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Here is the final documentary. We're very excited to bring these painters' story down to sidewalk level, for everyone to see.

Concept: Mother NY; Production Co: Mekanism; Director/DP/Editor: Malcolm Murray; Music by The Album Leaf; Painters: Colossal Media/Sky High Murals/Bob Middleton; Presented by Stella Artois
  • Tom Guilmette plus 1 year ago
    great work. really enjoyed this. excellent composition and use of shallow DOF. really liked how you captured the story shooting across buildings and from the artists' dizzying heights.

    what camera/lenses did you use? DSLR or 35mm film adapter?

    i want a stella right now for some reason...
  • The Ritual Project 1 year ago
    Thanks to everyone for the comments and for the interest in how we captured the story. 'UP THERE' was shot on a Sony EX1 with Letus Ultimate DOF adaptor and Nikon glass- 17-35mm, 60mm macro, 70-200mm, and 300mm. Kudos to director/D.P. Malcolm Murray for his amazing eye. Check out more of his work at hereisthis.com/
  • malcolm murray 1 year ago
    Hi Tom,

    I shot/directed/edited UP THERE.

    I've checked out your blog in the past and was happy to see you'd taken a look at the film. Do you happen to know a good way to get in contact with Philip Bloom? If you do, please send him a link to UP THERE.

    Thanks,

    -Malcolm Murray

    hereisthis.com
    cameracamerafilm.com
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  • Lukas 1 year ago
    Great! Like your visual style. And the voice coming from the off creates an interesting mood.
    I'm also interested in the technical aspects...
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  • Rad FX Studios plus 1 year ago
    What a great documentary. Very aesthetically pleasing. I'm a big fan of shallow DOF when used tastefully (like Mr. Guilmette said ;)

    These guys are true artists - thanks for sharing this with us.
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  • this is beautiful...great, great story and perfect visuals to support it - a masterpiece.
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  • calease plus 1 year ago
    agreed - absolutely beautiful visually, aurally and story.
    cheers.
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  • Topher Welsh 1 year ago
    wow, this is absolutely stunning.

    Did they stretch the different "frames" throughout a few weeks, or did they have the painters paint, and repaint for the sake of the timelapse?

    I would also like to know... was it a 35mm adapter or a DLSR shot film?
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  • ...great: footage. edit. concept. matched perfectly.
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  • Abe Duenas plus 1 year ago
    This was awesome!
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  • Great storytelling, great subject, great people, great photography, great editing, great soundtrack, great documentary! Overall fabulous :-))
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  • Brian Rock 1 year ago
    some really pretty textures on the subject faces.
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  • Rob Imbs plus 1 year ago
    very well cut, and very pretty, great coverage!
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  • looks like a 35mm adapter was used on this one to me. Very nice, loved the story and everything else that went along with it.
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  • Stuart Atkins plus 1 year ago
    that was great. great story, great picture, mood. well worth the time to watch. i would never have realized these guys were still out there. i would love to see some of the BHS stuff for this. lenses, cameras, time of shoot, all the things that share a little bit of how this was made. well done!
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  • jehu Garcia plus 1 year ago
    Wow! My pops did this work in Mexico for ages, he used a pin to puncture the lines on the paper and a 12" wooden plank and ropes to walk and paint up 60 feet in road billboards, its amazing that this still is going on, anyway we can subtitle it in spanish for him?
  • MisaGarcia plus 1 year ago
    Second!

    It'd be nice be able to download the file!
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  • Sybren Arnoldus plus 1 year ago
    Loved it! Gotta get my hands on one of those Letuses as well ..
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  • Jon McKee plus 1 year ago
    I have been craving a good story lately. You delivered! Well done!
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  • great story! wow, someone didn't just test out their camera but actually told a story. thank you! well done.
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  • AM Productions plus 1 year ago
    Beautiful cinematography. Simply brilliant. Thanks to Tom for Twittering this and thanks to Malcolm and the team for keeping the traditions of signing writing alive. Oh and the NYC in Winter as a backdrop was not fair. I can't wait to get over there in June and hunt down the wall.

