Happy Holidays from Chelsea

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more." - Theodor Seuss Geissel from "The Grinch"

From the Chelsea family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!

Save the Date: Michael Muller's "Shark Shoot, Fiji" on Travel Channel this Sunday, December 18th!

Shark Shoot, Fiji this Sunday, Dec. 18th, 9 PM Eastern

Tune in to the Travel Channel this Sunday, December 18^th, for Chelsea Director Michael Muller’s special Shark Shoot, Fiji at 9:00 PM Eastern. We can’t wait to sink our teeth into this special! And, with Michael’s love, and knack, for shooting sharks, his appetite for adventure, and his cutting-edge underwater lighting, it promises to be some of the most incredible underwater shark footage you’ve ever seen! Travel Channel describes it thusly:

          “Hollywood photographer, Mike Muller, and his crew of explorers travel to Fiji and take a

          Hollywood high-tech studio underwater to capture photos of 8 species of sharks.”

Michael Muller

Check your local listings, but rest assured, this shark special is not to be missed! We think this is all you’ll need to tide you over until next year’s “Shark Week!”


http://www.travelchannel.com/schedule

"Adventures in the 80s" at BAM, Curated by David Gordon Green

Beginning tonight at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), a selection of five unforgettable films from the 80s will be screened, curated by director David Gordon Green, chair of the BAM Cinema Club (and esteemed Chelsea director). The program, affectionately dubbed “Adventures in the 80s” will feature Risky Business, Adventures in Babysitting, Uncle Buck, After Hours, and Something Wild. These five classic films were handpicked by David, which all served as inspiration for his forthcoming comedy, The Sitter, starring Jonah Hill, as failed college student Noah Griffith, and 3 of the most lawless children imaginable on an unforgettable romp through New York City.

The Sitter, which premieres nationally this Friday, December 9^th, will be screened this evening at BAM Rose Cinemas for BAM Cinema Club members at 7:00 PM to kickoff this week’s “Adventures in the 80s.”

Check out BAM for more details on “Adventures in the 80s,” here: http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=3887

And check out The Sitter here: http://www.thesittermovie.com/

"How'd They Do That?" Part II: Speedo Dir. by Michael Muller

Our second installment of our blog series “How’d They Do That?” features Michael Muller’s visually captivating spot for Speedo featuring the inimitable Michael Phelps. 

“I had been shooting stills for Speedo’s print campaign for 5 or 6 years,” Muller recalls, “and it’s only a natural progression that I was becoming interested in motion.” Take a look at how the finished product turned out here:

But, in order to tell the story of this spot, we must begin at the beginning. Over the years of work with Speedo, Muller had developed a great relationship with Olympic Gold-Medalist, Michael Phelps, and worked with him in the water on a regular basis.

Muller is no stranger to working in the water, and he is no stranger to innovation and invention either, which has placed him in a category all his own when it comes to underwater still photography. “I had been searching for years for a light that would perform underwater in a way that was effective and similar to the way that a photographer would use a light on land. I tried every underwater HMI, every single source light that was on the market,” but they simply did not produce the type of light that Muller knew was achievable. Muller got together with a team of engineers, and invented his own light, a patent-pending 1200 watt underwater strobe, that allowed him to capture the sorts of still images that he wanted, and set him apart, showing the world a style of underwater photography that had not been seen before.

And so, over the course of their still photography sessions, Muller and his photography assistants, dive-certified to the highest level, began, with no additional budget to speak of, to take a Canon 5D underwater with them to shoot film during their ongoing still shoots with Phelps. Muller approached friends at Greenhaus GFX, a boutique graphic, to cut the footage together and do the effects for the spec spot for his reel.

“As chance would have it, it was at about that time that Speedo, never a big television advertiser, called me asking if the spot could work for the Times Square JumboTron. Thus began Muller’s Directorial career, bringing the same sense of dynamism and kinetic energy to found in his print work to motion.

Of the experience of directing underwater, Muller says, “It’s a bit like being in space, in zero gravity. Even though I have to return to the surface to give direction, shooting underwater is ballet-like. It’s really very liberating, it’s a very organic experience. A lot of beautiful things happen underwater when you are unable to verbally communicate.”

Speedo was a finalist in the 2011 PromaxBDA Sports Media Marketing Awards, in two categories: “Best Spot” and “Best Partnership with an Athlete.” Please enjoy this brief behind the scenes film that captures the spirit of experimentation and collaboration of the spot.

Lauren Greenfield's New Documentary "The Queen of Versailles" Selected to Premiere on Opening Night at Sundance 2012

Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE

Wednesday November 30^th, 2011, saw the announcement of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival 2012 competition lineup. And at the forefront of that lineup is Chelsea Director Lauren Greenfield’s new documentary feature The Queen of Versailles, selected for the documentary competition. In addition to being selected, it is an incredible honor that Lauren’s new documentary has been selected to be the documentary film shown at the festival on opening night, Jan. 19^th, 2012 at Eccles Theatre. Lauren’s new documentary feature, in development over the last two years, tells the story of a wealthy couple triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America – a sprawling, 90,000-square-foot palace inspired by Versailles – when their business empire falters due to the economic crisis.  Their rags-to-riches-to-rags story reveals the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream. Chelsea partners Allison Amon and Lisa Mehling are among the credited producers on the upcoming film. The 2012 Sundance Film Festival will be the world premiere of The Queen of Versailles, and it will set the tone for a decidedly more critical lineup of documentaries accepted into the festival this year. “The films are more eclectic than ever and better than ever,” said John Cooper, in a phone interview with the New York Times today, “…The documentaries are more comprehensive, with issues examined in an all-encompassing way and not just in microcosm.”


“Lisa and I are thrilled to hear that Sundance not only placed the film in competition, but also selected it to be screened on the opening night of the festival,” said Chelsea’s Allison Amon, “Lauren is such a talented Director, and we are, as always, so pleased to be working with her.” Additionally, Lisa Mehling had this to say, “Given the passion that Lauren has put into this film, it’s fantastic that it has not only been selected, but also championed by Sundance.” We are proud to announce the acceptance of Lauren Greenfield’s The Queen of Versailles into the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and the honor that it has been selected as the first documentary shown during the upcoming Festival.


Amongst the flurry of press that has followed in the wake of the announcement of this years' competition entrants on Wednesday, the following New York Times piece featured a photo from Lauren's documentary, and a bit about the film, in addition to detailing the rest of the lineup. Check it out after the jump, here.

Getting the Band Back Together!

Happy Friday from Chelsea! 

Chelsea director Rick LeMoine and producer Greg Schultz are together again, and rocking out on location in LA with DDB Chicago.

Getting the band back together: Rick LeMoine (left) and Greg Schultz (right)