The Suede Flock

The Hamas do "Rock Band"

2009-01-03T15:09:00.001-08:00

Rich and his dad playing Rock Band together for the first time, Rich's Wii.

Robby at the Lab

2009-01-03T13:05:00.001-08:00

at our little audio studio in Robby's apartment in Echo Park

The Music Lab

2009-01-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

a skewed view of me and Robby's jam setup

Sunset on Venice Blvd

2008-09-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

driving to Venice from downtown

The Temple

2008-09-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

on Fountain Ave

Me in a Monkey Suit

2008-09-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

Emmys - The Press Tent

2008-09-30T11:42:00.001-07:00

This where the winners pose with their Emmy and answer stupid questions from the press douchebags.

Bubbly

2008-09-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

would you like some fina champagnya?

Incorrect Aspect Ratio

2008-09-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

the globe that lady Emmy is holding should be a circle, not an oval... d'oh!!

Emmys - Behind the Scenes

2008-09-30T11:34:00.001-07:00

this is the "One-on-One Room" I setup for Extra in the press tent at the Emmys. It included a live iChat module where fans were able to ask Emmy winners questions. NIFTY!!!!

New NVidea Cards...

2008-09-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

I cracked open a new Mac Pro that I was building out for the one of the new FCP edit bays and low and behold, the bigass, 2-slot ATI Radeon card had been replaced by a smaller, sleeker, sexier, and more powerful Nvidea.

Cameras

2008-09-16T16:43:00.001-07:00

Rich shows me his new, badass medium format camera.

My Mustache

2008-09-16T16:42:00.001-07:00

whiskey tango foxtrot????

2008-09-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

okay so last time i checked this was a parking lot adjacent to a public park, NOT a meth lab convention center.

the californian

2008-09-12T23:06:00.000-07:00

no clue what this is a leftover from, but it's been sitting here at this spot off riverside at los feliz forever. nobody talks about it though...

birds on a roof

2008-09-12T23:05:00.001-07:00

on my way home from work...

the road to TRIXTER'S

2008-09-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

shot this the other night after me and RT2 had killed a fifth and jammed out. AT came by and drove us over to Tricky's.

this morning: setup a live Skype video chat...

2008-09-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

Between a sorority at a college in Orange and the girl from The Hills, who was on the show this morning. Technically speaking it went superb.

possible new logo for David

2008-09-11T21:25:00.001-07:00

whipped this up for The Scuttler today at work... i'm thinking of adding "media composer" but freaking it to read "media scuttler" or something funny

Superbad

2008-09-11T14:38:00.001-07:00

i'm pretty sure this is where Apatow and company shot the liquor store scenes in "Superbad."

iChat, Skype, SightSpeed, WebEx, etc etc

2008-09-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

i had to get in to work at 7am because we had an 8am test doing a live iChat with the host of the show and an a fan.

we tested the exact setup yesterday and it worked great.

this morning, nothing worked;

- audio from Skype dropped frames

- audio routing somehow un-patched itself in the Master Control patch bay

- a brand new Apple Cinema Display -- fresh off the shelf at the Burbank Apple Store -- just straight up wouldn't turn on.

lunchtime kyte test

2008-09-10T14:14:00.001-07:00

i decided to do another "live broadcast" test with the Kyte phone during lunch

Kyte at Night, downtown LA

2008-09-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

Aaron Hobson exhibit opens this weekend

2008-09-09T14:23:00.001-07:00

at the DRKRM Gallery...

live from the mobile

2008-09-09T13:28:00.001-07:00

Nokia N95, SICK VIDEO PHONE!

2008-09-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

ok so this the official "Kyte" camera that let's you stream live video to the web. yesterday's tests weren't as fruitful as i'd hoped but i also have yet to test the streaming while on a full 3G network. gonna try that later this afternoon. here's some pics of it.

1st round of Kyte via Nokia N95 tests

2008-09-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

Ok so these don't really do justice to the Kyte platform. NONE of these tests were shot via a 3G network, which obviously the minimal rating needed for this kind of stuff.

Kyte tests

2008-09-08T16:14:00.001-07:00

Tonight: Death Vessel @ Spaceland

2008-09-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

tickets were only $8. not bad for silver snake these days. speaking of which, i was reading on wikipedia that Spaceland used to be a gay disco back in the day, called "Dreams." not surprising...

Trixter's site... thought I was almost done...

