Matthew Christopher Hightshoe

The Creative Cortex at The Creative Cortex
Compositor, Director, Editor, Filmmaker, Motion Graphic Design, Storyboard Artist, Videographer, Concept Artist and Visual Effects Artist

Los Angeles, California

Member Since:
August 2017

Last online:
> 2 weeks ago

Invites sent:
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About Matthew

I was 7 when I saw Poltergeist in 1982 and the house imploding at the end was what sealed the deal for me as a kid to want to know how movies were made. My parents encouraged all my creative interests as an artist, musician, and filmmaking. Fast forward through the usual movie geek period. In short, I worked at the video store in high school. Spent my adolescence watching movies instead of dating or going out, studying them. Received my film school education through film production publications such as Fangoria, Starlog, Cinefantastique, Gore Zone, Cinefex and a few others. additionally, I watched every documentary and featurette that would appear on cable and on the VHS releases.

This was ALL before there was an "internet".

By the time I was in college, the "internet" was on the rise. I continued my self-education as well as took a few Production Theory courses for Film and TV. I would discover I had already come to learn about everything they were teaching me from all the self-education from previous years. To be fair, there were a few additional tidbits here and there that were new info, but not much.

Then came the DVD revolution.

This was the best film school knowledge anyone could get. The commentaries alone talked about aspects of the filmmaking world that schools simply didn't - the ugly business side and creative difference sides of filmmaking. This helped to round out my education for filmmaking. Now, I just needed to get hands-on experience making my own projects. That simply never happened. I did not have the physical resources (equipment or software nor finances) to make anything myself.

I abandoned that dream for many years, pursuing other creative avenues such as Concept Art, Multi-Media, Graphic Design and Web Design as it was the late 90s. I needed some other skill sets to fall back on in order to survive until I could return to my dream of creating films.

In the fall of 2000, I applied to the AFI for a Production Design Fellowship and was accepted. I was unable to attend as I simply could not afford it and no bank would give me a loan. So while I used it as a means of getting our to L.A., my future in filmmaking went the way of the Sana Ana winds.

Sparing all the turmoil I went through of being in a career for 15 years I did not enjoy or found rewarding, flash forward to 2016 when I made a conscious decision to get back to my passion - becoming a filmmaker. This time, however, I needed to start getting hands on experience with shooting video, recording audio, and editing and what resulted was becoming a service provider as a videographer and editor on panel discussions, interviews, real estate property walk-thru videos, and capturing B-Roll. I had acquired the equipment needed to get started and built a portfolio as well as a small production business. I built a small team that I could rely on and they proved to be reliable. I learned about business planning and legalities in order to maintain my business and protect myself and my intellectual properties from any potentially evil clients.

After the year and a half of lockdowns ending and businesses and clients are returning to some sort of normal, I am once again relaunching my company. In mid-2021 I had a past client reach out and hired me for video production and editing work. This is the project that will help get a new start with the business moving forward into the coming years.

Unique traits: Ability to tell a story, you know, where you spin some wild tales and manipulate reality to create that suspension of disbelief and maybe throw in some character arcs for added depth and interest. Oh, I can also draw, use critical thinking to solve problems, and order people around,

Gender:
Male

Height:
5' 9"

