As technology advances, it seems like more and more films are using Visual Effects (VFX) and Motion Graphics to aid in the telling of a story. Filmmakers are doing amazing things with technology, building entire worlds on a computer. I have heard a lot of great things throughout the community about the talents of Logan Hennessy, but I had no idea how impressive his work is until I recently stumbled across his VFX/Motion Graphics demo reel on Facebook. I was absolutely blown away by the before and after shots throughout the reel and I immediately knew that I had to share his story by making him the Jump Ship Productions Filmmaker of the Week.

Logan is originally from Spokane, Washington. Before he moved to Arizona, he was attending a local community college, not particularly satisfied with the direction it was taking him. “One fateful night” as Logan says, he was watching the Appendices for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and something clicked. Logan “always liked making videos with (his) friends, but it never really crossed (his) mind that you could do it for a living!… (he) became infatuated with the behind the scenes of a film set, and decided then and there (he) wanted to go to film school.” He decided that Phoenix would be a good place for film school, so he turned to the trusty internet to find schools in the Phoenix area.  Logan “found (his) school, and moved across the country in a little less than three weeks from the night (he) watched those Appendices.” He says “it’s the greatest decision (he) has ever made.”

Logan began school in January 2010 and recently graduated “fluent with After Effects, Cinema 4D, 3DS Max, and Boujou.” He chose Collins College because “It had great facilities including two large sound stages and a massive green screen.” My favorite question to ask filmmakers is whether or not they believe film school is necessary. I think Logan hits the nail right on the head with his answer.

It is true that film school is completely unnecessary and the degree that you get from it will rarely get asked for. Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Ridley Scott, and David Fincher never went to film school, heck, Steven Spielberg was turned down from film school twice. The only thing anybody really cares about is if you are good. Really good. If you have an uncle that runs camera for Hollywood feature films, you can start from the bottom there and learn a massive amount… in a very short time. 

The problem lies there. Not all of us have an uncle in the business, and we have literally no connections into Hollywood – THAT is where film school comes in. You essentially pay money to make connections. Yes, you learn some stuff in school, but you learn most of it on real sets. So that is the answer, you go to film school in an area that has a film community in order to meet like-minded individuals… building a network and learning all you can.

Logan was “drawn to visual effects and motion graphics because (he) does not want any barriers.” One of the biggest limitations for independent filmmakers is the lack of budget. Logan “decided (he) would not allow (himself) to have any restrictions if (he) didn’t have to. If (he) comes up with a story and needs the setting to be a post-apocalyptic wasteland, (he) can do that.” Logan says that it is difficult to choose a favorite project or graphic, every time he completes a project he immediately thinks of something bigger and better to do. Although if he had to pick one,   Logan says “it would probably be one of the first difficult shots I ever did… on a video I co-created for a video game that was being released that year (“Battlefield 3 Live Action Gameplay Trailer“). The climax of the video is a first-person perspective and as the character looks up into the sky, two jets collide and explode, followed by one of the jets falling into the screen and on top of the character. It was two years ago, and I’ve learned so much and honed my craft a lot since then, but seeing people’s reaction to that shot for the first time still gives me goosebumps.”

As much as Logan loves VFX and Motion Graphics, his true passion is working hard on set. Logan says “I learned visual effects so I could have no boundaries, but I’m a filmmaker at heart, and there is nothing like being on a film set. I really like to direct my own films, but when working for others my favorite aspect is being behind camera. I like to be able to have an impact on the look of a film, and being a camera operator or Director of Photography is one of my biggest goals as a filmmaker.” Logan has completed four of his own videos, most of which can be seen on his Youtube channel, ENRELEM, but he has worked on countless other projects through school and with other filmmakers.

“The best recognition I ever got was when me and a buddy released our fan-made trailer for an upcoming videogame called “Battlefield 3″, and after the second day that it was on youtube the creators of the video game posted it to their twitter and facebook, and subsequently it started showing up on gaming websites all across the internet. It received a lot of praise and was the first time I really felt like this is the only thing I could be doing with my life. I’ve never felt so giddy in all my life than the morning I woke up and saw the video had jumped 40,000 views overnight and the top comments said they were sent by the game’s creators. I can’t wait to do it again!”

The absolutely most important aspect of filmmaking to Logan is simply telling an incredible story that captivates people and forces viewers to learn a little about themselves and grow with the characters on the screen. He strives to never stop learning and never stop improving so that he can be the best filmmaker he can be. Now that Logan has graduated college, he plans to pump out consistent short films with his longtime friend Nile Popchock for their youtube channel, ENRELEM. He says, “the internet is an incredibly powerful tool for filmmakers, and if we can consistently create jaw-dropping films I don’t think there is any better option to get exposure… Making films is a gift from me to the audience, a chance to bring them into a world I created that they could only imagine in their dreams. I really do believe that through continuous, excruciatingly hard work I’ve got a shot at doing just that.” Logan is active on Facebook, he can be reached at (509) 979 – 7015, or you can email him HERE!

Photo By: Brandon Sullivan

Most families have activities that they enjoy doing together, like family game night, Sunday dinner, or camping. Diane Dresback and her sons, Devon Dresback and Trenton Kennedy, spend their family time exercising their creativity and making award winning films together. Most recently, this extraordinary family took part in the Almost Famous Film Festival’s (A3F) 48 Hour Challenge where they took home Best Overall Film; Audience Favorite; the Brock H. Brown Best Script Award; Best Director; and their two main actors, Colleen Hartnett and Rafael Munguia, both took home awards for Outstanding Individual Performances.  This year’s A3F 48 Hour Challenge produced a collection of some of the best 48 hour challenge films I have ever seen, and their film, Afterword really stood out as the most captivating and visually beautiful of all top 20 films. Jump Ship Productions had the pleasure of interviewing all three family members about their experiences working together on and off set and creating their film Afterword.

