When Chris Taylor set out to make his short film, he decided to shoot in Barstow and the Victor Valley and hunt down as many local crew members as he could find.

One year later, he is less than a month away from debuting the movie, made by a crew of 20-somethings that was 90 percent local.

“Most of them didn’t have much experience, but all of them were really eager to learn, and it was really actually kind of enjoyable to get these guys immersed in an industry that they wouldn’t ordinarily be exposed to,” said Taylor, who lived in Barstow until he moved to Washington six months ago.

“The White Year,” which Taylor wrote, shot and produced, has a “dark, weird and twisted” feel to it, with a surprise ending, he said.
Scenes were shot at One of Life’s Perks coffee shop in Apple Valley, the Home Loan Mortgage Corporation in Hesperia and a business park off Palmdale Road and Interstate 15 in Victorville.

Clifton Harris, 25, was the boom-mic operator and in charge of sounds and dialogue in the film. Like most of the crew, Harris connected with Taylor from the want ads Taylor posted on MySpace and Craigslist.

“I had no idea there were so many people into films in the High Desert,” said Harris, who lived in Victorville before he moved four months ago.

Harris described the set as a relaxed, laid back atmosphere where everyone had a lot of fun, despite the sometimes 12- and 13-hour days, he said.

Gerry Hernandez, 31, of Victorville, started out as a behind-the-scenes photographer but quickly became an assistant director.

“It’s got a dark tone,” Hernandez said about the film. “It’s not dark as in evil, but the dark side of humanity — some of the more grim realities of what it is to be human, what it is to suffer from emotional distress.”

While most of the movie was filmed in Victor Valley, some scenes were shot in Barstow and Death Valley. Hernandez recalls the crew carrying close to 800 pounds of gear for 1.5 miles in 107-degree heat to one of the Death Valley’s salt flats — but that didn’t stop them from cracking jokes and having a good time, he said.

Taylor said his production company, Adventus Films, plans to enter the film into about a dozen film festivals this year, including the Sundance and Florida film festivals.

Coming-of-age flick takes a twisted turn

By NATASHA LINDSTROM

Producer Chris Taylor is about to release his short film “The White Year,” which he filmed primarily in Victor Valley with a mostly local crew.

The 23-minute film is a coming-of-age story about a man recently graduated from college, who has trouble adapting to his job in a new town, develops a chronically negative outlook on life and starts talking to a counselor for guidance.

“He’s so in love with his college life that he had to kind of cast that life away, and now he’s not doing so well on the outside,” Taylor said.

Then, he runs into his ex-girlfriend who delivers a piece of news that “totally destroys him,” Taylor said. The main character spirals down from there, as the film turns into a dark exploration of his subconscious and ends with a surprise twist, according to Taylor.

Assistant Director Gerry Hernandez said most people will be able to relate to the film.

“It relates to everyone out there who’s ever had a personal conflict, except under the circumstances the main character is daydreaming about someone that he loved, and it’s really, really messing with his current life,” said Hernandez. “He goes from a worker bee to a total insubordinate and just fighting with his boss, compromising his job.”

For more information about the film or to watch the trailer, visit adventusfilms.com/thewhiteyear.

Natasha Lindstrom may be reached at 951-6232 or nlindstrom@vvdailypress.com.