2008-09-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

but i was wrong... we've got a whole 'nother round of changes to make. the current (incomplete) version is still live though... MRTRIXTER.COM

F Yeah Fest 5

2008-08-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

I am solely going to this hipster marathon for 1 reason; to see Two Gallants. Bought tix to their last LA show back in February but missed it do to "personal" reasons. I'm planning on riding the old Schwinn down to the Echo and checking them out.

Daddy's Back.

2008-08-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

Okay so it's been nearly 3 months since my last post and i'm 100% sure that no ons is reading this lame piece of shit anymore. so now it's official that this thing is really just more like a personal sketch pad for myself. an easy way to catalog cool shit on the net.

that being stated, it's been a tough couple of months. here's quick recap, in bulleted "list format"

no steady job
me and cory directed 2 music videos, now doing post for them
got signed with a production company for music video rep
linked with a sales rep for music vids, separate from pro co
my dad got a pace-maker installed
got fired and re-hired as the IT consultant at the catholic radio station
finally got a new, non-TMobile phone

greenscreens are funny.

2008-07-07T17:14:00.001-07:00

Paris video shoot in the can. Peep some stills.

2008-07-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

Fidel took these and made this sick slideshow. It really get's sick around frame 317.

Andy Goldsworthy

2008-06-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

we worked hella late in the lab so i ended up just crashing out on CS's couchpiece. woke up to him getting an Andy Goldsworthy book from UPS delivered at 11:20am. made me remember the Thomas Riedelscheimer documentary about Goldsworthy that we showed at The Screen while i was a projectionist there.

New Supergrass video. Nutty technique.

2008-06-23T22:54:00.000-07:00

This kid who lived across from me in college did these short films of ants where he would rotate / cut the the frame so the ant was always walking straight north and in the center of the frame, so all the ground around him would be erratic and rotating and choppy and the ant would be steady and not seem to move. This reminds of that, only executed a lot better.

Flexfoil = Facemelter.

2008-06-23T18:09:00.002-07:00

The 'Scuttler just scuttled this over to me and Cory at the lab. What's even more facemelting than the skill of the kitesurers is the skill of the filmmakers and VFX artists. This video has way tighter FX than any skate / snowboard video I've seen. It definitely ups the bar for produciton value and creative vision in extreme sports videos.

http://www.hadlowpro.com/

"Save Ourselves" film stills

2008-06-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

some actual stills from the telecine session at R!OT. our boy Santi sprinkled us phat.

More El Mirage pics from Thurminator

2008-06-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

Melting my own face...

"Save Ourselves" telecine tonight at RIOT

2008-06-17T18:07:00.001-07:00

Somehow AT managed to get us a tele session at RIOT tonight. No clue how he pulled that one off but I'm stoked. Only semi-bummer was that evidently on the Spirit 2k you can't go directly to an image sequence.

Shooting "Save Ourselves" music video this tonight thru Sunday

2008-06-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

After having to push the shoot due to casting woes we're locken ' n ' loaded to slay the shoot for Ameish's video this weekend. I'm stoked. It's been a long week with all the preproduction, plus I was doing consulting at this Radio / TV station in El Monte, plus my mom was in town. Fuck.

But it's tight 'cause we're shooting at El Mirage dry lakebed up near Lancaster and now my dad's in town and he rented a Pontiac GT6, so all me and AT have been talking about is doing e-brake slides in the rental at El Mirage. I think we're gonna get there early on Saturday and have some fun and try and shoot a sick e-brake slide at 120 fps.

Dub Club. Wailing Souls.

2008-06-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

I saw the Wailing Souls at Reggae Night at the 'bowl last year. They are pretty sick; like 4 old Rastas singing and harmonizing at once. They're playing at Dub Club tonight, $15.

Slayer.

2008-06-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

Phylo had these on the other day. I am beyond jealous.

"Obama is the new De La Soul"

2008-06-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

According to ?uest Love. Anyhow, I'm stoked that the horrifically ugly, pointless, selfish face-off between him and Hill dog is over. The whole time these two douches were tickle-fighting, John McCain has been gaining steady ground and he already has a 8 month head start on the Dems now.

El Mirage. A Different World.

2008-06-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon AT and I drove 2 hours north on hwy 14 to do some location scouting for Ameish's video we're about to shoot. We'd gone out to Pacoima on Saturday and hadn't found anything that great or safe so spirits were a bit low. But holy shit no wonder they shoot so many commercials up there; El Mirage is fucking insane! I only wish we'd had some dirtbikes to really shred it up but the ol' 4 Runner handled it pretty well. And we did do some seriously hardcore roof-surfing at around 70 mph.

