Here's the trailer for my horror film 'Cider Springs Slaughter'! Coming Soon!
Produced under Continuum Pictures
Written by Taylor McPartland and Danny Torres
Produced by Danny Torres and ME
EP'ed by James Duval
Showing posts with label James Duval. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Duval. Show all posts
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Friday, November 18, 2011
What is going on in Denver?!
Tebow is getting unleashed on the NFL. And I'll admit, I was not a believer. He doesn't throw well, doesn't do the things you expect of an NFL quarterback. But Coach Fox has gone with what works (in this case the Option Offense) and, consequences be damned, they're literally running with it.
Aaannnddd it's working. Really well. Last nights win over a "defense first" team proves it. The Broncos are actually winning with a college playbook. I'm genuinely shocked. I predicted Jets blowing out Broncos.
So the late/ great Teddy Roosevelt said, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Coach Fox clearly understands this principal. So does my producer James Duval. So should every filmmaker out there.
It's important to make the best of the time/budget/actors/equipment that you have on hand, and not spend even a moment wishing or thinking, "Man, if I only had (fill in the blank), this scene would be so much better!" Because you don't have (fill in the blank) and it's probably not going to magically appear on set. (However, if it DOES magically appear, call me. You are now producing ever feature I ever make as it's clear you can stop time or manifest cameras/lights/ A-list actors out of thin air.)
But in all seriousness, you have to focus on the present. That is what will get you through the day. Coach Fox isn't filling his days wishing Tebow will magically become Aaron Rodgers. Depend on your creativity, not payroll, to fix your problems. Besides, your creativity is probably what got you this far. Why abandon what works? If a football team is having major success running the ball, they don't start going all air-attack. They hammer their opponents with the run. Do the same. Even if all odds are against you, even if the sun is setting and you've got an entire scene to shoot, do NOT waste even a moment wishing to stop time. Put the camera on your shoulder, tell every one it's two-minute drill time, and you shoot that scene until there isn't an ounce of shootable light left. And if you still need more, devise a way with the lights you have to fake that unreliable sun.
I shot a short back in '09. Good little comedy. My DP, David Gibb, brilliant young guy out of Chapman, is your stereotypical DP in that if you give him an hour to light a coffee cup, he will take that full hour. And it will be the most epic/ beautifully lit coffee cup you have ever seen. Like staring into the face of the baby Jesus (give or take how you feel about babies. I think they all look like little, wrinkled, pink prunes). But we got screwed on time because of equipment malfunctions on Day 1. Day 2, I pull him aside and tell him that we've got a lot to make up, and I need him and his team to pull off a miracle. Keep in mind we're shooting RED and Gibbs is lighting it like it's 35mm, and the footage was looking amazing! So, Day 2, we start outside right underneath the LAX take off lanes with an insurmountable amount of footage to shoot. 10 hours and 32 full set ups later, we actually made our day. And it wasn't 32 set ups in a living room. We were outside, inside, all over the house. Gibbs and his team were at a sprint for those 10 hours. And the footage matched Day 1, no discernible difference. We did what we could with what we had. And when a crew all takes the mindset that we CAN do this, well, nothing short of miracles can happen. You hear about them all the time. Crews that overcame everything and still made their days.
The footage from Day 2 all ended up looking brilliant. It was the power of believing we could do it, that not a single person on that set for one moment stopped to say, "If I only had a 10x10 silk this would go a lot easier.", that fueled us through a break-neck day. And we came out on top.
You've all been on sets where it's happened. I'm saying, there's no reason any of us should wait until the last 30 minutes of sunshine to kick into that gear. Start your day, every day, visualizing where you want to get with the people, budget and equipment you have on hand, and miracles will happen. You know it, you've seen it, you've been there.
Aaannnddd it's working. Really well. Last nights win over a "defense first" team proves it. The Broncos are actually winning with a college playbook. I'm genuinely shocked. I predicted Jets blowing out Broncos.
So the late/ great Teddy Roosevelt said, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Coach Fox clearly understands this principal. So does my producer James Duval. So should every filmmaker out there.
It's important to make the best of the time/budget/actors/equipment that you have on hand, and not spend even a moment wishing or thinking, "Man, if I only had (fill in the blank), this scene would be so much better!" Because you don't have (fill in the blank) and it's probably not going to magically appear on set. (However, if it DOES magically appear, call me. You are now producing ever feature I ever make as it's clear you can stop time or manifest cameras/lights/ A-list actors out of thin air.)
But in all seriousness, you have to focus on the present. That is what will get you through the day. Coach Fox isn't filling his days wishing Tebow will magically become Aaron Rodgers. Depend on your creativity, not payroll, to fix your problems. Besides, your creativity is probably what got you this far. Why abandon what works? If a football team is having major success running the ball, they don't start going all air-attack. They hammer their opponents with the run. Do the same. Even if all odds are against you, even if the sun is setting and you've got an entire scene to shoot, do NOT waste even a moment wishing to stop time. Put the camera on your shoulder, tell every one it's two-minute drill time, and you shoot that scene until there isn't an ounce of shootable light left. And if you still need more, devise a way with the lights you have to fake that unreliable sun.