Weight:
165

Body type:
Athletic

Hair:
Bald

Hair color:
Other

Eyes:
Green

Ethnicity:
Caucasian

Badges

Photos

Videos

Amoeba Music Adventures with my friend Scott Marquette

My Daily Video Editing Exercises #2: Bicep Curls

My Daily Video Editing Exercises #1: Leg Work

Credits

Interview with film composer John Massari: The Klown Invasion Returns (2019)
Series by The Creative Cortex, LLC (Documentary, History and Music) Videographer / Video Editor Welcome back to Horror Movies and Beyond: reviewing horror movies for the living to understand the dead. In todays video I'm interviewing legendary film composer John Massari in his lovely home. I had an exclusive opportunity to talk to him about how "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" became a cult classic and propelled his simple theme music into one of the most familiar sounds in the world. Also, we get to see a glimpse of behind the scenes of "The Killer Klowns from Outer Space" concert event at The Montalban in Los Angeles (full concert video coming soon); his visit to Universal Studios Horror Nights in Orlando for the "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" invasion scare zone, and how one phone call made things really strange.
Pulling Strings with Puppet Master Mark Bryan Wilson: The Vault! Part 4 (2019)
Documentary by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor This is the finale of a 4-part interview Puppet Master Mark Bryan Wilson. Mark Bryan Wilson specializes in puppetry, sculpting, painting, and various types of techniques in practical effects. He's worked on movies such as Tom Holland's Fright Night, Ghostbuster (He is the original Slimer), Tremors, Beetlejuice, Team America: World Police, Hook, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and Michael Jackson's Thriller. These are just a few movies you can see his amazing talent. It's the most amazing experience ever. Enjoy! Watch the entire 4-part interview here: Pulling Strings with Puppet Master Mark Bryan Wilson: History of Puppetry: Part 1 of 4 https://youtu.be/BXxwOFYkEcY Pulling Strings with Puppet Master Mark Bryan Wilson: Interview Part 2 of 4 https://youtu.be/4LbLX5upPT8 Pulling Strings with Puppet Master Mark Bryan Wilson: Interview Part 3 of 4 https://youtu.be/_p-HCjxeIbQ Follow Mark Bryan Wilson: Instagram: https://instagram.com/markbryanwilson Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markbryanwilson Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/wilsonstudiom... #theoprahofhorror #markbryanwilson #horrormoviesandbeyond Ivotres Littles (Host, Creator of Horror Movies and Beyond: Reviewing horror movies for the living to understand the dead.) Follow me: https://www.facebook.com/hmoviesandbe... Twitter: https://twitter.com/HMoviesBeyond Instagram: https://instagram.com/horror_movies_a... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ivotres Snapchat: ivy_nerdtastic #theoprahofhorror #HorrorMoviesandBeyond #markbryanwilson Email: treslittle936@yahoo.com
Pulling Strings with Puppet Master Mark Bryan Wilson: Part 2 of 4 (2019)
Documentary by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor This is part 2 of 4 interview with Puppet Master Mark Bryan Wilson. This was a very magical opportunity of a lifetime to interview a practical effects master such as Mark Bryan Wilson. Mark worked on so many films and helped bring the directors' vision to life. For the first time, we will step in the mind of a puppet master artist. We will learn how he got started and why? This is truly an inspirational story. Enjoy! Stay tuned for video part 2 and the Vault. Link to Pulling Strings with Mark Bryan Wilson: History of Puppetry: https://youtu.be/BXxwOFYkEcY Follow Mark Bryan Wilson: Instagram: https://instagram.com/markbryanwilson Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markbryanwilson Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/wilsonstudiom... #theoprahofhorror #markbryanwilson #horrormoviesandbeyond Ivotres Littles (Host, Creator of Horror Movies and Beyond: Reviewing horror movies for the living to understand the dead.) Follow me: Twitter: https://twitter.com/HMoviesBeyond Instagram: https://instagram.com/horror_movies_a... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hmoviesandbe... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ivotres Snapchat: ivy_nerdtastic Contact email: treslittle936@yahoo.com
Berkshire Hathaway Real Estate Listing Video #1 (2019)
Commercial by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor Agent Albert Ramirez of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services (Downey Branch) hired TCC to create a Property Listing video. This is the first RE Listing video TCC has ever created. It showcases aspects of the neighborhood and the home. It even gives a peak inside with footage from the Matterport 3D Virtual Tour TCC also created.
