Welcome to [sic] Productions

48 Hour Film Race - BIG NEWS!

2009-05-21T16:17:13Z

It's been a few weeks since I checked in, but big things are brewing...

Our screening, the last scheduled one in the festival (except for the "Best of..." screening), went well, and although we were in the weakest group (with most of the other newbies), I think we represented ourselves quite well. Most of the cast and crew showed up, and after we went out for a few pre-screening beers, we were ready to join a crowd of about 150 people to see our work on the big screen.

To say I was nervous was an understatement - since it was the first thing I'd ever had shown on a proper theater screen, I was gnawing the shit out of my nails. We were the third film, and when the first played with some encoding problems, I was even more terrified that I'd made a mistake in exporting the media. The second played, and here we went...

...and surprisingly, it was funny. I mean, it wasn't "Stripes" or "Caddyshack," but for a little five-minute film, it got several laughs. We played it straight for the first minute, throwing in one line to keep the audience on their toes (and let them know that we were coming from somewhere entirely different), but when I first appeared in the diaper, it was on. For the rest of the film, most of the lines and sight gags came off and the people loved it! I could breathe easy, because our film was a hit!

Of course, we stayed for the rest of the films, and while some of them were just as good, when it was over I would have put our work up against anyone in our screening group. The audience voted on the screening's Audience Award (which would be announced at the "Best Of..." screening), and then the filmmakers were called up for Q&A. As the team leader, it was my job to answer the questions...

In front of a crowd, and I'm in heaven. Right away, I could tell that all of the other filmmakers were taking themselves way too seriously, so I went in the opposite direction - when I was talking, I was making a joke and not really giving a shit. We didn't take the process and the film seriously, so why shouldn't I do the same for the Q&A. This led to the session transforming into Brian's Stand-Up Comedy Special, and I got more than a few jokes (and motioned for another beer when others were talking - but no one brought it to me, sadly). We answered basic questions, and when the questions were opened to the audience, of course I was hit about the diaper right away. Funny stuff, and I knew that it would stick in the audience's heads.

After that, it was time to go home, the 48 Hour Film Race (DC version) all wrapped.

Or was it...

Woke up this morning to an email from Mark Ruppert, the guy in charge of the project. He asked if I was coming to the screening tonight, because WE WON AN AWARD! We turned in our film late so the only award we're eligible for is the Audience Award for our screening time, so that has to be it. But YES, I am now an AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER! Lizzie and I are heading out there tonight, even though it will probably be a "strand up and receive applause" thing - but it's huge! My first award!

I guess I might have some talent after all... ;-)

So yeah, great news! And now for something a little more personal...

This past weekend was a big one - the first meeting between my parents (and extended family) and my girlfriend, and she was a huge hit!

My cousin was getting married and it seemed like the perfect time, so we made the long journey back to NC. On Friday night, we just hung out with my parents, and after they watched my (now AWARD-WINNING) film, they just *had* to show Lizzie my old college Student Television work. So we sat around for an hour and a half, watching me and my friends fight, curse, make bad jokes, and in general try to piss people off (ah, those were the days - did you know that I was also AWARD-WINNING back then?). But she loved it, and my parents loved her, so all wa good.

We took in "Angels and Demons" on Saturday (Mom's choice), then it was off to the wedding. I was actually a little worried about this because my extended family can be a little crazy, and they didn't disappoint as everyone proceeded to get absolutely hammered. Everyone, that is, except me, because I knew that I might need to drive home, plus I wanted to make sure that my girl was cool all night. Everyone, especially the women in my family, loved her, and she loved them, too. All in all, it was a huge success.

On Sunday, we were able to have a quick lunch with my friends, and although they didn't get to spend much time with her, I think Steve and Heather approve (Mike met her a month or so back, and he definitely does). We'll spend more time with them in the future, but this past weekend was all about her and the family.

Speaking of that, I think they all now know what's going on. Goddamn, I'm crazy about this girl, and I love her more and more every day. I had people come up to me at the wedding and say that I'd finally found it, and after years of being wrong on that, I now know I'm right. She loved me, and she supports me (she might be more excited than I am about being an AWARD-WINNING filmmaker), and she's the woman that I want to spend all of my life with. Every day with her is better than the last, and I can't wait for those times when I get to see her again (luckily, she lives just two minutes down the road!). I've finally hit the jackpot, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her by my side.

So that's it! Good news, and then great news! I have more to share, but it's going to have to wait!

AWARD-WINNING filmmaker out... God, it will be a long time before I tire of saying that!

48 Hour Film Festival - DC edition

2009-05-08T19:26:25Z

I know that I owe you a recap on the NYC Midnight screenwriting contest, but since the 48 Hour Film Festival is more recently in my "Rearviewmirror" (Pearl Jam!), I'll hit that first...

If you're not familiar with the contest, here's how it goes - you attend a genre drawing, and if you don't like your genre, you can throw it back for one selected randomly from another list.. Also, every city gets a character and a line of dialogue. Once you have those, you have to write, shoot, edit, export, and turn in a 4-7 minute film in 48 hours. Sounds simple, right? Not so fast...

My group, [sic] Productions (yes, I used my production company name for this - it's a good time to start building the brand!), originally drew Film de Femme, which is a movie with a strong female lead (think "Juno" or Ripley in the "Alien" series). This presented a huge problem for us because while we had several female actresses that would help us, we'd never worked with them before. Could they act? Could they work in our style of writing? We didn't know, and since we had those variables, we threw the genre back and drew Family Film as our second choice. The character was a coach named Ivan/Eve Pagoda, and the line was "We're hoping it gets better."

"Family Film" was a unique genre for our group's inclinations, and after a short debate, we decided to make it more of a film about a family. I actually came up with the original idea that we used - Lizzie and I were on the metro discussing the film (we were off to my company's annual Night at the Ballpark), and she said that there was such a thing as a lactation coach. Well, that was just funny, and I came up with the idea of a young, 20-something couple forced to adopt a nephew when his mother died - but that nephew was me in a diaper.

Yes, I actually did it.

