That's a wrap for this Tampa based film crew.

Comics, action figures, trading cards, and of course Spidey…just another day at the office here at Litewave Media!

We had a great time on this project and look forward to doing it again next year! In the mean time, check out the first commercial for Indiana Comic Con right here!

 

Don’t forget to visit Tampa Bay Comic Con this coming August! May the Nerdiness be with you!

Do you have a Tampa TV commercial production you would like to produce? Please contact us to discuss your next project. Be sure to like Litewave Media on Facebook to check out our latest video projects and keep up with our blog for more Tampa video production news!

 

Tampa Production Company Wins 48 Hour Film Project

Tampa Production Company Wins 48 Hour Film Project

Over the course of the last few years our Tampa production company has enjoyed participating in the 48 Hour Film Project, a world-wide competition that challenges filmmakers to write, shoot, and edit their own short films in only 48 hours. It’s become a bit of a tradition for the Litewave Media crew and we’ve met some amazing people along the way. This year, our team once again dove head first into the challenge and produced a short film called “Magazine Issues.”

Tampa production company begins filming our 48 hour movie

DP Eric Coughlin gets set up for one of the first shots of the day filming our short “Magazine Issues”

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Director Christian Cashmir checks lighting before our Tampa video production company begins filming.

The 48 Hour competition supplies only minimal guidelines for filmmakers, providing a genre, character, prop, and a line of dialogue that must be used in every film. Each team receives their guidelines on Friday night and must turn in their fully finished film Sunday night, only 48 hours later. Our team pulled the genre of “romance,” and writers Jason Henne and Michael Garland went to work forming a cinematic story that also captured the essence of romance. With our writers working through the night on the the script, our Florida video production crew began preparing to film at dawn’s first light.

Tampa production company uses LED lights to film a scene

Lighting the scene with portable LED lights from our St Petersburg video equipment rental package, lead actor Chris Cavalier gets ready to film

Next, we loaded up our Tampa grip truck and drove to our first location in Clearwater, Florida to begin filming. Using gear from our St Petersburg video equipment rental package like our Canon C300 MkII and Canon cinema lenses, we hit the ground running (literally) and began production! Filming took place at various locations all over Tampa Bay, including our very own Tampa green screen studio for multiple special effects-driven scenes and a wrestling ring almost an hour from the studio.

Tampa production company shoots in our video studio

Award-winning actress Alissa Schneider plays the melodious sounds of the key-tar in our Tampa green screen studio.

With the clock ticking down, we rushed all of our footage back to our Florida post-production suite for editing. Once our special effects team hustled to compose the visuals needed for the green screen portion of the film, director and editor Christian Cashmir brought the film together with his skill and expertise, cuttin’ up footage and taking names! With the editing finished on literally zero sleep (not even a wink!), finally it was time for submitting the finished film.

Tampa production company with our Steadicam during filming

Director Christian Cashmir, steadicam operator Eric Coughlin, and lead actor Chris Cavalier review footage before sending it off to our Florida post-production suite for editing.

After waiting for what seemed like the longest 2 weeks ever, it was time for the 48 Hour Film Project ‘Best Of’ screening! With so many great films to compete against, the awards ceremony was a nail biter, but all of our hard work paid off! Our team was nominated in 9 categories and were honored to win the following awards:

  1. Best use of the line “You’re Next!” – Team Prairie Dogs featuring Uncle Henry’s Bowling Club (Us!!)
  2. Audience Favorite – “Magazine Issues” Team Prairie Dogs featuring Uncle Henry’s Bowling Club (Us again!!)
  3. Best Screenplay – Jason Henne and Michael Garland (Our devilishly handsome writers)
  4. Best Supporting Actress – Alissa Schneider (Our drop dead gorgeous actress)
  5. Best Song – “Salesperson of the Year” Music and Lyrics by Chuck Fonshell Jr, Christian Cashmir, and Chris Cavalier (Our extraordinarily talented musicians)
  6. And, drumroll please… BEST FILM!!! – “Magazine Issues” Directed by Christian Cashmir (Our fearless director)

We won Best Film out of 34 competitors! Ignite the fireworks! Wookie yell! Rejoice!

