Producing Baby Games

Producing Baby Mind Games was an awesome experience. I was in my hometown of Sioux City, IA getting dinner with good friends Justin and Lisa Froehlich, the parents of young Rydin, the star of “Baby Mind Games.” I joked around about "exploiting" their baby to further my film career, and later that week we did a short skit called, “Baby Games.” In that short, I play a police detective who interrogates Rydin about whether or not he went to the bathroom in his pants. It became pretty popular around town, so we decided to do a follow up, “Baby Mind Games.” It took about a weekend to make, and this time I called upon Rydin’s dad, Justin, to be the “clueless” best friend in the movie. In both skits, Rydin was surprisingly very easy to work with, and all of his filming went very smoothly. Since we had no extra hands during production, we were doing a lot of the camera work and extra jobs by ourselves. For example, every time Justin and I are talking on screen, he is actually holding Rydin in his left arm. Special thanks to my dad, who helped me film the opening scene in his office.

The Making of Inferno

The Making of Inferno, A Book Trailer
by Todd Riemer

“Author, Todd Riemer delivers a must-read visionary novel. Dive into a rich world of human seduction, suffering and ultimately redemption. A dark imaginative narrative that takes the reader into the depths of human emotion. A highly recommended read for adults!”
–USA Book News

I independently published Inferno in the Spring of 2010, debuting it at the LA Times Festival of Books. Dystopian in genre, Inferno serves to show a possible destination, a possible vision of where we are heading as a society. Set in a post-apocalyptic future ruled by the despotic Magistrates, the hero, Blum, quests to overthrow their authoritarian regime in order to avenge the death of his lover, Isabelle.

I partnered with Devin Ford Photography to develop the high production book trailer, starring actor / model Anderson Davis (who also starred in Katy Perry’s music video Thinking of You).

Inferno is a gut-wrenching book filled with incredible visions and sensations. I wanted to make a splash with the book release and so, with a lot of help from my team, created a trailer that embodies the emotion, sexuality, darkness, and thrilling nature of the novel. I believe that film is an incredible medium to extend my artistic reach into and it so vividly brings my imagination to life.

The trailer itself was shot in one very long day. We arrived at the Linda Vista Community Hospital, which had fallen into disrepair, before dawn. I could not have dreamed up a better location to shoot a dystopian piece. The halls of the forgotten hospital were defiled, victim to age and neglect. Medical equipment, rusting pipes, and debris littered the floor. In some rooms great sheets of paint were peeling of the wall as if a fire had ripped through part of the building. The building itself has been the subject of much paranormal investigation.

To create a dystopian world, I literally subjected my cast and crew to a dystopian world. We did not see any ghosts ourselves, but they probably were entertained watching as we enacted passionate kisses, frenzied sprints down echoing hallways, and the ominous presence of the Magistrate as he commanded from the chapel lectern.

Inferno has gone on to win the USA Book News “Best Books of 2010” Award in the categories of Cover Design and Visionary Fiction as well as the New Covey Awards for Most Intriguing Book Trailer and Cover Design. Burning for more? Inferno can be purchased at ToddRiemer.com, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Booksamillion.com ($14.95). It is available for all e-readers including Kindle, Nook, and iBooks ($9.99). The audio book is available for download at the iTunes store ($9.99).

Call for Entries!

International Movie Trailer Festival CALL FOR ENTRIES

The International Movie Trailer Festival just got bigger and better. In addition to trailers for fiction and documentary movies, this year’s contest has categories for web series and books. The Grand Prize is $5,000 plus a one-on-one meeting with a celebrated Hollywood insider. If you don’t have a movie, web series, or book to promote, no problem. There’s a special prize for faux trailers representing concepts still in the dream stage. Deadline is May 31, 2011, but entering early increases your chances of winning the $1,000 People’s Choice Award. Early bird entry fees—good until February 28—are $15 for students and $25 for everyone else. The online entry form is at www.internationalmovietrailerfestival.com where you can also view last year’s winners.

Night Freight's California Film Award

John Celona (NIGHT FREIGHT) sends news of his 2010 California film award.

Please let me express my ever-sincere thanks for how much you helped me in accepting and posting my trailer 'Nightfreight', an entry made with no budget, just desire and some cooperation. I am really, really honored to have been part of your IMTF site and to have been awarded 'Best Art Direction' to boot in August. I hope the LA screenings for the winners are terrific and successful.

