Primary1

I was Production Coordinator on, by far, the most extensive and exhaustive shoot of my life. I have a lot to say about it, but 'the story' deserves it's own post.

Primary 1 "Princess" from Dandy Dwarves on Vimeo.

Yeasayer

I was ridiculously busy in the first part of February getting all the systems in place to build the company the way I see fit, and amongst the madness, the ever-amazing Jonathan Wang called and left me a message to work on the new M.I.A. music video, I called moments later and reached his voicemail and by the time he got back to me they’d found somebody else. Bummed out to miss an amazing opportunity, I went back to consulting for TugTub and decided that would be my week until big man himself, TeamG’s Jett Steiger reached out for me to work in the Art. Dept. on a Yeasayer video. I jumped at the opportunity, even though I wasn’t super familiar with the band except for what Oliver showed me, I just wanted to work with the TeamG and Dandy Dwarves crew as we’d hired them out for The Dead Weather documentary last summer and they were awesome.

There was horrible rain that weekend and it took be about 2 hours to get 20 miles due to the rain. I arrived and immediately I was in over my head. We had a ton to do in art in a very small period of time, and cause of the rain we were 5 hours late in setting up. We prepped until 1am the first day, back up at 4am for 6am call time in rain, then a very physically demanding/high stress day.

The set called for a lot of neons and we had some trouble rigging them the morning of, but at the last minute right before we were about to strike them myself and the most amazing gaffer on the planet sorted it at the last minute. It was a really cool moment for me to prove myself to the producers.

The band was super cool and were totally hard working which always helps the production. The whole crew was really positive including the art director I worked under Peter Klein who is about the greatest person to to be next too in strenuous conditions.

All and all it was a great people, super fun vibe and the the goodness on set far outweighed the 19 hour days in the pouring rain.

Here is the video directed by Kirby (swoon) and Julia of Radical Friend:

Sherwood

Back in December just 3 days before Christmas I had the distinct pleasure of working with a friend's band Sherwood for the video "You Are" directed by (the reason I moved to Long Beach) Matt Wignall and produced by the ever-awesome Jonathan Wang for Shooter Classics.

We chose the windiest day of the year to blow up hundreds upon hundreds of balloons to tie onto the poor band's belts. It was a fun day of carrying helium tanks up and down muddy hills and doing all we could to keep warm. I met a lot of cool people on this shoot and re-united with Dan from Sherwood which we'd hung out one time previous, but realized at that point we really really liked each other. We filmed the video in a park in Huntington Beach and then at my old loft in Long Beach (the grey concrete one) where I got to deal with my old property manager who always hated me, he told us the city is mad at us for filming and that they were going to call someone. Super threatening and...specific. You can see me left frame at 1:24 and right frame at 1:25 running in the video. How embarrassing:

Introducing Michelle from Quail, Stylist

Michelle from Quail my stylist for ever and ever Amen. I can’t tell you what an asset she is on set, she’s one of the only people I can (due to my obsessive-compulsive-nothing-less-than-perfection-sometimes-micromanaging-nature) walk away from and fully trust her decisions to be better than mine. Michelle owns Quail and Quail Bridal and I’m lucky to steal her away when I can, because when she is by my side her attitude and eye so add to the project it’s not something words can describe. I need Michelle and I love Michelle and we laugh so hard together it should be illegal. Now go buy a Quail dress already!

The Greatest American Novel (Part 1)

The Greatest American Novel (Part 1)

They say,
If you don’t use a language you start to lose it.

I am 2,387 miles from you.
Chased your mariposa echo across the border,
Busting into every bar and brothel on the way,
(To see if you stopped off for a drink (or a fuck)).
And with every step, I start to forget.

Buenos Aires used to be a beautiful city,
Until progress.
Until you.
I even took three semesters of good ol’ Espanol,
So I could understand all those cryptic phone calls.

Our conversation hangs strangling in the gallows,
At a $1.46 a minute every second counts.
My words are kicking feet looking for something to stand on,
I try to connect, but I just forget, and the feet go limp in just one breath
Good Bye’s used to kill you,
But now I’ve forgotten, and it’s voo doo.

