Remember the Shorts
1 comment (closed), posted on october 18, 2005, tags: filmmaking, me, vacation
Maybe you haven't seen them, maybe you want to see them again. Either way, check out the short films we've made. We're working on lots of stuff, including a new short film to be shot in December.
I'll be on vacation for two weeks starting in the middle of November—we're going to Japan! It's going to be a ton of fun and I can't wait. We have so much planning to do before we leave, but I'm already giddy with excitement about the trip. On the way there, we're stopping in Seattle for a few days so Katia can see where I grew up and so I can see some friends I haven't seen in about 6 years.
The Egregious Meatball
7 comments (closed), posted on june 13, 2005, tags: entertainment, filmmaking
It's with great pleasure that I finally announce the public release of our latest short film, The Egregious Meatball. We worked really hard on this film and it is our best work yet.
There were a lot of people involved in this project and we got a lot of really great help and support along the way. It didn't win the Amazon short film competition, but we still love it. And now, finally, you can go watch it.
We hope you enjoy it.
Last Day of the First Round
1 comment (closed), posted on may 20, 2005, tags: filmmaking
Today is the last day of the first round of the Amazon.com short film festival. If you have time, please try to find our film, The Egregious Meatball.
Amazon has added a skip button recently, which means you can skip films after 30 seconds. Please, if you can, spend some time today looking for our film. The first round ends at 11:59PM EST tonight.
Short Film Competition
4 comments (closed), posted on april 19, 2005, tags: filmmaking
You can now find our film, The Egregious Meatball, in the Amazon.com Short Film Competition. Because the films are randomly presented, we cannot direct you straight to our film. You must watch each film entirely to rate it, then you will be presented with another random short. Amazon has finally included a skip button which might allow you to happen upon our film faster, but if you have the time you should watch and rate some of the other films in the contest. Then, when you finally see our movie, be generous with your stars.
As soon as we are allowed, we will put the film online for all audiences to see directly (around May 20), but for now, we hope you come across it in the competition.
Very Important Message
22 comments (closed), posted on april 14, 2005, tags: filmmaking
Don't ever. EVER. Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, everevereverevereverever, ever! EVER EVER EVER, ever... ever... EVEREVEREVEREVER, ever. EVER trust Macromedia or ColdFusion to handle something important. EVER. I can't make that clear enough. If you have an important web application, never trust your business to ColdFusion. It's a mistake. I promise you.
Last night, at about 9PM, the Amazon.com Short Film Competition registration site which is handled and hosted by Macromedia crashed. It was down for over 5 hours. Every time it came back up, it crashed. This is the quality that is ColdFusion. Consider this proof of concept: Macromedia has proven that ColdFusion is ineffective at handling large server loads and spikes.
We managed to get a "successful upload" message at around 1:30AM. Who knows if the film actually got entered. I'm waiting for a call back from the TriBeCa Film Festival about the matter. What a horribly anticlimactic end to such a great 4 weeks of working on this film.
But no matter. The film turned out really well and we're excited to see it online in the near future. We'll also be creating a special DVD and hopefully entering it into some festivals. More coming soon.
Damn you Macromedia. I want those 5 hours back.
Update: Our film made it into the competition and is now available for viewing. Read more about it.
Update Two: Shawn has posted about the horrible experience this contest has been thanks to Amazon and Macromedia: Amazon Is Off To a Shaky Start.
Best. Quote. Ever.
1 comment (closed), posted on april 8, 2005, tags: filmmaking
Oh, right, I have a website. My fault. Hi!
You've made me hate laughter. —Katia
She actually said that tonight. We have this dynamic where I make her laugh for 10 or 15 minutes at a time until I've pushed the joke really far and—even though she's still laughing—she gets mad. Then I usually switch into ridiculous voices and do a one-man play for another 3 minutes until she's slapping my arms and really mad. But still laughing.
I don't know if you know this about me, but when people are laughing, I don't stop. Therefore. Hitherto. Et cetera.
Shawn and I have been working on a film for the TriBeCa Film Festival Short Film Competition. It's due this coming Wednesday. We've been working our asses off for weeks. We're getting close. More details soon.
So that's where I am. And my arms hurt.
Short Film: "then, suddenly..."
25 comments (closed), posted on september 3, 2004, tags: filmmaking
Our new short film, "then, suddenly...", is finally ready. This film was written and directed by Shawn, and we edited it together. The film has a few new people in it, and doesn't take place in my apartment. The story started off as an idea for a WeeklyDV theme, but didn't have a chance to shoot it by the deadline. The good news is, we got to give this film attention uninhibited by a short deadline, and the result was worth the wait.
I'll be posting the script in a few hours. Comments and feedback are, of course, welcome. We hope you enjoy it.
Update: I've put the script online. You can read it now: "then, suddenly..." script. Watch the film first!
Short Film: Glass
25 comments (closed), posted on july 15, 2004, tags: filmmaking
I proudly present our second short film, Glass. This time around I wrote and directed and Shawn edited. This is based on a WeeklyDV theme ("glass," strangely enough), and we've submitted it to that site as well.
The idea came Saturday afternoon, while Shawn and I were brainstorming, trying to figure out what to do with the glass theme. I suddenly got the idea and immediately wrote out the script. Minutes later we were cleaning it up and we were set to shoot.
This was a particularly interesting film to shoot because it required shooting two films. We shot the "Antiques Roadshow" part first and then played it in the background of the actual film. It was more work but turned out well.
We're shooting another this Saturday, so more is on the horizon. It's great to be doing this again. Comments and feedback are welcome!
From this point on, for all the films we shoot, I'll be posting scripts. So if you're the type who is interested in such things, you can read the script from this film: Glass. I would suggest watching the film first, though, so you don't ruin it for yourself.
Short Film: Fork
10 comments (closed), posted on june 30, 2004, tags: filmmaking
It's been a very long time since I've done anything filmmaking related, and it felt damned good to get back in the swing of things. Shawn and I have started making short films.
Shawn wrote and directed this one, the story inspired by a Weekly DV theme.
Consider this the beginning.