That's a Wrap on "Last Look"

     Last week we wrapped up shooting the feature film "Last Look," Directed, Written and Produced by Hernando Bansuelo. This was my first experience working on a feature film! The shooting for this psycologically twisted and horrific drama spanned two weeks of shooting at a few locations. One location was in the Hollywood Theatre District inside a small black box space.  Here we shot nine scenes where we created an intensely surreal theatrical environment.

Photo By: Brigitte Bartholdi

     As the Theatrical Lighting Designer, I collaborated with Director of Photography, Aaron Torres, to illuminate a world of distorted reality through the use of dramatic colors and steep key sources from the lighting grid above. Gaffer, Corrin Hodgson, stepped in to create even fills from the ground keeping with the visual goals Aaron and I had set. Being in a theatre space, we were able to use the dimming control console to adjust the intensity levels for optimum balance in our exposures. The lighting board also came in handy for some cues and simple effects we used in a number of scenes to enhance the theatrical feel.
    I had a great time working on this film in collaboration with Aaron, Hernando and the entire team. Having the opporotunity to use my theatrical style in an art form that is often more realistic was an amazing experience where I learned a lot. By using my knowledge about light and combining it with what I know about photography, lighting for digital cinema began to really click for me. I hope to be able to work on another project with this level of creative lighting again in the future.

A New Look For An Old Store

Glendale's Trader Joe's has been around for many years. Currently, I'm working on the task of re-designing the artistic visual components of the entire store. When I arrived at Glendale in late March, I was starting with literally a blank "cedar" canvas. Now with a new visual theme in place, the store is transforming one project at a time. It's been our goal to bring color, fun and the feel of the community into the new look. This entrance mural is a 3D picture inspired by the nearby foothills and native Californian wildlife. Every plant, letter, and animal is cut from mesonite panels and layered for a dramatic effect. The goal of this mural was to display color and neighborhood into a fun and easy to absorb piece. There is still a lot of work ahead of me in this design overhaul, but I expect that it should keep me occupied for the remainder of the year. Come by to see for yourself!

The Californian June Residency!

Photo By: Mikey Slipko Photography

     This past month I was designing the lighting for the local indie surf rock band, The Californian at The Satellite club in Silverlake. All four performances were a lot of fun and every night I was challenged with overcoming the limitations local venues can present.
     Now that I have designed a few shows at this venue, I am learning how to make their scene setter lighting control console work in my favor rather than against me. I also found more challenges with this space where just plain old science is to blame. Given the size of the venue and the unique L-shape of the audience area, photometrics like to play tricks here.
     It is difficult to decide intensity levels in a space such as this one. The people in the front are practically on stage, so it gets very bright for them while it can seem very dark from the back of the venue. I decided that despite the photgraphers and fans in the front, lighting for the largest percentage of the audience was the most appropriate choice. Therefore I lit many of the songs somewhat brighter than a standard show at this venue.
     My favorite thing about lighting for The Californian is the range of mood and intensity throughout their songs. Many have an eerie and surfy quality with upbeat choruses, while others are more dream like and pleasantly catchy. Nearly all their songs have wonderful dramatic builds and both powerful and soft vocals which really appeals to my theatrical side. Because of their musical range in their songs, I was able to make an equally large range of lighting looks using mostly color and intensity to achieve this since rhythm in not easily controlled on the venue's console. This time, I also had some festive scenery to consider in the over all illumination.

Photo By: Levent Leo Buyukgural

     Lighting for The Californian was a great experience and incredibly fun.  Keep an eye out for their upcoming album release later this year. To view more photos from the fourth night of performances, you can visit Photographer Mikey Slipko's Website. For photographs by Levent Leo Buyukgural from the third nigth performance you can click here  or The Califronian's Facebook Page for fan photos throughout the month.

Pencil vs. Pixel

Since my third quarter with Design Communications at UCLA Extension has come to a close, I have been spending my time enjoying the summer and putting new projects into motion. This past quarter was the most rewarding for me in so many ways. Since joining the program I have gained so many skills to take my photography and art to the next level. However, this past spring gave me so much more than that.
Part of the reason I began the program in the first place was because I felt that art was becoming so digitally driven and that my traditional by hand methods were becoming obsolete and outdated. So in an effort to stay artistically compeditive, I began courses in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and the like. Over the first two quarters I learned that great art can still be created entirely in digital format and personal style can still translate through a mouse with a little practice and tons of patience. However, this past quarter I learned that I was wrong about the digital progression of art.

Typography Assignment: Hand Lettering

Even though digital methods are an amazing tool, I found that many of the best artists out there are still beginning work entirely by hand; and in many cases, only using digital methods for final touches and production. Artists are still current and will continue to be regardless of their medium because when it comes down to it, it's always going to be about the ideas. The realization that work by hand will never be replaced entirely by computerized tools has sparked a deep resonating creative breakthrough. Now I fully feel that I am not becoming obsolete and being able to draw and paint really is an amazing talent to posses. I feel lucky and energized that I've come to this understanding at this point in my career. While I take a break from classes this summer to process this,  I look forward to starting the Fall quarter with a whole new outlook on art and creativity, which I'm certain will directly contribute to gaining even more out of my future classes.