When we’re not closing down Sunday brunch’s, mixologizing (made up) variations on the Vieux Carre or baking sourdough bread from hundred-year old starter, you’ll likely find us at any of the local farmer’s markets. Local, in season and keeping small farmers afloat is one of our many passions. So imagine how thrilled we were to have the opportunity to work with Serena Creative on a package of public service announcements for Food Forward – “fighting hunger and preventing food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people in need and inspiring others to do the same”.

Check out the :60 spot directed by Ric Serena, music by PB, mixed by Durand Trench, location sound by Stan Gonzales!

 

Having to keep this hush-hush during production, we are now thrilled to share our Twilight Zone Super Bowl promo for the upcoming reboot with Jordan Peele, premiering on CBS All Access. With the internet all atwitter immediately after it aired, the video racked up over 1M views in under a day.

Directed by Ric Serena with sound design by Durand Trench, PB’s mysterious score alludes throughout to the iconic Twilight Zone theme, culminating at the end with the original theme as we all know it.

2018-06-04_20-55-40

“My Indiana Muse”, directed by frequent collaborator Ric Serena, has wrapped up its run on the film festival circuit. The documentary, featuring an original soundtrack scored by Opus Orange and Matt Bowen enjoyed great success having won awards at four of its festival appearances.

Below is a list of the awards collected by the documentary.

NOATAK: Return to the Arctic, from frequent collaborators The Muir Project, was recently featured on National Geographic as part of their Short Film Highlight series. Emoto Music’s Paul Bessenbacher and Matt Bowen scored the short film which made its run on the festival circuit back in 2016 starting with the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Later appearances included the Wild & Scenic Film Festival Tour, Dances With Films, and G2 Green Earth Film Festival.

Check out the video below to watch the short film in its entirety or click the link to read the article:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/video/shorts/now-in-their-70s-two-friends-return-to-the-arctic-for-one-more-adventure/

 

Artist Robert Townsend, subject of the latest documentary from director Ric Serena, was featured in the March 30 issue of LA Weekly. The three-page article highlights the recent success of the documentary on the film festival circuit and details Townsend’s background and career.

“The unveiling of serendipitous events surrounding the project, coupled with the film’s original score (composed by Paul Bessenbacher of Opus Orange and Matt Bowen)… touches on inspiration, connection and the journey of our belongings after we’re gone.”

The documentary, which features an original soundtrack composed by Emoto Music’s Paul Bessenbacher and Matt Bowen, has already won the Audience Award for Best Short Documentary at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival and will be showing at several other film festivals this year, including:

  • Beverly Hills Film Festival: April 6, 7:15PM
  • NYC Independent Film Festival: Producer’s Club Theater S, May 10, 4:45PM
  • American Documentary Film Festival in Palm Springs
  • Florida Film Festival

Read the full article, starting on page 15, here at LA Weekly or check out the trailer to the documentary below.

 

Produced by Serena Creative, Inc.

Directed & Shot by Ric Serena

Children’s book author/illustrator Jennie Palmer muses on the balance of parenthood and creative ambition.

 

jenniepalmer.com

Directed/Shot/Cut by Ric Serena
Still Photography by Jen Serena
Produced by Serena Creative
Music by Paul Bessenbacher
Illustrations by Jennie Palmer
First AC: Miles Custer
Location Sound: Stan Gonzales
Additional assistance by Mauricio Hoyos

Emoto Music’s Paul Bessenbacher is partnering with Matt Bowen to compose the soundtrack to a new documentary titled “My Indiana Muse.” This project is another collaboration with director Ric Serena and tells the story of artist Robert Townsend as he makes a deeper connection with the subject of his series of large paintings.

Check out the trailer to the documentary below, featuring PB’s score.

Produced by Serena Creative, Inc.

Directed & Shot by Ric Serena

Friends of Emoto, Serena Creative, partnered with Opus Orange and created a stunningly beautiful, stop-motion animation music video for “Let You Down” from their latest album “Anatomic” released earlier in 2016.

Produced by Serena Creative
Directed and Animated by Ric Serena
Character Design by Vaj Potenza

YouTube Preview Image

Emoto Music’s featured artist, Opus Orange, has released the lyric video to “Not Ready” off their latest album “Anatomic” and the song has received several great reviews in the past week from The Revue, Indie Shuffle, Music Host Network and Obscure Sound!

This is the latest in a series of lyric videos directed and produced by Ric Serena of Serena Creative. You can catch all of the previous lyric videos on the Opus Orange YouTube channel!

YouTube Preview Image

Emoto composer Paul Bessenbacher & composer Matt Bowen have scored “NOATAK: Return to the Arctic”, a new short film brought to you by The Muir Project – the creative team behind Mile… Mile & A Half. The film was dreamt up and directed by Jen Serena & Ric Serena of Serena Creative & Jason Fitzpatrick. NOATAK will premier at Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in Toronto Canada in the coming weeks. Check out the teaser below and stay tuned for a release date!

YouTube Preview Image

35 years after their first visit to the Noatak River in Alaska’s wild and spectacular Brooks Range, two adventurers in their 70’s reflect on a lifetime of outdoor experiences and what still awaits them.

Emoto composer Paul Bessenbacher has scored the music for “Czappa” a short documentary directed by Ric Serena of Serena Creative and The Muir Project. The seven-minute film features Bill Czappa, a television repairman by profession and object-sculpture artist by passion, who’s repair shop doubles as a gallery displaying over 70 works of his “California Assemblage” styled artwork. Opus Orange “Bloom” is also featured in the short, fresh from their latest release Equilibrium.

“Czappa” has been selected to premier at Dances With Films Festival on June 2nd.

Check out the “Artificial Heart” music video released just this morning by Emoto featured artist Opus Orange from their new EP Outside In.

The music video, directed by Ric Serena at Serena Creative, features a collection of 8mm footage that was shot between 1963 and 1968 during one family’s summer road trips, including visits to Cape Canaveral, Niagara Falls and the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens, NY.

YouTube Preview Image

Screen Shot 2014-10-13 at 12.40.05 PM

The G2 Film Festival in Venice, CA will open with a sold-out screening of Mile… Mile & A Half this Friday, October 17th at 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd featuring an after screening performance by Emoto featured artist Opus Orange.

Mile… Mile & A Half  follows a team of artists as they set out to hike the John Muir Trail, recording their experience.  The film was directed by Ric Serena and Jason M. Fitzpatrick and was scored by Opus Orange members Paul Bessenbacher and Bernard Chadwick.

The event is sponsored by Samy’s Camera, South End Venice, and Angel City Brewing.  Screening begins at 6:30PM, cocktail party and filmmaker meet and greet begin at 8:00PM.

Keep up to date with Opus Orange via Facebook to hear about events and get tickets first.

Check out Opus Orange performing their single “Balance” Live at the Eat See Hear screening of Super Troopers in Santa Monica last month (7.26.2014)!

Opus Orange – “Balance”
From the 2014 release
“Balance”

Video shot by: Ric Serena, Jason Fitzpatrick, Jeff Christensen

Buy “Balance EP” now:
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/balance-ep/id797187183
Bandcamp: http://opusorange.bandcamp.com