Gotta do this quick

Gotta write fast cause I gotta get out of here and return the dvd of The Other Guys to the redbox.

Just fell asleep in the office, even tho this couch is ridiculously uncomfortable, I log in some really good naps. I just had a dream about the simultaneously Kicks from the movie Inception. Thats the second Inception dream that I've had since seeing that movie.

I'm currently prepping for the feature I will be working on next week,When I say prepping, I mean finally reading the script.

Gotta go.

Happy new year

Only a handful of days till 2011. I'm totally gonna start eating better. I had Wendy's for the last time, which actually tasted like crap. I felt just gross..

So I guess I'm gonna end 2010 with one more short film. A buddy of mine from a few back hit me up with short coming up. Its gonna be in the Sonoma/Petaluma area which is funny cause I'm gonna be spending some time out there working on Tick Tock Boom Clap. Thats the feature film by the folks up at Roaring Mouse.

I now have a bunch of errands to run. My folks got a bunch of stuff from people and now I am tasked with returning said stuff. So that most likely means that I'll be going christmas shopping with store credit haha.

I just purchased the Indislider. Hopefully it will come in the mail before I reschedule the Googley Eyes shoot. Its gonna look so awesome. Here is a video of what I'll be able to accomplish with this cool new toy.

Canon 550d / T2i , Indislider mini from Miguel Santana da Silva on Vimeo.

Attack!

So I've been fiddling around with my two computers and its cool cause I can access everything on all my computers through a server, which means that I can work on stuff thats stored on my old computer with my new one. Super geek mode.

Hahahaha, I found this photo while looking through ll my files.. hilarious.

I saw this on the internet

and I just had to repost

Bored as shit.

Eating red vines. My family doesn't celebrate too hard. So its usually just hanging out and watching TV.I watched a bunch of episodes of The Office today, and now I'm just on the computer. Last night I went through my cache of scripts and decided to look over a few. I revised some of the other scripts that I really want to do now.

I got Mcdonalds breakfast this morning when I dropped my sister off at the airport. I got the Big Breakfast platter. I havent had Mcdonalds breakfast in years. Damn, I know its all bad but it just felt nostalgic. Like it or not, McDonalds is a part of every kids childhood. I've heard of so many stories about how some first memories are that of a loved one taking them to McDonalds. Food brings people together, and with about 31 thousand stores, I'd imagine that has brought a lot of people together. Lots of greasy, obese smiles.

Haha, actually I recall a bunch of golden arch memories. I remember the first time I graduated from the happy meal to the Big Mac. I remember the time I went to the Circus Circus in Reno with my sister and cousin and I ordered 2 super sized french fries and ate them with hot mustard sauce. And I also remember the McSalad shaker. Damn I'm a fat kid haha.

5am

Its Christmas eve. ok. I have to drop of my sister to the airport in a couple of minutes. Its so early so I just decided not to sleep. Haha thats a joke. I never sleep.

About a month ago I was recently introduced to the music site called Pandora. I have rediscovered music.

I've been getting weird texts lately. That shit needs to stop.

After watching the special features of The Wrestler, which I received for christmas, (THANKS YOUS) I now have the urge to revise some scripts.

I got a new office chair, its leathery and comfy. I can't wait to break it in.

Bidness and other things.

So as you can tell from the picture above I decided to make myself my very own bidness cards. I could have just gone online and got some free ones but I didn't like any of the designs. I decided to go with hand stamped bidness cards. They just have a really coo feel to them. Since they're hand stamped they'll all have a unique look to them. Plus I can change up the design whenever I want. I found the robots on clearance at an art store for only .50 cents. I'm geeking out right now.

So my sister got me a new office chair. Its gotten pretty serious in here. Full back leather cushion, rolling wheels, adjustable height. Its pretty sweet. I just hate that new leather smell.

So I never really got to talk more about Black Swan. I watched it a few days ago and now that I've let it settle a bit in my mind I can really offer up my thoughts on what I really think is one of the best films that have come out this year. I've noticed a little trend with the style that Director Darren Aronofsky portrays in his films. With Pi, Requium, The Fountain, The Wrestler and now Black Swan under his belt, I've noticed a certain motif, intentional or not, about all his films. The characters in his films all eventually, whether blatantly or suggested, meet their demise in their respective films. In Pi, Max trepans himself after discovering a 216 digit number that could potentially unlock the secret to the stock market. In The Fountain, the three incarnations of Hugh Jackman's character go through some pretty heavy stuff. Drinking from the tree of life and becoming part of the tree, piloting a ship directly into a dying nebula, and competley breaking down and losing all hope after his wife dies from a cancer that he was so close to finding a cure for. In the Wrestler, Randy the Ram's future is unknown as the credits roll before he takes his final bow all the while struggling to keep his bearings together from an impending heart attack. And Requiem for a Dream.... Well if you've seen that move then you already know how fucked up that film is. Double sided dildos anyone?