So John and I (and our ladies) hit the game, while Tom stayed home and took off writing. We called back and forth throughout the game, and when we left and went back to Tom's, he'd already scripted three pages. Great - we snatched him up, went back to my place, and just a few hours later, we had a working script. Little did we know just how little we would stick to it...

Early Saturday morning wakeup call, and right away, we're off to buy props. Around 10am, a few crew members (Scott and Lisa) arrived, and we were off to shoot Tom in the metro. This wasn't a bad shot, but looking back, we were foolish to underestimate just how bad the background audio would blow out here. In hindsight, we should have taped the sound of the train, then recorded the dialogue and did some ADR magic. Still, a good shot - several of them, in fact - and we managed to get yelled at by a metro worker (she needed to check our permit).

After that, it was off to a secluded park to film our friends' kid, then on to the parents and their son. By this point, Xana and her boyfriend Matt had joined us, so our crew was almost full. I cannot accurately duplicate the insanity I felt in taping this part - we'd block the shot, rehearse, and then just before we rolled tape, I stripped off my clothes and did the scene in an adult diaper (good thing I've been so dedicated at the gym!). Lunch at Tom's then more shooting ourside his place, then off to John's to shoot an office scene.

A quick word on the office - we wanted to secure one, but because of the rights needed to show it, we just were not able to make it happen. In the end, we did what we always do - we faked it. A little creative blocking put together the shot, and soon, John, Xana, and Lizzie's roommate Deirdre were able to shoot the opening of our movie. After people left, we were exhausted, but we stuck around for another hour or so and filmed most of the ending, as well. When we finally wrapped for the day, we only needed another hour of shooting - we thought...

But first it was back to my place to edit, and that presented the major challenge of the weekend. Just importing and cutting the footage down into usable bits took quite a long time, and after that, I was almost too exhausted to put it into the timeline. Luckily, Tom and John kept me on task and working, and they pushed me much farther along that I thought I could go. Still, as we put it together we started to get excited that we had a funny little movie.

And then we started seeing problems.

Lighting, audio, mics in shots, missing shots - there were a litany of problems. And as we looked over everything, we knew that some reshoots were in order. Not everything, of course, but a pretty decent chunk - all of the first scene (about 2min of screen time), one shot in a major scene, and part of the ending. It was a little disheartening, yes, but we were resolved to do it. The plan was that I'd wake up Sunday morning and edit while they went back to John's and reshot the opening - but of course the best laid plans of mice and men blah blah blah.

I was needed for a shoot, so there went a few hours. And then there were a few more shots to get, and suddenly it's Sunday at 2pm and I'm starting the trims. We were also lax on the audio, so John, Tom and Lisa start diving into that as I'm cutting in a frenzy. Edits turn to closer trims, music is selected, mixed, and added, renders are running, outputs are set...

...and we missed the 7:30 deadline.

Not surprising, actually - I think most of us knew a few hours earlier that it would happen. That meant that we wouldn't be eligible for the big awards, but we could still screen and win an Audience Award. After another two hours of work (with some serious output issues that almost made us miss the second, 9:30 deadline), Tom and I turned the flick in, then went to the bar to unwind and have a beer.

So what did I learn?

Well, it's tough. Even a week later, it's hard to separate from the process, but here goes: am I disappointed that we missed the first deadline? Yes, of course. But I'm much more proud that we even did it AT ALL. I've spent the last several years talking and talking about how much I wanted to do things like this, but in the end, I was always too lazy to follow through. Over the last year, though, things have changed, and I feel the excitement of doing something like this and working on a set again. So while it sucks that we didn't get it in on time, it's awesome that we even did it at all - and it's going to feel even better when I can see it on the big screen next Monday.

One thing that worked in our favor was our cast and crew. Xana was the perfect "Mom" to me, and she took every horrible thing that I said to her (because my character was a big pervert) in stride. Deirdre is actually a natural in front of the camera, and it's not the last time we'll be using her. And on the crew side, Matt has a great eye behind the camera, Scott was awesome at the shitty job of holding the boom pole and working sound, and Lisa made sure everything stayed on time and in line as our assistant director. Oh yes, and we can't forget about our artist, my girlfriend, who made some great ID badges for one shot.

And then there was Tom and John. At times it was rough working together - we were stuck in confined places all weekend, fighting together to get this out, and it wasn't always pretty. But I've listened to other stories that have come from this competition and I'm glad I was able to endure this and create the movie with these guys. They kept me working hard, pushing forward when I wanted to quit, and both were great actors and really stepped up to the plate on the tech side, as well. I think the three of us make a great team, and I can't wait to do it again.

That's right, I said "do it again" because I'm probably not stopping this year. In fact, I plan on doing the Baltimore version of this competition in about six weeks with another coworker - mainly to stay active (without taking such a high-stress role) and see how they run a set and delegate responsibility. I'm not sure if Tom and John will as well - they might never do one of these again - but I know I'm excited for it. Plus there's a 24 Hour Film Festival in August or September - fun!

If you're in DC and get the chance to come out on Monday night, our screening is at 7pm at the AFI in SIlver Springs, MD. Not sure if this will ever get up on YouTube, so check it out while you can!

With thanks to "Inspector Gadget..."

2009-04-24T23:00:09Z

HAHAHAHA!

Back in the swing...

2009-04-24T20:52:28Z

Finished my second draft of my NYC Midnight short screenplay contest earlier today - here's how it's going...

After my utter disappointment with my first draft, I knew I just had to get back in there and start revising. I have a solid idea (which I'll share when the script is completed tomorrow), but actually putting the words in the script proved quite daunting at first. My first draft was pure hack-shit, something thrown down on paper to just get the ball rolling. I was still excited for the concept, but the execution was getting tough...

And then I switched up my writing time, and everything was great.

Here's the story behind that. When I last wrote seriously (God, EONS ago), I was able to write productively at the end of a long, hard day, but these days, I'm just too exhausted. When I get home, all I want to do is fire up an ESPN podcast, change out of my work shoes, cook a little dinner, and watch some TV - unless I'm spending time with my girlfriend, and then that's my whole night. But I've started adapting to Lizzie's schedule, because when she stays over, she has to leave before 7am to get to work early.

