Blog Archives

Jan

In Search of Darkness: Part II – Interview with Tom Savini

ABOUT

CreatorVC reached out to Cut ‘N’ Run Productions for help with a documentary about horror films in the 80s, titled “In Search of Darkness: Part II“. Tom Savini is a Pittsburgh icon who built his career specializing in makeup and effects in horror films.

PROCESS

We set up a remote interview setup with Tom Savini in our studio and the producer in Los Angeles. Since they could not travel to Pittsburgh due to travel restrictions and health safety, they asked Cut ‘N’ Run for help with the remote production for the film “In Search of Darkness: Part II”.

FINAL DELIVERY

We delivered the high-quality recording shot in RAW on a Canon C200 to the client via Google Drive for their editing needs and its use in the film. Cut ‘N’ Run is now credited with a role in the production of “In Search of Darkness: Part II” featuring prominent figures in the horror genre of film. The movie released November, 2020.

BEHIND THE SCENES AND ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

In Search of Darkness Part II Movie Poster

Tom Savini at Cut 'N' Run Productions Studio

Jan

Eddie Island – “Honey (You Said Love)” Music Video

ABOUT

Audio Network reached out to Cut ‘N’ Run to help produce a music video for 2017 American Idol contestant Eddie Island. Their team created a storyboard and treatment for the music video and sent it to Cut ‘N’ Run for execution. We made a plan to shoot everything in one day with Eddie and his band while the producers at Audio Network remoted in to help direct and make suggestions all the way from the UK.

PROCESS

Tackling one scene at a time, we shot the music video in the most effective manner possible to keep the production to a one-day shoot. Any mess making scenes were captured towards the end.

Two Litepanel Gemini lights were used to create color splashes throughout the music video as well as an LED fresnel to create a spotlight look. We chose our Canon C200 shooting in Cinema RAW Lite mounted to the Kessler Crane Shuttle Dolly and Cineshooter Head to achieve a seamless boomerang slider shot throughout the video. The remaining shots were completed using a handheld shoulder rig.

The post-production process involved working one-on-one with the producer from the UK and exchanging ideas and drafts of the video. The original treatment also ended up changing due to being unable to shoot certain scenes.

RESULTS

We sent the final render of “Honey (You Said Love)” to Audio Network to be posted on YouTube for the official public release of the song.

Eddie Island’s music video for his hit song “Honey (You Said Love)” has been viewed thousands of times on his YouTube channel. The relationship with Eddie has grown to include doing various other works since the initial shoot.

BEHIND THE SCENES AND ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Eddie Island - Honey (You Said Love) Music Video Behind the Scenes

Eddie Island - Honey (You Said Love) Music Video Behind the Scenes with John Phillips holding Canon C200 and band in background

Eddie Island - Honey (You Said Love) Music Video Behind the Scenes of Eddie Island at Cut N Run Productions

Eddie Island - Honey (You Said Love) Music Video Behind the Scenes at Cut N Run Productions with Eddie Island illuminated by pink and blue lights and a spotlight

Eddie Island - Honey (You Said Love) Music Video Behind the Scenes at Cut N Run Productions with confetti on floor around equipment and lights

Oct

Made Men Promotions

ABOUT

Cut ‘N’ Run established a working relationship with Angelo Magnone, the promoter for the organization Made Men Promotions, via networking through other boxing promotions. He tasked us with putting on a full production for his event on January 29, 2022 titled Rivers Rumble XII at the Rivers Casino Events Center.

PROCESS

After weeks of meetings, planning, and building the show, we were able to produce a three-camera live switch that included a PTZ camera which was built into the events center. The Rivers was able to send an ISO feed to their in-house projectors with the fight card before each match and switch over to the show feed during the matches.

We worked together with a DJ for in-house entertainment and also deployed a multi-angle replay system, up-to-date graphic overlays, and an audio mix to ensure quality sound throughout the night.

RESULTS

The fights were streamed via pay-per-view to the Made Men Promotions website as well as their Facebook page, expanding the reach to as wide of an audience as possible for this type of broadcast. Upon completion of the event, Cut ‘N’ Run provided videos of each fight individually for further pay-per-view offerings.

