I’ve got a Gmail account, but I don’t really use it for much. But I can see how it would be convenient to be able to access my email from any computer with an internet connection. Do any of you use Gmail as your primary email address? If so, drop me feedback and let me know what you think of it.
I just spent this weekend participating in the 48 Hour Film Project (see http://www.48hourfilm.com/denver). It’s a grueling contest between several teams of filmmakers in each of several major cities. This past weekend, the project was in Denver, and I was on the Paddy Wagon Films team.
We got our assignment Friday night about 7 PM. We randomly drew “road movie” as our genre; each team got something at random from a set of standard genres. Each team’s film also had to be between 4 and 7 minutes in length, include a character named Buddy or Belle who’s a truck driver, and use the phrase “You’re not going to believe it” somewhere in the film.
We spent Friday night brainstorming plot outlines and characters, then Patrick Sheridan, our illustrious director and team leader, wrote a script. He finished that around 4 AM while the rest of us slept. We were up early Saturday to start logistics planning, location scouting, and then the actual shooting. However, even though we all met at 8 AM Saturday, we didn’t shoot our first scene until early afternoon. Spending the whole morning sorting our logistics, actors, locations, etc. seemed to really put us behind schedule. In fact, by suppertime on Saturday I think we had only shot about a minute worth of footage. All the stuff Saturday was outdoors, and it was a hot day, so it was a very tiring shoot.
We worked into the wee hours of the morning, shooting some crucial scenes, but indoors at a house in Niwot. After the long day, crew members were falling from exhaustion, but we finally wrapped up for the day about 2:30 AM. Unfortunately, we still only had about half of the movie shot. So, we reconvened at 6:30 AM back at one of our locations from Saturday. Given transit times, and so on, that left about 2 – maybe 3 tops – hours for sleeping. So, the 6:30 call Sunday morning was a rough.
However, we made great progress shooting the remaining scenes, and the director finally called “wrap” around 2 PM Sunday. The final, edited film was due at 7:30 PM, and so the editor had been working this whole time in parallel with the shooting team. We’d shoot a scene or two, and then someone would drive the tape to her house, where she’d start editing it. Even working in parallel, though, we were so far behind our planned shooting schedule, that we knew we weren’t leaving enough time for the final editing.
However, our editor pulled an all-nighter and works at the speed of a superhero (think the Justice League needs a superhero with powers of fast video editing?). I saw her first cut about 3 PM today, and it was amazingly good. I spent an hour or so with the editor putting the film music just where I wanted it, and the movie was even better with the music!
So, exhausted and nearly delirious from heat and lack of sleep, I finally drove myself home about 5 PM this afternoon. And now, after a short nap, a hot shower, and some food, I just got the call from Patrick that our submission is in.
The film is called “Emergency Exit.” It’s playing at the Bug Theater in Denver this Tuesday, along with all the other submissions. If you can make it, you should try. The theater will sell out, I’m sure, but you can reserve a ticket online. See http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5981 for more on that.
Based on just the rough edit I saw, and what I heard from Patrick, I think our film turned out magnificent. And even more so given the time constraint. I honestly think we have a chance of winning some of the awards they’ll be giving out later this week. And if we don’t win the best picture award for Denver, it’ll have to be an incredibly outstanding film that beats us.
Notice how I haven’t said a thing about the plot? It’s not your typical road movie. Come see the film for yourself to learn our particular twist.
Oh, I should mention what role I played in all this. In the end, I’ll be listed in the credits as Assistant Producer, Sound Mixer, Sound Designer, and Buddy the Truck Driver. Yes, they made me try to act, once again. This was also the first film I’ve worked on where I had someone assisting me with sound, the amazing Jen Casson. She was indispensable, and ironically got cast in a bit part just like me, as my character’s wife Belle. So someone else had to hold the boom pole for that scene.
Here’s the announcement for a theater production I’m in next month. I’ve got a few small parts on stage, plus I’m the sound designer and musical director. And I have a small part in a short film that’s part of the show. Last year’s production sold out and we had to turn dozens of friends away. So if you’re one of the 3 people who actually read my blog and you want to go, you better get tickets soon!
Conviviality Community Theater and Entertainment Company
presents its 8th annual production
“Conviviality Love Circusâ€
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Nomad Theater, 1410 Quince Ave. (Broadway and Quince Ave. N. Boulder)
Showtime: 7:30 p.m.
doors open 6:30pm
This year the Conviviality Theater Troupe takes on the sacred terrain of love and relationships. Ripe for lots of laughs, our typical over-the-top approach to examining these basic elements of humanity will provide an evening of entertainment and a lifetime of warped memories.
You don’t want to miss this year’s Conviviality Theater production:
Conviviality Love Circus *~
*may not be suitable for children under 13
~Coming on a first date is at your own risk
What others are saying:
Juliet: “Romeo, what were you thinking?!”
Marquis de Sade: “Shocking!”
Casanova: “It’s a party!”
Superman: “My knees were weak with laughter!”
Reservations accepted and encouraged:
In response to the over-capacity interest in last year’s show, “Space Monster on Danger Beachâ€, this show has moved to the larger venue of the Nomad Theater. In anticipation of the frenzied excitement when the doors open we ask that you make a reservation if you plan to attend the show.
