A Year to Remember

This past year has been one of the most interesting years of my life. My production partner Blake Faucette and I produced a web series about Tim LaFollette (our friend) living with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Last night we put together a benefit Film Festival to help with Tim’s quality of life care. We had a great turnout and raised some important money. We premiered episode 26 last night. If there is one episode that tells you how shitty this disease is…this is the one. Please help me, Tim and his whole Often Awesome Army share this episode to the world.

Corporate Assassin Promotional Video

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4299499&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=ff9933&fullscreen=1

I’m really going to push the limits with this series. I want this to be successful and I want to work with people who share the dream and passion with me. Come join the fun and share some of your stories.

Road Trip: Cape Fear International Film Festival

Very cool news. The All Aces Media team is heading to Wilmington, NC, this weekend to speak at The Cape Fear International Film Festival, about the importance of short films. If you want to know how we feel about short films then hopefully we will see you there. If not, you will have to wait because we are bashing our heads together to come up with something important to say to the audience.

mirror

I’ve had some experience of public speaking and to be quite honest I feel very comfortable doing it, until someone asks me a question and I have no idea how to answer it. I’m not savvy like the Bush administration when it comes to acknowledging the fact I don’t know what I’m talking about. I simply swallow some humility and express that the question was stupid and I have no time for stupid questions. I wish, I take it on the chin and simply say, “Good question… I’ll look into that and throw it on my blog.”

Here is something interesting about our trip… none of our work is in the festival, so we feel kinda awkward stepping in. I think we are going to focus on the fact that anyone can shoot a film and get your name recognized when you shoot a short. For instance… Blake is now being hunted by bands to shoot music videos because of his tireless work on Series DVD. Micah got recognized by top notch acting talent because he went out and shot some test footage to showcase the feel and look of the film, “Dog’s of Chinatown.” I did a free promotional DVD for Ronnie Baker Brooks (favorite blues artist) and now he wants me to shoot his next DVD.

It’s all about getting in front of the people you want to work with and wow them. Show them your different than the thousands of filmmakers popping up like weeds. But most importantly, be professional and go above and beyond anyones expectations… even your own.

OK now I’m full of myself and ready for the audience. Let the show begin.

Frustration Flashing In My Eyes

OH my!!! The last few days I’ve been trying to figure out how the hell to do a simple timed random image selection for 3 images in flash for a client and am so frustrated. I just figured out how to do it. The way I did it in ActionScript 2.0 is not the same as ActionScript 3.0. Guess which way I’ve been trying to do it? My eyes are now twitching with stress. Heart rate jumped. Knuckles cracking. Nostrils flaring. Teeth grinding. Belly swelling (that’s my own fault).

Now breathing. I’m not on a tight deadline and I will not be charging for those lost hours of hopeless researching. Onward into Flash CS3 I go.

UPDATE 11/30/07
I did ask a friend if he could send me a random image .fla file. In which he did, I forgot to thank him for his time. Alan, you are the man. I appreciate you sending me the file. It helped me look at the similarities that I was working with and that is when I figured out that ActionScript 3.0 wasn’t working with the same code. Changed the output to ActionScript 2.0 and it works well. I’m lucky to have friends in close proximity.

ConvergeSouth Film Festival: Audience Award

OK, I’m in the process of putting together a sheet for the audience to rate each film. After I get the returned sheets I will grade the films and we will have awards the ole fashion way… Democratically. No prestigious panel with their noses in the air. The audience will tell the filmmakers how they liked their work. I’m leaving a message area so you can write in a message to the filmmakers too. Tell them how much you appreciate their hard work.

What good is audience participation unless there is an award. Here is the hokey part, in which I hope the audience participates in. I created a donation button for anyone that wants to monetarily reward the filmmakers. You can be in attendance or admiring from afar but whoever has the best rated film from the festival will win this award. If everyone wants to be a freeloader and watch all the films for free go ahead, no need to feel guilty with each outburst of laughter or an emotion that triggers a tear. These filmmakers put a lot of time and money into these projects and it would be very cool to have the audience reward them for entertaining them.

Feel free to donate as little or as much as you like. I’m sure the winning filmmaker will feel humbled. That being said, this years festival was provided pro bono baby. We did not seek an entry fee from the filmmakers for submitting their work and we are not charging an admission fee at the door. This may change in the future. I have this week to find some fun items to handout to the audience as well as more gifts for the filmmakers.