As for Black Swan, where do I even begin? Between Clint Mansell's beautiful score and Matthew Libatique's stunning cinematography, this film in my eyes is near perfect. And along with Darren Aronosky's directorial vision and strict attention to detail of the ballet culture, the three have become a filmmaking trifecta. Having collaborated on many of Darren's films in the past these visionaries have created a serious work of art. There are instances in the movie theater where I just sat in amazement.

Some of the things that really impressed me with the cinematography is having to work around the art direction. In the ballet studio, and as with pretty much the entire film, Libatique had to get creative with all the mirrors. There are instances where the handheld cameras would pan around the room, and the filmmaker inside is it thinking "When am I going to see the camera in the shot?" Of course it never happened due to some really flawless cgi work to remove reflections. That was the entire feel of this film; reflections. The world portrayed was already uneasy and at times outright horrific, but the cinematography style forced viewers to go in a little more deeper. Viewing the scene through that nice hand held style, through reflections, almost gave the viewer a voyeuristic perspective, close enough to see Nina's character change from the sheltered and quiet white swan to the defiant, murderous, and tempted black swan. But the camera was still far enough to paint an amazing picture of sweeping tracking shots in classic cinematography style and still hand that slight camera shake that documentaries styles suggest.

Enough of the film jargon though, this movie was dope.

Link Dump

Here's a bunch of stuuf that I've been up to lately. embeds and links provided.

The second episode of Otaku the series.

Got Blood Runners on Imdb.

We got shut down on Googley due to a power outage so we just did a podcast. Subscribe to our feed!

Exploding Toys Podcast

Ellipsis

I slept a lot today...

Vic got a man... haha...

Need to reschedule that shoot...

Going to make my own business cards...

I need to read all these scripts that I have...

Watched Black Swan... My mind is still blown...

I don't know how to write blog posts anymore...

Tried to shoot a short last friday.... But the power went out...

My sister got her masters degree and turned 30.... I got delicious tacos...

The Fino

I had this stencil in my room for a while. I never did anything with it so I figured I just put it up in the office haha.

Tomorrow

Is gonna be hectic. I shoot Googley Eyes tomorrow. and tonight is gonna be my night to get everything and everyone ready. As I write this I'm watching an episode How I Met Your Mother. One of the best shows out right now. I'm looking around my office and I see all my equipment laid out in front of me. This is gonna be crazy. Every shoot I try to up the ante. With my cast and crew I'm looking at an 11 people. Damn I have to feed them. I guess 5 dollar pizzas are gonna have to do. haha. There's that small part in the back of my mind where I know I'm forgetting something. I better not be forgetting something.

I finally watched Inception the other day. I thought it was a good movie. I see why people go apeshit over it but I think it was overrated. I'd really like to see how the original vision Nolan had for the story. This movie is basically like the movie Momento, if Momento was directed by Michael Bay. It pleased the commercial audience with all the action in it but I really felt that it was paced just too damn fast. I really liked that the film didn't treat its viewers like idiots by explaining every little detail to them, it gave just enough mindfuck to make you want to watch the film again.

Cameras!

In the now years of production experience I have had the great fortune in working with so many different cameras. I've seen them evolve drastically. I've seen the trends. I've seen them all really, well, just the ones that matter.

The first real camera I bought was the Panasonic dvx100b back in 2004. I think. This thing is the industry workhorse for standard definition. So many shows and independant films were made with this thing. I just with they kept the variable frame rate option that made its predecessor such a ground breaking camera. I chose to get this camera because of its then cheap price tag of 2500. which in retrospect, was a fucking rip off. I still have this camera but I barely use it much.

The last picture is of the dvx, you can't really notice cause the lcd screen is out but mounted to the dvx is the Letus 35mm lens adapter. At the time 35mm adapters were bridging the gap between independent low budget filmmakers and high end quality cinematography. I jumped on the 35mm adapter hype a little too late cause I got rid of that thing to purchase my Canon T2i...

