A huge congratulations to the cast and crew of ‘A Boy’s Life’! We’ll be making our Arizona premiere in Tucson on Friday, April 20th! This is a special screening since several of us went to school at the University of Arizona (Go Wildcats!). Please go check it out if you’re able to!
A Boy's Life will be making its World Premiere at the Garden State Film Festival! This is especially special because New Jersey is our Producer, Allison Vanore's home state. Congrats to everyone involved in the making of this little short film! Cross your fingers for many more acceptances.
Apologies. I realize I haven’t updated the blog in ions, but don’t fret – that doesn’t mean we’ve abandoned you or A Boy’s Life. On the contrary, we’re still in the eye of the tornado. It’s been nearly a year since we’ve begun active pre-production and now that the film’s finished and we’re waiting on festivals, it becomes less about filmmaking and more about the perfect festival fit.
Festivals are a tricky game. Unless you’re chums with the programmers or sleeping with Robert Redford, we cross our fingers that the theme or story fits in a certain spot within the festival. Short films are like accessories. These programmers need their designer ensemble, the features films, to highlight the festival while the short films customize the outfit. It’s like couture… if it’s not the perfect fit the entire garb falls apart.
In the meantime, as we head into the New Year, all we can do is make sure we’re shined, hemmed, and ironed until we’re accepted into the perfect festival.
Happy Holidays!
Apologies around for the gap between blog posts. We’ve been hard at work polishing A Boy’s Life, but that’s no excuse – an update is in order.
The cast & crew screening went fantastically – donors, the cast, and a good majority of our crew showed up to see what everyone helped create. Plenty of amazing feedback was bestowed about the short film and we wanted to share some with you.
“WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW!!! I wanted to congratulate you on the film. I had no idea what to expect, but what I was privileged to see today blew me away."
"The filmmaking was excellent. All the elements came together beautifully. The sound, color, editing, cinematography, performances...marvelous."
"Some shots were unbelievable. The TV in the reflection of the boy's glasses, the use of the flashlight, the two crawling on the floor while defeating the monster... just so much."
"It was modern and relevant, and timeless. And don't get me started on the surprise ending. Damn you, I jumped out of my seat!"
"I saw a lot of Spielberg in this film. But not only that, I saw elements of The Sixth Sense and Time Bandits."
"I was really impressed with the score and the opening credits. Were those all found props in Max's room? Thought his room was great."
We couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve created and can’t wait to share this everyone! Next stop – the festival circuit. Gear up, people, we’re entering the next phase of filmmaking!
Ladies, Gentleman, and Monsters: The moment has arrived…
The first screening of A Boy’s Life will be held on Monday, August 15th, 2011 at 8pm. We’ll be screening alongside another short film entitled The Drought. If, per chance, you’re in Los Angeles and are able to make it, we’d love to see you. The details are on the Evite linked below.
Get your free Tickets HERE!
A Boy’s Life takes home First Place at the Rod Serling Scriptwriting Competition!
Congratulations to our 2011 Winners:
Honorable Mentions:
Accolades and we haven’t even finished the film yet. While we’re still rounding the corner, nearly approaching the finish line, we’ve received great news for A Boy’s Life. The screenplay is a finalist for the Rod Serling Scriptwriting Competition. If you’re unaware of the “fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man”, Rod Serling is the creator of The Twilight Zone and a huge inspiration for the story (as well as myself as a filmmaker). I’m extremely excited to have his wife, Carol Serling, read my story – whether it places or not.
Beside that, we’re less than a week away from submitting the film to its first festival! The AFI Fest is our first shot out of the ring, and then we’re off on our much-anticipated festival run.
The walls are up, the windows are placed, and the wooden floors have been installed. Now, after months of hard work, it’s finally time to decorate.
We’re close to placing every component of the film and nearly finished with A Boy’s Life – and I couldn’t be more pleased. Let me digress for a second… the main reason for this blog was (and is) to keep everyone involved up-to-date with the progress of this short film. Whether you were part of the cast, crew, or a donor, every one of you helped make this film and I consider you part of this team.
