Sprinkle Blog

  • Raheem | End Police Terror

    July 23, 2020

    Sprinkle Lab recently teamed up with Brandon Anderson, the creator of Raheem, to produce videos highlighting this first independent online service for reporting police in the United States.

    Video screenshot of man, staring into the camera with a fist raised, as he stands in front of a line of police officers.

    Anderson, who’s fiancé was killed by police during a routine traffic stop, is working to improve the service. Currently users are able to report misconduct after the interaction with law enforcement, but the Raheem team is creating an app that will allow citizens to report in real time.

    Reheem provides users with a free lawyer, files an official report, and uses their stories to continue to lobby for change to the system that is long overdue. Donate to their GoFundMe here.

  • Mobile Covid- 19 Testing with Carbon Health

    June 25, 2020

    Image of three Carbon Health care professionals posing for the camera.

    We recently teamed up with Carbon Health to produce videos highlighting their efforts to provide free Covid- 19 to California residents through their mobile testing clinic.

    While practicing social distancing and utilizing PPE our team is creating video content through the pandemic, and over the past couple of months we’ve been profiling Carbon Health’s testing efforts throughout the state.

    If you are in need of testing in the SF Bay Area, you can find a list of testing resources (including Carbon Health) here: Bay Area Coronavirus Tests.

  • Sprinkle Lab’s Dome Zone to premiere @ 2020 SPLIFF Film Festival

    April 15, 2020

    We’re excited to announce that an episode of our original series with director Liam Kaczmar, Dome Zone, will be premiering as part of the 2020 SPLIFF Film Festival.

    SPLIFF's 2020 Film Festival Steaming Live April 17th - 20th.

    A film festival made by the stoned for the stoned, this now online event, promises to be a trippy way to pass the time during the coronavirus quarantine.

    Screen grab from Dome Zone showing moss being lit in a stylish bong.

    Starring MP Cunningham of Agua Donkeys (Quibi) the series follows two buddies on their repeating quests to get stoned in their coastal town that’s run out of the devil’s lettuce.

    Screen grab from Dome Zone showing supermarket check out girl looking annoyed as the main character purchases moss.

    Chalk it up on your social distance calendar and grab your sliding scale tickets here: SPLIFF 2020 Tickets.

  • CUT Festival

    May 10, 2017

    Director Brandon Tauszik was invited to show and discuss his work, Tapered Throne, at the CUT Festival. A 10 day festival bringing together international artists, East London barbers and activists to explore the history and social relevance of the barber shop.

    From the CUT Festival site:

    Originally from northern England, Brandon Tauszik is a documentary artist currently residing in Oakland, California.

    Tauszik’s photographic work explores various subjective elements of human spirituality and community. Tauszik’s most recent works have incorporated the largely unexplored medium of GIF, forming a delicate hybrid between the still image and film. His work has received reviews from Slate, Buzzfeed, Dazed & Confused, Medium and TIME. Tauszik hopes to continue pushing the possibilities of the medium through the new forms and innovative display experiences online and in-person.

    Tapered Throne

    Tapered Throne is his GIF-based portrait of Oakland’s black barbers and the lesser roles they assume. He was fascinated by the comfortable racial separation these spaces foster, creating environments that are exclusive yet intimate and warm and wanted to explore what makes these spaces thrive. The slow-looping, multi-hundred frame loops echo the deliberate pace of life in barbershops across Oakland.

  • 4 Pounds of Flowers

    May 2, 2017

    Director Rob Reichert has been having a successful run on his short film, 4 Pounds of Flowers, at Santa Barbara, Ashland, New Orleans, Arizona International, Portland, Phoenix, Sacramento and more festivals that we are not yet ready to announce.

    The film synopsis:

    For the last 5 years, Kayla and her boyfriend Trevor have scraped by working their small weed grow in the isolated forests of Northern California. On the eve of their last sale of the season, Kayla realizes she is pregnant which compels her to confront Trevor’s idealism and their way of life.

    We’re excited about how audiences are responding to this film. Reichert uses the best of the short film medium to invite his viewers into the rich and textured lives of his characters.

  • Slamdance!

    April 11, 2017

    Director M.P. Cunningham premiered his film, Ford Clitaurus, at the 2017 Slamdance Festival.

    We think Slamdance was the perfect place for MP to introduce the world to this film. Slamdance is held in Park City, Utah at the same time that Sundance Film Festival is programmed.

    Here’s a quick history of the festival as told by its founder, Dan Mirvish

    Ford Clitoris was filmed in Utah around Salt Lake City and features locals, mystics, songs, elders, and a Ford.

