The Scoop - November: Season Finale

We ended the fall with a bang.  Z.A.S.A. is easily Stranger Things' best performing video right out of the gate.  It will be a hard video to follow.  For that reason, it's a good thing that we're going into our off-season.

The Scoop: October - Ninjas

With September, I have achieved one of my biggest goals.  We remastered the opening to Ninja Gaiden in live action!  My work here is done. 

This Friday I will put up a supplemental video to go with Ninja Gaiden Remastered.  It's a Before/After comparative video between the original NES game intro, and what we shot.  I actually like it better than the video by itself.  It really shows how exact we were.

Watch Ninja Gaiden Remastered: Click Here.

Watch the Before/After Comparison: Click Here. (Once it comes out)

Another thing that I accomplished in September was to upload all the production photos from our previous movies.  Finally, I'm up to date on that.

The Scoop: September - The Late-Shoot Season

Fall is on the way.  What that means is one last burst of cinematic activity before the winter kicks in; overtime hours for the holidays; less sunlight; colder weather; family gatherings.  None of this bodes well for coordinating and enjoying a day of filming.

Stranger Things has two movies on the forecast right now.  Against my better judgement, I will announce the first one!

The Scoop: August - A New Way to Play

Screenshot of the upcoming movie on August 30th

Hey, an update is an update, right?  Who cares if its half a month late...

I've come to realize over the year that I have been feeling like I'm bogged down by everything in every aspect of my life, and overwhelmed by the notion that I'm in over my head with production.

Then, it occurred to me that I have held that viewpoint all year.  Maybe, it's all been in my head.

The Scoop: July - Out of Stock

It occurred to me right after the 48 hour film festival came and went that we didn't really have any other projects lined up. Thanks to a terrible June in my personal life, there still isn't anything in the works. But let's talk about it.

The Scoop: June - The Ol' Switch-er-roo

48 HOUR FILM PROJECT

As you know (given how much I've been hyping it up), the 48 Hour Film Project took place at the beginning of this month. I won't go into depth about it now; that's what the Director's Notes are for. However, there is plenty of news to cover regarding it.

The Scoop: May - 48 Hours & Such

10 sec Film Fesstival, Soap Factory, Downtown Minneapolis, 2012

Even though I've been fairly radio silent on Facebook as of late, don't worry. There's a lot in the works.

NEWS 

Waterpark!!! 

Waterpark!!! (last month's movie) has done a lot better than I expected. The city of Eagan's TV station (etv) aired the video for three weeks after its release.

"Minnesota: Winterscapes" - Director's Notes

This Minnesota nature film was recorded over the course of four months, from all around the Twin Cities to the north shore around Duluth, MN. It is the best representation I could capture of the beauty of winter. Without having to go outside to watch it, you

can experience all of the wonder without suffering any of the cold temperatures, the slosh, or sinking into lakes that aren't quite frozen.

The Scoop: April 2013 - Stretched Thin

As you may have noticed by now, I have not been keeping up on my usual movie updates.  The March movie, Minnesota: Winterscapes was released a week behind schedule.  The director's notes blog I typically write the following week has not been written yet at all.  This post itself is basically two weeks late. 

As is becoming more and more apparent, I've stretched myself too thin.  And I'm not just talking about the movie projects.  I'm talking about every facet of life.  I guess I'm just trying to do too much. 

The Scoop: March - Behind-the-Scenes

My Bathroom, mid-repair.

I think we're finally up and running, again.  My cars are fixed.  My computer has been replaced.  The replacement has been replaced.  The bathroom has been torn apart and rebuilt.  Assuming nothing else breaks we can move on!

As you may have seen, we put out our first real Behind-the-Scenes video for a movie.  I wanted to save it for something epic, but with how fun the footage for Renaldo was, I figured "what the hell; let's do it now."  Besides, it gives us a practice run before that "something epic" comes about.  Ideally, I'd like to shoot a BTS for every movie, recorded on set with cast and crew, but we haven't gotten that coordinated yet.  Making a movie is the priority.  Documenting it is secondary.

Speaking of Behind-the-Scenes, what is in the works at the studio?

The Scoop: February - Hiatus?

Let's just get right down to it.  

Status report:  I don't know if there's going to be a February movie.  I have tried my darnedest, but it almost seems destine not to happen.  To a point, a month "off" wouldn't be a bad thing.  I have plenty of back-log, studio stuff to get caught up on, and I could use a break.  At the same time though, the goal is a movie a month - a "goal," not a "requirement," but I really wish I can make it happen. 

STS - Rom Com at the Cafe Latte

Rom Com at the Cafe Latte is a Charlie Chaplin style romantic comedy.  

For this - our 9th - film, we wanted to emulate the classic, silent, black and white films that were being made a hundred years ago!  

A HUNDRED years!  Holy crap that's a long time ago. 

The Scoop - January 2013: Crashed

I’ve been holding out on this post for awhile because I’ve been waiting for something positive to happen.  The Bad News:  my computer crashed, bringing all Stranger Things production to a screeching halt. 

And I mean crashed - like Geek Squad says it’d be better just to buy a new computer; crashed, like I pulled the hard drive to rescue files and found the drive has completely seized up.  Everything on it is gone.  It would cost anywhere from $300 to $1600 to get it back!