“Funny Pains” documentary: Post-production Vol. 3

At this point, my brain is a bit fried from all the editing. I came at it head-on, fearless because I knew the story in and out and I knew what was needed to be shown. Or did I? Just like everything else in life I’ve changed in the past 2 years, I see and...

“Funny Pains” documentary: Post-production Vol. 2

The past 2 months have been intense, to say the least, I was pulling 14-16 hour days editing our documentary, I had a deadline set and I was determined to make it. After the first 3 weeks of organizing, transcribing interviews and making very hard decisions about what to put in and what leave out,...

You need a reason: lessons learned from “Funny Pains”

Now that Funny Pains is well into the post-production phase, and the bulk of my involvement with the film is over, (until we have to hit the road to promote the documentary that is) I find myself reflecting on all the lessons that I learned while shooting this project. Shooting Funny Pains was a blast,...

“Funny Pains” documentary: Post-production Vol.1

After 2 years of directing my first feature documentary called “Funny Pains,” we have arrived at the stage in which all the hard work comes together, we sit down and start making some tough decisions about how the story will be told, what makes sense, what does not and the hardest part for me, what...

Deconstructing the shot: Tara West

Deconstructing the shot This is one of two posters that we shot for episode three of Le’ Bostonians, featuring the talented and always stylish Tara West. After shooting this episode I’ve come to admire and respect Tara, her work ethic, her vision, and her passion for what she does. Let’s break down how the final...

That’s a wrap on episode 3 of le’ bostonians!

We recently wrapped production on the latest episode of le’ bostonians with fashion stylist extraordinaire Tara West. In every episode is my goal to ‘peel the onion’ and find the core of the story, what moves them, what do they do what they do, and how did the get to where they are now. I’m learning...

Storytelling with new immigrants and refugees

It’s been a couple of months since I joined Community Supported Films as one of the editing mentors, and after meeting Michael Sheridan (Director of the program) I was convinced of the importance of this program, its relevance and how it was the perfect place for me to share what I know when it comes to storytelling...

Why I’ve put fiction on hold

I’ve stopped writing fiction (script for movies) since my last one called “Cachorro” (which translates to “Puppy”) went on the market a while ago, this coincided with me moving back to the US with my dear wife and having a Spanish written script in my hands. Selling a script nowadays takes a while, especially in a...

Teaching at the New Immigrant and Refugee Visions Project

On a previous blog entry, I rambled on about how much I love teaching, how I missed it and how the sharing of knowledge is very dear and close to my heart. I have to be honest here, I’ve been aching to find the time and the right place to get in there again and...