New Mandorla Trailer Goes to Cannes!

So much is happening for the film, it's about time I updated you on all the magic, don't you think?

The biggest news is that at the end of December we completed our principal photography as planned in a six-week shoot here in California.

As in France, we had tight funds, eager talent, and a lot of luck. We still have a few pick-up scenes to shoot (we need the hills to turn green) but we've setup our post production systems and have started our dive into post (4 Terrabytes of footage and counting).

The trailer served to explore the mood and vibe of the film and test our post workflow.

VantagePoint display in the HP labs in Cupertino, California. Yes, meant to put the crew in the shot...

Mandorla trailer being tested on VantagePoint before heading off to Cannes. HP got a peek at our new trailer last week and asked to show it at the Cannes Film Festival on their billboard-sized VantagePoint touch screen. Naturally, we said yes, and had a demo of the system in the HP lab in Cupertino, CA. If you are in Cannes you'll find it at the HP Lounge at the famous Majestic Hotel right on the Croisette.

One of the most exciting developments on the film of late is how the unique otherworldly aspects of the story are being realized in the collaboration we have with Jordan Freda, our Visual Effects Supervisor, and his amazing team at The Base Studio just up the road from us. You've seen their work in The Avengers, Captain America, Harry Potter and other films. The new trailer shows two exciting shots out of the many more to come.

There are more great developments happening and I'll do my best to keep you posted. If you don't hear anything in this space just know that we are super focused on finishing a great film, and that will be the best news of all to share!!

Check out Mandorla's Facebook page for albums of production photos!

Onward!

Roberto

MANDORLA IN MOTION — THE FIRST TRAILER - 3 min.

A draft trailer from our footage shot in Lyon. Created this last week as a means to convey the "vibe" of the film to our cast and crew, now poised to commence production here in the San Francisco area starting tomorrow, Nov. 14.

My Director Notes seem to come quarterly, the last one some four months ago, after our miraculous and magical French production. Looking back, it's inspiring to see what we accomplished with an amazing cast, crew and key supporters in just four weeks. By contrast, the California production has taken four months to get ready to roll. It is nearly three times the size of the French production in both terms of the script being shot, cast, crew, and key some special effects.

We've been non-stop busy, as my tireless and ever faithful Co-Producer Liz Holdship will attest to. Once again, the best way for me to convey this update is to simply let the bullets fly:

• 3000 actors in Los Angeles and San Francisco were considered for roles in Mandorla. Result is we have a talented cast that I am very excited to work with
• Veterans of San Francisco indie film production are on board, Debbie Brubaker as Line Producer and Chris Martin as First Assistant Director. They, and great friends like Gavin O'Duffy, our Production Manager, have our machine well organized and ready to roll. 
• As in Lyon, there is a key group of Production Assistants who are mostly in their mid twenties, hungry to work on a meaningful feature film, and grow their experience of filmmaking in the field. I am very excited to have all of them on our team.
• Magic and luck are at play in helping us more than I can say. Gavin has moved the production's logistics forward and landed key locations and services we need--often for free or with a discount. Every production should have a good humored Irishman.
• Gavin introduced Mandorla to Tim and Jordan at The Base Studios, a local Special Effects company that has recently completed work on Thor, Captian America, and in the past has done FX shots for Harry Potter, Iron Man, and others. Very excited to be working with Jordan Freda as our Special Effects Supervisor. He finds a way to make the magic of the scene work within our modest means.
• Local production veteran Chris Martin has come on board as First Assistant Director.  This means the gears of production are more likely to be oiled and mesh well as we shoot.
• Please and greatly relieved to have LA-based Scott Coleman on-board as our pro Steadicam Operator. He has the deep experience and professional attitude we need to realize our shots with the grace of camera flight. 
• David Sandwisch has us set for production sound recording, and remixed the sound in our trailer above.
• Our anamorphic lenses are ready to go. If I start to write about these I will seriously geek-out.
• The GH2 camera has been hacked by a crazy world of young filmmakers around the globe. It is now able to perform like a camera that costs $50K instead of $1K. Very exciting times to be a rebel digital filmmaker.
• Special thanks to my compadres and advisors: Andrew Reid of EOSHD.com in Berlin, Illya Friedman of Hotrod Cameras in Burbank/LA, Ed Lee in Hong Kong, Robert Rich for deep artist support, and like family, Vince & Sun at Ultimae in Lyon.
• Continuing the thanks role...
• Great support from Micah Sharp and team at Red Giant Software !!
• Michael Ainscow is supporting us with some key, usually un-obtainable Silicon Valley business locations.
• Great to have the support of everyone at and behind the Hotel Keen, Palo Alto. 
• Our friends at the Mid-Peninsula Open Space District are wonderfully in sync and supportive of our mutual interests regarding the critical function and purpose of open space near urban centers like Silicon Valley. 
• There are many, many more to thank. Look for them in the credits.

