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.

Vinyl Update.

2011 has not been kind on my wallet in terms of vinly toy releases.

First, my pre-order of "Inspector Cumulus" arrived in the post. What a great piece. Adorned with a bowler hat and a smoking pipe, Inspector Cumulus is on the job.



Next came Kidrobot's Mascot Number 19. This is the first KR mascot that's come out since I've been into vinyl toys. This toy was designed by none other than MAD and themed to have the appearance of a riot cop. Quality control on this figure is top notch and the accessories (helmet, shield, baton, and donut) are awesome additions.



Lasty, I picked myself up a set of Huck Gee Raku Dunnys. Had to wait over 2 hours to get these guys, but the wait was worth it. The Dunny came in both a "night" and "day" version and had very unique, real-looking accessories. The clothes are made out of real cloth and the ropes and ties are made out of real fibers. Huck Gee definitely outdid himself on these. It was also cool because after picking these up at the KR release party, I got them signed by the man himself, Huck Gee. It was funny because Huck recognized me from our last encounter when I talked to him briefly about owning an STI. He has since labeled me the "subaru guy." Can't complain with that.

Random Beat.

Don't Worry, Just Breathe.

Goldfish.

Here is a short film I helped a friend shoot for a film production class at UCSC. Although I was not the primary DP, I did help out on a lot of the shoots including the epic last shot. Please be aware that this film features mature content and themes. Definitely not for the faint of heart. As much as I'd like to say no goldfish were harmed in the making of this film, I can't because that would be a lie. Please enjoy for what it's worth.

Description:
Arthur wants to be a writer but is stuck working as a file clerk in a legal office.
He's not very good at his job. Arthur puts all his energy into his dream of
getting published instead. So he lets the files stack up at work, dishes and bills
pile up at home, and messages go unanswered on his answering machine.
When Arthur is abruptly fired from his job, and his goldfish dies, Arthur's loses
his will to live. He's never tasted the success of recognition. It just doesn't seem
worth trying anymore. Then again, for somebody in the habit of failing as much
as Arthur, even "ending it all" is a challenge.

Little Big Things.

Thought I'd try my luck with Gizmodo's photo challenge of the week, which conveniently happened to be macro themed. I busted out everything mini that I owned as a means to try taking an array of different images. I ended up taking five that I was pretty psyched on it. I was upset to see the photo I had chosen for submission did not make the cut on the Gizmodo photo list. Maybe my action figures weren't "mini" enough, despite everything being taken on a macro lens. Oh well, can't argue with an excuse to take photos.

"It's... A.... "



"Please Don't Show These to Darth..."



Eye of the Beholder



Chillin' With My Bear



Yaya

They See Me Rolling.

Rolling shots are something I've been meaning to do for a longgg time! The only problem was that we needed another car to take pictures from. Luckily my friend ben, who has been getting the mod bug as of recent, came to our aid and offered his car.

Friday afternoon around sunset, Ben, Jenny, and I headed North on Highway 1 along the coast just as the sun was setting. Ben drove his car while Jenny leaned out to snap some photos of my car. After some time, we turned around and swapped positions so that I could take a few rolling shots of my friend Ben's Versa. Here's one of my favs that Jenny shot.



After this, we dropped my car off back at home, grabbed Jenny's '93 Miata, and headed to a nearby parking lot. Along with trying to the get the hang of Jenny's stick shift, we just hung out and snapped some more photos. The photo below is one fo my favorites. In order to achieve the shot I had to be in Jenny's trunk hanging my camera and fisheye out as far as it could go. Not to mention I was attempting to shoot each frame at 1/10 of a second while she was turning around the light post. Not as sharp as i would have liked, but I love the feeling of movement in the frame. Looks almost like she's drifting around the corner.



Had a great time last night, hope to do it again after I get some more stuff for my car!

New Filmic Endeavor.

As for every film production student at UC Santa Cruz, it is a requirement to take some sort of senior production course before completing the major. So for my advanced film production class (196), I have decided to tackle a very challenging style for my upcoming film.

I am attempting to tell two seemingly disconnected stories simultaneously with the aid of split screen. Using a number of graphic matches and similarities/juxtapositions within the frames, I hope to unite the two images. In the end, the two stories will merge and come together, but both sides will still remain somewhat separate and disconnected. If this was not already a challenge enough, I also plan on telling one of the two stories backwards. I just pray I don't give my audience a headache. It will be an experiment, that's for sure.

Here is a recent fram grab from the male's side of the film.



Also, a friend linked me this short film entitled Symmetry by a company named "evernone." It is very effective in the way it plays with the split screen imagery. Overall, a really beautiful film that really challenges the emotions and expectations of the viewers.