Episode 13 of the Digital Convergence Podcast by 16x9 Cinema with host Carl Olson - a visual artist, photographer, and filmmaker based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Within every Hollywood film is a love story.
Our guest for this episode of the Digital Convergence podcast is a filmmaker who has pioneered the development of the wedding concept film: Kevin Shahinian of Pacific Pictures. Kevin has a talent for making a documented event look as if it had been scripted, staged, and produced by a Hollywood movie studio. Viewing Kevin's work on the Pacific Pictures Vimeo channel, you can readily see that Kevin is a master of producing concept films in a number of different genres. His productions range from Bollywood comedy / musicals to intense thrillers (with a happy ending of course!).
Recently, Kevin undertook the ambitious challenge of merging a wedding concept film with documenting the actual wedding event. Teaming up with an amazing and talented film crew - including Patrick Moreau (Stillmotion), Joe Simon (Joe Simon Wedding Films and featured in Episode 4 of the Digital Convergence podcast), and Casey Warren (MIND|Castle Studios) - Kevin set off to Udaipur, India, to the breathtaking region of Rajasthan. This area is also known as the "City of Lakes." Entirely shot using video DSLR's (Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D), "City of Lakes" was filmed entirely on location during the 3 day long wedding event.
In this episode Kevin talks with me about the challenges of producing "City of Lakes. Were the results worth it? "City of Lakes" premiered for the first time at NAB 2010 in Las Vegas. Kevin talks about the positive reaction to the film. He talks about those who were present for the premiere and their reaction to his work. Kevin talks about why he chose to use video DSLRs to shoot this film and the challenges inherent to the format.
"City of Lakes" will be released in full on Pacific Pictures' website on Friday, April 23. Kevin was in the process of encoding and uploading "City of Lakes" as we spoke for a few minutes about him and his work. It was indeed a treat talking with Kevin. No doubt we'll be seeing more from this talented story teller and cinematographer!