My first claymation...

Haven't updated this in FOREVER! Figured I'd just do a massive update today.

Anyways, beginning of this year, Jenny and I made our first ever claymation (clay stop-frame animation) entitled "Sculpey the Slug." Let's just say the concept seemed a lot easier than actually doing it. What you may not realize is this film is about 5 minutes long at 12 frames per second. Almost every frame includes some sort of change to the clay. In total I think I took about 3500 images. The project spanned about 5 days and included many sleepless nights.

After the final edit, I was very happy with the finished product. So much so, I sent an email to the coordinator of the Santa Cruz Film Festival. I was almost certain it wouldn't make it but it was worth a shot. A few days later I received an email from Julian Soler (Santa Cruz Film Festival Coordinator) and he said he absolutely would love to show "Sculpey the Slug" at the festival free of charge.

Sculpey is now premiering in front a large audience on Thursday May 14th 6:30PM at the Regal Riverfront Theater. Very excited!!


Anyways, here's the short film if you haven't seen it already!

"Sculpey the Slug" a short claymation from KMPer02 on Vimeo.

College...

...So much has changed since I last updated! New short films, new girlfriend, new projects, new film equipment, new perspective on life, new addiction to coffee! Once again, college is back in full swing... and life is just as stressful. I have a million and one things to do every second of the day. I'm taking three courses that all require a lot of assignments weekly (Photography, Intro to Film Production, and International Cinema from 1930-1960). I am also involved with FPC (Film Production Coalition) again for my second year and it has grown so much. Because I am Treasurer of the club, I was in charge of leading one of the groups in making a short film this quarter. We decided to make a music video/narrative using the song "Mad World" by Gary Jules... the song from Donnie Darko. Though the film is very dark and dramatic (aka EMO), it was a good opportunity to test out all my new film toys (35mm adapter, dolly, follow focus, mattebox, etc.). I'm really happy with the final product! All in all it was a great success that I credit to the hardworking members of my group.

Here's some stills from out production "Cellar Door" (Donnie Darko) reference).

"Cellar Door" Mad World Music Video from KMPer02 on Vimeo.

Summer is almost over...

...and what better way to celebrate then by making a final summer montage. This summer was a lot of fun. Traveled all over Los Angeles and San Diego to all kinds of spots. I met so many cool people and some truly amazing skaters. I'm also glad that this summer I filmed the majority of my stuff with my HVX200. I'm really trying hard to get a lot of clips together so that I can produce a demo reel to show companies hiring for work. This summer I also traded in my DVX for a mint VX1000 Mark1 setup. As nice as the VX is I'm still always going to miss my DVX.

I'm sad to say that another summer has come and went, but at least I came out with a lot of really great footage. Check out my 2008 Summer Montage!

Skating and filming nonstop...

... and I love it. Some times it feels like a job. Long hours, sore arms and legs, hot weather, driving for hours. It's definitely a struggle, but getting the perfect clip is an indescribable feeling. I'd be stoked to do this for the rest of my life as long as I could afford to get by. In the past few weeks I've met so many cool new people. I've been filming some truly amazing skaters. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw any of them gracing the pages of skateboard mags in the near future. Happy filming!

Here's some footy of Vince attempting nollie halfcab heel down Belmont 9

London Trip...

...well about two weeks since I got back to La. I've been lagging hard with this blog. Not sure if anyone even reads it, but I like to update it for myself so I can look back on it.

Anyways, went to London and Pari with Elliott for three weeks. Went mainly for skating, but we did a lot of touristy stuff as well (eiffel tower, the eye, big ben, museums, art galleries, etc.). The only thing that sucked about the trip was carrying a heavy backpack with my camera gear everywhere. I guess after the fact, I'm pretty happy with a lot of the shots I got. So in the end definitely a worthwhile trip. Got a lot of clips for sure. Check the montage at the bottom.













for more pictures from my trip check MY FLICKr


London/Paris Montage

Went skating finally....

...with a few skaters from Santa Cruz. Got some sick throwaway footage. More footage to come of these guys in the near future.

Check the footage

Threesome...

...Not what you're thinking!

Threesome is a romantic comedy about Jaime, the luckiest guy in the world, who is always sorrounded by three beautiful women, his EXs. The problem is, they are always on his mind following him everywhere he goes and affecting his love life. Could Jaime ever find real love this way?

Written by Michelle Dunn and Directed by Paloma Nafarrate. Produced by UCSC Film Production Club.

Here's some pictures from behind the scenes









And here's the teaser!