I got to Sundance Channel HQ and peeked into the studio to see who was coming in for interviews. I wasn’t disappointed – the cast of the new movie Wasted were getting ready for a chat. And what a cast, including Aaron Paul (Jessie from Breaking Bad), Nick Offerman (Ron Fucking Swanson!), and Megan Mullally (Tammy Two!), among others. My colleague Matt had the pre- and post-interview photos covered, but I couldn’t resist going in a snapping a few myself. It didn’t hurt that Offerman was wearing an amazing hat.

Good people. My first real assignment of the day was another “My Premiere” piece with the video crew. This time we’d be trailing director Michael Mohan, whose film “Save the Date” was premiering that afternoon. It was his third year running at Sundance, and this film was already getting good buzz, largely thanks to the great cast. Unlike the previous day’s “My Premiere”, there was no big cast party or snowy drive to the premiere. We met Michael in a rented condo just blocks from the Library Theater. Michael was extremely sweet and welcoming, even as he was nervously trying to nail down the opening remarks he’d have to make in an hour or so. We hung around and did some taping (and I shot some stills) while he made some notes and practiced in front of our camera.

We all knew he had nothing to worry about – his badass wooden tie would carry him through any rough patches. Since we were so close to the theater, Michael and friends trudged through the snow on the way to the premiere.

 He was met by family and friends outside the theater, and then it was time to head into the press tent for some red carpet action. The cast of Save the Date turned out to be stacked with quality people like Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, Martin Starr, and Geoffrey Arend, among others.

It was time to head up to the premiere.

The theater was so packed, there would be no sneaking in to watch the movie this time. So we left our director and cast inside and chilled until it was time to come back for the Q&A.

Love Sundance footwear

While outside, the common man languished.

Job done, we headed back to Sundance HQ. I had a couple of hours before my next official shoot, so I hit Main Street for some more street style shots.

Hang on a sec, who’s this handsome fellow? Why, it’s Michael K. Williams, aka Omar from the Wire. Just gettin’ his shop on out on Main Street.

With that done, it was time to run to my next engagement – the after-party for Josh Radnor’s new film, “Liberal Arts”, starring himself and last year’s Sundance darling Lizzie Olsen. Another great cast which, in addition to Radnor and Olsen, included Richard Jenkins and Allison Janney. More press lines! Stand next to that wall, while I take your photo with direct flash!

Lizzie Olsen

Richard Jenkins

Allison Janney

Director and star Josh Radnor

The red carpet formalities over, it was time to head into the party. Which had some awesome food and an open bar, of course.

All kinds of deliciousness

Thanks, Chase Sapphire!

No joke, the DJ was one of the kids from “Malcolm in the Middle”

Surprise performer Jason Mraz

The evening even included a surprise set by musician Jason Mraz. Even more interestingly, I learned that Richard Jenkins seems to be one of his biggest fans. And that’s how this video came to be (my first film at Sundance!):

Vanity Fair may have gotten the story, but I got the video.

Day 4 was a good day.

But the first assignment of the day was to accompany a small film crew (field producer, cameraman, and 2 PAs) to cover the annual Directors’ Brunch, hosted by my nemesis from the previous day, Robert Redford.

Each year the brunch is held at Redford’s Sundance Resort, which is in a remote and beautiful mountainside area about 45 minutes away from Park City. All filmmakers who have movies at Sundance are invited, the idea being for directors to relax and mingle away from the  pressure and dealmaking that characterize Park City during the festival.

The snow had already begun to fall when we set out, with a forecast of much more projected for the rest of the day. The filmmakers arrived from Park City in 3 separate busloads. Each group arrived with more snow on them than the last.

The last group was pretty late. When they finally arrived, we found out that all the directors had to move to the back of the bus to distribute the weight and help the bus up the mountain.

Marina Abramović, who is the subject of a documentary at Sundance

Overall it was a really nice, relaxed atmosphere. In between shooting, I got to chat with some directors and other festival attendees. Everyone seemed really happy to be there. I also made a fun discovery: directors LOVE my Fuji X100. While I did most of my shooting with my Canons, the little retro Fuji was usually around my neck for behind the scenes stuff, close-ups (like the shot of the bagels above), etc. More than a few directors made a beeline toward me when they spotted the camera. “What kind of camera is that?” “Is that a Leica?” Serious director bait. Even if I hadn’t shot a single frame with it, bringing the Fuji was worth it just for the icebreakers.

After a couple of hours, Robert Redford turned up and took the podium.

