Sometimes you are all you have...

Mood: Shocked

So, months ago we lost our CGI artist. I then contacted every school and message board I could find that had anything to do with compositing or CGI. Most people responded as if I was crazy. "That's way too much work". A bit of a let down to say the least. I knew I was asking a lot but I also know what I am offering. This film will be scored by a film legend! Who doesn't want to be involved with that. Evidently everyone.

Weeks went by and I was contacted by a woman named Sayma. Then a kid named Geoff. At one point we had four people who expressed interest in doing the CGI. I met with everyone. They were great. Email chains were started. I was excited.

A few days went by and communication broke down. Emails were no longer coming back. Calls didn't help either. I started to look up videos that featured effects that I would like in the movie. After playing around a bit I was about to create the first ghost look.

Soon after, varying them became easy and I was attempting more difficult effects. Eventually...one by one, the effects list became shorter. From 37 scenes needed to 30 and so on. Tonight I write on the cusp of our final effect! I will be combining old school practicals, Lucas type screening with new school technology to finish the visual lock of this film!!!

A 3 month shoot, 5 months of post and about two more of sound, music and score to go. This film may be ready by spring! Wouldn't that be a hoot. Finish in the spring and wait till October to screen it. 

Well they are always the festivals. 

Help us get in will ya. 

http://www.cypherproductions.com/GhostHuntedthemovie.html

View Ghost Hunted Film Festivals 2011-12 in a larger map

Life has a way...

MOOD: Hopeful

So, ready for post production and BOOM! We lose our CGI guy. Damn CGI. Well as we search for another artist...Wall Street becomes occupied. I'm watching this on the news and realize that what is being reported can not possibly be what is happening. So since I can't finish my movie yet. I started an new one lol. Don't know what we are doing yet but here are some clips

Building and audience for and unfinished movie is a leap of faith...watch out below

Mood: Open

So the Kickstarter campaign lead to this http://www.cypherproductions.com/GhostHuntedthemovie.html
If you can please donate to the film. It would be so helpful for us to take this great film to audiences. Film festivals are expensive but after making a movie it's unreachable for us. It's hard to explain to myself how we will get people to care about this movie before they see it. Some how we will though. Don't know how or who they will be but they are there.
It takes a village to raise a child and what is a film if not a growing child that you hope will reach it's potential?

Falling short never felt so good.

Mood: inspired 

Over the last thirty days the film "ghost hunted " has been entered in the kickstarter fundraising program. We set a goal of twelve thousand dollars to pay actors and crew and finish post production. We also included enough to enter all the horror festivals we would need to generate an interest from distributors.
As the final hour, then minutes ticked by the realization that we were only six percent funded was eclipsed by the people who actually donated their hard earned money to help our dreams come to reality. Then I realized that they wanted to share in our dreams not just support them.  That was a moment I didn't realize would come from filmmaking. Audience and art makers I got. Audience who become friends I got. Never thought an audience would really help produce a film or fund it's promotion. A realization that we have a core audience of people who cared deeply about our success was worth so much more than the money.

This core can relay why they care about this film. This core can promote because they want to. They are vested. How truly blessed to realize that now. This time round I am launching a private fundraiser on our website that we  control. no time limit. No percentage lost. This time we are going to focus on the festivals. Plot them out on a map, with their entry fees and invite the audiences from those areas to help us win. This is the Cypher way and I didn't even know it.  Well I forgot it.


In the past we would produce live events that funded Cypher projects. Now we are creating projects and asking an audience to help us fund its future. Amazing that people found it in their hearts to do so. 


Thank you all.

"I don't like it..I love it"

Mood: humbled

So I wake up this morning knowing that I have stalled Melvin too long. I could no longer not let him see "Ghost Hunted". Get to the station ten minutes early but my train didn't come. Then non service trains came.  Then I was on a train lol. 20 Minutes late. But not to worry...the train will move 5 miles an hour
Before I am underground my phone rings and I see the picture of an older black man smoking a cigar.
After I whisper my ETA I start staring at the clock. Now I'm sure he will hate the movie lol.
Long and short...he loves it! This man made me feel so good about what we did. I think he's becoming part of the cypher =)

Just wild. 

Sent from my Windows Phone

Careful what you wish for :)

Mood: Determined

A year of casting, rehearsing, searching for funding, recasting, re-rehearsing. Having assistants not having assistants. Now though I am happy to announce...

I have finished shooting "Ghost Hunted"!!! Needless to say I am clean shaven again :)

Now ...I have to turn 2 hours of roughly cut footage back into the 90 minute movie that the 88 page script was supposed to be lol. It's not that we added a lot of scenes. In fact for every line I added I probably cut a scene. It's just that the film is longer to look at than to read. I've been at it for about two weeks now (not including the 3 months of shooting/editing). Tonight the rough is about 1 hour and 38 minutes. Again, not an easy feat.

It hasn't been all work. When I'm not glued to a computer screen I'm on my roof enjoying what's left of the summer, feeding pigeons and..."Urban Gardening"

OK, Back to work. I have to stress that there was NO scene that I didn't like and nothing I cut out because of poor production. Every cut was painful but needed to happen to service the film. I have a simple rule for this one..."Does it continue the story?".

I think I'm doing a good job with this but I need to pull out the big guns.

If I can get a few more cuts done, I'll be ready to give it to Melvin Van Peebles. He has been ready to see this from the first week of shooting, lol. Am I ready for his cuts?

If I am or I am not...I'm doing better than the US congress. Pathetic.

I am soooo ready for you guys to be at another premiere. There's always so much between the end of the shoot and that night. For now I'm enjoying the ride this time. My actress Lauren has a lot to do with that this time. She reminded me I do this to have fun. Sounds simple but with the world around you becoming chaotic it's easy to forget you like making movies. The day can easily become a series of tasks to complete. Valuable lessons learned on this film. I also have learned to not try to alter things that you have no control over. That also lends to people. If you can't change them or they are not open to be changed...don't.

If they work, great but if not keep it moving. Till next time cats.

Three shooting days left...here comes the heat!

Mood: Melted

The Marathon is almost over...the problem is I'm not racing anyone. It's so hard to push to the finish line when no one is chasing. This film h

as been defined in my mind by trying to schedule it. I've never done so many different jobs on a film at once, but the schedule has been my main job. Odd... I thought it would be directing, lol. Now that the film's last days are scheduled my energy level has shifted. My every day panic is being replaced by thought of promoting this film. It's just not time yet. Oh...and it's getting hot.

Not shooting and editing a rough cut every day or so has brought me into a strange calm. Almost

walking through a fog. A steamy, humid fog. It may be underlying sadness of ending the film and saying goodbye to the cast. It may be the anticipation of getting into post production. Or it may be that I am soooooooooo Damn tired of this "shooting beard"!

We'll be sure to post the video of this beast getting shaved off. Maybe it will be our first promotional video. See, that's what's going on in my head. Off to promotional head again. I guess we gotta keep moving but I'd feel better staying in the moment. Never in this pre or post-production have I been completely in the moment. Maybe this is a good thing? I'm always a few seconds ahead on set. I have an entire rough cut that represents 90+ of all the shot footage. This system with a full crew and a pay check would be amazing. Let's hope people love this one enough to get a budget again. If not...A lot of this cast will be kept in the Cypher stables. They're a good bunch of kids and for the most part getting my shooting style. More importantly they were willing to give their all, for no monetary reward.

Again the triangle rule of production is proven true. "You need three things to make a production. Money, Time and People, but you still will make an amazing

production with Time and People with heart". Heart can trump money :)