untitled denver project: week 3

things got dark on week 3. somewhere in-between, reality got muddled and the line between whats real and what isnt had been crossed; im perosnally finding it difficult to pinpoint when we actually crossed it. a big part of my job is to objectively listen between tracks and channels in order to make sure i get clean dialogue and proper levels but this production has been strange in the sense that since we really don't have a script, the majority of what we get has been dependent on what is currently hapenning; life is basically shaping this film. our directors, nathan and mike, have had the crazy task to lasso these crazy situations that they're placing our main character not fully knowing how he'll react and trying to piece the story together.

as the sound mixer/one-man-band, i usually dont get too attached to the actors but in this case i have but the twisted part about week 3 is that i dont even know who that is anymore. all i know is that this doc/narrative feature will be one big mind f#%k and im very excited in how our directors and editor will piece it all together. we have 2 more days of production and something tells me that this rabbit hole goes a bit futher and possibly darker.

stand by.

 

untitled denver project: week 2

it was a thrilling week 2 for the crew of the untitled denver project; specifically for sound. we filmed at this dive bar called the nobb hill inn right on the footsteps of denver's main drag: colfax ave. it was a big challenge trying to record clean audio being that the bar's front door, which leads directly into busy colfax had to be open. this among other factors had me rubbing my eyeballs deep into the farthest corners of my skull. it was a constant battle between myself and noisy colfax but in the end i was able to pick up decent dialogue from the lavs and make it work.

recording location sound in denver right now is a pain in the ass in general though. i've been out here for 2 weeks and this whole city is pretty much under construction, which means noise, lots of it. but thats the job we sound mixers signed up for and even though we can't control all of these external forces, sometimes we can work around them and if we're lucky we get great sound.

we filmed at nobb for 2 days, then we moved and filmed at l'eagle, a marijuana dispensary and grow room in the outskirts of denver. the location was also a bit of a challenge but nothing compared to nobb hill. the a/c was turned off but the fan would not stop...i got room tone and made sure i pointed my shotgun away from the vents and pressed record. 

after the shoot, the owner of l'eagle gave us a tour of her garden. she was lovely and spoke with a true passion about her bussiness and to break it down, l'eagle would be pretty much the pavillions or trader joes of weed; everything is organic and takes longer to grow in order to get the best out of the plant. she showed us the baby buds and the process of placing rfd chips on every plant to mark them as inventory for the goverment; crazy stuff. the whole time i felt like we were going to get raided by either the goverment or the cartels hahaa

the story itself also took a turn, which was a good thing for the movie. our main character was becoming somewhat predictable/stagnant and our directors were having none of it. things got dark and uncomfortable on-set and as i watched the action unfold in the monitor and while i heard my raw mix of the arthur, mike and nathan, i knew that we had captured something magnificent. these 2 guys are really something, they're amazing to work with and im so blessed to have been given this chance.

i'm excited and nervous about week 3. the story is about to change and i honestly dont know in which direction. 

well, here's to making movies and storytelling! 

untitled denver project: week 1

denver, colorado has been home for the past week and itll remain this way for the next few. ive been out here working on a experimental doc/indie feature and its been pretty insane. till this point ive never worked on a production that had no script or any kind of shot list, which for a sound mixer can be challenging, especially when you're also booming

    

 but luckily we have a pair of crazy/brilliant directors in nathan silver and mike ott who are steering this ship that for now is being called "the untitled denver project"

so now that week 1 of shooting is wrapped, we get a day off to chill and explore beautiful sunny denver

thirty in cuba

i didn't lose my phone 2 nights ago so ill take it that my 30th went well although my body would like to tell a different story. a few days ago I got hit by denge again, which brings the count to two, possibly three cases in the past year. i wrote about the agony of the first encounter last july; it knocked me out for a whole week. this time it had me out for 2 days.

i never imagined spending my 30th in havana but here i am. it didn't dawn on me till a few days later after i agreed to do this doc that i'd be spending it away from family and friends. for the past 3 years i've had to make these kind of decisions and it seems to be point to a scary realization that i may not be sticking around for too long. who knows
these are the kind of thoughts you get when you're glued to a bed and toilet.

by thee grace of God i was given control of my bowels again and was able to get up and not feel like my bones and neck were about to snap. i took a morning stroll through havana and was finally able to go online and not check facebook (5 months facebook clean).
after 2 week's worth of emails, instragram updates, and whatsapp convos i made my way back to the casa particular.

later in the evening we were invited to an electronic dj set not far from our casa. a few hours later it really got going and we somehow made our way up the roof. as i looked at the crowd i began to think about my twenties and the half-hour or so that were left.
melancholy mixed with havana club began to creep. i thought about my little sister priscilla who just graduated high school, my pops probably watering the grass and yelling at the dog, i thought about amerie's beautiful smile, i thought about all of the great friendships i've made in the past decade and also the ones that don't exist anymore. all the toil, sacrifice, and the pain

a quick jab to the side and suddenly i was back. vanesa, my director/producer wrapped her arms around me just like my sisters would and yelled "you're 30!"
then came chris and albert, my brothers for the past 3 weeks, the cuban skating crew, and others ive met along my cuban experience.

in short the only thing i can truly say is that the only reason why i'm still alive and healthy, and have the ability to do and be where i'm at is only by the grace of God. He's been the only thing that's been constant in my life.

i'm excited to see what my thirties have in store, a new passport perhaps?