For the Fanatic Fans of CJ Stroud
Sometimes shoots don't require a hundred people on set, and just roll out in real time.
We loved working with @cj7stroud. 🏈 He's a super star!
Fanatics called us, and we were happy to come play. We can report CJ's just as fast a thinker as he is fast on his feet on the football field, and this video is proof.
The concept was the have the rookie sensation for the Houston Texans call up his fans who had recently bought his jersey. He would make the "cold calls" and pretend to be customer service.
His interactions with the fans (who thought it was a prank call) was a joy to watch unfold.
Congratulations to this young man and his well-deserved success. To many more years in the NFL!
@houstontexans #texans @ohiostatefb #GoBucks
Field Producer: Lynn Birdwell
Director of Photography: Raul Casares
Gaffer: Mike May
Audio: Kent Ohler
Editor: Edward Ruedemann
Jazz Legend and Luxury Watches
One of the most lovely locations in Houston is the Astorian, conveniently located blocks from our office and truly a gorgeous view of downtown during the day or night. A curated jazz series by the renown jazz drummer Eric Harland was just a perfect evening, also starring Breitling.
We created web content for Breitling's luxury watches, by filming a stunning and intimate jazz concert at the beautiful Astorian with the Breitling Houston Ambassador, Eric Harland.
Production Company: Bird House Productions
Celebrity Talent: Eric Harland
Agency Producer: Kerry Chrapliwy
Director: Lynn Birdwell
Director of Photography: Raul Casares
Photographer: Blaine Walker
Location: The Astorian Houston
Wanderlust Content / Invislign Global Asset Photo Library
Dr. Cozad and Dr. Comeaux were kind enough to open the doors to their beautiful Spring Texas offices for a 3 day photo shoot with our 2 photo teams and we recommend them as sincerely nice people too. Most people need an orthodontist. Everyone needs a dentist. :-)
Invisalign's global branding continues to grow with its devoted following, and their global assets photo library was expanded and refreshed in Spring Texas. 🦷
Wanderlust Content and Photographers Caleb Kuhl and Robby Klein created a massive new library of images in just 3 days. Our shooting locations were so terrific -- and we decided we really liked the dentists and orthodontists we worked with! (enough to keep coming back for straighter teeth)
Type: Photo library assets
Agency: Razorfish
Production Company: Wanderlust Content
Production Services: Bird House Productions
Lead Photographer: Caleb Kuhl
Photographer: Robby Klein
Product: Invisalign global branding assets library
#Invisalign #Hughes&CozadOrthodontist #ComeauxDental
Lauren Crew Helps Pizza Hut Recruit With Real Personality
Texas is the corporate headquarters of some interesting companies. Did you know that the Pizza Hut HQ is in Plano TX, just outside of Dallas? They actually have a full set up inside the building for filming commercials and for training. We had a great time exploring how they support their staff and help them succeed.
We worked with Brandessa Hale on "You Do You" recruiting campaign for Pizza Hut. This was a fun shoot with real employees with big personalities who really showed us how much fun it could be with a creative team cooking up a storm together. We LOVED working with Lauren Crew.
Type: Web content
Agency: Fact & Fiction
Production Company: Source Productions
Production Services: Bird House Productions
Director + Photographer: Lauren Crew
DP: Alex Themistocleous
Product: "You Do You" recruiting videos and stills
Launching Reebok's Nano X2 Shoe Line
We do a lot with professional athletes in Houston. We have a lot of them! It’s nice to sometimes travel to other super star athletes for brand launches and film them where they actually live and work out. This project was just gorgous to shoot, and our talent were all brilliant.
Reebok enlisted elite global athletes and trainers to bring to life the Official Shoe of You campaign and mantra.
Photographer Anthony Blasko and Director of Photography Raul Casares worked together on location and in studio, in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island to tell the stories of three athletes. We show how these incredible athletes thrive inside and out of the gym wearing Nano X2. The men's shoe took a workout with cross-fit superstar, athlete and training coach Christian Harris, and the women’s shoes with uber fitness instructor Jess Sims, and uber soccer star Julie Ertz.
Christian Harris has a really great gym in Long Island, in which we spent a good day working. What a nice guy he is. Some amazing locations that we didn't know existed included Socceroof, an indoor pro soccer training and live event space. We shot at their Long Island City / Astoria location. Former pro soccer player Julie Ertz showed her dexterity and speed. With the heat in Houston, you'd think this kind of space would be popular here too! And it was literally the most gorgeous day you could imagine next to the Queensboro Bridge, when we shot at Queensbridge Park with Jess Sims and her beautiful dogs.
