Orlando Vicente II

Filmmaker Orlando Vincente II of PaperBag Films was raised in Oceanside, Ca.  Orlando is a young filmmaker who is immensely diverse and prolific as an artist. He has over five years experience as a DP shooting music videos, industrials, animation as well as short and feature films through his production company, Paper Bag Films. Beyond his talent as a cinematographer, Orlando Vicente director, editor, and graphic designer is also a gifted actor with varied screen credits.

Here he is in his own words.  We enjoyed meeting this personable filmmaker and hope you will as well.

Bio for VOID
A young woman is plagued by a disturbing past. A young couple is haunted by a devastating loss. A group of street hustlers are desperate to find a better way. These lives intersect in this downbeat, subtly dramatic feature film about regret, loss, love and hope.

About me
Currently my stage age is 22. I like puppies, I think they’re yummy, and i frequent those Asian countries that prepare them.

”My film “Void” was inspired by curiosity. What if... although I am a man, I have always been interested in why some women do what they do. What makes a woman want to sell her body?  Why would a woman kill her spouse? What drives anyone to leave a child? I set out to partially answer these question and hopefully start dialog on these subjects.

I have had a few of my films show in different festivals. The most recent showing was earlier this year “Follow Me” showed in China.

Before we go any further I want it to be known. “Void” was produced with NO MONEY that didn’t come through my wallet. I was the primary contributor and everything from concept to conception it is mine. i thank all those that helped me with this. I know the rode wasn’t smooth, but it was short. i don’t believe movies need to take 3months to shoot or like most independents 3 years. I set out to prove that with this film. we shot it in 10 days. My crew and I worked long hours everyday, consecutively for 10 days. No rest for the weary.

I am a product of the instant gratification age, so I had to have it then or nothing at all. I promise on the next project we will have a budget and we will all get paid to do the fabulous work we do anyways.

I had tons of "help".
Some even lasted to the end of a two week shoot. Jay Williams (http://www.myspace.com/sweet_gherkin) was part of the troops. My right hand, he was my producer/grip/gaffer, but really he is just a nice guy who has dreams of directing his own features. We actually shot his film “Ponce” right before starting “Void”. JB the DP. he lasted to the end. He’s a little sluggish, but can light his damn ass off. I think I may just be impatient. He did a wonderful job with limited resources, on the next film I will have a budget and we will see what he can accomplish with everything he wants at his disposal. Laila George (http://www.myspace.com/fashionista_lala) came all the way from Oceanside, CA to participate. She was our stylist/assistant hair and make-up/crafty. She did all these things with or without help. Through her I was able to plan my shoots a little better. I had to coordinate clothes with scenes. It was a part of filmmaking I hadn’t really thought too much about, but I’m glad she was there.

The real:
At the beginning of the year I brought together 2 friends and we talked about what we needed to do before the year was up. We all agreed that we needed to shoot a feature film. None of us had "real" jobs. I hadn’t had a "real" J-O-B since 2001. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to survive off of freelance gigs. I’m a camera for hire. I shoot for money. I shoot wedding, concerts, commercials, reality tv, music videos, behind the scenes anything to keep the bills paid. I also put some away in an account specifically set aside for my feature film.

At first I had thought we would shoot a film I had been working on for nearly a year and some change. It was about an up and coming rock star. like purple rain meets the new millennium, but I couldn’t seem to find an ending to the story or anyone dedicated enough to help me write one, so I put it on the back burner and let my mind free to search out a new topic. That’s when “Void” came to me. A drama surrounding a prostitute and a man (not a john).

I had met a young lady weeks before at an "industry party" and she said she fancied herself a writer, so i took her up on it. I broke the story down to her and gave her the time frame I was working with. At the time I think I had about 3 months before I had intended on shooting. We were working on Jay's film "Ponce" and mine was to start a couple months after.

Within a week she had already shown me 32 pages. I was happy with the progress. I was happy she wasn’t another flake that just likes to "say" what they can do and not do it.  After a couple of drafts, I hit a wall with the drafts she was giving me. I couldn’t convey to her what I needed anymore. The skeleton was laid out but there wasn’t much flesh on it yet so I took her version of the script to a good friend of mine, Donnie Leapheart ( www.pyramidpicturesonline.com). Donnie was able to develop the story into what we ended up shooting within a matter of days.

Next I gathered up all the people I knew in Atlanta that was trying to get into movies. In the beginning, I had several producers, make up persons, props people, DPs, assistant cameras, assistant directors, PAs... the list could go on, but i will cut to the chase and list those people who came and stayed. Jay Williams, Conrad Lewis, Laila George, JB, Kelly Richardson, Pyramid Pictures Crew, and Ty.

