Old Abbot presents our final production before we head into 2012.
Special Thanks to the assistance and talents of Jon Sadeh, Jimmy Berg, Brian Marcou, Laurie Carlson, Jon Krivo, Jason Maglothin, and Blondie. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
The second Spicy Pad Thai Challenge at Sawatdee Express Uptown has claimed several more victims and immortalized them on the Wall of Shame, and yet still some slayed the monster-sized plate of diabolically delicious spicy pad thai and became legends. Would you, could you?
Special Thanks to Producer Jon Sadeh, Cinematographer Daniel Steinberg, Composer Jimmy Berg, Artist Caleb Barton, Web Designer Conor Champley, and Production Assistants Laurie Carlson, Evan Outlaw, and Nick Thiers. I learned a lot on the production of the first Spicy Pad Thai Challenge, and the advertising campaign we cooked up for the second challenge taught me even more. We've changed and added a few things in the recipe, and with this being one of Old Abbot's final production premiers of 2011 I just know big changes are coming next year. However, I've got a blog or two to post before 2012.
An outtake from our upcoming short documentary about Galaxy Youth Center. Enjoy it, the kids sure did, and feel free to sing-along. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
Old Abbot has entered this year's DoritosCrash the Superbowl Contest. CLICK HERE to view the commercial and see how Franco can help you snack into shape.
Special Thanks to Producer Jon Sadeh, Actors Conor Champley, Jon Krivo, Brian Marcou, and Sammy Sadeh. Also, Nalini Ramer for the location, and Tom Ringdal for the technical assistance. We made some magic. Fantastic!
With stores in Brooklyn Park, Maplewood, and Roseville Games N Go has become Minnesota’s biggest and best local gaming tournament circuit. With literally thousands given out in prizes a year in games such as Marvel vs Capcom, Mortal Kombat, and Street Fighter.
Special Thanks to Triet Nguyen, Gene Richtsmeier, Jon Sadeh, Jimmy Berg, Richard Thiher, Taylor Trygstad, and Tom Ringdal. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
Sawatdee Express Uptown & Old Abbot Productions invite you to the hottest new eating challenge in the Twin Cities. It’s Spicy Pad Thai Challenge where those brave enough to clear their plate will become legends even with welled up tears, and those too weak to finish will be immortalized on the Wall of Shame.
Courtesy of Head Chef and Owner Wes Youkunlaya, contestants have ten minutes to finish a massive order of his deliciously diabolical pad thai noodles, with no water to ease the pain. Days before Halloween, participants will be offered the chance to star in their own horror movie featuring themselves and a plate of devilishly red pad thai noodles. Eyes swelling with tears, taste buds roasting in an inferno of foreign spices, their best buds mocking them to ‘Hurry up!’. They give it the old college try, but can’t finish the plate or need water before the ten minutes is up. No big deal right? Wrong. Their drooling, failure filled face gets plastered up on our Wall of Shame where it will stay until they find the strength to come back in and succeed.
Join us and see the horror first hand on Saturday, October 29th from 3:00 - 6:00 PM at Sawatdee Express Uptown located at 1404 West Lake Street in Minneapolis. This event is free to attend, but masochists looking to prove something will be charged ten dollars to participate. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
Here is the commercial we shot at the firstSawatdee Express' Spicy Pad Thai Challenge. It also happens to be Old Abbot's first commercial production as well.
Special Thanks goes out to Lydia Capistrant, Scott Grivna, Rob Lambert, Brian Marcou, Rachel Noiz, Patrick Noody, Nick Thiers, and Patrick Williams for taking the chance to end up on the Wall of Shame and taking the challenge on. Also, Jimmy Berg, Laurie Carlson, Conor Champley, and Jonny Sadeh who made the production run smoothly. Lastly to Wesley Youkunlaya the Owner and Chef of Sawatdee Express in Uptown. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
This August 24th the Old Abbot team will be filming commercials for the Spicy Pad Thai Challenge at Sawatdee Express in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. We'll be shooting groups of three competing to see who can clear their plate of Sawatdee's spiciest noodles first for pride, glory, and internet immortality!
Post-production on our film about the journey of digital warriors to the EVO Championship Series World Finals of Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition and Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds continues. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
Production wrapped on Old Abbot’s feature length Documentary this past weekend at the EVO Championship Series World Finals. Centering on competitive fighting game players Izzy Lee and Robert Elizondo. The film now goes into level 3 Hyper Combo mode Post-Production.
