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