Please VOTE for Craig Ouellette's short film

Hi Team!

We made a short film, "T is for Truth" for the ABC's of DEATH feature film contest. If we win, our short will be included in a feature film with movies from hot, known horror directors and shown throughout the world! But the only way to do that is to get VOTES.

So if you have a couple minutes, please head to:

http://26th.theabcsofdeath.com/t-is-for-truth/

Please be sure to VOTE by clicking on the button in the upper right:
VOTE FOR THIS AS THE 26TH FILMMAKER,
and respond to the email that they send you. It's easy, fast and prevents cheats.

(Don't just "like" the film, as that won't help us win).

NOTE: There's another film with the same title, but the link above sends you to ours. Also, look for my name "Craig Ouellette", or an image of two lovely ladies in a candle lit room as the still image).

And if you love it, (or even if you don't :), feel free to help us get the votes we need by forwarding this email OR copying the url OR sharing on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr (there are easy buttons to do so at the top of the page), OR all of the above. :)

And thanks again for all the support over the years. I figure we should aim for at least 1000 votes to have a good shot at being in the top 10, which gets us to the final round.

Thank you so much!

CraigO

"T is for Truth"
Starring: Denesa Chan, Sadie Katz, Caitlin Rose Williams
Director / Writer / Producer / DP / Editor: Craig Ouellette
Production Designer / Gaffer / Boom Op / FX Makup: John Elfers

the downward spiral - CraigoClassic 19

Ahhh college kids and their suicide videos. It's sort of a film school joke that everyone has to make a suicide video at some point in their college career. (Not that suicide is a joke. It's actually pretty depressing, and in my opinion not an option).

BUT...

that didn't stop me from making mine!

This was for Intro To Media Production, fall of Sophomore year. It was a class split into radio / tv / and video. This was for the video part. I used a song from NINE INCH NAILS (as I'm sure many of your recognized. I'm sure Trent would be so proud!)

Anyway, watching this made me wish I had a steady cam. Or a dolly. Or a wheelchair. It's funny, I still think I'm moving camera's super steady (and I'm a lot better at it), but it's rarely exactly as I imagined. But it has a certain charm to it's roughness.

Ahhh Molly. My friend Molly Neylan was one of my favorite actresses in college. I thought she was always very real, or pretty, or both. AND, if you think you recognize her, it's because she's in Trespassing On The Lot #4 "Family Ties"! (Tied up in a trunk...thanks Molly!).

As for the other actor, well...I laughed out loud when I rewatched this. Mr. Brian B. isn't the best (and I'm pretty sure he would agree :), but he was my friend, there for the shoot and up for playing the part of the shocked, angry lover.

Perhaps the best part of this is the fact that somehow this college kid who is so depressed about grades, money, being dissed by her friends and dumped by her boyfriend (what other motivation do you need?), was able to get her hands on an UZI to blow her head off! A fricking UZI!!?!?! I couldn't goto wal-mart and get a toy gun that could possibly be something a college kid might get her hands on!?!? Apparently not! And this actually is something I STILL occasionally do, (not use Uzi's), but I'll say "ahhh, this is what I got, it's good enough" rather than going the extra mile on props or production design. Hmmm... maybe I should learn my lesson.

You might have noticed the Hitchcock pull out, zoom in shot after she shoots herself. Yep, I was being clever. Of course it works better if you have a dolly.

The tear looks awesome though.

It was fun to see Hillcrest, my old dorm again. I'm heading back to Iowa in a few weeks for the first time in 10 YEARS, so that was a great blast from the past. Oh, and that crazy steam whistle from the power plant at the beginning.

And finally, the black angel. That grave has so many ghost stories about it, I figured I'd give my own. I can't remember the real story... maybe there isn't one. Or maybe this is the real one...

The Running Man - Craigoclassic 18

Here it is faithful viewers!

After a long absence from posting, due to the efforts to make the feature film "Straight On Till Morning", I am back! Posting my college films to much fanfare (wooo, yeah!). This is in honor of my FINALLY returning to Iowa City this fall after being away for 10 years! (10 YEARS MAN!!!!). It's been far to long, and so going down memory lane with these classics will be fun. Hopefully for you as well.

This first "film" from the college days was for Intro To Media Production. The class had 3 parts. Radio / sound, Live TV, and Film/video. This was a continuity project for the video portion. It has no sound.

That's my buddy Mike Ford running along. And he cruises past Sherry Moore (Now Sherry Eich) at one point. It was great to see those friends again (even if it's on a little VHS shot movie).

On top of continuity, we also proved once and for all that the massive pillars of the old capital building on the University of Iowa campus are hollow.

Enjoy,
craigo

Video To Alex - CraigoClassic 17

NOTE: It's set to private. Read below.

Ahhhh... dearest Alex.

Here is a photo video I made for her when we were dating. As many who know me are aware, Alex was my first "true love". We met at a German Language camp in Bemidji Minnesota. (A place I highly recommend going. They have different villages that teach dozens of languages. You can get a full year's school credit in a month, and you actually learn the language. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and not just because I met Alex... but that is another story).

Back to Alex. I was a Senior in High School. She was a Freshman. And we were a fantastic match. She lived in Minnesota. I lived in Texas. So after camp we wrote love letters for months, talked on the phone, sent gifts, wrote poems. It was pretty much the perfect, super romantic, high school relationship.

I went to visit her in snowy Minnesota over Valentines day. (Her parents were super cool to let me visit. I was a really nice guy. Our whole relationship was very PG). But it was pure, awesome, wonderful love...

... so I made this video of it.

