I've been so busy that I haven't been able to post about anything, much less the fact that I was making a new short film! Those posts will be coming before I head back out to L.A. this weekend for the Viscera Film Festival where my short film aftershock will be playing alongside some of the best female directors in the genre!
AHHH!
So here's the teaser, I hope y'all enjoy!!
Showing posts with label upcoming projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label upcoming projects. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
An announcement!
Well, y'all...three posts in two days. Ain't that a kick in the pants? But a good one as I have come bearing a Very Cool Announcement.
Elisabeth and Brenda Fies, the lovely sisters behind the extraordinary BleedFest that I may have mentioned a time or two, have an anthology film called I Hate LA that will be premiering during April's BleedFest and they've put up the official site for the collection at www.ihatelamovie.com. In that anthology are some of the most exciting films from women in horror and with the website comes information about I Hate LA, Too. If you've already gone to the website and clicked on I Hate LA, Too, you're skipping ahead in my carefully woven tale and you've spoiled the surprise.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'll be involved in I Hate LA, Too!
With it comes the addition of another short film to make this year so I should update yesterday's post, but I won't as I'm mentioning it here. I'm so excited!!
Elisabeth and Brenda Fies, the lovely sisters behind the extraordinary BleedFest that I may have mentioned a time or two, have an anthology film called I Hate LA that will be premiering during April's BleedFest and they've put up the official site for the collection at www.ihatelamovie.com. In that anthology are some of the most exciting films from women in horror and with the website comes information about I Hate LA, Too. If you've already gone to the website and clicked on I Hate LA, Too, you're skipping ahead in my carefully woven tale and you've spoiled the surprise.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'll be involved in I Hate LA, Too!
With it comes the addition of another short film to make this year so I should update yesterday's post, but I won't as I'm mentioning it here. I'm so excited!!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
"Don't care if it's not the way you find the truth..."
Okay, so it’s been about a year since the Big Chain Theatre’s fateful decision to reject my application for Projection Manager and since the Sarasota Film Festival rejected A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem: Anathema. Around this point last year, I had refocused my energies toward my true career and I’d gotten a paying job working for the Sarasota Fringe Film Festival as an editor on not one but three documentaries. I say “paying” instead of “paid” because, well...they’re still working on paying me what I’m owed and since it’s been a year, I feel that I can mention it.
Anyway, in that year of refocusing, I’ve been to New York City, Alexandria, VA, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, LA, Los Angeles, CA, and Orlando, FL, with one or more of my films. Some of these festivals have been so kind as to nominate my work for awards and even give me two of them. It’s been fantastic, I’m not complaining at all, though the next sentence may seem to contradict that. The only problem for me with this past year is that I didn’t get to make any more films than the music video I did for World Collision. I was busy getting Kimyoo Films out there which is vital, but between traveling and doing the job of four people at the theatre, I couldn’t film anything. (yeah, yeah...I know.../whitewhine.)
Four isn’t an arbitrary number, by the way. While I was away on vacation and in New York for NewFilmmakers, I discovered later through emails that were fired back and forth that four people couldn’t pick up my slack. Technically, one of them shouldn’t have had to pitch in at all, but still...FOUR PEOPLE.
The relative dry spell in filming ended late last month when I shot a very short film which fits into my beloved A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem universe called “and be at rest.” It’s vague enough that it can stand on its own, but it is obviously a part of the universe as Chris Cline was kind enough to don the dog collar once more. After it has its premiere, I’ll be posting it on OpenFilm.com and of course, I’ll link to it here. I may already have a premiere lined up, but I always get too excited and ahead of myself and I want to wait for confirmation before I say anything for sure.
The main thing about doing this short was to help me get familiar with some new stuff I bought before I leap in to not one or two, but four more short films this year (I count music videos as shorts.) Chris Cline and I are teaming up to bring one of his scripts to life with him behind the camera. Chris is one of the best writers I know and he knows more about the genre than I do! Once his film is complete, I’m stepping back behind the camera for one of my shorts. After that, I have possibly two music videos for World Collision! There are two more projects on the horizon, but it’s too early to talk about those just yet. They’re moving forward, though, and that’s good!
Also on the horizon is a feature which will obviously be my first. I don’t want to say much more than that, but it’s very exciting!
I’m not your typical filmmaker. I didn't pick up my first camera until I was in middle school and didn't own my own equipment until a couple of years ago. I had four years of Booker High School of the Visual and Performing Arts and one semester of film classes at Manatee Community College (which has since turned into the State College of Florida.) I've always wanted to do this, though. And be an astronaut, but that's beside the point. I learn by doing. I’ll still be learning while I make movies sixty years down the line (I don’t plan on retiring, obviously.) There’s really no right or wrong way so long as you’re learning and putting out what’s in your heart.
Anyway, in that year of refocusing, I’ve been to New York City, Alexandria, VA, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, LA, Los Angeles, CA, and Orlando, FL, with one or more of my films. Some of these festivals have been so kind as to nominate my work for awards and even give me two of them. It’s been fantastic, I’m not complaining at all, though the next sentence may seem to contradict that. The only problem for me with this past year is that I didn’t get to make any more films than the music video I did for World Collision. I was busy getting Kimyoo Films out there which is vital, but between traveling and doing the job of four people at the theatre, I couldn’t film anything. (yeah, yeah...I know.../whitewhine.)
Four isn’t an arbitrary number, by the way. While I was away on vacation and in New York for NewFilmmakers, I discovered later through emails that were fired back and forth that four people couldn’t pick up my slack. Technically, one of them shouldn’t have had to pitch in at all, but still...FOUR PEOPLE.
The relative dry spell in filming ended late last month when I shot a very short film which fits into my beloved A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem universe called “and be at rest.” It’s vague enough that it can stand on its own, but it is obviously a part of the universe as Chris Cline was kind enough to don the dog collar once more. After it has its premiere, I’ll be posting it on OpenFilm.com and of course, I’ll link to it here. I may already have a premiere lined up, but I always get too excited and ahead of myself and I want to wait for confirmation before I say anything for sure.
The main thing about doing this short was to help me get familiar with some new stuff I bought before I leap in to not one or two, but four more short films this year (I count music videos as shorts.) Chris Cline and I are teaming up to bring one of his scripts to life with him behind the camera. Chris is one of the best writers I know and he knows more about the genre than I do! Once his film is complete, I’m stepping back behind the camera for one of my shorts. After that, I have possibly two music videos for World Collision! There are two more projects on the horizon, but it’s too early to talk about those just yet. They’re moving forward, though, and that’s good!
Also on the horizon is a feature which will obviously be my first. I don’t want to say much more than that, but it’s very exciting!
I’m not your typical filmmaker. I didn't pick up my first camera until I was in middle school and didn't own my own equipment until a couple of years ago. I had four years of Booker High School of the Visual and Performing Arts and one semester of film classes at Manatee Community College (which has since turned into the State College of Florida.) I've always wanted to do this, though. And be an astronaut, but that's beside the point. I learn by doing. I’ll still be learning while I make movies sixty years down the line (I don’t plan on retiring, obviously.) There’s really no right or wrong way so long as you’re learning and putting out what’s in your heart.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Hallowscreen: Seven Days Later.
