greenblock productions

this is seth newell, the "founder" of greenblock productions. 

i introduce to you greenblock productions, and the masterminds sean kirby and seth newell {a.k.a. shock jocks "rich?" and "salty?" and i am also lucky enough to call them "friend(s)"}.

this is sean kirby, taken by alex kranzusch. 

greenblock is a film company based in birmingham, alabama. according to their website they specialize in "Internet based video concept, neo-marketing campaigns- le viral and web based- and strategies, as well as commercial music videos for nationally renowned artists." i do not know a lot about production, but i do know that these guys are incredibly talented. every time i see a video they have produced i am blown away that i have friends as talented as these two. not only are they "production dudes" they are also "comedians." my dear friends, sean and seth, decided it would be apropos (perhaps more "productiony") and more personal if they answer their questions orally in a sound clip {to be emailed to me}. all the while they were at the local eatery mama goldberg's. i only wish i could share this recorded interview with you, complete with grizzly bear's "two weeks" playing in the background. from what i could gather, this is what my brilliant friends had to say {now, honestly, i could totally make things up at this point. i could change all of their words because it's not written... it's spoken... but i won't because that's wrong, right?}:
q: so what's the story? how did you (both of you) get into video production?
a: seth begins by explaining how his roommate bought a camera, but he needed a second camera for a shoot. so seth had some extra pocket change and being a "shepherd to [his] community" {yes, that was his exact wording} he decided to buy the other camera. so he helped his friend out on this project which was a music video. he describes this first experience as the best things you could possibly do- something along the lines of hanging out with your best friend, being with your "best girl", being at camp, being on a playground, etc.  so he decided he would continue to do video production as much as he could. he has been doing it professionally since 2003, but he started doing skateboard videos in 7th grade. sean basically got into it because of the peer pressure of seth. sean describes video production as being a "kid in a candy store." he loves it because you use both your left and right brain {which i suppose he has both sides fully functioning}. also, working with friends on a day-to-day basis isn't half bad.

Preston Lovinggood from Green Block on Vimeo.
q: how was greenblock productions conceived?
a: in 2006 seth and his brother started brainstorming about such a company. seth's brother had recently moved from LA with an interest in screen writing. however, things never truly got going {because seth's brother lacks the right brain... or is it left?} until sean entered the picture. seth describes sean as someone who can "get sh** done" (followed by asking if he could say "sh**"). ultimately, sean and seth together as a team made a difference in the conception of greenblock productions as a company.

Duquette Johnston - Got Lost & Stayed from Green Block on Vimeo.
q: you have done a lot of very impressive work with renown companies/networks from Time Inc. to MTV/VH1. what project are you (either or both of you) most proud of? 
a: seth is most proud of his work as an extra on Talladega Nights, regardless of the fact that this has nothing to do with production. sean could not respond with a "most proud moment." however, he has recently been working on Cooking Light's webisode "Real Life Nutrition," and enjoys seeing the fruits of his labor first hand. sean, like seth, is also proud of his debut as an extra in a Mercedes car commercial. he began by working on the production of the commercial, and ended the project as an extra {because of his charm and good looks- duh!} greenblock, as a company, is most proud of their work on various matthew mayfield videos (including the video in yesterdays post, MM). however, the video for  "Open Road" is the greatest showcase of their work because of the energy that was put into it. greenblock, alongside matthew, spent two months in pre-production. greenblock worked as the writers of the storyboard, the directors, and seth shot the video.

Matthew Mayfield "Open Road" from Green Block on Vimeo.
q: i'm sure you have a really funny production "accident" story. can you tell it?
a: "can we tell it? it's a little dirty." sean and seth were on location in alexander city working for VH1, they had gotten their room keys and had been hard at work all day. when they returned to their room sean tried to open the door with his key first, but it didn't work. seth then tried his key only to find "two middle aged individuals without clothes on.. doing karate."  {gasps, cuss words, and giggles followed}. seth adds that prior to this experience it was on his personal "bucket list" to see such a thing. mission accomplished.

AMELIA IN ACTION from Green Block on Vimeo.
q: what is the goal? what do you guys aspire to as far as production is concerned?
a: for seth more commercial work seems like a natural progression. according to him commercials involve a good amount of creativity, money, and fun. commercials are short and sweet so they are "like a laser beam you can focus all of your energy on and make it happen." sean agrees that the idea of a commercial set is ideal. he is also "flexing his script writing muscle." after all, sean is a talented writer {no, seriously, he is}.  seth is encouraging in sean's pursuit of writing professionally stating, "man, you are good." seth agrees proclaiming, "i am good." and collectively they say, "WE ARE THE BEST!" greenblock aspires to be a good company that is known to travel, produce good content, and have fun on the set. they work to be "worth every dime you pay for" {said in an authentic pike county accent}. sean and seth feel lucky to work predominately in birmingham. "it's just a matter of time for us to place ourselves in the right place at the right time," said sean. they both agree that the production companies that stay in business are the ones that work smart and play their cards right. "greenblock could do everything if it wanted to." and i believe it.


you may have seen seth newell in b-metro magazine. he's basically a celeb. highly sought after.

angela karen, b metro

where there is love (of the left/right brain), there is art.