At first, I'd just give her a morning kiss, let her out, and go back to bed. But something's changed recently, and when she leaves at 6-6:30 in the morning, I've started staying up. At first, I'd just play video games, watch some TV, or surf the Internet. This week, however, I took that time to write - and it's made a world of difference. I''ve now found that early-morning is my "secret time," when I'm full of energy and creativity and can work on the script. I'm excited by the thought of going to work and already have several pages of script under my belt, and even though the screenwriting contest ends Saturday night, this won't be the last of my early morning scripts.

As for the script itself, I'm working through my issues. I have a great sense of the characters and action, but if I have one problem, it's in my description. Here's an example of my problematic stage direction:

"Wyatt's tired of hearing this conversation over and over again, and he's frustrated that Gretchen has not yet caught on to this."

Not bad, right? But here's the problem: from reading the script, and seeing it on screen, the reader/viewer has no idea that this conversation has happened more than once. Instead of simply describing the action, I'm describing the HIGHER MEANING behind the action - much like a novel. Instead of that direction, here's an example of what I should use:

"Wyatt looks at his hands and sighs heavily."

Simple but effective. My script is littered with these instances, and that's one of the main things I'll be trying to correct in tonight's rewrite. Yes, I know that I said I like to write in the morning, but time is running out and I need to get another draft down before Tom and I get together to review our scripts tomorrow morning.

So anyway, this contest has been an excellent learning exercise, just what I needed to get back into the swing of writing every day. I'm already thinking ahead to several short and full screenplay ideas that have been germinating in my head, and after my first draft of this one, I'm no longer afraid of writing an absolutely horrible first draft. This contest has been fruitful on a number of levels, and I'm ready to start working on work that's more personal to me!

More about this script, including the conclusion to my story, tomorrow or Sunday!

NYC Screenwriting Contest assignment

2009-04-18T10:23:42Z

Genre: Drama
Subject: Plant seed

Interesting combination, but I could write on this all day. Brainstorming...

We're in!

2009-04-16T21:48:10Z

Sad day a few weeks back: after months of debating if the guys and I were going to enter the 48 Hour Film Festival in DC, we decided to register - only to be informed that the contest was full and we were placed on the waiting list. We were, needless to say, disappointed, and we didn't have high hopes for getting in.

But...

This morning I received an email that spots had opened up, and so we're back in the game! We registered for the contest, and so, in two weeks, we'll be working on our 4-7 minute short! I'm so excited!

Between this film festival, the screenwriting contest (which starts tomorrow night at midnight), our sketches (which we're resuming on Saturday under my direction and with my script), and the continuing podcast, I feel really great about where I'm going creatively. I've really had a great run lately, and it's nice to see the weather change and be ready to get back outside and work with the camera. I'm feeling great about the direction that I'm in...

Type Last weekend, my best friend and [sic] collaborator Mike came up to DC to chill for the weekend, and he was finally able to meet all of the friends I talk about all the time. It was pretty cool, and he got along really well with John and Tom. Those guys have really been important to me in the last year, and I don't know how I would have reached this point without them. It's great to be around people that support you creatively and socially, and I can't wait until our big projects start coming into fruition.

Of course, the big meet-up of the weekend was between Mike and my girlfriend Lizzie, and due to extenuating circumstances, they didn't get to meet until Saturday night (he'd been up since Thursday). After my last relationship fiasco (which Mike informed me to ditch within three months of dating the girl), it was important to me that he like my girlfriend, but I shouldn't have been worried. She's awesome, and within fifteen minutes of meeting her, he'd given his approval. He saw just how much we doted on each other, and before he left, he told me that I'd made the right choice (for once!).

Oh yeah, and cute sidenote: since I'd been hanging with Mike all weekend I didn't see Lizzie for a few days myself. Well, we were going out for a joint birthday party on Saturday night, and when I walked into the bar and saw her... she left me speechless. She looked AWESOME, and I was actually a little tongue-tied when I first started to talk to her. This girl is beautiful at every moment of the day, but sometimes she takes it to another level and reduces me to the gawking schoolboy of my youth. Saturday night was one of those time, and I told myself again just how lucky I was to be with such a smart, beautiful, supportive, funny, amazing woman in my life.

Anyway, that's the story, Morning Glory. Im off to work on a sketch rewrite and storyboard for the weekend's shooting, and I'll check in tomorrow night with more details on the screenwriting contest - I get my genre and action!

Welcoming today's special guest...

2009-04-09T15:36:25Z

It's been a busy week, and the weekend will be even wilder...

- My best friend and partner-in-crime, Mike, is coming to visit DC this weekend, and he's finally going to meet the friends and girlfriend that he's heard so much about over these past few months. Outside of my girlfriend's (and her roommate's) birthday party on Saturday night, I'm not sure how "big" we'll take it, but it'll just be nice to chill with the kid for a bit. His wife is going out of town, as well, but she'll get to meet my girlfriend soon enough. I know they'll get along just fine, and I'm excited for Mike to meet the woman that I love!

- In keeping with the upward mobility of my life over the past several months, I took another step forward yesterday: I registered for my first screenwriting contest. It's called the NYV Midnight Shorts contest, and the basic idea is that the organizers give you a subject and an object, and a week later, you submit a script with those elements. The contest is broken up into heats, and the top qualifiers out of those heats later compete in another screenwriting contest to determine the winner. I haven't written a lot in the past few months (coming news to the contrary), so I don't expect to get to the next round, but it's nice to get back in the swing and work towards a deadline again. I'll keep you updated when the contest begins next weekend!

- One thing I have been doing is writing sketches, and the guys and I are set to film our first one of the year on Saturday morning. I'm fairly excited for the undertaking, but I'm also apprehensive because I have to play a REALLY embarassing part in it. Still, I wrote it and will direct, so I have no one to blame for this but myself. Mike's going to star in it, so I'll be keeping him involved. No promises until this ball is rolling, but I hope to have this video posted to YouTube before the screenplay contest. We'll see...

