A lot of plans fell by the wayside this year for a few reasons - each serving to tell me that this end of filmmaking is not worth the pursuit. Too many let-downs doesn't reflect the work and effort put in behind the scenes in attempts to get things made.
A number of acting people pulled out of a proposed web series after I postponed things for over three months in order to be accommodating for other projects they were on. It just became obvious after a few excuses that my time was being wasted. I try personally not to waste other people's time or tramp on their efforts, but like most arena's in life - the filmmaking world is not immune to it.
But all is not completely lost. Over the next few months I'll be concentrating on a documentary which is a genre that offers a lot more freedom to me as I'll be less reliant on other people. I'm writing a new script with minimal characters and locations - moving away from comedy and doing an absurd social drama piece.
My web series plans are now over. At least the original one. I spent months writing a 6-part series and like all writing material that sits gathering dust it can be a tough pill to swallow. I hate wasting time. However, i'll continue to work on the Don Booker character on Facebook and through my other blog and rely on the sometimes deluded state of thinking that everything will eventually fall into place. If anything all the disappointments during this little venture since 2008 has directed an improved some aspects of my writing - which isn't to bad.
A re-write is now almost complete on Thunder Alley and I have follow up plans for that starting in the new year. It's a better script than the original, a lot tighter. The main character got a name-change too. Too Japanese!
At the end of the day I managed to make three comedies in my home locality which have produced well over an hour of screen time. I think I learned from them all - but it's a tough environment. But it's time to concede that making films is a tough school top attend, especially in the non-paid ranks. Trying to get more professional people on board for projects might help attract some investment at some stage and that's the goal there moving forward.
Here's the final edit of The Lives of Larry. Enjoyed doing it and being able to turn it around quick enough. It's the first thing I have ever edited and like I mentioned before it was practically a two-person crew. Have to take the flaws with the good, but sure hopefully it might give few a laugh along the way.
Thanks to Ray Reilly and Meg Quinn for their help.
Showing posts with label JaSE Slate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JaSE Slate. Show all posts
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Town Hall
Late last Saturday night i was mooching around Facebook when I came across this blog post about the closure of the Town Hall in Trim to public performance due to a safety report that had been carried out on the building in the previous months. As a result groups such as the local drama and musicals were left virtually homeless over night.
Over the coming 48 hours, through the power of Social Media, a Facebook group was set up and through that a gathering was arranged to protest to the local council at their monthly meeting. A large crowd assembled at the County Council offices to make their feelings known.
I attended the Council meeting where the local Cllr's overwhelmingly gave their support to the groups, promising to help them with alternative arrangements while a source of funding could be sought for the restoring of the Hall to a safe condition.
The problem I foresee is accessing that funding in these times, which will be more than difficult. The greatest tragedy of this is the fact that Ireland and Trim have gone through the greatest period of economic prosperity ever witnessed in the State and yet funds could not be found to maintain a building which all local residents, whether artists or not have very fond memories.
For those who don't know Trim well, it is a heritage town with a strong heritage dating back over a thousand years. There are no shortage of amenities in the town and there are activities for most people whether they be of a sporting nature or an artistic one. Most have been built on the sweat and tears of individuals who have given up decades in a volunteer capacity to put Trim firmly on the map. They are to be commended in the absolute.
I tried to form a group 12 months ago to give an added dimension to the town but there was little support after a positive start, but that's how things go. I also tried to engage with people of influence over bringing a film festival to the town, but after being left standing alone for arranged meetings and the promise of phone calls that never came, that too went by the wayside. With links to films such as the Oscar winning Braveheart, the cult classic Fatal Deviation and The Big Red One dating back almost 30 years now, one would think there was something there to be built upon and if I personally have anything to do with it, it will happen someday.
