Amusing and Creative Entry Title

My brain may explode soon. I've been going nonstop for so long now, I thought I'd take a minute to update the ol' blog. It's been three months since my last entry. Shame on me.

So, what have I been doing?

Shortly after I last wrote, I snuck away for an awesome Toronto trip which will get its own entry (or entries) on here soon. Really. I mean it.

Upon returning, my aunt and uncle came down from way up north in Canada for a visit. It had been a few years since I last saw them, so it was great to spend some time with them.

A few days later, Larry, Aaron, Marisa, and I had our first 4 Reelz production meeting. Hmm... Come to think of it, I don't think I've mentioned 4 Reelz on here yet. Go to 4Reelz.com and take a look-see.

Anyway, the meeting was at Mirabile's, a little family-owned Italian restaurant. The neighborhood's not the best, but the place itself was nice.

After the production meeting, Vince and Travis joined us for some food and a table read-through of Four Tanks and a Healer.

The food was great and they had me drinking homemade wine before noon, which helped numb the ache of actually having to be up before noon.

The read-through went nicely and we were ready.

They recorded all the dialogue for Four Tanks the next day and I went back to working hard on The Girl and the Ghost. I had hoped to finish it before starting Four Tanks, so I would have one less thing to worry about. I got close, but it didn't quite pan out that way.

In the following weeks, Larry drove up and we recorded the last of his dialogue and I directed Aaron's recording session via Skype.

The animation is about 95% finished, but I got to the point where I had to start Four Tanks. So, right now I'm a little over a month in on that.

Here's a little teaser peek at Four Tanks and a Healer...

I'm working hard and putting in long hours so I can make sure this thing is as good as it can be. It's turning my brain to mush, but it must be done.

I'm a machine.

This weekend, I'll be recording the last of Marisa's stuff for The Girl and the Ghost and I'm going to see The Swell Season. Should be a good weekend.

I'll be blogging again soon and I'll be posting some long overdue Ghost goodies, so stay tuned.

For Those Who Can't Attend

As of Tuesday, animation for The Greatest Fan Film of All Time is finished. I finished the main footage at 10 AM on Monday morning, Larry came to pick it up for editing that night. He showed up with Clint and Vince around 9 PM. We expected speedbumps, but not in the amount we experienced that night while copying the footage. By the time we got everything squared away, the guys ended up heading home after 7 AM Tuesday morning. It was a long, frustrating night.
Now, we find ourselves in a mad rush to get the film finished on time. No pressure. We'll get there, though. One way or another.

Have you gotten your tickets yet? If not, grab 'em up!
http://kentstage.org/december.html#werewolf

For those who can't attend, you'll still be able to see Fan Film on Saturday night. Here's a new trailer to tide you over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3Nz516HYEY

My Training Wheels

The first day of the shoot was an experience, to say the least. I woke around noon (early) to the sound of my phone and confirmed what time I had to be there. Things went as they usually do, not as planned, and I fell a bit behind schedule.

Mom, Aunt Karen, and I hit the road and arrived at the set around 4 PM, but not before getting lost and driving past the building twice.

The Bullcrank boys had everything set up inside. They had lights and cameras, but the action was still a couple hours off. I roamed the maze of cubicles, trying to familiarize myself with it and take everything in.

Hanging with Larry, Travis, and Aaron


Clint, me, and Ian

We all ended up hanging out for a while and had some spaghetti, thanks to Mom and Aunt Karen.

As we finished, more crew and the cast started trickling in. I saw lots of familiar faces and met a few new ones. Everyone scurried about the set doing what had to be done: getting into costume, troubleshooting the sound equipment, etc. That's when I began to wonder what I should be doing. And that's when my first directorial duty arose as our lead actress, Marisa Tomasic, came to me asking which outfit she should wear. A fairly easy first task.

Marisa displaying outfit options


Donna puts Larry's face on


Rick being all suave

Minutes later, everyone was ready and I was set up in front of my monitor behind camera one. Things looked good, Larry and Rick were ready to go and I called "Action!". With that utterance, my complete inexperience was revealed. Apparently the cameras have to be rolling before action gets called. Who knew?

Aaron, Ian, and Andy were a huge help the whole time, I think I'd have been pretty lost and miserable otherwise.

The night went on, not without its bumps, but everything kept moving forward. I know I must have looked like a deer in headlights, as that's exactly how I felt, but I'm glad I was there. The long day ended as we headed home at 2 AM, after ten hours on set. That's nothing, compared to the others, who were there for thirteen hours and doing a lot more than me.

The foggy road home seemed fitting at the end of the first day of filming this werewolf movie.