BEHIND THE SCENES AND ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Oct

BSidesPGH

ABOUT

Since 2019, Cut ‘N’ Run has been asked to help provide live streaming services for the BSidesPGH events hosted at the Rivers Casino Event Center. We devise a plan to record two separate “tracks”, or presentation spaces, for simultaneous speaker sessions to be recorded and streamed.

PROCESS

During our initial meetings with the client, we formulate our strategy from top to bottom starting to where we are going to set up to how we are going to stream multiple presentations at the same time in various spaces throughout the venue. We deploy two teams of camera operators and technical directors to control the production. The presenters have control over advancing their own slides which are displayed on the in-house projectors while viewers online can see the switch between the speakers and presentation slides. We have used both vMix and ATEM switcher systems to accomplish the setups.

RESULTS

We live stream these events to both Facebook and YouTube. The post-action work includes editing each speaker’s portion of the event into their own independent video for easier playback and archiving in case any of the topics spoken are of particular interest to the viewer.

BEHIND THE SCENES AND ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

BSidesPGH 2022 behind the scenes at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh event space with vMix video switcher set up behind audience

BSidesPGH 2019 behind the scenes at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh event space showing switcher station next to presentation stage operated by Justin Mackey

BSidesPGH 2019 behind the scenes at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh event space showing switcher station next to presentation stage

Oct

NEEF – SCA – National Public Lands Day 2022

National Environmental Education Foundation

ABOUT

Established in 1994 and held annually on the fourth Saturday in September, National Public Lands Day is traditionally the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort. It celebrates the connection between people and green space in their community, inspires environmental stewardship, and encourages use of open space for education, recreation, and health benefits.

National Environmental Education Foundation, or NEEF, reached out to us to capture video and photos of the National Public Lands Day event in Pittsburgh at Riverview Park. Volunteers formed different groups and trekked out on various trails throughout the park to work on some necessary cleanup and construction on portions of the trails.

PROCESS

With just a two-person crew and knowing we would be relocating to various locations on the trail, we had to remain as mobile as possible with our equipment. We mainly shot handheld with the Canon C200 and a light loadout with the Canon 5D Mark III so we could endure the hikes throughout the park. We provided shots of the volunteers working with an array of trail building tools as well as staff members training the volunteers. We also conducted interviews of a few staff members and even volunteers to help create a highlight video of the event.

RESULTS

One of the final products was a video just over four minutes in length that highlighted what NEEF is, working with the Student Conservation Association, National Public Lands Day, and the importance of upkeeping trails and public lands. We also sent the client nearly 200 edited photos from the day featuring all the different aspects of trail building and maintenance.

BEHIND THE SCENES AND ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

NEEF/SCA National Public Lands Day Photo of Crew Members Working on Trail

NEEF/SCA National Public Lands Day Photo of Crew Member Picking at Ground

NEEF/SCA National Public Lands Day Photo of Crew Members Carrying Log

NEEF/SCA National Public Lands Day Photo of Crew Members Choosing their Tools

NEEF/SCA National Public Lands Day Photo of Crew Leader Giving Instructions to Crew About Project

NEEF/SCA National Public Lands Day Group Photo of All Workers and Volunteers with Sign

NEEF/SCA National Public Lands Day Photo of Volunteers Signing Up

NEEF/SCA National Public Lands Day Photo of Workers in Front of Sign Thanking Volunteers

NEEF/SCA National Public Lands Day Group Photo of Workers and Volunteers

Sep

Bethany College

BETHANY COLLEGE

ABOUT

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, Bethany College has decided to start live streaming their commencement ceremonies so that everyone can be part of the event. Since restrictions have since been lifted, they continued to hire Cut ‘N’ Run to live stream their graduations in addition to having an in-person audience.

Bethany College has also hired the team to help record lectures, an awards dinner, and even a football game.

PROCESS

Cut ‘N’ Run provides multiple camera angles including a drone for aerial coverage along with PA system and wireless microphones. A link and an embed code is provided so viewers can watch either on Bethany’s website or through social media.

FINAL DELIVERY

Videos are streamed to Vimeo.com and embedded on the school’s website. Simultaneous social media streams are also available for streaming.

