Chimes of Gaviota: or, I've Got The Real Estate Blues was one of three films produced through the Greenscreen Environmental Media program at the University of California at Santa Barbara during the 2007-08 academic year. Coastal development is one of the largest and most pertinent issues around the Santa Barbara area. It is one of the most biodiverse and species-rich areas in the United States and one of ten Mediterranean climates in the world. As the last stretch of undeveloped coastline along the northern tip of Southern California, preservation of this land is crucial to the increased sustainability and environmental protection of California.
We decided to attack the issue of the Gaviota Coast through the format of "mockumentary" because it provided an entertaining way to convey important information to an audience. Knowing that many documentaries about environmental issues have a limited audience, we hope to use this film as a way to display both comedically and dramatically this important issue surrounding the coastline.
Funding was generously provided by the Associated Students Coastal Fund, The Carsey-Wolf Center for Television and New Media, and Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities.
The Crew
Producer: Lisa Shapiro
Lisa Shapiro has worked on numerous student film projects in her short two-years time at UCSB. Her credits include Production Assistant on "Best Leader," Art Director for "Timon's Friendship Adventure," Publicity Co-Ordinator for The Isla Vista Digital Film Fest, and Committee chair of the Reel Loud Film Festival. She keeps an updated blog of her film activity at LShap Productions.com.
Director: Evan Koehne
The first love child of two ex-hippies-turned-business-people, Evan Koehne grew up in Northern California amidst environmental consciousness and good vibes. Through researching the issues of coastal development leading up to the making of "Chimes," Evan realized this movie could serve as a call to action to block the continued expansion and development up California's Coast. "What's really scary is that as I researched this, I realized since Westerners came to California, they have continued to go up the coast, developing every last piece of some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. What's really important about this film is that it tries to give the viewer all the important information about the issues while delivering it in an entertaining and thought-provoking way."
Evan Koehne is a Junior Film & Media Studies major at UCSB. He fell in love with movies when he was seven, the first time he watched "Star Wars." From there, he knew exactly what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
His hobbies include skating, beach-combing, tagging and hailing his lord and savior The Almighty Glycon.
Writer/Cinematographer: Steven Ray Morris
Steven Ray Morris is a Junior Film & Media Studies major as well as a prolific singer/songwriter. He met graduate student Nicole Starosielski over the summer of 2007 and became excited about her idea for the Greenscreen Environmental Media program. He began writing the script for "Chimes" soon after that and signed on as cinematographer. He did sound design on the student film "Best Leader," writes and performs music under the moniker Existential Hero, keeps a frequently-updated music and movie review site foggy ruins of time, and makes prolific amounts of video blogs and short videos, viewable at his youtube page.
Editor: Anne Margaret Wilkes
Born by the side of a river in Riverside, Anne Margaret Wilkes began pursuing film editing when she was 13 years old. "I always loved cutting and pasting in kindergarten, and when that was over, it was like the best years of my life had passed me by. Then I got introduced to film editing, and I realized it was basically the same thing! my love of the cinema had begun." Living for a few years as a down-and-out shoe-repairwoman, she finally got on top of her game and applied to the University of California. Santa Barbara became her new home. After a night of drunken revelry, she blacked out on the Del Playa beach, only to come to the next morning and realize the stunning beauty of the coastline. When this project came along, she knew it was just what the doctor ordered.
Anne Wilkes is a Junior Film & Media Studies Major at UCSB, where she and her co-disciple Evan Koehne worship the Almighty Lord Glycon every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on the dot.