Where to start…
We are trying to hone the camera settings to achieve a good “look.” And this requires some of the most tedious testing you could think of to make it all look right. Changing one fraction of a setting on the camera can change the whole look of the picture. I wish I could post before and afters to show you how things change, but hours upon hours of footage have been shot, and it’s just impractical to upload it all.
We are trying to get an art sponsorship so Will can start painting. He has been practicing a bit with borrowed supplies, and the first complete one is below. A Florida artist may be helping collaborate as well.
We have a production designer! Elissa Cain is excited to jump right in. She’s taking off work to do this, but we have the same work ethic and tastes – even in obscure movies and music (a must in my book for this job).
We have three new fundraisiers – Jinae, Kris, and Jackie.
We have two engineers – Michael Guntherberg and Robert Hill. They are working to make camera dollies (to move the camera smoothly).
We have two communication assistants – April Washko and DaVaughn Lucas who are arranging sponsorships from around the country.
We have a photographer! He is an established professional named Joseph De Sciose. He was a tenured photographer for Southern Living magazine shooting many of the cover photos and pictures inside of the magazine.
Christie has written about 39 letters to food places around Birmingham.
Hannah is delivering several thousand flyers around the south to raise money.
Leeanna is knocking casting out of the park. We are having live sessions in NY, LA, and B’ham. She has been putting ads in the right places and we are getting tons of great responses. I cannot tell you how hard she is working and how much of her heart she is putting into this. It’s absolutely incredible, and I’ll never be able to thank her.
Richey (composer) and James (additional music) have been working away on new sounds. We have been sending sound refernces back and forth
John has been doing a lot of research and watching movies w/o sound to study the cinematographer. He has been trying to get his hands on the Red camera, and has an internship, but the economy is bad and there haven’t been any jobs to work on. He’s ordering lighting equipment now.
Every crew member is working hard, and there’s too much going on to write it all down!
Several people have helped with location scouting. Especially our new crew member, Ward Neely. He’s been on the ball with helping and is going to act in our next short film.
We have been preparing and writing the new short film – shooting tomorrow. This is an exercise in writing and directing something dramatic as well as testing a new look for the film (and practicing sound). The new look is achieved by putting pantyhose on the front of the lens as well as using two glass filters (UV and IR/Hot Mirror). The other key is the shutter speed (fraction that light hits the sensor). We are using either 1/454.5 or 1/43.4 seconds.
About 12 sound designers will be adding sounds to the short film as an audition of shorts.
Location scouting has been a huge priority. I have been to Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and all around Alabama over the past three weeks, and we have found a few places. Much more scouring to come. Two locations are going to the highest channels of approval – city hall for a Water Tower and Vulcan Materials corporate office for a rock quarry.
25 people are working on the film now!
The short film, “Suitcase” was entered into a local festival playing tonight.
Pro-active Craig’s List spamming is still producing results all the time.
Again, it’s hard to see where the time is going, but fielding e-mails from the crew – communicating so they know what to do as well as doing my part in the relationship takes a while. Additionally inquiries from misc companies and communication with companies – the time all just adds up.
We are still truckin’ along with equipment research/purchase/rebates/returns, etc.
Our tentative start date for the big production is September 13 (and finishing by Thanksgiving).
I wrote a 20 page business plan for a Jewish Arts film project as a freelance job to raise money for this, and it has proven time consuming as well.
6.14.2009
Color Correction and Film Out
We want to take one minute of film from beginning to end. This would include professional color correction (this video) and printing the digital video onto tangible 35mm film strips. Doing this adds organic imperfection to the picture which makes it look like a big budget movie (we hope). Two color correction places (Independent Studios - shown here (http://www.independentstudios.tv/work9.html) and another) have offered to do a free sample, and one “print to 35mm film” house has offered to do it for $250 – paying for 35mm film materials costs.
Camera Tests
It's too time consuming to post actual videos here, but I hope the pictures help a little.
The image on the left has a black panty hose over the front of the lens (and a UV filter and IR filter). The image on the right is just what the camera picks up (with our custom settings).
Lens test - comparing shutter speed. The difference in image quality is affected by simply changing the amount of light that enters the camera (shutter speed) by a fraction of a second.
The image on the left has a black panty hose over the front of the lens (and a UV filter and IR filter). The image on the right is just what the camera picks up (with our custom settings).
