Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s in High Definition by default, so If you have trouble viewing it, please click on the “HD” in the bottom right corner to lower the resolution for easier playback.

Please share this with your friends, click on the “like” buttons, post it on facebook, and retweet the links!  The bigger the audience we build now, the bigger the impact the film can have when it premieres in a few weeks.   Composer Peter Tinari and I are finishing up the music and sound,  and the film will be complete soon.

For more frequent updates follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or the film’s website.

Thanks as always for your support.

Sincerely,
Paul Cuoco
Writer/Director – The Specimen

Many of my friends have been hearing me talk about this for some time. While I advocate not waiting, I’m also not foolish enough to go into production without a great script.  That said, I’m finally going into production on my new short comedy, The Specimen. Based on personal experience, The Specimen is the hilariously embarrassing tale of a man, a public restroom, and his intimate moment with a specimen cup.

Currently in pre-production, the film stars Brian Pope and will be shot by Geoff Knight on my Canon 7D.  I’ve recently launched a Facebook Page, Twitter Account, and website to help promote the film.  Many of you may be wondering why I would create all this before we’ve even started shooting.  You’d be right to wonder, it’s not how things are typically done, however I wanted to do something different with this film and start building our audience sooner rather than later.  To keep you all engaged I plan to post updates during every phase of the project including on the set photos, behind the scenes videos, blog posts and more.  While I will post some duplication of this information here the bulk of it will be on Facebook, Twitter, or the website so be sure to like, follow, and subscribe to catch up on all the latest.

Thanks as always for your support.

Paul

Completed astonishingly, in under two years, King Kong 360 3-D officially opens today. A unique collaboration between Peter Jackson and Universal Creative, the attraction transports you to Skull Island for a showdown between Kong and a V-Rex who’d like to make you dinner.

Stories and Reviews about the attraction:

• LA Times
• USA Today
• Hero Complex
• Yahoo! News
• FearNet
• Theme Park Insider

I spent most of the last two years developing, tweaking, and perfecting the immersive 3-D projection system for the attraction, that includes 16 2K resolution projectors, unique lensing, and 2 custom compound curve screens that stand 40′ tall and 187′ long.

The first challenge was deploying a 3-D film to guests riding in a linear tram.  This meant that most guests will be watching the film from an off axis position, a big no-no for most stereoscopic systems.  Not only that, in order to have image 360 degrees around the guests meant having screens opposing each other, which opens up issues of light contamination from one screen to the other, or cross-talk as it’s commonly referred to.

To solve these issues, I first mocked the system up, in Howard Hughes Spruce Goose hangar in Playa Vista.  Working with 3-D consultant Peter Anderson, and Electrosonic Systems , we fine tuned screen shape, texture, and gain to come up with a system that played to the guests off-axis viewing position, while mitigating the cross-talk.   The system was also used by Peter Jackson, Weta, and the Universal Creative team to view dailies and 3-D tests which due to the size and complexity of the system,  couldn’t be viewed any other way.

King Kong Mock-up System

Once complete we rebuilt the screens from scratch and moved the system to the show for integration.  In the last few weeks as we approached the finish line, Peter Jackson, Matt Aitken and the team at Weta outdid themselves creating an amazingly beautiful stereoscopic  short film that makes the experience. The original sound designer, Brent Burge and mixers Mike Hedges, and Peter Lehman mixed the 22 channel final audio in the space, which really made it come alive.

Now with all the technical challenges behind us, the attraction is open to the public, and the response has been tremendous.  Standing in the back of the space as guests cheer, scream, and applaud really is the projects best reward.  Eliciting that visceral, emotional response from the audience is what it’s all about, whether I’m making a film or an attraction.

To learn more about the project, I have embedded some behind the scenes videos provided by Universal, or you can watch them at the official website.

Mercy Now Available on DVD

After a successful run on the festival circuit, MERCY is now available for purchase on DVD!

To celebrate the release (and let’s face it, to entice some of you to buy) we’ve cut together a new trailer!  Watch it below or click through to Vimeo to see it High Definition.

The special edition DVD is available exclusively through Amazon.com, for only $10 USD.  We’ve put a lot of work into putting as much entertaining information as possible into the DVD while simultaneously showcasing the work of some extraordinarily talented collaborators who helped make MERCY a reality.

First, watch the 14-minute mini-action-mystery-movie, featuring special effects, swordplay, and the “Breakout Action Star of the Year” as a sexy siren in a plaid skirt… and then experience a multitude of special features. THREE commentaries featuring director Tony Teofilo and actors Emilee Harris and James Pomichter, photo galleries, concept art, a music-only track, test footage, alternate scenes, and DVD-ROM features that allow you to download production art for your own use.

So please click through and pick up a copy, then head back to Amazon.com and write us a review to let us know what you think.  If you’ve already seen the film at a film festival, private screening, or from a review copy, we’d love for you to leave a review on Amazon.com as well.  The more positive reviews, the more likely someone who doesn’t know about Mercy might take a chance on her, and we want her story to be viewed by as many people as possible.

Thank you all for your support!

How we were involved:
When Universal Studios Hollywood wanted to deliver the “televised feel” of Fear Factor, Not Afraid! founder Paul Cuoco was brought in to supervise the design and installation of the live digital video production, switching, and playback system. Now I know what you’re thinking, “What happened to all that story, character, and theme stuff?” Well let us tell you a story. In our years of experience utilizing the latest in audio and video technologies to bring our stories to life, we learned a lot about how to design and build audiovisual systems that deliver an impact. Much like George Lucas built an entire empire out of innovating special effects, Not Afraid! has developed a marketplace for working with technology partners to deliver cutting edge audiovisual systems, theaters, and destination based entertainments. While it may not be high art, it pays the bills and allows us the opportunity to continue developing our own properties. At least that’s how we rationalize it.

If you’re interested you can learn more about the attraction at the official website.