Andrea - Showing At The Best Dam Short Film Festival
Studio FiveSix was selected to show our first short film, Andrea, at the Best Dam Short Film Festival in Boulder City. Andrea shows on Feb. 15th in the 8:15pm block of films. We're very excited to be included and are happy that our premiere showing is going to be in neighboring Boulder City. There was a good deal of work and planning that went into creating Andrea, mainly because it was our first narrative piece and we were finding our way through the process. Since then we have shot a second short film called Maybe Tomorrow that is still in post production but will be out shortly. We'll be at the festival this weekend so if you are there, stop by and say hi.
Golden Knights' Engelland on Vegas Tragedy
FiveSix Productions got the opportunity to work with the Vegas Golden Knights.
This time, reflecting on the recent tragedy at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Vegas Golden Knights' veteran defender Deryk Engelland sat down to talk about the fateful night, and how he and his teammates rallied to give back to their home. FiveSix provided gear and crew, and felt honored to be a part of spreading the message of support that our new hockey team is providing our city. While we are heartbroken over the events of October 1st, and offer our support and condolences to all those affected, we are glad that we can help shed light on the incredible people and organizations in Las Vegas that are working to rebuild and make us a stronger, closer community. If you're looking for the best Las Vegas video production company, look no further than FiveSix Productions.
It's so hot, we're on fire.
If you haven't noticed, it's been a little hot and flame-y out west lately. Our Long Beach office is bathing in a nice, thick cloud of smoke from all the fires in and around L.A.; and out in Vegas, well, there's a nice smokey haze blowing in from the coast, and it's probably 157° right now. That however, doesn't stop us from getting all dressed up, grabbing a C300, and walking up and down Las Vegas Blvd. for hour after hour of mid-day excitement. Now, one might think, "Why on Earth would you do that!?"; the answer: we love what we do, and we don't care about a little bit of heat stroke. We are expecting a little bit of a cool in Vegas, and are hoping our Southern California peeps get a little break from the fires soon; but, either way, we'll be cranking away at bringing you the best Las Vegas video production and best Long Beach video production we can.
Filming at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas
One of our most frequented Las Vegas video production venues is Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Delano, hotel Four Seasons hotel, and the 2 Million square foot Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
This property is gigantic! In Mandalay Bay, there are 3,309 rooms, a huge casino floor, about two dozen restaurants, a House of Blues venue, a theater or two, and an events center that is a little smaller than MGM Grand Garden. Then, there is the Delano, which has an additional 1,117 rooms, all of which are a minimum of 750 square feet- so we end up doing a lot of in-room/suite shooting there. Delano has a couple of restaurants, one of which is at the very top of the hotel, and includes amazing views of the strip, mountains, city, etc. The Four Seasons is hidden, but a gem once you find it; it's really beautiful, occupying four of the floors of Mandalay Bay near the top, and then there are some meeting rooms, restaurants, and a nice looking lobby on the ground level. The best way to get to the Four Seasons is to simply valet there, but, if you want to push in from M.B., you need to head towards the pool/M.B. valet pickup.
Mandalay Bay is located at 3950 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119.
Parking is easily accessed from Las Vegas BlVd and Mandalay Bay Rd., but we prefer Frank Sinatra Dr. Mandalay Bay is an MGM property, so everyone pays to park, including the new convention center parking garage. Pushing gear in easy, but you definitely get your steps in if you're parking at Mandalay Bay garage and going to the convention center.
The convention/meeting space is located on the south and southeast end of the property, and our friends at Encore handle in-house audio/lighting services. There’s not always communication between the client and the house, so make sure to bring enough power and audio cabling, just in case it isn’t always set. We’ve also gotten into the habit of bringing a lavalier kit, XLR turnarounds, XLR to 1/4 inch, and various other cables for when we run into various and differing audio boards, we’ll be set. This is one of the largest convention venues in the city, and an expansion was just completed. Biggest tip: parking is usually easy, but beware, when big conventions come in, the convention garage fills up really fast.
If you're in an oversized vehicle, there's an auxiliary lot across Vegas Blvd, just take Four Seasons Drive and go behind the Shell Station- kind of a pain in the butt, but hey, buy a smaller truck.
The most important item, however, is that there are two Starbucks. They are both really far from the convention center- the closer one, of course, has the longest line. The other is located near House of Blues... so, it's good to stop on your way.
Nevada Film Tax Incentive is Back!
It's been a dry three years here in Nevada- and not just the weather. For the past three years, Nevada has not had a tax incentive for local filming.