Usually we are providing production services for Vayner and NEEDaFixer but we flipped the script and hired each of the companies to work on our project this time. Thank you John Sepe and Will Tatum with Vayner and Saskia Schiel with NAF for your kind stewardship of the different elements of the project for us.
We then worked with our final talent remotely, although we would have all loved to travel to Iceland. Can you imagine living in Iceland, being a world class athlete, and having your own open-air gym in your backyard? Professional cross fit and Olympic weightlifting athlete Annie Thorisdottis has all that. We loved working with her on this Reebok project. She did a lot more work than we did. :-)
For Annie’s portion, we filmed with remote production approvals from Reebok and Bird House Productions in New York. We were thrilled to work with Creative Artists Iceland and our Director / Photographer / DP Bernhard Kristinn. Deep gratitude to Saskia Schiel for her impeccable production management support.
Type of production: Photos/Video web content
Client: Reebok
Reebok Director of Production: Merritt Davies
Production Company: Bird House Productions
Producer: Lynn Birdwell
NY Production Services Company: Vayner Productions
NY Photographer: Anthony Blasko
NY Director of Photography: Raul Casares
NY Celebrity Talent: Christian Harris, Jess Sims, Julie Ertz
Iceland Production Services Companies: NEEDaFIXER / Creative Artists Iceland
Iceland Production Manager NaF: Saskia Schiel
Iceland Celebrity Talent: Annie Thorisdottir
Iceland Director, Photographer + DP: Bernhard Kristinn
Breath, The Pulse of the Universe
One of our favorite yoga masters in Houston Texas, is the transcendental Pam Johnson. Together we created not only a film, but ultimately an immersive experience performance event.
Honoring International World Breathing Day, observed annually on April 11
ABOUT
Breath, the Pulse of the Universe the creation of Pam Johnson and Lynn Birdwell, is a three-part experiential homage to the breath, beginning with a mesmerizing short film, produced by Bird House Productions and directed by Birdwell, followed by a mandala breath troupe performance by Johnson and the Talasana Breath Troupe, and closes with a short, beautiful guided breath meditation.
The short, inspirational film, featuring the velvety and unbelievably slow movement of Pam Johnson, is an elegant study of light and breath, honoring the technique and style of Bill Viola’s timeless video art. It captures the metaphysical essence of slow motion, rhythmic breath and luminosity. The audience observes and becomes keenly aware of the sound and movement of the life force, the breath. This experience is further deepened when Johnson leads the breath troupe in a devotional, orderly slow-motion mandala offering, performed to the music of their breath. Both the film, and then the performance, were created to capture and inspire awareness about our constant companion, the breath. It is the essence and integrity of the ancient healing practice of yoga, as well as our innate human capacity to create and manage our internal spaces. The guided meditation lead by Birdwell leaves the audience with a lingering and subliminal experience of spirituality and art. Participants are encouraged to quiet external distractions, tap into their internal senses and allow this intimate and timeless work of art to take over fully.
VIDEOS
“Experiential BREATH Event”
“The next great frontier of human exploration is not outer space, but inner space — the development of the human mind.”
“BREATH Art Film”
“Although this film is a visual study of light, and a rich and enveloping audio experience, the viewer will most likely find themself physically breathing along with the film, without conscious awareness of having begun to do so. There is a physical awareness and connection that each viewer will have in each part of the performance. The beauty and artistry of the use of symbolism throughout the program, the pace of the breath, and the elegant lines and shifting light in the film, are all-of-one conscious physical experience.”
– Lynn Birdwell
TROUPE MISSION STATEMENT
The precision mandala breath troupe’s sole purpose is to demonstrate through movement and breath, the techniques of focusing energy, balancing the body, tuning the mind, and harmonizing with the calming vibrational sound of the ujjayi breath and the universal sound of OM.
Based in the whole brain learning techniques of ancient Himalayan yogic healing and meditation practices, Breath, the Pulse of the Universe captures the essence and integrity of toning the vital organs, enhancing the senses, and merging both outwardly and inwardly with the frequency of sound and refulgent light.
DIRECTORS
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, PAM JOHNSON
Pam Johnson, is a yoga educator and breath coach practicing and teaching ancient classical Himalayan yoga for the past 30 years. She is the founder of The Heights School of Yoga as well as a museum-level fine artist, specializing in large-scale black and white drawings and biomorphic sculptures. For Pam, these two disciplines nurtured the creation of Breath, the Pulse of the Universe. Pam’s passion is teaching breath-centered yoga and studying physics.
