A True Love Story Never Ends…

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There is a place tucked away in the South of France on a plateau hidden between the Pyrenees mountains that has captivated my imagination… it is called Chateau de Gudanes. The past two years I have run through her echoed halls, wondered her wild grounds and fallen asleep to dreams by candlelight. It was with great pleasure to create this video with Kevin Burg for the Waters family to bring to life the arrival of a new book about the Chateau so that we may all remember what it is like to believe in fairytales… 

See a behind the scenes of how we created and edited this here

A. Lange & Söhne

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Making of a short film

Recently we created a video for A. Lange & Söhne, a German watchmaker founded in 1845, for the 2017 launch of the Lange 1 in white gold and Lange 1 Moon Phase in white and rose gold. I thought I would explain to you the creative concept behind the final video so you can see the thought behind just beautiful moving visuals of their stunning timepieces. When we work on brand projects such as this, we spend weeks in a creative think tank before ever picking up a camera. Every detail is pre-planned and every aspect of the video serves a purpose with meaning, even if it’s not meant to be obvious.

Creating the concept

We wanted to draw a comparison between the craftsmanship and artistry of both photography and watchmaking by creating something both very technical and sentimental in our story telling. By studying the dial design and movement of the timepieces, we were inspired to explore the themes around human connection and our ability to traverse time and space, reach around the world in a split second, be as simple as the air we share, or as complex as a physical touch. The written words of one man from a century ago can reach another today and affect the choices he makes. We wanted to explore these connections as invisible threads of cause and effect, known as the butterfly effect, in a series of four themes of human connection: Air, energy & light, communication, and touch. As visual storytellers, we decided to not tell the story of human connection through a linear fashion but rather as ticking moments in the cinematic frames of our lives, beating in time and weaving together the fabric of life.

Split second moments

By using a special cinema camera called the Phantom we were able to stretch mere flashes of moments of time to many seconds, giving the feel of a photograph that has opened up.

Air

We capture a man who is driving out of the city, the speed of the car creating wind that whips around a woman stepping out of a vehicle on her way to a meeting that ultimately blows through an office window whipping the papers out of a man’s hands. The air that touches us all, moving in masses of pressure dancing through the millennia.

Energy & Light

Energy & Light captured through three times of day starting with a man who looks up in the sky and blocks the midday sun from his eyes while the same afternoon light falls through horizontal blinds across a woman in her office while another man creates light in the early evening by turning on a lamp. While we each experience these phases of light in a day, this also represents man’s progress through time from first only experiencing the natural light to then shaping it to ultimately, creating light from energy.

Communication

Communication also captures how we can be connected through time in past and present. The written word of man read today through modern means shown as a businessman on his iPad. The forms of communication we use now that extend beyond words as we become an image based society shown through the moment a female photographer raises her camera to capture a photograph which will be shared through another means of communication.

Touch

And finally, touch. Touch is one of the strongest way we shape our experiences with the short time we have in life. A shot setting the time on the watch is a representation of this theme. A woman, strapping on her watch is saying she is a conscience participant in the time she has to touch people’s lives. And perhaps, the most human of all touches, between two people, as a man reaches to guide a woman’s back through a doorway and be perhaps the touch that changes the course of their lives.

Connecting the Themes

Time is of course a visual thing you can see through the movements on a timepiece such as these by A. Lange & Söhne, but, it can also transcend mere mathematical moments of our day. I think in this video we try to show how connected we all are, not just in our modern world through technology but through the history of time together. 

About A. Lange & Söhne Timepieces

With uncompromising quality, each and every timepiece separates A. Lange & Söhne from other watchmakers around the globe. They do not distinguish between a sophisticated complication and a classic three-hand watch in terms of precision and dedication to detail and every Lange timepiece is endowed with an in-house designed manufactory caliber and equipped with a precious case made of gold or platinum. The three watches you see in the video above include the Lange 1 Moon Phase in white gold which prominently features the astronomical “moon phase” complication. The Lange 1 in white gold which has world-renowned recognition to the asymmetric dial design and prominent outsize date. The outsize date was actually inspired by the five-minute clock in the Dresden Semper Opera House. Lastly, the Lange 1 Moon Phase in rose gold features an elegantly guilloched, argenté colored dial with two golden moons.

You can find out more on A. Lange & Söhne’s website here.

A Hair Revolution by System Professional

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I have been waiting for System Professional to launch in the U.S. since I was jetted off to an exclusive German health spa to experience the unique personalized world of their EnergyCode Mapping analysis for your hair.

I have never in my life had such a bespoke haircare treatment designed for my specific hair needs. By combining years of scientific research and new technology, they have created virtually limitless possibilities to suit each person’s desired results. No longer will we all be using the exact same shampoo and styling tools, we will have our own unique code tailored to our personal needs!

See the process of EnergyCode Mapping and my incredible hair transformation so you too know what to expect in your own journey. From the analyzation of your hair on a microscopic level, to defining your EnergyCode and how it restores your hair to its most natural beautiful state in our video Kevin shot while I enjoyed the full beauty treatment!

For more information on System Professional salons please visit SystemProfessional.com

#TiffanyNYMinute

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When Tiffany & Co. approached us about shooting four influential New Yorkers to launch their new line of watches, Tiffany CT60, named after founder Charles Lewis Tiffany, we felt right away drawn to the project. First, we would get to know four inspiring, hardworking, visionaries that aid in the character this city is built upon. We would have intimate conversations about how we spend our time in this great city we call home and just what does a New York minute mean to them. Which each passing beat of time we measure into fleeting seconds, how much can you accomplish in a NY Minute? To celebrate the launch of Tiffany CT60, let’s spend some time together with these four astonishing New Yorkers.

