In big budget Hollywood, I'd have one single focus, directing. In a our low budget movie, I have to think about money, directing, staff, locations etc. etc. etc. Thank God I have a wonderful crew. Lisa Dewitt, the production manager is just awesome! I mean my goodness, this woman was everything on set, script supervisor, 1st AD (every Friday), I'll run out of room with slashes if I continue. Robert Joseph, Associate producer and actor, was wonderful. I literally for the first time, turned something over and trusted someone else to do something. He was that person. Natasha Dyer our Wardrobe person made the cast absolutely beautiful! We had little time to plan and she just took the ball and ran with it and I am so pleased and blessed to have had her!
Our DP, Larkin Seiple is one of the most talented DPs I have ever meet. He and his crew made or film look beautiful. He has such a skill in manipulating light, he was a great find.
Ethan Feldbau our production designer with his staff did absolutely wonderful. Every scene was fresh, bright and moody. He really went above and beyond.
All of our wonderful PAs Peppur Chambers, Shonelle Blake and Christina were all unreplacable.
Jennifer Brugger my assistant and first AD was awesome and eventually tied herself to my hip, every staff and crew member was ordained to be there and OTM benefited.
Thanks to all.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Night Before Consinsual
As I sit here and try to use this time to calm down, think creatively, exhale, focus, release the tension of the budget and the craziness that is Hollywood, I am perplexed. Why is it so difficult to make something worth seeing? I know I could have taken the time to get financing, borrow money, sell some assets, pull out equity, but this just felt like something I needed to do in a controlled planned fashion. I have to admit, no matter how I worried, the ultimate end is that God already had put things in motion and produced a means for the end. I feel so blessed to be able to do something so precious and powerful.
No matter the books you read or the schooling nothing takes the place of experience. Everyone that is in the business got it from somewhere, here is my chance and I want to make the most out of it.
It is such an awesome opportunity and heavy responsibility to make something great. But why would you do it for any other reason?
No matter the books you read or the schooling nothing takes the place of experience. Everyone that is in the business got it from somewhere, here is my chance and I want to make the most out of it.
It is such an awesome opportunity and heavy responsibility to make something great. But why would you do it for any other reason?
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Making of Consinsual Pt.2 Casting
Casting is a grueling process. I mean for those who think it's glamorous, believe me it's not. There are so many variables to look at, so many things to consider. Choose the wrong person and be set back or worse left stranded. The trick is to find someone so committed to the project you don't have to push, prod or pull them to do what needs to be done. Secondly, they have to have the talent to pull off the "big scene". I tend to write things with a lot of layers so the ability to reach levels is critical. This is not easy to come by. In "real" Hollywood, you pay for this loyalty, in "low budget" Hollywood, you pray for it.
The first part to cast was the easiest, Angelica. My theater production partner is a phenomenal actress and the role was tailor made for her.
Next we found Tara -the cutest blond bombshell with the sweetest attitude. She is amazing. in looking for the right people she was an awesome find. We went through at least 150 people for this part alone.
Jasmine was another unique character, she had to be sexy, commanding and manipulative! I don't know if this is good or bad, but Ms. Kathryn Taylor was the perfect fit! I knew Kathryn by association and had seen her in a couple of things, but really did not know she possessed such skill and adaptability.
Robert Joseph, who is one of Associate Producers is the consummate professional. I knew he had the swagger to bring Devon alive. I spent the least amount of time in his character development, he just did what he needed to do to get there. Absolutely awesome.
Leonard Thomas/Detective Edwards is a New York bred actor with the presence to boot. He's done everything from Spike Lee's Do the right thing and School Daze to Samuel L. Jackson's the Negotiator. We were blessed to have him. He brought a maturity and professionalism to the set .
Siaka Massaquoi/Terrence - This was by far the most difficult character to cast. He had to be smooth and suave, tender yet masculine, vulnerable, but convincing. This was not a part for the faint at heart. We had a couple good choices here, even a "name" actor or two, but Siaka had a certain passion about him that I loved. He did an awesome job.
Bryan Keith/Dillon - Walked in, killed his audition and walked out. He was perfect, deep voice settled right in this "cool" spot. We had seen so many Dillons and done three extra castings just for this character, God came through at the end.
The first part to cast was the easiest, Angelica. My theater production partner is a phenomenal actress and the role was tailor made for her.
Next we found Tara -the cutest blond bombshell with the sweetest attitude. She is amazing. in looking for the right people she was an awesome find. We went through at least 150 people for this part alone.
Jasmine was another unique character, she had to be sexy, commanding and manipulative! I don't know if this is good or bad, but Ms. Kathryn Taylor was the perfect fit! I knew Kathryn by association and had seen her in a couple of things, but really did not know she possessed such skill and adaptability.