Berkshire Hathaway Real Estate Listing Video #2 (2019)
Commercial by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor Property featured in this video is located at 3333 Hill Street, Huntington Park, CA 90007. Agent Polo Carrillo of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services (Downey Branch) hired TCC to create a Property Listing video. This is the second RE Listing video TCC has created for Berkshire Hathaway. It was also the result of a referral from the previous agent, Albert Ramirez. It showcases various aspects of the home thru a combination of stills and clips from the Matterport 3D walk-thru which TCC also performed for the client.
"On The Burden Of Being" Promo Video (2019)
Commercial by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor This is a promo video for a Trailer Music / Library Music company based out of Los Angeles. The lead composer and head of the company is Yoav Goren. The goal was to inter-cut interview segments with actual recording session footage - all of which TCC shot. Matthew Hightshoe (head of TCC) was the editor. The project was filmed and edited from Dec. 2017 to February 2018, A rough cut was submitted and almost a year to the date of filming passed before a response was given. During this time the project was written off by TCC as "cancelled" but when Immediate Music returned they explained that most of the recording had to be re-recorded as Yoav was not entirely happy with the performances. Thankfully, the new re-recording used the same click track so the new performance matched the performances of the players - visually. So no additional editing or adjustments were needed. Overall, there were were minor final edits needed including the original recording session performances blending into the new final mixes.
Interview with Disco Bloodbath (Mark Chavez) at Monsterpalooza (2019)
Documentary by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor Interview with media artist Mark Chavez, owner and creator of Disco Bloodbath at Monsterpalooza 3-D constructed Pop Culture, Cult, Classic, Horror Based Art. #theoprahofhorror #monsterpalooza #discobloodbath Email: DiscoBloodbathArt@gmail.com Facebook and Instagram: DiscoBloodbathArt Website: DiscoBloodbathArt.com Follow me: Twitter: https://twitter.com/HMoviesBeyond Instagram: horror_movies_and_beyond Media and Video: Matthew Hightshoe (d4disgruntled, The Creative Cortex) Video and Sound: Marius C. Macias
Interview with Scream Queen Danielle Harris at Monsterpalooza (2019)
Documentary by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor Danielle Harris has won the hearts of many horror fans with her performance as Jamie Lloyd in the "Halloween" series. Over the years, her career in horror films reached new heights and earned her the title 'Scream Queen.' #theoprahofhorror #Monsterpalooza #DanielleHarris Follow me: Twitter: https://twitter.com/HMoviesBeyond Instagram: horror_movies_and_beyond Media and Video: Matthew Hightshoe (d4disgruntled, The Creative Cortex) Media and Sound: Mario C. Macias
BMG Promotes 2 New Jazz Albums (2019)
Commercial by The Creative Cortex, LLC Video Editor TCC was hired by BMG Production Music to assemble a 30 second promo video for their social media marketing campaign. A truncated version of the Mambo track featured on the one of the 2 albums being promoted in the video was used to underscore the video. TCC edited clips from B-Roll provided by BMG to appear as being "in-sync" with the music. A 15 sec. version of this video was also created for their Instagram Stories.
Who Are "The Hollywood Ghostbusters?" (2019)
Commercial by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor This is for the Hollywood Ghostbusters Non-Profit Organisation here in Los Angeles. It is an "about" video that they use on social media to promote their organization. Follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/holly.ghostb...
"Horror Movies & Beyond" Logo Opening With Music 2019 (2019)
Series by The Creative Cortex, LLC Motion Graphics Created a Title Card "opener" that will be used for each episode of an upcoming web series. The show is also being co-produced by The Creative Cortex. TCC is providing video production and post-production services for the show. Original music was commissioned by D For Disgruntled.
"No Game" - Collective Editing Contest Submission (2018)