And honestly, it's too personal to show here. Not cause it's some sleazy video, but because it's so sweet. I know it's silly, I've put up videos of me and my fabulously dorky friends from Jr. High, me with my perm, us trying to improv... but this is different somehow.

After many years of losing touch with Alex, going our separate ways and living our separate lives, I decided a week or two ago to see if she was alive, see if she was okay, and see how things have turned out for her all these years later. And after quite a bit of internet detective work I found her! (or at least her Facebook profile). I actually cheered when I did!

She is married, lives on the other side of the country, and seems to be doing well. As of now she hasn't responded to my Facebook message to her... and I didn't really expect her to. Sure, I was hoping to reconnect. Not to restart any love affair or anything. It's about knowing she's still Alex, only all grown up. To know she's happy and doing well.

Even if I don't hear from her, it's still great to know that she's still smiling. And it'll never tarnish any of the fabulous memories of her... some of which are in this video... which are only for me. Sorry faithful viewers (all 3 of you :).

The Matrix - CraigoClassic 16

So here's a story about some heroes who create a device to dismantle their molecules so they can be sent into the Matrix where they battle evil in their search for paradise. No BS: We came up with this story long before NEO existed, somewhere around 1992. So I think we deserve some credit as well as monetary reimbursment from Joel Silver and the Wachowski Brothers.

You will no doubt see the similarities: The action, the pacing, the fight scenes, the IDEA is ours. With my incredible hair, I am a dead ringer for Keanu. We have a snappy montage of building the device (aka: Neo learning Kung-Fu. Sure we took it from Army Of Darkness, but still...). You can "reprogram the chip" to change your life...(um hello!!!) It's pretty clear once you see it that someone saw our video and ripped it off (not pointing the finger at Mr. Wachoski-s, but still...)

Things we did better than the "remake" you might have seen in theaters: Amazing use of dissolves. Creative ways to make one "actor" appear as two "characters". (Mr. Smith eat your heart out). We have an NIN classic SIN shirt as a wardrobe, which is way more hip than Tinity's leather. We quote ALIENS, which is, well... not really relevant to the Matrix, but still. That is an NES Entertainment system that carries us to the great beyond, which if far more realistic than an array of computers jacked into our nervous systems. (Lame!).

So, for you purists out there, here's the REAL Matrix. And though it might not be quite as good as the OTHER Matrix... It is better than the two sequels.

PS: This also marks the end of the High School section of Craigoclassic. (Can I get a hallelluja!) Next stop: University of Iowa... with a quick pitstop in Minnesota.

Do as Robert does...

For those who don't know, we are planning on shooting "Straight On Till Morning" in two parts. Doing the intro and road trip section of the movie this fall, and doing the rest of it in the spring (at an awesome location we have access too).

So, I was thinking, maybe we're crazy to be shooting the movie in two pieces. Maybe we should just shoot the opening and hold off. Maybe it's nuts to try to do that...

... and then I was reading about Grindhouse (Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Terrantino's flick) and it said that In Planet terror and sin city, Robert planned both movies to be shot in two pieces. With a large break in production so he could edit the footage he had and plan out the next stage of the production!

Shit. If RR did it, then we are on the right track!

Trust the instincts.
Rock on
CraigO

1,000,000

So this morning I logged onto my youtube account... and saw 1,000,961.

wow.

To think that over ONE MILLION people have watched my short films. ONE MILLION!!!
That's more than twice the size of Des Moines, Iowa. Bigger than Austin, TX proper.
ONE MILLION!!!

I try to imagine that many folks over the last 3 years (and most of that in the last 1) tuning in to watch all the Trespassing On The Lot movies. The Schism 9/11 video. And even a few for The goofy ass junior high movies. It's pretty neat, to imagine people in places as far flung as Argentina, Russia, Bangaladesh, and even Saudi Arabia, people have tuned in to watch these little movies I made with friends here in LA. It's really cool.

I've had hundreds of comments over the last few years, ranging from praise and hopes to see more of "Family Ties" or "Lonely_Saturday_31", to the longest running debate about whether or not MAC's do get viruses. (It's a parody of a commercial guys. It's supposed to be funny, not a serious statement of the value of computers. :). To a very serious discussion about what 9/11 means to different people.

It's been fun, and enlightening. People have shared their videos with me, and I've seen some really creative stuff because of it.

And I've learned some things about online video I'd like to share for better or worse:

1. You can make short films that tell a story and people will find them and watch.
2. You don't have to have random babies falling, people getting kicked in the nuts, or two girls and a cup of... well, you know.
3. It doesn't hurt to have some sort of sex appeal. Looking at what key words people search for, I realize that the magic phrase of "woman tied up" is just the beginning. And I stumbled on that one by accident. I guess if it leads them to my movies I'm okay that they might have been looking for a different kind of video when they arrive here.
4. Given the comments on "Family Ties" about people thinking it's a real video about a guy who kidnaps his wife, I would say that a lot of people watching videos on youtube are drunk, high or confused. (Again, the fact they're watching is cool, in whatever state they might be in).
5. Make shit. It's best to make shit. Lots of shit. The more things you make, the more things people will see. For the most part I feel like the better films I've made tend to get the most views. There are some exceptions to that, "Deadline" for instance. But mostly it seems true... mostly.

1,000,000.

I'm proud of the number. I'd put the NIN song on here to pump up this entry, but it doesn't seem I can add music. It's a goal that I've watched go from something that was totally impossible, to something attainable, to something achieved. Not that the purpose of making the movies was to get to a million views. The purpose, for me, of making the movies was to make the movies. To have the experience. To be creative. To work with friends who are also creative. To tell stories. To live.

And we did that.
And thanks to people all around the world, and the power of the internet, we were able to share that with others.