I find it impressive that there are three award winning filmmakers in one family; do you have any other family members that work within the film industry?

DIANE: The only person I met only a few years back is my uncle, James Marino, who lives in San Diego. He is always there with positive words of encouragement for us! I am hoping to actually have an opportunity to work with him on a project at some time in the future.

Do you all usually stick to the same roles when you work together (i.e., Diane as the Producer, Trenton as the writer, and Devon as the Director)? When you work separately, do you also stick to the same roles, or do you take on other responsibilities as well?

DIANE: Mostly when we’ve worked together on projects, yes we have stuck to the same roles. Although, I will say that we all venture across boundaries at times to get whatever needs to be done, done! That involves acting, shooting and editing.

On my own projects, I typically write, direct and also end up producing and editing, if needed. Having said that, I often seek input from both Devon and Trenton on my scripts as they really do give me very honest feedback…no fluffy stuff! Which is helpful.

What inspired each of you to venture into the wonderful world of filmmaking?

TRENT: I’m actually a video game designer by day. My girlfriend Deanna Nygren (3D Artist) and I just moved back to Phoenix to start a small independent game studio. We were in Austin, TX for several years working in the game industry (on games like Halo 4 and DC Universe Online). I’m primarily a designer, but I did do some writing on DCUO; hearing iconic characters like Batman (Kevin Conroy), Superman (Adam Baldwin), The Joker (Mark Hamill), and Lex Luthor (James Marsters) read lines I wrote was truly thrilling. (Luckily I had editors supporting me so it made it sound even better!). Games are my first love, but film has always been my mistress on the side. I’m grateful I can ride Devon and Diane’s coattails and help out.

DEVON: For me it began as an obsession with blowing things up around 14. My friends and I would get our own chemicals offline, mix them ourselves and film all the glorious destruction. I was quite the crazy little pyromaniac. From there it spawned into an interest in “special effects“. You know, fake videos of blowing up the dog, ripping my friends in half, normal kid stuff like that… But around 16, I really started getting interested in narrative film.

DIANE: Right out of college, I was co-owner of a production company, where we filmed corporate and personal events for about seven years before I returned to corporate work…. After being in love with creative writing as a kid, I had a writing professor my first semester of college that convinced me that I shouldn’t be doing any creative writing. So, I spent years in corporate America writing business documents, reports and training programs. About ten years ago, I had a personal situation occur that inspired me to write my first feature length screenplay. It was Trenton, who was still in high school at the time, who convinced me I could do it! And I did. Of course, it took a few years and I went through some terrible drafts…but, I finished it. Around that same time, and after 26 years in corporate America working mostly as a manager and senior executive in the travel and financial industries, in 2007, I returned to the production world only now with more of a focus on narrative filmmaking. And you are right, Nicki, it is wonderful!

“We were in Austin, TX for several years working in the game industry (on games like Halo 4 and DC Universe Online).”

One of the things that I find to be most important on set is chemistry between the crew members. Does it seem to be easier to work with each other because you already have that family chemistry, or are there different aspects that become more difficult on set?

TRENT: A producer is already like a mother in a lot of ways! It definitely helps to know exactly what to expect from team members. It makes it much easier to concentrate on your own role and trust the rest have it handled. I hadn’t worked with most of the rest of the team, but Devon and Diane had, so again it was just a matter of trusting their judgment. They pulled together an awesome crew and three great actors.

DEVON: Chemistry is everything for me on set, and I choose my cast and crew very delicately. Patience is everything, because one bad attitude can bring down everyone’s moral. It’s actually surprisingly normal to work with family on set, because they understand the process and the time it takes. Also I think it’s because we usually share a similar vision, so there’s not too much conflict.

DIANE: I have come to understand how to work best with my boys. I know when I need to keep my mouth shut and go with what they are saying and when I need to put in my opinion, based on my experience. I believe all three of us recognize that we bring different strengths to the table. I don’t behave like a mom on set…although, I do sneak a hug once in a while when no one is looking just to encourage and acknowledge them. Ha!

Do you find that a lot of your conversations off set revolve around filmmaking or the film industry in general, or do you tend to keep the “shop talk:” separate from family time?

TRENT: I am immensely grateful to have such a creative significant other (Deanna Nygren). We can’t help but “talk shop” a lot, but we do try to keep a balance. It’s impossible not to share in each other’s excitement. The amazing art she creates is a huge inspiration for my ideas.

DIANE: Admittedly, conversations with Devon and Trenton often revolve around filmmaking and film projects. I like to say that our conversations are always creative. Recently, we started playing a board/roleplay game that Trenton is teaching us. There are a lot of similarities with filmmaking in character development and storytelling. My boyfriend, Rick has never been around filmmaking, so he enjoys hearing about it (thankfully!), but I try not to dominate our conversation…although I could talk for hours about indie filmmaking!

What made you decide to participate in the A3F 48 hour challenge this year?

DEVON: It’s always a great competition but I wasn’t originally planning on entering. However my brother had just moved back into town and my mom totally pulled the family card, saying we hadn’t worked on anything together as a family in a long time. I’m extremely glad she convinced us though.

DIANE: I love supporting Jae Staats and Jason Francois by participating in their A3F film challenges. Plus, it had been a couple of years since Devon, Trenton and I had done this particular challenge on the same team. The last A3F we did together was back in February 2011, when we surprised the audience by making two films that played off of each other….different perspectives. The idea, which was Devon’s, was really clever and lead to another insane weekend. Oh, did I say that I was half way through producing a feature film when we took the weekend off to make those two shorts in 48 hours? I think a little insanity runs through this family!

Where did you find your inspiration for “Afterword?”

TRENT: Having our actors and a main location lined up helped immensely when writing the script. Imagining what sort of characters they would be good at playing was important. The stories I love tend to have very gray characters. They’re clearly flawed, but there’s something about them that draws you in.