    Do you know what address the wall is at?
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  • Hemmings House plus 1 year ago
    Beautiful little film! Great story, great photography! Kind of (in parts) reminded my of the Sigur Ros film, "Heima".

    Really nicely done though, great music! Props...
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  • That was freaking cool. Great job!!
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  • Justin Ho 1 year ago
    Beautifully shot! Excellent job!
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  • Jesse Salto plus 1 year ago
    Simply Amazing! Congratulations and thank you.
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  • Jeremy Wilker plus 1 year ago
    Most excellent. Inspiring. Touching. Thank you.
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  • Alan Amato 1 year ago
    Well done. Brought to life a piece on NYC life that I hadn't thought of in years.
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  • Super great work. Story and skill = amazing film. NICE! looking forward to seeing more of your work.
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  • Helio Yoshida 1 year ago
    Totally amazing.
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  • Katie Armstrong staff 1 year ago
    Absolutely beautiful! So much care and skill goes into that dying art form.
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  • Ryan Massiah plus 1 year ago
    Excellent! Really enjoyed viewing this film.
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  • OneClickFilms, LLC 1 year ago
    I can not express how wonderful this film is. Such a great documentary, I've watched it several times and will watch it another several times. Wonderfully shot and edited. Fabulous commentary. It's just a delightful piece for work, you should be very proud of the effort, it's honestly fantastic! I REALLY love it!

