Dance for the Camera

Last year, Carlos, Annie Holstein and I took a class that paired film students with students of choreography to make short dance films. It was an extraordinary experience, and I think we all learned a lot from working together. I still like to come back and watch the films we made then; below are two - one directed by Carlos, one by Annie. The prompt for Carlos's project was to create a film using only shots of feet - no photography above the knee. The project by Annie posted below was her final, from the prompt to use the long, narrow space of a hallway.

Carlos's film brings character, cuteness and humor to a seemingly restrictive prompt; Annie's film is chilling and atmospheric, a striking fusion of tension, music and location with wonderfully eerie light design and choreography straight from Caligari. Enjoy!

Dance for the Camera - Feet from Carlos Valdes-Lora on Vimeo.

Chimera from Annie Holstein on Vimeo.

Chatterton update

It's been a little over a week since a post here - well. Since then, I've crossed nearly everything off my list, except the elements that I've asked friends to do (titles and animation) and the single shot I have to reshoot (a green-screen "college photo"). In the meantime, I've finished the cut, added sound effects, color corrected, and a few other odds and ends.

I also crewed for Carlos's film - he's shooting part 2 of a three-part film about a girl's experiments with a sensory deprivation helmet and the twisted, film noir dream she has. This semester, he's shooting the dream. Scroll down a few posts to watch the first part.

Here are some pictures Diana Peralta took of Carlos's shoot this weekend - enjoy! I loved his set and I'm very eager to see the rest of the film unfold. Click to see larger photos.

Carlos with Ramon, his Sam Spade-esque leading man.

Cesar (left), Carlos's lighting DP, and Greg, trusty crew member, set lights

Lines.

Carlos with Eric Leavitz, an actor (and great comedic writer) who appeared in the first part as well.

Eric's character in the dream had his eyes gouged out by disgruntled capos -

- I had to make him up so his eyes looked bruised under the sunglasses.

Jay sets up for stereo sound

Meet Cesar, from the front this time.

This is the same apartment where we shot most of Chatterton - Josh & Charles's place.

A trailer is coming....

...hopefully by the end of this weekend, if I meet my goals for the fine cut first.

In the meantime, Carlos is preparing to shoot his next project. It's the second part of a film he started last semester about a girl who experiments with a sensory-deprivation helmet, and the disturbingly revealing dream she has. Carlos is shooting the dream this semester - from the looks of the script, it's going to be a very stylish, wry modern noir.

Watch the first part of his film here:

Prologue - Student Film from Carlos Valdes-Lora on Vimeo.