ConvergeSouth Film Festival Schedule Announced

ConvergeSouth Film Festival will be held at 2 Art Chicks Gallery on 609 S. Elm Street in Downtown Greensboro on Saturday October 20th, 2007. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the Festival will begin at 7:30.

We will have a fifteen minute intermission in which I will introduce Brian Conley from AliveInBaghdad.org and Farrah Hoffmire and Mitchell Davis from “Falling Together in New Orleans“. This will allow time for the audience to ask any questions to the present filmmakers. If it runs more than fifteen minuets so be it as long as it doesn’t run over 30 minutes.

ConvergeSouth Film Festival Schedule

TITLE: Deadly Finger
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: Jose Montesinos
RUNNING TIME: 4:01

Synopsis: The World-wide Master of the Deadly Finger technique challenges a martial arts instructor and his students.

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pes.jpgTITLE: Game Over
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: PES
RUNNING TIME: 1:35

Synopsis: 80’s arcade games come to life with objects.

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TITLE: Broken
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: David Wendelman
UNNING TIME: 15:22

Synopsis: Whether it’s been just to survive or to empower himself, every has been a fight for small-time boxer Luis Morales. Now after years of boxing, Luis’ promoter Marcel and his trainer Gerecke are pressuring him to leave the ring. But for Luis, the choice is not that simple. He is haunted by the memory of his father who, having once been a proud Mexican wrestler of the Lucha Libre, had died a broken man, struggling as a day laborer to support his family and to live the American dream. For Luis, to stop fighting is to fail, something he is more terrified of than of death. To fight is to exist.

FILM CREW:
Filmmaker – David Wendelman
Written by – David Wendelman
Producer – David Wendelman
Creative Producer – Michael Bentt
Executive Producers – John Riggi, David Wendelman
Original Music – Bobby Tahouri
Editor – Alex Ward
Sound Design – Jeffery Alan Jones, Daniel Pagan
Production Designer – Laura Paddock
Special Effects Make-Up Artist – Jacque Carroll
Fight Coordinator – Michael Bentt

FILM CAST:
Luis Morales – Jose Yenque
Gerecke – Gene Borkan
Marcel – Felix ‘Ryghin’ Pimentel
Francisco Morales – Paul Renteria
Juanita Morales – Doralicia
Julio – Ruben Bansie-Snellman
Pepe – Tommy Montoya
Augie – Joe Chacon
Javier – Brian Miller
Manuel – Will Morales
Young Luis Morales – Richard Garza
El Volcan (the masked wrestler) – Francisco Morales
Los Chivos – Enigma de Oro

Previous Festivals: Urbanworld VIBE Film Festival 2006, NY International Latino Film Festival 2006. Nosotros American Latino Film Festival 2006, Cinesol Film Festival 2006, Salento International Film Festival Italy 2006, 2nd International Short Film Festival La Nocha De Los Cortos 2006 Peru, Harlem International Film Festival 2006, Boston Latino International Film Festival 2006, 6 Festival International de Cine Hispano Mexico 2006, International Latino Film Festival San Francisco Bay Area 2006, CineMas Albuquerque Latino Film Festival 2007, 6ta Muestra Nacional de Nuevo Realizadores Havana, Cuba 2007, 14th San Diego Latino Film Festival 2007.

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TITLE: My Urban Report: Jena
CATEGORY: Citizen Journalism
DIRECTOR: Amani Channel
RUNNING TIME: 4:32

Synopsis: Journalist Amani Channel covered the Jena Six rally on Sept. 20, and produced a short documentary of the event. The case surrounds six Black students who were charged as adults for a high school fight.

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TITLE: Banana Bus
DIRECTOR NAME: Ajit Anthony Prem
CATEGORY: Vlog
RUNNING TIME: 2:12

Synopsis: JaCynthia Shepherd recalls her experiences on the Public School Bus system. It seems she received much of her education while riding to and from school.

FILM CAST & CREW:
Filmmaker – Ajit Anthony Prem
Voice over – JaCynthia Shepherd
Song – ?She Was a Girl, She Was in Love? by Matt Baldwin
Previous Festivals: Ava Gardner Film Festival.

