Back From South Korea

Earlier this week I returned from my two-week voyage to South Korea, courtesy of Chapman University. I took dozens of photos, and the best have been added to the photography page. Just click on the image below to go there.


The script for the film that we will be making with the Korean students is almost done. We'll be shooting in just over a week, and there's a lot of pre-production to do. Luckily for me, Chapman is footing the bill for the whole production, so for once I don't have financial worries on top of logistical ones. Now all I have to do is put a film together.

Good thing that's what I love to do!

Lincoln Screens, Korea Drafts

Tomorrow night at 7:00pm, The Silver Lincoln is screening at Chapman University's Knott Studios. Just this morning, Daniel McLellan (the editor) and I finished some last-minute music and sound effect tweaks. It's look and sounding fantastic, and it should be a great premiere.

I've been working with the writer, Darryl Wharton-Rigby, on the working-titled "Corner Store," which is the script that is being produced as part of the Korean exchange program this summer. It's still in its very early stages, so we'll be working on restructuring and resizing it to a level that's more manageable for the limitations we have. I'm confident that it will be a good film, and a great experience all around.

Since this post is lacking in colorful pictures, I will direct you to Zia Films, where I've recently overhauled the design to something I feel is more in tune with the themes and ideas that I'm interested in.

Lincoln and Korea

I've just put up a new page for The Silver Lincoln, where you can see behind-the-scenes photos and the list of credits:



For now, there's not much else up, but stay tuned!

In other, much more exciting news, I've been selected by Chapman University to direct a short film as part of a fully-funded scholarship / travel course in June. The travel course is also an exchange program with students at a film school just outside Seoul, in South Korea.

Over the next couple months we'll be developing a script for the shoot. Then, for two weeks in June, the seven people involved in the short will be going to South Korea, to visit and learn from the students there. We help them and crew on their set, and then they come back here to California with us, to crew on our set. The whole thing - the travel and the production - is paid for by Chapman, which is very exciting. I'm really thankful to have been chosen for such an extraordinary opportunity.

More on that in the coming weeks!

Looking Good ...

Last Friday I went into telecine with The Silver Lincoln, and we watched dailies. It looks awesome - the above pic is a frame from one of my favorite scenes. I'm very excited to see the post-production process rolling.

Dan McLellan has been hard at work editing Lincoln, and so far the rough cut has gotten a great reception. I'll be putting up a page for the movie soon, but for now, I've put up the best of the behind-the-scenes photos, which you can view here:

The Silver Lincoln Behind-the-Scenes Photos

In other news, Matt Sullivan, a friend of mine and peer at Chapman University, has come aboard La Nina as producer. Matt is a very talented and accomplished producer, and his help means a lot to me and the production. The script is still being drafted, but already the pieces are falling into place for a great short film.

Also, I've gone through my old photo albums and scanned in some of my favorite photos from old trips. Click on the photo below to see my updated photography gallery, including new pictures from India, Switzerland, and China.

That's a Wrap!

The Silver Lincoln wrapped this weekend. We had three full days of shooting, and while we started late almost every day, we finished at least an hour early each day.

The cast was fantastic, the crew was great, and the whole experience was by far the best one I've ever had making a movie. A huge thanks to everyone who helped out.

Coming soon is a new page on the site for Lincoln, as well as many behind-the-scenes photos, storyboards, and more.

I'll be overseeing the film's telecine this Friday, and over the weekend, Dan McLellan will start editing. When he has a rough cut, Brian Andrews will start to build the score for the film. And in May, the film will be complete! Stay tuned for more updates.

In other news, I've started pulling my thoughts together on paper for my remake of La Niña del Desierto. Despite going through many changes, some extremely drastic, I think the final project will probably resemble the original pretty closely. We'll see how that turns out in the coming months.

Updates

I've changed the individual films' pages a bit, by trying to sidestep the boring single-column style with something a little more creative. It's particularly evident on the Varations page, a movie that boasts a bunch of great extras.

The Silver Lincoln is coming along nicely. We're two weekends away from production, I've cast my actors, and in fact just yesterday we held rehearsals. Locations are locked, the crew is coming together, and excitement is in the air! I'm looking foreword to a great production.

Stay tuned.

"The Silver Lincoln" In Full Swing!

The Silver Lincoln, previously titled Mint, the eleventh and by far most ambitious short film of mine, is in full pre-production. Locations are being scouted and secured, auditions are being held Saturday, March 8th in Los Angeles, props and costumes are being designed and purchased, storyboards are being drawn up, and so on. There's a lot of work, but this time I've got a load of funding and, more importantly, a dedicated team of both old and new friends.

Producing Lincoln is Dennis Yeap, a focused and hard-working guy who transferred last Fall from Malaysia. The director of photography is Boa Simon, who I've worked with before on Variations on the Death of Gerald, Baggage, and Ragtime Ballad. He's a close friend and is crazy passionate about lighting and cinematography.

Coming on as assistant director is Dom Ricco, my longtime friend, who I could not have made it to this point without. We've been looking for another opportunity to work together since The Last Piece, and now we have it.

Editing Lincoln will be Daniel McLellan, another close friend who has worked in some way on every short of mine since I arrived at Chapman University, as well as editing Baggage. Composing the score for the film is, of course, Brian Andrews, who has scored Variations, The Last Piece, and Ragtime Ballad, and whose work never fails to amaze me. Finally, Christopher Manus, "Gerald" from Variations, will be joining the production in a small cameo role.

So as is evident, I'm going to have the pleasure of working with several old friends and trusted collaborators, as well as some new faces here and there. I'm very, very excited to begin production on Lincoln, as I think it will be my best to date, and I hope it will make a great short film on its own.

To movies!