Film (short) by The Creative Cortex, LLC Video Editor This clip was created as a submission to the Collective editing challenge. The contest holders provided footage and audio to sync and edit into our own clip while adhering to various guidelines and rules. The contest can be found at: https://collective.lacie.com/contest/... About this clip The title has a double meaning in that the male lead thinks he has "game" and the girl of interest refuses to play the game he wants to play. I wanted to start off the scene with a funky and whimsical approach to show his determination to get the girl. The slapping game I found to be a form of foreplay and tried to capitalize on this as both a narrative device for bringing the two characters together early on. All of this is dramatically misleading in order to set-up the viewer to root for the guy in the beginning, only to discover he is a deceitful individual. His reaction to the rejection shows how even more disgusting of an individual he truly is. In addition to the editing, the music was composed and performed by my personally. For the lead character, I created some funky rhythms to emphasize his "player" nature in using the game to get close to the girl. The moment of dramatic music over the rejection is to characterize the girl and her morals. The scene ends with more funky music indicating the lead is still on the hunt despite his being rejected.
2018 Convention Special Screening Promo For Upcoming Blu-Ray (2018)
Commercial by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor TCC filmed the entire Live-To-Film Concert on May 19, 2018. The editor (and owner of TCC - Matthew Hightshoe) assembled a "Convention Screening Promo" video that begins with an original opening prologue for which he also shot and directed as well as created the onscreen visual effects. Then a select moment from the concert was selected to show people the experience the missed but could still experience in the future thru enough promotion and fan based interest. The project is currently under review by MGM to become a special 2 disc-BluRay set featuring the live the concert video, all the behind the scenes footages and interviews created around this event while a complete visual and audio remastering of the original film and the original film score would be presented on disc 2. We will see how this pans out.
"Spooky Empire" Shout-Out Promo (2018)
Video by The Creative Cortex (Comedy, Horror and Sci-Fi) Video editor / Motion Graphics "Spooky Empire created a short video advertisement featuring the Chiodo Brothers announcing the May 2018 "Live To Film" concert all orchestra version of the score to Killer Klowns From Outer Space. I was asked to assist as a secondary editor on this promo video. I added the Titles, animated text throughout the video and the motion graphics at the end. This was done at zero hour so while it is not among my best, it still shows I can produce something decent under pressure.
KKFOS Synth vs Orchestra (2018)
Video by The Creative Cortex Video Editor In this short video we show the "before and after" comparison of how the score originally existed as an all "synth" score versus how it has been "re-imagined" for a full orchestra. we selected a scene from the film for which we were given access to both visually and musically. we edited this short segment for the sole purpose of showing people how the new music sounds and how it plays against the film. Listen as the music shifts back and forth from "all synth" to "all orchestra".
D4D Productions Animated Logo Concept #1 (2018)
Video by The Creative Cortex Motion Graphics / Sound Design I was asked by a fellow artist to create several "concepts" to animate his logo. This is the first one that was completed for review. There are several more in production and will be released soon. When all are signed ff on by the artist "D" for Disgruntled, those files will be made available for viewing on his YouTube Channel.
"ReD" (2018)
Video by The Creative Cortex Video Editor Experimental music elicits an experimental response with video editing. I was approached with what was originally going to be just a simple video and audio sync job but after it was completed, the musician/composer (Hillary Fielding aka: Blancah Black) and I both agreed it was flat and boring. What resulted was a journey into true collaborative creative team work. I like to call "painting with After effects". Listening to the music initially without any context behind it or knowing what the narrative was about resulted in much of what is currently in the final video. After being informed of the narrative, I worked with the musician / composer to add a couple of extra elements, tone down and remove others and ultimately dividing the visual aspect into three moments of building tension, as occurs in the music. This was an exciting project and one that may never come around again which is why I jumped at the chance to be part of it. Copyright Notice: The song originally was composed and performed for use by the record label, Bridge Records, which had an exclusive rights