I shot a short back in '09. Good little comedy. My DP, David Gibb, brilliant young guy out of Chapman, is your stereotypical DP in that if you give him an hour to light a coffee cup, he will take that full hour. And it will be the most epic/ beautifully lit coffee cup you have ever seen. Like staring into the face of the baby Jesus (give or take how you feel about babies. I think they all look like little, wrinkled, pink prunes). But we got screwed on time because of equipment malfunctions on Day 1. Day 2, I pull him aside and tell him that we've got a lot to make up, and I need him and his team to pull off a miracle. Keep in mind we're shooting RED and Gibbs is lighting it like it's 35mm, and the footage was looking amazing! So, Day 2, we start outside right underneath the LAX take off lanes with an insurmountable amount of footage to shoot. 10 hours and 32 full set ups later, we actually made our day. And it wasn't 32 set ups in a living room. We were outside, inside, all over the house. Gibbs and his team were at a sprint for those 10 hours. And the footage matched Day 1, no discernible difference. We did what we could with what we had. And when a crew all takes the mindset that we CAN do this, well, nothing short of miracles can happen. You hear about them all the time. Crews that overcame everything and still made their days.
The footage from Day 2 all ended up looking brilliant. It was the power of believing we could do it, that not a single person on that set for one moment stopped to say, "If I only had a 10x10 silk this would go a lot easier.", that fueled us through a break-neck day. And we came out on top.
You've all been on sets where it's happened. I'm saying, there's no reason any of us should wait until the last 30 minutes of sunshine to kick into that gear. Start your day, every day, visualizing where you want to get with the people, budget and equipment you have on hand, and miracles will happen. You know it, you've seen it, you've been there.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Continuum Pictures moving forward on Kids stuff
I #@$%ing loved Ghostbusters. I watched them until the VHS snapped. I played with the toys till the wheels on Ecto1 fell off. I went as a Ghostbuster for Halloween. I cannot imagine the frustration of my parents when I repeatedly rolled "the trap" in-between their feet as they walked by. I was hooked.
So my buddy Derrick Camardo, who I have known since 1995, is a novelist in Chicago. We were talking on the phone and he's telling me about this book he's finished about a girl and her hamster, Mr. Snugglymuffin. It's not the puppy she wanted, but she grows to love the little guy anyway, which becomes a problem when Mr. Snugglymuffin grows to Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man size and terrorizes the city. I thought this could make a great movie, kind of a Godzilla meets Honey I Blew Up the Kid. So I'm real happy when Continuum Pictures agreed to give it a look and see if we can bring "Mr. Snugglymuffin's Rampage" to the screen. Anyone know if Randal Kleiser is avail?
So everyone knows the phrase "You know who your friends are when you need help moving". Last night I had to hang these two gigantic paintings in my place. Danny Torres and James Duval are over going over our latest developments when they spot all the stuff (the drills, the ladder, etc) for hanging. 5 minutes later we're continuing our business meeting while I'm on ladder, Danny's hanging from the stairwell keeping the painting from falling on my head, James is making sure neither of us fall to our deaths, all as if this were normal. I love my business partners.
So my buddy Derrick Camardo, who I have known since 1995, is a novelist in Chicago. We were talking on the phone and he's telling me about this book he's finished about a girl and her hamster, Mr. Snugglymuffin. It's not the puppy she wanted, but she grows to love the little guy anyway, which becomes a problem when Mr. Snugglymuffin grows to Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man size and terrorizes the city. I thought this could make a great movie, kind of a Godzilla meets Honey I Blew Up the Kid. So I'm real happy when Continuum Pictures agreed to give it a look and see if we can bring "Mr. Snugglymuffin's Rampage" to the screen. Anyone know if Randal Kleiser is avail?
So everyone knows the phrase "You know who your friends are when you need help moving". Last night I had to hang these two gigantic paintings in my place. Danny Torres and James Duval are over going over our latest developments when they spot all the stuff (the drills, the ladder, etc) for hanging. 5 minutes later we're continuing our business meeting while I'm on ladder, Danny's hanging from the stairwell keeping the painting from falling on my head, James is making sure neither of us fall to our deaths, all as if this were normal. I love my business partners.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Strong out of the gates at Continuum Pictures
Hello to currently non-existant readers. Hopefully you will not be so lonely in the near future.
Day 1 of the blog, the big online account of my march through hollywood. It's Sunday, Bears are on their bye, and I've actually spent the whole day without turning on the TV or my big computer. Just me and my lady relaxing. This is strange by pretty much every account of my normal daily life, so I'm just enjoying these last couple hours before hitting back on Monday morning.
This week should be pretty exciting, lots of possibilities, lots of options. Like that feeling you get walking into the Home Depot. So much you could do, and everything you need to do it is right in front of you. That's how I feel right now. We're busy as can be at Continuum Pictures, November is starting off jam-packed with the fresh ink on a picture deal "SHIVERS" that my buddy Danny and I will be co-directing in January. SciFi / vampire pic. Heavy on the action, heavy on the awesome. A foreign picture deal that could see Continuum expanding to another continent, that's brewing. James and I celebrated by abusing the "all you can eat shrimp'fest" at Red Lobster. Scripts and stories are being sent in, details to follow. There will be no sleep till Brooklyn Christmas. (Any Beastie Boys fans out there? One or two? Maybe?)
So start following this blog if you happen across it. This is where I'll be dishing out all the latest movements in my film endeavors, posting info on indie filmmaking, tips on how to make movies better/ faster/ cheaper, and also crying about the Chicago Bears. But only a manly cry. On the inside. Boys Don't Cry. Glad I saw it, never watching it again. I segue a LOT.
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