Chico Bandito: Lost Episode

About a year ago I considered getting back into making a new Chico Bandito episode. What resulted was this short, an unofficial fifth episode that I decided not to share.

The only reason this episode is technically unofficial is because there is a conclusion in the works to give this on-again-off-again series the proper closing I feel it deserves - a real escape story, not just a stepping stone. This 'lost' episode saw Chico make it outside in a garbage bag as part of his original scheme, only to discover that things were more bizarre than before.

I felt that the series needed to take a greater departure if I was actually going to make it last - as it turned out, I tired of the project to try new things anyway. Chico was becoming more of a chore and losing novelty after the first 4 shorts. Without much to go on, I didn't want to force myself to make the series more than it needed to be.

I decided it was worth sharing this episode still because it was complete and even just as a test, there are elements that I like in my editing here. Had the series continued with Chico outside, you can imagine that things would've become far more comic, playful, and I suppose 'trippy'.

Like I said, there are loose plans for a conclusion to give the series (episodes 1-4) the proper ending and send-off. I think not having the project as a complete unit has held me back from really doing anything else with these, and coming back to the project after a long break may actually make the Chico Bandito conclusion a far more significant undertaking.

Keep an eye-out for the final chapter and complete post sometime this year. In the meantime check out the lost episode below and revisit the old Chico Bandito episodes by scrolling the original posts here.

Indio Outio: The Complete Project (2010)

There was a point when all of this seemed so incredibly far-fetched. The trip, the location, then completing the edit, and so on; I questioned and hoped that something would pan out. I needed this experience I think.

So now, posting the complete edits over the last month and reflecting on the entire road trip that became Indio Outio, I'm actually a bit shocked that all of this actually came together. Granted it's been almost a full year from when this trip was first considered to the point of uploading and closing out all the trip footage. Still, what an incredible ride.

Indio Outio has come to represent a personal bookmark, another subtle transition from my former film school self into adulthood - a long journey in and of itself it seems. Ultimately, the trip helped me prove to myself that I could take a whim and make something defining from it. I'll say it again, I went into this with the specific goal of trying to create something unforgettable.

Traveling with my friend Dave proved to be another great lesson, both in how we could bring out the best in one another, and how our perspectives and goals could be unifying or alienating given the circumstance. It's always interesting to bond with someone in a new way even after you've known them for years. The dynamic between Dave and myself was fueled with nostalgia, but we didn't seem inhibited from creating new memories given the places we visited.

The entire trip, without making more sweeping generalizations, is a series best told in pieces. So that's exactly what I did. The entire evolution of the trip, from talking about what it could be, to editing it, and eventually debuting it, can be experienced by following the link at the end of each post to continue on to the next destination.

I've done my best to create something a bit interactive here. Through stories, pictures, and videos, I want you to feel like you were along for the ride all the way to California. As I say in the Indio Outio conclusion, "It's a trip that was best seen first hand, but best seen, regardless".

Medicine Hat College Edits

At the end of last year I was working with Stream Media on several projects, but perhaps one of the most enjoyable was the promo/contest video I was hired to make (along with the Stream team) for the Medicine Hat College.

What was particularly memorable about this project (which was completed in mid-January) was that I was actively involved from start to finish. Often I work strictly in post-production these days, but this time around I was asked to be part of the pre-production creative process and was able to see a lot of my ideas carried out.

In looking back at this assignment it's clear to see what a great group experience I had with Stream and how by borrowing on each of our strengths we managed to come up with something that we were all quite proud of.

I've been no stranger to working with the College over the last several years that I've been at Stream, and have had my hand in everything from MHC's athletics promotion to their recruitment videos - both as an editor and videographer. Of the edits that I've helped produce, the College pieces are by far some of the most varied and fun assignments that I've done for any single client.

As part of the Medicine Hat College's 'Face of MHC' campaign, in which students have a chance at winning free tuition among other rewards, the focus has been to find a student to document their experiences while showcasing all the different things going on at the College. It's exactly the kind of contest/opportunity that I would've been all over - had I been going to school there that is.

To be a part of the brainstorming process to come up with a promo idea is always fun because you get to see the evolution of rough ideas and concepts. Even when it's difficult, it's amazing to see how a video takes shape just by throwing ideas around. You throw something in the pot, take something out, add a dash there, and purge a lot of leftovers - it's a good way to bond. Of the few times that I've done this, especially now that it's with people I know quite well, it can be energizing to see how others can take your ideas and turn them into something you may not have thought of (and vice versa).