Another nice thing has happened along the way in my journey. 'Nightfreight' has been awarded Best in Category (honorable mention) at this year's 2010 California Film Awards. As luck and coincidence would have it, I will be in La Jolla the weekend of the awards dinner ceremony which is taking place in Mission Bay on Saturday the 22nd. I am having a new work performed for piano and rear screen film projection at UCSD the evening before. I like this kind of serendipity.

Again, such a pleasure to get to know you two, albeit over the Internet yet I feel there been a wonderful connection. We continue raising awareness and funding for the feature-length of 'Nightfreight' as well as polishing the graphic novel version, of which we are a good six-months or so away from a first draft.

Meeting Scott Rosenfelt

Producers of Grand Prize Winner WHERE MY HEART BEATS meet with Scott Rosenfelt, experienced indy producer, to get tips and connections.

Children of the Wind

Children of the Wind - New Trailer from Seek Films on Vimeo.

Daphne McCormick Schmon writes about CHILDREN OF THE WIND:

The three co-creators of the film, my father Bob, Peter Robinson and myself are all windsurfers, which is how we came to make the film. We've known Bonaire for over 10 years now as we traveled to the island year after year to windsurf.

Congratulations to the WINNERS!

Congratulations to the following 2010 contest winners:

Grand Prize ($5,000) WHERE MY HEART BEATS

Second Prize ($1,000)MRS PEPPERCORNS MAGICAL READING ROOM

Student Prize ($500) LA CAMIONETA

Prize for Best Soundtrack ($500) YALLAH! UNDERGROUND

Special Jury Award ($250) RED LIGHT REVOLUTION

The Shining

MovieScope magazine, based in London, discusses "trailers." Many moviemakers still think THE SHINING trailer is the best.

Iron Sky Becomes a Movie!

Iron Sky Teaser 2 from Iron Sky on Vimeo.

Iron Sky Sneak Peek: Nazis on the Moon

Best of the Fest!

The following 15 trailers have been chosen as the "Best of the Fest" by our 8 judges. They can be seen January 15, 2011 at the Park La Brea Theatre in Los Angeles. Some of the filmmakers will be in attendance!

Abidjan
Children of the Wind
Common Thread
Daddy I Do
Dilated
Fray
La Camioneta
Iron Sky
Mrs Peppercorn's Magical Reading Room
Norman Mailer:The American
Red Light Revolution
Seneca Falls
Synergy
Where the Heart Beats
Yallah! Underground

View all of the trailers at International Movie Trailer Festival! Congratulations to the finalists!

Shanghai Bride on Discovery

"Red Light Revolution" 2010 Teaser from Sam V on Vimeo.

Melanie Ansley's documentary Shanghai Bride will be shown on the Discovery Channel in Singapore, HK, and Malaysia at 9 pm on Nov. 14. Her other trailer set in China is Red Light Revolution.

Where My Heart Beats

Where My Heart Beats - Trailer from Chris StPierre on Vimeo.

A finalist in the IMTF trailer contest, Where My Heart Beats, has been nominated for best original score in the documentary category at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.

44 Finalists Go to the Judges

The Finalists!

Abidjan * Anaphylaxis * Ants & elephant * Antisex * Asylum seekers * Beautiful girl * Children of the Wind * Common Thread * Cricket * Daddy I Do * Dilated * Downbeat * Film Noir * Fragment * Fray * Harold's Going Stiff * Holy Cow * How to Boil a Frog * If You Pull North * Iron Sky * Light * La Camioneta * Madeleine * Manifest Destiny * Mrs Peppercorn's Magical Reading Room * Nickel Children * Night Freight * Norman Mailer * Polypore * Red Light Revolution * Rage * Seneca Falls * Synergy * The 3rd Letter * The Cineplex * The Devil & Me * The Gentleness of Rabbits * The Little Café * The Needle * The Visitors * Voorbijgangers * Where My Heart Beats * White Night * Yallah Underground

Making Mission

Mission Movie Trailer from Memekiyaye Deneke on Vimeo.

Memekiyaye Deneke writes about Mission:

"Mission" - the latest feature film of Memekiyaye Deneke - is an intercontinental drama, involving interfamilial strife and interfamilial revenge that spreads across Ethiopia and beyond. With shooting locations in Ethiopia and Florida, filming of "Mission" started in August 2009 with shooting wrap in February 2010.

