UPDATES

04/21/12

Going to post some new artwork as soon as the people at Office Max figure out how to scan a 24"x36" properly...

02/10/12

Somewhat off the internet radar as of late. Lots of stuff happening. Mostly positive.

- Five productions since my last post.

- Acted in one - lots of fun. It was weird being on set and not being allowed to touch anything.

- Came closer to wrapping another film that's been running for quite some time now. Got to see a lot of old friends. Great reunion.

- Associate produced another film. That was a bit nutty. 120 shots in two days. Awesome crew. Awesome talent. Rather pleasurable until I ate too many jelly bellies at around hour 15 on day two.

- Did some sound design on two productions. Good stuff. Always fun to do post work.

- Did a promo video for my friend's FX pedal company.

- Book is coming along. Productions have impeded its growth. I think two more stories ought to do it. Then it's editing time.

- Already in the development stages for another project that I'm helping produce. More to come.

- New classes, new faces, new talent emerging.

- I guess Grimm is filming outside my apartment. At least it's providing Oregon film jobs. 

This is somewhat accurate in terms of how my head has been feeling as of late

8/8/11

So I spent this last weekend working at the Willamette Writer's Conference. It was one of the most incredible experiences I've had in recent memory. Those of you that think you know what writers are all about, you really have no idea until you sit yourself smack dab in the middle of several hundred of them - crammed into the airport Sheraton - and listen to them spill their guts about their memoirs, science fiction novels, and "ground breaking" screenplays. Seriously, every walk of life sat down at my table to pitch their idea. Most were nervous, some were intimidatingly practiced, but if there's one bit of advice that I can give to budding writers, it's this: If you can't tell me what your story is about in one to two choice sentences, you don't know your story.

Ninety percent of the people I talked to gave me the plot - or the blow by blow, or what I like to refer to as the "Family Circus/where's P.J. been/going?" pitch - to their novel/film/picture book. If you're fortunate enough to pitch your idea in front of an agent, producer, etc., tell them your story, not your plot. If you reach that "tell me more stage" after pitching your initial pitch, then you can go into plot... but if you're giving them the step by step before they even know what they're getting into, your themes and characters won't be given the proper attention that they deserve.

Hook them, then reel them in.

7/18/11

A few bits of good news:

1.) My short film 'Dennis' is now complete. There were some snags in post-pro but we kicked it in the ass and produced - what I believe is - my best short film to date. It wouldn't be half the film it is without the contribution of my good friend - 'Dennis' Producer/Cinematographer - Roland Sarrazen. Seriously, he is a one-man wrecking crew.

The film is ready to hit the festival circuit and we'll be giving out rewards to our kickstarter friends real soon.  

2.) I'm teaching a film studies 'Blockbuster' course this term that filled up quicker than I thought was possible - I think we may even have some overflow. It's extremely taxing from a lecture standpoint but I think everyone will walk away feeling like they got their money's worth.

3.) I saw Harry Potter twice in a 12 hour period. 

4.) I'm working on another feature-length original screenplay that I'll be producing later this year.

New site layout. It's cleaner, simpler. I like it. Needs more content in the 'artwork' section but hey, buy me a proper scanner and maybe I'll put more up.  

6/29/11

Got back from L.A. a little while ago. Been spending most of my free time (what little there is) composing shorts stories for a collection to be published. It started out as a children's book that slowly turned left at the traffic light, and before I knew it, I had written four short stories in two days. They're nowhere near complete, and they're falling in that dreaded 1,000 word abyss. If your short film is less than ten minutes, perfect; and if your feature is over ninety minutes, great... but no one has time for a twenty five minute film... That's where my stories are sitting. 

I'd still very much like to do an illustrated children's book, but I'm struggling with the language. You'd think with a history of screenwriting I'd be able to whittle down action, but this is an entirely different monster.