We recorded our last pieces of voiceover yesterday, so we're officially wrapped on CUBES!  I've added a ton of more photos to the media gallery, so be sure to go check them out.  Michael and I are now deep in editing and post-production.  We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we're excited about all the great footage we have!  I'll share some stories from production soon.

On an entirely different note, apparently Hell has frozen over and Guns N Roses' new album CHINESE DEMOCRACY is actually being released.  And that means that Dr. Pepper has to give a can of the delicious soda to everyone in America.  Of course, it's only being released now that Brett is out of the country.

Michael and I scouted our forest location this afternoon for the main section of "Green."  It's not quite as verdant as I had originally pictured, but we found a spot that we can really make look great.  There are wildfires all over Southern California right now, so hopefully they'll stay clear of our intended spot.  We've also been working to secure everything for the next few days.  It's going to be a crazy week!

Also, I've added more pictures from the first day of shooting to the media gallery.

Day one of CUBES is in the can.  We had a fun and relatively painless day of shooting, covering scenes from both the "Red" and "Green" sections of the film.  We're going for a very bold visual look, and I think we're accomplishing that.  We had a great crew and once we got the set put together, everything else fell into place.  We went all out on the thematic lighting and got some really cool stuff.  Tomorrow I have meetings with two of the actors for other parts of the film, and we're going to scout the forest we'll be shooting in on Sunday.

I go into production on CUBES tomorrow.  It's going to be a wild shoot.  I'll have pictures to add over the weekend.  We're shooting tomorrow, Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, along with another day added for voiceover work.  A little nervous, but can't wait to get started.

I also added a few pictures from the second day of shooting on YOU ME THE SEA.  Check them out in the media gallery.

Just taking a short "mind break" from writing to jot an update about the week.  On Tuesday, I shot the film "Listen" that my friend / colleague Caitlin and I wrote together.  She directed and I was DP / Producer.  It turned out to be a hillarious and even slightly heartbreaking little film.  I can't wait to see the edited version.  We had a great, small crew of classmates and two very talented actors.

Pre-production on CUBES is rolling right along... start shooting on Friday.  Michael Bricker wasn't available to help out on a project this big, but I very fortunately met another art director through Ben Taylor, who cowrote the music for YMTS.  Hilary Parkin is kicking butt at putting together some great production design in the very short pre-production period we've had.  I can't wait to make the film and see how it comes together.  Mark and David Hobizal are both going to provide some special effects that are going to really make the movie pop.

Okay, back to coffee and writing!

I have a hell of a week in front of me: shooting my classmate Caitlin’s film (that I co-wrote with her) on Tuesday, and preparing to shoot my four part monster sci-fi film CUBES beginning this Friday. I have meetings, auditions, and planning sessions pretty much all week. Ahhhh but I’m making movies. What could be better?

Amidst all the work, there is plenty of fun sprinkled in. My partner for CUBES, Caitlin, and I all took a trip to TOYS ‘R US on Friday to shop for props for both films. After about an hour of trying on various helmets, spy goggles, and space age weaponry, we settled on a few prime selections. That store is still a ton of fun to walk through. Afterwards, we made another fascinating trip to an old hobby shop that specializes in model airplanes. LISTEN (Caitlin’s film) features a character obsessed with building model airplanes, so we had some fun browsing and looking for models that both didn’t cost a lot and that we thought we might actually be able to put together. The owner of the store is over 90 and has operated the store for over sixty years. He and his wife made us all want to make a documentary about them, the store, and model airplanes on the spot. Instead we settled for purchasing a ton of level one and two models, some paint and glue, and a whole bunch of old magazines about… you guessed it… model airplane building and flying.

Of course, the challenge we then faced was actually putting the models together. Fortunately our character is not especially adept at his hobby, so the fact that we had a pretty hard time putting together models designed for kids 10 and over wasn’t a catastrophe. We eventually managed to get the snap-together models put together pretty well, and even managed to put the TIGER SHARK glue-together model together decently without too much goop. The later was pretty fascinating, as the models are obviously specifically designed for people who like putting small things together. Many times there were parts that easily could have been a single piece, but instead required gluing. I left before even attempting to put on the decals or paint, because it looked like way too much work. I think Caitlin decided that would be best left for the actor “to help get him into character.”
I’ve enjoyed the sped-up pace of the second half the semester, especially with the writing I’ve been doing. I’ve had to write or help write two scripts in the last two weeks, and I’ve really enjoyed the process. I’ve always been someone who works best under pressure, and it’s difficult for me to write without some kind of deadline. But I’ve enjoyed stretching myself in terms of style, writing both a black comedy and a dramatic / satirical science fiction film, and I know that writing may be an area that I continue to hang my hat on.

