Bart Plaskoff

BART EZRA PLASKOFF (Writer/Producer/Director) was born and raised in Malibu, California and had always been exposed to various aspects of the entertainment industry. He began his professional journey as a singer/songwriter, and went on to produce an independent record album with his band Schneebezen called, ..Take Those Shades Off... The album produced two top-ten hits on various dance charts. In 1990, Plaskoff was approached by world famous record producer, Shel Talmy (The Who/The Kinks) to assist on a project called Cast In Cement, which also included Nicky Hopkins (John Lennon/The Who).Plaskoff obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from California State University at Northridge in 1991, and although he had made various short films as a young boy with his father..s camera, it was at Northridge where his interest in filmmaking grew. Each night after studying great works of literature, he immersed himself in Twilight Zone reruns and movies by Pinter, Kubrick, Scorsese and Allen; by day he worked on a book of poetry and short stories, which he would later publish in 2003 as ..The Amoeba...After years of freelance computer work, Plaskoff went on to open a multimedia production agency called Jolt! Computers and Internet. Plaskoff was soon asked by friend, confident and artist Paul Whitehead (Genesis), whether he would consider becoming Paul..s agent. Plaskoff went on to produce and finance a complete line of products for Whitehead based upon the album covers he painted for the band Genesis. From limited edition watches to signed and numbered lithographs and even bookings at International venues, ..The Art of Paul Whitehead.. campaign was a huge success!As time progressed, Plaskoff found himself indulging in newer, bigger and more cutting edge projects. In 2002, he founded Loos Grippe Press and began to develop such projects as The Adapt-A-Book Children..s Series.., which was created and designed to combine various artistic talents from within the entertainment community to help educate our young people by incorporating written word, music, visuals and auditory talents to address the many learning styles that exist. He would also begin his career in filmmaking..a dream he had always had since college.Bart Ezra Plaskoff currently resides in Henderson/Las Vegas Nevada with his wife and twin girls. He teaches Computers, English and acts as an Educational Computing Strategist at one of the top high schools in the State of Nevada. He continues to run his Production Agency and is currently working on many meaningful and educational projects!ABOUT THE FILM It was Paul Whitehead who reintroduced me to spiritualism, which I had lost many years: The study of Kriya Yoga and Meditation. The ..Gurudev.. project came to me during one of my meditative sessions. A message had been conveyed to me that I must share with others what it feels like to meditate, and to teach the audience about the love, the human condition and our very short existence in the material world. As the idea of Kriya Yoga is to seek union with God through yoga and meditation, what better way to covey this message than to physically engage an audience with the marriage between imagery and sound. The ..Gurudev.. project had been born.In order to convey the ..purity.. of the subject matter, ..Gurudev.. was produced using a very unique, underground technique. The PXL 2000 (a camera invented by Fisher Price in the 1980s) was originally introduced as a children..s toy. It uses regular audiotape to capture very profound black and white pixilated images with stark contrasts and shadows, which are somewhat gothic in nature. The camera has been modified to convert these unique images to digital form, thus making the editing process more accessible. The camera only has two apertures, so production was weighted highly upon natural light and perhaps a filter. Most of the footage is shot handheld with the exception of a few that were filmed with the help of a custom fabricated tripod mount. It is really cinematographic technique in its purest form!This unique and intriguing medium acts much like an impressionist painting on screen..if viewed too closely the viewer is removed from the clarity of the scene, as many of us tend to do in our normal everyday lives by over analyzing. The viewer who sits in front of the theater is sure to see a somewhat distorted view, but when the viewer backs up and looks at the ..whole picture.. the image becomes clearer and more detailed. This physically engages the audience and sends a message that is indirectly conveyed though the storyline. The audience is invited to step back, as Gurudev does from his everyday life, reevaluate, and look at life as a whole. It is only when one seeks the ..bigger picture.. that he/she may realize spiritual truth.It was Paul Whitehead who reintroduced me to spiritualism, which I had lost many years: The study of Kriya Yoga and Meditation. The ..Gurudev.. project came to me during one of my meditative sessions. A message had been conveyed to me that I must share with others what it feels like to meditate, and to teach the audience about the love, the human condition and our very short existence in the material world. As the idea of Kriya Yoga is to seek union with God through yoga and meditation, what better way to covey this message than to physically engage an audience with the marriage between imagery and sound. The ..Gurudev.. project had been born.In order to convey the ..purity.. of the subject matter, ..Gurudev.. was produced using a very unique, underground technique. The PXL 2000 (a camera invented by Fisher Price in the 1980s) was originally introduced as a children..s toy. It uses regular audiotape to capture very profound black and white pixilated images with stark contrasts and shadows, which are somewhat gothic in nature. The camera has been modified to convert these unique images to digital form, thus making the editing process more accessible. The camera only has two apertures, so production was weighted highly upon natural light and perhaps a filter. Most of the footage is shot handheld with the exception of a few that were filmed with the help of a custom fabricated tripod mount. It is really cinematographic technique in its purest form!This unique and intriguing medium acts much like an impressionist painting on screen..if viewed too closely the viewer is removed from the clarity of the scene, as many of us tend to do in our normal everyday lives by over analyzing. The viewer who sits in front of the theater is sure to see a somewhat distorted view, but when the viewer backs up and looks at the ..whole picture.. the image becomes clearer and more detailed. This physically engages the audience and sends a message that is indirectly conveyed though the storyline. The audience is invited to step back, as Gurudev does from his everyday life, reevaluate, and look at life as a whole. It is only when one seeks the ..bigger picture.. that he/she may realize spiritual truth.FILM SYNOPSIS Over many centuries, the ideas and teachings of Kriya Yoga and meditation have been passed down through a long lineage of great Gurus such as Sri Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteshwar and two of the great Swamis who brought these teachings to ..The West.. (Yogananda and Hariharananda)...Gurudev.. is a short independent film, which allows the audience to engage in what is called Maha Samadhi (the state in which a formally God-Realized Guru leaves his mortal being for the spiritual realm) and see the spiritual world though the eyes of one who has mastered these very secretive and ancient yogic techniques.At dawn, when all is silent, ..Gurudev.. lays peacefully in alley just adjacent a familiar boardwalk along the seashore. After encountering some teens that assume Gurudev is simply another homeless transient to be ..reckoned.. with, Gurudev collects his meager belongings and walks intently towards the shoreline; in an act of spiritual cleansing, he leaves his final possessions along the way. After a process of energizing his body through the use of yogic techniques, Gurudev positions himself in meditative posture on his favorite rock.By looking at Gurudev, one may not think him to be spiritually bound, but as the meditation progresses the viewer is drawn into the deep meditative process and obtains a glimpse of the inner peace and love of this great spiritual master. Coupled with the awe inspiring music of Peter Gabriel, ..Gurudev.. teaches the viewer about life, love, death, spirituality and the human condition.