Inside Rik Cordero’s Change

Rik Cordero is laying a blueprint of his own.

After building a name developing cost-efficient music videos for such major hip-hop artists as Jay-Z, Nas, The Roots and Ghostface Killah, Cordero is the latest star music director to transition into screen writing and directing.

Noted video director tries his hand at film.

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Cordero’s second feature film, “Inside A Change,” an urban drama chronicling the emotional last days before its lead character enters prison, has been praised by critics, winning the top prize at the 2009 New York International Latino Film Festival. He’s also planning to direct additional feature films, music videos and commercial projects.

Shot over three weeks with a relatively small budget of about one million, “Inside A Change,” follows Chris Price in the last days before he serves a 180-day prison sentence for selling marijuana in a first time drug offense. Rising star Ephraim Benton plays the Queens, NY youth, who is forced to reexamine his life in the wake of various hardships among his family.

Many of the themes encountered by Chris’ family are common in urban American life. For example, Chris’ mother, played by New York actor Karen Chilton, is underemployed at her cleaning job and has fallen behind on paying bills, leading to threatening calls from debt collectors.

His older brother Shawn, played by Donte Bonner, is struggling in a law-abiding lifestyle that includes a low-paying handy man job. Chris is also conflicted about how to protect his 12 year-old brother, Ronnie, played by Darrell Vanterpool, who is veering toward a life of crime as well.

“This story is very authentic,” says Cordero, who co-wrote the film with independent film veteran Aaron Schnore. “It’s a story that’s relatable for a lot of people. When dealing with the story line, we kept it basic in the family structure, the role of the siblings, mother and the son. That dynamic is pretty universal.”

Chris’ story is also a personal one for Cordero. The “Inside A Change” lead character is based on a Queens childhood friend, who committed suicide in 2004 at age 19. “The character of Chris is a great role of any actor,” he says. “

He exhibits every kind of emotion that an actor likes to prepare for in a role.”

Cordero casted Benton in his first leading role following a series of strong performances by the actor in film and on television.

“He’s [Cordero] a professional and his vision is special,” Benton says of his director. “And if people just believe in his vision, it takes you to another place. It brings you down and makes you feel like a human being.”

Cordero, who is Filipino, garnered praise from critics and audiences for his ability to authentically tell the story of an African-American family struggling in America. “I really was trying to do a good story,” he says, noting that he focused less on making a good African American film, but a good film of any genre. “I’m interested in stories from every background.”

Cordero says he brought great perspective from his upbringing in Queens’ diverse neighborhoods, which enabled him to be subjective with the characters to draw out certain emotions.

Other directors who have transitioned to film, such as Hype Williams and Benny Boom, brought to movies many of the highly stylized visual design elements seen in music videos. In “Inside A Change,”Cordero takes a more traditional approach to cinematography, relying more on close up shots that capture the actors’ emotions. “I wanted every scene and frame static and wasn’t really interested in crazy camera moves,” he says.

However, in one scene Cordero does incorporate some of the video techniques that has made him one of the most sought-after directors in music. In the scene, Darius, played by rapper Consequence, releases a couple rap lyric bars to Chris before he departs for prison. Cordero’s camera squeezes in on Consequence in the recording booth as Chris watches in amazement. “I thought that was very appropriate,” Cordero says of his approach to the scene. “I wanted to be very straight forward with the hip hop in the scene.”

The early success of “Inside A Change” is propelling Cordero to continue on his filmmaking journey. Cordero says he wants to explore films of many genres, including a horror film he is currently developing.

He envisions his Three21 Films production company to operate in film and the commercial space akin to idol Spike Lee’s 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks Company. “That’s a great model for what we do,” Cordero says. “I want to be able to produce high quality commercial and film projects.”

Cordero says he’s isn’t retiring music videos either. And Three21 Films is also planning to screen “Inside A Change” to college students across the U.S, including at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.