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Wednesday, 14 August 2013

Our Short Film on the Keystone XL Pipeline (Pipe Dreams) Now Available on Vimeo!

Posted on 08:58 by clark
Our short film Pipe Dreams is now available on Vimeo On Demand as a rental! Please watch and help spread the word on the harsh realities of the possible Keystone XL Pipeline.

We drove over 2,000 miles to interview ranchers affected by the Keystone I - a pipeline that has been built and has had multiple leaks - as well as the ranchers whose land has been earmarked for the path of Keystone XL. Hear from their true accounts of the problems with these tar sands pipelines.

Leslie and I are very proud of this film. We were inspired to make this film because we care about protecting the natural resources of our country. Leslie covered expenses and we filmed it ourselves - the two of us on the road with a camera and a laptop. We were welcomed onto the ranches of some amazing hardworking people. We are humbled by their sacrifices in ranching the land that delivers us food to eat and the fact that they are dealing with such stressful threats that this pipeline poses to their livelihoods as well as the world's food supply and air, land and water quality.

We drove through four states and shot it over two weeks and edited it for two months (that's a very short timeframe for creating a film). Daryl Hannah came on board to narrate. She is so incredibly knowledgable about the dangers of tar sands and so committed to educating the world - she travels extensively to speak, take part in demonstrations, and even be arrested for the cause.

This little film that was created by two women driving the American backroads was shortlisted for an Oscar and we had a number of screenings supported by the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club and Bold Nebraska and more. We even got a copy to President Obama.

Humans are not the only ones being threatened by tar sands oil. There's countless wildlife that are dying from tar sands extraction every day and many will be affected by the creation of the Keystone XL Pipeline when the inevitable leaks occur. Please watch this film and understand what tar sands pipelines can mean to you and the land upon which our survival depends.

Tar sands oil is not the same as crude oil. It is far more toxic and the extraction of it is a carbon bomb to our atmosphere. To be clear, we understand the argument for Keystone XL and the need for job creation. We believe the risks associated with the expansion of tar sands oil production are far too great to ignore. We need better solutions for the long term.



Pipe Dreams: A Film by Leslie Iwerks from Leslie Iwerks on Vimeo.
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Posted in Keystone XL, Pipe Dreams, Vimeo | No comments

Monday, 12 August 2013

Sneak Peek! A Trailer for Our New Feature Documentary on Disney's Imagineering

Posted on 12:58 by clark
Here's a trailer to our new feature documentary on Disney's Imagineering! So honored to be helping to produce this film with Leslie Iwerks.


 
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Posted in Disney, Imagineering, Trailer | No comments

Sunday, 11 August 2013

Busy, Busy Filmmaking Month!

Posted on 10:28 by clark
This past month has been a busy one for me. I went to Shanghai to continue working on a film project with documentary filmmaker Leslie Iwerks and DP Suki Medencevic. It was soooo hot. We found out that we filmed outside on two of the hottest days on record in Shanghai. We were huddled under flags and umbrellas and had lots of Gatorade and water on hand. Definitely not recommended to shoot in such heat but you do what you have to do to get the job done. We had a lot of fun - Leslie and Suki are awesome to work with - it's great to be friends and coworkers. And being surrounded by such talent is very inspiring.

The 5-day shoot went well and we made it back to the States without a problem, except the intense jetlag. Shanghai is 15 hours ahead of us. They say it takes one day per every hour of time difference for your body clock to return to normal. So I had 15 days of recovery. Fun times!

On top of filming in Shanghai, we got great news that Netflix wanted to renew our title Not Since You and post our new title The Diary of Preston Plummer. The renewal was easy. Delivering Diary however was a little harder. I had to get our master tape to Deluxe so they could create the electronic file for Netflix. Luckily, Deluxe delivers files to Netflix all the time so they handled the entire delivery of the file. It was a little pricey but necessary. The film is available on Netflix now so please check it out here!

The trickier part was all the artwork they needed in photoshop layers. Our wonderful poster designer Hillary Gronvold stepped up and handled it for us. Thanks Hillary! (Here's some of Hillary's work (we love her): http://cargocollective.com/minidesignco). If you ever need any graphic design, we definitely recommend Hillary.

Next, we planned a final shoot for our new Web series Honest Andy, for our Web channel So Natural TV. We had a great shooting day - our cast and crew have become a well-oiled machine. We can't wait to launch the series and we're hoping to secure funding for our next Web series so we can keep the awesome momentum going. It feels great. I have really wanted to get involved in creating content for the Web and I'm really happy with the material we're creating. My producing partner and writer/director Leena Pendharkar is so talented and we get along amazingly well - loving our partnership.

Additionally, we are nearing a final version of our new short film Plain Clothes, written and directed by - and starring - Sam Jaeger! I am a huge fan of Sam and his work. What a wonderful person and talented filmmaker. Super excited for this short. Can't wait to figure out its launch and our next feature we will be making together.

