Quarter Orange News

Quarter Orange's 2nd Annual Halloween Kickoff Extravaganza!

2011-10-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

Once again Quarter Orange will kick the pants off Halloween weekend with a raucous night of unfettered awesomeness and horror at the Holocene. Badassery to include: A screening of local horror short Evidence of the Sasquatch, which documents the grizzly demise of four filmmakers on a location scout in the Mt. Hood National Forest. Brief Q&A with the filmmakers following the screening. Jams from local electric party monster, Kind Brother and rock providers, Father Figure.

Quarter Orange is a boutique production studio specializing in visual storytelling, fresh ideas and cheery dispositions. We are four directors, plus a network of artists, filmmakers and friends kicking ass and taking names in the great soggy Northwest.

Join us for an amazing night of local film, music and Halloween pageantry. Costumes not required, but come on, its fucking effing Halloween. This event is free to the public, so bring your friends, kin, or elderly neighbor who you haven’t really talked to, seems like they could use a night of partying their face off. See you there!

Quarter Orange
Evidence of the Sasquatch
Father Figure
Kind Brother
Facebook Event

How we spent our Summer Work-Cation

2011-09-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

Remember when you used to get a summer vacation? Alot of people still do, teachers, professors, New Yorkers. Us, not so much. That doesn't mean we didn't have fun. With the onset of fall fast approaching I figured I'd write down my Summer experiences for posterity, you know, for the kids.

It depends on where you start Summer, in my native Oklahoma (Eli here in case you couldn't guess) we kick off summer Memorial Day Weekend, because it's probably already warm out, in my adopted Oregon, Summer starts June 21st, or July 4th.....or August 8th. I was kidding about August, but it sure did take forever for Summer to get here, right? The whole country was engulfed in a heat wave in June and we were all still running around with a jackets and hoodies! Weak. Sauce.

What was I talking about? Oh yeah.

Memorial day! We all went down to California, 3 of us to the Redwoods, and Jason went back to the bay to see his folks with his new fiance!

Then we got back go to work!

We shot the "Game On 2.0" spots in June, We were able to "idea shower" these ideas, pitched them to OMSI and made some really great spots. Here are some links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFCFsMtCl7Q&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7FpZ8ujIbg&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8tGnbDZWTc&feature=relmfu

We also began working on a new Marketing package to go out to local and regional advertising agencies, and we are almost done! We are also putting together a new website that should go live at the end of this month, so...YAAAaaay!

Then we shot the Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling promo videos. Lewis and Clark is a great school to work for, and Hanna Nueschwander, our contact at Lewis and Clark was an amazing person to work with. Here are some links:

http://vimeo.com/28272076

http://vimeo.com/28269492

http://vimeo.com/28269219

We continued to work on the marketing package and our new website, Eli and Selena went to St. Louis and Chicago, KG worked on a bunch of different features and Jason kept killing it with his motion graphics freelance work. Over the course of the Summer, we bought gear, sound equipment, lights (we have a light kit!) new tripod, a Pro Tools setup. Things we own now, and can charge for, instead of renting from an equipment house. Yaaay!

Selena has been getting together everything for a music video she is directing with Josh and Mer, an awesome local band, she is creating puppets and a whole crazy world for them to live in. This video is going to be really cool and we expect to put it up before the end of the year.

Finally, just last week we shot a commercial for "Fright Town" the haunted house at the Memorial Coliseum here in town. We have been working like crazy to get it finished as it is due in less than a week! Plus we did a photo shoot as the final thing necessary for our new website and marketing package with Martin Melnick. The picture above is from that shoot.

We are shooting some videos this Friday for OMSI, which is the official first day of Fall. And we've got a full plate for this season already! A Sasquatch screening (more on that later), finishing these OMSI videos, Stand For Children (like we did last year), and a possible second commercial for Fright Town. Then it's Thanksgiving!

Personally, I'm looking forward to jacket weather, dark beer, corn mazes, and scary movies. LET THE AUTUMN BEGIN!

On to the next ones!

2011-07-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

And just like that, we are on to the next one (follow the link for Eli's favorite music video right now). I realized in my latest post I didn't even mention the gala videos!

We did these videos for OMSI back in January of 2011 as part of OMSI's annual fundraising gala. It was amazing. It was Egyptian themed with belly dancers, trapeze artists and a real live camel out in front (watch out, they spit). The event brought out Portland's finest businessmen and women. The food and drinks were amazing and the fundraising portion had the entire crowd split into three groups between the planetarium, the theater, and another area for viewing. Matt Zafino, (KATU's weatherman) was the M.C. These videos played first, and were extremely well received. OMSI was able to raise an incredible amount of money (especially in a recession), and everyone went home happy. Enjoy!

OMSI 2011 Gala Video 1 featuring Nancy Steuber from eli shell on Vimeo.