Robert Joseph, who is one of Associate Producers is the consummate professional. I knew he had the swagger to bring Devon alive. I spent the least amount of time in his character development, he just did what he needed to do to get there. Absolutely awesome.
Leonard Thomas/Detective Edwards is a New York bred actor with the presence to boot. He's done everything from Spike Lee's Do the right thing and School Daze to Samuel L. Jackson's the Negotiator. We were blessed to have him. He brought a maturity and professionalism to the set .
Siaka Massaquoi/Terrence - This was by far the most difficult character to cast. He had to be smooth and suave, tender yet masculine, vulnerable, but convincing. This was not a part for the faint at heart. We had a couple good choices here, even a "name" actor or two, but Siaka had a certain passion about him that I loved. He did an awesome job.
Bryan Keith/Dillon - Walked in, killed his audition and walked out. He was perfect, deep voice settled right in this "cool" spot. We had seen so many Dillons and done three extra castings just for this character, God came through at the end.
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Making of Consinsual
So you think I'm crazy? A lunatic? A dreamer? I must be out of my mind to think I can shoot a Hollywood feature film in 6 days? I don't mean a good festival piece that feels like it was something shot in 6 days, you know...good story, bad acting horrible quality? No, I mean something that you look at and are never thinking about what camera they used, how many days or where do I know that actor from? Something well written, beautifully shot with great acting.
I intend to create something that will lead people to the Jordan river and make them want to crossover. So what if it hasn't been done before, who cares? People have been telling me what I can't do for most of my life. Anything is possible.
God told Gideon to leave every fearful man behind and he took 300 men to defeat 135,000 Midianites. So am I scared? No! I like my odds, but I'm no fool. I am going to have to work my butt off.
How am I going to do it?
First thing is to start with a great script. I have been blessed to receive accolades on how I build characters and a strong story line, this was my greatest challenge yet. I have never wrote for film, so what I knew about songwriting and Theater didn't necessarily apply. So I took the basic tenets of how to build a story, read every book I could get my hands on and with about 4 re-writes and a lot of prayer came out with a script I feel proud of. It's meaty, different, suspenseful and as with everything I write, keeps you guessing till the very end.
Next step - Cast some great actors! Almost done...stay tuned!
I intend to create something that will lead people to the Jordan river and make them want to crossover. So what if it hasn't been done before, who cares? People have been telling me what I can't do for most of my life. Anything is possible.
God told Gideon to leave every fearful man behind and he took 300 men to defeat 135,000 Midianites. So am I scared? No! I like my odds, but I'm no fool. I am going to have to work my butt off.
How am I going to do it?
First thing is to start with a great script. I have been blessed to receive accolades on how I build characters and a strong story line, this was my greatest challenge yet. I have never wrote for film, so what I knew about songwriting and Theater didn't necessarily apply. So I took the basic tenets of how to build a story, read every book I could get my hands on and with about 4 re-writes and a lot of prayer came out with a script I feel proud of. It's meaty, different, suspenseful and as with everything I write, keeps you guessing till the very end.
Next step - Cast some great actors! Almost done...stay tuned!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Redemption - The Soundtrack
The Redemption experience as a whole has been such a wonderful challenge. The soundtrack has been no different. I am currently in the studio mixing the soundtrack which should be out in just a few weeks. LA is so interesting with its flakes and divas, I have been blessed to find some sincere and genuine people here. I must admit however, we I ran into some rather extrodinary egos as I was recording the soundtrack. In an effort to give new vocalists a voice and to expand our group of singers I posted an ad on Craig's list to find new singers. The result was uncanny.
I'm sure there were more vocalists out there looking for their chance to shine than the ones who responded. Maybe these other vocalist didn't respond because they are looking for big time money or because I am a "no name" producer and writer. Whatever the case, I know there are better singers out there. Most of the people who responded were singers that were just OK, not bad, but just OK. I auditioned about 30 singers and only chose to work with two.
The two I chose really had something special that made them stand out. Chris Youngblood was phenomanol. He had such a soulful voice and such presence. I loved his music I heard on Myspace/youngblood05. I called him in and we instantly vibed. I will definitely be working with this soulful singer again.
The other person I chose was Vanessa Bryant who really had a sweet spirit. As a writer I am always looking to expand my universe and I specifically wanted to do an acoustic song on this project and was well pleased with the energy she gave on the song "How will I live"
I met other singers through friends but they were simply interested in money and not truly interested in the art. It's not that I mind paying, I do pay. It's just that when it's only a business it loses some of it's honesty particularly when you're unsigned.
I even had one singer agree to perform during the production and on the soundtrack who simply decided not to show up call or otherwise notify me. Her name was even on the original fliers. How sad? What's even sadder is that she sings at one of the largest churches here in Los Angeles. Is there no integrity left?
