Derailer.

Yet another film I was fortunate enough to help out on. This one centers around an injured downhill mountain biker who doesn't let his handicap dictate his life. Simple story, great visuals, compelling storytelling... what else do you need? Director Eric Gillespie has a bright future ahead of him in terms of action sports filmmaking. Good luck my friend.

"Parallels" is a Wrap!

My screening for my thesis film I made while attending UC Santa Cruz was this past Friday. As stressful as it was, I think it was received very well. I was lucky to have worked with a great group of passionate people. I was also fortunate enough to have the privilege of filming in Saturn Cafe, the awesome vegetarian all night diner located in Santa Cruz, CA.

For those that don't know, my film was an attempt at portraying two seemingly unrelated stories on screen simultaneously. Using a mix of graphic matches, similar visuals, and juxtaposing elements I wanted to connect the two stories beyond the confines of their isolated frames.

The saying goes, "We are our own worse critic." This holds extremely true for this piece. I was on the fence about so much stuff. Because of the level of attention that had to paid to timing actions and image composition, I became extremely burned out. I'd wake up sick, sore feet, and back, but in the end, it was all worth it.

If I were to go back and do it again, I probably wouldn't have made a film like this. With that being said, I've have learned so much from this experience. So, if hypothetically I was to make another split screen film again, I'd be much better prepared.

Please enjoy!



Here are a few of my favorite still from the film

The Life of a Carrot Ain't Easy.

As a last minute project for a film class, I decided it was time for another stop frame. One of the topics for the project was food, so I decided to make a short that focused on the fictional life of a carrot. I worked in collaboration with an awesome stop-frame animator (Kip Radt) who dealt with all the modeling and animation for the film. The final production is comprised of over 3,500 images and took about 20+ hours to complete.



So without further adieu, please enjoy this dark comedy showcasing the life (and death) of a carrot.

"Rise and Shine"

In an earlier blog post, I mentioned that I was working on a short film for a class I was taking at UC Santa Cruz. Well, I'm done. Boy, does it feel good!



This film was a challenge to say the least, but that was sort of the idea. What's the point of making a new film if it's just like one you've already made? So for this film, I wanted to merge both live-action footage with stop-frame footage into one connected narrative. My other challenge was to stop frame a person, rather than a mound of clay or an inanimate object.

I definitely cannot take all the credit. This film was a collaboration between a few highly talented individuals. The main actress Kat Brown was as dedicated as they come. She had to perform every movement in the stop frame bit with her eyes closed, as well as having to keep her body extremely still. I still don't know how we were able to pull off some of the movements that we did in the film. Jennifer Kehl, my girlfriend and animator, spent as much time as I did behind the camera grueling over the animations of all the objects you see moving around onscreen (i.e. iPod, toothbrush, bagels, etc.). She also was a huge help in coaching Kat on how to move in slowed down movements. Lastly, David Lockwood did a brilliant job in creating an original score for the film. The music is phenomenal! I was honored when my teacher asked if it was copyrighted because I guess it sounded that good! I cannot wait to work with these individuals again on future projects!

A big thank you goes out to all the extras and people who made this film a reality. I'm extremely proud of the way it turned out. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it for you!

A Filmmaker's Paradise.

There's always that location that we as filmmakers dream about shooting at. For me, it was always an old run-down building of some sort. About two weeks ago I found this location with the help of a few peers.

This past weekend, a few friends and I went down south for a good ol' fashioned photo/video adventure. Our destination was Fort Ord, an old abandoned military base located in Marina, California. This was only my second time here, but after the first trip, I really wanted to go back and make a short film.



This place is just eerie. From the random baby strollers, to the "666" graffiti on the walls, to the stray shoes that line the street, this place just reeks of creepiness. We started out filming in the pool area. The what once was an olympic sized pool was now just an emptied garbage pit filled with empty spray cans and broken furniture. The vastness of this location led for some really great shots on the Canon 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Next, we started exploring the many barracks on the property. Every time I would open a door or walk up a flight of stairs, I was almost certain something was going to pop out. It's not like this place was home to thousands of murderers, but one can't help but feeling like you're not quite alone.



For the short I made, I brought along my Canon 5D Mark II, Indifocus Indislider, and ProAM Crane. With the exception of three or four shots, almost every camera angle was on the slider. I'm a camera movement fanatic, so I try and implement the use of a slider or dolly wherever I can. I also wanted to attempt an epic crane shot that would track upwards as my lovely subject Jenny walked down the deserted street. The wind was not very kind to my crane, so you may notice some camera shake in the final product.

We were losing light fast, so I tried to work as quickly as I could. Ideally, I would've loved to shoot a few more timelapses here, but that will have to wait until another day. A special thanks to goes out to my friends Jennifer Kehl, Ben Bunch, Andrew Cichowski, and Ally Bobus for being patient with me while I got my shots. Also, a big thank you to Ben Bunch for taking the photographs you see above. Without further adieu, please enjoy my short entitled "Ghost Town."