I've written up a quick round up of the Hallowscreen Film Festival over on the festival blog: http://hallowscreen.blogspot.com/2010/11/seven-days-later.html
I had an emotional shock on Tuesday when I was already mentally and physically exhausted from the festival so for my own health, I took the past two days off. Today is errand day and we'll see what the weekend holds, but my project plans are as follows: I have a 30 second commercial to make for a local business in exchange for them letting us into their parking lot early to set up for Nosferatu, I am doing pre-production on a music video for World Collision, and I want to make another short film. In between all of that, I want to write, write, write. I haven't written for most of this year and that makes my head go all splodey... :D
I had an emotional shock on Tuesday when I was already mentally and physically exhausted from the festival so for my own health, I took the past two days off. Today is errand day and we'll see what the weekend holds, but my project plans are as follows: I have a 30 second commercial to make for a local business in exchange for them letting us into their parking lot early to set up for Nosferatu, I am doing pre-production on a music video for World Collision, and I want to make another short film. In between all of that, I want to write, write, write. I haven't written for most of this year and that makes my head go all splodey... :D
Sunday, July 11, 2010
I'm back!
Whew! I've been away for a couple of weeks. Part of it was vacation fun times in Orlando with some of my best friends and part of it was working fun times as my brother and I went to New York City to attend the screening of the music video at New Filmmakers at the Anthology Film Archives!
There are TONNES of photos in these slideshows...and I'm not sure why most of the daylight New York pics are out of focus...kind of annoying, actually. Guess I'll just have to go back. Oh darn. ;D
Orlando:
The Harry Potter area of Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure opened up maybe a month ago and that happened to co-incide with my sister-from-another-mister's vacation here in FL (which also co-incided with New Filmmakers in New York) so I arranged for some time off and ran away to Orlando with her, her sisters, and some of her friends for happy fun times! Harry Potter is insane, J.K. Rowling really pushed the reality of the area as the most important thing even at the expense of common sense (as in the main souvenir shop which is WAY too small), but the details are incredible and the area as a whole is well worth the oppressive press of humanity in the hothotheat of a typical Florida day.
The main food attraction is the butterbeer. Yes, they have pumpkin juice, but I couldn't even drink a whole bottle of that stuff. The butterbeer, however, is utterly amazing, refreshing, and delicious. It's like butterscotch cream soda. Thankfully, it's not distributed outside of the park, or even outside of that area of the park. That would diminish the specialness of the drink, I think, to be able to go to Walgreens or 7-11 and buy it.
The main attraction for the park, however, outside of the loads of Potter merchandise, is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a Haunted Mansion-type ride that's anything but Haunted Mansion. I don't want to give the whole thing away because you really need to go and experience it, but suffice it to say that it's utterly amazing and is absolutely worth the hour and a half wait for it. It's housed in the forced perspective wonderland that is Hogwarts castle. Seriously. It's pretty amazing.
We did ride other rides there, like The Simpsons, the Mummy, and Rip Ride Rockit, but Potter's where it's at right now, especially with the disrepair that some of the once-pristine rides have fallen into, like Spider-Man.
Even if you're not a Potter fan, I think you'll enjoy the Potter area at Universal: Orlando.
New York:
A couple of days after I got home from Orlando, it was time for me to take off for New York. My sister-from-another-mister asked me to use FourSquare so she could stalk me from Florida so those of you who are on my Twitter, I apologize for the inundation of notifications of where I was, but once I started, it was kind of addictive... I'll only use it for vacations, special occasions, and film festival trips, though...y'all don't need to know my work schedule or my address!
The first thing my brother and I did in New York was get to our hotel which was in Chinatown, between Bowery and Mott on Grand, then we had the most delicious pizza at Lombardi's (the first pizza place in the US) and then we went to Times Square to see Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuworth as Gomez and Morticia Addams in the new Addams Family musical. I've been a big fan of the Addams Family for as long as I can remember and while I was excited to see this, I was dubious because it could've been terribly bad. It wasn't. It was WONDERFUL! It reminded me of why I adore the Addams family. While there is no other Gomez for me than Raul Julia (sorry, John Astin, but Raul was amazing), Nathan Lane did a fantastic job! To me, Bebe Neuworth isn't Morticia, but she was good in the role. I really don't know who I would've cast. Everyone else was brilliant and the show is so funny and the songs are great, but they're pretty show specific so I can't say you should run out and get the soundtrack if you haven't seen the show.
The screening was fantastic. There was a good, receptive crowd and a lot of people took some of Shawn's CDs and a couple of my compilation DVDs. Most of the filmmakers left after their films showed or weren't there. I can understand not showing up, but I don't really understand not watching the other films you're screened with. That's one of my favourite parts about going to these festivals: checking out what else is playing. I did get to meet the director and one of the stars of Modern Love is Automatic, a feature film out of D.C. that was produced by the juror of the Female Shorts film festival in VA where Anathema had just played. They were super-sweet, even though we were the only ones who stuck around to watch it, and the film was great. The actresses in particular were spectacular!
My brother and I walked around New York City...quite literally. The day of our screening, we walked from Chinatown to Times Square (took about and hour and a half or so) and went to the Empire State Building (the best photo keepsake picture EVER!) and Madam Tussaud's and just all over the place!
I moved to New York after I graduated high school in '97 to go to the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. While various events conspired against this and I had to come back to Sarasota, I've always loved the City. It's dirty and stinky and dangerous, but vibrant and real. The mentality there is if you don't keep moving forward, you might as well have stayed home. Seems like a pretty good analogy for life if you ask me. And jaywalking isn't just against the law, it's a way of life.
Now, I'm returned to a pile of work, both at the theatre and for the Circus documentary I was working on and the Sarasota Fringe Film Festival's Halloween Mini-Fest for which I'm the program director, not to mention my own films. Speaking of which...I have to make the arrangements to go to D.C. at the end of August for the World Music and Independent Film Festival where "Essenger" has been nominated for Best Alternative Rock video and Best Cinematography!
Also, voting is still open for the People's Choice Award, where we're in 4th place! C'mon y'all! If you haven't voted yet, you can do so by clicking on THESE WORDS, finding our video (World Collision's "Essenger"), clicking ADD then scrolling to the bottom and clicking on vote!
There are TONNES of photos in these slideshows...and I'm not sure why most of the daylight New York pics are out of focus...kind of annoying, actually. Guess I'll just have to go back. Oh darn. ;D
Orlando:
The Harry Potter area of Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure opened up maybe a month ago and that happened to co-incide with my sister-from-another-mister's vacation here in FL (which also co-incided with New Filmmakers in New York) so I arranged for some time off and ran away to Orlando with her, her sisters, and some of her friends for happy fun times! Harry Potter is insane, J.K. Rowling really pushed the reality of the area as the most important thing even at the expense of common sense (as in the main souvenir shop which is WAY too small), but the details are incredible and the area as a whole is well worth the oppressive press of humanity in the hothotheat of a typical Florida day.
The main food attraction is the butterbeer. Yes, they have pumpkin juice, but I couldn't even drink a whole bottle of that stuff. The butterbeer, however, is utterly amazing, refreshing, and delicious. It's like butterscotch cream soda. Thankfully, it's not distributed outside of the park, or even outside of that area of the park. That would diminish the specialness of the drink, I think, to be able to go to Walgreens or 7-11 and buy it.
