The Soundtrack Blog

Good Morning, Canada!

2009-10-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

I had wanted to speak of this earlier, but I had to have a personal conversation with E.B. before I made it public. I obviously wanted him to hear it from me instead of through here, or from another friend. The good news is; he's fully supportive of my decision. The better news is; I'm almost half-way done the first draft of Episode IV.

I've renamed the episode, changing its direction dramatically. It was previously titled "Nostos", which comes from the Greek for a return journey in a story. The episode was meant to be about Derek's return to Toronto to face the consequences of all that had happened and prepare himself for the trials ahead. I've abandoned the need for him to return to Toronto to accomplish those things.

The episode is now titled "Burn the Fleet", which is a song by Thrice, but inspired by the story of Hernan Cortes. Cortes was a Spanish explorer who first travelled to what is now Haiti as a teen and gained favour with the local governors. After amassing a small personal wealth, Cortes sought to travel to Cuba and Mexico, but his personal relationship with the governors was waning. He disobeyed orders to travel Mexico and was labelled a mutineer. Aware of his situation, he ordered the ships his crew had arrived in destroyed to rally his men to arms. What followed was one of the most bloody and well-fought campaigns of the Spanish Inquisition, leading to the acquisition of much land in the Mayan-held Yucatan Peninsula.

While Derek isn't going to burn Riley's van to the ground to motivate his crew, it illustrates the desperation of his cause. With the entire band fugitives labelled from the law, the hopelessness of their situation is what drives them forward. There is no turning back for them. Their return journey can not happen yet. This puts the crew on a roadtrip East to St. John's, Newfoundland, seeking evidence against conspiracy mastermind, Danielle Parsons.

The plot in Toronto hasn't been abandoned. Episode III saw the beginning of the alliance between Derek and Dana Steele, Nathan Davis' former partner. With someone on the inside of the investigation, Derek manages to stay one step ahead. Furthermore, safely inside the city, Steele can attend to the things Derek can not - including warning Eveleigh Dawn to leave town.

With the police closing in on both Derek and Eveleigh, Steele races against the clock to get Eve to safety before she's caught by Parsons' agents.

The episode is flowing wonderfully so far. I've struggled with starting Episode V without a concrete ending to IV. The dialogue is flowing naturally and the situation with the main crew confined to the van for most of the episode provides an excellent opportunity for the viewer to get to know these characters. Episodes III and VI have higher budgets, but this episode requires few sets, and no special effects or fight choreography - thus, its a necessary cheapy.

With the characters firmly established, this is essentially the time to switch gears, allow for some character interaction and let background characters take the reigns for a while. Though never the intention, this is turning out to be Steele's episode - and I think it's absolutely perfect that it merged in this direction. Steele's not necessarily going to make it to the very end of the series, but her contributions to the story are going to be some of the more important ones of any character besides Derek and Danielle Parsons.

There have been lots of jobs popping up on media job search canada so I'm remaining optimistic about finding a full-time position in a reputable production company. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Winter's approaching fast and I'm living in denial. It's hard to face the fact that it's just going to get colder and darker from here on out. Here's looking forward to March. I hope you're all having a great week, and I'll be talking to you all soon!

Ready Three, Take Three

2009-10-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

You say the title of this post a lot when you direct a show - which I've been doing a lot of lately. It's pretty fun, though a little overwhelming. It requires a tremendous amount of concentration and the ability to hear selectively. You also have to communicate with a team of about six people. Some of the people at Rogers TV make it look easy, but trust me, it's not. I now have a new found respect for directors.

I've been doing quite a bit of writing on Episodes 4 and 5 but their progress isn't coming along nearly as fast as 1 through 3's. I feel like I have something to explain there. I didn't just sit down one day and write the script for an idea I had. It came from a tremendous amount of scribbles and notes. The first three episodes exist in pencil and paper form dating back to April of 2008. Episode 6 is rather fleshed out as well, but these two bridging episodes were always pretty vague. It's taken me a lot of time to try and formulate something that would be a substantial contribution but also allows for me to connect the first three episodes to the finale. The finale is what conceived the idea of Soundtrack and everything before that is just the path. Episode 5 has its direction, but it doesn't have the substance yet to be anything but a bridge right now. It needs work. Needless to say, there now exists a large pile of paper notes that detail the progression of Episode 5.

An idea I've been struggling with lately is the concept of freedom. What is true freedom? Are we really free to do whatever we want? Though it wasn't my deliberate intention to do so, I feel like this theme is very present in Soundtrack. Riley and Cain both struggle with the notion to be free. Riley eventually has to deal with the fallout of her adventure with Derek in her personal life. Cain, though a powerful man, wasn't free to do whatever he wanted and now has to deal with the consequences of his new found self-liberation. Does freedom always come with a cost? Hunter S. Thompson said that without the freedom to commit suicide at any time, he would always feel trapped. He later committed suicide in his study with his family in the next room.

Danielle Parsons/Lidless represents the other side to this argument. Through clairvoyance, she yields to determinism and makes no attempts to stop things from happening - only turning them to her advantage. Following determinism, Parsons has found herself within reach of becoming Prime Minister, while Rhett, walking the free path, is slipping into the underworld of his city.

To be honest, I think it was great to find this unintentional theme in the subtext of the show. In episodes 4, 5 and 6, the characters are going to have to face the decisions they have made so far. I'm hoping that it will feel like an honest transition when some of these characters resolve to change the way they're living.

Anyway, a friend of mine is leaving for the West coast tonight so we're having a goodbye party for her. I hope you all have great weekends and don't let the bad weather get you down.

Dustin

2009-10-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I’m not proud of the fact that I have not written in some time. My focus has been somewhat shifted as of late, but Soundtrack is still at the forefront of all my efforts.

Though I am Soundtrack’s lead writer, my responsibilities also lie in music supervision, editing and more importantly, directing. I have people I consult for casting, cinematography and production, but since the vision of the show exists solely inside my head, I feel it’s my responsibility to ensure it’s translated onto the screen as fluidly as possible.

I’ve taken film courses, but I was never a film student per se. There are technical skills I never learned in an educational institution that I know I’d be lacking if I were to successfully bring Soundtrack to life. While I’m not exactly prepared to go back to college to learn these things, I’ve been taking it upon myself to acquire the skills through any means necessary. I thus spend a lot of time at Rogers TV – a lot – probably in the neighbourhood of 30-40 hours a week.

I started with the basics of camera work. Cameras aren’t overly complicated. There’s a zoom function and a focus function and everything else is just a variant of those two elements. Anyone and I mean anyone can hold a camera, focused, on a fixed object. The true skill of camera operation is making the camera an extension of your hands and eyes. I’ve constantly found my camera-work to be improving, but I found for possibly the first time last night that I had developed a groove, a fluid connection with the camera. I’m no expert, but I definitely feel that if I were to step behind a camera and begin shooting Soundtrack, an audience would have no indication that I am an amateur.

The monster I’ve been tackling lately is editing. There have been situations where I’ve heard that a good film was lost in the editing process. I don’t think I’d risk leaving that job to someone else – for the pilot at least. So I’ve taken it upon myself to be able to do that job on my own. I’ve only recently started learning the editing programs, but already I’ve edited two pieces that made it to air on First Local news on Rogers TV. It’s not an overly complicated process but it involves some finesse and an attentive ear.

I’ve spent some time expanding the unofficial soundtrack for the show. Keeping with the tradition of all Canadian artists, I’ve found some great musical acts that I know are going to contribute greatly to the show. I’ve found great tracks on all the following albums;

Final Fantasy – He Poos Clouds
Lights – The Listening
Thunderheist – Thunderheist
The Junction – Another Link in the Chain
The Danks – Are You Afraid of the Danks
Two Hours Traffic – Little Jabs
Alexisonfire – Old Crows / Young Cardinals
Arkells – Jackson Square
Handsome Furs – Face Control

I suppose the last thing I'd like to address here is that I'm moving this blog to another location. I've had a developing professional friendship with a young artist here in Barrie who's beginning a blogging network for artistic entrepreneurs in the area and I thought it would be appropriate to migrate in the interest of gaining exposure in the local arts scene. So from now on, The Soundtrack Blog can be found at Artistic-Tendency and I'll be providing you all with a link as soon as one is available.

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement and I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving weekend with your families!

Obligatory

2009-10-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

I feel this obligatory urge to post something.

Yes, there's an elephant in the room. I haven't made a post in over a month. That is not to say I haven't been productive.

There has been significant development on the pilot's script, direction and production status. There will be more on that to report when it becomes concrete and official.

I've been spending a lot of time tackling logistics and developing my technical skills. I can tell you I'm becoming a natural at camera-work and I've even directed a few shows with Rogers. There have also been a lot of bands that I've come across lately that are going to make excellent additions to Soundtrack's already great potential unofficial soundtrack.

I hope that's enough to tide you over for now, and I promise more lengthy and substantial updates in the future. Hope everyone's doing well and keeping warm in this awful weather.

Inglourious Basterds...

2009-08-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

... is a fantastic movie, go see it.

I hate to preach any sort of advertising, or supporting "the man", but really, pay the cash to see this in theatres. Not for the theatre experience or anything (which it does deserve), but to support the film's producer, The Weinstein Company. Bob and Harvey Weinstein have put their money on the table for films that no one else would touch and in the process have brought us some of the greatest movies of our time. Their long tenure at Miramax was brought to an end when they parted ways and begin their own venture. They haven't had a lot of commercial success since then, so it's important for this film to do well in order for the brothers to continue bringing us great films such as this.

My favourite aspect of Tarantino's film making is his ability to create flawless dialogue. He has a way of making over-the-top characters say very real things. Mr. Pink and Mr. White's initial fight about the presence of an insider; Vincent explaining fast food in Europe; Bill and Beatrix's final encounter - we all have our favourite exchanges. I would love to be able to write dialogue that flows as naturally as his own.

Any article you read about the man, he almost always references his inspirations. As a former video-rental store employee, he's got a ton of movies under his belt and he loves the medium tremendously. It's easy for me to identify Tarantino as an inspiration, not in the sense I'll ever try to imitate his style - but that a simple love of what you do can get you anywhere.

I saw a motivational speaker once while working with Service Canada and amongst all his useless banter he had one strong piece of advice that works for almost any situation or life experience.

Do what you love.

I hope everyone had a good weekend. Glad that week is behind me - looking forward to the next.

All Quiet On the Western Job Front

2009-08-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings All!

Follow me today on a trip to the exotic nation of Canada, on the resource rich continent of North America, as we prepare to study the hunting rituals of the white, anglo-saxon male in search of sustenance.

Though when out of his own environment, the white male can be hostile towards others of his own kind, when in his native land, we typically see a much more docile and carefree version of the species. It is normal for the parents of these creatures to support them well into the second quarter of their lives. Though a large percentage of these animals leave home for a number of years to discover the world on their own, it is not unusual for them to return home, exhausted of the weariness of the outside world. At this time, returning to the care of the parents can be difficult for the subject to adjust to and it is here that we see the first sparks of independence develop.

The diet of the white-male is a complete imbalance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates gathered from available foods around him. Though the creature is capable of finding food for himself, it is customary for his kind to perform services in exchange for the resources he needs to survive. The search for a mutual agreement in which resources will be exchanged for labour is the most extreme and cut-throat hunt the white-male will ever find himself in - and it's what we find ourselves observing today.

Our primary subject is physically smaller than most, but is educated and has had previously successful experiences in exchanging his labour for resources. Typically sticking close to home, as the thrill of returning home with a bounty each night excites him, the stomping grounds of the subject are comparatively smaller to those with a more severe hunger for the hunt.

Observing the subject for the past four months, I've found that he has at least twice been able to find a suitable partner to exchange services with, while still allowing him to accommodate his other leisure activities. In recent weeks however, he has retreated to a state of hibernation, relying on the goods he has gathered in the past to support him - this behavior was at first perceived as odd, until we began to look at the subject's leisure activities to provide an answer. And provide it did.

For several months, the subject has been learning the skills to hunt the elusive "career job". Thought to be an urban legend by both subjects and observers alike, the career is a relationship where the subject both exchanges labour for resources but ALSO practices his leisure activities. A mix of both work and play long thought unobtainable for most of the subject's life.

At the ripe age of 23, the subject is combining the relevant experiences of his last four years in the nation's capital urban centre with his passion for communication. Finding his way to a local trading post of both resources and communication, the subject began to offer his labour for free - instead asking only for experience and advice in hunting larger prey.

Coming across individuals who had been successful in finding suitable prey, the subject gained both confidence and excitement for the coming hunt. Using the tools at his disposal, as all intelligent, white males do, the subject was observed going after several career-jobs - but failed in most of his attempts to gain even an audience with his prey.

It is this environment of learning that the smaller stature of the subject becomes irrelevant and his curious nature becomes the trump card in the deadly game.

On August 22nd, 2009, the subject was observed conversing with another white male, somewhat older, who had grown tired with his current prey and was moving on towards another hunt. Though the prey the older hunter was leaving behind was enticing to our subject, the older hunter offered up rumours of another, bigger hunt farther down the road.

The subject, satisfied with his hunting for the day returned home to ponder the turn of events. Though his hoard of resources resources are quickly depleting, he knows he has only two options; to move on to smaller prey, which would guarantee a return of resources - or to stay with the hunt.

The subject has been previously observed as carefree, docile and these qualities were attributed to most of his behavior. But recently, we see these characteristics providing him avenues that would be unavailable, had he begun to pursue smaller, more easily hunted prey - a scavenger. Instead, we see the subject biding his time, learning his prey and waiting for the moment to strike.