Originally, the idea for this project was to create a single edit. During our initial creative meeting I actually pushed the idea to create a short series of spots to establish more of a vignette of the college and the students who go there - both Stream and the College were keen on the idea and as added motivation for myself, I got to see my vision of the project being fulfilled with the creative contributions of everyone else involved.

I was not part of the shooting, but with Stream working closely with the College, some great candid footage of actual MHC students was captured. The real challenge was that each of these spots had to be exactly 30 seconds, which is a tight timeline to really establish anyone. Ultimately, it provided me another great opportunity to further test my editing style.

The work that the Stream team put into shooting these spots translated into the job I was able to do editing. It can be incredibly challenging trying to get real people to show some personality on camera, but in all 3 videos I think things went better than expected. In short, the project came together fairly seamlessly and in the end both MHC and us were really pleased.

These promos are simple and to the point, and for their intended purpose I think they feel both genuine and playful. I'm really pleased with what we were all able to come up with. The actual contest page for the Face of MHC can be seen on the Medicine Hat College's website here.

In the meantime, check out the 3 promos I cut last month.

Medinant - Face of MHC


Marcus - Face of MHC


Malorie - Face of MHC

University of Regina Collages (2006-2007)

Created around the end of semester in the spring of 2006 I was going to be saying goodbye to several friends who were graduating. Starting my university career in 2002 I should have been graduating then also, but my evolving plans and a couple wasted classes determined otherwise. As a student I found inspiration in a lot of things outside of the classroom . . . still, with the snow thawing and things rapidly changing that semester, I could appreciate the milestone of how the absence of friends was going to alter my experience and so I thought about making a video.
 
What I decided to do was collect a few of the home video clips that I'd shot over the semester to include with a photo collage of the university - kind of creating a time capsule on DVD of what the place was like then. You may think that you'd have to wait a decade or so to really see some major changes, but we actually all came to the University of Regina when things were just about to shift.
 
Regina, Saskatchewan had been awarded the Canada games for 2005 and in 2003, still in my first year, ground had been broken on an expansive new phys. ed building and a set of twin tower residences. Those residences have since become the focal point of the new campus and dramatically altered the green space that the university centered around.
 
By 2006 the games had passed and the buildings were all in full operation, however, construction had begun on a brand new lab building right next to College West - now the old residence - that we all lived in. It was probably this that inspired the photo collage more than anything. I knew that in just a few years the building would be complete and it would instantly date the footage and remind us all of the semester that that giant crane and construction created so much noise. I even mentioned the new lab building in my retrospective short, Quirks, as the park location we shot at in 2004 was now covered by a lecture hall.

I gave out my DVDs as everything concluded in the winter semester of '06, ending my collage saying 'may our time at the U of R serve as a reminder that we are always working to better ourselves'. A bit cliche perhaps, but true nonetheless.
 
In 2007 I found myself staying in Regina over the summer for the first time. Not really intending to make a project necessarily, I ended up shooting a lot of pictures of the campus with the weather being so nice. It's worth noting that when you're in Saskatchewan for predominantly winter months it can be tough to fully appreciate your outdoor surroundings. In any case, I created a secondary video of the architectural details of some of the campus buildings - which are actually quite notable, as both the modernist/minimalist library and classroom buildings were designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect behind the World Trade Center.
 
What came out of all these photos was essentially what I had hoped in 2006. Time has passed and with each year the landscape and tone of the university that I attended changes. I'm really happy to have both these videos to remind me of a location that I not only lived in, but experienced in so many ways. Just as the University of Regina evolved so much when I was there, it continues to inspire my nostalgia as it reinvents itself for new students.
 
It was only a few years ago, but as far as I'm concerned these shorts now represent a completely different time.

Calgary Zoo: Edits (2005-2006)

Having been to the Calgary Zoo numerous times, I'm almost always surprised by how different your experience can be each time. Short of going on safari, it's actually the next best thing to capturing candid and spontaneous shots of animals that you otherwise can't see in Canada. Over the summers of 2005 and 2006, I made several trips to Calgary and spent the afternoon at the zoo.