The main attraction for the park, however, outside of the loads of Potter merchandise, is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a Haunted Mansion-type ride that's anything but Haunted Mansion. I don't want to give the whole thing away because you really need to go and experience it, but suffice it to say that it's utterly amazing and is absolutely worth the hour and a half wait for it. It's housed in the forced perspective wonderland that is Hogwarts castle. Seriously. It's pretty amazing.
We did ride other rides there, like The Simpsons, the Mummy, and Rip Ride Rockit, but Potter's where it's at right now, especially with the disrepair that some of the once-pristine rides have fallen into, like Spider-Man.
Even if you're not a Potter fan, I think you'll enjoy the Potter area at Universal: Orlando.
New York:
A couple of days after I got home from Orlando, it was time for me to take off for New York. My sister-from-another-mister asked me to use FourSquare so she could stalk me from Florida so those of you who are on my Twitter, I apologize for the inundation of notifications of where I was, but once I started, it was kind of addictive... I'll only use it for vacations, special occasions, and film festival trips, though...y'all don't need to know my work schedule or my address!
The first thing my brother and I did in New York was get to our hotel which was in Chinatown, between Bowery and Mott on Grand, then we had the most delicious pizza at Lombardi's (the first pizza place in the US) and then we went to Times Square to see Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuworth as Gomez and Morticia Addams in the new Addams Family musical. I've been a big fan of the Addams Family for as long as I can remember and while I was excited to see this, I was dubious because it could've been terribly bad. It wasn't. It was WONDERFUL! It reminded me of why I adore the Addams family. While there is no other Gomez for me than Raul Julia (sorry, John Astin, but Raul was amazing), Nathan Lane did a fantastic job! To me, Bebe Neuworth isn't Morticia, but she was good in the role. I really don't know who I would've cast. Everyone else was brilliant and the show is so funny and the songs are great, but they're pretty show specific so I can't say you should run out and get the soundtrack if you haven't seen the show.
The screening was fantastic. There was a good, receptive crowd and a lot of people took some of Shawn's CDs and a couple of my compilation DVDs. Most of the filmmakers left after their films showed or weren't there. I can understand not showing up, but I don't really understand not watching the other films you're screened with. That's one of my favourite parts about going to these festivals: checking out what else is playing. I did get to meet the director and one of the stars of Modern Love is Automatic, a feature film out of D.C. that was produced by the juror of the Female Shorts film festival in VA where Anathema had just played. They were super-sweet, even though we were the only ones who stuck around to watch it, and the film was great. The actresses in particular were spectacular!
My brother and I walked around New York City...quite literally. The day of our screening, we walked from Chinatown to Times Square (took about and hour and a half or so) and went to the Empire State Building (the best photo keepsake picture EVER!) and Madam Tussaud's and just all over the place!
I moved to New York after I graduated high school in '97 to go to the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. While various events conspired against this and I had to come back to Sarasota, I've always loved the City. It's dirty and stinky and dangerous, but vibrant and real. The mentality there is if you don't keep moving forward, you might as well have stayed home. Seems like a pretty good analogy for life if you ask me. And jaywalking isn't just against the law, it's a way of life.
Now, I'm returned to a pile of work, both at the theatre and for the Circus documentary I was working on and the Sarasota Fringe Film Festival's Halloween Mini-Fest for which I'm the program director, not to mention my own films. Speaking of which...I have to make the arrangements to go to D.C. at the end of August for the World Music and Independent Film Festival where "Essenger" has been nominated for Best Alternative Rock video and Best Cinematography!
Also, voting is still open for the People's Choice Award, where we're in 4th place! C'mon y'all! If you haven't voted yet, you can do so by clicking on THESE WORDS, finding our video (World Collision's "Essenger"), clicking ADD then scrolling to the bottom and clicking on vote!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
So much to tell, so little time to blog!
Hi guys!
I am a terrible blogger. I have all of this stuff going on and I've neglected my blog. I love this blog and I love all of you. I'm going to try and rectify some of that now with some of the news I have to share!
In a little less than a week, I'll be heading up to Virginia for the Female Shorts Film Festival which is being held at the Torpedo Gallery in Alexandria. A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem: Anathema is one of only 22 shorts to be shown over the four day event.
The music video I made for my brother's band, World Collision, is up for a People's Choice Award at the World Music and Independent Film Festival. If you haven't seen the video yet, it's at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWloc1uajZI and if you'd like to vote (which is really a veiled plea for you to vote, haha!), go to: http://www.wmiff.com/?q=music/vote-peoples-choice-music . This festival is in Washington, D.C. in August and I go plan on going to that one, I just haven't firmed up travel arrangements yet. I was just notified that voting will end at the end of July so get crackin'!! ;D
I'm in the middle of a reedit of my Colson Award winning documentary Circus Sarasota. I received some interviews with the co-founders of the organization, Mr. Pedro Reis and Ms. Dolly Jacobs, and I'm working on fitting them into what I've currently got and rearranging a few things, tightening it up a bit. Thankfully, it's all on my laptop so I can work on it during my "downtime" in the airports and in Virginia!
World Collision have asked me to make another music video for them! I may be the sister of the band's originator, but it's still an honour to be asked back! I have no idea when this is going to be shot, to be honest, but I've got some ideas and maybe this can be shot when I was originally hoping to shoot my next short since that one might take a bit longer in the pre-production process. Sounds like a plan to me! And, that said, yes, I'm doing at least one more short film! A talkie this time (I get asked that a lot since Anathema is a silent film...) The biggest thing I've learned from Anathema as I watch it with people in theatres is that I am not a writer suited to silent film, though I love the form.
Finally, everything at the theatre is up in the air again. Das Wunderkind that corporate brought in to replace our first booth manager decided to return to his old theatre a month after starting at ours. They offered me the job and I said no. Once they rejected me for it the first time around, I refocused and now have some really great things happening in my true profession. It's not my fault that Das Wunderkind couldn't hack it (to be fair, he lives an hour / hour and a half away...a terrible commute, but he knew that when he said yes.) That said, things are a bit chaotic at a twenty screen theatre with no booth manager. Hopefully, they'll pick one soon...I've got a lot to do!!
I am a terrible blogger. I have all of this stuff going on and I've neglected my blog. I love this blog and I love all of you. I'm going to try and rectify some of that now with some of the news I have to share!
In a little less than a week, I'll be heading up to Virginia for the Female Shorts Film Festival which is being held at the Torpedo Gallery in Alexandria. A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem: Anathema is one of only 22 shorts to be shown over the four day event.
The music video I made for my brother's band, World Collision, is up for a People's Choice Award at the World Music and Independent Film Festival. If you haven't seen the video yet, it's at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWloc1uajZI and if you'd like to vote (which is really a veiled plea for you to vote, haha!), go to: http://www.wmiff.com/?q=music/vote-peoples-choice-music . This festival is in Washington, D.C. in August and I go plan on going to that one, I just haven't firmed up travel arrangements yet. I was just notified that voting will end at the end of July so get crackin'!! ;D
I'm in the middle of a reedit of my Colson Award winning documentary Circus Sarasota. I received some interviews with the co-founders of the organization, Mr. Pedro Reis and Ms. Dolly Jacobs, and I'm working on fitting them into what I've currently got and rearranging a few things, tightening it up a bit. Thankfully, it's all on my laptop so I can work on it during my "downtime" in the airports and in Virginia!