Lens test - comparing shutter speed. The difference in image quality is affected by simply changing the amount of light that enters the camera (shutter speed) by a fraction of a second.
6.13.2009
Locatin Scouting
Possible grocery store location (1.5 hours outside of B'ham). Ward Neely found this one. 
Our Colorado "snow" location - very abandoned. See more pictures here (http://www.theronwelch.com/mountains/gore/dora/index.htm) I hope the link works when you read this. Jackie Glenn found this one and is helping w/ housing in Colorado :)
Truck loading zone (main character is a delivery man). 
Tower #2. Our request is going up for Triana City Hall on June 22. 
Tower #2.
Tower #2 base - no longer in use. 
Tower #1 base. 
One of two Triana city towers - both are awesome. This will be tower #1. 
B'ham tower - mediocre.
We're shooting our short film here tomorrow. 
Different quarry - still enormous. 
Same quarry, different view.
The prize quarry - our request has been sent to corporate. This picture does not nearly do justice to this. The spec on the opposite side of the canyon is a full size dump truck. 
Parking Lot - different view. 
Parking lot near Birmingham. 
North Carolina mountain view. 
Harrison (brother) and I climbed a mountain in North Carolina to find a cool spot... we got to the top but nothing was amazing.
One possible industrial factory up in TN.
Pics Galore
This is one of my favorite singers - Katie Herzig. I talked to her after the show and asked about using her music in the film. Obviously she was unsure, but at least she knows about the movie :)
Will is painting the paintings in our movie - this is his first - he's developing a style.
DJ sound testing - Day 1
Casting puzzles- off to the post office - $162 worth of stamps
Mom's celebrity puzzle assembly line
Casting Puzzles - a bunch of em
Equipment boxes
6.06.2009
Tired
I think being too burnt out/overwhelmed/tired to post progress is part the story of making this thing. I'm sorry.
Things are going very very well, it's just a lot to keep up with.
Things are going very very well, it's just a lot to keep up with.
Suitcase - A Test Footage Short Film
We made this to practice with our camera as an alternative to shooting arbitrary test footage (which we also do). It's playing in a Birmingham film festival. We filmed the entire thing within 24 hours of being informed of the opportunity. More shorts to come.
5.24.2009
Trying to Keep Up
Not really sure where all the time is going, but every hour is filled. Whether it’s field tests, e-mail writing, phone calls, buying, selling, fixing, and returning equipment, website work, research, meetings, craig’s list posting, computer fixing, working freelance to make money, or manual reading, it doesn’t leave time for much else.
The Red camera is working! Test footage is underway. It’s a challenge to make it look like “film,” and we’re not there yet but working and researching all the time to get it there. Finding the most efficient way to work with the enormous data files is also tricky. This is a huge time suck and quite the puzzle.
We now have 17 people working on the movie! It’s getting hard to keep up with everything and everyone. Everyone is working so hard, and I wish there was more time to do really nice things for every one and tell them how grateful I am. This is truly a team effort, and no one should ever think that someone makes a movie by themselves. Everyone is making this movie together.
We have a new casting director! Leeanna Rubin is taking this thing by the horns and tackling it full force. We have revamped the website and casting process completely. She is responding to every single e-mail that we have received (over 2,300) and setting up live casting sessions in New York, Los Angeles, Birmingham, and Atlanta. We are running a paid advertisement in Backstage magazine which is very legit and should turn out a lot of serious actors.
Will has agreed to be the painter for the movie (story based heavily on the art created by main character, Delia). He’s certainly the go-to man for anything visual on the project, and I’m really glad we can work together.
We have a Line Producer! Jeff Nixon is a Birmingham event planner who is very enthusiastic about movies and wants to help on the project by organizing companies and people in and around Birmingham to pull everything together.
Abbott is busy writing contracts for everyone and keeping the legal matters in order.
Tony is redesigning our myspace page: www.myspace.com/kentonbartlett
The celebrity letters are in the air. Keep your fingers crossed this week.
DJ and I are testing out both the camera and sound equipment. We got sound!
Craig’s List posting is a go again. Using the library computers is the key.
We may have a production designer.
Pictures and videos coming soon!
The Red camera is working! Test footage is underway. It’s a challenge to make it look like “film,” and we’re not there yet but working and researching all the time to get it there. Finding the most efficient way to work with the enormous data files is also tricky. This is a huge time suck and quite the puzzle.