Afterword is centered on two imperfect characters looking back on their past relationship. My inspiration came primarily from the idea that with time comes perspective. It’s always easier to see what went wrong in hindsight. The real question (and one that Afterword leaves up to the viewer to answer) is, does that new perspective actually change anything?

Trent, did you work closely with Devon in terms of visuals while writing the script?

TRENT: Devon and I have many similar tastes. Writing with your actors in mind helps considerably; writing with your director in mind is equally helpful. I gave Devon an idea of how I pictured things, but the best part of working with him is seeing what he pictured when reading what I wrote.

Devon, one of the things that I found to be the most impressive was how rapidly the emotion in the film turned from happy to sad. Was it difficult to get your actors to flip that switch so quickly (especially under the pressure of a 48 hour time crunch)? What techniques did you use to help them change their mood?

DEVON: I’m glad you mentioned this. From the first talk of this idea, this specific dynamic is really what drew me in. I wanted these characters to be comfortable enough with each other to address the lower points in their past, but also the audience needed to feel just as comfortable, like they had lived through the moments with these characters. The climax had to carry weight, and we did as much as we could to ensure a connection between audience and these characters. Shooting the locations with their respective dialogue was a trip! The moods would rapidly swap and the actors were extremely versatile. I used a couple personal techniques, but also actually developed a few on accident. Colleen asked me about one, and if I had done it intentionally. I said no, but next time I will have. I felt the fluctuation of the dialogue and mood between the two characters came off surprisingly real and not as forced as I had feared. This was due largely in part to Rafael and Colleen, who are both incredibly adaptable actors. Also, 5 minutes is quite a short time to expect compassion from the audience, so our gimmick really allowed for us to cover a lot of emotional ground.

Rafael Munguia and Colleen Hartnett, both took home awards for
Outstanding Individual Performances.
Photos By: Brandon Sullivan

Obviously there were some parts of the dialogue that had to be said in certain locations, like talking about stir-fry in the kitchen; however other pieces of dialogue weren’t necessarily location specific. During the shoot, did you already have an idea of when you wanted to transition from one location to another, or was that decided in post-production?

DEVON: This was a huge concern of mine from the get go. Even though I loved the idea, I had an inkling that we might be shooting ourselves in the foot. One missed line of dialogue with 6 very scattered locations could cause some serious issues. Luckily my brother really nailed down every piece of dialogue and every location. It was a terrifying script to flip through though, because it was written exactly how it played. So returning to a location later in the film meant that the dialogue would be scattered throughout the script, and jump from page to page…even when it was just a couple words.

The dialogue seemed to flow so seamlessly from location to location, did you have to do a lot of ADR work to ensure that the sound would be consistent throughout all of the locations?

DEVON: Surprisingly, no. We only had to ADR two lines I believe. But at one point we were battling a juke box, and in between every song we would have about 10 seconds for Colleen to get her line. It was about as indy as you can get.

Trent, story is such an important part of filmmaking, and without the proper structure within a script, a story can fall apart very quickly. Have you attended any classes on writing or received any formal training?

TRENT: Not beyond a couple classes in college. I credit any useful techniques I’ve picked up to my joy of reading. Afterword uses a lot of repetition which gives it almost a poetic feel. I wanted the characters’ change in perspective to be evident. I love how much meaning comes through in how a line is spoken. Saying the same line but with a different emotion changes the meaning drastically. That’s difficult to do in written text, but it’s something we take for granted in speech because it comes naturally.

What was your favorite part about this challenge?

On the Set of “Afterword”

TRENT: Even though nobody was getting paid, our cast and crew were truly professionals. It was not an easy shoot but I didn’t hear one complaint the entire time.

DEVON: The screening. There’s always just so much energy, and nerves flying around in that theater. Almost on cue every time, the film before ours will begin to play and that feeling will set in. Excitement, terror, nausea, what if we missed the boom in one of our shots (which we definitely did). It’s this strange barrage of sensations that really is irreplaceable.cast and crew were truly professionals. It was not an easy shoot but I didn’t hear one complaint the entire time.

DIANE: Gosh, it’s hard to say, I love the whole process as well as the screening. But, if you let me pick two, I would say the first one is when we finally wrapped. It was a satisfying feeling knowing (hoping) we captured everything. Plus, everybody was so exhausted, it felt good to congratulate and thank them all after such a long day and night that was nonstop. The second part was seeing the rough cut of the film. This time we were fortunate to have very talented Jerrod Saba as our editor and TJ Bucco had designed some wonderful music. Watching that first cut gave me chills because at that point, I knew we had a good little film.

What was your least favorite part?

TRENT: The drunks at the bar location. Someone should probably tell that story…

DEVON: Drunk bar patrons. Seriously, telling them “quiet on the set” was like taking the binkies away from a room full of toddlers. It didn’t help that they were there for the most emotional scene in the movie. I’m not terribly confrontational, but there was a moment where one of the guys yelled some really off color things in the middle of one of our takes, and I was about to go full David O’Russell. I felt awful for putting my actors through that especially in a scene where they were both exposing everything they had as actors. But despite the drunkard’s efforts, Rafael and Colleen were both exceedingly professional, and both went on to win awards for their acting.

DIANE: Well, it would seem that I should say, dealing with the drunks. However, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say although it was a tough section of the shoot, as the producer, I felt extremely happy that I was able to hold together all the pieces – the bar patrons who were drunk but were also customers of the location we were shooting in, the bartender who was concerned about her customers, the unrepeatable comments being made to me by a completely inebriated man while I was trying to coerce him to stay quiet for 30 seconds, an irritated writer who didn’t like what that guy was saying to his mother and an upset director because it was extremely challenging for his actors. It was one of the more difficult situations that I have experienced as a producer/crew member, but the bottom-line is that we got the shots we needed, didn’t get kicked out of the location, didn’t have any fights breakout and Devon got the performances he needed to make that scene work. I chalk that up as a success! I like challenges. I kind of thrive on them, actually.

