LEAD ACTOR · KASEY NEEDHAM
When casting for the part of Orion in Between One and Two, I went through many trials and tribulations. The part was not just for any guy. I needed someone who who could be playful yet serious. Stoic yet contemporary. Kasey Needham was the man for the job. I had high expectations and when the camera rolled, he delivered.
During the preproduction process I gave every actor homework assignments. I asked them to watch and study films, to study with one another, and to engage with the characters in their own lives
I asked Kasey to to talk a bit about his experiences with working on Between One and Two and this is what he had to say:
“I had some difficulty first finding Orion’s voice. I am a very playful person, where as Orion is much more serious. Once, I figured that out with Matt’s help it became a lot easier to portray the character.”
Here’s a bit more about Kasey:
Kasey Needham is Bay Area native who has recently relocated to Los Angeles. He was born and raised in San Jose. In an effort to be a renaissance-man, he has tried his hand as a film actor, a director, a stage actor, a voice actor, an improv performer, a singer, and a standup comedian. In early 2010 he began heavily pursuing a career in film. His first role was as the lead character in a short called “Asperger’s.” Not long after, he was cast as a lead in a string of other movies including “The Hit,” “Cured,” “Dead Man’s Hand,” and most recently “Between One and Two.”
As 2011 begins, Kasey is living in the heart of Hollywood. Here he hopes that he can gain the experience and skills to make his living as an actor. He is currently taking classes at The Second City, where he hopes to improve his comedy, improv, and acting skills.
See Kasey as Orion in Between One and Two at the pre-screening at The Viz Cinema in Japan town on March 25th 2011.
Cheers,
Matthew Rome
Director · Between One and Two
GRAPHIC DESIGNER • NOAH CHARNOW
Between One and Two is, at it’s heart, a magical story, a visual story book that captures a moment that is timeless yet modern, and saddening yet uplifting. I knew from the get go that the graphical treatment of this project was going to be an integral piece to its potential success. Which made me nervous as hell because, well, let’s face it, I’m not a graphic designer, at all. Period.
Lucky for me, I have a wonderful core group of working creative professionals in both my personal and professional networks. And right down the street from me, right here in the Inner Richmond of San Francisco, lives the talented and creative graphic designer Noah Charnow.
I’ve admired Noah’s renderings and design choices since I first met him and considered myself to be extremely lucky when he decided to come on board for the project. He has certain sense of design that is both modern yet analog, refined yet gritty and I love it. His style really compliments the style of the film. So when I decided to make Between One and Two, Noah was the first guy I called.
Noah has just finished designing the film’s typeface and poster, both officially premiered here! Yuh! I’m really happy with them both and I think that they truly capture the essence of Between One and Two.
I recently had a short conversation with Noah about his experience with working on Between One and Two. This is what he had to say:
“When we started this project I think the art direction really hadn’t been set in stone yet. I created a few different concepts in the early stages but after seeing and hearing more about the film I think we both realized we needed something different. Once I saw what Brandon (Moore, Animator) was creating for the animation sequence it just made sense to use those same elements and include them into the poster. Keeping it all consistent is important.
As far as design goes. I really like the gritty looking stuff. I kind of think that imperfection is perfection in a way. I’m not too keen on really clean designs with boring fonts. That’s just stupid shit that anyone can make in a computer. I try to experiment with more hands on techniques to make my designs a little different.”
Here’s a bit more on Noah:
Noah Charnow is a San Francisco based graphic designer
and illustrator. Noah currently spends most of his time
behind the computer working on various freelance projects
and his BFA at Academy of Art University.
To see more of Noah’s work, visit him at http://www.noahcharnow.com
Cheers,
Matthew Rome
Director · Between One and Two
LEAD ACTRESS • HEATHER SHAW
Between One and Two is an almost Love story. It’s about the enchanting meeting of two young lovers who come close to falling in love. Tessa, played by the wonderfully talented Heather Shaw (pictured below), is a sweet young woman who is caught off guard when she suddenly falls for the pleasantly awkward Orion.
When casting for Between One and Two, I auditioned scores of potential actors and actresses. In fact, before Heather came to her casting session, I had already decided on someone else for the part of Tessa. That said, by the end of her audition it was clear that she was the one for the part. Heather was Tessa. She read the lines effortlessly and with such fluidity, that I could not deny her the part.
I asked Heather about her technique when approaching a role and she said, “With all my characters I do extensive background histories and developments. I always try to find my similarities with the character and draw on certain elements of my own personality. I also do lots of script analysis. Once on set, I try to just trust everything I have set up and play a fun game of make believe.”