There's potentially more footage to be shown here, but I thought it was about time that I at least reorganized the original short edits that I uploaded back in 2007. To refresh the quality of the videos (which were originally quite pixelated) I re-uploaded the three short clips that I had cut from several longer travelog type videos I'd made titled, At the Zoo.


Intended to be slice-of-life, observational type shorts - these mini clips are no different than the longer projects really. What I enjoy about seeing some of this footage now is how my shooting technique still spoke to my style as an editor. You can see by the shots that I was thinking how I'd cut for a transition, for example, how shooting the skylight of the African Savannah exhibit outdoors, and then zooming out from the skylight indoors was a simple way to move through space. Some of these things seem so obvious when watching, but most amateurs (and film students even) don't always think about how their shooting style translates - or that they even have a style for that matter.

There are a lot of clues here to how things have evolved in nearly 5 years time. However, editing aside, these are fairly casual, fun, and upbeat vids. Animals are easy subjects, and certainly energetic enough to make for lively clips. Enjoy.

    

We Two Kings (2009)

With the holiday season upon us, my latest short, We Two Kings, marks the first time in several years that I've really gone out of my way to make a Christmas special. It's also the first time since Buick to the Future: Episode 4 (over a year and a half ago) that my friend Tyler and I have worked together on a project. Milestones aside though, what makes this short so memorable and exciting in my mind is how quickly the idea, shoot, and finished movie came together.

Tyler had talked about coming to Medicine Hat from Regina at the end of November for a visit and I suppose that's what sparked the idea for a Christmas short. I started writing out a rough script and thinking about locations which eventually had me focused on a simple comedic spin on the 'We Three Kings' Christmas carol. 

As if on cue, the day that Tyler arrived we got snow. That Saturday morning you couldn't have asked for a better Christmas setting. The temperature was cool, but not cold, the snow was untouched and sticking to the trees, and the wind was almost non-existent. Armed with our winter gear and our hastily constructed gold crowns, we headed down to Police Point, a giant natural park on the outskirts of the city to film.

The long and short of the story is that things continued without a hitch. Just as we were losing sunlight, we shot our final scenes. Our crowns held up as did our feet after an entire afternoon of walking around in brush and snow. With a few curious people looking on from their walks from time to time, the short came together relatively quickly, and surprisingly exactly how I'd written it.

 
As part of promoting this new project I cut together a teaser trailer. Thanks to my account on YobiFilm that trailer (at the time of this post) has already been viewed over 37,000 times on that site. To say that I've been excited about sharing this project is an understatement. I think it's turned out really well and I hope it helps to get you in the Christmas spirit.  

Also, I'd like to thank my friend Tyler for helping me out once again in not only bringing my rough idea to life, but for getting just as energized about the project and injecting his own energy into the mix. I think the fun we had making this shows, and when you have no budget, enthusiasm is the best currency. So, without further delay, enjoy a short that we're sure to talk about for many Christmas' to come.  

We Two Kings (2009)  
We Two Kings - YouTube Version

Another Indio Outio Poster

You may remember that back in September I debuted a selection of posters as well as the trailer(s) for my new movie/travelog/personal doc titled Indio Outio. The project has been pushed to the back burner several times by work, other independent edits, and by further personal projects (most recently, We Two Kings).

Indio Outio isn't being abandoned though - far from it. The reality is that I'm really focusing on the details of this edit because I want to do it right the first time. It's incredibly time consuming though as there's over 5 hours of footage that I'm trying to compress into an impressive 30min or less. Stay tuned, it should be worth it.

In the meantime, check out the trailer and the brand new poster.

Fandrix Holiday Mashup

In the past I've shared several Christmas shorts that weren't exactly big enough to command a lot of attention, but at the same time, weren't without their own set of charms. As a great way to kick off December and a series of holiday inspired posts, I thought it would be fitting to group these edits together for the first time to give them a bit more of a showcase.

The Fandrix Holiday Mashup is made up of 3 shorts - Clumsy Claus, a short claymation that I made way back in 2001 in as an animation exercise, Dorm Xmas Tree, a time lapse of me putting up my tree in university in 2006, and Sad Little Snowman, another time lapse of my friend Tyler and I building a snowman in less than ideal snowman weather from 2007. All of these are also a great lead in for my latest holiday short, We Two Kings, a brand new narrative that will be debuting December 12 here on Editing Luke.

Each short doesn't need much explanation, in each case they're just short videos that I have enjoyed sharing with family and friends as an easy way to spread some Christmas spirit. So, with that goal in mind, allow me to do the same once more.

