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Archive for the ‘Video’ Category

MindWarp wins BEST OF SHOW at El Paso ADDY Awards 2012

February 21st, 2012

addys2012

El Paso Addy Awards 2012

MindWarp has officially won 3 Gold Addy Awards along with the Best of Show honors for the “No Te Dejes/Don’t Let Yourself” campaign at this year’s El Paso Addy Awards (put on by the Advertising Federation of El Paso).  Since we won gold awards and Best of Show, the campaign will be heading to the Addy’s Regional competition later this year.  It’s great to know that the campaign will be venturing outside of El Paso for others to see.

The Don’t Let Yourself / No Te Dejes campaign won the following awards:

Gold Addy for Animation / Special Effects
Gold Addy for Website Design
Gold Addy for Public Service Mixed Multimedia Campaign
Best of Show Award for Public Service Mixed Multimedia Campaign

This would not have been possible without all of the love, support, and dedication from our hard working cast, crew, & family.  Thanks to all of your efforts, this campaign exceeded any and all expectations.  Its great to know that so many local creative people can come together for an amazing cause and deliver something grand.

Special thanks goes to the El Paso County team Michael Alvarez, Jaime Esparza, Frank Zubia, Elhiu Dominguez, Joe Gonzalez, Jo Anne Bernal and the rest of the team for believing in our small company to deliver this campaign both to the State of Texas and the El Paso Region.

See the campaign at www.dontletyourself.org

Goodbye Apple, Hello Adobe

July 7th, 2011

fcpx

The End of an Era

Well, its official. Our company has officially switched from Final Cut Studio 3 to Adobe Production Premium 5.5. I’ll state the obvious reasons in this blog post. I will also tell you why we didn’t choose AVID Media Composer along with why we aren’t even going to spend the $299 on Final Cut Imovie Pro X. But first, a little history. Read the rest of this entry »

MindWarp wins El Paso Ad Federation ADDY Awards

February 25th, 2011

Two El Paso Addy Awards

MindWarp receives two El Paso Addys

This past weekend, MindWarp won two ADDY awards at the 2011 El Paso Advertising Federation ADDY Awards.  Recognized pieces include our TV commercial for local florist Botanica Flowers and our animated intro for the El Paso Marathon promotion video. Both videos can be viewed below. Thank you everyone for all your support! MindWarp continues to grow in El Paso and we are thankful to all our friends and family coming along for the ride.

Botanica Flowers

El Paso Marathon Intro

TxDOT Commercial Production

January 17th, 2011

Carlos Corral setting up the production design

Setting up the Production Design

I was recently hired by Think Street Inc. & Rip Tear Shred, an ad agency and production company in Austin, TX to come direct their Spanish speaking commercials for the TxDOT Drinking & Driving campaign. It was nice to go back to Austin and do production work there. I had worked in Austin a few years back before returning home to West Texas.

Carlos Corral listens to the Audio.

Listing to the Location Audio

I had the chance to work with Kim Whatley, Randy House, and Enea Abbud of Think Street Inc. & also worked with Cathy Beaudoin and John Brown of Rip Tear Shred, as well as several other talented actors from San Antonio, Houston, and Austin. Production lasted for 2 days and in that time we filmed 3 commercial spots at a Hospital, Kitchen, and BBQ party. Check out the little behind the scenes video I got while on set.

I was brought in during the audition process in order to help the agency and production company choose the actors and actresses who would best fit into the roles in the TxDOT commercials. We were more than happy with all of our choices. I even had the chance to work with Vic Trevino. Who is Vic Trevino? He was recently cast as Danny Trejo’s Mexican Federale partner in MACHETE. Spoiler Alert! he dies in the first 5 minutes of the film. Still he was a great guy to work with as were all the other actors and crew on this project.

Carlos Corral & Vic Trevino

Working with Victor & Jorge

Talented Women on Set

Our talented Actresses & Crew Memebers

Check out the TxDOT 30 second & 2 minute TV Spots below:

Casting Call: Domestic Abuse Short Film Series

January 11th, 2011

Poster for Auditions regarding Domestic Abuse Short Films

Auditions Poster

Title: Domestic Violence Short Films
Company: El Paso County and MindWarp Entertainment
Project: Short Films
Genre: Drama
Roles: Paid
Production Start Date: TBD
Production End Date: TBD

Date & Location:
January 15, 2011
MindWarp Entertainment Office

10am – 12:30pm & 2pm – 6pm

AUDITIONS:
Please call MindWarp Entertainment at to set up an audition time.
Please bring (3) copies of your headshot and resumes on the day of the audition.

There are 3 narrative short films.

1st Story Synopsis:

Katie and Ben have been married for two years. They seem to be the perfect happy couple. The reality of their household, however, is very different when no one is watching.
BEN (Male, Age 25 -30)
KATIE (Female, Age 25-30)
WAITRESS/JESS (Female, Age 18-25)
HOSTESS (Female, Age 18-25)
BUDDY (Ages 25-30)

Please download your audition scripts from the link below:
https://mindwarpentertainment.com/auditions/

2nd Story Synopsis:

Maria decides to leave her abusive husband for good, but before she can execute her plan, her son gets into trouble at school and delays their plan of escape.