FILM DIRECTOR, LYNN BIRDWELL
Lynn is a staunch defender of television and film development in Houston. She provides production services as an Executive Producer for Bird House Productions, which includes film, series, commercials, music videos, content and photography for world-class artists, production companies, directors, photographers, and global brands.
Performances
Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Rothko Chapel, Houston, TX
EASTSIDE YOGA, AUSTIN, TX - OFFERING FOR SRIVATSA RAMASWAMI
PERFORMANCE TESTIMONIALS
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON
“Smita and I thank you and Pam for an exhilarating experience. The Breath creation drew us out and then in … as we shared in the homage with all our senses. Thank you for the film! I got lost in the gentle, elegant movement, the subtle shifts in focus and light, and in the rhythmic breath. The symbolism involved in all the elements captivated my conscience self. The highlight of the evening for me was the guided meditation – which Smita and I are still talking about these days. The language was spiritual and artful, the pace led to contemplative following, and we were left encouraged to enter internal spaces undistracted. Peace…” Jamie Johns
“Beautiful and very impressive…. No reason why more sequences can (not) become dance, because the breath becomes the background music. (The experience) is different than the routine yoga asana. People were very impressed. I’m happy that it is an art expression.” Srivatsa Ramaswami, The modern day authority on Vinyasa Krama
“I thought the whole event and especially the breath awareness felt very “personal”. It felt astonishingly intimate, an inner experience of breath.” Randall Morton, Past Executive Director of The Progressive Forum
“It was inspiring to me and I learned a lot.” Ann Hyde
“To the uninitiated, attending “Breath: The Pulse of the Universe” could be a life-changing experience. To the rest of us, it bordered on nirvana. The combination of riveting video with hypnotic live action delivered a breath of fresh air to the standard yoga room meditation, opening our eyes, ears and soul to the universe and beyond.” Lou Congelio
“I was there and loved it.” Nan Hall Linke
ROTHKO CHAPEL
“Breath, the Pulse of the Universe connects us to that essential rhythm–internal and external–that is fundamental to our existence. It resonated even more fully inside the Rothko Chapel.” Christopher Rothko, Chairman of the Board, Rothko Chapel
“Breath, Pulse of the Universe, at the Rothko Chapel was a revelation, a multi-sensory experience that practically defies language. It invites the audience into rapt attention; we are changed in our very participation.” Claudia Horowitz, Former Interim Executive Director, Rothko Chapel
“Such a wonderful performance Pam. Awe inspiring! You are an absolute inspiration to me! The whole team who worked on this did an incredible, spiritual journey.” Stephanie Cole
“What a wonderful evening. It was so good to slow down with a beautiful presentation and film.” Carrie Glassman Showemake
EASTSIDE YOGA, AUSTIN, TX | OFFERING FOR SRIVATSA RAMASWAMI
“During the performance there was a moment when I saw immense light radiating. Normally, performing can be a nerve-racking experience, but because this practice and performance is focusing on the breath which leads you back to the heart, the spiritual center, it was a calming and peaceful experience, an experience that was shared between performers and audience. Being part of the Troupe has deepened my own personal practice and has given me the opportunity to share my heart, my light, my soul with the world.” Simone Olivier, Austin Troupe Member
“Simply exquisite. The energies of the evening stayed with me and were delightful and wise and peaceful companions throughout the night and the next day. I would recreate that experience every day.” Don Gordon
“Exquisite program and performance!” Adrienne Johnson
PROGRAM CREDITS
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR - Pam Johnson
EVENT DIRECTOR - Sydney Dao
TROUPE PARTICIPANTS - Adrienne Johnson, Collenna Shakti, Cynthia Poole, Hannah Underwood, Joe Heller, Leslie States, Linda Stokes (Dance Consulting), Margit Williams, Melinda Barsales, Michelle Bonich, Monica Townsend, Nirij Mendes, Olga Dentzien, Pam Johnson (Choreographer), Sandy Lease, Simone Olivier, Tricia Waldrum
GUIDED MEDITATION - Lynn Birdwell
SEATED MEDITATOR - Jordan Glazer
GRAPHIC DESIGN - Megan O’Sullivan (Soula Creative)
BREATH Art FILM CREW CREDITS - Lynn Birdwell (Producer/DIrector), Pam Johnson (Talent), Raul Casares (Director of Photography), Richard Lacy (Gaffer, 2nd Camera), Brian Albritton (Audio Recordist), Andi Meckna (Makeup/Wardrobe), Robbie Meckna (Production Support), Cliff Davis Editorial, Wire Road Studios (Sound Design)
WISDOM TEACHERS AND LINEAGE- Sri T Krishnamacharya, Srivatsa Ramaswami, Swami Vidyadhishananda
CONTACT
LYNN BIRDWELL
FILM PRODUCTION
832-439-2595
lynn@bhprod.com
bhprod.com
PAM JOHNSON
BREATH TROUPE PERFORMANCE AVAILABILITY
BREATHE AND MEDITATE LIKE A MASTER
713-301-9238
paminbreath@gmail.com
pamjohnsonyoga.com
Rich Baby Daddy
Trying something new and creative sometimes means opting for the surprise of lo-fi and vintage style. This was a very special production that was quick and exciting. And we got a hilarious reminder of what it used to be like in the days when we still had a video tape transfer step, before post production could commence.