We now have 17 people working on the movie! It’s getting hard to keep up with everything and everyone. Everyone is working so hard, and I wish there was more time to do really nice things for every one and tell them how grateful I am. This is truly a team effort, and no one should ever think that someone makes a movie by themselves. Everyone is making this movie together.
We have a new casting director! Leeanna Rubin is taking this thing by the horns and tackling it full force. We have revamped the website and casting process completely. She is responding to every single e-mail that we have received (over 2,300) and setting up live casting sessions in New York, Los Angeles, Birmingham, and Atlanta. We are running a paid advertisement in Backstage magazine which is very legit and should turn out a lot of serious actors.
Will has agreed to be the painter for the movie (story based heavily on the art created by main character, Delia). He’s certainly the go-to man for anything visual on the project, and I’m really glad we can work together.
We have a Line Producer! Jeff Nixon is a Birmingham event planner who is very enthusiastic about movies and wants to help on the project by organizing companies and people in and around Birmingham to pull everything together.
Abbott is busy writing contracts for everyone and keeping the legal matters in order.
Tony is redesigning our myspace page: www.myspace.com/kentonbartlett
The celebrity letters are in the air. Keep your fingers crossed this week.
DJ and I are testing out both the camera and sound equipment. We got sound!
Craig’s List posting is a go again. Using the library computers is the key.
We may have a production designer.
Pictures and videos coming soon!
5.17.2009
Some Pictures from Home
Downstairs, basement "office."
The Red One Camera.
Some of the completed packages.
Some of the puzzles.
Mom working on the puzzle packages.
The boxes from the past couple weeks, stacked inside the front door (back from college).
James Markham song
James Markham's original composition based on "Asleep on the Train" (below).
The original song - we do not own copyrights.
Equipment and Back at Home
School’s done, and 100% of attention can be focused on the movie.
The past several days have been incredibly busy. Most equipment has arrived, and I’ve been unpacking, organizing, reading manuals, learning, assembling, testing, installing programs, buying missing parts, and waiting for more stuff to come in. Additionally, setting up a home “office” in the basement has made this feel a little legit and truly independent.
Since we’re missing a part for the Red One, most of the tests have been focused on time lapse, lens, filters, and computer software. The Red part should come in Monday, then we’ll get more tests up with the big camera.
We have a new crew member! James Markham will be credited as Additional Music. He is a very talented musician who’s talent is taking pre-existing music, imitating it, modifying it, then making it his own to sound significantly different and avoiding copyright infringement.
All puzzles have arrived, and the packages are physically ready to send out to celebrities. We are waiting on advice from Michael Papajohn, then we’ll send them out.
A couple of promising individuals may help out in very real ways. I’ll update you as soon as they sign on.
The past several days have been incredibly busy. Most equipment has arrived, and I’ve been unpacking, organizing, reading manuals, learning, assembling, testing, installing programs, buying missing parts, and waiting for more stuff to come in. Additionally, setting up a home “office” in the basement has made this feel a little legit and truly independent.
Since we’re missing a part for the Red One, most of the tests have been focused on time lapse, lens, filters, and computer software. The Red part should come in Monday, then we’ll get more tests up with the big camera.
We have a new crew member! James Markham will be credited as Additional Music. He is a very talented musician who’s talent is taking pre-existing music, imitating it, modifying it, then making it his own to sound significantly different and avoiding copyright infringement.
All puzzles have arrived, and the packages are physically ready to send out to celebrities. We are waiting on advice from Michael Papajohn, then we’ll send them out.
A couple of promising individuals may help out in very real ways. I’ll update you as soon as they sign on.
5.16.2009
HDR Success
This is a successful HDR timelapse. The framing isn't great, and the cloudy weather wasn't great, but this is the a 1 hr 20 minute shot with 7 pictures taken every 15 seconds. Automating the process to combine them all was a little tricky, but the principles are down, and we can apply them to better locations very soon.
5.15.2009
More Time Lapse Tests
These are tests for the High Dynamic Range function of the still camera. Basically, the idea is that you can see both the shadows and the highlights in the same image instead of having something over or under exposed. It's a little tricky to get to work, but it's all figured out now. These are lame, but more to come!
5.14.2009
A couple rough rough rough tests
Testing the auto timelapse feature of our new camera
Continuous still frame shooting test.
Both of these are very raw. I will upload some more tests soon. Things have been very busy testing out all the equipment, but I will write more soon.