He made some interesting remarks about the history of the festival and of the Sundance Resort, where the brunch was taking place. He bought the land in 1969 for $500, and considers everything that goes on in Park City to be an important but ultimately peripheral component of the mission of Sundance, which is to find and develop new filmmaking talent. After his speech, he stuck around for a few minutes to meet and greet starry-eyed attendees.

Here’s the piece that the crew I was tagging along with produced:

It was time to drive back to Park City, but we got word that the snowstorm had forced some road closings. The roads were slowly being cleared, but there was no point in rushing. I snapped a quick photo of our crew while we awaited traffic updates:

Left to right: Cameraman Matt, PA Dane, field producer Lisa, and PA Vanessa

Finally we decided to start heading back, knowing that it would take us closer to 2 hours, and not the 45 minutes it normally takes. Fortunately our vehicle was Vanessa’s sisters Subaru. We drove slow and were treated to some breathtaking vistas as we left the Sundance Resort.

By the time we got back to Park City it was late afternoon. The city was transformed and the snow kept falling.

There wasn’t much downtime to enjoy. Our evening assignment was to produce a “My Premiere” segment — basically, a video diary piece that follows a director of a film premiering at Sundance on the day of their premiere. I’d be going with producer Lisa again to shoot stills while they shot video. Our subject was Rick Alverson, director of “The Comedy”, an un-comedic look at aging hipsters in Williamsburg starring, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim (of Tim & Eric) and James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem, among others.

We met up with Rick at the cast’s pre-premiere dinner. There wasn’t much to shoot, so I grabbed a few candids while the video crew got Rick talking to camera and we retired back to our two cars.

Rick Alverson

The plan was to give Rick and his girlfriend a ride to the premiere, and possibly do the same for some cast members, as the snow that blanketed Park City earlier was still falling. That’s when producer Lisa came by and told us that we’d be taking Tim and Eric to the premiere in our minivan. They piled in with their dates. It was a tight squeeze but a fun and surreal ride.

The snowstorm was only getting worse. We hurried out of the car and into the media tent for some red carpet action.

Tim Heidecker

Eric Wareheim

Tim and Eric

James Murphy

We followed the cast all the way into the theater to shoot their opening remarks, after which we were supposed to leave and await the end of the movie to go back in and shoot the Q&A. That meant an hour and a half of doing nothing or… maybe just slip into that empty seat at the back of the theater, stuff my cameras under the chair, and wait for the lights to go down. And that’s how I saw my first (and only) movie at Sundance. I really got away with one there, since I later heard first-hand stories of directors and actors being barred entry to their own premieres without a ticket. I didn’t love the movie, much of which was shot in my neighborhood of Greenpoint, but I enjoyed the experience immensely. After the credits had rolled, I got to see first-hand that most awkward of film festival spectacles: the post-movie Q&A session. And that was it. A relatively light 12 hour day, compared to the 16-hour marathon that was day 2.

Here’s the My Premiere video from that evening:

And here are my galleries from the Directors’ Brunch and The Comedy premiere on the Sundance Channel website.

Thanks for reading! You can check out my other Sundance posts here.

“See if you can pull Mr. Redford aside for a couple of minutes and do a portrait.”
“Sure, no problem.”

But let me backtrack a bit. The morning of my second day at Sundance, I got to see Park City in the daylight for the first time. The storm forecast for the previous night had not come to pass, but there was a slow and steady snowfall coating the streets and the mountains and ski slopes visible in almost every direction. I took the free bus from my hotel to Main Street and walked up the hill to Sundance Channel HQ. Most people were still sleeping it off from the night before or else hadn’t arrived into town yet, so Main Street was pretty empty.

Park City

Apart from a movie line at the Egyptian Theater, of course.

The Sundance Channel took over and transformed an entire building that previously housed an art gallery. The top floor housed most of the personnel – video production, editing, web (my department), and the studio where artist interviews would take place every day. The bottom floor contained a lounge, cafe, and bar that also served up sandwiches at lunch – all open to festival goers and all for free.

This coffee was free - and delicious

The Sundance Channel studio

What you'd see if you were being interviewed

Robert Redford was scheduled to come in for an interview in the afternoon, and I wasn’t scheduled for anything before then, so I spent the rest of the morning getting to know Park City and shooting some street scenes.

The resulting galleries are up on the Sundance Channel website: A Tour of Main Street and Street Style.

Then I was back at the studio and awaiting the arrival of Sundance Film Festival founder Robert Redford, who was late (as everyone told me he would be.) Finally the man himself arrived, looking handsome as ever at 75, and gave a thoughtful interview on the development of the festival and the growing importance of documentary films, among other things.

