a. levy films

Back in austin

2009-08-02T20:20:00.002-05:00

just got back from a 3 week stay in california. 2 weeks in san diego, 1 week in san francisco. lot of fun times surfing. ill have a video up in the coming month hopefully with the surf camp recap.

thought i'd let everyone know in my first post back that there's a new featurette on "where the wild things are" over at apple.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/wherethewildthingsare/

in SF

2009-07-20T18:25:00.000-05:00

im in SF until saturday, then in san diego until the following friday

gone for a bit

2009-07-10T00:49:00.002-05:00

I'm out of town for probably only a week at surf camp. good updates when i get back.

so actually i do skate...

2009-07-03T15:18:00.002-05:00

filmer footy

luke holding it down behind the lens. luke films too and is gonna start a blog soon. get psyched.

skate dice fail

2009-06-30T14:12:00.002-05:00

so yesterday me, luke, and dillon went out and skated a bit in the heat of the day. probably one of the last times ill skate in the middle of an austin texas summer day. we've agreed to just start going out in the evenings now. anyways, we're doing this scavenger hunt type of thing called "king of the road" which is put on by skateperception every summer. one of the challenges is to land 5 skate dice tricks in a row. if you dont know what skate dice are you should lurk the berrics harder. this is pretty hard, at least for the three of us. take a look at the farthest we got. also for a bonus luke does his best to film himself.

usher vs. keyboard cat win

2009-06-26T12:10:00.001-05:00

go skate day/ go get dehydrated day '09

2009-06-22T22:45:00.002-05:00

go skate day this year happened in a fashion which rarely occurs. it didnt rain. fun day

additional filming cred goes out to luke fuller

youtube already got audio disabled.

maaaaabelllllllllllll

2009-06-16T16:28:00.001-05:00

scott got some tricks at mabel the other night which i filmed horribly.

ditch filming

2009-06-14T14:55:00.002-05:00

yesterday we went and skated some ditch up north by dillon's old house.

youtube

koston on SB/ reda in austin

2009-06-10T20:10:00.002-05:00

its official. eric koston has made history. Eric Koston is on Nike. nikeskateboarding.com

also, it seems as though reda was in town for sXSW. no one told me.

summer

2009-06-09T10:56:00.005-05:00

luke took the initiative to update my blog for me , but i've been doing nothing the last few days since summer has started, so i have no excuses for not updating. nothing to report. since my jaw surgery i haven't been able to eat food other than soup and smoothies.

here's what i've been watching:

http://www.sk8mafia4life.com/SK8MAFIA_AM_VIDEO/video.html

and

so sick.

Alfred: a lesson in how to make a short film

2009-05-28T21:44:00.005-05:00

this project has taught me a lot, and thats mainly what its been about. so far we only have one technically correct scene, and im gonna post it here. were gonna finish her up with a new script next fall/this summer.

first scene of alfred from starbait45 on Vimeo.

youtube version. watch in high quality!!

sunday the 24th

2009-05-27T21:26:00.003-05:00

the best part of this day:

the sesh littered with ollies - switch and reg - and rolling on plywood. my ankle was bothering me so i didn't skate.

the worst part of this day:

not getting into the no-comply premiere. damn it alamo ritz

music video

2009-05-26T20:05:00.003-05:00

i made this quick video for media tech class. hope you think its clever or something

i'll have a skating update from this past sunday up in the next day or two

fun skateboarding

2009-05-23T10:05:00.002-05:00

if you enjoy watching fun skateboarding, go watch tunebomb's "wub tour" 08 video.

also, i forgot to put my music video on the net, so monday it'll be up.

remember, sunday the no comply vid premieres at the alamo.

working on a music video right now

2009-05-18T15:17:00.004-05:00

ill have a vid to post up soon. by the end of this week. a music video.

if you forgot, the no comply video is this sunday.

has anyone seen the trailer for The Road by cormick mccarthy? looks good.

heres where you should be this summer

2009-05-16T00:37:00.002-05:00

if you're wondering what you should do this summer, come to paskowitz surf camp. i've been going there for a long time, and its the funnest thing ever. great people, great vibes all around. if you're seriously interested, contact me at starbait44@austin.rr.com or go to paskowitz.com . here's a highlight video from last summer i made:

ehh

2009-05-12T23:45:00.005-05:00

i dont like not posting anything for a long time, so ill just post another old video. this was last years "go skate day" video. every june 21st or whatever is declared national "go skate day". its rained the last 3 years in a row.

in other news, today i didnt pass my final cut pro certification test by less than a point.

a few months ago while skating the austin high ditch, luke, dillon, and i met this guy named Bro. he was in town for a few days from boston visiting and after talking for a moment, we learned he owned a shop in Boston called Orchard . go check out their site and online store which they just launched. looks like a pretty cool little shop.

ugh.