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TITLE: Blue Angel
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR NAME: Andrew Michael Warnecke
RUNNING TIME: 13:10

Synopsis: A disturbing, yet intimate and moving portrait of a girl (Jenafer Brown) confronted with her classmate’s (Aika Shima) confession of sexual abuse in the home. Based upon a short story by Christine Bollerud.

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TITLE: Honey I?m Home
DIRECTOR NAME: David Branin
CATEGORY: Short Film
RUNNING TIME: 5:40

Synopsis: This film tackles the topic of being unfaithful and having to confess the truth to one’s companion. Never before has infidelity been explored in the way that Branin does in this five minute masterpiece.

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TITLE: 80?s Man
DIRECTOR NAME: DC Douglas
CATEGORY: Music Video
RUNNING TIME: 3:28

Synopsis: This video was born out of lethargy and nurtured through an obsessive compulsive disorder.

8:15 p.m. on Saturday, July 31st, Lilia Popova calls up Robin Meyers and D.C. Douglas (who happen to live upstairs) and invites them down for pizza with her boyfriend, Abraham Peraza. D.C. Douglas, determined to break their vegetative demeanor, insists they also write a song. They all agree. 3 hours later, “Eighties Man” is born.

Over the next week, he is refined. It becomes apparent that a video must be made. The following Friday, several friends converge at a green screen studio in the aptly named Studio City. They have 2 hours to film. After one week of intensive editing and compositing, on August 20th, 2005, “Eighties Man – The Video” goes live on the web. Total cost: $600 and 100+ hours of creativity. The video is 3 minutes. Life is cruel.

What you are about to see is, indeed, one of the most important music videos of all time… (Yeah, bigger than “Let’s get Physical”)

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roof-sex.jpgTITLE: Roof Sex
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: PES
RUNNING TIME: 1:10

Synopsis: Two comfortable chairs on top of the roof… watch where you sit.

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TITLE: Winds of Time: The Proposition
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: Jose Montesinos
RUNNING TIME: 4:57

Synopsis: Jorge Valenzuela must hire the Karate Boys to convince Carmen Dawn, Jiu-Jitsu Nurse, to go out with him. Comedy & action ensue…

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TITLE: F2
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: Jesse Knight
RUNNING TIME: 6:33

Synopsis: The decay of man coincides the decay of religion in a post apocalyptic world. A priest of the post apocalypse touches paintings and receives visions ultimately revealing his own sacrificial death at the hands of the high priestess.

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TITLE: Falling Together in New Orleans Vignette 3
CATEGORY: Citizen Journalism
DIRECTOR: Organic Process Productions
RUNNING TIME: 18:28

Synopsis: Emergency Communities is a non-profit organization that employs compassion and creativity to provide community-based disaster relief. Since Katrina, they have operated four relief sites, served over 300,000 meals and 25,000 residents of the Gulf.

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TITLE: Exit Strategy
DIRECTOR NAME: Valient Thorr
CATEGORY: Music Video
RUNNING TIME: 3:55

Synopsis: a protest song for this generation

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TITLE: Alive In Baghdad: An In-Depth Look at the Wall in Adhamiya
CATEGORY: Citizen Journalism
DIRECTOR: Brian Conley
RUNNING TIME: 8:07

Synopsis: When they began erecting a wall in Adhamiya the public response was varied, in Iraq, in the US, indeed around the world. Some responded with shock, others with outrage, others wondered why it hadn?t been tried before. Most importantly, there was a reaction, it was widespread, and strong. The press covered the issue of the wall repeatedly, with many papers writing multiple stories on the subject, extending over a period of months, some more. Unfortunately the images of the wall are few and far between. A Google image search reveals only 1,020 results for adhamiya wall, many of which are repeat images and many more are irrelevant to the search. Why has such an important event of the war and most recently the Surge, received so little visual coverage?

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INTERMISSION

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TITLE: Duck Duck Goose!
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: DC Douglas
RUNNING TIME: 20:52

Synopsis: Duck, Duck, GOOSE!? has no explosions or boobies. Well, wait a minute… It does feature one boob named Jacob who longs to keep his ex-wife close-by for masochistic pleasure. There’s also C.B., a nervous romantic with a hapless crush on an exotic burping beauty named Lizzie, who only wants to find a man with a mind like a woman, fall in love, and fly away to Paris. It’s an intoxicating blend of early sixties European romp and post-modern cynicism in glorious technicolor!

