Skylight City

Sometimes I feel like my lavalamp is watching me.

Abe — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:05:55 +0000

“Cadaver” in the Media

Abe — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:27:32 +0000

The short animated film I worked on in 2011 is picking up steam after its festival debut at the Santa Barbar International Film Festival this past weekend. I’m told it was well received and reaction posts on a few websites seem to agree. Take a look at the following posts about “Cadaver!”

MTV and Deadline posted about the film and its unique use of the Neil Young song “Heart of Gold,” one of my favorite elements in the film.

Deadline / Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” Gets New Treatment in Film

Tavi Gevinson Sings Neil Young In ‘Cadaver’ Animation

Additionally, Santa Barbara Seasons and the Metacafe Entertainment Network (MEN) both saw the film and have very positive little writeups.

Santa Barbara Seasons / Monday’s Film Fest Report

MEN / SBIFF: Cadaver

Next up the film will screen at the Cinequest festival in San Jose. I’ll be there this time, if you live in the area you should think about checking it out during one of the short film lineups: WED 2/29; 3:45PM (C12) FRI 3/2; 9:15PM (C12) SUN 3/4; 1:15PM (C12)

“Saltsauce”

Abe — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:26:26 +0000

Woolf

Abe — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:12:14 +0000

Some friends and I participated in this years 24 Hour Film Race in San Francisco. The conditions were to make a short film entirely in 24 hours (7pm April 29th through 7pm APril 30th), using the following elements: Theme: “Identity Theft” Item: A flower Action: Answering a phone Other than that we were free to be as creative as necessary. The result is “Woolf,” a quick but hopefully entertaining animation piece. Very little sleep was had. Let us know what you think.

Wallpaper Music Video

Abe — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:18:19 +0000

I recently finished the VFX work on a new music video for the Bay Area MC “Wallpaper,” called “#STUPiDFACEDD.” It premiered yesterday on MTV and on the MTV Buzzworthy Blog, and is now available to view in HD on Youtube, or in the embed below. A quick disclaimer: this video is a bit raunchy and might not be safe to watch in certain situations. I touched up about 99% of the shots in this piece, with the aim to make them crazier and more atmospheric. Some shots involved adding smoke, haze and sparks to the scene, while in other shots I went as far as to manipulate faces, add wings, bring life to animal masks, and so on. It was an interesting job that spanned a wide range of necessary techniques and pushed me to try unusual approaches to old tricks. If I have any regret its that some of the tweaks were so small you’d have to go in frame-by-frame to really see whats changed, but often times the most invisible work is the most affective for the overall feel of a piece.

Pickups in the Tall Grass

Abe — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:42:48 +0000

This past Saturday, Director of Photography Jessica Fisher and I spent about half an hour shooting a few missing shots for the final act of my film, Trash and Progress. To avoid having to take the usual actress away from her busy schedule for such a tiny shoot, I somehow managed to convince Producer Susan Ali (pictured above) to act as a stand in. It was worth it just to see her in a wig. Though the edit is 95% locked, on a project of this size one finds that significant portions of the story simply don’t come together without the addition of tiny, seemingly minute details. For Trash, this has typically required going down to the basement (or “studio”) and setting up a quick closeup of someone’s hand grabbing a clock, pages in a book turning, or something equally rudimentary. In this case, however, the character Darla Dixie needed a little bit more closure in the film, and this necessitated heading out on location to Point Isabella in Richmond, California, where the tall grass is still dry and there are long paths leading out toward the horizon.

"Araceli Electric" Continues Production

Abe — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 20:13:40 +0000

A short film I was brought on to do the editing and visual effects for is gearing up for one more day of production. “Araceli Electric,” directed by Susan Ali and with Jessica Fisher as cinematographer wrapped principle photography earlier this year, but the film revolves around a troubled family during the Day of the Dead and with the holiday coming up, the opportunity arose for another day of shoot to fill in a few gaps with real footage from the celebration. Here’s the official synopsis:

Nine-year-old Araceli desperately tries to make sense of a world that is lonelier than lonely. The recent death of her father has destroyed everything she believed to be true, everything she knew to be real. So she re-imagines a world full of magic and possibility where she can be a kid again.”

Check out my flickr set to see some behind the scenes photos from earlier this year.

Martha and Dee Visit the Fifth Dimension

Abe — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 21:27:51 +0000

I just finished work on a fun short film I was hired to do the editing, visual effects, and color correction for. Written and directed by Noelle Foster and with cinematography by Justin Chin, “Martha and Dee Visit the Fifth Dimension” is quick and quirky, and I really enjoyed getting to be a part of putting it together. Here’s the official synopsis:

When Martha runs away from home, she brings her invisible friend, Dee, along. The two girls discover answers to life & the universe, including the nature of the Fifth Dimension.”

The short features the talents of local actors Ilana Klusky (Martha) and Cassie Webber (Dee). I’d love to show the film itself but it’s currently destined for bigger audiences; the process of submitting to film festivals has just begun but it’s already been accepted into the San Francisco New Media Film Festival, where it will premiere Friday, November 5th 2010. I hope to see it wind up elsewhere in the future.

Editorial Reel

Abe — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 22:50:33 +0000

Motion Design Reel

Abe — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 22:27:09 +0000