So you wanna know what goes into creating an album? You need music, you need musicians (even if you are one), you need a songwriter, you need a studio and you need artists spoken or singers. After you have all of these things, you need the two most important: Talent and Creativity.
Once you have a barn full of songs recorded you then have to edit and mix. You have to chose which take goes the best and sounds the best with the track. Then you have to slice and dice from different tracks until you have a "comp" track that goes from beginning to end for each instrument or vocal part. After the painstaking process of recording editing and preparing the files for final mix and mastering, you now have to decide which songs make it on the project and which go in the vault. This is a very difficult process!! Some songs you like, but they are just not good enough. Others make it because you have too many slow songs and not enough fast ones. Then you sit through hours of mixing and tweaking every little thing possible until you can't stand to hear the song anymore!!
You must also have your artwork designed for the album artwork, write credits and notes. If your smart, you will also create a webpage to promote the new project.
Ultimately, you try to put together a project that people will feel and be moved by. So those of you who buy the project, I hope you love it and feel the lyrics. As a writer, above all I want to say something powerful and as usual it will be centered around love. By the way, I am working off of 2 hours sleep so I hope all of this makes sense...
Enjoy.
I'm sure there were more vocalists out there looking for their chance to shine than the ones who responded. Maybe these other vocalist didn't respond because they are looking for big time money or because I am a "no name" producer and writer. Whatever the case, I know there are better singers out there. Most of the people who responded were singers that were just OK, not bad, but just OK. I auditioned about 30 singers and only chose to work with two.
The two I chose really had something special that made them stand out. Chris Youngblood was phenomanol. He had such a soulful voice and such presence. I loved his music I heard on Myspace/youngblood05. I called him in and we instantly vibed. I will definitely be working with this soulful singer again.
The other person I chose was Vanessa Bryant who really had a sweet spirit. As a writer I am always looking to expand my universe and I specifically wanted to do an acoustic song on this project and was well pleased with the energy she gave on the song "How will I live"
I met other singers through friends but they were simply interested in money and not truly interested in the art. It's not that I mind paying, I do pay. It's just that when it's only a business it loses some of it's honesty particularly when you're unsigned.
I even had one singer agree to perform during the production and on the soundtrack who simply decided not to show up call or otherwise notify me. Her name was even on the original fliers. How sad? What's even sadder is that she sings at one of the largest churches here in Los Angeles. Is there no integrity left?
So you wanna know what goes into creating an album? You need music, you need musicians (even if you are one), you need a songwriter, you need a studio and you need artists spoken or singers. After you have all of these things, you need the two most important: Talent and Creativity.
Once you have a barn full of songs recorded you then have to edit and mix. You have to chose which take goes the best and sounds the best with the track. Then you have to slice and dice from different tracks until you have a "comp" track that goes from beginning to end for each instrument or vocal part. After the painstaking process of recording editing and preparing the files for final mix and mastering, you now have to decide which songs make it on the project and which go in the vault. This is a very difficult process!! Some songs you like, but they are just not good enough. Others make it because you have too many slow songs and not enough fast ones. Then you sit through hours of mixing and tweaking every little thing possible until you can't stand to hear the song anymore!!
You must also have your artwork designed for the album artwork, write credits and notes. If your smart, you will also create a webpage to promote the new project.
Ultimately, you try to put together a project that people will feel and be moved by. So those of you who buy the project, I hope you love it and feel the lyrics. As a writer, above all I want to say something powerful and as usual it will be centered around love. By the way, I am working off of 2 hours sleep so I hope all of this makes sense...
Enjoy.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
And it begins...
In October this year I decided to write a piece I have been living with for a while, The Redemption of a Dog. I had already started writing it in book form, but thought performing on stage would be awesome. My hesitation was rather or not I wanted to deal with Hollywood facades to do it! I wrote the piece in less than 30 days. I knew it and lived with it, so I really only had to put the ideas on paper. What followed was a moving 2 act portrayal of bravery, pain, laughter, seduction and REDEMPTION. In casting I was shocked to see such good resumes followed by such poor acting. It was mind blowing. Most of my productions were in Seattle, where theater is as serious as food. So I was disturbed at how many people I saw who could not possibly be serious about their craft. In the midst of mediocrity, I found some absolute stars. The lead, Julius Verin could possibly be the next Denzel. Robert Joseph is as professional and passionate as they come. Almost every cast member auditioned and completely owned the part. Adrianne Harris is going to be awesome as Angela, the serious corporate queen that everyone will either love or hate. And Cherinda, will make you feel the pain of an abused woman who had enough and took matters into her own hands. Kalia Silva playing the love interest, carries such a fine line of beauty and passion.
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