Camcorder & Missing Role

Sorry for the delay, but it's been a VERY busy two weeks.

I'm finally jobless! My last day was last Tuesday, and now I am free to start focusing more on this project.

I've used $153.61 of the budget to buy a Hi8 camcorder and tapes from eBay. I've tested the camera more than a few times, and it's looking great! There are a couple of technical things I still have to perfect, but I'm really excited to start using this thing!

I was advised that using a digital camera and converting it to Hi8 or VHS would probably be best, since these older cameras do have their quirks. Unfortunately, the only other digital camcorder I have (that ISN'T DSLR; that would be a dead giveaway) has it's own digital quirks. Besides, these Hi8 quirks are something I really do count on. If I wanted the footage to be perfect, I would be using another digital camcorder. But I'm really cashing in on having this film be as genuine-looking as possible.

I do have another setback, unfortunately. I only have one major role left to cast, and then I can start rehearsals. So far, I've had no luck casting this role. The people I've gone to to fill this role have all stepped away.

That's why this week, my biggest priority is finding someone to fill this role. Once I get that done, we can go at a much quicker pace.

I also worked on the set of a short film this weekend as a PA of sorts. It was a skeleton crew of about 18 people, but it was the biggest crew I've ever worked with. Combine that with the fact that I knew nobody there, and the experience was even more interesting. Everyone was really cool, especially the director and DP, with whom I hope to keep in contact with.

Music for the Film

Yesterday, I demoed a few songs for the film with my friend Drew (who is also playing one of the main characters). We quickly wrote and recorded these songs for the band in the movie, so needless to say they're pretty bad, with such titles as "I Am A Cheeseburger" and "That Special Kid In Class (Showed His Ass)".

As much as I'd like to share the god-awfulness of these demos with you guys, I'll wait for y'all to witness them for yourselves when the movie comes out. However, I can share with you a band that has probably been the biggest inspiration for both the nature of the music and the movie.

Sockeye was an Ohio band from the late 80s-early 90s that recorded music so obscene and shitty that it spawned an entire subgenre: "tardcore". With titles like "Blob of Cum", "Yo, Me Gusta Cum", and "One Hundred Story Building Drowning In Cum", it's hard to resist. Imagine early brown Ween, only completely brown because it's covered in feces.



This kind of immature amateurism and complete disregard for political correctness is nearly impossible to find nowadays, yet is central in being a stupid teenager. And that's the kind of spirit I want to showcase in this movie.

BY THE WAY, I made a new Lip Heads short that you can view here:

Budget Reached/Actors Casted!

Two items of great news to make up for the month of silence!

First off, I've worked enough hours at my job at the movie theater to pay the budget! I took this job back in November to come up with the budget, and I now have $1325 to support the movie. I turned in my two weeks' the other day, so starting January 23, I'll be able to more solely focus on the film.

I've also made my final casting decisions on those I auditioned at my old high school's Drama Club, and informed the auditionees today. Of the six, two are in major roles, and two others in scripted ones. It's a shame that I couldn't cast the other two in designated roles, because they were actually really good. However, I stressed to them the importance of being extras for the movie, and that any help we can get on this movie would be so appreciated.

I'll reveal the names of the actors later, since I don't think they know I have this blog up.

There are still a handful of roles I have to cast, but I'm hoping to start going through the material with the actors within a month, and I can start and finish shooting before Spring Break.

In other news, I've started a podcast with frequent collaborator Gage Goodell (GoodL) called A Couple of Crickets. The whole medium is still new to us, so we're trying to figure out our format, but you can check out our first episode here!