5.11.2009
Workin on that movie
Apologies for the delayed post. Severe computer failure (a virus deleted every program and document… twice – there were backups), final exams, moving out, graduation weekend, saying goodbye to friends, and travel has slowed down progress a little bit, but here’s what’s been going on:
We have a composer! Richey Rynkowski is signed on to the project. About 100 people have inquired about the position. Many are qualified and enthusiastic. We originally planned to hold auditions – and I told this to Richey. However, he proceeded with the opportunity as if he was already the official composer. He made three songs tailored to the music for this film (the soundtrack to the script). His songs are all great (listen below) and give a taste of what’s to come. He is both talented and hardworking. We get along great and have the same tastes in music.
Tony and I have to develop the social media front. We have a Linked In account (www.linkedin/in/kentonbartlett), a twitter account (www.twitter.com/kentonbartlett), and we have Facebook back (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenton-Bartlett-Movie/74342639138?ref=ts)! We are re-building our online presence for sure. A MySpace page is coming soon.
The website (www.KentonBartlett.com) is re-designed. The homepage and page backgrounds are the main differences. See pics below.
Craig’s List created new spam filters to block folks like us. The new hurdles are tricky, and I thought we would have to resort to other means of virally spreading the word, but we just developed a new plan to circumvent the new smart filters. We will post onwards!
We are going to forego the film stock donation for logistic, visual, and expenditure reasons.
Christie and I drafted a letter to send for food sponsorships. Christie and Hannah are looking for the contact info for establishments around Birmingham.
Many more e-mails arrive every day with new and different leads – from offers to help, potential investors, interested crew members, and questions from actors. Fielding the e-mails and following up with everyone is a top priority. We’ll keep you up to date on promising developments, but it’s hard to list every single lead.
Casting is moving forward. More auditions are coming in every day. Fenix is working full time on it, and two of my acting friends are interested in helping out full-time as well.
This week will be all about making up for lost time and start working with the mound of equipment we’ve been ordering for the past month.
We didn’t win the screenplay award (the third draft was submitted) and haven’t heard back from the movie studio.
We have a composer! Richey Rynkowski is signed on to the project. About 100 people have inquired about the position. Many are qualified and enthusiastic. We originally planned to hold auditions – and I told this to Richey. However, he proceeded with the opportunity as if he was already the official composer. He made three songs tailored to the music for this film (the soundtrack to the script). His songs are all great (listen below) and give a taste of what’s to come. He is both talented and hardworking. We get along great and have the same tastes in music.
Tony and I have to develop the social media front. We have a Linked In account (www.linkedin/in/kentonbartlett), a twitter account (www.twitter.com/kentonbartlett), and we have Facebook back (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenton-Bartlett-Movie/74342639138?ref=ts)! We are re-building our online presence for sure. A MySpace page is coming soon.
The website (www.KentonBartlett.com) is re-designed. The homepage and page backgrounds are the main differences. See pics below.
Craig’s List created new spam filters to block folks like us. The new hurdles are tricky, and I thought we would have to resort to other means of virally spreading the word, but we just developed a new plan to circumvent the new smart filters. We will post onwards!
We are going to forego the film stock donation for logistic, visual, and expenditure reasons.
Christie and I drafted a letter to send for food sponsorships. Christie and Hannah are looking for the contact info for establishments around Birmingham.
Many more e-mails arrive every day with new and different leads – from offers to help, potential investors, interested crew members, and questions from actors. Fielding the e-mails and following up with everyone is a top priority. We’ll keep you up to date on promising developments, but it’s hard to list every single lead.
Casting is moving forward. More auditions are coming in every day. Fenix is working full time on it, and two of my acting friends are interested in helping out full-time as well.
This week will be all about making up for lost time and start working with the mound of equipment we’ve been ordering for the past month.
We didn’t win the screenplay award (the third draft was submitted) and haven’t heard back from the movie studio.
Social Media - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
Updated website
Our LinkedIn page: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kentonbartlett
Our Twitter Page: http://twitter.com/KentonBartlett
Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenton-Bartlett-Movie/74342639138?ref=ts
5.06.2009
Richey Rynkowski Draft Composition - Love Theme
We have an official composer! Richey Rynkowski is an extremely devoted, talented, and hard-working music maker living in the UK. Listen to this song and the ones below. These are a few ideas without much direction or collaboration - and these tunes were created without being signed on to the project (proactiveness pays off always).
