Talking to Strangers is now in post-production! The shoot went fantastically well and the footage looks incredible. Aside from owing my life to my wonderful cast and crew, we pulled a few very long days, fighting time the whole way, but miraculously pulled it off.

Even a location SNAFU, some ill crew members, and the difficulties of shooting on an open Manhattan street, couldn't stop us from making this film and I am extremely happy with the product.

The RED footage has been processed fully and now the rough cut begins. With a lot of dialogue replacement to do, the sound post work is going to be extensive and we'll be working throughout the summer to perfect it.

The timeline we've laid out for post will place our release date at some point in the fall, trying to hit festivals as early as September.

So stay tuned for updates and thanks again to everyone who helped make the shoot a reality! I love you all!

*************************************************************

In other news, my projects from last semester's film class are finally digitized and viewable on the website. You can see them under the Sight & Sound: Film section. They were a delight to make, so I hope they are a delight to watch!

FUNDRAISING PARTY THIS WEEKEND!

Gibson Guitar Showroom, Saturday, 9:30pm, $10 cover, live music, free jukebox, lots of people! Bring your friends!

The show is now on the road. We are well on our way to raising the $3,000 budgeted for Talking to Strangers, but we need all the help we can get!

Casting is underway, with many actors lined up to be auditioned in just a week and a half.

The hand-picked crew is almost entirely selected and it's looking like a top-notch bunch!

Locations are nearly secured and the buzz is beginning. Now, let's make a movie!

In other news: my new cinematography reel is getting underway and you can expect a new cut in the coming month.

Be sure to check in regularly for more updates!

As the holiday season starts to wrap up, fundraising season ramps up! That's right, our latest film, Talking to Strangers, is in pre-production and we're lookng for all the help we can get. The goal is to raise $3,000 by April and let me say that no donation is too small. Also, all donations are now tax-deductible thanks to our fiscal sponsorship by Fractured Atlas.

You can be sure that at this point, the script is locked, the prospectus is complete, and it's time to make a movie! We're getting ready to begin casting in January and even more exciting, is our upcoming fundraising party! It's an open invite, welcome-back-to-second-semester blow out! We'll be hosting the party at the Gibson Show Room in NYC. So get pumped!

If you want to get involved in any way, now's the time to do so. We're putting together a cast and crew and trying to get the best of the best. If you would like to take a look at the script, shoot me an email and you'll have a copy waiting for you within a day.

As always, if you have any questions, I'd love to field them. That's all for now, but I will be sure to keep the updates coming as our fundraising events get going!

Quick update on the remainder of my summer: I worked on a short film in Connecticut, which premiered this past weekend to 1,300 citizens of Hebron, CT. I taught at Boston University's summer high school film program. And I ended August working on a feature film shoot in Virginia for two weeks.

However, the summer has come to a swift close and fall is already in full swing in NY. No more shorts and flip-flops... instead life is consumed by shooting 16mm Black and White Reversal film on the Arri-S and editing on Steenbecks with razor blades and tape. What a delight!

Anyway, you might notice a few new projects up on the films page. So be sure to check out the Home Start video as well as Rodent, a sound project I did this past spring.

And as always, some things to look forward to with the "Talking to Strangers" page now function. Take a look for a quick log line and get excited about a prospectus in the coming weeks! More details to come about how to help out and donate!

My Cinematography Reel is up! Check it out!

Also, "Talking to Strangers", my next major personal project has been in preproduction for about a month now. We are looking into grants, locations, insurance, and crew right now. The script is done, but is still going under some minor revision. I will be sure make an announcement at its completion and you can contact me if you would like a copy!

So the premier was last weekend and it was a huge success! We celebrated with ice cream at Cabot's and a couple rounds of pool at a local pool hall! I want to thank everyone who is attendance for their love and support and I know you all just can't wait for the next premier!

The DVD sales have been strong and we are taking orders for both "Hills of Iron" and "TV Dinner". If you are interested please contact me. Also, "Luci" was shown at the premier and can be viewed over and over again in the Films section.

Alas! It is time to move on to the next project. No more dwelling on last summer's work. So let me give you a preview of what's coming up this summer and fall:

Over the summer I will be doing a lot of work as a DP. I will be shooting a feature in Miami for three weeks as the summer begins. My roommate, Nick Pesce, has recently written a short screenplay, which he wishes to produce over the summer and I will be shooting that as well. Also, I will be working with my friend, Austin Dill, to put together something worth-while in Massachusetts. In addition, I look forward to working with ImprovBoston; shooting more episodes of "Obelisk Road", the web series now up on Beneflix.com (please vote for the next episode's outcome); and my friends, Chris Painter and Colin Leon, will surely be shooting something exciting, too! So with all these films and I'm sure more, I'll try to squeeze in a summer job and perhaps something unexpected will arise.