Live torture,
Malpracticed acupuncture,
Amnesiac pupils replaced with pushpins,
They’re just periods at the end of sentences like
“Your tongue is a noose in which I hang myself with.”
And “I’m the wetback border breaker that’s escaping the poverty of us.”
It’s amazing what you see when you don’t have to look each other in the face.

And like a stabbed matador that hears the silence of the crowd,
I say ‘You there?’
And you lay silent, wounded, alone, then you say ‘have you forgotten me’
And I don’t speak,
Sometimes silence is more of an answer than words will ever be.

THE END OF THE COLD WAR (IN REVERSE)

It all started, with the teaser trailer for their new EP, it all started with a music video Vern and I did for them in 2006 which gave me my blood lust for the amalgam of music and film, it all started with someone with the screen name bloody knuckles aol messaging me in 2000. This is the story of the Cold War and why I am one of it's kids. Here's the 2006 version of a Cold War Kids video Vern directed and I produced:

And this is what a Cold War Kids video that Vern directed and I produced in 2010 looks like:
More on my history with the Cold War Kids, Vern and I in another post, but here are some behind the scenes shots of us testing out the underwater camera housing, The amazing yacht I got for the shoot (for a 36 pack of Coors Light & a Bottle of Rum) and filming on the edge of a cliff cheating death to get the right light for the convertible scene.

While we were filming the teaser trailer which was an ambitious 6 locations in one day, with multiple scenes in each location, including a performance piece in The Cold War Kids brand new performance space which you can check out an MTV video of here. Below is photos of Vern and AC John Raines filming on the edge of a cliff cheating death to get the right angle for the convertible scene with Johnnie & Noel. I was mostly have a panic attack that there'd be an earth quake or they'd trip and i'd have to explain to Vern's pregnant wife why he's now Polish goo splattered on the side of a cliff.

While we were filming, Nathan Willett, lead singer and I were talking and realized that the footage we were getting would make a great music video. It was debatable whether the label would go for it as EPs traditionally don't sell very well, and CWK were going to put it out on their own initially. It was a strange turn of events with the label, but the teaser came, they were happy and they green lit the Audience video.

Vern wanted to do underwater shots and some sort of boat, preferably a sail boat. So I have a friend who went on a party boat months back and I reached out to see if we could borrow it, they respectfully declined because we wanted to go pretty far out in the water, and it's a harbor boat. Accepting defeat, I hopelessly checked Craigslist for a non-insane boat owner...30 minutes later my friend writes back, we have a 50 foot Yacht in San Pedro (exactly where we're filming), and a captain and a crew, will that do? Vern and I, after getting a complete boatner, were like...how about drinks tonight? Here's just a few photos of the Yacht.
Original Family owner since 1954, it was built for them.
Their grandfather thought it'd be funny to plate everything on the boat that was brass with real gold. What a sense of humor.

We had 14 people on board with a ton of props, craft services and equipment and it was still comfy. The family, when they sail to Catalina say it sleep 12 comfortably. I kept asking if they wanted money and they said, nope, we just like people who like our boat! Seriously cool people. A HUGE HUGE thanks for Oliver and Cat for hooking us up!

Next the underwater housing, for an HVX 200 there are only 2 underwater camera housing companies in LA that carry a housing for that camera. One wasn't sure if it'd be back from Indiana on time and the other one was this guy who had the shittiest store front like a quarter mile from LAX, and he had no finger nails and so much dandruff on his shirt a thought it was a pattern, but he makes pretty cool housings, this one he made specifically for the Sarah Connor Chronicles TV show and we were the first people to rent it since. Here are some photos of John and Vern testing it in the AMAZING Adam Ganser's (seriously, favorite dude that I can't wait to work with!) pool.

