Just for the grade.

So I've been trying to think of a new story idea but nothing has been coming to me recently and I believe it's because of school.

School is almost over, and again, I'm not sure whether to be excited or stressed. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait for this semester to be over with, but the short amount of time doesn't seem like enough with all of the things I still have to do in my classes. I love how big projects and finals all happen at the exact same time. It's like a massive education conspiracy designed to make me explode.

It's working.

Up until now, I have enjoyed making movies because it is fun. I have found, however, that I find the greatest feelings of fulfillment and satisfaction from the stories which have meaning. I like a story that makes you think. It makes you reconsider. It makes you change perspectives. Those are the stories I want to tell, not just strange short films that make you laugh.

So I have a few ideas actually. I've been playing around with them, and trying to figure out the best 3-5 minute short we can work on. It's been difficult, but I think the key to all of it is going to be the talent we use. We want to try using trained actors or student actors instead of ourselves. I'm sure that will make our films more entertaining. And again, I want to make more stories with real messages.

Okay bye.

Lernink Ixpireensis.

I enjoy some learning experiences more than others. I think that's pretty true for most people. We don't necessarily like to learn about driving the speed limit by paying hefty fines and attending traffic school. We don't like to learn about food poisoning by surviving it.

We recently had our film, 'Blood and Cupcakes', reviewed by my film professor, Paul Nibley. He was able to identify exactly what our film was missing and where we made amateur mistakes. I learned a ton from what he had to say and it really motivated me to get back out there and try it again.

I felt very vulnerable having put myself out there as a writer, director, and actor, but that kind of vulnerability yielded the greatest rewards, I believe.

I got a lot of constructive criticism that only made me want to improve and perfect the craft.

So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to keep writing and keep working. Booyah.

We will fall. We will rise.

My writing class has introduced me to something new but exciting: play writing. I never thought it would be as enjoyable as it has been. I am able to take these ideas that sit in my brain and put them onto a stage, which seems so much more attainable (although much less profitable) than the screen. Really though, it would just be fantastic for me to see one of my productions happening in a downtown theater.

It's something that has pushed my writing. I find myself being much more contemplative about the stories I write and the reasons for writing them. What do I want to say? How do I want to say it? I am being very careful because there are specific messages I want to share and I want to share them in a unique way.

I just got back a review from an assignment in my writing class. It was a 10-page drama play. I had written it previously as a short screenplay but thought it would make an interesting stage adaptation. In transferring it over to stage, I tried to sift out some things I felt were questionable in the story and still make it clear enough to be not only readable, but entertaining. I also just found a bug bite on my right forearm, which is odd to me. I haven't had a bug bite in ages.

Anyways, I had this review, and it went much better than I had anticipated. Actually, I guess I didn't really know what to expect. I liked the story, but I wasn't sure how others would respond to it. It turned out well, and I need to make some clarifications for sure, but I really enjoy being critiqued because it makes me a better writer.

It's been the same in my film class. We are split into groups of five for our final project, which is to make a 6-8 minute film that one of us has written. My script was the one chosen out of the five, and I find it to be quite nerve-wracking. I want it to be good and I think it's complete enough. In fact, our professor has to greenlight anything before we can shoot and he greenlighted ours, so that makes me feel better. But still, there's always something sitting at the back of my throat and at the bottom of my stomach that hopes this won't be a disaster. It's tough to throw yourself out there in front of an audience, but I have found it to be like life: Falling is inevitable; Getting back up is optional. Falling is a consequence of making life an action word. Once we live, we fall. Once we fall, it's up to us. Once we hear that sharp criticism that pierces our very core, we change, we adapt, we evolve, or we die.

And I'm not ready to die.

Wrapping Time

Tomorrow we wrap our shoot. It's finally here. We stayed up until 4:00am last night (or this morning) making this thing. We shot for roughly 20 hours.

What this whole process has made me realize is that understanding what you are writing is so key to the production side of things. You need to know in pretty good detail of what you want it to look like when you write it, and especially if you're writing it with someone else.

There have been a few occasions throughout this shoot where one of us or the other assumed the other knew exactly what they wanted for a particular shot, only to learn that it was just something that was written just to fill in the blanks. We then had to take extra time figuring out what the best approach would be.

Now, normally, we wouldn't write, shoot, and edit a 20-minute film in 3 weeks, but Halloween placed us under some serious time constraints. What I'm trying to say here is that we would have taken three weeks or more to go through the entire script, reading each scene and figuring out the exact look we wanted for every single shot, storyboarding as we went. We gave up that luxury, however, and threw ourselves in head-first to this huge undertaking.