Brandon Trenz and I completed our feature script romantic comedy titled The Fixer. This one is near and dear to my heart as it's set in the world of publishing - my home for almost ten years prior to film. And I also finished a first draft of a chick lit novella I am writing. My brother Kevin Kelly and I are nearing a first draft of our new comedy and my cowriter Kristin Goodman and I are packaging our project The Virgin.

Last but not least, I am also packaging two wonderful features - Ashland by the awesome husband/wife team Lindy and Kris Boustedt and Pitching Tents by Rob Fox and Jayme Petrille. Really proud of these projects.

So that was my month - whew! I'm busy but loving every second!! Feeling good about the future and definitely figuring out who I want to be as a filmmaker. And working with some amazing people. Very blessed. These are good times.
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Posted in Ashland, Brandon Trenz, Kristin Goodman, Leena Pendharkar, Pitching Tents, Plain Clothes, Sam Jaeger, So Natural TV, The Diary of Preston Plummer, The Virgin | No comments

Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Ice Cream! Check out our new short for So Natural TV

Posted on 03:18 by clark
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Posted in Ice Cream, So Natural TV | No comments

Friday, 19 July 2013

Filming in the Heat: Off to Shanghai Again for Hot Shoot

Posted on 09:30 by clark
I'm off to Shanghai again for a shoot. It will be 97 and humid. This will be a very challenging shoot in these kind of conditions.

Necessities for filming in heat:

Cooler with ice for keeping drinks and humans cool
Drinks - must keep everyone hydrated!
Sunscreen
Lip balm with sunscreen
Umbrellas
Handkerchiefs to soak in water to put on face, neck and head
Hats
Lightweight pants, shirts and jackets
Area with AC nearby for relief
Moving slower than usual - build time in the schedule for the crew to not rush

Here's to a successful shoot in the sun!

Oh and as I leave, we just released a new Hi. It's Taryn. video. Learn how to create a Cat Eye! Don't think I'll do this for the hot shoot but perhaps when we return to our cool hotel for dinner, it's something to attempt. Enjoy!





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Posted in Heat, Hi. It's Taryn., Production, Shanghai | No comments

Monday, 8 July 2013

Use Hair Chalk for Cool Colors in Your Hair - And We're Giving Some Away - Watch Our New "Hi. It's Taryn."

Posted on 09:22 by clark
As you all may know, I recently partnered with writer/director Leena Pendharkar on the YouTube channel So Natural TV. We're making sharp-witted shorts for women - and men too!

As part of the channel, we started a beauty, fashion and DIY series hosted by style expert Taryn Horacek called "Hi. It's Taryn." Taryn has a really fun, quirky style and great tips for everyone's style. 

I'm the first to ignore my style regimen so working with Taryn has really sparked my inner girliness. I'm loving her approachable, easy-to-use tips and finding myself actually thinking about what make-up I want to wear. There are some really fun beauty products out there. And Taryn will be reviewing as many as she can.

For all you techies, we're filming the episodes on a DSLR. We have a couple of lights and a shot gun mic. We're loving the ease of the shoots and the great content Taryn is providing for us all. We hope you check it out and subscribe to So Natural TV. 

One of the funky ways to introduce color to your hair is through hair chalking. Before I started working on "Hi. It's Taryn.," I had no idea what hair chalking was. Essentially, you can use any kind of chalk to put cool colors in your hair. And it washes out easily. Who knew?


Right now, we're giving away a free set of hair chalk from Free People. All you have to do is watch the giveaway video below and comment on your favorite band. We will send the set of hair chalk to our favorite response. 


First, here's a tutorial for how to use hair chalk from our own Taryn:


Hair Chalk Tutorial by Hi. It's Taryn.





Get Your Own Hair Chalk Here, from Hi. It's Taryn. Just watch and comment on the video below.


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Posted in Hair Chalk, Hi. It's Taryn. | No comments

Saturday, 6 July 2013

Note from an Intern

Posted on 19:32 by clark
Hi all,

I received the following email from a former intern with whom I worked after I posted my last blog about internships. I was truly humbled and touched by it. I had no idea I had helped shape the future of an intern who worked with me. Thanks Lydia - for reaching out and letting me know. It means a lot and I hope shows that internships are so valuable. I thought I'd share.

Note from an intern:

Hi Jane,

Back in the summer of 2004, I was an intern for Weed Road and had the pleasure of working with you. Of all the internships I had, the three months I spent there were the best and it was an amazing learning experience. At the time, I was able to work with you, Ashley and Viruna. 

I just read your post about being grateful for internships and I must say I was grateful for each of mine. When I was at Weed Road, I was coming up on my last year in school, eager to get working on anything I could, and wanting to learn as much as possible. I had a lot of questions about a variety of things and I distinctly remember you in particular being nice enough to listen, answer, and give me your opinion. 

It was a long time ago and I don't expect you to remember every intern that came across your path. I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know I had a great internship experience and a large part of that was because of you.

I enjoy reading your blog posts and look forward to the next one. Hope all is well and that you continue to do great things.

All the best,

Lydia
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Posted in Internships | No comments
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clark
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