My least favorite part of the shoot? Trying to hold those darn bounce boards still in the wind at the first outside location.

Diane, working under such an intense deadline can kill any production, but your film looked like it was shot over a couple of weeks rather than a couple of days. What are some of your tips and tricks for keeping your production organized and on schedule without losing any of the quality?

DIANE: As soon as we settled on an idea and I found Trenton had written a great script, I no longer stayed involved with the creative side but switched immediately to figuring out how we could make this crazy production work within the time constraints before us. I am an organizer…always have been even in my corporate days and now in my film work. I took the time to figure out very thoroughly and quickly the best order for locations, all the wardrobe changes our actors needed, the props and the set design pieces that we had to haul around in my car for this film. You have to stay focused on the task at hand and just push through things. I rarely sit down for a break…I just keep going (3 hours sleep out of 60 from Friday morning to Sunday night). And, like any good indie producer, I keep the production moving forward.

Trent, when writing for a challenge like the A3F 48 hour, does it seem to hinder your creativity to be given the line of dialogue, prop, and theme, or do you find that it helps jump start the creative process?

TRENT: I find it’s very difficult to start a creative endeavor without some constraints. Luckily life tends to give you an endless supply. Not identifying or working within your constraints is why many projects fail. The line of dialogue, prop, and theme are very minor constraints when you compare it to the 48 hour time frame. But I guess that’s half the fun!

Devon, are there any things that you wish you could have done differently if you had more time, or were you able to get exactly what you wanted from the script in the time that you had?

DEVON: Yes. Everything. Always. Haha, but I was definitely satisfied with how it turned out. Most of the things resulted from a lack of time, like always. But everyone worked excruciatingly hard, and I couldn’t have dreamt of a better cast or crew.

What steps did you take prior to the kickoff to prepare for this challenge?

TRENT: We tried to have some story ideas ready, but they all got scrapped fairly quickly. I was actually glad about that. One of the best parts of this competition is the all night script writing. Light from the sunrise making you squint as you try desperately to polish off the script before your cast and crew start showing up… I wouldn’t have it any other way.

DIANE: I had nailed down the bar location and we had the three actors.

I was rather impressed with the number of locations and how seamlessly they flowed together during the film. Aside from the bar, did you have any other locations in mind before the kickoff, or did you find them all within the 48 hours?

DIANE: I was pushing for one or two cool locations at the most, but that just didn’t work within the creative process. So, early Saturday morning we were deciding on the other locations…a total of six in twenty hours of shooting. Killer, but everyone wanted to make this work and make it look great. Our DP, Charles Cartwright did a good job dealing with all the locations and their varied lighting and sound situations.

Diane, I can only imagine how proud you must be of your amazing children and all of their accomplishments; if I were in your shoes, I’m sure I could never get enough of working together as a family. As a producer, do you often steer toward projects that you can involve them in, or is it more of an added perk when you find projects that you can work on together?

DIANE: I convinced them both to do this film project. I love working with them but many times it just doesn’t work out. Sometimes, Devon and I compete against each other in these challenges (it’s a friendly competition). In fact, for the 2011 A3F 72 Hour Musical challenge, we both wrote and directed our own films. His team took first place for Secret Agents and my team took third place for WISH Inc., amongst other awards. That was another fun night for us.

How many projects have you done together (either all three or just two of you)?

DIANE: This was interesting to actually go back and count how many films we had done together. This was the final count: All three of us – 8. And, for just Devon and myself – 4 more.

Do you have any future projects in the pipeline, either together or separately?

DEVON: We’re currently developing and writing a web series that we hope to kickstart in the summer. It’ll be the biggest project we’ve worked on together to date.

DIANE: Together, we want to do a web series later this year. For me individually, I have a feature film script I hope to find funding for, and I currently am working on a short film that someone has entrusted me to write and direct. Last year, I worked with Bret Kalmbach and several others shooting a teaser for a potential future film that we are in the final stages of finishing up and will post online soon. I also have some other client projects underway.

What do you think sets your team apart from other teams that participated in the 48 hour challenge?

DIANE: I always have the ultimate respect for any team that participates in these challenges. It is not easy and it takes a hard working team to stay with it and get it done. I don’t know that we are set apart from other teams. Everything just gels when everyone on the team works towards the same goal…without egos or complaints, all focused at trying to make the best film possible within the time constraints at hand.

On the Set of “Afterword”

Most of us have grand dreams when we’re kids about what we want to be when we grow up, but as we get older and learn the ways of the real world, a lot of us lose that childlike belief that we can do anything so we settle for something more practical. There are many things that I like about filmmakers, but the one quality that I absolutely love the most is our ability to hold onto that childlike love for filmmaking and our drive to never stop until our dreams come true. Jump Ship Productions recently participated in both the IFP Breakout Challenge and the Almost Famous Film Festival’s (A3F) 48 hour film challenge, and during both there was one group that caught our eye. LJR Productions put out two delightfully whimsical films that were very obviously made with a lot of love. We had the pleasure of interviewing Jon Ray, the writer/director and owner of LJR Productions about his experiences.

Jon Ray is a perfect example of a filmmaker who will never give up on his dream; he wanted to be an actor as a kid, and even skipped school to go to an audition for a feature film, but unfortunately there weren’t too many productions in his hometown of Tyler, Texas. He got his start as a filmmaker in 2001, “when (he) shot 3 episodes of a Claymation series called ‘Toby Bear.’” From there, Jon received his first paying gig as “a PA on a Wonder Woman music video,” and he became a working filmmaker (which is a major accomplishment in itself).  Jon gained experience as an “actor, A.D., cameraman, boom pole, script supervisor, special FX, prop maker and of course PA.” From 2007 to 2012, Jon’s film career slowed down. He worked on finishing a degree in Digital Video at UAT and got “caught up in the game of making a living,” putting his family’s needs first.