It's been a huge learning experience-most recently being that nobody is happy to be shooting at 3:00am- but it's been worth it. It may not have been the wisest idea to jump from our three page comfort zone to a 17-page oblivion, but it doesn't matter now. We've nearly finished, and I've learned a whole lot.

End scene.

No Money, Mo Problems...

So we're about a week away from filming and things have taken some interesting turns.

My script is being revised but we just found out that some of our actors will not be available for half of our scheduled shooting time. Its a serious downer because I wrote the characters the way I did because I had already chosen the actors to play them. I know that's not a normal thing, and many legitimate writers don't get that opportunity, but I have been that fortunate.

It has been really difficult to deal with because now we are facing a very near deadline and still have big changes to make. I'm afraid now that the characters won't be nearly as funny as they were originally written and I'll probably have to rewrite them altogether.

My wife and I are trying to think of some alternative solutions, but nothing is coming to mind. We can't shoot any later than the 17th because we have to be ready to premiere on the 30th. 13 days for post-production is almost cutting it too close.

Another issue arose because of the way it was written. I wrote it to be shot at my cabin, which is a great location, except for the fact that it will most likely be covered in snow and there is no electricity. We would have to light all the candles and lanterns and have them burning for several hours. That's dumb for several reasons.

Now we're in a mad dash to find a new location that we can quickly alter to fit our story and give motive to our main character for using said location.

All that aside, I am still excited for all of this and I think it will be fun trying to work out these kinks and still meet our deadline.

Set Phasers to Awesome.

I finished the script last night! It's about 17 pages long and it's most likely awful, but I'm happy about it. I'm happy about getting it done anyways.

I found a lot of challenges along the way.

I started quickly, and wrote five good pages. I reviewed it with Phil and Mike, and they loved it. After that, it became increasingly difficult to continue and to finish.

Eventually, I gave myself a deadline. I was speaking with Mike, who said we had to get the script finished so we could finish our pre-production planning and everything. I told him to give me a couple of days to finish, and that I would have everything in by Tuesday.

I finished the rest of it yesterday, and it whooped me. I wrote and wrote, then deleted and wrote again. I had to replay everything in my head and make sure that everything fit and made sense to previous scenes and dialog. Granted, this story is very silly, with silly characters and a silly plot, but the structure still had to be right. It still had to be a story, and not just a random mesh of jokes.

I finished around 11 pm last night. It was really tough. There were so many things I had to remember, and even though I've written several scripts before, I think this one was the hardest, because I knew I was writing from beginning to end, and I knew that this is a story we'll be producing in the next two to three weeks.

The next challenge is that we are now supposed to be shooting on Saturday the 10th and the 17th, and I just barely finished the first draft. This is going to be fun.

Blood and Cupcakes.

We've reached another checkpoint in our process for the Halloween Project, tentatively named "Blood and Cupcakes." we met in a smaller group as writers so I could pitch them the first five pages.

The reading went really well. The other guys were very enthusiastic about it and they felt it was very "us." It was by far the best reaction I've ever had to one of my films, which is nice, cause I've never been so involved in the story-writing process. It tells me that all this studying is paying off.

I still have a ways to go, but I feel like the main characters are strong enough to drive the story forward. I like the story and the jokes and I'm confident we'll have a completely enjoyable product.

Booyah.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

We've now entered the last half of September, and our October 10th date still stands over me, swinging a club.

The good news, however, is that we finally had our production meeting. In between jokes and tangents, we figured out a good story, which I can't really explain.

I want to welcome out newest member, Phil Hudson, to the crew. He just got done shooting his own 20-minute short film. He brought some great ideas to the table and we ended up implementing a lot of what he said. My favorite part was the iPhone app he has that makes random rim shots and golf claps. It added immensely to the productivity of the meeting. Especially when Jarren pulled out his phone, downloaded the same app, then began using the same sounds. It was phenomenal.

Project-wise: I feel very confident and comfortable with the whole thing. I feel much better than I did a week ago. We picked a location, answered some questions, picked a main character, a villain, a plot, and all that good stuff.

Now, it's easy*. I just have to write the script, get it torn apart by the other guys, then re-write it again. Wash, rinse, repeat. It's all part of the process and I'm confident we'll have a great finished screenplay.

*Please note: sarcasm.

Attention: Choking is Prohibited

Another week goes by and suddenly it's another week closer to October 10th, our tentative shooting date for our Halloween project.

Unfortunately, we are still lacking a lot in the story area, but I think the time constraint will prove to be more rewarding than hindering. I feel I work better under pressure.

Thus far, we've got two main characters, both protagonists, and we know there will be a victim. We've also figured out a lot of funny things that are going to happen, but not many of them are entirely relevant to the story.

I don't know why I'm having so much trouble coming up with good ideas and a complete story. Normally, things just kind of fall into place. Maybe I need to just start writing the script for real and pound out a junkie first draft.