As for the fall, we will quickly be approaching the shoot of Emily Harrold's "Waves", which I will be DPing on the Cape in October. That said, I have my own project in the works and I'm looking to shoot in November. It is currently untitled, but the rough draft of the script is complete and in no time at all I will be sending it around for notes and getting into pre-production. This is truly the most exciting thing for Otoro Films in the coming year as it will be the next big project to focus on.

In the mean time, keep checking back for updates and if you're looking for someone to help out on a film set, don't hesitate to call. I'm almost always down to work!

It seems I have forgotten to give an update in a little while and it turns out a lot has happened!

The "TV Dinner"/"Hills of Iron" double feature premier extravaganza is now officially scheduled for March 15 (the Ides of March) at 6pm at West Newton Cinema. Tickets will be on sale for $7 at door.

Also, "TV Dinner" DVDs (100 of them) are finally complete and ready for distribution. They include special features such as a director's commentary and they come fully labeled in a beautiful case resembling the poster:

They go on sale the day of the premier and will be available for just $8. If you are interested in purchasing a copy, please contact me.

There will also be an advanced screening at NYU for those who cannot attend the screening in Massachusetts. The scheduling of this is still being worked out, but it will take place some time in the next several weeks.

Alas! I look forward to seeing you all at one screening or another and finally letting the world see "TV Dinner"!

Welcome to the New Year and it will certainly be an exciting one for Otoro Films. Right off the bat, we had the premier of "In a Week's Time". With a full house, it was a big hit! DVDs are now for sale for $5, so contact me or Shaun if you are interested.

Perhaps equally exciting, is the completion of "TV Dinner"! The final cut of the film was completed on the last day of 2008 and the trailer has just been released on YouTube, Facebook, and right here. It was also shown at the screening last night, generating a lot of excitement. I have recently discovered all kinds of new exporting techniques to give you the best quality videos on YouTube (be sure to click "watch in HD") and here, of course in the anamorphic format. The theatre has been reserved, but we are still working to confirm a date for the premier.

In the mean time, I will be having private screenings for those who are unable to attend the premier, and I will be working hard on the DVDs. Perhaps a director's commentary will be included! I will also be working extra hard on publicity (Facebook events, posters, and likes) and pretty soon it will be festival time!

With all this news of things finishing up, one might wonder, "What's next?" Well, my friends, the new script is on its way! Progress is slow, but steady and I believe I had a breakthrough today.

Today is my last day at NYU before winter break and I figured it would be a good time to give an update as I head into the next phase of filming. First of all I would like to point out, if you haven't already noticed, three new films that have been added to the website. They are all projects from Frame and Sequence and although nothing like "Hole" they are all shot as stills on 35mm. They are "Martian Customs" (short narrative), "Robert Sorrell" (documentary), and "Luci" (final narrative). Most notable is "Luci" as it was voted best in my class and will be screened for the Frame and Sequence showcase next semester.

In other news, the premiers of "TV Dinner", "In a Week's Time", and "Hills of Iron" have been scheduled. "In a Week's Time" will screen at Gloucester Cinema on Wednesday, January 7th at 7:00pm. For more details please contact me or Shaun Goulart at Goulart1986@yahoo.com

As for the "TV Dinner" and "Hills of Iron" double feature this will be postponed until March because of editing delays with "Hills of Iron". It will be sometime over the week of March 15th, spring break. It will be at the West Newton Cinema and the exact date and time is still to be determined. Meanwhile, "TV Dinner" is very near the end and will be completed by the time I return to school in January. There will soon be a trailer on the website and YouTube as well. I apologize for the delays, but believe me... it's worth the wait!

So, here at NYU the freshmen in film have a class called "Frame and Sequence". In this class we are required to take still photographs on 35mm film and use these stills to make short films. Today I completed my experimental project for that class and it has been added to the "Films" section. The title is "Hole" and it is about black holes.

You can look forward to several more projects from this class in the coming months, but none as weird as this. Be sure to to read carefully the explanation of the projection.