James, an elderly gangster, infamous for the smuggling of weapons, drugs and diamonds, has invested in a new and more dangerous business proposition. James' son, George, is a man of the law. On the other hand, entranced by his grandfather's stories of international adventure, James' grandson Dustin is keen on following in the footsteps of the old man. Dustin's every wish is to impress his grandfather. Meanwhile, an Ethiopian journalist arrives on the scene. His probing becomes problematic. Irrational behavior on his part leads to his murder.

The trailer begins with a despondent mother, Enatnesh, walking barefoot in the desert. She has a sad story to tell, for she convinced her only son Tinbite to help his father, Ethiopian Police Chief Taffere, hunt down archenemy James. In so doing, she is responsible for the death of her dearly beloved son. Meanwhile, George is intent on bringing down his father James.

Writer, Director and Producer Memekiyaye Deneke received generous support from several college friends, especially: (1) Jorge German who plays Simon, an obtuse Mexican with the gorgeous head of a Greek God, who is bamboozled by Dustin into going to Ethiopia under the pretext of furthering his dream of becoming a movie star; Jorge, also, was responsible for Audio Production; and (2) Joshua Schnose who plays James' grandson Dustin, stepping in to implement James' new mission in Ethiopia subsequent to James' most recent imprisonment, thanks to the efforts of none other than his own son George; Joshua was, also, Director of Photography; and (3) Disco San Andreas, Film Instructor, who plays George, the police officer who arrests James, his own father.

John-Archer Lundgren embodies the role of James, a sinister racketeer of unknown European origins. He has spent decades operating in and out of various countries, stirring up revolts and all manner of civil unrest to profit his marketing of arms, "blood" diamonds, drugs and other contraband. He operated for many years in Ethiopia, where Police Chief Taffere finally imprisoned him for many years. In addition to playing the role of James, John-Archer contributed significant time and resources to the scripting, sequencing and provisioning of the dramatic final scenes of the film.

Memekiyaye Deneke plays the role of the Ethiopian journalist, Tinbite, the murdered son of Enatnesh and Police Chief Taffere.

It was the wonderful collaboration of the Ethiopian cast and crew and a variety of local facilitators who proved to be the true blessing in the making of this film.

First and foremost to mention was the participation of Jemanesh Solomon, who plays Enatnesh, the grieving mother wandering barefoot in the desert. Jemanesh is a famous actress - in fact a well-known celebrity - in Ethiopia. Among other things, she participated in the Oscar-nominated movie Dirty Pretty Things.

Director Memekiyaye says: “It was a dream come true working with her. I grew up in Ethiopia watching her perform on stage and in TV dramas. I admire Jemanesh in so many ways. She is very professional and fun to work with. She is amazing; my idol as an actress. Her talent stretches belief. And she is a very kind person. Knowing that I was a student, Jemanesh wasn’t willing to take any payment."

After reading the script, Jemanesh said: 'this is a story that needs to be told'. (Spoiler alert: this blog will not divulge the crucial element leading to the story's climax. See the film.)

Among the other Ethiopian cast members, particular mention should be made respective to my uncle Teklu, who played Police Chief Taffere; Keke Desalegn, who played James' undercover agent Fikerte; and Beza Asmamaw, who played Mahlet, the hotel clerk and eventual love interest of the perpetually befuddled Simon.

Five days after graduation, three film students travelled to Ethiopia to shoot crucial scenes in Africa. Locations in Ethiopia included urban scenes in and around Addis Abba, the nation's capital, Awash desert scenes, and the Nile River Falls, the source of the Nile River.

Director Memekiyaye says: "I had to convince - with elaborate explanations - the families of both Jorge and Joshua that traveling to, and working in, Ethiopia wasn't going to be an endangerment, nor put their kids in harm's way. I tried to make their visit to my country a wonderful experience. I wanted to take this opportunity to show how Ethiopia is a beautiful country and far different from what rogue media might portray.”

Jorge says: “we were a little bit frightened at first, but excited at the same time. My mom was especially worried. She kept calling me every other day. We enjoyed the whole experience. Shooting on location at the Nile River Falls was a real treat and the best experience we had."

"Mission" was shot on a variety of cameras: the RED one (thanks to the generosity of the Otero family), Sony HVZ and Cannon. Unfortunately, that mix of cameras makes postproduction editing extra challenging. Director of Photography Joshua Schnose did a wonderful job, as well as the various cameramen who worked on this movie at its various stages.