And of course I haven’t even had time to write anything about the election this past week, but needless to say I was thrilled with the way it turned out. The passing of Prop 8 kept things a little grim the next morning, but it’s wonderful to see the country as a whole finally moving towards a new future.

I've started pre-production on a new film that I'm really excited about.  It's called CUBES and is a science fiction collection of four shorter films that work together to create a larger story of the future.  I'm collaborating with another student in the program, Michael Cox, so that the film is technically both of our second project for the semester (allowing us a longer running time).  Liz Singh, who produced the Obama commercial, is going to help produce the film.  I'm working both with Michael Bricker and a new art director to design, and am going to collaborate with the wonderful David Hobizal and my brother Mark for graphics / titles.

I also met with Ben Taylor and Danny Walter today, the very talented musicians who did the score for YOU ME THE SEA, about adding some finishing touches to the score and recording it professionally.  I'm working to get the film "truly finished" and submitted to some festivals.  Should have it online for everyone to see shortly thereafter.

This was largely a week of recovery after a long week spent in post-production. I allowed myself some time and space to “reset” and gear up for Project 2, which I’m writing now and will begin pre-production on this week.

Michael Bricker, the production designer I’ve worked with several times before in Austin, is in Los Angeles and I’m talking to him about working together on my new project. The prospect of working with someone like Michael has really opened up what I’m willing to strive for with my second project. Unlike Project 1, we have a lot of time for post-production for this second go-round. I’m going to really strive to do something that will push me creatively in post, as well as make use of the talented people I have around me in physical production. So I’ve turned my eyes back towards a science fiction idea I’ve been tossing around for quite some time.

Speaking of collaboration, that has been the most exciting development in the second half of the semester. I’ve started working on a couple classmates’ films, and it’s been a rewarding experience to be able to contribute in unique ways. I’m throwing myself into as many positions as possible. I’ve served as AD and worked with sound, and this week I’m helping several friends develop their scripts. This is one of the reasons I wanted to return to school: to meet a lot of new people and to work with them in a collaborative environment.

The Obama commercial I directed has hit the internet, and has gotten a lot of positive response. The election is only two days away. It’s hard to believe that the campaigns that have dominated the news for almost two years now will finally yield a result.

This past weekend was Halloween, and of course I hosted a party since my birthday falls only two days before it and it seems to have become a tradition. Costumes at film student parties have to be some of the best and most creative in the world. Jake Gittes, Rambo, Sweeney Todd, Moses (complete with his own reformed set of commandments), Peter Pan’s shadow, Dr. Claw, and Spartacus were only a few of the many splendid selections on hand.

I've uploaded a few pictures from the first day of shooting on YOU ME THE SEA.  See them by visiting the media gallery.  Michelle Rosch, a high school classmate of mine turned professional photographer, was gracious enough to come out and document the shoot and take some stills.  Enjoy!

Election day is only two days away, and regardless of who wins the country will finally be headed in a new direction. A small team of USC students put together the following commercial. I directed the piece, and Liz Singh was a fantastic producer. See the full credits below for the names of all of the other talented contributors. Please share your thoughts below.  Regardless of who you support, make sure you get out and vote!

Thomas Jefferson, Susan B. Anthony, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Margaret Mead, Harriet Tubman, Cesar Chavez, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Malcolm X what do these people have in common?

They all believed in America. They were men and women who, despite their differences, shared a common goal they wished to advance the cause of the United States of America at home and abroad. They wished to implement changes that they believed would move this country forward, would raise it up, would protect the great nation that its founders envisioned.

That is the beauty of America it is constantly changing. Through debate and struggle and perseverance it continues to improve, to adapt and to move forward.
At this important turning point in history, we believe that Barack Obama is the presidential candidate capable of continuing that march towards the future.

We made this video to urge you to stand up and participate in the ever shifting history of this country. Stand up and vote for the individual best qualified to lead this nation forward, to guide its continued evolution, to lift this country upward and to maintain its role as a global leader in the arenas of security, human rights and the environment.

Vote for the person who will preserve Americas honorable place in history, vote for the person who will secure her future vote for Barack Obama.


- Liz Singh, Producer


Credits:

Actors:

Carla Valentine
Daniel Grove
Pearl McGuire
Saladin Florence
Cara McGee
Laura Bocaletti
Emanuel Ward
Taylor Allen
Puja Mohindra
Ji Han
Jerry White Jr.

Crew:

Brian Scofield, Director
Leonora Anzaldua Burke, Director of Photography
Yaminah McKessey, AC/Gaffer
Jerry White Jr., Sound
James Tarlton, Grip
Becca Louisel, PA
Jerry White Jr., Editor
Jas Summers, Editor
Abe Epperson, Music
Mark Scofield, Titles
Liz Singh, Producer

Special Thanks:

Adair Cole
Dave Turner
Braden Duemmler