SILVER VEGA & "A BIT TOO CLEVER" VIDEO

Last weekend was good - because we've finally done shooting with Maxim Silva-Vega, which was always an elusive one. Filming took place in yet-too-be opened AVANT Club at Artplay. So there's only one person left to shoot, and then we'll wrap up the production, hopefully.

And here's one of the video we've done with IHNABTB guys, "Больно умный" /"A Bit Too Clever"/. As you can see in the video, it was all a good clean fun for everyone involved. Enjoy!

YOU'RE SO CLEVER

Got no time to update this blog as usual, really - just to let you know that we're still on it. We did Dimon Groshev from Lost Weekend and Vetal from Stop The Silence fest, so only a couple of persons to go, and we're off to post-production. And today we filmed wild, arty and otherwise lovable bunch of guys from I.H.N.A.B.T.B. at their communalka in Lebyazhiy pereulok, only a few feet away from Kremlin. Not only did we filmed them for our movie (most of the band went blind drunk during a shooting), we also shot 2 impromtu videos for their tracks. While we edit all this mess, you can take a look at the pictures of really low quality. Still looks intriguing, innit?

CYBERPUNK TV

Hello we're back in action. And we have a good story to tell. There was a lot of questions and inconvenience where to shoot our favourite band and good mates Punk TV, until onу day I payed a visit to a local Billboard magazine office and became enthralled with their passages and coridors. "One could easily film a movie here", Billboard editors and good friends of mine said. "Yeah, and I'm filming one right about now", I replied.



What I did next was a big mistake - we filed for an official permission to shoot there and got refusal, "for security reasons". It was my DIRECTOR'S VISION that was at stake hereб you see! I went in full Werner Herzog mode and decided to break into that business-centre "Nov'" (which means "virgin soil", apparently). To penetrate Nov' with our guerilla-underground-fucking-demented movie-making. Oh yes, sir.

After I made some useful inquieries about how all this works and got hold of passes which aloow enter the building not bothering security types at the gates, we did just that last Friday night, after 7 PM when all the clerks happily left home. We did shoot some beautiful and strange shots, as you can see, this place is pure cyberpunk after something in the ceiling fittings went horribly off. However after about half-an-hour (closer to 20 minutes, actually) we've been approached by security officer. The plan for that kind of situation was for all five us suddenly play dumb - what else could we do?



"What are you filming here, eh?", he said.
"Mmm, nothing, sir. Just the guys", I said.
"The guys, you say? Who are you and where are you from?"
"Why, of course, we're from M-Video". I tried not to cross helpful Billboard up and recalled sharing a smoke outside this building with some idiot stranger who worked, as he said, for company with that name.
"Well then go and film your stuff THERE", said the guard.
"Yeah but it's a lot more beautiful out HERE", I said. Besides the security cameras won't work because of this huge fucking crack in the ceiling.



Then we went off and did the remaining scenes at the shaurma cafe near Baumanskaya underground station in a lot more relaxed mode. I didn't compromise my position once again, and still captured just what I wanted & I will surely make a great play with this change of interiors. I think such stories adorn and profit any independent movie. AND now I have something to say to the young filmmakers of the world (i.e. to those who're even younger than me) - if you need to film something, don't waste your time filing stupid permissions. Just go in there and shoot yourt shit!

AS GOOD AS JUMPER CAN GET

Hey, everybody, we're not dead or anything as some might've hoped (though I'm definitely puzzled who could it be). Some of us have been on vacation and some of us landed on some pretty nice new job, but this pause has ended and we're back at it.
Today we shot dazzling Mitya Berkhin from awesome Good Jumper band - don't even let me start raving about them, otherwise it will end up like this. Shooting took place at Valera Chtak's creative laboratary at Winzavod, which was really kind of him (his ass is visible on of the pictures, and we shot him babbling about indie music too, considering he was once a member of Good Jumper and now is shit-hot popular contemporary artist). All went really beautiful and cool, as you can judge by the pictures (sorry for shit quality, I took them myself on my Xenium, cause I really wanted to share with you the buzz all 4 of us felt there).
By the way thanks for the support and all the cheering messages I keep getting from you. Your support would be even more helpful if you shared it with your friends and communities - just send everyone you know who understands English link to this blog and that's all. Let's create a solid word of mouth. And you can leave comments here as well, no one will kill you or shoot you in the leg if you do, I promise.
And here's a link to Good Jumper's MySpace page, add them, tune in and drop out.

ON AND ON

Well, it looks like we're almost halfway there with our production after this particularly busy weekend - at the Saturday we talked to Kirill Muhin and Lekha Obozny from Man Bites Dog, and then at Sunday we payed a visit to the studio where Alexei Taroutz from I Am Above On The Left creates and works (rather fittingly, Gnesin Academy of Music is right across the street, on Povarskaya street). Guys from Man Bites Dog contributed the funniest and good-humoured take yet at the Moscow indie scene, and Taroutz took a role of doubting artist, immersed in harsh self-critique and a constant search. Suddenly in the midst of all this I seemed to grasp why I'm doing it: it's the awfully prone certainty that these guys and bands did create the MOST INTERESTING music in Russia in 00's, and (sadly) nobody payed attention or gave them a credit they deserve. Why must it be like this is another story altogether, cos we take a joy in celebrating them with our movie, no matter what.

GRAEME JEFFRIES FROM THE CAKEKITCHEN

Last Friday we did some really breathtaking filming action in the studio where Dairy High are putting finishing touches on their 2nd album, and this whole thing is going under the guidance of Graeme Jeffries from influential and mighty-as-fuck New Zealand bands The Cakekitchen and (now defunct) This Kind of Punishment. Graeme said a couple of things on the camera (mostly about how this unbelievable globe-spanning collaboration happened in the first place). He also lended our movie some of his Kiwi-bred indie coolness and leather-jacket wisdom we craved so much. Be sure to check out his gig tomorrow at 16 Tons Club.

ON THE ROOF WITH SILENCE KIT

Yesterday we did the shooting with Silence Kit, on the roof of their rehearsal space on Lesnaya street in Moscow. Fortunately none of us dropped down.