landing back in alberta for yet another shoot, i figure i'd better hurry up and post my last canadian project or run the risk of lapping myself. but first a word on edmonton: despite the self-deprecatory, classically canadian habit of locals to refer to their city as "deadmonton", i hereby rename it (shout out to uber-genius kristen) "golden threadmonton" because of the strangely diverse and interesting projects and people i've come across up here.

not to mention the proliferation of CASH, MONEY…. hmmm, what comes next?  oh, right, HO'S.

from hospitals to oil changes to teacher's unions to pharmacies, i've worked on a wide range of challenging projects.  there are obvious limitations to a regional market but one advantage is the freedom (and sometimes necessity) to wear multiple creative hats.   unlike what i'm used to down in the states, in Golden Threadmonton one doesn't have to be strictly a "____ ___" to shoot with "____" (fill in the blanks: "car guy" - "cars"; "performance guy" - "actors"; "comedy guy" - "funny scripts").

as one might suspect, this is quite refreshing.

what's also refreshing is the unassuming attitude of the many fascinating and intelligent people who've made their lives in the cold Albertan north.  from geneticists to music promoters to video artists to photographers, I've found an unexpected underground scene brimming with creativity, energy and possibility.

as proof, just look at this mural inside a local fast food restaurant - yogi bear with a 1960's playboy bunny?  what the…?!?!  what do they put in those burgers?

anyway, about a month ago i had the pleasure of collaborating with the hugely talented DP, chris walters, on a commercial for Integra Tires.

while the spot doesn't pretend to reinvent the formula for selling tires (es cuáles es), i'm proud of the work we were able to do.  i always feel that every project, regardless of its constraints, offers some area worthy of intense focus to excel at and learn from.  this time around, it was the chance to light and shoot large, curved mirrors: cars.

here's the final spot - the red-burst backgrounds a last-minute inspiration from shooting on (the completely useless) valentine's day.