So I am currently in pre-production on my first feature film titled Impulse Control. My short film Efrain found some success but life is waaaaaaayyyy different out of film school. The hardest part I’ve found is that in putting together an independent feature film, you need to engage in so many non-filmmaking endeavors. It is a landscape where using youtube, twitter, facebook, viral marketing, crowd funding, online monetization and the like are things that even huge studios can’t figure out. They have whole departments of people trying to figure the new playing field out and to be competitive you need to engage in that world in a big way because even more than the studios, you need your online presence.

I’ve recently heard of Klout - an online status number that amalgamates all of your accounts and gives you a number that represents your online presence. We can now rank our reach online! It’s amazing. You should totally check your Klout number. Justin Beiber is the only 100 I’m told.

Now I’m not progress averse. I realize these social-media progressions are great in their own way, but when it comes to filmmaking it gives me pause. The types of people who thrive with all of these new tools are amazing and talented people with great ideas and creativity but will the necessary aptitude for these platforms act as a brand new barrier to entry for certain types of filmmakers? In going to film festivals, I have met people with amazing ideas, amazing stories and brilliant work who are quiet, reserved and not versed in social marketing. I can find my way around but my Klout number wasn’t a powerhouse. Is the new filmmaking revolution built for a certain type of personality? Is that any different than how it’s ever been? I dunno. I’m just trying to get you to read my blog so my Klout goes up : )

Please donate to our kickstarter. We have an unbelievably unique story to tell about family, loss and learning to truly let things go. You have to see this script come to life. Please check out our kickstarter, contact with questions so we can show you how powerful this story will be. Thank you!

As I approach the big 30, I can’t help but notice the number of my friends who are longing for days gone by. The age of the high school football star being the only one who can’t move forward are gone and instead it seems so many of us long for “way back when”. Why do we all find it so hard to grow up? Yeah, yeah, yeah… we’re getting married and having children. We’re holding down jobs and buying houses but in our minds “that doesn’t really count”. I’m still college me.  

There adoration of youth culture and youth consumerism seems to have the effect of telling us: 21 - 25 you were amazing. You were on top of it all. Many now feel not like they are growing better with age but are less than their once perfect self. This is augmented when people lose their jobs, lose their homes, lose the things that at least have the semblance of representing our fruitful new “adult” selves.

So what’s to be done? How does “30 is the new 20” become more than the thing we smile politely at during birthday parties? I dunno. I say listen to a lot more music. Music to me is what it all boils down to. It is the rawest form of cultural expression and underscores television, films… everything. Keep your music life alive and you stay young. The soundtrack to cool. So listen to new music. Push yourself to find new artists, new tastes, new styles. Listen to music. It’s amazing. Just a thought.

Trailer from Impulse Control. We’re making this movie! Cool casting updates coming out soon. 

It has been a while since the site has been updated but just a heads up that some exciting stuff is coming soon! 

Efrain at the Newport Beach Film Festival!!!!

My short film Efrain will be playing at Newport Beach on the weekend of April 27th. Check out the link here. We are part of the “at the Wrong Place/Wrong Time” block on Friday April 27th at 3:30 pm. This is a great honor for the film and we hope that you can come catch the screening.

This weekend at USC is the annual First Look Film Festival (now titled First Film) which is a whole weekend of student short films. Both of my films Efrain and RX will be showing. I highly urge people to come check out the awesome films USC has to offer, and if you’re a fan come vote for either of my pieces to play at the DGA as an audience favorite. 

First Film Web Page

Alex Pickering (the writer of Efrain) and I just recently returned from the Vail Film Festival. It was an amazing event and the film was extremely well received. I am still remiss in getting in touch with some of the awesome people we met out there, so if we met you at Vail I’ll be in touch soon! It was really nice to get away from LA for just a bit.

I have been so lucky that Efrain has been so well accepted in the festival world. It has played internationally at more than 20 festivals now! Really hoping the related feature film script gets some traction coming up. 

Right now I am continuing work on a variety of projects while working as an editor, the most exciting of which is an independent feature I plan to be shooting late this year. I have got some exciting talent attached but of course, everything is always in flux. No matter what though the resolve is there and I’m excited to get back on set. Look for updates soon on the project!

Recently watched the short animation External World by David O’Reilly. Can’t say why I am intrigued by this style but I really think it’s awesome. Here is another short animation by him.

Happy New Year everyone! 2010 was an amazing year for me. Over the course of the year I completed two scripts and brought my short films Efrain and Spy Love to over 30 combined festivals! It’s 2011 now and time for the next step. I’ll be cleaning up the website. Look for exciting new additions and new projects coming soon!