It's that time of year again, I reckon, to mull over my plans for the upcoming year.
I'm going to continue to work to develop my filmmaking skills--my goal for the new year is to become more proficient at writing, shooting, and editing video.
I've also decided to spend some time plugging the gaps in my knowledge. I plan to pick a particular subject and spend at least a couple weeks learning as much as I can about it. I don't expect this to make me an expert in whatever it is I'm learning about, but it should at least give me a basic understanding of it. Who knows--I may learn something I can actually use in a script or something. At the very least my broadened understanding of the world will enrich my life in ways that can't be predicted. So I tell myself, anyway.
Since it's been in the news so much lately I think my first research topic will be Islam. I've already got several books about the history of the religion, as well as a copy of the Koran, and all of which I've read--I think I'll re-read those, and look for new material.
After that, I'm not sure where I'll go with my curiosity. I'm still mulling over the possibilities. I'll probably wind up making a checklist. The only qualification is it can't be something I've already spent a lot of time learning about--like the history of the Roman Empire. It has to be something new, something I haven't been exposed to all that much before.
And it can be anything, not just something that's on the news a lot or that I should have learned in school. That sort of opens the door to all sorts of stuff, I guess.
Yeah, I need to make a list. Oh, well. That'll be my goal over the next few days.
Anyways, for the one or two of you who read this, have a happy new year, stay safe, and have fun!
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Friday, December 25, 2015
Post L.A. trip and holiday wishes . . .
I just realized I haven't posted anything at all since my return from LA, so here goes:
Once I was out there I completely forgot to make any videos. I apologize for that, in the unlikely event anybody out there was looking forward to it. I was too busy enjoying myself, though the weather wasn't LA-like--it was cold and windy the whole time. I think the wind is normal, though the cold is a bit unusual.
Anyway, while there we went to the Getty Art Museum and grounds. Twice. It was wonderful--I actually got to see, up close and personal, some Impressionist paintings by Degas, Renoir, and others. Also got to see Van Gough's Irises painting--which is one of my favorites of his works. Absolutely beautiful.
If you're going to LA you must make sure to visit this place. Parking is $15, but the museum itself is free. If you don't want to spend any money be sure to avoid the gift shops, because they have all kinds of beautiful and interesting things there that you'll want.
We also went to Universal Studios, and I can heartily recommend that, too. Be sure to take the tour--they actually make it a ride instead of just, "That's where such-and-such TV show was shot, this is where such-and-such movie was filmed . . ." Granted, the added attractions are a bit silly, but it's still fun. The Harry Potter section will be opening very soon--it looks wonderful, too.
My goddaughter and her mom, my dear friend Rox, are huge Disney fans, so we spent a couple of days at Disneyland--we spent the night at the Disneyland Hotel, which was pricey, but beautiful and comfortable. I flat out don't do roller coasters or other rides like that so we missed a lot of my goddaughter's favorite rides, but since they actually live there and have annual passes they'll be going back to hit those themselves soon.
We also saw the American Ballet Theater's production of The Nutcracker, which was my first experience with ballet. I enjoyed it--it was expertly staged and performed, with a few unexpected innovations in the choreography that I won't give away here except to say they were surprising but brilliant.
I enjoyed it and, as soon as my wallet and scheduling permits, would love to go back. Hopefully on my return trip it won't be quite so cold.
Creatively, I just finished the screenplay for Too Many Tonys and registered it with the copyright office and the Writer's Guild. As soon as I get the registration number back from the Guild I'm going to enter it into a contest I found on Script Pipeline.
Next up, I'm starting development on a new feature film project I'm calling Child of the Moon. It's an urban fantasy. At this point I'm fleshing out the basic story, and searching for an ending. Once I get the ending I can actually sit down and write a treatment for it. After that will come the first draft of the script.
I'm also editing a project I shot just to learn how to use Apple's Final Cut X software. Maybe I'll wind up with a short, finished show that I can upload to You Tube or something, but I doubt it--since this is a learning exercise, it probably won't be anything I'll want to share with the world.
Anyway, I hope the two or three of you who read this thing have a happy holiday and a safe and prosperous new year!
Once I was out there I completely forgot to make any videos. I apologize for that, in the unlikely event anybody out there was looking forward to it. I was too busy enjoying myself, though the weather wasn't LA-like--it was cold and windy the whole time. I think the wind is normal, though the cold is a bit unusual.
Anyway, while there we went to the Getty Art Museum and grounds. Twice. It was wonderful--I actually got to see, up close and personal, some Impressionist paintings by Degas, Renoir, and others. Also got to see Van Gough's Irises painting--which is one of my favorites of his works. Absolutely beautiful.
If you're going to LA you must make sure to visit this place. Parking is $15, but the museum itself is free. If you don't want to spend any money be sure to avoid the gift shops, because they have all kinds of beautiful and interesting things there that you'll want.
We also went to Universal Studios, and I can heartily recommend that, too. Be sure to take the tour--they actually make it a ride instead of just, "That's where such-and-such TV show was shot, this is where such-and-such movie was filmed . . ." Granted, the added attractions are a bit silly, but it's still fun. The Harry Potter section will be opening very soon--it looks wonderful, too.
My goddaughter and her mom, my dear friend Rox, are huge Disney fans, so we spent a couple of days at Disneyland--we spent the night at the Disneyland Hotel, which was pricey, but beautiful and comfortable. I flat out don't do roller coasters or other rides like that so we missed a lot of my goddaughter's favorite rides, but since they actually live there and have annual passes they'll be going back to hit those themselves soon.
