Signs of Spring in the Desert by Adam DuBrowa

While documenting the riparian corridors of California after severe winter weather caused flooding, landslides, and mudslides to the region, my work took me to places in six counties in advance of spring's bloom. I was to document the damages associated with flooding, and the response to those communities and public entities that were affected. In doing so, I grew a profound appreciation for the desert, and the wildlife that live in the unforgiving dynamic environment.

I began to see things in my steps in search of the water's source, high notes of nature, and witnessed the gentle birth of the spring season. I saw nature coming out of its slumber, transforming into spring, and I witnessed the sun grow the flowers, which grew the pollinators, which grew the predators. I was inspired by the quiet, simple, and beautiful world of the desert.

Adam is freelancing at Backyard Productions in Venice, CA and completed principal photography on the feature documentary “Tapped,” an inside look into the bottled water industry. His photography for a special National Geographic Society documentary on Grizzly Bear attacks comes out next month. Currently, Adam is deployed on assignment photographing the Calexico, California 7.2 magnitude earthquake for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Learn more about his documenting the damage, as well as the federal, state, and local response to the disaster here.

Losing Gravity

What happens when an everyday slacker gets his helium dose wrong? HELIUM MAN. Also the first narrative short by Backyard director Nick Piper which recently debuted with rave reviews in the comedy genre at the Beverly Hills Short Film Festival (and moving on to the prestigious Atlanta Film Festival later this month).

Transitioning to shorts has been a long time coming for the director who specializes in special effect commercials. But, it wasn't until he had a dream based around the concept of losing gravity that gave him an idea worth committing to.

"Stock markets were crashing, the world was spiraling into a recession. What next?" he said, "No more gravity?" It turns out that making one person float is a bit less complicated than making gravity disappear altogether, and so the adventures of Helium Man began.

For Nick, the easiest part was writing the story. On the contrary, "Producing the bloody thing," he says in his 'Home of Chip Butties' North England accent, wasn't exactly a walk in the park. Not to mention organizing technocranes, multiple camera crews, a rigging crane (the same one that made Tom Hanks weightless in Apollo 13), and nearly 100 extras.

"I'm getting a producer for the next one," says Nick of the short which would have cost nearly $2M if it weren't for lots of helpful folks in the industry who volunteered time and gear.

Keep your eyes peeled for a feature...

Meet Backyard's Justin Lee

All you need to know about Backyard's "Vault Guy" can be garnered from these pictures and the viral videos on www.gloriousinternet.com. 

Backyard, baby!

Gianna Todaro, daughter of long time Backyard freelancer Joel Todaro and his wife Krystyne, chows down in style sporting her Backyard Wear!   Get it Little G!

GET A ROOM

Jeffrey Karoff is directing an HIV PSA awareness spot called, Get A Room.

"I wanted to capture that blush of first lust and the inappropriate public behavior that accompanies it," Karoff says of the PDA laden PSA.

With the technique, inspired by Hockney’s photo collages, every image is a paste-up of multiple, motion frames highlighting the ‘It’s only you and me, babe’ feeling of young lust.

Using the Canon 5D has proven to be the perfect tool.

"When I’m out there, I look like a still photographer.  My location scouts consist of me setting up a tripod to see if anyone kicks me out.  So far, I’ve been pretty lucky. It’s been a liberating job in that I am shooting this myself, often with one assistant,” says the director.

New York editor Brandon Beck will do the composites and editing.  The project is shooting over a long time span – Karoff will shoot a scene or two a week, then send to Beck for assembly – and so the interaction is lively. What a luxury.

Who wants ice cream!?

Meet Our Intrepid CFO/General Manager, Alison Ivy Seligson

Alison is a Southland native, hailing from the mean streets of the Valley.  Although technically a Valley Girl, she rarely uses the word “like” in a sentence and prefers the easy beach access of Venice.  A great lover of NASCAR, Alison says “Jew Billy” is a much better way to describe her.  She loves the people, the power and the strategy involved in NASCAR.  Alison and her husband recently watched a race from the Pit at California Speedway.

In addition to being a racecar fanatic, Alison is an accomplished singer.  After graduating high school, Alison shipped off to Maui to sing in lounges for several successful years.  Managing her band in Maui is where she first discovered her business acumen.  She returned to LA to study business while also working for Lucas Films Commercials and other ad-related companies.  With an MBA in tow, she graduated from assistant to management positions in several commercial production companies, ultimately landing at Backyard.  Her six-year mark as the company’s CFO/General Manager is coming up this April.

In what little spare time she has, she still manages to book a singing gig or two for her band, James and Al (James being her brother). Check out their myspace page: www.myspace.com/jamesandal.