holding for two years. The project was called the $100 Guitar Project in which a $100 used guitar was shipped around the country to a wide variety of guitarists on which a song of their own was to be performed. The resulting individual music tracks were then collected by the recording label as a large compilation album. This album is still available on Amazon and there is a YouTube playlist that features all the songs as well as this one - sans the video I made this year that accompanied the track. It i worth noting that the video footage in my video was shot by someone else and was shot at the time Hillary was performing her song on the $100 guitar that would later be included on the compilation album. Now that rights have expired and the song has since been copyrighted by Hillary Fielding. We are posting it here until her company's YouTube page and website are finished being built. Once they are done, we will remove the video from here and transplant it to her channel. Fielding Media Associates Website: fieldingmedia.com
"Score Trek" Soundtrack Documentary Teaser Trailer (2018)
Commercial by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor I started my own documentary project dealing with the business and creative challenges of releasing soundtracks (specifically Film Scores) commercially. The project had to be put on hold as I ran out of my own personal funds to continue financing the project. I am reworking the idea to become a docu-series and hope to continue with more interviews after the current world events subside and the world gets back to normal operation.
Invasion Hollywood: The Effects Before & After Comparison (2018)
Video by The Creative Cortex Videographer / Video Editor Here is a side by side comparison of the original footage we shot and edited together before applying the effects. This is slightly truncated from the final version. Enjoy! Effects Performed: 1. Debris from pre-keyed footage that we own was composited in. 2. Opacity & Channel Mixing for the pulsating lights. 3. Google Sketch Up to create the Clown Ship and composite it in. 4. A variety of effect plugins in After Effects for the teleportation and effects related to the Ship flying and landing. 5. Created & Composited in elements that did not exist in the original footage - the marquee, the Klown Picture. 6. Added the sound effects which really sells the short film.
John Massari will be appearing at Monsterpalooza 2018 (2018)
Commercial by The Creative Cortex, LLC Video Editor An example of my continuing entry into "short-form" videos as well as motion graphics animation. Created a Snap Chat styled motion graphics (animated) video announcement for John Massari to use on his social media feeds announcing his appearance at the upcoming 2018 Son of Monsterpalooza.
"End Credits" - Horror Re-Imagined Volume 1 - Track Preview (2018)
Commercial by D4D Media Video Editor / Motion Graphics As part of my "concept soundtrack album" currently available on Bandcamp, I collaborated with The Creative Cortex, LLC again to create a visual accompaniment to my track previews. This is the "End Credits" cue which is a suite of the four prominent themes and motifs used throughout the score. The music presented here is only 2/3 of the cue but gives an idea of the musical tone of the score. Go check it out on Bandcamp. Link To Album: https://tinyurl.com/yagw4j28 It is available for purchase as a Digital Download. Buy the full album or cherry pick the cues you like and purchase them. Remember to Like, Comment, and Share with those who you think will like my music.
Catalpa Excavation Demolition Series: #004 (2017 - 2018)
by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor The fourth video in an ongoing series of videos documenting select demolition projects executed by Catalpa Excavation. You will see that we approached the video and all the subsequent videos with the intent of telling a narrative about the process rather than through together a bunch of random shots. The first video is more direct in documentation and color timing but the subsequent videos progressively get more stylistic with the aesthetic color and contrast. Amazingly, TCC used a one person crew was all tht was used. This consisted of one DSLR, a mono-pod, a hand-held stabilizer when needed and a mounted mic. TCC was also responsible for the editing.
Black Friday Thursday 2018 (2018)
Film (short) by D4D Media Videographer / Video Editor On Thanksgiving Evening of 2018, I and my partner ventured to Target to buy some things for the house and got caught up in the madness that was Black Friday Thursday! Here is the adventure condensed into a 1-minute short-form video. Music is by D4Disgruntled
D4D Productions Animated Logo Concept #1 (2018)