When DSLR camera started coming with HD video options it changed the world of filmmaking. Nowadays there are hundreds of shitty looking short films with amazing quality. I think it did a good thing. No longer were filmmakers edging out a decision when it came to judging the look of a film. it made the highest quality of digital imagery available to kids. Everyone was now an equal playing field. I currently own a T2i. In my area I'm not the only one, but its what you put in front of the camera is what makes you a good filmmaker. (I'll get to that in a later post)

The cameras pictured are the Canon xha1, the Canon 5DmkII, the Canon 7D, the Panasonic agdvx100b and the HMC150.

I've worked with canon xl2's, GL1's hvx200's, sony hvr's and a bunch of other random stuff. I just ned to find pictures of them . All those names and numbers sound greek to most people. But for those in the know, thats pretty respectable.

Film. A love/hate relationship

I've been neglecting this blog for a bit. Just been so busy. I've been getting a bunch of new equipment in the mail lately. Finally got a quality slate.

In the beginning of January I'll be working on a film called Tick Tock Boom Clap. Theyre located in the Santa Rosa area and its gonna be a big production. Along with the various crew tasks I'll be working on Continuity and taking production stills and behind the scenes footage for the film. That'll be really fun. Its actually something I wouldn't mind doing on a production. The shoot is from Jan 4th to the 16th, then another week in february. Damn I'm gonna be tired.

http://www.roaringmouseproductions.com/

game time

Being 7 days from a shoot I start to go crazy with the producer hat. Therre are so many things running through my head right now. I still need to lock down all my actors. All my locations. Props. Costumes. My crew. Logistics. Equipment. everything. And I still need to finalize my shotlists. Damn. I'm going insane.

Theres a school film festival coming up in a few days. I helped out on a short there so I'm interested to see how it turns out. Most student film festivals are so horrible. They're so bad that they're funny. And thats pretty much what I have come to expect the last few years. Damn, did I just say years?

So I wrote a short film that I'd really like to get going. I've written it in mind with both my THEA 50 instructors Dyan McBride and George Maguire. Hopefully they'll think the script is good and they'll wanna do it. That would be just insane cause they're both SAG actors.

Coffee and dvds

So tonight marks another sleepless night. I'm burning copies of my student's work onto dvds. I'm playing a shitload of guitar. Ideas are running through my mind and I can't type fast enough to jot them all down. These are the times that I thank myself for insomnia. Creativity flows, I'm at a good place in life right now. I'm motivated and I have the resources to not waste it.

boxes

There are so many boxes in the office. All the new equipment is cluttering up the place. I'm still waiting for some sd cards. I'm finally seing the pros and cons of buying online vs. in stores. I'm constantly checking the mail and every time I hear a large truck rolling by I just have to check. Its been making me paranoid haha.

So I'm in the works of getting this Googley Eyes short going. Hopefully our shoot date is dec 17th.

FCS, Color, Compressor.. and too much time on my hands

So this is a video we shot a while ago when we were bored as shit and at 2am. When the new Mac came in I installed Final Cut Studio. I have to admit this is a whole new post production beast I'm working with. I'm really digging the color grading on the video, for my first try some of the shots looked incredible.

The Office now has a Mac lab.

Just got in my new 27" I5 mac. this thing is a beast. It makes my old mac look like its from the 80's.. I got some cleaning to do still.

Damn password...

This was weird, I've been trying to log into this damn blog for a couple of days but I 've been having problems with logging in. But I finally got it to work and I'll be posting more shit on this thing soon.

this doesn't need explaining

Waiting for the mail.

So me and my guys just bought up a bunch of new equipment. The H4n sound recorder. The Gripper 3025 car mount and Bulbs for our Lowell Pro V's. All we gotta do now is get a new computer.

I hate buying stuff online cause I hate the anticipation of waiting for the UPS driver to roll up...

So I finally listed myself on Reel Directory. Its kinda like SFcasting but for film crews. I got a call tonight for a travel reality series in Napa but damn, I can't fit that into my current schedule. Kinda bummed but I'm sure there will be more calls to come.

It has been a while

Sleep has been on my side as of late. I can't even put into words the last two months. Things have definitely been interesting.