Drake decided he wanted to create a music video for the song Rich Baby Daddy, and to Direct and DP it too. The call? Wednesday. The shoot? Saturday. It must be released on Valentine's Day.
It was shot on a Hi8 camcorder, to give the feel of a real home video. Some phone video is used as well in the final edit. This meant we had to find a place in Houston to transfer that footage from video to digital.
The video got 12M views in the first 2 weeks on YouTube, and fans continue to hotly debate how it was shot and the format used, and who the baby's daddy was. 😂
We can quickly turn around a request like this, and execute (find a real working hospital that will let us shoot at midnight!) -- things that couldn't be done if we didn't already work with the best film industry professionals in Houston.
After wrapping this 10 hour shoot, Drake flew AirDrake to Las Vegas and won a bet on the Chiefs at the Superbowl.
Director & DP: Drake
Label: OVO
Agency: DreamCrew
Freenjoy Executive Producer: Nathan Scherrer
Denim Executive Producer: Christian Tyler
Denim Producer: Alex Dall'Orso
Bird House Productions Producer: Lynn Birdwell
Production Manager: Leora Mohr
Production Coordinator: Kim Gagne
Production Designer: Electa Porado
Set Decoration: Stephanie Marett
Props: Peter Blanford
Art Assist: Adrian Sanchez
1ST AC / Media Manager: Blaine Walker
Audio Mixer: Marcus Chandler
Gaffer: Dan Mohr
Key Grip: Christopher Lovely
PA / Playback: Matt Buehrer
Grip & Lighting Equipment: Cinema Resource
Camera rentals: Hogan Films & Scott Ross Productions
Vanity Fair - Simone Biles
Simone is the most rewarding celebrity athlete talent to work with. She is game for anything, is the consummate professional, and is also a sincerely nice person.
We always love working with the Biles family in Spring, Texas. Even in her life as a newlywed, often one of Simone's parents is with her on a shoot. And although Houston is a big city and Simone is an international star, the film and editorial world here is a smaller village; and so we have all spent a lot of hours with the Biles', and they are each amazing.
On every major editorial shoot, we meet new creatives and artists who are significant and selected specifically to work on the project, some who travel in from all over the world. This shoot included the amazing photographer Adrienne Raquel for the February 2024 Vanity Fair cover story.
We also had Simone for the full day, instead of just an hour. We enjoyed the production support and stage provided by Captive Studios. It was the first time Bird House Productions had the opportunity to shoot there!
We appreciate the words from the Vanity Fair IG post that read: Simone Biles’ rise to fame was thrilling, intense, and a bit disorienting for the legendary athlete—and still is.
It's a great article by Leah Faye Cooper. The two discussed life as a newlywed, her recovery from Tokyo, and how she’s feeling about the 2024 Olympics.
Photographer: Adrienne Raquel
Wardrobe Stylist: Miranda Fetahu
Hair Stylist: Nikki Nelms
Makeup Artist: Sheika Daley
Set Designer: Kendyll Legier
Designer Assist: Effie Frank
Movement Director: Charissa Kroeger
Lighting Director: Sebastien Johnson
HOUSTON CREW
Production Services Company: Bird House Productions
Bird House Productions Producer: Lynn Birdwell
Production Manager: Caleb Hernandez
Digitech: Gary Pilcher
Photo Assist: Nneoma Aijwe
Photo Assist: Scott Nidermaier
Art Assist: Stephanie Marett
Art Assist: Elizabeth Kilgore
Seamstress: Janelle Flanagan
Wardrobe Assist: Miranda Fetahu
Manicurist: VCI Artists
Coordinator: Alyssa Cole
Location: Captiv Studios
Catering: Sam Salah
PA / Driver / Runners: Ross Barber, Matthew Buehrer, & Malachi Talbot
Camera, G&E: Texcam
Camera, G&E: Cinema Resource
Production Supplies: Affordable Prod Rentals
Travis Scott
The ultimate expression of surrealism in music. This was a tremendous effort under the leadership of Executive Producer Nathan Scherrer and the ultimate Music Video Director ever — Dave Meyers. The most collaborative creative experience ever, and what a great locations backdrop for Houston Texas. A very long song, a lot of just jaw-droppingly stunning talent, production design, locations and scenes.
