Police Point Park at Sunset

Earlier this week I took the opportunity to shoot some new images of Police Point Park for my Around the Hat photo series.  I had planned to visit as the sun was setting, but actually found myself competing against the shadows as I quickly lost light behind the tree line.  I literally made it to the riverbank just minutes before dusk stole the remaining light.     

If you've never been to Police Point in Medicine Hat, Alberta it's a giant natural wilderness area within the city, surrounded by a bend in the South Saskatchewan River. The park derives its name from being a North West Mounted Police outpost back in the late 1800s, although there are no remains of the post in the area anymore.  

The cliffs on the far side of the park define the eastern edge of the city, and as such, they're the last part of the park to get light from the setting sun.  The scene was actually quite incredible when I was there.  As the cliffs became bathed in deeper shades of orange and red, I was taken back for a moment at how jaded I'd become towards the local landscape.  It was gorgeous. 

The signs of an approaching autumn are becoming more apparent by the day, and in some of the lower lying areas of Police Point where you could feel the cold air rolling off of the river, it's already arrived.  Fall in the prairies is a short season, and the leaves don't stay on the trees very long once they start changing.  The freckles of gold and yellow amidst a still lush and green backdrop was absolutely picturesque.  The rich contrast provided by the last hour of the sun's light only emphasized the detail of my surroundings, and I immediately recalled shooting We Two Kings here in the winter of 2009 and thinking about what a transformation this place goes through.

There isn't a paved path to the riverbank, but it's not difficult to find smaller trails that lead there.  The cliffs, as stunning as they were, turned out not to be main attraction though.  As I reached the water's edge I stumbled onto a group of beavers.  They seemed to be playing and gathering sticks, and I immediately regretted not bringing another lens to get closer shots of them swimming.  I counted five in total as I walked along the riverbank, and it proved to be the perfect cap to such a scenic walk.  It was only minutes later that I was in darkness though and I had to head back.

I look forward to my next visit. 

Good Tidings and Mirth

And Christmas morning came just the same.  This is a new edit, but very familiar footage if you've watched We Two Kings in the past.  I opted to make a music video using some of my favorite footage from that shoot as a way to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!  Have an amazing day and go make some memories!  

We Two Kings: One Year Later

There's no question that creating We Two Kings for the holidays last year was a lot of fun.   With the weather delivering a fresh batch of winter scenery right on time and my buddy Tyler down for the weekend, everything went off without a hitch.

What I love about all of the holiday themed shorts I've made over the years is that there's a reason to rewatch and share them every Christmas.  They end up becoming time capsules and remind you of all the other various things you had going on when you decided to make them. 

This year Tyler and I revisited Police Point Park in November to see how the location for We Two Kings looked without snow - it had been almost exactly one year since we had shot the project at that point.  You can see the images HERE.  This last Tuesday the University of Regina also shared We Two Kings on their blog, which was very cool of them!  See the post HERE.   

It's still not entierly out of the question that a follow-up to this project could be on the horizon for next year, but I won't make any promises.  For now, I'm happy to present both the teaser trailer and video for We Two Kings once again!  They were both re-uploaded a few months ago after undergoing some higher quality rendering - they both look great if I do say so myself! As though there haven't been enough Christmas specials - here's another one!

"Merry Christmas Wence-les-as-wen-sess-es-les . . ."

We Two Kings Photo Collage

The joy of creating something like We Two Kings is that it reminds you of all the reasons you liked making movies in the first place. The surprise of how it would look, of how the random story would come together, and how it would be received proved to be as addicting as ever. I created this photo collage to summarize both the 2009 video shoot and the photographs taken several weeks ago as we went back to revisit our shooting locations.

Where the Wild Kings Are

Upon retracing our steps from last years Christmas short, We Two Kings, my friend Tyler and I were left to make reference to our Where the Wild Things Are surroundings. The crowns we wore for our movie closely resembled Max's and now without snow on the ground the comparison was a no-brainer.

We Two Kings was a play on the popular We Three Kings Christmas carol, with our basic premise being that we were lost on our way to Bethlehem. The sudden snowfall we received the evening before shooting last year made for some incredible winter scenery. The imagery alone made the project worth making.

It was cool to look around and try and pinpoint where we'd shot some of our scenes. Flooding over the summer had made one location where we sat last year into a sea of logs and debris. We also had a glimpse of what our movie might have looked like if it hadn't snowed on cue. Expect to see We Two Kings making the rounds again this season.

We Two Kings Reactions

I want to thank everyone for the personal messages, emails, and facebook messages I received about my latest Christmas short, We Two Kings. I don't think I've ever heard the words 'cute' or 'adorable' to describe one of my shorts as often, but under the circumstances, my movie was intended to give people warm fuzzies for the holidays so I'll accept that as positive feedback, haha.

Also notable were the comments about how great the project looked. Like I said in the post, I couldn't have lucked out more with the fresh snow and great weather for a day to shoot. Even I have to admit, the overall look - fake crowns and all - surpassed my own creative expectations.

And finally, a lot of you commented on my quirky and irreverent humor - thank you! haha. I couldn't have summed it up better myself, and I'd be lying to say that awkward comedy isn't a personal favorite of mine. Tyler and I play well off each other and I think it shows in the projects he's helped me with.

We Two Kings has proven to be a great way for me to close out 2009 and welcome Christmas. Thanks to all of you for checking it out and sharing your feedback, it's been a lot of fun to receive (and please feel free to send more). At this point it's a long way off, but as several of you asked, sequel anyone?

What do y'know, here's the movie again :)