- I'm also writing episode 1 of my marathon training vlog, because I want to make these bits more structured than the episode 0 offering. That was more of an impromptu "I'm registering for a marathon, here we go" session, but in the future, I'd like to do more production, documentary-style, on this project. I'll probably have the script written this weekend and start filming, but I can't guarantee that I'll have another episode up in the next week or so. Still, just know that I'm continuing to train and work on this project - I'm not letting this opportunity slip through the cracks!

Here's to an awesome weekend!

Oh yeah!

2009-04-07T18:09:34Z

National champions, baby!

GO TARHEELS!

Brian's Marathon Training Vlog, Episode 0

2009-04-04T02:09:19Z

Posted episode 0 of my marathon training videos!

Now that I've A) registered, and B) made a video about it, I guess I'm really in! Stay tuned for more!

MCM, softball, and chris

2009-04-01T15:47:55Z

I know it's April Fool's Day, but all of this is legit...

- After my blazing 53:56 time in the Register to Run 10k (which averaged to just under 8:30 a mile, despite the fact that I had to walk for a bit because the trail was pretty much impassable), I received a code to register for the Marine Corps Marathon. Well, I redeemed that code on Monday night, and so, it's official: I will be running my first marathon at the end of October.

I'm already more than a little nervous, but don't take that as thinking that I can't do it. Like anything else in life, it all comes down to a lot of training and a little bit of luck, and I feel like I have both on my side. I've really been hitting the gym and running hard this year, and I'm in the best shape of my life (not to mention that I'm looking DAMN FINE). But this... this is a whole new level for me. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is the greatest physical challenge that I've ever faced, and I can't wait to show what I can do.

- My company's first softball game of the season was last night, and we DEMOLISHED the competition 20-8. For my part, I played well - had a hit and threw someone out, but I also dropped an easy fly because I was loafing a bit. Good night, though, since no one was hurt, and afterwards, we went out to a local bar, The Evening Star. It's a pretty nice joint, and Lizzie joined me for a few drinks. Good start to the season...

- In the last few weeks, I've purchased both "mc chris is dead" and "mc chris part six part one," and they are widely different albums. The former is pretty much what I don't like about chris' music - too many "whiny" songs, flat beats, not enough geek shit, but the latter is a totally different experience. "mc chris part six part one" is the first of five (?) CDs that the rapper will release this year, and even though they're all pretty much mixtapes, if this is any indication I'm going to love them. On this disc, he returns to his roots, rapping about bitches, blowjobs, and bounty hunters, and it makes me remember why I love the guy so much. If you're a fan of old school mc chris, this is the disc to check out.

Here we go!

2009-03-30T02:05:28Z

Heels are Final Four bound!

Six Months, and More

2009-03-27T21:25:41Z

Big weekend for me!

- First up is Friday's softball practice, and I'm excited to finally get back into the swing of things (pardon the pun). Some of my best times last summer were on the softball field, and I'm into my second year and happy to be able to help the team. I'm also not a bad player, which helps things considerably. Yes, I'm more than a little competitive, but every team needs someone like me to take the game a little too seriously!

- Saturday's a big day, because the girlfriend and I are waking up early to drivee my ass an hour down the road to Quantico for my 10k. I'm running this race to register for the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October (hopefully accomplishing one of my big goals for the year in the process), and while I don't expect to be blazing a leader's pace, I'm hoping to finish the 6.4 mile run in less than 55 minutes. That would be close to the 8-minute-mile pace that I ran for the 8k two weeks ago, although I'm not sure that's possible. I've been training for the race, but I won't start killing myself on the running until late July. Then it's two workouts a day for about twelve weeks! Hope I can do it!

Saturday night, however, is bigger, because that's when my girlfriend and I are going out to celebrate our six month anniversary. I think we'll end up going out to dinner, and then I have tickets to a play in town. I've had a few of my male friends make fun of me for making a big deal out of a six month anniversary, but I'm just a romantic like that. Honestly, every day with Lizzie is a great one, and I make sure to tell her just how I feel every day. I want to show her just how lucky I feel that she loves me, and I can't wait to celebrate many multiples of a six-month anniversary. Does that make sense? Being in love tends to make me goofy...

- Sunday's a little easier, although we do have to do a podcast and I was just roped into a fantasy baseball league with some friends at work. I know absolutely NOTHING about fantasy baseball, but I'll try to find the time for some research so the Pork Chop Express (my team) doesn't get embarassed!

So yeah, excited for a big weekend - hope I have time for it all!

"Infinity's a great place to start"

2009-03-24T14:29:58Z

Already shaping up to be a good day for me - going to lunch at the local gourmet pizza joint for a co-worker's birthday, then taking a half-day to pick up the girlfriend and her friends at the airport!

Over the last few days, I've caught a little shit from my friends because of how I much I've missed her over the past few weeks, but they don't really understand. To them, your partner leaving means that you get your own vacation for that time. Once that was entirely true for me - I pretty much decided to break up with my last girlfriend when she went away for a week and I had a great, relaxing time because she wasn't around to be a bitch - but with Lizzie, it's different. For the first time, I actually value time with her more than I value time alone, and that's unusual because I've always professed to be a loner at heart. Well, in the past I might have been, but that changed when I finally found the woman I was meant to be with. Every day with her is better than the last, and every day without her just doesn't cut it anymore.

God, I've really fallen hard for this girl, haven't I? ;-) I can't wait to grab her and just give her a big kiss!

And Saturday's another big day for the two of us... stay tuned, if yyou don't mind reading some sappy stuff now and again.

BSG series finale tonight!

2009-03-20T19:56:55Z

Despite my known issues with "Battlestar Galactica," I'll be tuning into the series finale tonight on Sci-Fi. Yes, I haven't always been kind to the show - several potential storylines were flubbed, and several characters were underdeveloped - but it's still one of the better shows on TV and probably the best reason to watch the channel. I've watched the show from the premier, so it's nice to be able to close the book on the show in its proper fashion.

Other than that...