We got to work on this original music video for the award-winning Travis Scott song "Sicko Mode" ft Drake. This video went 7x platinum and was called the "Citizen Kane" of Scott's music videos by Rolling Stone Magazine. We shot for 3 days all over Houston with Travis, and then a month later, had both Travis and Drake on set for the day. Basically, it was a BIG deal and we were honored to be a part of it!🎶
Label: Epic Records
Type: Music Video
Title: Sicko Mode
Production Company: Freenjoy Inc
Production Services Company: Bird House Productions
Celebrity Talent: Travis Scott, Drake
Director: Dave Meyers
DP: Scott Cunningham
BHP Celebrates the 2015 Bad Bad Man Music Video
One of our favorite music videos was half live action and half paper animation. Shot in 2015 for Runaway Sun’s lead singer and song writer Andrew Karnavas, we are always happy to watch this film.
“SOUTH PARK MEETS SIN CITY” IN THE BAND’S HALF-LIVE, HALF-PAPER ANIMATED VIDEO DIRECTED BY LYNN BIRDWELL
WHO
Lynn Birdwell –Award-winning Houston-based Director, Bird House Productions
Brandon Ray – Award-winning Houston animator, Paper Brain
Runway Sun – Delta Rock band from Houston, TX, featuring Andrew Karnavas
WHAT
Bird House Productions announces the release of Runaway Sun’s Bad Bad Man music video. As Creative Director and Director, Lynn Birdwell created a landscape that allows for visual cues in the live action that find their way in and out of Brandon Ray’s paper animation. The music and the imagery are a perfect, haunting combination.
Born out of lead singer Andrew Karnavas’ love for antihero stories, Bad Bad Man follows a man hollowed out by the murder of his wife on their wedding day. Bad Bad Man is a mix of performance video, punctuated by beautiful shadowed imagery of a shrine to his wife. And it’s all glued together with some very unique paper animation by award-winning Houston animator Brandon Ray. The story comes to life in that animation. In a walking arc of fury and grief, our Bad Bad Man, now a paper figure in a surprisingly dimensional paper world, tracks down and eliminates his wife’s killers. The video smartly uses the animation to take the edge off of a nasty, bloody business. But that edge returns every time the animation cuts back to Karnavas, staring us down.
“The song is a heartbreaker,” says Lynn Birdwell. “Given a chance to make justice personal, who has not considered righting a wrong, in their darkest thoughts?”
#BADBADMAN PAPER CUT OUT
The Bad Bad Man is on a search for his wife’s killer. Print out the “Cut-N-Play” Bad Bad Man and take photos of him on his search. Upload the pictures and tag #badbadman to share his journey.
Download the Paper Cut Out
MEDIA LINKS
Bad Bad Man Music Video
Runaway Sun
www.runawaysun.com
twitter.com/runawaysun
facebook.com/runawaysun
Bad Bad Man Song on Soundcloud
Brandon Ray (Animator)
“Cut-N-Play” #BadBadMan Character
FROM DIRECTOR LYNN BIRDWELL
In Runaway Sun’s new music video, “Bad Bad Man”, Director Lynn Birdwell explores the dark side that lives within every soul. “It’s a story about a man and how he responds to the tragic murder of his wife,” explained Birdwell. The haunting, prophetic lyrics, written by Runaway Sun lead singer, Andrew Karnavas, take us on ominous journey of death and self-confession. “He’s a man in crisis, overwhelmed by grief and anger, who seeks revenge and eventually gets what he is after,” Birdwell added.
The video is a compilation of monochromatic performance footage and stark, black & white paper animation gently interspersed with the softly lit, color imagery of a Day of the Dead ofrenda. We follow the animated “bad man” throughout the video as he relentlessly pursues and disperses his wife’s killers. As the kills increase so does his burning obsession, literally and metaphorically. “We chose to render the storyline in animation to accentuate the intense rage and sorrow that our bad man is feeling,” said Birdwell. “Also, the animation, created by Houston animator, Brandon Ray, gave us a different, surreal texture to weave into our video tapestry.” “The altar scenes are all very subtle,” Birdwell added. “The ofrenda is a collection of photos, a necklace and remembrances of the slain woman’s marriage lit by candles that illuminate their love and desire.” Midway through the story, the music abruptly shifts to a lighter, more sensitive tone as the husband confesses, “My hat wasn’t always this black. It was white like my wife’s wedding dress,” helping us to realize the enormity of his transformation. “I’d love for people to get lost in the mystery of the storyteller’s situation; the depth of feeling and insufferable loss that comes with losing the person you’ve become one with in marriage.” Birdwell explained.
