Our friends at Lostmans Collective (LC), Max and Tim, have been working alongside NFocus for over five years and are endearingly considered to be an extension of the NFocus family. LC and NFocus have mutual root systems in the video-production world, and to this day, they continue to provide growth to us as we provide growth to them. When we’re in need of specialized gear or cinema cameras or two highly-experienced professionals on set, they are always there for us.
Outside of the projects we've worked on together, they’ve amassed an impressive portfolio of highly-cinemagraphic, story-driven content for clients like: DJI, The UPS Store, Publix, VICE, Tastemade, Toyota, Cameo by Vimeo, Onnit, AKID, Ransom Holding co., LeBasse Projects, SALT Optics, Shoyoroll, Albino and Preto, etc.
For the same reason we love working with LC, we also love seeing their work: their passion for production is contagious, and they’re willing to do whatever gritty and scrupulous work necessary to elevate their projects to the next level. According to Max Soto, they enjoy the opportunities that challenge them to raise the bar— no shot is too hard to shoot, no set-up is too complicated to do, no idea is too crazy to try. They love what they do, and it’s clear on-set and on-screen.
What’s also clear is their mutual admiration for nature; it shines through in their commissioned and personal projects like the setting sun through a fan of palm fronds in the everglades. They’re able to capture the kind of nature shots that make you forget you’re a viewer. Instead, you’re suddenly standing at the foot of Annapurna watching its jagged peaks slice tears in the blanket of clouds overtop, or you’re plunging an oar into gurgling rapids below you, watching the foam swirl into galaxies and nebulas on the space-black water. They have a keen eye for the parts of nature that not only fill you with awe, but also fill you with the sense that you are a participant in the inhales and exhales of the Earth.
It doesn’t just take an interest in nature to achieve the kind of transportive shots they capture though— it takes a fluency in the language of film, and it also takes a big ol’ hefty dollop of determination. Sometimes it takes chopping through vines or hiking through moonlit wilderness. Sometimes it takes shooing away birds that would otherwise flap themselves into a hyperlapse. Sometimes it takes getting lost. However, despite the work it takes, Max and Tim say the satisfaction from capturing those shots far outweighs the pain it takes to get them.
Needless to say, we’re big fans of Lostmans Collective. LC and NFocus are like two peas in a tripod, or uh… two legs on a peapod… two pods on a tripea (whatever, you get it). We go together like a C-stand and a sandbag. No matter the project, we’re always happy to work with Max and Tim because we walk away with more than just another gig under our belt— we walk away sore from laughter with another great experience, another win in cornhole, and another reminder of why we fell in love with production in the first place.
You guys make being on set better. Thank you, Max and Tim, for all the work you’ve done with us. We look forward to the next one.