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"Lupin" Our Unofficial Video for Nit Grit

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:03:00 -0800

Allow me to clear the air here. I know these past “Arting” updates have been a bit cryptic as to what the end result was for, so here’s the story: we drew our inspiration from a track by Nit Grit called Lupin and made a music video for it. Let it be known that this was all done without the permission of the artist. To say it in a way that someone who might attempt to sue us would understand: Nit Grit has absolutely no affiliation with the creators, the performers, or the video itself. We have not received any endorsement or compensation from Nit Grit or his representatives. As far as we know, he has not seen it, and if he ever does, he might not even like it.

Aside from that, it was a great experience making something for one of our favorite artists and it’s the coolest looking thing we’ve ever shot. Hopefully you agree because let’s face it, we’re going up against Freebase and Daruthers here.

Arting, 4 of 4

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:48:00 -0700

There’s a 4 next to that 4 up there, which means it’s the last entry of our attempted Arting.

Here we are. The last post about our soon to be completed project. For this scene we brought all of our featureless beauties together in one spot, and wouldn’t you know it? We let them have their faces back. Maybe we know how to use pretty girls in music videos after all.

All you have to do is hide them, right?

All of our previous ladies had their senses stripped from them and were trapped in these environments. But who created those worlds? Who removed their eyes? Who trapped them? In this final scene those questions are answered as we continue to masquerade as people that know what we’re doing.

Cherry Torn was the main actress for this shoot. She plays a puppet master of sorts. The queen that’s in charge of where the other ones are and what they experience. Throughout the video she does this all from the confines of her lair.

No lair is complete without two types of satin sheets

When the girls complete their trials they’re summoned back to rejoin Cherry.

As for the rest of the scene I’m sure you can fill in the blanks. Don’t let your imaginations run too far though. ~~You’ll still be able to watch this one at work~~. Probably not. Although it might be wise to announce , “I’m going to watch a music video,” otherwise these images coupled with you huddled in front of your monitor with headphones on could really give someone the wrong idea.

This project is getting closer to completion by the day. Keep a look out for it sometime in ~~October~~ December.

When pulp just isn't enough

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:31:00 -0700

While trying to be organized and shuffle media around I happen to stumble upon old footage and workings from past projects long forgotten. This would be the first installment.

This is pure cinema in the making. The dedication and commitment are fully present, even up to the point of actually choking at the :22 marker. You don’t want to know how many oranges were devoured in the making of this.

That pretty much summed up the day for us. I blame the delirium from all the rind. But believe it or not, these shenanigans won us a Silver Addy Award from the American Advertising Federation. Good job, us from the past. Below is the fake commercial for IFYW’s Brand Smashed Orange Juice. Enjoy.

Arting, 3 of 4

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:01:00 -0700

You know we can’t stop, won’t stop… Arting.

In this installment of Arting we’ve got Iona Grace stepping in as our featureless woman. Naturally when you’re trying to art you’re going to have to problem solve, but the challenges of this scene were magnified by the size of the set, working with half the man-power, and needing to make it rain indoors. We had our work cut out for us.

Similar to our other attempts at being creative, this scene starts off the same as the others, with Iona exploring the space.

Not shown: The looks on our faces when we realized we need
our actress to hit her mark while she’s blinded by prosthetics

A little touch-up before we start again

Iona is lured through the space by a pipe structure in the middle of this cavern. As she explores the belts that hang from it they capture her, strapping her to the rig.

When it came to bring the scene to its finale, it was time to get the waterworks going. And I don’t mean breaking down and crying because it’s hard. We rigged a pipe system 15 feet high to rain down on the set. But as soon as we got the water going the shoot became a sprint so that we didn’t flood ourselves out.

The set didn’t flood, the camera didn’t get that wet, and Iona got out and dried off in one piece, which was great because the next week we had to get this done…

It’s a hard life

$10 Bill tonight Sept 9th at Brainwash!

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:06:06 -0700

The 17th Annual Brainwash Movie Fest is not over yet. Tonight $10 Bill will be burning its image on the big white tarp over at the Mandela Village Arts Center in Oakland. Hector and his drunken ode to women far out of his league has been our most well received project thus far and Brainwash is a great crowd so it should be a good night. Show starts at 9pm with food starting at 7.

Click through for a larger image

Arting, 2 of 4

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:36:00 -0700

We’ve digested our ideas and now it’s time for another spat of Arting.

Our gaffer, Pete, setting up the panels

If you’ll remember from the last episode of “Arting” we’ve got a creature trapped in a world and forced to explore and accept her environment. Add a pinch of art to fool the good people at home, and you’ve got yourself scene two of a music video. For this shoot we set up four twelve foot panels and blasted them with some red light. That would prove to be our only light source for the scene.

After setting up the panels it was time to dress the scene… using all the rope in the world.