In the final scenes, our animated characters come into the real world of the ofrenda as a fire burns in front of the woman’s photo. She sees herself avenged as the bad man looks on with the fathomless eyes of someone who has seen more than a person should ever see. Whether he really killed these men or whether he has dreamed the executions in a continual walking nightmare of grief, we don’t know. All we do know is she is never, ever coming back. And neither is he.
BHP Set Medics work safely during COVID-19
Unions, studios, major universities and global organizations now offer courses which are available for crew to become educated and certified in protecting everyone on set. This era marks the emergence of the new crew position: COVID Compliance Officer. As the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing the disease COVID-19 continues to spread and evolve globally, the film industry works diligently to continually seek and employ better methods and safer solutions to working as a team on a film set together.
Safely working in film production during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic
Information and education is important for a higher quality of Safe Sets
Lynn Birdwell, Bird House Productions, Executive Producer
During the past year, we have all seen on-location and in-studio behind-the-scenes photos of our friends and colleagues -- in crew and talent roles -- on set in varying situations, safe and not safe. Each time I see a photo of crew members crowded around a monitor, masks on or masks off, I am fearful that because of those choices, someone may pass the virus to someone else inadvertently and someone will become ill, the virus exposure not having been contained.
Since March 2020, we have often passed on projects that we felt were not going to protect the crew. Several crew members have reported, to their great surprise and disappointment, they have shown up at their call time to a shoot to find neither the talent nor their clients wearing masks, and were never planning to put them on. I have heard those kinds of reports as recently as two weeks ago. At this point, not having been briefed in advance about that likelihood by the producer, director, other parties who are participating in the shoot remotely, the local crew must decide if they will:
immediately walk away; or
just keep their masks on and finish the job, go home, quarantine from their families for 14 days, collect that one job check, and lose two weeks of work while self-quarantined.
I have seen both of these scenarios play out, here in Houston and elsewhere.
In Houston, in particular, it’s more important than ever that we each protect ourselves and our families. We should each take every personal precaution in our day to day lives, but also should expect a very high level of expectation of a strong COVID safety compliance plan from our production companies, agencies, clients, and all those managing the organization and scheduling of the job itself.
As we have learned to shoot with smaller crews, limiting exposure, and requiring longer time to do things we would have done faster with a larger team, shoots have evolved to accommodate safer sets. From not shooting at all to slowly developing possible COVID-safe methodologies, the film industry has experienced a steep learning curve in the last year.
Throughout the Summer and Fall of 2020, we were glad to have participated in the development of general production industry guidelines for COVID-safe production practices and risk mitigation protocols. But it really hasn’t been until right now that we are noticing approved production budgets, especially for larger or global companies, consistently including generously endowed line items related to COVID safety, such as PPE and testing. This usually includes one or more COVID Compliance Officer (CCO) as a crew member, no matter how small the rest of the crew footprint is. And as a matter of course, PPE is now usually shipped directly to the local production office, or a P-Card provided specifically for that purpose, without any delay or question about the value of that budget line item.
And -- finally -- it’s becoming the absolute norm for a PCR swab test (or other form of COVID-19 testing) to be a firm requirement for all personnel working on all projects. And on long form television series and features, weekly or even daily testing is simply part of the job requirements. Every day upon arrival at set, whether for a one day or muli-week shoot, it is at the very minimum required of every person to have his or her temperature taken, to complete a health questionnaire, and sign a COVID-19 waiver in a screening area before entering the production studio or location.
Newly created during 2020, the CCO is a unique position on the film crew. This person can be someone who has production experience as a Set Medic, who would already be a healthcare professional or first responder, such as a paramedic, fireman, or nurse. However, more and more, we are seeing other crew members taking the required courses and becoming certified to serve as a CCO. This is possible because the position of CCO does NOT take the place of a Set Medic.
BHP Set Medics was developed by Erin Krammer (EMT/Paramedic) and Julie Earley (C-NPT, CEN, CFRN, CCRN-A). The Set Medic is prepared to examine and evaluate the medical care needed to crew and talent. When BHP Set Medics was formed, the only focus was on the safety of the crew and talent, to provide support for emergency medical assistance, because at that time, we did not have a contagious pandemic to address. However, these types of medical professionals -- paramedics and nurses -- are already highly trained to deal with the protocols needed as a part of their required career skill set. They are usually the folks teaching the COVID informational classes for the rest of us.