OMSI 2011 Gala Video 2, featuring Dr. Billy Martin from eli shell on Vimeo.

Eli Shell directed both of these with graphics by Jason Windsor, Assistant Directed and cut by Kyle Glenn, shot by Jason Windsor and Anthony Gainer. Music by Andy Combs.

These videos were alot of fun to make and they were well received by all (including Matt Zafino, swoon!). Nancy Steuber is such a pleasure to work with, and Dr. Billy Martin, might be one of the most fun interviewees ever.

So there you go. Oh you want some more? Great. Because we've got more videos! Check back soon for our latest series of commercials!

Back, Baby!!!

2011-07-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

Hello!!!

We are back! It's been a long, long while, but we are back!

First order of business: Our newest member! Selena Persiani-Shell, long time collaborator, and esteemed director, is now an official partner. We annointed her in a secret pact involving blood oranges as per our by-laws. It was awesome.

Next! We've made a few things since we last posted on the blog. KG directed a super sweet music video:

Ron Rogers approached us to make him a music video for his fantastic Texas Roadhouse style single "Alabama Chrome". We worked closely with Ron on the aesthetic and story, and KG did a masterful job directing. Watch for cameos from our newest partner!

We also made couple videos for OMSI's original exhibit "Design Zone". Here is the short sales video:

Jason did all the graphics work for this, once again showing his ability to go above and beyond, as per usual.

And here is the longer video:

Eli Shell directed both of these. Produced by and VFX created by Jason Windsor. Production Coordinated by Selena Persiani-Shell, Assistant Directed and cut by Kyle Glenn. Photography by Joe Paulet, music by Andy Combs.

OMSI has been really great to us and allowing us creative freedom in many ways has helped us to achieve our goals of high quality work at a significant savings to the client. It has been a pleasure working with such a wonderful organization.

Plus we've got more! I think I'll save the next batch of videos for the next post. Thanks for tuning in after all these months. More blogs coming soon!!!

Exercises in Reference

2011-03-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

Film making, by nature, is one of piecing things together. For me this has always been influences in story, visuals and many other elements. I constantly find myself referencing other films, books, videos, etc. For the Ron Roger's video we shot last weekend I wanted to try something new. When explaining my thoughts and visuals to people I would still reference things, but unlike before, this time I wouldn't immediately find a computer to pull up a video or picture. I wanted to see if I could get at the heart of what I really liked about my reference material, what I wanted to take from it and utilize, therefor making it my own. If the person I was talking to had seen the same reference, all the better, it got us a little closer to the idea of what we enjoyed about it and how we could utilize the strengths that stuck with us, while taking it to the next level.

I felt this was a successful exercise for myself, it forced me to explore the things I enjoy watching and would love to weave into my work, and really find what it is I liked about it. Next time you're working on something and want to reference a video on youtube, take a second, and really try to explain what it is you want to pull from that. Let me know how it goes.

100th Post!

2011-03-17T23:40:00.000-07:00

100 posts in three years. We kinda suck at this.

Oh well, I wanted to share our newest music video with you all and give you a little background.

Directed by Kyle Glenn
Shot by Tyler Carey
Edited by Steve Crocker

I had been wanting to do a video with And And And for a while, they were friends of Steve's and their energy on stage was crazy. I had a few ideas floating around through my head when Tyler came to me and told me he had been talking to them about doing a music video for a class. I immediately jumped on the boat. We didn't have the time or budget to do any of my other ideas, but that was fine.

The song we originally talked about shooting, "You Can't Hide," had a harmonica part that just yelled sun drenched day at the river to me. Though the content was a little darker I really liked the idea of the conflicting imagery of the video and the song.

One day in September we loaded up in a few cars and headed down to my favorite river spot, about 20 miles this side of Tillamook. We stopped on the way for sammies and beer. When we got to the river the band decided to change the song, they hadn't really had a chance to thoroughly discuss what song they wanted to do. After a few minutes of talking they settled on "Is It Any Wonder?" A very different song, but once again I bit at the idea of the contrasting images of the song and video, this time though even the melody was dark and anguished.

The shoot of the day was pretty simple. I piled all our gear in a raft and took trips back and forth from the rock to the shore. We shot the performance first, getting the technical stuff out of the way. First we shot from the shore, capturing the rock in the middle of the water, getting some nice flares. Then Tyler jumped in the raft and I swam/walked him around in our makeshift dolly. Getting some pretty cool, fluid shots.

The remainder of the day was spent hanging out with the band just capturing life style stuff

It is a goal of mine to push myself conceptually for music videos. Starting with themes and constructing complex imagery. That however, was not my goal for this video. THis music video would be the bands first, and with first videos I think it is important to really get a sense of the band. The audience of the video will be current fans, but there will be many new ones, so I try to give them a slice of what they can expect from the band at a show.

