Welcoming Departure - The Next Scott Ballard Films Production

Set to begin principal photography in October 2010, Welcoming Departure, is an 80-minute film following the life of Charlie, a night janitor at a public library. Charlie's routine, his life and his hopes are drastically changed following a strange and mysterious inheritance which leads him on a discovery of his own past. The film will re-unite the production team behind Between Night, as well as some of the actors, including the lead, Tom Campbell. With a modest budget of $25,000, Welcoming Departure will be shot on Super 16mm in Bellingham, WA and Portland, OR.
This blog will be dedicated to this new feature-length project. I will include updates about the pre-production, locations and calls for crew and talent. I am also adding Paypal buttons for contributions for the project. As the project goes into production phase, I will use this blog to feature live updates from location, as well as clips and behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot. As the film is cut, I will post trailers, teasers, festival updates and distribution.
Stay tuned!

Between Night at the 2009 Santa Fe International Film Festival

Between Night is an Official Selection in the 2009 Santa Fe Film Festival. The festival runs December 2-6th and my short film will be playing at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art Friday, December 4th at 2:30 and Saturday, December 5th at 2:45. An exciting 8th film festival for my Super 16mm short film!

Indie Memphis and Eugene International Film Festivals...

Two films I worked on as Director of Photography will be playing soon. "Shoebox Redhead" directed by Matthew Lawrence will be a part of the 2009 Indie Memphis Film Festival, showing on Sunday, October 11th. Check out more info at: http://indiememphis.bside.com/2009/schedule/week and you can view the teaser at: http://www.dynamattproductions.com/

"The Laborers" - a short I also worked on as Director of Photography, will be playing at the Eugene International Film Festival on Friday, Oct. 9th. More information at: http://eugenefilmfest.org/

Between Night at the 2009 Local Sightings Film Festival!

This weekend will be back-to-back showings of Between Night. First at the Tacoma Film Festival tomorrow night and then at the Northwest Film Forum's Local Sightings Film Festival in Seattle on Sunday night. I am very excited to be apart of these fine local festivals!

Between Night at the 2009 Tacoma Film Festival

Bringing it back local! Between Night is an Official Selection at the 2009 Tacoma Film Festival. This will be the 6th festival for my 17 minute short film.

In other news, "Enter the Beard: The 2009 World Beard and Mustache Competition" documentary is being edited and will be ready this fall. The final leg of Preproduction has begun for two feature films I am working on. I will be the Director of Photography for David Lunday's debut feature: "The Maestro" shot on HD with a Panasonic HVX200 and a Redrock 35mm Adapter. I am also Director of Photography on Edward Davee's "Hurt/The Story of Hurt" which will be shot on Super 16mm.

Matt Lawrence's 2008 film "Shoebox Redhead" - which I shot on Super 16mm with Fuji film stock - continues it's festival success as an Official Selection in the 2009 Strasbourg International Film Festival in France.

Matt and I are currently putting the final touches on our script "An Airing of Grievances" a feature film set to begin July 2010. We are securing funding for our modest budget and will be casting after the first of the year -

Cheers!

2009 World Beard & Mustache Competition Documentary

6000 miles, 14 days, 25 hours of footage....We (Matt Lawrence, Dave Rosenblum and I = Youngbull Productions with Parker Newton) survived the long road to Alaska in May to land in Anchorage in time to cover the 2009 World Beard and Mustache Competition. It was, of course, a unique experience with more happening than I could summarize now - thus the documentary - which is being edited as I type. We left from Portland and 4 days later found ourselves in Anchorage. Along the way, a lot of craziness, fireworks, wildlife and the sublime beauty of nature mixed with some pretty desolate towns - some bad meals and some terrible smelling hotels. Once in Anchorage it was a sprint through the week. Things went fast and we covered a lot - including the arrival of the international competitors, the parade through downtown Anchorage, some parties and lots of interviews. We met some great people and made some great friends like Kyle McNair from Toronto (who walked away a winner in his category!). I'll admit the competition was strange and I'll be vague for the sake of the documentary. I didn't know what to expect, but there was as much frenzy, nervousness, modesty and ego as any competition. We shot the documentary on an HVX200 recording on P2. This brought us a few issues, especially with transferring as we did not have a laptop with Avid or FCP with us. We worked through the issues and came out on top - we also shot on Super 8 and a small Canon HD cam. I'll keep the blog updated with the latest, as the documentary gets edited and we move toward a final cut!