I look at a lot of my friends' blogs and tumblrs and facebooks and twitter. And I've found that with technology and all its advancements, pure literature is becoming more and more scarce. Its easy to sum up our feelings in a 140 character or less tweet. No one really writes anymore. And I don't think anyone really can. Our generation's shorthand and slang is killing vocabulary...

What the fuck am I babbling about? Forget about that last paragraph, I hate tryingto sound like I know what the fuck I'm talking about. Fact is. Motherfuckers is dumb nowadays. We are stupider. Kids can't even read, people my age can't even read. And I have no problem with laughing at them.

ghosts along the coasts

my mother asked me what i wanted to be when i grew up.

i said what my father did, and his father before him.

i'll sail the seven seas

and make them bow to me.

Happy birthday Jaime

today I turn 24.

anyways.....

So people ask me about my process for writing songs. its simple. I go to my roommate Einstein's room and play the song for him. If he likes it, he'll roll over onto his back and fall asleep. If he doesn't, he starts to lick his butt. Oh yeah, he's a cockapoo.

Otaku The Series

I just got back from filming an episode for the web show called Otaku the Series. i did the the stills for the first half of the production and was grip'd the production. I really like this crew cause they're all nice folks and to quote the series creator and actor in the show "no one here has ego's". I'm glad to have gotten aboard with this project cause there is such a huge anime fanbase and being a closet anime nerd I felt at home haha.

So this is day one of four. We're filming a total of four episodes. And tomorrow we'll be in Mountain View at the Google offices filming the next episode. I am so dead cause I've been filming stuff and working for the past 7 days straight. totally worth it.

Heres the link to OTAKU THE SERIES!

http://www.youtube.com/user/otakutheseries

Blood Runners

Its been a bit

Its not that I havent been trying. Ive been so busy working the pre production for Hetero Sapien that I forgot about this blog for a bit. Its so hectic. I'm looking at a 10-15 thousand dollar budget on my hands now. I'm gonna get this money.

Whats new with me you ask? Work started at school and Dyan Mcbride is teaching my class now. She's really fun and I'm learning a lot. I'm teaching the class solo this wednesday and the wednesday next.

plus I'm in a new relationship. yeah thats a big one. She's awesome and she thinks I'm awesome. We're pretty awesome I guess...

and how are you?

You know that saying; You're life flashes before your eyes? When i got into a car crash today, I didnt see shit.

For Lexi

lets start this party with a bang

i want to hear you scream my name

this is the last chance you will get

before this world will end

enjoy the sky before it falls

enjoy the wind before it calls

the sea to open up

and swallow all of us

Lets end this party with a bang

we put our ancestors to shame

we destroyed our planeet

destroyed our existence

this disaster is the end

of a race that should have never been

destined to fail from the start

now watch us fall apart.

cause its the end of the world

lets make this count

the party that will be the death of us

so drink up and have all the sex you can

and do all the things you want

maybe, just maybe that one day i'll pray for god to save us all

when the sky goes black, and the oceans gone up in flames

ill get on my knees and say,

were we not worth it?

were we not worth saving?

I guess not

I walked into my house today and my mother stops her conversation with my father, looks at me and says, " You know, I wonder what you do in there. Do you get anything out of it?" I didn't have a chance to reply because she went to her conversation with my father. I didn't have an answer for her except that I couldn't say, "Yes."

I'd like to thank my mother for one day I will prove her wrong. The things she says sometimes hurt harder and last longer than any other pain I've experienced in my life. My patience, understanding, and moral views have all stemmed from being able to survive what she put me through. Its true about that old saying; She wasn't the best mother, but she was mine. I wouldn't trade her for anything. She's my perfect gatekeeper.

Hetero Sapien

Hey so we started the blogspot for our next film Hetero Sapien. Go to Heterosapienfilm.blogspot.com

theres nothing on it yet but expect to see some crazy stuff.

Shame short film

I was looking at my old youtube account and found this in my favorites tab. Without realizing it I took the picture above. And I guess in my unconscious mind this was the inspiration that made me pose that way. idk its a damn good short.

