Low Light in the Night

Photo Shoot

I annoyed my wife until she laughed = better headshots for her upcoming show in September

Picture Wrap in the Woods

Jeremy got a little kooky at the end of the night wearing character wardrobe.

Rock Quarry Hell: Architects Music Video

So, we spent 48 hours in a rock quarry in Kansas to produce this great rockabilly, b-movie, shoot-em-up type western music video for the band The Architects.  I don't know the details of why things fell through with the final product, but I know we had some awesome shots.

Photo by Cory Hinesley

I was just reflecting back on this project and found some left over shots in my phone from that rough weekend.  The wind never stopped for a single second while we were there.  Taylor Wallace was the star, he kicked a lot of ass.  As did awesome stunt driver and friend Dusty Rhodes.  The guy pulled off some awesome spin outs before the transmission fell out of his SUV.  Gonna try to get some clips to share at some point.

A shot I took while testing the molotov cocktails.  The cracks in the ground added an awesome texture to the flame.  However, the friggin never ending wind didn't allow the flames to rise high enough to pull off the shot we needed.

Testing a weak blank the night before the shoot began.

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.