World Collision have asked me to make another music video for them! I may be the sister of the band's originator, but it's still an honour to be asked back! I have no idea when this is going to be shot, to be honest, but I've got some ideas and maybe this can be shot when I was originally hoping to shoot my next short since that one might take a bit longer in the pre-production process. Sounds like a plan to me! And, that said, yes, I'm doing at least one more short film! A talkie this time (I get asked that a lot since Anathema is a silent film...) The biggest thing I've learned from Anathema as I watch it with people in theatres is that I am not a writer suited to silent film, though I love the form.
Finally, everything at the theatre is up in the air again. Das Wunderkind that corporate brought in to replace our first booth manager decided to return to his old theatre a month after starting at ours. They offered me the job and I said no. Once they rejected me for it the first time around, I refocused and now have some really great things happening in my true profession. It's not my fault that Das Wunderkind couldn't hack it (to be fair, he lives an hour / hour and a half away...a terrible commute, but he knew that when he said yes.) That said, things are a bit chaotic at a twenty screen theatre with no booth manager. Hopefully, they'll pick one soon...I've got a lot to do!!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
New review at the Metropol, new review here (Imaginarium!), and an update!
They've posted a new review over at the Vampire Film Festival website, this one for Ganja and Hess. I reviewed Daybreakers for them, but I suppose they're going in order of when the review was written.
~~~~~
I was given the green light on the music video for my brother's band, World Collision, and I have a script all ready for a new short film so as far as production goes, it's going well! I hope to get principal photography done this month on the music video and then start the short in a couple of months! I love this stuff!!
~~~~~
I got to see Terry Gilliam's new film the other night, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, which stars Chrisopher Plummer as our eponymous hero, a 1,000-year old man who manipulates the imagination to try and make the world a better place. He's locked in constant battle with the Devil, played by Tom Waits, and is about to lose his daughter to him when a mysterious, amnesiac stranger (played in the real world by the late Heath Ledger and in the Imaginarium by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell) shows up on the eve of her birthday and changes the balance of the game between Parnassus and the Devil.
This is seriously one of the best films I've seen in a loooooooong time and is absolutely one of Terry Gilliam's best films. In fact, I believe this has replaced Brazil as my favourite Gilliam film. I wanted to cry, the movie was so good, so beautiful. There is so much heart, humanity, and - yes - imagination in this film.
A lesser filmmaker probably would've had to abandon the project with so much left to shoot in the studio when Ledger passed, but with a story like this, and a mind like Gilliam's, the production recovered with only minor hiccups in the flow of the narrative. To be honest, if you didn't know Ledger had died during filming, you wouldn't give it much of a second thought.
The design is a HUGE part of this film, but it's not overwhelming. It's like looking through a window into Gilliam's brain and seeing loads of Monty Python-esque animated links brought to life. That might put some of you off (mom), but don't let it. This is a film that needs to be seen.
Unlike other films that have come out recently, the effects are not more important than the story being told and the characters within. Everything is of equal importance from the wonderful actors to the colours, to the score and design, to Gilliam's masterful direction.
Beautiful.
~~~~~
I was given the green light on the music video for my brother's band, World Collision, and I have a script all ready for a new short film so as far as production goes, it's going well! I hope to get principal photography done this month on the music video and then start the short in a couple of months! I love this stuff!!
~~~~~
I got to see Terry Gilliam's new film the other night, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, which stars Chrisopher Plummer as our eponymous hero, a 1,000-year old man who manipulates the imagination to try and make the world a better place. He's locked in constant battle with the Devil, played by Tom Waits, and is about to lose his daughter to him when a mysterious, amnesiac stranger (played in the real world by the late Heath Ledger and in the Imaginarium by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell) shows up on the eve of her birthday and changes the balance of the game between Parnassus and the Devil.
This is seriously one of the best films I've seen in a loooooooong time and is absolutely one of Terry Gilliam's best films. In fact, I believe this has replaced Brazil as my favourite Gilliam film. I wanted to cry, the movie was so good, so beautiful. There is so much heart, humanity, and - yes - imagination in this film.
A lesser filmmaker probably would've had to abandon the project with so much left to shoot in the studio when Ledger passed, but with a story like this, and a mind like Gilliam's, the production recovered with only minor hiccups in the flow of the narrative. To be honest, if you didn't know Ledger had died during filming, you wouldn't give it much of a second thought.
The design is a HUGE part of this film, but it's not overwhelming. It's like looking through a window into Gilliam's brain and seeing loads of Monty Python-esque animated links brought to life. That might put some of you off (mom), but don't let it. This is a film that needs to be seen.
Unlike other films that have come out recently, the effects are not more important than the story being told and the characters within. Everything is of equal importance from the wonderful actors to the colours, to the score and design, to Gilliam's masterful direction.
Beautiful.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Interesting new gig as a reviewer of vampire films!
I've been waiting for word that the first review was posted before I mentioned this, just in case anything fell through. I was approached about a month ago by Asif, the director of the Vampire Film Festival, to write reviews of vampire films for their re-vamped (hur hur) website (I think the redesign will be upcoming because it looks the same to me right now.) I agreed so long as I could watch older vampire films and if I didn't have to watch Twilight (this was really important) and he didn't seem to have a problem with it so here we are! The first review was posted today!
http://www.vampirefilmfestival.com/The_Hunger_-_Metropol_-_Lori_Bowen.html
I call it the Metropol Viewing Room (Fangs for the Memories, my first name for the review series, felt a little too punny and cheesy even for me.) It's actually a reference to Lamberto Bava's Demoni. Not a vampire flick, but there you go.
That's the main reason I've been so silent. Between working, writing for the future and writing for this, and trying to let my brain rest occasionally, I've been otherwise occupied. However, I've just finished writing a new script and am about to embark on pre-production for a music video for my brother so I'm sure that I'll have more to blabber about very soon. You poor, poor people. ;D
http://www.vampirefilmfestival.com/The_Hunger_-_Metropol_-_Lori_Bowen.html
I call it the Metropol Viewing Room (Fangs for the Memories, my first name for the review series, felt a little too punny and cheesy even for me.) It's actually a reference to Lamberto Bava's Demoni. Not a vampire flick, but there you go.
That's the main reason I've been so silent. Between working, writing for the future and writing for this, and trying to let my brain rest occasionally, I've been otherwise occupied. However, I've just finished writing a new script and am about to embark on pre-production for a music video for my brother so I'm sure that I'll have more to blabber about very soon. You poor, poor people. ;D
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem: Anathema teaser!
I just did a quick teaser for the film.
And the poster art as well, because I'm a benevolent and loving Gan:
And the poster art as well, because I'm a benevolent and loving Gan:
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
"I must not fear. Fear is the Mind-Killer..."
Well, as I wait for the export to finish for the second video test of my film, I thought I'd finish the production round-up. When I opened up my mail programme to start the post, I received a note from Schmap: Denver that a photo I took in the Denver Airport on the way to Shockerfest is on the shortlist for inclusion in their travel guide. (Click here to see the photo they want to use.) Neat! Okay...where was I?
SUNDAY, 28 DECEMBER, 2008 -- the Holy Crap day:
We had a lot to do this day to make up for Saturday so we were hustling. Luckily, I have some really kick ass actors on my docket and not only did we get everything done that I had on my list, we even got a few things done that weren't scheduled until the following Sunday.
Howzabout THEM apples!