With the shooting finished Tyler took the footage and cut a video for his class. I gave a copy of that video and the footage to Steve Crocker, who had previously edited the Local Superheroes video I directed with Eli. I have grown to trust Steve quite a bit when it comes to editing. He can take edits to a place that I can not. He is willing to tweak and cut up frames, reverse them over and over. I can definitely say this video would not be the same without his touch on it. Because he's so good, it took awhile for us to connect on the video and get a finished product. Luckily Steve is friends with the band, so he would show them pieces every now and again to keep them satisfied.

I want to say much thanks to Tyler for giving me the opportunity to work with these guys, and for his fantastic photography. To the band for being a great group of guys to hang out and work with. And to Steve for kicking this video's ass to the ground, cutting it into pieces and stitching it back into a super monster.

You know who we love?

2011-01-26T15:44:00.000-08:00

Andy. Freakin'. Combs.

There are a lot of you that might not know about our close QO collaborator, Andy Combs. The building blocks for what would become Quarter Orange were actually forged on our first Andy Combs music video. Directed by the lovely Selena Persiani-Shell,
Shot by Kale Heily, Produced by me (Eli). Here is Bloodship:

And that was just the begginning. I also directed a music video for Andy and used his music in many of my shorts throughout college. My favorite being Dos Hermanos Tacos.

All the music featured in Dos Hermanos was Andy's, and it is still some of my favorite music of all time! (A bit hyperbolic, but whatevs, I really dig his stuff!)

Lately we've been working with Andy on our doc-style client projects, from Stand for Children and now OMSI (we'll put the link up after we finish the projects).

Andy is great to work with. He always comes through and his stuff is unique in it's sweetness, while staying deeply rooted in the weird land that Andy inhabits. A place with giant robots and 50's style doo-wop, lasers, zombies and shacks full of coffee. I've used his talent more times than I can count at this point. He is fantastic, but my favorite usage of his music in film thus far, has to be...

this.

Andy is the best. He always comes through, and I am a huge fan. AHe can be a bit hard to find, like the proverbial "diamond in the rough" (first Alladin reference of 2011! Woot!) but you can download new music and hopefully talk with him on Facebook. Andy plays around town with his band "The Moth". Look for Andy Combs and The Moth at a venue near you.

Listen to Andy Combs, go watch Andy Combs, Love Andy Combs!

Changes at QO

2011-01-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

As us in the great soggy northwest know all too well, In all of our lives a little rain must fall. And so it goes with companies. Here at QO, with great sadness we want to inform you all that we have lost a member of our team. Walker Williamson will no longer will be working with us as active partner. Walker was an extremely valued asset in our creative arsenal at Quarter Orange, sadly, he has chosen to take a separate path. Though we are sad to see him go, we know he will go on to do great things in the industry and we wish him the best of luck.

That being said, we continue moving forward with the new year. We are deep into submitting Sasquatch to horror festivals around the country. With a new year comes changes that can be scary, intimidating and difficult, but also these changes can lead to new opportunities, new successes. We feel that Evidence of the Sasquatch is a strong film that is both entertaining and scary that will do well on the festival circuit.

We are currently working with The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry to produce a series of videos for both fundraising and marketing purposes. The experience thus far has been wonderful and fulfilling as we all believe in OMSI’s mission of educating the public from kids to old folks. This institution is a much needed part of life in Portland.

Jason just finished a project that he has been working on for years on the side from our many other projects. It is an amazing animation that we’re sure you are going to love! We will be premiering this short animation as soon as we develop a plan for it’s release.

We are also in talks with local musician, Ron Rogers, to produce a music video in the near future. We are very excited about the direction it is going both story wise and aesthetically. We'll let you know more as this moves into pre-production.

If you’ve been following us on our blog and facebook you will have seen our “1st Quarter Orange Cell Phone Photo Competition”. Everyday for a week Quarter Orange friends Sean O’Grady and Alex Ladzinksy posted a cell phone pic that people voted on by “liking” on Quarter Orange’s facebook page. This has been a fun week and you can see all the photos on our facebook page.

We are also working on three different feature length scripts that we hope to have finished later this year. Each one is extremely different from the others and shows the spectrum of talents located in our circle. 2011 is going to be a big year for us and we look forward to every minute of it.

Quarter Orange's First Cell Phone Photo Competition

2011-01-01T23:54:00.000-08:00

Today begins the week long photo competition between Alex Ladizinsky and Sean O'Grady. Everyday we will post two new photo in the photo album. These photos will then be voted on by our facebook friends by hitting the "like" button. You can vote on which ever photo you want, but please only vote for one picture a day. The photographers must take photos on a cell phone with the phone's original camera (no toy camera apps.) At the end of the week we will total the "likes" to determine the first winner.

Enjoy! And please spread the word to your friends!

