"Don't forget to look up at the stars."

I love this project the storytelling the video does. Special thanks to my friend Johnson for sharing.

To Scale: The Solar System from Wylie Overstreet on Vimeo.

The Moth storySLAM winning story

I've recently taken a shining to story slams. I started to attend a bunch and instantly fell in love with the rawness everyday people shared with absolute strangers. One evening, I was heading to a local Moth storySLAM here in Boston when I found myself making bullets in my head of a story a would tell based on that night's topic: school. I took this as a sign and decided I would throw my hat in the ring; why not. See, these events sell out every week and they only pick 10 names out of a hat to tell stories during the show. Only when I signed up, sure I would never get picked, I did! And even more so, I got the high score that night and was declared the winner.  Here's that story:

It was absolutely terrifying, but felt right (at the risk of sounding like a total ass). So, now I'm on the hunt to continue to do more storytelling events and explore what might come from it.  I do know that from this, I will go on to compete at a grandSLAM against other winners. Yikes! We'll see what happens next in this story...

content break: My Mom's Motorcycle

Really loved this video a coworker sent me - a charming look into one man's thoughts on connection.

on the road: San Antonio, TX

I wrapped up the long leg of this travel with a few days in San Antonio.  It was HOT, but I enjoyed prickly pear margaritas, drives through the country while singing the theme from Friday Night Lights in my head and spending time with some amazing people (you'll see when you see the videos).

(hit the rental car jackpot when I was upgraded to this red mustang convertible)

 (can't you hear the Dillon Panthers cheering?)

 (my cousin from Houston always talks about how she loves "big sky"; I do, too)

 (Mike let me take his photo in this tobacco field- I think it looks like it could be a music album cover)

 (fearless DP)

(more dog friends - Penny & Iris!)

 

(kept up my running and ran by some cool stuff - including the Alamo!)

on the road: Park City/Salt Lake City

(trail run in Park City)

I spent eight days in Utah, the first few in Park City and the rest in Salt Lake City (and I'll be back to Park City again at the end of the trip!).  I hadn't ever been the Park City before and honestly, it kind of gave me the heebie-jeebies.  Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely lovely and beautiful, but Main Street kind of looked like something Walt Disney would have built, like when they were making it they said, "let's build this like an old mining town!" It didn't feel authentic, but I still really enjoyed it.  We also got to visit the Utah Olympic Park, built for the 2002 Salt Lake City games.  I HIGHLY recommend visiting that place if you ever get there.  Not only were the views beautiful, but the place is rad - we went ziplining!

(Main Street in Park City, taken from the roof of the No Name Saloon)

 (ski jumps - to the left if the big zipline!)

 (view from the Park)

 (our fearless crew - they are amazing)

 

(top of the jump - we ziplined down from here)

(another dog on set - say hi to Cooper!)

Onto Salt Lake City...we got to visit another Olympic place - the Utah Olympic Oval, which was where all the skating took place.  There is so much beauty in Utah, it was nice to shoot some stuff outside (and I've also been very good with my running, which is always a great way to explore some city and nature).

 (another dog on set - Milo!)

 (we needed to do some filming on ice and our grip had this sled dolly - genius!)

 (my trusty travel companion and coworker Mike - I always have to take one obligatory model shot of him)

 (beautiful location - I had to get one artsy shot)

(the whole gang!)

 (got in a few local brews - cheers, Utah!)

on the road: Birmingham (and beyond)

Hi friends! I'm on the road for another big work project and thought I'd share with you some photos and musings along the way.  It's a crazy trip lasting around five weeks with only six days back at home in Boston total.  I'm already a few weeks in, so thought it was high time a shared some of the places - check back over the month to see the cities unfold.  And while I can't share exactly what I'm doing, if you follow me on twitter (@arestiaR), you'll see me tweet out the videos to share when they're ready this coming fall into winter.

Our first stop started at the end of August with a trip to Birmingham, Alabama.  I had never been and it was a quick trip, but it was still great to be in the south for a tic.