It is evident that we are not observing a jackal or vulture in this hunt for employment - but the king of the concrete jungle himself - slow to anger, slow to act - but ferocious when he does - the lion.

Thank you for tuning into another edition - and good luck on all your own hunts!

The Action Scene

2009-08-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

Lights, Camera... Action?

I've been taking some time to script out some of the more intricate action scenes from the miniseries finale, Episode 6.

Episode 6 has always been a series of action scenes linked together by the narrative established by the previous 5 episodes. The first 5 episodes are meant to explain Rhett's evolution from Derek to Soundtrack and the motivations of his band for staying with him. While Derek Rhett is the main character for episodes 1-5, Soundtrack is the main character of Episode 6.

Most action scenes are typically written and choreographed by, well, a stunt/fight choreographer. Here in Dustin Bell land, I try to do things as cheaply and cut-cornerly as possible.

I've had the songs for the final episode picked out for some time. I've even had action scenes that synched up to those songs envisioned in my head for some time. But I have been finding it extremely difficult to put pen-to-paper and make these scenes more than just a vision. I've been encountering problems in making these scenes seem fluid, essential and entertaining.

I've gotten about ten pages of action scenes worked out for the final episode. Though the vision for the final fight had always been on top of two city sky-scrappers - the realities of shooting a scene like that began to sink in and I had to think of possible alternatives. The only alternative that I really liked was a showdown at a small airport (which just happens to exist in Oro-Medonte!), but I couldn't find a way to incorporate the shot that sets off the epilogue of the series. What I'm left with is two good ideas for the final fight, one with creative flaws and one with production flaws. There's a solution somewhere in the middle of this problem.

I've been running through episode titles for Episode 6. There's a few I really liked;

i. We Stand On Guard (For Thee); This is the main one I liked. One, it's the last phrase in "O' Canada" which I think would make an awesome title. Two, it describes the destination Derek's arrived at in his rivalry with Danielle Parsons. Three, the first episode title is "For Whom the Bell Tolls", which was taken from both an Ernest Hemmingway novel and a 17th century poem by John Donne, which ends in "For Thee". Finally, the pronoun in the title is "We", which doesn't just refer to Derek, but to Riley, Cain, Eddie and Steele who have taken on Derek's cause and given him the encouragement he needs to succeed.

ii. We Stand On Guard; For all the same reasons I liked number one, except that it's shorter and carries the more connotative and ambiguous meaning that Derek has merely become a super hero who will protect... all things that need protecting. It's the less political title of the two.

iii. For Thee; Again, the last words of "O' Canada", the last words of John Donne's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and a reference to why Derek fights. This episode finds Derek in the center of a hornet's test to rescue Eve. Though Derek will eventually fight for preservation of what is Canada, it is Eve who sets him down this path and thus the entire series has been from Derek to Eve, "For Thee".

Send me your input on which one you like the most, or any other title suggestions you may have!

I mentioned above that I've already picked out the songs I'd like to use for Episode 6, regardless of its title, and just to satisfy your curiosity, I'd like to list them;

Tegan and Sara - The Con (The Con, 2007)
Moneen - Don't Ever Tell Locke What He Can't Do (The Red Tree, 2006)
Metric - Gold, Guns, Girls (Fantasies, 2009)
Matthew Good Band - Indestructible (Underdogs, 1997)
The Constantines - On to You (Shines a Light, 2003)
Wintersleep - The Archeologist (Welcome to the Night Sky, 2007)

and maybe
Joel Plaskett - Extraordinary (Truthfully, Truthfully, 2003)

Hope that's enough to interest you in what Episode 6, and in a sense, the whole miniseries will shape out to be. I can't express enough how excited I am to tackle Episode 6 in its entirety, but for now, I'll continue with Episode 5 and give you updates whenever I can.

I had a pretty lousy day today, but it was Monday, so what can you expect? Here's a link to a cheesey band who doesn't realize it's not 1980 anymore - but that doesn't mean the song isn't awesome and relevant to my optimism. Except its a crappy live version - so DEAL WITH IT.

Peace and love ya'll.

Canada's Health Care

2009-08-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

I'd like to first introduce this entry by saying it has nothing to do with the show. It will also not count towards the 8 remaining posts I'd like to have done by the end of the month. This may also be considered somewhat of a political post; I'd like to at least address that this is my personal perspective and shouldn't necessarily reflect that of any other individual.

I spent about an hour on youtube yesterday under the search string "town hall outburst". The town halls refer to the public meetings that the Obama Administration has organized in order to have a dialogue with the general public on the sweeping health care reforms. In a nutshell, the nation's health institution will become much more akin to Canada's. In these videos are not only clueless rednecks and selfish do-nothings, more importantly, there's a lot of misinformation being said about Canada's health care.

Shona Holmes, from Hamilton, Canada suffered from a brain tumor and wasn't receiving the treatment she felt she required. A trip to the Mayo clinic and $100, 000 later and she was all better. She seized the opportunity to gain media exposure, trashing her nation's health care in light of her experiences. There's absolutely nothing wrong with her feeling the way she does. She's obviously had a bad experience and it's no lie that a system that serves 31, 000, 000 citizens has a few flaws and horror stories.

I, Dustin Bell, from Shanty Bay, Canada, don't suffer from a brain tumor. I've never had any serious illnesses, but I have been to the hospital a few times for what I'll call... stupid things. Here's what the Canadian health institution has offered me; friendly and capable nurses; compassionate and professional doctors and a completely satisfying experience in which I've never, ever, felt that I didn't receive the care I required. I had to wait in the waiting room for a few hours. Wah. I wanted someone to call 9wahwah for a whambulance, but I had a feeling that would just lead to a big circle. I was drunk. The point is, as an average individual, I've never felt let down by the institution in any way. Never had my faith shaken. Confident that if I needed to go right now, this instant, to the hospital, I would be taken care of before sunrise. It depends on how many people have been cut by beer bottle class tonight. Oh yeah, did I mention it's FREE? Like go to the bar with $200.00, spend it all and wake up in the hospital without a bill FREE.

The biggest issue between the American and Canada health institutions isn't in its bureaucracy, or its market value or the degree of government administration - it's in its philosophy.

The Canadian government generally acts on altruistic and egalitarian principles. As a nation, we believe in the equal value of every human, regardless of their appearance or societal value, and we believe in helping those less privledged even at the cost of self-interest. Americans are generally comparable to utilitarianists, or ethical egoists. They believe in the greatest good for the greatest amount of people, or the pursuit of their own individual interests. Their health care system is modelled after those ideals.

There's obviously a lot of in-fighting going on because this isn't just a change in health care policy - it's a change in their philosophical ideals. Obama won on a platform that included introducing sweeping reforms into the way the nation simply - was. I don't think a lot of people actually anticipated that change requires change.

For what it's worth I do hope that the 47, 000, 000 that are currently without health care insurrance in America do become part of a system that demonstrates altruistic values. I also just thought it was important that I share my experiences with the Canadian health care system and hope it finds some way into American hands/eyes and provides some insight.

Thanks everyone for reading and I hope this encourages you to share your own experiences - they may become important in stopping the minority opinion becoming the major story on CNN.

The Table Read

2009-08-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately the table read for Episode 3 has been pushed back again. I'd like to take a moment to talk about disappointments and taking them in stride.

I was informed that people were dropping out of the read last minute for reasons here and there. Furthermore, the venue was going to become increasingly difficult to get to - as a result of cottage traffic. I made the executive decision five days before the reading to cancel it. I'm not going to lie, this is one of the first instances of discouragement and disappointment I've had to deal with on this project. For about 24 hours, I didn't take it that well.

I guess the message I'd like to take away from this cancellation is that everything can't go my way. I haven't put a lot on the line for this project. It's been more or less my baby. I feed and nurture it - but I'm afraid to let other people hold it, see it, etc.. The more people who see it increases the chances of being told that my baby isn't special, isn't beautiful, isn't the best baby in the world. The point of this industry isn't to create something that will transcend those comments - it's to take those comments and either pass them off as unwarranted, or learn from them. Either way, I think this was a lesson in taking criticism and disappointment in stride - and I don't feel like I completely failed or went off the deep end. That being said - there's always room for improvement.

Since then I've thought about ways to make the next dinner even more enjoyable and appealable. I think scheduling the dinner close to the end of the summer was difficult for the academics in my social circle to accomodate; furthermore, it can be difficult to get out to Barrie/Oro - especially on the weekends with traffic. I also admit I wasn't as prepared as I'd like to be for the dinner itself. It was going to come together very last minute.

So what have I been up to since the cancellation? Not a lot unfortunately. I've been spending about 3-4 hours a day at Rogers TV working master control for the First Local News. This is a different experience than videography, and something I think I enjoy a little less than camera work. The switchboard is fun - something I think that will hold relevance in my future work. I've also been learning VTR (which is like a fancy 5-deck VCR, with more controls) and audio. I don't take the opportunities I should to learn more about audio (the soundboard, microphones, etc), because its probably the most relevant skill I'd need to work on for the show.

A few weeks ago I'd asked a friend, L.B. to complete a little assignment for me on Ontario/Canada arts and small business grants. She'd sent me the file last week and I'd wanted to thank her in person before I mentioned it here; but thank you very much again, L.B..

Though I feel like there's a lot of work I'd personally like to dedicate to the show, there are obviously things that fall into the specialized fields of other people, and I'll never be able to complete the work as efficiently as they can. As I move closer and closer to production on Episode 1, I begin to realize just how many other people are going to be involved on this project. I talk a lot about starting "my" production company. Though it'll be mine in the sense that I started it, I have to become more comfortable that the production of the pilot won't belong to just me. In keeping with the baby metaphor - it takes a family to raise a baby. So far, I'm just a single parent.

There are some goals this month I'd like to meet and maybe I can start nailing them down post-by-post. I'm still aiming to have eight more posts this month, bringing the total to a record-setting ten. I'd like to have a concrete vision for the rescheduled table read. I'd like to have episode 5 finished and the dilemma on 5 and 6 resolved. I'd like to have begun applying for grants. I'd like to have selected a crew that's available to work. I'd like to track down a cost-friendly solution to studio-space and sets. I'd like to increase my twitter profile and get myself more attention on that venue.

I think what I'd ultimately like to happen this month is to make the ultimate decision of whether SOUNDTRACK will be my full-time job, or my part-time hobby. So far I've been leaning towards the latter, but a project this big deserves more than a recreationalist. It deserves a professional.

I'd like to close off by thanking everyone so much for their continued support, both on the project and on this blog. Thank you everyone who was planning on attending the table read, but had to drop out for various reasons. I'm not so infallible that I'm without emotional reaction - but I truly understand that things can't always come up Dustin.

I hope everyone's enjoying the changes in weather, the rest of their week and the summer that's coming to a close.

The Watchmaker

2009-08-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

It's already August 9th; the table read for Episode 3 is this coming Saturday and this week is all about getting that prepared.

I'll be reviewing the script tomorrow through Tuesday, getting final numbers for attendance and then getting prepared for the dinner itself later in the week. Believe it or not this is going to be a ... long week.

I've been filming a bit more for Rogers TV recently. Saw the Barrie Baycats beat Kitchener and move on to the Intercounty Baseball Semi-Finals. Also did a Celebrate the County shoot in Heritage Park. Apparently Barrie has a small Carribana festival, and a steele drum band was playing in the park. It's actually quite a nice area and depending on how the footage is edited, you might see one of the better-kept areas of Barrie. I believe it's on Saturdays at 5pm on Rogers TV, which is channels 10 and 53 on cable. Barrie OHL starts up soon too, and I think there would be something challenging about filming hockey, so I'm excited to be signing up for that. Plus, it gets me into every Barrie Colts home game this season.

I've been writing Episode 5 lately, and have been wrestling with the idea of combining Episodes 5 and 6 together. I'm not confidant that I have enough material to actually make a 45 page script for Episode 6, but I'm sure that overlapping the plots of both would come out to longer than 45 minutes. It's actually been quite the dilemma that hasn't exactly been resolved.

Episode 5 is coming along great so far. It's the first opportunity I've had to characterize Danielle 'Lidless' Parsons as a tragic villain. I had always intended to her to be ruthless, yet sympathetic. Furthermore, the 'plot' of the show has always been about her political machinations, which are revealed in Episode 5. Though it's fun to write, there's also some critical thinking that has to go into this script that isn't exactly present in its predecessors.

Been doing some local travelling lately; was up in the Blue Mountains last weekend and managed to catch the sunrise from a particularly nice view. Was also doing some very-local sight-seeing at the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport, located in Oro-Medonte. I mention these because I think there's a lot of potential in showing the natural resources of this area in the show. Though there's plenty of shows filmed in and around this area, very few shows take place here. I think it would be fun to try and incorporate the Blue Mountains into the narrative of the show somehow, maybe further down the line, just to have an excuse to go out and film there.

I had intended to have August be my big month for blogging, but in full compliance with the law of economics, as a recently laid-off individual, I enjoy spending money I don't have on things I don't need. This involves a lot of unproductive days. I'll do my best to get a full eight blogs out over the next 23 days and see if I can't make that goal of having August be the most productive month for the blog.

Think that's gonna wrap things up for tonight. Hope you all had good weekends despite the return of the wet weather.

Show Stuff and Thrice

2009-07-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

I suppose it's been a little while since my last entry - but rest assured, the time has been spent productively.