Day 1:

Standing for Children

2010-11-19T14:50:00.000-08:00

Blogs are tough. When you first start you write on them every other day. You check back often to see how many people have read it, and you think about your next blog regularly. Eventually that every other day turns into once a week, then bi-weekly, monthly. Soon you turn around and it's been months since your last blog. The longer you go without, the more of an obstacle it seems to be. But eventually you get back in to it. You commit yourself to write, every other day, just to start the whole process again. But for those of you that do come back to the blog. For those that are interested in what we are doing. We appreciate you, and we do this for you. So ON TO THE BLOG!

Stand for Children is done!

If you haven't heard, we did a series of documentaries for the local chapter of the non-profit organization Stand For Children. These people are advocates for children across the country. Besides organizing protests, letter writing and phone campaigns to lobby for more school funding, they also provide underprivileged youth with the opportunity to go to college through their "beat the odds" scholarship. This is a scholarship that provides much needed assistance to kids with few other options to attend higher education.

This year we were fortunate enough to work with Stand For Children on their videos of the winners of the scholarships. These were all shot by us, driving across the state over a whirlwind weekend of production in Portland, Albany, and Medford, Oregon. While preparing for our Sasquatch screening we began cutting on Stand. We finished our rough cut soon after the screening and a few back and forths between us and Stand For Children's staff, and we had the spots finished and polished ahead of schedule. The videos were shown at Stand for Children's annual fundraiser held this year in the Oregon Zoo ballroom. It was quite an event with a delicious entree, wine, coffee, and desert!

Here are the three videos of the scholarship winners:

Produced by: Kyle Glenn, Walker Williamson

Directed by: Eli Shell

Shot by: Patrick LaValley, Jason Windsor

Sound by: Kyle Glenn

Edited by: Kyle Glenn, Eli Shell

Visual FX: Jason Windsor

This has truly been a positive experience for me personally (Eli here). As we have worked primarily in fiction it was nice to stretch ourselves creatively, try something a little different. Aside from that it is also nice to do something for others. We all took minimal pay, donating more than half of our time to this worthy cause. The better the video ended up, the thought was, the more that Stand For Children could raise at their fundraiser where this would play. We all put alot of time and effort into making these the best they could possibly be. It has been an extremely rewarding experience, and the end product turned out better than I could have hoped. All of us over here at QO look forward to working with Stand for Children again.

Where you at?

2010-09-30T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello! It's been awhile since you've heard from us over here at QOHQ, most likely because we are deep into post on 'Evidence of the Sasquatch.' As I type this Eli sits at a computer in our dark workspace figuring out how to best foley the sound of a character urinating off a deck. A bucket full of dirt, leaves and grass later, Jason slowly trickles water out of a Yeyo bottle to synthesize the sound. Next up, how do we replicate the sound of a body dragging across a deck?

We've been in sound design for about three weeks now with Anthony Gainer and Eli tag-teaming Pro Tools. Our picture edit is locked, our visual effects are done, thanks in part to the hard work of our friend Ed Vilderman, and we are working on locking our screening date towards the end of October.

Other than 'Evidence of the Sasquatch,' we've been up to a few other projects. Kyle directed a music video for the band 'And And And,' produced and shot by Tyler Carey. This video is now in the editing stage and should be ready for release in a couple of weeks. We are also hoping to begin Pre-Production on some live video/recordings of the band 'Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside,' that will take place at a friends ranch and will be Directed by Nate Baston. Our Co-conspirator Selena Shell, is working on treatments for a music video for the band 'Monarques,' to be produced by QO.

Next month we will be producing three short videos for Stand for Children's Beat the Odds scholarship. We are super excited about this opportunity. Each video will feature one of the scholarship winners, showcasing their story and their lives. These videos are always an inspiration and we are proud to be a part of telling these kids stories this year.

We've also been talking to Yeyo Tequila about producing a few short drink videos for them this fall, so keep your eyes open for more on that, they should be pretty slick.

That about sums it up for now, come out to Portland Film Network Meet-Up next Monday, October 4th @ Rontom's, to chat with us in person! There will be drink specials for members of the Meet-up this time!

I don't want to change the world.

2010-08-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

I don’t want to change the world. I don’t want to “push the boundaries” of citizens today. I feel just as bad as anyone about the atrocities of the world. I hate that in today’s world things like Darfur happen. I'm saddened by the genocides of Rwanda and Myanmar. I cry for the orphans in Rio De Janeiro, and the homeless on the streets of America. I worry about cancer, racism, xenophobia, homophobia and sexism. Life is rough.

What I want, is to give people a couple hours away from that. I want to take audiences to another place of our creation. Somewhere different than the world we live in. Whether that place is funny, scary, or just beautiful, it is a break from the world. I want audiences to laugh, cry, and fall in love. Not write their congressmen.