Between Night goes abroad!

Recent updates! Between Night is an Official Selection at the Tregor International Film Festival in France. Unfortunately, I will not be attending, but my press materials will be and I hope for a great turnout at the fest.

In other news, Youngbull (Production company of me, Matt Lawrence and Dave Rosenblum) has wrapped the documentary on the 2009 World Beard and Mustache Competition. Stay tuned for more developments as Matt cuts the film into fine form. It was quite an adventure which included a drive to Anchorage from Portland - and back!

And finally, Shoebox Redhead (Directed by Matt Lawrence and shot by me) has been recently invited to the Philadelphia Film Festival and the Long Island Film and Video Festival. It just played this last weekend at the Hoboken Film Festival and will play next week at the New Jersey International film festival. It is also featured in an article on the festival in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/nyregion/31filmnj.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=nj%20international%20film%20festival&st=cse

Cheers!

Best Student Film at the 2009 Indie Spirit Film Fest

Between Night wins Best Student Film at the 2009 Indie Spirit Film Fest. This was a wonderful festival - a weekend packed with wonderful films and meeting splendid people. A great experience!
http://www.indiespiritfilmfestival.org/

Awards and Television...

An exciting weekend for Between Night. The film won two awards at the NW Projections film festival, Best Short Narrative Film and Best of Projections. You can also see a short segment of the film on the local television station website, KVOS. Here's the link:

http://www.kvos.com/mostpopular/story/BETWEEN-NIGHT-from-NW-Projections-Film-Festival/GLODkcv1gE6qSmgeLC8NJA.cspx

Between Night Teaser

Teaser for my Super 16mm short film Between Night. A chance encounter leads a humble man from his routine as a street sweeper. A jazz infused homage to the spirit of longing and change.

Written, Produced and Directed by Scott Ballard
Shot by Dave Rosenblum
Starring Tom Campbell as Lester
Edited by Adam Upchurch
Super 16mm (Arri SRII) with Kodak film stock
Color, 17 minutes; shot on location in Bellingham, WA

Upcoming Festivals

I will be attending two upcoming festivals in support of "Between Night." The NW Projections Festival kicks off this weekend in Bellingham, Washington. Shortly after that, the Indie Spirit Film Festival in Colorado Springs will be taking place. If you are in the area of these festivals, come by and have a viewing!

Shiftwork Sample Scenes

Sample Scenes from the short film Shiftwork. The film explores the random experiences of a night clerk.

Written, Directed and Shot by Scott Ballard
Starring Sol Olmstead, Tyler Hooff, Evan Krause & Dave Morales
Shot in SD with a Canon XL1
Edited in Final Cut Pro
Shot on location in Bellingham, WA; 2007

Ash & Dust Sample Scenes

Sample Scenes from the short film Ash & Dust. The film is about a man who is late to his own funeral.

Written, Directed and Shot by Scott Ballard
Starring Tyler Hooff
Shot in 16mm
Edited in Final Cut Pro
Shot on location in Seattle and Bellingham, WA; 2006

The Empty Steps Sample Scenes

Sample Scenes from the short film The Empty Steps. The film follows a man's attempt to recover his lost memories.

Written, Directed and Shot by Scott Ballard
Starring Zane Wilson and Tyler Hooff
Shot in 16mm with a production grant from Northwest Film Forum
Edited in Final Cut Pro
Shot on location in Seattle and Bellingham, WA; 2005

103 Sample Scenes

Sample Scenes from the short film 103. The film explores the biography of a motel room, told from the room's perspective

Written, Directed and Shot by Scott Ballard
Shot in 16mm with a production grant from Northwest Film Forum
Edited in Final Cut Pro
Shot on set in Bellingham, WA; 2004

Down From Nowhere - Sample Scenes

Sample Scenes from the short film Down From Nowhere. A film that details a day in the life of a narcoleptic detective.

