NEW VIDEO: RYKKA "BLACKIE"

RYKKA - BLACKIE
Edited, Photographed & Directed by CJ Wallis, @fortyfps

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Find more information on this project and others at our official website, fortyfps.com
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24 Hours Away From Making 21 Year Old CJ's Day

For whatever reason, I vividly remember every detail of the 4 minutes in 2002 when I happened to stumble upon the video debut of the song "Sweet Ones" by some 'new' hyper-active Canadian named Sarah Slean.

It marked the first time it occurred to me that I really wanted to make a music video for someone. I wrote her name down in red smelly-felt on a desk-sized scribble pad I had at the time and set it to the back of my mind to one day try to dazzle this person I didn't know existed 5 minutes previous.

I saw her countless times live afterwards and a couple years later in a bold, Jack Daniels soaked gesture - informed her of this lofty goal after her show at the Commodore Ballroom. She politely/warmly smiled and said whatever sweet things popular artists say when strange people tell them strange things. (She claims to have no recollection of this thankfully.)

It is nearly impossible for the people you enjoy and respect from a distance through film or music to live up to everything you've assumed and built them up to be if you are ever fortunate to get to meet them or collaborate together and Sarah is, and has been, all of it and more. Please enjoy a short clip of someone being effortlessly talented and relishing every second of it...Thank you for having me around. Xx

Sarah Slean's "The Rose" Video Release Revealed

This morning was greeted with an e-mail from our new best friend Jennifer at BravoFact! letting us know that, almost a year to the date it was finished, our Sarah Slean music video for "The Rose" has it's national broadcast date which, in turn, means it can be finally be released online!

The video will be embedded here and released on Monday, January 31st and will be accompanied by another incredible making-of documentary shot and edited by Jeffrey Zablotny. Please visit our Rose Project Page on our website for a bit of pre-release context and other potentially interesting things.

Runaway Returns To It's Home, Nokia N8

It is a mere 2 days away from Nokia's "Direct & Project" gala screening event at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Part of the marketing hook of the phone, aside from the ability to Direct in 23.98 fps at 720p resolution, is the ability to Project the videos from the phone via HDMI.

"...So it's not just a clever name?" W.Campbell (c.1992)

You can click the photo above or here to view full resolution of the image above. Shortly after the screening Wednesday, we will be uploading Runaway to Youtube along with a nice amount of behind-the-scenes photos and a mini-making-of documentary cut from footage shot by Sylvia Soska from Twisted Twins Productions.

Juno Actress Sierra Pitkin In Nokia N8 Film 'Runaway'

It seems Nokia is quite happy to hear about the inclusion of Connor Stanhope in our Direct & Project film, Runaway - taking to their Twitter account with the news. So what better time than the present to reveal that another young star named Sierra Pitkin, who is best known for stealing every scene she was in, in the massively marketed/hyped indie-film Juno (shown above) will be acting as Connor's co-star. For more information on the Wednesday art gallery screening of the films, click here to visit the WOW/World Nokia event Facebook page.

Runaway: Nokia N8 Promotional Poster

Smallville's Connor Stanhope, Twisted Twins Join Nokia N8 Contest

With the Nokia N8 Direct & Project contest deadlines dwindling down and the gala screening approaching rapidly, we thought it best to begin the build-up. The contest, as mentioned, requires various kinds of visual artists found/selected by Nokia to create a 1 minute clip (narrative or visual) shot entirely on their N8 phone. The top 3 entries keep their promotional phone and the top film wins a large 46" HD television and corporate party favors!

Our entry is titled "Runaway" and features one of my new favorite actors Connor Stanhope, who regularly portrays young Lex Luthor on the Vancouver produced "Smallville." Connor is on an extremely short list of young actors with the ability to act circles around the majority of his adult counterparts. (His words, not mine.)

I will be directing, shooting and post-production for this with a story co-written with The Soska Sisters and featuring visual embellishments by Jeffrey Zablotny - re-assembling all our award winning fast-film team members from contests past. "Runaway", we realized shortly after it's creation, is an indirect homage to a comic strip which, clearly, remains as one of my biggest influences and favorite things ever.