Earlier this week, I sat down and crunched some numbers for production. It's going to cost me about $20, 000 to build the sets for Episode 1 and store them for a month. Three weeks will probably be dedicated towards construction alone, so I'll probably need the studio space for two months which brings it up to $25, 000.

I feel its a rather liberal number, but I researched market trends to give myself a fairly accurate estimate. To be honest that number also doesn't worry me. If I can pace prouction accordingly, I can budget costs based on when grants become available. The pilot has to be finished for June 2010 and I think that's absolutely doable at this point.

I was talking to a friend with a business degree, M.B., who's starting his own financial company in the next few weeks. We're going to talk later about how he can go about helping me start the production company - so I've found the only 'business consultant' I can afford. As boring as that paragraph sounds, it's actually very, very good news because I was admittedlty intimdated by this process as a whole. I realize that although I understand basic aspects of business, economics, etc., I am definitely not prepared to proceed into this alone. It pays to have good friends.

E.B. is writing Episode 4. He'll possibly be contributing a writing commentary when he's finished his work on the script. I hope it's going well for him, but there's not much more I can speak on about Episode 4, so you'll have to wait for E.B. on that one.

Meanwhile, I've also been writing Episode 5 - 'In Media Res'. This is perhaps going to be the funnest episode for me to write, because I haven't worked out a lot of the minutia of the plot so far. But I do find what I've already written has worked out very well and I'm happy with the spontaneity that I seem to be demonstrating in this particular script.

I'm by no means winging it - this has been the most important episode in the back of my head. This is the reveal of Lidless' intentions. Somewhat. I came up with my McGuffins today (a term referring to a plot piece created specifically to drive the plot forward), and I think it ties in perfectly with the world I've set up so far. I had never had a specific motivation for Lidless kidnapping Davis besides the obvious uses of his intellect - but a specific reason came into my head today that doesn't necessarily need to be revealed in the miniseries to still be satisfying.

This episode takes place almost entirely from the perspective of Eve's kidnappers and the people responsible for orhcestrating it. We see the levels of power that Lidless has influence in. We see the both the tenacity and consciences of her associates. Furthermore, the episode foreshadows a weakness in her precognitive abilities that won't be revealed until Episode 6's conclusion.

Though I try and keep the content Canadian on this blog, I'd like to talk about the latest Thrice album for a number of reasons.

Thrice is a foursome band from Irvine, California and broke onto the scene in 2001 with their debut album, Identity Crisis. They've managed to evolve their style from hard-rock to experimental and still maintain a devoted following. Their latest album, Beggars (2009) was recently leaked through a mishap over at Vagrant Records. The album leaked nearly three months early, and I'm sure was a devasting blow to not only the band, but the production team behind the album.

I'll be honest - I downloaded it and I'd like to give it a short review at the end, so if you're looking for that, scroll down.

Free downloading (I won't call it illegal because it is simply - not) has had a devasting impact on the CD industry. I say specifically the CD industry because I do believe the music industry as a whole is doing fine (recession considered). The point is, owning a CD has absolutely no physical value anymore. If I were to buy a CD, I'd only want it for the sentimental value it holds. I want 'that' CD. Adding incentives to purchase the CD that can't be provided through the internet is what will revive the recording industry - which is exactly what Thrice will be doing with their latest album.

The album will see a digital release on August 11th through iTunes, shifting from its original release date of October 13th. Their statement was somewhere along the lines of 'releasing a CD earlier than planned is easy, changing a marketing strategy isn't'. Thus the band is going to release the album with bonus extras that would not be available through the promotional leak on its intended release date.

I was going to buy the album anyway. Thrice is one of those bands that I liked to own the CD, I don't have many of those but I definitely have a sentimental attachment with actually owning those albums. Seeing it on a computer screen isn't enough for me. I probably won't even listen to the CD itself, but I just like to have it. The record industry will survive on that alone - it will just reform into a smaller market. Movies hated TV, Radio had cassettes - media changes - get over it. Go make money off your Blu-Ray concerts, Rock-Bands and Ring-Tunes - all products established well after the internet caused damage to falling record sales. Thank you for waiting until your money was at risk to get innovative.

The fact is, and I could expand on this for far too long, so I'll keep it short; the increasing availability of affordable recording equipment is ending the record industry - not the internet. Thrice recorded this album in the basement recording studio of guitarist, Teppei Teranishi, largely on instruments that they constructed by hand. There is no problem with the music industry, there is only a solution - it's called artist independence and its happening more every day.

But alas, the album - reviewed.

Though its hard to say where Thrice peaked so far, I think the last album I was genuinely enthusiastic about was Artist in the Ambulance (2003). Vhessiu (2004), and The Alchemy Indexes I-IV (2008) were excellent demonstrations of their talent for creating refined music - but it had lost that hard rock feel. They didn't have many 'rocking out' opportunities.

Thrice returns to their hard-rock roots with three albums' worth of melodic experimental music behind them - combining the two for one of the most innovative, yet solid rock albums of the 21st century. The shear talent this band represents is just ridiculous compared to other bands that are gaining exposure these days. This album brings some of the most elegant, industrial notes a guitar can produce and finds them in a home in a rock album that is as bar-setting as it is purely enjoyable.

Of note, the tracks, All the World is Mad, The Weight, Circles, At the Last, In Exile, Talking Through Glass and Beggars are worth checking out even if you're not familiar with the band. So check out Beggars (2009) and hopefully introduce yourself to a band that's continued to impress for nearly a decade.

Hope everyone had a good weekend, and that you enjoyed this monster of a post!

P.S. I met someone this weekend who thought Thrice would be a more appropriate boys name than Thrace. I've been put in a quandry.

The Ailing Music Industry

2009-07-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

There are forces within the music industry that often complain that internet downloading is hurting sales of records. Though this may be true, there are also many more opportunities for musicians and their producers alike to make money in the era of new-media.

One such obvservation I've made is the release of several artist exclusive editions of Rock-Band and Guitar Hero. For instance, AC/DC, Aerosmith and The Beatles have all, or are in the process of releasing editions of the game that exclusively feature a track-listing by that artist. They must produce significant revenue, because they keep coming out.

If regular albums aren't selling anymore because of the internet - than the problem needs to be reassessed. The internet is here and it isn't going away. Thus, neither are free downloads. The solution is to offer an incentive to get the consumer to buy the product.

Bear with me here. Instead of Artist 'X' releasing their album with fifteen tracks onto a CD, or Vinyl - why not release it directly and exclusively into a Rock-Band or Guitar-Hero format?

The traditional business model for the music industry is broken - but the solutions are everywhere. A band releasing their new material exclusively to videogames would be at the very least, an unprecedented attempt to generate revenue, but also an interesting experiment in the increasing saturation of video-games into Western culture.

small tidbits

2009-07-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

tidbit the first; f--- the emmys. f--- mad men. f--- everyone who thinks its a better-than-average show. f--- people who grew up in the 50s and think anything based on the 50s is the best thing ever. f--- them.

< rant >
sorry, but nominating one show for four out of a possible five writing nominations is just f---ing stupid. but you managed to do it in the same category for both drama and comedy! i hate the emmy's and am boycotting you for the rest of my life. I f---ing HATE THE EMMYS
< /rant >

tidbit the second; my first act of delegation as soundtrack's showrunner; EVAN BAWKS IS WRITING EPISODE IV! i thought it'd be fun to mix it up and see what someone else brings to the table so wish him luck.

tidbit the third; your absolutely 100% free moment-of-zen;

its not enough to live to survive - you have to survive to live.

busy weekend coming up but i'll see if i can't squeeze in a post at one point. hope you're all having a great week and got fun weekends ahead of yourselves :)

Dustin Takes You On a Tour of the Broken Social Scene

2009-07-13T17:24:00.001-07:00

another music-themed post! i stumbled upon an awesome opportunity this past weekend to go see a free show put on by toronto's own broken social scene!

i don't know if you've ever heard of broken social scene, but if not, here's a quick rundown. broken social scene was formed in toronto in 1999 by kevin drew and brendan canning and rose to prominence in canada's independent music scene.

there's a word that gets thrown around a lot in the music biz, 'superband' or 'supergroup' which is, a musical group that was formed from members of previously successful music ventures. while broken social scene certainly includes talented members from previously successful bands including but not limited to; feist, metric, jason collett, amy milan, the new pornographers and stars, they have all found varying degress of success parallel with the scene itself. was broken social scene famous because of its talented musicians, or were the talented musicians famous because of broken social scene? a difficult relationship to analyze, but without a doubt the members of broken social scene are some of the greatest musical minds this country has to offer.

we arrived at the harbourfront centre in toronto's downtown 2 hours before showtime. we were also some of the last people to find seats! the stage had near-perfect placement near toronto's waterfront and had a perfect breeze blowing through it to cool down the otherwise hot day. after patiently waiting (by that i mean drinking 7$ heinekein tallboys) we were greeted by this:

i saw this song once performed on the tonight show with jay leno and i thought it was impressive then. what a GREAT song to demonstrate the musical abilities of this group. one of my favorite things about broken social scene is the fact its a near indie-rock orchestra. fire-eye'd-boy was a great way to remind us all of that.

this - is musical - bliss

7/4 shoreline is one of those few... a handful, maybe less than five, perfect songs. to see broken social scene in its entirety, including the wonderful leslie feist, perform this song was one of those few great earthly pleasures i'll ever get to enjoy.

as i said previously, broken social scene is home to acts such as feist and metric and you better believe they were both representing their non-bss success!

kevin drew also showed off some of his own solo stuff! like this absolute beauty that's been thrown around in circles under the title 'untitled 2' or 'MTV'. when it came on i was immediately entranced by the tune and wondered why i wasn't familiar with it (as a devoted broken social scener) - but as it turns out i was introduced to a new tune by an old favorite.

kevin drew himself called this their themesong! i have only this for commentary: "oh-oh-o-oh-o-o-o-ohhh-oh-oh-o-oh-o-o-o-ohhh-oh-oh-o-oh-o-o-o-ohhh-oh-oh-o-oh-o-o-o-ohhh"

the real reason i love broken social scene comes down to a few select words.

park that car.
drop that phone.
sleep on the floor.
dream about me.

it was a wonderful concert. the greatest thing about seeing a band like broken social scene is i think they genuinely want to be there as much as their audience. never before have i seen such comradery on the band's behalf. it looked more like a reunion between close friends than a band's first time on stage in its entirely in more than five years.

thank you broken social scene, if this ever reaches you, thank you. it takes a lot of brass to put on a free concert these days and you definitely know how to bring the goods.

i'd also like to thank the following youtube users for allowing me to link to their videos.

fcharlesuck, harbourfrontcentre and phantium

Proof That I Should Be Writing and Not Video Editing;

2009-07-10T21:47:00.001-07:00

Alright, I worked on a little project the last few days and used what I had on this computer to produce what I could. Needless to say, Windows Movie Maker is frustrating. It runs very fast, but it has to stay in sync with the music. Until I find a way to put more text on each shot, this will have to do.

Without further delay, I present, a preview for Episode III - 401.

'The Rescue of Detective Davis'

Dustinpedia Canadiana

2009-07-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

i've been shy on posts lately. i've just been busy here and there. Nothing terrifically exiting to report on; progress on episode IV is slowly advancing. i'm slowly piecing together scenes to get an overall feeling of what the episode is going to address and accomplish. Lidless' plans are slowing coming to light and a chance for her to explain her motivations will explore one of the themes i'd always wanted to address with the show. it also warrants a little bit of research into some of her political influences.

i recently made a mix CD of the main songs i'd like to use for the show. i'm not going to go into how i'm tragically stuck in the 20th century, but the experience reminded me of how little i address the show's music here.

that being said, here are some of the featured artists on soundtrack;

Japandroids:
i heard about this amazing garage-sounding rock band through the Polaris Music Award, of which they recently made the [short] long-list of nominations. this group definitely delivers some solid rock on-demand. its fun-energetic rythm is what makes it perfect for the show.

The Stills:
if you haven't heard of the stills yet - its not too late. i saw these guys open for metric in 2005 and they haven't lost an ounce of the energy they had then. one of the problems i've had in selecting the soundtrack is not picking too many songs from one band, and the stills were definitely one of those bands i had a difficult time picking only one.

Protest the Hero:
one of the hardest rocking, riffing and energetic bands i've ever heard. the talent that goes into some of their riffs are comparable with those that made iron maiden famous. adding fresh flame to old metal, these guys are single-handidly restoring credibility to Canadian metal.

Matthew Good Band:
who doesn't rememeber a half-dozen awesome tracks off the top of their head from this amazing band? though he ventured into a solo-career that i didn't follow as much, the original band put out some classic modern-rock songs that mesh perfectly with what i'm trying to accomplish with the show.

Metric:
a great band whose past is overshadowed only by their bright future. fantasies (2009) was metric's strike back, demonstrating they are far from being done producing hot, original music with melodic ferocity. one of the most difficult selections for the soundtrack was the first season's big fight between Derek and Danielle. i had spent weeks and months searching for the perfect song; and it didn't exist until this album came out. a must-must listen.

Joel Plaskett:
a great, great addition to Canada's reputation as a producer of top-notch folk music. Plaskett manages to be Canada's answer to Wilco, except without all the depressing band in-fighting (i hope). Plaskett's got a range of musical talents which he displays in a mixed, but otherwise impressive discography.

Wintersleep:
meshing modern emo with some 90s grunge these guys manage to pull off a sound not many can. where some bands would try fill their bridges with uninspired power-chords, Wintersleep never misses an opportunity to insert a well-timed riff behind their vocalist's talented wails.