Mr. Redford is prepped for the interview

A better candid

My assignment was this: try and grab a few candids in the studio before the interview, then be a fly on the wall during the conversation (no photos as the cameras pick up shutter noise), and finally ask Redford for a couple of minutes of his time for a portrait . But of cousre you don’t ask Mr. Redford himself. You ask the talent booker who asks Mr. Redford’s publicist, who, if you’re lucky, will ask Mr. Redford himself. Or, much more likely, will  just say no. So, after the interview ended and Redford retired to the green room, I loitered outside and thought about where and how to do a half-decent portrait in the dimly fluorescent-lit space with no studio lighting and surely very limited time. After a few light tests, I’d resigned myself to bouncing flash and hoping for the best, when the answer came back from Redford’s publicist: no time for photos. Simultaneous relief and disappointment.

So all that was left was to take some more street shots for the style gallery, and then be back at HQ in the evening for a party and Q&A with Mary J. Blige, followed by a concert by Estelle.

The party was for people involved in the new Kirby Dick documentary “The Invisible War”, about sexual assault in the US military. Mary J Blige, who wrote a song for the film, would appear later for a Q&A (Mos Def was also scheduled to participate, but he didn’t show). This was more straightforward event coverage – some candids, grip-and-grins, and shots of the speakers, followed by a little concert photography.

Director Kirby Dick is on the right

Mary J. Blige during her Q&A

Mary J. Blige during her Q&A

Mary J. Blige introduces Estelle

After the Q&A was over, I headed straight into the basement for a scheduled concert by Estelle (remember that song, “American Boy”? That’s hers.) After about an hour of waiting in the stuffy basement-turned-concert space, Mary J. came back out to introduce Estelle, who turned out to be a beautiful, engaging performer.

Estelle performs

Estelle performs

By the time I got the shots I needed, it was after midnight and I suddenly realized how tired I was. I allowed myself a Cornoa from the bar, realizing to my chagrin that it was exactly 3.2% alcohol, per Utah’s strange liquor laws. Given my fatigue, the time and the altitude, I didn’t mind too much.

I left the concert and headed upstairs to gather my things. It was right then that one of my cameras slipped off my shoulder and hit the floor, lens-first. This was the result:

My 135mm lens took the brunt of the fall. That’s a cracked and dented filter. Even though I couldn’t take it off, the lens itself seemed undamaged and could focus with no trouble. Hilariously, about an hour before this happened, I had the following conversation with my new friend Matt, a Sundance Channel employee who is himself a photographer.

Matt: “You ever drop your camera?”

Me: “No, I’ve been pretty lucky in that regard. So far.”

Jinx.

Or “Novey” for short. Rudely, I neglected to get the lady’s name. But thank you for letting me take the photo – you look lovely together!

LGA -> ATL -> SLC -> Park City

My new snow boots were packed, as were my cameras, lenses, and flashes. It was time to fly to Salt Lake City. The trip did not begin well. As soon as the plane doors closed at JFK, a mysterious water leak was discovered and mechanics were sent onboard to drain all the potable water from the lavatories before we could take off. Despite the delay, I still made the quick connection in Atlanta, thanking the Norse gods that I managed to stuff all my things into 2 carry-on items.

Always carry-on. Leaving nothing to chance.

A great view of Williamsburg/Greenpoint from the plane. I can actually see my apartment building.

Never get tired of seeing Manhattan from above.

The scenery on the approach to Salt Lake City is stunning

This was the first night of the festival, so the Salt Lake City airport was pretty chaotic.

The shared airport shuttle van seemed to stop at every hotel and ski resort between SLC and Park City, so by the time I was dropped off at my hotel it was after 6pm, too late for me to pick up my press pass. I had a few minutes to drop my things and take in my comically spacious accommodations (full kitchen, 2 bathrooms, spare bedroom with bunk beds, washer-dryer, etc), and then it was time to hope on one of the many free busses servicing Park City and head to Main Street for the first time.

My hotel in Park City - The Silver King

It was already dark and a gentle snow was falling, which made for an enchanting first impression of this main artery of Park City and the festival itself.

