See Below: Mr. Fernandez's October C-47 Houston Interview

NOW: Mr. Fernandez talks about the making of "I Drink Alone".

From October 31st until November 6th Director and Filmmaker Ibis Fernandez gave Facebook fans a sneak Peek of his short film, "I Drink Alone" prior to submitting it to festivals for feedback and comments. We emailed Mr. Fernandez to let him know what we thought about his film. Below is what he wrote about his latest film.
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Mr. Ibis Fernandez:

"I jokingly refer to this film as "the film that's so nice I made it twice" but it's actually pretty literal. This film just didn't want to get done, and when it finally did get done, I literally had to go back and redo it.

The film was shot in April 2009 though the script had been rolling around in my desk for quite a while. We were originally going to shoot it in January but that didn't work out. NONE of the original cast members who were cast for this film ended up being in it. LoL!

One went to the military, another moved Germany, another moved to LA to pursue their acting career, another simply didn't show up to work the day we were going to shoot and had to postpone etc... so we just juggled it around for a while.

Around April I decided I had sat on this one too long and it was too short a script to really keep on sitting on it. I posted ads on Craigslist the film was cast about a week prior to filming.

On the night before the shoot, my leading actress dropped out. I forgot what the reason was. I made a post on Craigslist at around 10pm requesting someone for the next day starting around 8am...LoL...pretty desperate but I just refused to keep postponing it.

Five girls responded. One of them was Ashley Mendoza whose done a few commercial for places like the gap that was it. She was concerned about her age being 18 and the fact that she did look pretty young. I was like, "you know what, just show up if it doesn't work out for that role I'll still use you as an extra or something". (that's what I told all the other girls that answered the add between 10pm and 3am that night...LoL...In the end she was the only one that showed up. I had to work with her a little bit, but I think overall she did a great job. The more adult oriented scenes were tough on her i think partly because of her lack of experience but also her mom was in the same room the entire time...LoL! But you can imagine a young girl acting like that with the drug oriented and sexual type scenes etc in front of your mom. I don't think I could do it. LoL!

the scene with the lady in the car was a last minute addition I think turned out to be one of the best scenes. Ashley's aunt 'Tana Garner" tagged along one night and I just thought I'd try it out. Because of the change in age of the main female character i think it would give the character a bit more weight to have that motherly figure out there as opposed to the original character which was to be a bit less innocent in nature.

After all I had already used Ashley's mom in the one-liner at the coffee shop. Why not. So I wrote that scene on the fly for her and I really can't see the film without that scene anymore. That was the first thing she's ever done, and she did an awesome job, you will notice it's a one take shot with no cuts. That lady took direction like a pro was just plain amazing.

The kid in the film is my son. the script called for a character with a Childs mind to portray John's "childlike alter ego". It was going to be more like Lenny from of mice and men, but again the actor didn't show up and I pretty much just decided to use a real child instead. My son was hanging around at the shoot I figure, hey what the heck. he did surprisingly well I think.

The film took maybe 3 days of actual shooting, roughly 10 hours each day. And the original film would have been released in may at some point. I remember cause I was at a Sherlock's on Westheimer, drinking a couple beers and laughing my ass off about Gallery furniture being on fire (they had the news on the screens), making smart remarks like "Well I guess their having a fire sale tomorrow..." little did I know that at that very same moment in time my apartment was being burglarized. Bad karma i guess. But they stole all my equipment, computers, cameras, backup hard drives. including this film.

A couple months later a friend of mine while talking to him about the burglary and about how we lost all that work (including maybe 7 years of past works) cause they didn't just take the computers, they also took the backup drives...he was like "you know I still have a copy of the raw footage you game me to make those trailers". I had completely forgotten since he never did finish those trailers. LoL! But he gave me a copy of the raw footage again and I was able to re-cut, re-edit the film, which is actually completely different than the original cut that was going to be released in May.

There was just so much going against this film it was like it just didn't want to get made. LoL!. I mean it should have not taken me more than maybe two weeks to do, (and technically it didn't with the 3 days shoot and the rest in pre/post production), just sort of got spread out throughout the year. And yeah, I guess now I'm not so sore about losing the original cut, I think this new cut is a lot better anyways.

- Ibis"

Above: Mr. Fernandez talks about the making of "I Drink Alone".

Now:: Mr. Fernandez's was kind enough to answer a few questions for us and he was in our 2008 October C-47 Houston magazine. Below is our interview and NOW yours!

C-47 Houston met Director/Producer Mr. Ibis Fernandez last month, September, after he posted a call for actors for a couple of new projects he is involved with in his company Cinestar FilmWorks. This company is a Houston based production house offering graphic design, animation and multimedia services for film, television and the internet. Mr. Fernandez is a professional character animation and digital effects artist and was director of advertising for Ocean View Publishing. On Television Ibis has appeared in several hit shows including “StarTrek: Voyager” and “The Parlor Boys”. 

On stage Mr. Fernandez has tackled some demanding and non-stereotypical roles such as “Jesus” in the rock opera, “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Lenny” in “Of Mice and Men” and “Cascius” in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”. 

Currently Ibis is working on several projects including his new film “Without You” and his television show, “InternetSanteTV”. Mr. Ibis Fernandez also publishes one of the internets most popular websites for the graphics and animation community - www.Flashfilmmaker.com. He has made films in both the United States and in several Latin American countries. 

