Details of Video Shoot 11.20.11

I've wanted to write about the details of my video shoot from the day I took it, but I didn't have the pictures that were taken of the activities and preparation that took place during the shoot, and I wanted to include them in this blog, so I had to wait for the photographer to have them ready and arrange to pick them up.

Well folks, it's all here! So let's go.....

First off, I had a BLAST doing the whole thing. It's truly an inspiration when you see and experience everything you've planned and envisioned for several weeks in advance being brought to creative fruition at the execution stage.

Secondly, A LOT more went into prepping and then doing the actual shoot then I could've ever imagined. I know in a previous blog I had written that whenever you make plans to accomplish something it usually winds up costing more and takes more time than you planned, and this shoot was no exception. Shooting video is a lot of work. Even shooting a 30 second to a 1 minute video takes hours and hours of work. When we see these short, crisp videos, most of us have no idea what went into shooting them. My hat goes off to actors, directors, camera people, etc who are involved in the film making process. It's no joke.

I first had to come to terms that I needed a groomer/makeup artist. Since I'm used to shooting print, I usually don't need a makeup artist. A lot of photographers have commented how my skin is good enough that I don't need makeup, and also, Photoshop can be used to get rid of blemishes, scars, lines etc. Video however is a WHOLE different ball game because the camera picks up EVERYTHING, and with the lights on your face actually enhances things. So, though I didn't realize at first, a make up artist is essential if you want your video to be perceived as professional.

As I was going to be wearing plain white and grey t-shirts, I had to buy a couple of extra ones just in case makeup got on the one I was wearing. I put a lot of preparation and investment into this shoot and I wanted it to go off without a hitch, so I came extra prepared. Imagine seeing the final video and you see makeup marks and spots on a t-shirt? (unless of course it was meant to be there.

I had written up a storyboard for the shoot at my initial meeting with the videographer several weeks earlier, and had sent him my revised version several days before the shoot so he could get my vision and could plan accordingly. Though the storyboard flowed in one particular direction, the shoot had to be broken up into several "scenes" that would be shot in the particular order that was convenient for the shoot. Funny there's a flow for the storyboard, and then a completely different flow for the shoot. Never ever really considered that before.

Dialogue was also a another challenge as we had rented a wireless microphone to speak into and had a recorder to record my voice. The challenge was that when I was wearing clothes and the mic was attached to me, I had to be careful not to move around because the mic was very sensitive and picked up the slightest sound. When I was in my underwear, I couldn't wear the wireless mic and it had to be carefully positioned near me so as not to appear in the camera shot, and I also had to project my voice so it could be picked up. Not to mention, I had to be on point with my lines because I was limited with the amount of space on the video card that I had to shoot with.

All in all, like I said, the shoot was a lot of fun. I saw how tantamount it is to have a creative team that is not only competent, but easy to work with and work well together. It adds to the creative flow of the shoot and inspires you to express your own creativity. I don't come from a creative background, so it always inspires me when artistically talented and creative people bring their energies together towards a particular creative end. I just like to watch and soak it all in.

Shot from video

What was particularly inspiring about this project was just being proactive in making my dreams come true. Here, I conceived an idea to promote myself, and by the grace of God, was able to bring the necessary funds, talent, energy and tools together to manifest it into reality. There's such a feeling of personal power and responsibility that you feel when you get up off the sidelines, climb off the fence, and go and make things happen for yourself. Why deny yourself of such pleasure by simply just sitting and watching while others make things happen?

Either way, this project is far from finished. I'm still waiting for one of the two photographers I shot with to send me the pics from the shoot we did, and from the shots that I did receive, I have to sit down with my mentor, PSCOTT, and go over which pics would be the best match to fit into the flow of the existing video footage. And of course, the video still needs to be edited, after which, I need to get someone to compose a musical score for the footage.

No biggie, I realize that every great journey is composed of many individual steps, so I'm prepared to do what I gotta do...

The Cost Usually Winds up Being More

So, this evening, or night rather, I went online to Adorama's web site to reserve some equipment to rent for my upcoming shoot, this Sunday, November 20.

The videographer who's shooting had emailed me earlier on this week giving me a list of items I needed to bring to the shoot in order to get the results I wanted: 1) A wireless mic so that the recorder could pic up my voice; 2) A recorder for the audio portion of my video 3) A light kit including a 1,000 W light bulb for lighting.

I had no idea that this was required for the shoot and I also assumed that he would "naturally" have all these things.

Turns out I was wrong.

When I went to reserve the equipment, I was pretty ecstatic to find out that the price of the rental was a lot less than I expected. However, there was one "minor" snafu, I needed a major credit card or a certificate of insurance to hold the full replacement value of the equipment in case it got damaged, lost or stolen.

Didn't have neither, so I had to go another route. The details of the other route aren't important, let's just say that it cost me more than I wanted to spend (not much much more, but more all in all).

My experience here displays a valuable lesson that I learned a while back when I started taking action towards my goals and has once more been drilled into me: whenever you make plans or goals in life, expect that they may take longer or cost more than what you initially planned for.