JORGE (BILINGUAL Male, Age 30-40)
MARIA (BILINGUAL Female, Age 25-40)
ROBBY (BILINGUAL Male Child, Age 10-12)
MRS. GARCIA (BILINGUAL Female, Age 30-40) Robby’s schoolteacher.
MIKE (Male, Age 30-35)

Please download your audition scripts from the link below:
https://mindwarpentertainment.com/auditions/

3rd Story Synopsis:

Tired of being abused, Josefina is determined to escape from husband, but taking her daughter with her presents a larger problem. Since she entered the country illegally, she is afraid to go to the police and instead turns to a friend at a battered women’s shelter for help.

OSCAR/HUSBAND (FLUENT IN SPANISH Male, Age 35-45)
JOSEFINA (FLUENT IN SPANISH Female, Age 30-35)
ESPERANZA (FLUENT IN SPANISH Female, Age 30-35)
ANGELICA (FLUENT IN SPANISH Female, Age 8-10)

Please download your audition scripts from the link below:
https://mindwarpentertainment.com/auditions/

Email or Call us if you have any questions regarding these roles. See you all at the auditions!

Canon 7D: The RED HOT Pixels

January 4th, 2011

If you’ve been using your Canon 7D/5DMkII on production shoots for over a year since you purchased it, chances are high that you have run into this problem.  The Red Hot Pixels!  Yes, there is no escaping them.  THEY WILL APPEAR on your camera sooner or later.  Why?  Because DSLR’s are still in their infant stages when it comes to recording video.  While the correction software hides these Red Hot Pixels when you take a photo, Canon forgot to include this software in the 7D’s video mode.  But then again, that’s one of the major differences between an $1800 and a $5000 production camera.

Now, some of you may say, I don’t see this Red Hot Pixel in my camera.  As some cameras have shown, it all depends what ISO & Shutter Speed you are using.  For one of our latest productions, our Canon 7D began to show its Red Hot Pixel at an ISO of 640, Shutter 1/50, and Iris of 4.5.  We didn’t notice this problem until we downloaded the footage at the end of the production day.  By then, it was too late.  

Check out the photos below which highlight the pixel.  Sure they may look small now, but when you blow this up on an HDTV, its quite noticeable.

PHOTOS:

Sample Photo 01 (2 megs)
Sample Photo 02 (1 meg)
Sample Photo 03 (2 megs)
Sample Photo 04 (1 meg)

Clip 01 : Raw Video footage at 1080p

Clip 02 : Raw Video footage at 1080p

Rather than shoot the rest of the production with a Red Hot Pixel, we ended up switching over to the Panasonic HPX500 in order to maintain the same Depth of Field look because of its 2/3 CCD Sensor.

If you have run into this Red Hot Pixel problem and need to recover your footage, then follow the SHAKE guide below.  I used this exact process when I came across this problem with the JVC100U model and was able to recover the footage with minimal blur.

Do not fear! There is hope.  If you purchased your Canon 7D/5DMkII in the past year, Canon will take the time to look at your camera and analyze the problem.  The more information you provide (like what I showed you above), the more likely they can pin point and fix the problem.  Canon USA was able to replace my entire 7D sensor, so its running like new again.  If you would like to enquire about a repair on your Canon 7D/5DMkII, then follow the instructions below:

CANON FACTORY SERVICE CENTER
15955 ALTON PARKWAY
Irvine, CA 92618


If you would like to set up your repair online, please use this link:
http://usa.canon.com/cusa/online_repair_tracking/consumer/

Important! Canon cannot be held responsible for equipment that is damaged or lost in shipping. Therefore, we strongly advise the following:

  • secure your product carefully in a box with suitable packing material to ensure proper protection during shipping
  • select a carrier that provides tracking information for the package
  • insure your package for the value of the product

Please provide the following items when presenting your product for repair:

  • any sample photos or print outs from your product (if the issue is related to image quality)
  • a completed copy of the form found at:
    http://consumer.usa.canon.com/app/pdf/dealer/FSC.pdf
  • for warranty repair, the original dated proof-of-purchase (photocopies are accepted for mail-in repair

Good Luck!

Casting Call: Teen Dating Violence Short Film

October 17th, 2010

Teen Dating Violence Casting Call Poster

Casting Call Poster

Title: Teen Dating Violence
Project: Short Film
Genre: Drama
Company: El Paso County & MindWarp Entertainment
Audition Date & Times: Saturday, October 23, 2010 from 10am-12:30pm & 2pm-6pm
Location: LAT Studio (11500 Pellicano Dr. Ste A6, El Paso, TX 79936)
Roles: PAID
Production Start Date: November 10, 2010
Production End Date: November 14, 2010

Auditions
Auditions will be held October 23th 2010 from 10am – 12:30pm & 2pm – 6pm @ LAT Studio. Please call LAT Studio to set up an audition time. Please bring (3) copies of your Headshots and Resumes on the day of the audition.

