Less than 24 hours to go before we’ll be busily hammering away at our official 48 Go Green competition entry (wish I could say I’m all rested up, but... not so much). But while our attention is pretty exclusively focused on getting that rolling, I do have a couple of quick updates I wanted to pass along as soon as possible.
First of all, we have our official 48 Go Green screening time set: Tuesday, February 22, at 7:00 p.m. As is traditional, the screening is at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, and tickets are now on sale at the official website. Grab ’em before they sell out! (There’s also a second screening of films immediately following our set, starting at 9:30, in case you’d like to check out some of the other entries.)
And second, the dates have been locked for this year’s (regular) 48 Hour Film Project contest: April 29–May 1, 2011 (pretty much exactly what we’d figured). If you’d like to join us, be sure to block off your calendars and drop us a line. (Um, but probably not until after this weekend — we’re a little busy to really deal with that just yet.)
That’s it for now (probably one of our shortest newsletters to date). Be sure to check out our official Twitter feed (yes, we’ve got one now: @TohubohuFilm) and Facebook page for the most up-to-date info!
Showing posts with label 48 Hour Film Project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 48 Hour Film Project. Show all posts
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Tohubohu Goes Green
First of all, welcome to the new Tohubohu newsletter mailing, Controlled Chaos. Pretty much the same update I send out every month or so, but with a snappy new look. And a name. Makes it feel more official, somehow. (I’ve done a bit of browser testing here, but if anyone has problems viewing this message, please say so — I may not be able to fix it with my rudimentary html skills, but I’ll do what I can.) The newsletter also showcases the new Tohubohu logo in the header — and to commemorate the occasion, I’ve put together a little compilation of the opening logo animations we’ve used over the years — starting all the way back with “Loose Ends” in 2004 and featuring a sneak peek at our latest. If you’re feeling a bit nostalgic, you can give it a look at our YouTube channel, where “Likes” and comments are always welcome. (You may also notice that we’ve taken to promoting the Tohubohu.tv address over the TohubohuProductions.com one — still the same site, but we’re hoping the shorter address will be easier for people to remember. Assuming they can spell “Tohubohu,” of course.)
Speaking of material on outside sites, I’m trying to get better about updating the Tohubohu Facebook page. We initially had a Facebook group, but that didn’t really take off, and now that the page model is becoming more standard, I figure we’ll have another go. So head on over, give it a “Like,” and say hi. (No Twitter feed yet — that may be coming at some point, but I can’t even get around to updating my personal feed all that reliably — except, of course, over our filmmaking weekends.)
The big item on the agenda this month, of course, is preparing for the 48 Hour Film Project's “48 Go Green” competition, which is now just two weeks away. (Wait, just two weeks? That can’t be right... Hmm, guess it is.) Looks like we’re getting down to the wire here — if you’re available the weekend of February 18–20 (with the big shooting day being on Saturday the 19th), please let me know as soon as possible. We’ve got a lot of our basic team assembled, but as always, there are some things we can’t get enough of. Locations being a big one; we’ve got a couple on tap, but would love to have multiple options. So if you’ve got a great idea for somewhere to shoot —remember, the theme is the environment, in case that gives you any ideas — please pass it along. And hey, if the environmental angle is what inspires you to join in with our motley crew, then I’m not above pushing that. (I do have to throw out my usual caveat that casting for these types of projects is always a crapshoot, as we don’t know what parameters we’ll have, so we can’t promise anything.)
Otherwise, it’s been a pretty busy month. I spoke at a panel discussion for TIVA on the subject of awards and promotion, and we had a really great turnout — I was glad to step up (or sit down, as the case may be) and represent, not only for Tohubohu but for the whole DC independent film community (no pressure or anything). I was able to attend the premiere of Saint Elizabeths Hospital: Voices From Within, which had a packed house and a fantastic audience reaction (some fantastic event photos are up at their Facebook page). Jabberwocky Audio Theater’s Rogue Tyger debuted its inaugural episode, “The Pilot, Part 1,” with many more to come across the next several months; be sure to check it out at the official site or subscribe via the iTunes directory (no such thing as too much promotion). Genesis completed its run at the Warehouse Theater — but if you missed the show, you can still see a sampling of the video work I contributed at our YouTube channel (probably the most disturbing piece I’ve done to date; not for the kiddies). And of course, we’re laying the groundwork for this year’s (regular) 48 Hour Film Project, which we think (judging by past years’ dates) is going to be over the weekend of April 29–May 1 (though it could also be the following weekend — nothing’s locked down yet).
As a bit of a side note, if anyone is interested in volunteering to provide subtitle translations for any of our films, I’d certainly appreciate it. It would go a long way toward helping our prospects for international festival distribution. I’ve had this guy Google doing it, but he’s not all that reliable...
And with that, I’ll go ahead and sign off for now. We’ll be sure to let everyone know when we have any updates or screening info for the “48 Go Green” film (again — no such thing as too much promotion), but otherwise I expect things will be a little quiet in terms of communication until we get through the weekend. Talk to you then, and hope to see a lot of you soon!
Speaking of material on outside sites, I’m trying to get better about updating the Tohubohu Facebook page. We initially had a Facebook group, but that didn’t really take off, and now that the page model is becoming more standard, I figure we’ll have another go. So head on over, give it a “Like,” and say hi. (No Twitter feed yet — that may be coming at some point, but I can’t even get around to updating my personal feed all that reliably — except, of course, over our filmmaking weekends.)
The big item on the agenda this month, of course, is preparing for the 48 Hour Film Project's “48 Go Green” competition, which is now just two weeks away. (Wait, just two weeks? That can’t be right... Hmm, guess it is.) Looks like we’re getting down to the wire here — if you’re available the weekend of February 18–20 (with the big shooting day being on Saturday the 19th), please let me know as soon as possible. We’ve got a lot of our basic team assembled, but as always, there are some things we can’t get enough of. Locations being a big one; we’ve got a couple on tap, but would love to have multiple options. So if you’ve got a great idea for somewhere to shoot —remember, the theme is the environment, in case that gives you any ideas — please pass it along. And hey, if the environmental angle is what inspires you to join in with our motley crew, then I’m not above pushing that. (I do have to throw out my usual caveat that casting for these types of projects is always a crapshoot, as we don’t know what parameters we’ll have, so we can’t promise anything.)
Otherwise, it’s been a pretty busy month. I spoke at a panel discussion for TIVA on the subject of awards and promotion, and we had a really great turnout — I was glad to step up (or sit down, as the case may be) and represent, not only for Tohubohu but for the whole DC independent film community (no pressure or anything). I was able to attend the premiere of Saint Elizabeths Hospital: Voices From Within, which had a packed house and a fantastic audience reaction (some fantastic event photos are up at their Facebook page). Jabberwocky Audio Theater’s Rogue Tyger debuted its inaugural episode, “The Pilot, Part 1,” with many more to come across the next several months; be sure to check it out at the official site or subscribe via the iTunes directory (no such thing as too much promotion). Genesis completed its run at the Warehouse Theater — but if you missed the show, you can still see a sampling of the video work I contributed at our YouTube channel (probably the most disturbing piece I’ve done to date; not for the kiddies). And of course, we’re laying the groundwork for this year’s (regular) 48 Hour Film Project, which we think (judging by past years’ dates) is going to be over the weekend of April 29–May 1 (though it could also be the following weekend — nothing’s locked down yet).
As a bit of a side note, if anyone is interested in volunteering to provide subtitle translations for any of our films, I’d certainly appreciate it. It would go a long way toward helping our prospects for international festival distribution. I’ve had this guy Google doing it, but he’s not all that reliable...
And with that, I’ll go ahead and sign off for now. We’ll be sure to let everyone know when we have any updates or screening info for the “48 Go Green” film (again — no such thing as too much promotion), but otherwise I expect things will be a little quiet in terms of communication until we get through the weekend. Talk to you then, and hope to see a lot of you soon!
Monday, January 10, 2011
A New Year Begins
Hope everyone had a nice holiday season! While I know it’s been a couple of months since my last message, it really feels like just yesterday that I was recapping the TIVA Peer Awards (and our jaw-dropping recognition therein). But now it’s time to get back to work, and I’ve got a few quick updates for everyone.
First of all, speaking of the Peer Awards, I’ve been asked to participate in a panel discussion — along with Andrea Kalin of Spark Media and Adam Hurst of Interface Media Group — to provide a sort of wrap-up to this year’s awards. Mike Sobola, the 2010 Peer Awards Chairman, will moderate, and the plan is to cover why one should enter competitions in general (and the Peer Awards in particular), selecting both categories to enter and works to submit, the importance of technical competence, and suggestions for next year’s awards. There will also be audience Q&A and screenings of clips from 2010 award competitors. The event is $10 for TIVA members (and full-time students) and $20 otherwise. I’d love to see some friendly faces in the crowd... maybe get a few softball questions.