Tampa production company at the premier of the 48 Hour Film Project 2016

Our Tampa production company on the red carpet before the premier of our film, “Magazine Issues”

Now that our film “Magazine Issues” has won Best Film – Tampa, we move on to the next round where we’ll compete against the winners from over 100 cities worldwide at Film-a-Palooza in Seattle, Washington next March!

As with every year, we had an amazing time working on the 48 Hour Film Project, and we look forward to competing again next year. Check out our finished film “Magazine Issues” below (Made in just 48 hours)!

Tampa production company celebrates after the award ceremony

The Litewave Media team celebrates after the 48 Hour Awards Screening

Do you have a Tampa independent film or Florida short film you’d like to produce? Contact us today for a consultation. Be sure to like us on Facebook to watch all of our latest videos. Head on over to our blog to stay up to date on all of our Tampa video production company news!

Florida Video Production Company Travels Through Time For New TV Ad Campaign

Florida Video Production Company Travels Through Time For New TV Ad Campaign

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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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)

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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.

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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!

Do you have a Florida tv commercial or Tampa corporate video you would like to produce? Contact us today for a free consultation. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook to watch all of our latest videos and follow our Litewave Media blog to stay up to date on the latest Tampa video production news.

 

Tampa Video Production Company Produces STAR WARS Fan Film!!

Tampa Video Production Company Produces STAR WARS Fan Film!!

A few weeks back, our Tampa video production company had the chance to write, shoot, and edit a Star Wars fan film for the official competition sponsored by Lucasfilm and Disney! The challenge, put on yearly, encourages filmmakers to write, produce, and edit their very own fan film set in the Star Wars universe. There are various categories in which filmmakers can garner recognition: best visual effects, filmmaker select, audience choice, and more. When our Tampa video production company heard about the competition, we just had to throw our lightsabers into the mix!

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Our Tampa film crew getting a low angle shot of young actress Lennon Brock (just 5 years old!).

We started out with an idea from Litewave Media founder Christian Cashmir and developed it into a short story with the help of writers Mike Garland, Mario Graniello and Steffen Thiel. We wrote in a bit of mystery, intrigue, sprinkled in some tragedy, and of course an epic lightsaber battle (what Star Wars fan film is complete without one?)!

An professional team of stunt choreographers and performers helped to plan out the intricate battle scenes. After a few days of choreographing in detail, our Tampa video production crew were ready to capture our fight scenes on film.

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Director Christian Cashmir, actress Mary McDonnell, and camera operator Jake Jalbert review footage on the set of our Star Wars fan film. (Photo: Courtesy of Anthony and Estelle Brock)

With scripts in hand, prosthetics and makeup on, and fight choreography fresh in our minds, the Litewave Media team drove our Tampa grip truck to our first location in Dead River, part of the Hillsborough Wilderness Reserve. Using our Tampa video equipment rental package, our fearless crew hauled gear through the dense woods to our filming location. Miles out, in the middle of a swamp, not unlike Dagobah, our crew setup camp for the first day of principle photography.

Working alongside park rangers, our Tampa independent film production went off without a hitch. Working around the clock, we were able to successfully film all scenes and finish the production on time despite the many challenges presented by the location.

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Steffen Thiel, in his (potentially award-winning?) American film debut, as Stormtrooper TH-137.

Director Christian Cashmir and Cinematographer Eric Coughlin worked together using gear from our Tampa video equipment rental package including the Canon C300, and C300 mkII, SteadiCam, MoVi M5 with Sony A7s mkII, and plenty of lighting to give the film a cinematic look. We even brought out our portable generator to the forrest so we didn’t have to stop at Tosche Station to pick up more power converters!

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Actor/Stuntmen M. Joshua Todd and TJ McDonnell ready themselves for battle during our Star Wars fan film shoot. (Photo: Courtesy of Anthony and Estelle Brock)

After a successful shoot, it was time to head back to our Tampa post production suites to start the editing process. We had a ton of excellent footage, but we needed to add in lightsaber effects and, of course, the epic sound design and music that makes every Star Wars film so unique. We utilized our Tampa recording studio to record ADR for the main characters, replacing their dialogue with studio quality recordings of their voices – much like the original Star Wars did.

