Time of Darkness in the Black Dawn...

Times of Darkness in The Black Dawn…
by Xio

The Black Dawn is a breath of fresh air in the world of web series. You have to see it to know what I am talking about. I browsed through some web series and noticed some people talking about the cool story that was created by William Hellmuth (who also directed the web serial) along with Abraham Sherman (who is also the producer) under New Renaissance Pictures. The Black Dawn is about a plague that takes over Los Angeles, and in its grasp leaves minimal people alive in the darkness. Joshua Sikora serves as an executive producer. It was well casted, and the crew did a great job piecing it together, considering that it was a low budget series. It catches your attention from the beginning of the scene, and leaves you wondering what will happen throughout the chapter. No one knows what happens, or how it happens, but it is happening, and that is the fact. Jon Lavey did a great job as the director of photography, using clever angles. The story flows naturally to the next, greatly edited by Michal Shipman. The nostalgic, inviting music was created by Curtis Schweitzer and Jeffrey Swingle. As for the cast, who did a great job, new characters are added as we go deeper into The Black Dawn. Adam (played by Jordan Warren) is currently looking for survivors like him, and you mainly see the story in his eyes. Because we are still in the beginning of the story, all we know is that he is the key point, along with some college students. The Black Dawn will appeal to many people. If you desire to see the whole series, go to www.webserials.com.

Khaneshia KJ Smith

A STAR IS BORN…
By Xio

Rising up through the admiration of her father’s life, Khaneshia KJ Smith stepped out into L.A. from Tallahassee, FL with one goal in mind, and that is to achieve her dreams asan Actress. She came out hear a year ago to go to graduate school, but decided that acting was her main passion and pursuit. She made a decision to follow through and went for it. As the tale of other’s successors before her, she had her moments of struggle while reaching for her dreams. “Yes, there were struggles. People will discourage you. They tend to put their own fears upon you. I had to not be around people for two whole weeks”. In addition to this, KJ talks of her financial struggles. “There were times when I struggled paying my bills. I was on the verge of losing my apartment, there were no luxuries. Everything spiraled out of control.” She decided it was time for a change. “I had to tell myself, ‘no more pity parties. Get over yourself; there are other people who struggle. You are going to be successful. Period…’ And that is how I turned my life around. I wanted to be the best. I wanted to be the best at what I do. I wanted to be a Woman.” So what happened? She took it upon herself to network, and join up with L.A. Casting. Through her effort, KJ booked leading roles in commercials, including Neutrogena, Florida Credit Union, and United Way. She landed the lead role as Temoni in the 3 film series “Let it Rain”. She is prepping for the film shooting that will be located in Central Florida! “Yeah, on some auditions, I would say to myself ‘I got that’. That’s mine. I did that. I got it! I was always confident about every audition.” Confidence is what drives to her success. “It’s always fun to get that phone call and get the words ‘Hey, you got the job. You got the role…’ I would be happy to receive that. Its fun, but I’ve always have confidence. I have nothing else to do but to do it.” In addition to her film work, she booked the role of Boochie in a play called “Lust, Love & Infatuation” which showcased here in Los Angeles. KJ appeared on the Fantasy Football calendar, which launched on Monday. She also appeared on a music video for the upcoming new singer “Tank”. Her hero is her dad, who has a disability and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He started his own family business. Mr. Smith is disabled and black, which according to the nay sayers, were factors that was doomed to fail him. “He had two things working against him. He persevered and created his own family business.” Mr. Smith is now 63 years old. “He has been taking care of me my whole life, now it’s my turn to take care of him.” As for her career, KJ Smith is just getting started. “My next step is to be in a network television series.” Her influences are Beyonce, Jada Pinkett Smith, Meryl Streep, Jackie Bates, and many others. “Oh my God, I want to work with everyone! Beyonce always surpasses herself. Jada Pinkett Smith is talented, married. She is a fellow home girl, real and down to earth. She knows how to balance her life as well as her career. Marriage and family is very important to me. I want to be just like that. Meryl Streep is so talented. Jackie Bates scares the crap out of me. I want to work with her and see how she will react to me in a scene! I want to kiss Brad Pitt, and Robert De Niro is just so smooth. I want to work with everyone. I plan on having a long career.” What keeps her going are these words. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Her advice to upcoming artists: “Speak it, so shall it be. Leave things to its existence. Be what you want and the universe will listen. Speak optimism, even if you get bad responses, give that energy of kindness. Be merry, be graceful, and you will get it in return. Give love to the world. Just give Love.”