I asked Heather what her favorite part about working on Between One and Two was. “There were tons of great things about working on Between One and Two. Its hard to pick just one. It was a fantastic cast and crew. A great blend of lots of fun and productivity. Everyone was a joy to work with.”
Tessa and Orion in Between One and Two.
Here’s a bit more about Heather:
From a young age, Heather Shaw was active in performing arts. She grew-up in Santa Cruz County and performed with many regional Bay Area theater companies. Select shows include Bye Bye Birdie, Camelot, Oklahoma, and The Music Man. Her credits have expanded to include singing with Cabrillo College at Carnegie Hall, appearing in large-scale commercials and playing lead roles in several films. In addition to many short films, Heather recently completed a leading role in the feature film “One Way Home.”
With extensive background in dance and choreography, Heather has been a company dancer with both Santa Cruz Ballet Theater and Teen Dance Company of the Bay Area. Since training at a young age she has appeared in ballets: The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Paquita and more. Her choreography has received awards multiple times at various events.
Heather graduated from high school at age fifteen and obtained an AA in Music by the age of eighteen. This past December, Heather obtained her BA from UC Berkeley in Philosophy. Now having recently relocated to San Francisco, Heather is working hard to pursue her dreams and grow as an actor.
For more information see Heather’s website at http://www.heathershaw.us
Be sure to catch Heather acting as Tessa in the pre-screening of Between One and Two on March 25, 2011, at The Viz Cinema in Japan Town.
Cheers,
Matthew Rome
Director · Between One and Two
While I was in England I shot a few photos of my Grandfather, Douglas Adam’s, shed. Recently I was contacted by a gentleman who goes by the name of Uncle Wilco on Flickr about featuring the photos on his We Love Sheds blog. Go check out the article!!
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY • CARL STURGESS
I’ve always thought of Carl as a visual artist. Since the day I met him, he’s been someone that I consider to be on the forefront of style and technology, a very modern and practical blend. The way he presents himself, from garb to speech, and the level of style and professionalism he brings to the work that he does really speaks to that. So it was a natural, easy choice for me when deciding on a Director of Photography for Between One and Two, as this film is about modern relationships, told in a stylish way, and composed using modern technology.
Carl shot Between One and Two with the Canon 7d. It was a fitting camera because of its size, portability, and image quality. I asked Carl what it is that he likes about shooting with the Canon 7d. Carl feels a closeness to photography and feels that when composing shots with the 7d he is happy with level of control he has over the image by using particular lenses, ISO, shutter speed, etc. The resulting images are rich and cinematic.
Carl has done a beautiful Job with the visual treatment of Between One and Two. When asked about his favorite part of the making of Between One and Two he responded that, “There was an evening where we went walking around the city shooting a montage. We were using a skeleton crew and available light. This city (San Francisco) is so beautiful. We weren’t rushed and the pictures came out great. I really enjoyed the challenge of working with a wide open 50mm lens and using only the natural light that the neighborhood (Inner Richmond) had to offer. When trained in the traditional ways of lighting, it is sometimes fun to break all those rules and just go for it with natural lighting.”
A taste of Carl’s Handy work on Between One and Two
Here’s a bit a bout Carl:
Full time filmmaker and photographer, Carl Sturgess started his career in the action sport, rollerblading industry. He successfully directed, produced, and edited four feature length skate films. Moving onto narrative work and living in Los Angeles, he filmed and edited the award winning short film “Bunny Suits.” The films awards include the Gold Coast award at the Hollywood East Film Festival and was an official selection at both the Muskegon Film Festival and the Backseat Film Festival in Philadelphia. The film also won the Gold Kahuna Award at the Honolulu Film Festival. Carl has produced, edited and directed multiple television shows created by Fuel TV, Echo Entertainment, the Action Sports Association, the MSS (Mobile Skate Park Series) as well as the LG Action Sports Series. He has worked on television shows which aired on the Outdoor Life Network, Fox Sports and ESPN. While working in television, Carl traveled to several countries including China, Russia, Spain, Italy, France, and England.
After leaving television, Carl began working for Apple Inc., which included four years as a Creative Specialist teaching all Apple applications the Final Cut Studio Suite, and all Apple mobile devices and computers. Carl was trained at Apple Corporate Creative Training in Cupertino, CA, as well as Creative Training in Irvine, CA. Since then Carl has moved to San Francisco and now works as Technical Director for Pixel Corps/Rebel Unit Media Service Agency, a media services and production company located in the south of Market district of San Francisco. Carl is also co-founder of Kwality Media, an artist collective comprised of San Francisco filmmakers.
To learn more about Carl, visit his about.me page, about.me/carlsturgess.
Cheers,
Matthew Rome
Director · Between One and Two
