Sifter – Details, episodes & analysis

After almost two years playing festivals, Northern Virginia director Joe Carabeo is releasing his “genre-bending cyberpunk noir revenge film” called Kira Vs Everyone. There will be a live YouTube watch party on November 18 at 7pm. Joe will be joined by gaffer Brian Sarvis and actor Ulysses Campbell and they discuss:
– Why the thugs have color names
– How Ulysses got cast
– Shooting in a parking deck
– Why there are red and blue lights
– The implied or out of focus violence
– Working with a fight director
– Where the series will go next
– The YouTube viewing party

LINKS
The teaser/trailer
To watch it live visit either of these sites:
joecarabeo.com
astrayproductions.com

OTHER LINKS
station 33
Previous podcast with Joe
Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival

Longtime Richmond actor/filmmaker Kahil Dotay wrote, directed and starred in his long-awaited film VAMPIRES IN VIRGINIA. Our discussion includes:
– My name in the credits
– What inspired him to set it in Virginia
– Why it took almost 10 years to complete
– How Tim Russ almost ended up directing
– Challenges to directing yourself
– Gun safety on set
– Shooting the nude scenes
– Special upcoming screening
Kahil has also has been in more than 200 movies and TV shows. This interview will continue in a few weeks, so he can tell us some of his stories as an actor.

LINKS
James River Short Film Showcase
Vampires in Virginia
Click here for event details
The special cast/crew screening is 11/16, 2:30pm with location to be announced.
Listeners and fans of TVJerry can get get tickets for 50% off for a limited time. These are only based on availability and are subject to selling out. Email: ticket@vampiresinvirginia.com and mention that you want the TVJerry 50% off discount.

This is the first of 3 interviews featuring films at this year’s Richmond International Film Festival (Sep 24 – 29).

Nelson Tracey wrote and directed Breakup Season, about a couple whose relationship ends on a Christmas family visit. The boyfriend is played by Chandler Riggs (best known as the son on The Walking Dead) and his girlfriend was played by Samantha Isler (Teen Molly in Molly’s Game and one of the daughters in Captain Fantastic). My interview is with Nelson, as well as the 2 actors who played Chandler’s siblings, Carly Stewart and Jacob Wysocki. Since they provide much of the comedy in this drama, their interview is lots of fun, including:
– The fascination with La Grande, Oregon (NOT La Grange)
– Inspiration for trains, vegetarianism & hatchet throwing
– Chandler and Samantha’s “love scene”
– Creating the Tik Tok dance
– Those Christmas PJs

LINKS:
Richmond International Film Festival
The Ashland Theatre
My Ashland Theatre podcast

TyRuben Ellingson was a conceptual designer on Avatar, Jurassic Park, Star Wars: A New Hope and numerous other impressive credits. Currently, he’s an Associate Professor in VCU’s Communition Arts and the Program Director of VCU’s Cinema program. Here are some of the things we discuss:
– The origin of his unique first name
– Discovering cinema and special effects
– How he got his job at ILM
– Designing for Avatar
– A Pacific Rim disappointment
– His early VR design, including his father’s paintings
– The future of effects using CGI and AI
– Teaching at VCU

LINKS
TyRuben’s website
Light & Magic, the Disney doc on ILM

AI art websites
Mid Journey
Dall-e 2
Stable Diffusion

Shows we discussed
Reservation Dogs
Our Flag Means Death
What We Do in the Shadows

This week’s show is a double feature!

First is a look at the American Civil War Museum’s new orientation film “A People’s Contest: America’s Civil War and Emancipation” with Dr. Rob Havers, the CEO of the Museum, and John Murphy, the writer/director behind the movie and Executive Creative Director of Solid Light. We discuss:
– Why the Museum decided to create a new film
– The unique double screen technique
– Recording the actors and creating the graphics

After that is a trip to the Maggie L. Walker National Historical Site, where they’ve created two new videos for students. Junior Ranger was produced for 1st graders and Maggie Walker Explains Jim Crow is for 4th graders. Topics include:
– The need for the videos
– Producing them both in 2 days
– Working with child actors
– How they videos will be used

LINKS:
The American Civil War Museum
The webpage for the movie itself
Solid Light

Both videos from the Maggie L. Walker National Historical Site
MAM Productions

Longtime local actor Bridget Gethins has a juicy part as the obnoxious neighbor on the new Freeve Covid comedy Sprung. We talk about:
– How she transitioned from stage to screen
– Her experience on Sprung
– Being chosen by Robert Redford for A Walk in the Woods
– Playing the court reporter on Loving
– Improvising on Game Change & getting mentioned in 2 national reviews
– The Theresa Pollak Project
– Her husband’s Tour de France fame

LINKS:
Sprung on Freeve
Bridget’s site
Greg’s site

Grace Whiteside was a contestant on the 3rd season of Netflix’s hit glass blowing competition Blown Away. They were raised in Virginia and attended VCU before moving to New York. We discuss:
– Their unique clothes on the show
– Their mullet and what it means as a non-binary person
– Their experience at VCU
– The combo of glass production and performance art
– The experience of making Blown Away
– The reality show that their dad & brother were on

LINKS:
Grace’s website
Sticky Glass (the production line)

The Rehearsal (on HBOMax)

THE GOOD ROAD is getting ready for its 3rd season on PBS, so co-hosts Craig Martin and Earl Bridges came on Sifter to discuss:
– Their childhood in Thailand
– How the show came about
– Why Greg calls their guests “Batman, not Superman”
– Earl’s definition of a philanthropologist
– How they find the people to highlight
– What they learned from Season 1 & 2 that helped in Season 3
– Featuring the U.S. Space Force
– Earl’s transformation into a punk rocker

LINKS
https://www.goodroad.tv/
PBS passport site for previous seasons
Philanthropy Journal (their digital publication)

Bob Spencer has been working as a set lighting technician in this area for many years, with numerous TV shows, commercials and movies to his credit. This second installment in the on-set vocabulary series covers these:
– Greens
– C-47s
– Film Loader vs DIT
– A honeywagon
– COVID protocols
– Unions in our right to work state
– The history of video assist
– Script supervison
– Continuity
– Set decorators and lead man
In case you missed Part One of this vocab lesson, here’s the link.

In addition, Michael Plumb from the Va Museum of History and Culture will be here to tell us about the new Created Equal Film Series.
LINKS
Created Equal Film Series
Mending Walls podcast

Bob Spencer has been working as a set lighting technican in this area for many years, having garned numerous TV shows, commercials and movies to his credit. Today he uses his own experiences and historical context to explain the jobs of numerous people on a set, including:
– DP
– Key Grip
– Chief Lighting Technician or Gaffer
– Best Boy
– Different names different coasts (titles and gear)
– Showrunner, Executive Producer,  Line Producer
– UPM (Unit Production Manager) and POC (Production Coordinator)
– 1st and 2nd ADs
– Second Unit
– How Bob got into the biz