A little tidbit about myself: Being a filmmaker is more than just making movies. It’s more than just expressing a vision. It’s sincerely about collaboration and working within a team to create something distinct and special. Sure, it’s always a great feeling when a story reaches an audience, though it digs deeper than that. A film builds a family. We’re the root foundation of this structure we’re creating. We’ve worked long hours sweating over bricks, cement, and plies of wood to create something that stands strong. I believe this film embodies that.
The music I’ve heard sounds amazing. The sound design is nearly completed. And the opening titles, created by Nipa Eason, are looking wonderful (a sneak peek above).
Now, as we’re deeply involved with the meticulous details of post-production, it’s nearly time to open the doors…
Stay tuned for our strategy for distribution.
On your mark. Get set. COLOR!
With only a month left to go, we’re continuously plugging away with this little monster movie and anticipating the next phase of post-production. We’ve finally completed the coloring phase – our DP turned colorist, Aaron, further enhanced the stunning visuals and we couldn’t be more pleased.
Now that the "look” is approaching the finish line, it’s now time to focus on what’s “heard”. Sound and score are both incredibly important aspects of a film that ultimately threads the story and seamlessly connect the audience. The goal isn’t to overemphasize either of the components, but work together to properly fit every piece of aural artwork and fully enhance the story. Having worked with both Hamdija and Michaela, I’m fully confident of their talents and can’t wait for you to hear what they create.
We’re also currently creating the beginning titles of the film (welcome the talented Nipa Eason), and about to begin the publicity phase (press kit, poster, festival plan, etc.)
Now it's time to stretch those limbs, put on those running shoes, and anticipate that finish line. We're off.
Is it me, or does the word “lock” often resonate a negative thought or idea? Locked out. Locked up. John Locke. It’s a smorgasbord of confined and damaging connotations. That holds true, however, until you’re finally at Picture Lock. For those not familiar with the cinematic vernacular, “picture lock” is the process of post-production where the Editor and Director have done everything humanly possible to conclude the edit and finally prepare the film for sound, music, visual effects, and color correction. Well, after eleven versions, two test screenings, and countless of notes later, Frank and I are happy to announce we’ve finally reached the coveted and relieving picture lock.
Sweaty palms, jittery legs, heavy breaths: No, I’m not talking about our imaginative main character, Max. Not this time. This time, I’m talking about me. More specifically, our very first test screening.
It’s never a calm feeling showing a work-in-progress to completely fresh eyes. In fact, the voices seem to speak louder and much more critical in the back of my head during this process. What do they think of the performances? Is the pacing too slow? Why did we put that shot in? It’s an invariable pooh-pooh platter of cinematic insecurity. This past weekend, we invited six professional (and very honest) viewers to watch the first audience screening of A Boy’s Life. The results -- amazing feedback, constructive criticism, and positive responses to enhance the quality of the film.
Now, back to the drawing board to strengthen the story and propel the performances, and ultimately get closer to that much sought-after picture lock.
That’s exactly where we are with A Boy’s Life. Our post-production team has crashed through the proverbial gates and we’re amidst the illustrious and quite meticulous editing phase. Our editor, Frank Mohler, and I have been working closely together to make sure the pacing and tone of the film is consistently effective and our working relationship couldn’t be better. We have a little less than a month until picture lock and then it moves on to sound design and music.
On a different note, we’re still on the hunt for more production funds. Raising money for a short film is like shopping for a leather jacket in summer. Doesn’t seem possible – not even probable – but if you’re really lucky and relentlessly determined, you just might find the perfect jacket in the perfect store with the perfect fit. If you know of anybody… perfect... please send them our way. To refer back to my friend Shakespeare again – “Nothing can come of nothing”. (Though, if you know King Lear, please don’t condemn us to the same fate as Cordelia…)
Our Executive Producer, Luke Bishop, checking out the space with Director of Photography Aaron Moorhead.