Day two began around 4:30, after a rainy drive back to the set. I was more on track with everyone else, as they were just setting up when I got there. The days shoot involved much simpler shots, which made things much easier and less chaotic. There was also excitement in the air, as this was the day we were filming with Cleveland legend, Big Chuck Schodowski.

Day two


Big Chuck and Larry

Chuck arrived and donned his security guard uniform. Ian called for the cameras to roll, I called action, Marisa rushed through the doorway, and Chuck greeted her with "...I didn't hear 'action.'"

I spoke up and it was smoother from then on.

Big Chuck and Lil' Jay

I enjoyed the second day much more than the first. Communication was better, the setup was better, Chuck was hilarious, and I think we got some great stuff. Aaron's lighting was especially awesome looking. I can't wait to see the whole thing put together.

Directing Big Chuck


Kickin' it with the stars


Vince works the camera

We wrapped up around 9 PM and did the obligatory group photo before anyone left. The remaining crew dismantled the set and returned the building to its usual state while pausing for sloppy joes.

The Brothers Longstreth relax after a long day


"Leave no evidence we were here!"

We all ended up leaving at about 10, ending my time on this movie. Back at home, I relaxed by watching the Werewolf episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

The rest of the gang will continue filming over the next several weekends, including a trip to New York City to film with Lloyd Kaufman. Meanwhile, I'll be here hammering on The Greatest Fan Film of All Time.

It was a crazy weekend that initially left me a little wary of the whole filmmaking process, but I feel like I learned a lot and when the opportunity arises again, I think I'll be ready for more.

The Premier

Wow. What a day.

I don't even know where to begin.

Nervous energy prevented me from getting much sleep last night, so I'm running on fumes as I type this.

We got to Classic Fairways fairly easily, only making one wrong turn along the way. As soon as I got there, the meeting and greeting began. I said hello to everyone in Larry's group I had met before as well as those I hadn't, which was a bit odd, I've seen their films so many times I wasn't 100% sure whether or not I had met a few of them.

The place itself was really nice. Lots of space, really clean, big couches, a bar, and a bunch of enormous projection screens all around.

Shortly after 6 PM, the show began. Larry said a few words and The Losers Have a Junkyard started playing on all the screens.
The hard work put into Losers wasn't hard to see, Larry and his crew should be proud of themselves. The atmosphere, the music, every bit of it made for a really cool and fun short film.

Next up was Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face. Larry started to introduce it, I could hear him on the microphone, but I couldn't see him. I leaned over and whispered to Mom, "Where is he?"
She responded by pointing, behind me. I spun around and he was right there. Before I knew it, I had the mic and I was rambling off my thoughts on the cartoon. Considering I hate public speaking, I think I did alright on the mic, except I didn't have time to position myself, so I sort of had my back to most of the audience. Ah well, let's just say it was an artist's eccentricity.
After a brief hunt for the remote control, Batman began on the screens.
That was a very surreal moment. The project created entirely on my little 13" laptop was now being projected onto giant screens in every direction in front of over 100 people. And the people were loving it. They were laughing at all the right places, some even had tears in their eyes from laughing. The laughter was followed by applause, which was interrupted by the last joke during the credits, which was followed by more applause.
That was such a rush and absolutely worth all of the work.

The cast of Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face

After that, Larry had all of the other films playing. Zombies in My Neighborhood, Nintendo: OldSchool Revolution, Real Men of the Mat, The Eyeball Papercuts, and Tootsie Blow Pop along with some behind the scenes stuff and deleted clips.

Another surreal moment was watching the Johnny McCocky skit from Eyeball Papercuts with Andy Larsen, Johnny McCocky himself, standing 5 feet away.

In the hour or so following Batman, I said "Thank you" more than I ever have before. People kept congratulating me and saying how much they enjoyed the cartoon. What really caught me off guard was when people would introduce themselves as fans of my work.

I really don't even feel like I've done that much yet. I haven't even been doing this for a full year yet and I have fans? Cool!

Surrounding me from left to right- Allan Derby, Aaron Longstreth, Larry Longstreth, Clint George, and Vince Bruno

What a crazy and awesome day. I want to thank Larry again for bringing me into all of this wonderful madness. I also want to that everyone who came out to support us and see what we've been working on, I hope you all enjoyed myself.

The films should be online sometime tomorrow.

Now I'm gonna go kick back and relax.

PS- Sorry about the dark pictures, I'm looking into getting a new camera.

Holy Teaser Trailer, Batman!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, as of earlier today, my work on Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face is complete. Larry came up with Vince today and got the footage. So, shortly after Larry finishes editing, it should go up at Bullcrank.com, iFilm, and wherever else the wind takes it.
In the meantime, I present to you the teaser trailer for Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face.
Enjoy!