Invisible Arts was created by
Beau J. Leland to facilitate a need for a hub in the independent film and music world in Oklahoma City. With work ranging from music videos to documentaries, Invisible Arts works with other collaborative-based facilities in the area to create compelling work.
Primarily working as a post-production facility, it’s our belief that the best editing should go unnoticed. Film editing is often referred to as an unseen art, where the best artists remain invisible.
2010′s winning entry for the annual 24 hour video race sponsored by the Philbrook Museum, Living Arts Gallery and IAO of Oklahoma City. These are always so much fun to do, and our team this year, Team Tennessee Bladder Milk, somehow managed to pull it together for a victory. I recommend for anyone interested in making films to start with a 24 Hour Video Race.
This year’s Required Elements:
Theme: The Year We Make Contact
Prop: 8 Ball
Line of Dialogue: Pleasure of the Evening
Team Members:
Mike Waugh, Darren Dunn, Alan Novey, Derek Duty, Ben Pendleton, Stefanie Leland, Beau Leland
The horny toad movie shoot continued last weekend in the bustling town of Eastland, TX. Eastland serves as the county seat in Eastland County, TX; a county of around 19,000 people who gather each year in Eastland to celebrate the “Old Rip Festival.” More on that in a later posr.
The shoot was an overall success, but we had to work for it. Every last soundbite. For all you sound guys out there, my undying love and gratitude grew exponentially that weekend. And here’s why…
1) The entire town of Eastland resides along the intersection of two major state highways…highways with major construction traffic.
2) Upon being locked out of our scheduled location, we were relocated to the courthouse…which was under construction.
3) Once we were able to postpone the interview until the construction crew’s lunch break, the plumbers showed up.
4) When we realized the plumbers were actually quite quiet, we were able to shoot…until child custody battles erupted from the floor below
5) It finally quieted down, and we were able to shoot…accompanied by the constant, intermittent buzzing sound of the metal detectors…and traffic.
A special thanks goes out to our sound man, Royce Sharp, for being able to handle such circumstances. Sound recording takes a special breed of person, and no crew, no matter how small, should be without a proper location sound mixer.
Next week we return to Eastland (this time for B-Roll of the festival…MOS).
This is a ridiculous little video by my friend over at FieldGuide, Alan Novey. This is the result of being bored, having access to a Red One camera, and the need for a shave.
The man featured is Mr. Novey himself, camera by Mr. George Salisbury, with the occasional frame shot by yours truly.
Things are changing in the entertainment industry. The internet is providing almost unlimited access to just about anything, and as a result of this audiences are expecting more and more access for less and less commitment on their part. This translates to “We want the same content, but we want it for free.”
The film industry is learning this from the music industry, and while it can be very depressing for those of us who have chosen this career path, it’s also somewhat exciting to be on the forefront of change. What’s going to happen next, and how can we make it work. Perhaps this is a sign that art shouldn’t cost anything. You make it to make it, and give it to the people is like paying it forward. Yet, like Karma, making your art available for free may have it’s benefits.
Lance Weiler of workbookproject.com is a prime example of this mantra. Every day he shares his knowledge with those of us willing to listen (which I’m trying to be more disciplined in doing so), and this video is no different. From his DIY Days conference, here’s a video of the Tribeca Film Institute’s Brian Newman on “Free (plus fee).”
Last week I went on the first shoot for the wife’s new documentary film currently titled “Where Did the Horny Toad Go?” This was the first of what is to be many trips as we make our quest to find out just exactly where this famed lizard has gone? Among our destinations were the small town of Kenedy, TX which has been dubbed the Horny Toad Capital of Texas; Kingsville, TX near the King Ranch where Texas A&M has a small wildlife preserve, and perhaps the most interesting place of all, the Island of Matagorda. Matagorda, which is off of the gulf coast of Texas, is a 38 by 2.5 mile island that serves as one giant wildlife preserve filled with rattlesnakes, wild boars, endangered birds, and what else, Texas Horned Lizards. AKA, Horny Toads.
Why the documentary on the Texas Horned Lizard? Stefanie grew up in Western Oklahoma, where looking for horny toads was a favorite pass time, as it was for just about every child. And not just with our generation, or geographical location. The more people she talked to, the more stories she heard about how much these little buggers are adored. And just about everyone asks the question, “Whatever happened to the Horny Toad?”
For as long as I’ve wanted to make films, I’ve wanted to make a difference, and two times now, my wife has been the one to make that happen for me. Who’d a thunk it? With her first film, Food For Thought, which is about farming and local agriculture, and now with the making of this one, I finally feel like I am starting to feed that romantic desire to change the world.
This film will be a long journey, but I know the final product will be well worth it. Keep checking in for more updates about our journey.
I’ve been working slowly but steadily on trying to get this place up and running over the past several weeks, but we’re finally getting closer. Keep checking back as I’ll be posting work, general entries, and links to all things creative and spectacular.
In the meantime, check out Vimeo for various projects I’ve been involved with.