The Constantines:
an underground Canadian legend for years, these guys provided phomenonal live-performances that would have fooled you into thinking these were platinum-selling professionals. glad to see they're getting some radio attention these days. MUCH DESERVED.

.Moneen.:
while Alexisonfire and Billy Talent [deservedly] got a lot of attention in the resurgence of Canadian punk-rock in the early 2000s, it was .Moneen. that i felt was the greatest contributing artist to the genre. pushing the limits of their instruments, the band put out at least two albums that were contenders for album of the year. amazing presence live.

Controller.Controller:
some call it disco-revival; i call it electric-rock. either way, controller.controller was one producing some of the raddest tunes at the time of their breakout album, History (2004). C.C. manages to project that club atmosphere without sacrificing the beat and replayability.

Tegan and Sara:
i'll be honest - some of Tegan and Sara's songs were the inspiration for the whole show. with great energy, beat and melody, this duo puts out super-charged guitar-riffs accompanied by two of the prettiest voices in the industry today.

Arkells:
the Arkells are one of those new great everyman bands that is just so easy to put-on and enjoy. they are putting out some great tunes that reflect traditional song-writing but don't feel old in any way. along with Japandroids, these guys manage to have a polished sound yet have that garage feel. definitely a great up-and-coming group.

Death From Above 1979:
how much can you really say about this great band? though they've tragically parted ways, this duo put out some of the best industrial rock this millenium. mixing rugged bass riffs with epic drum-beats earned these guys much-deserved international recognition.

Holy Fuck:
controversial name aside, every bit of attention these guys get is worth it. though there are many great songs on this off-beat electronica album, Lovely Allen is one of the very few tunes that have appealed to me as a theme song for the show and thus i thought i would mention this talented band.

i think that's all i have to say about music for now. this is by no means the entire artist-listing for the unofficial soundtrack of the show - just a few bands that if you weren't already enjoying, i thought you might.

one of things i realized going through my itunes to create a soundtrack for the show is that there is a tremendous amount of GREAT Canadian music out there waiting to be discovered. word-of-mouth is one of the best ways to advertise a product and so i hope that both this blog, and in the future, soundtrack provide coverage and accessibility for the great music this country's going to be producing.

as i said earlier, work is progressing on episode IV, so expect some updates on that later next week. hope you're all having a great week and are looking forward to the weekend as much as i am!

Underground Local

2009-06-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

I recently submitted a proposal to produce a program on Rogers TV titled Underground Talent or Underground Local.

I also happened to drop the address of this website on the proposal, so with that in mind I'm dedicating a post to the Rogers TV program I hope to produce someday.

Underground Local

My name is Dustin Bell and I have lived in the Barrie area for all but four years of my life which were spent at Carleton University in Ottawa. I’ve seen this city’s population quadruple in my lifetime, but haven’t gotten a sense of the city itself becoming bigger. The city has plenty of shopping malls, but few local businesses, less industry and a virtually unheard of arts scene. The local musicians, artists, poets, comedians and creative peoples of all sorts have never had an accessible forum to showcase their talents to the city. I propose that Barrie Rogers TV develop and produce a low-budget once-a-week program that would feature aspiring artistic entrepreneurs.

Underground Local would be a half-hour weekly program that featured local bands doing a one-to-three song set, artists of all types showcasing their work, comedians performing a short routine and theatre troupes enacting short scenes from locally produced plays. The show would also be a forum for local poets, fashion designers and photographers.

It would be produced in-house, running primarily on volunteer efforts. A host would introduce the show, each guest and then close the program. It would require three videographers, a sound technician, a producer and a director. I would happily serve as either of the latter two.

As a volunteer at Barrie Rogers TV, I am familiar with the studio-setting and have always had a passion for television production and local talent. The Barrie Rogers TV studio already has the resources necessary to accomodate the show, including a stage, multi-channel soundboard and dedicated volunteers.

I've often talked on this blog about the potential that Barrie has to become something more than a suburb. There are more than enough people who believe this is possible - but I feel that this is one step that will bring us closer to that dream.

I sincerely hope that we want the same things for Barrie and I can't thank you enough for your consideration.

Nostos

2009-06-25T18:50:00.001-07:00

episode IV is going to be a little bit different than the previous episodes so far.

'nostos' is a latin word that roughly translates to 'the journey home', and that's exactly where Derek and the band find themselves in episode IV.

the journey home never goes quite as planned. some of the greatest stories ever told are about the journey home (i'm looking at you, the odyssey and star trek IV). there are certain moments in the show that i look back on and say "did i know this when i wrote that?" - i think that moment where we try to associate ourselves with a familiar anchor in time or space is where we really start to notice how far we've come. realizing that home, and that anchor no longer exists is going to be the pivotal point of no-return for the band.

on a side note, i'd like to start properly referring to the protagonists of the show as 'the band' or 'derek and the band'. buffy had the scoobies, derek has his band. i hope the affectionate nickname catches on.

i'm going to try and involve you all in my writing process for this particular episode. i try and approach every episode with a question and answer session. there are naturally looming questions from the previous episode and i try to tear apart the script to find what needs to be resolved. what follows is what i've worked up for episode iv so far.

Q: where did we last leave off?
A: following a semi-successful rescue of Nathan Davis, Derek's band has found itself the target of unwarranted police investigation. Davis makes contact with officer Dana Steele and asks her to help Rhett whenever she can with the investigation. Derek, Eddie and Riley are all wanted in murders they didn't commit and Steele catches on that at least Eddie and Riley are innocent. following Davis' death, she makes the decision to warn Rhett of the danger of returning to Toronto and helps him stay one step-ahead of the investigation.

Q: what needs to be addressed this episode?
A: the most important event in this episode is the kidnapping of Eveleigh Dawn by Lidless/Parsons. Eddie's been leafing through Davis' files and comes across information that suggests Evee is the fifth, final and most powerful superhuman. while Eddie scours files which were meant for an intelligence much higher than his own, Steele reluctantly takes Derek into the city to extract and protect Evee from Danielle Parsons.

Q: what is Riley doing this episode?
A: Riley is hit hard by the news that she's now a wanted fugitive. i'd like to think she was initally carefree, but the toll of her actions is now dawning on her. retreating from the centre of attention, Riley lets Derek and Steele run off on their adventure while she tries to put her life back together. upon contacting her employer and landlord she finds out she's been both fired and evicted as a result of the murder charges. by episode's end she realizes she walked away from that life and reaffirms her commitment to the new one with Derek.

Q: how does the episode end?
A: in broad daylight, Evee is kidnapped from Derek's protection by Lidless' associates. severely beaten, Derek watches as Evee's kidnappers speed away until Riley shows up unexpected and the chase commences.

Q: what is Eddie doing this episode?
A: As a philosopher, Eddie finds himself deeply immersed in the wealth of knowledge Davis left behind. among his findings are; chemical compounds that shouldn't exist; advanced research on pathology; alchemical formulae; and most importantly files on five superhumans currently residing in Canada. these files are to form the foundation that everything in the series will be based on. hidden within the tomes is information that will eventually assist Derek in his vendetta against Lidless. not only that, but these files are the only lasting legacy to Davis' intelligence - and Eddie will grow from that legacy.

Q: what is Cain doing this episode?
A: Derek delegates Cain to sorting through all the equipment found at Davis' lockup. i think by this point Cain's sorted through his personal shit and has more or less resigned to helping Derek for the moment. Cain may not be at Derek's side by series' end, but for now, he's a fully fledged member of the band.

Q: the Timeline of the Episode:
A: Picking up two days after the last, we find Cain, Derek, Eddie and Riley eating breakfast in a small dinner when Dana Steele walks in. Awkward conversations and mistrust aside, Derek and Steele immediately establish a repoire after he agrees to accompany her to Davis' grave. At Davis' grave, she decides she will honor her dead partner's wishes and help Rhett stay a step ahead of the police.

Q: how do they get Evee out?
A: first and foremost Eveleigh is most likely unaware that she harbors anything extraordinary about her at all. her power has been manifesting in ways that could be explained by any number of other phemoneon. though this is the reason that Eveleigh isn't initally inclined to do superhuman things, it's also the reason she's avoided Parsons' attention in the past. ultimately getting into Toronto and making contact with Eveleigh is the episode's plot and needs some work.

i hope that gives a satisfactory preview to the next episode without spoiling the whole bit.

i make constant notes on the details of the episode and i try to keep everything i write down. there's actually a folder with soundtrack notes that date all the way back to april of 2008. though i can never shake that feeling that i'm on the right path and this is my passion - it's great to look back on all the hard work and thoroughness that actually went into it.

though the scripts are the product of all that hard work - that file folder represents the shaping of a story. i'll be sure to hang on to it for as long as possible.

hope you're all having a great week everybody!

The Dustin Bell Guide to Productive 4am Web Surfing

2009-06-25T00:59:00.000-07:00

hello wonderful people and welcome to what may come off as an oddity amongst the rest of these posts.

it's 4am. u've just come off a three hour binge of the wire and let me be the latest to tell you, that shit is tight.

but i don't come here to talk about other television shows! i come here to talk about me!

building good networks is probably the most crucial step to success. in my books at least. it's also good to stay informed.

i'm going to let you all in on a some of the websites i try to hit up at least once a week to stay in-the-know and to capitalize on any opportunities i know aren't coming my way.

the ontario media development corporation; to think your tax dollars do nothing for you is ignorant. wanting to write and produce television is a very specific goal and the government has done nothing short of hold my hand through the process. the municipal, provincial and federal levels of government provide immeasurable assistance to those trying to do almost anything. this specific website, the OMDC is dedicated towards keeping filmmakers informed on provincial grants, tax incentives, amazing market research and almost most importantly; all programmes currently in production, updated weekly. your tax dollars at work people. i rate this website 4 dustins out of 5.

media job search canada; fuck craigslist, monster, workopolis, etc. and try to picture an employment database filled with jobs that cater towards your specific career. now picture a lot of people knowing about that website and participating in it. this is MJSC. so many gems that would otherwise go unnoticed. anyone in that broad industry i call 'media' should check this website out (that includes you, english and journalism grads). in the words of tracy jordan, i love MJSC so much i'm gonna take it behind the middle-school and get it pregnant.

twitter; i knew it, you think i'm a monster now. ow, i'm not. i'm not a tweeter. it's not really my thang. i find it's a little bit more about celebrity gossip than anything. i mean as much as i love to know the second tina fey has a humorous anecdote about mcdonalds - i thought the whole thing was supposed to be geared towards expanding business networks. instead i just find a bunch of porn. i mean, i'm not complaining, and it's not liked i've stopped going on it... i'm just not enthusastic about it. besides, you have to spend a lot of time developing your networks to get anything worthwhile out of it - so take it with a grain of salt.

linkedin; was referred to this through B.B. thought it was a neat little program to network with people who share my professional interests - but with any social networking site, it takes time to build up any meaningful networks. i'm from the plug-and-play generation, not the plug-and-work.

artistic tendency; this is a great website run by a friend, B.B. these are the kind of websites that i like to read about online. B.'s taken some of the best young artistic expressions from the local area and put them out there for the world to see. i've ranted before about how barrie doesn't seem to have the resources to rise above anything than a bedroom for the nation's largest city, but the only resources it needs are people like B. and the people she's showcasing. i know a lot of you support your local artists and musicians, but if you haven't been, which i'm recently guilty of - at the very least, being aware of them, is enough encouragment to keep these struggling entrepeneurs going.

so 32 minutes later and i'm still not any more tired.

i still haven't decided what's worse; the heat, or the noise my neighbors' air conditioning makes. it's like irony slapping me in the face.

i used to play around with websites a lot when i was younger - like, ten years younger (it scares me to think i've been using the internet for ten years). the point is, i learned a lot about HTML and the basics of web-based programming languages. you may have noticed that there are clickable links in this post and i just wanted to point out that it wasn't any fancy 'link' button - it was good old fashioned '< a href = 'http://www.mymemoryfuckingrocks.com' >, with a little < /a > for good measure. i try, people!

3 minutes later and i think another episode of the wire is gonna serande me to sleep.

sweet dreams and lullabies my faithful readers.

P.S. i'm coming to toronto this weekend - so mothers lock up your daughters.

P.P.S. i'm actually just going to ribfest so maybe you should just tell them to avoid that areA

Dustin Versus Episode Three

2009-06-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

I return to you with Episode 3 ‘401’ complete!

That’s the big news for today, but since it’s been some time since the last entry I think there are a few things that I should talk about.

I’ve learned a few things this past week. I’ll start with deadlines.

At the end of April, I had initially set a deadline of May 15th for ‘401’ to be completed. That didn’t come anywhere close to happening. It wasn’t due to laziness or a lack of inspiration – I had just found myself committed to too many other things. Volunteering, working, trying to maintain some sense of a social life. I didn’t have a lot of time left to exclusively write.

I believe it’s been eleven days and twenty-two pages since the last entry. Most of the writing was done over three days, today being the most beautiful of them and thus a lot of it got done outside.

The writing process went smoothly for pages 22-36. The words and actions of these characters fell off my hands and onto the page. 36-42 I had a little bit of trouble wrapping up this specific episode as it dealt with a lot of issues.

I had initially decided that Dana Steele was to remain an adversary until the season finale where she assists Derek escaping from the law. The way things worked out, Dana ended up helping Derek remain one step ahead by the end of Episode 3.