In Dec. 2012, Jon decided it was time “to walk away from a 12 year career in Information Technology and change career fields to TV/Film,” and now he is able to do what he loves full-time as a freelance Videographer and filmmaker.  So far, Jon has “directed at least 11 shorts films,” not counting ones that were made for film school. He says, “I’m working my way towards Hollywood. One of my ultimate goals is to write and direct a studio film. Afterwards, I’d be happy going back to being an Indie or taking on more studio projects, but at least I want that one shoot in LA.” He is currently under a six month contract doing video work, but after that’s up he plans to “go back to working for my wife’s production company Sysnia Creative, where she is developing a TV show and has years of experience working on other TV shows.”

Jon has participated in six 48 hour film challenges with the IFP, the National, and most recently the A3F. His film Ring of Time was my favorite of all of the honorable mention films (and would have made it to the top 20 if I had been judging). One of the things that I personally found to be impressive about his film was the sheer size of the production that LJR pulled off in just 48 hours. They had a huge cast and what appeared to be several different locations. Jon says, “I signed up for the challenge a week before it began so I didn’t have a lot of prep work. Also, I only had 2 actors who were committed to the project, no location, no story idea and not much in the way of funds… Within the week leading up to that Saturday… we grew to 26 cast/crew members. We obtained access to a very nice mansion in north Scottsdale, thanks entirely to my producer and wife Samantha Ray… My secret was the mansion though in regards to locations. The place was so huge and the property varied so much I was able to stage all my scenes from photos of the place I got the night of the kickoff.”

Jon only knew five of the people involved in his production when the challenge kicked off Friday night, and one of the things he is most proud of was his ability to “take a group of people who have never worked together and forge them into an awesome cast and crew to make great art.” Jon says “It was amazing to see everyone come together to help bring my written word to life within such a short period of time.” What most people don’t understand about filmmaking is that getting your film shot is only half the battle. Postproduction is where a film really comes together, and Jon worked very closely with his wife, who edited the film while he worked on pulling together other information for the entry. He hoped to save time in post by using royalty free music, but he wasn’t satisfied with anything he found “So, being a keyboardist and composer, (he) wrote every bit of music you hear in the film in the final 2 hours before (they) left to turn the film in.”  

It was difficult for Jon to cut down such a grand idea into just 5 minutes. He learned during this challenge that the widely known rule that one page of script equals one minute of screen time does not always work out, and he ended up with about a six and a half minute film. Although he had to cut out one and a half minutes, Jon was able to keep everyone’s scenes, which is something he is very proud of. Jon says, “I feel like we are the underdogs, team wise. No one really knew LJR Productions or me and it was a group of mostly strangers who came together to make a great little film. As this was my most ambitious 48 Hour film project to date, I was hoping it’d at least screen with the top 20, but regardless, the feedback has been great and I’m proud of this film and the work everyone on my team put into it. We had some real professionals on hand that if not for them being there, might have made this a much more difficult interview to answer.” 

Jon is currently working on three documentaries, one of which is about his own struggles to make it to Hollywood. Jon says, “Regardless, what ends up happening to me, I plan to eventually release a documentary showing my ups and downs to hopefully inspire others to reach for their dreams and believe in themselves. It starts with letting go to all the things holding you back and then believing that with skill and effort the journey will take care of you… Never give up and never stop believing.” He is also writing two feature films and plans to start production of one of them later this year. One is “a paranormal thriller… the other bigger budget film is a high fantasy about knights and the Fae realm.” Jon has “started acting as an extra for other productions in order to be a better director, by understanding the process in front of the camera,” and offers his skills as an extra and production designer to interested filmmakers. He can be contacted HERE or through the LJR Productions Facebook Page, and you can see his work and look for cast and crew calls on his website.

Top 20 Public Screening Tickets
The Top 20 Public Screening takes place February 28 at 7p.m. at AMC Arizona Center 24 Theatres in downtown Phoenix. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

Top 20 Teams (listed alphabetically, these films will screen on Feb. 28th)

Honorable Mention 10 (plus ties, listed alphabetically, watch these film on Vimeo!)

How It Works?

Teams create a 1-5 minute film in just 2 days or 48 hours. In addition to meeting this challenging deadline, teams must also incorporate this year’s official guidelines (theme, prop and line of dialogue).

Films that meet the guidelines will be reviewed before a panel of judges who will select the Top 20 films for the Public Screening on February 28 at AMC Arizona Center 24 Theatres in downtown Phoenix.

Rules

The A3F encourages complete artistic freedom, but do have some rules that pertain to the film challenge.

• Films must be 1-5 minutes in length including all credits.
• Teams must own or have rights to their music and permission for all locations.
• No explicit violence and gun use will be *critiqued.
• All footage must be shot within the 48 hour time-frame, animators are allowed to pre-build templates.
• Teams, cast and crew must promise to have fun and become Almost Famous!

Judges Panel
Jason Francois – Lead Judge/Assistant A3F Director.

Bill Pierce – Film Critic. 

Lee Ann Cone -  Script Supervisor

Jay Lee – Filmmaker

Joel Kaye – Cinematographer

Jae Staats – A3F Founder/Director

Jump Ship Productions entered Mr. Wallace The Great. Get your tickets now!

Last weekend, Jump Ship Productions participated in the Almost Famous Film Festival’s (A3F) 48 hour challenge. We have participated in four challenges so far, and our crew has grown bigger and better for each one. During the Breakout Challenge, we turned to Sean Rasbury to do some Photoshop work on one of our props.  We were so happy with his work that we decided to bring him back for the A3F 48 hour challenge as an editor. Sean worked tirelessly during the shoot, dumping, organizing, and syncing all of the footage from our dual cameras, and when the shoot was over and the majority of the crew went home for some much needed shuteye, Sean downed a pot of coffee so he could work on the edit. Sean grew up in Metro Detroit; he “wanted to move to an area that had more film and video opportunities, but (he) didn’t want to move to California,” so he moved to the beautiful valley of the sun.

