Dial HD For Hero

I've been a little under the weather this weekend. I felt it coming, so I've been laying low... analyzing some of endless articles on the Presidential debate and election, helping Sarah pack up her place for next week's move, and doing some networking. 

Alex Ross in his studio. Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell
Museum. © and all rights reserved.

Speaking of which, I thought I would also take the time today to share some of the photos from my trip to Chicago last week to interview acclaimed comic book artist, Alex Ross. The occasion for my trip was to film an interview in his studio to use in conjunction with Norman Rockwell Museum's upcoming exhibition, Heroes & Villains: The Comic Book Art of Alex Ross. Being a fan of the artist's work, I must admit that I needed to get over some of my intimidation... not personally, but professionally... the man has obviously worked hard to produce lasting works of art (i.e. beautifully painted renditions of all of our favorite super heroes), so I wanted to be sure I had my game on--not only communication-wise, but technically.

I borrowed my filmmaker friend's Canon Vixia HF S10 HD camera for the shoot, and set about trying to master it's controls last weekend and in the days leading up to the interview. Despite its small size, this pro-sumer camera manages a rather decent picture. We set things up in Ross' studio, which was a treat to see--he had several drawings and paintings around that he was in the process of working on. He also gave me a tour of his home, where he had some of his original works on view... all expertly crafted... I secretly wished he would offer one for me to take home. 

Alex Ross' action figure museum!
Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell Museum.
© and all rights reserved.

From there we checked out a huge room that Ross has filled with various super hero action figures--it was quite the spectacle, and I suggested that he should be offering admission for people to check it out! We were, in fact, "greeted" by my life-size wax figures of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, that were all modeled on the artist's renditions--it was pretty wild... 



I laughed as Ross went about straightening Superman's cape, like a dutiful parent. The room was smartly organized by series and/or the world of each hero. One of the coolest items was a realistic Iron Man armor, which looked a lot like the version Robert Downey Jr. wears in the movies. Here and there, Ross also displayed works that he had a hand in sculpting (like an awesome model of the Hulk). We did a walk-through of this room, and I later wondered if I should have pursued the idea of extra lights (I hadn't because of extra costs). I'm not sure the Canon captured the best footage of this room with its lower light conditions, but I'll check it out again later. The footage we shot in his studio, on the other hand, was quite nicely illuminated by natural daylight coming through the windows, as well as the artist's own desk lamps. 

The interview went well, and the artist was very gracious with his time. My only regret was that we didn't have more time to film him working on an actual project, which he himself had suggested. When you are so into the subject matter, it is hard to know how to pace yourself... there were many things I was interested to ask him about and, in truth, it took us awhile to even start filming at all that day... Ross, his agent, and I were so caught up in talking about the comic book medium from the get-go. 

Anyway, this is valuable footage for the Museum to have both now and in the future. I was happy to initiate the idea, and hope that we will be able to put it to good use... watch this space for more details. 

In the artist's studio... Photo © Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

Related Links: 

View more photos from my interview on Norman Rockwell Museum's Facebook page.

Learn more about Alex Ross on his website: www.alexrossart.com