Beirut!

2008-06-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

AT and I scored 2 tickets to the Beirut show from JWong after Peach gave her some VIP passes. Eventhough the mix at the Wiltern was horrible, Beirut still managed to sound amazing. Seriously, these guys have to be the best live band touring right now. I've been blessed enough to see them 3 times here in LA since I first heard them and each performance has been ridonkulous. Big ups to Jackie and Phil for hooking up the tickets, and of course to Nick and the crew for putting on such a sick show.

View from France... ridiculous.

2008-05-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

Cory and I just had our faces melted by these dudes from France, View. Their mastery of 3d is unbelievable. Their stuff is in the new Stash (#45).

Go to their site right now and at least watch the Virgin spot. It's the real deal.

It's Confirmed; We're in the new SPIN.

2008-05-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

Below is a scan of pg. 30 from the new Spin mag. Bjork beat us for the actual #1 slot of "must see music videos" with her "Wanderlust" video directed by another duo, Encyclopedia.

SPIN gets Artsy.

2008-05-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

Cedes just called me freaking out because evidently there's a little blurb about the "Artsy" video in this month's Spin mag. Check out pg 30 under "Must See Music Videos," we're like, uh, 1st on the list. I still haven't seen this with my own eyes to verify but I'm about to go to Skylight books and pick up a copy.

Can't Find Denton skyline pics.

2008-05-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

For having the most notable skyline north of Dallas, Denton sure doesn't flaunt it. I can't find a decent pic of it anywhere online. I'll have to take one next time I'm back. At least the courthouse is always on point.

Vortexas Album available on NimBit now.

2008-05-28T20:42:00.001-07:00

Been laboring for weeks on building the website for Jesse's record label. Finally almost done, just waiting on the final Illustrator files from Miguel. Here's what the Nimbit powered e-storefront will look like....

Moonlight Mile. Official Trailer.

2008-05-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

This looks pretty sweet, the space animation looks way sicker than the standard futurist anime odyssey. I particularly dig the premise about the discovery of Helium 3 near the moon. Obviously inspired by China, Russia, and even the good ol' USA's "renewed" interest in "returning" to the moon.

Beirut at the Wiltern. Friday & Saturday Night.

2008-05-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

My friend Nick Petri's band, Beirut, returns to LA for a 2 night stint at The Wiltern. Eventhough the Wiltern has horrible sound, terrible parking, and crappy bars the show will still blow you away.

Beirut's eclectic and thick, creamy, rich sound is only fully appreciated in a live setting, where the vocal harmonies and horn's powers fully flourish. They are definitely the best live band touring right now. Period.

My boy Nicky P is the handsome young lad playing the snare drum. He's a Taoseno like AT.

Wednesday. Dub Club.

2008-05-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

Thank Jah that Dub Club is free for tripods before 10pm. If only the beer was too.

O2

2008-05-27T22:22:00.001-07:00

Peep the hi-res on Motion Theory's site:

Weezer + Motion Theory = Facemelter.

2008-05-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

This is mind-expanding.

Bobby J is 12. Not 5, nor a 32 yr old dwarf.

2008-05-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

I found his Wikipedia page. Amazing.

Rasta Chant.

2008-05-27T18:53:00.001-07:00

Can you feel it?

Burro Banton. Original.

2008-05-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

This dude is like the Lou Reed of early dancehall / reggae. So sick. AT showed me this.

Bobby J is a Dwarf.

2008-05-27T18:46:00.001-07:00

RT2 is claiming that Bobby J is like 32 and is a dwarf, not a 5 year old. That would explain how he's able to crip walk with such ease. Supposedly he went to high school in Seattle.... ten years ago!!!

Peep the Stage Presence of this 5 year old.

2008-05-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Cory just showed this to me. This kid has more swagger and stage presence than 90% of the "hiphop" shows I go to. He reminds of what Devin the Dude must have been like as a toddler.

Mister Lonely tonight at 7:30.

2008-05-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

It was looking like it might rain again (yeah!!!) but now the sun is blazing so I think I should go play some disc. Then I'll think I'll cash in my spare change at the CoinStar at Von's and go see the new Korine flick "Mister Lonely" at the $3 theater in Miracle Mile @ 7:30.

This is Why Corporal Punishment Exists... Ridiculous.

2008-05-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

I think we should adopt this kid. Seriously. He's gonna be huge some day.