Memekiyaye says: "I am so blessed to have had all the wonderful support, dedication and hard work from my friends, both here in the US and Ethiopia."

"Mission" tells a story about revenge, and one can see notions of that human frailty in the trailer. However, more importantly, "Mission" opens a window on a truly nasty international undertaking, which in and of itself, is a sorry blemish on the face of contemporary society.

Making 100 to Spend

100 to spend trailer from Elliot Thompson on Vimeo.

About Elliot Thompson, director of 100 to Spend:

Elliot Thompson, who's 12 years old and a student at Riverside Middle School in Springfield Vermont, has been doing a lot of filming for the Springfield Area Public Television. He is currently completing a film of an artist's presentation at the Springfield
Art Center, The Vault. He has also filmed the work of the artist Sol Levenson who's work is on exhibit at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. A piece that he did two years ago is shown on the local church's web site.

Making Old Friends

Old Friends from Murray Suid on Vimeo.

Ansel Faraj writes about making OLD FRIENDS:

OLD FRIENDS is a strap yourself in roller coaster ride of a movie! An Action/Crime Thriller made by student filmmakers, it tells the story of Detective Adam Sera, and his relentless search for a psychotic killer known as 'The Eye Snatcher'. It all starts on a normal, everyday morning. On his way to work, Det. Sera (Mihran Konanyan) comes across Josh Briggs (Kevin Shayer), who has been mutilated by the Eye Snatcher.

What starts off as another routine investigation suddenly takes a turn for the bizarre, as the Eye Snatcher (Matthew Greene) begins to attack Det. Sera directly, first by leaving a warning message written on Josh's body, and then by kidnapping Sera's younger sister Emma (Vivian Brasch). Faced with only 24 hours to find her before she will be murdered by the Eye Snatcher, Sera and his boss, Sgt. Craig Hargroves (Linden Chiles) must gather clues from Josh in order to track down the Eye Snatcher's hiding place, to find Emma.

But when the Eye Snatcher orders Sera to meet him at the Santa Monica Pier, and new startling information is revealed to the stressed detective - Sera must use all his emotional strength and detective skills to find Emma before its too late!

The film was shot over a six-month period, beginning in February of 2010, and ending in late August. Using friends from college, Director Ansel Faraj fashioned a story in the old ticking time bomb style, and shot it guerilla style on locations, with just a few blue screen scenes, which were shot in the director's garage. "You can't go to the movies today without seeing a trailer for an action movie", says Director Faraj "they're just everywhere, and they keep getting more and more elaborate. So we decided to try to make an action movie on a limited budget - make it really tight and psychological and intense, and see if we could pull it off and have it be just as good as anything you would see at a multiplex, without being superficial and pretentious. It was really an experiment."

The film's hand held cinematography was designed to visualize the characters frenzied angst, and the color desaturated to a harsh white/blue "the color of dead skin" says Director Faraj. "There are a lot of elements in the film, there's a bit of noir, a bit of drama, and a lot of action. I wanted the film to constantly keep building on itself so that by the end of the film the audience is just as frantic as the characters on the screen. What really inspired the whole thing was the idea of the backstory behind a superhero and his archenemies, you know like who were they before their current predicament? Did they just happen to meet in action, or did they go way back together..? You think of Batman and the Joker, Superman and Lex Luthor, its all comic book lore, so what would happen in a real life setting? What would the superhero and super-villain be represented as? And then the answer is obvious - Detective and Serial Killer."

The film includes a cast of professionals and newcomers. Mihran Konanyan who plays the distressed detective has worked with Ansel Faraj previously on eight films over the years: "I was really hard on him, I kept making him rehearse and rehearse and do take after take after take, and make him jump up and down in between takes just to get him into a really agitated, frustrated mood. And he had a really tough job having to keep it balanced between over-the-top and natural, as well as having to go back to certain moods since we shot out of order off and on for six months. But I think he did a really good job."

Matthew Greene who plays Lucas Deschamp, the deranged killer had been friends with the director as far back as Junior High School: "Matthew is completely unlike his character in the film. In real life he's a timid nice guy, but in this he's bloodthirsty and just a thrill to watch! I gave him THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER and HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER to watch and he came in and did his stuff and was just fantastic. Also, he was shot at a separate time than the rest of the cast, so we used that as part of his character. We looked at him as a very isolated, very bitter man, with this long-term rage just boiling under the surface. And finally one day he acted on his rage and liked it, him killing someone is his release. So he did it again, and then when he found that Adam was the lead detective on his case, a plan formed in his mind. He's so creepy, he's psychotic, but so calm. It's totally unnerving - I never would have thought he would have it in him!".

