The Devil You Know
We’ve spent the last decade flooded with nostalgia: sequels, reboots, and rehashed IP everywhere. Much of it feels forced. That’s why it’s surprising that The Devil Wears Prada 2 feels exciting, perhaps even “groundbreaking.” Nostalgia can’t be manufactured, but it can be observed and harnessed when the time is right.
On my way out of the city last week, I stopped by the pop-up at Hudson Yards, where hundreds of devilish fans took their stiletto selfies and quickly queued behind me, eager to claim their copy of RUNWAY. The excitement was as palpable as the impatience of the crowd. Fans, no doubt taking too long on their lunch breaks, were for once completely unbothered by an event moving at a glacial pace. Finance bros walked by scoffing, “They’re really waiting for - that?”
For many of us, this film was our first window into the working world. As a 13-year-old boy I imagined myself as an “Andy,” someday running about the streets of New York, balancing coffees in one hand, cell phone in the other, determined to track down the next unreleased Harry Potter manuscript. It made my little world in the rural south make sense: that the work I put in would someday pay off. (And I’ve held a grudge against Nate ever since.)
That world means something to us. It’s one we were eager to return to, and have subtly clamored for online for years. That’s why we’re willing to wait in line for a promotional magazine, or a butter birkin.
And the truth is - everyone wants to be us.
Freedom Plane 250 Exhibit
Walking through the Freedom Plane America 250 exhibit, you’re looking at the actual paperwork of a nation being decided.
The Articles of Association enacting the first policies by congress…
oaths where soldiers renounced a king…
George Washington’s signed oath as Commander in Chief…
the Treaty of Paris ending the war…
Even early drafts of the Constitution and Bill of Rights with edits in the margins.
These are decisions, written down and manifested.
Every one of these documents is a moment where someone stopped wanting… and decided.
And everything changed after that.
I’m left thinking: what in my life am I still just wanting… instead of deciding?
When this comes to your city, it’s worth seeing in person.
Love Story Cinematography
What makes cinematography actually work?
The cinematographer of ‘Love Story’ said it best: “cinematography’s job is to connect the audience to the appropriate emotion.”
__________
Jason McCormick, one of three cinematographers on ‘Love Story,’ chose a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and spherical lenses to mimic the films of the 90s. The show has a film stock feeling because Jason worked closely with the colorists to design a LUT, a palette that creates a creamy warmth, vibrant colors, and deep contrast. This is a direct result of the core inspiration for the look, 90s fashion and paparazzi photography. The colorists referenced Kodachrome and other film stock types to match the warmth in photography of that era. This makes the show feel period-authentic but not filtered or gimmicky.
Originally a photojournalistic or paparazzi-like camera approach was considered, with long lenses, spying from behind trees. But ultimately the creatives decided to prioritize the heart of the show, close romantic intimacy, allowing us to live in the story with the couple.
The shooting process was compared to jazz, loose, reactive captures rather than rigid shotlists, allowing responsiveness to the actors, locations, and energy of each set. That looseness allowed for a greater spontaneous, unpredictable, romantic feeling. It’s another reason handheld was often prioritized in many scenes.
A flexible production also allowed for creative discovery. Jason acknowledged online speculation that early social media reactions to hair and wardrobe paused production and allowed for major adjustments before the full series was shot. Jason notes that in a perfect world every project would allow you to shoot for a week, throw it away, and start over. This period allowed each department to refine the look and recalibrate.
Jason and Pepe Avila del Pino, another of the anthology’s cinematographers, praised the wardrobe, production design, and exhaustive attention to detail in recreating the period. Controlled naturalism in the look of each environment was the aim, which all build the visual world we’ve come to love in ‘Love Story.’
| Find Jason McCormick on the 'Go Creative Show' Podcast
EPiC | Elvis Presley in Concert
Great performers don’t just entertain, they activate the audience. They make you want to move your body and create something yourself.
In EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, I was taken aback by the mastery and physical embodiment of Elvis. I’d heard his performance style described before, but seeing it presented in a concert format on the big screen made it real.
Elvis was an obsessed master of his craft, in meticulous control of everything from background arrangements to lighting while constantly absorbing inspiration from those around him. But he singularly transformed all of that into physical energy. In the film you see his body shake, sweat flying as he throws himself to the ground completely spent. He reportedly lost several pounds each show, and you can feel that level of exertion onscreen as he pushes his voice and body to their limits. He uses the microphone like another instrument, capturing breath, strain, and visceral sounds in real time. The performance goes beyond the music or lyrics: his body itself becomes the storytelling.
Even in a movie theater 50 years later, you feel the urge to move. I watched people around me tapping their feet, barely suppressing the need to dance.
Audiences, and perhaps even customers, employees, and collaborators, respond not to polish, but to the visible embodiment of commitment and energy.
That’s why great performances still make us want to participate decades later. It’s why the greats never die.
Oscar-Nominated Shorts
The Oscar-Nominated short films are currently screening across the Live Action, Animation, and Documentary categories. If you only have time for one, I recommend: “Two People Exchanging Saliva.”
This story takes place in a world where kissing is punishable by death, so bad breath is a good thing, and instead of money you pay with slaps to the face.
This film felt the most risk-taking. It's in black and white. It places us in a world that is familiar but operates by totally different rules. While watching, you’re working to figure out what rules this world operates by. What are the stakes for the characters we quickly come to love?
It feels like it belongs in the Twilight Zone or Black Mirror universes. The set design and costuming build this chic but dangerous world. Is it in the distant future, the present, or even the past?