Sean has “been working on graphic design and video production since 2004, and audio production since 1998.” He was drawn to the wonderful world of film because it provides a diverse range of areas and ways that he can exercise his skills.  Sean loves that “there’s endless subject matter and new worlds to be created when you’re working in film.” He is most fond of editing, because “going through all the footage and assembling it is like a giant fun puzzle,” but his skills don’t end there. Sean also loves compositing and doing visual effects. Sean thinks he might also like to try writing and editing scripts, although being on screen is out of the question because as he says, “I have a face for radio and a voice for silent film.” Sean attended Schoolcraft College in Michigan for his degree in graphics, where he “won first and second place with two projects for the Motion Graphics category in a student and teacher judged competition.” Sean is a big believer in the programs at community college as an alternative to bigger film schools, and he can’t say enough good things about his experiences at Schoolcraft College.

When Jump Ship Productions invited Sean to work with us on the A3F 48 hour challenge, he jumped on board. He participated in this exact challenge several years ago with JP Frydrych and Craig MacDonald on their submission, Open Mic Night with Ber Co. Productions.  What sold Sean on the challenge was the ability to work with people he enjoyed working with on previous projects, while also getting the opportunity to work with some new people as well. He says his favorite thing about these challenges is “the camaraderie on the set.” Obviously the worst thing about these challenges is the lack of sleep (Especially for the editor who stays up all night while the rest of us sleep… Seriously… Thank you, Sean), but Sean never let that slow him down. As far as prepping for the challenge, he made sure to pack up all of his gear ahead of time so he could begin work on set while the scenes were being shot, and to get a few extra hours of sleep the night before. Sean says he might participate in another challenge because this last one was so fun.

As of right now, Sean does not have any definite projects lined up; however he is working on creating a variety of stock footage. He is always willing to work with other people and groups, and he has a wide variety of skills to offer. Sean believes that you learn something new and valuable on every set, and he loves to learn from new people and experiences; it is an added perk when he has more pieces to add to his portfolio. If anyone is interested in working with Sean, he can be reached HERE.

Mr. Wallace has lost his ability to perform magic and it’s affecting his sales at work. From the team that brought you “TITUS” and “The Face of Innocence”, Mr. Wallace The Great is a light hearted comedy about an average goofball Wizard. This film was made for the Almost Famous Film Festival‘s 48 hour challenge. If selected as one of the top 20 it will premier on February 28th 2013 at AMC Arizona Center 24. Get your tickets HERE!

Crew:
Director: Nicki Legge
Cinematographer: Mike Rea
Editor: Sean Rasbury
Writter: JP Frydrych
Produced by: Craig MacDonald & JP Frydrych
Original Score By: Nile Popchock
Set Photographer: Jacquelyn Nelson
Makeup and Wardrobe: Devon Garcia

Second Camera & 1st AC: Katelyn Pribula

Props: Devon Garcia and  Jacquelyn Nelson

Behind the Scenes: Robert Garcia and Sean Rasbury

Lighting Technician: Mike Rea
Sound Mixer: Nile Popchock
Boom Operator: Ryan Ammann

Cast:
Mr Wallace: JP Frydrych HR Rep: Jonathan Levy Maiuri Maverick: Craig MacDonald                                    Boss: Robert Garcia Secretary: Jacquelyn Nelson

During the month of January, Jump Ship Productions had the pleasure of participating in the IFP Phoenix Breakout Challenge, and last week was the seemingly long awaited premiere of all the participant’s films. I definitely feel for the judges this year; there was a wide variety of excellent films from a number of talented teams. Although I had more than one favorite, the film that really stood out as a whole was Mission Control. This little gem took home Best Overall Film, Best Story, Best use of Theme, and Best Poster. We had the pleasure of interviewing the Producer and Editor, Parco Richardson about his experiences with the challenge.

Parco was born in in Memphis, Tennessee and grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina.  He relocated to California when he joined the Marines and fell in love with the West. Once he was out of the Marines, he decided to say on the West coast, but California was a little too expensive for his taste so he moved to Arizona. Parco has been interested in the film industry since he was in the 6^th grade, but did not start getting his hands dirty until he began film school a few years ago. Parco says, “I wanted to become an actor/ comedian when I was younger, but when I first saw Pulp Fiction it inspired me to work behind the camera.” Now his main area of interest is Cinematography, although he does like to dabble in writing and directing as well. Parco has “collaborated on about 15 projects over the last three years.” Above all else, Parco just loves to tell stories. He is always astounded by “how you can get a group of people to collaborate together and bring the story to life.” His favorite project so far was a short film, directed by Travis Mills, called “Escort Driver.” This was Parco’s very first Cinematography job so it has always been close to his heart.

Parco decided to participate in the IFP Breakout Challenge because he is now in his senior year of film school and he “wanted to test (his) skills that (he) learned over the past three years.” He said that overall the challenge was pretty much what he expected, however there weren’t as many teams participating as he had hoped. Parco’s favorite part of the challenge was designing a kid’s room filled with all sorts of fun space paraphernalia. Parco said that his team came up with a number of solid concepts, but they ultimately chose to film Mission Control because it was the most fun and the easiest for the span of time they had. To prepare for the challenge, Parco invited several people on board who had participated in similar challenges; giving them the experience that helped them win four awards.

As a prize for winning best overall film, Mission Control won free submission to EIGHT film festivals, including Carmel Film Festival, Seattle True Independent Film Festival, Prescott Film Festival, Santa Fe Film Festival, BendFilm Festival, Vegas Indie Film Fest, FilmStock and automatic selection to the Phoenix Film Festival this April! Parco says that, after adding a few final touches to the film, they might possibly submit it to even more festivals. Parco plans to participate in the A3F 48 hour challenge this weekend, and will also be working on his senior film in April called “Spirit Inside.” His ultimate goal is to become a successful Cinematographer and eventually have one of the films he directed in the Sundance Film Festival. Parco is very open to collaboration. If you are interested in working with him, you can reach him Here. 

