This video was part of my Bachelor thesis at the University of Applied science and art Hannover. The Super Mario Bros. game, released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, is not longer bound to the television size and get interactive with a new environment. The emphasis of my thesis is on the matchmoving work. It is the process of matching CG elements into live-action footage. -Andreas Heikaus

I thought it would be fun so I gave my sister Steph a shout and reached out to Chris Shep. We headed to a tunnel covered in Diesel ads over at the West 4th subway station but vandals hit it pretty hard. There were all kinds of markings, rips, stickers and stencils and I just shot around it.

I only submitted one pic and these are the rest. We had a good time.

Definitely checkout:

http://twitter.com/DieselUSA

http://www.diesel.com/

YoBobbyTv had an idea to make remix for Alicia Keys’ Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart and so we made it happen.

New York was blessed with a fresh bed of snow today and I was amped to go out and play in it.

Never too old to have some fun in the snow making a snow angel. Yep.

A few weeks ago Barb Freda tweeted about competing with a friend for the “Greatest Job in the World”. After visiting the site and watching about 50 or so of the videos I thought to myself “I should make one of these” and I did.

The gig is a six month contract exploring Hamilton Island in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Getting the contract is a pretty lengthy process and the first step is uploading a video showing why you should be considered.

Here is mine: Click Here

Send it the video link to all of your peeps. Thank you for your support!

Florida summers can be rather interesting due to the heat but this one was special. Summer of ‘08 was straight up and down the shi…great!

Tampa

The crew and I headed out to Tampa to film about a dozen locations. Even though we had the Open Florida RV, there were places that it just couldn’t go so I did a lot of driving.

Our hotel was about 5 minutes away from International Plaza and that meant runs to Gelateria del Duomo for gelato were always priority one. Sugar shocked by our gelato experiences, Missy and I found ourselves screaming “GELATO” in moments of silence for no apparent reason. This usually made Steve cringe and that was the signal for us to do it again.

These guys were a bunch of characters who only spoke in pirate talk. They were all about the Gasparilla Pirate Festival and of course a picture op.

I caught up with Arturo Fuente Jr., President of Tampa Sweethearts Cigar Company and learned a thing or two about cigars.

The attic to the old cigar factory was perfect for smoking and taking pictures. Which cigar is that you ask? The A. Fuente Hemingway.

I also found a great deal of H.O.P.E. during the heritage shoot in south Tampa.

When it came time to film the progress of the Tampa Museum of Art we had to wear hard hats. We didn’t actually get to go on the work site because OSHA also states that it is a hazard to have shorts on at a construction site. So we did the interview outside their aluminum gates.

Forecasting the summer weather in Florida is pretty easy…HOT! Ice pops were essential for successful cool-downs. Missy and I would usually eat about 3 a session.

I had a chance to kick it with the Tampa Bay Lightning mascot ThunderBug! He had a field day on the RV before he got around to signing it.

We also stopped by Burn’s Steak House to film and grub. Burn’s has a wine cellar in their basement which is home to over 100,000 bottles, crazy.

When we got back to the Hyatt Place, Steve-O snapped a few practice shots.

Two Words, King Mogul.

Jungle Island

In Miami, there is a place called Jungle Island and it is home to this thing. This thing, is called a Cassowary. From what I understand from the safety speech I was given prior to filming, is that, this thing…this thing, will kill you if you ever see it in the wild. So if you’re walking down an open plane somewhere in Australia and you happen to cross paths with this thing right here, don’t even bother running. Just make peace with the experience of a turkey-ostrich looking animal with a prehistoric horn shredding you to pieces.

Those were all the thoughts on my mind after the tour guide wrapped his safety speech then put me feet away from the beast that loved to swallow apples whole.

This was also the summer where I issued many cool points to lemurs.

Ft. Myers

We filmed a bunch of fantastic hotels in the Ft. Myers area. Across the street from one of them was a little place called Cuban Tropical Grill. Of course I had to indulge in one of their signature mango smoothies

and then I ordered a sandwich.

Later that night, we hit the Waffle House (sober) for some breakfast and a variety of wild football stories from one of the locals. Yum.

Everglades Alligator Farm

Here is Alligator Bob breaking down the difference between a gator and a croc. They both have teeth and that’s all you really need to know about that.

Here is Bob’s assistant Jeanette the Reptile Wrangler giving her version of the whole gator and croc presentation. For some reason I liked hers a lot better.

Here is a shot of Jeanette hooking me up with an experience with with one of her snakes.

