Michel Sandy - Cinematographer | Editor

An open letter to those with questions…

michelsandy — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:39:48 +0000

My mother was born Sharon Lee Borden to loving parents, Walter & Jean Borden. She married my birth father, Joseph Sandy, and changed her name to Sharon Borden Sandy on their wedding day. Shortly after my birth they separated and my mom met a handsome camera assistant named Terry who became my loving stepfather and also brought on a new name, Sharon Borden Pfrang, which is the name (and the husband) she continues to have to this day.

As Anna Kelso wrote in an essay a short time ago, ” What’s in a name?” To me, a name defines who you are as a person. It tells the story of where you came from and sometimes can influence where you go in the future. It carries your family values, your traditions, and your legacy on it’s back, but it is up to you which direction you take it.

Last year I entered a new chapter in my life and married my perfect equal. When we were at the courthouse signing our marriage license I thought to myself… “What name and legacy do I want to continue as with my future family?” The name I was given at birth doesn’t harbor anything negative nor is it something I am embarrassed to be, but there is another family name that holds every value of love and devotion I could ever dream of…

Christa and I have put months of thought into this challenging decision and have decided that we want to continue our life with the adopted family name of Borden from my maternal grandfather, Walter Borden. A man who did everything he possibly could for his family and friends. A man who loved with the kindest smile and the biggest heart. A man I could only hope to be.

This will slowly become effective as we change our licenses, bank info, etc. But, we consider ourselves 100% Borden effective immediately. I hope this answers any questions you might have had as to why the name Borden is popping up. Just consider it a new beginning for your old friends.

Love,

Michel & Christa Borden

P.S. Time to get a new signature! Woot!

California Republic – A Short Film Series

michelsandy — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 06:33:34 +0000

I have been spent the last 5 years shooting projects for various clients around the world. It has been incredibly fulfilling and I am definitely looking forward to the next 5. In 2012 I’d like to do something a little different… I’ll continue creating for others, but I’m even more excited to create for myself. The first series produced entirely by me, “California Republic” will feature California Art & Culture designed and crafted by close friends of mine.

The first piece chronicles The New Black BBQ piloted by my good friends Chris Sullivan & Nick Barainca. Their idea of Progressive American Barbecue has Santa Barbara, CA feverishly checking twitter (@thenewblackbbq) to see where they’ll pop up next. I personally recommend The Holy Trinity, an item only located on their secret menu…

PS – Something you might’ve noticed by watching this film, my name is changing. More on that in a few…

California French Cinema

michelsandy — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 04:31:01 +0000

I went to the bookstore on a whim about 2 months ago and went straight to the cinema section. Luckily, living in L.A. has it’s perks when looking for information regarding film and my local B&N has a hefty section on the subject. I sifted through countless “Film for Dummies” type books and completely ignored a series on “Making Your First Movie.” After only a few minutes of letdown I stumbled upon a book titled, “French Cinema.” I read a few pages in the store and decided it was the right book for me.

After spending two weeks in France (honeymoon) and reading about half of the book, I had a new found appreciation for French cinema. The book reads somewhat like a textbook and covers all aspects of France’s deep film history. Starting with the Lumiere brothers who created some of the first films ever to Jean-Luc Godard and the Nouvelle Vague film era. And don’t forget one of my absolute favorite directors, Julien Duvivier

Julien Duvivier behind the lens.

When I had a few consecutive days off I phoned my friends Ruby & Summer Spiro who had been producing their own French inspired silent films. We had done several works in the past focusing on their music endeavors and now it was time to showcase their wonderful acting talents with me behind the lens. Below is the first short film in a new series produced under our trio pen name; Mrs. Whitewater.

Summer Collaboration | Michel Sandy X Andrew Reilly

michelsandy — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:49:55 +0000

Choose your own adventure… Accepted or Detached?

A few weeks ago Andrew Reilly [photographer] [Jay's brother] and I got to talking about working together to create some fresh content for our portfolios. We tossed around mood ideas and decided on two separate shoots that covered the entire spectrum of the life of a teenager.

My Girl & Her Craft

michelsandy — Wed, 04 May 2011 19:59:34 +0000

Many of you know that my lovely fiance is quite the artist in the kitchen. Christa (of Mini Baker fame) has been baking sweet treats for her clients for several years now and she gets better everyday. A few weeks ago, Miss Mini Baker received a rather large package from Jessie Steele, an apron design company who has taken great interest in Christa’s brand. While gawking over all the beautiful aprons she received, we became instantly inspired to take our individual talents to the next level and collaborate on a little series of baking videos we are now calling, “Sweet Stories.”

