Jimbob Movies Independent Movies Directed by Jimmy Nguyen

So my next short movie Log Warriors has been delayed a few weeks because I was contracted to do a wedding video.  It was for my former co-worker’s daughter-in-law’s brother’s wedding.  The former co-worker in question is none other than the famous Avis Watts-Massenburg from my short movie Morning Milk.  She also plays a minor roll in my upcoming Log Warriors movie.  Avis’ daughter in law, Crystal Tucker, was helpful enough to lend us her three year old son for the Log Warriors movie as well.  What can I say, when I find actors that I like, I can’t help but keep using them.  It’s a family affair.

The wedding took place in Prince George’s County Maryland at the end of April 2010.  It was a very entertaining wedding and the bride and groom seemed like they genuinely loved each other.  I tried to capture the casually festive atmosphere of the wedding in the final video that I produced.  As always, I had to spice it up with some cool animations, moving stills, humorous montages, and documentary-style interviews.  The final video came out to be a little over 36 minutes and required a lot of sleepless nights to finish it on time.  Actually, I did not really have a deadline for the project, but I do not like things hanging over my head like an Australian drop bear.

Now that I am finished, I can check another movie/video genre off of my list: the seldom recognized wedding video, which can be quite creatively challenging and fulfilling.  And yes, I would be willing to do another wedding video for the right price.  I could become the Hype Williams of wedding videos.

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Most blogs are all about me, me, me.  This blog is no different.  It’s always about what I did or am currently doing.  Even the title of this website has half of my name in it.  The “Bob” in Jimbob Movies is actually the name of my silent partner and you’ll probably never hear from him.  Well, in this particular post I am going to take a break from celebrating myself and I am going to shine some light on the unseen people who make movies happen.  The people who work behind the scenes: the gaffers, grips, camera operators, production assistants, etc.  This could become a monthly thing.

For April 2010, the winner of the Quietly and Confidently Making Movies Happen Award is…Matt Mclaughlin.

Matt Mclaughlin was instrumental in the making of my short movie Log Warriors Reunited. Matt was a pleasure to work with and a very skilled camera operator. His dedication to “getting the shot” is unsurpassed. While attempting to shoot an outdoor interview in front of my parent’s house, a neighbor was about to start weed whacking his lawn. Realizing that the loud noise of the weed whacker’s motor would ruin and ultimately delay our shot, Matt went up to the neighbor and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Matt, who grew up on the street where we were shooting, knew the neighbor well and promised to weed whack his lawn personally later that day if we could finish our shot. Owing to Matt’s outstanding character, the neighbor obliged and we were able to nail our outdoor interview scene without any harsh noises. Quite frankly, Matt Mclaughlin is someone you want on your team in any situation because he makes things happen and whenever I make a big production movie, Matt is one of the first people I will hire.  __________________________________________________________________________________________

The previous, yet unannounced winner of the Quietly and Confidently Making Movies Happen Award was Jamilah Fagbene for her great camera and dolly work in Olfactory Thriller.

Jamilah Fagbene helped me tremendously when she agreed to help me shoot a short movie (Olfactory Thriller) in a damp, dark, and cold garage on a Thursday night.  One of the the most difficult parts of amateur moviemaking is that you have to rely on volunteers who have very busy schedules and when a window opens up in their schedules, you have to be ready to jump in.  So on that very same Thursday, it turned out that my lead actor, Eric Rasmussen, didn’t have to work that night and was free to shoot scenes for the movie.  So I had to scramble to get a camera person/dolly pusher to help us out that very night.  Jamilah Fagbene, having no prior film/video experience, agreed to give up her Thursday night to be the all-imporant camera operator when I called her. Needless to say, she surpassed all of my wildest expectations.  All of the garage scenes in Olfactory Thriller were shot by Jamilah and they turned out steady and wonderful. Even though it took around 3 hours to get all the necessary shots and I had promised her it would only take an hour or so when I talked to her on the phone, Jamilah never once complained.  In fact, she continued to keep our spirits up with her laughter and energy.  It’s people like Jamilah that make the world go round and why I love making movie with friends.

Award winners receive a free lunch or dinner from me whenever they want.

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