Skip to main content

Every New Beginning

Well, here we are, gentle reader. The year 2010. The year we make contact. A fresh new year, or at least most of one, is spread out before us full of endless possibilities. A new beginning. But, as was stated so eloquently by alternative rockers, Semisonic, "every new beginning comes with some other beginning's end". And so it is with me, gentle reader, and my efforts to become a real live, honest to goodness filmmaker.

When we were together last, way back in the year of our Lord two thousand and nine, I was working frantically to wrap both my Christmas presents and principal photography on up coming mega blockbuster, and instant classic, Zombies During Third Period... Again! Well, it gives me great pleasure to announce that both have been achieved. All packages to my loved ones were placed under the tree with care, and shortly after the new year began, the final scenes of Zombies were captured in gorgeous 24p High Definition. For those of you interested you can see some of the behind the scenes footage here. After having completed over thirty days of shooting, spanning over six months, the movie is, as those film types would say, in the can. It's a good feeling... mostly.

I must confess that this beginning's end has been a little bitter sweet for me, and somewhat strange. Part of that is due to the fact that principal photography ended on more of a whimper than a bang. That is not to say the footage we shot that day did not turn out well, or was particularly difficult, it was just somewhat anti climatic. As it turned out the final day of shooting found us shooting a scene that we had already shot, but who's footage had been lost due to a computer error. It was a cold day, and many of the key cast and crew, who had been permanent fixtures during the duration of the shooting schedule, were not able to be there for one reason or another. Present were only the essential actors, two extras, the director, and myself. As the final shot was filmed and verified, there was no "Ladies and Gentlemen, That's a wrap!!", with the prerequisite thunderous applause, champagne corks exploding, and smiles and hugs for cast and crew alike. It was more like we looked at each other and said "Well... I guess that's it" (insert the sound of silence as we look at each other and the word "it" faintly reverberates through a cold, dark, empty school hallway). It was not the end of the world by any means, just a little anti climatic. This project has also been a little strange for me, in that it is the first time that my part in a film has been completed without the film itself being completed. I have the satisfaction of knowing, or at least hoping, that we did a good job capturing performances. I have a reasonable expectation that the scenes will cut together into an entertaining, well produced film, but yet I don't know exactly what that film will look like. My part in the film is done, but the film itself is not. I'm now as much of a spectator to events as you are, gentle reader. Whether or not the film is finished in time to make the deadline for Comic-Con is something that we will learn together.

So that is this beginning's end. However, with this beginning's end come new beginnings. The beginnings that I thought would begin while still shooting Zombies, but didn't begin. Those beginnings are about to begin. How do those beginnings end? Well gentle reader, that is also something we will find out together.

Comments

  1. Congrads on finishing the film. I wish you luck with the project going forward.

    Hugs,

    Bill

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bill,
    Thanks for the hugs. I will keep everyone posted as things with the movie progress.

    Matt

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Problem of Perfection

Well, it seems like only last week that I was sitting here musing over the laws of physics and how they could effect the filmmaking process. Overcoming the inertia of sitting still and turning filmmaking dreams into filmmaking nightmares....... I mean realities, is one of the most difficult obstacles for the fledgeling filmmaker to overcome. A contributing factor to this most diabolical of phenomenon, is none other than "The Problem of Perfection". I can hear your voice even now, gentle reader. "What is this, how do you say...... problem of perfection"? Simply put, the problem of perfection comes into effect when said would be filmmaker, is paralyzed into inaction by the fear that their would be film, will not be perfect, or great, or pretty good, or even watchable. When faced with the idea of making something bad, some filmmakers will opt instead to make nothing. Such action, will in turn take away one of the key ingredients necessary to becoming a filmmaker

Better Late Than Never

Better late than never.  It's a phrase we hear all the time.  I have no idea if it's true or not, but if I had to guess, (and since I'm the one writing this, I do), I would guess that when someone says "better late than never", they are most likely trying to by pass the guilt that tells them whatever is "late" should have been done long ago.  To this sense of guilt they reply, "Look guilt, I know I didn't do what I said I was going to do, at the time I said I was going to do it.  But look here, I did do something.  Things could be worse, you know.  I could have just not done anything.  Then where would you be?  You'd have nothing.  So why don't you just back up off me".      So, the phrase is part acknowledgement of wrong doing, and part dodging responsibility by alluding to another trademark phrase, "things could be worse".  I suppose "better late than never" could be true in certain situations, and I'm ho

3 Jobs in 1

Well hello there gentle reader!  It is good to see you again here on the road to honest to goodness, real live, filmmakerville.  I'm not going to lie to you, at times it is a very lonely road, so I am quite grateful for the company.  When last we met, round the ol' proverbial campfire, I spun the yarn of how I went about casting my "no budget" film.  So after getting all the casting pieces into place, it was time to get to work and start making words printed on pieces of paper into a motion picture.  The motion picture that the world will come to know as "Wireless". It seems to me, in my somewhat limited experience, that there are three main phases to getting a film made, (after the screenplay has been written).  Phase One - Pre-Production.  As near as I can tell, this is when a lot of the decisions about the film are made.  Locations are scouted and selected.  Costumes are made or purchased.  Crew is hired.  A schedule is made.  Rehearsals with actors tak