It was yet another early day. I'm a night owl so writing something that took place mainly in the day was really stupid of me, but only in that personal mumbled-grumble sort of way. We saved by not needing a lot of electricity, except for our one night shoot (which went splendedly though I discovered, as I edited the footage, that more light would have been better. The footage still looks great, it just doesn't quite have the kick of the rest of the stuff.)
We reshot the stuff we filmed of Rick on the first day since I wouldn't have his tailor-made costume which then lead to the hours upon hours of rotoscoping work, but I've finished that and it all looks beautiful considering my unskilled hand at this digital effects gig. We also had the first shoot out at the railroad tracks (such a beautiful location), our Payne Park shoot, and the stuff in the house back at Marguerite's wonderful and versatile property where we met Tom Noel Smith, who was playing Abner. I got the same reaction from him that Eon gave me when she realized that the film was silent. That really seems to trip people up that I would want to make a silent film! To be honest, I can't imagine trying to make this a talkie with my miniscule budget. When I have backing then it'll have sound. He was just about word perfect in his performance, too, but I think he got into the spirit of the project. It's not often actors these days get to use their entire body to tell a story or show an emotion and I wanted to experiment a little.
Anyway, we finished three hours ahead of schedule -- you read that right THREE HOURS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, even with all that we had to do that day -- so I got to go home and relax a little before having to go to bed.
We had one more week off before the final day of the shoot, SUNDAY, 4 JANUARY, 2009. This was the greenscreen and fight scene day with the majority of the day's work shot on Marguerite's property with one teeny tiny shot left to do on the railroad tracks, something I forgot the previous Sunday. I wasn't concerned. If we didn't get it that day, the only people needed for the shot were Chris and myself and we're both local.
Shawn set up the greenscreen frame and I started filming David's parts from the reschedule. Poor Michael was stuck in Orlando and couldn't make it until after David had to be at rehearsals so I went ahead and shot them separately deciding to fix it in post (if I never hear that phrase again, it'll be too soon...I just know I'll end up using it again sooner or later, however...) and then I took photographs of my assembled cast. Alana couldn't make it that day either, but I figured, "Well, if I shoot a little dark it won't matter and since Chris and Rick will be fighting and getting sweaty, there's no way to keep up on that so I'll just shoot anyway."
Worked out for the best since I didn't have to worry about their make-up and we could just plow through the sword fight. Yep, you read that right. Sword fight. I shot it with them going 1/3 speed and then fixed it in post. I think it looks great! I'm EXTREMELY happy with how the fight turned out as choreographed by Rick. And there were no flesh wounds!
Once we were done with the fight scene, we packed up and headed out for the final martini shot, the one by the railroad tracks where I kept thinking of the movie Stand By Me as Chris and I went to get the shot. It took a minute, was one take, no covering angles, and then we were done! Woohoo!
Now, it's time for post...
POST-PRODUCTION
Me, being smart, actually started editing during the first break in the shoot. That's why the rough cut was done pretty quickly. I knew that the special effects were going to be hell for me and I wanted to be done in time for the final deadline of the Sarasota Film Festival, but I don't think I'll make it. It's the 21st now and while I'm done with all of the special effects (I'm still deciding if I want to add sparks to the swordfight), I still have to tighten the cut, adjust timing on the title cards, and edit together the music. Now that the special effects are done, I can focus on communicating with my brother what I'd like to hear for the soundtrack. We're already off to a good start, though, so that's something. Assuming the festival doesn't implode this year, I can always enter it next year! This time, however, I can add that my first short film, which was rejected by my hometown, won an award in California...haha!
The special effects, which are way beyond my ken, took so bloody long because I ended up having to move every control point by hand for each frame. I'm calling this rotoscoping even though that might not be technically accurate, but I don't know what else to call it. There tended to be between 60 and 100 control points and between 40 and 228 frames. It took hours for what amounted to two seconds of screen time. (I shot at 24 frames per second, video is usually 30 frames a second.) I think it looks really pretty, though, so I can't complain too much. ;)
I think that tomorrow or the next day I'll start cutting the teaser and then we'll go from there. I'll post it when I'm done.
Thank y'all for your well-wishes! They have not gone unheard or without my gratitude!
SUNDAY, 28 DECEMBER, 2008 -- the Holy Crap day:
We had a lot to do this day to make up for Saturday so we were hustling. Luckily, I have some really kick ass actors on my docket and not only did we get everything done that I had on my list, we even got a few things done that weren't scheduled until the following Sunday.
Howzabout THEM apples!
It was yet another early day. I'm a night owl so writing something that took place mainly in the day was really stupid of me, but only in that personal mumbled-grumble sort of way. We saved by not needing a lot of electricity, except for our one night shoot (which went splendedly though I discovered, as I edited the footage, that more light would have been better. The footage still looks great, it just doesn't quite have the kick of the rest of the stuff.)
We reshot the stuff we filmed of Rick on the first day since I wouldn't have his tailor-made costume which then lead to the hours upon hours of rotoscoping work, but I've finished that and it all looks beautiful considering my unskilled hand at this digital effects gig. We also had the first shoot out at the railroad tracks (such a beautiful location), our Payne Park shoot, and the stuff in the house back at Marguerite's wonderful and versatile property where we met Tom Noel Smith, who was playing Abner. I got the same reaction from him that Eon gave me when she realized that the film was silent. That really seems to trip people up that I would want to make a silent film! To be honest, I can't imagine trying to make this a talkie with my miniscule budget. When I have backing then it'll have sound. He was just about word perfect in his performance, too, but I think he got into the spirit of the project. It's not often actors these days get to use their entire body to tell a story or show an emotion and I wanted to experiment a little.
Anyway, we finished three hours ahead of schedule -- you read that right THREE HOURS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, even with all that we had to do that day -- so I got to go home and relax a little before having to go to bed.
We had one more week off before the final day of the shoot, SUNDAY, 4 JANUARY, 2009. This was the greenscreen and fight scene day with the majority of the day's work shot on Marguerite's property with one teeny tiny shot left to do on the railroad tracks, something I forgot the previous Sunday. I wasn't concerned. If we didn't get it that day, the only people needed for the shot were Chris and myself and we're both local.
Shawn set up the greenscreen frame and I started filming David's parts from the reschedule. Poor Michael was stuck in Orlando and couldn't make it until after David had to be at rehearsals so I went ahead and shot them separately deciding to fix it in post (if I never hear that phrase again, it'll be too soon...I just know I'll end up using it again sooner or later, however...) and then I took photographs of my assembled cast. Alana couldn't make it that day either, but I figured, "Well, if I shoot a little dark it won't matter and since Chris and Rick will be fighting and getting sweaty, there's no way to keep up on that so I'll just shoot anyway."
Worked out for the best since I didn't have to worry about their make-up and we could just plow through the sword fight. Yep, you read that right. Sword fight. I shot it with them going 1/3 speed and then fixed it in post. I think it looks great! I'm EXTREMELY happy with how the fight turned out as choreographed by Rick. And there were no flesh wounds!
Once we were done with the fight scene, we packed up and headed out for the final martini shot, the one by the railroad tracks where I kept thinking of the movie Stand By Me as Chris and I went to get the shot. It took a minute, was one take, no covering angles, and then we were done! Woohoo!
Now, it's time for post...