In the mean time, "TV Dinner" has been coming along. I met with an editing professor (Dave Spector), who suggested (after much discussion) I rework the entire structure of the story. I took his advice, shortened the film by 25%, and I think it is 100% better already! I've started laying down a temp track and found someone to help with audio sweetening as well. Also, Dave Cole and I have started discussing the possibility of a double feature premier of "TV Dinner" and his film, "Hills of Iron". By clicking, you can watch the trailer!

"In a Week's Time" is also on its way. We have scheduled a premier for either January 5th or 7th. I recently saw a nearly completed cut of it and it looked great! So keep an eye out for more details on that screening.

This is my first posting from NYU and I can confidently say that everything is going extremely well! I will soon be working with a composer on "TV Dinner", all the color correction is done, and I'm in the final stages of cleaning up the audio. You can even start to get excited about a trailer coming soon!

As for "In a Week's Time", it is very near completion and we will soon be scheduling a premiere.

The "About" section of the website has been updated a little and I added a filmography/resume to it. So feel free to check that out and see what kind of work I've been doing outside of Otoro Films. Also, once October starts I will be working on a film set every weekend, so hopefully the resume will stay up to date with that.

Something else to look forward to: possibly a double feature screening of "Hills of Iron" and "TV Dinner"!

It is certainly a good day for Otoro Films! The first rough cut of "TV Dinner" is complete! It is running at about 23 minutes right now and I don't think it will get much shorter.

The next steps of post-production are working with a composer to create the score for the film, cleaning up a lot of the audio (it needs a lot of work) and finalizing the video cut. Then I've got a good deal of color correcting to do and credits on both ends. Somewhere in the near future, you can anticipate a trailer as well! As I complete each of these steps, I will keep you up to date, so stay tuned!

News flash! "In a Week's Time" wrapped principal photography on Tuesday. The project will now be handed over to the editor and I will be checking in on it throughout the process.

Meanwhile "TV Dinner" post-production has been coming along. I am currently on scene 18 of 25 through the rough cut.

My god! It's been so long since an update. I have been between computers for four months and I finally got the necessary software on my new computer to edit the website. So here's the latest:

"Vital Signs" has stopped production because the cast is no longer reachable. I want to publically thank everyone who was involved for their committment to this project and I am truly sorry that it was never finished. Maybe someday bits of "Vital Signs" will manifest themselves in my other movies. In the mean time, however, this will be the last you hear of it. If anyone has any specific questions, please email me.

On a much lighter note, "TV Dinner" production went off without a hitch! It was one of the most rewarding shoots I've ever had and I am so excited to finish it. The editing has just begun and I hope to have a rough cut by the end of the summer. You can also expect a premiere sometime in November or December. I would also like to extend my greatest gratitude to everyone on set and to those who provided the food. The cast and crew were so dedicated to my vision that it made the work anything but work. Truly amazing! Stay tuned for updates as the editing continues. Also, I will soon be looking for music, so if anyone is interested in composing a score, please contact me and send samples.

While the editing of "TV Dinner" continues, I am working on a new movie. It's been in pre-production for a while, but we finally started shooting "In a Week's Time". This is really an interested project for me, because it is outside of my normal genre, I did not write it, and I am not producing it, but I am directing. Most of that can be credited to Shaun Goulart. Read the blurb for more information.

I'm a little late in saying this, but here we are in the new year and Otoro Films has a lot planned.

The "Vital Signs" production is going very slowly, but going none-the-less. In two weeks we will have the final shooting day until the spring. In the mean time I am editing as we go and I will eventually post dailies on the Facebook group for cast and crew only.

As that movie will be wrapped up for a while, I have started to work on my next project. I finished the script for "TV Dinner" and have started pre-production. The first major hurdle here is the location scouting, but there will be much more to come as the script demands some unusual circumstances. If you would like to read the script please email me and request a copy.

Another recent project that I have failed to mention is an animation I have been working on since September with Tim Robinson. It is called "Le Monde". See the page for details and to watch the movie.

Production for "Vital Signs" has begun. The first day of shooting was last Saturday. We filmed at the Children's Hospital in Boston for the whole day and it was a big success. I've edited some of it and we had another day of shooting two days ago at my house. So far I'm liking what I'm seeing, but the weather has caused major problems. Although I wanted to finish shooting the entire film by the end of this week, most of it will be pushed back to the spring so the snow can clear out and I can get a VW bus.

In the mean time, I'm working on the next script and I might end up filming that before "Vital Signs" is done.

Alas, some great news: I got into NYU for film. Now I can focus my efforts on making movies instead of college applications and in less than a year, I can say I will be living in the Big Apple attending "the school of dreams" as a friend of mine so eloquently put it.