I entered filmmaking a few years back. The trials are documented here from Day 1. Apart from the support of John Kiely - a local publican - there hasn't been much to shout about. There's a TV Channel in Navan with a license to broadcast, yet it broadcasts very little. It's not like the means are not there if anyone was actually serious about getting something up and moving to build on the films already made around the town and county as a whole. Eventually when I finally get moving I hope to film in comedy/drama and documentaries. They are the genre's that interest me. But as I have well documented on my writing blog, all attempts to engage with bodies such as the Dept of Social Welfare, VEC, Meath Partnership to name but a few, leaves one who deems themselves pro-active in their unemployment scratching their head at times.
As someone who is interested in documentary filmmaking it makes me inquisitive by nature. For those who know Trim, the Town Hall is situated on Castle Street, which houses our biggest claim to fame, Trim Castle. When I was young we used to be able to play pitch and putt and roam the grounds freely. These days - with the exception of the odd day when it's free to enter the grounds as a Trim person - you have now to pay for the privilege.
The street in question has been subject to a visual and environmental assault - not my words - over the past ten years with the controversial building of apartments and a new hotel. I'll be honest, I'm all in favour of change and progress, but Trim has long labeled itself as a heritage town, which has been at times I feel not a great thing when it comes to a jobs supply. The building of the hotel sort of went against the grain of this claim.
This week I did a little digging based on the location of where the Town Hall is located. It's a prime piece of property and with the Hall in complete disrepair it is hard to see a future for it. The one thing that must never be allowed to happen in my opinion is another eye sore appearing there in its place whenever that times comes.
In 2004, the privately funded Centre for Public Inquiry did a report concerning the building of the hotel. The CPI was disbanded shortly thereafter after pressure from the serving Fianna Fáil government. Mary 'Cuticles' Harney said at the time, 'the idea of some group of citizens setting themselves up with absolutely no justification to the wider public is absolutely sinister and inappropriate.' Page 3 of this article.
It's a great article and from the angle it comes from had the CPI been allowed to continue, the corruption that was allowed to go on in Anglo that was to the detriment of every citizen of this country for the next generation might not have been as disastrous.
I looked to get my hands on the report this week but it seems to be now offline. I contacted An Taisce - Ireland's National Trust - three times this week asking for advice on how to get my hands on a copy of the report. The trust, as the link above will tell welcomed the report. But then in a PDF showing off aspects of our beautiful country that welcoming seems to have been abandoned with the inclusion of the hotel in it. All emails have remained unanswered at the time of writing. I've made further inquiries and to my joy it seems that there are still copies out there somewhere so hopefully I may get to see it sometime soon.
For me, and I speak for no-one else, to let the Town Hall go into the state it is in today was a disgrace. But if we are to move forward there seems little sense in playing the blame game. What happens from now on is what is important.
Whatever the future holds for it, I believe that the Arts and the groups facilitated at the Town Hall for the last 30 years should remain central in the town. The town center is the heart of the town and all artistic endeavor should be central to that, if for no other reason than to preserve the historical and cultural importance of the building and not let it be subjected to 'modernization' in the future years as we have seen happen over the past ten.
Time, like everything, will tell.
Over the coming 48 hours, through the power of Social Media, a Facebook group was set up and through that a gathering was arranged to protest to the local council at their monthly meeting. A large crowd assembled at the County Council offices to make their feelings known.
I attended the Council meeting where the local Cllr's overwhelmingly gave their support to the groups, promising to help them with alternative arrangements while a source of funding could be sought for the restoring of the Hall to a safe condition.
The problem I foresee is accessing that funding in these times, which will be more than difficult. The greatest tragedy of this is the fact that Ireland and Trim have gone through the greatest period of economic prosperity ever witnessed in the State and yet funds could not be found to maintain a building which all local residents, whether artists or not have very fond memories.
For those who don't know Trim well, it is a heritage town with a strong heritage dating back over a thousand years. There are no shortage of amenities in the town and there are activities for most people whether they be of a sporting nature or an artistic one. Most have been built on the sweat and tears of individuals who have given up decades in a volunteer capacity to put Trim firmly on the map. They are to be commended in the absolute.
