| Dec. 30th, 2008 @ 12:52 am What's Going On |
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Current Mood:  hopeful
Current Music: The Next Right Moment - Ric Ocasek
Well, as usual, things are crazy busy here in Iatchyland.
It's been a rough year. One which started with such promise and then went to hell by the middle. It went from being one of the best years of our lives to becoming the worst year either of us had ever had, which is really saying something. The only consolation is the fact that we got through it, and are stronger as a result.
Instead of continuing to focus on the negative, I'm going to look at some of the positive things that have happened this year.
1) Work has gone well, and my target is long past reached, so every day has added another chunk onto my bonus. There are plans. Great plans.
2) I entered two movie contests, the first a 48 hour competition that I entered with a couple of friends. We put together a 5 minute short about a guy who inadvertently brings about the destruction of the world when he travels through time using an inadvertently microwaved keychain. We had some great effects shots, including a giant arm coming out of a rift in the sky and squishing my neighbour's son. To our surprise, we won!
For the next several months, I would run into people from EdVideo (the sponsor of the contest) at the grocery store, and they'd ask me if I was going to enter, to "defend" the title. I was resistant, especially since the next one was called the "Infected Challenge". Clearly that meant it HAD to be a horror film, right? At least that's what the posters were indicating.
It turned out that it wasn't. One could enter any genre. I decided to enter, even though my teammates weren't available, and I wasn't going to have as much time to work as I did the previous time.
The first time, we picked up our envelope, containing the themes we'd use in the movie. We zoomed home, and started writing. By 9 we had a solid idea, by 11, a full outline, and by 1am, a completed script. We started shooting at 9AM, finished at 7PM, and started editing. This literally took all night, and the next day was spent cleaning up effects shots, and mixing the sound. We got it in just in time after all of that constant work.
This time around, it was a 72 hour contest. I picked up my envelope, and got home. My father was visiting, so I spent the evening with him. The next day, after work, I tried coming up with some ideas, but wasn't landing it. I was down to myself, and maybe a few minutes of Girliatchy's time. Heck, if I wanted another actor, I was going to need to use the dog. That's when it hit me. One of the themes that every group had to use was "A movie cliche", so I wrote an outline for a movie in which I played a character who accidentally switches brains with his dog. With the outline done, I went to bed.
In the morning, I wrote the script, and on a second pass found a great way to make my b-story theme bring the whole thing together. I then created animations for the opening titles and set up the closing credits. In the afternoon, I shot the first few outdoor scenes, before it got too dark. Then, after dinner, Girliatchy and I went to see a movie. We shot a few more scenes after getting home. I worked until 2 am, editing the scenes that I had and leaving placeholders for the remaining scenes.
The next morning, we got up and went out to shoot a couple of outdoor scenes, then home I went. First I needed to figure out how to get an office waiting room scene, without an office to use. I had the whole thing done, including the sound mix and then transferred a copy to tape, delivering the movie with an hour to spare.
The experience of making this movie was so diametrically opposed to how the first was produced, that I knew that this wasn't going to win. I had been deliberately keeping the pressure off so that I could work more effectively.
The next week, at the screening, I read the program. Mine was the only entry that wasn't a horror movie. This could be trouble. Everyone had tons of gore, and a couple had some really slick shots, the like of which I didn't have, since I was shooting and acting at the same time.
To my absolute astonishment, I won! Bragging rights aside, I now have two little plaques staring at me from the mantle, and have distribution deals, and TV screenings for both movies. Not only that, but I won the bankroll for equipment to shoot my next two shorts.
3) In addition to all of this, I was invited, in a completely unrelated circumstance to collaborate, as a writer, on a pitch for The Cartoon Network. Nothing to report yet, as we're still in the midst of the development stage. This is the stage where we flesh out the concepts and characters, take it to the studio, get some notes (all of which have been surprisingly positive, as well as constructive) work them in and further develop the characters and the look of the show. Next step is to take it to the network, which we're pretty much ready for, mainly because our initial pitch was in such good shape (and I think to some degree, due to the fact that we use the notes to constructive effect rather than fighting them just because). At any rate, it's been a great experience, and an enjoyable collaboration. |
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