News & Photoroom

A BOX OF ROB TAKES OFF!

(RALEIGH, NC)

Moving Box Entertainment, LLC has hired UPTONE PICTURES INC. of Wake Forest,NC to produce an upcoming feature film "A BOX FOR  ROB".  Principle Photography will take place in May in the city of Concord NC.

Attached Actors include:  Brett Gentiel, Mark Scarboro, Rob Trevelier, Fred Griffin, IronE Singleton and Amber Irvin.

Blog Critic  MAGAZINE
Music DVD Review: Mar - This Is An Experiment
Written by Jeff Perkins
Published March 25, 2009

The path of creation along which many artists have to venture can be a long and arduous journey. Hearing the sounds in your mind is one thing. Writing, practicing, rehearsing, and developing these seeds takes the process several steps forward.

Up until that point those sounds remain intensely personal. They own them, they are private, and they remain very much a part of themselves.

The next step, however, is where it ultimately stands or falls. This is when you arrive in the studio. It's here that the suffering for art really begins. The whole, often painful, process can be laborious, torturous, tedious, and even traumatic. If all of these potential pitfalls can be avoided then the experience can hopefully develop into a wonderfully rewarding experience.

This Is An Experiment (Uptone Pictures) is the perfectly titled film study of the making of a US indie band’s debut album. Film maker Zack Cookman’s expertly lets his camera do the talking. It observes without influencing, and captures a band in the studio, painfully piecing together a project that, up until that point, only existed within the band itself.

Mar is a US based band who traveled to far away Reykjavic in Iceland to record their first album, The Silence. However, as soon as their plane touches down, they walk headfirst into one of the industry’s never ending realities. Money, or in this case a lack of it, threatens to derail their dream before it even starts.

Zack Cookman’s camera records the fall out from the revelation. The impact of this is that there is hole in their finances which means that their time in the studio will be cut short unless further funds can be found.

The film shows how each member of the band, leader Kyle J. Reidy, Patrick Atkinson, Nate Reed, and Claire Long face up to this painful revelation. The tension is clear, however the band reacts strongly and immerse themselves in the process of getting their music recorded.

What makes this even more interesting is that this was their first real studio experience. Also, they had traveled thousands of miles to fulfill their dream. However, within those first few moments on Icelandic soil the very fabric of that dream comes under pressure.

From the first reel that underlying tension is there. Will the band solve the cash shortfall and will they be able to utilize the time they do have to produce their album? In letting the story unfold as a mere observer Zack Cookman has created a valuable film that all new bands should see before venturing into the studio environment.

For Immediate Release  Media Contact: Michael Davis
Phone: 919.649.3587
Fax:     919.570.6150
Email: mike@uptonepictures.com

Press Release – Thursday, January 30, 2009

Indie Band Mar to Release First DVD,“This is an Experiment”

UpTone Pictures begins their 2009 with This is an Experiment, a debut film documenting a debut album, in which the audience gets the rare chance to see a young American indie band’s first venture into a studio and the struggles that they encounter there.
This is an Experiment focuses on Arkansas-based band Mar and front man Kyle Reidy as they travel to Reykjavik,Iceland to record their first album, The Silence, and was documented by North Carolina filmmaker Zack Cookman. “The expected struggles and tediousness that go into making an album are there, but we’re watching a group of unknowns, guided by a few strong horses of the indie music scene go through the process,” says Cookman.

The “strong horses” he refers to are Jimmy LaValle of The Album Leaf, along with Gunni Tynes and Samuli Kosminen of Mum fame, who played on, and co-produced The Silence.

The film plays out like a studio diary, beginning with Day One in the studio. The band immediately has problems to face, including financial struggles, creative frustrations, and band/manager tensions. “One of the interesting elements of the film is the spirit displayed by the band when faced with, what I would believe to be, notably unsettling challenges,” says Cookman.

Filming began when both Reidy and Cookman lived in Charlotte, North Carolina. “The opportunity to go to Iceland came about while I was already filming a documentary on Mar and its creation/evolution. I’d been filming for approximately six months when the bass player and drummer moved away. There was a window of uncertainty as to what would become of the story. Kyle then told me they were offered a chance to record an album in Iceland, and the direction immediately changed,” Cookman says. The focus was then shifted to solely showing Mar and their journey to another country to make their debut album.

According to Cookman, he wanted to use the freedom allowed through the film’s title. The name “This is an Experiment” occurred to him when he realized that not only was Mar experimenting in the studio, but that he too was experimenting as a filmmaker. “I wanted to experiment with how I would shoot something, and eventually, in how I would edit it,” he says. The film is told in a non-narrative fashion, and does not attempt to craft a story out of captured sounds and images. Watching This is an Experiment, one gets the sense that they are privy to man’s camera and the short moments he decided to hit the record button.

