"So far in 2015"
February 15, 2015
After some time in Kansas, I stepped directly in to a short film called "The Cut Through" for writer/director Weldon Powers, about a mysterious portal in the woods discovered by some kids. It was a challenging location and we didn't have much gear to work with, but the results were great. It should be featured at the Los Angeles Asian film festival sometime this year.
We
filmmed on the Panasonic GH4 with Nikkor lenses and Metabones
Speedbooster adapter, utilizing natural
light.
-Tristan
It's been a cool year so far. I photographed a commercial for
Plantronics bluetooth headsets with very talented director Ryan
Steven Green for OIC Media Agency. To match previous spots in
the series, we kept a low conrast feel by recording S-Log,
monitoring with a mild LUT applied to the 4K RAW recording of the
Sony F55. You can see the whole spot here.
Jerry White was my gaffer and Kevin Huang was my AC; filmed in sunny Pasadena.
"An Update"
September 14,
2016
It's been quite awhile since I've posted. Luckily, it's because I've been busy. At the end of last year, I started shooting a thriller feature film called "The Horror". I met the director, Jerry J. White, III on a commercial shoot in LA, we started talking cinematography and I was later asked to shoot this film. It's been an awesome collaboration; Jerry has an encyclopedic knowledge of film (rivaled only by my own...) which makes communication and referencing that much easier. The look for each act is very distinct. Although I've tried to bias toward naturalism, the opening is very loose and warm. The third act is very cold and picturesque and locked off (pictured right). We're gearing up to finish the last part, the bulk of the second act, later this year in Ohio.
I had the good fortune to travel back to Kansas City and collaborate on a short film with my old friend Kai Winikka. It a horror-comedy film about a mutant/mummy creature that moves in to the apartment upstairs from a young woman on house arrest. We filmed on a Red One MX we got through TAG Light and Grip in Lawrence, Kansas. Emily Herold stepped in as my AC and did a fantastic job.
On this film we went for a high key, comedy look in the beginning
that slowly turned in to a more dramatic, horror style lighting.
One of our references was the Japanese films Audition, which starts
as a romantic comedy and becomes an incredibly dark and sinsister
film by the end. Anyway it was real fun and hopefull will see
festivals by the middle of 2015.
Between films I've been
operating camera on a show for AOL/Movifone called "Unscripted". It's a celebrity, sit-down
interview type show, so I've gotten to meet some famous folks
(although seeing George R.R. Martin in the lobby of the Four
Seasons was the most star struck I've ever been). The latest
I worked on was for "Guardians of the Galaxy". The DP, Grant
Babbit, is an old KU alum and a good friend. He does a great job
and the shoots are always a blast.
To round out the year, I've been
doing a lot of black light tests in preperation for a short film
for Thad Nurski. We haven't worked together since "The Night Before"
and I'm really looking forward to it. It's called "A Dimly
Lit Room" and we just shot some promotional footage for it; we
should have a crowd funding site up in October. The film is
utilizing blacklight, rear-projection and optical manipulation to
affect a dreamlike look. We're trying to achieve the majority
of it practically. We'll start shooting in November, but in
the mean time, we'll keep testing.
Well, thats a broad overview of year thus far. Hopefully I can get in to the specifics of these projects I've mentioned. I've been a year in LA so far and I feel like I've hardly gotten started. Anyhow, take care.
-
Tristan
"Mean Spirited"
August 1, 2013
That's me with the camera. They wouldn't let me hold the
baby as well...
I've been collaborating with Davis Lee DeRock Jr. since Franco Leng's feature film 'PWN3D'. We met on that set, but our collaboration really hit off when I cast him in Just One of Those Things, our Wild West Film Fest entry for 2008. Since then we've written, directed and edited collaboratively, scammed work for each other, and tried to stay out of jail.
Several months back he pitched me an idea that sounded suspiciously like 'Beatlejuice'. Regardless, the eventual script, written by Davis and Chad Crenshaw was fun and original; and because DJ could blackmail me at any moment, I accepted enthusiastically.
We had two days to shoot 15
pages, many many different setups. I'm not gonna lie, folks:
it got rough at times. But we made it out alive, mostly due
to my awesome AC Emily Herold and
trusty G&E duo Tony Ontiveros and Collin Martin . Collin also
supplied the Red Scarlet and camera accessories we
used.