You may make plans or set an initial goal to be done by a certain time frame and to cost a certain dollar amount, but in life, because you cannot foresee all that may happen, "unseen" costs may pop up, and unseen events may occur all serving to derail your initial plans to spend a certain amount of money and to have your goal completed within a specific time.

You may have control of yourself, and be the type of person who does things when you say you're going to do them, but there are other many other variable out of your control, one of them namely being people. Invariably, if you embark on any goal, you're going to one way or another wind up working with someone who you depend on to a certain degree to get something done that you can't do yourself. And of course, you have no control over people and the things that happen in their lives which may ultimately wind up affecting how they help you with what you're working.

Such is the thing called life. Rather than get frustrated and shake our fist at the gods, we should just accept this as a part of life, knowing that eventually, in one way or another, what we want will get done if we persist, just maybe not within the time period we had hoped or without us spending more that we had expected.

Second Photo Shoot w/ Alex Ogundiran for Upcoming Video Project Completed

Photo by Kemuel Valdez

So, this past Wednesday, November 9, I did my second shoot for my upcoming video project with the diversely talented Alex Ogundiran. Hopefully, this is the last photo shoot needed for this project, though, as you know when you embark on any endeavour, you may have to make changes down the line.

Alex Ade Ogundiran is a Celebrity BEAUTY and FASHION Photographer of South African and Nigerian heritage making waves in the world of fashion. This successful former model-turned photographer has worked with the best of the best and is passionate about redefining BEAUTY with one click of the camera. With creative vision and edge unlike any other and an out-of–the-box approach, Alex highlights his subjects’ strongest features with a unique lighting technique to create the PERFECT image.

I also might add that he publishes and edits his own magazine called TDM, creates websites for talent/companies, and also helps people with branding. For a full read on Alex and his work, click here.

I met Alex on Model Mayhem, where he had initially reached out to me after seeing my profile in order to set up a shoot. Initially, when I saw his online portfolio, I saw he had an incredible eye but thought he only did high fashion and though I usually don't shoot high fashion, something told me to call him and talk with him, and when I did, I found out he also did underwear, fitness, body shots, etc.

Cool! Exactly what I needed for my project, an underwear photographer.

When I met with him a few days later at the Barnes and Noble Cafe in Union Square, he showed me his underwear and fine art shots and I saw he had as great an eye for the male form as he did for high fashion.

BAM.....decided to hire him for the project.

The shoot took place a few weeks later in "Do or Die Bed Stuy" after we were able to find a suitable time for the two of us. It went off without a hitch. Alex was totally chill and cool to work with. We shot underwear for my project, did some fine art, and a live video.

Can't wait until I see the pics. He told me to expect a two week time frame.

Hired a Videographer for My Upcoming Video Project!

After a meeting yesterday, Friday, 11/4/11, with the Creative Director of XY Pixels at a Starbucks Cafe, I decided to hire his company to shoot and do the video editing for my upcoming video project.

I'm particularly excited to be shooting with XY Pixels, because I did a photoshoot with him back in June 2008, the day after I got back from the Dominican Republic and I was VERY pleased with the results. From the first time I laid eyes on his photography, I made it my mission to get a shoot with him because I loved the mood his photography portrayed, the muted tones of the colours in his pics, and the way he shot the male form. I knew his pics would be a great add to my portfolio.

Here's a couple of the shots I got from that shoot:
















Several years later, when I conceived of this project and was looking for a videographer, I happened to be checking out his site and found that he had expanded his craft to videography. When I saw some of the videos he shot of different artists, I knew this was the man for the job. After meeting with him where he was able to see my vision through my verbal description and the story board I created, the deal was sealed.

You may be wondering why I haven't mentioned his name. Well as talented as the Creative Director of XY Pixels is, he likes to keep a low profile and said I could write about him on the condition I just spoke about his company and not about him as a person. Fine. Understood. I tend to be a private person as well so I get where he's coming from.

Either way, tentatively, the shoot is slated for Sunday, November 2oth. Can't wait!

If you're interested in finding out more about XY Pixels, you can visit his site here to see his video and photo work and find out about the services he provides. The man is immensely talented, you won't regret it!

First Photo Shoot for Upcoming Video Project Completed!

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted on here. Well, things are slowly starting to heat up so you're going to be hearing more of me.

After I came back in August from a very fruitful trip to Miami where I spent a month, I was on a high over accomplishing so many of my goals over the past year, facing my fears and stepping out of my comfort zone. However, I also knew that it wasn't good to rest on my laurels, that instead, I had to decide what I wanted to do next.

After some prayer and and conversations with my mentor, PSCOTT, CEO and Creative Director of PSCOTT Images a month later I decided the next step I needed to take was a video project to continue to promote the brand of Ike Love.

I have to admit, the project took a while to start because frankly......I didn't have the money. Really, all I could do is hold meetings to see who I wanted to be on the team for this project and who I could pass on.

In any case, I'm pleased to announce that I've finally begun the project with a photo shoot a week and a half ago (Friday 10/21/11) with Gabriel Velez.

