Red 5 Studios

Being a Star Wars fan, everyone thought I would name our son Luke. I’m a fan… I’m not crazy. I already named our dog Chewie (he’s a mutt that looks like a walking carpet) and our company name, Red 5, is Luke Skywalker’s pilot call sign in the attack on the first Death Star. We went with Jude Cameron, his first name coming from the Bible and one of my favorite Beatles songs, and his middle name was inspired by two of my favorite directors, Cameron Crowe and James Cameron.

Anyway, for Halloween, I couldn’t resist buying Jude his first Star Wars costumes. Yes, I bought him 2, a cute and cuddly Ewok costume and a Stormtrooper outfit. Guess which one he liked? Well, I guess it’s cooler being a bad guy, huh?

May the Force Be With You.

Most of you know I am a die hard Lakers fan. Big win tonight at Amway Arena. I thought the thrills were over once the game was done. But someone sent me a video that they saw on the internet. I won’t say anymore but watch this Kobe Highlight reel and pay attention at the 3 minute mark. GO LAKERS!!!

Click here to see the video.

Ja and I first worked together at the wedding of Cynthia and Gary and have become good friends since. Last October, we shot his wedding and got to witness one of the coolest First Dance routines I’ve ever seen. Ja, along with his wife, Bev make up Ja Tecson Photography, one of the best and brightest photography studios in the L.A. area. Check out this photo shoot that we had down in Hollywood.

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Last weekend, I went up to Vegas for an engagement shoot and stayed at my brother’s condo. Before I went home, he pulled out from one of his closets a blast from the past… my very first camcorder! For those of you who read our recent feature in event DV magazine, you probably recall that this camcorder was given to me by my parents to document my summer vacation in Europe. What it doesn’t say in the article is that before my brother and I left for Germany, I shot my cousin’s wedding. Of course, I wasn’t the official videographer… but I did get a lot of cool candid and funny moments. I took that footage, added music and even had credits hand-written on cards at the end. It was an instant hit with the family. Little did I know that this would be the start of my journey in wedding and event filmmaking! Check out the camera below (our Canon HV30 camcorder is next to it for scale)! That was called compact back in 1986! We shot so many things with that camera… weddings, skateboard videos, music videos and movie spoofs. Also in that closet was a shoebox of all the raw footage I shot with that camera. And it still works!!! I wonder if VHS will ever make a comeback. I heart the 80’s!

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This weekend Hazel and I got a chance to work with our friends, JP and Owen, from John Lauren Photography. We needed to take photos for a special Red 5 Studios project (which we will reveal later) and this time we we would be the ones in front of the camera! On Saturday, we wanted to take some photos in front of a movie theater, so we checked out some local independent theaters. The Harkins Theater (famous for their popcorn seasonings) was very busy, of course, so we moved on. We went to Krikorian Theater (one of the first in the area to have stadium seating) and, to our surprise, found out that it was closed for remodeling! We had the whole place to ourselves! Let me say that it was strange to be on the other side of the lens (we haven’t been in this situation since our engagement photos… 12 years ago)! But we had a great time and it was very cool to be shooting in front of this abandoned movie theater. On Sunday, we needed some type of production shot so we recreated a set in JP and Owen’s garage. The photo turned out exactly how I pictured it! You can’t tell, but I’m as sick as a dog when we took that shot. Thanks, JP and Owen, for all your hard work (you guys are so talented and are gonna be big in the business very soon). PF Chang’s and Red Velvet Cake from CPK was so good! Thanks also to KB, Louie, Gian and Robin for coming out to shoot with us on Sunday. We had a lot of fun. Check out a few of our favorite images below!

UPDATE! Read more on the John Lauren Photography blog here!

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3119 - Number of songs currently on his iPod.
636 - Highest note streak playing Rock Band.
100+ - The number of times he’s seen the original Star Wars.
25 - The number of hours he danced (consecutively) in a marathon.
15 - The age when he shot his first wedding.
4.4 - His current body fat percentage (which hasn’t changed much since college).
3 - The grade he skipped in elementary shcool.
2 - The number of episodes of The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers he’s been in as an extra.
1 - The number of bones broken while skateboarding.
0 - The number of times he’s been to the Philippines.

We share a common love with a lot of our brides and grooms… and it’s for our very own Los Angeles Lakers!!! If you’re fan (and I know there’s a lot of you out there) please leave a comment and show your love for Kobe & The Lakers! GO LAKERS!!!

