Cowboy and India Take Over RGV Day 1

Day 4 of Production for COWBOY and INDIA film project started off with a bang!
This is the first day we take our production to film in the beautifully scenic and hot Rio Grande Valley in South Texas.
We accomplished a lot. I put out about a handful of fires that came up. They all sprang up within hours before our scheduled filming time, at approximately 11a. To mention a few: Last minute change of Ranch House location which was an amazing blessing in disguise, Scheduled pick up for main equipment, back up plan to the back up plan for a character role, Finalized deal to have a new picture car in our film.

Actress Sarah Vahn plays the role of PALOMA's MOTHER, rehearsing her role and blocking with DP Jordan Scott Price on camera set and ready with Director Kight Haberer  and the team.

Actor Jimmy who plays COWBOY rehearses his lines in Spanish with Kelly our Scriptie as I give a few pointers on pronunciation here and there.

My favorite intern Cesar and I last ones out of the property as we wrapped for filming our first day in Brownsville, TX. Cesar came out for some extra help on set. He worked mostly in pre production and assisted to line up many elements in producer department.

A very happy Director Kight Haberer and AD Robbie Curtis as we wrap the Ranch House filming for the day.

4 days before filming COWBOY and INDIA

4 days before filming , a photo by lauralilialive on Flickr.

anticipation!
some things still left:
-find a picture vehicle
-find hispanic woman to play lead female character's mother
-spread the word about extras needed for awesome western scene
-talk to local media about the project
-tech scout
-build set and all items needed for stunts
-mtgs, mtgs, mtgs
-pick up gear
-on location rehearsals
-reply emails, make calls

oh and some sleep to help those eyes you see above ;) gnight!

Via Flickr:
Today Tuesday marks 4 days before the most challenging film I've ever produced begins part 2 of production days.

It's a challenging in that it's a shoe string budget Texas short films and deals with all the pivotal elements I learned in film school while at UNT producers usually want to avoid in production:
animals, explosions, fight sequences, weapons, car chase, stunts.
children is the only thing missing, but we're bound to have some adults behaving like children :).
oh yeah and part 2 of production is 3 days filming in the Rio Grande Valley out of which 80% of our scenes take place outdoors. Let's pray for sunny / over cast days. Exciting things!! Time ticks.

Be an Extra in Western Short Films filming in Rio Grande Valley

So come out and join the indie filmmaking in the Brownsville area! Enough said! 

Thanks Yall! 

Story boarding for COWBOY and INDIA

Story boarding with director Jorge Garza and fellow producer Ryan Britton UTA graduate students at ranch property in Brownsville, Texas for short film I'm producing, INDIA.
INDIA is written and directed by Jorge Garza as part of his masters studies. The 10 minute short film is part of a collaborative production project titled COWBOY and INDIA.

Sweets from Bean while I work

I multitask when I work will often crave a sweet snack, so I'll take a pause from work and open up a bag of sweet candy, pretty often it's peanut M&Ms or some chocolate etc. Lately I've changed up the packaged mass produced goods for some bulk dry fruit, nuts etc in attempt to go a little more towards the healthy side, within the sugar intake spectrum that is. These days I work hard and run on natural sweets, no additive flavors, coloring, and for the most part I'm coffee free. I'm very proud to share that I now have coffee maybe 1-3 times a month - which is an incredible leap for a coffee lover.

Macbook Pro, Bean Sweets and I during the preproduction

of COWBOY and INDIA filming in THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS 2012.

These are hand made orange and lemon sweet snacks that savor up your palette as a light snack and help an excellent cause in the Rio Grande Valley. My production buddy Beane cooked these up for a purpose. Read here for some more info.

Casting & Crew Call for RGV - Cowboy and India short film western duo I'm producing

Texas student independent short film "COWBOY AND INDIA" will be working on scenes in the Brownsville and Los Fresnos area and is in search of Rio Grande Valley talent for our western theme film shoot. This is a double feature short film production. Both short films will be ten minutes and shot concurrently, using the same characters to tell the same story in two different ways. This project offers an exciting opportunity to portray a character that will be “the good guy” in one film and “the bad guy” in the other. The two films will be shot concurrently over two weekends. COWBOY: “A traveling bronc rider tries to escape the threat of an inquisitive hitman.” - Written and Directed by Kight Haberer.   INDIA: “In pursuit of his last target, a distinguished assassin is betrayed by his organization.” - Written and Directed by Jorge Garza

The western film will shoot Friday 3/23, Saturday 3/24 and Sunday 3/25 but if selected you will only need to come out one day, depending on shooting schedule and weather. If selected you will need to come dressed in western attire. Once selected you will receive an email or phone call from our staff with further instructions to attend the casting.

To apply please read roles and instructions below.

Roles available:

STUNT DOUBLE that is light skin complexion, brown hair, 5'8 175 lbs, medium built frame, willing to ride a horse, fall into a matt from second story.