At this time, BHP Set Medics’ professional personnel are certified to serve as the Lead CCO on set. This is especially important if there is a crew and talent headcount larger than 20, for which a department of more than one CCO is required.
But every one of our professional crew members in Houston should consider becoming certified to take on this newly-important crew position of CCO. Because we are in Houston, which is a market with a smaller crew base, many of us often can be found on set, working in a different position from shoot to shoot. If nothing more, it doesn’t cost much to have a full and thorough education about how to work more safely and with confidence. At this point in the pandemic, everyone on set should feel informed enough to feel very comfortable in bringing attention to anything that does not fit within the parameters of a safe set.
Many projects now require crew and talent to watch COVID-related safety videos and to take short questionnaires about COVID safety protocols, prior to coming to set. This is great, but they are very elementary, and the courses that are most informative are much longer, providing far more depth of information. Even with the initial vaccines now becoming available, due to the fact that the virus is mutating so quickly, we can expect to be working under these protocols for some time to come. We should all strive to know as much as we can to insure our safety on set and to protect our families when we return home from a shoot day.
According to Jeremy Farrar, an infectious disease expert who heads the Wellcome Trust, “Curtailing infections sharply has the added benefit of reducing the chances for the virus to evolve even further. Already other variants have emerged… It is essentially a numbers game: The more virus is circulating, the more chance mutants have to appear.”
In the long term, mutations will arise that threaten the usefulness of current vaccines. And since we want to work, let’s actively practice coronavirus safety precautions throughout our personal and professional lives.
Among the many, many online COVID-19-related courses now recommended for use in relation to film production, we suggest these:
COURSES SPECIFIC TO PRODUCTION
Health Education Services (through BigMarker.com)
COVID-19 Compliance Officer (C19C0) Training ($50 and requires a registration and time slot, since it is a live instructor-led course. This is probably the most current continually-updated course available now.)
https://healtheducationservices.net/training/covid-19-compliance-officer-c19co/
https://www.bigmarker.com/healtheducationservices/Covid-19-Compliance-Officer-Training
Safe Sets International (recommended by Wrapbook.com)
Free COVID-19 Certificate Course (Level A)
https://practicesafesets.co/certificate/Safe Sets COVID-19 for Leadership (Level B) ($45)
https://edu.practicesafesets.co/courses/safe-sets-level-b
CSATF (available to IATSE, DGA, SAG-AFTRA, Teamsters and other guild members)
COVID-19 Prevention Training
https://www.csatf.org/covid19/prevention/
LINKS TO KEEP CLOSE AT HAND
Not a course, per se, but a great access for resources, especially for commercial production, we like this article and all it’s many links for the various time periods and department needs and solutions: https://www.wrapbook.com/covid-19-filmmaking-resources
The Joint Report of the DGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and Teamsters’ Committees for COVID-19 Safety Guidelines - A Safe Way Forward (this was written in mid 2020 and has yet to be updated, but it’s very helpful) https://www.sagaftra.org/files/sa_documents/ProductionSafetyGuidelines_June2020EditedP.pdf
INCREDIBLY HELPFUL COURSES ABOUT WORLD HEALTH AND THIS PANDEMIC
World Health Organization (WHO)
Introduction to COVID-19: Methods for detection, prevention, response and control
https://openwho.org/courses/introduction-to-ncov
Johns Hopkins University (through Coursera)
COVID-19 Contact Tracing
https://www.coursera.org/learn/covid-19-contact-tracing
Stanford University (through Coursera)
COVID-19 TraIning for Healthcare Workers (this is especially useful for our Set Medics, who are already EMT/paramedics and nurses)
https://www.coursera.org/learn/covid-19-training-healthcare
OSHA (through 360Training.com)
Free COVID-19 Awareness
https://www.360training.com/course/coronavirus-awareness
We will try to keep this updated as changes come. If you have any feedback, please share with lynn@bhprod.com
Holograms & Telemedicine – A Campaign Created in Houston
2nd.MD, a leader in Telemedicine, required a web and mobile video produced, to introduce their on-line agent “Gabi,” a virtual assistant, who will streamline consultation services with human doctors and nurses to remotely-located 2nd.MD clients.
Press Release
Houston, Texas
2nd.MD, a leader in Telemedicine, required a web and mobile video produced, to introduce their on-line agent “Gabi,” a virtual assistant, who will streamline consultation services with human doctors and nurses to remotely-located 2nd.MD clients.
Houston-based Bird House Productions, in association with zyntroPICS Inc., proposed to 2nd.MD’s Creative Director, Eddy Henry, the prospect of creating a holographic “Gabi” by shooting that element of the video on a volumetric video production stage.