Special Thanks to everyone who spoke and lived in front of the lens, and those who made it happen on the other side of the lens these past seven months. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned. Shinku Hadoken!
Today the Old Abbot team boards a flight to Las Vegas for the 2011 EVO Championship Series at the Rio to wrap up production on our documentary about competitive fighting game players. More updates and projects in the pipeline as always. A title and other info is on the way all too soon. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned. Hadouken!
Happy 235th Birthday to America. The grandest of experiments and endeavors.
Major announcements about the competitive fighting game documentary are on the way soon! Check the clock, or spend the night at the arcade during the wait. More updates and projects in the pipeline as always. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
Production for our documentary about competitive fighting game players Izzy Lee, Robert Elizondo, and the rest of Team SodiuMN headed to Chicago for the Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament VII: Resurrection this past Memorial Day Weekend. Some of the best players from America were on hand such as Frankie Gomez, Adam Heart, Ricky Ortiz, Alex Valle, and Justin Wong. Next stop the EVO World Finals at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas this July. Our saga continues.
Also coming together this Summer will be the YRU-UpReunion(s) set to air live this Fall on BEC-TV. The show started on 1991 with host and creator Andrew Starks. I was on the show from 1999 to 2001, and now with it being 2011, the show turns twenty years old. We've got some big dreams, and bigger plans.
Roger James Schroeder my Father and friend passed away on May 18th. I'd like to dedicate these dreams, and this life to him. Love and thank you's Old Man, keep on watching. More updates and projects in the pipeline as always. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
This trio of Documentaries was played at the Seventh Annual Fundraising Luncheon for Can Do Canines Assistance Dogs. This year’s theme was A Ripple in the Pond. The goal of the vignettes was to tell the story of a Can Do Canine named Cher, who has not only helped and improved her partner Collin’s life, but many different people’s lives that she has come in contact with.
Part One of Three.
Part Two of Three.
Part Three of Three.
Special Thanks to Producers MarySue Krueger and Carrie Maloney. Janet Cobus, Shelly Hiemer, Alan Peters, Thomas Rehbein, Allison Schildknecht, and everyone at Can Do Canines for their support. Videographer Mark Falstad for lending me his Canon 5D mkII, giving me a hands-on education shooting video with a DSLR for the first time. Verne Champion, Janelle Dixon, Mona Elder, Leslie Flowers, Connie Roehrich, Mary Sears, Collin Shaughnessy for sharing the time and stories. More updates and projects in the pipeline as always. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
Filmed in a couple studios at MCAD last Spring for Hip-Hop artist Muja Messiah by DirectorAmalia Nicholson, Director of PhotographyBrandon Boulay, Assistant Director Adam Hutchinson, Andrea Bias, Timmer O'Phelan, myself, and several other great folks. Play. Liberate. Enjoi.
Special Thanks to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Muja Messiah, Brandon Boulay for bringing me on board, and everyone who made the shoot and video turn out so buttery smooth. More updates and projects in the pipeline as always. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
Spring has sprung, and so have things here at Old Abbot. Like a Cherry Blossom that begins as a seed and germinates into flower. Our story of competitive fighting game players Robert Elizondo and Izzy Lee has matured from a story of a passionate pass time into a tales of one's passion for life no matter the obstacle or outcome of the match.
With Izzy Lee's Tournament Win at Combo Breaker over Adam 'Ketis' Heart the Editor-in-Chief of SRK in the Grand Finals of Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. Only after losing to Ketis earlier in the Semi-Finals, and coming back from the losers bracket to reset the match, and take the Championship in the end. It looks like Izzy's and Rob's stories will continue onto the Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament VII: Resurrection in Chicago this May which is an EVO 2k11 qualifier. With practice, skill, and the warrior's way onto the EVO World Championships 2011 in Las Vegas this July.
Production has wrapped on the Can Do Canines vignette Documentaries for their Seventh Annual Fundraising Luncheon this May. This years theme is A Ripple in the Pond and the shorts will focus on an Assistance Dog named Cher, and how she has changed so many peoples lives beyond that of her Owner. Post-Production phase, begin!
Production on Antwone Adams has been put on pause for the time being, with the competitive fighting game Documentary that has blossomed and grown into something much larger. A full-length feature Film with some ole luck of the Irish. Pre-Production is still very much in motion with scripts being penned and tweaked for season one and beyond. Antwone's stories will come true sooner than later.
