Ace's back stock of shorts and other SFI projects:

My first project at SFI, shot on one role of Super 8. The incredible part is that the video is JUST shy of 3 minutes, which is as long as one role of Super 8. Even more incredible: I must have cut at least a good 10 seconds off from the final copy. Amazing.

(October 2004)

My second project was a music video. I chose The Shins song "Young Pilgrims". I approached the process with virgin ears, listening to endless amounts of music I had never heard before, trying to create an impression from a blank slate. I also had a goal to mix my usual quirk and difference with a more difficult task: I wanted to try and adapt the lyrics literally. I wanted the dialogue to be reflected in the image. I also wanted to try my hand at working with children, since it's apparently incredibly difficult and something that should never be done. Luckily, I showed the two kids my treatment and they did the rest. It's hard to ask a 10 and 11 year old to create violent imagery and make it whimsical, light, and approachable, so I didn't. They just took their interpretation and they seemed to understand the story, which helped make it workable for me not only as a director, but an editor, too.

Here's how it all went down:

(March 2005)

My last (4th) individual project that I had time to complete while still attending Seattle Film Institute was my Demo Reel. It turns out that even though I shot a considerable amount of the footage and directed everything on the reel, this ended up not being a cinematography OR directing reel. This is more geared toward my editing. It is about 3 years old now and I have since improved drastically. There are some slight impovements to the old model, so sit tight for the durataion.

(July 2005)

And...SCENE!!

The Introduction of "Cucumber Radio"

We are now premiering the first video from our new shorts and experimental group, "Cucumber Radio". Think of it as one of those famous flash in the pan comedy troops you're always hearing about. Let us know if your interested in participating and/or being a flash in the pan, cuz we can make that happen. Pan flasher.

Here's our favorite production stills from the shoot:

Don't you wish you could have been there?

Well . . .

Okay, I'm done making this sound like a hokey classic television advertisement.

We're struggling filmmakers with a combined total education cost of about $45,000. That's just within 3 1/2 years. We do what we can with what we have; that includes the time we have, which is plenty.

It's the talent we lack.

And the fact that your opinion doesn't matter to us.

Unless you like what we do.

Let us know if the demand is at all high.

- <3 Ace

Batman Carpools

This past Thursday night, the 6th, while watching Lost and discussing the name we will name our imaginary future daughter, we decided to start a blog. We have too much free time and way too much fun to not contribute ourselves to society in some way. So, this is it.

Saturday morning, we went to sleep at almost 10 the morning and awoke around 7:45pm. What kept us awake an extra few hours was a man in a red van. We were sitting in bed having some quirky discussion and trying to get past our failed attempt/goal of being drunk all nigt and passing out while the sun rose. While we had our discussion we heard a car alarm. Knowing our neighborhood, we assumed it to be a break-in and scoped out the situation.

What we found was a man getting out of the back of his van as if he'd slept in it all night. He went to some bushes and took a piss, then proceeded into the drivers seat where he seemed to be touching himself. We could not see exactly what was happening due to the surrounding shadows from the sun coming up. However, we did notice that something started to grow. A shadow cast onto the passenger seat side of the windsheild took form of a well loved and respected caped crusader.

Part in awe of the man possibly becomming intimate with himself in an assigned parking spot at an apartment building, part in awe of the Jesus or Virgin Mary-like apparition. This went on for at least an hour and a half. The most exciting part had to be when Batman's right ear got a little bit longer than it started out. (Of course the right ear is on the left in the photo.)

We thought it pretty impressive when Saturday night ended with, naturally, Saturday Night Live's new Digital Short with Andy Samberg doing what? Singing? Come on! That's pretty much all that Andy Does in Digital Shorts. And considering today, I hope this one garners the popularity of the others (Lazy Sunday and Dick In A Box; minus the Grammy for Dick In A Box).

Watching the moody tones and thematic elements of the short, I looked at Brandon while I was cooking our lunch (yes, lunch is served at midnight) and said something like, "It's Batman again!!" Yeah, sorry I don't know exactly what I said, it's been a blury couple days.

So, to cap off, or book end the decision we made on Thursday to start a blog, with current times (today): Ben (Michael Emmerson) told John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) that the island is reminiscent of visions folks have of miraculous occurances, and here we are starting our blog that we planned that night with a post about the greatest sighting of our lifetime: Marvel and Gotham's dark, brooding crime fighter.

- <3 Ace

p.s.

Brandon said he had nothing to contribute to this post, but while photographing horny guy and Batman, he became creepily enamoured with the pigeons that dwell on our unnecessarily large deck. Here is his favorite photo of the bird he called Snow White. Like I said, creepy.

(He also yelled at every bird that visited after "Snow White" left because they were either "ugly" or "not as pretty". I'm glad that my husband is straight.)

-Ace, once more