Just saw "The Fall." Way Better Than I Thought.

2008-05-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

Just watched "The Fall" at the Los Feliz 3. Wow. The direction, cinematography, art direction, production design, editing, acting, well pretty much everything about this film was pretty badass. The creative vision, direction, and cinematography are nothing short of epic and I know I probably sound like a film douche but I'm for real on this one. I feel bad that not more marketing is being done for this film because it will no doubt rack up some golden globe and oscar nominations for cinematography, production design, and editing, and most people will end up seeing this beautiful film on DVD. Bummer. Oh well, at least I got to see it in it's purest form.

Here's a link to watch the trailer in HD.

New Tarsem joint at Los Feliz 3.

2008-05-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

India's finest director since Satyajit Ray, Tarsem Singh's latest flick is currently playing down on Vermont at Franklin at the Los Feliz 3 theater. Singh's first feature film, "The Cell," was visually stunning though J. Lo totally ruined it. "The Fall" looks to be a dark meditation on the emtional scars that come after a traumatic physical event. "The Fall" is executive produced by David Fincher and Spike Jonze. By the way, Tarsem makes M. Nigh Shyamalan look like Uwe Boll.

New Harmony Korine flick at the $3 Theater.

2008-05-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

Diego Luna as a Michael Jackson impersonator who meets Marilyn Monroe and gets invited to a dinner party at her house with Charlie Chaplin and Shirley Temple. If it's half as good / original as "Gummo" then it's gonna be one of the best and overlooked films of the year. Harmony Korine may very well be a crackhead but I'll be damned if he's also not one of the truest auteurs in the post-new-wave scene.

Hangover Therapy at TropiCal.

2008-05-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Something about Kirin Ichiban gives me a wicked hangover. Same thing happens with Stella Artois. Not sure what it is but jeez. I woke up and headed straight here to TropiCal. Their coffee is amazing, I personally like it better than the new hipster hotspot "Intelligentsia" down the street at Sunset Junction. Intelligentsia is good and it's pretty much the same price as TropiCal but the interior is really sterile and the artsy baristas draw things like hearts and flowers in the crema breva and I'm not really down with that.

Tropical serves straight up Gavina classico in a traditional porta-filter setup. Not sure what brand of espresso machine they use but it's something Italian and solid. It's not Rancilio but one of the other brands. People rave about the specialized machine they use as Intelligenstia but honestly it's not like they're serving liquid gold or anything. Plus everybody knows that Sunset Junction is whack anyways since the Upon Shop record store had to close down. Fucking Amoeba...

The Art of Erica Browne.

2008-05-23T18:27:00.001-07:00

I went to school with this girl and, well, when a school as fucking small as CSF is you end up partying with everyone sooner or later. I just came across her art website via a mutual friend's photography... she's been busy being a badass artist since she graduated. Peep game, it's all facemelting and beautiful, my personal favorites are "It Devours Us," and "Ma and Pa."

Erica Browne.

Foals. Killer!

2008-05-23T18:09:00.001-07:00

My boy Cole turned me on to this other Sub Pop / Transgressive Records band (from Oxford) called Foals. Their style is hard to pinpoint and I disagree with Sub Pop's writers calling them "post-minimal-afro -jazz-punkers." Their sound is much more mathmatical, technical, and plotted than this hipster description. Foals plays at the best music venue in LA, The Troubadour this Saturday, May 24th. I hope it isn't sold out yet. Just checked, it is sold out. FUCK!!!!!

Oh Well. Peep their latest music video here.

Sick Sub Pop Compilation out.

2008-05-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

RT2 was jamming this "Happy Birthday to Me: Terminal Sales Vol. 3" (which is a Sub Pop artist sampler) and overall it was solid. One of my favorite new bands, Blitzen Trapper has an amazing song on there called "Furr" which is the title track off their new album coming out this fall. The sound is much more complex and rich than the Little Feat sounding anthem "Wild Mountain Nation" which was the first BT track with which I fell in love. They opened up for one my all time favorite bands Two Gallants this past fall. I had a pair of tickets to the show, it was at the El Rey on Wilshire, but me and my girlfriend at the time were breaking up so I was all bummed out and didn't end up going to the show. I also missed a Willie Nelson concert because of that breakup. It totally crushed me.

But I'm predicting that "Furr" is going to be one of the best releases of late 2008. Sub Pop also just announced the "Sub Pop Festival" which is going down on July 2nd. The highlight of this concert will no doubt be Flight of the Conchords and Wolf Parade.