We also saw the American Ballet Theater's production of The Nutcracker, which was my first experience with ballet. I enjoyed it--it was expertly staged and performed, with a few unexpected innovations in the choreography that I won't give away here except to say they were surprising but brilliant.
I enjoyed it and, as soon as my wallet and scheduling permits, would love to go back. Hopefully on my return trip it won't be quite so cold.
Creatively, I just finished the screenplay for Too Many Tonys and registered it with the copyright office and the Writer's Guild. As soon as I get the registration number back from the Guild I'm going to enter it into a contest I found on Script Pipeline.
Next up, I'm starting development on a new feature film project I'm calling Child of the Moon. It's an urban fantasy. At this point I'm fleshing out the basic story, and searching for an ending. Once I get the ending I can actually sit down and write a treatment for it. After that will come the first draft of the script.
I'm also editing a project I shot just to learn how to use Apple's Final Cut X software. Maybe I'll wind up with a short, finished show that I can upload to You Tube or something, but I doubt it--since this is a learning exercise, it probably won't be anything I'll want to share with the world.
Anyway, I hope the two or three of you who read this thing have a happy holiday and a safe and prosperous new year!
Saturday, December 5, 2015
The week ahead . . . and a little bragging . . .
My beautiful and perfect goddaughter, Talyan, has been cast to appear in an episode of one of her--and her mom's--favorite TV shows, Criminal Minds. She's already began shooting. Of course I'll post it here when the air date is scheduled, so the one or two of you who sometimes read this can watch it. Yes, I'm very proud of her.
That's the bragging mentioned in the title.
It just so happens that I'm heading out to Los Angeles in the next few days to visit Talyan and her mom. She'll be done shooting by the time I get there, so I won't get to go on-set with her, but I'm cool with that. It's going to be a blast.
I'm planning to shoot a video of my trip and edit it together when I get back into sort of a documentary. This is mostly for the practice--I may never show it to anybody, depending on what I come up with. Of course I'll be taking a ton of stills, too, especially of our overnight trip to Disneyland. I'm going to ride the monorail! I've always wanted to do that . . .
I've been rereading this screenplay I wrote a while back, Too Many Tonys, and I've been a bit shocked to discover that, to me, anyway, it reads really well. I remember not being all that happy with it when I finished the first draft, but now, coming back to it after putting it down for a month or so, I'm forced to conclude, "Not bad . . ." There are one or two things that need some more work--a couple of the characters are still a bit off, and I'm not completely happy with the ending--but, overall, not bad, if I do say so myself.
What I'll be doing over the weekend is using Power Point to come up with something kind of like a storyboard (thanks to my old friend Regina who mentioned that when I told her about this--I hadn't thought of it that way until she said something!). This will be a little different from the usual storyboard, though. Typically, a storyboard is created for a director to figure out camera angles and camera movements--this one will be more to help me find areas of the story that aren't working, or could work better. So, I'll create a series of slides representing the scenes in the screenplay, then step through them, in the hope that any false notes will be revealed to me as I sort of watch the movie in my mind with the aid of the slides.
When I'm done I'll also have something other people can look at to help me pitch the idea to them, too. Two birds, one stone.
Of course, I've also got the usual things in store for the weekend--laundry, mostly. Also, it's championship weekend in college football so I'll be watching the games. Or at least have them on while I'm working on the movie thing.
It's shaping up to be a really pleasant weekend, in other words.
That's the bragging mentioned in the title.
It just so happens that I'm heading out to Los Angeles in the next few days to visit Talyan and her mom. She'll be done shooting by the time I get there, so I won't get to go on-set with her, but I'm cool with that. It's going to be a blast.
I'm planning to shoot a video of my trip and edit it together when I get back into sort of a documentary. This is mostly for the practice--I may never show it to anybody, depending on what I come up with. Of course I'll be taking a ton of stills, too, especially of our overnight trip to Disneyland. I'm going to ride the monorail! I've always wanted to do that . . .
I've been rereading this screenplay I wrote a while back, Too Many Tonys, and I've been a bit shocked to discover that, to me, anyway, it reads really well. I remember not being all that happy with it when I finished the first draft, but now, coming back to it after putting it down for a month or so, I'm forced to conclude, "Not bad . . ." There are one or two things that need some more work--a couple of the characters are still a bit off, and I'm not completely happy with the ending--but, overall, not bad, if I do say so myself.
What I'll be doing over the weekend is using Power Point to come up with something kind of like a storyboard (thanks to my old friend Regina who mentioned that when I told her about this--I hadn't thought of it that way until she said something!). This will be a little different from the usual storyboard, though. Typically, a storyboard is created for a director to figure out camera angles and camera movements--this one will be more to help me find areas of the story that aren't working, or could work better. So, I'll create a series of slides representing the scenes in the screenplay, then step through them, in the hope that any false notes will be revealed to me as I sort of watch the movie in my mind with the aid of the slides.
When I'm done I'll also have something other people can look at to help me pitch the idea to them, too. Two birds, one stone.
Of course, I've also got the usual things in store for the weekend--laundry, mostly. Also, it's championship weekend in college football so I'll be watching the games. Or at least have them on while I'm working on the movie thing.
It's shaping up to be a really pleasant weekend, in other words.
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