In October 2008, 2 students joined forces to shoot a short film entitled  Tokyo Rose. Writer/Director A.J. Ovio, and Actor / Producer Jorge Gomez. Since then, these two up & coming artists dominated UNLV’s Spring Flicks by bringing home 4 awards: Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay. They also took home Best Cinematography for their other film, Illusions. Tokyo Rose was well received and began to create a buzz, eventually landing them in the CineVegas Film Festival. It’s obvious that these boys are on the move so we had to know what makes these inspiring young men tick. We asked them seven questions about what they love the most…Story telling behind the camera.

Envy
What would you say is your great movie influence recently and not the actual artist or project, but that one shot or scene, a bit script or performance from an actor or director. What has moved you lately to do better?
AJ:  There’s a scene in ‘Let The Right One In’, a Swedish film released last year, where the m ain characters, two 12-year-olds, meet for the first time outside their apartment building as the snow falls. It’s night. The entire world around them is out of focus. And in just the presentation of the scene. It told you everything you needed to know about the loneliness of the characters, the isolation they feel from the world around them, and that all they have is each other.

Lust
Is there any one part of your craft that you control, maybe to a fault, over more than any other aspect?
AJ:  The camera work is probably what I think about the most. The style in which a film is shot, for me, is the most powerful tool a filmmaker has to communicate with the audience. So I believe it’s important to dedicate a lot of time to how the story, the themes and the characters, will be presented.

Pride
What would you say is a flaw that you feel you have, something you obsess over repairing, but never find personal approval with?
JG: I obsess on trying to improve the climate within the crew and spirit of the shoot. The more buy-in and ownership you get, the better the film will be. Attitude is contagious.

Sloth
Filmmaking consumes a ton of time. Personal lives get broken–to some extent, what is your downtime activity or what do you neglect most because of this?
JG:  I have neglected relationships with family, friends and especially my girlfriend. Downtime activity for me is going out with friends and dancing. I like to try new things and take on new adventures, meet new people and learn about different cultures. My favorite thing to do is to take road trips, and travel to new locations.  People say to write what you know, but for me it’s the opposite–when I am on foreign grounds, people and communities is what I pay most attention to; details and little things that inspire me.

Wrath
When a critic bashes your work, do really you have any recourse? And if you could honestly, how would you strike back?
AJ:  I’ve had bad reviews. Sometimes people just don’t like your film, and that’s okay. But mainly I feel that happens because I didn’t get my point across, didn’t make the right choices, didn’t communicate well enough. It’s not about striking back at critics. It’s about learning to communicate better your themes and ideas.

Gluttony
In the age of instant technology and online consumerism, what is your biggest distraction or impulsive item that you must have?
AJ & JG:  Both creatives answered the same. The Internet!

Greed
If given more money for a project, more than you would need, your paycheck not the budget, would you get out of the business? If so what would you do? If not, how much is too much?
JG:  I wouldn’t get out. I’d like to get paid, but honestly I wouldn’t know what to do if I got a fat pay check. I am used to living check to check. I would probably develop bad habits if I had a lot of spending cash. I want to be working and hungry to develop my craft to the fullest potential. Maybe in a few years, once I make enough to support myself. I can do bigger things. But for now my focus is on the craft of producing, acting, and playing with the other dynamics of filmmaking such as directing, editing, writing, etc.

AJ:  Honestly, money isn’t a factor at all in what I do. There’s something about doing something you love, being creative, using your imagination that I don’t think I’d ever want to stop being involved in. As for how much is too much? I’ll let the guys writing the checks decide on that.