After smoothing out all the finite details we started production right away. We shot these pieces in our little apartment kitchen in Los Angeles. I cut them from my favorite edit bay (the living room) and now, I bring them to you…

Here are the first two installments of Mini Baker Presents “A Sweet Story”

Screen Tested, Warhol Approved

michelsandy — Sun, 01 May 2011 03:38:36 +0000

My publisher, Steve Shaw, and I have had numerous discussions on the future of model castings. Currently, models bring a portfolio of their work to each casting and hand it over to the photographer for viewing. After about three minutes of flipping through glossy pages the photographer may take a few photos of the model and then she’s out the door and on to the next casting…

This is such an old world approach considering how much technology, and not to mention creativity, is sitting around the studio when these castings take place. The magazine world is in need of drastic changes and my team at TREATS! is focused solely on being the lead tastemaker of this new world. So, we decided to pay homage to the great Andy Warhol and reinstate the infamous Screen Test. Of course, I had to put my own spin on it.

Content With Content

michelsandy — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 04:02:21 +0000

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been inspired to write and keep a blog only to lose that inspiration 24 hours later. I want so bad to post new stuff that I am working on and receive feedback, but I guess I am too lazy and/or preoccupied to do so… With that said, I am trying again! Today is DAY ONE, hopefully of many consecutive days that I will post the whereabouts of my career.

To ease back into a blogging state of mind I will leave you with this little story to catch you up….

For the last two years I have been working closely with the Jonas Brothers Management arm to create an assortment of content. Iv’e done everything from music videos, commercials, promos, reels, docs, you name it. Not only has been a great experience, but it led me to the next level in my career as Creative Director for Cambio, a teen entertainment site powered by AOL. I’ve spent the last year developing and creating aesthetic for the majority of the content that you will see on their site. At first, it was one hell of an undertaking for a 24 year old kid who is completely self taught, but after a while I got very comfortable in the position. Although I was extremely happy financially, I started to question my employment… Was I content creating this kind of content? I spent many months trying to pinpoint where my concerns were stemming from and I had begun to realize that the answer to my question was simply, no…

I had outgrown my post in record time and needed a new challenge, but this was where a whole truckload of new concerns were dropped on my doorstep. The recession had taken its toll on the web and film industries and left hundreds, if not thousands of highly skilled people out of jobs that I could only dream of getting at this stage in my career. This didn’t leave much opportunity for me to escape the confines of what I was unhappy with and find an alternative… or did it?

I was unsure what to do, who to turn to, where to go… Was there a place for me outside of the teen market? I had my fingers crossed tightly. I’ve wanted, for so long, the opportunity to compete with true artisans a craft that I had fallen in love with, but I was nervous to step out and risk everything… I reached out as near as physically possible to one of the greatest men I have come to know, Mr. Mike Welch.

Welch, is not only the soon-to-be best man at my wedding (and an overall amazing person), but a man with an impressive rolodex. He gladly extended a helping hand and managed to connect me with a brilliant, intelligent, wonky bloke from the UK named Steve Shaw. Steve was in the early stages of publishing an avant-garde lifestyle magazine called Treats. Steve and I had worked together a few times in the past, but we never connected on the proper level until we started discussing a possible role for me at the Magazine… I fell in love with the ideas we were throwing around about art, aesthetics (my favorite), and digital content. I was easily hooked and once again escaping my comfort zone, something that I have come to enjoy immensely. I quickly accepted the invitation to come work for Shaw and put in my notice at Cambio.

About Treats: TREATS! is a media brand you’ve never seen before–a place where high fashion and sensuality combine with the ultimate in luxury and cutting-edge lifestyle publishing. At TREATS! there are a host of titillating platforms: digital, print, mobile. TREATS! aims to seduce & beguile with an opulent vision of success, desire, beauty, art and imagination. In essence luxury as fantasy, both artistic and commercial, while igniting the aspiration of readers, subjects, and contributors.

Art is beautiful and I am happy to be creating it.

Demo Reel

michelsandy — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:05:57 +0000

This is my up-to-date Demo Reel.

Selections include Jonas Brothers World Tour 09, Demi Lovato Music Video, Nike Sparq Campaign, Disney Editorial, Lost Prophets Surf Documentary, Ruby Summer Record Documentary, Honor Society US Tour, Kayslee Collins Promotional Video.

Enjoy!