Golden Men!
On this day in 1929, the first ever Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, CA. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was concocted by then head of MGM studios, Louis B. Mayer, as an NPO for the advancement and improvement of the film industry. Well, leave it to Hollywood to be fancy, and, within two years, they were giving out golden statues. In the beginning, things were a lot different; the winners were announced before the dinner/ceremony, which was only attended by about 250 folks, and the 15 statues were handed out in a quick, five minute ceremony after dinner. Actor and Academy president Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., presided over the ceremony, and presented awards such as best picture to the $2M blockbuster WWI picture Wings, and best actor/actress awards to Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor.
F11 Rentals would like to point out that the revolutionary and ground-breaking film The Jazz Singer, the first ever "talkie", was not awarded best picture, as it was seen as an unfair advantage since it had sound. F11 Rentals completely agrees with wardrobe and craft services, that sound on film is an unnecessary nuisance, and they got just what they deserved. (FiveSix Productions doesn't agree with those sentiments.)
In 1942 secret ballots entered the picture, making the ceremony much more exciting. Mix secret ballots, fancy dresses and tuxedos on a Red Carpet, and all the glitz, glamor, and lights of Hollywood, and... announcing the wrong film as "best picture", and we've got quite an exciting event on our hands each February.
Check out History Channel for more on this and other old subjects. And make sure to tell all your friends about FiveSix Productions, the best Las Vegas video production company!
Happy Seis de Mayo Eve!
Early May is a festive time for us here at FiveSix Productions. Sure, we're neck deep in projects, but that doesn't stop us from celebrating three consecutive days of fun. From May the Fourth Be With You day, through the festive remembrance of the Mexican's victory over the French at Puebla, and on to our favorite holiday, 5/6 Day- we're having a ball!
Although, we here at FiveSix staunchly stand with the Empire against those terrorist Rebels; and know in our heart that Vader fully intended to throw Luke, not the Emperor over that hand rail- we celebrate with glee and optimism. I think that Mr. Ren is a perfect example of the hope we have for the Empire getting things back under control... anyone who is awesome enough to take care of that piratical, criminal Han Solo, is a friend in my book. Furthermore, let me tell you something about the Battle of Puebla... what would you rather have, delicious churro or unsatisfying croissant? I rest my case. Lastly, FiveSix Day is a benchmark day in which we get to rewrap cables, organize screws by size and ware, and reflect silently in a darkened studio about the decisions we've made in the last 365 days. This year, we are exceptionally lucky in that it comes on a Saturday, not that we need an excuse to come to work on the weekend, but this just makes it that much sweeter.
And so, I leave you with all the splendor that May 4th through the 6th brings, and implore you to reach out to FiveSix Productions for all of your Las Vegas video production needs.
NAB 2017 - The Tilta Nucleus-M
While walking the isles of NAB 2017 we had a few things on our mind.
Now the proud owners of a set of Schneider Xenar IIIs, I am presented with a new problem. How can we keep the crew's hands off of our new lenses? Our good friend, DP David C. Smith recommended the first thing we go out and buy is a wireless follow focus. Perfect. In comes the Tilta Nucleus-M.
We strolled thru the Arri and Chroziel booth but decided we should do some walking since we are on a Ramen budget. We found ourselves at DJI, where we immediately got distracted by the new drones and gimbals.
The number of new products was overwhelming. To take a break from the window shopping we decided to visit our friends at Cinebags. While chatting with the crew there something caught our eye. Just across the walkway, in the Tilta booth, was our answer.
The Tilta Nucleus-M.
This new product satisfied all of our needs and at $1200 it meets our stringent budget. This will be great on the gimbal as well as our C300 MKII rigs. We immediately put an order in for the kit plus an extra motor. We can't wait to give it a go this summer. Tilta is planning on shipping these units July 2017.