Video Motion Graphics I was asked by a fellow artist to create several "concepts" to animate his logo. This is the first one that was completed for review. There are several more in production and will be released soon. When all are signed ff on by the artist "D" for Disgruntled, those files will be made available for viewing on his YouTube Channel.
Q & A Panels (2017 - 2018)
Video by The Creative Cortex (Documentary and History) Videographer / Editor For a year, my company served as the in-house dedicated production team to document all the Q & Panels held at Creature Features in Burbank, CA. The link provided is to samples of some of the panels we covered, about half to be exact. We have another 8 panel discussions we are attempting to finish between other projects. Creature Features was a "pro-bono" client so all of the work we did for them was free and a testing ground for us. So when paid projects come around, CF projects get put on the back burner.
Re-Imaging the score (2018)
Video by The Creative Cortex (Comedy, Fantasy, Horror and Sci-Fi) Director / Editor We were privy to documenting the recording session at The Bridge Recording Studio. We captured a lot of BTS footage as well as conducted interviews with various Crowd Funders who had the opportunity to attend the sessions. We assembled a video to promote the upcoming album featuring the newly recorded music. I did shoot some of the footage featured in the first half of the video but my team of two camera guys shot the entire recording session so I give them the credit as they followe my direction and prodcued a full day's worth of footage from which to use in this video.
Invasion of Hollywood: The Full Short (2018)
Video by The Creative Cortex (Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi and 1 More) Director / Cinematographer / Editor / VFX / Sound The Killer Klowns have invaded Hollywood for a one-night concert event at the Montalban theater. They sent out one of their Klowns ahead of time to be first in line and beat the crowds in order to round up all the tickets so no human can attend. This is the complete film from which the various clips were made that were seen on various websites and social media sites to help promote the "Live To Film" concert event featuring an orchestra version of the film score to Killer Klowns From Outer Space performed in sync to the film. This event marked the 30th anniversary of the film's release. #KKFOS30, #johnmassari, #thechiodobrothers, #themontalbantheater
Live To Film (2018)
Video by The Creative Cortex Editor Continuing in the series of social media promotional videos that we created to help promote the "Re-Imaging" of the score to Killer Klowns From Outer Space", this second video focused on the "Live-To-Film" concert event that coincided with two other important events. The first being the album release (from ) with the newly recorded score and most importantly, the 30th anniversary of the film.
Sky Fighter Indiegogo Campaign Video (2018)
Video by The Creative Cortex (Documentary, Sci-Fi and Biography) Director / Cinematographer / Editor / Sound Lukas Kendall, mostly known for creating and operating Film Score Monthly for almost 20 years, has ventured into his own passion for filmmaking. He is currently developing a Sci-Fi short film that will serve as a proof of concept for a larger feature film. We worked closely with Lukas to craft a crowdfunding video that is truly "Lukas" in every sense.
8th Annual Fans of Film Music (2017)
Video by The Creative Cortex, LLC (Documentary, History and Music) Video Editor Our 8th edition was held at The Bridge Recording with these big stars in attendance David Buckley, Steve Jablonsky, Tina Guo, Lolita Ritmanis, Michael Abels, Alex Heffes and Daniel Hart. Daniel Schweiger mc'd the event. Thank you so much to The Creative Cortex for masterfully capturing our special event and for editing it for all of you to watch and enjoy! Thank you The Bridge Recording for again allowing us to take over your gorgeous studio for a day.
Tyler Bates "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" post panel signing (2017)
Documentary by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor Join the continuing adventure with Tyler Bates as he signs a variety of CDs and memorabilia from "The Guardian of the Galaxy" films as well as his past adventures.
John Carpenter's "The Thing" 35th Anniversary Group Art Show (2017)
Documentary by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor 35 years is a slow thaw process. Either way, The Thing got loose and was suspected to be lurking around Creature Features in Burbank. Fans of John Carpenter's "The Thing" remake ventured out in droves to celebrate 35 years of fan inspired artwork paying homage to John Carpenter's film. Sunday, April 16, 2017.