POST-PRODUCTION
Me, being smart, actually started editing during the first break in the shoot. That's why the rough cut was done pretty quickly. I knew that the special effects were going to be hell for me and I wanted to be done in time for the final deadline of the Sarasota Film Festival, but I don't think I'll make it. It's the 21st now and while I'm done with all of the special effects (I'm still deciding if I want to add sparks to the swordfight), I still have to tighten the cut, adjust timing on the title cards, and edit together the music. Now that the special effects are done, I can focus on communicating with my brother what I'd like to hear for the soundtrack. We're already off to a good start, though, so that's something. Assuming the festival doesn't implode this year, I can always enter it next year! This time, however, I can add that my first short film, which was rejected by my hometown, won an award in California...haha!
The special effects, which are way beyond my ken, took so bloody long because I ended up having to move every control point by hand for each frame. I'm calling this rotoscoping even though that might not be technically accurate, but I don't know what else to call it. There tended to be between 60 and 100 control points and between 40 and 228 frames. It took hours for what amounted to two seconds of screen time. (I shot at 24 frames per second, video is usually 30 frames a second.) I think it looks really pretty, though, so I can't complain too much. ;)
I think that tomorrow or the next day I'll start cutting the teaser and then we'll go from there. I'll post it when I'm done.
Thank y'all for your well-wishes! They have not gone unheard or without my gratitude!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
"Have Gun Will Travel reads the card of a man / A knight without armour in a savage land..."
Well, I've decided that after losing five hours of tedious, backbreaking rotoscoping work on a shot that I would start all over, get a couple of frames done, then take a break and finally write about filming my new flick. :D
I whistled the tune to the above theme song lyric as Chris Cline and I trudged down a bit of disused train tracks by Payne Park for the final martini shot for "A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem: Anathema." If one didn't notice the palm fronds, one would absolutely think they were on their way to see a dead body with three of their closest friends outside of Castle Rock, Maine... It was a simple shot and was to be done in one take, but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.
Our first day's shooting was on SUNDAY, 21 DECEMBER, 2008 -- the garage and the alley. it was also the first time I was meeting three of my actors: Eon Song (who played Laurel), David Walker (who played Tango), and Michael P. Miller (who was Milton). I found them / they found me through an advert I posted on the Sarasota Craigslist which was then reposted to various talent agencies and actor's sites in Florida. Eon drove down from Tallahassee and Michael came from Orlando. David is a local. Also joining us was Rick Sharpe (as Batraal), but his stuff this day was filmed in a green hoodie as I was going to do some funky special effects and had to try and make it match a costume that was coming for him later in the week.
Shawn McBee and I met everyone outside the theatre and immediately went to our first location, a nearby alley, for the first shots of the day. There's a certain sense of freedom in knowing you don't have to worry about sound: it's a silent fantasy movie (no dragons, none of that stuff, but I don't know of any other genre it really fits in) and though I shot it in colour, the final output will be in black and white.
Those are just screen caps taken as I was editing, not truly indicative of the final product. :D
Our wonderful and patient hairdresser and make-up person, Miss Alana Goldman (who was recommended to me by Kick Ass Hair for Kick Ass People's Summer Daniels), came out and hooked us up with some fantastic make-up. Make-up for black and white output is hard, but she was fantastic.
The first day went extremely well and we were done well ahead of schedule, which was nice. We couldn't exactly use it to our advantage as the other actors weren't available, but it was nice to feel that sense of accomplishment. After the shoot, we all ate lunch at Applebee's (close and open on a Sunday afternoon) and then Rick and Eon came back to my house to check out some of the footage and talk about their characters. I had a sore throat by the end of the day; I'm not a particularly social person, I don't talk very much, so I'd spoken more that day (and really every day of the shoot) than I have since middle school.
MONDAY, 22 DECEMBER, 2008 -- at the Cock and Bull:
Frank, Dawn, and Howie of the Cock and Bull need a special thank you here as they allowed us to come in before they opened to shoot our scene. Thank you, guys!!
We only had one scene to film this day and a very limited amount of time on the location in which to film it so the night before I made absolutely sure I had all the notes and shot lists and storyboards I could have before walking on set and got to filming as soon as I possibly could. This was Chris Cline's first day on set, he's playing the Priest and he's bloody perfect for the role.
Again, we were extremely fortunate and got everything in the can with about an hour to spare! Then we went to Sugar and Spice for dinner - a good local Amish restaurant. I hope we didn't frighten the customers and staff too much, this ragtag group of guerilla filmmakers. :D
SATURDAY, 27 DECEMBER, 2008 -- on the private property of Dr. Marguerite Barnett:
This day started off badly with the seamstress being unable to make the costume in time and Michael had car troubles and wouldn't be able to get into town until after David needed to head to rehearsals. I postponed their scenes until the following Sunday and shot the parts of scene 19 that we could get, which were parts with Chris and Eon. The fake blood wasn't co-operating and I hadn't considered how to mount the half-knife to Chris' chest -- Shawn rigged something up that I'm happy with, but I would've have been just as happy with my other idea, too.
On the whole, while we got a lot of stuff in the can that I'm happy with, I was not so happy with the day on the whole. It wasn't the actors or anything, it just wasn't a good day. I was pretty depressed when we went to dinner, but I started cheering up immensely and was absolutely positive that the next day's shoot would be spectacular even though we had a LOT of work ahead of us.
~~~~~
I need to stop here so I can get ready to go to work. The final two days and post-production will follow in the next couple of days. :D
I whistled the tune to the above theme song lyric as Chris Cline and I trudged down a bit of disused train tracks by Payne Park for the final martini shot for "A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem: Anathema." If one didn't notice the palm fronds, one would absolutely think they were on their way to see a dead body with three of their closest friends outside of Castle Rock, Maine... It was a simple shot and was to be done in one take, but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.
Our first day's shooting was on SUNDAY, 21 DECEMBER, 2008 -- the garage and the alley. it was also the first time I was meeting three of my actors: Eon Song (who played Laurel), David Walker (who played Tango), and Michael P. Miller (who was Milton). I found them / they found me through an advert I posted on the Sarasota Craigslist which was then reposted to various talent agencies and actor's sites in Florida. Eon drove down from Tallahassee and Michael came from Orlando. David is a local. Also joining us was Rick Sharpe (as Batraal), but his stuff this day was filmed in a green hoodie as I was going to do some funky special effects and had to try and make it match a costume that was coming for him later in the week.
Shawn McBee and I met everyone outside the theatre and immediately went to our first location, a nearby alley, for the first shots of the day. There's a certain sense of freedom in knowing you don't have to worry about sound: it's a silent fantasy movie (no dragons, none of that stuff, but I don't know of any other genre it really fits in) and though I shot it in colour, the final output will be in black and white.
Those are just screen caps taken as I was editing, not truly indicative of the final product. :D
Our wonderful and patient hairdresser and make-up person, Miss Alana Goldman (who was recommended to me by Kick Ass Hair for Kick Ass People's Summer Daniels), came out and hooked us up with some fantastic make-up. Make-up for black and white output is hard, but she was fantastic.
The first day went extremely well and we were done well ahead of schedule, which was nice. We couldn't exactly use it to our advantage as the other actors weren't available, but it was nice to feel that sense of accomplishment. After the shoot, we all ate lunch at Applebee's (close and open on a Sunday afternoon) and then Rick and Eon came back to my house to check out some of the footage and talk about their characters. I had a sore throat by the end of the day; I'm not a particularly social person, I don't talk very much, so I'd spoken more that day (and really every day of the shoot) than I have since middle school.
