DancingBean Films

One Step At A Time: Our True Love Story With Epilepsy

2012-01-31T19:11:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is my entry for the Neuro Film Festival. Now all that's left to do is anxiously await April's arrival to see if we win or not! Hooray!
A super huge thanks to Robin Noble and Tyler Bowers. They did such a phenomenal job!

Neuro Film Festival

2012-01-25T15:48:00.000-08:00

As of a few days ago, Alek and I will be working separately for the next three months. We're still hoping to be able to post any projects that we come up with on our own, the first of those being my entry for the Neuro Film Festival, which I'm hoping to shoot this coming weekend.

The reason for our separation is because we are now attending separate schools: Alek has stayed at Hampshire for the meantime, and I have moved back to Utah to attend Salt Lake Community College.

Later in these months we should be seeing a thrilling and surreal short film project from Alek based on the 1 act play called... I forget what. I'll update later with more specifics.

Final Hamlet Trailer

2011-11-15T13:45:00.001-08:00

Here is the fifth and final Hamlet trailer before the premiere!Below it are the other four trailers, the last two of which were made by our peers.

#4 edited by Brandon Arnold in parody of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trailer.

#3 edited by Dakota Nelson

#2 edited by Alek and I

#1 edited by Alek and I

My Sweet September Concept Trailer

2011-10-27T00:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the concept trailer that we made with no footage... but a lot of painting.

Felony FIGHTS!

2011-10-24T00:53:00.000-07:00

Yeah. That's right. We had lots o' fun.

We are FUNDED!

2011-10-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

We're funded. Here's some test footage. And a few photos.

Our Kickstarter for My Sweet September is up and running!

2011-10-14T13:41:00.001-07:00

Please tell everyone you know! We have a VERY short time frame to reach our goal- literally, ever second counts! You can get to our Kickstarter by following this link, or you can click on the item in the side bar.

My Sweet September

2011-10-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

That's right - new project! Our wonderful friend and colleague Travis Wilker will be flying out here on the 20th to start filming, and in the mean time we will be putting up a kickstarter to raise money! (Will post that link when everything's finished)

Olrik, a mysterious man with a western touch, returns home to New England to investigate the death of his beloved sister, Autumn. But things are not as they seem in this sleepy town in the Berkshires. Olrik's questions soon begin to generate unrest, and whispers of 'sacrifice' and 'the cult' seem to follow him around every turn.

Space Monkey (dorm showers)

2011-10-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

We got involved with this group called Shatterkind here on the Hampshire campus, which decided to tackle this 60 second 5 college film festival thing. This is my (Anna Lensch + Group Awesome) entry.

The one we submit will not have the DancingBean stuff or the added subtitle of dorm showers. It will say group awesome instead.

I was the Cinematographer, as usual... and editor... also as usual. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Hamlet is almost finished!

2011-08-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

Today is the day we finish up the editing for Hamlet. There are a few scenes we have to re-edit from the ground up, and we still have to combine everything and ensure that it flows, and record all of our original score, by the end of today... But I have confidence that we will finish. We have to. Especially since we're leaving for Hampshire College on the day after tomorrow. Crunch time!

Hamlet "To Be or Not To Be" Scene

2011-08-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

Here's a delicious little preview from Hamlet: The to be or not to be scene. Hamlet should be premiering in September. Alek & I won't be able to attend the screening, what with College just starting and all, but we will be there via Skype.
NOTE: The audio is too quiet (we forgot to turn up the levels for exporting), so here is the narration, provided below:

To be or not to be, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep no more, and to sleep to say we end the heart ache and the thousand nature shocks this flesh is heir to. Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. To die... to sleep... perchance to dream. Aye, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death what dreams may come? When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, is has give us pause. The dread of something after death, The undiscovered country from whose born of no traveler returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills we have then fly others we know not of... thus consciences make cowards of us all.