I tried to form a group 12 months ago to give an added dimension to the town but there was little support after a positive start, but that's how things go. I also tried to engage with people of influence over bringing a film festival to the town, but after being left standing alone for arranged meetings and the promise of phone calls that never came, that too went by the wayside. With links to films such as the Oscar winning Braveheart, the cult classic Fatal Deviation and The Big Red One dating back almost 30 years now, one would think there was something there to be built upon and if I personally have anything to do with it, it will happen someday.
I entered filmmaking a few years back. The trials are documented here from Day 1. Apart from the support of John Kiely - a local publican - there hasn't been much to shout about. There's a TV Channel in Navan with a license to broadcast, yet it broadcasts very little. It's not like the means are not there if anyone was actually serious about getting something up and moving to build on the films already made around the town and county as a whole. Eventually when I finally get moving I hope to film in comedy/drama and documentaries. They are the genre's that interest me. But as I have well documented on my writing blog, all attempts to engage with bodies such as the Dept of Social Welfare, VEC, Meath Partnership to name but a few, leaves one who deems themselves pro-active in their unemployment scratching their head at times.
As someone who is interested in documentary filmmaking it makes me inquisitive by nature. For those who know Trim, the Town Hall is situated on Castle Street, which houses our biggest claim to fame, Trim Castle. When I was young we used to be able to play pitch and putt and roam the grounds freely. These days - with the exception of the odd day when it's free to enter the grounds as a Trim person - you have now to pay for the privilege.
The street in question has been subject to a visual and environmental assault - not my words - over the past ten years with the controversial building of apartments and a new hotel. I'll be honest, I'm all in favour of change and progress, but Trim has long labeled itself as a heritage town, which has been at times I feel not a great thing when it comes to a jobs supply. The building of the hotel sort of went against the grain of this claim.
This week I did a little digging based on the location of where the Town Hall is located. It's a prime piece of property and with the Hall in complete disrepair it is hard to see a future for it. The one thing that must never be allowed to happen in my opinion is another eye sore appearing there in its place whenever that times comes.
In 2004, the privately funded Centre for Public Inquiry did a report concerning the building of the hotel. The CPI was disbanded shortly thereafter after pressure from the serving Fianna Fáil government. Mary 'Cuticles' Harney said at the time, 'the idea of some group of citizens setting themselves up with absolutely no justification to the wider public is absolutely sinister and inappropriate.' Page 3 of this article.
It's a great article and from the angle it comes from had the CPI been allowed to continue, the corruption that was allowed to go on in Anglo that was to the detriment of every citizen of this country for the next generation might not have been as disastrous.
I looked to get my hands on the report this week but it seems to be now offline. I contacted An Taisce - Ireland's National Trust - three times this week asking for advice on how to get my hands on a copy of the report. The trust, as the link above will tell welcomed the report. But then in a PDF showing off aspects of our beautiful country that welcoming seems to have been abandoned with the inclusion of the hotel in it. All emails have remained unanswered at the time of writing. I've made further inquiries and to my joy it seems that there are still copies out there somewhere so hopefully I may get to see it sometime soon.
For me, and I speak for no-one else, to let the Town Hall go into the state it is in today was a disgrace. But if we are to move forward there seems little sense in playing the blame game. What happens from now on is what is important.
Whatever the future holds for it, I believe that the Arts and the groups facilitated at the Town Hall for the last 30 years should remain central in the town. The town center is the heart of the town and all artistic endeavor should be central to that, if for no other reason than to preserve the historical and cultural importance of the building and not let it be subjected to 'modernization' in the future years as we have seen happen over the past ten.
Time, like everything, will tell.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
The Lives Of Larry
I've been enjoying for the most part my first stint at editing something myself. Like writing, it tends to allow the hours to part in time lapses that feel much quicker. Considering the way we put the whole thing together what's turning out is better than I anticipated, but then, I would say that perhaps.
There is great freedom in editing your own material. It's not that I wouldn't have respect for editors but in the non-paying arena where independence relies on huge favors it's the time it takes for a project to be completed that is always the most frustrating aspect.
Should directors sit in on edits? I guess there are varying opinions, for me it's necessary. If directors can edit their own material then all the better. If for nothing else but the ability to work on a few projects at a time and turn them around in a time frame that suits everyone else involved.