MONDAY, 22 DECEMBER, 2008 -- at the Cock and Bull:
Frank, Dawn, and Howie of the Cock and Bull need a special thank you here as they allowed us to come in before they opened to shoot our scene. Thank you, guys!!
We only had one scene to film this day and a very limited amount of time on the location in which to film it so the night before I made absolutely sure I had all the notes and shot lists and storyboards I could have before walking on set and got to filming as soon as I possibly could. This was Chris Cline's first day on set, he's playing the Priest and he's bloody perfect for the role.
Again, we were extremely fortunate and got everything in the can with about an hour to spare! Then we went to Sugar and Spice for dinner - a good local Amish restaurant. I hope we didn't frighten the customers and staff too much, this ragtag group of guerilla filmmakers. :D
SATURDAY, 27 DECEMBER, 2008 -- on the private property of Dr. Marguerite Barnett:
This day started off badly with the seamstress being unable to make the costume in time and Michael had car troubles and wouldn't be able to get into town until after David needed to head to rehearsals. I postponed their scenes until the following Sunday and shot the parts of scene 19 that we could get, which were parts with Chris and Eon. The fake blood wasn't co-operating and I hadn't considered how to mount the half-knife to Chris' chest -- Shawn rigged something up that I'm happy with, but I would've have been just as happy with my other idea, too.
On the whole, while we got a lot of stuff in the can that I'm happy with, I was not so happy with the day on the whole. It wasn't the actors or anything, it just wasn't a good day. I was pretty depressed when we went to dinner, but I started cheering up immensely and was absolutely positive that the next day's shoot would be spectacular even though we had a LOT of work ahead of us.
~~~~~
I need to stop here so I can get ready to go to work. The final two days and post-production will follow in the next couple of days. :D
Monday, December 29, 2008
Day Four of Five Completed!
Yesterday, we finished the fourth day of our shoot. Other than a couple of bumpy areas, it's been going like gangbusters (to quote Shawn McBee) and I thought that in advance of our last day of filming (January 4), I'd post all of the photos we've taken so far.
I was sad that we didn't have a whole lot of photos from the first shoot and resolved that on my next flick there would be as many as possible and set Shawn to the task of taking them. This time, I'm so happy! We have over a hundred photos!! With one day's shoot left, too!
After the pick-ups, I'll post about the shoot as a whole, but for now, enjoy the photos!
I was sad that we didn't have a whole lot of photos from the first shoot and resolved that on my next flick there would be as many as possible and set Shawn to the task of taking them. This time, I'm so happy! We have over a hundred photos!! With one day's shoot left, too!
After the pick-ups, I'll post about the shoot as a whole, but for now, enjoy the photos!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Photos and updates and lots of bandwidth-eating stuff....
I uploaded my proof-of-concept greenscreen build photos today and remembered that I never shared the links to the Modesto trip! Sometimes, I have a fantastic memory. Other times, not so much. I know, you've all been holding your breath for these photos!! lol
First of all, here is my latest eye test. This is about one and a half steps from what I want... My usual complaints, the blinking, the tracking...blah, blah, blah. I've had some ideas, but I've put aside the effects tests so I can focus on the homestretch of pre-production on the new flick.
Here is a slideshow of the p-o-c greenscreen build:
And here is a slideshow of my trip to Modesto!
First of all, here is my latest eye test. This is about one and a half steps from what I want... My usual complaints, the blinking, the tracking...blah, blah, blah. I've had some ideas, but I've put aside the effects tests so I can focus on the homestretch of pre-production on the new flick.
Here is a slideshow of the p-o-c greenscreen build:
And here is a slideshow of my trip to Modesto!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Cause and Effect
As the start date for my new short flick looms ever closer, I find myself torn in millions of directions whereas even a week ago, it was only a hundred or two. I'm not a fan of the Producer part of this level of filmmaking. This one is far more complicated than anything I've taken on before, even as just a camera person for my friends's flicks. I'm talking about the effects. The digital stuff. I prefer practical effects, but at my level, there's just no affording such a thing. I hope to have some practical effects on this one, but I'm not counting on them as I only know one local effects artist, but I don't have his number and one who is a friend of one of my actors is busy with a zombie flick in Tampa. As a zombie fan, I say, "ZOMBIE FILM MORE IMPORTANT!!" Thus, I'm learning how to do some stuff digitally.
If I can, I will be doing some of the practical effects myself. I'm no professional, but I gotta try. However, for everything else...I have to go digital. I have one character who is barely going to be on set except for actual interactions with other people. For him, I will be doing greenscreen work. (see my test for greenscreen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=340Dg2uiHcg) Several of my characters have special eye effects. Two of the characters aren't complicated, but two of them are massively complicated and I've been doing a series of tests involving the eyes (all of which can be found on my youTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/KimyooFilms).
I'm getting closer, though, going by a test I did today.
This is getting pretty close to something I can be happy with. Originally, I wanted something more organic and was going to try to recreate the replicant eyes in Blade Runner. I know the theory behind how, I've read snippets of what the late Jordan Cronenweth, ACE, has written about the eyes, and I've tried it several times, but so far I haven't done it. Even after I finish the film, I'll keep trying because it looks so darn cool, but I don't think I'll be able to figure it out in enough time for the shoot.
Meanwhile, I keep going over in my head how I want certain things to look. My storyboards are...lacking in that department because I use stick figures. Once I'm in post, I'll put them all up on my Flickr account so people can point and laugh (I know I giggle every time I look at them), and I'll do a special storyboard-to-scene comparison, too. I always see these amazing storyboards for movies, it'll be awesome to offer up my stick figures!
As for the practical side of things: actors, locations, my crew, I've adopted a strangely serene attitude. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. One can't force Ka, if one were as geeky as I to reference Roland of Gilead. I'll take my geekiness one step further and quote him: "There will be water if God wills it." I just have to try and apply that to my feelings about the effects.
If I can, I will be doing some of the practical effects myself. I'm no professional, but I gotta try. However, for everything else...I have to go digital. I have one character who is barely going to be on set except for actual interactions with other people. For him, I will be doing greenscreen work. (see my test for greenscreen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=340Dg2uiHcg) Several of my characters have special eye effects. Two of the characters aren't complicated, but two of them are massively complicated and I've been doing a series of tests involving the eyes (all of which can be found on my youTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/KimyooFilms).
I'm getting closer, though, going by a test I did today.
This is getting pretty close to something I can be happy with. Originally, I wanted something more organic and was going to try to recreate the replicant eyes in Blade Runner. I know the theory behind how, I've read snippets of what the late Jordan Cronenweth, ACE, has written about the eyes, and I've tried it several times, but so far I haven't done it. Even after I finish the film, I'll keep trying because it looks so darn cool, but I don't think I'll be able to figure it out in enough time for the shoot.
Meanwhile, I keep going over in my head how I want certain things to look. My storyboards are...lacking in that department because I use stick figures. Once I'm in post, I'll put them all up on my Flickr account so people can point and laugh (I know I giggle every time I look at them), and I'll do a special storyboard-to-scene comparison, too. I always see these amazing storyboards for movies, it'll be awesome to offer up my stick figures!