Enjoy these holiday edits, and to you and yours, a very Merry Christmas!

Clumsy Claus (2001)
Dorm Xmas Tree (2006) Sad Little Snowman (2007)

We Two Kings Teaser

The holidays are fast approaching and for the first time in years I'm going to have an all new Christmas special to debut. Come December 12, 2009 We Two Kings, an all new comedy short that I shot with my friend Tyler, will premiere right here on Editing Luke. For the time being you can check out the new posters and the teaser trailer below. It's going to be a lot of fun to share this one! 

Some New/Old Posters

While working on my new site I realized that there were a few of my movies that didn't have posters with them. The new portfolio section of this brand new site I'm designing required visual markers so I got to work. Below are a few of the new posters for old films I just made - you can click the links to watch the projects again.

The Gizmo Tree


From 84


Clumsy Claus


Sitting Bull


Space Drama!


Day @ the Sask. Science Centre

Las Vegas: Edits (2008)

Las Vegas was made to be experienced. After my first time being there in 2005, this return trip in November 2008 was all about taking things to the next level. Upgraded room, Cirque show, trip to the Hoover Dam, and a ride on the Big Shot on top of the Stratosphere tower were just a few of the highlights. With so much to see and do I decided to be a lot more selective about what I shot.

The first time around I decided to make a full blown travelog, and have since cut down the footage into select edits which can be seen here. For this 2008 trip I decided that a few quick cuts and montages were sufficient for creating memorable mini home videos. I treated the shooting far more casually this time (largely because I already captured most of the city on the last visit). It's always a lot of fun catching things in the moment.

These few energetic edits are meant to reflect a glimpse, not document the trip verbatim. The Bellagio Fountain remix I cut was an experiment altogether. With scenery and popular attractions that are familiar to a lot of people, I really just wanted to play with this footage to highlight what makes Vegas so exciting in both my own experience and in a stereotypical sense (the bright lights, etc.).

Take a look at these short edits and let me know what you think. They're fun slice of life/slice of vacation compilations. You can bet there will be a lot more of these types of edits to come.

Las Vegas 2008 - Edit 1


Las Vegas 2008 - Edit 2


Las Vegas 2008 - Bellagio Fountain Remix

Ontario Postcards (2000)

One of the greatest editing exercises I've ever done actually happened before I even knew I wanted to be an editor. In fact, it happened before I even had editing software on the computer. As you should have guessed by the title of this post, these edits were my Ontario Postcards that I shot in 2000.

It was the summer. I was 16 and had saved up just over $1200 to purchase my very first digital camcorder - I'd never wanted anything so bad. My friends were buying cars, but for me it was the camera. At the end of August I was leaving on a vacation with my family to Ontario. We were heading to Ottawa, Toronto, and Niagara Falls to be exact. This proved the perfect opportunity to shoot some fresh footage.

So what was the editing exercise? Well, I had made up my mind before hand that I wanted to shoot some polished looking videos of the locations we'd be traveling to. Without the software, and without the patience to try and edit on the VCR anymore, I decided that I'd create these videos in-camera. In-camera means exactly what it sounds like - shooting using only the camera effects, creating your edit as you go.

I picked out my music before hand, but I still can only imagine what I was like to travel with. Because I was shooting in-camera, I had my discman with me and I'd play the selected song while I shot to match up my cuts. This was the case for Ottawa, Toronto, and Niagara Falls. If you can imagine keeping a song on pause while touring, keeping in mind what you last shot and how it connects to the new location, all the while ensuring that you're still synced up to your video footage so that the rhythm is intact - that was the routine. The very idea of it seems ridiculous now with cheap and free software for video editing so easy to find and use. The digital revolution has changed everything, and it's crazy to think of what a different world it was 9 years ago.

*Me filming at the War Memorial in Ottawa. You can see my discman in hand as I set up my shot. Not surprisingly, almost all the photos from this trip with me in them look like this.

When I got back from vacation school started up right away. Having made myself familiar in the communication technology department, I was able to use their dubbing equipment and added my music to my in-camera videos. All these years later, the edits are still exactly the same. I didn't shoot any additional footage because of my chronological in-camera project for one thing, but I don't think I could bring myself to change them even if I could. The experience of shooting this way not only proved valuable as I developed my own video skills, but it was truly one of those early tests that really allowed me to prove to myself how much I wanted to do this. That history and energy still motivates me in the things I approach today.

I remember in early 2003 in my very first production class in film school one of the assignments was an in-camera edit. Upon this announcement I showed my friend Ward my Ontario videos, explaining how they were made, and sure enough the project felt like a breeze in comparison. Ward starred in my film school in-camera project, Mean Mr. Mustard is Homeless.

Today, the only real difference in my Ontario Postcards is the addition of the titles, postcard border, and a clip of a WWI soldier in my Ottawa video with the war memorial. The music and cuts are otherwise exactly the same.

In addition to these edits, I put together a short clip of the only home video footage I shot while in Ontario. After we left Ottawa, Toronto, and Niagara Falls we went to stay with some family and went sailing on their boat through the Trent-Severn Waterway. Traveling through the locks was certainly an experience for this prairie kid. Until right now - this footage has never been used or even watched since it was shot in 2000 (I'd forgetten that it even existed).

All this said, these edits remain my earliest work that I still screen as they were originally cut and presented. Most of my work has had a cosmetic update or been put into context for this blog - these edits were already YouTube ready before YouTube even existed. I remain extremely proud of what I accomplished from a technical point of view, and it's work like this that now makes it so clear why my focus became directed towards editing. See for yourself the result of my early filmmaking challenge.

Ottawa (2000)


Toronto (2000)


Niagara Falls (2000)


Trent-Severn Waterway (2000) UNSEEN FOOTAGE

Indio Outio Posters

Poster #1
Shot at Salvation Mountain - Near Niland, California

Poster #2
Shot at the famous dinosaurs from Pee Wee's Big Adventure and The Wizard - Cabazon, California

Poster #3
Shot at the end of the Newport Pier overlooking the Pacific Ocean - Newport Beach, California

Poster #4
Shot in the backyard of the vacation house in the pool - Indio, California

Buick 360: Photo Collage (2007)

As one of the first edits I ever created for Editing Luke, my Buick Photo Collage (or Buick 360 as it's now called) was essentially just an experiment. I wanted to take pictures of my old 1989 Buick Park Avenue purely for memories sake. Getting older and showing her age, my car seemed like a worthy subject for a few photos while sitting all alone in the university parking lot.

This was June 2007 and I was staying in Regina over the summer for the first time, taking some electives in university. I shot several vantages of my car in combination with several sets of pictures I intended to animate. The goal was to create a short edit highlighting the scratches, dings, and old school styling that made my car the character I've always insisted it was (and still is for that matter). Following this project, it should come as no surprise that the first episode of Buick to the Future was shot just days later.

Buick 360 is short, snappy, and my answer to what was your first car like? Driving 'THE Buick' since I was 16, this car has seen and experienced a lot of things with me. Just in the time from making this short till now the car has gone from 240,000km to nearly 260,000km. It's crazy to think it's even been this long. Even as she's started to wear out a bit more each year, there's something comforting about knowing that this piece of machinery I grew up with is so well documented in a number of my short films from BTTF to Educated Detours to even a small cameo from the roof top in Day Dream Day.

There's been a lot of memories, and while this edit is only a showcase, to me it speaks of a car that's put on a lot of miles through some unforgettable adventures. This car has taken me through my youth and into adulthood, from getting my driver's license to driving away from university for the last time. With this video it was even instrumental in helping me kick of edits for this blog.

THE Buick has seen a lot of things and been a lot of places, and for that, I don't want to forget what it's been like to drive this car for so long and have it become a symbol - not for what it is, but for what I made it out to be. There's always been something about me and cars, and for a first car, this old Buick is my Lightning McQueen, Delorean, and Herbie all rolled up into one awesome piece of late 80's luxury. Classic.

Buick to the Future: Episode 4 (2008)

Debuting on April 1, 2008, Buick to the Future: The Conclusion (or Episode 4) was the unexpected addition to the Buick to the Future: Trilogy created over the summer of 2007. In many ways, it was never meant to happen. At the end of Episode 3 one of the final credits stated that the series was most likely over. Then again, there was never supposed to be a part 2 or part 3 either. In a series that was just plain fun to make, I suppose Episode 4 was one last hurrah! for the BTTF idea, a needed escape from a long winter of boredom, and a chance to shoot one last project with my friend Tyler (AKA Doc) before I left university for good.

