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| (Click logo to visit A.J.'s Myspace page) |
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CLICK HERE to watch NEW EXTENDED Fingerman Trailer!!!
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A.J. Rickert-Epstein teamed up with well-respected actor/director Jim Beaver (DEADWOOD, SUPERNATURAL, etc...) to complete his short film "Night Riders". The film is based on a play that he wrote in 2006 and stars the same cast that performed the original on stage. "Night Riders" takes place in the 50's in Texas back country. Two brothers are returning home late at night after the death of their father. It's a very well crafted piece about how grief is dealt with by certain folks A.J. found the experience incredibly rewarding and looks forward to future projects with Jim Beaver. Click on the photo of Jim to the right to hear his thoughts on working with A.J. on "Night Riders"
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| CLICK THE IMAGE to hear Jim Beaver's thoughts on working with AJ on his short film "Night Riders" |
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| **NEW** CLICK TO WATCH BAINES IN HD |
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| As a director of photography, A.J. has been shooting on the RED ONE camera a lot lately. In May, A.J. lensed a sci-fi epic short "The Last Colony" directed by Kevin Hamedani on the RED ONE with Zeiss Ultra Prime Lenses. Most recently, A.J. collaborated with writer/director and producer r. ellis frazier to complete his short film entitled "Baines". "Baines" is the first in a series of shorts about an assassin and his missions in various foreign lands. In this episode, A.J. and Mr. frazier travelled to Tijuana, Mexico to shoot on the RED ONE with a small yet talented crew. Tijuana happens to also be the location of Mr. frazier's most recent film "La Linea" as well. "La Linea" is slated for Blockbuster shelves this fall and will wear on the box the English title translated from Spanish as "The Line". Click the image to the left for a still from the movie.
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A.J. Rickert-Epstein has been occasionally collaborating with Farsi music video director Ravi Ivar on his music videos throughout late summer and fall of 2009. So far, A.J. has lensed over 8 music videos for many hit Persian musicians. Click on the links to the right to view some of the music videos A.J. has shot. (QUICKTIME REQUIRED)
| Mansour Video
Freddy Video
Habib Video
Leila Video
Mohamad Desert Video
Mohamad Rain Video
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| A.J. recently completed principle photography on the second season of the hit latin web series YLSE Starring Ruth Livier. This season A.J. again worked with director Joe Camareno to achieve a superb look for the show. A.J. was also fortunate enough to work with directors Elizabeth Peña and Marleen Forte. This season will be packed with many more laughs, intense moments, and steamy on screen romances. Check the link above to visit the Ylse.net website where Ylse Season 2.0 episodes will soon be released. |
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| CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO PLAY THE UNOFFICIAL YLSE SEASON 2.0 TRAILER (EDITED BY STEPHEN MURRAY) |
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| A.J. Recently collaborated again with director Daniel F. Scherl to complete a cooking show pilot for Michelle Karam. A.J. lensed the project on Panasonic's new HMC-150 1080p camera. Join Michelle as she shares stories of life, family, friends.. and food... from all over the world! |
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| CLICK IMAGE OF HOSTESS MICHELLE KARAM TO VISIT THE "FOOD FROM THE HEART" WEBSITE AND CHECK OUT THE PILOT EPISODE |
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| A.J. was Director of Photography on Trish Geiger's documentary "Maestro Messenger" about famed and respected choir conductor Paul Salamunovich. Paul is the Music Director Emeritus of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, after having served as Music Director from 1991 to 2001. He served as Director of Music at St. Charles Borromeo Church in North Hollywood
for 60 years between 1949 and 2009 where most of the filming for this documentary took place. In addition to all of that, Paul has held academic
positions at a number of Southern California universities. Geiger's documentary chronicles Paul's last year as director of music at St. Charles Borromeo Church and the impact his life's work has had on others.
Paul is acknowledged as an expert in Gregorian Chant and has long been recognized for his contributions in the field of sacred music, most notably receiving a Papal knighthood in the Order of St. Gregory the Great from Pope Paul VI in 1969. He sang for the Pope. Pretty Wild. There should be a trailer for this documentary in the near future. Be sure to check back for more details!
