Film update and new training

Wow. It's been quite a while since I've let this much time pass between posts. I really shouldn't do that because now I have enough content to write a book. I have been ridiculously busy the last couple of weeks. As I've mentioned for a while, I'm keeping busy planning my next short film. In the last couple of weeks especially, there have been a lot of steps made forward which means this is a very exciting time for me.

First, and maybe most importantly, I have secured a shooting location. One of my group members, Josh Feig, has allowed me to use his house as our set after a bit of negotiation. I infinitely thank him for it. Getting a set for this movie was probably going to be the biggest obstacle, and now we're past it now. After this, everything else is set to fall into place.

I am going to be shooting the film on Nov. 18, which is a Sunday. That's really cutting it short because it will basically leave me with 2 weeks to edit the film. Luckily the running time will only be 3 minutes, but it's still going to take quite a while to get the film edited just right, especially considering how much of a perfectionist I am. I haven't really talked about the plot of the film, but that's because I kinda want to keep it under wraps. I'll be showing you all the film once it's completed, so the less info I give you the more impact the film will have. If you're working on the film or are involved somehow, then you're the only ones that have a copy of the script and have talked to me about it before. Something tells me that when I'm done, I'm going to be really proud of this film.

However... I need some help people. If you don't read the rest of this blog, read this paragraph. I'm running short on funds. And making movies isn't free. I hope I'm not sounding greedy, but I'm putting myself at the mercy of my friends and asking for some help. If you have a few bucks lying around and you'd like to contribute to the arts, I've set up an account where you can make a donation (see button below). You can use a credit card or debit card with a Visa or Mastercard logo, or you can use a Paypal account. I'm not asking for a lot. I figure, if I can get 25 people to pitch in $10 each, it will more than cover the expenses of the film. If you donate, send me an email address, and I will keep you updated on every single purchase I make towards the film, so that you have my promise that I'm using the money only for the film. If there's money left over, I'll refund everybody according to their contribution. In addition, I'll give you an Executive Producer credit and a copy of the film when it's completed.

Click on ChipIn and it will take you to the donation page.


Now, the next part of the film that fell in place was casting. A couple of weeks ago, I spent the better part of a Saturday attending an audition arranged by my professor. About 40 people showed up and they each did a monologue in front of the camera. We had a great variety of looks, personality, and talent. I took notes on all the actors and made a short list of who I wanted for my film. A couple of days later when my location was set, I sent my favorite male and female actors an offer to be in my film. I was shitting bricks for a few days waiting of responses. I really wanted these two people in my movie. The first response came from Sam McConkey. He said yes, and he complimented the script which made me feel really happy and confident. We went over scheduling details and he was on board. Then, a few days ago, I heard back from my top female candidate, Katrina Reyes. Not only did she like the script and say yes, I may be using one of her sons in a small role, so I'm getting 2-for-1 with her. I have confidence that they'll both bring a great deal of talent to the roles they'll play. I'm really excited to work with both of them.

The latest thing that has fallen into place film-wise is an amazing opportunity that came up this week. The film industry is growing very fast in Arizona thanks to a recent tax incentive being offered by the state government. Hollywood is moving a lot of films to Arizona since it's cheaper to make them here than in California. The most popular recent film that came to town was The Kingdom starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner. On film sets in Arizona, it is law that 50% of the talent and crew have to be Arizona residents. With more films coming to town, there is a greater demand for trained and qualified crew members. To help with this, the IFP, which is a very important film organization, is holding a training seminar over the next two weekends.

Thanks to having connections within the organization, I am attending this seminar and am going to get the training to work on a professional movie set. By this time next year, I could be making a buttload of money working on a movie set. I mean a buttload. I can make in a month more than I've made in the last 20 years from being on a movie set and helping set up lights and microphones. Not to mention that I think that kind of work is really fun.

With that I'll sign off for today. I have to get to bed so that I can wake up and go to the next training session tomorrow morning. I still have a lot of non-film stuff to write about, but I'll save it for when I get back home tomorrow. Thanks for reading.