Inspired by the World

I just returned from a week long trip to Disney World. For those of you who have never been there and are thinking of a Six Flags type amusement park, you couldn't be more wrong. Disney World is more than just shows and rides. It's an atmosphere. An atmosphere of creativity, imagination, and inspiration. It is truly a testament of not only one man's dream but, a continuation of a philosophy that if you can imagine it, it can be done. If you have never looked into Walt Disney's life (the man) it is worth the effort. O.K. enough preaching.

Along with spending time with my family I had the opportunity to do some other interesting things as well....

Draw with a Disney artist








Meet and have a book signed by Cheryl Henson, Jim Henson's eldest child and director of the Jim Henson Company. Jim Henson is another hero of mine.














Wear Mickey ears and not stand out (well not too much)


















Rob King Louie at gun point















Well, now that I'm back look for updates on the the short film "The Bag".

The Making of a Short Film - Part 4

The following events all occurred at more or less the same time bringing us finally to the present. I was (and still am) getting the itch to make something soon. The probability of shooting The Last Defense within the next year was looking slim and I didn't want to wait that long before doing something. At about this point I had a chance conversation with Jimmy(he's the one on the left), who I have known for over sixteen years. What I didn't know is that we both share a love for the movies and an interest in making our own film(though the fact that he manages a movie theater should have been a hint). So with Jimmy's support (and hopefully others) we are going to make our first short before the end of the year. For our fist film we have selected a very short script with a shooting title of The Bag. It's about...well, a bag. Anyway, we had our first "meeting" last week where we decided on the story, potential casting, and locations. It looks like this will be a two day shoot sometime in the early part of December.

I was still looking for some equipment to use and came upon an employee of our small local T.V. station. She offered to let me borrow one of their 3CCD cameras (as opposed to a 1CCD, which most consumer cameras are). I had since lost the interest of the professional videographer who had volunteered before. So the opportunity to borrow a high in camera to use myself was great. Unfortunately my excitement didn't last too long as I soon received a call telling me that her boss had been transferred/fired/quit and I would not be able to borrow the camera. So at the present it looks like we will be shooting our first short on my Panasonic PV-GS19 (not a high in camera). The picture quality I think will be fine it's the sound I'm worried about. Though I think with some advise from Jimmy and with some if not all of the sound recorded separate it will turn out better than O.K.

Also at some point during this time frame I purchased a computer specifically for editing and the Adobe editing software to go with it. This was a major purchase for me and I was pretty psyched about it. Now, some of you might ask, "Why didn't you by a better camera instead of the computer and editing equip?" The answer is because I can possible borrow or even rent a high end camera for a day or two. Whereas it is much more difficult if not impossible to borrow or rent a computer for the weeks that it would take to edit.

So, now Jimmy and I have a new script, we've got the locations, and a potential cast. Hopefully my next Making of a Short Film post will be after we have had our first day of shooting. I'll let you know how it goes and in the meantime all of you who stop buy and don't say anything, leave a comment once in a while so I know your there.

"The best education in film is to make one." Stanley Kubrick


Also be sure to check out Jim Live and listen for a recent film indie event.

The Making of a Short Film - Part 3

With script in hand I set out to acquire the other elements necessary for my film. I needed one location that might prove to be difficult, a courthouse. I also needed equipment, namely a decent camera. I had never considered filming in any format other than digital just because of the availability of cameras, cost, and the convenience of editing. There are a plethora of other things as well but I had to start somewhere so I figure these would be my biggest two hurdles.

I started by speaking to an acquaintance of mine who is a professional videographer. He had mentioned that he had shot a short film before and had entered it into a festival. I figured if I could get him on board it would make the other things a little easier. Plus, I would have someone with a lot of camera experience to make things look the way I wanted. I sent him the script first, which he liked, and said he would be willing to donate his time to the project. This was great! But, he also said we should rent an even better camera than what he had which would cost about $100 a day. He also said, after looking at the script, that it could take a little as three days or a long as five days to shoot. That's potentially $500! I left the meeting both happy that he was willing to help but, also little saddened by the thought of having to spend so much money.(Did I really need to spend the extra money? Or could I get by with something else?)

Not to be dissuaded, I made some calls to the local courthouse which might serve as one of our main locations. I was told that since 9/11 no filming was allowed in government buildings blah, blah, blah. I didn't believe that for a second. I called the state film commission who confirmed that yes, certain things have become more difficult since 9/11 but, the county has the ability to allow whatever they want.

But, even if I did have the location, all the people involved in the film would be dedicating quite a bit of time plus with over eight speaking parts and 25 or so extras and getting a courthouse, I was looking at a logistical nightmare. (Not to mention that I would have to feed all those people too.) I finally realized that I had chosen the wrong story for the wrong time. I needed a to start over with a new story that was less complex if I wanted to film anything in the near future.

The Making of a Short Film - Part 2

Someone once said, “You can turn a good script into a bad movie. But, you can’t turn a bad script into a good movie.” So I needed to come up with a good idea to turn into a great script. For Christmas my wife bought me a little black notebook, big enough to carry in my back pocket. I try and carry that thing everywhere I go. I write down any idea that comes to me, even if it’s just a sentence. I always try to get ideas from things I see and do everyday and write them down and I am always trying to think of new story ideas.