One of the other things I learned this past week was about the relationship and communication issues between the director and videographers. I’ve mentioned the ongoing difficulty I’ve had dealing with ‘DAYTIME’ director, D.M. This past week I reached a point where I couldn't feel comfortable with the director any longer and it wasn't worth souring my day every morning to meet the demands of a very difficult woman.

As a communications student, I obviously studied the act of communicating. I could go on for a while about Locke, Payne, Chomsky or whomever but I think the general message I walked out of that area of study with was that a good vocabulary is essential to good communication. An understanding of the terms and cues in the industry that are known by both camera crew and production team is essential to effective communication.

So what did I LEARN? To communicate EFFECTIVELY. To use the best words possible to describe the exact motion, speed and angle of the shot wanted in the calmest and most reasonable voice possible. You may think it’s simple, but believe it or not, some directors think that yelling louder will actually increase your ability to read their mind. I luckily no longer have to deal with any directors of that sort.

I did a casting call this past weekend for the Rogers TV program “IT’S ELEMENTARY” produced by T.L.. T. was great to work with and definitely provided excellent input into the personality and behavior expected to be projected towards the public. Working with T. was a great experience and though the audition was for a younger part, I think it was absolutely worth my time.

So many things I do at Rogers seem so simple, but just being able to do them is a great experience and such an eye-opener. The more I learn there, the more I’m excited about proposing a show to produce while SOUNDTRACK goes through development.

Episode 3 is still tabled for a July 18th or July 24th reading, so I’ll be working on the second draft of that episode (i’m already halfway done the second draft) and preparing a facebook event guestlist. Hopefully everyone can make it out, as the last two have been absolutely great experiences for both the project and just having a great time.

It’s dinner time and I’m still in my pyjammas, so enjoy the rest of your Sunday, wish your fathers a happy father’s day, and have a great afternoon!

$thirtyfive/$/fourty$

2009-06-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

i'm going to open this up with a promise. i am going to have Episode 3 "401" finished by the next time i post. it's been too long without finishing it and i feel like i'm just putting it off. i have ideas, i know what happens. i know who has to be where when and how they get there. i can make excuses, but the bottom line is it should be done right now and there's only one thing i can do about that.

i'd like to take a few minutes to talk about convocation. i don't know what i was expecting, but i can't even begin to display the mix of emotions from beginning to end of that ceremony. let me see if i can try to recall them in order;

8:30: getting cap and gown - looming boredom
8:45-9:15: lining up - the boredom sets in
9:20: preparation to enter - anticipation
9:25: pre-entry - nervous awe (i cured the nervousness by thinking of the final scene in 'Star Wars' when Han, Luke and Chewie get their medals)
9:27: entry - awe (loved the music)
9:29: pre-seating - relief (bottles of water!)
9:30-9:35: seating - back to awe
9:36: sitting - giddyness
9:40-9:42: Oh Canada! - surprisingly bone chillingly awesome, everyone just kinda mummed the words and the room vibrated
9:43-10:45 - speeches - blah blah blah BORED
10:46: pre-stage entry - complete and utter nervousness.
10:46-10:52: lineup for stage entry - kept telling myself "don't trip, don't trip, don't trip"
10:53: stage pre-entry - a complete mix of pride, relief, awe, and of course nervousness
10:54: stage entry - see above, minus nervousness
10:55-10:56: diplomacy - cucumber: as in; 'cool as a;'
10:57: stage exit - RELIEF
10:58-12:00 - BOREDOM (with the exception of friends)

that took longer than i expected, but i tried to be concise and comprehensive. did it work? either way, very impressive ceremony. not much i can say to describe it if you weren't there, but i know some of you were, so hope you liked it as much as i did. though i was bored through most of it, i appreciated the outstanding efforts of everyone involved, and if it wasn't quite redundant i'm sure i would have enjoyed the keynote speech. i'd also like to give a special shoutout to W.O. who won a very prestigious award and she should be very proud of herself. when all was said and done i rate the whole experience... $35 000 / $40 000.

everything else i had to talk about was show-related. one thing i like to avoid doing here is posting spoilers. but wait! i do have news. i'm going to bold this.

JULY 18th 2009: EPISODE THREE: '401' - STARRING CORN ON THE COB AND CHICKEN WINGS AS DINNER

be there or be square. you can get the de(tails)eets from me through dustin.dbell@gmail.com or through my facebook account, or twitter @eddietucker if you're following me there.

that is all. when you see me next, i'll not just be a graduate, i'll be a graduate with three out of six episodes in his breakout miniseries finished.

have a great week everyone!

Vitamin C

2009-06-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

Vitamin C is the name of this post because it's the band that sings that ultra-emo 'Graduation' song - and that's what I'm doing Wednesday morning!

I am going to receive my Bachelor's of Arts in Mass Communication. The degree focuses on the relationship between the audience and the media, as well as a critical interpretation of all sorts of media from radio to the internet. I've spent the last four years of my life studying; film; law; history of media; economics; the audience; language; philosophy; ethics; nationalism; symbolism; foreign policy; literature; myth; religion; news media; advertising and the music industry. I spent every single moment learning about something I had a deeply vested interest in. I feel like I've come out of university with no specialized knowledge in anything, but with a very general and well-rounded sense of the world I live in.

I also met some of the greatest people a man could hope to meet. To all my friends, who are too many to name and too great to be insulted by an exclusion from any list - a toast. You turned a crappy cinderblock palace and a city far away into a home for me. Thank you all.

Along the way, the students of Carleton's Mass Communication program lost someone great. Paul Atallah, the professor of MCOM 1000, who welcomed first-year students to university like no other professor could, passed away in late 2008. I'd like to take a moment to express how influential Professor Atallah was in my university career and how much he will be missed by myself and countless others.

a moment

For today, I'll forget about every complaint I've had towards you, Carleton. It's been a privledge and an honour.

I can say that Soundtrack is without a doubt the product of the broad and generalized education I received at university. I've already listed the range of courses I took over my four years, but I can't begin to explain how influential every single one of them were on the show's development.

Though at times I feel I want to create something entertaining and commercially appealing, at others I feel I should strongly be incorporating in-depth themes and motifs to the narrative. Lidless and Soundtrack's rivalry is what drives a majority of the themes explored through the show. The miniseries only explores the origin of this rivalry and so I feel like I've lost an opportunity to explore a lot of the more in-depth issues I'd hope to address through the show. Though I feel story comes first - the true reason I hope for a full season after the miniseries is to explore these themes.

So I'll bid you all farewell. I hope you all have a great week and say goodbye to you as the last time, a university STUDENT!

The Beautiful People (that's you!)

2009-06-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

you're all such patient, beautiful people and so i've decided to try and win you all over with another blog entry.

the warm weather has arrived and i think it's here to stay. i couldn't be happier. i love the summer and everything associated with it.

been spending a lot of time filming. did celebrate the county today, doing the barrie baycats double header tomorrow.

tuesday or wednesday night i put on a pot of coffee at 10pm and wrote until 2am. took everything i had for episode 3 "401" and turned it into 24 pages of concrete script that i am absolutely thrilled with. i realize i'm almost a month behind on my initial deadline for "401", but I made that list before I had committed myself to work and volunteering, and honestly, I don't think it's been wasted time. I'll wrap up "401" as soon as I can, but "Nostos", "In Media Res" and the season finale will have to wait until I can make more serious advances in production of the pilot.

i've tasked someone with getting all the applications possible for grants, funding, etc.. so it looks like DBell Ink [or Dbell Productions, which is better?] has its first staff member. speaking of the production company, i'm still sticking to my deadline of having the company founded by the end of the summer. rome was not built in a day, and all great things take time. though i don't spend every waking hour working on this project, i think i've set realistic deadlines to accompany the demands of life as well as my passion for the show.

i've been concentrating a lot of effort into developing the character of Riley. She's turning into my favorite character in the show because I know where she ends up in episode 24. we may never get to episode 24, but it feels so natural for her to be at that place at the end of the series. 24 episodes is what most television programs have in one season, but i'd like to tell the entire series in 4-5 arcs spread over 24-26 episodes. i've all but decided the fates of Derek and Eddie, but it's Riley's character arc that i feel deserves the most attention.

the show had always started based on Derek's love for a character based on K.M., but the further this show goes the more I'm happy I decided Eveleigh's fate early on. i've had trouble lately finding a girl that i'd like to start a relationship with and thus people ask me what i want in a girl. as i continue to write these episodes, i realize i am shaping Riley out to very much be the kind of girl i'd like to be with. ultimately i identify with all my characters, male and female alike, and generally try to imbue them with some sense of my own moral attributes. where Eveleigh represents the superficial and obvious qualities i look for in a girl, Riley represents that partnering and true personality i'd like to connect with. similarily, i think Eddie will personify some of the qualities i'd find appealing about myself for a woman, but Derek represents the more natural, careless and negative way I carry myself with women.

i always try and make a point to recognzie when i'm too freudy and psychoanalyzing myself. this is it, and thus i'll bring this to a close. i hope you all have wonderful weekends, and i'll be talking with you soon!

Camera Work

2009-05-31T20:38:00.000-07:00

Filmed the Barrie Baycats tonight for Rogers. I'm starting to like doing baseball, not because I enjoy the sport or anything, but because you have to really get a feel for the camera. Daytime is more about your ability to keep a very specific shot on a still or only slowly-moving target. Filming on baseball is a lot about finding your own shots, and keeping generally still on a still or very fast-moving target. I really enjoyed finding those back-from-commercial shots and stuff. Practicing with the zoom and tilt. On that thought, it'd be fun to play around with the studio cameras since they have wheels, then there can be zoom, tilt and push/pull. Anyway, just thought I'd stress that I'm enjoying camera-work and I think I'm steadily improving.

2009-05-31T11:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday's grant seminar was kind of useless. The instructor was well-informed and made a solid effort to reach out to us, but the substance of the presentation was lacking. What was supposed to be a three-hour seminar on how to apply for Barrie Arts Council Grants turned into a two-hour course on how to write a pitch and a one-hour networking event. Though informative, I just didn't take anything out of the seminar.

I don't know which way I'm going to branch out here. There's some Barrie stuff that's been on my mind for a while - so I think I'd like to take the opportunity to talk about some of that.

Barrie has been petetioning to annex several thousand acres of land from the township of Innisfil. Here's some background between the two. Several years ago, Barrie Raceway came upon an opportunity to put slot machines in its establishment, but the Barrie Agricultural Society decided they didn't want gambling in their city (you know, because they weren't already gambling on horses to begin with). Innisfil then built their own raceway and put slot machines in them - the whole thing has been a great success. That money doesn't go solely to the township of Innisfil, it's distributed through the entire county of Simcoe, of which Barrie and Orillia are independent municipalities of. Barrie WILL claim the slots as their own. Furthermore, taxes of current Innisfil residents will go up significantly if their land is annexed by Barrie.

Barrie's a great city. There's little crime, there's nothing you 'need' to go to Toronto for (except work) and it's generally friendly enough. But when I grew up, Barrie had 30, 000 residents and Bayfield Street was the economic centre of the city. 20 years and 120, 000 residents later, the city hasn't changed much. Bayfield street is still a mess, Mapleview Drive(formerly Molson Park Drive) is even worse, the downtown has been under construction for the last four years and isn't showing any signs of slowing down. Park Place (formlerly Molson Park) was once a lucious green park which was as pleasant to be in as it was to look at driving by. Now access is restricted and it looks like a land transplant from Afghanistan. It's a fucking desert. What an eye sore.

The fact that Barrie's only jobs are based on public service, retail and construction is just sad. Where are the businesses, Barrie? Why force the people to go to the jobs, instead of bringing the jobs to the people, like a REGULAR CITY? It doesn't help that the education centre of Barrie is a college. We stand alone as one of Canada's largest cities without a university. Simcoe University sounds awesome if you ask me. Universities bring minds. Colleges bring lazy people who want to stay at home. I know that sounds callous, but the fact is, Laurentian at Georgian is not a university, it's university courses at a college. It's designed FOR people who want to stay in Barrie - it's a community college. That's the purpose. Establishing a university would bring great minds to Barrie, who will start great things in Barrie.

To bring this back to film, I pose this question; do you seriously think I could film Soundtrack in this city? I want to. There are parts I perhaps could. But nothing from my production company will be coming from any Barrie busineses. There's nothing alluring about filming here in Barrie besides convenience for myself. The fact is, the resources and people for this job are in Toronto, and I have to go to them.

So why should Barrie get more land, when it's been proven that it hasn't had a spectacular track-record using it in the past? I'm not saying Barrie shouldn't get the land - I'm just saying I'd like to see the land used a little bit more appropriately this time around. Building cheap houses side-by-side and strip-malls everywhere is not the way to do this. Set some cheap land aside for some businesses or industry to come in, get some preliminary plans for a university. Do what I say! roar.

The Lizife

2009-05-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

Been keeping busy. Been writing too! Managed to squeeze out the entire rescue of Detective Nathan Davis from a moving transport truck. The way it's written shouldn't be too expensive. I hope not anyway. I had always envisioned it to be the most expensive scene in the entire series, but as I was writing it I realized there's only.. five expensive/dangerous shots that I think can be accomplsihed using tricks of the eye. The way I look at it is George Lucas made the Death Star blow up in 1977, so the least I can do in 2009 is make two trucks look like they're driving real fast.

Rogers is fun. Developing a patience for D.S., and I'm not exactly patient. I just accept the role between directon and camerawork and try to shrug it off. Live television is a little bit different I suppose, a lot more stressful for the production room. I'd really like to get an opportunity to shadow directing before Daytime is out. I'd really like to get a try at trying to communicate what I want from the camera crew. I'm sure if I ever got to do it I'd have R. on audio, then J., C. and M. on camera so they'd all be pro by now, which means they'd all be good at catching what I say.

Rogers has a section about proposing a show, and although I think it's a little early to be thinking Soundtrack right now, I wouldn't mind proposing a show. I think it'd be interesting to have a show completely about local talent. Local bands, poets, artists, singers, theatre troupes, comedy acts could fill the half-hour segment, and it would contain only the same costs of operating the studio on volunteer work. I should talk to someone about it. I know it seems a little obnoxious, but I do have a Bachelors of Arts in Mass Communication and I'm trying hard to make a good impression on the staff there. I feel like I've come a far way in these past few weeks. If anything I've realized just how much more there is to know. Which is why I think I should start with something small. Get some experience behind me. I'm going to write yup a business model this week, and submit it sometime after.

I feel I must at least make a public statement that Soundtrack is not, I repeat, NOT on hiatus or the backburner in ANY way. Soundtrack is a destination I will arrive at, at exactly when I expect myself too. I told P.L. on March 26th, 2009, I wanted to be casting one year from then. I believe I can still meet that goal. Here is my attempt at an original moment of zen for your pleasure.

The path is long and has many turns, but it is always right in front of you.

I don't know if I'll get a chance to mention this before I go, but I'm attending a seminar at City Hall this week on how to receive arts funding! Barrie's fortunate enough to have a great MPP, Aileen Carroll, who sits as the provincial government's Minister of Culture, so this is a great town to live in to be an aspiring artist. I use the term loosely by the way, that's just the government's definition of me.

So hope you all had a good weekend and enjoyed the weather, and you'll be hearing from me soon!

The Storage Facility

2009-05-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

I got off my ass today and wrote a couple of pages in Episode 3: 401. I gave some subtance to the exchange between Eddie and Cain. I gave Eddie a reason to be in this and something to bargain with. I gave Cain a reasonable reaction to the information about Derek - and a decent way for him to hear it.

It wasn't much, but I was happy with what I put out today and I thought I'd mention it.

Collingwood

2009-05-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

May 17 2009

So I'm currently in Collingwood at my friend E.B.'s chalet. The group of them had wanted to see Star Trek again, but I've already seen it twice and that's enough. So I'm staying here, taking some time off drinking for the weekend and blogging some thoughts about television and life.

I started spreading the word about the third dinner. Camp-out at Dustin's, tents, fire, smores the whole shabang. But unfortunately I haven't been making the progress I'd like to on Episode 3. What I should try and remember is that I had this problem with Episode 2, and I was honestly happier and more satisfied with Episode 2 than 1. I'll make an effort on Tuesday to put some solid ideas on paper and finish the skeleton and first draft of Episode 3 before moving on to a more refined version.

In the news; Barrie Mediagate 2009 seems to be winding down. I've read most of the responses to my editorial, and I have one only rebuttal; learn the difference between internships and volunteering before you make it the cornerstone of your argument. I haven't been compelled to write any counter-arguments to the Examiner because I simply feel like no one has given me something worth responding to outside debating semantics. The blog is certainly a better place to hold these debates.

The Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission released a notice this past week that it would not seek to implement whats being called the "1-for-1" rule. This rule essentially seeks to correct the bidding wars for foreign programmes by Canadian stations. The CRTC claims that over three quarters of a billion dollars is spent each year by Canadian networks on purchasing foreign shows. What the 1-for-1 rule would essentially impose is for every dollar Canadian networks spend on purchasing American productions, they spend a dollar on purchasing Canadian productions. This is excellent news for me and it comes at a perfect time.

Next week American networks begin screening the slate of Fall television pilots for purchase by domestic and foreign networks. I'm sure this means there's some very lucky people watching some very rudimentary television pilots very soon, but it also means it's too soon for the CRTC to be implementing a new rule such as this. It would give Canadian networks a little over a week to reconsider their scheduling, production and budgets - which I'm sure isn't enough time. The CRTC in their infinite wisdom have decided to instead reschedule the 1-for-1 rule to be implemented in 2010 rather than the coming 2009 season. This gives me both time and hope to continue working on the series for a Fall 2010 debut. That also means this time next year I should be coming off the tail end of putting in a hell of a lot of work into the pilot - which makes me think I should get on to some of the more important aspects of pre-production. All in good time.

Rogers is going fine. Nothing really new to report there. Getting the hang of camera operation; starting to feel a little bit more comfortable behind the camera and being at the studio in general. R.M., the Director of Volunteer Services for Rogers Barrie couldn't have been more sincere when saying how respectful employees of the studio would be towards us volunteers. With competence comes confidence, but I couldn't have done either without the instruction and support of the Rogers program.

Not sure what else there is to say lately. Been having a good weekend, still one more night of fun drinking times to go! Then back to the 9-5 life. Hope everyone is well and having a great weekend. Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you all again soon.

A-Channel, Rogers and Community Media

2009-05-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Stardate, May 14th, 10:24pm:

Captain's log. I've been involved in volunteer efforts with Rogers Television for the past week or so. It's a terrific program. Really, I can't say enough about how great this experience is. One week ago I'd never stepped behind a camera, now I can somewhat operate one. That's a good skill to have when you're trying to get in to television production.

I was published by the Barrie Examiner in a Letter to the Editor in response to a similar letter first published by Peggy Hebden, Station Manager of A-Channel. You can find the link to that here; http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1564892 ; but since this was an edited copy, I'd like to attach a copy of the full version I had e-mailed to editor Bob Burton, but was told it would only fit if it was half its size(that's what she said).

The economic crisis has taken its toll on many industries, media included. The most recent Letter to the Editor from A-Channel Station Chief, Peggy Hebden, although informed, reeks of bias from a network that has failed to meet the needs of its community.

Local media serves one of two purposes. It either acts as a companion to mainstream media, or as an alternative. The simple question in determining A-Channel's worth to the community comes in identifying which of these two services the network is providing to Barrie and its surrounding area.

As this is an editorial, I'm going to save myself a lot of words and jump straight to the conclusion that A-Channel is a companion to mainstream media. The stories A-Channel has been reporting on are nothing short of the same headlines reported on national and local broadcasts coming out of most major cities. The bulk of its non-news programming is imported from larger networks unable to accommodate them in their scheduling. Its efforts to reach out to the community are becoming substantially insignificant.

A-Channel stands alone in the Barrie area as one of the only media outlets which does not co-ordinate a volunteer program to educate local youth in media production. It stands alone as one of the hardest networks to reach for comment, as evidenced by several personal attempts to receive network feedback for a paper based on the value of local media. Throughout the years, its programming has become more and more distant from the community it serves.

So what alternative is A-Channel providing the residents of Simcoe County? Its news programming mirrors that of national networks. It's non-news programming mirrors that of national networks. Though A-Channel, formerly The NewVR has provided an alternative in the past, its growing reach into York Region and national headlines have left us with nothing more than an expensive sister-station to national networks.

Hebden pleads in her final paragraph for the support of its audience during these tough economic times. I have only one response; No Peggy, we need YOUR support. A shift to more community-based broadcasting and providing an alternative to the mainstream networks we can find anywhere else is what we both need - or A-Channel will simply become increasingly unnecessary, and obsolete.

There have been rebuttals by A-Channel high-ups, including evening news anchor Lance Chilton and while I'm going to avoid an all-out Barrie Examiner editorial war, I'd like to defend my position here.

When I first started watching A-Channel it was known as CKVR and provided local news to Barrie and the surrounding area. Somewhere between CKVR and A-Channel, we lost that same local station. For one, the news isn't about Barrie and surrounding area anymore. It's occasionally about Barrie, and more often about the '905 Belt' and the municipalities south of Simcoe. I can't remember the last time I saw a locally-produced program on their primetime lineup.

As the former employee of what I'll leave to be an unnamed public-service, I'll tell you personally that A-Channel is one of the most difficult media outlets to get in contact with regarding issues important to Barrie's citizens. Furthermore, as a communications student at Carleton this past year, the cutbacks to A-Channel earlier this year inspired me to write a paper about the importance of community media and the need for networks like the former New VR to exist. After several attempts to reach the network for comment, I received no word back. The conclusion I reached at the end of the paper is A-Channel no longer fit the criteria for community media. If A-Channel is unwilling to help itself, why should we pay the bill via bailout funds to assist it?

I opened this entry with a paragraph on my experiences with Rogers for a reason; that is that there is a difference between an intern and a volunteer. This is for you, Mr. Lance Chilton; A volunteer comes in whenever he or she wants to, and participates only as much or as little as they wish. They decide their own level of involvement, commitment and create their own schedule that works around them. An intern is the equivilant of an unpaid employment position, with set hours and menial duties.

I'm going to at least send a link to the Barrie Examiner, Bob Burton, to this blog, as I feel that in this digital age we don't need to continue this bickering through a newspaper. For those who've come here through the Examiner, thank you for taking an interest in community media, and I hope you realize how little A-Channel fits that profile. Thank you so much for reading and stay tuned for updates on
Soundtrack.

Blog!

2009-05-10T14:44:00.001-07:00

May 10, 2009

So why has it been over a week since the last blog update? Because I’ve been busy! Television production requires money and skill – and I’m trying to get as much as both of those as I possibly can.

I applied to volunteer at Rogers Television in Barrie at the suggestion of a former coworker, E.S. The next day, I got a call from their volunteer program about an orientation being held that night and I was welcome to attend. Not even 14 hours later I was operating a camera for the live-television program, DAYTIME.

During the final weeks of university I was trying to complete a paper on the value that local media provides in community, especially considering these troubling economic times. I had attempted to reach A-Channel for contact through several different venues, trying to reach a producer for comment on the story. I received absolutely no feedback, and when I was trying to find volunteer programs for media outlets in Barrie, I couldn’t quite decide if I was surprised or not that A-Channel didn’t offer one. In the days following my positive experiences at Rogers, I’ve come to understand a major difference between the two if both are to be considered local media. A news article in the Barrie Examiner motivated me to write a letter to the editor about A-Channel’ s value to the community is diminishing, and labeling itself community media is an outright lie to justify its budgetary expenditures. I was contacted by the editor to be assured the article would be published in Mondays edition, and so I’ll link to that as soon as it becomes available.

Volunteering at Rogers Television has been a tremendous experience. I never thought that on day one I would be operating a camera for a live television show. On a side note, it didn’t go very well, and I was kicked off after failing to deliver a shot that the director wanted, but that’s how this business goes. The director isn’t as mean as she sounds, I just think she was uninformed to my lack of experience on the camera.

Apparently everyone starts out on camera operating – but there are several things I’ll be learning. Directing, producing, sound and visual editing. It truly sounds like a wonderful experience that will be absolutely invaluable by the time I’ve committed a few months to the program. On top of the education, it’s got an accommodating schedule. I’m able to go in at 10am, prepare for DAYTIME and then assist with its filming and production and be out by noon. There are also so programs that film at 6:30. In short, it’s a perfect opportunity for me to learn the hands-on things that University just can’t provide. On top of that, it’s free! So in advance, thank you, Rogers Television!

I made some changes to Episodes 2 and 3. Eddie and Cain are now headed for a storage facility located near Toronto’s lakefront. I figured cops would be sitting on Davis’ house, or at least have investigated it. The point is, the Superhero Closet would be either too hard or too easy to find and thus an alternative needed to be presented. Cain and Eddie are still going to stumble upon the same wealth of information and equipment – just in a different spot.

I’m a little nervous to continue writing episode 3. It’s quite important in the scheme of the whole series, and needs to be treated with that in mind. In a nutshell the whole episode is about Derek and Riley rescuing Davis, and Eddie and Cain finding the info and equipment. Those are literally the only two important events in the episode – but they’ll shape everything to come.

Davis is on the verge of discovering what happened in 1986, Derek’s year of birth. While he’s aware of the precognitive born around the time of 1970, he hasn’t made the connection between the precognitive’s self-awakening and Derek’s birth. Derek is the result of a timeline being disturbed and a physical manifestation of its intent to protect itself. While all this information is going to be in the files that Eddie and Cain have by episodes’ end, no one’s going to make the connection for some time.

One of the most difficult exchanges I’m trying to write is Cain’s reaction to the information. He’s unaware that Derek is a superhero, he has his suspicions but they’re nowhere near the true explanation. Stumbling into Davis’ secret hideout is going to leave him with some questions about the detective, as well as Derek. Eddie, armed only with a single handgun, is either going to have to do his best to explain things to him. It’s quite the difficult exchange to write, because I mean, how would anyone react to it? I think I need to spend a little time getting to know Eddie and Cain a little bit more before I can know how this conversation is actually going to happen. Unfortunately it happens at the end of the first quarter of the episode, so it’s putting a damper on the rest of the episode coming out.

Not sure if there’s anything else to report on really. Today is Mother’s Day, so make her breakfast and clean the house!

Apologies for the Lateness

2009-05-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

I will definitely update this regularly. Feel free, in fact, I even encourage you to post your own suggestions in the comments section, or on Twitter @eddietucker or my Facebook fansite for SOUNDTRACK. That being said, here is the official post for the unofficial soundtrack of SOUNDTRACK!

APRIL 29, 2009

The name’s Zach, MuZach. Music is perhaps the most critical aspect of SOUNDTRACK. Canadian artists will fuel the supercharged official soundtrack of the series, and will be absolutely instrumental in its success.