 (there were hummingbirds everywhere and they were not easy to get in focus)

 (dog on set; this one is named Mama Dog. I'm toying with the idea of starting a timblr just called Dogs on Set - I have tons of pictures from over the years of production...)

 (watching/listening to an interview)

 (cicada shell - these were everywhere! And you could definitely hear them)

 (picture perfect setting)

 (drive, just outside of Birmingham)

(cool signage)

(delicious BBQ at the end of the day; more Carolina style-like (vinegar based sauce), but delicious)

I'm shooting on a Nikon D60 (it's a pretty serious camera; exception is that last one, which was on my iPhone) and it's been a while since I spent a lot of time shooting on it (you can tell by some of the focus).  But I've noticed I'm getting used to it again after about a week on it, so you'll notice the coming pictures start to get better!

cool content: Dark Rye from Whole Foods

 A coworker recently shared Dark Rye with me, an online magazine from Whole Foods and I think it's brilliant.  It's packed with stories centering around food, health, sustainability, design, tech and social enterprise. There's video and graphics and articles and photo essays - it's pretty cool and I suggest you check it out.  In this issue, we take a look inside Detroit.  After spending a little bit of time there myself last year telling some beautiful stories, I started to fall in love with Detroit; I think after skimming through this, you just might, too.

Here was one of my favorite videos about a guy who saw a need for transportation, so he started his own bus company.

Brands Can Make a Difference

I've worked at an agency now for over a year and a half.  One of the reasons I started this job was because I knew brands had an extraordinary power and ability to use their influence to make a difference.  I wanted to bring my passion for storytelling to help make a difference in this way.  More and more brands understand the affect they can have on the world and I love seeing them own this.  American Express just launched the passion project and I love this short film they did on Charity Water.  Check it out:

for the love of music: the story of Nashville

I am so lucky to know such talented makers.  I just saw a screening of a great film produced by friends and partners over at Make, For the Love of Music: The Story of Nashville.  It's about musicians talking about the town, the people and what it means to them. It's starting its run on the film festival circuit.  Keep an eye out for pieces of the content also on some commercials for the city of Nashville, as well as pieces from the film distributed by the artists via their networks.  It really drew me in, was shot beautifully and told a great story.  Check out the trailer and just try not to fall in love with Nashville:

did you enjoy your story?

A friend recently shared this video, documented by a couple traveling through Chile and I really loved it so I wanted to share. Enjoy the adventure, story & travel...

a story for tomorrow. from gnarly bay productions, Inc. on Vimeo.

J.Crew on Film & Radical Media

I love championing great work from friends.  Lately, I've been producing a lot of work for one of our clients with the amazing team over at Radical Media.  There is an insane amount of talent over there and they couldn't be nicer people, too (because life is too short to work with people who just suck).

On a call today, they told me they did some videos for the new content platform for J.Crew, J.Crew on Film (#jcrewonfilm).  The films take an insightful look into the craft and work J.Crew puts into their clothes and they are so beautiful and fun.  Here are two lovelies:

videos: crafting

I love making things and I so often wish I had the time or patience to pursue more craft.  I respect and admire people who can hand make beautiful things.  Here are a few videos I love as of late on some hand crafters.  Beautiful stories, beautifully told, making beautiful things.

The Sound of Dust from Hidden Notice on Vimeo.

(surfboard shaper Tim Stamps from Huntington Beach)

TEROFORMA "Whisky Stones" from Galen Summer on Vimeo.

(Whiskey Stones, shot by Hillary Spera, who was the DP on my Puma films)

Made by Hand / No 3 The Beekeeper from Made by Hand on Vimeo.

(Made By Hand, the Beekeeper)

on the road: Barcelona

If you've been reading this blog for a bit or know me in real life, you know part of the joy of my job is they send me to really rad places to tell beautiful stories.  I love to travel, so I love it.  For this last project, I got to spend some time with some fixed gear bike riders in Barcelona, Spain who are totally "full time cool."  Great city, great people, great project.  Salud!

closet visit

Love the photo project Closet Visit by Jeana Sohn.  She visits the stylish and creative closets of fabulous ladies and photographs them and their pieces.  Closets really can tell a story (there's text, too if you want to learn more about each person).