ROSARIO, speak spanish, Mexican or Valley native, age 45-55

PANCHO, speak spanish, Mexican or Valley native 25-45

CREW POSITIONS:

Assistant Camera

Grip

Electric

PA - production office

PA - craft services

PA - transportation, must have good driving record

PA - AD department and swing G&E, Art, etc

To be considered for a role please email your contact information and two photos of your self (1 head and shoulders and 1 full body).

Name of Role interested in (see list above)

Full Name

Phone Number

Email

Age

Resume (if available)

Send your email to casting.ccm@gmail.com Please label subject - "western film."

more on the film:

http://www.indiegogo.com/Cowboy-v-India?a=19615

previous casting call notice:

http://www.shortfilmtexas.com/2012/casting-call-for-fort-worth-texas-student-short-films-cowboy-and-india/

PreProduction Progress - Cowboy and India short film western duo I'm producing

The first half of our production dates are wrapped, we have about 2 weeks in between to complete preproduction for our Rio Grande Valley Shoot. This second half of our production days is action packed with special effects, like a car flipping, horse back riding and fighting, new locations and adding a couple of new faces to the cast, counting on 50+ extras to coordinate, choreograph a bar fight, and logistically speaking an intense plan considering 80% of our scenes are exterior shooting squeezed into 3 RGV hot production days.
We are extremely appreciative to those who have already extended a lending hand in donations and being on set to work the shoot volunteering their time! We couldn't have done it with out all the support.


We are still looking to raise funds for this ambitious duo of short films.

photo during our location scouting in the Brownsville, TX area.

These productions are being made to full fill a masters at the Univeristy of Texas at Arlington. This is a double feature short film production. Both short films will be ten minutes and shot concurrently, using the same characters to tell the same story in two different ways. This project offers an exciting opportunity to portray a character that will be “the good guy” in one film and “the bad guy” in the other. The two films will be shot concurrently over two weekends. 
COWBOY: “A traveling bronc rider tries to escape the threat of an inquisitive hitman,” - Written and Directed by Kight Haberer.   


INDIA: “In pursuit of his last target, a distinguished assassin is betrayed by his organization,” - Written and Directed by Jorge Garza.

Pre Production Mtg - Cowboy And India Short Film Western Duo

Pre Production multitasking, a photo by lauraontheshow on Flickr.

The ambitious short film western duo (working title) "COWBOY" and "INDIA" is on it's 3rd meeting of preproduction today. This a bit of an innovative film project in that we are attempting to take on a western film but telling the tall tale from two different perspectives, each one a film of its own. The concept is to share actors, characters, and crew and produce two short films that have the flexibility to stand independently and jointly at screenings.
Each one is to last approx 9 minutes and we will have a teaser trailer that when all 3 productions are screened back to back can run approx 20 minutes.

I say ambitious because these are 2 action packed, highly stylistic, creative, films that are being led by producers Jordan Scott Price, Ryan Britton and myself Laura Lilia Treviño collaborating with a shoe string budget armed with solid ideas and fueled with restless drive.
Jordan S. Price is in the midst of finishing up a short film he is also editing.
Ryan Britton is also handling all SFX and Art Department design for the film.
Laura Lilia Treviño is also producing a short film for competition and teaching Media Production.

The idea came from writers and directors Kight Haberer and Jorge Garza, both MFA students at UT Arlington working on their final project before concluding their masters studies. This is a project they are both very passionate about and although they had collaborated several instances before this will be the first time they each get to direct a short film with the same characters. Garza has decided to take a more "Bourne Identity," action approach to the style of the film while Haberer decided on a classical western style homage to spaghetti westerns with aesthetics like that of Sergio Leone.


Check out our indiegogo page to contribute your support. Every penny helps even beyond our planned goal. This movie will rock your indie film appreciating-socks off!

We'll be shooting with the magical Sony FS100 and F3 in the Dallas & Ft. Worth area, as well as the Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville, Los Fresnos area.

Currently set for 6-8 days of production with principal photography kicking off March 2.

First time working a Horror Film Feature Film, trailer

Now that I'm freelancing on a full-time basis I'm taking work mostly in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, or RGV and willing to travel for the right arrangements, passport ready.
In this case, I worked with an amazing team of brothers Tim & Sean Cunningham, now based out of Austin TX for this production. They formed an good and mighty crew for this SAG Indie feature film and got great results!! We shot in about exactly 15 days, in Austin, if I recall correctly about 5 locations, small but talented cast. Excellent special effects and suspenseful script. I proudly worked as their Script Supervisor. This film was shot with an 7D in July 2012.
It was a such a pleasure to get to know everyone on set for this production. I really like the way Blayne, Tim & Sean ran their set.

Here is the recently released trailer including some critic's reviews at the begininng. Enjoy!


Sick Boy -- Official Trailer (indie thriller shot on 7D) from Sean Cunningham on Vimeo.