Not entirely sure what's going on this weekend on the creative front - Tom has family in town, and although John wants to film, I don't believe that we have anything that's past the development stage at this point. No, I see my last lonely weekend as one where I catch up on some TV, hit my workouts, do some writing, and play video games with my friends. I also need to get out and pick up Lizzie's birthday present, even though I won't be able to give it to her until she comes back into town on Tuesday (her birthday is Sunday). It will be nice to dial it back a bit, but that doesn't mean I can take the whole time off and be lazy.

Speaking of writing, things are going pretty well on that front. I wrote a pretty good sketch the other night, and I'm just working on the rewrite before I turn it over to John to direct. I don't usually like to step away from my "babies" like this, but with the script calling for both Tom and myself to be onscreen, it's unavoidable. Plus, this will be a great chance for John to flex some directorial muscle. My crew's standing rule is "You write it, you direct it," but I'm straying from that for this sketch so we can spread around the experience.

Never fear, though, because I have a few more good ideas in my head that will be drafted in the next few days. Will they be funny? I don't know. I'm sure that at least one of them is, but the other may just turn out to be awkward. Tom and I talked about all this earlier today - write a ton of sketches, and some of them will HAVE to be funny. I don't pretend to be able to write funny sketches all the time, but I do feel like I have a pretty good track record. All of this writing also serves another purpose - to sharpen my skills for the screenwriting contest in the middle of April. With our developing technology skills, I've neglected writing more than the barest of outlines for a few months, but now the script's the thing, to paraphrase Shakespeare. Nice to be back in the swing of things.

A quick video link before I get out of here: Lizzie and I were out to eat a few months ago and this strange song started playing. Well, she whipped out the iPhone and, using some funky app, identified it as Colin Hay's "Are You Looking at Me?" I've been singing the song on and off in my head ever since (need to pick up the album, I guess), but today, I finally took the initiative and found the video:

New Hillbilly Sports, and more!

2009-03-16T15:57:48Z

Last night, I posted another edition of Hillbilly Sports to iTunes, and in this edition, we do a live chat as the NCAA tourney brackets are released. It ended up being a better idea than I thought it would be, so you should check it out by downloading off the iTunes Music Store. In addition, you can email the show at hillbillysportspodcast@gmail.com!

Also, please check out our YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/sicproductionfilms. Our commercials have been doing quite well, and we hope to have more up shortly!

Busy weekend but tons of fun...

- On Friday, John and I went to a coworker's concert/birthday party. This guy, Scott, is a hell of a musician, and his music sounds a lot like Tom Petty. There was a great turnout from PBS, and we got to hang out with some really cool people. In the end, we got WAY too drunk and ended up catching a cab home, and I slept like the dead...

- ...which means no filming took place on Saturday. Actually, that's not quite right - John had baseball practice and Tom had something going on, so filming was pretty well out for the weekend as it was. We all got together for a late lunch to watch Carolina lose in the ACC tournament to Florida State, but honestly, we should have lost on Friday to Virginia Tech. Our point guard, Ty Lawson, sat out both games, and he makes such a difference with that team. Hopefully he'll be better with this rest he's getting, because we need him back for the Big Dance!

- Saturday night was brief but fun. John's wife Melissa organized a Group Date Night, and although I was dateless, I tagged along with the ten or so people that showed up. We went to see a phenomenal movie, "Brothers at War," about a filmmaker going into Iraq to try and get a sense of what his two enlisted brothers go through. It was quite a powerful movie for me, since my brother's currently serving in Iraq, and I'm definitely spreading the word on this film. I'd recommend it.

- But Saturday was an early night, because on Sunday I had my first race of the season, the St. Patrick's Day 8k in DC. I've really turned into a workout fiend since the turn of the year, but most of my running thus far has been inside, on a treadmill. I was really curious as to how I would do, but when the dust settled, I'd clocked in at 40:23.

Now, 8k is approximately 5 miles, which means that I ran five eight-minute miles - pretty damn good, actually. I'm starting to realize that although I'm not as dedicated to running as I was in high school, that doesn't mean that I'm not good at it. My running goals for the year are: finish my first marathon (I'm running the Marine Corps Marathon in late October), and finish a 5k in under 20 minutes. The first is just hard work, but the second will take a little more. Still, I'm excited and now have a plan for the rest of the year!

- Sunday night was podcast and selection show, and I also spent Sunday in a marathon of BSG shows. I'd only watched the season premier, but with the series finale broadcasting this coming Friday, I wanted to catch up so I could close it out. Honestly, the show was about what I remembered - some great plots, and some truly boring ones - and at this point, I'm just content to see the show end its run. It started strong, but I really believe that the last few seasons have not lived up to the earlier promise. Still, I'll be tuned in.

- And finally, it's been four days since Lizzie left for Ireland, and I already miss her terribly. This is a pretty foreign thing for me, because I've always been relieved to have a little peace and quiet when my former partners left town. I can fill my day with meaningless shit to pass the time, but nothing is the same as having her here with me. Getting "I love you" on a text is one thing, and looking into her eyes while she says that is another. But I'll survive the next eight or so days that she's gone, and when she comes back, we'll be on the doorstep of celebrating six months together!

"It's Probably Time"

2009-03-10T14:46:29Z

My friends and I have been working on commercials for the CareerBuilder.com contest, and they're finally ready for the public!

First, from my friend Tom Finnegan (I edited this one):

And then, here's the one that I directed:

Watch, enjoy, show to your friends, spread the word, and let me know what you think!

We stumbled upon this contest a few months ago, and immediately, this was designated as our first big project of the new year. We tossed around ideas for a few weeks, and one that stuck out was Tom's. My bigest issue with what eventually became our first commercial was its resemblance to MacGyver's Breakfast, the short I'd written and directed for our group back in September. However, Tom did a great job differentiating the two videos, and by the time we were ready to shoot it, it looked to be a solid idea.

The production process itself wasn't that tough, although we did have some issues with the audio in the latter shots. I believe that our Mic/AV jack was switched to AV at some point, giving off some kind of feedback that sounded horrible on camera. It was a huge problem for the shot of the car driving off - so much that we had to reshoot that audio. Fun fact - the first time we shot the car driving away, it was lightly snowing, and the second time, it was about 70 degrees!