Gabriel Velez, a black and white photography lover, is a renowned photographer whose work has been published, and exhibited in museums and galleries both nationally and internationally. He is originally from Colombia but is now based in New York City. You can see more of his work on his website.

We met quite "randomly" (ha ha) at the Jazz @ Lincoln Center Cafe in the Upper West Side. Myself and PSCOTT were having a meeting where we were updating his web site and going over my photos and we happened to be sharing the same table with Velez. Velez overheard our conversation and introduced himself as a photographer and lo and behold, after seeing his portfolio, he turned out to be just the person I was looking for. This was a true testament if you give your path over to God, He'll surely open doors for you.

The shoot took place about a month later (we both had to find a date that fit our busy schedules) on the rooftop of my apartment building. Other a neighbour who lived on the floor directly below the roof asking questions, the shoot went off without a hitch. The real BIG challenge was that it was FREEZING outside with the wind blowing. I've never shot in weather so cold, and what made it more challenging was that I was in undies!

To get through the shoot, I truly had to put on a robe, go inside, drink some hot tea and warm up some before another round. This was the only way I could get through because I truly dislike the cold and get cold very easily.

Velez was truly very patient to shoot with. He was truly committed to giving me the best shots that reflected his unique eye and my unique look to form the perfect shot. He even had us say a prayer before the shoot just to make sure everything was aligned. It's interesting that unlike other photographers, he doesn't like the model to pose in ways that a model may choose to accentuate certain parts of his body/physique, etc. He felt that was too contrived. He'd rather the model stand natural to reflect the look and feel he was trying to create.

Stay tuned, more to come....

FEATURED GUESTS at the IKE LOVE 2011 Summer White Themed Sponsorship Reception

It's always a blessing to be able to collaborate with others in order to achieve both our goals. Here are the personalities that have agreed to participate at the IKE LOVE 2011 Summer White Themed Sponsorship Reception.

PSCOTT, image maker, celebrity make-up artist, photographer, and designer will be showcasing his trademark swimwear collection, bathcare products and photography posters at the event. He will also be giving a sneak peak of his Natural Botanical Harlem Rum After Shave Balm. He can be reached on his Facebook Profile.

Photo by JD Murphy

BILL WITHERSPOON is a MUST designer to have as a part of your wardrobe. His collection is a very fashion forward, stylistic collection that has qualities very reminiscent of African nuances but yet a very urban sophistication. It is very well designed, has beautiful embroidery and great tailoring. All the pieces in his collection are interchangeable and very wearable. He will be introducing a white swimwear collection at my event. He can be contacted on his Facebook Profile.



DUANE FISH is a New Jersey native and has a long, vast history with menswear. His DF Shirt Collection combines urban street wear with high fashion: dress shirts, in fabrics that can be worn to work as well as to the club; crew neck tunics that can be worn as an alternative to t-shirts; and his button- down hoodies. His collection offers a unique look for today's modern man The look is clean, sexy, young and extremely wearable for all ages.

Photo by PSCOTT

Geoffrey Yann, model/actor to be featured at the showcase. He can be contacted on his Facebook Profile.

Photo by PSCOTT

Jarmy - Model to be featured at the showcase represented by PSCOTT Talent Management.



Chris "Choplin" Brown - Model/Actor to be featured at the event. He can be contacted on his Facebook Profile.

Photo by PSCOTT

Loren - Model Actor to be featured at the event. He can be contacted on his Facebook Profile.

Photo by Mojo FX Studios

Raheem - Model to be featured at the event. He is represented by Jones Model and Talent Management. Jones Model and Talent Management was founded February 1994. It is committed to providing innovative, practical and top quality management and career guidance to a unique and talented talent roster consisting of: male and female print, runway, fitness, underwear and fine art models; bartenders; catering staff; personal trainers; exotic dancers; gym buddies and bodywork specialists.

Introducing the IKE LOVE 2011 Summer White Themed Sponsorship Reception

There comes a time in one's life when he has to challenge himself in order to take things to the next level.

It's been a whirlwind, exciting past year, from producing THE IKE SHOW last November, to doing an ad campaign with the PSCOTT Winner Underwear Collecion, to shooting with a multitude of photographers, to seeing my career as a model continue to grow by leaps and bounds.

I decided to take this momentum, and venture to South Beach, Miami.

There, I seek to network within the fashion scene down there, meet with photographers, expand my portfolio, and procure my next underwear contract.

I plan to be there for at least a month, but, I cannot do this on my own. I need help in terms of sponsorship dollars, so I present to you:

IKE LOVE 2011 WHITE THEMED SPONSORSHIP RECEPTION

It's a white themed event, so guests are welcome to wear white, and it will feature a special event model swimwear showcase.

Donations are accepted at $25, $50, and $100 (CASH ONLY).

Special Gift Bag Giveaway @ the Door Valued at $300

It take place Friday, June 24th, 2011 7-9:30PM @ Pearl Studios, 500 Eighth Avenue, Suite 408, 4th floor (Corner of W. 36th Street)

R.S.V.P. by 6/20/11

Featured Guests TO BE ANNOUNCED.....