Now, on with the show!!

Roberto

The French Production, Luck & Magic in Lyon

This film clearly wants to be. Despite scant resources for production in Lyon, my Co-Producer Liz Holdship and I went forward with a strong gut feeling and an eye toward what luck and magic might bring. 

The first week started with no space for auditions and finished with a wonderful production office at Ultimae Records and a committed cast of very talented, professional actors. The same week word spread quickly around Lyon about the production and a young but experienced crew--all in their mid to late twenties not long out of film school—came on board, eager to help. 

The second week we had rehearsals that brought the characters to life, and luckily lined up some dream locations (usually inaccessible). Shooting promptly commenced the third week and marched straight into the fourth without a break. As if in a succession of miracles, we often shot exactly what was needed in tight allotments of time and in collaborations that produced unexpectedly beautiful results. The fifth week was mainly pick-up and establishing shots, making sure we had enough material for editing.

I can not describe how touched I am by a talented cast and crew that felt like family through this, especially Vincent and Sandrine at Ultimae Records who opened their home, studio, and hearts. And how excited I am by what Lyon brought to our production.

On to production now in California, again with an eye to collaborate with what luck and magic might bring.

I wrote everything up to this point on the return flight from Europe. I have to add that It was great to drive up to my home and see my daughters jumping up and down on the sidewalk... that's truly priceless. So were the hamburgers brought over by the neighbors.

BTW, as you may have noticed, I cast a lead actor who would show up every day and work for free. It helped that he had some grasp of the story and was on the set anyway as the DP. Fortunately he didn't argue too much with the director so things moved along somewhat efficiently.

Oh, and if you are wondering, we shot this with a couple of GH2s with Lomo anamorphic lenses (an amazing set, thank you www.onlyrental.dk and www.hotrodcameras.com) and strictly natural and available light (merci a toi, soleil).  

Thank you all for your support. You all know who you are. If you are wondering if we could use more support, we could. The challenge ahead is enormous. More miracles will be needed. Send me a note if you might be able to help (large or small), and we can talk. 

En avant!
-Roberto

P.S. The Cour des Loges, the magical medival four-star hotel we shot some scenes in, has mentioned our production on their website's news page. 

PRODUCTION FRANCAISE, MAGIE ET CHANCE A LYON

Il est évident que ce film demande à être. En dépit de faibles ressources, nous sommes partis en Europe, ma Co-Productrice Liz Holdship et moi meme, poussés par un sentiment viscéral, et les yeux grands ouverts pour capter tout ce que la chance et une bonne dose de magie pourraient nous offrir.

Le jour de notre arrivée nous n'avions même pas de local pour l'audition des comédiens; à la fin de la semaine nous avions un espace-production fantastique dans le show room de Ultimae Records dans le 2éme arrondissement, ainsi qu'un ensemble d'acteurs professionnels remplis de talent et totalement engagés.

La même semaine, la rumeur de notre présence à Lyon s'étant répandue, un groupe de jeunes vraiment expérimentés--entre 20 et 30 ans et récemment sortis de leurs études en cinématographie--se sont ralliés à nous, enthousiastes et fort désireux de nous aider.

La semaine suivante nous avons commencé les répétitions pour faire éclore les différents personnages, et avons eu l'incroyable chance de consolider des décors de rêve (ordinairement inaccessibles).