Check out the video as we spend a day in each of these guy’s New York Minute…

Nick Wooster

free agent

“In my New York Minute I carry the trait of many New Yorkers by being able to do more in 60seconds here than in any other place in the planet. I pack so much into one min to make each second count.”

Nick_Wooster_01Nick wears Tiffany CT60 Calendar Watch in 18k rose gold on black alligator strap

Alexander Gilkes

Auctioneer and Paddle8 Co-founder

“In my New York Minute I leave my fear of failure and embrace New York’s entrepreneurial spirit that is so deeply entrenched into the fabric of New York and our desire for self improvement and betterment. Salvador Dali said: If it doesn’t exist in New York, it doesn’t exist.”

Alexander_Gilkes_02Alexander wears Tiffany CT60 3-Hand with white soliel dial on black alligator strap

Victor Cruz

wide receiver for the New York Football Giants

“In my New York Minute I bring the same drive and passion I put on the field to my time in New York. A true New Yorker pulls up their boots no matter what, you just do what you got to do.”

Victor_Cruz_03Victor wears Tiffany CT60 Chronograph in stainless steel with blue soleil dial

Marcus Samuelsson

Chef, Author and Restaurateur

“In my New York Minute I remember why I came here, to be at the center of the culinary world, to feel the energy and be inspired by the artistic communities and ultimately spend my time having everyday experiences you can only find in New York to reinterpret into what I create”

Marcus_Samuelsson_04Marcus wears Tiffany CT60 Chronograph in 18k rose gold with brown soleil dial on brown alligator strap

#TiffanyNYMinute

Ralph Lauren Holiday Bloody Mary

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I love this time of year, the seasonal cocktails you sip by the roaring fire and if you’re like me, Nat King Cole’s Christmas song filling the room. Tomorrow I head home to Texas to be with my family and I look forward to the mulled wine, hot toddies, and yes, even egg nog. I like indulging a bit during the holiday season, and there is always something fun about the idea of having a bloody mary with breakfast.

When Ralph Lauren Magazine sent us on assignment to the historic King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel to direct a short piece about a holiday twist on the traditional bloody mary I was all in. I mean, to learn from the original creators of this classic cocktail was such a honor, which you can read all about here.

Kevin and I had such a fun time filming this at the King Cole Bar which is one of my favorite places in Manhattan to have a dirty martini after a day of mid-town meetings. I also love any chance I can get to see behind the scenes of how a place operates and to have such a legendary bartender make nine bloody mary’s for us… for filming purposes obviously.

So cheers! And mom if you’re reading this, can you pick up the ingredients before I get home? 

Bloody_MaryBloody_Mary_Ingredients

See the full story and recipe at Ralph Lauren Magazine  & Happy Holidays! 

Boulevard Chanel

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A couple of days before we left for Paris we got a call from Chanel. “Karl would like a few photographers to participate in the show, and Kevin, since you’re already filming from the riser, would you be interested?” Sweats nervously.

“Of course, as long as it’s not public humiliation.” Assured this was not the case, I arrived at Paris’ Grand Palais at 6am for rehearsals, along with a handful of other photographers and waited for instructions. A very French stage director walked the models through a mock protest,  led by an enthusiastic Cara Delevingne, which would close the show. The photographers would run out from the sides to “cover” the protest and do our best not to trip over ourselves and each other while running backwards.

Everything went off without a hitch. The models rebelled and disregarded the prescribed protest chant in favor of their own. No one tripped, and it was all an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime, Parisian morning on Boulevard Chanel.

A Summer Romance

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Remember when you were young and summer was full of promise, of new romances that sparked like fireflies…the memory of that carefree meeting carries us away into the fall with vivid intensity… When I Met You in the Summer, you took me by the hand and led me through the garden, under the roses and flares of the summer sun starring Vita Sidorkina for Hamptons Magazine in Valentino.

…you can see more fashion films on our Vimeo Channel!

The Essence of Bali, a fashion film for Cuyana

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We’ve now  been all over Bali, learning about the culture, experiencing nature, marveling at the water. Today we take all three together into the story of summer in Bali, experienced through our beautiful travel companion and model Anastasia Krivosheeva. From the optimism of the morning to the beauty of a beach sunset, Bali is resplendent with all forms of sensory goodness.

 

Filmed by Kevin Burg & Jamie Beck | Original Music by Tom Oke Sound | for CUYANA

From our fashion film archives: Monique Lhuillier | Chanel | Vera Wang | Rachel Roy

Chanel: Light and Time

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Light is the universe’s constant. Time is ours. As photographers we study light versus time, making calculations and judgement calls for each photograph we create, manipulating light to play alongside the constant of time. From a macrocosmic view of the universe time is just an idea, but for us it’s a reality that never stops. We use photography to take a slice of that time, doing the best we know how to manipulate something out of our grasp.

A portrait of a photographer, Time by Chanel.

Donna Karan in 15 Seconds

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To celebrate Donna Karan’s 30th anniversary show the fashion community traveled to one of the oldest parts of Manhattan, to a financial district building now unused, layered in history, but primed for reinvention as Manhattan itself does on a constant, noisy basis. A footnote of that building’s history unfolded with a runway show by one of the city’s most iconic designers in a collection of aggresive reds and blacks, paired with a soundtrack that intensified the visuals. This is Donna Karan F/W 2014, shot last February at New York Fashion Week.

More Fashion Week 15 Seconds Videos on our Vimeo channel.