From my latest photo shoot.

Los Angeles as a twenty-one year old… I don’t feel like I know this city so much anymore.  It is entirely different.  I’ve been off of school for a couple of days now and I’ve been able to spend some quality time around Los Angeles.  It is a bit uncomfortable, but I’m breaking in fast.

Many exciting things are happening this Summer…  Stay tuned from some new photographs on the site because I’m pulling out the Hasselblad this upcoming weekend for a couple of shoots!  I’ll also be going back into the darkroom to finish printing my series of photographs of Josiah Leming.  If you didn’t get a chance to purchase one of the limited prints, shoot an e-mail to inquire@mediacollective.tv – they’re still available.  To those that I owe prints to, thanks for holding in there.  They’ll be ready early next week!

In early June, I’m heading across the Atlantic Ocean to London for five days, Paris for nine and Barcelona for three.  I’m extremely excited about getting back to Londontown although I’m not entirely sure what I’ll be doing there!  That’ll all get figured out with time, but I’m sure that photographs will be taken!

I’m also planning a trip up the western Coast (a summer without a trip up north is a summer not lived.)  How could a California native get to Paris before trekking up to Seattle?

Over the next couple of weeks, The Media Collective will launch a new website and web store.  Along with a bunch of new work in the portfolio, the web store feature the limited prints, some new posters that I’ll be making and t-shirts designed for a limited edition artist series that we’ll be unveiling in about a month.

Lastly, my birthday present to myself was huge (and I’d hope much deserved…)  I’ll be moving into an incredible loft in the Historic Core are of downtown Los Angeles in late July.  It has incredible views of old buildings, provides a good platform for Rear Window-esque lurking (creepy), brick walls and wood floors, and easy access to an El Pollo Loco across the street (I’m personally more excited about the cool restaurants and bars that are opening up though.)  It’ll act as the headquarters of The Media Collective as well.

That is all for now.  If you aren’t already, be sure to follow me on Twitter (twitter.com/mattruggieri) for updates.

Gracie Hardy asked me a couple of questions and posted it on her blog.  Check it out at:
http://youwantmetorun.blogspot.com/2010/05/matthew-taylor-ruggieri-filmmaker.html

name:
Matthew Taylor Ruggieri

occupation:
Dreamer, filmmaker & photographer with an interest in music documentaries.

playlist at the moment:
BRMC, Cat Power, Coldplay, The XX, Bob Dylan, and The Allman Brothers, Wilco. I’m also waiting for the new Steel Train album.


reading at the moment:
“A Moveable Feast” by Ernest Hemingway

who is your hero?
The smiling old man that would greet everyone on the T in Boston.

what is it you most dislike about your occupation?
Getting to know my subject, capturing their core and then letting it go…all in the matter of hours or days. Letting go isn’t easy when I’m the one that walks away with the footage.

present state of mind?
Contemplative.

what is happiness to you?
Waking up, feeling rested with a blank mind, sun shining, grabbing the camera and hitting the road. Seeing things I’ve never seen before and meeting people that I’ve never met.

the perfect day:
(see above)

what is your daily uniform?
Button down, black jeans and boots.

favorite artist (of any kind)?
Ed Ruscha

favorite colour?
That yellow-greenish tone that you’ll see every once in a while below the pink in the sun’s setting sky.

3 things you can’t live without?
Socks, film, and music.

most accomplished moment?
The moment I stepped foot in London and then the moment I left. Those were the two moments that I realized that I have the coolest job in the world.

last great flick you’ve seen?
Harold and Maude.

future?
Let me know if you have a clue.

These are the people that worked wonders:::

The entire film crew.

Josiah and I

Testing the live feed.

Soundcheck.

Action.

Photographs by Kevin Marciano

Band of Skulls’ “Friends” live video from their recent Troubadour show premiered on MySpace.  It is one of several videos that I produced/directed with the help of eight fans in the audience who shot the entire show on Flip cameras.  This is one of the videos that we came up with:

Band of Skulls – “Friends” live

Band of Skulls | MySpace Music Videos

“Friends” is on the New Moon soundtrack.

Sunny day on Abbot Kinney, Venice Beach, California

The rain hit Los Angeles and the snow has, once again, blanketed the surrounding mountains. It’s quite the experience to drive around the city with views of the snow-filled mountains in the distance. When my friends from the East Coast cry for summer, I’m so glad that I’ve been able to live in the moment without having to wake up hoping for warmer weather (January-May 2009 was enough for me…) We’ve had torrential downpours followed by 70-degree sunny days. Completely unpredictable, yet surprising pleasant.

