Opening Rough Draft

Jeff didn't have any or most of the names; so no its not Buttload films, but half full.

So, apparently my Mac, won't work with Bloggers video download, but here is opener that Jeff made for the documentary and the full version is finished, but if you want to see that you'll just have to see the movie in festivals.

I also met with Ko last night and talked over the project a bit, and his ideas are amazing and much better than I could ever come up with of course! With the amazing things coming from Ko and Jeff this film should all roll into one fantastic little documentary!!!!

So with the narration getting finished this week and picture lock as well (and hopefully most of the After Effects) it will go to Ko for his complete musical makeover!!

Tomorrow is the first day of school! Will I find time to finish the documentary, will I go crazy? Will I get into Sundance, or just small festivals?
I'll let you all know when I do!

Gift of Extra Time

So, today the game plan was to go to work @ 9am as is usual for my Wednesday -Friday schedule; the last time actually before the semester officially starts next Monday. But fate had other things in store for me instead. Last night on my way home from being endowed with this semesters student loan refund money my car started to be extra sluggish (and if you haven't ever driven with me before this means it was really bad). So I pulled into get the muffler checked since its been rattling since I bought the thing and have been just to cheap to fix it.

So I was supposed to pick it up today @ 11am, but instead I'll be picking it up tomorrow instead, and after over $900 dollars worth of repairs are done; including completely new muffler, back brakes and engine mounts since it was bucking like a bronco under the hood. So I got to sit in the sun for an hour until they found someone to drive me home, needless to say my pasty white skin is beet red; I just don't think I'll ever get my dream of having one big freckle for a tan.

Goodbye temporary riches... *Sniff. But since I am missing out on a day and a half of work, I've been able to get a lot done on the documentary today! (see the poster above).

I finished editing the opening bit for the film, solidified the credits (yes I do thank my parents in them). Got all but two of the "Where are they now?" scripts done, emailed some people that I need to know "where they are".

I also have found a couple of the greatest guys to help me make this documentary the best it can be, where I lack talent they make up for it in spades!

First Jeff Dickson is creating some amazing graphics for the film using his After Effects and Motion effects wizardry, I put a link to his online portfolio on the side, check him out and contact him through it if you need some great work.

Then Ko Yang, who helped with my 507 group project has agreed to score, compose, arrange the music for the film! I'm incredibly excited that he's on board, he does some amazing work as well and I'm incredibly grateful he's willing to work on this project, I may like to listen to music, but my Kurt Cobain wanna be stylings are nothing compared to his talent; not to mention his ability to score incredibly efficient and lightning fast.So it looks like I'll be able to stay on schedule and soon I'll be throwing a party to (with my legendary hot wings!) help coerce some fellow filmmakers to come over and critique the film before I send it; fingers crossed to Park City, Utah.

On the 508 front, I talked to my partner Chris and he's nervous about going first as there is a lot work going into a project and we have to land on our feet sprinting next week. But I've already got a few ideas where he can get some of the hard to find locations (and hopefully for free) around town; We are talking rooftops here people! Though I don't imagine I'll be jumping off any with the camera in my arms.......... though I'd love to pull a Bourne..... Hmmmmm.

So now I wait to hear from this amazing woman on the right to see how the orphans we interviewed are doing and how she and the orphanage are holding up.

Soon very soon I'll be done with this documentary, and will be devoting myself as the personal film slave of Christ Patrola.

(no kinky video though, he can't afford me).

So Close, Yet so Far.

So, I've been trying to force myself to work on Tarnished Pearl more and more as the deadline for Sundance looms closer everyday. I only have a hope and a prayer that it will be accepted into the top film festival, but more importantly it serves as a goal pushing me to complete this project that has spanned now more than a year. 

I've learned a lot, which of course is probably the greatest benefit from the project, I have a fantastic After Effects Artist working on the titles and credits and some graphs, and what he's done so far is fantastic! It makes me nervous that the documentary itself may not match up to his high quality work.  I tried to upload it for ever here, but it just wouldn't work. Sorry. 

I still have yet to contact the composer and don't even know if he'll be able to do it, but I'm just going ahead and hoping, otherwise its just something else I have to do, and I'd rather have it done t

o a higher standard as I'm not that great of a composer (though I can rattle a few tunes off on a harmonica). 

I've had my family watch it and most of the feedback is positive, but of course who can trust what your family says about your work?! But I'm still going to go with its an OK doc at the very least. 

I've got to edit the script and get it in sync with the video, do a test run of it and then send it back to the professor for him to record himself, so hopefully I can pull this off, but the semester for school is starting next week and the madness will begin. 

Its my goal by the end of next week to have picture l

ock and start showing it off and getting more and more feedback, but its got to be mailed on the 15th of September so feel free to hound me to get it done as I'm sure I'll need the encour

agement.

I finally finished my script for my project for this upcoming semester @ USC!! I'm pretty excited about it, its going to take a lot of work and money to get a lot of it done, but it should be worth it! I'm trying to make a dark semi-Experimental film. 

I've done a lot of research on the major death myths from a variety of different cultures, from native american to tibetan death myths and of course a few norse ones as well. I'm trying to add into the script or will add into the production a lot of symbols of different faiths, and I am trying to use the major similarities of the death myths in my project as well; thus everything means something and I'm hoping to really step up the intricate details of this production as well as complete some awesome sequences as well. 

So with turning in the script today and getting my loan money (I'll be rich for a day) The semester begins with the first shoot scheduled for my partner Chris the second weekend of September!

I don't want to reveal too much about it just yet, but lets just say its going to be awesome!!!!!

Spring Semester went really well and I'm excited for everything this next semester when we are able to focus on solely one project of our own and a partners, but being able to focus on one project is exciting!

I won't go too much into what I'm working on for next semester yet, but I'm hoping to get it into a few film festivals, I've got the Uganda documentary I"m working on as well, but its better to have a whole bunch of things in the works.

I will say one thing about my Fall '08 project coming up, it will (hopefully) be shot in a cathedral, one with great windows, stone pillars and all that jazz, it would be great to find something like the cathedrals in London, but I'll go for something more manageable.

So these pictures are from a few of the films that I made this last semester the first two are from "Feathered Protest", then a few from our group project "What Love May Bring" and "Pulling Teeth". Enjoy.

Getting things done!!!

Well I've finally been able to get myself to finish the majority of the documentary I was in Uganda year ago filming; The professor is sending me his narration script and I'll just have to change it a bit or edit the video to it. But of course before I can go really any further I need some others opinions about the film, so I'm going home to Seattle next weekend to show them the film so far and get some feedback, and after that and some changes I'm sure will happen; I'll show it to my fellow USC graduate Students get their imput and make some more changes..... then give it to one of my graduate professors to get his imput on it then after all that including graphics and soundtrack work, hopefully it will be on time to turn in on Sept. 22 to Sundance Film Festival.

Crossing my Fingers!!!!


Duran

4 weeks until the end of my sanity!!!!!

Ok, so I decided to start writing a blog, probably because It's about time I started one, I've done the myspace thing, the facebook thing, now its time to do the Blog thing, but mostly its so that I can keep a record of what I'm doing to get my documentary done and ready for the Sept. due date. Fall semester is starting with the dreaded 508 projects coming up, and my script still isn't finalized and I keep wanting to change things, so if anyone reads this and this I'm insane, its only cause I need somewhere to vent the stress from what I'm sure will be great fun, but also a lot of work!!!!!