Mar’s album The Silence has received critical praise from around the globe. Fans now have an opportunity to see how their favourite songs, which are calming to listen to, could only come about through a much laborious process.

www.uptonepictures.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2007

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES WILL WARM HEARTS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
Groundbreaking feature film and TV special utilizes vintage home movies to help families remember the joy of Christmas past.

(NASHVILLE, TENN.) -- This winter, memories of Christmas Past will come alive again, thanks to the upcoming Uptone Pictures feature film, Christmas Memories - available on DVD November 20th from PureFlix Entertainment. Take a stroll down memory lane with this collection of heart-warming stories of days gone by. The groundbreaking film is an assortment of vintage 8mm and 16mm home movies uniquely woven together to tell humorous and heartwarming stories that just might remind you of your favorite Christmas memory.

To coincide with the DVD release, a 30-minute television special, also titled Christmas Memories, will air during the holidays (check local listings). Showcasing a few stories from the collection, the special will air in over 100 markets on the CW Network, as well as national airings on a variety of television networks including INSP, iLife-TV, NRB Network, Faith TV, INI, CTS (Canada), The Miracle Channel, Sky Angel and dozens of independent stations and network affiliates.

Producer/Director Michael Davis came up with the idea for Christmas Memories on a cold, fall afternoon, while watching old family movies on an old projector on his father-in-law's big screen. "I grew up watching old home movies and silent films being projected on a sheet in the living room as part of 'family movie night,'" remembers Davis. "So while watching a very large box full of 8mm films one afternoon, I began to imagine what other people did during the holidays. What sorts of traditions did those families have? What kind of things are we missing today in the hype and business of the season?"

Davis slowly began to collect vintage film at estate sales, and before long, found himself with hundreds of hours of raw footage - actual home movies, long forgotten and abandoned. The footage was transfered to DVD for viewing purposes, and Davis and script writer Denise Patton watched volumes of material and slowly began to create new stories for the very real footage that became part of the movie.

"This film literally transports people back to a time and place - a moment which has been saved in their minds for years," says Davis. "When they see these images, they are immediately back in the kitchen at Grandma's house eating cookies on the kitchen stool. Or they are back putting ornaments on the tree as a blizzard roars outside. The coolest thing that I have seen over and over as we have screened the film to various focus groups is that people pull from the film things that are unique to them, while someone sitting next to them in the same viewing pick something completely different from the same exact footage."

Christmas Memories was edited entirely in Brazil, as Davis was in the process of adopting his daughter Isabella. Veteran music producer Brian Hardin serves as Music Director for the film, and Whiplash Records recording artist Jill Parr sings the title track, and lends her voice as a narrator as well. Also narrating portions of the film is Bryan Duncan, one of the most beloved voices in Christian music, and now the lead singer of Bryan Duncan and the Nehosoul Band.

"My hope is that Christmas Memories will become a tradition for families today," adds Davis. "It's a chance to look at the past, to remember the good times, the blessings, the traditions, and ultimately conjure up the memories that bring families closer together."

www.christmasmemories-themovie.com

REEL SECOND SEASON

TV SHOW REEL  is now in its second season of shooting

Catch more by watching  I LIFE TV  or visiting  www.inspiration.net

UPTONE LAUNCHES "REEL" TV SHOW
Raleigh (NC)-  UpTone Pictures is very pleased to announce the launch of a new TV show entitled  " REEL" starting this summer.  The new project is a co-production between Phoenix E.G. and HERITAGE HM of Australia.

REEL is a movie review show with a difference, designed to take a deeper look at the movies we all watch. REEL is a show focusing on the modern day parables – movies.

The movies we watch can have a powerful impact on our lives. REEL reviews films from a spiritual perspective. It asks you to consider how the films you watch can help to nudge you towards your destiny – or perhaps even introduce you to the original Storyteller.

REEL will focus on films released by the major studios as well as the latest independent family-based entertainment to be released on DVD. Along with thought-provoking reviews, REEL will show clips of each film and provide a star rating that will focus value on how the film can inspire and be a benefit to you.

Each time you watch a REEL episode you will see a review of one of the latest mainstream movie releases along with a new DVD release, plus one of our presenter’s favorite films – dusted off and ready to inspire yet again.

Designed to entertain, inform, challenge and inspire, REEL will encourage you to consider the ‘big picture’ every time you watch a movie.

REEL will be airing on the  I life and I N I networks  starting this summer.

We look forward to sharing some popcorn with you soon!

Media Contact: BRIAN MAYES * (615) 417-8149 * brian@nashvillepublicity.com