News

October / September 2019  Scouted bits of an untitled Netflix project in Iowa and Missouri. Sadly, the project was cancelled. Below is the wonderful Danish Windmillin Elk Horn, Iowa. I recommend a visit to this friendly small town. Especially if you’re Danish.

 

August 2019  Location Scouted, Managed 2nd Unit for the ABC Show Bless This Mess, who traveled to Omaha for b-roll shots.

 

June 2019   Producer and 1st AD on this fun little video. Shot in Omaha with 100% local crew for a Nebraska ad agency and a Los Angeles client. Kudos to Omaha production company Torchwerks for realizing the project.

 

May 2019  I can not confirm or deny I worked on this fun video at DQ.

 

May / April 2019  Men’s fragrance Eternity by Calvin Klein shot a national spot. I was Location Scout and Manager for NY-based production. 

April / May 2019  Location scouted the Loess Hills of Iowa for a Japanese production company and Kewpie mayonnaise. Yes, I finally got to work on an actual Mayonnaise commercial. Seriously.  That line (joke) was for my fellow crew. 

 

March 2019 Visit Nebraska spots dropped. I scouted in 2018.

 

 

January 2019  Location Scout / Manager on Home Instead spots. It was -13 F on the shooting days. The past winter was exceptionally brutal.

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2018

NOVEMBER 2018 I returned to LIVES Radio Show with Stuart Chittenden to talk location scouting and the craft and process, the intrigue and issues of filmmaking in Nebraska, and life. Available via download or listen via iTunes too.        

OCTOBER 2018 This post by photographer Jim Krantz, who I collaborated with on this project – earlier this year.  ___________

2017

NOVEMBER 2017

Check out this article about Omaha homes used in the movie Downsizing – via this Omaha Home magazine article. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was part of the production of this large movie – about getting small. See the official trailer: Downsizing. It was April 2016,  when Downsizing spent a week filming in Omaha. I worked on the project collectively for about six months, location scouting from Oct 2015 to April 2016 and – briefly in Oct 2014. The visiting crew (from Los Angeles + beyond) appreciated the hospitality in Omaha. Many questioned why they weren’t filming more of the movie here.*

 

It was rewarding to collaborate with Alexander again (as I did on Nebraska). Paramount Pictures shot three total days in Omaha. * While Producers welcomed the public getting close, the releasing of location addresses by the media was an outright no-no. It impacted the process more than most realize; from security to privacy of homeowners who collaborated with the project.

* Movies (with large studio budgets) are not filmed in Nebraska because of no filming incentives. 

AUGUST 2017 The big news this month was the ECLIPSE. It was truly a remarkable event. I had the pleasure of working on a project for Volvo. We shot in 360 VR LIVE as they sponsored CNN’s coverage that day. See it all via Facebook.  The NEBRASKA eclipse clip is at about :52:00 (or – 44:00).  Pan around since it’s 360.  Also – when he lands at the spot where he meets Frank and the other pilots – pan around again. They insert a shot of the eclipse. We had a separate camera trained on it. Also be sure to pan 360 during totality.  The only time you’ll ever see (what looks like a) sunset all around you. Your internet connection and choice of browser may affect viewing.

 

 

JULY 2017 Ring of Fire, an FX company from Los Angeles, traveled here to shoot background plates for a Lyrica commercial. The action was shot against blue-screen months prior. The Producer found me online through a production group listing. He went to school at UNL and remembered a few possible locations. After I engaged with the project, I presented better options and the shoot turned out positive. They hired three other locals plus me, for the shoot near Lincoln.

 

 

– JV