Abel Raises Cain

M Here.

I personally like this submission to "From Here To Awesome".



Enjoy!

Columbus: Continued

Hey, it's M. again!

So, as I wrote before, K. and I went down to Columbus to do a shoot for the "Wet Ink Poetry" sessions. We had a great time, and I wish we had pictures of the shot but someone, *nudge, nudge* didn't remind me to bring the digital camera.

Anyway, we did manage to get some great pics of our hotel room and us chillin' out maxin' and relaxin' with a few beers and the TV. So, without further ado, we present:


The WILDEST Night in Capital City!!



Once we're H-wood writers, will this hotel room really look all that different? Will it?



1:30 am in the hotel room, making it work!



Oh yeah, that's how WE roll.



Even our beers have to watch Spike Lee in action!



For some reason, when a clip of "Juno" was playing on television, our beers started kissing. Maybe they were bored or something...

See y'all later!

Short Film: "Pretentious"

Hey y'all! M. in da house!

So, I decided to edit together Keigh's recent footage of me semi-playing the guitar, just to see what some of the audio and visual effects would look like in Windows Movie Maker (as opposed to Sony Vegas).

The film's called, "Pretentious", because I have a love/hate relationship with that term. :)

I'm not sure how much a Blogger upload distorts the original picture, but it looks pretty okay in Windows Movie Maker...or maybe those are just the words of a complete novice...j/k.

Hope you enjoy all 20 seconds of it!

Peace!

Pretentious






***BTW, how cool was Diablo Cody's Oscar acceptance speech? I totally don't want to rag on how bad I think "Juno" is anymore because she seems like a really gracious lady.

From Here to Awesome? We'll See!

M. here,

Check this video out:



I don't know if I'm up for something like this...but it seems like a pretty cool idea.

They have more information at their website here.

Columbus Shoot

M. writing,

Thursday we went down to Columbus to film our pilot episode of the tentatively named "Arts in Ohio". The event was "Wet Ink" erotic poetry reading at the Bar of Modern Arts (BoMA), which is an art gallery, night club and fine dining restaurant all housed in a historic renovated church.



The event was pretty awesome. The artists were funny, sexy and down-to-earth. The drinks were great (even for the price) and the venue itself looked like a set-piece from Sex and the City (which is not what I was expecting, lol).



We generally enjoyed it. A teaser of the event will be up as soon as we finish some editing this Wednesday.



Next year, the Waldorf!

Depth of Field Video

M here!

We made a short vid testing out depth of field on the Canon XL 1. It's not Spike Lee caliber, but it'll do!

Enjoy!

Grab some red bull, kids

It's that time again.

The Nicholl, BlueCat, Austin, Final Draft, Disney/ABC, Scriptapalooza, and PAGE (among many others) deadlines are coming up within the next few months.

Nicholl Fellowship Competition:

"Back in 1985, when Gee Nicholl, Julian Blaustein and later the Academy’s Jim Roberts and Bruce Davis had the initial conversations about what would become the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, they knew they wanted to create a program that would aid new screenwriters. What they did not know, what they could only have hoped for, was the tremendous effect the Nicholl program would have on the entire community of fledgling screenwriters."

This is perhaps the biggest competition in the industry, and is certainly one of the most respected, if not the most respected.

Deadline: May 1, 2008
Cost: $35.00 per screenplay

BlueCat Screenplay Competition:

"We are the leading voice for the development and inspiration of the undiscovered screenwriter, and our community welcomes you to challenge yourself by entering your screenplay in the 2008 competition!"

BlueCat is run by Gordy Hoffman (among others) who just so happens to be Phillip Seymour Hoffman's brother. Not sure why that matters, but I thought it was an interesting bit of trivia.

Deadline: March 3, 2008 (at midnight)
Cost: $50.00 per screenplay

Austin Film Festival Screenplay and Teleplay (and film) Competitions:

"The Austin Film Festival is dedicated to championing the work of aspiring and established filmmakers, defined as screenwriters, directors, editors, producers, actors and all artists who use the language of film to tell a story. The AFF furthers the art, craft and business of filmmaking by providing unique cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships."

