Mike profile picture

Mike

mike_halper

About Me


I'm a filmmaker. I have a wide mix of skills and my specialties are as Director, Writer, Director of Photography, and Editor, but I can also do sound editing and mixing, color correction, and some visual effects. I have my own production company...
^ that's a link, btw
In 2007 I finished my second film, "Haunted" It's a short film which I wrote, directed, DP'd, edited, and mixed. It won a Silver Remi award in its category at Worldfest 2008.
^ that's also a link
In early 2007 I finished my feature film directorial debut, "Erased". It won a Bronze Remi in its category at Worldfest 2008.
^ that's also a link
You can see the trailer by going to my Videos right here on MySpace or click the links above to go to the Ascentia Films website.
I was also heavily involved in the production of a short film for an online film festival called SpyFest 2007 where we won 3rd place. I was Director of Photography, camera/steadicam operator, edtior, sound editor, foley artist/sound effects, sound mixer, and colorist. The film is an Ascentia Films production. Here's the one-sheet and a link to the festival where it can be viewed...
^ that's also a link
My filmmaking influences include Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, and Clint Eastwood, among others, and some Hong Kong action flicks.

My Interests

Making movies, playing poker, and all kinds of other stuff.... and did I mention making movies.

I'd like to meet:



Filmmakers and other cool people.

Music:

Mostly rock music, not much country or rap/hiphop...
Nine Inch Nails, Linkin Park, A Perfect Circle, Rob Zombie, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, KMFDM, Audioslave, The Crystal Method, Dave Matthews, Depeche Mode, Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy, The Eagles, Faith No More, Filter, Green Day, The Offspring, Hoobastank, Incubus, Killing Joke, Girls Against Boys, Metallica (old, the new Metallica sucks), Nirvana, Orgy, Powerman 5000, Rage Against The Machine, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Stabbing Westward, Stone Temple Pilots, DFA 1979, Velvet Revolver, Guns N Roses, Sublime, Bad Religion, and many more...

Movies:

All kinds... My absolute favorite movie is Heat.

Some of my other favorites are just about any Hitchcock movie, Office Space, My Cousin Vinny, Braveheart, The Shawshank Redemption, Scarface, Casino, Goodfellas, The Matrix, Sin City, Star Wars, the Terminator movies, Pearl Harbor, The Replacement Killers, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Indiana Jones movies, Hong Kong action movies like The Killer and Hard Boiled, The Bourne Identity, Stargate, The Godfather trilogy, American Beauty, Falling Down, Good Will Hunting, Pump Up The Volume, True Romance, Sergio Leone westerns, Blade 1 and 3, Dark City, and of course many, many more.

Television:

I don't watch much TV, but my favorite show is

I also watch Lost, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, and catch the occasional Stargate episode even tho it doesn't compare to the movie. I used to watch Sopranos, Deadwood, Alias, and X-Files was my favorite show when it was on.

Books:

I'm currently reading a book called "Useless Knowledge" and Einstein's "Ideas & Opinions". Recent reads are Michael Crichton's "Prey", "The DaVinci Code", and "Paranoia" by Joseph Finder.

Heroes:

The big man up there. My parents. People who save lives. People who fight for what they truly believe in to make the world a better place for all of us.

My Blog

After 5 days....

... principle photography on "The Last Tenant" is complete. It feels more like an 8 or 9 day shoot, which it should have been. Late nights being up til 4am or 5am isn't fun... okay maybe it is. It ...
Posted by Mike on Wed, 21 May 2008 09:29:00 PST

Day 2 wrapped, prepping Day 3

Day 2 went longer than expected, but again we got everything we wanted and then some. Great performances and great shots. Now prepping for Day 3, killing scene 2. Behind-the-scenes pics still comin...
Posted by Mike on Sat, 17 May 2008 01:38:00 PST

"The Last Tenant" Day 1 wrapped!

Day 1 is a wrap. We managed to get all the shots we wanted on the shot list. Although we started an hour late, everything else went off without a hitch. Great cast, great crew, excellent shots. Th...
Posted by Mike on Fri, 16 May 2008 01:18:00 PST

"The Last Tenant" production... t-minus and counting...

It's about 9:30am. We have our set ready and lit, camera in place. Our actors are starting to arrive and we should have the first shot off in about 1.5-2 hours. Currently listening to some loud tun...
Posted by Mike on Thu, 15 May 2008 09:33:00 PST

Busy, busy, busy

I'm currently editing the short film "Throwaway", which I also had the pleasure of being the Director of Photography for. I'm also in pre-production on "The Last Tenant", my own short horror film whi...
Posted by Mike on Fri, 09 May 2008 06:41:00 PST

WOW! I won at a festival... twice!

I just recei ved notif icati on today that two of my films won at World fest in Houst on, Texas last week. The featu re film " Erase d" won a Bronz e Remi award in its featu re film categ ory. T...
Posted by Mike on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:10:00 PST

More stupid criminals

From the Associated Press on Wed, Nov 28, 2007...AIKEN, S.C. - A bank teller had a million reasons to deny this transaction. Police say a man tried to open an account with a $1 million bill, which doe...
Posted by Mike on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:34:00 PST

"Haunted" finished and online

My latest short film, "Haunted", is now finished. You can see it by going to my production company web site at www.ascentiafilms.com.
Posted by Mike on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 09:43:00 PST

SORRY now online!

SORRY, the second production I've been involved with and the second production under Ascentia Films, is now finished. What a relief. I had a lot of nearly sleepless nights over the past week getting...
Posted by Mike on Mon, 04 Jun 2007 12:30:00 PST

New trailer for Erased

I just posted a new version of the trailer for Erased. It can be viewed right here on MySpace or at a higher quality on the Ascentia Films website at http://www.ascentiafilms.com.
Posted by Mike on Wed, 14 Mar 2007 03:10:00 PST