La troisième semaine, le tournage a démarré  sur les chapeaux de roue et a continué sur le même rythme intense jusqu'à la fin de la quatrième semaine sans interruption. Comme par miracle, nous avons pu filmer très exactement tout ce dont nous avions besoin dans un minimum de temps et grâce à des collaborations qui ont donné naissance à de merveilleux résultats.

La dernière semaine nous a permis de récolter des images, des atmosphères et des sites qui vont nous offrir un plus vaste choix au montage.

Je ne dirai jamais assez combien j'ai été touché par la fabuleuse équipe d'acteurs et de techniciens qui est rapidement devenue une seconde famille pendant ce tournage, tout spécialement Vincent et Sandrine de Ultimae Records qui nous ont ouvert leur maison, leur studio et show room et leurs coeurs.

De même, je ne dirai jamais assez combien j'ai été enthousiasmé par ce que Lyon nous a offert.

Nous abordons à présent la production californienne, à l'affut de toute collaboration que la chance et la magie mettrons sur notre chemin.

J'ai écrit tout cela dans l'avion de retour. Je dois dire que découvrir mes filles sautant de joie devant la maison n'a fait qu'ajouter à mon bonheur! Tout cela est sans prix, ainsi que les hamburgers préparés par les voisins.

Ah, j’allais oublier… J’ai choisi comme acteur principal quelqu’un de ponctuel et sans cachet. En plus, il ne creait pas de problemes au directeur et avait une assez bonne comprehension du scenario.

Au cas ou vous vous poseriez la question, nous avons filme toutes ces scenes a l’aide d’objectifs anamorphiques Lomo (merci a www.onlyrental.dk et www.hotrodcameras.com) et une lumiere tout ce qu’il ya de plus naturelle! (Thank you Sun)

Merci a vous tous, de votre soutien. Vous savez qui vous etes. 

Au cas ou vous vous demanderiez si nous avons besoin d’un peu plus d’aide…la reponse est oui! Le defi qui nous attend est de taille. Nous avons besoin de plus de miracles. Contactez moi si vous pouvez participer, meme un tout petit peu, et nous en parlerons ensemble.

Onward!
Roberto

P.S. The Cour des Loges, the magical medival four-star hotel we shot some scenes in, has mentioned our production on their website's news page.

PRODUCTION STARTING IN FRANCE

Greetings all,

There's so much to update you on so let me give it to you bullet by bullet:

- we are in Lyon, France, starting production on the European section of Mandorla tomorrow, June 6, 2011.

- here's a camera, lens, and steadycam test we did last week:

- this part of the story was set in Geneva, however, it proved difficult to set up the project there. Lyon, France, on the other hand, was very embracing of our  film in all departments: professional actors, crew, locations, and support from an amazingly warm community of artists here. We've been given a production base and home at Ultimae Records www.ultimae.com who were once acquaintances and are now family.

- I arrived here after a week at the Cannes Film Festival, as a guest HP (thanks HP), where I made more friends that can help the film, saw some films, and, yes, had some fun:

- more than I can tell you, I am very excited by the magical way the dream of making this film is coming together

- we start shooting tomorrow

- special thanks to so many people--you know who you are

- exciting times

- stay tuned

Roberto

The Sundance Experience 2011

Sundance was an entertaining time, to say the least. We shot this run-and-gun video and had a lot of fun with friends, old and new, along the way. Also available on YouTube.

The whole intent of making the video was to share the experience of Sundance with all of you who have supported Mandorla. I hope you enjoy it. This is only the beginning. There’s a lot more adventure ahead for us. Keep reading!

Sundance for me usually starts on the plane. This trip was no exception. Flying to Salt Lake City I sat next to someone with connections to casting talent in Los Angeles. The video starts with a shot from that flight.

Often, the parties at the festival are where connections are born and renewed.

At the San Francisco Film Society party, hosted by our sponsors Michele and Graham, I met with Bay Area filmmakers and industry people. The truth is we’re all too busy at home. It was great to reconnect with a couple of friends who own the Camera Cinemas in San Jose. They were very interested to hear about Mandorla and want to track its progress. Another friend, an American screenwriter based in Paris (worked with Polanski on Frantic and Bitter Moon), offered a connection that could be useful for developing our production in Geneva.

Click to read more ...