The emotional shift of 2010

Of the few friends that I have had the greatest of pleasure to have worked with. I've found that we go through emotional trends as a group. The first time it happened was last year where for some reason we were all in an emotional slump and we took out frustrations out on the films we made. We burnt out and ended the film binge with four guys in san francisco, at the beach, on a cliffside and screaming our lungs out at the never ending oceanic horizon. A year later and another shift is happening. Its like we emotionally trade places. When I was moping around when whatsherface cheated/left me all the other guys were getting tired of it. Now they're saying things like "Man, now i know exactly how he felt.".. And as with me, I'm finally starting to enjoy the single life. It will have been a year in two days. But just like how its written in the plotlines of countless shows and films: When you don't want it, it shows up. Thats the conflict of reality. I'm not looking for any kind of relationship and I finally have a workflow going that is too good to be true. But for some strange reason there are people out there that I meet and I'm like damn, shes really cool.. and thats the dilemma. and the time I had a gf and I had to cut that off, yeah one of our guys is feeling that way too. Oh and a baby was born! we're totally gonna put that baby in our films.

Camel Collision ft. Adam

yeah..

not to be conspicuous but I just want you to know.

I'm at a loss. I see things. You draw me in at times. Tip of the iceberg. Damn. I wanna know more but im not gonna ask. I think you're a really cool person. ..

anyways. damn its gonna be hot outside. I just found out that the film that Seth is developing is a Feature Length. wtf. Its called Hetero Sapien. this is gonna be nuts. I did the preproduction worku and logistics of a project like this. I'm estimating 10 thousand dollars. 10 THOUSAND! what the hell. We need to start fundraising. Its gonna be ridiculously hard, but I think its doable.

I think I was blind before I met you.

The video concepts for most Bright Eyes videos are pure genius. I mean all of the videos that Conor Oberst has been in are so amazing. I especially like this one and the Four Winds video. If this aint the sweetest video ever...

music videos

So I'm going to be doing some music videos by the end of this year and I've been doing a lot of research. And when I say research I mean watching an assload of music videos. This is one of my favorites and I thought I'd share it with you. Yes, you!

damn this first week murders.

"Oh can't you tell? That I'm in love with the girl with the blue ribbons in her hair. She's got a smile so bright that she could light this very room and I can't get her off my mind. Even if I tried."

That line is from this son called Button by my friend Luis' band Taller Than Trees. Everyone should listen to them.

I finally finished editing Blood Runners. eh.

What's next for me? I got a Taller Than Trees music video that I'm trying to get started on. As Tranquil as a Catnap. I need to update my computer. Recording a song with Adam called Camel Collision. Apparently its about lesbians? I wanna find more time to relax. but I'm a total contradiction when I say I need to find more time for work.

I was just laughing cause I was looking at the picture on my blog and thought it would be really funny if those weren't my arms

Blood Runners

Things have finally settled down, and I can finally update you on Blood Runners. This is the story of Clint and Ronnie, two friends/roommates/hematologists. They work as delivery men for the nations largest blood bank.

I remember coming up with this story almost two years ago. Before the vampire craze I might add. I wanted create really unconventional stories for our classic monsters. In this case I went with vampires. I wanted it to be a little different, I don't see that many dark comedies that deal with vampires a lot.

In this world, vampires are pretty much widely accepted in the world. They had their civil rights movement, got their equality, and have become a great influence on art and culture. But since their emergence into mainstream society, the economy has taken a substantial hit. Now that the worlds population is running 24/7 the worlds resources are being used up twice as fast. Night schools and graveyard shifts have taken on all new meanings.
This short film is actually the first scene of the feature length that I'm contemplating writing. When this is done I'm gonna shop it around to a few festivals, depending on its success I'll determine if its worth the time to sit down and crank out this feature length.

So the story goes is that Clint and Ronnie are delivery men for a blood bank that cater to the special needs of the cities nocturnal population. On a high profile delivery they accidentally destroy their batch of blood. In fear of being fired, they use their own blood as substitutes. It turns out that Clint has a rare blood disorder that makes his blood high commodity. So the two decide to go into business for themselves.
This of course is a recipe for disaster since Clint is very racist towards vampires (and possibly struggling with his own human sexuality) and Ronnie is in love with the hot vampire chick across the hall. And when the shit hits the fan their friendship is put to the test.
I really like this story. I'd have to say that my favorite scene that I havent written yet is the part where Ronnie and Clint are arguing about whats right and wrong about being a human as opposed to being a vampire. Ronnie says to Clint: "We're just like them. We're blood runners, we sleep all day and work all night. The only difference is the paychecks"

Our lives have soundtracks.. We're trying to make our own.