By the end of the week the remaining few scenes will be shot and hopefully at some stage late next week we may have something to show for our efforts. It's a little offbeat, set in rural Ireland (for now) and tells the story of Larry Kenny, who is riding out the recession in comfort after a little mid-life crisis. But is Larry all that he makes himself out to be?
Contact has begun to be made with actors with a view to getting a feature shot in the time between now and Christmas. It's not going to be entirely scripted and i hope to work with actors on an individual basis for over three-quarters of it. I seem to be meeting people who want to work at somethings right now because they love what they do. With the tiny size of the Industry here it's safe to say any future in the medium would surely be abroad. I always wanted my first feature to be one that came about through determination rather than because a budget committee said it could. It's a real pity a bigger emphasis wasn't put into film-making in the country especially at entry level and in the educational sector. No time like the present to start putting together greater access for filmmakers to equipment and crew from their chosen fields in my opinion and perhaps the rebranding of FAS might have some impact as well.
Time, like everything, will tell.
The Lives Of Larry - Teaser.
There is great freedom in editing your own material. It's not that I wouldn't have respect for editors but in the non-paying arena where independence relies on huge favors it's the time it takes for a project to be completed that is always the most frustrating aspect.
Should directors sit in on edits? I guess there are varying opinions, for me it's necessary. If directors can edit their own material then all the better. If for nothing else but the ability to work on a few projects at a time and turn them around in a time frame that suits everyone else involved.
By the end of the week the remaining few scenes will be shot and hopefully at some stage late next week we may have something to show for our efforts. It's a little offbeat, set in rural Ireland (for now) and tells the story of Larry Kenny, who is riding out the recession in comfort after a little mid-life crisis. But is Larry all that he makes himself out to be?
Contact has begun to be made with actors with a view to getting a feature shot in the time between now and Christmas. It's not going to be entirely scripted and i hope to work with actors on an individual basis for over three-quarters of it. I seem to be meeting people who want to work at somethings right now because they love what they do. With the tiny size of the Industry here it's safe to say any future in the medium would surely be abroad. I always wanted my first feature to be one that came about through determination rather than because a budget committee said it could. It's a real pity a bigger emphasis wasn't put into film-making in the country especially at entry level and in the educational sector. No time like the present to start putting together greater access for filmmakers to equipment and crew from their chosen fields in my opinion and perhaps the rebranding of FAS might have some impact as well.
Time, like everything, will tell.
The Lives Of Larry - Teaser.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Larry Shoots
It's impossible to fill the shoes of a good camera-person or sound person, but the delay in the Booker's World web-series and the catastrophic lack of funds and work meant I had to try of late. I got together with Longford native, Ray Reilly and we shot a short comedy called Larry early last week, having pulled together a crew of three, myself included. Thanks also to Deano Browne and TAM for helping out and also to Meg Quinn and Emily O'Sullivan who also helped us get it shot. In an exhausting three days where it became apparent that certain multi-tasking efforts do really take the soul out of something one should be enjoying, we got what we needed. But desperate times require desperate measures and hopefully the end result will not be subject to the same times as mentioned above. I guess it's a world many filmmakers are used to in this country and further afield.
Days were then spent going through footage and logging it and then sound needed to be synced up as my own meager camera has no input for audio. When all that was done I threw together a very rough first cut and I think I can work with what we got.
Ray and I decided it was worth the effort as we both prepare a feature project in the early part of the Autumn. I really need the editing practice for the web series and feature thereafter. When it comes to those I hope to have a DOP and Sound person as essential parts of a larger crew. As a learning curve right now it made sense to fill the time gap between projects.
I would sincerely like to thank Jason Mehlhorn for his advice over the past number of months as well as use of some equipment and the facility to edit. Although it seems at times I'm going no-where and in double quick time, without his support over the past 12 months on things, I'd have given up by now for sure.