Please download your character’s scripts: https://mindwarpentertainment.com/auditions/

PLEASE NOTE YOU MUST BE *BILINGUAL* FOR THE FOLLOWING ROLES:
NATALIA
JAIME (DAD)
SANDRA (MOM)
ARTURO

Synopsis
A young high school teen Natalia begins to date a young and charming boy Alex only to realize that she has entered an abusive relationship. During the relationship, Alex becomes manipulative, controlling and jealous. With constant electronic harassment, misunderstandings, fights, and bruises, it is not long before Natalia’s friend Casey suspects that her friend is in an unhealthy relationship. Things eventually escalate even further when Alex turns physically violent with Natalia one night at a Quinceañera. Natalia finds ways to justify Alex’s behavior until she finally takes a look at herself in the mirror and does not recognize herself anymore.

MAIN ROLES

NATALIA (BILINGUAL Female, Age 16-25) is a straight A student, semi-popular hispanic student who is very down to earth and lives in a small home. She has several friends which include her best friends Chris and Casey.

ALEX (Male, Age 16-25) is Natalia’s abusive boyfriend. Although he starts out as a charming young man, he quickly becomes jealous of Natalia’s best friends and resorts to abusive tactics in order to keep Natalia in line.

CASEY (Female, Age 16-25) is one of Natalia’s best friends. She has always been the supportive best friend for Natalia. She confronts Alex & Natalia about their abusive relationship.

MINOR ROLES

JAIME (DAD) (BILINGUAL Male, Age 40-50) is Natalia’s father who works in construction. He takes a liking to Alex’s charm and macho behavior unknowing what kind of abusive relationship she is trapped in.

SANDRA (MOM) (BILINGUAL Female, Age 40-50) is Natalia’s stay at home Mother. Although she falls into the more traditional roles of a mother, she encourages Natalia to work things out with Alex unknowing what kind of abusive relationship she is trapped in.

ARTURO (BILINGUAL Male, Age 9-12) is Natalia’s little baby brother.

CHRIS (Male, Age 16-25) is another one of Natalia’s best friends. Although he has a crush on Natalia, he mostly maintains a distance because of Alex’s jealous behavior whenever he speaks to Natalia.

BOBBY (Male, Age 16-25) is Alex’s best friend. While he too is charming, he does not secede to the same abusive tendencies as Alex. When the time comes to confront Alex about his behavior, Bobby remains silent in order to keep his friend.

SCHOOL COUNSELOR (Female, Age 30-35)

SCHOOL SECRETARY (Female, Age 30-35)

EXTRAS (No appointment necessary. Email your headshot & resume to )

ALEX’S FRIENDS (Males & Females, Age 16-25)

NATALIA’S FRIENDS (Males & Females, Age 16-25)

MPEG-2 is DEAD!

June 28th, 2009

JVC GY-HM100 Handheld

JVC GY-HM100 Handheld

Last week, my friend Phil Goetz from Texas Media Systems invited me to a JVC: Solid Solutions seminar hosted by Scott A. Burch, a JVC district sales manager from the great state of Texas. Scott introduced us to the JVC GY-HM100 and its older brother the JVC GY-HM700 back in May. This time, he hosted a full breakdown of what these cameras can do with SDHC and SxS workflows. Check out my previous blog review of these two cameras here:
The JVC GY-HM100 & JVC GY-HM700

I want to take the time to go over a few more things that I both love and hate about these new cameras. First, I will give some love to the JVC GY-HM100 on its size and flexibility. Mounting this little guy on a Steadicam is easy. And the best part of this is it’s a full 1080p camera that only weighs 3lbs. Can you say smooth and simple?
Read the rest of this entry »

HOT / WHITE Pixel Fix on the JVC GY-HD110U

June 17th, 2009

This month, I wanted to take the time and talk about a small problem I encountered last year while filming our feature film Hands of God. As you have read from our blog, we used the JVC GY-110U HD camera with the Redrock 35mm Adapter and Nikon Lenses for our shoot. During the production, the JVC camera’s CCD sensors would occasionally overheat and cause small white pixels to appear in our shots. Here are some examples below of some of the issues that occurred:

Read the rest of this entry »

Worst Ideas Ever: Steadicam Mountain

May 22nd, 2009

My friend Neal Barenblat and I decided to rent one and climb a mountain. We rented a Varizoom Steadicam Navigator from Omega Broadcast here in Austin, TX and drove out to Enchanted Rock. We mounted Neal’s DVX100B onto the Steadicam and climbed the 800 ft. mountain, all while documenting our experience on my Canon XL2. Worst Idea Ever? Maybe. Check out some of the photos below:

Neal & the Steadicam

Neal & the Steadicam

Steadicam? No sweat!

Steadicam? No sweat!

Ready for Adventure!

Ready for Adventure!

Neal was up first. We took out the Steadicam and assembled it. Since we had only taken a small crash course on how to use a Steadicam, we were about to find out if we could climb Enchanted Rock and keep the camera steady. Neal decided to do the uphill climb and I would do the down hill climb.

Check out the short video below: