Rehearsals

Yeah, so I haven't posted in awhile.

That's kind of bad in the early part of a blog.

In any event, I have managed to get some rehearsals under my belt. It was not easy, considering that everyone who had a scene together seemed to have conflicting schedules, but by shear power of annoyance and calling incessantly or by sending a whole lot of e-mails, I managed to get some done.

I wasn't really that insane about it, but it did take a lot of calls.

However, all of the rehearsals went great. Everyone is giving a top notch performance. They have managed to get in the spirit of the characters quickly. They are really talented. I just hope I can keep them going on this project.

Meetings and more auditions

So, I must say, the meeting went super duper wonder well. Yes, I know that is not a technical or business term and I don't care.

We set our rehearsal schedules and our production schedules. Also, we brainstormed on marketing ideas and a whole bunch of 30 second spots.

The best thing was to finally get everyone together in one place. I had spent so much time reassuring everyone that things were happening and that I did see everyone and that they were not the only ones working on this thing. So I know that a good number of people were relieved to see that the other people did exist.

Tomorrow I am holding another damn audition. You would think with all the people out there who want to be actors and actresses, getting them would be like shooting fish in a barrel. Nosirreebob!

This one is at an actor's studio and has been posted on five different sites, as well as put out in a couple of newsletters. If I cannot get actors and actresses tomorrow, I am hanging up my hat.

James

Meetings

So, tomorrow is another creative team meeting. Also, I am having the actors come over to be measured. I tell you what though, it is like herding cats. Someone can't make it because their car broke and they have no money. Others can't because of work, of course they are the people I need there because the make up work needs doing and prosthetics need to be built. This person has to come early and leave before the official time and this person has to come late because of work. The crazy part is that I see everyone, just not at the same time. I only seem to see people one at a time, and so I worry that people feel that they are the only ones working on this thing. It's frustrating, to say the least. It also makes it hard to organize.

Still, gotta keep on doing it. Why? I don't know, but I'm gonna anyway.

James

I hate people

Okay, so I decided to contact and actor's studio to cast these last few parts.

I was talking to the owner of one of them and he asks me about the parts and the project, and since I am trying to get this developed into a television show, I thought it important for him and his students to know that there was a strong possibility of future roles if this thing works out.

It was then that he butt in and said, "You know, no one is impressed if you say it can lead to future roles."

I wasn't trying to impress the guy, and I told him so. He then tries to play it off as just trying to give friendly advice. I'm sure that in his head he was doing just that, however, I am working with a whole bunch of talented and experience people, and they all give advice, and none of them are condescending, patronizing assholes. In fact, the people I am working with are the most kind, helpful, and respectful people I have ever met. They're great.

I just wonder about this studio guy.

James

Second Audition Results

So, I still don't have all the parts cast, though I do have most. I still don't have my lead, though, nor my favorite G-Man. Both are difficult parts. So, I am going to have to do another audition.

It's frustrating. You know, you hear all the time about how hard it is for actors, but so far I have not seen a whole lot of get up and go. The few people I have cast have it, but it seems to me that if something really is your dream, you kinda have to work at it. Hell, making a movie isn't even my dream, it's just something I thought would be fun to do.

For the most part, it has been, but it is still frustrating. I still haven't even gotten over the shock of how far I have gotten on this. Hell, I even got funding today. Not much, just $500, but that will buy food and water during shooting, maybe even a couple of costumes.

I believe I am meeting with my fight choreographer this Wednesday as well as my programmer. This Thursday I am meeting with the owner of a production company to talk about a possible partnership.

It's still odd to day that I am doing any of these things. I hope that feeling never goes away. I hope I am never comfortable calling the shots, or leading people, or making deals. I hope it always makes me feel like someone else should be doing this, that I am doing it just because there is no one else around to do it for me. I just don't want it to be that this is what I do.

And I don't know why I feel that way.

Oh well...

James

Zombie meeting

So, we had zombie meeting yesterday. It went pretty well. We figured out what props we needed and finished up the character designs. It pretty much took sitting down with the artist and describing this person until he drew the damn character.

I had a conversation with an artist one time about this project. He wasn't producing and I had to ask him why. He said to me, "You can't rush creativity." I yelled (but only for a moment), "You damn well can!" The truth is, you can. You do something often enough it gets easier. Plus, I'm not looking for genius. You can't rush genius. I'm just looking to get things done and done how I want them. I don't even want my artists' genius. I just want what I ask them to do done. Yeah, you could argue that I am relying on them to translate my vision, and I am, but that doesn't mean that it has to be done on their time and not mine.

I am holding a second audition this Saturday at the Earl. Hopefully holding at a public place instead of my house it will go better, especially since it is a lot more centrally located.

Wish me luck!

James

The Audition

So, today was a bust. I had a couple people show up and they read and it was nice. A couple I am going to call back, but I will have to do a second audition for sure. I am having a couple of private auditions tomorrow night. I was expecting a bigger turnout today, especially after all the phone calls and e-mails I received. They just didn't translate into people coming out.

I hope to throw the next audition at a venue. That will probably help a bit, but still, I was hoping for more today. It's still not as discouraging as trying to get work out of people (especially artists).

James

Fighting

So, I met with my fight choreographer.

I know. I have a fight choreographer. Weird, isn't it?

It went pretty well. She seemed impressed with how much things had been thought out and seemed happy to work with a first time film-maker. We got to talking about how the struggles were going to work and she seemed to be really into it.

I managed to find her at a meeting of film-makers that a customer and friend invited me to. She was kind enough to hear my spiel.

What amazed me in general was how much people are willing to work together at this stage. You hear about these dramatic rows in the industry, but right now, everyone is just trying to get experience or that ability to say they worked on this great project with so and so. It makes me really wonder where that line is where that eagerness is lost. Or if it is lost at all and it just happens that we only hear about the crappy stuff.

James

Nervousness

So, I am auditioning people this Sunday.

I can't stop thinking about it. It's nerve-wracking. It's strange to have people asking me to work on this instead of the other way around.

The thing that gets me is that I have no idea what I am doing. I really don't, but people expect me
to. I know what acting I like and what I don't, but I cannot articulate what that is. I know what I have pictured, but I don't know how to explain it or how it looks. Yet, it is expected of me not only to tell people what I want, I have to get it out of them, and I don't know how.

To keep things organized, I've created registration forms for people to fill out when they come here so that I can keep them all straight. I'm really bad at names and faces, so this really is a necessity. I strongly recommend it to all of you.

My form asked for the person's name, age, sex, contact info, what parts they were interested in, which ones they were not interested in, when they were available for shooting, whether they were interested in crew work, and what skills they had. I also put in a place for me to make notes and a space to assign them a number. I plan on writing in the number as I take people's pictures so that I can put a name to each face. I am really that bad at remembering names and faces.

I'll let you know how it goes down.

James

Concept and How It Started

For those of you who wondering what Shuffle is supposed to be about, (and mind you, I'm not going to tell you everything), it is zombie horror. But besides that, it is going to be an adult dramatic cartoon. You see, I sell comic books and one of my customers and I got to talking about how some of these would make great cartoons and that we want to watch these. So, him and I decided we were going to try to do just that.

I never expected to get past the bullshit talking about stage.

So, after we came up with a concept, I started talking to people, mostly customers, who I thought had talents that would behoove the project. I first started with people I hung out with. This is the part many people don't tell you, how to put a team together. You do it much in the same way you get dates. You ask. You ask a lot of people and you get rejected a whole lot. By starting with people I already knew, no one's expectation was that high and it kept it fun. I didn't know anyone in the film-making or animation industry. None of us had ever done anything like this before, and no one had taken any classes to do this either.

So, after I had a couple of writers and an editor together, we decided on a meeting place an time and we met every two weeks.

Things went quickly for a while. Things got written and there was a bunch of excitement.

This is another thing people don't often say. How painfully slow things get and how hard it can be to get work out of people. Things will get slow and nothing will get done for the longest time. Also, people will start showing up to meetings sporadically. The method I used to counteract this is bugging the shit out of people. Don't be afraid to be annoying and call. Also, when you do call, don't be angry. No one likes to work for a dick. Ask people what is going on with them, first. The people who have talked into working for you want to feel respected and cared about by you. If they ask why you are asking, tell them the truth. You want to know why they haven't been doing what you ask of them and/or why they haven't shown up for meetings lately. Remember, if people are working for you, their problems are your problems. Help them if they need it and if they need a leave of absence to take care of something, let them. Think about how your favorite boss acts and emulate it. If you don't have a favorite boss, think about the biggest prick you have ever worked for and avoid everything they did.

Not being a dick gives you an added bonus when it comes to working with people (and yes, I realize what I am about to say is rather dick-ish). When you do get upset (and you will, eventually), it matters and it means something. The people you have working for you will know that you have done everything to make things run smoothly for them and to see you get upset (not angry) or hurt or disappointed in them is something they do not want to see and will work to avoid. Think about the people who care about you. Doesn't it hurt to see them upset? Won't you do anything to set things right when they are? If you actually take the time to care about the people working for you, they will feel the same when they let you down.

If anyone that is working with me reads this, I really do care about what is going on with you, whether you wish to believe that or not.

James

First Hand

Hello. This blog is meant to detail the process of creating the zombie film and animation project known as Shuffle. I am sure none of you have heard of it now, but hopefully everyone will hear of it later.

Also, I hope anyone who reads this blog will get inspiration and insight about the process of film-making. Mind you, not the several million dollar film-making, but the I hope I can pay rent film-making.

Often it is the case when you read some director's account of how they accomplished their project or how they got to where they are, they leave out important details, or even entire steps. It is though everyone went to penniless and then world famous without any in between. It is that in between space that is important. It is there that people have questions.

I know that I am waiting a little late to start this thing. I should have done it the day that my compatriots started this whole thing. However, I honestly never expected to get as far as we have. Since I am doing auditions this weekend, I figured it was about damned time for me to get off my ass and write about what I am doing and how it is getting done. This way, when whoever reads this thing decides to do their own project, they will be more prepared than I was (and I am not prepared at all).

I will write about concept next time. Now I just have to figure out how to handle the auditioning process.

Good night.

James