So we did a day of shooting on the open seas somewhere a couple hundred feet off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes, and honestly had the time of our lives. We had also had a day of footage from the teaser trailer and did one more day performance at Maust's art studio though when it went to be edited there were some continuity issues, so they went in and did another quick day of shooting band performance and yet one more day of the couples in the studio. And I must say it turned out great. Also they were recording for some footage for the back drop for their live shows and also came up with this awesome video:

Broken Bells

Danger Mouse and The Lead Singer of The Shins teamed up to create Broken Bells, which Vern had the opportunity to do behind the scenes for their video and created a couple of blips. I thought they were pretty neat so I decided to post them, though I had nothing to do with them.

I got to see The Shins when Delta Spirit opened for them last spring as Matt from Delta got me in (swoon), but was less than impressed with The Shins performance (Delta is a hard act to follow). I really like the Broken Bells album and I think Dangermouse does a lot for the team, and of course I love the lead singer of The Shins voice, so judging by the footage and the blips they’ll be a more exciting show…if we can ever get tickets!

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea

When I was little I asked too many questions.
I asked my mom to teach me how to swim.
I asked her why rocks don’t float.
I asked her where babies come from and why I had freckles and what grade you’re in when they teach you to spell curse words.

I asked her if the soul of the Dead Sea is in heaven or in hell.

She never answered in order.

‘Some things just don’t float, and some things don’t have a soul.’

So I paddled furiously through these questions,
Like a moth with wet wings,
Like a disposable razor dancing in the drain.
But I sank, like a knife in a sink, with no hopes to float.

Some nights I lay in bed and pray for the soul of the Dead Sea.
I put a word in for Kilimanjaro’s bi-polar kin,
I want salvation for that mineral laden maiden,
who lays like a body of water, but is just an island of loose mortar,
waiting for the silt deposits to coagulate together.
But it’s just like the perjury of drunk kids and Catholics,
we can’t purge loved ones from purgatory.

It must be lonely to be the sodium chloride sea of peace.
Just stagnant saline solution waiting to evaporate or for someone to take a dip.

Nothing can live in her,
tourism killed her,
like a broken life preserver.

Kamikaze fish sometimes swim from their freshwater homes to explore what lies beneath what they know. Pioneers destroyed for their pursuit of holiday, drink the lullaby, and die instantly from her siren salt. She coats them in brackish mother of pearl and casts them to the shore.


I found out how to spell curse words from abandoned billboards.
I learned how to swim from drowning.

I still wonder who the Dead Sea really is, if she ever felt love.
Was she Lot’s liquid wife waiting to meet her faithful partner in the afterlife?

Have not-so-buoyant boys taken stabs at sex,
realizing they were necrophiliacs?
Nothing can penetrate her.
Anything with life must stay above the surf.

But I will save the soul of the Dead Sea.
Even if she is Medusa with freshwater deltas that martyrs the lives of the unsalted.
Even if I can never penetrate her briny coverings,
And I have to lay there hovering above the surface.
I will float there, belly up, in pious levitation, praying that ascension is possible.

Introducing John Raines, Cinematographer

John and I are so in love with working together that we are severally bummed, like buuuummed when we don’t have projects together. He is sorta the wiz kid around town/triple threat/going to be an insanely big deal in the future. Editor, Cinematographer, Cameraman; See for yourself, here’s his cinematography reel:

And an EPK for Shakespeare & Friends:

And working with our friend Luke Scott for his side project Richard Smash:

Nikki & Rich

Vern, our little orphan intern with two first names (Matthew Ryan) and I went up to the Viper Room to capture the label showcase of newly signed to Warner artists, Nikki & Rich. I like to describe them as Amy Winehouse for Republicans, but I’m a pop whore and instantly fell in love. It was a good night and sort of crowded, but we got through it ok. That led to a ton of work for Vern including the video below, in which I wrote this amazing elaborate treatment for up until 5 in the morning one night, sent it to Vern and he said it’s perfect. I got so excited to do a big budget mini-documentary, EPK, montage and I was just waiting for the Executive Producer to green light it. She almost immediately called Vern after the email and said “Vern I don’t know how to say this, It’s completely wrong, this is the exact opposite of what we want to do.”

