Tuesday, August 30, 2011

WEIGHTY NEWS--LITERALLY!

Hello everyone.

I hope you are all surviving this heat and humidity with appropriate L.A. coolness.  But we can count our blessings; LCS extends heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery to all those on the East Coast who suffered through the onslaught of Hurricane Irene.

Okay, onto the heavy news.  Just over a week ago, a production shot an enormous high-speed set up on our Stage A.  Admittedly, we were a bit nervous to green light the rental as the gaffer and DP wanted to hang multiple 10Ks, 15 5Ks, extra distro and cabling from our grid.  Last year, we extended the grid from our two-walled green screen out over the rest of the stage.  The old cyc grid is not equipped to hang an abundance of weight, but the new old could probably support a truck.  Well, this proved to be the big weight test.  The multitude of lights and cabling was hung, and the grid supported all the equipment including a huge two-curtain green screen.  Suffice to say that Stage A is well hung.

Among our many ongoing and planned upgrades, we will be replacing the lighting grid directly above our green screen and replacing it with a heavy-duty one that will be as big-boy as our newer grid.

Hey, check out "John Stamos Guide to Cuddling" on the College Humor website.  John Stamos and his good bud Bob Saget were chewing up the scenery in one CH's latest comedy sketches.  Hilarious, but I laughed until my sides ached when I watched the behind-the-scenes materials.  Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Well thrill-seekers, that's it for now.  More news is just around the corner...

        Regards,
        Mary Claypool, Rental Manager


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Hi gang!

I know, I know, I've been remiss in keeping you all up to date on the latest and greatest goings-on here at LCS.  For that, I sincerely apologize.  But in my defense, this year has been slammin' busy--the busiest year our stages have had yet.  I just haven't had the time sit down and write.  There is much to tell.

Throughout the month of June and part of July, we had the pleasure of renting to a top-notch team of filmmakers who shot on our spaceship sets.  The director, an A-level visual effects wiz with his own company, set out to make a sci-fi film featuring both his directing and visual effects skills.  His talents combined with those of his crew are sure to turn out a fantastic product.  We were treated to a viewing of a few short uncut scenes, and the footage looks amazing.  Due to non-disclosure, that's all I can say for now.

The rest of July and August were/are/will be packed with an eclectic variety of productions.  Last month, a production shot a huge rock video on our green screen featuring the Grammy-nominated singer and instrumentalist, Skylar Grey.  Then last week on the same stage, we experienced the wonderful world of Disney via Choo-Choo Soul, a great song and dance show for kids.  Again, our stages were bursting at the seams with talent and professionals on this shoot.  The performers--both adult and child--were astounding.  Aside from acting, singing, and dancing, the two male and female leads (Genevieve Goings and D.C. Abramson) deserved Acadamy Awards in the category of Stamina and Upbeat Attitudes.  What pros!  Long hours, hot lights, and endless set-ups did not even put a dent in their spirits or wilt their smiles.  Walt would be proud.

Just yesterday we had one of the cutest and most fun shoots ever to grace our stage.  While I'm not allowed to mention the production name yet, I can say that the 20 stars of the shoot were absolutely purrrrfect.  They were are cats!  Yes, well-trained adorable kitties doing clever, funny, and downright astounding things.  Watch for photos on our website in the near future.

Today, one of our favorite return clients is shooting a commercial; this weekend a very interesting high-speed camera project; next week we have inserts and added shots for a horror film; then our old friends at College Humor are back to close out the month.  September and October are going to be filling up with... well, you'll read about that in my next blog.

Building update:  We are pleased to announce the replacement of our old overhead elephant doors on Stage A.  We now have two new beautiful motorized roll-up doors.  They not only open and close with the smoothness of fine silk, they have improved our temperature and sound insulation on the stage.  We are gradually, but steadily, making improvements to meet the needs of our clients.

Whew, that's quite a bit.  More to come.  Until then, happy trails!

                  Regards,
                  Mary Claypool, Rental Manager

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