Need For Speed Filming in Downtown Detroit

Earlier in the week, we received a company wide email at work letting us know that Campus Martius and all connecting streets would be shutdown on Thursday, June 28th, for the filming of the new Need For Speed movie.

I thought I would put together a compilation of some of the amateur photos and videos that were posted to Twitter and Youtube to give you a feel for what was going on.

I have to start with my favorite video clip, which puts things in perspective.



Here's another one from ground level, this time with a camera mounted on a lead car to film at street level.



And here's one more that shows a take from higher up.



There's probably at least 5 more videos out there when you search for "Need For Speed Detroit" on YouTube.

Here's a pic shared by @MotorCity that shows one of the filming rigs:

Did anyone get downtown to catch a glimpse of the filming for Need for Speed? #detroit #movie #NeedForSpeedMovie pic.twitter.com/r9Xtx7gzxM
— Motor City Connect (@MotorCity) June 27, 2013

And here's another pic of one of the prop cars:

One of the prop cars from the new Need For Speed movie filming in Detroit today pic.twitter.com/WMKDmKPXqL
— Jerel Bernasek (@JerelBernasek) June 27, 2013

And one more, this one from @SkidmoreStudios. This was actually taken today as they filmed just a block over in the Capitol Park area.

Need for Speed is filming & the Transformers 4 is set being built down the street from the studio! pic.twitter.com/PEVPh8QK2n
— Skidmore Studio (@SkidmoreStudio) June 28, 2013

I'm going to have to check out the movie now, since I'm curious to see how those Detroit scenes turn out. It's being directed by Scott Waugh, who recently directed Act of Valor. To give you a flavor for the movie, here's a behind the scenes teaser trailer:

Playing around with Time- Lapse in Detroit

I've always thought time-lapse videos were pretty interesting and amazing.  If you're not familiar with what I'm talking about, check out The Best City Time-Lapse Videos of 2012 (according to the Atlantic Cities site) or 25 time-lapse videos reeking of awesomeness.

I started doing a little research into what it takes to create my own, and since I have an 8 megapixel camera on my iPhone, I figured I'd try out an app to see what I could do. A few months back I downloaded the TimeLapse App on my iPhone that allows you to easily create time-lapse videos. It's so easy, it's practically point-and-shoot.

I used the app on consecutive days to create some short videos back in January. They're both looking out my office building from the 12th floor, looking West/Northwest towards Woodward. I uploaded them to YouTube and thought I would share them with you here. Enjoy!

Here is my first attempt:



Here's my next attempt:

Christmas in Downtown Detroit

I was able to take a few pics of the lights and scenes of downtown over the last month and wanted to share them with you. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Santa Claus' Seat in the Compuware Building Lobby

View of Campus Martius on the night of the tree lighting from the 15th Floor of the Compuware Building.

View of Woodward looking west from the 15th floor of the Compuware Building.

The Penobscot Building viewed from Campus Martius.

Waiting in line at The Fillmore for Quicken Loans IT Holiday Party.

Detroit River Days 2012

We were able to attend the Detroit River Days this year in downtown Detroit. The company I work for put together a company event that opened up the carnival the night before so we could bring our families down for a night of fun. I grabbed some pics of the night and wanted to share them with you (even if it's 6 months late.) All the photos were taken on an iPhone 4S with Path. I hope you enjoy!

South Entrance to Detroit River Days

Quicken Loans sponsored the event. This is all they were able to create before a big storm came in earlier in the evening. The Ren Cen sits in the background.

Ren Cen sitting behind the midway.

A severe storm pushed it's way through just before we got there. The clouds and the sunset  were in it's wake.

A view of the Ren Cen at sunset.

A view of the midway as we left. The Detroit River and Windsor, Canada are in the distance.

My Grandfather, Merchant Marine.

Back in March, my grandfather brought his old military uniform to a family function to show everyone. He was going to be donating it to a local museum and wanted us to be able to see it before he dropped it off later that week. He was part of the United States Merchant Marines right at the end of World War II. He was on a ship that was picking up unused armaments from the war. The ship took a full trip around the world during his tour.

I took the opportunity to take some pictures of him and the items he would be donating and wanted to share it with you as well. I'm incredibly proud of my grandfather for serving our country and I want to thank everyone who has served or is currently serving.

This is an emblem on the side of the uniform.

The uniform hanging with his hat and some documentation for the museum where it will be displayed.

Here's my grandfather with his uniform.

He also had his original dog tags that he would be donating.

This is something my grandfather had put together to
explain the different awards and bars on his uniform.