The wife, Ryan, and I have been meaning to wallpaper our dining area since we moved in last January. We looked and looked and looked for the perfect wallpaper to no avail. Then we found spoonflower.com where you can actually design your own! After a bunch of designs, Ryan one day said, "If only we could make wallpaper out of Scott's Lumberjack painting series." So I asked Scott, and faster than you can say "axe", he and I were turning his Lumberjack series into custom wallpaper.
Stuck in an Elevator with Kevin Hart
For the past month I've been working on the launch of Season 5 of Kevin Hart's BET show, The Real Husbands of Hollywood. After pitching creative to just about every executive at BET, we finally took a campaign to the big guy himself, well, the big little guy anyway, Kevin Hart. As things usually go with celebrity talent, you never know what to expect. Kevin loved the original creative, but one thing was missing for him – Kevin wanted to include the entire cast of Real Husbands (Nick Cannon, Nelly, Robin Thicke, Boris Kodjoe, and Duane Martin). So with only a few days before shoot, I had to come up with completely new creative which ended up being Kevin and his boys stuck in an elevator (careful what you wish for, Kevin). Despite their looks of utter irritation (it's called acting), the shoot went great! Editing six friends improvising in an elevator into 30 and 15-second spots... that's another story.
Hug Machine Children's Book Trailer
Recently, my dear friend and incredibly talented children's book author, Scott C. asked me if I wanted to help him create a trailer for his forthcoming children's book, Hug Machine. After playing with a few different ideas, Scott and I came up with this -- a parody of a workout video called 90-Second Hugs featuring Scott as a fitness guru leading a daily hug workout. In addition to directing and editing the trailer, I also composed the background music!
Our Wedding featured on Martha Stewart
Last Memorial Day, my wife and I were married at the Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid, in the heart of Adirondack Mountains. To be honest, I always dreaded planning a wedding, but once my wife and I started the process, I quickly realized planning a wedding isn't all that different than directing a shoot! So together, my wife and I transformed what was already an incredible venue (complete with views of Whiteface Mountain, beautiful timber beams and taxidermied moose heads) into an even more stylized summer-camp inspired lodge wedding. Some of the highlights included a trail map-inspired invitation (designed by me), a Hudson's Bay blanket-turned Chuppah and vintage record player for the ceremony, hand-made flower girl dresses made by our friend Annie, a young barbershop quartet in matching flannel shirts for the cocktail hour, and a 15-foot wood diorama-inspired backdrop for the reception (designed by me and built by me and our dear friend Lizzy). Specially thanks to Martha Stewart Weddings for featuring our wedding this week on their website!
http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/600605/adirondacks-retro-camp-themed-wedding-oli-sansom
Wavelength Party App
A few years ago I came up with a party game called Wavelength. The basic premise is that party-goers are asked probing subjective questions and get points when people have the same answers. It turns out that not only was this homegrown party game a lot of fun, it was also a great way to get to know people – strangers and friends alike.
So my friend Carolyn (shortstackapps.com) and I partnered up and we developed what became Wavelength Party as an iPhone game. Carolyn and I modified the original game a bit and I designed the graphics. The rest as they say, is history. So next time you're at a party and things are getting a little dull, head to the app store (or click here) and give it a go!
A few arrow shelves I made for the baby's room and a floating Lane shelf I made from an old coffee table.
I Like to Make Stuff
I like to make stuff. All sorts of stuff. Isn't that what directing's really about...getting your hands dirty? So along with this new refresh of my website, I've decided to have a new section showcasing my various side projects. From building an iPhone dock out of a Rubik's Cube to designing a 15-foot wood backdrop for my wedding reception, to developing an iPhone game called Wavelength Party, this section of my website will be devoted to past and present labors of love. So check back often to see what shenanigans I'm up to!