Our actress, performance artist Chloe Camilla, performed her scene in two parts. The first performance was behind the panels in silhouette.

After messing around behind the panels it was time to apply make-up and and get chloe in the air.

We were working with a smaller crew than usual this day so as soon as Chloe went off the ground it was a mad dash to get all of the shots. And if you’re wondering what happened to all that rope, that’s the stuff stringing her up in the photo below.

So here’s the scenario: we hung a girl covered in latex prosthetics upside down and took some pictures of it. “Whatever you say, life.”

If I had to guess I’d say this video was about aliens or something. Of course that would just be silly because in all actuality it’s about… oh looks like it’s time to wrap up this episode of “Arting.” Next time around we’ll throw up some photos of the third scene, here’s a taste.

Does this still count as NSFW?

Goodnight Harvey gets again at Brainwash Tomorrow

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:27:24 -0700

Harvey was definitely at the end of “Goodnight Harvey” but the tenacious little guy just won’t seem to stay . And in this case, since the film is showing again at the 17th Annual Brainwash Movie Festival as part of their “Big Weird Time” television pilot, he’s going to have yet another chance to be .

Although maybe this year Harvey lucks out and gets the alternate ending in which rather than getting … he lives.

… damn it.

The Brainwash Movie Festival starts up at 8pm this Saturday, September 3rd at the Mandela Village Arts Center, 1357 5th St., Oakland. Show up on your bike, on your car, or on your shoes for the only independent drive-in movie experience that I know of.

IFYW presents: Arting, 1 of 4

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 10:01:00 -0700

In case you were ever curious, this is another look at IFYW in production.

It looks like this with a lot more sighing and frustration

A few months ago we were testing a bunch of different ways to go about this new project. Testing make-up, testing set dressing, testing our patience… but now all those tests have paid off and after six weeks of production we’ve got some fancy looking images to show off.

First, a little background on the project. It’s composed of four scenes all set in abstract locations and populated with one creature that is forced to struggle against the environment they find themselves in. It’s…um… all artsy and stuff and that makes me uncomfortable so I’m just going to let the images do the talking for me. This week we’re going through the first scene.

Practicing our shot for…wait they don’t call it practicing on real productions… rehearsing, that’s what we’re doing, we’re rehearsing. Thanks to MC Vulgar for the focus pull.

Here we are shooting for real. Our lovely actress is Gia DiMarco and she’s trapped under a latex sheet as we slide our 5D back and forth.

Here’s a better look at her, posing with the plaster cast of her face that we used to make…

…this custom prosthetic. We had gotten some advice about putting pretty girls in music videos; so we took that advice, hired four models, and covered their faces in latex masks. If anyone ever tries to tell you that IFYW consistently misses the point, don’t let them. No matter how flawless their reasoning is.

All up in Gia’s face with some macro lens.

This shot became known as the “alien membrane.” I remember it was during this shot that I started thinking to myself, “we are making something really weird.” And I knew we were on the right track.

Here’s Gia in her full face make-up exploring the element that will eventually… well, on second thought I think it’s time to bring this to a close.

Next week I’ll post some stills from our 2nd shoot featuring Chloe Camilla. But until then here’s this

Dear Lord, grant me SALIVATION

Brainwash Movie Festival. Great taste in films? or Greatest taste in films?

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:48:50 -0700

IFYW’s favorite film festival, Brainwash, just accepted our latest puppet project “$10 Bill.” The music video for MC Vulgar’s ode to drunken reminiscence will be shown sometime in August (exact times TBA.)

It also looks like Goodnight Harvey will get another showing as it was selected to be part of the Brainwash television pilot “Big Weird Time” which will get some screen time on the last night of the festival.

Thanks again to the Brainwash judges who continue to exemplify intelligence, foresight, and handsomeness in choosing to showcase our movies. It is on the the shoulders of these giants that we stand, hand-in-puppet, looking aft toward the crimson wake of our fallen enemies and onward to the new challengers that await our 2x4 of Indifference.

A Little Something on the Side

Thu, 26 May 2011 12:22:25 -0700

Over the last few months Josh has been working as Director of Photography on the short film “Mind Glow.” A project directed by “Goodnight Harvey” lead actor Sam Wohl and his creative cohort Eric Svedas. The film centers around two friends that go on a wild mind-bending adventure after a burrito dealing trash troll impregnates one of them with an alien. A finished clip of the alien abortion is available here.

Principle photography just wrapped and it was a lot fun to shoot these guys go on this journey. We shot the entire thing in eleven days, or something like that, which were all pretty packed considering how ambitious the film is and the minimal crew we had. It spanned nine sets and around six locations within San Francisco. We went everywhere from on the Bay to the deepest dungeons of the Mission creating submarines, dentist offices, rat lairs, and an Extra-terrestrial rights protest.