John did a great job in acting, and Tom had a definite idea of what he wanted to see out of the commercial. Our biggest issue was time - when I sat down to make the rough cut (since Tom was out of town with his family), it ended up being almost two minutes long. That was a huge problem, since the video could only be 45 seconds in length. But we had a process - first I cut, then John and I cut, then Tom and I cut, and eventually we made it down to just over 44 seconds.

What really ties Tom's commercial together, I think, is the music. We debated this for a short time, but when we settled on a decision, it worked perfectly. Once he left, I was faced with making a few precise edits, and then it was time for exporting the video and posting it to YouTube. I don't think this is the best quality that we could have used, and in fact, we're planning to work with Compressor for a better product in the future, but it worked for this purpose. All in all, we're excited with the final product.

I've spent all this time talking about Tom's, but I really haven't hit on mine yet. That's because mine was much more low-key and easy to produce. I had the idea a few days before I pitched it to Tom and John, but we immediately loved it. Single shot, pull out and pan down, and M&E, music, and facial expressions tell the story. I know that CareerBuilder will probably disqualify me for the "explicit material," but I don't really care - I wanted to make something that stuck in peoples' heads. As that goes, I think I did a pretty good job - I've already received several compliments that it was hilarious.

See, this is what I'm trying to tell people - it's not about winning the contest; it's about creating a good product, generating buzz, and building a fanbase. The boys scoff when I speak in those terms, but if there's anything I learned from my years in the webcomic business, it's this: everything takes gorundwork. You work and you work, and success doesn't come overnight. But you keep working, keep pushing boundaries, and don't be afraid to fail every once in a while. I know these commercials aren't the best things ever made, but they're solid and they're SOMETHING. They're part of the foundation that we're building.

Weekend hits

2009-03-07T23:51:17Z

Quick hits for the weekend:

- Although we were down a man, we recorded a new episode of Hillbilly Sports this morning, and it's now available on the iTunes Music Store for free download. In this episode, we discuss Dallas' release of TO and the continuation of the NFL free agent market, the MLB arrival of one Rodriguez (Manny) but departure of another (Alex), Shaq's "flopping" controversy, and the upcoming Duke-Carolina game. This was a huge podcast for us because it was the first one where we cut in actual quotes from athletes and coaches. It's not that difficult to do in Garage Band, although it did greatly increase our edit time. I'm not 100% content with where we currently are, but the podcast is coming along nicely. We also have a growing audience, and you should join that group!

- Unfortunately, the podcast took all day and we weren't able to go out and film anything else. We have tentative plans to shoot my Career Builder commercial either tonight or tomorrow morning, but it's looking more and more like the latter. The girlfriend and I have double date plans with my hillbilly cohort John and his wife - dinner and then the exciting world of board games. Both of our ladies are in school (mine on Saturdays, his on Sundays) and we worked all day, so it will be nice to kick back and relax a bit (as opposed to our general plan of going out all night). Bring on the "Scene-It!"

- Editing Tom's commercial (since he's in Florida this week) is moving right along, and we should have it ready well in advance of the Tuesday deadline. I'll go more into my editing notes when it is posted.

- More coming up in the next week or two... Just got the call to action for tonight's festivities!

"Watchmen" review

2009-03-06T19:59:38Z

Now that I have a few minutes (and have shaken off the cobwebs from only a few hours of sleep), I think I can write a review of last night's midnight showing of "Watchmen"...

First of all, the movie isn't as horrible as has been widely reported. If this were any other movie, I'd probably be singing the praises of the work, encouraging others to see it at their earliest convenience. The problem is that this flick was based off one of the most successful and influential graphic novels of all time, and the source material is much better than what was portrayed on the screen.

Director Zack Snyder had the unenviable task of translating the beloved classic to the screen, and for the most part, he's successful. Going in, I knew that it would be impossible to hit every single note to properly build the story, and so the real measure of the movie comes through in what he omits/changes. In the first two hours of the film, his moves are forgivable and probably necessary. Some backstory is omitted, while others are expertly condensed for a faster read.

Where the movie falls apart is in the last 45 minutes, as Snyder takes us on a rollercoaster to the ending. Unfortunately, the car comes off the wheels and jumps on to an entirely new track. I sat in the theater in utter shock as the director goes in a different direction than the source material, and while it might have been necessary (especially given what was changed earlier), it just doesn't jibe with what I know to be Moore's true vision. The power of the villain's work is greatly diminished by the changes, and most unforgivable is the turning line's lack of power. If you know the source, there is one line in the story that slaps you in the face, but here it is merely an afterthought in the big picture of the race toward the end. Snyder builds a decent story, but he seriously drops the ball in the resolution.

For the most part, the acting was barely passable, especially in characters like Ozymandias and the second Silk Spectre. However, I'd like to highlight two bright spots: Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Comedian and Jackie Earl Haley's Rorschach. Morgan is amazing in his limited role (the Comedian primarily appears in flashbacks), enfusing his anti-hero/villain with a humanity we don't often see in this capacity. You're cheering for him, then you hate him, then you feel sorry for him - your opinion of Morgan changes from scene to scene, and the actor definitely ups his rep with this performance. Likewise, Haley becomes Rorschach in its entirety - a man driven by demons, focused on his little corner of the world, and unwilling to compromise in the face of unsurmountable odds. I'd always loved Rorschach in the original, and Haley's performance is flawless.

Patrick Wilson's Night Owl seems rudderless at times, but he holds it together well enough to do his part. Likewise for Billy Crudup's Dr. Manhattan, although I might have cast a more vocally imposing personality for the primarily-vocal part. More disappointing are the characters portrayed by Malin Akerman and Matthew Goode, the Silk Spectre and Ozymandias, respectively. Akerman seems to just fill the "token female" space, usually relying on a man for her interaction. She doesn't get much of a chance to shine on her own, a shame since the character could have played a much more vital role in the story. The biggest disappointment is Goode, although that's primarily because of the writing surrounding his part. He's allowed to turn it on closer to the end of the movie, but by then it's too little, too late.

