Poptent

Okay, so for the last two weeks I've been particularly busy and one of the reasons was that via my friend Kevin Roberts I discovered a website called Poptent which basically puts out a call for filmmakers to create commercials for brands and then those brands pick winners and pay the creators for their work. In one way its a great way for clients seeking advertising to get extremely affordable and dynamic work as well as for filmmakers who would have not had an "in" in the industry to have their work shown to the marketing execs of some of the worlds biggest brands. On the other hand anyone who has worked in the television/advertising industry knows how much time, money and other resources it takes to bring an idea to fruition would understand how tough it can be to have done so much work for no financial reward. But besides all that, my friend Renico van Wyk and Myself decided that we would throw caution to the wind and have a go at one of the current assignments and wrote, directed and edited a commercial for Harrah's, as Las Vegas resort giant to help them communicate that they do not charge their guests with hidden resort fees..

- "Don't Get Slapped with Resort Fees!" Directed by Shaun Stander & Renico van Wyk, Starring Jason Hunt, 2010.

We had quite a few challenges in getting this commercial done, including a total budget of $90, extremely conflicting schedules, horrible lighting and ninja cats. But we finally got it nailed down with the help of Jason Hunt, Nick Spencer and my brother Ryan Stander. It was a great experience, thanks for everyone who helped! look out for the next one!

The End.

Archive #3

 - Spences Bridge, British Columbia, 2009.

The End.

Dinosaur Country: Part 3

- Brachiopods, Horn Corals and Sponges found in the North West Territories , Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drum Heller, AB, 2010.

The End.

Dinosaur Country: Part 2

- Stegosaurus, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drum Heller, AB, 2010.

 - Fossil Store, Horseshoe Canyon near Drum Heller, AB, 2010.

Dinosaur Country and Leather Boots & Open Skies.

The End.

Dinosaur Country

Back in July in the original posting of our roadtrip to Calgary, Alberta, I had explained that I was having the photographs scanned and corrected and that I would be posting them along with a short description as they became available..

 - Horseshoe Canyon, Near Drum Heller, AB, 2010.

This shot was from the second last day we were on the road and the first day we had had rain. After much discussion (and persuasion on my part) the night before we decided that we would drive the 140 Km road to visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drum Heller "The Dinosaur Capital of the World" East of Calgary (the opposite direction of Vancouver, our destination). Nothing was going our way, at 6 AM, cold, dreary and raining heavily. With sleepy eyes we packed the car in the predawn light only to that find half way there the government had deemed the road unfit for use and had ripped out about twenty kilometers of tar for replacement exposing bumby bare earth as our highway to "paleontologic delight". We pushed through the muddy to terrain and made our way toward the town of about 8200 residents. On the way we spotted a sign marked "Horseshoe Canyon" so we pulled off the main road and made our way along a short dirt path which opened up into a view point of a section of the Canadian Badlands which due the geographic history of glacial movement and unique erosion patterns have yielded countless rare dinosaur fossil finds as well as the occasional coal deposit. We took our time and stood in the rain a few moments admiring the beautiful terrain, I kept on imagining what it must have been like seventy million years ago.. a hulking Albertosaurus chasing after some smaller prey through the dense brush.. or possibly the lively sea floor of a prehistoric ocean. It was cool. 

The End.