The Confluence – Page 136 – The Oregon film community's official blog.

HouseSpecial’s ‘Jailbreak’ Takes Best Picture at the We Like ‘Em Short Film Festival

Jailbreak - a stop-motion short from HouseSpecial

HouseSpecial took home the award for Best Picture at the We Like ‘Em Short Film Festival held on August 17-20, 2017 in Baker City, Oregon. Aaron Sorenson wrote and directed the winning stop-motion film, Jailbreak, which was shot in black and white. The story follows the daring escape of a desperate prisoner fleeing his nightmarish cell in pursuit of sweet punishment. The design is German Expressionist-inspired, but with a decidedly adult twist.

“Everything about Jailbreak is perfect – beautifully shot, perfect timing and hilarious.

Mastering The Interview With OPB’s Steve Amen

Mastering the Interview: Real People as Documentary Story Structure
Taught by Steve Amen, Executive Producer / Host of OPB’s Oregon Field Guide
Mondays, 6:30pm-9:30pm, October 2 – November 6
Northwest Film Center, 934 SW Salmon St. $495

The stories and voices of real people are the building blocks of documentary storytelling. The challenge for the filmmaker is to adapt their style to the person being interviewed. A successful interviewer allows the subject to share their story in a way that is not only personal, but also that is focused, engaging, and provides real insight into the subject.

Raiders of the Lost Archive – “Legacy for Lucia” Route 66 (Philip Leacock, 1960)

Officially, the first Golden Age of Television spanned the late 40’s to the late 50’s. Since we’re ostensibly living through a Goldener Age of Television (which has certainly created far more hours and channels of product than the first one did) it seems only wise to remind ourselves of Oregon’s place in the first heyday of the small screen and the echoes of that past into our present. That’s were ROTLA creator and contributor Phil Oppenheim takes us this week.

Raiders of the Lost Archive “Eclipse Clips”
THE POSTMAN (1997)

This week our cinematic history starts to criss-cross itself with a film that was made 20 years ago but set only 4 years ago in a world that echoes…well, you can take from it what you will…

A great deal of post-apocalyptic beauty was found in Central Oregon for this 90’s blockbuster which winds its way from Elvis to St. Rose, Oregon, and Phil Oppenheim argues that it is worth a 3 hour re-look – especially in the (lack) of light along the Path of Totality.

“Lean on Pete” to Premiere at Venice Film Fest & TIFF

"Lean on Pete" , Charlie Plummer Writer-Director, Andrew Haigh (“45 Years”) adapted Willy Vlautin’s 2010 novel, “Lean on Pete” that shot in Portland and Eastern Oregon Oregon last summer.

“Lean on Pete” follows the story of “fifteen-year-old Charley Thompson (Charlie Pummer) who, “wants a home, food on the table and a high school he can attend for more than part of the year. As the son of a single father working in warehouses across the Pacific Northwest, stability is hard to find.

Eastern Oregon Film Company

My name is Steve West and I am new to “The Confluence” but not new to making film in Oregon. I am located in La Grande and for the last fourteen years we have produced episodic adventure based outdoor television for The Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, and other networks. However in the last two years we have started a more well rounded media house with documentary projects, commercials, and producing television for other people and companies.

We are now set up to start shooting specialty video for other producers of television or movies.

Raiders of the Lost Archive “Eclipse Clips”
PAINT YOUR WAGON (1968)

As Oregon Film starts to think about turning that wily age of 50 we are reflecting on some of the history that brought us to this point in our lifespan – and why not start at the beginning?

The story goes – after he made the beaches available to the public – Gov. Tom McCall needed just that little bit more to cement his legacy, so he assigned staffer Warren Merrill to help out a large Hollywood production creating No Name City at the confluence of two rivers in Baker County and, Lo and Behold, the beginnings of Oregon Film were born and so was…

PAINT YOUR WAGON (Joshua Logan, 1969)

Contributor Phil Oppenheim takes us from there.

The 8th Annual “We Like ’em Short Film Festival” Opens in Baker City

Just before you hunker down somewhere within the Path of Totality, make sure you find time to do something fun right in the Heart of Totality.

The We Like ‘Em Short Film Festival allows young, first time, filmmakers and professionals from around the world the chance to show their films in our beautiful small town known for its lively arts community. The goal for WLES is to bring films from local, national and international filmmakers to our region and showcase why the Baker Valley is so inspiring.

Raiders of the Lost Archive “Eclipse Clips”
THE OLD OREGON TRAIL (1928)

As we begin down the Path of Totality on August 21, we felt like it was appropriate to look back on projects that found themselves along that same Path, albeit far before the Totality cometh.

“Raiders” contributor Phil Oppenheim calls this sub-series “Eclipse Clips.”

THE OLD OREGON TRAIL (Victor Adamson, 1928)

A horse, a gal, and the John Day River — what more does a feller need?

If you find yourself strangling your steering wheel in frustration while parked in bumper-to-bumper Route 206 traffic on the way to your overbooked hotel room in downtown Condon for the eclipse, you may want to consider the plight of the poor Mercer family (or better yet, see if you can find it on disc for the SUV’s back-seat DVD player and pop it in when the kids in the back seat start losing their minds).

Position: Executive Assistant/Production Coordinator

BENT Image Lab is currently accepting applications for an Executive Assistant/Production Coordinator

The executive assistant/production coordinator works directly with the Executive Producer to effectively prioritize, organize, and manage the production workflow. Assistant responsibilities include managing the EP’s daily schedule, meeting and conference call facilitation, providing regular status updates to keep EP informed of all important production information, and completing a variety of ad hoc support tasks independently and on schedule. Coordination responsibilities include scheduling, budgeting and monitoring production work assigned by the EP and serving as the general internal point of contact between the EP and all studio departments, facilitating effective and timely communication between EP and various production teams.

Recent Posts

BENT Image Lab is currently accepting applications for an Executive Assistant/Production Coordinator