As expected, the cinematography and CG was amazing and probably the reason to see the movie. Snyder's at his best when working in his style - grunting He-Man characters, explosions, effects galore. Where he loses it is in the dialogue, equal parts a failing of the screenwriters and the actors. Most lines are grossly over-the-top, a caracature of the comic book genre. Lost are the intricacies of Moore's script and dialogue, replaced by the director's Frank Miller-esque speech. Right in the middle is the music - it can be great, or it can be too much. You see it work in the opening title sequence, but it loses its effect in things like the requiste sex scene.

In the end, "Watchmen" isn't a bad action movie, but it fails horribly as an adaptation. Most fanboys were cautious to begin with - we've seen Alan Moore's work previously butchered in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and "From Hell" - but we always wanted to believe that this would be the one that worked. Unfortunately, "Watchmen" works best as many had predicted - either as a graphic novel, or as a limited television series on a massive budget. Given the immensity of his task, Zack Snyder doesn't totally drop the ball, but he does turn in a film that is a disappointment to most who have anticipated this movie for almost a decade.

Quick hits

2009-03-02T22:07:44Z

Been a few weeks since I've posted here, so might as well go bulletpoint-style...

- The northeast was hammered by snow last night, and DC was no exception. Of course, my ass had to come in to work, but it wasn't like I did anything today. Just had to cover the office in case something came around, but the most taxing thing I did was to set up my co-worker's surround sound system (in her cube!). Got a few pics, and I'll post those to FB when I get the chance.

- I went home last weekend and saw my family, mainly my brother since he was back from a break in Iraq. He's back there now, serving out the rest of his tour. It was a pretty nice experience to go home and see the family: nephew's birthday party at Chucky Cheese, Who's Bad concert, and my brother's "welcome home-from-your-break" party. I did hate to leave, but life called me.

- The Hillbilly Sports podcast rolls on, and we're actually building a little following. Yes, it's mostly people that we know, but I've been tracking the numbers and at least they're going up. We have several guests already planned, plus a few special events as the year goes on. Our regular schedule calls for recording on Saturday morning (where we start drinking beer at 9am), so expect to see it up by Sunday morning at the latest. A new one was posted yesterday!

- In other creative news, we (John, Tom, and I) shot a commercial for the Career Builder contest, and I'm going to start editing it tonight. Tom plotted and directed this one, and I'm working on mine right now for shooting this coming weekend. Unfortunately, the contest ends on March 10th, so we don't have very much time to waste. I don't expect to win, but this is more than great in terms of exposure and experience. I'll be sure to link them when they're posted to YouTube!

- My workouts are still going strong, although I don't think I'll be totally ready for the 8k that I'm running in two weeks. On the days I hit the treadmill or run outside (2-3 days a week), I usually run for 40-45 minutes, and that might be how long it takes me for the race. I'll get through it - the only reason I'm running is to prep for the 10k a few weeks later (and that's my qualifier for the Marine Corps Marathon in October). The lifting is going much better; I've gotten a lot bigger, and I've put on 5 lbs. since the beginning of the year. I'm feeling better, and looking better, than I have in a long time, and that's keeping me going everyday. The amount of time spent flexing in the mirror has also increased.

- I've decided to cancel my Warcraft subscription once again, but it will be replaced by the XBox 360 I'm about to buy when my tax refund comes in. Yes folks, I'm finally joining the console wars. I've stayed out of it for years, but I wanted to get one so I could play with my friends. It looks a little ugly, but I'm picking up the Resident Evil 5 bundle when it comes in a few weeks - it has the new Jasper chipset, so there should be less of a chance of the RROD. More on this in a few days...

- And of course, I'm spending tons of time with my girlfriend because she's about to go to Ireland for two weeks. Her and her roommate planned this about six months back (before we were together), and they (along with another friend) will be in Ireland for both of their birthdays. I know they're going to have a blast, and I'm more than a little jealous that they're getting out for a bit. Still, the girlfriend and I have already made a few plans for later in the year, including a possible cruise after my marathon (a great reward) and a trip to Germany next year to visit my brother when he's stationed there after Iraq. That's a pretty cool though - for years, I never really got a vacation, and now I'm all about them. We'll see how it all turns out - right now, I'm just ready for the warm weather to get here!

Hopefully I won't take another two week hiatus...

MacGyver's Breakfast

2009-02-19T02:38:23Z

Finally solved an issue with YouTube, so I'm now able to post something I worked on about six months ago, "MacGyver's Breakfast."

It stars John Swanson and Tom Finnegan, and it was written and directed by me, Brian Godwin. It's also very, VERY rough, but just having it out there in circulation is exciting.

Stay tuned for more - it's going to be a crazy busy year!

New [sic] comic up!

2009-02-18T16:48:15Z

The [sic] webcomic has resumed with #143 - Should Have Set Up Watches:

http://sic.darkstar-studios.com/?p=195

Quite a bit to discuss here, so let's get into it...

First of all, you'll notice that the webcomic is now parked on Jax's Darkstar Studios site, because [sic] will soon become the video arm of our production studio. We're really excited to be continuing this undertaking, but it might be a little slow going at first as I'm also helping Jax write his Across the Multiverse comic. Yes, me, the guy who got out of comics for a while, is now picking up TWO comics to write on an ongoing basis. We hope you continue to follow us, though, and enjoy what's to come.

The major delay behind this comic was mostly my own - about halfway through the year, my situation changed, and as I was distracted from writing for an extended period of time. Truth be told, we had to change the Villainess for this act, but I think the change that we made is more than appropriate. Redesi (the actual person) is our long-lost sister from Australia, and I'm sure that Jax loved the idea of drawing a hot chick with some very mean koalas. Once I made the decision to substitute her into the story, it was only a matter of time before everything got back on track. So I'm glad that we were able to work in one of our oldest and dearest forum members, and I'm excited to write her into the story at large. Be prepared for some handcore koala action!

I'm not sure that this came across really well in the art, but I was trying to write the comic from Remy's perspective, i.e. directly from his eyes. You see this quite a bit in film, but I'm not entirely sure that it accurately translates to the comic medium. The first three panels hit that note perfectly, but the second half of the comic seems to get away from that. Jax did all he could and the comic is more than great (at this point, he's a natural at drawing these characters) - I think it was more of a case of biting off more than I could chew. But as a writer, that's what you want to do from time to time, expanding your horizons.

