This past weekend I directed two short films back to back.  Each is polar opposite from the other.  That was part of goals that I’ve set;  a dedication for this year to be about exploring.  Playing with genres and material I don’t often get asked to consider as well as telling short stories that have been rattling around in my head for sometime.

For these two projects I was able to collaborate with cinematographer Trigg Ferrano.  Adding to that was camera support from Panavision Hollywood giving me a fantastic sandbox to play in.  This is the first time I’ve shot with Panavision lenses.  Paired with the Arri Alexa, I was blown away by the images we were capturing.  Story wise, these two projects involve a lot of improv and a loose script structure.  I wanted to experiment with this in shorts because there is a feature film I intend to direct that will rely heavily on improvisation.

Here is a still shot from each.

“Vinder” (Drama)

Vinder stars Tory Taranova and Alex Vaughan.

“Tupperwho” (Comedy)

Tupperwho stars Amanda Markowitz, Cameron Kelly, Sarah Booth, Kristina Denton, Roni Geva, Cassandra Blair, Lauren Jacques and Kendall Horn.

I’d be nothing without the cast and crew on both projects.  If Los Angeles has nothing else, it certainly has a talent pool filled with fantastic actors.  Many of the actors for these shorts came from referrals at the Reel Pros acting community.  I had recently cast from within Reel Pros for the latest SYML music video.  I highly recommend that any directors or producers casting projects to look at the diverse range of actors at Reel Pros.

Year three of living in Los Angeles is starting out wonderful and hopefully brings more opportunity to create projects here at home as well as back in Canada.  Los Angeles writers, producers and actors; I’m here to collaborate.  Don’t hesitate to reach out if you are looking for a director.  Let’s get creative.

Time to dig into editing on both of these.