If I can attribute anything to the motivation behind revisiting a series with almost no plot-arch and an extremely loose connection to the Back to the Future movies, I have to say that it was nostalgia that initiated the final episode. By early 2008 I had put the project behind me, but in an effort to promote my videos I was busy creating trailers to showcase on my blog. After going through all the Buick footage from what had been a very memorable summer in 2007, I was left feeling recharged on the idea. Essentially, it was a matter of 'why not' that made up my mind.

This is the original trailer for the Buick to the Future trilogy from February 2008.


After showing this trailer to Tyler he was on board to make another short, but really, I don't think it would've taken much convincing as he's enjoyed making the series as much as I have. With the spring just starting to emerge, we were both feeling pretty restless and in need of something creative. The idea of elaborating on an already established concept seemed like an ideal place to start. On a side note, all the supplemental Buick trailers and promos can now be viewed as part of my Buick to the Future: Promotions post.

Writing and shooting Episode 4 was a breeze. This was the case with all the shorts really. It was the difference between film school guidelines and film student playing. All the premises were based on Doc doing the wrong thing and me (as Marty, but playing myself) calling him out on it. It was a simple formula, but in terms of what I wanted to achieve it worked perfectly.

This last episode remains my favourite because to me it's technically the most complete. It touches on all the random things that I wanted the series to be, and it also allowed for more creative shooting and editing. For instance, the footage between the hand held video camera we were using as a prop and the footage from the master shot all cut together really well. All that was shot with a single camera during different takes, the prop camcorder was never on. 

Also, there were considerably more scene changes and cuts in this episode than all the other episodes combined. It was part of my plan to make the project feel larger and more dynamic. The hand held shot of Doc stumbling down the street in the opening, and the hand held shots mimicking the prop camcorder were all used to add more energy - the tripod did all the work in the original trilogy. In terms of editing, examples of my experimenting were clear in my numerous jump cuts when Doc & Marty discuss time travel on the couch. In general, more shots were cut into each sequence, and the ending montage was the pinnacle of this.No, the final episode wasn't meant to be taken any more seriously, but I thought if I was actually going to put the idea to rest it was worth putting a bit more time into it. In the end, Buick to the Future: Episode 4 turned out better than I thought it would.

While the series has yet to explode online, it has continued to draw passionate supporters for my work and thousands of views online. Buick to the Future continues to be one of my biggest draws on YouTube. I ended this episode with another title saying that the series was really over this time, but it's a weak promise. As long as I own my old Buick I suppose there's always the possibility for one more short. Only time will tell.

Below I've posted 2 versions of BTTF: Episode 4. The first is the original upload, which thanks to my Vimeo account I can share with the copyrighted music. The second is the modified version I had to make when the audio was blocked on YouTube. Both are essentially the same, just with a few different songs included. In any case, help yourself to a laugh.

"It's Buick, Bitch!"

Buick to the Future: The Conclusion (Episode 4)
Written, Directed & Edited by Luke Fandrich w/Tyler Cyrenne as Doc

Rushmore: Edits (2007)

It was one of those trips that started out as nothing more than a novel idea. A road trip to Mount Rushmore had been in the back of my mind for quite some time, but the reality of ever actually going seemed like wishful thinking.

The idea really came about because of my location in university. Regina, Saskatchewan is the largest Canadian city to the famed monument near Rapid City, South Dakota despite still being hundreds of miles away. I figured with the isolated location of Mount Rushmore, I might never be in a more convenient spot to actually see it. It was something I really wanted to cross off my bucket list, and having previously explored places to the north, west and east of Regina, it only seemed appropriate to check out the landscape further south. Little did I know that just over a year later at the end of the 2007 winter semester, my friend Andrea and I would decide to take the lengthy drive through the open prairie and into the Black Hills (here's an old school postcard I found while there).

The original project, Rushmore, was a travelog I cut together using photos and footage I shot along the trip. I added my personal narration to elaborate on the experiences and my general mindset at the time, while also using it as a way to tell a condensed story to my family and friends who I was most likely to share the video with.

It was just after returning that my blog, Editing Luke began. In an effort to share some of my previous projects and edits, some of the first things I ever shared included a post about why I love editing travelogs and a history of the video postcards I had cut together. Below you can watch the original South Dakota video postcard (also used as a preview for the complete travelog Rushmore) I cut together just a few weeks after returning.