Squishy Studios is quickly becoming well known for their witty plotlines and lovable characters. They have produced a number of comedy shorts and web series that are continually growing in popularity. One of their most loved series is Voyage Trekkers, a delightfully fun Sci-fi that revolves around three quirky crewmembers of the Galactic Union. Captain Sunstrike, played by Adam Rini, Commander Powell, played by Logan Blackwell, and Doctor Rena, played by Gabrielle Van Buren, travel to different planets to see what each one can offer to the Galactic Union, running into disaster and hilarity around every corner. Jump Ship Productions had the opportunity to interview Nathan Blackwell the series creator. Voyage Trekkers will be premiering the first three episodes of the second season on February 9, 2013 at the Filmbar. Tickets can be purchased Here.

Obviously, Voyage Trekkers is inspired by Star Trek. Did you draw inspiration from any other TV Shows or movies?

Sure, Star Wars is of course also baked into our genetic code; there’s an episode in Season Two that features “laser swords.”  But I’d also say that Voyage Trekkers is inspired by the old Flash Gordon series and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to an extent.

When did you officially start preproduction on Season Two of Voyage Trekkers?

Preproduction for Season Two began at the end of 2011, just a few months after the Season One finale.  Our Captain Sunstrike, Adam Rini, was moving to New York in February, so we pushed production, at least for two episodes, a lot earlier than we would have normally wanted so that we could shoot before he moved.  Already having a rough list of the episodes we wanted to make, we chose the ones that didn’t require any elaborate sets, like the bridge set, and were basically outdoors.

What was the total budget for Season One? What is your total budget for Season Two?

Let’s just say the budget for Season One and Two are lower than you think.  No one gets paid, everyone is a volunteer, and the entire budget either goes to art department or food for the cast and crew.  With Season Two we did rent more lighting and grip equipment to give so added production value.

Squishy Studios seems to use a lot of the same actors. Did you hold auditions for any of the characters, or did you already have specific actors in mind when you wrote the scripts?

It’s true, we bring back a lot of the same people for our shoots, and our set definitely has a family vibe to it.  Typically we write parts with actors in mind, and these are actors that we’ve either worked with before or actors that we’ve seen and want to work with.  Sometimes availability doesn’t always work out, and we do have to recast, but generally we approach actors rather than hold auditions.  With some projects we do hold auditions, but we haven’t yet on Voyage Trekkers.

I saw several posts on Facebook about building the set for the bridge; did you build any other sets?

We do have some smaller sets, most of them mainly backgrounds, but building the big bridge set was one of the most challenging experiences of my life.  It took just over two months and countless amount of hands to bring to life.  And one of the trippiest parts of the experience was, having consumed every waking moment of my life for two months, the day after filming the entire set was taken down in just three days without any trace we were ever there.

The episodes in Season One were all between two and six minutes long. How many episodes are in Season Two and are they around the same length?

We wanted Season Two to be a fuller experience than the first and spread our wings just a bit.  Season One was completely episodic and there was no continuing storylines.  That’s a lot like the original Star Trek.  With the second season we wanted to push it into kind of Star Trek: The Next Generation territory, where we had a mix of episodic one-off episodes with some multi-part stories and continuing character arcs.  We wanted to put more meat on the bone and flesh out the characters and world further; to move a bit away from where the situation dictated how the characters behaved, to a place more where the characters created the situations. The new episodes are clocking in around five to eight minutes long.

Who designed the masks and costumes for the series?

Our creature designer is my brother, Brian Blackwell, who also plays as the alien officer Lt. Jayda in the show.

According to IMDB, there are quite a few people involved behind the scenes. For season Two did you expand your crew? Did you have the crew return from Season One to film Season Two?

A lot of the crew returned for Season Two, but certain departments have bulked up a bit, depending on the episodes.  It can really fluctuate, with our largest crew size being twenty five people, and with our smallest being something like six or seven.

Why did you choose to make the Season One Finale more interactive (choose-your-own-path adventure) as apposed to the formula you used for the previous episodes? Will we being seeing more of these interactive episodes in Season Two?

We thought it would be a really nutty and ambitious idea, and would potentially be a lot of fun.  But no, there’s no choose-your-own adventure episode in Season Two this time.  Two just have two choices in the season finale meant we had to make a total of seven videos!  But we’re definitely not slouching with Season Two.  We’ve found a different way to up the ante this time around with a multi-part storyline.

There have been screenings all over the valley of Voyage Trekkers; has the series been screened outside of the phoenix area? If so where?

Yes!  It’s screened in Los Angeles at the LA WebFest, Indiana at Gen Con Indy, in Atlanta at Dragon*Con, and in Syracuse at Scare-a-cuse Horror and Sci-Fi Festival.

When you screen the episodes, do you screen the entire first season or do you pick your favorites? If you choose to play the last episode, do you have the audience “choose-their-own-path” or is there a particular edit of the final episode you use? Is there one particular path that seems the most popular?

Depending on the venue we’ll pick out our favorite episodes to screen.  But if we do play the Season One finale, the choose-your-own-adventure episode, we make sure we have access to a remote so we can actually pick the options that the audience votes for.  The path that seems to be the most popular, at least by YouTube views, is where Doctor Rena chooses to do “the right thing.”

The episodes in Season One all seem to have comically abrupt endings. How did you decide the right place to end the episodes? Did you have them written in the scripts that way, or did you choose the right place during the edit?

Yeah that’s something we try to figure out during the writing process, and then use music or editing to really sell it.

Is all of Season Two completed? If not, what do you still have to complete?

No.  We’ve shot eight out of ten episodes, so we still have two episodes to shoot, most likely some time in March or April.