UPDATE - What a great year. Not how we wanted it to end but a step in the right direction. The rivalry has begun and we’ll be back next year. (I’m old enough to remember the heartbreaking loss in the ‘84 Finals and then the sweet taste of revenge against the Celtics in ‘85). History will repeat.

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One of my favorite parts of our trip was finding spots in Paris used in some of our favorite movies. Here are some of them:

“Amelie” - We watched this little gem of a foreign film right before we went to Paris. A lot of Paris is seen in the movie but most takes place in Montmartre. If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly suggest watching it.

“Ronin” - A fan of this movie for many years, Ronin has some great action scenes and some of the best car chases in cinema. The late John Frankenheimer, director of the film, lived in Montmartre and it’s where he starts and ends the film. The cast is awesome, too, with Robert De Niro and French movie star Jean Reno (The Professional).

“Moulin Rouge!” - I don’t know if it was filmed anywhere near Paris but we got to see the real thing. It was cool to see the red windmill but I thought it was going to be much bigger. Still love the Baz Luhrmann movie and still believed it got robbed of some Oscars.

“The Da Vinci Code” - Okay, I’m not a fan of the book or the movie, but seeing the Louvre in person was cool. The museum is massive. Tip for visitors if you want to enjoy the Mona Lisa by yourself: (1) Be one of the first in line when it opens. (2) Grab a map (in English) then go to the Denon wing and take the elevator (Ascenseur K) to the First Floor. You’ll end up right next the Mona Lisa and you’ll get to see it without the crowds that will show up later (see photo).

“Before Sunset” - One of my favorite indie films (it’s the sequel to Before Sunrise), the movie begins on the Left Bank of Paris in a famous bookstore called Shakespeare and Company (across from Notre Dame). When I was in the bookstore, I didn’t realize that it was the same location in the movie until I found the movie poster hidden behind some books. I was so excited! A great rental for all you romantics out there.

There are plenty of movies set in Paris (recently “The Bourne Identity”, “Something’s Gotta Give”, “Ratatouille”) but if you want to really get a feel for the city before you go, rent “Paris Je T’aime”. It’s a film comprised of 18 short stories each with a different director and each focusing on a particular section of Paris. Great movie for a great city.

We’re back! Hazel and I spent this last week celebrating our wedding anniversary in Paris, France. We had such a great time. Here are some photos from our latest adventure!

Hey everyone! On April 27th, 1996, Hazel and I began our life together as husband and wife. Here’s a video I put together recently from our old VHS footage (yes, we got married before digital video). To my beautiful bride… Happy anniversary, hon!

Ceremony & Reception: Sheraton Anaheim (Disneyland)
Photographers: Neira Productions

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It’s spring… but it sure feels like summer! Recently, we went out on a hot, summer-like Sunday afternoon to shoot a video promo for our friends at John Lauren Photography. Here are some pics from our latest escapade. The video will be out soon.

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With American Idol back on the air, it reminded me that I met a few “Idols” back while I was shooting on the set of a music video for Black Eyed Peas. The song was “Bebot”, rapper Apl De Ap’s love song to his home country of the Philippines and the last single off the Black Eyed Peas’ album Monkey Business. I was assigned by director Patricio Ginelsa and co-producer A.J. Calomay to create a music video that would have some of the featured extras singing the song. Amongst those who lip-synced the BEP song were former American Idol finalists Jasmine Trias, Camille Velasco, and Jose “Sway” Pinala, along with many Filipino-American musicians, DJs, and performers. It was a lot of fun being on the 2-day shoot and making the video. It was uploaded to YouTube as a teaser before the premiere of the music video. Check out Fergie speaking some Tagalog at the end of the video.

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The greatest show on TV returns tonight: LOST. A couple of years ago, my cousin, Arleen, got married in Hawaii and I thought it was the perfect time to do a LOST spoof with my family (fyi - The Ranch is the name of our family website). Here’s the teaser trailer:

For my birthday, we spent the entire day eating out. First, we had Max’s Famous Chicken followed by Choco Mocha Crunch cake from Red Ribbon bakery (and a nice afternoon nap). Finally, a great dinner at Red Lobster (the lobster artichoke dip and pizza we’re the best)! What a great day!

Happy Birthday to Mike “Gerry Aguirre” Domingo, too!

Here’s what we look like in Wee World. That’s our dog, Chewie, next to us.