So I scooped up my wounded little heart and didn’t even end up working with Nikki & Rich again, but I had one fun night and got turned onto their music so all in all it was a great experience. Here's what they ended up with:

Delta Spirit

Here’s a video that really got me excited about doing film. I helped with some of the props and craft services, but mostly I just smoked cigarettes with the band and cracked a bunch of jokes. It was the production though, seeing a larger scale video that got me interested film as a career, cause with all my events, productions and everything, what I am passionate about is the coming together of many different talents to collaborate and make something bigger and more beautiful than something someone could create on their own.

I also met Matthew Logan Vasquez for the first time that weekend and well, life since has never been the same, but that’s entirely different blog. People C’mon.

THE FRENCH SECRET

Ex-soldiers on pier of arches.

Blindfolded with white flags,

Angelic garcons waiting around just to surrender.

And at the first sign of danger, they throw themselves into frigid water.

Passersby walk down this promenade that jetties into the bay,

Ignoring underarms and French breadth, these strangers pick the patriots they find lovely,

Leave a dance card with the executioner, and lead their new love to the mainland.

As she takes off that wilted halo, his face comes close to hers,

and she whispers in his ear,

‘Will you cohabitate with me?’

and oh god is it romantic.

WANT AD

i really do have love to give, i just don't know where to put it

THE DEAD WEATHER

It has truly been a ride that I've observed, rode, hopped off at the station and blew kisses to it as it pulls away. It begins with some guy named Jonathan Glazer (no big deal) directing The Dead Weather's first music video, Treat Me Like Your Mother.

They asked Vern to film some behind the scenes stuff. Obviously they immediately fell in love with him. What came out of that was a don't know what don't know why film it all situation where 2 great teasers were born. John Raines my friend, my person I will not walk on set or doing anything filmic without, edited the (almost) silent one, enjoy:

That all leads to them asking Vern, myself and a crew of 6 others to film 3 days 4 shows (3 concerts and one hellishly hot tediously crazy insane instore) which we have no released footage of at this time, as it's all enveloping into a 22 min UK special that sadly will never been seen here, but let me assure you it's bitchin' and what Alison can do with her legs/hips/body could command an army off a cliff. Here's a few terrible pictures of the balcony/marquee over the Regency Theater where the pop-up in store was, where I basically babysat equipment drank diet coke and smoked cigarettes from (i.e. heaven)

After filming at the Regency there wasn't enough time to go home and back so I scheduled for us to stay at a friends loft only blocks from the theater and the venue that night.

We basked in their air conditioning had a great lunch and some great polish beer and swam in a pool on their rooftop, it was glorious until we were running late and we tried to get back into the loft, and as fate would have it, the dead bolt broke off in the door. Equipment, clothing, keys, everything in that loft and the call time is creeping up on us...panic. I call the my friends/the tenants, I talk to the door man, I suggest he call the management company, a locksmith, anyone, he follows me back to the door with a 18 inch screwdriver and 'handles' the situation himself. Jack White you really owe Sam and James a new door.

We wrap and all is well, and then a couple of days later Vern gets a call from Jack White asking him to DP their next music video Cut Like A Buffalo in Nashville (That Jack White is Directing). Vern agrees and takes aforementioned John Raines to AC the several day/week long editing in hotel rooms shoot. here's how that ended up:

Meanwhile we're having conversations with another band for their break out music video in the UK and after writing treatment after treatment trying to fit their style and budget, it's just not a fit for either party. They go with someone else. They go to the UK to tour, to support their album and video. They get flagged by MTV UK for a failed epilepsy test that is done over there. I'm not saying we would have circumnavigated that issue, but it put our ears up to the situation. Cut Like A Buffalo was to show in the UK and sure enough, all the flashes, it didn't pass the test. Vern, the monster, the genius, instead of dulling the video, says, ok, you want simplicity, you got it, one shot, done:

And so ends this chapter. Our tech guy left his ipod, his wet boxerbriefs and his leatherman at the loft. I feel weird about having them being shipped all together. night.