As Sgt. Craig Hargroves, Director Faraj knew he needed someone very calm and rational and wise - character actor Linden Chiles fit the bill: "I knew Linden through a mutual friend, and we had just finished THREE SHADOWS together, and I said 'Hey Linden, have you ever done an action film?' and he said not really, so I gave him the script, and he liked it and that was pretty much that. He showed up on set, and we really didn't discuss the character much and I said 'Action!' and he shoved Mihran up against the wall and proceeded to berate him, and I knew he had it. He's the anchor that keeps everyone from completely loosing it - well, maybe".

The part of Josh Briggs was written with Kevin Shayer in mind: "We met at school, and became friends, and we then went off and made a Gothic Horror film, [THREE SHADOWS] together and during the time we were working on that, I was writing OLD FRIENDS and wrote him the part - I thought it would be interesting to see him as a helpless bystander that's caught up in this whirlwind of insanity - he's almost the voice of the audience in a way. The film opens with his being mutilated, and we as an audience experience that with him, so from then on throughout the rest of the film, we're constantly on edge, we don't know when something bad is going to happen, and we're helpless to do anything, and Josh represents all of this as a character, so you need a really good actor to represent this. Plus he's hopped up on meds, so he's out of it for the majority of the film, and yet he's able to provide Adam with all these clues, so it's a subtly challenging role. And Kevin did a great job of taking all of these elements and really forming them into a believable character.".

And as Emma - Director Ansel Faraj chose another old friend of his from high school: "Vivian was absolutely perfect for the role. She captures just the right amount of innocence that Emma has. The whole film, everyone is sort of painted in varying shades of gray, but she is completely white - she's the light in this dark fragmented world. And you can really believe that she and Mihran are brother and sister - they have that believable chemistry. You sit through the film, hoping along with the characters that Adam will find her in time, you feel frightened for her - she's perfect in the role, that's all I can say."

All in all, OLD FRIENDS is an exciting film to watch. Fast paced and intense, the film asks each member of the audience a disturbing question: When you reach your boiling point, how much blood will be on your hands? Whether it's a psychotic madman, a frustrated detective, or a terrified young woman, we all have the potential for darkness and rage hidden inside. It just takes a moment for it to come out, and in the end, every action has a consequence that everyone must face.

movieScope interviews the makers of CRICKET.

Cricket - Official Trailer from Austin Brothers Films on Vimeo.

movieScope interviews the makers of CRICKET.

Nomination for the Moviemaker's Choice Award

The Visitors from Caleb McGinnis on Vimeo.

THE VISITORS (nominated by Roxi Khan)

I have chosen 'The Visitors' according to the following criteria: 1. Idea (plot/concept); 2. Script (structure, actions, dialogue/narration/onscreen text); 3. Content (actors, interviewees, locations, etc.); 4. Cinematography; 5. Sound (including effects and music); 6. Editing; and 7. Persuasiveness.

My Analysis as follows:

1. I love the idea that there is only one person on the whole planet that has witnessed something huge and devastating - a big plus that he is the only one who can set things right.

2. Script structure was beautiful - the wording between scenes wasn't too much yet it helped you to understand what was going on. Very Don LaFontaine phrases, loved them! e.g. "While the world slept" then the punchline "He awoke". The actions of the actor were superb, everything you could imagine happening in that situation happened with such realism and yet on a dramatic level to draw you into the plot. No dialogue necessary either, this could even work well as a silent film the actions were so good.

3. The actor was BRILLIANT, the beautiful thing about this story is it really required only one actor to describe everything that was happening throughout. No one else to necessarily interact with, well...except for the shadow of the alien to freak the guy out. Actually that would probably be the only small disappointment I had, if you could have a shadow of an alien it should've looked as less human as possible i.e. have tentacles flapping around and eyes above its head or something along those lines - just to make you think 'whoa wait a sec, did an alien just emerge from the upstairs room?'. Otherwise it could've look like a secret military agent. I guess having the alien with almost human qualities helps us to recognise when it's pointing you out/appearing curious at its surroundings. The locations, although average, were simply perfect for this scenario. It made the invasion just that more believable.