So it was a rare occasion last night. I was able to mic up the piano inside my house and use it to record. That piano hasn't been used in almost 10 years. We've been thinking about creating our own soundtracks for our films since we feel that the quality of our tunes have been getting better. We recorded some live tracks with our now studio built out of the kitchen. They're rough and unsructured, and really just ideas for something greater. its funny cause everytime we make a batch of songs, we treat them like new Ep's and we name them after whatever we're drinking at the moment.

I haven't updated in a few days. Besides a few stings from some very angry Yellow Jackets, I'm doin gfairly well. Work started again. I'm doing more projects. I'm networking a little better. I kinda maybe might be in like with a woman. haha. I think I'll be ok.

This god damn industry will kill us all.

I've learned a few things from my time in the trenches. and I wrote some of them down.

1. You can't rely on everyone

2. You have to rely on everyone

3. Know your position, but more importantly, know what position you are not.

4. Get coverage

5. early is on time, on time is late.

6. Know when to answer a phone call, and when not to.

7. Sound is 90% of your movie

8. You can't be socially retarded

9. Know when to get paid, and when to go pro bono

10. Take lots of pictures

11. Shitty script equals shitty movie

12. "I should have spent more time networking" - Jesse

13. Its the Director's chair, not the Director's bench

14. NEVER, EVER ask a PA for coffee. They WILL put their dicks in it.

15. Steal shit.

16. You can't be in front and behind the camera at the same time. Make a choice you douchebag.

17. Be a filmmaker not a filmfaker

18. Fuck bees.

more to come, I wrote them down in various place, I just have to find them now

Exit Through The Checkstand

A Short I worked on yesterday. It was the first time I got to work with the Canon 5D. Its one of the top dslr cameras out on the market. I really liked this shoot because the hardware store location was so nice. Plus all the crew and the actors were really nice.

I've had a really busy week, a music video last saturday, a short wednesday. and this friday, I'm finally gonna shoot Blood Runners... If I make it to sunday.. Thats considered a miracle.

Busy

its getting there. I have a serious rhythm going right now. I just had that music video. got a shoot tomorow. Then filming Blood Runners on friday and saturday. Heterosapien is going into full on preproduction. But the Director for the Dark Ride segment dropped out o I lost that gig. School is starting and I'm looking forward to working with Dyan Mcbride. And then I'm aiming to fill the next couple of months doing some small shorts and music videos.

All this and I feel like I'm still not doing enough. For once, I don't mind being called a workaholic.

My grandfather passed away today. People said that he was 107 but no one is entirely sure. I cant go to the Philippines for the funeral because my passport is expired. My mom is being very calm (but from the shit shes been saying she's being very irrational) about but I called my sister to tell her and she started crying on the phone.

Stranger, You Are Lovely

Just got back from Oakland. This music video shoot was very fun. I was just on Craigslist and saw a post for PA's on friday, and the shoot was today. look them up, you'll like them. They're called Superfinos Vto. I am tired.

What do you see?

Another writing technique I have is to write a scene specifically for a location. Its so much easier than writing for a specific actor. This is the fishing pier at the Benecia waterfront. Ever since I've seen movies like Dark City and Requium for a Dream, I've always wanted to have a pier scene. I kinda wanna use this spot for The Escape Pod, where Carl Unix proposes to his GF right before he goes off into space, where he ultimately meets his untimely demise.

I can't help but think about those scenes from other films. Where there is a woman in a dress at the end of the pier. And no matter how hard he runs the man calling her name can never reach her.

What does that mean? (my one and only double rainbow reference haha)

Elton Fucking John is such a badass

I remember when rock was young Me and Susie had so much fun. Holding hands and skimming stones. Had an old gold Chevy and a place of my own.

Crocodile Rock has been stuck in my head for a bit. How I long to be a turtle in a half shell. (Turtle Power!) I stood outside my house this morning and watch the garbage truck collect the trash cans. A huge mechanical arm grabs it and dumps the contents into the truck. It was kinda a cool sight. But damn those things are loud.

I'm starting to get that feeling again. The one where I really want to go to sleep but sadly can't. Fuck you insomnia. Fuck you very much. I'm gonna blame you for all the things that have gone wrong in my life.

Dear Academy of Art; please call me back. I really want that job and I'll freakin kick ass over there. Put me in the game coach!