Rules state that I'm not really allowed to post much else regarding my entry but: I am allowed to shamelessly promote the screening and their product...product liiike Nokia's latest cel-phone homerun: the Nokia N8? The Nokia N8 which features Carl Zeiss lenses (seen right) and shoots in crystal clear 720p HD! Nokia, of course, being the company putting on this "N8: Direct & Project" contest and screening (and by screening, I mean the Nokia screening on the 19th) at the Vancouver Art Gallery (generously rented out by Nokia.)

Nokia.

Despite my profession, I have not bought a television since the nineteen hundreds and am willing to do whatever it takes to play NHL 11 at home on a large, high definition television - out of respect and solidarity, I haven't even looked at my Blackberry since writing this.

Scarlet Ending Kickstarter Reward DVD Details & Extras Announced

Back in September, Syracuse's The Scarlet Ending turned to fundraising websaviour Kickstarter as a hail mary attempt to help make two music videos in my current homeland of Vancouver. Like long-time, late night guilty pleasure Scott Houston does on PBS, we asked you to send us your extra bits of wealth in exchange for exclusive items - naturally escalating in grandeur relative to the size of your generosity.

Surprisingly, the majority of people who donated did so above and beyond the 10 dollar amount and will be receiving a DVD packed with as much as we could get done for you in the two days we had. The disc includes:

SCARLET ENDING KICKSTARTER REWARD DVD
Disc Details, Extras & Specifications


EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT - Live @ The Biltmore (3:55)
1:66, Color, 480p from 1080p HD Export
Directed & Edited by CJ Wallis


PHOENIX - David Barkes, David Lovgren & Katrin Bowen (4:08)
2:35.1, Color, 480p from 720p HD Export
Directed & Edited by CJ Wallis




EXCLUSIVE DVD EXTRAS


SINNER - Electricity Free, Un-amplified Acoustic Performance (4:02)
2:35.1, Color, 480p from 1080p HD Export
Directed & Edited by CJ Wallis
Shot at The Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver, British Columbia


EPIPHANY - Direct & Edit Your Own Music Video (3:15)
2:35.1, B&W, 480p from 1080p HD Export
Directed by CJ Wallis
Shot at The Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver, British Columbia. Using The Angle Button On Your DVD Remote, Viewers Have The Ability To Change Between Angles At Any Time During The Performance Of Epiphany, Which Is Performed In It's Entirety.


SMOKE OUT - Behind The Scenes Documentary (4:39)
1:66, Color/B&W, 480p from 1080p HD Export
Directed & Edited by Jeffrey Zablotny
An alternate Kickstarter specific edit which varies slightly from the version that appears online. (which can be seen here)




DVD COVER ARTWORK

Only 200 of these DVD's were printed and will be shipped directly to Syracuse tomorrow sometime where, upon arrival, the daunting task of getting them individually to each person presents itself. A task which may take a little time considering. Please let us know what you thought on our Facebook or Twitter pages.

All Things Horror Gives 'Dead Hooker' Top 10 Honors

Mike Snoonian over at All Things Horror has released his choices for the top 10 films of the year and Dead Hooker In A Trunk made the list coming in at #6, sharing the spotlight with the likes of 'Let Me In' and the Eli Roth produced 'Last Exorcism.' Here is what Mike had to say about the film:

6. Dead Hooker in a Trunk: Catchy name aside, this film delivers a pantsload of fun during its run time. Jen and Sylvia Soska bring a Warner Brothers cartoonish element of violence to a live action film. Aside from a number of "holy shit" moments and a pair of scenes that aren't for the squeamish (especially one that will have dudes covering their ghoulies and averting their eyes), DHiaT is also brilliantly funny, with some of the best moments spawning from CJ Wallis' "Goody Two Shoes" ultra christian character. Really, if you're any sort of fan of the film's that 42nd Street used to churn out, you know you want to watch this film. I can't wait to the ladies' next film, American Mary, to hit later on this year.

You can check out the entire list here and you can read Mike's initial review of the film here.