Brobots, Music & Casting

'sbeen a long time since I did that stroll on AnD!

~~~~~~ BROBOTS

I finally finished editing Brobots, a film I directed starring Andrew Ng, a fellow Official Artist on AnD.

When I bought a matching pair of JVC HD cameras in late 2008, it never occurred to me that you'd need 12 supercomputers to process the footage. Being a complete computer geek since I was 13 you'd think I'd know better...So when I shot the film in 2009, I had a sneaky suspicion it would be a while before I could finish it.

I dragged my portable HD to Fortress month after month looking for a laptop PC that would play the footage smoothly. They all choked. Why not buy a macbook, you ask? Since I'm a Visual C++ and Visual Basic programmer, I prefer Windows. I like to tweak things. Macs remind me of a refrigerator... totally un-tweakable. PCs are like those old muscle cars you can keep hot rodding with aftermarket gear. 650 Holley double pumper, Edelbrock intake... don't get me started.

Finally in January I was able to find a sweeeeet ASUS laptop that played the footage with ease. So the editing of Brobots began. After my co-writer Remo Notarianni sorted through all the footage for the best takes, I dove in. I have OCD when it comes to editing. After doing tons of TVCs back in the States, every frame counts in a 30 second spot. I still edit the same way.

So, it took weeks to finish the edit. Then writing and performing music for the soundtrack... endless decisions.

Now it's done. It'll make the rounds to the festivals but I don't expect too much. Otherwise, you'd be able to watch it on my youtube channel. Festivals don't like to be trumped with online "premieres".

~~~~~~ MUSIC

I realized I forgot to upload music to this page, so I did that today. There's a funny song from my rock band Sgt. Saltine, “Big Gun”. Yes, that's what it's about, and yes, I’m twisted. I co-wrote it with the vocalist, whose name is also Aaron! I played a guitar solo with only 3 different notes. There are octaves of course, but still only three notes. It’s my strike against all those Yngwie Malmsteen sweep-picking arpeggio fanatics.

Then there's “The Emergence”, an orchestral piece I wrote for the end titles of Brobots. It's my nod to my fave film composer, Bernard Herrmann. He wrote the themes for Psycho and all of the Ray Harryhausen films.

There's also a [techno?] piece on there. I'm really not sure what genre it is. Probably "noise" is the most accurate. Writing for film requires a love of all genres, and I do. Whether I succeed at writing in those genres is another story!

~~~~~~ CASTING

I met this mild mannered dude outside the FCC and tried to explain what it is that I do. Since I'm unsure exactly what that is, I told him about the acting group I manage on Facebook. He has a friend that has a friend, etc. who wants to produce a film in HK. I told him I'd be happy to put up the casting notice. It's on the Official Artist Forums here on AnD...

Of course everybody assumes that I have decision making power on this project, but I don't. I'm just passing along the submissions. It sounds like a really great project, though.

I will audition for the part of the super filthy rich guy (MALE 6) who wears a Rolex. Anybody got a Lamborghini so I can start my method approach? I really need to get into character. I bet Bey has one hidden somewhere... Come on bro, give up the keys.