(I’m also hoping to have a few copies of the “Number One With a Bullet” DVD — chock-full of bonus features — finished and on hand for cast & crew, so let me know if you’re planning to be there and I’ll bring you a copy.)
Next, a quick heads-up that Tohubohu is planning to join in on the 48 Hour Film Project’s “Go Green” competition, which runs across the weekend of February 18th through the 20th. Pretty much like the regular 48 Hour Film Project (which we’re also planning to do in a few months, of course), but with an environmental theme. While this is an international competition, DC is one of eight cities hosting a live in-person event — which means that we will get a local big-screen premiere. So if you’re interested in joining us for a little extra challenge, drop me a line soon!
And finally, I wanted to give a few quick notices about projects that are at least tangentially Tohubohu-related. One, Jabberwocky Audio Theater — spearheaded by Tohubohu’s own Bjorn Munson — has officially launched, and its first serialized radio drama, Rogue Tyger, will debut later this month; behind-the-scenes interviews have already begun airing (including ones with Tohubohu performers Nick DePinto and Neil Conway — and one with yours truly is coming soon). Check out the official site for more information, or search the iTunes directory for “Jabberwocky Audio Theater” to subscribe!
Two, Genesis, winner of the “Best Drama” award at the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival, is having a limited return engagement at the Warehouse Theater from January 20–30. Written by Evan Crump and directed by Tohubohu performer John C. Bailey, this is a truly compelling piece, and I was honored to be able to provide some videographic support for the produciton. Tickets are available online at www.cityartisticpartnerships.org.
And three, the Saint Elizabeths Hospital: Voices From Within video diary project — put together by Joy Haynes and Ellie Walton (with some editorial assistance from Tohubohu veteran Ginny Filer and myself) — is having its premiere screening on January 29. The event is invitation-only and seating is limited, so be sure to check out the official site or email seh.voicesfromwithin@gmail.com for details. This is an extraordinary project, and well worth checking out!
And that just about wraps it up for this newsletter. Best wishes to all, and I hope to hear from several of you with regard to “Go Green” very soon!
First of all, speaking of the Peer Awards, I’ve been asked to participate in a panel discussion — along with Andrea Kalin of Spark Media and Adam Hurst of Interface Media Group — to provide a sort of wrap-up to this year’s awards. Mike Sobola, the 2010 Peer Awards Chairman, will moderate, and the plan is to cover why one should enter competitions in general (and the Peer Awards in particular), selecting both categories to enter and works to submit, the importance of technical competence, and suggestions for next year’s awards. There will also be audience Q&A and screenings of clips from 2010 award competitors. The event is $10 for TIVA members (and full-time students) and $20 otherwise. I’d love to see some friendly faces in the crowd... maybe get a few softball questions.
(I’m also hoping to have a few copies of the “Number One With a Bullet” DVD — chock-full of bonus features — finished and on hand for cast & crew, so let me know if you’re planning to be there and I’ll bring you a copy.)
Next, a quick heads-up that Tohubohu is planning to join in on the 48 Hour Film Project’s “Go Green” competition, which runs across the weekend of February 18th through the 20th. Pretty much like the regular 48 Hour Film Project (which we’re also planning to do in a few months, of course), but with an environmental theme. While this is an international competition, DC is one of eight cities hosting a live in-person event — which means that we will get a local big-screen premiere. So if you’re interested in joining us for a little extra challenge, drop me a line soon!
And finally, I wanted to give a few quick notices about projects that are at least tangentially Tohubohu-related. One, Jabberwocky Audio Theater — spearheaded by Tohubohu’s own Bjorn Munson — has officially launched, and its first serialized radio drama, Rogue Tyger, will debut later this month; behind-the-scenes interviews have already begun airing (including ones with Tohubohu performers Nick DePinto and Neil Conway — and one with yours truly is coming soon). Check out the official site for more information, or search the iTunes directory for “Jabberwocky Audio Theater” to subscribe!
Two, Genesis, winner of the “Best Drama” award at the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival, is having a limited return engagement at the Warehouse Theater from January 20–30. Written by Evan Crump and directed by Tohubohu performer John C. Bailey, this is a truly compelling piece, and I was honored to be able to provide some videographic support for the produciton. Tickets are available online at www.cityartisticpartnerships.org.
And three, the Saint Elizabeths Hospital: Voices From Within video diary project — put together by Joy Haynes and Ellie Walton (with some editorial assistance from Tohubohu veteran Ginny Filer and myself) — is having its premiere screening on January 29. The event is invitation-only and seating is limited, so be sure to check out the official site or email seh.voicesfromwithin@gmail.com for details. This is an extraordinary project, and well worth checking out!
And that just about wraps it up for this newsletter. Best wishes to all, and I hope to hear from several of you with regard to “Go Green” very soon!
Friday, September 03, 2010
Back-to-School Update
Sorry for the long absence — it seems like only a couple of weeks have passed, when in reality it’s been quite a bit longer than that. In looking back I realized that we haven’t sent out a group update since before our 48 Hour Film Project screening back in May — so it’s effectively like we took our own little summer vacation (alas, if only we had really taken such a holiday...). But now with Labor Day upon us, it’s time to head (metaphorically) back to school...
Speaking of the 48 Hour Film Project, our screening at the AFI Silver went very well, and the audience really seemed to love it. Unfortunately, we lost out on the audience award to the Eastern Avenue Films entry, “Quelques Instants” — so (since we were out of the running for the other awards due to our late submission) that was the end of the road for “Liability” as far as the competition went.
But that wasn’t the end as far as we’re concerned — we are actively submitting “Liability” (and some of our other films) to festivals around the country, so we’ll be sure to keep everyone posted about any upcoming screenings!
Along those lines, because of our active festival submissions, several of our shorts have now joined our list of IMDb-listed films (bringing our total up to 12). As of right now, the films that have been newly inducted into the Internet Movie Database include:
We’ve also submitted some of our work for consideration in the 2010 TIVA Peer Awards — though given the rigorous judging process, I’m trying not to get my hopes up for anything. Still, fingers crossed...
In other news, the latest Stonehenge mass auditions (hosted by our cohorts at Team Jabberwocky) are coming up on Sunday, September 26, at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson in Baltimore. Tohubohu will be in attendance, so this is a great chance for the actors among you to shine — not just for us, but for a whole slew of area filmmakers. Registration is now open, so hurry over and sign up — especially since there are a limited number of audition slots. Those slots will be allocated by lottery, so (though there will be more applicants than slots available) don’t worry that other actors have already gotten in ahead of you — just make sure you’re signed up before September 11 and you’ve got an equal shot at one of those coveted positions. (As a side bonus, check out the Team Jabberwocky News Blog for Stonehenge-specific tips and tricks.)
And finally, I wanted to give a quick notice that “Number One With a Bullet” is finally in the can! With everything else going on, this one ended up spending a lot more time in postproduction than we’d planned. Not that we waited around — we’ve been sending it out to festivals even with temporary scoring and effects — but now we can say that it is officially complete! I’d love to do a formal cast-and-crew showing, so if anyone has an “in” with any promising screening venues, please let me know!
That’s it for now — hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!
Speaking of the 48 Hour Film Project, our screening at the AFI Silver went very well, and the audience really seemed to love it. Unfortunately, we lost out on the audience award to the Eastern Avenue Films entry, “Quelques Instants” — so (since we were out of the running for the other awards due to our late submission) that was the end of the road for “Liability” as far as the competition went.
But that wasn’t the end as far as we’re concerned — we are actively submitting “Liability” (and some of our other films) to festivals around the country, so we’ll be sure to keep everyone posted about any upcoming screenings!
Along those lines, because of our active festival submissions, several of our shorts have now joined our list of IMDb-listed films (bringing our total up to 12). As of right now, the films that have been newly inducted into the Internet Movie Database include:
- “Liability”
- “Uncertainty Principle”
- “Close Quarters” (our 48HFP entry from 2006)
- “Loose Ends” (the very first film in Tohubohu’s library, from 2004)
We’ve also submitted some of our work for consideration in the 2010 TIVA Peer Awards — though given the rigorous judging process, I’m trying not to get my hopes up for anything. Still, fingers crossed...
In other news, the latest Stonehenge mass auditions (hosted by our cohorts at Team Jabberwocky) are coming up on Sunday, September 26, at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson in Baltimore. Tohubohu will be in attendance, so this is a great chance for the actors among you to shine — not just for us, but for a whole slew of area filmmakers. Registration is now open, so hurry over and sign up — especially since there are a limited number of audition slots. Those slots will be allocated by lottery, so (though there will be more applicants than slots available) don’t worry that other actors have already gotten in ahead of you — just make sure you’re signed up before September 11 and you’ve got an equal shot at one of those coveted positions. (As a side bonus, check out the Team Jabberwocky News Blog for Stonehenge-specific tips and tricks.)
And finally, I wanted to give a quick notice that “Number One With a Bullet” is finally in the can! With everything else going on, this one ended up spending a lot more time in postproduction than we’d planned. Not that we waited around — we’ve been sending it out to festivals even with temporary scoring and effects — but now we can say that it is officially complete! I’d love to do a formal cast-and-crew showing, so if anyone has an “in” with any promising screening venues, please let me know!
That’s it for now — hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
“Liability”
Once again, Tohubohu has ventured into the waters of the 48 Hour Film Project, and once again, we have succeeded... Well, in a manner of speaking.
The reality is that while we did produce a great little short horror film, “Liability,” we were late in making it to the final drop-off — and five minutes late is still late. Unfortunately, this means that while we will still screen at the AFI Silver Theatre tomorrow evening (and be eligible for the “Audience Favorite” award), we will not be eligible for consideration in any of the judged categories.
While most certainly a disappointment, I am comforted (at least somewhat) by the fact that every year we strive to do something more than the year before, to stretch our boundaries, to try new things. In a way, if we succeeded every time, then we wouldn’t really be challenging ourselves.
And the horror genre was definitely a challenge. But at every step in the process, everyone on the team worked like mad to make it a success. The individual stories of going above and beyond what I had any right to expect — from both cast and crew — are too numerous to mention.
(I did manage to keep tweeting our progress — though my tweets were understandably a bit sparse during the shoot itself — and I suspect that I’ll continue that tradition in the future.)
In the end, I’m really happy with the film itself. We had committed to producing a PG-13 film, which meant we weren’t going to go for a conventional slasher picture. So instead, we went with more of a creepy ghost story, a tale of justice and supernatural vengeance, of secrets, lies, and lawyers...
But of course, you can judge the results for yourselves: Tickets are still available for our debut screening tomorrow evening — Wednesday, May 5, at 7:00 p.m. You can purchase advance tickets at the AFI Silver website (and given the likelihood that they will sell out, I strongly recommend taking that course). Given that the only award we’re still up for is the Audience award, I really want to make sure we’re stacking that audience with as many friendly faces (or, more accurately, votes) as possible. And since all films in that screening fit within the boundaries of the PG-13 rating, you can feel free to bring younger viewers (thereby increasing our potential audience size).
Also worth noting are two special screenings coming up later this month. First is the Best of the 48 Hour Film Project on May 27, where the top films from this year’s competition will be shown, and the prize winners announced. (There is a different selection of films at each screening, so you can safely make a whole evening out of it.) And on May 28th, you can see the Best of 10 Years of the 48 Hour Film Project, showcasing the best films in the competition’s history — sure to be a memorable event. Tickets for both are also available at the AFI Silver website.
Thanks so much, and I hope to see you tomorrow evening!
The reality is that while we did produce a great little short horror film, “Liability,” we were late in making it to the final drop-off — and five minutes late is still late. Unfortunately, this means that while we will still screen at the AFI Silver Theatre tomorrow evening (and be eligible for the “Audience Favorite” award), we will not be eligible for consideration in any of the judged categories.
While most certainly a disappointment, I am comforted (at least somewhat) by the fact that every year we strive to do something more than the year before, to stretch our boundaries, to try new things. In a way, if we succeeded every time, then we wouldn’t really be challenging ourselves.
And the horror genre was definitely a challenge. But at every step in the process, everyone on the team worked like mad to make it a success. The individual stories of going above and beyond what I had any right to expect — from both cast and crew — are too numerous to mention.
(I did manage to keep tweeting our progress — though my tweets were understandably a bit sparse during the shoot itself — and I suspect that I’ll continue that tradition in the future.)
In the end, I’m really happy with the film itself. We had committed to producing a PG-13 film, which meant we weren’t going to go for a conventional slasher picture. So instead, we went with more of a creepy ghost story, a tale of justice and supernatural vengeance, of secrets, lies, and lawyers...
But of course, you can judge the results for yourselves: Tickets are still available for our debut screening tomorrow evening — Wednesday, May 5, at 7:00 p.m. You can purchase advance tickets at the AFI Silver website (and given the likelihood that they will sell out, I strongly recommend taking that course). Given that the only award we’re still up for is the Audience award, I really want to make sure we’re stacking that audience with as many friendly faces (or, more accurately, votes) as possible. And since all films in that screening fit within the boundaries of the PG-13 rating, you can feel free to bring younger viewers (thereby increasing our potential audience size).
Also worth noting are two special screenings coming up later this month. First is the Best of the 48 Hour Film Project on May 27, where the top films from this year’s competition will be shown, and the prize winners announced. (There is a different selection of films at each screening, so you can safely make a whole evening out of it.) And on May 28th, you can see the Best of 10 Years of the 48 Hour Film Project, showcasing the best films in the competition’s history — sure to be a memorable event. Tickets for both are also available at the AFI Silver website.
Thanks so much, and I hope to see you tomorrow evening!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Less Than Eight Hours...
Well, it’s almost go time for this year’s 48 Hour Film Project! I wish I could say that I’m rested and ready, but the reality is that I’ve barely slept all week. So this weekend will be... interesting.
That said, just like last year, I’m going to try to tweet our progress via my (personal) Twitter feed, twitter.com/coughlan (or @coughlan, for you Twitter regulars). I’m not going to even pretend that I’ll be blogging or sending emails out across the next several days, so if you want more than just the eventual recap (and no promises as to when I’ll get around to posting that), the Twitter feed is the place to find it.
Okay, call to action time: We do have our screening night set — Wednesday, May 5, at 7:00 pm, at the AFI Silver Theatre. Tickets are now on sale — so go to the AFI site and place your order. We’d really like to have some friendly faces in the crowd! (And since ours is officially designated a “PG-13” screening, you can bring the younger viewers as well.)
Well, that’s about all I have time for now — I’ve still got paperwork to fill out, gear to load up, a cooler to clear out, messages to send, phone calls to make, potential locations to sift through, actor lists to assemble, and more than a little last-minute shopping to do (so glad I decided to take today off from the day job). So I’ll sign off for now, and look forward to seeing (many of) you at the screening.
Off to make a movie!
That said, just like last year, I’m going to try to tweet our progress via my (personal) Twitter feed, twitter.com/coughlan (or @coughlan, for you Twitter regulars). I’m not going to even pretend that I’ll be blogging or sending emails out across the next several days, so if you want more than just the eventual recap (and no promises as to when I’ll get around to posting that), the Twitter feed is the place to find it.
Okay, call to action time: We do have our screening night set — Wednesday, May 5, at 7:00 pm, at the AFI Silver Theatre. Tickets are now on sale — so go to the AFI site and place your order. We’d really like to have some friendly faces in the crowd! (And since ours is officially designated a “PG-13” screening, you can bring the younger viewers as well.)
Well, that’s about all I have time for now — I’ve still got paperwork to fill out, gear to load up, a cooler to clear out, messages to send, phone calls to make, potential locations to sift through, actor lists to assemble, and more than a little last-minute shopping to do (so glad I decided to take today off from the day job). So I’ll sign off for now, and look forward to seeing (many of) you at the screening.
Off to make a movie!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Three Weeks Until 48!
Just taking a moment to remind everyone that there are just three weeks until we once again jump into the 48 Hour Film Project: April 30th through May 2nd. We do have the core of our creative group set, but if you’d like to join in on the fun (well, the chaos, anyway) and haven’t already let us know, now would be a good time. As is routinely the case, we’re supremely interested in any locations you may have at your disposal — the more unusual the better, of course, but frankly even the mundane (but available) is a big help. And, of course, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask (rest assured, there is a human being at the other end of this message).
On another note, we recently received word that “Uncertainty Principle” will not receive commercial distribution (in fact, the distributor opted to pass on the International Shootout films entirely). The bad news, of course, is that you won’t be seeing our little film (or any of the other competitors’) on DVD any time soon — but the good news is that you can watch it online right now! That’s right, we have put the movie on our site for the world to enjoy. So go to the site, watch — and be sure to tell your friends!
That’s it for today — just a short update, in light of all the work we’re doing (or trying to do) in advance of our next creative outing. (Please, hold your applause.)
On another note, we recently received word that “Uncertainty Principle” will not receive commercial distribution (in fact, the distributor opted to pass on the International Shootout films entirely). The bad news, of course, is that you won’t be seeing our little film (or any of the other competitors’) on DVD any time soon — but the good news is that you can watch it online right now! That’s right, we have put the movie on our site for the world to enjoy. So go to the site, watch — and be sure to tell your friends!
That’s it for today — just a short update, in light of all the work we’re doing (or trying to do) in advance of our next creative outing. (Please, hold your applause.)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
We’re Back...
Long time, no speak. I had hoped to have news on the distribution prospects for “Uncertainty Principle” (which will, in turn, affect our ability to post the film online), but alas, we are at the mercy of distributors’ schedules. So no word on that front just yet.
But as the time for our next filmmaking outing approaches, I couldn’t wait any longer to send out the call — yes, we are participating in this year’s 48 Hour Film Project! The event will take place from Friday, April 30, through Sunday, May 2 (and unlike the recent International Shootout, for which we technically had an extra day, this event will run just 48 hours). For the most part, our shooting will take place on Saturday the 1st — though given last year’s down-to-the-wire scramble to get in under deadline, I would really appreciate some additional postproduction support on Sunday (not to mention that having help there will allow us to clean things up some more, or experiment a bit).
Space on the team is naturally limited (which is my CYA way of saying I can’t promise anything), so please let me know as soon as possible if you’d like to join in. Hope to see you there!
(On a minor housekeeping note, because of some administrative changes at Blogger, we’ve had to migrate our news blog to a new address: tohubohunews.blogspot.com. You can still navigate there from the main Tohubohu site — and the old address should redirect to the new. Same great news archive, less intuitive URL.)
But as the time for our next filmmaking outing approaches, I couldn’t wait any longer to send out the call — yes, we are participating in this year’s 48 Hour Film Project! The event will take place from Friday, April 30, through Sunday, May 2 (and unlike the recent International Shootout, for which we technically had an extra day, this event will run just 48 hours). For the most part, our shooting will take place on Saturday the 1st — though given last year’s down-to-the-wire scramble to get in under deadline, I would really appreciate some additional postproduction support on Sunday (not to mention that having help there will allow us to clean things up some more, or experiment a bit).
Space on the team is naturally limited (which is my CYA way of saying I can’t promise anything), so please let me know as soon as possible if you’d like to join in. Hope to see you there!
(On a minor housekeeping note, because of some administrative changes at Blogger, we’ve had to migrate our news blog to a new address: tohubohunews.blogspot.com. You can still navigate there from the main Tohubohu site — and the old address should redirect to the new. Same great news archive, less intuitive URL.)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
“Uncertainty Principle”
Thought I’d send out a quick (and long overdue) note about our latest short film, “Uncertainty Principle,” produced as part of the 48 Hour Film Project International Shootout, and let you know about a special local screening this Saturday evening. (Nothing like giving you plenty of advance notice, eh?)
The competition itself — open to the top 100 48 Hour Film Project teams worldwide — saw 55 teams turning in finished films over the weekend of December 4–7 (we get an extra day in there to account for the need to mail the films in to the “central office”). Five local teams were in the mix — us, Integral Arts, WIT Films, DC Dogs, and Red Hat Memory.
The competition itself proved a bit unusual, as we found out Friday evening when we received our “required elements”... or, rather, when we didn’t receive them. That’s right — no required character, prop, and line, and no randomly assigned genre. All we had was a theme: The End of the World.
I’d say that we agonized for hours about what to do, but in reality we hit upon a basic idea early on (well, Robin did), and we were off and running. We were pretty limited in terms of available locations this time around, so that helped define the scope of what we were able to tackle. But thanks to a great script, a stellar cast (including John C. Bailey, Anna Coughlan, Erin Rose Coughlan, Linda Gabriel Deutsch, Belén Pifel, and Stuart Scotten), and a dedicated crew (both Saturday and Sunday were pretty exhausting shooting days), we were able to deliver a really solid entry, and one I’m personally really proud of.
Here’s the official “summary”: Dire warnings of immminent disaster have proven justified, as global destruction begins raining down from purple-hued skies. A Washington family struggles to cope with the advancing armageddon until a lone physicist proposes an unorthodox course of action.
Unfortunately, because the judging is still under way (the plan is to distribute the top 10 films commercially), we can’t post the film online, or even show you a trailer. (At the earliest, we won’t be able to show you anything until March.) But you will have one chance to see the film this weekend, along with entries from the other local teams.
There will be a special screening — a free screening, no less — of all five DC-area films at CDIA in Georgetown (where the old Foundry Theater used to be) on Saturday, January 16. The screening starts at 7:00 PM and is expected to run about an hour; the films will be followed by a filmmaker Q&A afterward (and having worked with several of these filmmakers before, let me say that they can be an entertaining bunch). This promises to be a fairly packed event — remember, these are entries from the top teams in DC — so be sure to get there early. (Directions are available at the CDIA site, and feel free to get back to me with any questions.)
Hope to see you there!
The competition itself — open to the top 100 48 Hour Film Project teams worldwide — saw 55 teams turning in finished films over the weekend of December 4–7 (we get an extra day in there to account for the need to mail the films in to the “central office”). Five local teams were in the mix — us, Integral Arts, WIT Films, DC Dogs, and Red Hat Memory.
The competition itself proved a bit unusual, as we found out Friday evening when we received our “required elements”... or, rather, when we didn’t receive them. That’s right — no required character, prop, and line, and no randomly assigned genre. All we had was a theme: The End of the World.
I’d say that we agonized for hours about what to do, but in reality we hit upon a basic idea early on (well, Robin did), and we were off and running. We were pretty limited in terms of available locations this time around, so that helped define the scope of what we were able to tackle. But thanks to a great script, a stellar cast (including John C. Bailey, Anna Coughlan, Erin Rose Coughlan, Linda Gabriel Deutsch, Belén Pifel, and Stuart Scotten), and a dedicated crew (both Saturday and Sunday were pretty exhausting shooting days), we were able to deliver a really solid entry, and one I’m personally really proud of.
Here’s the official “summary”: Dire warnings of immminent disaster have proven justified, as global destruction begins raining down from purple-hued skies. A Washington family struggles to cope with the advancing armageddon until a lone physicist proposes an unorthodox course of action.
Unfortunately, because the judging is still under way (the plan is to distribute the top 10 films commercially), we can’t post the film online, or even show you a trailer. (At the earliest, we won’t be able to show you anything until March.) But you will have one chance to see the film this weekend, along with entries from the other local teams.
There will be a special screening — a free screening, no less — of all five DC-area films at CDIA in Georgetown (where the old Foundry Theater used to be) on Saturday, January 16. The screening starts at 7:00 PM and is expected to run about an hour; the films will be followed by a filmmaker Q&A afterward (and having worked with several of these filmmakers before, let me say that they can be an entertaining bunch). This promises to be a fairly packed event — remember, these are entries from the top teams in DC — so be sure to get there early. (Directions are available at the CDIA site, and feel free to get back to me with any questions.)
Hope to see you there!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Counting Down... Again
Less than a week to go before we jump in on the 48 Hour Film Project International Shootout, but we still have some final details to get ironed out. Most significantly, just where to shoot. Turns out we don’t have a lot of our regular haunts available this time around, so if you’ve got any suggestions to offer up, please pass them along ASAP. The more interesting the better, of course (I have a fantasy of shooting in an abandoned steel mill), but even an ordinary apartment, office, bar, restaurant, school, or park will be helpful. We’ve got a couple of intriguing options out of the city (in some cases way out of the city), but I figure if we can shoot closer in there’s a greater chance that we’ll be able to keep everyone on board. (Yes, as a confirmed suburbanite, I’m used to driving, but not all of our city-dwelling brethren share my comfort level with distance travel.) Our main shooting day will be Saturday, but (since we’ve got the extra day for editing) we may do some additional scenes Sunday morning.
(And remember, if you’re going to be watching from the sidelines this time around, be sure to follow the weekend’s progress on my Twitter feed.)
On another note, I wanted to congratulate Erik Synnestvedt on winning a Silver Award for Acting on Camera – Dramatic, Male at the 2009 TIVA Awards for his work in “Please Forward.” So... congratulations!
Okay, that’s it for now — hope to see a lot of you in just a few days!
(And remember, if you’re going to be watching from the sidelines this time around, be sure to follow the weekend’s progress on my Twitter feed.)
On another note, I wanted to congratulate Erik Synnestvedt on winning a Silver Award for Acting on Camera – Dramatic, Male at the 2009 TIVA Awards for his work in “Please Forward.” So... congratulations!
Okay, that’s it for now — hope to see a lot of you in just a few days!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
48HFP International Shootout
I suppose I should start with an apology for being effectively incommunicado for the past three months. Wish I could say that big film projects were afoot, but the reality is that this fall’s been a perfect storm of work, personal, and family obligations that occupied the vast majority of my personal time and mental energy.
That said, there’s nothing like a new project to get me out from under my rock, and it looks like we’ve got one: Tohubohu has just been invited to participate in the 48 Hour Film Project International Shootout! The good news is that this gives us the excuse we’ve been looking for to get another film in before the end of the year. The bad news (and there’s always bad news) is that the competition is the first weekend in December, which gives us very little prep time. Still, after talking to a few key folks and making sure we at least had our basic needs covered, we’ve decided to go ahead with it.
The competition works very similarly to the regular 48 Hour Film Project, but with a few variations. First, because this is a simultaneous international event, the drawing and submission processes are done remotely — we’ll receive our elements via email, and submit our finished film by mail (much like in the National Film Challenge); if you’re thinking ahead, you may realize that this effectively gives us an extra day to get everything wrapped up. Second, there won’t be a big-screen AFI Silver premiere — though the winning film will screen at Filmapalooza and at the Cannes Short Film Corner. And third, there will be other thematic elements besides the genre and the traditional required elements; because they’re looking to distribute a selection of the finished films as a package, the plan is to have some commonality connecting the films in the series.
Unfortunately, there’s no SAG waiver this time around, so alas, that means that our SAG-actor contingent will be unable to participate (well, not in front of the camera, anyway). Which is certainly a disappointment — particularly as our invitation to participate in this contest is due in no small part to all of the fantastic work you’ve done for us of late. But this will give others a chance to shine, and rest assured, we’ll have more opportunities soon!
Given the comparatively short prep time, we’ll naturally be giving preferential consideration to those with whom we’ve worked before (particularly on our most recent projects, “Number One With a Bullet,” “All Roads Lead Away,” and “Please Forward”). But — especially since several of our regulars are otherwise committed — if you’re interested in joining in, drop me a line ASAP! (And yes, I’m planning once again to tweet our progress across the weekend on my Twitter feed.)
Time to start shooting!
That said, there’s nothing like a new project to get me out from under my rock, and it looks like we’ve got one: Tohubohu has just been invited to participate in the 48 Hour Film Project International Shootout! The good news is that this gives us the excuse we’ve been looking for to get another film in before the end of the year. The bad news (and there’s always bad news) is that the competition is the first weekend in December, which gives us very little prep time. Still, after talking to a few key folks and making sure we at least had our basic needs covered, we’ve decided to go ahead with it.
The competition works very similarly to the regular 48 Hour Film Project, but with a few variations. First, because this is a simultaneous international event, the drawing and submission processes are done remotely — we’ll receive our elements via email, and submit our finished film by mail (much like in the National Film Challenge); if you’re thinking ahead, you may realize that this effectively gives us an extra day to get everything wrapped up. Second, there won’t be a big-screen AFI Silver premiere — though the winning film will screen at Filmapalooza and at the Cannes Short Film Corner. And third, there will be other thematic elements besides the genre and the traditional required elements; because they’re looking to distribute a selection of the finished films as a package, the plan is to have some commonality connecting the films in the series.
Unfortunately, there’s no SAG waiver this time around, so alas, that means that our SAG-actor contingent will be unable to participate (well, not in front of the camera, anyway). Which is certainly a disappointment — particularly as our invitation to participate in this contest is due in no small part to all of the fantastic work you’ve done for us of late. But this will give others a chance to shine, and rest assured, we’ll have more opportunities soon!
Given the comparatively short prep time, we’ll naturally be giving preferential consideration to those with whom we’ve worked before (particularly on our most recent projects, “Number One With a Bullet,” “All Roads Lead Away,” and “Please Forward”). But — especially since several of our regulars are otherwise committed — if you’re interested in joining in, drop me a line ASAP! (And yes, I’m planning once again to tweet our progress across the weekend on my Twitter feed.)
Time to start shooting!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The Results Are In...
“Please Forward” has taken home the Audience Award for screening group G in the 2009 48 Hour Film Project! (We’ve got a nice little certificate and everything.) And given that there were four films from our screening group represented in the “Best Of” screening, that’s no small feat. I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make this effort such a success. The screening itself went great, and was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate with a veritable Who’s-Who of the DC filmmaking community.
The full listing of results are posted at the official site, but I thought I’d point out a few personal highlights. (Just my own opinion, of course, but I like to think my opinion’s pretty significant. It is to me, anyway.) Fellow Audience Award winners included Dobler’s Pen entry “He Drove,” Card Sharque’s “Cry Guy,” and River Run’s “Happy Hour.” Cinematography and Editing honors went to Dead City Films’ “The Imperial.” The WIT Films entry “Rakirovka” took home the Best Directing award (as well as Best Sound Design). And our frequent collaborators (co-conspirators?) Integral Arts took home Best Costumes, Best Special Effects, Best Writing, and Best Film awards for “Gwendolyn Dangerous and the Great Space Rescue.” (Whew!) I also want to give a quick shout-out to The Quest for their film “Stonking,” Cavegirl Productions for “Motivation,” and Star Wipe Films for “Like It’s Your Last” — all worth a look.
That’s it for today, but I’ll sign off with another reminder to keep your calendars open (not to mention passing the news along to anyone who might be interested) on June 27 for the Rosebud Film & Video Festival, where “All Roads Lead Away” will be screening. And in the meantime, I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted on any other showings or events to come!
The full listing of results are posted at the official site, but I thought I’d point out a few personal highlights. (Just my own opinion, of course, but I like to think my opinion’s pretty significant. It is to me, anyway.) Fellow Audience Award winners included Dobler’s Pen entry “He Drove,” Card Sharque’s “Cry Guy,” and River Run’s “Happy Hour.” Cinematography and Editing honors went to Dead City Films’ “The Imperial.” The WIT Films entry “Rakirovka” took home the Best Directing award (as well as Best Sound Design). And our frequent collaborators (co-conspirators?) Integral Arts took home Best Costumes, Best Special Effects, Best Writing, and Best Film awards for “Gwendolyn Dangerous and the Great Space Rescue.” (Whew!) I also want to give a quick shout-out to The Quest for their film “Stonking,” Cavegirl Productions for “Motivation,” and Star Wipe Films for “Like It’s Your Last” — all worth a look.
That’s it for today, but I’ll sign off with another reminder to keep your calendars open (not to mention passing the news along to anyone who might be interested) on June 27 for the Rosebud Film & Video Festival, where “All Roads Lead Away” will be screening. And in the meantime, I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted on any other showings or events to come!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Best of the 48 Hour Film Project 2009
Well, it’s official — “Please Forward” will be screening as part of the Best of the 48 Hour Film Project this Thursday evening. We’ll be showing with the 7:00 show, and in glorious HD, no less. (I dropped off an HD master with the editor last Friday.)
If you’d like a recap of the big shooting weekend, Pam posted one earlier, so I won’t go into detail here. But I will say that everything came together fantastically. The writing (from “You Pay Your Dues” scribe Robin Brande) was spot-on, the crew was totally gung-ho (a big help given the daunting number of setups we had), and the cast (including a couple of very talented young newcomers) was enthusiastic and extremely dedicated.
Here’s the official listing of films (with links where available):
Screening 1 — 7:00 p.m.
Beyond that, be sure to mark your calendars for the Rosebud Film & Video Festival on June 27, where “All Roads Lead Away” will be showing. And we’re scrambling to finish up music for “Number One With a Bullet” so we can start shopping that around to festivals in earnest (though we have already made one submission). More news as we have it!
If you’d like a recap of the big shooting weekend, Pam posted one earlier, so I won’t go into detail here. But I will say that everything came together fantastically. The writing (from “You Pay Your Dues” scribe Robin Brande) was spot-on, the crew was totally gung-ho (a big help given the daunting number of setups we had), and the cast (including a couple of very talented young newcomers) was enthusiastic and extremely dedicated.
Here’s the official listing of films (with links where available):
Screening 1 — 7:00 p.m.
- Eastern Avenue Films: “American Institution” (Mockumentary)
- Roadside Productions: “Cirque d’Amour” (Comedy)
- Unfinished Productions: “Decidophobia”
- South County United: “From Behind the Corn Hole” (Buddy Film)
- River Run: “Happy Hour” (Surprise Ending)
- Two Meter: “Looking for You”
- Hugs Productions: “Make a Difference Day” (Holiday Film)
- Cavegirl Productions: “Motivation” (Thriller/Suspense)
- Bad Media: “Nowhere, Man” (Historical Fiction)
- Tohubohu: “Please Forward” (Holiday Film)
- WIT Films: “Rakirovka” (Foreign Film)
- Woge Sloth: “’Za” (Stoner Film)
- Card Sharque: “Cry Guy”
- Second Minute Films: “Family Outing”
- Integral Arts: “Gwendolyn Dangerous and the Great Space Rescue” (Film de Femme)
- Dobler’s Pen: “He Drove” (Comedy)
- Ad Infinitum: “Ivan Pagoda: A Feel Good Story” (Comedy)
- The BetaMacks: “Janice and Jonas” (Silent Film)
- Cardiff Giant: “Life Is Super”
- Star Wipe Films: “Like It’s Your Last” (Sci Fi)
- Loud Noises: “Pipe Dream” (Fantasy)
- Dusty Negatives: “Propagation 8” (Sci Fi)
- The Quest: “Stonking” (Mockumentary)
- Dead City Films: “The Imperial” (Detective/Cop)
Beyond that, be sure to mark your calendars for the Rosebud Film & Video Festival on June 27, where “All Roads Lead Away” will be showing. And we’re scrambling to finish up music for “Number One With a Bullet” so we can start shopping that around to festivals in earnest (though we have already made one submission). More news as we have it!
Monday, May 04, 2009
“Please Forward”
It’s fair to say that the idea for Tohubohu’s newest short film, “Please Forward,” came to me in a dream. Seriously.
In the days before the 48 Hour Film Project, Bill and Robin were joking about chain emails and then thinking how that concept would be interesting for the movie. But with our genre and required elements still not established, they didn’t want to go too far down that road. (In the 48 Hour Film Project, you pick your genre out of a hat and there is a required prop, character, and line of dialogue.) However, that night as I slept, I took that germ of a concept, mixed it with The Office, and a parody video, “Flutter.” I dreamed about a mockumentary about a business that starts all of those obnoxious chain emails. When I told Bill in the morning, he laughed, but not knowing what we’d have to use when we wrote our film, it didn’t make sense to work up the idea. We thought about writing it up afterward for our own film.
When Bill went to the kick-off party and drew the Holiday Film genre, the idea came back into play: What if we went with the mockumentary, but it was at the office Christmas party? On Friday night, Bill and Robin started off the brainstorming and script writing while I finished up the Drama Club performance with my fourth grader (she did an amazing job as a chicken). Back at home, Robin wrote up the script as Bill and I made suggestions, selected our cast, and made phone calls. I ran around the house finding Christmas decorations.
Saturday morning, we headed into Bill’s old office building, where he had gotten permission to film. It was a great set-up for us, offering lots of spaces for scenes, but also lots of room to wait around. Even with only one day to film, there’s a lot of waiting around in the movies. Both of the girls came to be in the Research & Development scenes, and also to help with the clapper board, set decoration, and general gofer jobs. I took calls from our cast and crew, made sure everyone was where they needed to be, picked internal locations, decorated and took down sets, made sure everyone had plenty of food (very important), arranged the order of filming for scenes, walked the actors through some parts, and made sure all the paperwork was in order. Bill just directed the movie. Slacker.
We had a great time during the day, with a pretty relaxed feel considering our tight schedule. The actors gave us some stellar performances. Really top notch. I may be biased, but my favorite scene is with my fourth grader, where the marketing woman is trying to get some ideas about the next generation of chain email users, but is having trouble working with a kid. I also love my seventh grader as a typical teen, texting instead of thinking about the marketer’s questions. The party scene was the most fun to film, and I do make an appearance there as an employee.
We wrapped up at 10:00 p.m. and Bill went into the office to work with the preliminary edit. In the wee hours of the morning he came back to the house for a few hours of sleep, and then went back to edit the film and add sound effects, music, and credits. Oh, and play with sound levels and color correction and technical film kind of stuff. I saw a rough cut at 2:00 and loved it. I reminded him to temper his technical perfectionism and get the film turned in early — no last-minute run for the doors at 7:00.
He did turn the film in with time to spare. Robin has seen it and really liked it. Bill went off with a couple of other directors for a mini-showing at someone’s house and got great feedback and lots of laughs. I can’t wait to show it to you... but it will have to wait until after our screening at the AFI Silver Theatre, Friday at 7:00 p.m.
The 48 Hour Film Project takes place in cities all over the country, so if you’re interested you might check the upcoming dates. While we work with a set team, many other groups need to fill positions in the weeks and days leading up to the competition. On the website, you can indicate your interest in joining a team, and there are often meet-and-greet events to help fill positions. It can be exhausting, but it’s a blast.
In the days before the 48 Hour Film Project, Bill and Robin were joking about chain emails and then thinking how that concept would be interesting for the movie. But with our genre and required elements still not established, they didn’t want to go too far down that road. (In the 48 Hour Film Project, you pick your genre out of a hat and there is a required prop, character, and line of dialogue.) However, that night as I slept, I took that germ of a concept, mixed it with The Office, and a parody video, “Flutter.” I dreamed about a mockumentary about a business that starts all of those obnoxious chain emails. When I told Bill in the morning, he laughed, but not knowing what we’d have to use when we wrote our film, it didn’t make sense to work up the idea. We thought about writing it up afterward for our own film.
When Bill went to the kick-off party and drew the Holiday Film genre, the idea came back into play: What if we went with the mockumentary, but it was at the office Christmas party? On Friday night, Bill and Robin started off the brainstorming and script writing while I finished up the Drama Club performance with my fourth grader (she did an amazing job as a chicken). Back at home, Robin wrote up the script as Bill and I made suggestions, selected our cast, and made phone calls. I ran around the house finding Christmas decorations.
Saturday morning, we headed into Bill’s old office building, where he had gotten permission to film. It was a great set-up for us, offering lots of spaces for scenes, but also lots of room to wait around. Even with only one day to film, there’s a lot of waiting around in the movies. Both of the girls came to be in the Research & Development scenes, and also to help with the clapper board, set decoration, and general gofer jobs. I took calls from our cast and crew, made sure everyone was where they needed to be, picked internal locations, decorated and took down sets, made sure everyone had plenty of food (very important), arranged the order of filming for scenes, walked the actors through some parts, and made sure all the paperwork was in order. Bill just directed the movie. Slacker.
We had a great time during the day, with a pretty relaxed feel considering our tight schedule. The actors gave us some stellar performances. Really top notch. I may be biased, but my favorite scene is with my fourth grader, where the marketing woman is trying to get some ideas about the next generation of chain email users, but is having trouble working with a kid. I also love my seventh grader as a typical teen, texting instead of thinking about the marketer’s questions. The party scene was the most fun to film, and I do make an appearance there as an employee.
We wrapped up at 10:00 p.m. and Bill went into the office to work with the preliminary edit. In the wee hours of the morning he came back to the house for a few hours of sleep, and then went back to edit the film and add sound effects, music, and credits. Oh, and play with sound levels and color correction and technical film kind of stuff. I saw a rough cut at 2:00 and loved it. I reminded him to temper his technical perfectionism and get the film turned in early — no last-minute run for the doors at 7:00.
He did turn the film in with time to spare. Robin has seen it and really liked it. Bill went off with a couple of other directors for a mini-showing at someone’s house and got great feedback and lots of laughs. I can’t wait to show it to you... but it will have to wait until after our screening at the AFI Silver Theatre, Friday at 7:00 p.m.
The 48 Hour Film Project takes place in cities all over the country, so if you’re interested you might check the upcoming dates. While we work with a set team, many other groups need to fill positions in the weeks and days leading up to the competition. On the website, you can indicate your interest in joining a team, and there are often meet-and-greet events to help fill positions. It can be exhausting, but it’s a blast.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Preparations, Screenings, and the IMDb
Just a few days away from the 48 Hour Film Project now. We are still looking for anyone who’s interested in makeup and guitar or keyboard work — otherwise we’ll likely have to go for the wild card if we draw “Western or Musical” or “Horror.” Please get back to me ASAP if your skills fit these categories!