On my most recent viewed list I've re-watched the Shogun Assassin aka the Lone Wolf and Cub saga including the rare volume seven titled Lone Wolf and Cub: A Handful of Sand and made in 1993. Also, Grandma's Boy, Radio Flyer, and 3 Ninjas, which "crosses Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Home Alone" says the Boston Globe. More updates and projects in the pipeline as always. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
Music Video for What They've Become from Party House's freshmen EP.
Filmed at The Beat Coffeehouse back in January. Special Thanks to Director Alex Bowes, Director of Photography Andre Durand, Chris Hadland, Daniel Huiting, Dan Stewart, Thomas Rehbein, Gwen Ruehle, Lee Carter, and everyone who helped make it happen. Check out the tungsten glow and enjoi. More updates and projects in the pipeline as always. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned..
We're currently in production on the Pilot episode of Antwone Adams. With this recent snowfall we've been shooting the exterior Winter scenes for the series. Honestly the Old Abbotteam and the show can't wait for Spring to get sprung!
Can Do Canines has asked myself and Mark Falstad to help them shoot and produce a few short documentary style vignettes for their Annual Luncheon this May. The goal is not only to show how much of a positive effect the assistance dogs can have not only with their owner, but also their Family, their trainers, those who donate, and just about anyone who comes in contact with these amazing animals.
Production has also began on another documentary. The Combo Breaker Tournament being put on by Games N Go Championships this April. The story will focus on fighting games and the players who play them for respect and often money. Win, loose, or draw games often end with the phrase good game and handshake between the two competitors. Then, two others take their place until a champion can be declared. More updates and projects in the pipeline as always. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
A look into the vault at some previous work. Thank you's and I owe you's go out to all the skilled folks who pitched in on makin' the magic happen. Special thanks goes out to Dirtystones Entertainment, General Electric, Fresh Money ENT, Media Storm, Red Bull, Standby Productions, University of Minnesota, and Taylor Trygstad for the amazing composition.
"Ideas, skills, and experience. Yes, and something more."
Antwone Adams takes center stage, as myself and rest of the Old Abbot team ready for the mayhem and hopefully laughs. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
The new music video from Kay has dropped! So, put some sauce on it, and check out Put Some Sauce On It!
Filmed back in November 2009 by Director and Editor Justin Staggs, Producers Gr Robl'e and Ciise Cabdi Caliwada Mici, Director of Photography TJ Schwingle, Makeup Artist Melissa Martin, and Grips Alex Bowes, Clayton Ebeling, Andrew Melby, Ben Thompson, and myself. I also filmed the behind the scenes Documentary. A job I was hired on for at the load-in and pre-light the night before the shoot by Kay and the folks at his record company Fresh Money ENT with my Sony HVR-Z5U I had just gotten a little more than a week before. Often for me, the best lessons are the trials by fire. So here it is. The Livin' Life Like a Video: The Making of Put Some Sauce On It trilogy.
Special Thanks to Taylor Sound for the studios, rapper Kay Hussein, and Nai-ma Dage for snapping some great pictures.
New year, new projects. Antwone Adams has been in the noggin' for some time, even before the puppet mayhem of The Defenestrator. After a slow simmer, casting, rewrites, he's ready for the limelight. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
The video was filmed back in October. I was the productions' Director, Editor, Producer, and Cinematographer for the fire scene. However, without the support and skill of Cinematographers Daniel Steinberg and Joseph Young, Executive Producers Jewelious Jones and Phillip Porter, Producer Richard Oxley, Grips Thomas Hoekstra, Patrick Willson, and Josh Beiker, the Makeup and Wardrobe of Mari Barrow, Fight Choreography by Jeremy Clark and Alex Vazquez, the Demolition Skills of Rumone Barrow, Ben Dorry, Jon Krivo, Chris Lewis, and Taylor Trygstad, along with appearances by Molena Favors, Jesse Juen, and Tye. The magical mayhem just wouldn't have been possible. Thanks a million to everyone.
Special Thanks goes out to Dirtystones Entertainment, Highway 101 Auto Salvage, Minnesota Top Team, Saba Entertainment, and Media Storm. Lastly, here's a little look behind the scenes of the madness from the shoot as Daniel-Son has his own bonus round with a sedan Street Fighter II style!
More updates and projects in the pipeline as always. Same URL, some other time, stay tuned.