Ko Ricker, over at MovieMaker magazine, wrote a great article about the new film tax incentive, and what it means for all of Nevada. Ko mentioned a couple of the recent Blockbuster films: Jason Bourne starring Jimmy Kimmel's favorite actor, Matt Damon, and the Jammie Foxx thriller, Sleepless, that were (fully or partially) shot in and around Las Vegas Blvd. He also spoke about writer/director Robert Putka's latest micro-budget (sub $100,000.00) dramedy We Used To Know Each Other, shot in the Las Vegas suburbs. Beyond the films, he made note of the expansive desert locals, unique vistas that exist in places like Valley of Fire State Park, and the beautiful, mountain northwest in and around Lake Tahoe and Reno. I'll let you read the much better written article Getting Lucky in Nevada on moviemaker.com, and then it's time you get started on writing that Nevada based indie that's been stewing in your mind. Make sure to contact the Nevada Film Office for your permits, then hire FiveSix Productions as your Las Vegas video production crew, we're excited to show L.A. what we're all about.
Stoked For The New Year!
Now that the holiday decorations are put away, the confetti has been swept away, and the last of the sparkling cider has been sipped, it's time to get back to the fun and adventure that is Las Vegas video production! One of our favorite times of year is the winter and spring, as it brings great trade shows like CES 2017 to town. The fun doesn't stop at trade shows though, now that the kiddo's are back to the class room, mom and dad are back to getting some work done, and that means we have work too! We're excited to see what the new year will bring us, and we sure can't wait to reconnect with all our great clients and production contemporaries, as well as meet some new faces. So, don't hesitate to reach out for any project you need help with, and we will see you on set, real soon!
The Vegas Golden Knights: Our New BFF!
I think we can all agree, our favorite aspect of the film "Slap Shot" is the Hanson Brothers (caution: some strong language).
Those three provide limitless laughter and entertainment as they decimated their opponents in ruthless fashion. Hockey is a fantastic sport! It's full of speed, danger, excitement, and occasional fisticuffs. The best part: Las Vegas now has their very own, shiny, fresh-out-of-the-box NHL team! The Vegas Golden Knights.
Recently, FiveSix Productions got to create a super-dope video chronicling the genesis of the team's name and logo. Now, if you're curious, the answer is yes, it was the video that was supposed to play during the name-announcement ceremony at T-Mobile Arena. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a technical glitch with the ceremony, and the A/V guys over there, couldn't get it on screen. We're not sure if it was just chop-full of too much awesome for their equipment to handle, or maybe they had a little Smeagol turned Gollum moment and wanted to keep Precious all for themselves. Either way, we were proud to be a part of the beginning of Las Vegas' first professional team: the Vegas Golden Knights, and you can check out the video we made here on their official website.
Oh, and, if you're curious about the "Golden" instead of "Silver" since Nevada is the "Silver State", it's because Nevada produces more gold than any other state in our beautiful Union (looking at you California).
Best Shoot Ever!
We had one of the best shoots ever a few days ago! It's hard to tell which shoot is our favorite or the best, but this one really holds weight! We got to spend the day with round after round of amazing dogs! We were shooting the last day of a week-long convention over at the Venetian, and for no other reason than dogs are amazing, the hosts of the show brought in wave after wave of therapy dogs for the tired convention goers. These dogs certainly served their purpose, as the attendees, clearly exhausted from a week of hard work, perked right up with big smiles and renewed energy. Now, I'm not going to lie, I myself took a moment or five to stop by and get some shots of the pups, and I may have gave a head scratch or two. Again, it's so hard to pick our favorite shoot, but if you bring furry friends, it certainly moves you ahead in line.
FiveSix Productions Enjoys America's Pastime!
Recently, FiveSix Productions had the opportunity to get out to the ol' ball game here in Las Vegas! Our crew followed one of the Las Vegas 51's outfielders from the time he left his house, and all the way through the game, documenting "a day in the life". We were able to interview a couple of his fellow big-league teammates, and film them as they put the smack down on a team from Texas. There was some good hitting, running, and catches as we created what most certainly will be an awesome bit of baseball magic, hopefully, worthy of "Field of Dreams". After some hard work, we were even able to enjoy some hotdogs, peanuts and cracker-jacks, just for good measure. We are keeping our fingers crossed that come next spring, we'll be back at it on the diamond. On to our next Las Vegas video production!
The NFL in Las Vegas
FiveSix Productions loves Las Vegas, it's our home, and so, we have a lot invested into this city. We certainly have been excited to see the growth in the time since we've been in existence, and also, in the past two or three decades. Las Vegas has been, and most likely will continue to be one of the quickest growing cities and metro areas in the country for years to come. So, with all this said, we are anxiously watching all the events unfold regarding the proposed 65,000 seat stadium that will potentially host the Oakland Raiders franchise. Beyond the NFL, sources continue to state that professional soccer, rugby, specialty sports, and large music events will also be held here. That all equates to more job opportunities for the film and video worlds- which is great for us, and of course you, our Las Vegas video production friends here in town. We would love to hear from our friends and counterparts here in Vegas, and beyond, what do you think about the stadium, the Raiders moving here? Would you rather have the tax money go to the see the convention center expanded? Some food for thought going into the holiday weekend.
