Year: 2019

Nowhere In The Universe

By Bylinegmcd on

Nowhere in the Universe is a sci-fi fashion comedy film about desperation – no matter how desperate you become, some lines can never be crossed. UPDATE: We won Best Comedy Film and the Audience Choice Award at the LA Underground Film Forum!

It was quite a surprise winning the two awards. Actors Kaitlyn Clare who played the alien and Brandon Bernath were in attendance. We had a really good time at the festival and the people who it on couldn’t be nicer. And it was in town!

I really enjoyed making this film with two wonderful actors, Kaitlyn and Brandon. The only thing I’d do differently is I wouldn’t shoot in two locations that are almost an hour apart. After spending the morning and the first half of the day getting the makeup and prosthetics done, we then spent about about an hour and half driving between the two locations. We got what we needed but it would’ve been nice to have just a little more time. However, I do best with limitations so I take it back, we did it just as it was meant to be!

If you have a narrative or commercial project you want to collaborate on just give me a hollar. I’d love to hear about it. Contact me to discuss.

Check out my Narrative stuff. Or Photography and Commercial and Fashion films.

Working with an Alien

By Bylinegmcd on
bts of director Greg McDonald filming actors

Working with an alien is tough! Ha! Not at all when the alien is played by Kaitlyn Clare and you’re working with Brandon Bernath, two excellent actors. In this behind the scenes photo we were hurrying up before the sun went down while filming the sci-fi fashion comedy film, Nowhere In The Universe. We managed to get what we needed with several minutes to spare before sunset.

Sci-fi fashion comedy – is that a new genre we invented? I’m not sure but let me know if you know of another film that can that falls into this category.

Got a narrative or commercial project? Contact me to discuss. I’d love to hear about it.

Check out Narrative stuff. Or Photography and Commercial and Fashion films.

Alien Sighting

By Bylinegmcd on

Alien sighting! A behind the scenes video with Kaitlyn Clare as the alien on our film shoot of, “Nowhere in the Universe”, a sci-fi fashion comedy. I had a blast making this! It was a super small cast and crew with great chill people. Working with people you like and get along with makes all the difference. Alien makeup and effects were done by Thirati K who did a fantastic job! And I love working with the two actors in the film, Kaitlyn and Brandon Bernath. The were excellent and a joy to work with!

We were a little worried about the weather since it rained a bit the night before which is very unusual for the desert in the middle of May but the next day it turned out great. Just some clouds when we started which worked out in our favor.

I finished the film in about 10 days after shooting and have already submitted it to one festival already with more to go. Stay tuned for more!

If you have a narrative or commercial project you want to collaborate on just give me a hollar. I’d love to hear about it. Contact me to discuss.

Check out my Narrative stuff. Or Photography and Commercial and Fashion films.

A Sunny Desert Day

By Bylinegmcd on

A Sunny Desert Day, a flash fiction story

Even though I couldn’t see them behind her mirrored aviators, I could feel the disgust shooting out of her baby blue eyes and tugging on every last rotten cell of my plaque-filled heart strings. I didn’t need to see her eyes to recognize the look. I’d seen it before after a bender at the docks with a two-bit con with a surefire thing in the 5th with some sauced Irish crumb. It’s the kind of look a woman gives a man when she’s got nothing to lose and even less to gain. 

She asked me to take her to the desert for some vitamin D and a view of the dirt. I got suspicious when she asked me to bring the shovel but with a dame like that, you don’t ask questions if you value your teeth.

A shot of giggle water and one last smoke before I showed her a lovely resting place out in the middle of nowhere. Why is there never a middle-of-the-road in the middle of nowhere? It’s where you go to either start something, or end it.

~ “A Sunny Desert Day”, a flash fiction story by Greg McDonald based on the photograph.

Backstory to the story

This photo came about from an impromptu shoot in the desert, and afterwards the short story based on the photograph. I went out to scout locations for a future short film with actress Kaitlyn Clare in Los Angeles and we figured since we’re going way out in the desert anyway, may as well do a shoot.

With very little planning and no real story in mind this is one of the resulting images with more to come. We also managed to make a short film, STARTUP about every startup founder’s dream.

Got a narrative or commercial project? Contact me to discuss. I’d love to hear about it.

Check out Narrative stuff. Or Photography and Commercial and Fashion films.

Domino Falls

By Bylinegmcd on

Domino Falls

Domino left the big city and went out to stake her claim on a lifeless patch of dirt in the desert. She planned on building a tiny house made from sustainable materials and start an ecommerce business selling detox tea on Instagram.

Little did she know the Homestead Act of 1862 had long expired and the government denied her claim to ownership and seized her land when she struck oil while digging a hole for her septic tank.

~ “Domino Falls”, a flash fiction story by Greg McDonald based on the photograph

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Hi Mom!

By Bylinegmcd on
woman holds shovel threatening to chop the viewers head off

Hi Mom!

I’ve met someone. I think you’d like her. She reminds me of you. We like to camp, hike, snorkel, play scrabble and we took a class in Viking cuisine together that really made us feel closer as a couple.

She sometimes takes a shovel to my throat but that’s usually only after I say something like, “you should smile more often” or I tell her to “take it easy”. She’s really great and cares about me. When I became incapacitated because of a gout attack in my big toe and she had to wait on me hand and foot, she gave me a mixture of sleeping pills and muscle relaxers and had me down it with whiskey to help ease the pain. I had to have my stomach pumped in the ER but for a few hours I didn’t feel any pain whatsoever in my foot.

We’re going to see Jon Hamm at the Wax Museum tomorrow. She wants to get a photo of herself holding a martini with his wax arm around her waist. She says she was born a couple decades too late LOL. After that, she’s taking me to this secret spot at the LA River. She says it’s really remote and no one will know we’re there. She said she has a surprise for me.

Until next time, from glamorous Hollywood, California, your loving son, 
Sonny.

~ “Hi Mom!’, a flash fiction story by Greg McDonald based on the photograph

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Construction Documentary Video

By Bylinegmcd on

Construction documentary video that I had the honor to work on and produce for the Los Angeles Dept of Water and Power L3 Maripro, the contractor. It’s something different than what I usually do when it comes to commercial work.

We filmed the 4 month offshore installation in the Santa Monica Bay that now allows the City of LA to get 50% of its electricity from renewable sources. The installation of 36 concrete vaults that weigh 50,000 pounds each and contain 4 electrodes now sit on the ocean floor, and connect to power cables that come down from Washington and Oregon that send wind, solar and hydro generated power to us in LA. The city’s goal is to get to where 100% of our electricity is from renewable sources.

The production included aerial drone footage, timelapse footage and footage shot from the barge as well as dockside work in Long Beach. This is a 7.5 minute highlight reel of the installation.

Got a narrative project? Contact me to discuss. I’d love to hear about it.

Check out Narrative stuff. Or Photography and Commercial and Fashion films.

Office Showdown

By Bylinegmcd on
woman firing guns in office in behind the scenes film set photo
a man fires guns at his coworkers in behind the scenes film set photo

Office showdown in a west coast think tank. Tempers flare between co-workers when a disagreement erupts over trade economics and an angered employee who was losing the argument starts shooting up the place. Connie, the level-headed office manager grabs the hand guns in her desk and takes care of the disgruntled malcontent. It didn’t end well for the shooter. Behind the scenes of a film I made awhile ago.

Got a narrative project? Contact me to discuss. I’d love to hear about it.

Check out Narrative stuff. Or Photography and Commercial and Fashion films.