Date:
2/8/2013
Contact: Tammy-Lynne Moore at 575.562.2503
PORTALES–Eastern New Mexico University alumni David P. Moore, (Best Boy Electric) Caleb Leslie (Grip), Hobie Kelting (Grip), Gabriella Vigil (Grip), James Perkins (Electric) and Britnie Burds (Assistant Production Coordinator) were given the opportunity to work on Calvin Reeder's "The Rambler," a film starring Dermont Mulroney that was shot in New Mexico and recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Movie Poster of The Rambler
Leslie graduated in 2007 with a BA in Digital Cinema Arts with emphasis on writing, directing and producing. Soon after, he attended ENMU-Roswell's technical film program to get certified. He has worked as a grip and in the make-up department for five movies, and is currently working in Amarillo, Texas, as a creative TV producer.
Heather McIntosh, Calvin Reeder, Lindsay Pulsipher and Dermot Mulroney
He was contacted by one of the producers that he had worked with previously to be a grip for "The Rambler."
A grip is someone who is responsible for different riggings, such as producing lights, manipulating sunlight with mirrors and shine boards, and hanging lights or lifts from the ceiling. "The work was tough," Leslie said. "We worked long shifts, about twelve to fourteen hours a shift, often six to seven days a week. But it paid off; working on set was a lot of fun, and very rewarding.
"It was a blast getting to work with such a great cast and crew. And it's really cool to have this premier at Sundance. Getting a film into Sundance is the hard part. I can't wait to see where the film goes from here."
Moore graduated in 2011 with his BA in digital cinema arts. He then became a part of ENMU-Roswell's film program, and has since worked on several small films and a music video. Moore currently works and lives in Portales.
Moore was hired as best boy electric for his experience. The best boy electric manages the grips, and the crew who work with the set work. He is in charge of assembling a crew to work on set, equip the rental house or space with everything that the crew may need, and is in charge of moving an entire set.
"Working on 'The Rambler' was challenging, and the work was hard, but very rewarding," Moore said. "It gradually became easy. The actors were very courteous when working around them, and Calvin (the director) knew how to work well with his crew. Even the hard work ran smoothly.
Dermot Mulroney
"We were constantly moving the set, which means taking the house, lights, everything to another place. We sometime had to move twice a day!"
Getting an opportunity to work on sets like this is very uncommon, especially when it gets picked up by a major film festival.
Moore said that a major name distributor, Anchor Bay Entertainment, is going to distribute the film. Anchor Bay Entertainment has distributed critically acclaimed movies such as Robert Schwntke's "R.E.D.", and Peter Heslov's "Men Who Stare at Goats."
"I hope that this does really well in the small screen theaters, and makes its way to the big screen," Moore said.
"It's really amazing all the possibilities that can open up. You just got to go where the work is, because the work won't find you. Meet all the people you can, and work hard--do the best job you can, and be friendly because people will remember who you are. Working in the film industry is like going to war; the work is tough, but you get to bond, and make friends with people that you couldn't find anywhere else."
Burds graduated in 2010 with her BA in digital cinema arts. She is currently working on her master's degree in communication. She then became part of ENMU-Roswell's film program. She was called to be the assistant production coordinator by Alan Trevor, one of the producers for "The Rambler."
Burds has worked with Trevor before in Roswell. As the assistant production coordinator, Burds got to work alongside the producers of the film. The assistant production coordinator makes sure that all the paperwork for payments and accounting was done.
"Working with all the producers who were from Los Angeles was very exciting. It was a great opportunity to experience what it's like to work for larger movies," Burds said. "When the movie was announced that it was going to be premiered at Sundance, I was thrilled. I kept posting interviews and pictures on my Facebook page."
She added, "It was really easy and fun to work on this film, because there were a lot of ENMU alumni, and a lot of people who were part of the ENMU film program. It's really easy to get your name out into the film world through them. And go where the film is. New Mexico is constantly filming movies since there are tons of beautiful environments to shoot in."
Media Contact: Wendel Sloan, 575-562-2253