The Measure of a Man is up on the Fox’s marquee!
The Measure of a Man is getting some buzz!
We finally got our first article written about the film! Check it out here or on the Kern County Family website HERE. I’m told there might also be a review in the works to be published in the magazine!
“THE MEASURE OF A MAN” MOVIE TO PREMIERE IN BAKERSFIELD
by Vaun Thygerson
Staff writer and mother of three
A local film company will premiere its third feature film, “The Measure of a Man,” on March 25 and 26 at the historic Fox Theatre. The movie based on the inspiring true story of Donald P. Bailey, a charming and eccentric father of nine whose charisma and optimism set him apart from the average dad, was produced by the independent film company Higher Definition Media (HDM).
Writer and director, Elizabeth Waite, recreated Donald P. Bailey and brought to life this endearing character-driven story about her father – a man whose optimistic personality and discipline lead him through the Great Depression, WWII, and with his wife, Emogene, raising nine children with the love of music and his golden voice. HDM owner, Andrew Waite, is producer and director of photography. The original musical score is by talented local composer Brianne Sorkin-Lee.
Tickets are available for $12 at the Fox Ticket Office and through Vallitix.com. For more information, please visit www.hdmweb.com.
The Measure of a Man | Trailer and IMDB Page
The team has been working hard and we’d like to present to you the Official Movie Trailer for “The Measure of a Man”! Tickets to the Premiere are on sale NOW and can be purchased from the Fox Theater box office or through Vallitix for just $12 each. The premiere will be held on March 25th, 2011 at the historic Fox Theater in Bakersfield, CA. The doors open at 6:00pm and the show starts at 7:00pm. It’s going to be HUGE!~ Complete with spotlight, movie stars, classic cars, limos and of course the infamous red carpet! Watch the official trailer and buy your tickets today! You won’t want to miss this red carpet event!
The Measure of a Man | Official Trailer | an HDM Film from HDM on Vimeo.
THE MEASURE OF A MAN IMDB PAGE is also up and running! Please check it out for more information on the cast and crew.
The Measure of a Man | Behind the Scenes- Part 1
Photos courtesy of Artisan Photography.
The Measure of a Man Press Release
HIGHER DEFINITION MEDIA IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE IT’S THIRD FEATURE FILM:
“THE MEASURE OF A MAN”
The inspiring true story of Donald P. Bailey, a charming and eccentric father of nine, who’s charisma and optimism set him apart from the average dad.
The independent film company, Higher Definition Media (HDM) began principal photography on July 5th, 2010. The film was shot on location in Kern County, where the incredible true life story of Donald P. Bailey is recreated by writer and director Elizabeth Waite. Waite remakes the endearing character driven story of her father; a man whose optimistic personality and discipline lead him through the Great Depression, WWII, and set him apart from the average father as he and his wife Emogene raised nine children with the love of music and his golden voice.
HDM headed to Hollywood, where auditions were held for two weeks with talent from across the country. The cast includes: Jarin Stevens as Donald P. Bailey, and Jennica Schwartzman as his wife Emogene. Their teenage counterparts are played by Gabriel Myers and Tina Mirka. Jules Hartley plays Elizabeth, narrator of the story. The nine talented children are: Christopher Slaughter, Madeline Penn, Alana Hamilton, Cody Sullivan, Blythe Butler, Carsen Warner, Jadon Sand, Cole Sand, and Jaden Melashenko.
Andrew Waite, owner of HDM, produced the film. Also working on the film is production manager Amber Waite. A large crew, including some local members, was pooled for the six weeks of shooting. The original musical score was composed by talented local composer Briana Sorkin-Lee.
On Friday, January 14th, 2011, the shooting was officially wrapped and post-production began. The film is scheduled for it’s Premiere at the historic Fox Theater in Bakersfield on Friday, March 25th, 2011. Tickets are available for $12 at the Fox Ticket Office and through Vallitix.com. The Fox Theater will also have a Matinee showing on Saturday, March 26th at 2:00pm.
HDM offers the largest inventory of feature film equipment rentals in Kern County and produces commercials, wedding films, television shows, and full-length feature films.
A brief introduction to our latest Feature Film!