Just as unpredictable as the weather in Southern California, it seems that I only begin to catch up with myself when I get an unexpected day off. I usually get a couple of hours to recharge and then force myself to clock back into the tight-knit schedule. Somehow, I’ve already found myself entering the sixth week of the semester, the third month of 2010 and only three months from my 21st birthday. I’m not really sure where time has went. Fortunately (thanks to President’s Day!), I’ll have tomorrow to play catch up as well.

The new year has been fantastic so far. I’m inching closer to the launch of my new online retail store, The Motley, which will be debuting online at the beginning of March. For those that don’t know, I’ve spent the last eight months looking for an eclectic collection of mens grooming products. I’ve found killer shaving creams, shampoos, hair styling products, candles (for setting that mood) and a variety of other products that I purchase on a monthly basis. The Motley will cater to that purpose exactly – as the upscale online alternative for men to purchase necessary grooming products – for the ambitious, not-so-ordinary man. We’ve got a blog that is up and running at http://blog.themotley.com. Please take some time to check it out. Add us on Twitter and all, as well.

I also took a remotely spontaneous road trip up to Santa Barbara. I found my way to the top of Gibraltar Road – the highest point in Santa Barbara/Montecito area. The torrential downpours left an unbelievable spectacle for us. Photographs of this will come soon! We (Josiah and I) continued our journey up the coast with several stops at beaches and a concluding trip to the local casino (Josiah insisted…) My first gambling experience consisted of an hour between the penny and nickel machines where we turned five dollars into twenty-five dollars (pennies at a time, mind you.) As our machines made noises as if we were winning the lottery (pennies, pennies…), the older woman next to us screamed, “I told you guys to bet more! You would have won a lot more…” We agreed with her, but then continued to bet the pennies. The tension between older couples that surrounded us was a bit overwhelming, so we called the quits early.

We’ve also spent hours working on new videos and photo shoots that he has been rolling out to lead up to his album release. I’ve, obviously, been posting the work as he posts it. It has been really exciting for the both of us and we’ve had a blast working on the material.

I’ve also spent a bit of time looking into new homes to move into. I’ve been back in the city for more than half a year now and living in the deepest of suburbia is getting a bit difficult (especially since USC in downtown and work usually leads me to Hollywood or the Westside.) Launching myself into becoming a property owner is a bit much to grasp – but it is very possible. (Side note: my couch will be open to couch-surfing vagabonds if there are any takers…)

I never thought that it’d take much energy to actually find time to take five, look at myself in the mirror and go for a walk outside, but it has seemed almost impossible over the last couple of months. So, I did it today and I’ll do it tomorrow. I hope that everyone reading this is doing that well. This busy city is never going to slow down… Take time for yourself and have a good long weekend.

Must listen to:
Miike Snow “Black & Blue”
The xx “Heart Skipped a Beat”

Sir Leming and I are on a mission.  He has a killer album that is coming out very soon.  In anticipation for the debut release, he has been posting individual songs for streaming on MySpace and has received much deserved positive feedback.  The response is stimulating and makes us both excited.  Though I’m personally stoked for the album release, I’m even more stoked for a project – as a response to the feedback – that we’re secretly planning.  This will allow us to screw around, do our thing (aka him=play music and me=film/photograph) and exclusively release it to all of his fine fans (shout out to all of you that have been waiting TOO long…we know, we know…) and my friends (shout out to all ten of you that read my posts religiously).  Trust me, we’re both listening.

He’s also on a roll with blogging.  Whether I like it or not, he has been stealing (haha) proofs of photographs from our photo shoot off of the protected light-box site and has been posting them.  So I say “screw it” and I’ll just follow behind and post them as well.  Here is the second photograph released from our “Come On Kid” shoot.

Photo taken with Kodak 160 VC film on the infamous Hasselblad.

MUST LISTEN TO:
The Cave Singers “Summer Light”

I suppose that it wouldn’t be considered “leaking” it if I post a photograph from the “Come On Kid” photo shoot that Josiah already posted.  So take a look at this teaser from our trip into the hills north of Los Angeles.  (A “behind the scenes” photograph from the shoot is posted a few entries below.  Taken by Sir Leming himself…) More to come soon!  Cheers.

Must listen to:
Modest Mouse “Gravity Rides Everything”

My very good friend Isabelle Nicole Ahadzadeh helped me create a new site for The Media Collective. It is the home of a bunch of new(er) work from my friends and I. I highly recommend checking it out.  Thanks Izzy – for making it look so good! It’s about time!