Rocketeer Group Art Show Tribute to Dave Stevens 2017 (2017)
Documentary by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor Blast off into the creative minds of the Rocketeer fans. See how this iconic character has influenced so many artists throughout the years in this art show that pays tribute to artist Dave Stevens, the creator of the Rocketeer.
Promo Ad - Cesura Youth Orchestra Benefit Event (2017)
Video by The Creative Cortex Video Editor We filmed this short promotional video ad that John Massari used in his marketing efforts to bring awareness to the Cesura Youth Orchestra. We had to preform some post-production VFX clean-up on the mic attached to his shirt collar. The mic was pulling too much due to the wire placement running under his leather jacket. We corrected the placement. Ironically, the audio captured from the lavaliere mic was not used as it captured every crinkle movement of the leather jacket. Luckily we had a second audio recording source that we were able to use as a back-up that did not have noise pollution issues.
Catalpa Excavation Demolition Series: #003 (2017)
Video by The Creative Cortex (Documentary) Videographer / Video Editor The third video in an ongoing series of videos documenting select demolition projects executed by Catalpa Excavation. You will see that we approached the video and all the subsequent videos with the intent of telling a narrative about the process rather than through together a bunch of random shots. The first video is more direct in documentation and color timing but the subsequent videos progressively get more stylistic with the aesthetic color and contrast. Amazingly, TCC used a one person crew was all that was used. This consisted of one DSLR, a mono-pod, a hand-held stabilizer when needed and a mounted mic. TCC was also responsible for the editing.
Catalpa Excavation Demolition Series: #002 (2017)
Video by The Creative Cortex Videographer / Video Editor The second video in an ongoing series of videos documenting select demolition projects executed by Catalpa Excavation. You will see that we approached the video and all the subsequent videos with the intent of telling a narrative about the process rather than through together a bunch of random shots. The first video is more direct in documentation and color timing but the subsequent videos progressively get more stylistic with the aesthetic color and contrast. Amazingly, TCC used a one person crew was all that was used. This consisted of one DSLR, a mono-pod, a hand-held stabilizer when needed and a mounted mic. TCC was also responsible for the editing.
Carmen Main Titles (2017)
Video by The Creative Cortex, LLC Motion Graphics For the DVD presentation of this live musical performance, we created opening and closing credits that book-end the main program. Presented here are the Main Opening Credits that preceded the program.
Catalpa Excavation Demolition Series: #001 (2017)
Video by The Creative Cortex Videographer / Video Editor The first video in an ongoing series of videos documenting select demolition projects executed by Catalpa Excavation. You will see that we approached the video and all the subsequent videos with the intent of telling a narrative about the process rather than through together a bunch of random shots. The first video is more direct in documentation and color timing but the subsequent videos progressively get more stylistic with the aesthetic color and contrast. Amazingly, TCC used a one person crew was all that was used. This consisted of one DSLR, a mono-pod, a hand-held stabilizer when needed and a mounted mic. TCC was also responsible for the editing.
"Another Day" - Visiting An Animal Sanctuary (2016)
Documentary by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor Back in September of 2016, my mother came to visit. My life partner and I took her to visit a local animal sanctuary in the outskirts of Los Angeles called "The Gentle Barn". Here, a variety of farm animals have been brought after being rescued from abusive owners or saved from being slaughtered for human consumption. Keeping in line with TCC's mantra of visual storytelling through moving images, the short film takes the viewer through the same journey we embarked on. It shows the animals in there natural element, happy and friendly. It also shows how various species can interact in the same space and get along. I filmed everything with the intent of editing it together and adding music so there was some pre-thought to the footage I was taking even though much of it is candid footage. A Nikon consumer camera was used for filming as I did not have proper protection for my Canon DSLRs and lenses from the strong wind that was blowing dirt and sand around that day. The sound is from the in-camera mic as again