Mere Mortals: Sunspots

Sometimes a plan only makes it halfway to completion. That's not always a bad thing...we probably couldn't have flown that blimp all the way to Cuba. In this case, it's a good thing.

We got to work with a band whose music we've enjoyed: Mere Mortals. And we ended up with a gorgeous piece out of it. I'm going glass two-thirds full on this one.

Heck, let's say 3/4's. The Mere Mortals plan to feature the footage in live performances. Anytime, your work gets out to the public, I think you should cherish that little fact. But if you don't get out into the public, why you can still enjoy it here:

MERE MORTALS - SUNSPOTS from c-10 on Vimeo.

With Intrigue...Comes Birthday Cake...

(Interpol Sketch based on descriptions of our own Man of Mystery, Hunter Woo.)

Today, we celebrate the birth of Hunter Woo: Master Producer, Fine Artist, and Purveyor of Danger. As soon as we ice three more people, we'll be able to finally erase him from the grid...the very grid that keeps dragging him back into the shady deals, awesome gun battles, and the hard drinking life of video, commercial, and motion graphics production. Happy B-day, Hunter. This one's on us.

Do You Have Cable? A TV? Eyes?...

It's embarassing...but I have to ask: did anyone catch our bit on Visual Crunch last night? We effectively managed to miss it. I'm not going to say what we were doing, but there needs to be a restock on Aisle 3. (This is the point at which I would wink enigmatically, and you might titter coyly or it might even be advisable to slap me...soundly.)

Rumor has it that director Seaton Lin looked like a virile Herculean monstrosity of creative demi-god. That's just the rumor...I mean, I know what he looks like...and that's not how I'd describe him. That's all. But I will tell you that it's what made him so popular in Hungary.

Either way, that interview was just the highlights. Come on by sometime for the full version: includes the bracing "Could you read the question again?" out takes, plays at around 8 hours long, and addresses all the wardrobe changes. Truly, a journalistic tour de force that's 100% our fault.

Art Walk...as Opposed to Moon Walk...

Yesterday, we were still waiting for our livers and eyelids to get back from the shoppe to report on the events of Monday. On that historic day, as soon as the NO Vacancy sign went up on our hôtel de production et l'amour, we trundled into the car for a trip to Hollywood to catch Radio Freq. But this time, we wouldn't just be standing at the back of the Dragonfly shotgunning canned champange, we'd be documenting.

Sure we perused the art and listened to the other acts, but once Radio Freq took the stage, we had our shirtsleeves rolled up and a pair cameras in hand. You might be saying: "Are they nuts? You can't properly cover a live show with just two yo-yo's in the audience with cameras!" Or, you could be saying: "I think I'd like a little more cheese on this sandwich." Either way, you could be right, you could be wrong, and you could be floating down the rivers of British Columbia. The fact was, we approached this task like anything else we do...you can draw your own conclusions to that...but we all know that that means professionalism.

So keep an eye out for whatever mythical creature we can carve out of this recording chicanery. I think we do a pretty good job at failing to disappoint.

If you wanna catch Radio Freq tonight...because that just popped into your mind as a good idea...here's your chance. Take a gander here, and go get you a lapdance and a show!: Radio Freq: The FB Page

Set Your Browser and Your Time Machine Way Back...

If you've followed us for any time at all, you know our brains were scrambled right out of the gate. Who in this day and age does anything for the sheer love of it anymore? Your answer to that rhetorical question might very well be our thoughts exactly. So we set ourselves the jubilant task of making O-to-Low Music Videos...and we chalked up some fine, fine work.


This Thursday, January 28th, MYX TV's Visual Crunch is looking to honor our little slice of visual genius with an interview spot with our intrepid director Seaton Lin and Roger Moon's Chad Anderson. They'll answer the hard hitting questions about whatever it is that hits hard about the hard hits of making music videos. You catch all the action here: http://visualcrunch.myx.tv/ . For a sneak peek at the piece and for that preliminary dose of ab5trax action, run here: Visual Crunch Episode 2 Sneak Peek , or dash here: The Youtube Version.


We'd like to thank everyone over at Visual Crunch for taking the time to interview us and for keeping us in the loop about the broadcast.

(Ed. Note: No portion of this interview was filmed in front of a brick wall.)

Rain Pours...News Still in Drought...

Yessiree, it's been a slow news month here at the Strax...or has it? We can't telll you everything we're up to. After all, our meeting room is something like the War Room in Dr. Strangelove...and you'd have a better chance of having a picnic up at NORAD than getting in without our express permission. Look for our special decoder ring and secret handshake booklet in specially marked boxes of Ab 5 Cereal.

So today, due to the weather, we're staying safe in the cave...and well..working on...super secret stuff. (And not watching RED DWARF reruns as our fearless leader Seaton Lin suggested...the big nerd.)

(Dramatic Illustration of the Storm's Aftermath...We didn't want to get wet photographing ACTUAL rain.)

So if you're stuck indoors like we are...grab a warm mug of cocoa, and use this opportunity to cozy up with a viewing of Reluctance:

RELUCTANCE from c-10 on Vimeo.

It's the video we're going to shill until we: a) have a new one, b) beat the hit count of any video of random guy being hit in crotch with random object, or c) we're more popular than "Two Girls..."...Well...no one can be that popular. Enjoy, and come back often!

Adieu 2009...The Year We Made Contacts....

"Good riddance" seems to be an awfully harsh way to say goodbye to 2009...we can't say that some good things didn't happen for the team here at Ab5trax, but we can't say that the world in general didn't take a general pummeling this year. In fact, for us, it was a pretty darned productive year: a new short, some new video work, and a fair few spots. That's not even including our luxury car demolition derby, being marooned with those professional cheerleaders, or the time warp that Hunter found just behind the coffee machine. Now that I think of it, except for our fortune crashing with the rest of the worlds', we seem to have come out ok. When your friend and surly narrator got paid $5 American for a drawing at 3 am or thereabouts, he was certain that the fortunes for the Ab5 were definitely on the upswing for 2010.

We spent our evening with usual mad dash across town (in fact, we'll often drive across town just to make a mad dash back across to a party next door). The town was less than it's "packed to the gills" self, but you wouldn't have known that from the outside of The Standard in downtown. We met up with our good friends Radio Freq! After a considerable amount of multi-floor freeze tag, we all rendezvoused downstairs to catch yet another well delivered set. The band played. The crowd danced. And we did a great job of being...well...ourselves. But we were not only double-parked and but also double-booked...

The New Year itself was rung in amongst friends from a scenic rooftop view of downtown Los Angeles, complete with "champagne" in a can. Somehow, even with the plastic juice box straw it all still seemed classier than wine in a box. Hugs and cheers were passed about...and we raced back to the Standard for more multi-floor freeze tag with the band and various co-conspirators. Only a moment of "Grand Theft: Bottle" seemed to mar the evening's air of considerable tomfoolery.

By the time we retired, we'd already seen a fair few hours of the first day of 2010. And while we agreed that 2010 always seemed to be a part a future, that future had certainly become the present. So as we went our separate ways toward pyjamas and pillows, we resolved to face the future, but to also try to be at least as cool as the past...

...like this...only behind computer monitors...