What type of equipment do you use to shoot Voyage Trekkers (Camera, lenses, lighting, etc)? Do you rent or own most of the equipment?

We shoot on a Canon 7D, occasionally with a T3i as a B-Camera.  With Season One we didn’t have the resources to rent any additional lights and had to just make due with what we had, but for the second season we really wanted to add more production value so we’ve been renting a small grip truck for our bigger days.

This Friday isn’t the first time Voyage Trekkers has been played at the Filmbar, aside from the fact that the Filmbar has a nice little set up, why choose to do the premier there as apposed to a larger venue like a Harkins or an AMC?

Filmbar has a great and intimate setup, we really enjoyed the experience in the past, and they’ve been a lot more accommodating that the larger venues have been since they’re a larger organization.

Did you face any challenges with visual effects?

This time around we’re showing the ship, which involves some very complicated CG work!

Voyage Trekkers was a big hit at Phoenix Comicon 2012. Do you have any plans to return to Phoenix Comicon 2013?

Yes, we’re definitely returning to the Phoenix Comicon this year, so please check us out!

Is Squishy Studios currently working on any other projects?

We do have another web series, which we started before Voyage Trekkers, called Normally This Weird.  Voyage Trekkers has since become the project that we’re putting all our efforts into, we do plan on releasing the rest of the first season of Normally This Weird, which is now in post-production, after Season Two of Voyage Trekkers.

As a member of the Arizona film community, I often admire people that I’ve only met once or twice, or even not at all in some cases. Through our interactions with one another in the community, we build reputations, whether good or bad, that sway others opinions of us. I have only met Eli Godfrey once at an event at the Film bar, but through the fantastic things I’ve heard about him and the wonderful project updates I see on Facebook, I feel like I’ve known him for years. Eli is always supporting his fellow filmmakers, so here at Jump Ship Productions, we thought that it was our turn to support him! When Eli was in high school, he had an English teacher who told him to never stop writing. “Around the same time (he) started discovering independent and foreign films and getting really into the ‘hobby’ of actively watching movies – sometimes 2 a day. So (he) decided to put the two together and start learning about screenwriting.”  Eli has now been involved in filmmaking for about eight years and counting. During that time, he has been involved in three films as the director, two of which were written by him, and he has acted in “two features and probably 25 or so shorts.”

Eli calls film “social storytelling.” Although he loves to read just about anything he can get his hands on, he loves the active discussion and sense of community that revolves around going to a movie. Eli says, “You can sit in a room with 200 people and you’re all experiencing the same thing, and then you go out with your friends or significant other afterwards and talk about how you felt about it. That post-film coffee or beer discussion has always been special to me.” Eli has always idolized directors, and although there are many that have affected him over years, Woody Allen has always been especially inspirational to him. “He’s never stopped working despite slumps, terrible reviews, box office bombs…none of it seems to faze him. He just keeps chugging along and next thing you know he turns out another brilliant film and everyone loves him again.” As a filmmaker, above all else, Eli wants to simply tell stories. He is interested in directing, writing, and acting, but he is concentrating on acting at the moment.

Eli is currently working on a project called Fork in the Socket. It is a six episode web series about “Kevin, an advertising salesman who is struggling in his relationship and career, so he hires a Life Coach… who ends up making everything worse.” Eli wrote the script and will be playing the main character, Kevin. When I asked Eli about his inspiration for the script, he said, “My best friend since childhood is an absolute nightmare to deal with on every level. He’s the most difficult person I’ve ever encountered, and he’s caused me untold amounts of grief. People always ask me why I’ve kept him so close for so many years. It’s because me makes me laugh uncontrollably. On two separate occasions I’ve popped blood vessels in my eyes because he made me laugh so hard. There’s never a dull moment with him; he has an almost mystical ability to make something interesting happen at a moment’s notice. I wanted to capture that in a story, but I couldn’t just write about two guys sitting around a house goofing off, so I created this Life Coach character, who comes along supposedly to improve the main character’s life, but ends up completely wrecking it.”

Eli and the director of Fork in the Socket, Ryan Gaumont spent six full weeks casting the series. They wanted to make sure that all of the actors really love the story, so they sent the full first episode to all who auditioned, and sent the full series to everyone who was called back. After multiple rounds of casting calls, “going through people (they) know, people who were recommended to (them), and people who found (their) posting on durantcom,” they finally pulled together a cast that they know will breathe life into the characters. Eli says, “It wasn’t our only deciding factor, but it really got our attention when someone came to us and said ‘I really want this part.’”  Eli is currently hosting a Kickstarter campaign to pull together funds that will help make the series the best that it can be. They have a goal of $3000 and only TEN DAYS LEFT to donate! Eli chose Kickstarter because it “seemed to have more credibility. It’s a more well-known name and they have Amazon checkout. Almost everyone already has an Amazon account.”

Eli plans to begin shooting Fork in the Socket the last weekend in February. If anyone is interested in attending a private screening of the entire series before it hits the web, you can do so by donating only $20 on the Kickstarter campaign. They plan to have the screening in May, and the release to the web shortly after. When he is not pouring his efforts into Fork in the Socket, Eli spends his time working on a feature length screenplay and participating in other shorts and projects that are thrown his way. Ultimately, Eli would love to gain a large enough audience that he can work on films full time. He is happy to collaborate with anyone who is interested, and can be reached here.

The premier of “The Face of Innocence” will be held at The Phoenix Art Museum, February 7th 2013. Purchase your tickets here!

Until then Jump Ship Productions will be releasing pictures taken by our wonderful set photographer Jacquelyn Nelson. She has picked 19 of her favorite pics from the set and color corrected them for your enjoyment. You will only be able to see these photo’s on our website and on her Facebook page Decorated Photos! Don’t forget to like her page, if you want to comment or like any of the photos below simply click the pic! To contact Jacquelyn Nelson message her through her facebook page or click here.