this was a one man operation and it was also a family outing doubling as a film shoot. Color correction and sound work was performed to help unify the video footage and audio. The wind was an unfortunate obstacle but to some degree adds an added element. The music is from my youth when I was toying with the idea of being a music composer. The piano is in fact slightly out of tune but that is what I liked about it at the time and still do. The cues are edited clips from larger improvisational works I did. The recording of the music is not pristine and coupled with the detuned quality of the piano gives that "damaged" and "disconnected" feel that I felt was appropriate as so many people are disconnected with animals outside of dogs and cats.
"The City Lives" (2016)
Documentary by The Creative Cortex, LLC Videographer / Video Editor This was an experimental video in which the narrative was about the city as a whole, as though it was a living organism in its own right. So it begins with the city waking up, starting its day, executing its daily activities before retiring for the night to renew for the next day. There is no dialogue but there are sounds of the city and music. The montage was divided into segments through simple titles added over certain shots. Then, the natural sounds of the city - buses and cars passing by, subway trains, crowds, etc. - were mixed in from our footage. To help aid the narrative and mood of each segment music was added. To give it that final shine, the color and exposure levels of the footage was altered to give it some character. A tid-bit about the making of the video: 1. The video shot by both my camera guy J. Emanuel Stuart and myself, M. C. Hightshoe. There is an equal balance of his footage and mine. James used the Canon 70D, I used the T3i with a few shots from a previous year or two shot on a Nikon an HTC One mobile phone. Those shots make up 1% of the montage. 2. We shot in the reverse order from which the footage is presented - aah the magic of editing. 3. Some stabilization of the hand-held video was necessary to provide smooth movement. 4. The editing and post enhancements were executed by M. C. Hightshoe (me). 5. The music was composed. performed and recorded by M. C. Hightshoe (me) using MIDI. Cameras: J. Emanuel Stuart & Matthew C. Hightshoe Editing, Post Clean-Up and Music: Matthew C. Hightshoe
The Creative Cortex Company Teaser (2016)
Commercial by The Creative Cortex, LLC Video Editor / Motion Graphics This is an animated short acting as a "Coming Soon Teaser" of sorts for our company. It was assembled and animated using adobe After effects. The music is from the YouTube Audio Library called "Earthly Crust by Jingle Punks. It was edited down to sync with the animation.
Fans of Film Music 7 - Opening Credits (2016)
Video by The Creative Cortex, LLC Motion Graphics For an annual Q and A event, I created animated titles and credits that would book end the final edited video that was produced.
0:04 / 0:12 "There's No Such Thing As Vampires" Title Card Concept #1 (2016)
Video by The Creative Cortex, LLC Motion Graphics Created on "spec" and was submitted to client in order to retain them for when the production nears completion. No footage was provided to us to get a sense of the tone for the film, all direction was verbal. We were given a blank canvas on which to create. This concept (1 of 2) represents our interpretation of the initial briefing provided by the filmmaker. This concept focused on the idea that while the assumption in the story is that there are no more vampires, the lines of truth and fable are blurred and the fact is vampires still do actually exist. This fact will become painfully "clear" later on as the blinders are lifted and the true reality becomes crystal "clear".
"There's No Such Thing As Vampires" Title Card Concept #2 (2016)
Video by The Creative Cortex, LLC Motion Graphics Created on "spec" and was submitted to client in order to retain them for when the production nears completion. No footage was provided to us to get a sense of the tone for the film, all direction was verbal. We were given a blank canvas on which to create. This concept (2 of 2) represents our interpretation of the initial briefing provided by the filmmaker. This concept is exemplified through the transitioning of the text from a blurred state to one that is clear and legible. The fast paced chaotic intersecting of the words and letters was intended to hint at the fluttering of bats. The music and sound was chosen to elicit the growing anxiety and fear the victims of the supposed non-existent vampires experience just before they are murdered (the thumping heartbeat-like sound followed by the metallic slashing sound slash and hit mixed with the hollow moaning sound).