As for the practical side of things: actors, locations, my crew, I've adopted a strangely serene attitude. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. One can't force Ka, if one were as geeky as I to reference Roland of Gilead. I'll take my geekiness one step further and quote him: "There will be water if God wills it." I just have to try and apply that to my feelings about the effects.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Location scouting...
I went on walkabout yesterday for a couple of hours and discovered some things about the city in which I live. Firstly, Payne Park. I'd been to the auditorium there for voting purposes, but I never knew that the actual park part was HUGE! And it's in the middle of the city! Also, if you've ever played Infected on the PSP, it reminds me of that park, just minus all of the sewer accesses. Secondly, the gentrification of downtown hasn't reached ALL of downtown, and isn't likely to any time soon because of the economy. Good news for me as I want to use it for filming purposes.
Overall, it was a great days exploring! And here are the photos I took! I wasn't going for anything artistic, I just took some shots that I liked. The Exilim is a wonderful little camera, very handy.
In case the Flickr badge doesn't work or you can't see it, just go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimyoo_films/sets/72157604903848313/. :D
Overall, it was a great days exploring! And here are the photos I took! I wasn't going for anything artistic, I just took some shots that I liked. The Exilim is a wonderful little camera, very handy.
www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing items in a set called Anathema location scouting.... Make your own badge here.
In case the Flickr badge doesn't work or you can't see it, just go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimyoo_films/sets/72157604903848313/. :D
Monday, December 1, 2008
Why, yes. I AM doing a jig o' glee!
I received word today from the British mag Morpheus Tales that they've accepted my story "Warm Body in a Cold World" for publication in their Undead-themed special issue. They're hoping to put it out in the Summer of 2009. When I get more information, I'll let y'all know.
I've also been doing some video tests. They're not that great since they're just tests, but I thought I'd post the link to my YouTube channel in case you wanna check them out...
http://www.youtube.com/user/KimyooFilms
I've also been doing some video tests. They're not that great since they're just tests, but I thought I'd post the link to my YouTube channel in case you wanna check them out...
http://www.youtube.com/user/KimyooFilms
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
CASTING CALL -- SARASOTA, FL
Kimyoo Films is looking for four actors for a very low budget short silent film to be shot in Sarasota, Florida, over four or five days in mid- to late December, but not concurrently. The majority of the shoot takes place in the daytime. There are light stunts, but no dialogue to memorize. It's an excellent opportunity for actors and actresses to use their body as opposed to their voice as the tool for expression. "A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem: Anathema" is the story of two people fighting against a caste of fallen angels to save themselves, and possibly humanity, twenty years after God lifted His Grace from the earth. The budget is very low, so much so that we cannot afford to properly pay for your time. Gas money and food will be provided. Kimyoo Films' previous short film, "Without/Within," received an Honourable Mention from the Indie Gathering in Cleveland, Ohio, and received a Best Actress nomination for Kristin Mellian and was given the Director's Choice Award at ShockerFest International Film Festival in Modesto, California. The roles are as follows: Please note: We're looking for dedication and talent, not skin colour. We want people of all races to send in their headshots! Laurel, mid-20s to early 30s. She starts out searching for help and ends up helping herself. Does a fair bit of running and struggling against a captor. Must appear to be a delicate flower, but also possess immense inner strength which comes out toward the end of the film. Abner, 60s-70s. He is a guide for the main characters. There is one pushing stunt. Tango, 20s. He's a thug working for the villain of the piece; he works with Milton. Does a fair bit of running and has two fights. Milton, 20s. He's also a thug working for the villain of the piece; he works with Tango. Also does a fair bit of running and has two fights. If you're interested, please send your headshot (with resume if you have one) to: Kimyoo.Films.Casting@gmail.com. We will get back to you as soon as we can. The cut-off date for the casting call is December 4, 2008.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The one about future projects...
I haven't posted for a while so I thought I'd pop into cyberspace to say hello!
The theatre's been kicking my rear end since I returned because we finally have our new District Manager; our former one got a promotion. First day back, I worked for eleven hours; eight of them by myself. Sucked.
On the brighter, happier side, I've been working really hard on the next short! The storyboards are done, the shotlist (which morphed into an Edit Decision List strangely) is done, and 3/8s of my casting is done. Just need to do more casting and scout some locations. I'm aiming for a December / January shoot date.
I also have some exciting things happening on the horizon, but it's too early to talk about all that. I just wanted to squee for a moment.
*SQUEE*
There. I feel better.
And, finally, my 30th birthday is on Sunday. Most of my 30 + friends are all like, "God, I feel ooooold!" I don't! I'm more excited than I was for any of my other birthdays and I'm not even doing anything crazy! Just dinner and some pool with friends. Good times...
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Confidence boosters.
Anyone who reads my blog may remember that I've been receiving rejection after rejection for my short film, Without / Within, as well as for my short stories. I just keep submitting (there will be a new round of submissions for Without / Within once I figure out what's wrong with my DVD burner...) and trying because, well, it'd be silly not to. In fact, today I submitted a spec script for CSI (don't judge me) to the WILDsound spec script competition and tomorrow I'll be mailing off a feature film script called Chancetown to the New York City Horror Film Festival.
Yesterday, I received a letter from my good friend and mentor, Steve Marshall, who had only just gotten a chance to watch Without / Within. I've known Steve since I was 13. The way I remember it, Rich Reinhardt gave me his Prodigy email (it was fifteen years ago, for Pete's sakes) and we've kept in touch ever since. Of course, I didn't know who Rich Reinhardt was then or else I would have bugged him, too. Anyway, Steve's advice and support have been invaluable to me so when I got his letter, wherein he told me that he loved my movie and was very proud of me, I felt like I was soaring.
Tonight, I received a phone call from another friend, one with whom I don't speak nearly enough and see even less, and she kept complimenting me, my creativity, and bullheadedness...just because. She put it much more politely than that because she's nicer than I am, but that's what it boils down to and I was soaring again.
Right now, after submitting two projects to contests and festivals, finishing another short story, and receiving such support and encouragement from those two and the rest of my friends and family, I think I could take on another year's worth of rejections. Maybe even two!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
March / April / half-May round-up!
As far as Without/Within is concerned, I can sum up these two and a half months in one word: rejection. I know it's not the most technically polished short out there, but still...you know? Ah well. I still love it. It'll have to go on the DVD of the first feature I make.
As for my next project, I have not only decided on what it's going to be, I've already written the script. It still needs some tweaking, but I'm hoping to film it near the end of this year or the beginning of the next, depending on whether or not I get to go on vacation. It's a short film as I want to go over a few more technical things (lighting, mostly.) I recently purchased a book on cinematography written by John Alton called Painting With Light.
While film lighting and digital lighting are vastly different due to how sensitive digital cameras are, I thought it'd be a good idea to read a book by a guy whose film noir work is very highly regarded. It did help, and it did give me a few ideas, but it was very much like reading one of Oscar Wilde's home decor essays...which I didn't read, by the way, when I went through and read all the Wilde I could. If you saw my house, you'd understand why...
I'm still waiting to hear back from Cemetery Dance about the short story I sent them and I'm prepping another story to send to any magazine with a seven thousand word limit that accepts horror. Even following Stephen King's Second Draft Formula ("second draft = first draft - 10%"), it'd be around 6500 words, but the edit's coming along nicely.
I think that's all the news that's fit to print for now.
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