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| A.J. Recently DPed "Maestro Messenger" a documentary film by Trish Geiger |
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| Click to Visit the HTBAD Web Page! |
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A.J. and colleague Daniel F. Scherl collaborated on Daniel's latest short film How To Be a Director: 10 Easy Steps to Fortune and Fame. Click the image to the left to view the website! A.J. lensed the project on Panasonic's new HPX3700 P2HD Camera provided by Bill Hogan at Panasonic of America. He recorded the green screen footage in 4:4:4 uncompressed video through dual link HDSDI feeding into his Kona Card which was set up in the other room and operated by A.J.'s old NYU classmate and former Troublemaker Studios visual effects animator Kenneth Brown. Kenneth is the latest edition to the Cobra Productions team. Keep an eye out for his visual effects work in upcoming C.P. projects! We will keep you updated on the status of this project and as soon as a trailer is up we will let you know!
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A.J. worked as Director of Photography on MISS OHIO (A film by Gregory
Fitzsimmons). It won the Grand Jury Audience Award for Best Picture at
the Dances With Films Festival in Hollywood California, 2009. In
addition to this achievement, the film was given a glowing review in
Variety Magazine. This marks the second film that Variety Magazine
reviewed (both positively) in the last 12 months which A.J. was the
Director of Photography. Please click the image to the right to visit the MISS OHIO website and check out the new trailer!
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| Miss Ohio, shot mainly in Chicago. CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO VISIT THE FILM'S WEBSITE AND VIEW THE TRAILER |
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| A.J. recently DPed the feature film "Revenge of the Bimbot Zombie Killers" directed by Joe Camareno. The film stars many of the amazing actors from the web series Ylse (also directed by Joe Camareno) including star Ruth Livier. There will be a clip or two available for viewing in a few days. This film is hilarious and includes a zombie dance number! What more can you ask for in a movie?
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| A.J. lines up a killer shot for Dark and Stormy Night. |
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| Filming commenced recently for Dark and Stormy Night, a Larry Blamire film, lensed by A.J. Rickert-Epstein. As mentioned below, A.J. recently lensed "The Lost Skeleton Returns Again", the sequel to the Sony Pictures cult classic film "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" so this is the second (of hopefully many) collaborations with the two filmmakers, and the fourth feature film for A.J Rickert-Epstein as DP. On set, much grunting and nodding occur between the two and then afterwards they shoot scenes for the movie which hopefully many will enjoy and laugh at. A.J. chose the Panavised F-900F for this feature - two of which are running daily with Panavision Zoom lenses onboard. Stephen Murray is acting as A.J.'s second camera operator for the third time in the last couple years. I don't want to give away too much more so I'll shut up for now. Shooboo!
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A.J. was recently given the task of lensing the very funny feature film "The Lost Skeleton Returns Again" - which is the sequel to the cult classic "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" both from director Larry Blamire. This project being A.J.'s third time lensing a feature, he elected to team up with talented camera operator and A.J.'s MAFIA predecessor, Steven Murray again - marking the third time the efficient duo have worked together in the camera department (Daywalker, Fingerman: Dr. London and the Triangle Force). Together, A.J. and Steven accomplished 568 high quality setups in 11.5 shooting days. Next on the agenda for the two of them is another feature film from Larry Blamire and the Bantam Street bunch - "Dark and Stormy Night. Keep your eyes peeled...whatever that means.
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| AJ and Crew on set of Skeleton 2 |
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| Dorian's Department Store Tijuana, Mexico |
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| A.J. was hired by producer Lorena Cienfuego to be Director of Photography for two 30 second Dorian's Department Stores commercials in Tijuana, Mexico. The footage turned out great and the finished spots will be airing on Mexican television as part of a Valentine's day sale.
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A.J. wrote/produced/shot/edited the 2 latest videos from John Lu at Best of USA Marketing. This time, A.J. completed the latest Weekend of Heroes action figure conference DVD as well as something entirely new. Kicking off 2008, we're coming at you with Airsoft Etiquette, a fun and comedic look at the issue of safety in regards to the game of Airsoft. The video is hosted by the lovely Christy and Sierra, and is being distributed with the sale of every airsoft gun across the nation at participating retailers. Keep an eye out for Christy and Sierra at upcoming Lion Claws series events. Click the picture of the two girls to the right to visit A.J.'s youtube page and view Airsoft Etiquette firsthand.
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| AIRSOFT ETIQUETTE starring Christy and Sierra (Click to Visit A.J.'s youtube page) |
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| Click for THE RULES OF THE GAME on myspace.com |
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| A.J. acted as Director of Photography on the MyspaceTV show "Rules of the Game" starring David Faustino and Corin Nemec. The show has been a tremendous hit on myspace with an explosion of views towering in the millions. The show is dropping one episode per week every Monday until Valentine's day and has coincided with the release of Neil Strauss' new book "Rules of the Game" which has become a bestseller instantly. Click the picture to the left and visit Neil's myspace page to watch some of the current episodes and submit your own video responses!