4. The lighting was absolutely superb, for all we know they could've used massive garden lights to look like the alien ship outside the window but it still gave the eerie feel of 'something out there which doesn't seem right'. All the lighting effects were so simple but worked very well as plot devices to move the story forward, which I can tell were computer generated in some instances but that's ok given that it's an alien situation - coming across unusual lights that made it even more alieny but were quite natural in appearance too. The dark bluey grey feel of night is brilliant, gives you this wonderful creepy secure
feeling right up until the red blast. The angles...I am all about camera angles and these angles were amazing. Caught the emotions beautifully and all the necessary close up shots to pull you into this guy's traumatic experience.

5. Music and sound fx were ingenious, very cinematic audio track for that extra drama. The boom of the explosion wasn't annoying at all either, some explosions I've seen in films make you think 'whoa that's enough!' but with this it was a beautiful surprise - it was enough to give you an 'uh oh' feeling but not so much to make you stick cotton wool in your ears!

6. As someone who loves editing camera angles and tying sounds/music to scenes...it really is superb editing work. I love the editing nearer the end when he's running through the rain and we keep cutting to the moment he pauses to stare at the sky. We know he'll eventually pause in shock anyway after running, so it's great that the editor keeps giving us a taste of this inevitable moment - just to add that extra suspense to what we will eventually see in the sky.

7. Even though I have seen this type of concept done before, this has been done with such finesse. The story...well, who can resist that sort of story? It makes me curious as to HOW he will solve this crisis and all alone. I'll be ready with a bag of popcorn as soon as it hits cinemas! ;)

CONGRATULATION TO PEOPLE'S CHOICE GENRE WINNERS!

International Movie Trailer Festival has announced the genre winners in the competition!

Sci Fiction/Fantasy: Iron Sky

Romantic Comedy: April Fools

Drama: Manifest Destiny

Documentary: Daddy I Do

Children/Family: Children of the Wind

Comedy: Cineplex

Suspense/Thriller: Fragment

Action/Adventure: Dilated

Mystery/Crime: Gold Hill

Animation: Night of Light

Horror: Harold's Going Stiff

Road Movie: Night of the Alien

Musical Comedy: Time for a Hero

Check out all of the trailers here!

Max Speed wins People's Choice Award!

Beautiful Girl from Max Speed on Vimeo.

Max Speed writes about Beautiful Girl winning the People's Choice Award:

When we woke up in the morning to see that we had won The People's Choice Award, the phones started ringing, email flooded and posts on facebook lit up like Christmas.

K-Rock 89.3 called me for a telephone interview live on air just before we went to the party.

Z103 Halifax called me to come in right away after the party as they were the first to offer up support at the beginning of all this.

We will now do as we promised and make the movie using the prize money in addition to funds we raise from our annual MASSIVE halloween masquerade ball here by Phantom F/X.

Normally when you make a movie, the Executive Producer is a person...in this case, we will credit the Executive Producer as, "The People That Voted."

On behalf of the cast and crew of Beautiful Girl, our heart and thanks go to The International Movie Trailer Festival, media support, and most importantly fans, friends and family.

"We made a movie trailer, the people made it famous."

Making THE HANDEYEMAN DISCOVERS PLANET EARTH

The Handeyeman Discovers Planet Earth from John Graybill on Vimeo.

John O. Graybill writes about making THE HANDEYEMAN DISCOVERS PLANET EARTH:

John O. Graybill is the creator of the Handeyeman® and all related concepts. Many years ago while a college freshman, he and several buddies of his were drawing silly pictures and passing them around to each other and having some good laughs. During this exercise the Handeyeman® was born. After this little drawing party, the Handeyeman® image slept in his brain for forty years or so. Seeing other ubiquitous animated characters enjoying great success reminded him of the sleeping Handeyeman®. So the Handeyeman® was resurrected and now is poised to become one of humanities great icons.

Making Cockpit

Cockpit Trailer (with new sound design) from Jesse Griffith on Vimeo.

Jesse Griffith writes about making COCKPIT:
"Cockpit" is sheer tenacity. This screenplay has been a finalist in several contests, including the Paranoia Film Festival, Visionfest 2010, Paranoia Film Festival, Scriptsavvy.net, and the Oklahoma Horror Film Festival. Many rate my screenplay as an "EXTREMELY HIGH" budget range. However I wrote it with a modest horror film budget in mind. 96 pages of this story take place confined in a cockpit. The other 24 pages,. well that's where the magic of greenscreen comes in. To prove it, I shot a short film, edited it, and did all the fx work on my laptop. This is home made to the core. Looking at the short, I realized I had enough great material for a trailer for the feature.