I’ve began to compile a list, tentatively, of the music I’d like to see represented in SOUNDTRACK. On a side note, I’m looking for someone with industry connections to assist me in securing the rights to use any of the following songs. I’ve included the song name; artist; album; year of release and record label for all selections. There are in absolutely no particular order.

Metric – Satellite Mind – Fantasies (2009)
Tegan and Sara – Give Chase – The Con (B-Side, 2007)
Tegan and Sara – The Con – The Con (2007)
Tegan and Sara – Back in Your Head – The Con (2007)
Moneen – Don’t Ever Tell Locke… - The Red Tree (2006)
Alexisonfire – Accidents – Watch Out! (2003)
The Arcade Fire – No Cars Go – Neon Bible (2006)
Attack in Black – Young Leaves – Attack in Black (2006)
Broken Social Scene – 7/4 (Shoreline) – Broken Social Scene (2005)
Broken Social Scene – Major Label Debut (Fast) – EP To Be You and Me (2005)
Chromeo – Needy Girl – She’s in Control (2004)
The Constantines – On to You – Shine a Light (2003)
Controller.Controller – History – History (2003)
Controller.Controller – Disco Blackout – History (2003)
Danko Jones – Sound of Love – Born a Lion (2002)
Death From Above 1979 – Black History Month – You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine (2004)
Death From Above 1979 – Blood on Our Hands – You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine (2004)
Die Mannequin – Do It Or Die – Slaughter Daughter (2007)
Dragonette – Shock Box – Dragonette EP (2007)
Feist – I Feel It All – The Reminder (2007)
The Flatliners – This Respirator - - The Great Awake (2007)
Jakalope – Pretty Life – It Dreams (2004)
Joel Plaskett Emergency – Fashionable People - Ashtray Rock (2007)
Joel Plaskett Emergency – Snowed In / Cruisin – Ashtray Rock (2007)
Joel Plaskett Emergency – Extraordinary – Truthfully, Truthfully (2003)
Malajube – Montreal -40c – Trompe-L’oeil (2006)
Malajube – Les Collemboles – Labyrinthes (2009)
Mariannas Trench – Masterpiece Theatre Pt. 3 – Masterpiece Theatre (2009)
Metric – IOU – Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? (2003)
Metric – Wet Blanket - Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? (2003)
Moneen – Start Angry, End Mad – Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? (2002)
Moneen – If Tragedy’s Addicting, Then Disaster’s An Addiction – The Red Tree (2006)
Moneen – The Freightening Reality That We’ll All Have to Grow Up and Settle Down One Day – The Red Tree (2006)
Most Serene Republic – Where Cedar Nouns and Adverbs Walk – Underwater Cinematographer (2005)
MSTRKRFT – D.A.N.C.E. (Justice Remix) –
The New Pornographers – Mass Romantic – Mass Romantic (2000)
Protest the Hero - Sequoia Throne – Fortress (2008)
Sam Roberts – Them Kids – Love At the End of the World (2008)
Sloan – If It Feels Good Do It – Pretty Together (2001)
Sloan – The Other Man – Pretty Together (2001)
Sloan – The Good in Everyone – (1998)
Stars – Ageless Beauty – Set Yourself On Fire (2004)
The Stills – Eastern Europe – Oceans Will Rise (2008)
The Stills – Killer Bees – Rememberese EP (2003)
The Stills – Ready For It – Logic Will Break Your Heart (2003)
Tokyo Police Club – Cheer It On! – A Lesson in Crime (2005)
The Weakerthans – Aside – Left and Leaving (2000)
Matthew Good Band – Load Me Up – Beautiful Midnight (1998)
Matthew Good Band – Indestructible – Underdogs (1997)
Matthew Good Band – Everything Is Automatic – Underdogs (1997)
Matthew Good – Weapon – Avalanche (2003)
Controller.Controller – Tigers Not Daughters – X-Amounts (2006)
Junior Boys – Caught in a Wave – So This is Goodbye (2006)
Junior Boys – Like a Child – So This is Goodbye (2006)
Junior Boys – In the Morning – So This is Goodbye (2006)
Metric – Gold Guns Girls – Fantasies (2009)
The Russian Futurists – Let’s Get Ready to Crumble – Me Myself & Rye... An Introduction to the Russian Futurists (2006)
Our Lady Peace – Naveed – Naveed (1998)
Our Lady Peace – One Man Army – Happiness is Not a Fish… (1999)
Metric – Dead Disco – Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? (2003)
Kevin Drew – Frightening Lives – Spirit If… (2008)
Hot Hot Heat – Middle of Nowhere – Elevator (2005)
Hot Hot Heat – No, Not Now – Make Up the Breakdown (2002)
Chromeo – Destination: Overdrive – She’s in Control (2004)
Broken Social Scene – Cause = Time – You Forgot It In People (2003)
Broken Social Scene – Lover’s Spit – You Forgot It In People (2003)
Broken Social Scene – Stars and Sons – You Forgot It In People (2003)
Broken Social Scene – Fire Eye’d Boy – Broken Social Scene (2005)
Billy Talent – Try Honesty – Billy Talent (2003)
Billy Talent – The Ex – Billy Talent (2003)
Billy Talent – River Below – Billy Talent (2003)
Alexisonfire – This Could Be Anywhere in The World – Crisis (2006)
Alexisonfire – Waterwings (And Other Poolside Fashion Faux-Pas) – Alexisonfire (2003)
Alexisonfire – Pulmonary Archery – Alexisonfire (2003)
Billy Talent – Red Flag – Billy Talent 2 (2006)
Hot Hot Heat – Oh, Goddamnit – Makeup The Breakdown (2002)
Feist – My Moon, My Man – The Reminder (2007)

Non-Canadian Songs I’m Interested In:

The Kills – What New York Used to Be – Midnight Bloom (2008)
Saosin – Sleepers – Saosin (2007)
Saosin – Kept Secrets – The Grey (2008)

I Will Update this List Regularly;

2009-04-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

APRIL 29, 2009

The name’s Zach, MuZach. Music is perhaps the most critical aspect of SOUNDTRACK. Canadian artists will fuel the supercharged official soundtrack of the series, and will be absolutely instrumental in its success.

I’ve began to compile a list, tentatively, of the music I’d like to see represented in SOUNDTRACK. On a side note, I’m looking for someone with industry connections to assist me in securing the rights to use any of the following songs. I’ve included the song name; artist; album; year of release and record label for all selections. There are in absolutely no particular order.

Dbell Productionz

2009-04-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

APRIL 29, 2009

Production notes. I’ve been talking to a few people lately about forming a production company. Here is a list of a few things I’d like to have accomplished over the next few months.

MAY 15th – EPISODE 3 FIRST DRAFT COMPLETED
JUNE 1st – D. BELL PRODUCTIONS INC. FOUNDED
JULY 1st – EPISODE 1, FINAL DRAFT, PRODUCTION SCRIPT COMPLETED
AUGUST 1st – STORYBOARDS for EPISODE 1 COMPLETED
AUGUST 1st – EPISODE 4 FIRST DRAFT STARTED
AUGUST 15th – THIRD DINNER (obviously this is tentative)
AUGUST 30th – TENTATIVE SHOOTING LOCATIONS for EPISODE 1

As of right now, April 30th 2009, I do have several key contributors to the shooting of EPISODE 1 nailed down. I have provided initials for everyone’s names.

EPISODE 1: FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

WRITTEN BY: DUSTIN BELL
DIRECTED BY: DUSTIN BELL
SCRIPT SUPERVISOR: E.B.
STORYBOARDS – G.F.
DIRECTOR OF CINEMATOGRAPHY: J.W.
MAKEUP: M.C. and K.S.
HAIR: J.B.
MUSIC SUPERVISOR: DUSTIN BELL

(I will add credits as people become more committed to the project)

Quite an impressive list of talented people. All Canadian, all wildly enthusiastic about the project. If you’re ever interested in joining a production team that’s passionate about creating entertaining films and television, please, don’t hesitate to contact me at dbell.productions@gmail.com

Dinner Part 2

2009-04-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

This is the second of two entries on the dinner party. This one’s a little bit more about what I, as the series creator, got out of the event.

Hearing dialogue spoken out loud has two purposes. You can gauge what it actually sounds like outside of your head and it also gives you the opportunity to find those writing errors that go virtually unnoticed when read silently.

There were definitely some lines I need to revise. There were also some lines that sounded awful – but I feel that provided a gifted and professional actor/actress would come across as more genuine. I’m not trying to diminish the acting capabilities of any of my friends or guests – but there were specific lines read that just weren’t delivered correctly.

This gives me insight into the directing aspect of the series. It also compels me further to direct the series myself. Most of these characters, Trust, Eddie, Riley, Dana, Cain, etc. I have a pretty good idea of who these people are. I feel like if I were to explain their motivations to someone, they’d understand a bit more about them, and have greater insight into how they say things, why they say things, etc.

Cain for instance; Eastern European, perhaps even Russian, but he definitely speaks with an accent. His lines come out a little bit slower than most – as the most significant aged character on the show, he’s seen a lot and perceives things in a way unlike most of the characters.

I personally struggle with modernity. I think its rather unfathomable to perceive a world filled with nearly seven billion unique people spread across almost two-hundred nations and probably ten-fold more individual cultures and ethnicities. I struggle with the notion that the generation gap between ourselves and our parents is widening further and further. Was life examined so profusely forty years ago? Did they ask themselves these same questions? It’s arguable that perhaps this generation does find itself in very different circumstances that the previous one did – perhaps even tougher strugglers; however, I find it almost certain that our parents generation viewed themselves in a similar position in contrast to their parents’ generation. This is the concept I’d like to explore with Cain. I’d really like to be able to identity and explore the conflict that rages between these two generations. Is contempt for previous generations inherent in today’s youth – or inherent in all youth? Life on Earth would never progress or change if there wasn’t some level of dissatisfaction with modernity.

The relationship between Cain and Derek will eventually become that of the surrogate father-and-son. Through this unlikely relationship I’d like to explore some way to mend the broken relationship between past and present; modernity and post-modernity. I fully believe that a lot of conflict in this world is based on the sins of the father – and how long can that conflict continue? Juxtaposed with the youthful Daniella (yes, I’d to change Danielle to Daniella) Parsons, who makes her decisions based on her perception of the future as opposed to her perception of the past – Cain will make a remarkable foil for almost every character on the show both enemy and ally.

Now I know I’ve veered from the discussion of the dinner quite a bit – but these were certainly issues I was pondering while everyone else was reading. While I did the narration, which is needless to say, monotonous, it was interesting to see the emotional level that these other characters were given.

L.B. and C.C. (I’m using initials to cover up for my friends real names) both did a wonderful job of Riley. The innocent girl who breaks traditional gender stereotypes, yet finds herself wildly fascinated with the events unfolding before her. I liked that that Riley was a character that came off as easy to understand and interpret. E.B., who I’ve been collaborating with extensively on SOUNDTRACK, had a thorough understanding of who Eddie is, and for the two events, provided an excellent interpretation of the character.

To summarize – I think I’ve gotten all I can get out of these dinners. They are exceptional, entertaining and useful things for reviewing the script – but in order to get anything more out of them I’ll have to mix them up.

If there is to be a third dinner – which of course there will be, perhaps coinciding with E.B.’s Collingwood Chalet retreat – but it will be much more heavy on directing. For participants of past events reading now, expect to be coached a little bit more in your character. I’ll be making extensive directing notes for the third episode in order to effectively create a more entertaining experience for the next dinner.

Thank you so much for reading what has dragged on way too long. Hope you all have wonderful days, and expect a few production-related posts coming in the next few days.

How to Prepare a Dinner and a Show

2009-04-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

APRIL 25, 2009

This is the first post-dinner blog entry. I had originally planned to do two entries, one pre-dinner, one post – but that didn’t work out so well. I think I’ll title this “How to Prepare a Dinner and a Show”.

First things first; this is a two-person job. The amount of preparation can be done by one chef alone; but the shear monotony and boredom of the situation calls for a partner in crime. They will assist in serving, preparation, greeting the guests, etc. You, however, will be busy with other things. Think of them as your Executive Officer (XO).

Second things second; you will need a good two days preparation. One day for cleaning, one day for cooking. Yes, you should try and plan a meal that can be prepared a day early and then heated to serve. Sounds gross? Wrong. Keep everything freshly sealed, and make sure everything is ready for the big day. Trust me, so long as you’ve done a good job preparing anything, you’re guests won’t mind some freshly heated leftovers. The importance of cleanliness in the venue is paramount – like dinner guests of any restaurant from McDonalds to The Gilded Truffle, a certain level of cleanliness is expected in both the kitchen and the dining area. Providing your guests with both of these is essential in letting them know your level of responsibility and appreciation for their dining experience.

Third; have a great guest-list. The event in January consisted of mostly the core group, which was fantastic – but I thought I’d mix it up just a little bit for the second and possibly last get-together. Having some ‘newbies’ attend was a great way to expand the circle of friends, and get a good mix of people who share interest in the project. As a final goodbye party, the dinner was a good excuse to invite some people together that otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to meet. As much fun as hanging out with the same group of friends is, it’s even funner, 100% of the time, to introduce some new faces. No number is too high for a guest-list, but keep in mind you have to COOK for all these people. I had around 16-18 guests at the last get-together and I don’t think I’d want to cook for a single person more than that. If you get along with your all friends, chances are your friends will get along with your friends so never be too nervous about inviting someone new.