SLC 48 Film Fest: UPSTAGED

2011-07-31T12:02:00.000-07:00

For the big official 48 hour film festival, Alek and I decided to team up with the incredible David Westphal and Kody Riekena (Projection Pictures) to create Upstaged. Our Genre was "Family Film", which was an incredible challenge in and of itself, what with 4 violence loving, gangster happy filmmakers. But we did it! The line was: "What were you thinking?", the prop was toilet paper (I wish it would have been something more interesting), and then our character had to be "Miles or Meg Madigan", and they had to be a magician. So... Here it is!

Upstaged

Mad Manbear

2011-05-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

This is a clip we did to start the 2011 Telos show. Was it half-assed? Yeah... but it got the job done in time for Telos, didn't it?

Hamlet Goes West: Tarantino Edition

2011-05-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

We're going to try and make a Quentin Tarantino version of Hamlet. This is the first scene (created from a pretty awesome outtake and some music from Inglorious Basterds.)

Paper Lotus

2011-04-10T13:24:00.000-07:00

Our pride and joy: our 48 hour film festival film (even though we were disqualified...because we weren't finished editing... but still). Our team name was Racing Korea... Man, those Korean filmmakers really have it going on!

Paper Lotus

2010-2011 CE class films

2011-04-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

Here are the movies we made at the beginning of our Senior Year.

Manbears Basketball Promo

O' Brutha, Where Is You?

Sleeping Dogs Teaser

Hamlet: Theatrical Trailer

2011-03-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

The new Hamlet trailer! Enjoy!

Gnosis Sneak Peek

2011-01-31T16:04:00.000-08:00

Here are two scenes from Gnosis that have been edited so far...

Gnosis Photos

2011-01-31T13:43:00.000-08:00

Here are some production photos from Gnosis.

Hamlet Trailer

2011-01-17T10:38:00.000-08:00

It's here: The first trailer for Hamlet. Enjoy!

Gnosis: Noir Action and Existential Journeys

2010-11-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

Today's the day: We are officially starting production on Gnosis.

I'll be posting pictures soon.

And eventually the film.

Hamlet: On the Prairie?

2010-10-01T10:04:00.001-07:00

I think it is clear that After Eden won't be coming for a little while. Mostly because the script still isn't done yet, but also for this simple fact: no money. So, in hopes of convincing kindly donors, we've decided to make After Eden a Short Film first, then, if we're lucky, perhaps we'll be able to make it a full feature. Another deterrent (and this isn't a bad thing) is this: Alek and I will be directing this year's Shakespeare Feature Film, Hamlet.

So, some details about that: Hamlet is going to be set in 1890's Utah, and DON'T GIVE UP HOPE JUST BECAUSE OF THAT! We know, it sounds iffy. But trust us; it will be MAGNIFICENT. We're currently working on callbacks for casting our major roles, and should have a list up by the end of next week. We'll add a tab here on the DancingBean site for more information and such.

Otherwise, just working on film projects for out CE Film class here at EHHS. Alek worked on a remake of the "Here's Johnny" scene from The Shining, and I worked on a remake of the "Siren Song" scene from O' Brother, Where Art Thou?

Until next time, drink Coke, make movies, and keep in touch.

After Eden: Coming Soon!

2010-07-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Just to freshen up the page, I'm pleased to announce that After Eden (formerly known as Between The Hilt & The Blade) is officially on the Preproduction Scene! With Alek Sabin at the writing wheel, and I, Anna Lensch, painting-up some costume designs and what not, I think we'll be ready to go by the time the new school year rolls around. But until then, this logo will have to suffice for photos of preproduction.

Sleepless Nights

2010-05-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This video contains graphic images, sensuality, and allusions to drugs and alcohol use and suicide.

