Today we’d like to introduce you to Fernando Raigoza Jr., Lisa Storc, Douglas Renn, Matt, and Aaron Eaton.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
We started when 4 out of 5 core members met in college at California Lutheran University. We all wanted to make cool short films, so we did. Dramas, action comedies, short scenes. We tried it all and loved experimenting with new techniques or ways to make it work on a college budget.
After graduation, Fernando and Douglas got jobs in editorial and Aaron, and Matt got jobs in VFX… all at sister companies, working side by side at a full-service studio by day and filming our own shorts by night. Err, weekends. Lisa worked at the same company in Production, and when she saw what we were doing, she jumped on board. Throughout the years we’ve continued to push ourselves to create with the same mentality of striving to do the most we can with the least we have, working with our friends, and pushing ourselves every year to do something new.
From the get-go, we all chipped in and wore a lot of different hats, and as the years went on and we grew the size of our productions, we continued to find ways to let everyone on the crew pick up different roles. It’s not the norm, but we’ve been able to make the layers work. It’s really helped our work-flow that Fernando, our Director/Editor, and Matt, our Cinematographer/VFX artist, are also our writers. Our DP, Aaron, is also lead VFX and can set up the shots how he knows they will work best. Douglas, our Post Production Supervisor, is there every step of the way so that our crazy ideas can be edited on time.
Meanwhile, Lisa oversees style and art departments while producing and AD-ing. Our crew has grown over the years, and we have a fantastic team that is multi-talented, and we’re happy to be able to have this mentality of everyone working together grow with us. Not every group can operate with so much collaboration, and we’re really fortunate to have such awesome people to work with!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There’s definitely been some challenges along the way, although we wouldn’t call them struggles. Our earlier adventures in filmmaking were bare bones crews, but as we grew there was a lot more to manage and juggle. We strive for open collaboration and shared responsibilities, and that takes a lot of planning to make sure that we still have full coverage of all roles.
Now, we have a LOT more conversations before a shoot to talk to our go-to crew and hear about where they are now in their careers, where they want to be, and what they would like to do. Luckily we have time on our side, and we can usually give people the tools or connections to learn about a role before our shoot. We have to plan in learning-on-the-day into the schedule and make sure that the right mentors are available for questions.
Sure, there’s been some bumps in the road, but overall it’s been a super positive experience. We’re really fortunate for all the opportunities that we were given at a full-service studio and the mentors that we had, so it’s great to pay it forward. We have to give a special shout-out to Sean Cushing and Stephen Lawes at Cantina Creative because they both have supported us heavily.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Trinoceros specializes in creating a culture of fun and pushing boundaries of production for low to no budget. Outperforming expectations on short time frames with larger than the average scope is our favorite challenge. And did we mention we do Visual Effects? Every short we’ve done has VFX to broadened the world or bring an extra punch.
We’re known for our comedy-action blend; we want our audience to walk away with a smile on their face. Some of our favorite original content parodies popular genres or tropes. We’ve spent a lot of free time binge-watching Netflix, so we’ve done the research needed for parodies. Within our original content, alongside the humor, Trinoceros strives to bring the heart. It wouldn’t be possible to draw out those moments if we didn’t have Alexandre Cote as our composer.
We are probably best known for our short films in the 48 Hour Film Project. You draw a genre from an actual hat and have to write, shoot, edit, VFX, score, and deliver a film from scratch in 48 hours. There’s a ton of other requirements, and 48 hours is not a lot of time to get it all done, but the pressure is what makes it fun. Leanne and Michael Westphal have coordinated 170 teams in Los Angeles for years; it’s a wonderful event with great team spirit.
We’re happy to say that we’ve been in the top 25 films for the past six years; this year, we were 2nd runner-up for Best Film with our latest project L.A.M.P. – Los Angeles Magic Police. Speaking of which, be on the lookout for its release on our YouTube Channel in early December. If you ever want to test your filmmaking skills under pressure, you should definitely join! We’d love to see you there next year!
What were you like growing up?
FERNANDO – Admittedly, I was the shy fat kid growing up, but in my heart, I always wanted to put on a show. I was beyond obsessed with movies and drawing. With the encouragement of my parents, I began making stop-motion films when I was four years old. Until I was about 10, we lived on a ranch where I loved exploring the orchards and making up stories and adventures with my brother and cousins. After we moved, I started playing football and that’s where the leadership bug took root.
Being a part of a team and trusting people to do their job while you did yours was everything to me then, and still is to this day. In some way, I’ll always be that little chubby kid making up stories and trying to put on a show. Or at the very least I’ll always try to hold on to that.
LISA – I was interested in everything and anything as a kid. I wanted to know how everything worked and operated. I devoured books to learn more about the world, taught myself conversational Japanese, and wrote short stories and poems with my friends. I was a klutz and not the athletic type, but my mind was always searching for the next puzzle. I liked arts and crafts, too, and learned to sew so that I could cosplay. When I grew up, all that creative energy was turned towards the film, and I’ve never looked back. Thanks, Mom and Dad for encouraging my creativity, and my brother Sean for being such a great playmate!
DOUGLAS – At an early age I was curious about how things worked. Lego sets were cool to put together but even better when I pulled them apart and created something different than the picture. I was always the crazy red-headed kid running around with people asking where it came from. Paper, assorted boxes, and colored masking tape were always the go-to adventure items for amazing creations! I might have sat back and observed, but once I know you – then it all happened.
AARON – As a quiet and adventurous child, I spent most of my time climbing trees. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest surrounded by natural beauty and quickly found myself drawn to visual and musical art. My teachers knew me as a perfectionist, and I was always interested in the technical details. As I got older, I continued to pursue photography, cinematography, and computer graphics, this path eventually leading me to Los Angeles.
MATT – Growing up I was always a reserved and creative kid. I was interested in many different things, sports, swimming, video games, and board games. But mostly I loved using my imagination to create fun worlds and characters. I loved building with Legos and creating elaborate stop-motion films with them. Years later, I picked up a camera and began to shoot some short films with my friends as a way to pass the time and have some fun, never thinking it would lead me to my current career.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.trinoceros.media
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trinoceros/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Trinoceros/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/TrinocerosFilms/
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