Original 2007 South Dakota Video Postcard


During the week long trip, Andrea and I visited Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse memorial, the town of Deadwood (made even more popular by the HBO show of the same name), Devil's Tower in Wyoming, and Chimney Rock in Nebraska traveling along parts of the Oregon Trail, Pony Express, and the path taken by explorers Lewis and Clark - just to name a few of the detours. Because sharing the entire Rushmore travelog would've been way too long and indepth for the average stranger visiting my blog, I decided that there would need to be revisions to the main project. So, I cut some new postcards to highlight my footage - making for some great editing exercises.

I figured that my personal story was still connected to the footage and was certainly available to anyone who wanted to hear it, but for the sake of sharing my edits I was content to focus on the locations. What I find endearing still, is that even the simplified cuts maintain the enthusiasm and low key energy that made the trip so amazing and memorable in the first place.

There have been several small revisions and additions to these edits since 2007, however the South Dakota postcard is exactly the same. The newer edits include a video for Mount Rushmore, an edit for Devil's Tower, an edit of our day driving through Nebraska, and a Black Hills Photo Collage. Watching them now, each video embraces the nostalgia that I was feeling even then - just weeks after being home.

It's tough to fully explain what the meaning of the trip was, but in a poetic sense I think our quest for Rushmore was about getting lost, finding new places, and enjoying a journey out of the ordinary. For a mountain carving in between miles of what could be described as almost nothing, the trip was eye opening. Of all the things I expected to find traveling the open road, inspiration was the one thing I hadn't prepared for ahead of time.

All footage shot and edited by Luke Fandrich.

Mount Rushmore 2007 - South Dakota


Devil's Tower 2007 - Wyoming


Chimney Rock 2007 - Nebraska


Black Hills Photo Collage 2007

The Other Time Machine (2006)

What can I say about a project that came together largely by chance? Early in the fall semester of 2006 I was taking an experimental production class. One of the first assignments we received was to create a found footage project using the old video edit suite at the university. Right away I was convinced that I was going to do this project using my own equipment, because scheduling and planning around the university was continually a hassle - however, and mostly because my friend Tyler and I had discussed editing our projects at the same time, I ended up working at the school.

Not every project can be a masterpiece. This was the idea I had in my mind prior to pulling my project together. I had no VHS tapes to work with, I was completely willing to pull something together using the old tapes in the suite - a true experiment/found footage project if you will.

That night Tyler and I were hanging out in the suite and Tyler was the first to edit his project - which you can see here. He seemed to have a rough idea of what he wanted, but I'm sure he was winging it too. When he finished it was probably around 9 or 10pm, which strangely enough is what I consider to be the best time to work at school. I have a number of memories surrounding late night projects and wandering the hallways in the middle of the night - I also lived at the dorms so part of the wandering was about finding my way home sometimes, haha. Anyway, the point is that the editing became a mix of running for slurpees, watching old Weird Al clips, and catching up with Tyler - who at this point wasn't much more than a familiar face from first year.

Tyler had a copy of The Time Machine, Death to Smoochie and Back to the Future which became the basic elements of my edit. The dread of doing the assignment turned into the excitement of things falling into place. I genuinely had a lot of fun pulling random clips, working on the old VHS equipment, and dubbing audio from old tapes. The whole time machine element seems kind of funny now because this was all before my Buick to the Future series was even a consideration.

While The Other Time Machine is a flawed video, it's always made me laugh. Despite being crude both in content and construction, it was the inspiration behind a lot of other experiments that followed. The most notable being Space Drama in 2008, which was a much more intensive, personally motivated editing exercise. The Other Time Machine is significant mostly for the history and time it marks in my film school career, but I won't make too many promises. Some people love this, some people hate this - it's a lesson directly from Film 100 (or technically Film 400 something). Enjoy!

The Other Time Machine (2006)
Found Footage Edit by Luke Fandrich

Buick to the Future: Trilogy (2007)

Shrouded in the scientific mystery of time travel, automotive engineering, and the perplexities of the space-time continuum, came a project about . . . well, none of this. The project that would grow into a trilogy, later a series, started out as nothing more than a half-assed attempt at comedy and the means to jump start a brand new blog – this one.

“Obviously you’ve never heard of Good Vibrations”. It was with Doc’s closing line at the end of episode one, as he was left standing in an empty dirt parking lot, mix tape in hand, that I knew it was going to be a good summer.