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

2010-05-15T11:19:00.001-07:00

Clockworks

2010-05-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

Contact

2010-05-10T21:10:00.001-07:00

Film for the Utah High School Film Festival's 48 Hour Shootout:

Snow White, V Word, Scream Laugh Cry

2010-05-10T19:50:00.001-07:00

Snow White & The Four Convicts:

The 'V' Word:

Scream Laugh Cry:

Telos 2010

2010-05-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

Last Night was the 2010 Telos awards, hosted by our own Jake Larrabee and co-hosted by some local actor who I can't seem to remember the name of. While feeling, again, rather quick compared to the first year, it was fun and engaging (though the awards were the same slates as last year).

We (meaning Alek, Jonathan and I) won the following:

Best Lighting - Snow White & The Four Convicts
Best Costume - Snow White & The Four Convicts
Best Trailer/Commercial - Pretty. Dead. Trailer
Best Make-Up - Sleepless Nights
Best Dramatic Actor - The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Best Editing - The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Best Short Film - Clockworks

Snow White won the following:

Best Lighting
Best Costume
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Song

Surprisingly, none of my personal projects won much of anything except for the Pretty. Dead. Trailer. Then again, I suppose I'm not surprised, since I was definitely more focused on helping everyone else. Either way, I'm very excited about all of our collective wins. Hopefully, the films will be posted here soon.

48 Hour Shootout

2010-04-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Utah High School Film Festival just hosted 2010's 48 Shootout, and, for the first time, we participated! Calling ourselves "Team Lightside" we competed Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Our objects we have to include somewhere in our film were a #2 pencil and a stapler, and the idea we had to use was "My Space" (not like the website). From that came our barely under the 5 minute time limit movie, "Contact". (It was renamed several times: Death, The Role of Death, Touch of Death, Touched, Unexplained, Unexpected, and finally Contact.)

The other team from East Hollywood, Team Darkside, created their movie "Detention", which can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=111820318850061&ref=mf

Also, the Much Ado About Nothing Trailer can be seen here (It's so great, and it's a spoof on Twilight): http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=107353622630064&comments

Telos Is Approaching

2010-03-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

So we've finally finished editing and submitting our staggering 11 pieces (and 1 script) into Telos. Snow White, while completely edited with sound and all, refuses to export without throwing the visuals out of sync with the audio. Terribly frustrating, let me tell you. We had the same problem when exporting an episode for FromMyTable2Yours, and unfortunately I can't recall how I fixed it. The only thing we can think to do now is to try and export it on a computer other than Alek's laptop, Conan the Destroyer. We'll probably end up using a MacMini, and if all goes well it should be exported today. If not, I give up. I haven't the faintest idea what to do.

I also plan to make a copy of 'The 'V' Word' and send it to the Utah High School Film Festival, but then again, that may not happen either. (EHHS vs. Nehi, too)

Otherwise, Between The Hilt and The Blade looks like it probably won't happen. I've sort of given up on that too, so at the moment I'm not worried. It's only my summer's profits of around $300 down the drain.

No idea what's next, but if something happens, it'll be here, and as soon as I re-export the 11 entries for the internet they will be posted.

Some Photos to Pass the Time

2010-02-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

Tiny Projects are still going along nicely; Scream, Laugh, Cry was shot yesterday, today is Improve Dinner Scene, and tomorrow will be Monologues/Stories/Ranting. The Storyboards for the extremely short West Side Story parody, East Hollywood Story, were also finished today, and once I find about ten people willing to be 'snappers', we'll shoot. Still need to get that pick-up shot for The 'V' Word, too... Until then, though, here are some photos in the new slide show at right.

Tiny Projects are on the loose!

2010-02-11T13:48:00.001-08:00

That's right- right now we're thinking small.

Today the newest project The 'V' Word will be shot and (hopefully) transferred today, edited Saturday, and posted Monday. From what I know, it'll be DancingBean's first intentional comedy.

The next projects will be White Walls, which are basically movies that take place in front of, you guessed it, a white wall. Those will be: Improv. Dinner Scene, James Brown 'Get Down', Scream Cry Laugh, Monologues, and possible others.