Then I watch around at filmmakers like Jason, Frank Kelly, Paddy O'Shea Padraig Conaty moving mountains to get their features made against the backdrop of difficulties and you see people doing it and that makes you want to do it yourself. There's no backing away from the impact these type of filmmakers might have in the future if Charlie Casanova is anything to go by. I admire these filmmakers the most, because they don't let tax-payer funding - or the lack of it - stand in their way of making films. I think Ireland needs that in filmmaking.
The Internet and technology provides an opportunity for filmmakers that did not exist ten years ago. Filmmakers starting out should use it for all it's worth. There's some great advice out there. If you're from the school of hard knocks and have a 'learn by doing' philosophy then it's the way to go. If only Ireland could be more enterprising in its approach to certain things, it could only have a positive effect on the country. It's the perfect medium that could suit a wide variety of people who collectively could achieve something if encouraged to do. Social media makes those collaborations a lot more practical these days so anything is possible. But will it ever happen? The state of play at the moment makes me think otherwise. I think the talent exists and sites like Crewger and the Underground Cinema are helping. If more dots were joined, then who knows...
Days were then spent going through footage and logging it and then sound needed to be synced up as my own meager camera has no input for audio. When all that was done I threw together a very rough first cut and I think I can work with what we got.
Ray and I decided it was worth the effort as we both prepare a feature project in the early part of the Autumn. I really need the editing practice for the web series and feature thereafter. When it comes to those I hope to have a DOP and Sound person as essential parts of a larger crew. As a learning curve right now it made sense to fill the time gap between projects.
I would sincerely like to thank Jason Mehlhorn for his advice over the past number of months as well as use of some equipment and the facility to edit. Although it seems at times I'm going no-where and in double quick time, without his support over the past 12 months on things, I'd have given up by now for sure.
Then I watch around at filmmakers like Jason, Frank Kelly, Paddy O'Shea Padraig Conaty moving mountains to get their features made against the backdrop of difficulties and you see people doing it and that makes you want to do it yourself. There's no backing away from the impact these type of filmmakers might have in the future if Charlie Casanova is anything to go by. I admire these filmmakers the most, because they don't let tax-payer funding - or the lack of it - stand in their way of making films. I think Ireland needs that in filmmaking.
The Internet and technology provides an opportunity for filmmakers that did not exist ten years ago. Filmmakers starting out should use it for all it's worth. There's some great advice out there. If you're from the school of hard knocks and have a 'learn by doing' philosophy then it's the way to go. If only Ireland could be more enterprising in its approach to certain things, it could only have a positive effect on the country. It's the perfect medium that could suit a wide variety of people who collectively could achieve something if encouraged to do. Social media makes those collaborations a lot more practical these days so anything is possible. But will it ever happen? The state of play at the moment makes me think otherwise. I think the talent exists and sites like Crewger and the Underground Cinema are helping. If more dots were joined, then who knows...
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Booker's World - Cast
With The Arts Journal now completed it is time to concentrate on something different and all going to plan, the Booker's World web series will be shot in the first two weeks of June over two weekends.
With over 50 pages of script to be shot it will be a tough ask, but if an extra day is needed we will find it from somewhere. I think it is manageable after blocking off the scenes earlier today. The series will be shot entirely in Trim and Kildalkey.
I have now cast most of the principal character and considering the budget is a big fat zero at the time of writing, I can only say I must be pretty damn lucky with who I have managed to secure the talents of so far.
I'm really hoping that this initial web series will be the launching pad required when it comes to securing budgets for future projects and turn this into a paying gig at long last. It seems like a long apprenticeship, but I guess they are that by their nature. Gaining experience can only be got by working with the best you can find, and on this one i think as a writer/director it's a great step up to take. You kind of feel with the state of the country at the moment, it's now or never. With so few opportunities about, maybe it's time to make a few for ourselves. Trying to get those ideas taken seriously is an altogether different story. I've had dealings lately with people and it seems the pursuit of artistic work in many fields is frowned upon outside artistic circles. With a country in crisis, that's the wrong way to be thinking. But we'll keep trying anyway.
The title role of Don Booker will be played by the multi-credited, Brian Fortune. I was supposed to work with Brian on I Wish some time back, so to be able to have him along on this is great.