Another standout track on the Sub Pop sampler is this band Fleet Foxes' track "White Winter Hymnal." Peep game when you listen to the killer vocal harmonies on this track.

Dope Flick: "Lars and the Real Girl"

2008-05-23T17:26:00.001-07:00

Just watched this last night, copped it from Netflix. I'm not the biggest Ryan Gosling fan. I mean, he did make his debut in a romantic piece of shit called "The Notebook." But he did get to plow Rachel McAdams so I guess that's pretty respectable. I did like him as crackhead in "Half Nelson" though. That was probably when I decided he wasn't a total douche. And, surprisingly, he was pretty good as a total douche in "Fracture," which was shockingly not bad.

All of this makes me regret not checking out "Lars and the Real Girl" in the theaters. I had no idea it was directed by Craig Gillespie (one of my favorite commercial / music video directors, signed in the US by MJZ).

Abruzzi's. The Best Food North of The Bay.

2008-05-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

My twin bro is the executive chef at this spot in Arcata, California. If you're ever near the Lost Coast you should definitely do your taste buds a favor and expand your epicurean palette and hit this place up. Hint: Try the "Blackened Salmon with Ponchetrain Sauce."

Crank Dat.

2008-05-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

Some lil' knucka named Reggie Patron posted a video response to my Saved By The Bell / Soulja Boy mashup on YouTube. Its actually better than mine. Shit.

Here's his.

It Rained Here Today. I Swear.

2008-05-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

My CrapBerry Pearl's bluetooth is fucked so I can't upload the incredibly shitty res photos of the rain at Oak Grove park today, but RT2 was with me so he can vouch. It dumped heavy for about half an hour. There was lightning and everything. We both expressed an unexplored interest in amateur Storm Chasing. I would be Bill Paxton and he'd be Cary Elwes in Twister. Actual photos to come.

The Perfect Food; Breakfast Burritoes.

2008-05-22T15:34:00.001-07:00

There's something about the combination of a flour tortilla, two eggs, potatoes, cheese, and whatever else you want. Long before I lived in New Mexico I was familiar with and an avid fan of breakfast burritoes. Growing up in north central Texas I was raised on amazing and authentic Mexican food, so breakfast burritoes got taken for granted. Especially when you have a place like this:

Mi Casita on Carroll Drive in Denton. Ever since the Kohandhani family opened this spot when I was in high school it's had the best breakfast burritoes in town. Really killer salsa too.

The best breakfast burritoes I've ever had though were definitely in New Mexico. The New Mexican Chili just trumps anything else, even the righteous salsas of my Texican homeland. And the best breakfast burritoes in New Mexico are at Posa's in Santa Fe, on Rodeo Dr.

With how big the Mexican population is in Los Angeles there is a surprising lack of amazing breakfast burritoes and definitely nothing that holds a candle to that of Posa's. Hands down the best breakfast burrito in LA is from Tacos Villa Corona in Atwater Village.

Aaron Hobson -- LA show announced!

2008-05-22T15:09:00.001-07:00

This amazing photographer that August turned me on to just announced a solo show in LA in September at the Drkm Gallery here in LA! The guy's name is Aaron Hobson and he's the master of telling an entire story with just one image. He often uses subtle compositing techniques to distort time, space, and perception. The result is both haunting and beautiful. To me the most intriguing element about his work is that all of his images are self-portraits. He creates these incredibly dark epics and they all star himself at the center.

Aaron Hobson's "Cinemascapes"

Son of Rambow. Yes, it Rocks.

2008-05-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've been more broke than a sugar daddy on Valentine's Day lately, so I haven't had the skrill to upgrade my A/C situation at the new spot in Echo Park. So, during last weeks heatwave in southland I caught a matinee of "Son of Rambow." I went in knowing virtually nothing about it except that they mispelled "Rambo." It turned out to be an awesome dramedy about dealing with social anxiety during those horribly awkward middle school years. Will Poulter steals the show as "Lee Carter," the school fuckup you love to hate. Garth Jennings wrote / directed this little gem, which Fox Searchlight bought for $8 million after its premiere at Sundance.

Go in to this one thinking of it like a cockney "Napoleon Dynamite," with little heavier hand when dealing with the social dynamics of an outcast family.

Call It. Friend-O

2008-05-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

My old colleague from college, Tony D'Amato has this killer blog on Blog Spot called The Invention Chronicles. His illustration style is amazing. Peep this little ditty he did for the Coen brothers' latest masterpiece.

