Legendary | Trippy Tran Films

Anthony Tran of Trippy Tran Films I Photography by CJ Kim

Mary Jo Schottelkotte met the owner/operator of Trippy Tran Films, Mr. Anthony Tran, while she was eating at a LaRosa’s Pizzeria in Anderson Township back in 2011. After meeting him, she then decided to write an article about Tran also mentioning our upcoming feature film “Obliquity: Imagery of the Unknown”. You can read about her own project ‘Footprints On The Air: Television Legends of Cincinnati’ at her website www.footprintsontheair.com

Service With a Side of Reel Ambition
(Published 2/20/11)

An interesting film is in production, and it’s crazy the way I found out about it. I was dining alone at a well known local pizza establishment, and my waiter was none other than the filmmaker himself! He’s a good waiter; very upbeat, pays attention to detail and timing, checks back often. He was being chatty – servers seem to have one of two minds when you’re dining alone; either they feel they should make conversation so you don’t feel lonely (because they’re embarrassed for you), or they leave you alone so you don’t feel uncomfortable (because they’re embarrassed for you). He seemed to have the former mindset. I figured he wanted a good tip, and wasn’t going to assume that I wasn’t worth the effort just because I was by myself (low bill = low tip) and a female (even lower tip). His is, by the way, a good strategy because I am also a former waitress and I tend to over tip, especially if the service is good. So those of you in the service industry, take note: never assume.

Through the course of my meal and the friendly chatting, he divulged that he is a filmmaker with a feature length piece currently in production. He is Anthony Tran, and he calls his film entity Trippy Tran Films. You can actually check his work out on YouTube, which is what I did, to view the trailers he’s created for this feature he’s working on “Obliquity: Imagery of the Unknown.” It’s a project exploring the concept of “connection” on a number of different levels. The film itself it has to do with unseen layers of the world, encounters with dark energies as experienced by the lead character who has agreed to participate in a sleep deprivation study. She is a college student taking part in a Psychology study who is at a crossroads with a few aspects of her life, as most college students are. As the study advances and she dutifully remains awake for the required three days, she begins to experience a manipulation by invisible dark forces and grapples with her changing perceptions of good and evil. The genre is psychological thriller peppered with comic relief, Anthony assures me.

The other aspect that I find interesting, and is the filmmaker’s means for exploring “connectivity” in real life, is that the cast and crew has been assembled by a call to anyone in the community who wants to experience the process of making a feature film. While Tran’s goal is ultimately to have a film to screen locally at area theaters, and then to enter into film festivals; it’s also to create something out of nothing more than a sharing of ideas and talent by a group of creative people dedicated to the process. There is no pay for your contribution. But if you want a way to showcase your talent just for the exposure, or to explore your affinity to the industry, here’ your venue. What I saw on YouTube showed promise for “Obliquity” – good production quality, a compelling soundtrack (so far), with adequate acting. I liked the song “Day Dreamer” written for the film by local musician, Matthew Wayne. If Tran can get the participation he needs from interested cast and crew, I’m curious to see the finished piece.

You’ll see what looks like everything he’s ever shot in his life on his YouTube Channel, but forgive some of the earlier works and notice that he is evolving. He seems to bring some of the same qualities he has as a server to his craft – a positive attitude, attention to detail and timing, and a desire to please. He needs to post a mission statement, but his ambition with film at the moment seems to be to explore the ways we influence each other with thoughts and actions through mind-bending stories and satire. And he wants to prove that successful, professional films can be made right here in Greater Cincinnati. I’m game for that Trip!