Desert Cactus Films

08/09/2021

SELF-TAPE CASTING CALL:

Role of “Young Caroline”

Ages 5-8.

MUST HAVE RED HAIR.

Email [email protected] to audition.

15/11/2020

Big shout out to for the beautiful 3D render of our main title! Can’t wait for everyone to see the finished shot with movement and matte paintings layered in! We put some snow in for the time being, seeing as it’s the holiday season! ⛄️

22/09/2020

We began 2020 with the exciting task of making a video for and got a glimpse inside his brilliant mind. He’s in the running for Best Photographer in this year’s “Best of Las Vegas Awards” - you can (and should) put in a vote for him every day until September 30th. This talented guy is keeping an old-school art form alive in an amazing way.

22/01/2020

We're casting for an exciting new short film! Email [email protected] if you're interested!

19/01/2020

19/01/2020

We're scouting locations for an upcoming short film! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

15/12/2019

So thankful to be a part of this amazing festival and for winning Best Visual FX! Don’t give up and keep pushing for your dreams! Violent Water has proven to be one of the highlights of 2019 and we can’t wait to show you more. Shout out to .calloway for this awesome video!

26/11/2019

HUGE NEWS!!! Violent Water has been nominated for Best Director and Best Visual Effects Video at AMVF 2019!!! Check out the other nominees!! Some of them will literally blow your mind! 🤯Such an honor to be included alongside such incredible artists! 🙏 See ya next month!

17/10/2019

We are so excited to be an official selection of this year’s Portland Film Festival! Violent Water will screen today at 3:30 pm as part of the Love Stories XOXO short films block! If you’re in Portland, come check it out on the big screen!

14/10/2019

Since the VFX breakdowns have been performing so well on this account, here’s one more from Violent Water!

We want to take a minute to give a big thanks to all of our new followers! Desert Cactus Films is a still relatively new endeavor for us, so the great response to our work is much appreciated.

Stay tuned for new video content from upcoming projects over the next few months! We’ll be giving our followers an in depth look at all kinds of fun stuff!

11/10/2019

Big thanks to the Tacoma Film Festival! From the amazing lineup of shorts and features, to the VR exhibition and outdoor activities - it was great to connect with fellow filmmakers and cinefiles in such a lovely town. Till next time!

06/10/2019

Seeing as it’s right now, here’s a comparison between the animatics and the finished version of Violent Water. Animatics are essentially moving storyboards meant to convey the timing and movement of each shot. With music videos, they’re especially important, and can serve as an actual blueprint for the final edit.

01/10/2019

This week Violent Water will be featured in both the Tacoma and Woodstock film festivals! Plus, there’s a few festivals we’ve been accepted to but can’t announce yet, so stay tuned!! We’ll be posting more videos and content from the road over the next few weeks!

25/09/2019

The sailors in “Violent Water” were all shot separately, using the same lighting and camera angle, and then composited together afterwards. This allowed us time to try different visual gags and prop work for each actor.

22/09/2019

We’re 2 for 2!! Violent Water just won Best Music Video at the Breckenridge Film Festival!!! Right now we’ve got 4 more festivals to look forward to in the next 6 weeks, plus many more that haven’t announced their official selections yet. Look out world, here we come!!!

20/09/2019

Living it up at the Breckenridge Film Festival! We find out tomorrow if we won, so stay tuned!!!

18/09/2019

Well, the rotoscoping paid off! Our “little craft project” won Best Music Video at the Austin Micro Short Film Festival!!! Next stop: Breckenridge, Colorado!

14/09/2019

Desert Cactus Films is an exciting new production company that specializes in VFX, graphics, and live events! The next year is already looking even bigger and better, with more music videos and a feature film on the way! Visit desertcactusfilms.com for more info!

11/09/2019

🎶 “Down in the West Texas town of El Paso” 🎶 is where we’re spending the night. Tomorrow we’ll be in Austin!!!

10/09/2019

We’re proud to announce that “Violent Water” is an official selection of the Austin Micro Short Film Festival, and has been nominated for Best Director and Best Music Video! We’ll be driving to Texas for the event this weekend, so stick around! This is just the first festival of many to come!

09/09/2019

In “Noose”, all the names on the tombstones pay tribute to classic rock and country artists. The final epitaph honors Ricky Nelson, who many accredit (along with his father) with creating the first music video.

It aired on April 5th, 1961 at the end of an episode of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet", featuring Ricky performing his hit "Travelin' Man", intercut with travelogue footage. It was an attempt to fit another song into the episode that was unrelated to the story, but could still feature the rising teen idol.

Ricky Nelson died in a plane crash in 1985 during his “Comeback tour”. He was 45 years old.

08/09/2019

Director Danny Chandia is featured as one of Vegas’ “Ones to Watch” in this month’s issue of magazine! Check it out!!

05/09/2019

CHECK OUT OUR REEL! Visit desertcactusfilms.com (link in bio of course) to see the minute-long video as well as some of our recent projects! We recommend viewing it on a desktop for the best possible quality 😉

03/09/2019

“Noose” was made with a two person crew on a two week deadline, which meant we had to find a lot of creative solutions to big problems. This is just one of them...

01/09/2019

In “Violent Water”, the model of the battleship Voltaire was constructed of more than 500 pieces and took over 50 hours to assemble. The producer put it together herself. The director puppeted the ship using scotch tape around his fingers.

The actual Voltaire was involved in the Battle of Antivari on August 16th, 1914, at the start of WW1.

The story of “Violent Water” takes place shortly after. They’re low on supplies and forced to head back to Malta. As the ship makes it’s way south through the Adriatic Sea, they find themselves caught in a terrible storm...

01/09/2019

Ferdinand Zecca was a pioneer in his own right, and made many films for Pathé Frères- the world's biggest production company at the time.