Raleigh Crew Ride with a Hall of Famer

Go To Team's Raleigh crew headed down US1 to Southern Pines NC to meet up with recent olympic hall of fame nominee equestrian J. Michael Plumb. Plumb’s first Olympic Games experience took place in 1960, when he was 20 years old. He was named to every Olympic three-day team from that Games through 1984, earning six medals: team silver in 1964 at the Tokyo Games; team silver in both 1968 and 1972; team gold and individual silver in 1976; and a team gold in 1984.

Cameraman Jimmy Hall used the Sony HVR - V1U which was then mounted on the micro dolly for smooth but subtle movement. "The micro dolly is such a great tool that definitely adds a higher quality to the project, plus its quick and easy to setup...when given the opportunity I'll bust it out in a heartbeat."

The piece will air during the induction ceremony in Chicago, IL.

Put A Cork In It!

Ahhh... California's wine country. The serene views of rolling hills covered in vines as far as the eye an see. The feel of calm as the breeze lightly plays on the skin. The smell of exhaust and burning rubber..... Must be Sonoma weekend as NASCAR brings the show to the mountainous Infineon Racetrack. TNT along with Go To Team's Skip Clark and Rene Cusson were on hand to show the nation the view from the track to the neighboring hills of San Francisco.

Through the lens of their Panasonic Varicam they shot crowds at Fisherman's Wharf and overstuffed Cable Cars, grapes ripening on the vine in the sunshine and wine being enjoyed by racegoers overlooking the track, and racecars ripping through S curves. A wonderful time creating some great TV. The only gripe was heard from Audio Guy Rene during an interview at the track. As a car roared through during a nice soundbite he wished racecars were more like wine bottles... Put a cork in it!

Two Teams Merge for Tornado Victims

Go To Team's Raleigh crew spent a week with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team in Macon, Georgia, after tornadoes pummeled the area. The Rapid Response Team is a group of chaplains who are deployed to share God's love, comfort, and hope to those affected by a man-made or natural disaster. Cameraman Jimmy Hall, Audio Op Ian McCullen, and producer Janet Stone shadowed the chaplains as they visited and brought spiritual comfort to the victims of the tornadoes. The chaplains not only comforted the victims but also provided comfort for Samaritans Purse volunteers who had traveled from all over the Southeast to help with the clean-up.

"It's comforting to know that people are willing to put their life on hold and travel hundreds sometimes thousands of miles to help strangers. I was overwhelmed by their generosity and dedication."

To document the five days in Macon the crew shot with the Cine Alta Sony F900.

You can go here to find out some more about the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team.

Check out the piece here:

Talk About Frequent Flier Miles!

Go To Team’s Skip Clark and Rene Cusson had a busy weekend. Traveling with the Panasonic Varicam, they left their home city of Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday and traveled to three states in three days! They covered more than 4130 miles by jet, helicopter, and car to follow NASCAR’s Kyle Busch as he went to Dallas-Fort Worth, Nashville, and Pocono, PA, to race in all three of NASCAR’s racing series. Working with producer Pam Surbaugh and TNT talent Ralph Sheheen, the crew produced a feature that aired in TNT’s pre-race show on Sunday. No one had attempted to race in all three series in three different cities until this weekend. “It was a well planned out strategy. The jets were on time, there was a helicopter waiting at every stop, and there was always food,” is how Skip summed it all up. Nothing was left out from the plan. And that was just Busch’s entourage. TNT’s Production Coordinator Kristin Mosher worked with Pam to keep the crew moving, even arranging at the last minute (they were literally on the plane as plans changed) to have a chopper waiting for them in Texas! Without them there would have been no way Skip and Rene could have kept up with Busch. Keep watching TNT’s pre-race shows the rest of the season as Go To Team crews are there; the Clark crew continues to travel on the NASCAR circuit while Charlotte’s David Baker and Raleigh’s Jimmy Hall are picking up shoots in North Carolina.

Rouge Picture's "The Strangers" in theatres now

Rouge Pictures has released its newest thriller, "The Strangers", starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. Last year GTT's DP Tom Wells was contracted by New Wave Entertainment to shoot the EPK for the movie, keeping him on location for 17 days with the CineAlta Sony F900. The footage was shot for promotional use before the film's release as well as bonus features that will ultimately be included on the DVD. While on set the crew focused on special effects, makeup, and interviews with all the cast and lead crew members. The movie is getting great reviews from critics, and several of GTT's members who have seen the film agree - it's freaking scary!

Go To Team Management Runs Laps with Clark Crew at Coca Cola 600

In the field for a day with Director of Photography, Skip Clark at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

I get to travel a little with Go To Team, but don’t log nearly the miles that our video crews (Skip Clark, Tom Wells, Dave Baker and Jimmy Hall ) do. My job as Operations Manager is first and foremost to provide support to our guys, while they’re busy “Making Cool TV”. It’s always great to get out from behind the desk and remember how much hard work Go To Team Crews do and how much fun they have doing it!

I recently had the opportunity to visit Partner and Director of Photography, Skip Clark in Charlotte, NC and spend a day at track visiting our NASCAR clients, including FOX Sports. The FOX Sports crew is a remarkable organization that’s taken our crews across the country for Races, Football, and even Monster Trucks.

I’ve always thought of Skip as a Rock Star, but it’s always good to be reminded why. Skip has the coolest toys and newest gear. I see the invoices and have a TV production background, but the gear he has is amazing not to mention what Skip can do with it. Skip’s "Do Whatever it Takes" attitude hasn’t changed in his 8 years with Go To Team and has been passed on to every single employee here.

I had a great time meeting with our clients and crew members… putting faces with voices or emails. I don’t think there’s a corner of the track we didn’t go to. I had the opportunity to see Fox’s “Hollywood Hotel” set, stand on top of the trailer in the infield, talk to Fox Anchor Jeff Hammond (and, a shout out to Danny Shull).

While traveling up to the top of Lowe’s VIP area we bumped into “Humpy” Wheeler who just retired as manager of the Speedway. What an honor on his last day. He was gracious, accommodating, and funny. A treat for someone who can appreciate his tremendous marketing efforts. Watching the pit crews work in the garage area made me think about the team aspect to NASCAR that we at Go To Team can appreciate.