Now I don’t knock the fact our crew was slim and that others left for whatever reasons. There was no budget. I was broke and had to come up with money enough to feed a cast and skeleton crew. Jay had to work a deal out with a local production house to get us lights for half the time we were shooting. So, why people didn’t stick around, that’s not my business but next time can you please LET ME KNOW before you walk away.

On set dirt:
On one of the last nights of the shoot Cliff (another one that stayed till the end) and I were downstairs talking waiting for two actresses to finish getting ready for a scene. I had wanted to shoot an hour ago, when out of nowhere comes this scream from the apt they are in. Both Cliff and I stop our conversation and turn our attention in the direction of the apt where we heard the commotion. Keep in mind this isn’t the best part of town and anything left unattended will magically disappear. Cliff and I dash in the direction of the cries, scale the steps, burst through the mesh door... only to find one of the actress half naked and raving on and on about how another actress had taken her outfit. Without entertaining the idea of whether or not her reaction to that news was valid or not Cliff and I headed downstairs. When we got back to the car, something felt different. I was in the middle of texting someone when I heard the screams and now my phone was missing. Cliff called the phone, panting foot steps and clothes ruffling was all we could hear on the other line. Someone had stolen my damn phone!  We searched but we didn’t find anything. I just hope that was his last crack rock, and his life changed after that. 180 degrees.

Of course there was an onset romance.  And it was between...

Theater location
We had it booked from 5p-7:45ish. I got there at 5p. We set up for the first shot as we are doing so Hollie Game shows up at 5:15ish. We place him and go over lines a bit while we wait on the other actor to show up. He shows up over an hour late. He doesn’t get there till 6:30. At this time I place him and I start shooting. I’m not feeling any pressure because I’m sure that in the next hour or so that I have left that I can knock out these 4 scenes. Not even halfway through the first scene a girl walks in and pulls me aside. She hands me a phone and the person on the other end is telling me I have till 7p to get out. Leaving me with less than 20 minutes to shoot 4 scenes!  We pulled it off though. Our complete out time was 7:15p.

Sound guy
1st day of shooting we shot in the comic book store. For a nice chunk of the day we had our sound guy, Cliff, held up in the porno section. If you listen to the sound during that part you may be able to hear him flipping pages. The funny thing was that this older lady that worked there was so upset we were there keeping her from restocking that section. I think we get a little glimpse of her putting books and nasty videos away back there.

The cast
We put together with the help of Leslie Greene, you can check her out on myspace too (who isn’t on there? My mom is on myspace) at  (http://www.myspace.com/rtse_modelz )  or (www.rtsecasting.com).  She’s a wonderful woman, very professional and positive. I had over 200 talented individuals to choose from. She kept the lines moving smoothly. She put my girlfriend to work. Dope. I couldn’t have done it without her help.

Hollie Game ( http://www.myspace.com/holliegame)  was my male lead. Fresh to the screen, he mostly does theater. He is very talented, personable and funny. I ran him a little bit but for the most part he can usually get it in one take.  With the time schedule we had to make this film happen in, he was exactly what I needed.

But, you want some dirt... hmmm.  Hollie came to me on a diet (not really dirt, may be advice) that had him running to the bathroom every 10 minutes while we rehearsed. It was a 2 gallon a day water diet. The goal of it is to flood your body with water to the point that it starts to expect it.  Then when we start shooting, he stops drinking so that the body desperately searches for water and when it finds none it tightens the skin. Making him looked ripped for any scenes with his shirt off. Get it?

Angel Wood ( http://www.myspace.com/angelwoodthestar) was my female lead. She is aseriousactress who came to work with a vision for where the character is going. That’s wonderful because I would rather not think about it. I like to see the actors work. Some films may require more coaching, but I think “Void” allowed them to experiment and have fun. Angel has a great personality. She’s fun, eager, and not afraid to let loose her emotions. She is also athletic and very attractive. HIRE HER.

Donnie also wrote in characters that we had a lot of fun with like "the mister" and her on son junior, played by Sylvia Hudson and Erick Moore. They played the landlords of the building Angel Wood's character Alison stayed in.

Joel Esperanza ( http://www.myspace.com/jesperanza)   played a character named ski mask, a comic book nerd that managed a comic book store.

Orlando Vicente II  is a young filmmaker who is immensely diverse and prolific as an artist. He has over five years experience as a DP shooting music videos, industrials, animation as well as short and feature films through his production company, Paper Bag Films. Beyound his talent as a cinematographer, Orlando Vicente director, editor, and grapic designer is also a gifted actor with varied screen credits.

bio for VOID:

A young woman is plagued by a disturbing past. A young couple is haunted by a devastating lost. A group of street hustlers are desperate to find a better way. These lives intersect in this downbeat, subtly dramatic feature film about regret, loss, love and hope.

 
For more info visit www.PaperBagFilms.com