The big project will be a VERY short musical that parodies West Side Story, in particularly the Sharks and Jets scene. It will be EHHS themed, of course.

I'd also like to do a simple music video to a Bowman Band song, but that is still yet to be planned.

All of this is to help generate some film activity at EHHS, since nobody seems to be doing much of anything, and to also get something done for Telos. Between the Hilt and the Blade is still coming along slowly, but will be kicked into full gear once Telos is over with.

Til Then.

The First Movie I Ever Made

2010-01-10T12:56:00.001-08:00

Since projects are going slowly right now, here are some of the first movies I ever made.
Besides personal projects, I filmed my first paid project, that being an online cooking show called "From My Table 2 Yours". I don't think it's up yet, but once we have some episodes edited and done I'll send a link to the sight and maybe leave a preview clip here.

The First movie ever:

The Second movie ever:

This next movie my father and I made together (he did the animation, I helped with object ideas and such.) It's fun.

trying this...

2009-11-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

Snow White & The Four Convicts Trailer

2009-11-15T11:37:00.001-08:00

The Official Snow White & The Four Convicts Trailer.
(I also apologize to Bri'anna for spelling her last name wrong- I was in a hurry, seeing as I was already late in turning it in to show before the premiere of MACBETH.

EHHS ManBears Commercial & The Boots

2009-11-15T11:23:00.000-08:00

This movie is one I made with my little brother this past summer of 2009. It is about a boy and his boots...

I Don't Know why it's gray at the beginning... but just so you know, it isn't like that originally. It's Black...
The following movie is an assignment I had for my college-credit film class. It had to be 1 minute without dialogue, so we (my group and I) decided to make a a trailer for the non-existant EHHS ManBears Basketball team. We also were able to simultaneously bash our nemesis school, the Lehi Pioneers, by making to opposite team the Nehi Settlers. (we only do this because Lehi always wins the trailer/commercial category at the Utah High School Film Festival with their silly, drama-soaked Basketball movies.)

Snow White & The... 4 Convicts?

2009-11-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

Well, people are unreliable and lame. Not to mention total drama queens.
Besides having problems with the majority of the props that we're using and the major dropping out of convicts, it is now Snow White and the 4 convicts. Snow white also can't stop giggling, and out main convict's father is going in for emergency sergery. And the director is five seconds away from saying 'screw it'.

But it will be done! And I will use all my editing skills to make this the very best it can be!
Hang in there, Mr. Director Man! I'll save you!

Progress: Scene 8 is almost done... some other scenes are almost done... There will have to be tons and tons of ADR.

"Snow White & The Seven Convicts"

2009-10-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

That's right- the newest project is Snow White and the Seven Convicts, a 1940's adaption of the classic Grim fairytale.

This time around Alek is directing (and also wrote it), and I will be playing the part of Snow White and Director of Photography. I'm very confident that it will turn out amazing, though things are a little stressful right now.

A trailer should be appearing soon, maybe some production stills...

Shooting good ol' fashioned DVX100B. I'm quite thrilled!

Pretty. Dead. (trailer)

2009-05-24T13:11:00.001-07:00

Pretty. Dead. Is almost completely finished now, and I finally have a trailer to put up.

EHHS's Macbeth

2009-05-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

The Intro to perhaps the most amazing film to come out of my school. Class Project. (I didn't work on it, except a tiny acting bit.)

Random Creations

2009-03-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

Two Random Creations, Newly Created.

The Fewer The Better:

Dreaming:

Do It Your Damn Self!! Film Festival

2008-11-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

I was an official selection for the Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Video and Film Festival. (what a mouthful!)

My film The Y Project was the one that made it!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm up and running!

2008-10-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

Just to prove that I'm going to start using this blog I took the time to put together, I'm going to post all of my movies that I've done thus far. (that are on the internet) So enjoy them, and be ready for REAL this time for more to come!

The next two films I only worked on, I was not director or anything.