Keep an eye out here and at www.dougandami.com for more information and behind the scenes footage as we gear up for filming later this summer!

Having been fans of Portland based FGA (Feel Good Anyway) for quite some time now, we were thrilled that Matt Eller of FGA was handling post.  You might recognize some of their work for, Showtime, FX, SXSW, and IFC to name a few.

Traveling to Interior SD, adjacent to Badlands N.P., we had a little over 24 hours to shoot with our actors –  Jon & Emily Paulsen and Jonathan Burns.  We are also indebted to the Circle View Ranch who allowed us to shoot on their property as well.

You can pick up Motel Chronicles at: iTunes  Amazon

OTA 2012

For the third year in a row Passenger developed the video content for the OTA conference held last week at Augustana College here in Sioux Falls.  OTA seeks to leverage the creativity and innovation of South Dakota, Minnesota, and North Dakota.

Speakers at this years conference included Stefan Sagmeister, Peter Sims, Jay O’Callahan, and Paul Adams to name a few.

Tasked with developing an intro video as well as speaker bumpers we shot stand ups with Ellen McGirt, Senior Writer at Fast Company Magazine.  For the intro video we developed shots that moved the viewer geographically through rural to urban environments.   We also wanted to give a nod to the connection between rural and Urban environments…. connections driven by the themes of creativity, connectivity, and innovation that form the platform of OTA.

Don’t miss your opportunity to register early for OTA 2013 at:

http://www.OTASessions.com/register

Special Thanks to Danny Klaver for the original music.

Help us launch Doug & Ami by donating to our Kickstarter project!

Stream the rough cut of the first scene, or use the widget below it to download it!

Passenger is proud to announce the start of production of our full-length feature film – Doug & Ami.

Set against the backdrop of rural America, the story of Doug & Amy honestly explores the tension between religion and guilt, infatuation and love, and the deliberate willing of choice in the face of an offended heart.

With a fantastic screenplay by Jeff Barker, an award winning playwright and screenwriter, and a cast of incredibly talented actors from all around the country, many with strong ties to the area, we’re looking forward to launching the full production this summer.  We have already filmed one scene, and are currently working on pre-production and fund-raising to complete the film.

As a part of our efforts, Passenger is also launching a Kickstarter campaign.  Check out our campaign page here and consider donating – there are some nice rewards, and you can feel good knowing you’re helping a great film company right here in South Dakota.

You can find out more information about the film, cast, and crew at www.dougandami.com, and make sure to follow our blog, facebook, and twitter pages for lots of updates as we move forward.

Born and raised in Sioux Falls, he is heavily involved with the local music and arts community playing in the South Dakota Symphony, Dakota Jazz Collective, funk band Main Ave. Warehouse, and the annual Holiday Jam with the Hegg Brothers amongst other endeavors.

As the executive director of the Dakota Sky International Piano Festival Andrew helps organize the festivals performances and educational outreach programs.  Additionally, Andrew helps educate school children across the state on the history of Jazz in America and of it’s social implications with the Jazz Diversity Project.

Andrew has a real passion for imbuing life and work with both thought and creativity… attributes that ring true with Passenger’s efforts as a creative company.  We couldn’t be happier to have him on board!

You can help welcome Andrew by dropping him a line via:

email: Andrew@passengerproductions.com

Twitter: @Passenger_AR

Phone: 605.215.1410

Winner of the Jury Award for Excellence in Cinematography at this years South Dakota Film Festival, A Common Occurrence is currently screening at various film festivals.

This, the final cut… is a bit shorter, cropped, and re-colored from the version previously screened.  Furthermore, the story was loosely based on the classic short story by Ambrose Bierce, “An Incident at Owl Creek Bridge”.  Besides a nod to the short story the films name is derived from the fact that death is a common occurrence.  My hope is that the grimness of death juxtaposed with images of beauty would trigger personal reflection on that dividing line between hope and regret.

The film was shot last summer over a three month period across the state of South Dakota. It stars Darin Kaihoi, Anna Youngers, and Jeff Barker and features original music by Joseph Barker.

The film was shot on the Cannon 5D with Zeiss SLR lenses, and Redrock Camera Support.  With the exception of one shot, all lighting was natural… I believed this aesthetic to best reinforce with the story.

Credits: 

Darin Kaihoi – Man

Anna Youngers – Woman

Jeff Barker – Hangman

Passenger – Producer

Joe Hubers – Director, Story, Post Production

Todd Montsma – Story, Assistant Director

Doug Lee – East River DoP

Dalton Coffey – West River Dop, Assistant Camera

Seth Dekkenga – Key Grip

Bryant Brozik – Grip

Andrew Smith – Grip

Joseph Barker – Music Composition

Scott Jibben – Audio Engineer, Sound Mix

Special Thanks To:

Dan Obrien & Jill Maguire – Broken Heart Ranch SD – www.wildideabuffalo.com

John Steever – Steever House B&B – www.steeverhouse.com

Special thanks to Walter at Studio Blu photography for lending us his studio to shoot in.

Soulcrate Music – www.soulcratemusic.com

Studio Blu - www.studiobluphotography.com

Directed by: David Altobelli – Website , Twitter

DP: Larkin Seiple – Website

I shot our actors as well as the set against a green screen pulling the project together in Apple’s Motion.  Special thanks to Eric Carlson at the Sioux Valley Model Engineers Club for constructing the model.  Additional thanks to Desir’e Jensen and Lilly Breems for forfeiting a Saturday afternoon and playing the characters.

Although pleased with the final result I did learn some valuable lessons.  First, Apple’s Motion is not a great program.  I found it to be buggy, causing the program to frequently crash.  In the future, I would like to try a project like this using a high speed camera like the Phantom Flex.  A little bit of slow motion would be pretty surreal.  My initial plan was to puppet various layers of the still photos to give the impression of motion.  However, my afore mentioned frustration with Motion prevented me from doing so.  Future forays into the world of compositing will be done with Adobe After Effects.

The stills were shot with a Canon 5d and Zeiss Prime SLR lenses.  The song is aptly named “Good & Evil”, by Alexandre Desplat found on The Tree of Life soundtrack.

Copyright Passenger 2011

This is the Empress of the Third World Vagabond.

She is writing a book in the margins of her bible.