Well, more developments.

I’ve been in the process of delivering the Cast & Crew DVDs for “The Proposal”, and I’ve been taking the opportunity to reconnect with some of the cast and crew members, maybe discuss the possibility of working on “Look Forward”.

Of course, some of my guys are gone, I mean it’s been a year almost since we wrapped. Bill (Rowley, Co-Producer) and Sara (Langer, now Rowley, they got married) my Art Director are in Oakland now, he got a perm job and he seems to be doing OK. Chance (Jason Chance, 1st AD) was also out in L.A., but I just found out he’s on his way to Branson, MO…seems the strike has slowed work down to almost nothing in La-La land (Los Angeles to you and me). DP Cris Olariu also moved out there back in October…he popped back to Denver in November to DP for James Vincent, my Editor and Color Correctionist. We all went out for ‘Tinis, he’s a good guy, I hope he does OK. Kind of wish I was out there working on J.J. Abrams new Trek – why are they making us wait a year for that?

Anyways, James’ short wrapped OK, it sounds like. He called me back in November about getting in touch with Michele Wright, one of my leads in “The Proposal”, but bad luck, she happened to be out of the country when I was trying to get a hold of her. I recommended another actress from Ft. Collins, Belinda Purdum, who had auditioned for “Proposal”, (she and I ended up working together on the Heinz Commercial). Glad I could help. Haven’t seen the rough cut yet, but the idea was sweet and James sent me a couple of stills – he’s got a freakin’ Unicorn in it! Hot!

So I got together with James and Aaron DelGrosso, Audio Engineer for drinks at this little (and I mean little) Cherry Creek hotspot (Bar Luxe) for happy hour ‘Tinis. Damn it was great to talk with those two. James is a bit hard to read, but he knows his stuff. Aaron and I spent a lot of time together getting the final mixdown on “Proposal”, and I can’t help but like him. He wrapped his last short a couple of months ago, I still haven’t seen it. I do remember, though, he did the coolest animatic pre-viz with Final Cut Pro and Photoshop…I thought the animation alone was cool, I can’t wait to see the live film.

So it sounds like they’re onboard. James does pro work from time to time, so scheduling him might be tight. Aaron’s still at Base 2, and they’re both in school at CFS. Missed the CFVA Schmoozer in January- turns out James ended up going after I suggested it! He called me, I wasn't there! Just got a little backed up with school and work, not to mention the Websites and the prep on “Look Forward”. Felt kind of bad about that, after I had asked James and Aaron if they were going…I got a call from James – who was at the Schmoozer! Sorry bud!

I also got a cup of joe with Amy Mann, 2nd AD on “Proposal” and PM on the Heinz commercial. She suggested Paris on the Platte – dang! I haven’t been there in a couple of years! I used to have a table practically reserved for Tamaan and I to smoke cloves and drink Mexicanos. Great place, check it out if you’re in town. Hasn’t changed much (well, the front room anyways – the back room became a wine bar a couple of years back), the area has though. I’ve had my car broken into in the bum-hangout lot across the street back in the day (so did The Man), but yuppieville crept north of LoDo, so it’s actually a bunch of day spas and snowboard shops now. Kind of safe, except for Hickenlooper’s unholy army of metermaids…free parking my ass!

Well, the real plus, is they still allow smoking! Hu-rah! (thanks, Pacino). Amy was upbeat as always. She’s kicking around a production company of her own – sounds like a sweet idea, which is kind of proprietary, so I won’t mention it here. She’ll consider line producing “Look Forward” and had some great thoughts, but she has a tight schedule…we’ll see.

So that’s three. I learned so much from “Proposal”, most notably, how to edit in FCPHD, how to author in DVDSP, and why to put location audio and post FIRST in the budget. More on that sad tale later.

Also shipped off DVDs for Cris, Chance, Bill and Sara. Sent one more festival submission in too – Oxford International in Ohio. Hope it makes it before 2/1-the cutoff.