Sunday is my new tuesday

Its morning and I watched night turn into day yet again. I can't say I watched the sun rise cause there wasn't one. Last night I played Guess Who. I think I was asking too many difficult questions like: does your person currently collect social security? or Does your person have a pile of credit card debt? I wanna make a customized guess who game with pictures of my friends. I need 20. I don't think I have enough. I was playing Modern Warfare 2 all night. Thats like one of the only @ video games I still play. (The other is Marvel Vs. Capcom 2) hmmm my dog is snoring right now.

Rant

fuck. do you really think your shit's gonna go somewhere? I mean, ok, yeah.. your stuff is just OK.. but then what? what are you gonna do with it? It hits a dead end and it becomes one of the millions upon if not millions. if I ever offered one tidbit of advice then here it is. USE REAL ACTORS. real actors are good actors. I stopped putting myself and my friends in my fucking movies years ago. NETWORKING. I have that. Do you? probably not. most of you are socially inept. IDK dude you're hopeless if you think your shit is good. RULE #11: THERES SOMETHING WRONG IF YOU START LIKING YOUR OWN WORK. I will admit, I have never liked any of the things I've made. (but thats the way we're supposed to think.) You have to know that this is the biggest gamble of your fucking life. I know this. and thats why I'd do whatever it takes to get this right. Like I always say Anyone can work in the industry, but you'd have to be crazy to stay in it. and judging from what I've seen from you. You play it safe. textbook. BORING,... Crazy? You are not.
(Of course I'm talking to myself, but if you happen to swing by this blog and feel offended by this, then maybe I am talking to you?)

The dead in question

In keeping with today's motif. I've been working on a story about a guy that buys a used car. He got a grand taken off the price due to the fact that there's a dead girl's ghost siting in the back seat. I'd say thats a bargain.

Oh yeah, this is how funny the people around me are. I get a call at 3am from seth. And all he was thinking about was the Banana scene. (the picture of adam with a banana, see posts below.) He's developing a story called Heterosapien. jeez.

Susie Q

I remembered this old made for tv Disney movie called Susie Q. I just downloaded it and I'm totally reliving some childhood memories. haha. The film stars Justin Whalin andAmy Jo Johnson. Or you may remember her as the original Pink Power Ranger. Its the story about a new kid that moves in to a house and he meets this dead girl. It sounds cooler than it is.

We Were Perfect

So The Kitchen Sink has been really busy. Our Bandcamp has a lot of our demos up. Pretty much all works in progress. And super rough. getting a lot of positive feedback so I guess thats good...

I started PreProduction for Blood Runners Last night.. So far I'm looking at a Cast/Crew of 10+ people. damnnnnn. This is gonna be a fun one. July 31st is the point of no return. If I don't have everything set up by then. Then I'll have to push it back. Everyone says I know a lot of people, or that I have lots of connections and sway to get the ball rolling. Apparently I've built up a reputation for being able to get shit done. And they say I can save a project in shambles. Lets hope theyre right.

Good Morning Monday

So I put a crapload of songs on our bandcamp site. I labeled the album as "The Digital Shit". Its all the techno-ish kinda stuff that we've been working on the side. It has a really wide range of styles. I hope it shows a little dimension to our music.

So I guess the next script that we're gonna try to get produced is As Tranquil As A Catnap. Adam, Seth and I wrote that script one night. Whats funny about that one is the fact that we each took one of the three characters and just acted it out in Adam's room while simultaneously typing out the dialogue. It was certainly a different approach to writing. And that was like more than a year ago already.

Here's a photo of the latest project we shot. I'm not gonna say the name of it cause that will give the joke away. haha.

im watching my stories

I'm a sucker for unconventional story telling.

Blood Runners: A dark comedy about two delivery men working for the largest Blood bank in the country. Oh yeah and vampires.

Anne Frankenstein Vs. The Wolf Nazi. (do I really have to explain this story?)

Z Squad: Set during the Vietnam war. Jimmy, a young military journalist, is assigned to the military's top secret Z squad. (hint: Z stands for zombie)

Dear Darla,

I hate your stinking guts. You make me vomit. You're scum between my toes.

Love, Alfalfa

I love Little Rascals.

layin' tracks, mofo

completely rough and shitty sounding. I'm a little torn between recording songs live (like this one) or recording in layers. doing them live is great cause it'll sound exactly like how we sound during shows. But I really like doing layers cause the quality will be top shit, but the downside is that most of the songs I record by doing layering I cant even play those live cause they're too complicated to sing and play at the same time. weird... I kinda hate singing my own songs now. I mean i have no formal vocal training. I can scream my lungs off like a champ (lately i've been thinking of getting in a hardcore band) but i cant sing for the life of me. however, Seth's voice sounds like god having sex, and is guitar playing is getting better. He got that from me haha.

