Actor/Director Scot Carlisle and Jake Elsas (of Seven-Minute Cinemas) have teamed up and officially formed a new production company: ElCar Pictures. In 2010, Scot and Jake worked together on the short film Bittersweet Chocolate, enjoying their experience so much that they decided to become business partners.

Their first project: McQueen’s Machines, an exciting six-part TV series that focuses on Steve McQueen’s passion for machines — cars, motorcycles, and ultimately airplanes. Based on the book by Matt Stone, the series highlights McQueen’s love for machines, a love that transcended simple enjoyment. Indeed, McQueen very much developed a symbiotic relationship with his beloved machines, both on- and off-screen. And although he passed away in 1980 at the young age of 50, McQueen’s passion lives on… with his fans, family, and an automotive industry that continues to be heavily influenced by the King of Cool.

More to come!

After working together in 2010 on the music video “Favorite Song,” filmmaker Matt Kaiser and Jake Elsas (of Seven-Minute Cinemas) just completed principle photography on their next venture: Matt’s autobiographical documentary Adopted. Postproduction has begun, and Matt intends to complete cutting visuals by the end of December 2011.

Adopted as a baby, Matt spent most of his life content — rarely questioning his situation or whether he should connect with his biological parents. Until recently…

In Matt’s words:

“In this documentary we will be taking a close look at how my sister’s adoption affected her life, as well as the lives of her birth mother, and our parents. When looking at my sister’s experience, I will be deciding whether or not I should follow her example, and try to connect with my own birth parents.”

For the next two baseball seasons, Jake Elsas of Seven-Minute Cinemas is hitting the road with the hugely talented actor Kelly Perine, whose passion for baseball has motivated him to make this documentary. Due to the nature of the story, very little can be revealed (so as not to spoil the surprises). But one thing can be said: this will be America at its best.

And if you’re a baseball fan, Jake and Kelly might even find you…

Seven-Minute Cinemas just finished working with Technical Education Research Centers, Inc. (TERC) on an NSF-funded, video-analysis project that focuses on elementary school educators teaching whole numbers and number operations. TERC is collaborating with the University of Arizona’s Nicole Kersting and her team of mathematics researchers to determine what teachers themselves learn as they teach these subjects.

This past winter and spring, Seven-Minute Cinemas teamed up with Larry Franzen on a video-based, science education research project conducted by Colorado-based Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. The project, Science Teachers Learning from Lesson Analysis (STeLLA), is being helmed by Dr. Kathleen Roth, the director of BSCS’s Center for Professional Development. In Dr. Roth’s words:

“This scale-up study aims to confirm earlier findings that student learning improved when teachers’ professional development experiences included examination of videocases of science teaching that deepened their content and pedagogical content knowledge and improved their teaching practice.”

Seven-Minute Cinemas recently completed this research project involving schools in Princeton, N.J. and Washington D.C.

Mathematica — a research company based in both of those cities — will be using videos to train classroom observers how to evaluate different aspects of teachers’ practices.

Mathematica chose Jake Elsas from Seven-Minute Cinemas — along with fellow producer Larry Franzen — after working with the two on 2009′s very successful Teach For America internal assessment.

As Mathematica Senior Staff Member Claudia Gentile wrote:

“I realize you’re located in LA, but the quality of work you achieved on the TFA video tapes was truly impressive. So, when the need arose for classroom videos, I thought of you.”

Jake Elsas recently completed a stint as Director of Photography on the short movie, Bittersweet Chocolate, co-written and co-produced by Roger Bridges and Scot Carlisle (both of whom also play the lead roles), and directed by Turner Lange (who is also cutting picture as well as adding his animation/FX expertise). Bittersweet Chocolate takes a light-hearted jab at race relations and the frustrating (and often cluelessly racist) affectations of the “wannabe.” The movie is slated to be completed summer 2011.

Stay tuned for more details!

For six weeks in 2010, Seven-Minute Cinemas documented “Greenscape,” a Hollywood Fringe Festival production by site-specific theater company Moveable Piece. 7MC also supplies lighting and sound packages for Moveable Piece’s ongoing performances.

From the playwrights’ brainstorming sessions in the middle of May 2010 until the “Greenscape” performances on June 19th and 26th, 7MC videotaped and photographed Moveable Piece’s 30-person team, as it prepared for and ultimately performed this large-scale site-specific outdoor project.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE “GREENSCAPE” PROMO!!!!

Some stills from the “Greenscape” run-thru on June 13th, 2010:
(photos by Sasha Sobolevsky)

Some stills from the “Greenscape” production meeting on June 7th, 2010:
(photos by Jake Elsas)

Some stills from the “Greenscape” original workshop on May 15th, 2010:
(photos by Jake Elsas)

In 2010, Seven-Minute Cinemas produced this music video for Kaiser Cartel‘s “Favorite Song.” Written and directed by Matt Kaiser — band-member Courtney Kaiser’s filmmaker brother — this video incorporates fantasy, stop-motion animation sequences into high-def, live-action footage.

Production Stills: Robert’s Room

Production Stills: MAX Station