RUBBER CHICKEN: A CRIME STORY

SYNOPSIS: Scientists have discovered a new formula that could revolutionize the rubber industry and everyone wants to get their hands on it. This silly detective yarn mixes live-action and animation.

NOTES: During the editing process, animated segues were needed to join the live action segments. I created all the motion graphics and animation with just Photoshop and Final Cut Pro! The result gave this live-action short lots of visual punch!

"ANYWHERE WITH YOU"
by The Seventeens

NOTES: Nini Camps and McGowan Southworth are solo artists who have been friends for many years. They decided to collaborate on songwriting and the result is The Seventeens! "Anywhere with You" is their first single. This video was shot in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn on rooftops, bridges, subways, & alleyways. Be warned: once you hear this catchy tune, you won't be able to get it out of your head!

STEPHEN COLBERT'S
GREEN SCREEN CHALLENGE

NOTES: The Colbert Report hosted an unofficial contest called the Stephen Colbert's Green Screen Challenge. Viewers were asked to take a clip of him wielding a lightsaber against a green screen and add their own background and action. My entry was shown as part of a montage on the October 11th show! In 2009 my entry was featured on the ColberNation.com homepage during the Fall hiatus . Presently, you can find it here under "Green Screen Challenge Revisited".

FILLUM STAR: THE PETER PATEL STORY

SYNOPSIS: Peter Patel (Rizwan Manji) is an Indian-American actor who becomes famous in his local community when they hear he is about to appear in a film alongside Tom Cruise. A documentary film crew follows him around for the two days leading up to the film's US premiere and witnesses the phenomenon of Peter's fame.

NOTES: This film was made on an ultra-low budget with the most talented indian-american actors in NYC - starring Rizwan Manji from NBC's "Outsourced". It's now available on DVD! Just go to NETFLIX

HYDE AND SIKH

SYNOPSIS: Hyde's Sikh girlfriend, Sarina (Poorna Jagannathan), breaks up with him under pressure from her parents to find a Sikh husband. A distraught but determined Hyde (Andy Brown) then finds a way to transform himself into the ideal Sikh husband (played by OUTSOURCED's Rizwan Manji).

NOTES: "Hyde and Sikh" was team D.O.A.'s entry into the 1st Annual 72 Hour Film Shootout hosted by the Asian American Filmlab. The filmmakers were given the theme "hide and seek" to base their films on. "Hyde and Sikh" won First Runner-Up in the Shootout.

L'EMON

SYNOPSIS: "L'emon" is the latest masterwork by avant-garde filmmaker Gotham Holkar (Debargo Sanyal). What is it about? The elusive Mr. Holkar answers that question in a special "Behind the Screen" presentation.

NOTES: "L'emon" was our entry into the 2003 Midnight MovieMaking Madness short film competition in NYC. The assigned genre was "Comedy" and the topic was "Competing Lemonade Stands". This film is one of the my all time favorites! 1st Runner-Up in Comedy division.

MODERN DAY OUTLAW

SYNOPSIS: A meek gambler (Andy Brown) gets confidence from Modern Day Outlaw's line of alcoholic beverages.

NOTES: "Modern Day Outlaw" was team Brando's Ghost's entry into the 2004 Midnight MovieMaking Madness short film competition in NYC. The assigned genre was "western" and the topic was "Modern day outlaw gets chased down". So we came up with this commercial spoof. The outlaw is whiskey. The chaser is beer! Honorable Mention in Western category.

MIRROR, MIRROR

SYNOPSIS: A man (Andy Brown) must unscramble his bathroom mirror to see clearly.

NOTES: Candide Media Works, Inc. hosted a web based filmmaking contest called "The Ten Second Films Competition". Entries were rated by visitors to the site, and the top 20 user-rated films became Finalists. My entry, filmed in my bathroom mirror, was one of those finalists! Green screen technique and mulitple layers of video were used to achieve the final effects. Top 20 Finalist in "The Ten Second Films Competition".

"SEVEN" by Mike Previti

NOTES: "Seven" is from Mike Previti's 2006 album EXTRAORDINARY. We filmed this in his home in Reading, Massachusetts. Mike did a stellar job of transforming his living room into a black box studio setting. We shot for about 6 hours and then I took the footage back to NYC and edited it together. Mike followed up EXTRAORDINARY with the album LIGHTS. You can hear is current work on FissionMusic.com.

TWINS: THE SAM & CHRIS STORY

SYNOPSIS: Sam (OUTSOURCED's Rizwan Manji) and Chris (Andy Brown) are "identical twins", or at least that's what their mother told them. They've been blind since birth, so they have no idea how different they actually are! And their friends and neighbors don't have the heart to tell them the truth.

NOTES: "Twins..." was team D.O.A.'s entry into the 2nd Annual 72 Hour Film Shootout hosted by the Asian American Filmlab. At the begining of the 72hrs, teams were given the theme "A.K.A." on which to base their 6 minute films.

ANDY BROWN
Director, Writer, Editor

This is my DIRECTING REEL. It includes short films, music videos, commercials, and documentaries, that I've directed. I've also noted when I was the screenwriter, editor, actor, or animator.

Story is by far the most important element of filmmaking to me. As a director, I love to make the story clear and powerful. That can mean using creative visual techniques and other times it calls for simply allowing the actors to act without any distracting creative camera angles or special effects.

QUARTER LIFE CRISIS Support Pieces

"Behind the Crisis" Director, Editor This behind-the-scenes documentary of the indie film "Quarter Life Crisis" documents the shooting process and features interviews with the actors, director, and producer.

Opening Pop-ups: Animator A series of funny pop-up ads created for the opening scene - all done using Photoshop and Final Cut Pro.

"Love in the Backseat" Director, Editor, Animator, Voice-Over Fictional reality show featured in the film. Segments and promos with animation created in Photoshop and Final Cut Pro.

AT&T COMMERCIAL CONTEST

NOTES: This video was produced for the MOFILM advertising contest. AT&T guidelines required that contestants produce a commercial featuring their fast data plan and how it makes the difference between a "bad decision and a good one." The video, shot on RED, was conceived and produced in less than five days with collegues John Hudak and Shahriar Rahman.

MOFILM executives loved our entry, but we were beat out by someone who had real bear in their ad.

Iron Mule "Wanna Be A Star?" Competition

SECRET SUNSHINE

SYNOPSIS: This 1970's cop drama follows Secret Agent Sunshine as she goes undercover to expose New York City's most notorious organized crime syndicates. But much to the dismay of her boss, she just can't resist blowing her cover and kicking some criminal butt.

NOTES: This short film was made as part of the "Wanna Be A Star?" competition at the Iron Mule Comedy Film Series. Audience member Paula McDonald won the chance to star in her own comedy short and "Secret Sunshine" was assigned as the film's title. Paula, with no previous acting experience, jumped in with both feet and turned out a hilarious, butt-kicking performance!

Iron Mule "Wanna Be A Star?" Competition

RIBEYE

SYNOPSIS: Congressman Jack Johnson holds a press conference to address his possible entry into the presidential race as well as the Twitter photo scandal that threatens to derail his political career.

NOTES: This short film was made as part of the "Wanna Be A Star?" competition at the Iron Mule Comedy Film Series. Audience member Jeff Berman won the chance to star in his own comedy short and "Ribeye" was assigned as the film's title. Jeff gives a hilarious performance as a charismatic, eccentric politician.