Internships

I'm so tired of scouring the crew ads and keep seeing all these projects that are looking for unpaid "interns". I totally get that some project are little to no budget and they say that most positions are volunteer. But they try to get free labor out of the younger inexperienced filmmaker. To be completely clear, in the state of California, unpaid internships are ILLEGAL. there are a few exceptions like the college credit intern but that has to be worked out with a college's production course as part of the curriculum. To be qualified as an unpaid intern the job has to have no benefits toward the company. Basically interns are a learning position for potential employees. Say a production company lets an intern provide feedback on a script. That script has to be one of those "it'll never get produced scripts". and thats fine, its completely legal cause it does not provide any financial gain for the company. But if its the latter, and the script is in current production, then that requires compensation. so please... don't take an unpaid internship job, its too much of a hassle.

On the edge

Its images like this that make me proud of what I can accomplish.

I needed this. Heroin status. lol

There's only so much you can take before the pressure gets to you. I've been able to keep it together for a while. But the truth is, I'm really scared for my future. I can't do this by myself. Sometimes I feel like an asshole when I look at these blog posts and count how many times the word "I" is typed. Everything isn't about me. me. me. I learned that the hard way. I'm kinda fucking lonely. I'm not looking for a relationship and I'm not looking to get my dick wet. I just. Feel lonely. I just wish somebody would give a fuck about me. I feel like I'm on the verge of doing some amazing shit. I'd just like someone to cheer me on. There's no point in doing anything if no one knows you did it.

equipment check

what am i bringing?

camera -batteries, cards, caps, plugs

lights, gels, clips, cords

jib, steadicam. screws and bolts

tape, tripod,

2nd cam (just in case)

Jesse

knife, screwdriver, gas money toll money

pen, pencil. My A game.

script

I know I'm forgetting something.

My new years resolutions checklist..halfway point

they're pretty much all attainable. and they all open for interpretation.

2010 checklist:
1. Meet a new person everyday (or try to)
2. play more music. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
3. watch more movies. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
4 make a pretty girl smile. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
5. Get into a fight
6. make a film that matters.
7. make my mother proud of me.
8. help a stranger xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
9. help a friend. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
10. mend a broken heart xxxxxxxxxxx In a way, I helped you
11. laugh more xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
12. cry more. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
13. see the world through someone else's eyes. xxxxxxxxxxxx
14. skateboard more. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
15. make my life meaningful
16. visit a grave (doesn't matter whose) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
17. make someone spit-take xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
18. get out of california
19. road trip
20 win an eating contest
21 learn to ride a bike xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
22 save a baby xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
23 get in a picture xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
24 win an award
26 tell someone you love them
27 converse with someone that doesn't speak english xxxxxxxxxxx
28 cross off a resolution with a friend
29 meet a celebrity (bonus points if you get a picture)xxxxxxtomhanks
30 get your name in papers
31 sleep xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
32 destroy something beautiful xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
33 earn someone's trust xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
34 fly
35 get lost with a friend
36 celebrate the holidays
37 listen to every song on your ipod xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
38 catch a fish xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
39 start an applaud (bonus points if its a slow clap) xxxxxxxxxxxxx
40 live dammit live!
41. get Victoria hooked up.
42. do rwo resolutions at once
43. trust someone.
44. learn to speak elvish

Whoa, Mozart Season signs to Equal Vision

I had just found that out like 2 minutes ago. Damn thats a good label too. Glad I was able to work with them before they're gonna be too hard to reach. Our video is still up on their myspace page which is really cool to see.

Whats wrong with this picture?

yes that is a tower of mini dv tapes. each tapes has 60 minutes of footage. Theres about 200 of them on the wall (not counting the ones i havent stacked yet) thats 200 hours, which is almost 8 days. So I have spent at least 8 days behind a camera. damn.

Darth vader keeps me on track when I'm working. and he also critiques my songs. (sometimes a little too harsh)

I need to empty my trash can. My walls are painted black. My printer has no paper in it and I'm running out of ink. The chair is actually pink. hmm. that might be the reason for the black and whiteness.