- The Second Wind (2005)
- Lightsaber Duel (2005)
- Inside Out (2004).
- Lucid Dreamers (2003)
- Fatal Game (2002)
The Second Wind
Starring:
Jim Caruso
Garrick Maul
Justin Eggert
Azell Fischel
Jimmy Chhiu
Bryce Heydon
Jarrad Lee
Jason Conrad
Synopsis:
Alan Young is a normal teenager. He struggles with personal demons and the challenge of keeping them inside. But when a strange incident takes away his power to control them, he finds his demons forming minds and wills of their own. Aided by his guardian and some spirit warriors, Alan must find a way to put his demons back where they came from, before they take away his last link to this world.
Lightsaber Duel
Actors/Choreography:
Jimmy Chhiu
Justin Eggert
Shot and Edited by:
Andrew Zeller
Trivia: Wooden swords were painted over frame-by-frame to achieve the lightsaber effect. There are approximately 800 frames!!
Inside Out
A love story based on Andy's first relationship. The film is based on the 35-page script: As Strange as Life. However, the film is more of a companion to the script that a direct recreation of it. The script features mostly dialogue where as the film has no dialogue. The story is also more vague in the film and features a few slight differences. Inside Out is a little over 10 minutes of color-enhanced visuals accompanied by music. The film was shot handheld and has a deliberate "indie" feel to it.
Trivia
-Possible titles for the film included: "Altogether Beautiful," "Blank Page," and "Someone I Love."
Cast and Crew
Andrew Zeller: Writer/Director/Editor/Male Lead
Kira Carpenter: Female Lead
Zac Krohn: Director of Photography/Camera Operator
Lucid Dreamers
Nolan lives alone with his alcoholic and abusive father. One night, after a particularly brutal conflict with his father, Nolan's Aunt and cousin arrive. They see the state Nolan is in and decide to take him away. A few months later and they've moved to a quiet, remote coastal town called 'Peaceful Valley.' As Nolan and his cousin, Ben, struggle to accept each other, they meet a local teenager their age named Sean. Sean gives them a tour of the town and introduces Ben and Nolan to the town's symbol, a fountain. He explains that the locals believe it decides who dreams, when, and what they dream about. The fountain is considered so powerful, that nobody even touches it anymore. Ben and Nolan have trouble believing this, so Sean has them talk to the custodian of the town, Joshua, who is called the 'Fountain Keeper.' He gives them historical background on the fountain, but nothing else. Ben becomes extremely fascinated in the belief that touching the fountain allows that person to enter other people's dreams. So he decides to try it one night. Nolan does not go, in fear of the consequences. Sean and Ben discover that they can enter dreams! Meanwhile, Nolan is having reoccurring dreams of his father beating him. One night, Ben becomes trapped in a dream. Sean and Nolan set out on a desperate quest to bring Ben back to the real world.
EXACT RUNTIME. 01 hr : 28 min : 29 sec
Cast List.
Christian Henderson: Sean
Max Maksutovic: Nolan
Andrew Zeller: Ben
Dirk VanLoon: Joshua
Joan Marie Young: Alice
Joe Nuss: Ted
Rebecca Clayton: Susan
Zac Krohn: Young Joshua
Jim Caruso: William
Crew List.
Andrew Zeller: Writer/Director/Editor
Alvin Pingol: Director of Photography/Camera Operator/Editor
Zac Krohn: Music/Music Editing
Joan Marie Young: Producer/Transportation/Photographer
Christian Henderson: Transportation
Katie Young: End Credit Vocals
Special FX Makeup: Jayme Bechtel
Trivia:
-Approx. 7-8 Hours of Footage was shot over a period of 21 days.
-Despite the deletion and insertion of scenes, the film is exactly the length predicted. (Page per minute rule: 90 pages, 90 minutes).
-Andrew Zeller spent 24 hours nonstop (minus bathroom breaks) and stayed up all night in an attempt to finish editing the film before the International San Francisco Film Festival deadline. He worked from about 8pm to 8am, took a break, and then worked on and off until 4pm! Despite skipping school as well, he did not finish in time.
-Zac Krohn, Alvin Pingol, and Adam Thiesen all came over to Andy's house during the editing of the film. Because of this, there were usually three computers running at once in Andy's room. Andy was editing, Zac was adding music, and either Adam was animating or Alvin was doing additional editing.
-Over 30 different locations were used, including ones in Occidental, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Valley Ford, Santa Rosa, and Bodega.
-Scouting for the "perfect fountain" was done prior to the film and included visits to areas as a far Sonoma.
-6 pages of Storyboards were made.
-There were two cuts made of the film, the first screened to only a handful of friends and relatives of Andy. Based on their reactions, a new cut was made, which featured new scenes and others cut out, as well the rearrangement of some others. Most notable of these is the opening sequence, which originally occurred after the introductory credits. There is only one copy of this version of the film, which is currently owned by Andy.
-Last names of the characters were written but never used. They were based on famous actors, writers, and directors. (Charles) Beaumont, (George T.) Clemens, (Sam) Neill, (Dustin) Hoffman, (Alan) Delon. Ted Phoenix is the one exception. This name was just one Andy created and used.
-In the script, Sean, Ben, and Nolan are watching The Creature from the Black Lagoon. In the film, audio was taken from an episode of the 1960's British Spy Series, The Avengers.
-The doctor in the film is Ann Young, Andy's Aunt, and a real physician.
-The name "Peaceful Valley" is taken from an episode of the original Twilight Zone. The episode features a small out of the way town with secret, super advanced technology.
-Two dream sequences were cut. One was shot; the other was written but is not in the script. The filmed one involved the Academy Awards and the written one involved a young guy seeing his "dream girl."
-Larry Koverman, Andy's neighbor, built the fountain in the film.
-It may sound clichéd, but the film is actually based on a dream Andy had where an American reporter in a small European town discovers that a fountain is a portal to another world.
-Thomas Chouinard composed music for the film, none of which is used because the right software to recreate an orchestra was not purchased in time.
-Possible titles for the film included "Dream Away" and "Trapped in a Dream."
Fatal Game
Starring:
Dirk VanLoon
Andrew Zeller
Max Maksutovic
Jimmy Gaffney
Nicholas Van Dyke
Scott Zeller
Written & Directed by Andrew Zeller
Filmed by Alvin Pingol
Edited by Alvin Pingol & Andrew Zeller
Synoposis:
A teenage boy who shares his friends' passion for video games and movies about assassins is learning how to kill from a professional. As he nears the end of his training, he is given one final test, a test that will determine whether he lives or dies.