Meath actor, Gerry Shanahan, another actor I was supposed to work with before has agreed to come on board as 'Flash' Simpson.
Johnny Elliott, who I worked with on The Arts Journal is having a run of success with Terry McMahon's Charlie Casanova at the moment. The Indie Irish flick, shot for under a grand, is whipping up a storm on the International film festival circuit at the moment despite having little or no support from our relevant film bodies. Johnny will play Sonny Strange.
Meath-based actor and Impersonator Ray Reilly has just finished shooting a TV pilot with Tobar Productions and is working on his new stand-up show. Ray will be playing the director from hell, Dan Donavan.
Also added to the cast in the past week are Vivienne Connelly, Liam Heffron, and Andrea McCaffrey.
I hope to add to the cast by the end of this week and source somewhat locally. This will be the third project I have shot in Trim over the past three years and some local people have helped along the way. It would be nice to shoot my first full length feature in my hometown. I guess time will tell.
Blog been a bit ignored this year as I finished off work on my first book. If you have more of an interest on the background of what's going on with these characters and books, I update my writing blog regularly here.
You will find links to character bio's and a link to a free download of Sonny Strange, who features with Don Booker as together with a little help from a few friends along the way strike out to make opportunity for themselves. More to follow soon...
With over 50 pages of script to be shot it will be a tough ask, but if an extra day is needed we will find it from somewhere. I think it is manageable after blocking off the scenes earlier today. The series will be shot entirely in Trim and Kildalkey.
I have now cast most of the principal character and considering the budget is a big fat zero at the time of writing, I can only say I must be pretty damn lucky with who I have managed to secure the talents of so far.
I'm really hoping that this initial web series will be the launching pad required when it comes to securing budgets for future projects and turn this into a paying gig at long last. It seems like a long apprenticeship, but I guess they are that by their nature. Gaining experience can only be got by working with the best you can find, and on this one i think as a writer/director it's a great step up to take. You kind of feel with the state of the country at the moment, it's now or never. With so few opportunities about, maybe it's time to make a few for ourselves. Trying to get those ideas taken seriously is an altogether different story. I've had dealings lately with people and it seems the pursuit of artistic work in many fields is frowned upon outside artistic circles. With a country in crisis, that's the wrong way to be thinking. But we'll keep trying anyway.
The title role of Don Booker will be played by the multi-credited, Brian Fortune. I was supposed to work with Brian on I Wish some time back, so to be able to have him along on this is great.
Meath actor, Gerry Shanahan, another actor I was supposed to work with before has agreed to come on board as 'Flash' Simpson.
Johnny Elliott, who I worked with on The Arts Journal is having a run of success with Terry McMahon's Charlie Casanova at the moment. The Indie Irish flick, shot for under a grand, is whipping up a storm on the International film festival circuit at the moment despite having little or no support from our relevant film bodies. Johnny will play Sonny Strange.
Meath-based actor and Impersonator Ray Reilly has just finished shooting a TV pilot with Tobar Productions and is working on his new stand-up show. Ray will be playing the director from hell, Dan Donavan.
Also added to the cast in the past week are Vivienne Connelly, Liam Heffron, and Andrea McCaffrey.
I hope to add to the cast by the end of this week and source somewhat locally. This will be the third project I have shot in Trim over the past three years and some local people have helped along the way. It would be nice to shoot my first full length feature in my hometown. I guess time will tell.
Blog been a bit ignored this year as I finished off work on my first book. If you have more of an interest on the background of what's going on with these characters and books, I update my writing blog regularly here.
You will find links to character bio's and a link to a free download of Sonny Strange, who features with Don Booker as together with a little help from a few friends along the way strike out to make opportunity for themselves. More to follow soon...
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Arts Journal Completion
It has taken longer than anticipated, but The Arts Journal is now finished. Screening dates in Dublin and Trim will be announced in the coming days.
You can view a brief teaser here.
We will then put together a press pack and author some DVD's for all the cast and crew who gave their time up to work on the pilot. Then it's off to production companies who may have a little more clout than us at this stage.