2009-05-10T00:09:00.003-05:00

ill rewrite this tomorrow, so check back, but...

star trek ruled. as you may have heard its sort of made to be seen by a wide audience, and isn't just for the loyal star trek fans. it was really entertaining. thats all i have to say now.

we were supposed to shoot a scene of my current short film project this evening. after an hour of technical difficulties and nothing shot, we called it a night. sucks.

also, sprained my ankle pretty badly on friday, so no skating for this weekend really, though earlier today i did go with luke to the 45th street gap for a few minutes. ill post some photos and such from that sesh tomorrow.

some treats

2009-05-06T23:34:00.005-05:00

thought i'd post up some vids tonight. i got here a little doc. style vid i shot for our school tv show Thunderboom TV (RIP) back last october. i videotaped our tense first day back of the new season. i hope you enjoy watching it.

if the quicktime loads to slow for your comp. you can also watch the flash player version HERE

i guess ill just post these old vids up from time to time until my current project is finished which will probably sometime in late june.

also, if you're a texas skateboarding fan go check out the new montage over at Deet media dot com

Oprah makin it happen

2009-05-05T19:41:00.003-05:00

FREE FOOD. courtesy of Oprah.

in other news, nothing.

watch this short film directed by kate hudson of all people, its sentimental.

nike vid

2009-05-04T23:50:00.005-05:00

not much to report from the front today. the nike am video set to release in june looks slightly intriguing. kind of went for the whole "shock value" thing in the trailer.

click to peep it

No Comply vid slated to premiere this month

2009-05-03T23:06:00.003-05:00

psyched to see today that the guys at no comply skateshoop have a date for the premiere of their video entitled "43". May 24 at the alamo ritz downtown. nice!!

www.nocomplyatx.com

really psyched for this. dudes at no comply are super cool and the video is sure to be a hit. support austin skateboarding and come to the premiere.

5/2/09: Saturday was good

2009-05-02T21:42:00.009-05:00

went skating with the bros today. me, dillon, luke, and scott went downtown to go skate a flatbar on 7th and san jacinto, but cause of some festival it was unskateable. so we went to the austin high ditch instead. it was a fun little, 20 minute sesh. we left cause we needed drank since it was so humid. we drove down lamar a bit to schlotskys, and after eating luke noticed what he thought was a manual pad across the street at some condo complex. we went to check it out and pretty much spent an hour or two skating a mini gap, and waiting for cars to go so scott and dillon could attack the rail gap. it was a fun session and we blew off mable to just skate there. i took some photos and luke filmed along the way.

what we learned: i cant roll away from kickflips/spots on lamar are hardly skateable during the day due to traffic.

then at 7 me and luke went to the premiere of mccallum high school's new tv show that we're hoping to sell to PBS. i had one shot in it.

austin high ditch

skating south lamar

needless to say a bail

poor guy couldn't understand a word he said. he seemed nice though

montsho at the premiere

caught luke off guard

montsho, spencer, and haden

mr. rogers, producer

mose and jimmy

the rush to get inside. yes thats a red carpet

Q and A with the cast/crew after the screening.

all and all a good day

swine flu

2009-05-01T00:49:00.002-05:00

swine flu hype is getting insane. one more unconfrimed report will drive aisd to close all campuses is what i've heard.

luke's C+P film

2009-04-29T23:44:00.004-05:00

my friend luke made this film for his english class using a quote from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.

here's mine from last year. the same project. its not as good as luke's, both quality wise and content wise. good job luke.

acl '09

2009-04-29T14:57:00.007-05:00

a few days ago when the Austin city limits music festival lineup came out, facebook news feeds went crazy with people voicing their excitement over what many have already referred to as "the best acl ever". no joke, i'd say 3/4 of the status updates late monday night said something about how this was the best ACL lineup yet. i guess this happens every year, cause everyone's just excited, but i dont exactly see what constitutes this year's roster as the best ever. here you'll find my thoughts on the big names you'll be paying to see this October, if you so choose.

