Inside Llewyn Davis

This film illustrates the bleak loneliness of a lost man. The music is beautiful. The images are fitting and symbolism on mark. It is sad, but not depressing--for me at least--because the sadness is identifiable inside oneself and, therefore, the film acts as a warm embrace which makes this viewer feel... less alone in the world. Maybe it was just my own heart beating, but at least I could feel it happily for a moment. And did I mention, really funny too.

At least check out the soundtrack... Oscar Isaac did an amazing job.

That's A Wrap On The Zeroth Law

Here are some shots from the final scene of my short The Zeroth Law. I've been shooting for about a month.

I had to adapt a short story for class and choose Anton Chekhov's Sleepy, in which young girl has a series of dreams. This final scene is a dream about slavery. My adaptation of Sleepy became very personal over the writing process. I decided to skew everything through the lens of my own mind. I'll share more later when the film is finished--I'll post it with a statement.

The shoot started off pretty well but then the air show rolled in. We were filming in Swope Park which happens to be really close to Arrowhead Stadium where the Kansas City Chiefs were 5-0. We had several sound delays due to helicopters and unusual car traffic compared to our initial location scout.

Our makeup artist, Tess Roam, did a great job--especially considering the fact that she was filling in with two days notice. Our original makeup artist accidentally double booked and phoned in a friend on our job.

But I was more than happy with the results.

All of the guys playing our slaves did a great job. Everyone was cooperative and really into their role which made things move so smoothly. I think it was the best filming experience I have had yet. Everyone fulfilled their role exactly on time. We got our coverage and we were outta there.

I love Steve's eyes here. He lived up to his part as Frightened Man #1.

Everyone had enough time to enjoy a few beers before parting ways. Great costuming by my good friend Marguerite Rappold. New to the business of costuming but damn good find. I recommend her to anyone looking for a versatile costume designer.

So, that's a wrap on The Zeroth Law. Now on to Post Production. I'm hoping to have a final edit in a month but there is a lot of color correction to do with all the footage as well as sweetening and mastering of the sound.. so, may be just a rough cut in a month.

Thanks to everyone involved AND A VERY SPECIAL THANKS to my wife, star, and co-producer  Lydia DeMonte -- I couldn't have done it without her -- especially since she plays such a huge role a role off camera.

Mustachy Mister

I played a film nazi in a funny musical short for a classmate's final project.

Rush

Rush was a masterfully crafted film.

I went into the theater with an aversion to all things racing. My butt was only in the seat for two reasons: 1. There wasn't any other movie showing with an interesting trailer. 2. Ron Howard won over Machete Kills.

The difference between this and other race movies was the time given to developing the relationships between the characters. Usually, the drama is secondary to high throttle action--don't get me wrong, there is plenty of action--but this film is tricky. It is based on real events and the filmmakers actually develop human characters.

Rush has the proper distribution of action, sex, and drama to keep the average movie goer, and typical "car guy" alike, satiated.

The look of the film was beautiful as well. DPs/Cinematographers/Colorists should see it for the look alone.

To The Woods

To The Woods from Jon DeMonte on Vimeo.

A sound design project for class.

Escape from Tomorrow

This was a bizarre movie. My interest was peaked because of their unique methods of production--i.g. filming without permission incognito at Disney World on DSLR--but I was happy to see greater production value than images invoked by those defining principles. This was well thought out to achieve the level of production it accomplishes without permissions, equipment, and especially under the stress of film making down low.

I don't really want to give away any of the plot. Besides, I'm not sure I could really reveal much besides what happens sequentially. I could hint at meaning but I think it is best to discover the film unadulterated. I recommend Escape from Tomorrow to all movie goers and would say it is a must see for all film makers.

The Zeroth Law

I'm working on this new short about Reciprocal Determinism and what it is we inherit exactly as we all cool to an even temperature as a society.

When feminine influences mix with sadomasochistic machismo of the past, what do we end up with?

Is it this cold calculated corporatism we all consume and clutter on along to?

What does it take to start anew?