The Invention Chronicles

My new favorite webisodic

2008-05-21T18:16:00.000-07:00

I love how greasy this guy looks. Like something straight out of north Jersey.

New BUILDESTROY Montage for '08

2008-05-21T15:56:00.001-07:00

So me and Cory finished v1 of his 2008 Montage. We're gonna add some more stuff once these music videos that we're working on get delivered. But even now its still "white hot."

BUILDESTROY 2008 v1

Devin the Dude in Eureka, Cali this Saturday!

2008-05-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

That's right Dudes. Texas' best lyricist is making a rare northern Cali appearance at our friend's bar, The Red Fox Tavern, in Eureka on Saturday night. I'm seriously thinking about driving up there just for that show and then drop my bro off at the airport. Supposedly dudes only play the Lost Coast in exchange for herbals. When Snoop Dogg played in Arcata I heard he got paid $30,000 and 10 lbs of kush. Damn!!!

New Pornographers video. Bananas...

2008-05-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

this is beyond beautiful... created by Flourescent Hill collective.

Lucia y el Sexo.

2008-05-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

I watched "Sex and Lucia" again for the millionth time last night. Back in college when I was working as a projectionist at the on-campus movie theater we premiered it. And it ended up being one of the most successful movies we ever showed, I think we ended up holding it over for something like 20 weeks.

I want a love like that which exists and unfolds between Paz Vega and Tristan Ulloa (Lucia and Lorenzo, but who doesn't. More over, what blows me away even more than the story is the performances that Julio Medem got out of his actors. Medem is definitely one of the most overlooked and underrated filmmakers ever. His stories and characters have become a bit more complex with each film, constantly developing his style of cyclical storytelling to the point where, in "Sex and Lucia," the narrative jumps between points in his characters' lives which spans over six years yet nothing could feel more natural.

The two characters which have always perplexed me in this film are that of Elena and Belen. In many ways I see Elena as the same character as "Ana" from Medem's film directly preceding "Sex and Lucia;" "Lovers of the Arctic Circle." LOTAC is as depressing as "Sex and Lucia" is romantic. In "Sex and Lucia" we see the power of destiny as Lucia and Lorenzo's fate to end up together gets reinforced by chance and reason. In LOTAC however, we see the dark side of the same equation, where Otto and Ana are fated to never be together, though they are obviously soulmates of the highest degree. This is set from the very beginning of the story when Otto dad and Ana's mom get married. This sets up the idea of a "forbidden" love between siblings. (Medem plays upon a similar theme in "Sex and Lucia" with the characters of Belen and Antonio)

Elena can be seen as an extension of Ana; a sort of redemption for the horrible destiny Ana met at the end of LOTAC. Ana dies at the end of LOTAC by being hit by a bus after reading about the plane crash of her lover. However, in "Sex and Lucia" Elena has the power to choose her destiny, in part. After meeting Lucia by chance (though its is obviously not really by chance) and talking with Lorenzo online Elena realizes that Lucia and Lorenzo are truly in love. So she does something inhumanly selfless and reconnects them, rather than giving in to insecurity and keeping Lorenzo for her self. This facet of Elena's character has always cut deep inside me. After the tragedy of losing touch with the man who gave her "the bes fuck of her life" to losing her only child, after all this she still loves Lorenzo so much that she only wants to see him happy and the only way to insure this is to reconnect him with Lucia. This act of kindness is so transgressive to the more selfish behavior seen involved in romance, even compared to the characters in LOTAC, where Ana's mother ends up leaving Otto's father for a younger more attractive man, an act which destroys him.

more thoughts to come on...

-Belen

-The Use of a HD camera vs Film camera -- ability to get extremely personal with the actors.

2008 MVPA Awards Official Nominee.

2008-05-20T23:07:00.000-07:00

Cory just found out that "Artsy" is an official nominee for "Best Hip Hop" video. That's right, your boy The Grouch is up against Snoop Dogg, Common, Aesop Rock, and somebody called Wiz Khalifa? WTF???

Music Video Production Awards

VideoStatic.com "gets" Artsy.

2008-05-20T22:50:00.000-07:00

So some guy at Video Static saw the "Artsy" music video we did and put it on the front page. Sounds like he actually watched the entire video from beginning to end (weird) and thus fully comprehended all of the humor we labored hours and weeks and months conjuring. A tip of that hat to you sir.

Artsy on VideoStatic.com