Sam O'Hare Tilt-Shifts Alaska

When Alaska was purchased it was jokingly called, "Seward’s Folly." Well, I’m sure if William H. Seward was alive today he would say, “Folly? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Have you even seen my Instagram posts?!”  Yes, Alaska is possibly one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and I see no reason why Mr. Seward wouldn’t have been posting vista after vista in between snaps of “I’m totally eating this amazing plate of sockeye salmon with frissé salad right now!”

@sewardsfolly1867: "Best purchase ever. JEAH!'

Sam O’Hare just returned from shooting in Alaska with the agency Vitro for Alaska Communications. Not only was he thrilled to be working with a great agency, but getting to go to Alaska was a dream. (Especially when it’s 103 degrees with 99% humidity in NY…) 

The first spot in the campaign launched Wednesday and the visuals speak for themselves. You can view the 60 second commercial HERE.

Much of it was shot from a helicopter- a technique he’d been anxious to try out for his tilt-shift style work. It also proved to be a handy tool in getting around the islands and fjords that make up a lot of the area around Anchorage and Juneau where the production was based. 

 

As well as directing and shooting the spot, Sam edited the spot at Aero Studios in NY. He and his team (Andy Gilbert, Jesse Holmes, John McLoughlin and Hannelore Williams) applied the post VFX work to make the tilt-shift miniature look come to life. Being able to be a one stop shop for live-action through post is what made this job do-able. With a tight turnaround, being able to coordinate the shoot with post together to make everything move like clockwork was imperative. 

During the next heatwave, Sam is seeking out boards for Antarctica. I kid! Well, maybe not actually...