5.01.2009
IMDB! Student Short Film
We are on IMDB! Go to www.imdb.com, then search "Kenton Bartlett" or "Student Short Film" and pages will come up.
Or, click these links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1414278/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3400082/
4.29.2009
Celebrity Casting, Equipment Purchasing, and Fourth Draft
This week has been filled mostly with detailed equipment research and purchases, script writing, e-mail answering, and casting contact work.
It’s pretty boring to write about the equipment purchases (or too lengthy to read about), but very time consuming. I will post pictures and final lists later. Long story short – we have the equipment to record a movie! Packages are being ordered and other packages are arriving every day.
We have finalized our 100 actors casting list, their letters, produced all the puzzles, created every website, and my mom is organizing the shipments. She is folding, packaging, and sending them off in the next couple weeks. Our friend, Cathy Tracy, knows calligraphy and is penning the addresses of as many as possible to help draw attention to the packages and get the opened.
The fourth draft is finished! The third draft drifted a little off course in making so many drastic changes, but the fourth draft fixed them and made it stronger.
The script (third draft) was nominated for an AWARD at American University. It is the end-of-the year competition for undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Communications. It is very competitive, and we will find out the results Friday.
The generous folks over at Tryptonaut Pictures offered to donate 27,000 feet of Kodak 500T 35mm film stock (about $2,000 worth!). That records many hours of professional footage. If we can find a way to use the film without impacting our budget, we will be able to accept the donation and make something cool.
We are waiting to hear back from the kind person with a possible movie studio lead (should hear something tomorrow).
Web traffic is up to about 7,000 visitors this month. We are about to break the maximum web hits allowed for my current website ownership plan.
I post in 30 Craig’s List cities every two days.
A music supervisor offered to come on board and raise money to pay for music licensing fees and his own salary. That’s an offer no one can refuse. I will write more when things are confirmed.
It’s pretty boring to write about the equipment purchases (or too lengthy to read about), but very time consuming. I will post pictures and final lists later. Long story short – we have the equipment to record a movie! Packages are being ordered and other packages are arriving every day.
We have finalized our 100 actors casting list, their letters, produced all the puzzles, created every website, and my mom is organizing the shipments. She is folding, packaging, and sending them off in the next couple weeks. Our friend, Cathy Tracy, knows calligraphy and is penning the addresses of as many as possible to help draw attention to the packages and get the opened.
The fourth draft is finished! The third draft drifted a little off course in making so many drastic changes, but the fourth draft fixed them and made it stronger.
The script (third draft) was nominated for an AWARD at American University. It is the end-of-the year competition for undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Communications. It is very competitive, and we will find out the results Friday.
The generous folks over at Tryptonaut Pictures offered to donate 27,000 feet of Kodak 500T 35mm film stock (about $2,000 worth!). That records many hours of professional footage. If we can find a way to use the film without impacting our budget, we will be able to accept the donation and make something cool.
We are waiting to hear back from the kind person with a possible movie studio lead (should hear something tomorrow).
Web traffic is up to about 7,000 visitors this month. We are about to break the maximum web hits allowed for my current website ownership plan.
I post in 30 Craig’s List cities every two days.
A music supervisor offered to come on board and raise money to pay for music licensing fees and his own salary. That’s an offer no one can refuse. I will write more when things are confirmed.
Front Page Story
Our story was on the front page of American University’s website: www.american.edu. It is gone now though, so here’s a screen capture of it.
4.23.2009
Major Studio, equipment, new crew, celebrities,
One extremely kind individual offered to pitch the project to his friend in a high-ranking position at a major film studio (cannot disclose the studio at the moment) and two interested producers.
Over 1,500 casting applicants. Audition tapes are starting to trickle in.
We have a makeup artist! Sarah-Beth Alfree has already arranged a makeup sponsorship and an assistant (Scott Forrester) to cover the hair and makeup of the film. Both Sarah-Beth and Scott live in Birmingham.
We have a Social Media Consultant as well. My friend, Tony Romm is an experienced journalist and has offered his help spreading the word through creative online mediums.
Equipment orders are in full swing. The sound equipment deals have been arranged. The list price of our equipment is $6,380, and we are getting it for $2,917. This is thanks to James Lunsford’s smart equipment research and Sennheiser’s generous deal.
