Noelle O. Designs

I met this girl once that was a great skier and loved to have fun outdoors
I found out she liked funky girl stuff and could make anything
I ended up marrying her
that was 20 years ago
she is still rad.
She is a great mother too,
she is a good example to our daughters (and sons too)
She graduated from college, still likes to have fun, reads like crazy and can make anything with wood, fabric, or whatever.
Once our daughter (kid #3, six years old at the time) was watching Old Yeller and Old Yeller got hurt and our daughter said, “I wish mommy was there she could stitch up Old Yeller.”
Anyway Noelle is amazing and her Etsy shop is going strong
she is shipping out stuff all the time across the country and internationally too
Aussies seem to love her stuff
There also is a professional photographer that uses Noelle’s aprons to wear during photo shoots.
Get something handmade for that special someone.
Check out her blog here.
Check out her Etsy shop here.
I am on lock down in the edit room.
Have a good weekend,
PEACE

UNZIPPED a film about Isaac Mizrahi

I am working on this art series about musicians, dancers, filmmakers, artists and ad students. One of the stories is about ad students doing a L’Oreal campaign that takes them to New York City and Paris. So I was sitting with the editor yesterday and said, ”We need to watch UNZIPPED for inspiration!” Unzipped is one of the greatest films of all time, haha! No I really love it, it is a great film about the creative process and a cool look into the life of a passionate person, I love that stuff. I have always said I love doing films about people with passion, it doesn’t really matter what you do as long as you do it with passion, I love watching them them too. I love the work of Ellen Kuras in this documentary too, she is a brilliant cinematographer.
Photo: Last night I found my VHS copy of Unzipped and a TV/VHS set up and had a video party.
Happy Thursday

The Circus Project (embedded) and Portlandia

In case you haven't seen it, here it is again, the Circus Project episode of "Turning Point" (the shows can now be embedded).
I had so much fun directing this episode of "Turning Point" in Portland, later I discovered the TV show Portlandia, funny funny stuff, love the Circus/Clown reference in this video.
Check out the The Circus Project website here.

Happy Wednesday

Shower The People

When I say I am a documentary filmmaker I don’t think of a hard core serious fact finding journalist, I think of films that looks for reasons to celebrate people and explore their stories, their talents and their ideas. I want to look at passioante people and celebrate them and learn from them.
When I film you I hope that I am on your Christmas card list when the shoot is over and when you come to town we can break bread together (this usually means eat tacos together).
I can not imagine getting the trust of someone then making them look like fools and it is easy to do with editing. I want to get people's trust then celebrate the part of them that makes us want us to live a better life, I guess that is my style. People that make films about people to make them look like idiots, well different strokes for different folks, and yes we need filmmakers like that too, just not me.
Makes me think of the James Taylor song “Shower the People you love with love.”
Photo:Me and Joe Kelly from Chicago, I filmed his kid 3 or 4 years ago, the other day we had tacos at Tarahumara in Midway, and oh yeah I got to see his band play last week in Chicago, epic.

The End

This is the end
beautiful friend
this is the end
my only friend, the end

Photo: My boy at the Hara Krishna Holi Festival of Colors 2012 Spanish Fork, Utah

Holi Festival of Colors 2012, Spanish Fork, Utah

Lots of singing this:
Hara Krishna Hara Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hara Hara
Hara Rama Hara Rama
Rama Rama Hara Hara
and the dude with the saxophone!

Too much fun playing with the kids on Saturday. It felt like 70,000 kids with no adult supervision and no one saying "no". The music was brilliant, the vibe was great, it was amazing to smile, dance and throw colored powder. I love the idea of good vibes, good karma and peace. Again I quote my favorite Beatles song, “ and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.”
Happy Monday, Peace.

Lincoln Ueda, FirstHand Promo

A promo from the early days of Fuel TV. I loved working on this series, it was perfect balance of actions sports and nonfiction filmmmaking. I think I directed 8 or so of these 1/2 hour episodes.
Enjoy and have a good Weekend!

Hunger Games t-shirts

WARNING:
This is more of a "Daddy blog" entry rather than a "nonfiction blog" entry.

"DIY HUNGER GAMES T-SHIRTS"
My kids are rad.
They read like champs.
They read the crap out of Hunger Games, then of course they want to see the movie (midnight tonight), then decide they want to make custom t-shirts--out with spray paint, cardboard, x-acto knifes and they turn the garage into their art studio. All the neighbor kids are going nuts making stuff in the garage.
While they are at the movie I should be cutting.
Happy Thursday--there is beauty all around when the art at home, PEACE

The Commentator

My good friend Brendt Barbur from the Bicycle Film Festival is trying to raise money for a documentary film about Danish Filmmaker Jørgen Leth. Jørgen is famous for his cycling films and commentating cycling races. Albert Maysles is also involved in the project, wow 3 guys I have mad respect for in one project. Good Luck my friends. You can support Brendt’s dream on Kickstarter.
NOTE: The interview with Jørgen in this video was done by Brendt and I at the Sundance FIlm Festival a few years ago.

Camp Woodward Season 5

This was the 3rd year I worked as a field producer/camera operator on the Camp Woodward show. Woodward is a special place and an important place for anyone interested in action sports. It is fun hang our with people from all over the world that skate or ride bikes. The people that run the place are great too.
Happy Wednesday, I am in a mega edit session today.