Years ago I would have been like “What? Hold a snake? Fug that!” Now after almost 2 years on the job I’m like “What? Hold a snake? Get the camera.”

Since Jeanette was such a good sport with the crew that we had her sign the RV.

No Everglades excursion would be complete without an airboat ride. Right?

The BBQ out in YBOR

What is a summer with out a BBQ?

At the birthday BBQ, the girls were really into this game called Taboo. I’m supposed to be paying attention.

What is BBQ without a nice dose of healthy laughter?

I was buzzin’ like crazy off MJ’s classic Piña Coladas and if it were possible, I’d be drinking one right now .

Stress

No summer is complete without a healthy serving of stress. I got a big spoon full toward the end of the season but I was on familiar ground so I knew exactly what to do.

At The Beach

Steve and I were brainstorming in the office one day and fun was the topic. Out of about 15 minutes of conversation we manage to come up with a concept called We Ain’t Bored. Pretty soon we got some co-workers, we got some props, and then we shot a video.

One of the videos we shot for the We Ain’t Bored concept took place at the beach.

Missy, Emilie, and Mo all showed up for a Sunday of fun in the sun on the beach. Don’t believe me? Here is the video: At The Beach

Kissimmee

We filmed Medieval Times a few months ago. The only thing I can remember about the show is a woman in a Native American costume riding a horse.

During our travels from destination to destination we ended up in Poinciana and found a little Caribbean jewel called Atty’s Restaurant for lunch. I had the jerk chicken and a bottle of my favorite grapefruit soda, Ting.

Family Reunion

Sometime around the 4th of July I drove with my aunt to Virginia to meet over 100 family members I didn’t even know I had till about a year ago.  Yeesh, it was pretty eerie how much we had in common too.

Here is an actual visual representation of what my family tree looks like on my father’s side.

My sister, my pops, and of course the kid.

I love my family.

My little cousin with the glasses has a name that I love…BROOKLYN!

My silly sister and I doing what we do best, clowning.

I caught this flick with my cousin Rush moments before he chased me through the family luncheon for a one on one game of basketball. I’ve been undefeated in every game that we’ve played since we were kids. Now that I’m grown and out of shape he is dying to play one last game. I’m retired and as it currently stands I’m the chickety chickety CHAMP! Chump.

My pops is a good sport.

I’m really missing my pops and sister as I try to think of a caption for this picture.

My uncle, my pops, and my little cousin.

I wonder what my pops just said to my uncle.

Well folks, it’s a wrap for me. It took me forever and a day to get this post out and hopefully the next one will be a lot sooner than 3 months.

Till Next Time,

Amon Focus

I’ve been playing a lot of basketball over the last few weeks. I’m still a tad rusty.

I’ve also been working with Steve-O over at McFadden Creative on a number of W.A.B. video projects, I will keep you posted.

Gist List Number Two

1. Had a blast at Fun Spot in Orlando off International drive. Tried DDR and some jumping game for the first time. Those games were pretty intense but the real fun was the Go Karts. Oh yeah and Paco did not beat me at a race holding a camera. That is a bold face lie and he knows it!

2. Indulged in a Grilled Swordfish Ponzu for the first time at Seasons 52 also in Orlando and had an out-of-body experience while consuming some of the best desserts I’ve had in weeks.

3. Took in some vittles at James’s Place in Venice, Florida. The food there was pretty good but I don’t remember what I ordered.

4. Drank a nice gulp of hotel lobby lemonade water (the crew knows I love that stuff) at the Portofino over by Universal Studio. That place was chic.

5. Appreciated some fine art over at the Morse Museum and became a real fan of Louis Comfort Tiffany before I exited the building. True story.

6. Held a baby alligator after the airboat ride out in Boggy Creek.

7. Saw my very first Opera at the Bob Carr Performing Art Centre called “Die Fledermaus.” Very Funny. Very interesting.

8. Had some splendid sushi at the Beacon which is appropriately up the block from one of my favorite parks in Orlando, Lake Eola.

9. Gave Paco and Wipeout a small tour of downtown Orlando nightlife by taking them by a few of the places I used to frequent. Spots like Spy Bar, Independent Bar, Cleo’s lounge, The Crooked Bayou, and AKA Lounge.

Next time I’ll take them to Roxy, Tabu, Monkey Bar, Sky60, and The Social. If they are down of course.

10. Got to experience SkyVenture. Here is a video:

Amon Focus SkyVenture Experience from Amon Focus on Vimeo.

Thanks for looking, reading, and watching. You seriously ROCK!

Till Next Time

Amon Focus