  • Film Festivals & Screenings: Deep Blue

    February 12, 2017

    In 2014, Sprinkle Lab produced the short film Deep Blue.

    The story is about Eva, 18 years old, who wakes up on the day of her baptism beside her sleeping lover. After bolting home before her absence is noticed, she prepares for her big day, the lingering memory of the night before haunting her. Eva tries to keep her composure in front of her Mennonite father and brother as realizations emerge that her affair may be ending and that the risks she has taken could have been in vain.

    The film premiered as the only United States based Selection in the Pardi di domani (Leopards of Tomorrow) Awards at the Official Festival del film Locarno. One of Europe’s premier film festivals, Locarno, is held annually in August in the city of the same name in Switzerland since 1946. Locarno hosts the main feature of the festival is the open-air screening area at the Piazza Grande with room for over 8,000 spectators, having one of the largest open-air screens in the world.

    It was an honor to premiere our film with such an incredible line-up of directors, producers, and filmmakers.

    The film was then screened in competition at the Curtocircuito International Film Festival for its Spanish Premiere. It had the opportunity to screen in Montréal in the “The Best Short Films of Locarno” at the Phi Centre a multidisciplinary arts and culture organization that cultivates all aspects of creation, development, production and dissemination.

    It was an incredible cast, crew, and experience to create this film and the opportunity to share it with international audiences has been a deep joy.

  • Welcome to Film Casualty

    April 18, 2016

    We are very excited to announce a new company that we’re launching: Film Casualty Insurance Agency

    Over the past five years of running a production company, we’ve learned a great deal about the workings of our industry: from call sheets to crafty, film festivals and 4k. However, it turns out that some super boring stuff has allowed us to really keep our business alive and healthy. Administrative processes like accounting, legal representation and insurance policy management. When we started Sprinkle Lab, we had absolutely zero clue about these processes; and when researching for useful information, the entire back office of a production studio seemed obfuscated and a total pain in the ass.

    So, why are we starting an insurance company?

    The first reason is that we’ve needed to pay very special attention to our film insurance coverage at Sprinkle Lab. So, we’re solving our own problem. If you’re a filmmaker, we’ll bet you could use this type of service too. The second reason, is that we think insurance for the film industry can be done much, much, much better.

    If you’re interested in learning more about Film Casualty or looking for some new insurance options, then visit filmcasualty.com. We’re excited to help you get to work.

    California Insurance License: 16841690fcia-site-for-blog

  • New Music Video!!

    April 6, 2016

    OMG you guys, guess what?? We produced a new music video and it’s super fun and a little strange and we’d like to share it with our mothers  and also with you because you’re a wiener. Or winner.

    12814117_10153337808411631_8463079671297504071_n-edit

    Photay (AKA Evan Shornstein) is a multi-instrumentalist producer mixing bright melodies with unusual textures. His music is vibrant and beautifully unexpected. For his new release Sadie, he wanted to release a music video for the album’s single Monday. In illustrating his motivations behind the song, Photay describes it as:

    ‘…a coping mechanism, for mundane morning routines, just a few melodies to help you through the ups and downs of daybreak.’

    The video’s director Ivan Cash wrote a treatment including Brooklyn-based dancer Ashley Roby and Oakland-based dance crew TURFinc. Why not break the Monday minutia with a free-formed public dance experience? Ivan describes his motivations below:

    ‘I think reality is malleable; that’s the most powerful thing that we as humans can understand. The concept of this video was to take routine and disrupt it, both for our protagonist and for people she interacts with in the busy city.’

    Our two day shoot spanned between the dissonant streets of Oakland and SF. We stripped the crew down to a handful of pros in order to reduce our footprint in the public space.

    We’re happy to have the video up on NOWNESS and featured on The FADER. While you’re at it, peep our Behind The Scenes film below!

  • Tapered Throne

    April 1, 2016

    Sprinkle Lab co-founder Brandon Tauszik spent 4 years capturing .GIF images to create a mesmerizing portrait of Oakland’s black barbers. The project is called Tapered Throne. It’s a stunning visual work and is introduced with a poignant essay by Quincy T. Mills, Ph.D Professor of Africana Studies, Vassar College:

    Brandon Tauszik’s GIF images of black barbers in Oakland, California reveal the resolve of a group of ardent professionals. The project illuminates the position of barbers as conduits of black communities; of Oakland. Behind these portraits are the aspirations of men who are not just making a living, but who see the value of their labors in the development of black community life. Like the GIF images themselves, these men and their shops are not static. Even as they stand behind their barber’s chair with arms propped up clutching the clippers, they are constantly in motion and in tune with the comings and goings of the people in their city.

    See select press coverage below: