Blocking & Meetings

It's been a productive day to say the least. Spent the morning securing kit for "Timedancer", insurance and locations for "Vincent". Daniel then came by to check out the locations and we blocked out both the scenes for Sunday as well, which was real helpful.

What's also gonna be cool is us working on the Canon 7D's for Timedancer. Whilst I've seen tons of footage from the camera as well as the lauded 5D, I must say I am excited about using it on the project, if anything just to get a sense of what the workflow will be like.

Then popped over to Mazin's in the evening for an art department meeting with our very talented production designer Teresa Santos.



Teresa has been nothing short of impressive since the first day Mazin and I met her outside the Starbucks on Long Acre. She is detailed, intuitive and very creative. This evening was spent both on discussing the look of "Vincent" as well as the design idea for his "dwelling". Needless to say, the ideas were free-flowing and very exciting.

But now, time to hit the sack. Tomorrow, more casting!

Ben

So we've cast the character of Ben for Timedancer. Meet Ashley Gerlach. We think he's gonna make an awesome addition to our already stellar cast. Shoot's next weekend and episode 1 is scheduled to be out early May!

Here We Go!

Wow, it's been a while since I've had some time to sit down and do this. The weeks have been getting manic, but it's a blessing to be busy I must say, even if it's not paying yet. Keeping creatively successful as Samantha would say.

So what's been eating up the time?

Timedancer

The scripts are all done, and Daniel and I have locked all the locations now. There are a couple of more scouts to do, just for a few more pictures and blocking, but we're all there.

All the major roles have been casted and we have assembled a wonderful ensemble including:

Ffion Jolly

John Moraitis

Steve Gilbert Scott

Samantha Tan.

Next Wednesday, we will be holding a casting session for the last member of the ensemble, the character of Ben. We're all excited about the talent coming in to audition, and it should be great!

Crew wise there's the usual suspects of Luke Yerbury and Ali Maggs and eventually Bahir & Ben in KL will be involved in this as well. As the episodes progress and the crew expands, look to see other people like Mazin Elfehaid and Will Hutchinson getting involved.

Another exciting development has been two individuals who have joined our crew. First up is Dave Brain, who is going to be doing all our visual and special effects work. Dave and I have been talking here and there about some minor effects to begin with, and eventually the more complicated work that may manifest itself further down the line. Dave is dreading that he said "we can do it" and that it's gonna come back to bite him in the ass.

Also on board is Nicholas Lee, a buddy of mine from the US, who is gonna be working on designing some key props for us. Here's a sample of some early sketches he's been working on for me:

We shoot the second weekend of March, so there's not long more to go and it's gonna be exciting to say the least!

Vincent

It's been a hectic week on Mazin's short film. We've just locked our DoP, started looking for production designers, put out a casting call and scouted further locations. The week remaining is now all about locking the crew, finalising the kit and securing the locations by the end of next week.

We've still got time till when we shoot come April, but the prep on this shoot is immense.

At the same time, I've been working for Ali on some recordings for a piece of language software, and will be doing some Flash work for him next week as well!

Can't complain I guess. Better busy and broke than bored and broke!

Windows You May Have Me Soon Enough!

The Mac v PC battle is something I am all but familiar with. I'm an Apple fanboy, to the core, and put me in the room with a PC user and sparks will usually fly.

But since 2008, that undying love for Apple is slowly being tested, as the sluggish, tired behemoth that once was Microsoft has slowly begun to surprise, delight and entice me.

It began with Windows 7. My editor Ali Maggs cut both my features on Sony Vegas Pro, running on Windows 7. It never crashed even once in the 6 months that we were editing. For me, that was unheard of with a Windows based system. I was impressed. And in tough times, Ali was running a machine with such power that would cost a fortune on an Apple ecosystem.

And then there was today...

Make no mistake, things have changed. With the Windows Phone 7 Series, Microsoft has thrown one helluva punch into the smartphone arena. The iPhone, Android and RIM are beginning to look like the awkward teenagers next to a suddenly present adult.

Provided they get the implementation and execution right over the coming months, the fact is a Microsoft ecosystem suddenly looks very tempting.

Cheaper more powerful machines, a total integration of computing, mobile tech and gaming, all coming together to make one VERY attractive package. Because the fact is, cost matters at the moment.

Let's face it, us Apple users are no longer the smug thugs in the playground.

Being Geeky

Second last shot, 0:52 seconds in.

1st Location Scout for "Vincent"

So recently director Mazin Elfehaid asked me to write him a script for a 16mm short film he wanted to shoot. I did so, and on top writing duties, he asked me if I'd like to produce for him as well. Naturally I said yes, both jumping at the opportunity to collaborate with Mazin, but also to learn about shooting on film as well.

Yesterday, we spent some time on our first location scout. Below are a sample of pictures Mazin shot using Artemis on his iPhone.

Great Tips From The Key Guys On Lost.