My school takes film kids to the Austin Film Festival every year. *jealous*

Screenplay and Teleplay:

Deadline: May 15, 2008 for screenplay, June 1, 2008 for Teleplay
Cost:$40.00 per screenplay, $30.00 per teleplay

Film

Deadline: June 5, 2008
Cost: $40.00 per film

Final Draft's Big Break

"With cash, rewards, mentorship, and industry exposure, Big Break lives up to its name. Winners and finalists alike have had their screenplays optioned and produced and have secured high-profile representation as well as lucrative writing deals.

We are dedicated to bringing recognition to promising screenwriters around the globe. Good luck to all!"

I swear by Final Draft and I've heard good things about this contest. I also hope that some of JJ Abrams' writing magic rubs off. (He uses Final Draft) I'm just saying.

Deadline: June 1, 2008
Cost: $50.00 per script

Disney/ABC Writing Fellowship

"Begun in 1990 in partnership with the Writers Guild of America, west, this has become one of the industry’s best known and most respected writing fellowships. More than 200 alumni number among Hollywood’s elite, including screenwriters, directors and television showrunners. A limited number of full-time fellowships are available each year for both feature film and television projects."

M and I were "this close" to entering last year but decided to wait until 2008. Throw some love our way. We're gonna need it.

Deadline: July 1, 2008
Cost: Free. Yes, it's free. No, I'm not kidding. It really is free to enter. Now you've got no excuse.

Scriptapalooza

"We now accept scripts by email or regular mail."

That's all you really need to know.

Deadline (screenplay): April 15, 2008
Cost: ($45.00 per script by March 5) $50.00 per script

Deadline (teleplay): April 30, 2008
Cost: $40.00 per teleplay

Page International Screenwriting Awards

"The PAGE Awards were established by an alliance of Hollywood producers, agents, and development executives. Our goal: to discover the most exciting new scripts by up-and-coming writers from across the country and around the world. And due to the success of our winning writers, the PAGE International screenplay competition is rapidly becoming one of the most important sources for new screenwriting talent within the Hollywood community and worldwide."

The 2007 winners of the Page Screeplay Competition were also finalists in the Nicholl Competiton...so I think they know what they're doing.

Deadline: (regular) March 15, 2008, (late) April 15, 2008
Cost: (regular) $49.00, (late) $59.00



So...happy writing! :)

Networking

K here.

Another Indie Club: Cleveland meeting has gone and passed. We saw some interesting shorts from local directors/producers/writers, and we listened to an informative talk about pyrotechnics.

We met a guy from Ohio University who might be interested in doing some collab work. He owns a Canon XL-1s (an upgrade from the XL-1) so who knows what we might be able to do? Andy, a guy we met in February, also wants to meet on Wednesday, so that we might go over some script ideas with him. He has an 80 page (handwritten) screenplay that needs to be fleshed out.

We registered the treatment with the WGA. Now all we have to do is shoot the 3 minute short and send it off. Hopefully good things come our way with this project.

M and I have started work on our screenplays. We're planning on entering BlueCat in March (or by the final deadline of April) as well as Nicholls in May, Final Draft in June, ABC/Disney, also in June, Zoetrope in August, and perhaps some other contests.

I wholeheartedly believe that this year, as The Zombies say, will be our year.

Screencaps of our FIRST FILM! Yatta!!

"Angelina Jones" (M., haha) looking pretty unsure of what is going on.



"X" marks the spot...

The Shop Light From Hell!

We decided that after getting the Canon (!!) we should stop being lazy and set up the shop lights. I'm still deciding whether or not that was a good idea, :).




All of the pieces on the floor...



Um...that's not supposed to be like that.



Finally got one end set, right???



WTF is this extra piece?!



Fritz stopped by to say hello!



This is the first time I've used a screwdriver in years (hyperbole is my friend) :)



Don't the lights look like that robot that says, "Happy Birthday, Paulie?"



