The Art Dept.

moving pictures

  • film // MOVE! #20

    In it’s twentieth installment, MLKBallet continues to present some of the Seattle area’s best contemporary dance to a Tacoma audience. (more…)

  • film // YOURS TRULY : Pickwick

    It was a spine-tingling shoot for Yours Truly that allowed us to capture one of our favorite local bands, Pickwick, in the comfy-as-an-old-couch confines of their suburban studio.  Seriously, keep an eye out for these guys hitting it big. And while you’re at it, check out our previous video we shot for Yours Truly as well as the rest of their incredible videos.

     

  • video // Fried Egg I’m In Love

    We finally had a chance to take a leave of absence from the home offices and travel down to Portland for a visit with our good friends at Fried Egg I’m In Love.

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  • wedding film // Courtney + Adam

    Under the guise as our alter ego The Heart Dept., we recently had the privilege of being part of an amazing couple’s nuptials—Adam and Courtney.

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  • brochure // Gundlach Bundschu Heritage Wines

    The good people at Gundlach Bundschu Winery tapped us to design a small printed piece introducing their premium Heritage Wines to their most exclusive customers.

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  • video // YOURS TRULY : Pure Bathing Culture

    We’ve long admired the intimate, live music filmmaking that the folks at Yours Truly have been putting out for several years now.  We’ve recently had the opportunity to work with them filming and editing videos in Seattle.

    The first to be released is this gorgeous song from the good people of Pure Bathing Culture (whom we’ve had the fortune of filming before, first as part of Vetiver’s band at the first Huichica Music Festival and second as part of Richard Swift’s band at the Huichica Music Festival the following year!)

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  • event // Glitter Haus 2012

    Holiday ornaments by Deeds & Petunia / Sarah Smith. Photo courtsey of Jessica Uhler Photography.

    All that glitters is not gold. A lot of it is glitter, actually. And yummy frosted cupcakes. And sprinkles of fine culinary salts. And crusts of snow on tiny trees. The Art Department was pleased as punch to host Glitter Haus this year, a holiday open house featuring extraordinary artisan gifts, organized by Tacoma crafting mavens Sarah Smith of Deeds & Petunia, Laurie Cinotto of Lalalaurie and Lori Meyer of Parisienne Girl Design. Eight talented vendors decked the halls of the Berkley compound for one afternoon while locals savored cider, noshed on delicious nibbles and shopped their way through all sorts of seasonal treasures.

    We believe the event was a great success, with all of the holiday bustle and none of the hustle. We love supporting local artists, and we hope Glitter Haus continues to flourish every year. You can find out more about the crafters here.

    Tacoma photographer Jessica Uhler, whose work we very much admire, kindly provided us photos of the affair. (We were too busy shopping. And eating. And merrymaking.) (more…)

  • video // Goldfinch : “Beautiful Wine” + “Hood”

    Tacoma band Goldfinch has a new album out—and it’s being officially released at the upcoming CATHEDRALS Tacoma.  We captured them performing one of the songs for the new album—accompanied by an original dance piece—in the historic Immanuel Presbyterian.  Also this video from the same night of their cover of Perfume Genius’ Hood:

    Be sure to grab tickets to see more:

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  • award-winning video // A Brief History of Merlot

    First—credit where credit is due. Once upon a time a wonderful, whimsical, wry little nugget of a narrative seeded itself in the brain of Gundlach Bundschu Winery Marketing Director Susan Sueiro. Perhaps (just maybe) after sipping on a glass of Gun Bun Merlot—a come-hither, ruby slipper of a wine, that—under the right circumstances—transports you over the rainbow. It’s no laughing matter, this wine. It’s just, well, much maligned. How to tell its story with winks rather than winces?

    After what we can only imagine was a richly inspirational foray sliding down various rainbows, one of the things Susan did after putting fingers to keyboard was to call us. And we’re so glad she did. Our own Art Director Peter and Susan together finessed the script and shot list so as to make it possible to capture in one day, Peter clicked his heels down to California and ta-dah, they did it. One day. By jove. Peter behind the lens, Susan directing, coordinating scenes, costumes, wings, prayers and wine.

    Back home Peter edited, nipped, tucked and nipped some more. Refined the flow and polished the audio, added graphics and selected the songs. Creative Director Sarah said things like, “That looks good,” and “Nuh-uh” and “But…” (She was pregnant anyways.) Peter burned the midnight oil night after night. He felt he owed it to Merlot. And Susan. And rainbows.

    Their efforts paid off. Last month A Brief History of Merlot nabbed Wine Spectator’s 2012 Annual Video Contest.

    A Brief History of Merlot humorously depicts the trials and tribulations of a varietal misunderstood—even shunned—in the aftermath of the movie Sideways, before its redemptive return to greatness.

    After its debut in March of this year, A Brief History of Merlot quickly went viral on YouTube—accruing nearly 20,000 hits in a matter of weeks as major media outlets and blogs across the wine world shared in collective laughter before passing it along. It currently boasts more than 36,000 views.

    The video was then submitted to Wine Spectator’s sixth annual video contest this August, where it won the popular vote. According to Wine Spectator, this year’s competition drew entries from all over the world and broke the record for the largest number of voters.

    So there you have it. The little Art Dept. video that could. Proving that anything is possible if you put a little blood, sweat and tears into it.

    Thanks to all the voters out there who displayed phenomenal taste in choosing A Brief History of Merlot. Thanks to our creative friends at GunBun for having faith in us, for their good wine and their great storytelling.

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