Branding/Marketing agency Omelet, production company Foundation Content, and Director James Lipetzky have teamed up to jointly produce “License to Operate,” a feature-length documentary film about former gang members who are working together to eliminate gang violence and restore peace in their communities. The new documentary is an outgrowth of the production of a promotional video shot earlier this year for non-profit “A Better LA” by Omelet, Foundation, and Lipetzky.nnThe filmmakers recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for post-production services and music licensing fees, as powerful and relevant music tracks will help tell the story. With principal photography wrapped, the filmmakers plan to finish the documentary by mid-October; the expected running time of “License to Operate” is 90-minutes. Please see: nhttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1220803833/license-to-operate nn
nnShot over the summer of 2013, “LTO: License to Operate” is a feature-length documentary film about former gang members in Los Angeles who have come together on a mission to stop the violence they were once part of. These men have earned a “license to operate,” based on their histories as leaders in their respective gangs. This status now empowers them to negotiate on behalf of the community, resolve conflicts, and pursue efforts to limit retaliation killings. The “LTO” filmmakers followed these men throughout LA for the entire summer of 2013, capturing their struggles as they work every day to stop violence, save lives, and rebuild a sense of hope in their communities.nnBranding, marketing, and entertainment company Omelet and production company Foundation Content were first introduced to the men profiled in “LTO” while shooting a promotional video for non-profit “A Better LA,” an organization founded by Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, which promotes peace and prosperity in inner-city Los Angeles through community-based solutions. The filmmakers felt that the profoundly moving LTO story demanded to be told on a larger scale.nnDirector James Lipetzky said, “As a filmmaker, I care about telling the story of human lives – what makes people tick, why we do certain things. While shooting the video for ‘A Better LA’ earlier this year, I realized we were in the middle of a real story that was truly transformative, and ripe with positive change.”n”The stakes have become tragically high with inner city gang-related crime in Los Angeles,” added Omelet Studio Producers Steven Amato and Michael Wallen. “Thanks in part to the efforts of the men depicted in our film, the murder rate in Los Angeles has been on a steady decline, recently hitting a twenty-year low.”nPrincipal photography was funded by Omelet and a group of private investors. Barking Owl Sound and Music Supervisor Michael Gross are currently providing audio/sound design to the film.nn
nnProject CreditsnOmeletnProducers and Omelet Creative Leads: Steven Amato, President and Chief Content Officer; Mike Wallen, EVP Content and DevelopmentnExecutive Producer: Don Kurz, Chairman and CEO nnFoundation ContentnExecutive Producer from Foundation Content: Samantha Hart nDirector: James Lipetzky nAssociate Producers: Stacy Paris and Matthew GoodhuennAbout Director James LipetzkynDirector James Lipetzky, a co-founder of Foundation Content, has recently helmed projects for such major clients as Sony, Microsoft and 3M. Over the course of his career as a noted editor, James has worked with esteemed filmmakers such as Errol Morris, Zak Snyder and Vadim Perlma
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Liz Charky Directs a Playful and Reflective Video For Henry Hall’s “Tiny Door”
Directed by Liz Charky, the music video for Henry Hall’s ‘Tiny Door’ is a playful and profound exploration of the song’s intriguing perspective on love. Silly moments and serious heartbreak are skillfully weaved together in a series of cheeky, dreamy, profound, and sometimes psychedelic scenes. “I am a huge fan of love songs that have an unusual, hyper-specific perspective on love,” says Hall. “That’s what I wanted to do with ‘Tiny Door.’ It’s about loving someone unconditionally while recognizing that love is something that isn’t always straightforward — I think that’s something we all attempt to come to terms with in our lives. I thought it was a unique yet universal detail about love and therefore an intriguing subject matter for a song. Even though the song is a ballad at its core, it still has a lighthearted sense of humor to it — that’s really portrayed well by Liz, and Ellin Aldana, our cinematographer.” Charky explains, “When I first listened to the song, I felt it was a love song full of longing with a kind of wishful melancholy. As I spoke with Henry about his intention behind the lyrics and sound, I was assured that I'd need to explore heartbreak in a nuanced way – with a degree of levity and playfulness. For me, falling in and out of love runs the full course of human expression. Love and heartbreak can be so emotionally intense and sometimes lonely, other times quite goofy or liberating. In developing the concept, I focused on both the literal and figurative ways that falling in and out of love might look like. So, you see Henry and co-star Franny Arnautou falling, flying, dancing, raging, winking, smiling, and... Read More