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A.J. filmed behind the scenes for a new dramatic action film called "La Linea", starring Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia, Esai Morales, Kevin Gage, Dominik Garcia, Valerie Cruz, Michel Delorenzo and more. The film is due for release at the end of 2008. A.J.'s work on this film also marks the first Los Angeles collaboration with Cobra Productions' newcomer Noah Applebaum, who is lead PA on the film. More to come soon...
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| AJ with Danny Trejo from La Linea (Click for Video) |
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| Click Image to Enlarge |
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A.J. recently acted as cinematographer on the James F. Flynn feature drama, "Eastern College" in July 2007. The film stars familiar faces from other Cobra Productions' films including Jon Dicks, Chris Cowan, Noah Applebaum, and Brandon Lea. A.J. will begin post production on the film very soon, aiming for a 2008 festival release. More on this later...Click the image to the left to view a photo from set.
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EASTERN COLLEGE PHOTO GALLERY
Browse the images from the set of "Eastern College" by clicking your mouse on the thumbnails to the left. The film was shot in July 2007 in Oxford, Ohio and is about to begin post production in Los Angeles during the fall. There will be a trailer up soon. Check back regularly for more news and updates on all Cobra Productions films!
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Cobra Productions has just opened an online Merch Store at www.cafepress.com - This month we're featuring new products related to our latest feature film Fingerman: Dr. London and the Triangle Force!!! Be the first on the block with Official Cobra Productions Street Gear, and while you're at it grab a gift for a friend! Click Here or on the Image to the Right to visit the Cobra Productions Merch Store.
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| Click to Play "Hey You" Music Video AJ Directed/Edited |
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| Hot off the press! The new music video that AJ directed for the band Godhead was just released by Cement Shoes Records/Universal Releasing on youtube! The video stars Eric Roberts from NBC's "Heroes", Ganita Koonopakarn from the new movie "Balls of Fury", and X3i: Divinity's Dan Johnson, a Cobra Productions regular. Click on the image to the top left to view and comment on the video. Below that, is an exclusive "Behind-the-Scenes" sneak peak at the making of "Hey You" (BTS shot and edited by Shane Cole). "Hey You" will probably spin on Fuse and a few other TV stations within the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for it!
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| Sneak Peak Behind-the-Scenes of Godhead's new Music Video |
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Cobra Productions Action Comedy - Fingerman: Dr. London and The Triangle Force - premiered at the Oxford International Film Festival (OIFF) on April 6th, 2007. Check out a recap video about the festival featuring A.J. by clicking the image to the right. To see the teaser for Fingerman click HERE.
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| Click for OIFF Recap Video |
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CHECK OUT THE NEW X3i: DIVINITY TRAILER!! (Click link to view Quicktime trailer)
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The picture to the right is a still from the latest Cobra Production, a Jon Stewart Green Lantern Fanfilm Teaser. Shot and directed by Chris Cowan, starring Dan Johnson (X3i: DIVINITY) the teaser has exploded on the internet, causing all sorts of buzz. Cowan was unavailable for comment on whether he would actually follow through with a short film, but the odds look good. Keep an eye out for more. Currently, A. J. Rickert-Epstein is in the final stages of post production on his screwball action-comedy: FINGERMAN: DR. LONDON AND THE TRIANGLE FORCE. This film looks very exciting so far and will most certainly be a crowd pleaser. A teaser will be online in a few weeks. Check back for more news!
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| GREEN LANTERN FAN FILM TEASER (Click Image to Play) |
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| Visions of Horror DVD coming 2007! |
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Visions of Horror marks the second production AJ and director Shane Cole have collaborrated on in 2006 (AJ also worked on Shane's film Everyday Joe, a short thriller) A.J. recently finished editing the final cut of Everyday Joe and it is now being scored by H. Anton Riehl, composer for the TV series "Without a Trace". A.J. lensed the film as Director of Photography as well. You can view a preview clip of Everyday Joe HERE.
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| AJ Filmed gODHEAD at the Roxy in West Hollywood December 15th, 2006 |
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| The HUGE Neil Strauss' DVD Seminar that AJ edited in December 2005 SELLS OUT in a matter of HOURS. |
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| In other recent news, remembering back in early 2006 to AJ's stellar editing work on Neil Strauss' 8 DVD series "The Annihilation Method", every single copy sold out within just a few hours of it's initial release! That is great news for Neil Strauss and it is another fantastic testimony to the quality of work Cobra Productions delivers. If you or someone you know is in need of outstanding video editing or production work, Contact Cobra Productions today!
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