In the creative vacuum that is film school, you sometimes forget about the simple joy of creating something on your own terms. My first time staying in Regina over the summer to take some electives allowed me the freedom to try a variety of new things. The Buick to the Future movies just happened to have a bit more longevity than everything else.

There wasn’t any reason to think that the first video we shot was going to be that memorable in the beginning. It wasn’t planned to be a series. In all honesty, the project would never have happened had I not come up with the title – Buick to the Future. It seemed too good not to use, and was only made more significant because of how much I love my old car, still proudly referred to as ‘The Buick’.

Buick to the Future: Episode 1


Back in June 2007 I was ambitiously trying to get my brand new blog, Editing Luke, organized. There was years of work and film school projects to consider uploading, and on top of that there were big plans for creating a personal online portfolio. One of my first goals was to create some brand new content though. I was stocked with plenty of artsy shorts and travel edits, but what I really felt I needed was more comedy and narratives in general to appeal to a wider audience.

With a rough idea about Buick to the Future in my head, I started writing out some simple scenarios and things fell into place days after that. The original draft of the script could’ve taken the video in a different direction, but the beginning was cut because I wanted the video to be no longer than 5 minutes. It was made clear on the first page of the original script that Doc had been tinkering with the Buick, and that I was actually me – really Luke, not Marty. It provided more detachment from the fake fantasy of the story, but with so many comedic plot holes already worked in there wasn’t much to lose.

Shooting was no ordeal. Like I said, it was fun creating something for myself outside of the classroom. Tyler, a film student at the time also, felt just as excited to be a part of the project and admitted to me that it was nice being the actor for a change and not having to deal with any of the camera setups.

Buick to the Future, the first video, was very simple. Loosely based on some Back to the Future popular culture, largely based on the natural interaction between Tyler and myself, the video was a clean-cut formula that seemed to work. Tyler got to shine as Doc, I still played myself as Marty, and in the background I got the chance to create something fresh and inspired for my brand new blog.

Buick to the Future: Episode 2


When editing wrapped up, I knew I wanted to make a sequel. Buick to the Future: Episode 1 was uploaded on June 15, 2007 and part two was already being written. The three original shorts from that summer were created within weeks of each other, mostly staggered for the sake of keeping people somewhat interested. 

Episode 2 was uploaded on June 29, 2007 and Episode 3 on July 24, 2007. Tyler and I agree that part two was the easiest to shoot because the banter just came so naturally. There were key jokes I wanted to use in the script, but after that we just played it by ear. It didn’t hurt that it was almost all in one location too. If there was any hiccup worth mentioning it came from episode 3.

It was shot all outdoors in the middle of the prairie and it was HOT. We both got pretty good tans that day, and I remember Tyler melting in his long sleeves and jeans. The noisy bugs were also the biggest hassle in editing out of any of the videos, but with that the series felt complete. See the parking lot from episode 1 and the drive-in from episode 3 in my 'on location' series of posts.

The joke was made at the end of episode 3 that the series was most likely retired, but months later when I started making my Buick to the Future promotion videos it seemed like part 4 would be fun to do. That’s another story, but episode 4 would end up happening. See Buick to the Future: Episode 4 here.

In a nostalgic sense, I have really clear memories surrounding the making of the trilogy. They were escapes – from being broke or school or whatever else. They’re probably even checkpoints in my long friendship with Tyler. I remember these projects and can’t help but feel proud, not because any of them are groundbreaking are even really the best edits I’ve done, but because these videos remind me of my goal to promote myself back in 2007. I see them and remember how I wanted to get more assertive about my approach, how I wanted to feel relevant and ambitious and motivated, and more than anything, how I wanted to entertain.

Buick to the Future: Episode 3


Buick to the Future put me in touch with a lot of people. It’s made lots of folks laugh, it’s encouraged many of them to check out this blog, and more than anything, these videos gave me the positive reinforcement that I really needed to hear when I started sharing my work online.

They’re comedies about time travel that kind of did and kind of didn’t happen – and while it seems like it might be fun to time travel back to that summer again, I’ve realized that I’ve been able to experience so much and relive the memories over and over again just by sharing and watching the movies. Buick to the Future and that summer marked the start of a new chapter in my independent movie-making, which based on the subject matter seems strange to say – still, things haven’t been the same since.