A special thanks to John King & Monica Tivda for their work on the edit and to Jason Mehlhorn for his time and effort in the sound department and also to Padraig Conaty for his great camerawork.
It's difficult putting things together on a shoe-string and we are very grateful to John Kiely for the shoe-string that allowed us to complete the pilot. Hopefully someone, somewhere, will see some potential and we can all get a pay-day from it sometime soon.
Screening dates will follow in a day or so.
You can view a brief teaser here.
We will then put together a press pack and author some DVD's for all the cast and crew who gave their time up to work on the pilot. Then it's off to production companies who may have a little more clout than us at this stage.
A special thanks to John King & Monica Tivda for their work on the edit and to Jason Mehlhorn for his time and effort in the sound department and also to Padraig Conaty for his great camerawork.
It's difficult putting things together on a shoe-string and we are very grateful to John Kiely for the shoe-string that allowed us to complete the pilot. Hopefully someone, somewhere, will see some potential and we can all get a pay-day from it sometime soon.
Screening dates will follow in a day or so.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Booker's World - Provisional Shoot Dates
The shooting of Booker's World, the web series, has been provisionally set for two weekends towards the end of May. In the mean time we will attempt to source a little funding to see us through the shoot. It was great to talk over things with some of the lead actors last night and set about getting this done.
Unfortunately, we are all used to working with little or no outside support, but we are confident of delivering a decent web series which may provide a launch pad to more funding routes for the proposed second series which will hopefully bring us closer to shooting feature films.
Final casting decisions will be made this week and hopefully can be announced toward the weeks end, followed by more announcements in the crew department.
In the meantime we are going to try a few routes to getting a more established production company to come aboard, but see no sense holding up the project unnecessarily. More to come...
Unfortunately, we are all used to working with little or no outside support, but we are confident of delivering a decent web series which may provide a launch pad to more funding routes for the proposed second series which will hopefully bring us closer to shooting feature films.
Final casting decisions will be made this week and hopefully can be announced toward the weeks end, followed by more announcements in the crew department.
In the meantime we are going to try a few routes to getting a more established production company to come aboard, but see no sense holding up the project unnecessarily. More to come...
Thursday, January 20, 2011
I Wish
A few years ago I became involved in a feature film project which looked set to shoot before it came toppling down due to circumstances that unfortunately I had little control over. I spent many months working for free, and did that work based on a mutual trust.
When it was pulled, it left my naivety exposed and the result of that was months spent wondering if indeed a pursuit in filmmaking in Ireland was indeed worth it all.
Some people offered advice, those more experienced in the film industry said these things were commonplace, and I shouldn't take it too personally. Unfortunately, I did as over forty people had placed a certain trust in us to deliver for them, the same way they wanted to deliver for us. Despite efforts to resurrect, it it wasn't to be. I made the decision to never again work for others unless some form of contract was in place and work on that naivety
Last year I got back up on the bike and co-produced and directed the Arts Journal which will be finished shortly.
I decided 2011 would be a year I would dedicate to trying to get some JaSE Films work off the ground. I was lucky I had registered the script and it's sole copyright with the WGA.
It's a three-pronged attack this year, each which should advance JaSE Films goal of making films over the coming years.
I came across Amazon Studio's late last year. I did a bit of background on it, and eventually came to a decision to participate over there for a time this year. One segment of the site is dedicated to scripts. I have four here at the moment gathering dust. One of them was the script for the film that broke down.
I Wish is a dark drama which explores the dark side of luck. Set in Ireland during the resession, a family with problems have an unexpected stroke of luck, but with devastating consequences. Be careful what you wish for...
Yesterday I posted it to Amazon Studio's.
OK, the deal is not a writers dream. In return for posting it, it is entered into competition, guaranteed a professional read and it can be reviewed by readers who may offer suggestions for re-writes that may make it a little better.
Amazon now have an option to buy the script over the next 18 months and will pay the writer if they want to extend the option for a further 18 months. With I Wish, I had no problem with that deal. Every time I looked at the script it was a reminder of a failure, and I'm tired of seeing it that way. I'm not saying it's better than anything else out there, but it's relevant to the times and how people change and it was once enough to pull a production together, if not having seen it through.