The most fun (besides the car chase scenes) was being able to light all these dark, subterranean, lairs where these really interesting characters lived. The Trash Troll is a man that lives in a cavern under a garbage can that’s located right on the bay.

It was great to experiment with the minimalist approach the script called for while still trying to pull off something very colorful and comic book like.

Another fun set was the rat house. There’s a point in the story where we leave our protagonists for a moment and peak in on the day-to-day of these two rat roommates.

Again it was a challenge to light a space that needs to feel dark. We gain access to the rat house only after traveling through some boulders and a tunnel so the only light that could exist at that depth would be anything that managed to peak through the ground or anything that they have in the house.

Contrasted with the video above you get an idea of the full range of looks, scenes, and characters that went into this film. It was a great experience and I can’t wait to apply the lessons and experimentations to some future IFYW work.

Latest In Development

Thu, 12 May 2011 16:11:18 -0700

Here’s a little taste of the next project; scheduled for a Summer shoot. We’re letting this one challenge us in areas we haven’t explored before. It’s definitely more abstract than our previous work as the mood will be set with the visuals of the scenes and the editing in which it’s presented.

That image at the top is what we call the Red Panel scene. This was Josh exploring the space so that we could see what was possible with what we set up. Experiments like these let us live out the shoot in it’s prototypal stage and ultimately strengthen the direction of the vision by informing of us of what’s possible to shoot or how to solve problems that may bury us later on.

Even with all the new looks and chalenges, this project still has the creepiness and uncomfortability that’s inherent in our work. The actresses involved in these scenes will all be affixed with latex masks that will remove the features of their faces and bodies. Yeah I said bodies, we’re getting risque on this one.

Once again here is Josh, modeling a latex mask that, while not attached, is molded to fit his face exactly. Thanks to our latex/mold-making consultant, Miles Votek, who found some time between making crazy wax animations to help us with this process.

A finished piece will be covered in make-up matching the actresses’ skin tones exactly, creating a faceless, featureless, creature trapped within the confines of our scenes.

We’re in the heat of production now so keep coming back for more updates.

IFYW's new office

Tue, 10 May 2011 10:03:35 -0700

Now we can sort of take ourselves more serious with a new and improved work space. Not really though.

Somewhere in this collage of commerce and street spirit lies the lair of your favorite cabrones. Ok, it’s more like a janitor’s closet without the sink. Yet somehow we were able to fit everything in there. Come on in and I’ll give you a tour.

There’s Josh, pretending to work at the editing station. And to the right is our white board with a glimpse of yet another project in the works.

To the left is our storyboarding/concept desk where we doodle out ideas before forcing them into actuality. Poor, poor bastard ideas.

Tucked away in the back is our awards wall brandishing our greatest achievements. Yes, that is a signed photo of Ernie Reyes and Ernie Reyes Jr. from the set of Surf Ninjas. That’s right, Keno, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze.

Yup, that’s right. Signed.

That concludes the tour. Stay tuned for weekly updates on our current project.

Finally the drunken agreement has come to fruition. Posted above...

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:03:34 -0800

Finally the drunken agreement has come to fruition. Posted above you’ll find the video for “You Can Buy 8 Beers with a $10 Bill” written and performed by MC Vulgar and featuring a special appearance by Isis Love. Isis Love, you say? Well first let’s talk about the drunken agreement. Aren’t the best ideas always a product of one in some form or another?

Earlier this Summer Orlando, myself, and MC Vulgar were having some drinks and discussing alien figurines, miniature cars, and time travel… as you do. Naturally this led to MC Vulgar showing us a short film he had made some years earlier. It was beautifully shot but afterward he asks what we thought of the soundtrack. We couldn’t answer that since the film was completely silent but apparently that was accidental so he runs out of the room and returns with a CD. Not a CD of the soundtrack, it’s just a completely different thing altogether. Something to make up for the fact that we missed out on the music he wrote for the film. We listened to it, got excited about it, and not one of us heard that little voice saying, “You’re drunk right now, everything is going to sound cool.”

For one, I’m glad we didn’t. F*ck that voice (in this case.) Here’s to you MC Vulgar. Salud!

So Apparently 'Harvey' got into Another Festival

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:19:18 -0800

So that’s pretty cool, right? One more notch on the belt of ‘Goodnight Harvey.’ Thing was, everyone here at IFYW (and I do mean EVERYone) thought that we got rejected from this festival. Come to find out just recently that they’ve got it up on their site and it’s going for a $1.50 a screening. Truth be told that’s not a bad deal considering the film isn’t really available anywhere.

They said the fest ended on the 20th of November but it still seems like you can still watch if you’re interested. Just head over to the Director’s Circle Festival of Shorts website and give it a go.

Goodnight Harvey in Atlanta!

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:49:53 -0700

Tonight Goodnight Harvey will be screened as part of the Ninja Puppet Shenaniganza produced by Ninja Puppet Productions.

