SquiggleBooth

If any of you live in North Carolina or close to, I invite you to the Ava Gardner Film Festival where there will be a retrospective of our work. The SquiggleBooth program will be held at Johnston County library in Smithfield, North Carolina. This program starts at 10am on Saturday, September 29th. There will be a Q&A after the screening.

Dear Stranger will be part of a shorts program that will be held at the Third Street theater in Smithfield. This program starts at 10:30am on Saturday, September 29th.

This is a short film I completed more than a year ago but has received little love in terms of marketing. After the film premiered at the Annapolis Film Festival last fall, promoting this film fell behind other projects that were in production. It belongs on the big screen but it certainly works on the small one, so here it is.

I had been running a blog that was dedicated to the film but I am no longer posting there. However, you can find all the important information that is relevant to the film on that site.

Here are the important players from the cast & crew:

• Rosie – Nikki Alikakos
• Gordon – Steven Lock
• Stranger – Michael Teh
• Voice-Over – Kelly Cook
• Rosie’s Friend – Maryse Karunaratne
• Still Photographer – Carl Gunhouse
• Music Composer – Hunter M. McDermott

Some of you have shown in interest in buying a DVD copy of this film, I am still hoping to do this but it will most likely be part of a larger DVD set. However, you can support this and other SquiggleBooth projects by donating to us. Click here for more information on our simple donating method.

My good friend, JaCynthia Shepherd, recalls her experiences on the Public School Bus system. It seems she received much of her education while riding to and from school. This video was originally supposed to be included in last month’s Videoblogging week.

The beautiful song is “She Was a Girl, She Was in Love” by Matt Baldwin. You can purchase it on iTunes. You can check out a slideshow of some of the photos here.

I am probably breaking some Videoblogging Week bylaw by posting a podcast that was not made this week. But the original Day 5 episode needed a little more tender love and care. The Fishtank Ferrari episode was one fragment of a bigger documentary project on tricked out cars. Sadly, the project was abandoned.

Credits:
Directed & Edited by Ajit Anthony Prem
Produced by Trevor Bayack
Shot by George Rivas

Sometimes, the best place to think is on the road. Music by Hisato Higuchi. Buy the album on iTunes. You can view or download the larger-sized photos or watch the slideshow.

It is always intriguing to see yourself through other people’s eyes. Ajit wrote this and it is loosely based on the conflict in my creative life. It was shot, acted and edited by me.

To see more of my humorous videos, please go here.

I will be on a panel on videoblogging at the PodcampAtlanta (Un)Conference talking about SquiggleBooth. If any of you live in the area or can drive up, please do come and say hello.

The videoblogging panel will take place in Atlanta on Saturday, March 17 at 1:45pm in the Governor’s Hall room. I will stick around after the session, if anyone is interested.

Besides me, the other panelists are:
Kary Rogers – Inside Mr. KaryHead and Good Commitment
Erin Nealey – Mom’s Brag Vlog
Chris Daniel – nTune.tv and Chris Daniel’s Video Blog
Grayson Daughters – The Spacey Gracey Review

A pretty diverse group, it should be interesting. The discussion will be moderated by Ben Ramsey.

Directions and other info can be found here: http://podcamp.pbwiki.com/PodcampAtlantaSessions
Please register here: http://podcamp.pbwiki.com/PodcampAtlantaRegistrants

After filming a narrative short at Pete Wing’s castle in 1995, I returned to the castle to tape Pete over the course of several summers. Hours and hours of his ramblings were whittled down to this 10 minute documentary. I wanted to tape Pete until he finished the B&B extension but realized he was probably going to be working on the castle forever and I needed to wrap things up. Turns out, he discovered the taxes would be prohibitively expensive on the B&B so he and his wife, Toni, are trying to sell it and move to Montana. What will happen to Pete and castle is still undecided but here is a little artifact of this character and his folly in the meantime.

Synopsis:

At the age of twenty-one Peter Wing returned from Vietnam and started building a home for himself and his family using recycled materials. For thirty years he and his wife are proud owners of a medieval castle visited by hundreds of tourists every year. Wing’s Castle Documentary shares with us what a little perseverance and resourcefulness can accomplish and how one can draw inspiration from the most challenging of life’s experiences.

This is the unofficial opening scene to a documentary completed last year. It is currently playing at select PBS stations, check your local listings.

Riding In Stride (25:30 mins.) probes the age-old relationship between girls, women and horses by documenting girls on ponies and women at the racetrack, including interviews with veteran jockey PJ Cooksey, trainer Joan Scott, and bestselling author Mary Midkiff. Riding in Stride focuses on women who have carried that passion into their adult lives and reveals what it takes for women to make it in the racing industry while staying dedicated to their love for horses.

This opening scene was split up in the final cut for many logistical reasons. But I have always had a fondness for it in its original state.

Riding in Stride was directed by Rachel Connolly, edited by me (Ajit Anthony Prem) with music composed by Carmela Sinco. If you would like to buy a DVD, go to Premhart.com.

SquiggleBooth’s first audio podcast can be downloaded here.

My neighbor Scott recieved this telephone message from one of his good friends, Jonathan, right after New Years Eve 2007. It is exactly what you’d expect — emotional, hilarious and out of control. Music by Carmela.

Note: This has strong language.