So although I know this blog won't have many readers in it's infancy, JaSE Films this year will attempt to start seeing things a little further afield than just here in Ireland and try get working with other Indie production companies in other countries who feel like ripping things up a little bit and are pro-active in coming up with ways to achieve that.
Some will like our approach, some will not. But it's ours and we are comfortable with the way we want to do things. We want to form collaborations with people with a professional approach, and are equally consumed in the pursuit of bringing films to completion.
JaSE Films would be grateful if you wish to read the script and leave a review on Amazon for consideration should further re-writes be necessary. You can download the script here and leave a review after. If you like it and think others may read it then we would be equally grateful if you direct them to it so they to can download it. Let's see if it has anything that can be built on instead of consigning it further to that dusty drawer.
I Wish and possibly a second feature script, will be the first prong, the web series and it's eventual goal will be the second prong, and so as not to be putting eggs in one basket, JaSE hopes to be in a position toward the end of this year to produce it's own first micro-budget feature so our growth can be measured in some real terms.
Wish us luck...
When it was pulled, it left my naivety exposed and the result of that was months spent wondering if indeed a pursuit in filmmaking in Ireland was indeed worth it all.
Some people offered advice, those more experienced in the film industry said these things were commonplace, and I shouldn't take it too personally. Unfortunately, I did as over forty people had placed a certain trust in us to deliver for them, the same way they wanted to deliver for us. Despite efforts to resurrect, it it wasn't to be. I made the decision to never again work for others unless some form of contract was in place and work on that naivety
Last year I got back up on the bike and co-produced and directed the Arts Journal which will be finished shortly.
I decided 2011 would be a year I would dedicate to trying to get some JaSE Films work off the ground. I was lucky I had registered the script and it's sole copyright with the WGA.
It's a three-pronged attack this year, each which should advance JaSE Films goal of making films over the coming years.
I came across Amazon Studio's late last year. I did a bit of background on it, and eventually came to a decision to participate over there for a time this year. One segment of the site is dedicated to scripts. I have four here at the moment gathering dust. One of them was the script for the film that broke down.
I Wish is a dark drama which explores the dark side of luck. Set in Ireland during the resession, a family with problems have an unexpected stroke of luck, but with devastating consequences. Be careful what you wish for...
Yesterday I posted it to Amazon Studio's.
OK, the deal is not a writers dream. In return for posting it, it is entered into competition, guaranteed a professional read and it can be reviewed by readers who may offer suggestions for re-writes that may make it a little better.
Amazon now have an option to buy the script over the next 18 months and will pay the writer if they want to extend the option for a further 18 months. With I Wish, I had no problem with that deal. Every time I looked at the script it was a reminder of a failure, and I'm tired of seeing it that way. I'm not saying it's better than anything else out there, but it's relevant to the times and how people change and it was once enough to pull a production together, if not having seen it through.
So although I know this blog won't have many readers in it's infancy, JaSE Films this year will attempt to start seeing things a little further afield than just here in Ireland and try get working with other Indie production companies in other countries who feel like ripping things up a little bit and are pro-active in coming up with ways to achieve that.
Some will like our approach, some will not. But it's ours and we are comfortable with the way we want to do things. We want to form collaborations with people with a professional approach, and are equally consumed in the pursuit of bringing films to completion.
JaSE Films would be grateful if you wish to read the script and leave a review on Amazon for consideration should further re-writes be necessary. You can download the script here and leave a review after. If you like it and think others may read it then we would be equally grateful if you direct them to it so they to can download it. Let's see if it has anything that can be built on instead of consigning it further to that dusty drawer.
I Wish and possibly a second feature script, will be the first prong, the web series and it's eventual goal will be the second prong, and so as not to be putting eggs in one basket, JaSE hopes to be in a position toward the end of this year to produce it's own first micro-budget feature so our growth can be measured in some real terms.
Wish us luck...
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