So please don't crucify me too much, because even after almost four years, I'm still learning this game of writing comics...

I love Demetri Martin

2009-02-17T17:06:44Z

Listening to some of his older stuff on YouTube and came across this...

"An ex-girlfriend is the same as an okay movie
I liked it at the time but I don't want to see it again
Especially if the movie... was kind of a bitch"

Priceless.

He's coming to DC in April, and I'm going to order my tickets today!

New podcast up!

2009-02-16T23:36:44Z

New episode of "Hillbilly Sports" up on iTunes today - this week, we talk about the NBA All-Star weekend and looming trade deadline, the fallout from the big Carolina-Duke game and college basketball's second half, MLB hot stove and the state of the game in the steroid era, and NFL free agency and the legacy of Brett Farve. A jam-packed edition, all ready for you on iTunes!

Other than that, a lazy weekend, which is especially nice since next weekend should be hectic. Went out with some friends on Friday night to celebrate my fellow hillbilly John's birthday at a dueling piano bar, and it was a blast I've never been to one of those before, but I can definitely see why people love to frequent them. Best enjoyed in big groups.

The main event of the weekend, though, was Valentine's Day on Saturday. Most people hate on the day, but I'm not in that category. Yes, it's totally a day generated by Hallmark, but to an unrepentant romantic such as myself, it's also a day to show the one you love just how deeply you feel for them. On Friday, I had a large bouquet of flowers sent to the girlfriend's work, and she gushed about that all weekend. Then on Saturday, it was dinner at a Thai place (that's her favorite type of food), then back to my crib for a little snuggle time and a movie (Casablanca, which she promptly fell asleep during). Not too much, but just being with her during that time made me feel so good.

She's also starting to keep some things over here, but that surprisingly doesn't bother me. Part of it is the stuff she's keeping (mostly diabetic supplies and sleepwear), and part of it is that she's already such a big part of my life. My friends joke that when my lease is up at the end of June, we're going to look for a place together, but that's just not going to happen this year (and she knows it). We both have our separate living quarters for now - but only for now, because a year or so down the line, who's to say what happens? For now, living apart but being together all the time is fine by us.

I really lucked up this time, and I'm happy that I can tell her every day just how much I love her. It's been smooth sailing thus far (quite a turnaround from the nightmare shitstorm I used to endure), and while I don't always expect things to be this way, I do feel like we're in this for the long haul. I've finally found someone that makes me happy, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with this wonderful woman.

Quick Hits

2009-02-09T00:47:24Z

Long week; here's what was going on!

- Turned 31 this past Thursday, but I didn't really get to celebrate it because I finally caught one of those winter colds that hung in the air for the past few months. I actually missed a day of work, which NEVER happens! That also meant that I missed a week's worth of workouts, and I'm going to have to work hard this coming week to get back into the routine. But at least I'm finally healthy again. As for the birthday, it was pretty good - the girlfriend and I skipped our plans of dinner and a movie because I was sick, but we stayed in and she cooked me some soup. Yes, very romantic! She also got me a year's subscription to Runner's World magazine (because I'm doing several long runs this year, culminating with a marathon), the Dr. Horrible DVD, and a copy of the book "The Bro Code," by "How I Met Your Mother" character Barney Stinson - all very nice! But what I wanted most of all was to just see her, and that made my birthday so special. As I tell her (and myself) every day, I'm a lucky man...

- My brother has left Iraq for a few weeks to come home and see his family, and I need to call him tonight. He arrived in town yesterday, but I decided to stay away for that first day so he could spent time with his wife and son (plus any family that would drop in). I'll get to see him again in a few weeks, and I can't wait. It's been far too long since I've been able to see my bro.

- Finished another episode of the Hillbilly Sports podcast, and it should now be up on iTunes for download. I'm not a big fan of this episode, but it did work for what we had to do. I definitely need to spend more time working out some of the technical issues, but I'm loathe to do that since I already spend so much time on this thing. For the past two weeks, all of my creative juice has went into this podcast, at the expense of my editing, camera training, and writing. I need to talk with the boys and scale it back a bit, so I can continue to build the [sic] Productions empire!

- Speaking of which, should have some news on the future of the comic in the next week or so...

- Took the girlfriend to see "Milk" last night, and it was an amazing movie. It's one of those movies that is just naturally Oscar-worthy, and up and down the line, the solid performances justify its many nominations. Not too much to say here, although I do want to say that while Sean Penn was great, I don't think that his performance was better than Mickey Rourke's in "The Wrestler." Rourke's is a bit more subtle and layered, while Penn comes off as too direct. I could, however, see Penn winning it, and I wouldn't be too disappointed if he walked away with the statue. The movie, and Penn's role, was magnificent, and it was quite telling to compare the struggles of the gay rights movement in the 1970s to today. Honestly, we haven't made as much progress as we should have.

So as you can see, although I was sick, I had quite the busy week. Let's see what the week ahead brings!

Hillbilly Sports

2009-02-03T00:44:31Z

I was finally able to finish the first podcast, and now you can listen to the sports thoughts of two rednecks by looking for "Hillbilly Sports" on iTunes. John Swanson and myself tackle the big sports stories of the week, aided by our faithful translator Tom Finnegan. It's the first of hopefully a weekly series of podcasts!

(I do, however, deeply hate the sound of my own voice. It tends to get a little higher when I really get into discussing something, and I end up sounding silly. Now I see why I prefer life behind the camera - even though I have leading-man looks ;-) )

It's also nice to get it up because it took me FOREVER to figure out the technical side of things. Yes, I could have contacted a specialist (i.e. Rich), but it was fun to find the way myself. However, I only have the basics, so if anyone has any advice, I'm all ears.

First the YouTube videos and now starting a podcast - it's barely February and I'm already hitting the ground running on the year. I have a few more surprises coming in the next few weeks, but I'll see how they go before I drop more info on them. But yeah, the new year has brought new excitement for the future!