I want to tell stories. From when man crowded around the campfire and told stories about the Gods, we have always depended on the storyteller. So this is a manifesto, of sorts, a creative credo, because as I’ve look around at opportunities for filmmakers; grants and funding opportunities, each one describes films looking to “push the envelope”. That’s not what I want to do. I want to make the world disappear for a couple hours, while you sit in a darkened room listening to my tale. The only world I want to change, is the one of my own creation.

-eli

Have You Seen Me? #6

2010-07-31T10:28:00.001-07:00

Romain Gavras

After watching the trailer for the feature film debut of Director Romain Gavras, I just wanted to share some of his other works with you all. Gavras does a lot of music videos for electronic artists such as M.I.A and JUSTICE. He chooses music that fits his style well. I don't know if I've ever had a music video inspire so much anxiety in me in the first 30 seconds, that Gavras is able to conjure in the 'Stress' video for JUSTICE. So take a few minutes to enjoy the work of Romain Gavras, and be warned some of the material is graphic both sexually and violently.

We'll start off with the teaser for his feature film, it's a good introduction.

Now the 'Stress' video for JUSTICE

And finally M.I.A's 'Born Free'

New music video!

2010-07-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

This is our new music video for Local Superheroes, directed by Eli and Kyle.

Credits:
Directors: Kyle Glenn & Eli Shell
Director of Photography: Patrick LaValley
Assistant Camera: Peggy Knoebel
Production Assistant: Shahrom Taghizadegan
Editor: Steve Crocker

Equipment provided by funnelbox, inc

Local Superheroes: Robert Westerlund (8 Duece), Anthony Payne (Empty Pockets) & Sean O'Grady (Majic Sean)

Thanks to all!

We shot this in two days around Portland landmarks. We were trying to portray the 'rat pack' of McLoughlin, a mixture of classic cool, and hipster chic. After extensive scouting, we pitched a bunch of different places we thought looked interesting around town. We liked the washed up look of the McLoughlin area. This is an area that was once filled with commerce, but has felt the hit by the economy, evidenced by the multiple big box stores closed for business.

Throughout the process we liked to compare the guys to Goodfellas, and Resevoir Dogs, cool and classic, with a broken down strip mall feel. This is what they do when they're waiting for a job, this is them existing, waiting. This is them driving, doing laundry, in a worn down laundromat.

We shot the performance stuff in Eli's basement, a community storage place. We wanted to create the feeling of a studio, but also have an interesting space that it was occurring in. We liked the wood slat texture in the background, and wanted the star quality that the silhouette brought, as the guys rapped, and drank, and smoked.

Overall, we feel the music video was a success, we were able to get through production on a extremely tight budget (like non existent) with high production value. Steve Crocker did an amazing job on the edit and it came out nearly exactly like our vision. Everyone at Quarter Orange hopes that you like this as much as we liked making it.

Enjoy!

Help Film Action Oregon

2010-06-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

* received this e-mail today. let's help them out!*

Hello friends of Film Action Oregon and The Hollywood Theatre,

In just over a month I will celebrate 13 years with Film Action Oregon and the Hollywood Theatre. When I joined the organization (known then as the Oregon Film and Video Foundation), I could have never imagined the wild ride that would have gotten us to where we are now.

With the support of our patrons and volunteers, we have transformed the Hollywood Theatre from a neglected second-run movie house to one of the most exciting film venues in the country. There is a reason that the Sundance Institute named us as one of only 18 venues in the U.S. to be a part of the Sundance Art house Project. Where else can you catch a documentary premiere with the filmmaker and subjects in attendance (180º South), followed by an acoustic concert with the film’s composer (Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse)? Or attend a fundraiser for a local film festival that gives you a chance to meet the director that a few months later will make history by being the first woman to ever win the Oscar for Best Director (Kathryn Bigelow with her film The Hurt Locker)? Or go on a bike ride around the Hollywood District with a touring filmmaker before the screening of his acclaimed film (Nick Peterson with Field Guide for November Days)? Or have Oscar winner Miche l Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) leave a message on your boyfriend’s voicemail because he couldn’t be here to see his film The Thorn in the Heart (trust me, it happened)? Where else can local short filmmakers see their film’s name in lights on our marquee, right up there with the most recent David Lynch or Werner Herzog film or a restored masterpiece like The Bicycle Thief?

And though the Theatre is our most visible project, Film Action does so very much more. This Monday, we launch our seventh year of our summer documentary program Project Youth Doc, with a session at New Columbia serving at risk and underserved youth. We recently started a year-round animation workshop in partnership with Laika which has given hundreds of kids the chance to bring their artistic talents to life. Several of the 22 films which are currently being produced under our non-profit umbrella had their premieres this year and found their way into the world including Wetlands, Forge and Raw Faith. And then, of course, there is our unique Women’s Film Initiative, which was founded to help both aspiring and experienced female filmmakers to realize their vision.