Behind-the-Scenes

I love doing behind-the-scenes stuff because I love watching people wrestle with a creative problem ...hum problem? that is not the right word- I had a hippy friend talk about having a relationship with a creative spirit, I like that better. Anyway, I have done behind-the-scenes stuff for a play, a traveling Shakespeare company, a few Jared Hess films and now I am doing a whole series about artists, dancers, musicians, filmmakers and other makers of art. Today I read a little write up on the Vimeo blog by Riley Hooper, she had a some good ideas and some good samples. I like the idea of WHY do art rather than HOW or HOW-TO. I remember Joe Bennion playing around with this idea when I made “The Potter’s Meal” with him years ago.
Photo: Mike White and Jared Hess waiting for the clouds to clear on the last scene of “Nacho Libre” in Oaxaca, Mexico.

EPIC!!! South Shore Drill Team, South Chicago

Just finished shooting the documentary about the South Shore Drill Team. We filmed the team in a parade in Wisconsin. It was one of the most powerful pieces of art I have ever seen. Words can not really tell how cool it was to see the kids perform!!!!!! So Good if you can ever see them GO see them please, for you own good!!! haha!!! When the documentary on Turning Point comes out I will let you know.
Happy Monday

South Shore Drill Team

I am in Chicago doing a documentary about the kids and the founder of the The South Shore Drill Team. We also met and filmed DJ Phantom, the first member of the Drill team, he and a few of the other that kids were in Ferris Bueller's Day Off in the parade scene--you know the guys on the stairs!!!! This will be a good show, details later. Happy Friday.

BAADS now online

Check out the show I directed about the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors.
It was done with Cosmic Pictures in Salt Lake City and is on the TV show Turning Point on byutv.
This project has been very satisfying to work on, I love it, I love it, I love it.

Off FACEBOOK for awhile

I am doing a little experiment and going off FaceBook. I like the idea that if you want to know about me you can email me, comment on this blog or call me. I will probably go back on FaceBook but for now I am off. Write a comment and let me know if you are reading my blog. Happy Tuesday.
Photo: A church in South Chicago where I am working right now.

BAADS tonight

The documentary I did about BAADS is going to be on Turning Point on byutv tonight (or watch it online tomorrow--maybe tonight).
It was great fun to sail in the San Francisco bay with these cats, a great group of folks. I am having this itch that maybe there is something brewing for a similar sailing group in Utah.
Photo: Marty at Cosmic getting ready to show me the cut of the BAADS Turning Point
Happy Monday

In Chicago

Having a great time in Chicago. This photo is of me and a lady from the Calvary church chit chatting on a Sunday afternoon.
(photo by the legendary Ty Arnold)

Hello Chicago

Heading to Chicago with Tiny Wing and Hollywood, let's just say it looks like a very fun documentary project, more details later.

Napoleon Dynamite Principal... aka my cinematic dad

That's right Tom Lefler, my cinematic daddy-O. Tom has had my back for 20 plus years. He has a sharp mind and has given me feedback on many of my films. He is one of the first people I talked to at byu after I decided to become a filmmaker. You may recognize Tom from Napoleon Dynamite as the principal. One of my favorite scenes in the history of cinema is when he is back stage watching the high school drill team girls dance, that kills me every time. Tom you are a legend, good to see you today. Happy Thursday.
(photo: Tom in front of Anna Ferrin's ceramic BFA show at byu)

1970's Skateparks in So. Cal.

My wife Noelle found my old skateboard photo album and talked about it on her blog. It is true I use to skate quite a bit and did hit all the skateparks of the day.

THE COLOR RUN Las Vegas video

Here is the video I worked on last weekend. It was very fun to film thousands and thousands of people just having a good old time. There were smiles everywhere and a lot of positive energy floating around. ENJOY!

Those Who Make

I stumbled into this blog when I saw that they had posted my video about Jon Hanson the bike builder. This is a cool Tumblr of short nonfiction films. This is really my favorite kind of filmmaking right now, short nonfcition films that live on-line.
Check out the ”Those Who Make” blog here.
Check out the video about Jon and his bikes here.
Check out Jon’s bikes here.
Happy Monday, now I need to go and make stuff, ...films.

art.words

I know you see these little quote things all over the place, but here are a few more. I am taking break from editing the art series to shoot art students working on their prints. It is a documentary series about art students and the creative process, it is fun work. Have a good weekend, Peace.

Tarahumara, 380 East Main Street, Midway, Utah

I love the idea of living in the country and I love the idea of living in the city, I know that is one of my problems- I can find reasons to love and hate the same thing at the same time, I am trying to work though this. One answer we have come up with is living downtown in a small town and that is why we moved to Midway. Noelle and I had been stalking this town for about 20 years and thought let’s just move there and we did. We have great mountain bike trails, a view of the lake, a great store, a wood fire pizza oven restaurant, we are close to Park City (where Noelle teaches skiing now) and we have world class Mexican food, some say it is the best in the state--I will not argue with that. Tarahumara is pretty much across the street. It kills me when I open the garage and I can smell the carne asada from the grill!!! I am a Mexican food freak and eat there at least once a week. Greg and Gloria, the owners, feel like family. I have not ordered anything on the menu that I did not like, but I am kind of stuck on the chile verde pork right now and I like the mole a lot too (get the chicken shredded it you do get the mole). Anyway, they started with the restaurant then added a cantina and in a few weeks we are getting a Tarahumara bakery, life it sweet! Like I always say come visit and we will have a taco, oh yeah the salsa bar is legendary-- Buenos Dias!