Raptor's Den Video Production

07/19/2024

Filming a 70th birthday party in Sterling Heights.

07/18/2024

Morrow Road is coming to the worldwide box office!

Fans, aka “Morrow Roadies,” director Francis J Sampier here to announce to you and the world the news you’ve all been patiently waiting for! The past 11 days have been full of meetings, introductions, planning and pitches and have resulted in the following breakthroughs:

Morrow Road, after 19.5 years, has secured full funding and begins shooting next month! Wait, it gets better: Morrow Road has been greenlit with the budget the film rightfully deserves: A remarkable six million dollars! This will ensure the production of the film does the screenplay the justice it demands. But why stop there with news?

Morrow Road has secured distribution and will have a worldwide box office release with a target of Valentine’s Day 2025! For the first time ever, the film has major distribution and a THEATRICAL release date!

The “Hollywood” budget caliber now allows a full 35-day shoot with expert level crew, which will compliment the already very talented cast—including Kijsa Gifford, who plays Ivy Lozon, the lead of Morrow Road. Our new key make-up artist is Kari Koerper, a legend in the Hollywood makeup arena who provides makeup to the Golden Globes, SAG, Governor’s Service Awards shows, as well as the Oscars! TAHA Hussein of Fruition Endeavors, a fashion design legend of our day, has joined on to helm costumes and wardrobe. Post-Production will include a fully orchestrated score by Morrow Road’s long-time composer Jeff Arwady—but this time with the London Symphony Orchestra! And Skywalker Sound is planned for the sound design, of course 😊 These are just to name a few of the high-end talent the film is collaborating with.

But how did this happen? How is this possible? I had to get this film in front of the right people. People who understood the value of high-quality films. People who understood that great things require great resources. People that understand the right balance of art and business. And I will add as a note on myself (Raptor’s Den)—great things come to those who wait and persevere. Allow me to introduce to you the production companies and producing team of Morrow Road that I’ve proudly partnered with:

Executive Producer Jamie Eliason of Fruition Endeavors. Jamie grasped this project’s complexity and was humbled by its deep storyline. In short, she took this project to the finish line and will continue to guide the project to success. Jamie is business smart and retains the recognition of the importance of the artist side of the film industry. This combination surely has been responsible for parts of her success.

Executive Producer Kijsa Gifford, our aforementioned lead actress, of Norma Jean Entertainment. Kijsa is a young adult with a business mind ahead of her time! A prodigy in her talents, she too is a partner in Fruition Endeavors and also has a talent for fashion design. She is humble, reserved and extraordinary in many ways, all of which will shine in Morrow Road. Oh, and she is cousins with the late Marilyn Monroe 😊

Stephanie Gifford, a producer of Norma Jean Entertainment, is also Kijsa’s manager. Stephanie really listened to my thoughts on the project and then took that torch and ran fast to the right people. She has been an inspiration to me and is someone who is helping ensure the production quality meets its requirements. Her & Kijsa visited my team this past Tuesday.

Producer Kevin Kellum of Ascendent Studios impressed me immediately. His attention to detail, filmmaking process know-how and connections to expert talent aided him in crafting the budget to be what it needed to be to execute this film precisely. Kevin will continue to help find the right positions for the shoot, as well as post-production and music licensing. His thriller division “Flavored Flesh Films” will be adding their expertise to Morrow Road and I can’t wait!

Future posts will spotlight these producers and their companies. In the meantime, now is the time to spread the word that Morrow Road is coming to the BIG screen this February worldwide! And stay tuned for the next post which will reveal which legendary cinematographer will helm Morrow Road. (Any guesses fans?)

Thank you again fans for your patience and loyalty. It has often supported the foundation I laid out for this amazing movie and assisted in keeping my shield up when defending against the people who said I could never do it. And thank you to those who stuck with me the entire way and actually put in all the effort and support you could. You will continue to come along for the ride as it reaches its finish line.