I'm not a great FX artist, I'm just a director who is too stubborn to accept that he can't afford to do the James Cameron / George Lucas film inspired stories that I have always loved. I'm not a great sound designer. I'm just a director who is too stubborn to accept that I can't afford a Hollywood level sound design. So I threw myself into these tasks and probably got in over my head. But by doing so, in the end, some friends took mercy on me and helped me out with a couple of shots and others helped with my sound mix. And because it was looking much better than many had ever guessed it would, I even got Greg Edmonson, the composer from Joss Whedon's "Firefly" to do the music for the trailer.

A vote for this trailer is a vote for one man's dream that if made, will engage and excite the millions who love the sci fi genre.

Making Humanosaur

Humanosaur from Roxi Khan [Rocksea Renegade] on Vimeo.

Roxi Khan writes about HUMANOSAUR:

A DINOSAUR OF A TRAILER

Over the years I have found Second Life an excellent platform for a filming format called 'Machinima'. That's because its free to sign up for, it's fairly cheap to film there and plus you are only limited by your imagination, you really can do almost anything you want in there!

With this trailer I wanted to take advantage of the idea of being able to produce something that doesn't exist (i.e. dinosaurs!) and to be able to play around with some camera angles that would be otherwise difficult to obtain in real life. Best of all, you don't have to necessarily beg your best friends to play a role they don't want to - you can create 'alts', basically extra avatars that you can control yourself. I usually find it easier this way because I don't end up feeling guilty about taking up too much of someone's time, either that or boring to them to death while I check over the footage to see if the shot came out ok!

To do machinima you need to have a movie capture program on your desktop to capture any onscreen action within Second Life. Since I'm on a Mac I use a program called 'iShowU' which didn't cost an awful lot, in fact most capture programs are either free or cost just a little money, so there should be no problem finding one to suit your operating system.

There is an ever growing machinima community within Second Life, to a point where there is now a 'Second Life Machinima Artists Guild' (SL MAG) set up. Here people wishing to learn more about the craft, or would just like to share their works and techniques, can come to this group for advice at http://slmachinimaarts.ning.com/ . So if you're ever looking to get into this area and are around in SL look me up, my virtual identity is Rocksea Renegade.

Since I am keen to become a film trailer editor, as a serious career, I spent the last couple of years creating several game trailers through this method for a company in Second Life called 'MadPea Productions'. Who by the way have awesome games there...sorry couldn't resist the plug! Hehe. Anyway, I am now hoping to make the transition to film trailer editor and entering this contest has been a brilliant opportunity to expand on my showreel. So thank you IMTF!

Making Nightfreight

Nightfreight from john celona on Vimeo.

Nightfreight won the International Trailer Festival's Surprise Prize for August for best art design. John Celona writes about making Nightfreight:

I did a 'Robert Rodriguez' direct-write-shoot-edit-score the project on my own, beginning last May. Nightfreight is a feature-length script and has already made some rounds in screenwriting competitions, including first round in the 2010 PAGE Awards. I am finalizing and honing it and plan to enter it in Coppola's upcoming contest. The script consultant reviews I've had are all good, given that the film is an ensemble action-thriller and not high-concept.

I am interested in multimedia presentations for delivering content, the buzzword now being 'transmedia' and 'future storytelling'. I want to use integrated media in telling the story. That's why we include the graphic illustrations. In fact, we are preparing the graphic novel to Nightfreight at present.

For the trailer, I wrote the dialogue, which is drawn from the opening scene of Nightfreight. The music is mine too, a combination of material from my jazz group BlueCity and some recent live electronica performed by my trio The Krells.

That's me in the fedora in the corner (a Lenny Cohen lookalike some people say).

Making Victor James

Victor James Official Trailer (IMTF Entry) from Thomas Gidlow on Vimeo.

Thomas Gidloe talks about VICTOR JAMES:

After editing the film was complete, I honestly wanted to get away from the project for a little while. I had been working on Victor James (my first production) since March of 2009 and just needed to clear my mind a bit about the film. My brother, Daniel Gidlow, who edited the opening and closing sequences of the film, offered to make the trailer and we made it a point that he would do it without direct input from me.. He was able to put his own spin on it, and it turned out better than I could have envisioned.