HDM is in pre-production of it’s third feature film! The journey of this film, entitled “The Measure of a Man”, started back in November of last year when Elizabeth Waite, inspired by her own true story and the unforgettable memories of her father, began to write her first screenplay. She brought it to the attention of HDM and pre-production started almost immediately. Fast forward to today and her screenplay, originally titled “Songs my Father Sang”, is well on it’s way to becoming a reality! We’ve worked countless hours on pre-production work including casting, permits, location searches, etc. and finally we’ll start our 5 week shoot on July 5th with some of the most talented cast and crew ever. I can’t express how excited I am to be involved! I can’t say this enough but it’s a really great script and it’s going to make for one amazing film!
“After being raised in an Oklahoma orphanage, 15 year-old Donald makes his way to California during the depression. He meets Emogene, the daughter of poor migrant farm laborers, and together they set out to break the cycle of poverty and ignorance.
This is the inspiring true story of Donald P. Bailey, a charming, and eccentric father of nine, who’s charisma and optimism set him apart from the average dad. But his golden voice made him a legend to his posterity for generations. His unique life is remembered through the eyes of his daughter, Elizabeth.”
More updates to come including casting, our first meet-up with the cast, the story behind the Sunset house and a Bailey family photo! To see clips from our other two films, Stamped! and Phase Two, check out our Film/TV Gallery.
Meet the Cast | The Measure of a Man
For two long weeks in May the HDM team auditioned hundreds of qualified applicants in order to find the perfect cast! We met so many very talented actors and actress and a few not so much 
In the end we came up with a wonderful cast that we couldn’t be happier with. Below is a partial cast list that includes the 9 Bailey children that will play in the film. Please feel free to look them up on IMDB, some of them have quite impressive resumes!
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- Carsen Warner as DAVID
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- Alana Hamilton as MARY
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- Madeline Penn as PATRICIA LYNN
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- Cole Sand as DANNY
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- Blythe Butler as LIZZY
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- Jaden Melashenko as MARK
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- Christopher Slaughter as DONNIE
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- Cody Sullivan as TOMMY
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- Jadon Sand as SAMMY
Phase Two Teaser Trailer
As promised here is the Phase Two Teaser Trailer that premiered at the 2009 Bakersfield Comic Con. If you’re interested in watching more clips from the movie you can check out the Phase Two facebook page. Principle photography for Phase Two is completed, now it’s just a matter of editing, and then on to the PREMIER!
In the meantime check out other films we’ve produced in our FILM/ TV GALLERY.
Phase Two at Comic Con!
HDM’s second feature film Phase Two, was recently featured at the Bakersfield Comic Con on November 8th! We were privileged to attend in support of the film that we’ve worked so hard on. A few of the Phase Two actors even attended including Jessica Erin Sylvia, Robin Steffen, Shawn Piccinino, and Paul Wolverton. The turnout was pretty good and the reaction from the audience was great. It was really nice getting to catch up with everyone from the movie and hear all about their new and upcoming projects. It was SO nice to get to attend Comic-Con and the Phase Two trailer premier! It gave me just a little taste of what the actual movie premier is going to be like and I can’t wait for that day! We will certainly keep you, our dedicated readers, informed about the progress of the movie and can’t wait to see YOU at the premier.
We’re hoping to get the actual movie trailer up soon but until then here’s a clip from the feature film Phase Two.
Zombie High – The Premiere!
The Arts Council of Kern, the Kern Regional Center and Joey Travolta’s Inclusion Films teamed up to offer a creative arts workshop for citizens with disabilities. As a result, disabled filmmakers were able to write and direct a 30-minute feature entitled Zombie High.
HDM was able to help in the production of Zombie High by providing audio recording and editing for the film. It was such a great experience. It was an honor to work alongside Joey and also the students of the workshop. They were great and had such big hearts and bright personalities.
On Oct. 22 Zombie High premiered at the Fox Theater and we were more than happy to attend the special event and support the film. All the people involved worked really hard and everyone did a really great job. The film was very entertaining! I can honestly say “I loved it”! A mix between a zombie flick and the 80’s movie “The Breakfast Club” the movie turned out brilliant! It was funny and clever and left me wishing it was more than a short which made the announcement that a full-length feature film was soon to be in the works even more exciting. I can’t wait to see what more comes from these inspiring young actors and filmmakers and hope to be involved in their upcoming projects.