If I could spend a day with anyone in the entire world, Adria Petty would be that person.

Her work is simply visionary and timeless.  She has directed some of my favourite music videos including nearly every Regina Spektor piece.

Her techniques and use of lighting, graphics and surrealism simply blows my mind. I would love nothing more than to be on set with her for just one day to understand how she works (although spending a week on set would be even better).

From popular videos including Beyonce’s ‘Sweet Dreams’

to her artsy appreciation of Super 8 in Duffy’s video ‘Mercy’

She is a director well beyond her time. (Which doesn’t surprise me growing up with a rock musician for a dad-Tom Petty). She is experimental and not afraid to take chances. Her use of stop motion blows my mind and I am so impressed with her ability to take such abstract ideas and communicate it in such a concrete way. I feel like she is the type of person that has these crazy dreams and somehow turns them into real life visuals; which is a gift in itself.

She encourages me to test techniques and effects and take the time to appreciate the little details that can make such a huge difference to your visuals.

So wet your palate with a true filmmaker and check out her website: www.adriapetty.com

My neighbour Adrian is hands down one of the most creative people I’ve ever met. His work is unreal. This past Nuit Blanche here in Toronto, Adrian decided to throw a party on our back deck while simultaneously spray painting a mural on the wall. It ended up being a five day process, but I had my little point and shoot camera out each time to capture the masterpiece.

Which brings me to this: my first time lapse piece.

I learned a lot throughout the process (always have back up battery, use a tripod from day one, find the right angle etc) You can see I was finally getting the hang of it by the 4th day.

If you like what you see, check out: http://adrianhayles.com/ for more of his work.

Cheers!

-A

As my all time favourite season, Fall denotes energy, makes me crave a lot of tea, and reminds me how sexy everyone looks in a toque.

While diving into a pumpkin carving session with my sisters tonight, one of them remarked how excited she was to cook the seeds and the other of course asked about the nutritional value of them. After googling said topic, I found out they are actually one of the most nutritious and flavorful seeds around.

Also found some great recipes and useful info here.

If you’re a tea drinker, and you haven’t already met my friend David, allow me to introduce you to his Fall line: Secret Weapon, Leaf Jumper, and Rooibos de Provence are some of my personal favs.

-A