I am very hands on and want to try to do as much as I can to help this project. But sometimes, I can be my own worst enemy. I had pretty much figured a while back that I would be editing and scoring the film, editing the trailer, and pretty much everything else in post-production. But I have talented people around me, and delegating, although hard to do when you're dealing with your own creation, is essential to a very low-budget independent production. Daniel had the freedom to create within the environment I had put forth with the film to make a cool trailer, and now I have something that I think will create genuine interest for Victor James.

Watch Victor James at International Movie Trailer Festival.

Making Red Light Revolution

"Red Light Revolution" 2010 Teaser from Sam V on Vimeo.

Melanie Ansley, producer, writes about RED LIGHT REVOLUTION:

"China's first ever sex shop comedy comes from writer/director Sam Voutas and producer Melanie Ansley, long term residents of Beijing. The concept started when they noticed that they could barely walk a block in the capital without seeing an adult store. Who runs these stores? What do their families think? Most people don't think of sex shops when they think of China, but the fact is that China manufactures 70% of the world's adult toys, and hosts the world's largest adult expo every year in Shanghai. 'Red Light Revolution', currently in final stages of post production, is a comedic tale about one man's decision to make it big in China's most unorthodox industry."

Making Bleak Sea

Giacomo Cimini writes about the making of Bleak Sea:

In January 2010 I applied to the trailermade competition (http://www.trailermade.tv/) with the synopsis of Bleak Sea and a storyboard (http://vimeo.com/9373125/ (password: bleaksea).

A month later I've been notified that Bleak Sea was one of the three winners. The competition awarded us with the possibility to use some technical equipments for two days (16mm cameras, light and 2k conforming) in order to shoot the trailer and the possibility to present the project during the Cannes film festival.

Thanks to the collaboration of a terrific team composed of ex student colleagues and professionals the trailer was shot during two days in February inside a real decommissioned submarine in the Royal Navy Museum in Chatham.

Making Fray

Geoff Ryan writes about FRAY

The story is based on the experiences of a close family member who was badly injured in Iraq (he was the stand-in for the scarred leg shot) and a few veterans I've gotten to know so I'm just hoping to do their story justice. The lead actor, Bryan Kaplan, is a truly gifted talent (he's been chosen to play Hamlet in a one-man show in London's West End by a very esteemed theatre director), and the cinematographer is is an old childhood friend who is also an immense talent with a handful of Sundance credits so I'm pretty fortunate as an relatively unknown filmmaker with a budget of whatever was under my sofa cushions to have such people come on board.

We had actual homeless veterans consulting on the story, performance and other issues of importance. Lacey's House which is a home for homeless veterans in Beaverton, Oregon was gracious enough to let Bryan spend time with the vets there and he developed a really wonderful bond with them as they told of their experiences, the emotions they went through in combat and the struggles they've had since returning. It really changed his performance and lent a level of realism to the whole film.

Watch Fray at International Movie Trailer Festival.

Making Ghost Trailer

Ghost Player from Joe Scherrman on Vimeo.

Joe Scherrman says: My trailer was developed early as a pitch to help raise interest in my project, The target audience, at that time, was community groups and was shown during their meetings. It is longer than most trailers, but the intended audience was usually at a luncheon. Too short, they missed it. Too long, I lost them. This length worked well and gave me plenty of time for Q & A.

Making Polypore

Polypore - Official Teaser [HD] from Films Royale on Vimeo.

Jesse Barack writes about Polypore:

Polypore, a feature length sci-fi thriller, was written and is now being directed and produced by Jesse Barack, age 22. Through various methods of networking, Barack was able to shoot footage in Manhattan, Tokyo, Paris and Los Angeles. The film features primarily English but also French and Japanese with English subtitles. The main plot concerns a recent college graduate who adopts supernatural abilities and finds himself the target of a weapons manufacturing corporation. There are countless symbolic references to society and politics, some apparent and some hidden in metaphor. Polypore has been awarded a grant by the Arts Council at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The project is also being sponsored by the Independent Film Production Club at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Jesse Barack's company Films Royale has been awarded "Best Student Film" at the 2005 Northampton Independent Film Festival and "Best Overall" at the 2009 UVC-TV 19 Film Festival at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The works of Films Royale have also been featured at the 2005 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival, the 2009 Philadelphia Independent Film Festival and SHORTSNONSTOP, an initiative of the Canadian Film Centre's 2010 Worldwide Short Film Festival.