What I love most is that this short trusts its audience is curious and intelligent. We're left to figure out the meaning ourselves. Why does this world operate in this way? What are we meant to take away from this story? It's not overt in messaging or meaning, it's subtle and provocative.
I miss this kind of intelligent ambiguity and artistry, and it was delicious to experience in “Two People Exchanging Saliva.”
This story left me with the most to think about. While I quickly forgot some of the other shorts, I'm still thinking about this one days later. Find the 2026 Oscar-Nominated Shorts screening near you.
The Cult of Ina
Cult followings form when someone remains unmistakably themselves over time, attracting the right audience along the way.
I recently attended Ina Garten’s speaking tour for her memoir “Be Ready When the Luck Happens.” With little traditional promotion, nearly three thousand fans gathered in Atlanta on a random Thursday night. The audience was unmistakably Ina’s: elegant women in her signature blue shirts, millennials raised on her shows, and an enthusiastic contingent of gay men.
The NYT writer host, Kim Severson’s opening observation was a parallel drawn between Ina Garten and Dolly Parton. Both enduring and beloved businesswomen, forever above the fray, and each with their own cult following. The audience erupted with laughter at Ina’s first “store-bought is fine” and her insistence on sourcing “good” ingredients. In lesser hands, that level of discernment might feel exclusionary, but with Ina, it reads as conviction. She makes the aspirational feel accessible without ever lowering the standard.
That commitment to the bit has cultivated the camaraderie palpable among the crowd. The lovely ladies seated next to me were thrilled to ask what Ina dishes I’ve cooked, where I got my “Barefoot Contessa” ballcap, and what audience question I submitted. When I returned home, the love continued. A simple TikTok I posted, Ina on stage with the caption, “This is why my standards are unreasonable,” garnered thousands of views as fans shared their own experiences with Ina. “Our children buy her cookbooks, she is amazing. She crosses generations!” “She taught me how to cook and how to love.” “She is warm and gracious, I’m a fan for life.” Along with some of their favorite Ina quotes like, “You can’t be miserable while eating a cookie.”
By being so steadfastly herself, Ina didn’t chase an audience. She allowed her tribe to form around her, a fan base that now shows up with the devotion you might expect at a Lady Gaga concert.
P.S. The audience question I submitted: “When your biopic is written, what key scene from your life must make the cut?”
Radiant Keith Haring
In an era obsessed with “personal brands,” a recent walk through a Keith Haring ‘Radiant Vision’ exhibit served as a reminder that creative identities aren’t invented spontaneously. They emerge from the work artists return to again and again.
Keith Haring was trained in art school, and like every artist worked to develop his personal style, forging a niche fascination with the study of symbols. This interest led him to develop his own visual lexicon of pictograms: barking dogs, radiant babies, grinning faces, and glowing TVs. He took these icons to the street and began drawing them on blank New York City subway advertising panels, an early nod to his eventual commercial success.
The subway drawings refined and crystallized his brand. The environment forced speed and simplicity and exposed his work to thousands of viewers every day. Haring received real-time feedback as the public stopped to ask questions, make comments, and take photos. Soon enough the public wasn’t satisfied with only casual access to his work, and began ripping them down to sell the drawings or keep them for themselves, proving an enthusiastic market existed for his work.
Haring’s unmistakable style made him a brand, one that bridged two worlds: the gritty downtown counterculture he came from, and the uptown art aristocracy. He became the realization of Andy Warhol’s Pop Art movement, unabashedly marketing his brand through commercial partnerships. Brands flocked to be associated with Haring. He painted racecars, made Swatch watches, and promoted Adidas sneakers, Honda minivans, and Absolut vodka. He launched countless for-profit ventures including a storefront selling toys, watches, clothing, and all manner of merch; commercial success always balanced by non-profit philanthropy and activism.
Haring leaves a blueprint for defining our own brands. Through following his innate curiosities, embracing messy visibility, and experimenting in public, he discovered the thing that became his calling card. He didn’t design a brand on day one; he recognized a visual language that worked and allowed it to scale over time.
Snow Day | 1.31.2026
Snow Day | 1.31.2026
Winter scenes from the weekend. Snow is rare in the Southeast, and always calls to be captured. ❄️ 📽️
Blue Ridge Foothills | 35mm
Day trip with family, Blue Ridge Foothills | 35mm
Canon Ftb 35mm
Kodak 400 color
Colortek of Boston
Upstate SC
Step into our Study
This Halloween, we invite you to step into our Study, where cinematic stories refuse to rest in peace.
Within these walls, our chilling craft and spellbinding services bring every vision back to life. Because it’s never too late to rewrite your story… even beyond the grave.
“Moving Postcards” of Blue Ridge Parkway
“Moving Postcards” of Blue Ridge Parkway | Linn Cove, Price Lake, Boone
40 Over 40 | Gallery Event
An evening of celebration, artistry, and sisterhood.
The ‘40 Over 40’ gala brought stories of resilience and renewal to life through Brenda Allison’s (@brenda.allison.photography) portrait series, and we had the honor of capturing the night as it unfolded.
A (shooting) star was born.
I captured a meteorite on my dash cam, a "fiery ball" blazing through the midday sky seen across Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. I’ll be promptly adding “possible meteorite witness” to my resume.
Christmas Dishes
My Christmas dishes, 2024. First time trying wet-on-wet homemade royal icing cookie decorating. 🥘🍳