"Patches" in Production!

So some pretty cool stuff has been happening with our script, Patches in Perception, over the past week. I've been meaning to update this blog sooner, but things have been a bit crazy.

Start it off, we had a script read-through on Monday with a bunch of actors who were gracious enough to take time out of there evening to come and read for us. Millions of thanks go to Lori Watt, our producer who coordinated the whole thing. The read-through went amazingly! It was great to be able to hear the words off the page and to get a feel for the pacing of the script. Unfortunately, Marc was not able to be there as his is down in Antigua again, filming a feature-length action flick, so I taped the read for him to see and get a feel on what it sounds like. We also got a LOT of great advice and suggestions on what makes the script strong and what areas can be altered in order to improve it as a whole.

As well I sent the script to one of my instructors from VFS, Bruce Spangler, who is finishing his dual-masters right now in Filmmaking and Creative Writing as well as TAing at UBC, for him to critique and gives us some feedback on. The response we got back from him was very possitive and optimistic. He also pointed out a few of the week points in the script and gave us some great points on how to make the script a lot tighter, more to-the-point and engaging.

So now Marc and I will be brainstorming ways to conquer the script obstacles ahead of us and start editing it once he gets back. Feedback is also being awaited from some people that Lori knows and trusts as writers or directors, etc.

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On another note, through the course of the month of February, I have a bunch of workshops through Cineworks as well as other courses required to get Permittee Status to work as a Production Assistant under the Director's Guild of Canada BC. If all goes accordingly I should hopefully be able to start working in film before too long. I hear that there a lot of productions coming up so that should mean work. So here's hoping and looking in towards brighter horizons.

Stay fed.

One Script Isn't Enough

A few fun updates:

Marc-Anthony and I just started fleshing out yet another script. A vendetta-inspired action flick. We've got the story line pretty well hammered out over the weekend and what was originally planned to be an episodic web series of 3-5 minute segments morphed into a full feature story. We really like the storyline and the twists we came up with for the script and are putting pen to paper now.

In other news, we have an independent producer looking at our script Patches in Perfection -- a highschool based dramatic comedy sort of in the vein of Superbad meets Breakfast Club -- and she seems to really like the script and story so far.

On the front of our Antigua film Memoirs of the Blue, director Luke Hansen-MacDonald started meeting with our editor today to start some mentoring and editing to clean our rough cut up to a fine cut for special FX and sound to look at.

All in all it's some pretty exciting stuff and time will tell where things go from here.

Until next time, stay safe! ;)

'Memoirs of the Blue' Moving Back Out of the Red

As many of you know, the film project that we shot in Antigua last November (Memoirs of the Blue) has since lost some steam for a myriad of reasons, most of which stem from being under prepared for taking on such a monumental task as filming a feature film with a crew of 4-8 in one months time, and from having the four main group members spread across 3 different corners of the globe -- Vancouver, Halifax, Germany.

But the project looks like it will be pulled out of the danger zone now after a meeting with one of our producers/financiers who is understandably unimpressed at the apparent state of limbo the project seems to be in. Thus, we've started to develop and implement a plan of action in order to progress this thing forward in the most timely and efficient way possible.

Things that we need to work around now include a plethora of technical issues in the way on editing, re-shoots and pickup shooting, editing, special effects, sound editing/design/scoring, and some legal issues to name a few.

Good news though is that our one female counterpart, Natalie, has talked with some of the people at the postproduction house that she works for and has been able to get us a deal for sound and some contacts and information in the realm of distribution for the project once it reaches its final stages.

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In other news, I've finally started banking some money with the job I'm working at now, putting it almost as much OT as I possibly can in the past month, so of course that means that now I have some money to put towards some other short film projects that I've been been hoping to do in order to get some more experience and to have something more to show for.

As well, my roommate Marc-Anthony and I have being polishing up minor details of our script, showing to a few people in the know, and getting some pretty good responses so far. That is one of the most interesting things we have going right now a think because it's a project that both of us believe really strongly in.

Aside from that, I'm currently looking into getting into doing some behind-the-camera, Production Assistant work, and am going to be meeting up with Lauro some time in this coming week to talk about that sort of thing and maybe iron a few of my own plans out for what I really want to make out of my career, etc.

Anyways, its a road I still seem to be starting on down, only time will tell where it leads or what the speed limit is! ;)

Until next time,
Joki

Let's Make a Movie!!

My roommate Marc and I have been working together on this script that he's been writing for about 7 months now. It's a high school movie, sort of like Breakfast Club meets Superbad. Well finally we got a full first draft absolutely nailed out, all spelling, punctuation and grammar correct, and a story that is absolutely SOLID, so we're pretty happy campers at the moment!

Now what makes a finished script even sweeter!? A finished script with a producer that wants to read it! And that's exactly what we've got! Thierry Tanguy has credits abound working as a Locations Manager and more recently as a Production Manager for a couple Nickelodeon films. Marc is going to meet with him this coming Friday with a copy of the script and see what can be done with it and essential find a way to get this movie made!

Ideally we're wanting to shop it around with me attached as Director and with some of the actors that Marc knows also attached for certain roles, but at this stage in the game we really have no idea how that's all going to work out. What we plan to do is to shoot some of the scenes on our own with some of the talent that we have in mind in order to better sell ourselves with the film. Once again though, we'll see how it goes as the craziness begins!

Stay tuned! ;)