Guiseppe Movie: (Paddle) Ballin'

As promised, here is the film that Simon Brothers Productions submitted to the 2009 Guiseppe Awards.  (Paddle) Ballin' won two Golden Pelicans at the film festival ("People's Choice" and "Best Editing").  Hope you enjoy!

When a pair of beach goers find themselves locked in fierce competition for the ladies they love, their fate is ultimately decided by their prowess on the paddle-ball court...

The Little Color Corrector That Could...

I'm writing this entry from the university's editing lab, where George is color correcting our Guiseppe Film Festival entry for the third time.  After losing the first finished product to a network problem and watching the second go up in smoke following a computer crash, I wasn't sure he had it in him...  But the little color corrector that could has almost proven that hard work pays off (barring another computer mishap, the film should be polished up and looking great in the next couple of hours)!

Maybe I'll post some before and after shots and you can be the judge. :)

Engagement Video

In between filming and editing for the Giuseppe Film Festival, I 
finally had the chance to barrel through a Final Cut project on my 
own. With a little prodding on behalf of my wonderfully patient 
fiancee, I put together a video of our engagement from back in 
September. The footage was taken from a simple handicam, but 
Final Cut allowed me to spruce it up a bit. 

Hope you enjoy!





P.S. Our Giuseppe film ("Paddle Ballin'") should be posted next week!

Next Up: Guiseppe Film Festival

Simon Brothers Productions has begun filming its next project, which will be submitted to the Guiseppe Film Festival (December 4th, 2009).  In order to whet our viewers' appetites, here is the film's log-line:

"A pair of nefarious paddle ball champions from a foreign land invade the beaches of San Diego in order to kidnap brides, and it's up to two unlikely heroes to stop them."

Wedding Videography

Simon Brothers Productions is currently exploring the wedding industry as a potential avenue for offering videography services here in San Diego.  This opportunity would allow us to gain experience and generate revenue for our independent film company prior to graduation.  While we're still in the process of examining the local market, our goal is to have a completed business plan by the end of the quarter.  Stay tuned for further developments!

Halloween Film

Last weekend, Simon Brothers Productions submitted our first film from the West Coast to the JP Catholic Halloween Film Festival.

Winner of the "Funniest Movie Award," the untitled short features a zombie with mysterious motives, a horrifying shopping-cart-chase, and a lesson for each of us...  Hope you enjoy!


The movie was created on a significant time crunch, and, as such, is presented as only a rough cut here.  Stay tuned for a more polished version in the near future!

 

Getting Started

It's been nearly a month since I bid farewell to the shores of Lake Michigan for a more prominent western coast in the world of independent filmmaking...  Now in San Diego, I've been balancing my MBA course-load with the formation and start-up of an independent film company: Simon Brothers Productions.

Though we've been in the business of making films for years (albeit, with a handy-cam and archaic editing methods), the closest my brother and I have come to commercializing a video product was during a fund-raising event for youth at our local parish.  Despite the critical acclaim of family, friends, and local talent show officials, Simon Brothers Productions has remained, for lack of industry knowledge and training, primarily a labor of love.

Transforming our passion for filmmaking into a successful business venture appeared, at first, as a daunting task---perhaps insurmountable to an English major self-taught in the art of videography---but with an expanding knowledge base of entrepreneurial frameworks, as well as access to training with professional video capturing and editing equipment, I have already begun to embrace this challenge.

The road ahead of Simon Brothers Productions remains uncertain, but our love of filmmaking and our commitment to providing family-friendly entertainment has created a foundation that we can certainly build upon.