FILM CREW
Director – D.C. Douglas
Writer – D.C. Douglas
Producers – Rose Bertolero, D.C. Douglas, Josephine Gompertz
Original Music – Abraham Peraza, Lilia Popova
D.O.P. – Tom Robotham
Editor – D.C. Douglas

FILM CAST
Lizzie – Robin Meyers
Jacob – D.C. Douglas
C.B. – Bryan Cuprill
La Penis Woman – Courtenay Taylor
Le French Waiter – Christopher Carroll
Le Creepy Guy – Dan Butler
Le Romantic Guy – Michael Cade
La Crying Girl – Gina Marie Gian
La Matchmaker – Lisa Long
La Giggly Girl – Bess Meyer
La Religious Girl – Diane Mizota
Le Opera Singer – Abraham Peraza
La Pianis – Lilia Popova

Film Festivals: Tiburon International Film Festival, San Fernando International Film Festival, Palm Beach International Film Festival, Seattle SOS Film Festival, RiverRun International Film Festival, Newport Beach International Film Festival, Trenton Film Festival, Santa Cruz Film Festival, Empire Film Festival, The O.C. Short Film Festival, Seattle True Independent Film Festival, New York Gen Art Ignite, Sacramento Film and Music Festival, Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, Rome International Film Festival, DC Shorts Film Festival, Quittapahilla Film Festival, FAIF Film Festival, Ohio Independent Film Festival, Annapolis Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival

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booger.jpgTITLE: Booger Boy
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: PES
RUNNING TIME: :27

Synopsis: Tasty

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TITLE: Deadly Finger Returns
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: Jose Montesinos
RUNNING TIME: 4:59

Synopsis: The Master of the Deadly Finger technique is back! Only this time he faces many more opponents!

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TITLE: My Urban Report: Twins
CATEGORY: Citizen Journalism
DIRECTOR: Amani Channel
RUNNING TIME: 10:51

Synopsis: Journalist Amani Channel documents his wife’s first pregnancy with twins, and the events surrounding their premature birth.

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TITLE: Tuning Out Roadkill
DIRECTOR NAME: Ajit Anthony Prem
CATEGORY: Short Film
RUNNING TIME: 4:22

Synopsis: We have a tendency to look away from all forms of death. Is it instinct? Is it to keep one’s insanity? Or does it just become meaningless when it happens so much?

FILM CAST & CREW:
Filmmaking & Music – Ajit Anthony Prem
Voice over – Scott Wallace

Previous Festivals: Ava Gardner Film Festival.

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TITLE: Alive In Baghdad: Iraq Journalist Killed in Heavy Traffic
CATEGORY: Citizen Journalism
DIRECTOR: Brian Conley
RUNNING TIME: 7:37

Synopsis: Iraqi police said that Suhad Shakir, an announcer in Al-Iraqiyah channel, was wounded when US forces opened fire on her car near the Foreign Ministry in central Baghdad. The US army said that it is verifying the truthfulness of the claim.

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TITLE: Thoughts on the Road
DIRECTOR NAME: Ajit Anthony Prem
CATEGORY: Vlog
SHOOTING FORMAT: DSLR Stills
RUNNING TIME: 1:39

Synopsis: Sometimes, the best place to think is on the road.

FILM CAST & CREW:
Filmmaker – Ajit Anthony Prem
Song by Hisato Higuchi

Previous Festivals: Ava Gardner Film Festival.

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TITLE: FAIT AC?COM?PLI
DIRECTOR NAME: Jason Marc Pierce
CATEGORY: Short Film
RUNNING TIME: 4:31

Synopsis: A Science Fiction piece that asks the question: “What would you do if you knew exactly when someone is going to die?”

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TITLE: Catastrophe
DIRECTOR NAME: Steven van Vuuren
CATEGORY: Short Film
RUNNING TIME: 6:48

Synopsis: Catastrophe is a black comedy about disturbed household that is changed forever by a surprising member of the family. Told from a unique perspective, Catastrophe uses imaginative camera work, sound design and stark colors to create an atmospheric tale.

