Rachel Rosen
Staff Writer
Senior Jesse Padveen uses his love for cinematography and old music to create an original film based on the fascinating life of the 1930’s blues artist, Robert Johnson.
Padveen is creating the movie for his final project in his Advanced Cinematic Arts class. According to Padveen, this year’s unit is surrealism, so he had to think outside of the box. He received inspiration from musicians in Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and Robert Johnson.
“This project has to be weird and at many times devoid of logic,” Padveen said. “I chose to focus on this topic because of my love for old music.”
Padveen takes aspects of Johnson’s life and puts his own creative spin on it. When the main character, who is played by Junior Dylan Swerdlow, begins to notice a mysterious figure following him, the disgruntled guitarist must attempt to maintain his sanity, or cut ties with his band.
“I think the movie is really unique because Jesse is extremely passionate about what he does,” Swerdlow said. “Making this film with Jesse has been a great experience.”
The cast consists of Swerdlow, junior Liam Pachler, and sophomore Cole Fishman, all of whom are musicians. Their appreciation for music is what brought these friends together to create the film.
“The movie really utilizes the strengths of those casted in the movie,” Fishman said. “There is a pretty small cast, so it’s only fitting that we are all musicians.”
The students traveled throughout the South Bay to film the movie. According to Padveen, they have filmed most of the scenes in El Segundo, the Metlox, the Manhattan Village, a bar called “The Deck” in Hermosa Beach, Mira Costa’s auditorium, and in a van.
“We have been filming for a little over three weeks now, and are almost done!” Swerdlow said. “We have filmed all over Manhattan Beach as well as some scenes in El Segundo and have used everything from green screens to studio lights.”
Padveen will be attending film school in Toronto next year to pursue his passion for writing, directing, and shooting film. The film will be finished and available to watch on Youtube and Vimeo on June 15.
“I’m excited about the project because it’s the second movie I’ve directed and it’s really interesting being able to see both the vision come to life as well as the movie’s flaws and what to do differently for next time,” Padveen said. “Our group has put a lot of work into it both in and out of school so we’re excited to see the final product.”
Leave a Reply