LTCC student filmmaker

2/09 unedited Tahoe Mt. News

By Kathryn Reed

Do a film shoot for Red Bull in Mexico or meet with the new college president?
Nathan Garofalos, 20, chose the first option.
When Paul Killpatrick arrived at Lake Tahoe Community College last summer he set up one-on-one meetings with key figures. As then-student body president, Garofalos was on that list. Killpatrick admits he was impressed why the meeting was delayed two weeks.
“It is just an inspiration to listen to him talk. He has such great ideas,” Killpatrick said of Garofalos. “He shows a rich potential for young people. I told him when I was his age I was learning to shave.”
Garofalos is weighing his options about what to do after he graduates from LTCC in June with associate degrees in anthropology and liberal arts. He’s leaning toward film school, with San Francisco State at the top of the list. The other choice is to head directly for a career as a filmmaker.
The latter is not implausible based on the experience Garofalos has.
Since he was boy, the Carson City born-South Lake Tahoe raised Garofalos has had a penchant for making movies. He remembers in eighth grade capturing his little brother on their driveway with an RCA Handycam and being able play it over and over again.
“Being able to relive the experience” is what grabbed the youngster’s thirst to keep on with filming.
The2007 South Tahoe High grad further developed his skills in Bob Grant’s class.
He is perfecting his craft by using a state-of-the-art digital cameral called the Red One made by the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company. The definition is four times of high-definition.
“It gives you the advantage to shoot raw images like you would on a digital SLR camera,” Garofalos said. “It’s probably the most technically advanced piece of equipment we’ll encounter in our lives.”
Although the cameras are pricey, Garofalos said they can cut production costs in half.
Garofalos credits Jerry Dugan of Reno and Fall Line Films for helping him find his way in the film world and providing practical advice.
The young filmmaker is not one dimensional is what he likes to shoot, though he admits the bigger projects are more exciting. Commercials, trailers, Hollywood movies – they are all part of his resume.
“I love being able to tell stories. That is ultimately what makes a good movie,” Garofalos said.
On Jan. 20 his three minute short called “Talk About Life” was posted on www.vuze.com as part of a competition he was invited to participate in for promising digital filmmakers. Each contestant (the public can vote online) had 72 hours to write and shoot the film. He stuck close to home, with much of the footage clearly from Lake Tahoe.
He didn’t make the screening in Los Angeles because he was in Truckee shooting a music video. A beer commercial shoot is coming up soon.
As of press time he was waiting to hear if the crew he would be part of was awarded the bid to shoot the final seven episodes of “ER,” which is in its last season.
At Burning Man he created a feature film called “As Dust Settled.”
In October he worked with author Clive Cluster on a multi-million dollar television trailer pitch that Garofalos describes as CSI Miami meets James Bond.
“It was really fun. I got to go down (to Los Angeles) and do visual effects. It’s all the fun parts without the dialogue,” Garofalos said of the helicopter and chase scenes.
A dramatic film project he collaborated on with Mark Peterson and others was shown last month at Sundance.
“Essentially I would like to be a big director, but we’ll see where it goes,” Garofalos said. “I know eventually I’ll have to move to LA. It’s more fast paced and not as personable as up here. Here you can make eye contact with people and such. In LA they are so focused on individual desires that you feel like you are one person in a pool of other people. You feel disconnected. Where here you feel like a community within people.”