    Well done! Excellent! Bravo! I give it 4 out of 4 Stars.
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  • Conor & David plus 1 year ago
    Stunning work. I was going to comment that you should have Stella on board as a sponsor — but of course I now see that this is the case. Kudos to them and to Mother for such an intelligent approach. And congratulations to you on such a superb film.
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  • Shawn Hall 1 year ago
    Beautiful.
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  • Waldemar Wegelin 1 year ago
    Really great. Thanks for this.
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  • Ricardo Silva 1 year ago
    COngratulations! Great storytelling and beautiful images!!!
    What eles can we ask for? :-)
    It's a shame that their art/job is in the fast lane to extinction because of the damn soulless cheap vinyl :-(
    Hope your film opens some minds and hearts...
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  • Jens Wegar 1 year ago
    I didn't even know about the artform of painting advertisements on buildings, so thank you for sharing this documentary. Like others have said, very nice storytelling and work. I like how you kept the sound of traffic in the background at all times as well.
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  • Nathaniel Hansen plus 1 year ago
    Wonderfully put together. Did you get anyone from Sub Pop to get back to you about The Album Leaf? I have never been able to get a hold of them - they don't return calls or emails.
  • Nathaniel Hansen plus 1 year ago
    nvm...I see from your credits that they must have.
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  • jessica 1 year ago
    I loved it. Every bit of it. I want to see more - I'd love it if this were feature-length.
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  • absolutely wonderful -- thank you for making this.
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  • Paolo Valzania 1 year ago
    Bello! Bravi!
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  • Felix Chi 1 year ago
    Respect to this guys...
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  • Caleb plus 1 year ago
    This is inspiring. Well done.
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  • Mark Wethli 1 year ago
    Great film. Beautiful visuals, narrative, editing, and photography. Very inspiring.
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  • Heather Crank 1 year ago
    Nicely done. Great mood, the album leaf was a great choice.
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  • EYE 1 year ago
    This was beautiful.
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  • Hajime Chan 1 year ago
    What a hard work...
    Appreciate them!
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  • bismarck44 1 year ago
    could anybody identify the location @ 5:56?
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  • Tom Robinson 1 year ago
    Lovely video.
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  • Belvedere Stories plus 1 year ago
    Beautifully done. I thoroughly enjoyed this, thank you.
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  • RACOON_STUDIO plus 1 year ago
    andate affanculo!
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  • P. Nigro 1 year ago
    It was an honor to watch artists at work.
    Bravo.
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  • felt soul media plus 1 year ago
    inspiring. thank you.
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  • McCartney 1 year ago
    Very cool I'm stoked! I just got a contract with Miller Beer to start doing out door walls and buildings. I'm Next to St. Louis MO. Anyway I have a question I saw you using 1-Shot Lettering Enamels how do you get it to dry so fast? I'm thinking about using Artistic Exterior Acrylics. It would be great to here what you think! As to what paint is the best to use.
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  • Ted Shaw 1 year ago
    What memories! I was a Master Sign Artist, taught by some of the old masters like "Foxy", Jim Green, Jerry Duval and others. Back then, to be a Master meant you had to be proficient in everything from illustration to handlettering (1/4" to 8ft. high letters) with precision- forward, backward, upside-down, reversed- left handed and right handed!), gold leaf, airbrush, color-mixing, composition... took years to get it all. The information wasn't in books, it was handed down. In Fort Worth, Texas, from 1978 to 1991, I owned and operated one of the most prestigious Sign Art Studios around. All the "Old Timers" are all gone now and their artform has all but disappeared- thanks to the computor. I'm painting fine art, now.Thank you for capturing the essence of the artists that are still hanging on.
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  • wow.
    this is amazing!
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  • sandra moreano 1 year ago
    Beautiful cinematography for a poignant story. You make me really miss NY.
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  • Benjamin Nichols plus 1 year ago
    Amazing... stunning shots!
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  • Gabe Askew plus 1 year ago
    I remember seeing this painting on my way to work. It was beautifully done. Even more incredible knowing the story behind it.
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  • Marius Hesleskaug plus 1 year ago
    Very nice! Amazing soundtrack and shots made this very pleasing to watch!
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  • Fahim 1 year ago
    Wow, very nice & totally loved it!
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  • Joffrey Monnier 1 year ago
    Thanks for this moment of grace ! Inspiring...
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  • Oliver Kray 1 year ago
    nice project!
    best
    oliver
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  • Matthias Rascher 1 year ago
    How is this brilliant documentary not in every movie theater across the country?
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  • Andre Weststrate 1 year ago
    Amazing. Simple as that. Love it.
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  • Audrey 1 year ago
    I just got home from the SCAD Film Festival where I had the pleasure of viewing this short before the film Earthwork. First thing I did after getting home and sitting down at the computer was look up this glorious piece to watch it again. Beautiful shots, beautiful music. The judges were sitting behind me at the screening, and they were making the same comments of how beautiful everything was, including the story.
    Great job!
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  • MarcoFromHouston 1 year ago
    great work, both filmmaker & artists!
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  • Elissa 1 year ago
    2 days an alien in New York, visiting from Melbourne for 12 days.
    This video is changing the way I experience this dazzling habour town and I love it, thank you!
    I'm also a documentarian in learning, hoping to hone my skills and tell beautiful and raw stories such as this. So far I have made just the one little clip which you can see on my vimeo page.
    Are you making anything new at the moment?
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  • Allan Cerbelli 1 year ago
    This is coming from a signpainter (Wall Dog) of 40 years who feels like a dinosaur in the sign business with the introduction of vinyl and technology. I feel the creativity, passion and heart oozing from these brave men's pores. To risk your life everyday for the love of sign artistry is inspiring. I was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up on the ability and talent of these men who dazzled me as a young child on Times Square and all around the city.

    I have the utmost respect for this trade and I could relate with everything that was said in this documentary. I have been having a hard time within the past few years getting steady work. I was let go from a great position with a major corporation. I love what I have been doing for a living these past 40 years, but I was complacent and didn't see how the thechnology end of the business would leave me in the lurch if I ever lost the job I loved.

    I was emotionally touched by your film and I give you my thumbs-up as a "Signtist" who could feel what these men in the trade feel. As I said, "Signpainters" are considered dinosaurs these days and I wanted to convey my feelings on your film and "thank you" for bringing life to a great subject...."Imagination unrestricted by reality."
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  • eatTV plus 1 year ago
    Beautifully done. One of my favorites!
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  • Valentina G 8 months ago
    THANK you.
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  • Michael Campbell 6 months ago
    I hope my work is this good one day!
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  • torka 1 month ago
    Amazing and beautiful doc. Great soundtrack too. Thanks for sharing it.
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  • Sam Stanistreet 1 week ago
    Beautifully shot and a great insight into the people that still do it and love doing it.
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