While mowing the lawn one day I had an idea for a story that would eventually become The Last Defense. Once I realized I had an idea for a story I liked, I decided to make it something I could actually film myself. This made things a little more difficult. Normally when telling a story you have no limitations. Your imagination is all that stops you. But, by trying to write something I could film myself I had to take several factors into consideration. First, it should only be about 10-15 minutes long, preferably 10. Seeing how I had never done this before, I didn't think it was a good idea to start off too big. Next, were the locations. All the locations in the script had to be something I had access to. Lastly, I had to leave out things like car crashes or anything else that would be too “big” for something I would be shooting personally. So, I had to tell a compelling story in just over ten minutes with a limited number of locations with no special effects or scenes that would be impossible to shoot myself.

Looking back, and even though I consciously wrote the script with these things in mind I was still a little overzealous and naïve. But over the next several months I pondered over the story changing it here and there until finally I sat down and typed the thing out. I made a couple of drafts myself before showing it to my wife and then making another draft. I then gathered the nerve to show it to those outside my home which was actually a difficult thing to do. I had put a lot of work into this. This was my creation, my story. To paraphrase Marty McFly, I wasn’t sure if I could handle the rejection. The first person I sent it to was a self proclaimed expert on screenwriting. And while I didn’t agree with her narrow minded view on storytelling she was a tremendous help in learning some of the finer details of screenwriting. When she returned the pages to me they were covered in red. After making many changes I sent the script to friends and family, I posted it here on my blog and to several screenwriting forums. All of the responses were favorable overall with a few suggestions here and there on how to improve things like dialogue.

At this point I had made a huge step. A step I feel many people never make. So, I was proud of this small accomplishment of having actually sat down and written a story (even if it is only eleven pages long). So, now I was ready to make my movie, or so I thought.

The Making of a Short Film - Part 1

The first couple of installments of The Making of a Short Film will actually be events that have already occurred. The process that started this whole thing began at least three or four years ago. I have always had a love for movies and the art of storytelling. But, sometime ago that evolved from simply enjoying watching, to an obsession with learning about them and how they are made and wanting to tell my own stories through film. Let me start with a rough list of what is required to make a film and what I have done to tackle each of these. You need:

-a good story
-knowledge about the entire filmmaking process
-equipment
-actors
-locations
-time
-money (no matter how low budget your film is, some cash is required)

Again this is just a rough list as equipment alone could have 10 or 15 items listed below it. When I began this process I didn’t have a story yet (though I had ideas, which is not the same as having a story), equipment or the money to buy it. So, I had no need for actors or locations. But I did have a little time and so I started to devour all the information I could get my hands on about filmmaking. I subscribed to magazines, bought books (and when I couldn’t afford the books I would just sit in the bookstore and read them), and surfed the internet like crazy for information about the subject. I now have a small library of articles I have printed off (thanks to my employer’s donation of ink and paper) and books I have purchased about all the different facets of moviemaking, from screenwriting to post-production to distributing. I even took an online screenwriting course to learn the correct screenwriting format and help my storytelling skills. I still continue to read and discuss with others the various different aspects of filmmaking such as lighting, sound, and editing. Now, all I needed was a story to tell so I could start to apply all this knowledge.

Recommended Rentals

Crash 4 out of 5

This is one of those good movies that slipped by most people while in the theatres. Which is surprising seeing how is has a list of well knowns like Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Tony Danza, Matt Dillon and even Ludacris.

This film is most certainly worth a rental. To put it in its simplest terms the movie deals with racism and stereotypes, and not just your typical Black/White issues either. The movie is interesting the fact that no one is completely right or wrong in the film. Even the people who you think "have it together" and are above racism end up showing who they really are by their actions. This one definitely leaves you thinking.





Layer Cake 4 out of 5


Directed by Matthew Vaughn It should be noted that after directing this movie Matthew Vaughan, was asked to direct the upcoming X-men 3. Though after committing he opted out stated it was too big of a project for him.

Daniel Craig, Tom Hardy, Jamie Foreman, Sally Hawkins,
Burn Gorman

This is another one that unless you're really "into" movies you probably never saw. This is great story telling in a non-traditional style. The movie isn't your typical action packed slug fest either. If you like movie about the criminal element or stories of a less than hero type comings out on top you'll enjoy this one.

Dreams and Goals

While I’m sure everyone has dreams of becoming famous, rich or successful, I’m not sure everyone has goals of doing the same. You see dreams are what you wish for but never take action to achieve. Goals on the other hand are very specific and require specific steps to obtain. I have a dream of one day directing a major motion picture but, it's not really my goal in life. But, I do have a goal of making a short film entitled, The Last Defense, and running it through the film festival circuit.

I thought my blog would be a great place to document my journey towards achieving this goal. If nothing else so that when I’m done I can see the steps that led to the achievement of my goal. And maybe so that others can see the process and be inspired. Ok, who am I kidding it’s just for my own satisfaction.

This will be an ongoing series of blog entries that I will post as events pertaining to my short film occur, and the entries will be titled The Making of a Short Film. In the meantime feel free to leave a comment and let me know what your dreams and goals are.

Movies- The Game

I can't remember when the last time was I bought a game. Now don't get me wrong I love video games. But, I can't control myself. I just play them and play them. I loose track of time and self awareness. So to avoid loosing my job and ruining my marriage I have severely limited the games I purchased and have resisted the urge to buy either the Playstation 2 or the Xbox. But this little number here has seduced me into risking it all. THE MOVIES is a game about making movies! I really think this game was made just for me, and everyone else is just an added benefit. In the game you run your own studio. You buy the scripts, hire the actors,(or you can create your own), build sets, market the movie, and even direct the movie. The possibilities are endless! I've pre ordered the game which will arrive on Tue. the 8th. But, due to circumstances I will explain in a later blog I have decided not to play the game yet and hold onto until Christmas. (no, really that's that plan, I can do it) So until then...Quiet on the set!