Very meta!
Welcome back, Brunkamaniacs! Just recently I made the major switch from using a cropped-sensor DSLR to a full frame model. I’m now shooting all of my primary images on the Nikon D750, whilst using my old D5200 as a backup and for animations. Prepare for a new generation of high quality and superior photography as I gradually use this advanced technology. And as much as I dislike the act of artists “George Lucasing” their old work, I can’t help but to re-shoot some of my earlier photos and vignettes to be updated with this current camera. For instance, looking back, several of my old shots could have been done much better, and with this new camera I can shoot them to be more clearly and with better lighting.
In other news, I’m still gradually animating footage for my LEGO Alice in Wonderland video. Operative word here — “gradually”: for you see, since October I began a new job at Goldman Sachs, which started off as a normal first shift position, but soon switched to a late night schedule. Basically, it takes me an hour to commute to work in the Financial District, then I work for 10 hours, and then get home an hour or so later. What that means? Little or no free time, with only my three-day weekends allocated to work on creative projects! And then on my three-day weekends I’m usually sleeping or lethargic from the constant jetlag of shift work, which affects my abilities to animate. Fear not, kiddies, for as of the middle of April, I’m eligible to transfer to another location with a different shift, which means a normal 9-5 job with a moderate commute. If the pay is good too, I might even be able to move to a new apartment. If I can get back into this schedule — like I had from most of 2010 to early 2016 — I’ll be able to churn out more creative projects.
From early 2010 (when I first moved to New York from Lancaster) and onward to 2016, I worked primarily with normal first-shift office jobs as a graphic designer, with typical days and weekends. This is how I was able to successfully create so many of my best and memorable LEGO projects and electronic creations, as my life was very stable. In 2016 that all changed when I started a job in Brooklyn that had a very long commute from Queens, and about a year later I was laid off from that position and only worked sporadically as a freelancer. Long story short, I haven’t been able to make as many monumental creations or electronic works in over two years due to either long work commutes, irregular hours, or lack of funds from only doing sporadic freelance work. Again, as of mid-April I’m able to transfer within my parent company Williams Lea Tag to a different job location, so I can get back in the swing of regular hours and travels!
I wrapped shooting footage from the scene where Alice meets the Duchess, the pig, and the cook with the pepper:
An invitation to play croquet.
The inside of the Duchess’ house.
The kitchen with the famous pepper and sneezing!
I recently just finished shooting the interior shots for the White Rabbit’s house, when Alice gets mistaken for his cleaning lady “Marry Anne.” Now I’m going to break ground for shooting the exteriors where Alice grows really big and smashes the house — stay tuned!
-Baron von Brunk