The Red Camera is in shipment. This week, we also ordered 3 lenses, a hard drive, a package of 50 glass camera filters, a tripod, and professional equipment cases. I will post details and pictures of equipment down the road to serve as a reference for anyone interested.
Several interested investors have contacted me to read the script.
Southwest said no to the project as is, but they are excited to work together if the film develops into a project with more promise of distribution (i.e. if a celebrity signs on).
I got kicked off Facebook for promoting the movie too hard. Even though this is an annoyance, I see it as a crowning victory to extreme promotion (and hopefully no one was annoyed in the process. (They have agreed to let me back on under a personal account with terms of cooperation).
We finished up the celebrity letter and celebrity production information and are ready to distribute the puzzle packages.
Accomplished actor and Vestavia Hills community member, Michael Papajohn (the robber in Spiderman) has agreed to help out with the film. We are going to talk more next week.
The fourth draft of the screenplay is underway (after a third draft consulting session with my smart professor, Claudia Myers).
Craig’s List posting is the #1 reason for most of these developments.
Over 1,500 casting applicants. Audition tapes are starting to trickle in.
We have a makeup artist! Sarah-Beth Alfree has already arranged a makeup sponsorship and an assistant (Scott Forrester) to cover the hair and makeup of the film. Both Sarah-Beth and Scott live in Birmingham.
We have a Social Media Consultant as well. My friend, Tony Romm is an experienced journalist and has offered his help spreading the word through creative online mediums.
Equipment orders are in full swing. The sound equipment deals have been arranged. The list price of our equipment is $6,380, and we are getting it for $2,917. This is thanks to James Lunsford’s smart equipment research and Sennheiser’s generous deal.
The Red Camera is in shipment. This week, we also ordered 3 lenses, a hard drive, a package of 50 glass camera filters, a tripod, and professional equipment cases. I will post details and pictures of equipment down the road to serve as a reference for anyone interested.
Several interested investors have contacted me to read the script.
Southwest said no to the project as is, but they are excited to work together if the film develops into a project with more promise of distribution (i.e. if a celebrity signs on).
I got kicked off Facebook for promoting the movie too hard. Even though this is an annoyance, I see it as a crowning victory to extreme promotion (and hopefully no one was annoyed in the process. (They have agreed to let me back on under a personal account with terms of cooperation).
We finished up the celebrity letter and celebrity production information and are ready to distribute the puzzle packages.
Accomplished actor and Vestavia Hills community member, Michael Papajohn (the robber in Spiderman) has agreed to help out with the film. We are going to talk more next week.
The fourth draft of the screenplay is underway (after a third draft consulting session with my smart professor, Claudia Myers).
Craig’s List posting is the #1 reason for most of these developments.
4.21.2009
4.18.2009
Red One Order (Serial)
We ordered the Red One camera yesterday and received our camera number! It's a christening of sorts in the industry. I will post the full list of what Red equipment we ordered and the price paid when all orders are complete.
Steven Poster Shoot
John is working with Steven Poster (Donnie Darko cinematographer) on a documentary, and John needed someone to cover for a couple hours. I didn't work too long, but working with their crew is a great opportunity for John, and I certainly learned a lot in the brief time I was there.
Look at Steven Poster's work here:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0692925/
4.15.2009
Casting is working, PR, sound decisions, and composing
Casting is working! We have over 1,000 applicants!
We tried a new tactic – Craig’s List (online classifieds). I tried it a while ago, but my posts were deleted because you cannot post the same post twice, and you cannot post in more than one city. To make a long story short, we circumvented the spam filter and can now post all over the country. So far we have contacted only 60 cities. There are plenty more cities around the US, and we can always re-post, so needless to say, the doors are wide open for casting!
Fenix and I have developed a more streamlined audition process and means of auto-responding to applicants. We would prefer to be personable, but it’s simply not possible at this point.
Along with inquiring actors, we have had many telephone calls and e-mails from people who want to help the project (casting assistants, production assistants, make up artists, more composers, sound designers, equipment company owners… even a trick rope rodeo person and a craft services provider!)
The celebrity casting is moving forward as well. Will’s package design is finished! It’s attached below. My parents printed it out, and my mom is cutting and folding each of the packages.
Christie finished her second draft of the celebrity letter and is working on the third. It’s coming right along.
Amanda (PR) is working on the public relations campaign. She is very busy this week, but she contacted two newspapers and will get back to me soon with phone interviews for journalists. She will also respond soon with the proper contact information to get in touch with celebrities so we can send out the packages.