FILM CREW:
Filmmaker/Editor – Stephen van Vuuren
Writers – Teresa Prevatte, Stephen van Vuuren
Producers – Sheila Duell, Marie van Vuuren
Script Supervisor/Edit – Andrew Johnson
Boom – Kelly Wall
Sound – Andrew Johnson, Marie van Vuuren
Grips – Alex Prevatte, Cameron Prevatte
PA – Diana Keyes-Johnson, Su Welikonich

FILM CAST

Husband – Reed Prevatte
Wife – Peggy Droz

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TITLE: Dear Stranger
DIRECTOR NAME: Ajit Anthony Prem
CATEGORY: Short Film
RUNNING TIME: 14:57

Synopsis: Dear Stranger follows the musings of a young woman’s erotic fantasies that develop harmlessly until they suffocate her mind and her real life relationships.

FILM CREW:
Filmmaker – Ajit Anthony Prem
Producer – Rachel Connolly
Executive Producers – Kelly Cook, Violette Harris
Still Photographer – Carl Gunhouse
Music Composer – Hunter M. McDermott
Additional Music – Bill Donovan

FILM CAST:
Rosie – Nikki Alikakos
Gordon – Steven Lock
Stranger – Michael Teh
Voice-Over – Kelly Cook
Rosie’s Friend – Maryse Karunaratne
Stranger’s Friend – George Rivas
Girls in Park – Lindsey Glass & Mandy

Previous Festivals: Annapolis Film Festival, Ava Gardner Film Festival.

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TITLE: Deathmatch Tournament 3
CATEGORY: Short Film Episodic
DIRECTOR: Matthew Sumner
RUNNING TIME: 4:59

Synopsis: Deathmatchtournament.com is a site where humans, cyborgs, and robots battle in a video game type world.

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TITLE: Housewifery
CATEGORY: Vlog
DIRECTOR: Jill Foster
RUNNING TIME: 3:18

Synopsis: In the last year Jill observed the life with her husband: they were emotionally awesome yet the remainder of their partnership looked imbalanced e.g. clutter at home, no living will, neither of them knew how to cook or invested the time in learning, and why did that retirement account still look empty despite their philosophically supporting savings, retirement plans, etc? These question demanded resolve … & a little humor too.

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TITLE: Gi Ho Lo: The Legacy of Richard Long
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: Jason Marc Pierce
RUNNING TIME: 8:01

Synopsis: Mockumentary about the youngest Gi Ho Lo master in America

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marriage.jpgTITLE: Marriage Is For…
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: PES
RUNNING TIME: :15

Synopsis: What happens when two nuts wed?

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TITLE: Been You All Along
DIRECTOR NAME: Ajit Anthony Prem
CATEGORY: Vlog
RUNNING TIME: 2:31

Synopsis: Two people that were always meant to be together.

FILM CAST & CREW:
Filmmaker – Ajit Anthony Prem
Song by Buckethead

Previous Festivals: Ava Gardner Film Festival.

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TITLE: Winds of Time: Querida
CATEGORY: Short Film
DIRECTOR: Jose Montesinos
RUNNING TIME: 4:59

Synopsis: Jorge Valenzuela continues to long for Carmen Dawn. The Karate Boys, on their way to face Carmen again, are intercepted by their long-time rivals: The Throw-Down Team!

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Extras…Extras Read All About It

I’m shooting behind the scenes for “Dogs of Chinatown,” and we have a big shoot on Monday downtown Greensboro in front of Solaris. From Blake Faucette, the producer of “Dogs Of Chinatown.”

Hey guys and gals,
Just wanted to see if you could be an extra in a scene or if you could send some people (friends, family, etca our way on Monday, September 17th, at 5:00 pm. We are shooting a scene at Solaris in downtown Greensboro. Everyone will get a pasta meal for being in the scene. All they have to do is be dining in the background and when the fighting starts they just run out of the restaurant. Semi formal attire for wardrobe (button up shirts, slacks, khakis, dresses, etc) Here’s the address if anyone needs directions.

Solaris Tapas Restaurant and Bar
125 Summit Ave. , Downtown Greensboro, NC, 27401

Come down and give a hand and be an extra in the coolest film from North Carolina.