SAMUEL LIPPKE

We have such talented friends. Seriously I step back every once and so often and think what an amazing community of friends we have. The premiere went smashingly. Hundreds poured out to see an amazing film on the screen for the first time. The gracious, lovely and ridiculously handsome Samuel Lippke covered the event photographically. Above is Actor in the film Nicole Pietrini, Writer/Director Matthew Aveiro, Producer Vern Moen and Script Supervisor/My overall sanity Melinda Moen. You can check out Samuel's full post with all the photos here.

4 THE LOVE OF PRETTY

The talented, beautiful, wonderful, magnetic Tiffany Patton wrote about me (undeservedly) in her blog. You can view the generous blurb about me here. Thanks Tiffany! Oh and if you ever need a make up and/or hair person, hire her, but don't steal her away from me!

COCOON

With Cold War Kids on the mind, Nathan Willett, the leader singer, reached out to myself and bunch of our friends about 5 years ago with a simple request, write something about a favorite or important song of yours. His plans were to compile them somehow someway and share with people the impact of song. It was the summer the Cold War Kids played their first show ever. A lot happened that summer. I don't know if the project ever went anywhere, but I wrote this about Bjork's song Cocoon, which I feel is a highly sensual and sexual song. Nate both loved and was a bit shocked with my response to his request. I suggest you listen to the song while reading. Sorry if it's too much.

I lost my virginity to Vespertine. This means so many things. A thousand times over and over in my mind and in my hand I held my cocoon and gave it to you my love ____________ (please write your name here so I will know that I have not merely imagined you and I will know that you exist). When I hold you and our chests are shirtless, I squeeze you so tight because I would like for you to not be inside me, but be me. I will not be separate from you any longer. Penetration is not enough, deeper, deeper. There is darkness inside all of us, and this is where the beauty lies, you just need to find it. There are so many holes that need filling, so many wounds that need healing. I was so scared, so young, and you cradled me in a half-globed embrace and unwrapped everything around me until the world laid unraveled at our feet and only you and I existed and this is where poetry comes from, and this where virginity unstems from, a song…no no, that’s not enough, deeper, darker, more, our bodies are a song, one song, finally.

And then as quickly as you entered, you float away, untouching me one moment at a time, walking backwards into the water, for it is from where you came. Turn that lake to ice, the water is so black, and you enter it and the ripples crystallize, you have left your mark inside of me, tattooed between my heart and my vulnerability. Please let me feel this again.

COLD WAR KIDS

One cold dreary Sunday in October, myself and several others from the Long Beach Film Company woke at 5:00 and began a long, but great day of shooting. The Cold War Kids wanted a teaser trailer for their upcoming release 'Behave Yourself' to be released in Jan 2010. It was such a great day and we got such great footage, we've now decided to move forward with a music video for the single as well as the trailer (below). It was my first time being a Producer, but it was a lot of fun to shoot 5 locations in 1 day.

It was shot primarily in San Pedro near their new (bitchin') rehearsal space, except for the tub scene which was filmed in Long Beach, Great thanks to Jeanette, Josh, Colin and Chris for letting us take over your house and film your beautiful clawfoot tub!

JEN IN THE PAINTING

OC Register interview with Aveiro that I set up and a few more B&W Production Stills.

INTERVIEW

PREMIERE

Back in June a had the great honor of working on a short film called "Jen In The Painting" written and directed by Matt Aveiro of the Cold War Kids. It was a great cast and a great crew, I was Production Manager, Vern Moen produced it, his wife Melinda did all the art for the film, you can view it here. Others working on the film were make up genius Tiffany Patton, actorNicole Pietrini and many more.

It now my honor to host the premiere at the Art Theater 832 feet from my home. Details, Trailer, Movie Poster and Production Stills below. Hope to see you there!

Long Beach Film Company Presents

Jen In The Painting

Thursday October 15th at 9:45pm

@ The Art Theater, Long Beach, CA

Program to also include a Sundance Film Festival 2007 official selection

The Oats’ Valor by Tim Cahill.