This week, we are ordering the Red Camera! It should arrive in a couple weeks. John has his first hands-on experience with the camera this week in his cinematography, so at least we aren’t buying blind. We are making more ‘buy’ decisions every day.
Our sound consultant, James Lunsford has been working full-time on the project for the past month. We have not mentioned his involvement as we were not certain if he would be able to be the sound designer. He has developed the equipment purchase list for audio and is working on finalizing our purchase decisions (taking from quotes from five sources – including Sennheiser).
A very talented and pro-active composer, Richey Rynkowski won’t listen to my plea to “wait for composer auditions.” He is taking charge of this project and composing music anyway. He sent two songs based on the online cues at www.kentonbartlett.com/script. They sound GREAT! I’ve attached them below so you can listen. He put two days of work into these songs knowing that composing was premature. He is also well connected with a conductor and a performing orchestra and offered to pay for live recording of his score. Even though we can’t promise anything at this point, this is the kind of determination that stands out.
After the first two songs, he said he wanted to compose more original songs. If he’s going to go against advice of waiting for auditions and work on the music full time, then I feel it’s my responsibility to give him instruction. I sent over several musical references, and he is working full-steam on some new songs. He is obviously very determined, and we are very excited to hear more of his work!
We keep sending out more e-mails to ask for help from a variety of places, and we will keep you updated on any leads.
We tried a new tactic – Craig’s List (online classifieds). I tried it a while ago, but my posts were deleted because you cannot post the same post twice, and you cannot post in more than one city. To make a long story short, we circumvented the spam filter and can now post all over the country. So far we have contacted only 60 cities. There are plenty more cities around the US, and we can always re-post, so needless to say, the doors are wide open for casting!
Fenix and I have developed a more streamlined audition process and means of auto-responding to applicants. We would prefer to be personable, but it’s simply not possible at this point.
Along with inquiring actors, we have had many telephone calls and e-mails from people who want to help the project (casting assistants, production assistants, make up artists, more composers, sound designers, equipment company owners… even a trick rope rodeo person and a craft services provider!)
The celebrity casting is moving forward as well. Will’s package design is finished! It’s attached below. My parents printed it out, and my mom is cutting and folding each of the packages.
Christie finished her second draft of the celebrity letter and is working on the third. It’s coming right along.
Amanda (PR) is working on the public relations campaign. She is very busy this week, but she contacted two newspapers and will get back to me soon with phone interviews for journalists. She will also respond soon with the proper contact information to get in touch with celebrities so we can send out the packages.
This week, we are ordering the Red Camera! It should arrive in a couple weeks. John has his first hands-on experience with the camera this week in his cinematography, so at least we aren’t buying blind. We are making more ‘buy’ decisions every day.
Our sound consultant, James Lunsford has been working full-time on the project for the past month. We have not mentioned his involvement as we were not certain if he would be able to be the sound designer. He has developed the equipment purchase list for audio and is working on finalizing our purchase decisions (taking from quotes from five sources – including Sennheiser).
A very talented and pro-active composer, Richey Rynkowski won’t listen to my plea to “wait for composer auditions.” He is taking charge of this project and composing music anyway. He sent two songs based on the online cues at www.kentonbartlett.com/script. They sound GREAT! I’ve attached them below so you can listen. He put two days of work into these songs knowing that composing was premature. He is also well connected with a conductor and a performing orchestra and offered to pay for live recording of his score. Even though we can’t promise anything at this point, this is the kind of determination that stands out.
After the first two songs, he said he wanted to compose more original songs. If he’s going to go against advice of waiting for auditions and work on the music full time, then I feel it’s my responsibility to give him instruction. I sent over several musical references, and he is working full-steam on some new songs. He is obviously very determined, and we are very excited to hear more of his work!
We keep sending out more e-mails to ask for help from a variety of places, and we will keep you updated on any leads.
Richey Rynkowski - Original Compositions
Richey Rynkowski's first original composition based on the 23 songs that correspond to the script. He was pro-active and composed prior to the composer audition.
Richey Rynkowski's second original composition.
4.13.2009
Final Package Design
Will's final package design. My dad printed them, and my mom is cutting, folding, packaging, and sending them out as soon as we get the addresses.