General admission seating will be $10. We will also have a limited number of Gold Circle Seats in the front center section for $20. Please make your reservation by sending an email to theater@conviviality.org with the word “reservations†in the subject line. You will receive additional information in a reply message. Reservation holders need to arrive before 7pm to secure their reservation. The doors will not open to those without reservations until 7pm, so if you have a reservation and arrive before 7pm you will be guaranteed a seat. So write now to: theater@conviviality.org
I figured out why the new Coca-Cola BlaK has only 45 calories (see yesterday’s blog entry, below). It’s because it’s got a mix of high fructose corn syrup and aspartame (Nutrasweet) as sweeteners! The coffee flavor does a pretty good job of masking the hideous taste of the aspartame.
Have you heard of this new beverage from Coca-Cola? They’re calling it “Coca-Cola BlaK“. I saw it at the store today so I had to buy one to try.
According to the company’s press release:
Coca-Cola BlaK is a sophisticated, premium blend of Coca-Cola, natural flavors and coffee essence. The effervescence and rich flavor of Coca-Cola BlaK provide the perfect pick-me-up for people looking for new ways to stay refreshed any time of the day or night. “Coca-Cola BlaK is a uniquely invigorating beverage that is full-bodied in flavor and as refreshing as you expect Coca-Cola to be,” said Katie Bayne, senior vice president, Coca-Cola Brands, Coca-Cola North America. “There is no other beverage available today quite like Coca-Cola BlaK. Imagine the refreshing taste of an ice-cold Coca-Cola that finishes with a rich essence of coffee. Only Coca-Cola can deliver that distinct combination of flavors.”
Since I’m not a coffee drinker, the “coffee essence” isn’t anything too special to me, but they’re taking the “premium” part of the product description pretty seriously. It’s sold in a single 8-ounce glass bottle (that’s 2/3 the size of a normal can of Coke) at a definitely-premium price. On the plus side, the drink only has 45 calories, which is a notable change from the 150 that a can of Coca-Cola Classic has.
It definitely doesn’t taste as sweet as Coke does, but I’ll have to wait a while to see if it’s the “perfect pick-me-up” which is, I assume, their way of saying there’s lots of caffeine in here. The taste doesn’t suck. It’s strangely different. I guess it tastes like Coke mixed with coffee and not as sweet. I poured it over ice. Not sure how it would taste straight out of the bottle.
Speaking of Coke, when we were in the Bahamas the week before last, I had a Pepsi or two. Boy were they good. As you might imagine, soft drinks there are made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, and I can tell the difference. I should’ve brought some back with me, I guess.
Oh, and since I’m writing this blog entry under the category of “Food” I should probably mention that I made some really good barbecued beef ribs for supper last night. Tonight, we’re having a friend over, and so I’m smoking a beef brisket. We’ll also have fresh baked bread and grilled corn on the cob and strawberry shortcake. Should be yummy! And then to celebrate National Ice Cream Day we may go over to our neighbors’ house to share some ice cream.
Last night, Beth and I got back home from our big vacation of the year. We went to the Bahamian island of Andros, where we stayed several days at a dive resort called Small Hope Bay Lodge. Andros is the largest and least explored island in the Bahamas. Small Hope Bay is an all-inclusive dive-oriented resort on the eastern coast.
We got in 15 dives in 6 days, which quadrupled our experience level. Before this, we’d only done 5 dives total – 4 to get certified and then 1 more after that in Akumal, Mexico. So now we’ve got 20 dives under our belts! There were many memorable dives, but I think the one that’s most unique is the Big Blue Hole dive, which Small Hope is famous for. The dive staff really took good care of us, which is a good thing, because the dives are generally oriented to divers who have more experience than we do. We went on one dive to 120 feet depth, which is pretty deep for beginners. But the divemasters kept a close eye on us.
The accomodations were OK – unique, but not outstanding. The cabins were built in 1960 out of local Bahamian pine and coral by the Canadian who founded Small Hope Bay, and the coral walls are literally decaying! Every day, there are crumbles of coral on the floor, bed, and everywhere else. The housekeeper would sweep the coral dust up every day; she earned her keep.
The food was buffet style, and good but also not outstanding. I suppose there’s no way to make a really excellent meal served as a buffet. The cooks rotated menus a lot, and every lunch and supper was accompanied by at least 2 desserts – sometimes 3! Being an all-inclusive, we also got all the drinks we wanted as part of the price. They had a bartender on duty in the evenings, but during the day, the bar is just open for anyone to make whatever they want. I’m not sure if it was the heat and humidity, or a side-effect of diving, but I didn’t drink much at all because it had a much stronger effect than usual.
The night before and the night after Andros, we stayed at Bahia Mar Beach Resort in Ft. Lauderdale. We were able to walk around town some and do some shopping. And Friday night we went to a really good Brazilian steakhouse called Chima. We’ve been to a similar place in Denver, called Rodizio, but Chima’s definitely a step up from Denver’s equivalent.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I didn’t take any photos. I didn’t want to bother with bringing a camera. But I did get a DVD of one of the dives we went on, so if you want to see it sometime, let me know.