The Killing Shot started off as an animation for one of my classes in college about 6 years ago or so, and did well, but something always felt off about it. It kept coming back to me from time to time, until it started to form as a live action short film. The preliminary work of the shots was already completed from creating the animation, although some of the liberties that I had taken with physics now had to be addressed. With that in mind, I started to flesh out a script and planned to shoot it as a silent film for my short western.

I spent months researching and exploring in order to find a suitable location. Driving around to all the ghost towns in southern Arizona was a great experience and I got to make it an excuse to take the family out for a weekend drive. Unfortunately the ghost towns proved to only be remnants of what once was. I needed a two sided old west town and came across some great locations with great caretakers, such as Frank at Mescal, (an outpost of sorts to old Tucson) as well as the great folks at Gammons Gulch, north of Benson. While the sets were fantastic, they were unfortunately out of my budget.

I had started to worry that I would never get to make my first film, due to budget constraints, but I was pointed towards a place called Stumpyville, which while too small for my needs, did direct me to a somewhat new resort for European tourists, just outside of Tombstone. Apache Spirit Ranch was built in early 2011 and was built with the hotel rooms creating a two sided old west town. The managers were a little hesitant to allow another film to be shot at their location, since the last film crew was rude to their guests and changed the film from a western to one about farting aliens. I convinced them that we would be respectful and that it would be indeed a story about an old west gunfight and set the wheels into motion.

On august 29th, my dream started to become a reality. With the help of my coworkers and friends at West End Studio, (some of which are film students at The Art Institute and Pima Community College) we set the stage and started filming the action. With two gunfighters from nearby Tombstone, Craig Oldfellow and Sandy Bob Sanderson, as my two main characters and Greg, aka the Tombstone day player of Mayor John P Clum playing the dual roles of the bartenders, we had our actors. We managed to get all the shots and then some, not only completed in under time, but under budget.

So this brings us to the present, where I am currently trying to juggle my own edit in between other gigs that need attending to. The once silent film has underwent a bit of a metamorphosis and will now be four films from essentially the same footage. I will still have the silent film version, but I am also creating a spaghetti western, a straight action/drama gunfight, and a campy/slapstick version (remember those extra shots I mentioned before?).

As I progress through my edit, I will post some stills and clips from the versions to keep any of you interested abreast of it. Once this is completed, I plan to enter it into film fests and begin working towards getting my next short film into production. The next one will be of a larger scale, 15-25 minutes vs the two to five minutes of The Killing Shot and will be a fish out of water tale of a man in a monastery.

Moving along to current times, The Slaughter House has become an attraction for Halloween events and paranormal groups. They have recently constructed an outdoor venue and hosted their 1st events on July 20th & 21st aimed for young fans of hip-hop, dub step and rave. The crowd was treated to a dancing/standing room floor with a special VIP balcony area. West End Studio was there to provide video projection for this double day event. In the forthcoming time, we shall provide iMag projection for this excellently renovated venue.

The following day, we had the pleasure on providing video production for sold-out concert of Scorpions and Tesla! This is the final tour for the Scorpions, and for our audience, a very memorable one too. Besides providing live video for Chickenfoot and Firepower 2 live boxing, we have also hosted live PPV broadcast of events such as the recent Pacquiao vs Bradley boxing. Our next event will see the return of the caged ring for WFFMMA9 at Anselmo Valencia Tori Amphitheater on June 30th, 2012. We look forward in having live MMA action return to Tucson!

It has been one tornado of a kickoff, yet there are plenty of stellar shows to come such as Duran Duran, Pitbull, Gabriel Iglesias, Antonio Margarito vs Abel Perry, Firepower  Live Boxing, WFF MMA, Scorpions, Joe Cocker, Chicago, Chickenfoot, Poison, Def Leppard, Earth, Wind & Fire and Crosby, Stills, & Nash! Buy your tickets early because the good seats go fast!

West End Studio had a spectacular concert season at Casino Del Sol’s AVA Amphitheater and new indoor Event Center. 11/11/11 was a grand and memorable day filled with tribal speeches, tejano performances and fireworks. It isn’t completely over for the year, we’re set for KC and the Sunshine Band this New Years Eve!

Right away we’ve been geared up in TV mode. Not couch potato, but creating the very spots you see on TV. Our recent commercials included a national ad campaign for prostate cancer potency, newly revamped ad for The Law Office of Thomas Wilson and a special promotion for El Charro Café. Be sure to catch our work on your flat screen, and see you at Casino Del Sol’s New Years Bash!

We’re keeping busy with Casino Del Sol and super excited about the grand hotel opening on this special day. We have been producing iMag content for their AVA Amphitheater and now will also service their new indoor Event Center. We’ve got all men on deck for 11/11/11 where West End Studio will provide simultaneous iMag service for both centers. We’ll be having venue sell-out performers Pepe Aguilar, Alejandra Guzmán and Intocable all on the same night at AVA. In the Event Center, our second team will be diligently working on The Tejano All-stars concert. This will be a night to remember especially for the casino’s Hotel and Resort grand opening.

The party doesn’t stop there! 11/12/11 will continue with sold out Tim McGraw at AVA. Inside the newly lavish Event Center, Cheap Trick will hit the stage. Our 6 iMag screens will be ready to show the caliber workmanship of West End Studio. Hope to see you there, it will be a night(s) to remember.

We are pleased to bring a new interactive blog that will allow intelligent responses from guests. We’re set with an all new website as well, http://westend-studio.com and are geared up to spread the word through our FaceBook and Twitter pages. See you behind the camera, lets rock and roll!