Pearl Jam - a good outdoor, festival worthy, rock and roll show. at least in the eyes of the producers. i like these guys well enough. nothing all that interesting about their music in my opinion, but they've got alot of name recognition, so its a good choice if you look at it from the festival producer's standpoint. i will say that i think this is one of the more underrated bands among high schoolers, considering who else my friends are more psyched about seeing. i have always really liked "last kiss" by these guys too.

dave matthews band - i actually have literally never listened to these guys. people seem to be psyched on them though so ill give them the benefit of the doubt.

beastie boys - these guys are fun. i can imagine them being a super fun show. i fully back this decision.

Kings of Leon - kings of leon is that band that everyone just seems to like. they seem to infringe on several different generes and therefore appeal to a wide audience. relatively as of late they've taken a more pop-ish approach and that one song of theirs continues to get a lot of radio airtime. ill take their old stuff over the new stuff anyday, but none the less i approve of the kings. at the same time, it's not a band that would single handedly make me shell out $180 for a 3 day pass.

ben harper - eh to chill and fluffy for me. i say skip this guy. go for something with a little more of an edge. i think it speaks alot as well that none of ben's top 5 downloaded songs on itunes are from albums released within the last six years.

ghostland observatory - a classic ACL choice. they have to have their token "electronic" band, if you can really call it that. last year it was MGMT, the year before that Arcade Fire and Muse, etc. etc. everyone enjoys a good synth and MIDI propelled musical group. my friends are into them so ill probably see them.

Mos Def - the dude from 16 Blocks. enough said. is he the dude in Black Star?

Sonic Youth - these guys have influenced so many groups who will probably get more of an audience at ACL than they will, despite the significance this group had. these guys are getting older though, so everyone should see this show.

andrew bird - a clever choice for ACL. this guy is gaining so much popularity right now its insane. honestly, not much bad to say about him. i like most of his music. good instrumentation. i salute his ability to play alot of instruments.

the decemberists - - generic and fluffy but i enjoy the group. this my token pop choice for the weekend. i guess you could say they have good lyrics.

lilly allen - is smokin

b-52's - ACL's token nodd to the past. i approve.

citizen cope - not a fan. maybe he'd have a fun show though, who knows.

knaan - i dont know much to anything about this guy, but regardless i think it'll be a fun show.

girl talk - i looked this guy up on itunes cause i hadn't heard his music before, and there wasn't anything there on him. the tracks on the ACL website are kind of so-so hip hop mashups. again, probably a super fun show regardless of how i feel about his music.

GROUPS I WISH WERE RETURNING TO ACL:
- hot chip
-wolf parade (haven't come yet, hopefully 2010)
-band of horses
-beck
-wilco

we'll see. im not sure if i'll go this year based on the lineup. it annooys me how everyone craps their pants over the lineup every year and says its the best ever. we'll see.

i promise ill start posting actual film stuff soon

W.

2009-04-28T12:06:00.004-05:00

watched Oliver Stone's film "W." last night for the first time. Josh brolin plays bush the second, and to say the least, the role was a bit over acted. i'm not sure how i feel about the film. it didn't really seem to have a message except for "bush is an idiot" and i wasn't fond of the ending. some scenes felt kind of awkward.

on the other hand, it was a pretty fun watch. i liked the subplot going on with he and his dad's relationship, and there were a few legitimately funny, chuckle out loud, moments. throughout the movie it kept cutting back to this metaphorical scene of bush on a baseball field, completely alone, with the noise of fans cheering while he chased after fly balls. i thought that was a nice touch. overall im glad i checked this one off of the "need to see" list. overall B-

where the wild things are

2009-04-27T20:45:00.003-05:00

really psyched for this. it comes out on my birthday.

new blog, kick it off with an old montage

2009-04-27T16:53:00.019-05:00

keep checking back for updates and vids and whatnot. won't always be skateboarding related, but i thought id kick off with a skateboarding montage from last fall. right now, im working on a short film, so look for that in the next month or so with a teaser dropping before that.