Here are more links and details published by the production company:

Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/3wjbu4f

Available now @ Amazon in the USA (Grand Ent.) and Germany (ION), by Anchor Bay in Canada and, soon, Gryphon in Australia and from 101 Films in the UK. Contact Raven Banner Entertainment for additional licensing info (http://www.ravenbanner.ca)

This is a SAG indie shot over two weeks in Austin, TX for less than $50k and finished ourselves. SICK BOY is the second fully independent feature that we've written, fund-raised, cast, shot, completed and found world-wide distribution for. Both times we've done this while, for a good chunk of it, holding down full-time jobs creating VFX for blockbuster films costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

SICK BOY stars Skye McCole (a.k.a. Skye McCole Bartusiak, THE PATRIOT, 24) as Lucy, a young woman who steps in for a friend to take a job babysitting a young boy. The boy is confined to his room due to what Lucy is told is a mysterious illness, but she begins to suspect the child's mother (Debbie Rochon) is hiding something—the truth turns out to be far worse than she could imagine.

AICN Review:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/58042

Starburst Magazine:
http://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/dvd-and-blu-ray-home-entertainment-reviews/5306-dvd-review-sick-boy

The End of Summer:
http://zombiehamster.com/index.php/2013/04/06/sick-boy-2012/

Horror on Screen:
http://www.horroronscreen.com/review/sick-boy-2012/

Live For Films Review:
http://www.liveforfilms.com/2013/04/16/review-sick-boy/

Nerdly:
http://www.nerdly.co.uk/2013/05/11/sick-boy-review/
Best Horror Movies Review + Followup Interview:
http://www.best-horror-movies.com/review?name=sick-boy-2013-review
http://www.best-horror-movies.com/news?name=exclusive-sean-c-cunningham-tim-t-cunningham-talk-sick-boy

Zombie Hamster Review:
http://zombiehamster.com/index.php/2013/04/06/sick-boy-2012/

UK Horror Scene:
http://www.ukhorrorscene.com/?p=704

Doctor Carnage's World of Horror:
http://doctorcarnage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/sick-boy-2013.html

About.Com Horror Review:
http://horror.about.com/od/horrortoppicklists/tp/Best-Horror-Movies-Of-2012-Direct-To-Video-Limited-Releases.02.htm

Fangoria links:
http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=...
http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=...

PRODUCER: Blayne Gorum, Tim T. Cunningham
WRITER: Tim T. Cunningham
DIRECTOR: Tim T. Cunningham
DP: Sean C. Cunningham

Reduce The Stuff (material things that create fluff)

The Authenticity of some of the Material Things We Hold on to in Life
I have visited the idea of owning vinyl and a record player and setting it all up and begin my discovery of great albums on vinyl but on and off I dismiss the idea. I choose not to. I think that it can be dangerous for me. I love the idea of preserving that retro trend but I think my wallet may suffer too much for the luxurious fun it's worth. Plus I've been (and have a feeling I will continue to) live(ing) a very nomadic lifestyle, I move often. Don't want to haul another "collection" of something all along the way.

Yet, I can't deny that there is something magical about listening to a record player. It has a flair of raw sound that is much missed after listening to digital since my pre-teen years. So instead of starting my own collection, for now I admire those of my friends and colleagues. But don't be stingy, let me touch them too! I want to play with the records too.

The Stuff I Haul Along
visual art & clippings
books & notebooks
collection of cameras
lots of burnt tapes and media discs, dvds
lots of shoes
accessories
scarfs

This is what I tug from place to place. This year 2011 I took a new approach though, I really want to down size even more. I want to reduce the "stuff" that I own and carry along with me in life. Looking back at how much stuff I started the year with I find myself with significantly less, so I'm slowly but surely reducing. :) Something like 4 years ago I read an article about how a couple made it a point to completely live with just the necessary things. They made a massive inventory of stuff and broke down the purpose and their main motive was money. How much it costs to live with this stuff. It helped them change their lifestyle around and save them so much money.
My rule for clothes is if you haven't worn it this season, then it's out. Unless it's like a gown or things of that nature and if you didn't wear it that often then recycle it! One person's trash another's treasure!! I love thrift stores! In a small way they contribute to help reduce toxic waste and invent new stories for the stuff that goes along with us in life, if only temporarily.
If you haven't used it, read it, opened it, watched it in a year then don't hold on to it. <-- very difficult with movies.

The Story of Stuff
It's impressive to sit and realize how much stuff you surround yourself with that you really dont need and that you have materialistically held on for too long.

This video helps.

It paints the picture of mass consumption and illustrates the ridiculous rate at which we go through things, specifically here in America. The reality is embarrassing.

Where to Even Start?
Part of the way we can change the effects consumerism has on our planet is by changing these habits in our lifestyle. The less we demand, the less they will produce. The less they produce the more time, energy and money had to work on something of more mutual benefit for humanity and our planet. Start small, at home, in your storage and in your spending.
If you're looking for an idea for a new years resolution, this can help you, your wallet and the planet in much more ways than you can imagine.