2nd.MD’s Creative Director, Eddy Henry, said “Let’s do it.”
After exploring options for a volumetric video studio partner, Metastage/Los Angeles became the best facility available. Metastage CEO Christina Heller, says, “zyntroPICS and Bird House Productions are ahead of the curve when it comes to virtual production. Integrating volumetric captures into game engines for framed 2D content is new territory and they are at the forefront figuring out what works and what doesn't.”
Volumetric video is generally applied to Augmented Reality applications. In order to create a web/mobile video, including a 3D set and digital FX, the Gabi project required a team of Digital Production and Post Production talent, familiar with UNREAL game engine creative design. Josh Maida says, “At Six Foot we are always excited to work with cool new tech and were extremely pleased to be invited by Bird House Productions and zyntroPICS to work on a volumetric video for 2nd.MD.”
The final web/mobile video will be released to 2nd.MD clients in June 2020. In addition to the video, proof of concept tests utilizing the same files include Mobile App Augmented Reality, Web-based Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Looking Glass Factory displays.
Weymueller stated, “Volumetric video and holograms introduce human actors into areas previously reserved for 3D animated characters. Additionally, this gets truly exciting where the creative assets generated are applied to cross-platform storytelling environments, from video, to AR, to VR, to Holographic displays.”
Bird House Productions and zyntroPICS have entered into a strategic partnership whose goal is to establish a scalable volumetric and real-time virtual production stage in Houston in 2020. Birdwell and Weymueller first met when working together to produce the world’s first bilingual episodic web series in Houston, the year after YouTube was launched.
CONTACTS
Bird House Productions
Lynn Birdwell
BHProd.com
lynn@bhprod.com
zyntroPICS Inc.
Eric Weymueller
zyntroPICS.com
contact@zyntroPICS.com
Houston Pride: Stories of Gender Transition told through Opera
Worlds are turned upside down for two couples when a partner in each couple undergoes a gender transition. Based on true events, NOW explores losing what you thought you had and gaining something you could never imagine. Produced by Bird House Productions for Houston Grand Opera.
Houston Grand Opera’s HGOco
Episodic Series "Star Cross’d”, Episode 2 “NOW”
"NOW" is a new ground-breaking opera created in Houston Texas for the Houston Grand Opera about two couples and their incredible journeys transitioning. The opera was inspired by the true story of a Houston woman in a traditional marriage including kids, a house, two cars in the garage, and a dog, when her husband transitioned. “NOW” is the tale of two couples, their parallel journeys, and what transitioning can mean for their futures.
There are no good guys or bad guys, just a difficult moment that could end or enrich each couple's relationship. Worlds are turned upside down when a partner in each couple undergoes a gender transition. "NOW" explores losing what you thought you had, and gaining something you never could have imagined.
One of the most exciting elements of our film is superstar baritone opera talent Lucia Lucas, hailing from Germany. With great distinction, she plays dual roles, embodying two pre- and post-transition characters in two separate timelines. Shifting confidently between male- and female-presenting roles, and adapting to the relationships those characters share with their significant others, Lucia brought grace and dignity to the rich texture of emotions which unfold. The film was helmed by John Grimmett and stars opera singers Joey Leppek and Chelsea Helm, who each play opposite Lucia.
“NOW" was written in 2018 and filmed in the spring of 2019 in a collaboration between composer Avner Dorman, and librettist John Grimmett. Houston’s Bird House Productions produced the second episode of the on-going series Star Cross’d, with HGOco’s series producer Emily Wells and executive director Carleen Graham. The original recording and post-sweetening were done at the renowned Wire Road Studio, conducted by Ben Manis. Ben Manis and Patrick Harvey provided prompting on set. Ciara Ayala served as HGO producing assistant, and Miriam Vincente was the HGO intern.
OUR FABULOUS BHP CREW
Production
Producer: Lynn Birdwell
Director of Photography: Sean Maxwell
Camera Operator: Raul Casares
Media Manager/AC: Kay Parker
BTS Stills & Video: Remy Carter
Gaffer: Mike May
1st AD/Prod Manager: Kalli Carter
Production Coordinator: Mari Davila
Script Supervisor: K Lynn Martin
Locations: Marissa Lovely
Security: Reginald Broughton
Makeup and Hair: Jules Wagener
Wardrobe Assistant: Ciara Ayala
Production Assistants: Julyeth Arcos, Matthew Buehrer
Cameras: SCM Technology, Blade Media
Grip and Lighting: Bird House Productions
Editorial
Editorial Services: Create Media
Editor: Matt Holicek
Titles Designer: Megan O’Sullivan