It is obvious that I love this building and am passionate about all that this organization does. And from the e-mails I receive from many of you on a regular basis, you do too.

So, here is the pitch you have been waiting for. I will try to sound as little like public radio as possible and cut to the chase. We need to raise $25,000 by Friday, July 16th.

Here’s where you come in. Our e-mail list currently has over 28,000 people on it. If everyone on this list were to donate just a single dollar we would exceed this goal. If everyone donated just $5 (roughly the cost of a large soda at a Regal multiplex) we could easily finish our multimedia classroom and our new box office, allowing us to offer year round educational programs and to make everyone’s ticket buying process more pleasurable (as well as offering our first ADA accessible restroom). If everyone on the list donated $10 (that is less than $.03 a day!) we could finally afford to put in the new and expanded restrooms whose plans have taunted us over the years. And a whopping $20 per person (this gets my pulse racing!) could fund the complete restoration of the marquee and the Hollywood’s unique signature terra cotta tower.

As a special thank you, those of you that donate $50 or more between now and July 16, 2010 will receive recognition on the big screen before all regularly scheduled Hollywood Theatre film programming for one year. And since FAO is a 501(c)3 non-profit arts organization, your gift is entirely tax-deductible.

Contributions of any size make a big difference. Help us prove that there is strength in numbers!

Donate today via our secure website, or save us the credit card fees and send a check to:

Film Action Oregon
Attn: Appeal
4122 NE Sandy Blvd.
Portland, OR 97212

Thanks for your continued support. And a Happy Father's Day to everyone!

Sincerely,

Richard Beer
Artistic Director

Have You Seen Me? #5

2010-06-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

A couple music videos from the band 'We Have Band.' These videos are a couple of my favorites out of the recent months.

We Have Band - You Came Out from We Have Band on Vimeo.

We Have Band - You Came Out (The Making Of) from We Have Band on Vimeo.

We Have Band - Divisive from We Have Band on Vimeo.

The other night a slipknot song came on over the jukebox, calling me to remember 'Stone Sour's' music video for 'Through the Glass.' I saw this video one of the rare occasions I had access to MTV a few years ago, and it has stuck with me.

Laurels!

2010-06-14T11:29:00.001-07:00

As we were shooting Evidence of the Sasquatch, we couldn't help but reminisce. We happened to be shooting in the same location almost exactly a year after we shot Forge, a sci-fi feature QO worked on in association with our close friend 500 Cuts, helmed by Co O'Neill. Well, after a few months of moderately bated breath, we just received word that Forge was accepted to the International Film Festival Ireland! Check out their website, its pretty low-key, but so are all festival sites if they're not Sundance or Cannes. Speaking of those biggies, check out Co's absolutely scathing commentary on the festival beast.

Co O'Neill on the set of Forge with Alex Mendeluk

We're super excited about this, about what it could mean for Forge, Co, and us. We'll keep you posted. Here's some shots from a few months back of the Forge premier at the Clinton Street Theater:

STREAMING words

2010-05-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

Netflix says, "streaming is the future."
I say, "agreed."

Imagine never needing to hold a physical copy of a movie. Ever. Sure it is already happening but physical form still has an advantage right now. Quality. We can't watch to many 1080p movies without getting a blu-ray player and now 3D is being added to the mix. It is a lot of information to send over a network and we haven't even started with 2K resolutions at home yet (which will happen within 5 years...). That's the challenge for streaming video. Quality. So why do netflix and I agree? Because streaming has become a proven method for video distribution. Everyone watches videos on YouTube and dozens of other sites that stream on demand, including Netflix. In fact, Netflix predicts it's digital streaming will start to overtake it's physical distribution by 2013!
What will it take for streaming to really take off? Not a lot really, it is just too easy, but faster load times will help, and higher resolutions. I see resolutions being tackled first, because we are on the brink of a TV revolution. After all, it is still the best way to watch content, and new SMART TVs or settop boxes will make watching even easier.
That still leaves the problem of load times, which will only get worse as resolutions go up. What can we do about this? Pray that the Internet providers of the world (well mostly just here in the US) crank it up a notch. Did all you ISPs hear that? We need more juice!

Here is a little possibility of the future with streaming...

A theater normally only plays what it has on hand but what if they had everything on hand? What if they could stream a 4K film? A theater wouldn't have to wait for a print or even a Digital Intermediate to become available. They could just stream it, whenever they wanted. The theater would make more profits by playing whatever people wanted to see, and the studios could save on over head. How do you track the madness? Well, since it is all digital a studio will know exactly when film is streamed and exactly how many people bought tickets. Sounds like a win win to me, but what do I know? I am just a partner in an up and coming independent studio in Portland, Or.

Thanks for reading my ramble... Or should I say stream?

Man it feels good to be done!