If you’re not working on the film (and that includes most of you on this list) but are inclined to follow our progress, we’re going to try providing at least semi-regular status updates via Twitter, which you can follow at twitter.com/coughlan. No guarantees we’ll make it through the whole weekend, but we’re optimistic.
Our official screening has been set — Friday, May 8, at 7:00 p.m., once again at the beautiful AFI Silver Theater. Be sure to get your tickets as soon as possible to make sure you don’t miss out!
In other news, “All Roads Lead Away” was accepted as a Nominee in the Rosebud Film and Video Festival. The screening will be at the Rossyln Spectrum Theater on Saturday, June 27. Stay tuned for details, but be sure to mark your calendars!
And one final notification — the Internet Movie Database now has dedicated pages for “Homemade Hero” and “You Pay Your Dues,” and both “Screening Process” and “Number One With a Bullet” will be following shortly. While not all of the details are up there yet, be sure to check out the pages to make sure all of your personal info is correct (and congratulations to anyone who’s earned their IMDb page with these additions)!
If you’re not working on the film (and that includes most of you on this list) but are inclined to follow our progress, we’re going to try providing at least semi-regular status updates via Twitter, which you can follow at twitter.com/coughlan. No guarantees we’ll make it through the whole weekend, but we’re optimistic.
Our official screening has been set — Friday, May 8, at 7:00 p.m., once again at the beautiful AFI Silver Theater. Be sure to get your tickets as soon as possible to make sure you don’t miss out!
In other news, “All Roads Lead Away” was accepted as a Nominee in the Rosebud Film and Video Festival. The screening will be at the Rossyln Spectrum Theater on Saturday, June 27. Stay tuned for details, but be sure to mark your calendars!
And one final notification — the Internet Movie Database now has dedicated pages for “Homemade Hero” and “You Pay Your Dues,” and both “Screening Process” and “Number One With a Bullet” will be following shortly. While not all of the details are up there yet, be sure to check out the pages to make sure all of your personal info is correct (and congratulations to anyone who’s earned their IMDb page with these additions)!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Two Weeks’ Notice
No, nobody’s quitting anything. But in just two short weeks, we’ll be kicking off our sixth year (and our seventh short film) with the 48 Hour Film Project! (Well, technically, as of this writing — Sunday morning — we'll be deep into the editing process.) A lot of elements are coming together, but we still have plenty to work out (as always) before the big weekend.
With that in mind, I’ve got a couple of quick questions for everyone:
One, are there any makeup artists out there (established or aspiring) who’d like to join in? While making our actors look their best is a real concern, my greater interest is in gauging our ability to pull off something in the horror genre. I’m not talking Rick Baker effects work, but at least dressing up a ghostly apparition or two.
And two, I wanted to know who we had out there with quick-working musical skills, should we draw the dreaded “musical or western” genre card. Nepotism accusations aside, both of my daughters are actually really good at writing music and lyrics, but we don’t have any quality recording capability. Assuming we could cobble together some kind of “click track” to work from for the shoot, do we have any guitar players, keyboardists, or even GarageBand experts who could lend their skills to our efforts? (In fact, even if we don’t make a musical, it’d be a real bonus to have an original song or two. We’ve done it before.)
Speaking of genres, here’s the list of genres for this year’s competition:
Buddy Film, Comedy, Detective/Cop, Drama, Fantasy, Film de Femme (i.e., film with strong female protagonist), Holiday Film, Horror, Mockumentary, Musical or Western, Romance, Sci Fi, Superhero, and Thriller/Suspense.
Should we opt not to go with our assigned genre, we can go for a “wild card” pick. Potential wild card genres are:
Fable, Family Film, Foreign Film, Ghost Movie, Historical Fiction/Period Piece, Martial Arts, Silent Film, Stoner Film, Surprise Ending, and Tragedy.
Once again, the competition has worked out an agreement with SAG so that we can use union actors. (I’m glad, ’cause we were kind of counting on it.)
And finally, I’m toying with the idea of Twittering our progress on the big weekend — if so, updates will be at my Twitter feed, @coughlan. No promises (don’t know if I’ll have time), but it certainly seems like a possibility. Maybe we’ll have a designated Twitterer...
With that in mind, I’ve got a couple of quick questions for everyone:
One, are there any makeup artists out there (established or aspiring) who’d like to join in? While making our actors look their best is a real concern, my greater interest is in gauging our ability to pull off something in the horror genre. I’m not talking Rick Baker effects work, but at least dressing up a ghostly apparition or two.
And two, I wanted to know who we had out there with quick-working musical skills, should we draw the dreaded “musical or western” genre card. Nepotism accusations aside, both of my daughters are actually really good at writing music and lyrics, but we don’t have any quality recording capability. Assuming we could cobble together some kind of “click track” to work from for the shoot, do we have any guitar players, keyboardists, or even GarageBand experts who could lend their skills to our efforts? (In fact, even if we don’t make a musical, it’d be a real bonus to have an original song or two. We’ve done it before.)
Speaking of genres, here’s the list of genres for this year’s competition:
Buddy Film, Comedy, Detective/Cop, Drama, Fantasy, Film de Femme (i.e., film with strong female protagonist), Holiday Film, Horror, Mockumentary, Musical or Western, Romance, Sci Fi, Superhero, and Thriller/Suspense.
Should we opt not to go with our assigned genre, we can go for a “wild card” pick. Potential wild card genres are:
Fable, Family Film, Foreign Film, Ghost Movie, Historical Fiction/Period Piece, Martial Arts, Silent Film, Stoner Film, Surprise Ending, and Tragedy.
Once again, the competition has worked out an agreement with SAG so that we can use union actors. (I’m glad, ’cause we were kind of counting on it.)
And finally, I’m toying with the idea of Twittering our progress on the big weekend — if so, updates will be at my Twitter feed, @coughlan. No promises (don’t know if I’ll have time), but it certainly seems like a possibility. Maybe we’ll have a designated Twitterer...
Friday, March 27, 2009
Springtime Update
Spring’s finally here, which (hopefully) means the weather will be brightening up a bit soon (though admittedly, the forecasts for the weekend aren’t looking particularly promising). But in my own attempt to raise spirits a bit, I thought I’d throw out some quick positive notes.
One, we’re now just about a month away from the 2009 48 Hour Film Project, and we’re actively working on assembling our team. If you’d like to join in and haven’t gotten back to me with that decision, now would be a really good time. We can use everything from actors to crew to offers of interesting or unusual props and locations — so if you think you may be able to offer a contribution, drop me a line ASAP!
Two, our short film “The Big Lie (That Solves Everything)” has joined “Quite Contrary,” “Machinations,” and “All Roads Lead Away” in being listed at the Internet Movie Database! So when you get a chance, head on over, check the page out, and submit your own rating for the film (and if you worked on it, take a second to make sure your listing is correct).
And three, “All Roads Lead Away” will be screening on Friday, April 3, as part of the 2009 Heritage Film & Video Festival. Check out the site for details as they become available, and I hope to see you there!
Okay, so maybe the sky’s still a little overcast — but I think I see the sun poking out from behind a cloud up there. Cherry blossoms can’t be too far behind...
One, we’re now just about a month away from the 2009 48 Hour Film Project, and we’re actively working on assembling our team. If you’d like to join in and haven’t gotten back to me with that decision, now would be a really good time. We can use everything from actors to crew to offers of interesting or unusual props and locations — so if you think you may be able to offer a contribution, drop me a line ASAP!
Two, our short film “The Big Lie (That Solves Everything)” has joined “Quite Contrary,” “Machinations,” and “All Roads Lead Away” in being listed at the Internet Movie Database! So when you get a chance, head on over, check the page out, and submit your own rating for the film (and if you worked on it, take a second to make sure your listing is correct).
And three, “All Roads Lead Away” will be screening on Friday, April 3, as part of the 2009 Heritage Film & Video Festival. Check out the site for details as they become available, and I hope to see you there!
Okay, so maybe the sky’s still a little overcast — but I think I see the sun poking out from behind a cloud up there. Cherry blossoms can’t be too far behind...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tales of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
No, we haven’t dropped off the face of the Earth — though lately it may seem that way. In all honesty, I think this may be the longest we’ve gone between updates in... well, a long time, anyway. Things are moving forward, if a bit more slowly than we (and no doubt many of you) would like. Alas, outside commitments have been a little more daunting than in times past, but there has still been some progress of note. Postproduction is moving ahead on “Number One With a Bullet”; the edit of the film is fairly well locked, we’re doing some cleanup work on visual effects, and we’re working on the score (and trying to license some other music). And, of course, we’re gearing up for this year’s 48 Hour Film Project; no date has yet been announced, but we’re planning on the first weekend in May (the usual weekend).