SUCCESS!!

Okay, so we thought things were going well, but the light, when fully extended, won't stay erect. It keeps sliding back down, threatening to slice off fingers and jam thumbs. NOW we have to go all the way back to Home Depot to get another one and start the entire process all over again.

See you tomorrow, lol. :)

New Projects

K here.

We've got a new project for you: It's called "No Exit". Sorry, it's not a zombie comedy or vampire romance. :(

Things needed:

firewire port cables
S cable
external mic
red bull

and we're set.

We did storyboarding last night. Expect those to be scanned and up on the page, soon. Let me warn you, though. Our drawings are scary. A psychiatrist might have us committed if she ever got hold of them.

Under Construction :)

Daughters of the Dust

M. Here!

Go see this movie, if you already haven't. I think Keigh and I saw this when we were thirteen or fourteen years old. This, and Eve's Bayou, is what made me want to be a director.

UPDATES!

Friends and Foes,

For all those who haven't been in a thousand mile radius of us, you might not know the good news: Keigh Abrams and Miyaunna DeChelle have just bought their very first Canon XL1!

And now a word from our sponsor, Hiro Nakamura: YATTTTAAAAAAAAAA!!!

*Ehem*

While this news might not be the grandest of accomplishments, it is a minor milestone for two struggling filmmakers whose budget is smaller than the shoe-string.

All kidding aside, I am massively thrilled that we've finally got a prosumer DV camera that we can use to create and develop our own projects! Words on an internet page cannot express how elated I am about this new development, so I am just going to type a bunch of exclamation points !!!!!!!!! to express my jubilation!

I must add however, that this joy also comes with an enormous sense of responsibility and a tiny hint of fear. This machine brings the cold, hard truth: we must act. We can no longer sit around the house in our procrastination saying, "We'll get to it once we have the right equipment". Now we are faced with the doubts and the insecurities that come with pouring your mind and soul into something that may mean jack shit to others. And while we'd like to say we don't care...to face that kind of criticism might make ye normal folk insane. :)

On another note, we RYF writers recently finished the M. Bell treatment and to our relief, they LOVED it! We're registering it with the WGA and the Library of Congress because we're anal and we're new and we're just excited to be here :). We're filming and editing the teaser for his project sometime next week.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week, we will attempt our first foray into creating our own short film. It's an abstract narrative(sorry, no Zombie love stories or paint ball adventures, guys--this isn't "Youtube") that we're going to start pre-production (see, we get to use grownup words now) on tonight. I will be "acting" (if you can call it that; I'm pretty rusty since my Antigone days) and directing. K. will also be on hand, wowing us with her wonderful work as the great *writographer she is.

As K. mentioned before, we are entering the Hollywood Black Film Festival as writers, and we are also getting our writing samples and references together for CSUN: Northridge, Chapman University, CalArts and UCLA.

Heads up! Nicholls, BlueCat and many other screenplay contests are right around the corner!

Peep the page in the coming days to see the progress we've made!

Mucho amor y abrazos para todos!
{You knew we speak Spanish, right? Right??? *smile*}









*Note: If you don't know what a "writographer" is, look down.

Updates and Information

K here.

Another updates post!

We didn't pitch Nehst. We didn't feel quite ready. With the online option, we felt we could up our game and submit online, or perhaps catch another filmmaker bootcamp in New York.

We've been steadily working on the reality show project. The treatment is all that remains. We should be meeting with our subject on Sunday to over the contract and other fine details. Fun, fun.

We're planning to enter the Hollywood Black Film Festival (the deadline is in February, yikes!) which is why M and I have been writing our *expletives* off.

This summer, we're planning to just go for it and, hopefully with a Canon XL-1, shoot our first feature. We've been meeting some interesting Cleveland people who might want to join in on the project. Of course, we'll update everything here.

M and I made a horrible little green screen a few days ago. It's truly a representation of what a measly budget will create.

Expect pics soon!