the cat’s meow - Music video

The Cat’s Meow is a music video about being clueless and lost in the world of love. It is about missed signals and longing for people who don’t want us back. With a vibrant color palette and kinetic camera movement, it is part hip hop video part expressionist dance piece.

More music for Nique27 can be found here.

Sticky Note Love Story - Short Film

Sticky Note Love Story is the latest short film from ZJT. Sticky Note Love Story is inspired by the silent cinema of Charlie Chaplin, the monsters movies of Universal Pictures, and stop motion animation. The film is about a shy young man trying to talk to the young woman who lives across the hall from him. The young man tries leaving his crush messages on sticky notes, but the messages fail to go through and instead get electrocuted, transforming into a monster that attacks them both. Hilarity ensues.

Shot with live actors, Sticky Note Love Story was filmed at 8 Frames Per Second using a low shutter angle to emulate the choppy feel of low frame animation. This footage was then combined with actual stop motion—footage filmed at one frame at a time—to create a results that is at once animated but alive.

If you would like to play Sticky Note Love Story at your festival please click here to get in touch with ZJT.

Closet Nihilist - Music Video

Starring: Meant to Bend Director: Zechariah James Towner Cinematographer: Gavin V. Murray Production Designer: Rachel Groat Art Director: Justin Arragon Gaffer: Louis Shah Key Grip: Connor Benson Sound: Jeff Dragomanovicht Production Assistant: Candace Kavanagh Special Thanks To: Catriona, Pablo, Devon, Tobias, Camille, Michelle, Thomas, Wendy, Katie, Kyle, Rose, Marty, Emily, Jimmy, Christian, Greg, Troy, Candace, Simone, Ty, Justin from Grinders Pizzeria, and Clay from Bulldog Lighting & Grip

“Closet Nihilist” is first music video from Bay Area band Meant to Bend. The video follows the Band’s bassist on a fever dream as he tries to get home after an evening of heavy drinking.

For more music by Meant to Bend check out their BandCamp.

Butterflies and Breakfast Cereal - Short FIlm

Jason just wants to finish his cereal... but if he does the world will end. Written and Directed by Zechariah James Towner Starring: Ian C. Hopps, Nathan Brown, and Hanah Cook. Full cast and crew: http://www.zjtowner.com/films/ Born out of a love of fast talking screwball comedies and classic 1980s blockbuster films, Butterflies and Breakfast Cereal is at once a spoof and a love letter to time travel science fiction films. Without the budget to shoot a large scale movie, writer/director Zechariah James Towner restricts the film all to one room cramming everything from a time traveling pineapple to a musical number all into a ten minute run time and all in the name of saving the world. With a playful color palette and snappy Danny Elfman-esque score, BBC is an irreverent short full of absurdity and some great performances by a talented cast. Though it's unlikely to change the world, it's sure to make you smile and well worth a watch for any one who's ever rolled their eyes at plot hole filled summer blockbuster--which is everyone.

Butterflies and Breakfast Cereal is inspired by the classic blockbuster films of the 1980s and irreverent screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s. BBC comes from the want of making a big budget action film without having the budget for one. Writer/Director ZJT's solution, in this case, was to set the entire film within one room. The challenge then became how to make a film that's mostly dialogue and is contained within a 900 sq ft apartment feel dynamic and entertaining.