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Neighbors
Director creates epic series for web
by Miachelle DePiano
There are many independent filmmakers in the Phoenix metro area striving to make it big, but what may separate Gilbert resident Michael Flores, director of “Western X,” from his local colleagues is his marketing approach. “Western X” will be a web-based series to target a globalized audience and attract the attention of a cable network. “Western X” is not a typical Western. It’s a dark tale of a man, X, who wakes up on the verge of death, and while trying to regain his memory and identity, must evade an unknown enemy. Flores spent 18 months researching and writing the script, which includes biblical and mythological references. It started out as a feature film, but was broken up into 13 segments
crew. Rawhide and Goldfield also donated many items to lend authenticity to the sets. Australian actor Vernon George Wells, of “Mad Max” fame, will be featured as a Black Coat Army general as a result of the Arizona Roughriders and Rawhide assistance.
Photo by Miachelle DePiano
ACTION: “Western X” director Michael Flores gives direction on the set.
for the series. A fan of spaghetti Westerns, Flores admits that it is difficult to create a Western. “They’ve all been done before. ‘Western X’ has to be different; it has a dark side, and you are not sure in what world it is taking place.”
“Western X” is receiving a lot of support for on-site filming from area attractions including Rawhide, located in Chandler, and Goldfield Ghost Town in Apache Junction. Rawhide pitched in as a result of the involvement of Chandler Arizona Roughriders partners Ed Vanderlee, Dan Narciso and their stunt
Flores is methodical and meticulous in the execution of his latest project, and his crew trusts his vision. The crew includes his brother, Aaron, set still photographer; Production Director Liana Hubbard; Art Director Cole Daroff; with stunt coordination by Arizona Roughriders Ted Goodman, Jayson James and Narciso. Another reason that may separate Flores from his local competition is his sales and marketing acumen, which has
helped him find backers for his project. “There is always money to be found. You just have to look for it, and sell yourself and your project,” he says.
By the time “Western X” is completed, the cost of the privately backed series is just over $60,000. Hubbard and Daroff help keep production costs low. Hubbard, a seasoned wardrobe, makeup and special effects artist, created costumes for 10 women for $100 in addition to contributing a number of the movie’s costumes from her private wardrobe collection. Daroff
designed five sets to include a bathhouse and a post office for under $500 at Rawhide.
A huge part of the creation of “Western X” is the computer graphics used in rendering many of the scenes. Flores spent nine months making an 8-foot-square model in his garage that serves as the foundation for his CG work. Exact measurements and angles are taken of actors to ensure everything is as realistic and undetectable as possible. The trailer is a good example of Flores’s meticulousness: 80 percent of the trailer was done via “green screen” and took 3.5 months to create with computer graphics. “There is a lot of CG software available, but making computer graphics believable is a different issue,” says Flores. “My mother came over to watch my son one time and asked why I was still working on the same scene she saw me working on two weeks ago. I knew that I had made progress, but she could not understand why it took so long. I am very exact.” It may not be a Hollywood production yet, but the exactitude with which Flores and his crew are creating this epic western is the stuff of which local legends are made.
It may not be a Hollywood production yet, but the exactitude with which Flores and his crew are creating this epic western is the stuff of which local legends are made. The film is expected to be released sometime in the third quarter of 2010.
For additional information, see www.westernxtheshow.com.
Miachelle DePiano of Gilbert is a technical writer and freelance photographer.
March 20 - April 2, 2010
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