C-47 Houston to talk with Mr. Fernandez at one of the local coffee shops where he shared his vision, his thoughts about the film industry and his current projects. C-47 Houston magazine is proud to present and introduce: Director/Producer Mr. Ibis Fernandez:

C-47: I haven’t come across a lot of filmmakers that do animation… you are one of the few. 

Mr. Fernandez: We are currently doing animation but, I am working with “live-action” Currently we are doing a Spanish television show that we are producing. We had started it about 3 years ago and we put it on hold because of sponsorship problems and it got to the point where I was working extremely hard on this project and decided to set it aside for a while. Now, we are at a point where we are able to bring it back and start up production.

C-47: What kind of a show is it?

Mr. Fernandez: It’s a technology show and the first of it’s kind as far as Spanish language television is concerned.

C-47: When you talk about a “technology” show what are you talking about, are you do a Tech TV type show, but cantering toward a Spanish language audience?

Mr. Fernandez: Yeah, kind of the programming you would see on the old Tech TV where you learn to fix or build your own computer and some insight into how it works.

C-47: What station are you planning airing this show?

Mr. Fernandez: Well this will be shown on Channel 57 here in Houston, KAZH AztecAmerica. The plan is to be on-the-air on Saturday mornings. 

C-47: How many shows do you have ready to go?

Mr. Fernandez: We have 12 30-minute episodes ready to go and we plan to have them on the air in second week of November. Also, once we start showing these episode we will, at the same time, start producing new episode on a weekly basis. The technology is always changing so it’s difficult to have repeats and to stay fresh if we don’t start to produce. Right now we are trying to find a spot either after or before those car dealership commercials you always see on this station. So, basically we are having to “muscle” our way in a good time slot.

C-47: Are you planning to have a website to compliment the show?

Mr. Fernandez: Yes, it’s at www.Internetsante.tv  and, this is where the audience will be able to interact with us as the show is going on. They will be able to log-in, ask questions and submit their own video question so that we can put them on the air. Currently we are on iTunes and we are doing very well.

C-47: Let’s talk about your new project film “Without You”.

Mr. Fernandez: Yeah, we are in pre-production of a new film. It’s called “Without You”. I am the writer and I will be the director of this film. This will be a feature length film. Hopefully we will be shooting it in the beginning of February of next year. Currently, we have done some test footage to get a f eel for some of the actors. We will be working with local actors and talent.

C-47: What is the genre of the film?

Mr. Fernandez: Well, it’s going to be a cross between “Rocky”, the “Godfather” and a really good “Chick” flick. It will have a foundation of Martial Arts, but the actual film will not have too much fighting in it as it will be more of a love story that revolves around a kickboxing martial artist and the daughter of a notorious gangster. They fall in love and basically get separated by a money-making hustler who takes her away.

C-47: What kind of camera are you using to make this film?

Mr. Fernandez: We are using two Sony HVR-A1U. These are very small compact HD cameras. I like these cameras and because of my animation background I can make HD footage look like multi-million dollar film. So, making it look good is not going to be a problem for me and we will be editing it using Adobe premier.

C-47: How long do you think its going to take to shoot this film?

Mr. Fernandez: Well I think its going to take about six month to shoot, given the budget we have, at the moment. And, instead of entering it to film festivals we plan to go straight to DVD and on the shelf. There is just too much competition to do it the traditional way, so we felt it best to diversify and hit different types of media and markets.

C-47: How did an animator get into film?

Mr. Fernandez: I think most animators are failed actors. You are a really bad actor who likes to act, but knows how to draw and you try to find a way to incorporate your performance with your drawing. I didn’t cut it as an actor so I started drawing.

C-47: Did you have to leave Houston to get acting work?

Mr. Fernandez: Well if you want to be an actor you have to leave. I did two episodes on “Star Trek Voyager” and played a background character named “Kazon”.

C-47: Did you get killed as most “non-essential” characters do in StarTrek?

Mr. Fernandez: No…I didn’t get killed and I had one line. Unfortunately, “Voyager” was one of those shows where they were trying to make it back home so they left “Kazon” behind. And I did some bit parts on “Tin Cup” and “Robocop 3”.

C-47: How is the animation working out here in Houston?

Mr. Fernandez: I have been focus on the animation especially here in Houston as there are not that many animation studios in this city. It’s steady work. Currently it’s on a plateau because there isn’t much of a demand for 2-D animation. A couple of 2-D animation studios have closed down and in there place is 3-D animation. For traditional animators you either have to evolve with the technology or find something else to do.

C-47: Do you think 3-D animation is the future?

Mr. Fernandez: Well, its hard to say, I personally think it’s a novelty and it might wear out after a while, I hope…LOL! I just don’t like that way it looks plastic. It’s Okay for CGI work on film where cant really tell.

C-47: Do you have any advise for those coming up in your particular area of filming?

Mr. Fernandez: LOL! I don’t think I am qualified to answer that myself, but, if you have talent, don’t concern yourself too much with school and just get out there and do it. Experience is what counts! Get your education for the basics and the degree, but do what you think is best for you and just do it! And, teach yourself.

Mr. Ibis Fernandez is also the author of “Macromedia Flash Animation and Cartooning: A Creative Guide”. For more information about Cinestar Film-Works visit the website at: www.CineStarFilmWorks.com.

This is another “Made in Texas” filmmaker and he is working on "Made in Texas" Films.

www.C47Houston.com