Next, we reached out to our friend Angelo from Panetta Studios to partner with us on the sound design for the film; He and his team created soundscapes, brought the lightsaber battles to life, and transformed the swamp into a character in its own right. They gave our antagonist a unique voice effect as well! Our editors and visual effects team put in a few sleepless nights to make the deadline, and with the hard work of our dedicated team, our film was ready to compete!

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Our editing and special effects teams work to finish our Star Wars fan film.

Finally, we submitted our completed film to LucasFilm and Disney for the Star Wars Fan Film Awards, and it was time to celebrate! aarrragghuuhw! That was Wookie for “Partaaaaay!”(seriously, we looked it up). We had the whole team over for a cast/crew screening of the finished film, which we projected on the large white cyc in our Tampa video production studio. What a blast!

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Two young padawans (Zack with actress, Lennon) practice lightsaber skills during the cast/crew screening of our Star Wars fan film.

Check out the finished film below:

Do you have a feature film or Tampa short film you would like to produce? Please contact us for a free consultation. You can like Litewave Media on Facebook to check out our latest independent films. Be sure to keep up with the blog for more Tampa video production news!

 

Litewave Media Films TV Commercials for Tampa Comic-Con

Litewave Media Films TV Commercials for Tampa Comic-Con

Star Wars legend Carrie Fischer?!

Bad-to-the-bone Terminator actress Linda Hamilton, aka Sarah Conner?!

And guess who’s Back…to the Future…. star Lea Thompson?!

They’ll all be visiting this year’s pop cultural phenomenon, Tampa Bay Comic Con. This fan favorite event has been getting bigger and better every year! This year’s convention will be held from July 31st till August 2nd at The Tampa Convention Center, and it’s poised to be the biggest one yet! The convention will be bringing famed movie and TV actors as well as comic book authors and artists, and cosplay enthusiasts. Our Tampa video production company had the exciting opportunity to film TV and radio commercials for Tampa Bay Comic-Con 2015 to promote this year’s convention.

Our Tampa video company worked with Comic-Con at last year’s convention, filming a promo video for Tampa Bay Comic-Con 2014, and we were thrilled to get to work with them again this year for their TV commercials.

Litewave Media films video production Tampa commercials for Tampa Bay Comic Con

Litewave Media crew with the Tampa Bay Comic Con team at our Tampa video studio

Tampa Bay Comic-Con hired our production company and rented our Tampa video studio to film a 30 second TV ad that began airing Monday July 27th. The commercials were filmed on our White Cyc studio wall. Our Tampa video crew lit the studio with 2 Kino Flo Diva-Lites, 1 LED light and an array of our state-of-the-art Altman LED Spectra Cyc lights from our Tampa lighting equipment rental. Our director of photography, Christian Cashmir, filmed the commercials with our Canon C100 with cinema lenses from our Tampa camera equipment rental. Ana Christina Sanchez was the Production Coorinator during the shoot and Litewave Media’s intern Taylor Blake took behind-the-scenes pictures with our Canon 5D mark III.

Litewave Media films commercials for Tampa Bay Comic Con

Actress, Victoria, dressed as Katniss from the Hunger Games for Tampa Bay Comic-Con’s 2015 TV commercial

Tampa Bay Comic-Con had a number of costumes for the talent to dress up in for the commercials. Our Florida video company along with the make-up artist on set, did our best to emulate legendary characters from movies and TV series such as Princess Leia, Daenerys Targaryen and Katniss Everdeen.

Litewave Media films commercials for Tampa Bay Comic Con

The make-up artist transforming actress Victoria into Princess Leia

Tampa Bay Comic also came into our Tampa recording studio to record the radio commercial for the Con as well. Our Tampa post production company edited and color corrected the commercials at our Tampa editing suites. Some visual FX were also added to enhance the TV advertising including a Star Wars blaster effect.

Litewave Media films commercials for Tampa Bay Comic Con

Christian Cashmir films the Princess Leia TV spot for Tampa Bay Comic Con

Check out the TV spot below!

The commercials will be featured on the following networks ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX at the end of July 2015.

Litewave Media films commercials for Tampa Bay Comic Con

The cast and crew celebrates wrapping the Tampa TV commercial

Do you have a Tampa TV or radio commercial you would like to produce or a video production Tampa? 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 our blog for more Tampa video production news!