I'm trying to think back to our last two projects and how things went in the writing stage. I think the key to both Radicali and Infinipede was that we met together as a group and brainstormed for a few hours. This was really effective, because I feel like both of the projects we did were very well done and the best we could have done them. That's what has to happen. My ideas alone aren't good enough.

I say this as though I don't know it. I really do. It just becomes more and more difficult to find the time to meet together oft and participate in such talks. I felt cool saying that.

So that's the goal for this coming week. I have to coerce my sidekicks to meet together with me and create another hit. We've set high standards for ourselves with our two biggies, so we had better not choke.

And with nothing left so say, I bid you adieu.

Instant Applications

This is now the home of my current goings-on in the film world. I will be taking notes about the things that I am writing as I try to work out the kinks and tie up the loose ends. Get ready for possible boredom.

Recently we have been working on a new 'Halloween' project, which we only call by that name because we have a premiere deadline of October 30th (Which isn't Halloween, but it's close). When I say 'we,' I mean the same ol' group, Jarren, John, Colton, Mike, and myself. Most of you don't know them, but we are the collective cinematic superhero.

So I've been heading up the writing on this new project. We don't have a whole lot of time to get it all done, and it's pretty challenging, but I enjoy it a whole lot. I really enjoy these kinds of challenges; it seems to be the only time I really improve.

Writing this film coupled with my two film related classes has really created something special. I go to school everyday and sharpen my techniques and writing tricks, then I get to take that straight to the pages I'm writing. There's nothing quite like instant application.

The project so far is in such an infant stage that I hesitate even bringing it up until we have something more concrete. I wrote out a synopsis for the story and have begun character descriptions.

One of the major problems I have had in the past is having the ability to structure my thoughts and fit the things I want to say into the organized layout for which it is intended. I've also had trying times attempting to justly describe a certain character. I am fortunate enough, however, to be where I am today.

My classes and my friends have helped me begin to cross these barriers. Just the other day, Mike helped me finally see why I could never correctly describe a character. He said something to the effect of:

"When you describe a character, you tend to use adjectives. 'This guy is awkward. This guy is quirky.' Don't tell me he's awkward, show me."

I may or may not have polished his words up a bit, but that doesn't matter. Essentially, that is what I understood from what he said, and it made perfect sense. It seems like common sense, but for some reason I just couldn't see it until now.

Therefore, I have instantly applied this revelation to my writing and have used situations and settings to show who my characters are. For example, in working on my lead character for the 'Halloween' project, I described his morning routine, answering basic questions:

Where does he live?
How well is it kept?
What is his home decor like?
What is his strategy for getting ready in the morning?
What does he eat for breakfast?
What kind of car does he drive?
How does he interact with random people that cross his path?

Any question I had about him had a specific answer. If I came up with one thing, and it didn't feel right, I would try another answer until it fit. It was much easier than to say, "His apartment is clean and nice. He likes eggs." There's no clarity in those statements. How is his apartment clean? How does he like his eggs? How does he prepare them?

It's been amazing having this kind of progress because of a simple change in perspective. It's a true key in bringing your characters to life.

Finding Nowhere: Prologue

Emerging from a densely covered path, the couple stood motionless. After trekking for miles in a tunnel of green, there was a sudden opening to a large field. The field was no surprise; it was the cabin at the edge of the field that gave them an unnatural chill. They only knew what their emotions could tell them: This is not right.

It seemed as though the trees themselves were screaming not to enter, but they were drawn by a force even stronger than curiosity.

They crossed the field and approached the cabin. It appeared as though it had been built by hand decades ago.

His wife followed with reluctant faith as he brushed the cobwebs away from the frame. Mesmerized, he opened the door and disappeared into the shadows.

Finding Nowhere: Chapter 1

Nobody seemed to notice or care about Jason Butler's schedule. The university campus he attended was always hopeless during lunch hours. If he had any chance of arriving at the pharmacy in time, he would have to go against his personal standards for crowd etiquette.

Jason began to purge his way through the masses. As an opening cleared, he whipped his backpack off, unzipped the zipper, and pulled out a pure white lab coat all in one smooth motion. With coordinated action, he maneuvered the bag and the coat until the coat was neatly placed on him and the backpack was slung over his shoulder once more.

He glanced at his watch. Five minutes. Not enough time to cross the parking lot, let alone cross the bridge and go around the stadium.

Two years ago, as a freshman, he vowed to never be the guy who ducked his head and weaved through the crowds like a water snake. That was just asking for rejection on all levels.

He pushed the thought out of his mind as he slithered through the parked cars and rushed up the steps to the top of the bridge.

Three minutes. Keep weaving.

Jason ducked his head and jumped back into action.