I wish we could make it out there for it but Harvey seems content with being the IFYW ambassador to the South on his own. I get it Harvs, you’re too good for us now! Go ahead and stay in the South with your peaches and your Falcons games. Who needs ya.

I lied! I need you Harvey. Please don’t get wooed by that Southern Hospitality I’ve heard so much about and come home soon. My puppeteer hand is so cold and lonely.

Upcoming Project: You Can Buy 8 Beers with a 10 Dollar Bill

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:00:00 -0700

So remember when I was talking about our upcoming project being “Sack and Cack”, but then I posted an episode of “Crime School,” and all the while I’m blabbing about “Goodnight Harvey?” Well I can understand your frustration when I start talking about this new thing that none of you have ever heard of.

Here’s the skinny. It’s a music video for a Bay Area musician by the name of MC Vulgar. (say “vool-gar”) And since we got all these left over puppets from Harvey we said, “f*ck it, let’s put one in a video and get some mileage out of these leaches.”

Below is Hector, as MC Vulgar

The actual video has been shot and will be done in the next couple months, but what you’re seeing is a screengrab from the rough shoot we did. This is a valuable process for us since we get to make all our mistakes early and not waste anyone’s time. For instance, when it comes time to shoot for real, you don’t get any of this:

Both this shot, and my facial expression therein, are retarded. Lesson learned. Cut!

The song for this video is entitled, as you might have guessed, “You Can Buy Eight Beers with a Ten Dollar Bill.” It tells the story of a man who has lost a woman that is so perfect that he can’t even begin to describe what it means to be without her. So he goes out and gets drunk. Emotional stuff indeed…which is why we needed to throw a puppet in there with the gorgeous director/actress/artist Isis Love in order for it to mean anything to us.

The video takes place within Hector’s imagination, memory, and this one particular night at his favorite bar as he consumes beer after beer. We’ll be sending it out to festivals when it’s completed but you’ll be able to catch it online too. Keep an eye out for it soon.

Harvey Takes 3rd at Brainwash

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:43:00 -0700

This post has been a long time coming, and here’s the reason why: we agreed that if we won an award at the Brainwash Movie Festival we would go on a bender that would last as many weeks as the number we placed. (Ex. 1st = 1 week, 2nd = 2 weeks, etc.)

This seemed to make sense seeing as how based on this system our bender would be proportionate to the amount of depression and/or level of celebration we would experience. So yeah, if we got 6th place I think we might need 6 weeks to wash the taste of defeat out of our mouths…with booze.

Well, it’s certainly not 6 weeks since Brainwash which means we were awarded 3rd prize. Quite the accomplishment considering the caliber of the other films that were entered into the festival this year. And then I made this thing, so there’s that.

It was a great night with some great films. I do not envy the judges because those must have been some tough calls to make. Here is a video of Josh awkwardly accepting the award on behalf of IFYW. (I get on at about 1:20.)

Thanks to 4th prize winners Elftwin Films for recording that and unwittingly allowing me to post it. You can’t see their whole film online but it looks like it’s getting some much deserved exposure in some festivals. Here is the trailer for “Horror of our Love”.

Once again thanks to the organizers, filmmakers, and attendees of this year’s festival.

Harvey Closes Out Brainwash TONIGHT

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:16:00 -0700

Tonight starting at 9pm The 16th Annual Drive-In, Bike-in, Walk-In Brainwash Movie Festival starts its final night and Goodnight Harvey is wrapping it all up.

Bring your car, your bike, and/or your butt, take a seat and enjoy 11 short films in the crisp Oakland air the way God intended.

Directly following Goodnight Harvey will be the awards presentation where you will find the answers to the following questions: Did we win? Did we lose? Will we be humiliated in front of our peers? Will Harvey make a special guest appearance? I don’t know the answers to any of these questions, except for the fact that I do. You, however, need to find out the old fashioned way.

It kicks off at 9pm and you get to see 11 short films for $10. So at $1 per film that means you get to see Goodnight Harvey for free! You can’t afford not to go.

1357 5th Street in Oakland. It’s only 1 block-ish away from West Oakland BART.

Here is the latest episode of Crime School. Freebase is out of...

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 18:48:28 -0700

Here is the latest episode of Crime School. Freebase is out of drugs so he and Daruthers pull together the last of what they have in order to set a trap for a neighboring bum.

"Goodnight Harvey" tomorrow night at the Sacramento Film & Music Festival

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0700

If you’re in or around the Sacramento area tomorrow (Saturday) night, you can catch the first festival showing of “Goodnight Harvey.” The movie will be playing with the feature length film Weeding Out at 6pm at the Crest Theater as part of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival.

The Crest Theater is located at 1013 K St. and tickets are $10. Order online before they get sold out!

Hope to see you there.

Pictured here is the best possible outcome of the night