RESULTS

Bethany College relies on Cut ‘N’ Run’s broadcast team to effectively bring the milestone of graduating college into the homes of friends and families that cannot be in attendance. Each year, the streams achieve viewership in the many hundreds.

BEHIND THE SCENES AND ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Feb

Rivers Casino

Online • TV Video Ads • Photography

Hover/Click on Each Image to Learn More

ABOUT

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Rivers Casino had just wrapped up their "Window Drop" television commercial campaign. They were looking for an effective way to promote the new Interblock gaming technology as well as maintain marketing on traditional games. Cut 'N' Run teamed up with Red Square Agency to produce the new videos.
PROCESS

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Cut 'N' Run captured numerous scenes within the casino facility. A RED Weapon was utilized for high-quality video capture. Because of time restrictions, LED lights were selected to ensure the production was as mobile and quick as possible. All on-screen talent was handpicked from Pittsburgh talent agencies. Three makeup artists and wardrobe stylists were assigned to the numerous actors and actresses. The RAW 8K footage was edited in Cut 'N' Run's studio along with animation and graphics. All were combined for quick 30-second spots for TV and social media.
FINAL DELIVERY

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Cut 'N' Run worked within broadcast television specifications and delivered ProRes HQ files so the commercials would be broadcasted in the highest quality with both video and audio safe levels.
RESULTS

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Rivers Casino has broadcasted the commercials on television, social media, professional sporting events, and more. The campaign is still present now and is effectively advertising the focused casino experiences set forth in the pre-production strategy.

Jan

Allegheny County

ALLEGHENY COUNTY

ABOUT

Allegheny County wanted an effective way of delivering a critical safety message regarding open fires on residential properties. Commercials and billboards were decided on. Red House Media created the foundation of imagery and conceptualization then hired Cut ‘N’ Run to handle the production and post-production.

PROCESS

Based on the script provided by Red House Media, Cut ‘N’ Run obtained the appropriate equipment, crew, and talent in order to complete the one-day shoot. Aerial drones were a necessity in order to shoot imagery that could be used for special effects in post-production. Video and photography were conducted simultaneously. Mothlight Creative was brought on to create the special effects of the smoke and text floating through the air.

RESULTS

The campaign was appropriately channeled through numerous media platforms such as television, social media, Pandora radio, and billboards.

The commercial spots were delivered in ProRes HQ format for television broadcast. The high-quality photos were sent via Google Drive and used for billboards around Allegheny County.

BEHIND THE SCENES AND ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Jan

Pittsburgh Marathon

PITTSBURGH MARATHON

ABOUT

The Pittsburgh Marathon assigned Cut ‘N’ Run with the job of covering the annual Great Race. The purpose of the project was to produce numerous social media videos focusing on different aspects of “Race Weekend”. The Kids’ Marathon, 5K, Health Expo, Pet Walk, and full Marathon were all a part of the weekend coverage. This production posed as one of the most complex projects because of the positioning, timing, and angles in which our operators needed to cover the event.

PROCESS

Three camera operators were positioned in different areas of the race course in order to capture racers at the appropriate times. Different events were also happening at specific times during the days which required our operators to wrap quickly on location and move to the next. Mobility was limited because of traffic restrictions and lack of transportation.

RESULTS

The countdown is ON — Registration opens in less than 24 hours! Check out this recap of our 10th Anniversary celebration and get ready to MOVE on to year 11 of the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon! #MOVEPittsburgh Posted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday, August 5, 2018

BEHIND THE SCENES AND ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Jan

Schultheis Bros

Schultheis Bros – Heating, Cooling, & Roofing

ABOUT

Katie Rullo, the granddaughter of the founders of Schultheis Bros., contacted Cut ‘N’ Run with the need for a marketing campaign to build their customer outreach. We developed a plan to shoot some active job sites and conduct interviews along with other types of content to give them enough videos to post online and remain relevant with their online presence.

PROCESS

Cut ‘N’ Run delegated their crews to specific roles to be as efficient as possible given the allocated time to shoot on location with the Schultheis Bros staff. We conducted interviews and shot lots of B roll to create as much content as possible featuring various services the company offers.