An Amazing Gift and the Last New Video of the Season!

Hey Guys,
Hope everyone is having a great holiday season.  There's so much to be thankful for, even in these weird times.  Family, friends, and freedom come to mind.  We wanted to let everyone know about one last cool DVD to come out this season and to give a big shout out to all our friends and family serving in far away places, especially the Marines at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan who sent us the most amazing gift ever.

Have a safe and happy holiday, we'll be here shipping right up until Christmas Eve so feel free to use the discount codes below to save on your holiday gifts from choppertown.com.  Remember, every purchase goes towards helping our little company stay afloat and bring you more films.

Thanks again for supporting our dreams and remember...STAY INDEPENDENT!

• Use the code "choppertown" when you checkout and save 10% on all your orders until January 1st.
• Military families save 15% by using the code "military" until January 1st.
• HINT: Get three items or more and save an ADDITIONAL 5%-15%

Gearhead Punks: the Go Kustom TV Archive DVD
Scenes from the Pacific Northwest hot rod and kustom scenes!

click for info

Check out the four-wheel scene in the Pacific Northwest! A collection of Episodes from Go-Kustom TV featuring Car Shows, Hot Rod Builders and Fabricators as well as the never before aired 2009 Seattle Roadster Show, which includes interviews with Candy Clark (of American Graffiti) and Lance Lambert of the Vintage Vehicle Show. Also Tim Conder's front engine dragsters and much more. 138 minutes running time!  Check it out here.

An Amazing Gift

Once in a while we receive a note or request from service members serving overseas during various holidays and we have a standing policy of sending Choppertown care packages to wherever they might be, no questions asked.  It just makes us happy that they might find our films enjoyable and feel closer to home even on a small level while they do the work no one else wants to do.  We always get kind photos, letters and emails of thanks that warm our hearts.  This time, we received something that brought tears to our eyes.  This is by far the greatest honor we've yet received.

 

So here's a special thanks to Staff Sergeant Zigan, our brothers in the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, and all the Marines and service members of Camp Leatherneck, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.  Stay safe and warm this holiday season.  For our part, we're fighting every day to bring you home safe and soon so you can join your brothers on the road again.

A few more pics sent to us over the past few years.







Thanks guys.  Have a very happy and safe holiday season.

Stay independent, Zack and Scott One World Studios Ltd. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Blog:

Fine art bike prints and a holiday deal from Choppertown - Please support

Hey Guys, It's been seven years since we started down this movie-making voyage with all of you.  We're basically a two man operation around here and we wanted to say thank you for all your support.  Please use the discount codes below to save on your holiday gifts from choppertown.com. Thanks again for supporting our dreams and remember...STAY INDEPENDENT! Use the code "choppertown" when you checkout and save 10% on all your orders until January 1st. Military families save 15% by using the code "military" until January 1st. HINT: Get five items or more and save an ADDITIONAL 15%!

NEW - Framed Art Prints Framed Fine Art Print "Bryan in Anaheim, CA" Huge 16"x24" matted B&W, non-glare glass, black wood finish frame. Learn More NEW - Framed Art Prints Framed Fine Art Print "Brittown" Huge 16"x24" matted color, non-glare glass, black wood finish frame. Learn More One World Super Combo 5 DVDs and 5 CDs! All five award-winning biker movies and their Soundtrack CDs from One World Studios in one specially-priced pack! Learn More The Harbortown Bobber DVD The Harbortown Bobber DVD "The best motorcycle movie to date". ~Cycle Source. Guaranteed to make you go out back and fire up the welder! Learn More

Stay independent, Zack and Scott One World Studios Ltd. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Blog:

Ouija spirit gets Super 8 treatment – I Am ZoZo filmmakers interviewed for Kodak InCamera magazine

Focus On Film - Kodak InCamera Magazine Fall 2011
Ouija spirit gets Super 8 treatment

Writer-director-cinematographer Scott Di Lalla shoots a scene for I Am ZoZo with the Super 8 Canon 1014 XLS. Photo: One World Studios

I Am ZoZo is an independent horror film inspired by accounts of real supernatural events. The story concerns a Ouija board experience that goes wrong on Halloween weekend and five young people who become the target of a malevolent spirit called ZoZo.

Writer-director-cinematographer Scott Di Lalla embarked on the making of I Am ZoZo with his One World Studios partner, Zack Coffman, who served as producer-editor. Di Lalla and Coffman had met at UCLA in the Tae Kwon Do club. Together, they fantasized about making movies. Then in 2004, they produced Choppertown, a cinema verite biker documentary that was embraced by the motorcycle community, went on to win festival awards, and launched a full-fledged distribution outfit.

For I Am ZoZo, the filmmakers’ first narrative feature, they agreed that a good horror story requires the perfect setting. Seattle and San Juan Island were chosen for their gloomy, dreary weather to accentuate the feeling of isolation.

Next, they discussed how to achieve the right look for the film. “Horror absolutely must have the right look to elicit an eerie feeling,” says Di Lalla. “I had been doing a lot of research and came across The National’s ‘Fake Empire’ music video. When I learned it was digitized Super 8, I was sold. It was exactly what we wanted.”

Di Lalla and Coffman acquired the same type of camera as used on the music video – a Canon 1014 XLS with a fixed zoom lens – and loaded up on KODAK VISION3 200T Color Negative Film 7213. “It was a brand new stock and the images were so much smoother,” Di Lalla notes. “We shot every frame of I Am ZoZo on it.”

“Cost wasn’t the deciding factor,” continues Di Lalla. “It was about shooting the film we wanted to make the right way with the right production values. Compared to HD video, it really wasn’t significantly more expensive to shoot film, especially Super 8. Plus, lighting was a consideration. Film has more latitude than digital video in high key light situations and the negative is extremely forgiving.”

Coffman adds, “When you shoot on film, every shot is so planned. Yes, our budget went to a new level because of this decision, but cheap is cheap. We wanted quality. We were frugal and found ways to budget for the stock. Nothing out there in the digital world emulates the look of Super 8.”
The filmmakers relied extensively on 360-degree lighting setups and shot long takes, often using self-made glider and shoulder mount rig to help the characters draw the audience into scenes. “We rehearsed for three weeks because this style was unfamiliar to our nascent actors, but we got great performances without a lot of retakes,” Di Lalla notes.

They also chose to shoot in a 4:3 aspect ratio and blow up the Super 8 to 16:9. Alpha Cine in Seattle handled processing, and Lightpress transferred the film to 1080p HD, delivering a flat scanned image. Once the EDL was set, the duo went back to Lightpress to work with colorist Eric Rosen.

“In post, we were really able to open up the images and add contrast,” says Di Lalla. “It was so fantastic to see the rich, deep look once it was color timed. The VISION3 film, in combination with the high-end rendering system, held up amazingly well. We were initially concerned about how the grain would hold up, but it wasn’t an issue; we got fantastic images.”

Di Lalla offers this advice: “If beginning filmmakers do their research, and keep their story and setting to a minimum, they’ll be surprised by what they can get out of their budget.”

Coffman concludes, “Film will always have a place in the world of moviemaking. At the end of the day, you have to decide what kind of filmmaker you want to be. The business has become a sort of Walmart culture. But art is about expressing yourself and cost should not be the single negotiating factor for the right medium to showcase your work. Once we decided on Super 8, we never spoke another word about digital. Filmmakers owe it to themselves to find the format that suits their vision and make it happen. It pays you back!”

One World Studios was entertaining offers from distributors at press time.

Read the original article at: http://motion.kodak.com/motion/Publications/In_Camera/Focus_on_Film/iAmZoZo.htm