(For more information on KJ, you may go to: http://www.lacasting.com/mskjsmith)

Cinematic Haikus

Dark Elf Films is in the process of filming its first Cinematic Haiku, which is a creative approach to capturing various genres on film. In literature, a Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry made of three lines, in which the first line contains five syllables, the second contains seven and the third line contains five again.

In the Dark Elf Cinematic Haiku, there are are three main genres: Hard Romance, Serial Malice and Legends Retold; representing the three stanzas in a Haiku. Each genre has an allotted amount of short films in their category: Hard Romance has five shorts, Serial Malice has seven shorts and Legends Retold has five shorts.

The writer for this series is Frank Tobin, who is also the writer of Viva Humanity, Dark Elf's web series that will be launched by the end of this year.

Here is the Dark Elf Cinematic Haiku format:


HARD ROMANCE:

Syllable 1: Uncomfortable Positions
Syllable 2: Uncomfortable Preferences
Syllable 3: Uncomfortable Practice
Syllable 4: Uncomfortable Propositions
Syllable 5: Uncomfortable Principles

SERIAL MALICE:

Syllable 1: Degradation
Syllable 2: Geek
Syllable 3: Bond
Syllable 4: Manifestation
Syllable 5: Penmanship
Syllable 6: Cowboy
Syllable 7: Distortion

LEGENDS RETOLD:

Syllable 1: The Way Home
Syllable 2: TBA
Syllable 3: TBA
Syllable 4: TBA
Syllable 5: TBA

Stay tuned for more updates about our Cinematic Haiku and where you would be able to view it once we are finished filming! Thanks for all of your support!

Official Viva Humanity Poster

Get ready for the Viva Humanity webseries fever, coming at you by the end of this year. The website will be lauching by the end of July. Stay tuned and protected yourself! You might just get infected with Viva Humanity mania.

Our Team Works Together

Dark Elf Films got together Wednesday, May 12th to discuss overall business plans and some marketing strategies for Viva Humanity. As of right now, two episodes of VH have already been shot and the team is moving forward to film episode three.

The next meeting will be taking place Sunday, May 23rd, to discuss marketing strategies in an effort to promote Viva Humanity. A press kit is currently in the works for interested individuals who would like to know a little bit more about our company and current project.

Anyone interested in receiving more information about Dark Elf Films or Viva Humanity should e-mail us at DarkElfFilms@gmail.com.

Viva Humanity Hacker Opening Scene: What is behind SINGE?

Viva Humanity Web Series

Viva Humanity, a post-apocolyptic web series, is one of the first film projects underway by Dark Elf Films. Falling under the horror/action/drama genre with an indie, pulp serial feel, it can be compared with movies such as Dawn of the Dead, 28 Weeks Later and Pulp Fiction.

The Summary: Viva Humanity is set in present
day America, where an infection has taken hold of the world that transforms humans into animalistic, strong and souless cannibals.

Although America is now a wasteland of infected humans, there is a group of rebels, or "good guys," who have not been infected. They struggle to find answers while fighting to stay alive and fighting for the truth. Rumors abound on the nature of the infection: is it a weapon against mankind or is it a random outbreak on planet earth... or is it something else?

The series has multiple interweaving story lines that features a large cast of characters, but primarily follows the foursome: Ash, Dean,Barbara and Ginger, who are survivors of the violent infection or outbreak.

Viva Humanity is currently being filmed in Orlando, Fl. If you have any interest in their series, please visit the website: http://www.blogger.com/www.vivahumanity.com