One of the first things you notice in Park City: Sundance may be about independent film, but there’s nothing independent about the festival itself. Branding and sponsorships are everywhere. Take a quick walk down Main Street, and you’ll pass the Bing Bar, the HP tent, the Chase Sapphire photo studio, it goes on and on. Stella Artois and Grey Goose would dominate the many open bars to come, and FreeCreditScore.com was hosting a coffee bar at Sundance Channel HQ. The upside – you get a lot of shit for free at Sundance. In fact, during the entire week to come, I would spend a total of about $20-30, and most of that from tipping bartenders.

I walked up the hill to Sundance Channel HQ at 268 Main Street, my base of operations for the next week. There I met the members of the web team who I didn’t meet in New York, and was quickly assigned to cover the Sundance opening night party happening later that night. I didn’t have my press pass, so I was given a ticket and told to attend as a “guest with a camera”. So off I went.

The Legacy Lodge, where the Sundance Day One party was held.

The Day One Party, as it’s known, is open to filmmakers, actors, and purchasers of some ticket packages. It’s a chance for people to meet other festival goers and enjoy and accelerated effects of alcohol at altitude. There are always more tickets given out than there is capacity, so I went early and waited in line to get in.

The atmosphere was lively – there was a real sense of excitement and anticipation of the 10 days to come in the air. The party had a small squadron of Stella-pushing snow bunnies, and a competing team of Grey Goose vodka girls circulating, flirting, and pouring.

The police were on hand, presumably to enforce Utah's bizarre liquor laws. They didn't much feel like being photographed.

And all the while, the snow kept falling.

In the tradition of Sundance SWAG, all guests were offered a Stella chalice and Grey Goose cocktail shaker by the respective company representatives. I passed on the chalice, knowing it wouldn’t be likely to survive the trip home, but the shaker I couldn’t say no to.

Oh, and I also got this very important picture:

That night I went to bed exhausted, as I would do every night of the week to come.

See the full gallery of my photos from the party on SundanceChannel.com.

Check back here tomorrow for my recap of day 2, which included a tour of Main Street, Park City fashions, Mary J. Blige, and *gulp* Robert Redford.

Just got back from shooting Tough Mudder Texas Coast near Edna, TX. Great course, beautiful weather, and a cool new obstacle, evocatively called “Dingleberry”. Similar to the Funky Monkey, only with a cargo net instead of monkey bars. Really difficult looking. Also, I don’t know what it was, but the two electrified obstacles (Shocks on the Rocks and Electoshock Therapy) seemed to be packing more of a punch than usual. I actually saw a grown man start to cry half-way through crawling through the icy green sludge of Shocks on the Rocks. But he made it, and isn’t that what Tough Mudder is all about… There was also a team from the Wounded Warrior Project, including three guys running on prostheses.  Without further ado, here are some photo highlights from the weekend.

Ran across Michael K. Williams while out shooting on Main Street in Park City, UT.

Some more faces and fashions in my latest festival styles gallery for the Sundance Channel.

When not covering events, I’ve found a little time to walk around Park City and document some of the atmosphere and street fashion of the festival.

That’s the first 2 and a half days. Three full days to go…

Here are a couple of highlights. Lots more through the links above.

Mary J. Blige

Earmuffs on Main Street

Riding to the premiere of The Comedy with Eric Wareheim

Stay tuned for that and many more sights and stories from around the festival in the coming days.

I’m back in frigid NYC after a weekend of shooting Tough Mudder Arizona at the Mesa Proving Grounds. The site, formerly the proving grounds for General Motors, was a pretty vast expanse of desert with some interesting features like a half-destroyed banked track and random piles of asphalt. The weather was great and the course was 12.5 miles long – almost a half marathon even without the 29 obstacles. Both Saturday and Sunday featured at least one participant completing the course on a prosthetic leg. These tough, inspiring badasses are a huge reason shooting Tough Mudder doesn’t get old for me. More badassery after the jump.

Arctic Enema (nee Chernobyl Jaccuzzi). Looks like steam, right? That’s thanks to the dry ice. New feature…

Junked cars at the Zombiepocalypse (mystery obstacle)

Mud in the eye is never fun

Team from the Wounded Warrior Project

Love this T-shirt

He made it across Twinkletoes with the flag

Iraq vet; lost his leg to an IED.

This is kind of what I look like after a day at Tough Mudder

Loved watching this family team go through the course on Sunday

Earmuffs!

He took off his leg and handed it to a friend so that he could do a flip off Walk the Plank

Putting the (Manchester United themed) leg back on.

This has to be one of my favorite Tough Mudder shots ever

Discarded gloves at Funky Monkey

Electric Eel was particularly painful on Sunday

This girl seemed truly disturbed by the proceedings

Never too tired for Acro Yoga