2010-05-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

I mean, obviously we aren't done with the movie completely, but there is a satisfaction knowing that we are out of production. We have nothing left to shoot. Now comes post! We've got some really great people attached for post, and we are super excited. The QO partners will work mainly on marketing, trying to hit the festival circuit and search for the holy grail of "Distribution".

We laid out our Post production schedule today and it is tight! Luckily we knew our limitations in the post arena and planned for it. Our picture cut ought to go pretty quickly Sound and final touches might take a little longer. But we have our milestones set, and we are ready for the challenge!

In somewhat related news, we had a really great talk the other day with Melinda Moore. She's a Portland State student writing a piece on the local film community. We had a nice chat with her at Coffee Time, a coffee shop on NW 21st and Irving(ish). It was nice to get to talk about the local scene, with someone a little more outside of it. Of course we raved about the local community, who has been some of our strongest supporters in this endeavor of making a feature. And just talked frankly about some of the obstacles one faces trying to "make it" in this industry.

On a side note; we are nearing 2,000 views now, which, if you've been following the blog, you'll know is a lot faster than our first 1,000 views! And I know I say thank you all the time, but we really wanted to give you guys something more than just what can be seen on Facebook. A lot of our energy has gone to our backer blog, the blog that is only viewable by people who contributed to funding of "Evidence of the Sasquatch". But as that begins to wind slowly down, we wanted to show you guys a little more of the process. So over the next few weeks, we'll give you guys a little extra. We start with KG driving and explaining the quick synopsis of "Evidence of the Sasquatch"

Oh. and HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!

Yeyo Tequila - Silver Campaign

2010-05-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Last year we began work on our first commercial campaign for local liquor distributor Unique Liquid, LLC for their Yeyo Ultra-Premium Silver Tequila. This past week the last video of the campaign was released.

Yeyo is defined by Unique Liquid as:
TRADITIONAL DISTILLING WITH A MODERN TWIST.

We worked intimately with Jon Bullinger of Unique Liquid, crafting a campaign that fit his marketing demographic, and the requirements he wanted to fulfill.

With the three spots we created a story about Yeyo Tequila.

Spot 1: The Look
dir: Eli Shell

"The Look" establishes the culture and atmosphere of Yeyo Tequila; cool, sexy and smooth.
It is the introductory spot to Yeyo and therefore immediately had to identify with it's target audience.

Spot 2: The Reality
dir: Jason Windsor

"The Reality" was created to show that Yeyo was for everyone, that it's presence could catapult you from the towel boy at the local tanning salon, to the coolest, sexiest guy in the club. It also provided a place for us to put some comic relief into the campaign, which Jon had requested in his marketing breakdown.

Spot 3: The Dream
dir. Kyle Glenn

"The Dream" is just that. It shows the audience the possibilities that run through the main characters mind of how the night could go, only to prove it wrong when the blond sits down next to him. With Yeyo, ~~everything~~, anything is possible

The order above is how the three videos were released, creating a story for the audience. However when we originally produced the videos, the second and third spots were switched, creating a slightly different take on the story. Jon chose to release "The Reality," before "The Dream," because it showed the audience that the Tequila was now available at liquor stores.

We shot these in three days, in over eight locations. Our crew worked seamlessly allowing us to maximize our limited time in these locations.

We are proud of this campaign, and the work we did for Jon and Unique Liquid. We look forward to future collaborations with them.

Credits:

Client: Jon Bullinger, Unique Liquid, LLC
Product: Yeyo Ultra-Premium Silver Tequila
Production Company: Quarter Orange
Producer: Walker Williamson
Directors: Eli Shell, Jason Windsor, Kyle Glenn
Director of Photography: Patrick LaValley
Production Designer: Selena Persiani
Gaffer/Electric: Kale Heily
Assistant Camera: Cameron Carey
Production Sound Recording: Shawn Willis
Location Liaison: Anthony Gainer
Music: Eli Shell

Yeyo Man: James Plumlee
Woman: Nikki Rose
Woman 2: Jesse Allison
Friend: Anthony Casanova

Locations:
Candy - Ultra Lounge
Rose City Liquor
Departure Restaurant + Lounge
The Nines Hotel

A little bit more info about Jon and Unique Liquid:
Jon Bullinger is the founder of Unique Liquid, LLC - a company that specializes in developing and importing premium unique spirits. Jon has dedicated several years towards the research, understanding and discovering of potential spirits markets in need of refreshing alternatives.

More on Sasquatch

2010-05-21T09:10:00.001-07:00

So we all might have been a little lax in blogging this month because we made OUR FIRST FEATURE!!! I'm sure you've all been following our progress through ETS and we are almost done! We finished our principal photography and just a few pickups to get before we are done with production. But if you haven't been following super close here is a quick breakdown of our process thus far.