Written, Directed and Shot by Scott Ballard
Starring Jose Almador
Music by Ryan Hirst
Shot in SD with a Canon XL1; edited in Final Cut Pro
Shot on location in Seattle, WA and Bellingham, WA; 2004

Sample Scenes from the film "Repose"

Sample scenes from the short film Repose. The film explores the nature of inspiration.

Written, Directed & Shot by Scott Ballard
Starring Josh Powers
Music by Ryan Hirst
Shot in SD with a Canon XL1; edited in Final Cut Pro
Shot in Seattle & Bellingham, WA; 2003

Between Night Gets Lei'd!

Between Night makes a jump across the Pacific as an Official Selection of the 2009 Big Island Film Festival in Hawaii! Thanks again to all of the actors and crew who made this beauty shine! It continues to be successful in the festival circuit due to the time and talent of all those involved.
Mahalo!

The Festivals Continue

While planning out the trip to Colorado Springs at the end of April to represent Between Night at the 2009 Indie Spirit Film Festival, I received some good news. Between Night will be playing at the Northwest Projections Film Festival in Bellingham, Washington. The film has come full circle, as this was where it was filmed. The festival goes from April 17-19th. I will update when the program is released. I will be there to represent the film, as well. 

In other news, our documentary on the 2009 World Beard and Moustache Competition in Anchorage, Alaska is developing nicely. Travel arrangements are set and we are making contacts with this year's competitors. 

As always - stay tuned!

Between Night Heads to Another Fest!

Thanks to the hard work of my team on Between Night, it has been accepted into another festival, #2 in it's festival run so far. The Indie Spirit Film Festival is held annually in Colorado Springs, CO. This year the festival runs April 24 - 26. I'm not sure what day or venue Between Night will play at yet, but information is available at http://www.indiespiritfilmfestival.org/

New Spec Commercial!

Check out my website for my VW spec commercial. I shot this last year in Connecticut using an HVX200 with Arri lighting. Follow this link: 

http://scottballardfilms.com/artwork/663820.html

I recently wrapped shooting a music video for the local artist, Bardia. It should be available next month and I will add a post with a link when it's up. 

New Teaser!

Shoebox Redhead, a film by Matt Lawrence has recently been released. You can see the trailer at:

http://dynamattproductions.com/films/Trailernew.mov

I shot the film on an Arri SRII Super 16mm with Fuji film (my first time using Fuji - very nice!) with Dave Rosenblum as my Assistant Camera/Gaffer. It's hitting the festivals now, I'll keep you updated as to it's progress.

I have been working on a documentary (and music videos) about the elusive musician, Possum Jones. You can see his page at:

http://profile.myspace.com/possumjonesmusic

I will soon be posting some pics and video clips as I cut them together -

Cheers!

January 2009 Update

It's been awhile! Lots of stuff happening and a lot of side non-film projects going on, as well. Just enough to distract me from consistent blog posts! Check out the ever growing MyYearInBeer.blogspot.com, TwoGuitars.Etsy.com, SBallardPhotography.etsy.com and TwoGuitarsDesign.com for some recent activities.

I just wrapped my first shoot of the year - an industrial video for HydroGeo here in Portland. Shot on my trusty now not-so-trusty XL1. Some clogged heads made for a challenging shoot, but in the end we got what we needed and it looks great. It was good to break out the Arri lighting kit and other gear from NW Film. The shoot gave me my first chance to visit Multnomah Falls. A fun shoot indeed. (that's me trying to stay warm behind the camera in the pic)

There are a few things upcoming including a music documentary on the elusive musician Possum Jones (www.myspace.com/possumjonesmusic). The shoot will include a 15-20 minute documentary on Mr. Jones, as well as several music videos. Stay tuned - I will be posting some of the pics/vids soon. I will also be shooting a live set of Tender Situation - the Ween cover band (www.myspace.com/tendersituation). It will be a week of music - I love it. I hope the Xl1 can keep up with it.

After that there are a few other shoots coming up in Feb. and a feature that will hopefully be shooting here in Portland soon that I will be DPing with the HVX.

I'm currently in the process of taking inventory of all the equipment. A new car mount is on it's way - handmade by my dad and I...I'll be trying it out on the Possum Jones shoot. Looking forward to it all....