SeeingEyeBlog » yesterday was a lie

Apple features Yesterday Was a Lie trailer

Jason — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:46:06 +0000

Yesterday Was a Lie is featured on Apple’s trailer site! That means it has potentially had more views today than all the views it has had since it was released.

I’m glad black & white cinematography is becoming more and more accepted. It should be available to filmmakers at every budget level as a creative choice, just as it has been in the past. In fact, the only other piece I’ve had featured on Apple was also B&W. I could go my whole career shooting black and white exclusively. Directors/producers, contact me if you have an upcoming black & white project!

Best cinematography at VisionFest

Jason — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:27:37 +0000

I won Best Cinematography at VisionFest’08 in New York, for Yesterday Was a Lie! This is my first cinematography award, and it’s a great feeling. Hopefully many more to come. The trophy statuette is shaped like a candle flame, which I like, because I love to use natural light sources, like candles.

LA Screening

Jason — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:40:37 +0000

Yesterday Was a Lie recently won the top prize at the 2008 Park City Film Music Festival, and recently screened at the SSG screening series in Beverly Hills, at the Fine Arts Theater. Here’s a shot of the marquee.

YWAL in post

Jason — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 03:22:35 +0000

Last year I shot a black and white noir film called Yesterday Was a Lie. It is in post, and I feel honored to have been given the chance to shoot a feature project in black and white. For a cinematographer, that is a rite of passage. Here’s a link to the treatrical trailer. I highly recommend viewing it natively in HD if you have the horsepower.

Chase & Peter

Jason — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 16:20:59 +0000

More stills from Yesterday Was a Lie. These are Chase Masterson and Peter Mayhew.

More stills

Jason — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 12:14:09 +0000

Here’s another batch of stills. This time from the stills guy, not my crew….

Edward Hopper-esque diner set.

Kipleigh Brown as Hoyle.

Chase Masterson as Singer.

John Newton as Dudas.

Kip asking me if the camera is safe above her.

The paramedics arrive. Very cool ambulance we scored.

I had to walk backwards up an 8′ ladder at the end of this jib shot.

Kipleigh again.

Hoyle and Dudas on the roof, climactic scene.

What a doll.

I love black and white.

And I love filmmaking.

Yesterday’s crew

Jason — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 05:05:51 +0000

Part 5 of 5 in the series "Black and White"

Back row: Dwight (Key grip), Tommy (UPM, seated), Ben (Camera assistant), Brian (Best boy grip)
Middle row: Melissa (Production assistant), Robb (Producer), Sean (electrician), Jason (Director of Photography, me), Aprill (Script Supervisor), Sara (Costumer), Luke (Best boy electric), Aaron (Gaffer)
Front row: James (Director), Breanna (Hair/Makeup), Kipleigh (Lead Actress)

LA in the can

Jason — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 04:53:42 +0000

Part 4 of 5 in the series "Black and White"

Yesterday Was a Lie has wrapped its Los Angeles unit, which means we have one final day of principal photography in San Diego. Over the four weeks we’ve gotten some great footage, an I lost at least one belt size. I hope the film does well. Here are some photos from the set:

Set photos

Jason — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 15:58:32 +0000

Part 3 of 5 in the series "Black and White"

My best boy grip, Brian Griffith, shot this still while we were setting up a shot for the movie I’m shooting, Yesterday Was a Lie.

Poor mans process

Jason — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 00:32:20 +0000

Part 2 of 5 in the series "Black and White"

Yesterday was the halfway point in the current film I’m shooting, called Yesterday Was a Lie. It’s a black and white feature in the noir style, and last night we shot scenes inside a 40’s taxi cab. It is called “poor man’s process” when you shoot a stationary car and pan lights across it to simulate passing streetlights. It was a lot of fun setting it up, and the shots ended up looking beautiful. Black and white poor man’s process, being a few steps away from reality, seems to create a more beautiful version of reality. It is possibly more artistic than color cinematography, because the lack of color is a step away from reality and into fantasy. It is weird that I would consider a shot inside a car to be one of the best looking shots i’ve ever done, but I think it has something to do with the creation of a stylized world purely of light and shadow, where even the mundane scene of a car interior can be captivating.