Get ready for a disturbing, action-packed thriller that brings the Legend of Morrow Road to life. It is time.

07/17/2024

The path Perez chose to tell stories was initially through professional wrestling, traveling to Florida to train under WWE Superstar Tyler Breeze, until one moment changed everything.

07/13/2024

Hello awesome fans! We have been excited to release yet another new cast member for Morrow Road, this time it's our lead character playing Ivy Lozon!

Let's give a warm welcome to Kijsa Gifford! Kijsa (pronounced Ky-sa) auditioned recently and won our hearts over. Her take on the character and understanding of the bigger picture of film productions impressed Francis from day one. (Another thanks to Gabriel Steven Perez for reaching out to Kijsa to consider the role).

Kijsa has recently played a major role in Lifetime's recently aired "A Model Murder," and is coming out in the major feature film production of the upcoming movie "Echoes of the Veil," and many other large scale productions. We will be talking more about Kijsa soon on our social media feeds, as she is visiting us this Tuesday! Kijsa lived in Brighton Michigan for a large part of her life.

A fun fact: Kijsa: She is a cousin of the late actress Marilyn Monroe, on her biological father's side of the family.

Kijsa, and her mother Stephanie (more on Stephanie soon) have been the best kind of people we're worked with in some time, genuinely intelligent, and are truly about the vision and business of the film... and they blend those categories perfectly.

Congratulations Kijsa, we are humbled and excited you are onboard! You will nail the role of Ivy. Be sure to read about her on IMDb here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14683461/bio

Photo by Paul Smith

07/13/2024

Filmed a commercial this evening with Janice DeMonte, who did a wonderful job presenting.

07/08/2024

Editing has began on the Algonac Senior All-Night Party. (Ceremony already completed)

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06/30/2024

Watch the orchestra session and picture-in-picture with the 2024 promo!

06/30/2024

Filming Richmond Community Theatre's Shrek Jr! 2PM show at Richmond High School.

06/10/2024

Filmed a commercial ad in Algonac this morning/early afternoon of Janice DeMonte's It's So Much Fun When Colors Run educational video (that we made for her back in 2022).

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06/09/2024

Order before this Friday to save $5 per shirt/hoodie!

06/07/2024

Filming Algonac High School's 2024 Commencement.

06/04/2024

Filming Maltby's Magnificent Musicals in Brighton!

05/30/2024

AHS Band Senior DVDs completed and delivered. All projects complete, except TDC Recitals and The Algonac Senior All-Night Party. Once we film commencement, we will begin working on that. Editing TDC now.

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05/24/2024

Filmed Algonac High School's Choir Spring Concert yesterday!

05/19/2024

Filming Algonac's Senior All-Night Party!

05/18/2024

Filming The Dance Company Recitals 2024!

05/17/2024

Also filmed Algonquin's 7th and 8th Grade Drama,'s performance of The Little Mermaid Jr this morning at 930 AM in their school

05/17/2024

Filming Long's Recital in Livonia!

05/17/2024

05/16/2024

Filming AMS 6th Grade Performing Arts The Little Mermaid Jr!

05/14/2024

Filming Algonac High School's Spring Concert tonight!

05/14/2024

Filed Maltby's 6th Grade Choir tonight.

05/12/2024

At the venue we are filming.

05/12/2024

Filming RCT's Wedding Singer Musical!

05/11/2024

Filming the PHCT production of "Rock of Ages" - come check it out!

05/10/2024

Will continue to work on the set while we begin May's 15 video projects in a row, starting tomorrow!

05/02/2024

Filming the Algonac Elementary 2nd & 5th graders tonight! Two shows of "It's Easy Being Green."

05/02/2024

Here comes May's big kickoff month, with at least 15 events being filmed, starting with two tonight: This is Immaculate Conception's spring choir recital "O God... Beyond All Praising." Their concerts are well done and run by Bonnie Montacer. The students are excellent!

04/29/2024

We ate getting into our busiest time of the year with many recitals and shows coming up!

04/25/2024