In the meantime, we’re working on several collaborative projects with the folks from Integral Arts, Team Jabberwocky, and the 48 Hour Film Project. Not a whole lot we can talk about just yet, but as soon as we can announce anything, you’ll hear about it here.
Honest.
Edited to add: The dates for this year’s 48 Hour Film Project have just been announced: May 1–3. Be sure to mark your calendars, and let us know if you’d like to join in the production festivities!
In the meantime, we’re working on several collaborative projects with the folks from Integral Arts, Team Jabberwocky, and the 48 Hour Film Project. Not a whole lot we can talk about just yet, but as soon as we can announce anything, you’ll hear about it here.
Honest.
Edited to add: The dates for this year’s 48 Hour Film Project have just been announced: May 1–3. Be sure to mark your calendars, and let us know if you’d like to join in the production festivities!
Friday, May 30, 2008
“Best Of” Wrapup and a Special Request
Well, last night was the “Best of the 48 Hour Film Project” screening, and I have to say it was a blast. Seeing “All Roads Lead Away” up on the big screen in high definition was an awe-inspiring experience. Once again, we were shut out of the major awards, but regardless, I’m immensely proud of our movie and extremely grateful for all of the hard work everyone put into making it.
I’m sure they’ll post the award-winners on the official site soon, but I thought I’d go ahead and let you all know directly. They should all be viewable on 48.tv sometime in the not-too-distant future, but I’ll post links to the ones that are already viewable online (as near as I can tell, anyway).
And I figured what better “test audience” to provide honest feedback than this group?
So if you get a chance, take a look at both versions with a critical eye. Do the new and extended scenes add to your understanding and appreciation of the story, or do they drag the pacing down? Do they add genuine character moments or are they mere directorial self-indulgence? Consider this a “director’s-cut-in-progress,” and one in which your reactions may have an impact.
For our final “archival” cut (i.e., the version we’ll be submitting to festivals) we may go with the full extended edit. Or we may keep to the original shorter cut. Or something in between. So go ahead and let your opinion be heard — at the very least you’ll be getting a glimpse into the filmmaking process.
I’m sure they’ll post the award-winners on the official site soon, but I thought I’d go ahead and let you all know directly. They should all be viewable on 48.tv sometime in the not-too-distant future, but I’ll post links to the ones that are already viewable online (as near as I can tell, anyway).
- Audience Favorite, Group A: “The End” (Flat Feet Films)
- Audience Favorite, Group B: “The Bad News Bearer” (Sprezzatura)
- Audience Favorite, Group C: “Fairy Bust” (3mm Films)
- Audience Favorite, Group D: “Skip to the End” (JSC Productions)
- Audience Favorite, Group E: “I’ll See You in Hell” (Everyday Astronaut)
- Audience Favorite, Group F: “Get Closer” (Dead City Films)
- Audience Favorite, Group G: “iLoveU2” (WIT Films)
- Audience Favorite, Group H: “Mementos” (Integral Arts)
- Best Use of Character: “The End of the Rainbow” (Musky Adventures)
- Best Use of Prop: “Spy, Gina, Spy!” (The Quest)
- Best Use of Line: “The Loins of America” (Has Been Productions)
- Best Sound Design: “I’ll See You in Hell” (Everyday Astronaut)
- Best Graphics: “The Mark” (oops! Productions)
- Best Editing: “May Day” (Oozing Sarcasm)
- Best Acting: “Mementos” (Integral Arts)
- Best Directing: “The Mark” (oops! Productions)
- Best Script: “The Bad News Bearer” (Sprezzatura)
- Best Cinematography (tie): “American Revolution” (Roanoke) and “Get Closer” (Dead City Films)
- Second Runner-Up, Best Picture: “The Mark” (oops! Productions)
- First Runner-Up, Best Picture: “I’ll See You in Hell” (Everyday Astronaut)
- Best Picture: “The Bad News Bearer” (Sprezzatura)
And I figured what better “test audience” to provide honest feedback than this group?
So if you get a chance, take a look at both versions with a critical eye. Do the new and extended scenes add to your understanding and appreciation of the story, or do they drag the pacing down? Do they add genuine character moments or are they mere directorial self-indulgence? Consider this a “director’s-cut-in-progress,” and one in which your reactions may have an impact.
For our final “archival” cut (i.e., the version we’ll be submitting to festivals) we may go with the full extended edit. Or we may keep to the original shorter cut. Or something in between. So go ahead and let your opinion be heard — at the very least you’ll be getting a glimpse into the filmmaking process.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Best of the 48 Hour Film Project
Straight from the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner (where several 48 Hour Film Project films — including “The Kumbio Takedown” — screened this week) comes word about the upcoming “Best of the DC 48 Hour Film Project” showcase.
And “All Roads Lead Away” is in, one of 24 films selected for the honor. As was the case last year, there will be a separate slate of films shown across the two screenings (one at 7:00 and another at 9:30), and our film will be part of the second (i.e., we’ll be at 9:30); all shows will be on Thursday, May 29th, again at the AFI Silver Theater.
Furthermore, we’ll be screening in high definition; we’ve been working with the 48 Hour production team to get them our full-HD files (rather than the standard-definition version that was shown at the premiere screening). If you’re at all able to make it, this is going to be worth seeing. In fact, tickets are available (or, as of this writing, soon will be) for both shows, and there are some strong offerings in both screenings (judging by what I’ve seen so far). And after the second screening, there'll be a wrap party at McGinty’s Pub — so do plan on sticking around!
Congratulations to everyone who pitched in on this little picture. I’m so proud of the efforts you all put in, and I hope to see you next Thursday!
P.S.: Here is the full screening lineup — unlike last year, there are no duplicates this time around. (My understanding is that the judges’ final decisions are not yet locked down, meaning there’s no way to pick the “front-runners.”) And I’m just listing these in alphabetical order by team name; we don’t know the screening order yet.
Screening 1 — 7:00 p.m.
And “All Roads Lead Away” is in, one of 24 films selected for the honor. As was the case last year, there will be a separate slate of films shown across the two screenings (one at 7:00 and another at 9:30), and our film will be part of the second (i.e., we’ll be at 9:30); all shows will be on Thursday, May 29th, again at the AFI Silver Theater.
Furthermore, we’ll be screening in high definition; we’ve been working with the 48 Hour production team to get them our full-HD files (rather than the standard-definition version that was shown at the premiere screening). If you’re at all able to make it, this is going to be worth seeing. In fact, tickets are available (or, as of this writing, soon will be) for both shows, and there are some strong offerings in both screenings (judging by what I’ve seen so far). And after the second screening, there'll be a wrap party at McGinty’s Pub — so do plan on sticking around!
Congratulations to everyone who pitched in on this little picture. I’m so proud of the efforts you all put in, and I hope to see you next Thursday!
P.S.: Here is the full screening lineup — unlike last year, there are no duplicates this time around. (My understanding is that the judges’ final decisions are not yet locked down, meaning there’s no way to pick the “front-runners.”) And I’m just listing these in alphabetical order by team name; we don’t know the screening order yet.
Screening 1 — 7:00 p.m.
- Actors With Strings: “The Chair” (Historical Fiction)
- Butch’s All-Stars: “Commitment”
- Dead City Films: “Get Closer” (Spy)
- Double Deuce Films: “The Hauntening, Part 3”
- Flik Productions: “Road to Greenwood”
- Flat Feet Films: “The End” (Fantasy)
- Habitual Offenders: “Recalculating”
- The Quest: “Spy, Gina, Spy!”
- Roadside Productions: “Sales of a Deathman” (Road Movie)
- Roanoke: “American Revolution” (Historical Fiction)
- 3mm Films: “Fairy Bust” (Fantasy) (behind-the-scenes video)
- WIT Films: “iLoveU2” (Sci Fi)
- Elbow Productions: “al-Kinda”
- Everyday Astronaut: “I’ll See You in Hell” (Comedy)
- Faisonfilm Productions: “The Invisible Werewolf” (Comedy)
- Integral Arts: “Mementos” (Drama)
- JSC Productions: “Skip to the End” (Road Movie)
- Musky Adventures: “The End of the Rainbow”
- oops! Productions: “The Mark”
- Oozing Sarcasm: “May Day” (Holiday Film)
- Revolver Films: “Dick and the Vault” (Historical Fiction)
- River Run Films: “The Dinner Party”
- Sprezzatura: “The Bad News Bearer” (Comedy)
- Tohubohu: “All Roads Lead Away” (Road Movie)
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