New Celebrity Casting Site Design
The re-vamped celebrity casting site to be consistent with Will's final package design. http://www.missingpiecescasting.com/johnnydepp.
4.07.2009
Newsy News
Some big news… My friend, neighbor, and ex-babysitter, Amanda Leesburg started and runs a very successful Public Relations company in Atlanta. I contacted her to see if she could help find someone to help with casting and with PR… she offered to help on the project immediately!
She represented Jane Fonda last year, and is responsible for Animal Planet, Jeff Corwin, some Nike accounts, and helped cast the TV show, America’s Got Talent. She is extremely friendly and connected, and she offered to post the casting call around the internet, talk with her friends in the industry, hold casting sessions for us (announced through radio) in Atlanta and in Birminhgam. She is also very connected in the celebrity circuit and is going to help attract celebrities to the project. After discussing the possibility of working with celebrities, she said it was highly probable that we could get some people on board!
The script is now registered with the Writer’s Guild of America!
Fenix is hard at work on casting. We finalized audition plans, script excerpts, and the casting form. We should be getting some audition tapes in very soon. We gathered a list of about 20 websites and e-mail list-serves to post our casting call on, and that should also increase responses.
Christie and I are still working on drafting letters for celebrities. We had two versions and sent out for votes on which angle people liked better. She took the feedback and is working on a new version.
Friends are still sending e-mails out to help with the casting.
The puzzles are in! Our first 25 puzzles have been delivered for packaging prep, and they look great. Will is almost done with the packaging, and they will be ready to send out as soon as the letters, addresses, and customized websites are in place.
Southwest airlines should get back by the end of the week with their decision on helping with the project.
I talked to the Birmingham film commissioner this week on the phone. He finished the script, liked it, and wants to help see it through. He walked me through a list of about 15 questions I made up. He cleared a lot of things up and is working on the project to help us out in securing locations and making production run smoothly.
John and I honing in our equipment decisions, and we have contacted several professionals to get their feedback and guidance on the project.
We have a comprehensive sound equipment list created by our prospective sound designer, James Lunsford. He has been an enormous help on the project! He came up with an equipment list spreadsheet and got quotes from about four different places. Our budget for sound is $3,000, and his product list came in at $2,994. He’s awesome. We sent out his product list to another place in the DC area for a second opinion.
Also, my former sound professor/friend/sound consultant, Greg Smith is selling his extra-long boom pole (usually sells for about $600) to us for $100!
She represented Jane Fonda last year, and is responsible for Animal Planet, Jeff Corwin, some Nike accounts, and helped cast the TV show, America’s Got Talent. She is extremely friendly and connected, and she offered to post the casting call around the internet, talk with her friends in the industry, hold casting sessions for us (announced through radio) in Atlanta and in Birminhgam. She is also very connected in the celebrity circuit and is going to help attract celebrities to the project. After discussing the possibility of working with celebrities, she said it was highly probable that we could get some people on board!
The script is now registered with the Writer’s Guild of America!
Fenix is hard at work on casting. We finalized audition plans, script excerpts, and the casting form. We should be getting some audition tapes in very soon. We gathered a list of about 20 websites and e-mail list-serves to post our casting call on, and that should also increase responses.
Christie and I are still working on drafting letters for celebrities. We had two versions and sent out for votes on which angle people liked better. She took the feedback and is working on a new version.
Friends are still sending e-mails out to help with the casting.
The puzzles are in! Our first 25 puzzles have been delivered for packaging prep, and they look great. Will is almost done with the packaging, and they will be ready to send out as soon as the letters, addresses, and customized websites are in place.
Southwest airlines should get back by the end of the week with their decision on helping with the project.
I talked to the Birmingham film commissioner this week on the phone. He finished the script, liked it, and wants to help see it through. He walked me through a list of about 15 questions I made up. He cleared a lot of things up and is working on the project to help us out in securing locations and making production run smoothly.
John and I honing in our equipment decisions, and we have contacted several professionals to get their feedback and guidance on the project.
We have a comprehensive sound equipment list created by our prospective sound designer, James Lunsford. He has been an enormous help on the project! He came up with an equipment list spreadsheet and got quotes from about four different places. Our budget for sound is $3,000, and his product list came in at $2,994. He’s awesome. We sent out his product list to another place in the DC area for a second opinion.
Also, my former sound professor/friend/sound consultant, Greg Smith is selling his extra-long boom pole (usually sells for about $600) to us for $100!
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