Behind-the-Scenes on "Not Safe For Work" - Part 1

Here's BTS for NSFW from the first part of the shoot, the closet scene, which we shot several weeks before the office scenes.

Jaime & DP Derek Nickell prepare for the closet shoot.

The librarian look.

WTF is going on?  Our shoots are always fun.

Couldn't afford/find an office that had a vent, so we improvised.
Cardboard boxes, a backlight and Jaime crawling. 

Derek and Travis had to prove that the green food coloring was NOT toxic.

Jaime Parker Stickle in action.

Apologies to Daniel Figueroa who shot one of the webcam scenes but then when it got transferred and sent to the editor, it got lost somehow and didn't make the cut.  By the time we noticed, it was too late.  Sorry Daniel!

Jaime, Daniel and Derek.  Daniel is now creating a black hole at CERN in Switzerland at the Large Hadron Collider.

RIP - Oscar Robinson

An extra pic of Daniel since I feel guilty for him winding up on the cutting room floor!  :)

NOT SAFE FOR WORK

Sexual harassment in the workplace is no laughing matter.
Or is it?

Behind-the-Scenes on "Ahmed the Iraqi Clown"

The great poster Rex Poole made for the shoot.  

Matin begins his transformation.

Feraz Ozel holds up the funniest thing in the short.

Sound is separate from the camera so we use an old school slate.

What did we learn from this shoot?  No one likes clowns.

Matin Atrushi is Ahmed.

Even the kids were scared of Matin.

Name?  Parents of the teenage girl, name?

The birthday party.

Ahmed.

Ahmed blows a balloon animal.

Farid, the one-legged balloon boy scene.

We were under the gun to finish up the shoot by the time we got EXT. House.  

Ahmed the Iraqi Clown

Driving home with Director Travis Kurtz

Ahmed the Iraqi Clown

What happens when an Iraqi Clown crashes a children's birthday party?

Behind-the-Scenes on "Uncle Matin's Sword Trick"

Not Cairo.  Temecula.  We had a great location and
the people who owned the property were wonderful

Matin waiting to do the most amazing sword trick you will ever see.

We shot from a low angle to visually give Matin more power & strength,
but also to frame out the cars and hills behind him.

The bazaar is more impressive in the short.

Swords are awesome.  This one was from Sword & the Stone in Burbank.

Mark arrives on set ready to go.

Greg Santos & Feraz Ozel.  Greg had to play
multiple extras since a few flaked and didn't show up.

Most of the shots are subtle moves on the dolly.

The director ties the infamous red sash on the Swordsman, Matin Atrushi.

Matin Atrushi & Mark Christopher Lawrence rehearse.
As soon as the camera rolled, Mark brought incredible energy to the part.  So much fun directing him. 

Director Travis Kurtz reminds Matin that he must take his glasses off.

Feraz Ozel schools young thespian Lance Lee on how to put on the dishdasha.

Mohammed, Sammer, Feraz & Greg wait for the sword trick.

Director Kurtz tells Greg that he must be in the background of every shot.

On a very hot day, the veteran actor Mark Christopher Lawrence,
comes fully prepared with his covered seat, sun hat and sandals.  

Joaquin Garay III (on the left)

DP & Director confer as everyone bakes in the hot sun.
I think it was 100 degrees that day.

Director of Photography Ignatius Fischer.

The crew prepares for the first shot of the day.  Goats, dogs, chickens, snakes, extras,
we were hoping it would feel like a real bazaar.

Matin Atrushi as the Cairo Swordsman, Uncle Matin.  By the way, it's a real sword.
Matin grew increasingly tired as we made him swing it around for quite a few takes.

Mohammed Alayian and Matin Atrushi.

Screen Grabs of Sword Trick from Different Takes

Here are a few screen grabs from the original footage shot by DP Ignatius Fischer.

Mark Christopher Lawrence from NBC's "Chuck."

There was debate on using the WS here because we didn't want to blow the joke too early.

I love this shot with the sword in the foreground.  MCL really brought it to the shoot.

All the props were from friends' and parents' homes.

Joaquin Garay III as The Crippled Man

MCL