CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME IN DEPTH ARTICLE ON GOLD DICKENSON Productions........

http://www.spannk.com/article/90

Gold Dickenson Boys

Jan 1, 2008 by Raul Bermudez, photos by Emily Sixx

Since Spannk launched in June of last year we've received countless emails and MySpace messages from yo-yo's that want to collaborate with us. We're never really sure who's legit, competent, reliable, or talented for that matter so we tend to politely decline most of the time. Then sometime last Fall I looked at our comments page on MySpace and saw a very friendly message from a Gold Dickenson Productions. The message gave us effusive praise on our project and was signed off with a "Stay Classy".

Chuckling to myself I decided to click on their page and see who the hell had the balls to go under the name Gold Dickenson. As soon as everything downloaded in front of me it became very obvious that I had made the right move. The Gold Dickenson boys are very fond of that 70's retro look that we also love, and came across as the type of guys that were willing to poke fun at the strangest things. My type of dudes.

What kind of strange things? Well, for starters I saw a trailer for a short film titled "Pencil Fighting" (which can viewed on Spannk Videos) that motivated me to make my girlfriend get off the couch and come watch it with me. Please do yourself a favor and watch it and see what creative, young filmmakers are doing in our city. Pencil Fighting even took first prize at the Orlando Film Festival for Best Short Film in November.

Right before Christmas I was able to catch up with the two, busy partners of Gold Dickenson: Fro Rojas, and Andy Negrin at Fro's spot in the Grove. Both of the boys are local guys from Miami. Andy's a Cuban American, Columbus High graduate who was always fond of creative writing, and has found his calling as a screenwriter. The guy's a ball of energy and passionately relives moments with whoever's around.

Fro's a Nicaraguan/Colombian, Coral Park graduate. He was always artistically inclined and went to LA as a youngster to take his shot. Unfortunately, he arrived right after September 11th with the city at a standstill, and was faced with the death of his mother from cancer forcing him to return to Miami to care for his teenage sister.

Sometimes unfortunate circumstances come with silver linings because……

Fro and Andy met a year-and-a-half ago in a manner that's very consistent with the way media is headed today. They met online on MySpace. Friggin Tom must be loving all of the shout-outs he's getting. Andy had stumbled upon a short film that Fro had put together and was hooked. "Fro had made a film called First Robot which is about the guy who invented the Robot dance. I loved it and wrote Fro on My Space complimenting his work, "says Andy.

Fro in turn went on Andy's page, saw some of his films, and liked what he was doing. They connected in their love of cinema, namely director Wes Anderson's films. "Andy was working on his script Ashes to Ashes and sent it to me. I took a look, loved it, and made a suggestion that Andy ended up wanting to use, "says Fro.

Then came Pencil Fighting. Fro was working on a project and was having trouble deciding between two actors. Andy using all forms of common sense recommended that Fro make them pencil fight for it. "I then said let's stop everything that we're doing right now and make a movie about pencil fighting, "says Andy. "We decided to create a film about four kids who were the best pencil fighters in the world, but they fall apart. Later on in life they have to come together to help a fallen comrade."

One thing that stood out to me while watching the short was the attention to detail Fro and Andy put into the film. When the pencil fighting kids grow up and go their separate ways they all create lives for themselves. One of the guys strikes it rich after inventing the fanny pack, another guy's an interpretive dance instructor, one guy attempts to become an 80's R&B singer, and I'm sure you're catching my drift. Every single character and word in the dialogue/voice over is carefully crafted.

But what will assuredly grab your attention is that Pencil Fighting's quality of production resembles a Hollywood film. The audio and look of the film is top notch. This isn't some crappy, student film that you're forced to act like you enjoy with horrible edits and muffled sounds. This looks and feels like the real thing.

All the more remarkable is that the short was shot with a shoestring $500 budget that was spent mainly on providing nourishment for the cast and crew, and wardrobe. The cast was willing to work for free, locations were also gratis. But because they both work in the industry they were able to have access to equipment and editing free of charge.

Andy was the writer and Fro the director. It's very difficult in a creative environment to have partners stick to their roles, and not want to supercede on the others turf. The ability to work harmoniously has enabled these two to get started on future projects. "Nobody here acts like they're big time, we're just trying to make it, he loves writing and I love directing, "says Fro. I hate script writing, but love story writing. It just works man."

After investing a year of their lives Gold Dickenson experienced the payoff at their screening in Coconut Grove at the Avanico Theater. The theater was completely packed, standing room only, and the guys were nervous. "Once the film started I heard the first laughs and it continued throughout, I felt so much better, "says Fro.

One thing the partners are quick to do is give props to the others who helped out in the project namely, Paula Jimenez, who is credited with being the one who cracked the whip and kept everybody in line throughout the production. She's now trying her luck in the City of Angels, LA, as a producer. Anybody who has worked in production knows that the Director of Photography is the unsung hero of the project, and in Pencil Fighting's case it was JC Nunez who provided a trained eye to it all.

I was very curious to learn what these two, talented filmmakers thought about the limitations our city has in their industry. "We believe that you make your own roads, "says Andy. Adds Fro, "There are a lot of cool things popping up in our city, there's cool bands, great magazines, and people trying to create different thing's in Miami. I believe that it's getting better."

The fellas are now in pre-production for Ashes to Ashes, Andy's old script. They also have on tap a project called Inventing Kin which the guys say has a Garden State type feel that touches on some of Fro's experiences like his mother's death.

Spannk/Gold Dickenson is also coming together to bring you The Adventures of Bo Lancaster our tennis instructor/super hero. It will be starring our boy Ricky Cruz in the featured role. Keep your eyes open for this one, because when you get two crews like ours together God knows what's bound to come out.

Here at Spannk it feels good to know that we're helping to get the word out on talented artists like the Gold Dickenson boys. It's guys like this that are going to take Miami to the next level, and show the rest of the country that we're better than great night clubs, fabulous beaches, and fat asses. This is a city with loads of talented artists. We don't all have to relocate to LA.