LeadFilms

Step 1

So I didn’t get that editing job that I posted about last time, but it’s all good.
I’ve been applying to a lot of PA jobs so I could meet more people and one of which was for a trailer/pilot shoot for a film called Fire City.
After talking to the LP a few times, I went in for a PA meeting where he gave me the role of 2nd 2nd AD. It’s sort of an abstract position that a lot of people never even heard of, but it’s a great start for me for right now considering that I was going into this as PA and I’ll be able to have real responsibility as 2nd 2nd instead of just being sent on errands.
The project looks like a lot of fun and some of the crew have some serious clout so I’m really looking forward to where this is going to go.
Shooting starts this wednesday, so here goes nothing!

The time is nigh

So we did it.  Dom and I packed and left New Jersey on December 22nd and drove across the country to Los Angeles (with a brief stopover in Houston for Christmas with his family).

So what’s the plan, you may ask?

Fly by the seat of thine pants.

As I previously stated, we tried looking for jobs while we were still on the east coast, but that proved to be almost impossible being that…. well, that we were on the east coast.  With the job market anywhere, I’m sure hiring staff looked at my resume from little old NJ and giggled.  So we’re staying with a couple friends in the Hollywood Hills while we look for jobs at breakneck speed.

And as fate would have it, on my very first day here (which was yesterday), I got my first response back for a job.  I have an interview at noon for an editing job, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed and my hopes in check.  It’s not for a full fledged position anywhere, just a freelance project, but it’s still a step in the right direction.  At the very least, I’ll be able to make a friend in the industry who could keep me in mind for future jobs.

So that’s where I am right now.  Sitting in bed, writing this post, waiting for noon.

How’ve you been?

Double Wayside

For anyone who is following this blog, let me sincerely apologize for being so missing in action.

So I’ve finished my education at UArts.  I graduated with a 3.6somethingorother, which I’m extremely proud of.  My senior film was well received, notwithstanding the terrible response I got from one of my professors (I promise to catch you up on all of this).  I am just waiting to get my film back from my DP who spent some time color correcting it so that I can post it on vimeo and send copies out to everyone who worked on it with me.

My next big step is to relocate.  Many of my friends and schoolmates have found jobs in the Philadelphia area, but it’s not for me.  I see myself being where films are bigger and more serious, so my fiance and I are planning to move to LA by 1.1.11.  We both started to look for jobs shortly after graduation, but then summer happened and we stopped looking.  I need to take some time this weekend and revisit some of the places I applied to and see what’s going on.

Artistically, I haven’t done anything since graduation.  Nothing.  And it makes me sad.  I always have ideas for things, but can never find the time (or don’t take the time) to bring any of them to fruition because there’s always something else to be done.  There’s one video in mind that I want to get done soon because it’s been eating my brain for weeks.  It will involve four hot girls, good music, and strobe chopped visuals.  I’m looking forward to trying to figure it out.

I guess that’s all for now.  Thanks for your patience with me.  It will be well worth it; you have my word.

Wayside

Ok, this blog is totally falling by the wayside.

I’m now a senior at UArts and I’m working on writing my senior thesis.  I sort of have it spread out between two classes though, which could be either good or bad.  What I mean by that is I’m taking a screenwriting class that wasn’t required for me when I was a double major but is now required as a singular film major and I should have taken it last year.  I’m using that class to help me write my senior piece.  If everything lines up time-wise, it could be tremendously helpful.  I’d be able to write my piece effectively and get feedback every step of the way.  If I need my script in my production class before my screenwriting class is over - not so effective.  We’ll see how it pans out.

Another wrap

Today marked the second day of shooting for my Junior cinema production.

This shoot seemed cursed from the start.  After scrolling through 3 different lead actresses, 2 different lead actors, and 3 different supporting actresses, some of these recasts taking place in the past week(!), we finally had our talent.

Quick recap of the other trials and tribulations thus far:

Location 1 - Restaurant - Projected time: 10am - 9pm - Actual time: 10am - 5pm - Manager implied that we could be on location as long as we needed to.  Then 66% of the way through our shoot, we were informed at 415 that at 5, we had to vacate because they needed to seat the section we were working in.

Location 2 - Studio Apartment - Projected time: 830am - 11pm - Actual time: 830am - 430pm - Due to a lack of communication with a difficult homeowner, we were forced to leave this location as well.  After a panic stricken hour of being terrified to tell my director, we had to spontaneously come up with a new place to shoot.

Location 3 - My brother’s house - Projected time: Unplanned - Actual time - 7pm - 330am - Our last resort was to finish our shoot at my house, which belongs to my brother.  99% of the time, my brother and his girlfriend are either in the house doing nothing of particular interest, or both working.  Tonight, they were entertaining guests.  We were able to get in and shoot the rest of our scenes, even though our sound has a lot of background noise because none of us felt we were in a place to ask anyone to keep it down, since we showed up unannounced at the last moment.

We got the rest of the shots on today’s list.  We just have to pick up some shots next week, do some green screening, and record some dub.

Wish me luck.

While it’s still fresh…

Today, I shot my first significant film with a small crew.

I wrote and directed, Sophia Clark was my director of photography and camera operator, Alyssa Achuff was my sound designer and operator, Emily Cote was handled the slate and continuity and will be our primary editor in post.  Dominic Hamilton was my assistant everything.  Jacqueline Holloway and Billy Edwards starred.

The shoot was grueling.  We worked from 7am to 8pm.  More details tomorrow because I’m exhausted.  We got everything done that I wanted to get done, but we do have to pick up a few shots next week and have quite a bit of sound to do in post.

More to come.

T-Minus 9 hours, 18 minutes

until my crew arrives to prepare for our shoot tomorrow.

Good lord.

Being a double major is really tough.  It’s all the time, work, and stress of college in duplicate.  For every brainstorming session everyone else needs, I need two.  For every deadline everyone else has, I have two.

As a result, I feel like I sometimes let some things fall to the wayside as I concentrate on others.  In my current case, I’ve been concentrating so hard on my film that I’ve let my animation piece suffer.  In less than an hour, I need to be finished my storyboards, my working animatic, a production still, my sound design, and 20% of my animating complete.  Of this, I have my storyboards and my production still.  Because I’m not doing traditional frame to frame animation (I’m doing CP animated in Flash), I don’t necessarily need to have 20% of my completed animation, but at least have most of my backgrounds and characters complete.

I don’t.

After my shoot tomorrow, I need to get going with this in full force.

FCP

Me and Final Cut Pro are not friends.  Sure, we’re acquaintances.  If me and Final Cut Pro pass each other in the street, we give each other the noncommittal knowing nod.  If I ran into Final Cut Pro at a close friend or relative’s wedding, we’d exchange banal conversation.

I wouldn’t, say… invite Final Cut Pro to my birthday party though.  If Final Cut Pro showed up as someone else’s guest, I wouldn’t be offended, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to send an invitation.  I never added Final Cut Pro to my buddy list or phone book.  If I saw Final Cut Pro in across a crowded room, I wouldn’t make my way over.

But you know, we cool.