We’ll talk about festivals later.

Oh, and I got my business cards back from VistaPrint. No, I didn’t get the free ones, I actually wanted to design them. They look cool, but I was miffed that they only glossed up the front, I wanted (and thought I’d paid for) gloss on both sides. To their credit, they gave me a credit for the entire purchase price. I love good customer service. I’ll order from them again.

Wanna see it? Here’s the back…


Got a project due in Project Management this weekend and the super bowl, and Aaron’s got a party going on as well. Finished Carnegie last weekend, kind of old fashioned, but I can’t wait to put some of his lessons into practice.

More to follow.

"The Plan", the movie.

No, the movie's not called "The Plan". I did do a film once called "The Proposal", but that seems like forever ago (ah, to 2007, where are you now?), and IMDB still hasn't posted it!

No, this is the actual plan, and I think I'm typing it as much for myself as anyone. I'm in the middle of a course right now on Project Management, and to paraphrase ole' Socrates, the more I learn, the stupider I get. I always thought I had good organizational skills, but geez! Any Project Managers out there want to give a holla? (Do it in acronyms, please: LS, CEV, TS...)

Anyway, the reason I mention this is I learned all about Baseline Plans, the blueprints for getting big projects off the ground. I was busy drawing one out for this little film of mine (God Bless you, Omniplan!) when it came to me, filmmaking is more than just a shooting schedule, a post and a release. More than prep and preproduction. For the indie, it starts before the script and before the pitch...

Right now, I've got an idea.

"So what?" say you. I've got an idea for a controversial short film about racism. Who doesn't? The key here, is the project itself. This whole thing is a test, a test to see if I can not only make a movie (I can, trust me...it's been done.) but if I can create a project, from conception through distribution, and everything in between.

Well, there is a lot to be done.

So I've got the idea, and I've got the story (and I have the script...wait! No I don't. The script is coming, I promise). So what's the natural next step? I drafted the key art.
OK follow me here.

I want "Look Forward" (shortened form, I chose a damn long title. Won't fit on a marquee, love!) to be a little better than your run-of-the-mill student piece. True, it's a short subject, true it is based on a high concept, but I want the film to have a feeling. I want people to glance at the art and immediately get a reaction. If I can achieve that with a simple little piece of art, it will guide every aspect of the film itself, from the camera to the audio, even to the script, the marketing campaign, the performances, the title design. LF is about a world, and the first glimpse we have into this world, is this:
I call it, "The Eyes".

So what do we really have here? The basis for a poster? a logo design that makes its way into the film, maybe?

Call me the optimist, I see a lot more than that. Squint a little, cross your eyes...I see a visual fabric, I see a story, and I see an image that right off the bat, may draw some criticism.

I hope so. That means I'm on the right path.

Two Hundred and Ten Days to the Can...

It begins...

I'm not 100% sure why I decided to do this.
There's just no profit in short film.
None.

Well, actually, that's not true. In fact, short films are the most profitable. We see them everyday, jammed in between segments of our favorite shows...streaming in front of the news clip we are trying to download...

30 seconds to tell a story, to make you smile and buy a car. Commercial spots are the best known short films. In fact, I could argue that it is short films that make television possible, through the revenue they generate.

But let's face it, I am not making a commercial film. I am making about the furthest thing from a commercial film that exists. The dreaded, the loved, the festival short.

And just to make things better, I've decided to pick one that, if successful, will prove offensive, angering and controversial.

This is the story of "Look Forward to a Bright New Past...Financing Available." the film.

I won't bore you with plot details, self-congradulatory anecdotes (well, maybe a few), bragging or pimping...I just thought, that on the off chance any of the Denver-area filmmakers out there, (or anywhere, really) decided to take a look here, they would realize that they are not alone.

I've done this before, I know it is a tough journey.

Dear God, I love it so. I live for this stuff!

Welcome to the adventure, my friends. Day 1, 210 to go...