1. Wrote a script.
2. Gave to some trusted associates for notes
3. Kickstarted a Kickstarter campaign
4. Raised nearly $4000
5. Wrote a new draft of the script.
6. Scheduled everything out
7. Created a Sasquatch monster
8. Shot tests
9. Shot the movie

Which is where we are at now. Soon we will get into post, which, aside from the obvious technical aspects of post-production, we will be working on the marketing. And this is where you come in. As we put out trailers and press releases, we need you to help us disseminate them. Tell your friends about us, about "Evidence of the Sasquatch", if they like Bigfoot, or horror, or independent film, they will love this film.

The reason we make these films is for you, our friends and "fans". We have so many supportive people surrounding us, we couldn't do this without you, every single one of you is the freakin' best!

So here is a few pics from our second weekend of production:

The principal...

2010-05-18T11:32:00.001-07:00

Well, principal photography for our first feature, Evidence of the Sasquatch, has come to an end! Only a couple scenes left to shoot then Sasquatch will be in the can! Check out or Facebook page (Facebook.com/q.orange) to see some photos and short clips. There is still plenty of work to do before we screen. More updates are on the way so keep checking in!

In other news, the final Yeyo spot has been released on YouTube! You can see it at YouTube.com/yeyotequila

Enjoy!

"Hair and Whiskey" or "What really happened to the Vikings?"

2010-04-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

FACT: This summer is going to be awesome. Busy and awesome. We're about to run headlong into May, and our calendar's booking up fast

If Quarter Orange's schedule were to manifest itself physically, it would be one of those bound, 4x7" personal agendas, but bursting at the seams with sticky notes, folded scraps of paper covered in dates and reminders, various business cards, and held together only by a fat rubber band.

In spite of this, I'll keep the personal update brief. Here's what we've got going on so far this summer:

Evidence of the Sasquatch! We're but two short weeks from principle photography on our first feature! We've had several great rehearsals, our schedule's lined up, and Sasquatch is getting hairier every day. More on that soon!

Yeyo Tequila! Yeyo's back! And this time he's aged and matured. That's right, following in the footsteps of Yeyo's extremely well-received Silver Tequila comes Anejo. As with the Silver, Anejo promises to be an absolutely fantastic tequila. Quarter Orange will produce three more films for the release of Anejo. Check out yeyotequila.com for the latest!

Stand For Children! QO will be producing a short documentary series for Stand For Children, a fantastic grassroots child advocacy organization. We'll keep you posted as we begin development.

Vikings! Thus far we've completed two Episodes in our "Fall of..." series: Fall of the Incan Empire and Fall of the Xin Dynasty. Coming soon: Fall of the Vikings. I don't want to give away too much, lets just say its not going to be pretty.

This picture isn't referring to anything we're working on, its just Nic Cage as Sergei Eisenstein. For a good time, check out the Nic Cage As Everyone blog.

-QO

Bye bye FireWire...

2010-04-17T11:03:00.001-07:00

IEEE139whaaaa? Who cares...right? FireWire, we loved you while you lasted. Back when you were the only "high" speed, consistent flow cable. However, now it is time to say bye bye... for good. That 800 spec never caught on, and the competition is just too feirce. USB learned from your success and has now toppled over you. Not to mention the power of Ethernet. So I say now, " so long, farewell... And stop taking up port space on my devices!"

Ww

Just a little QO love

2010-04-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

April returns with a resurgence of winter here in Portland Oregon, and while it’s cold and rainy outside, things are warming up at QO! We pitched a series of commercials to a new client last week, and we are super excited about the possibilities. Everyday seems to bring new opportunities our way. We received the lion’s share of our funding and continue moving forward with the feature.

We had a rehearsal last week that went amazingly well. We’ve really started to nail down these characters, and we’ve got our first round of camera tests this weekend. We are all feeling really good about where ETS is at right now.

We finally got a chance to look at the footage for the music video, and it is looking awesome! I’m really glad we got to shoot on the Red One. For those of you not “in the know”, the Red is the biggest, baddest, camera out right now. The Red shoots at a super high resolution, in fact some of our shots have a resolution of 4.5k. That is more than 2x the size of your high def television. Obviously, we will have to crush these shots down to a more watchable format, but the fact is, we can do a lot of subtle changes to this (giant) picture.

Aside from our feature, and the client work coming up, we are working on our future personal projects. This includes two new “Fall of’s”, and we are building our new Robot so we can shoot some more robot shorts this summer.

And Yeyo is on TV! We cut a new 15 second spot from the first commercial spot. And it starts playing on a number of different channels this week. You guys can go check out the new spot here. We are also looking for office space to build our Robot and Sasquatch costumes. We will hopefully be moving into our space in the next couple weeks.

So things are looking pretty good right now for QO, we got a lot of balls up in the air. But as each lands we hope to get a bit bigger, a few more clients, a few more fans. So from Quarter Orange land thank you for your help, thanks for all your views, facebook comments, and everything you guys have done for us. You peeps are the reason we do what we do.