Fourth (but really first); have your project completed before you’re ready to invite and serve guests. There were a few forgivable grammar and formatting errors – but aside from that, Episode Two was complete. Nothing would be more embarrassing than inviting your guests to an event that was in someway unprepared. There were some issues at the beginning of the reading (such as assigning characters/actors) that probably could have been taken care of earlier in the night – before everyone was liquored-up.

Which brings me to Step Five; Booze. Every good party has free booze – it’s a fact. Ours’ had free booze and a roulette-wheel drinking game. Dinner took longer than expected, but by the time everyone was shitfaced drunk, who cared? By the time dinner was served, everyone was moderately drunk, decently fed and ready for some D-List entertainment.

The final, optional Step Six; sobriety. I can vouch 50/50 in favor of this one. I had a good time at the first one where I was considerably wasted, but I also had a great time at the second time where I was not. Sobriety is essential for a first time cook. For one who’s a bit more comfortable around the cooking-wear, it becomes optional. It can be quite dangerous operating hot cooking-gear while intoxicated but use your own judgment when making this decision. One thing to consider is that in a way, you are responsible for providing both the food and the entertainment – and your chances of doing either successfully decrease with every drink you have. You be a sober host, a drunk host, or anywhere in between, but make sure it’s at a level that makes you a good host.

So what we’ve concluded here is that:
Good Friends + Good Food + Good Booze + A Little Effort
= A lot of fun had by everyone.

I think that summarizes what went into the dinner party and what made it successful. I think that’s enough for now, but there will probably be a second post soon detailing what was so successful about the dinner, as well as some updates for SOUNDTRACK itself.

Briefly on Themes and Nationalism

2009-04-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

I caught the Caprica premiere, and while I won't stray into an unnecessary review of that, I'd like to touch on the idea of themes.

Caprica's theme is almost definitely identity. We have several characters all in the same situation and all reacting differently. Taurons behave one way, Capricans another. This is before the Colonies united under one nation. In short, if Battlestar Galactica had lingering racism, then Caprica has blatant racism. Zoe Greystone's digital copy is remarkably similar to the eight manufactured cylon models - but for some reason doesn't carry that characteristic of true autonomous identity. Kind of like a Pinocchio while he was just a freshly cut tree.

That being said it raises a lot of interesting questions that I'm sure you'll have raised yourself upon watching. What I'm here to talk about is the main theme of 'Soundtrack'.

Nationalism:

Questioning who we are as Canadians is one of the things that make us Canadian. Soundtrack, as both a show and a character will explore the theme of national identity. Derek Rhett's journey leads him to question who he wants to be as a person, and what role he can take in preserving what he thinks Canada should be.

Inspired by the mosaic that is Canada's culture, I'd like to have as ethnically diverse cast as I possibly can. I've written parts specifically for Francophone actors/actresses, and I've been encouraged to worked with a translator to get some authentic Quebecois dialogue into some of the future scripts. With any luck, I'll be able to effectively construct the multicultural makeup of our nation's landscape.

Perhaps most importantly is the contributions that Canadians like you and I can make to the entertainment industry. From the actors and actresses to the camera operators and lighting technicians, to directors and musicians - I want to work with and highlight the terrific and exemplary work that Canadians contribute to an industry dominated by Americans. There's a reason a lot of American films and television series are filmed here in Canada; our landscape is beautiful; our artists and crew have world-wide renown; and most important, because there is plenty of economic opportunity for this industry.

If the show is picked up as a longer series - I'd love to explore these ideas even deeper. I'd hope that the audience asked themselves what they thought it meant to be Canadian - and the things that they can contribute to their nation. Through Separatism and other issues, it's clear Canada's geography and history can weather its overall sense of national identity; I hope to address these conflicts as well and find a way to focus on the things that make us a country worth standing united. In the past, it's been media that has united this nation - and with that in mind I'll set out to explore whether or not that can be repeated.

Further Synopses

2009-04-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

1x04 - NOSTOS

Semi-successful in their operation to rescue Detective Nathan Davis, the trio returns home for some much needed rest before they can pursue their latest target; mastermind of the whole affair - Lidless.

1x05 - IN MEDIAS RES

After a friendly-face is kidnapped - Lidless' true plan is revealed. She races against time to prevent Soundtrack from bringing an end to her vision of Utopia.

1x06 - THE THINGS WORTH FIGHTING FOR

Soundtrack breaks into the heart of Lidless' operation to rescue his friend and for the first time, he and Lidless come face-to-face and duel for the fate of the nation.

Episode Synopses

2009-04-16T11:56:00.001-07:00

EPISODE 1x01 - FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

Meet Derek Rhett. A man with an incredible gift who can't seem to find a path in life - until a gruesome murder leads Detective Nathan Davis to his front door. Linked to the murder through his shady employer, Derek has to rely on his best friends to evade the cops - and the real killer.

EPISODE 1x02 - CHASING RABBITS

Hot on the trail of adversary-turned-ally, Detective Davis, Derek turns to his criminal employer, Marcus Cain, to track down information on those responsible for Davis' kidnapping. Davis' partner, Dana Steele, pursues Derek with relentless force.

EPISODE 1x03 - 401

The team now split up, heads in two different directions. Riley takes Derek to confront Simon Trusseau, a possible key-player in the conspiracy. Eddie and Cain head for the home of Nathan Davis, hoping to find answers.

EPISODE 1x04 - NOSTOS
EPISODE 1x05 - IN MEDIAS RES
EPISODE 1x06 - THE THINGS WORTH FIGHTING FOR

A Side Note

2009-04-13T15:25:00.001-07:00

Soundtrack has always been a very personal project to me, and as such, I'd like to bear most of the load. That being said, I know there's many parts of the production process I'm not capable of doing myself. I'm always interested in meeting people pursuing a career or interest in the television and film industries.

I'm always looking to meet;
- Fellow Writers
- Graphic Artists
- Sound Editors
- Lighting Technicians
- Film Editors
- (Motion) Camera Operators
- (Still) Camera Operators and Cinematographers
- Make-up Artists
- Hair Stylists
- Actors and Actresses
- Musicians and Musical Composers
- Directors
- As well as anyone else who's ever been interested in this amazing industry.

So for those of you who read this, help a brother out! As Mayor Quimby's campaign says, "He'd vote for you!".

Updates:

2009-04-07T23:52:00.001-07:00

I finished my final undergraduate paper, and I'm currently studying for my final undergraduate exam. I'm excited! But, alas, busy.

I did some work to what's becoming the second draft of episode two 'Chasing Rabbits'. There's some things I'm having trouble with. Eve and Derek's relationship to be honest. Eve was always based on Katie, and the further I get away from her the further I get away from Eve. Eve and Derek have been apart so long, and I'm not sure what they'd say to each other now. Why does Eve want anything to do with Derek? Good question.

There's a second dinner planned for Thursday, April 23rd. Wings will be served. Criticism will be taken in full stride. I'm excited, the second episode is a lot less introduction and a lot more play.

Anyway, getting tired, just wanted to let you know I don't forget about you!

Battlestar! Galactica!

2009-03-31T13:33:00.000-07:00

I’m choosing to review Battlestar Galactica’s series finale for a few reasons. It’s made an extraordinary impact on the way television and stories will be told from now on. It’s perhaps one of the best stories I’ve ever been able to hear, or watch, or whatever you want to call it, it’s also one of my biggest inspirations for Soundtrack. I admit I’ve hit a bit of a roadblock, a writer’s roadblock so to say – Battlestar Galactica’s finale has caused me to rethink everything I’ve done so far. To have it be done is just not enough – it needs to be done right. You’ve set the bar, Battlestar. I swear I didn’t mean to rhyme right there. Oh my gods that’s contagious.

I suppose the first issue is Kara Thrace. Disappearing in the middle of a field may not have been closure, but we're left with the fact that Kara came back as something else after the explosion. Whether that was an angel, or a dying leader, or a cylon-hybrid, it doesn't really matter. We always knew she had a destiny - and that calling brought her back to complete it. To not put a name and logic to something as profoundly personal as resurrection was a brilliant choice. What we saw was how people would deal with resurrection if it happened to them - and it worked. Baltar said it best when he said Kara exemplified life after death. Her mere existence was a beacon of hope in otherwise bleak times. We saw Kara come back as sharp, determined in her mission - we saw her as fragile when her identity issues came up on Earth. I thought they did a wonderful job of staying committed to the characters. As far as her being the Harbringer of Death - well, death is just a metaphor for change. Humanity did end, it's now mixed with Cylon DNA. So far as Earth providing a hope and future for the fleet, Kara was no longer needed.

I had read spoilers here and there about Helo ending the unpredictable way and I understand that now. I liked that. It would have been cliché for Helo or Athena to go out as the cost for Hera. That shot of Helo walking on Earth with his family was a perfect resolution to their story.

The flashbacks were perfect in de-mythifying these characters (besides Kara). Their origins told stories of real people who seemingly guided their own lives, but somehow fell into a small group of some of the most important roles in humanity’s history. The moment Adama puked and looked up at the stars – he knew that’s where he belonged. Kara’s relationship with Zak is what laid the foundations for her relationships with William and Lee. One, a futile, but loving relationship between brother and sister-in-law and the other a surrogate father-daughter present from day one.

I had trouble with Adama and Roslin leaving Kara and Lee on their own, considering their own losses, but of anyone in this entire series that's earned some rest, is it not these two? Their mission was to guide humanity to a home and against all odds, they did it. I'd let those two do whatever they wanted. It's a shame Lee is left alone, but how could Adama know Kara would disappear? Besides, Lee does alright. I'm sure he'll find some babe who wants to go rock climbing with the former President of the Colonies. Without Roslin, what would Adama get out of life? Sine Qua Non. That last scene with Adama talking to Roslin’s grave was just tremendous, and the emotional highpoint of the episode for me. I would have been happy if it had been the end of the episode – but there was story left to be told.

Like life, things do not just end. It's a very open ended conclusion to the story. The show was called Battlestar Galactica, and in the first episode we were promised humanity's salvation. I'd say the show completely told that story. On the note of salvation - maybe the concept of abandoning technology doesn't seem appropriate in the context of the finale itself, but as a series - it was such a logical ending. Of course we as the audience can't understand the allure of a tribal lifestyle - that's the point. There is a lot of credible material to suggest that our obsession with blaming modernity for denying us the lifestyle we desire is what leads to some of the most important milestones in history. Four years locked in metal boxes on the run from cutthroat machines they had invented - well those are situations we can only imagine. Would the whole population of the 12 Colonies been able to do that prior to the attack? Probably not.

Baltar references Pythia in 4x09 "The Hub" as humanity's salvation is found in the wake of a flood. By the end of Battlestar Galactica, humanity has found salvation. A cycle which had repeated itself at least four times over 6000 years was broken for over 150, 000. Furthermore the MSNBC broadcast (which I took as a confirmation as their Earth being 'our' Earth, besides, you know, Africa) wasn't highlighting the fact that our curiosity with machines will lead to our downfall – it’s what we have those machines do. All the machines on television were providing some form of service, whether its was entertainment or something more. Our minds racing ahead while our souls lag behind. Is it right to create machines to make life funner, or easier on this planet? I think that's a question we have to ask ourselves at the end of the series.

Battlestar Galactica has always been a modern myth. That was clear from the season one episode "Hand of God". Hera was more than just a girl - she was a symbol of a the possible future between cylon and humanity. If Athena and Helo could fall in love, than so could any human and cylon. The fight was not just for Hera - it was for a bonded future. Of course the show wasn't going to satisfy every note. For one, some questions aren't worth answering, and two, some answers are better left to interpretation. Ronald D. Moore may not have had an end in sight from Day 1, but he certainly knows how to tell the modern myth. I thought the series was an overall groundbreaking contribution to modern story telling - from its narrative to its production value. I hope this show influences the way television is produced in some way from now on. I thought it was a terrific finale - a small movie, and a great end to a great series.

To cap it off, my top ten list of Battlestar Galactica episodes.

10. The Miniseries
9. Pegasus (Cut)
8. Unfinished Business (Uncut)
7. A Disquiet Follows My Soul
6. Daybreak (I, II)
5. Flesh and Bone
4. Exodus (II)
3. Blood on the Scales
2. 33
1. Someone to Watch Over Me

2009-03-25T21:35:00.001-07:00

March 262009

It’s my birthday. That means it’s getting close to Soundtrack’s first birthday. With that, I announce a major change in the series. Riley Baxter, is now Riley Evans, and she’s a she! By she I mean girl. There’s not even a lot of changes to be made. It was done to balance the genders in the series, to provide another female lead and to sweeten the dynamic between Eddie and Riley. There’s no romance in the first 6 episodes, but there will definitely be a relationship or maybe even a triangle by the end of the longer vision.

Getting back to birthdays. 23. I told Patrick tonight I want to be casting in one year. One year ago Soundtrack was an idea. Now, it’s two and a half scripts, directing notes, some serious ambition about a production company, including a business model and production costs. The news today was that the CBC was cutting back huge, and selling assets to make up $170 million or something. Now that means that that stuff will be up for grabs! Lots of stuff to be buying – or leasing! Just enough to shoot a pilot. I’ve been semi-looking forward to auditions, now that Riley is a girl.

I’m going to be posting my review of the Battlestar Galactica finale. Stay tuned.

2009-03-12T14:47:00.002-07:00

March 12, 2009

Alright, so I began directing notes for Episode 1. Why? Brendan keeps pressing the idea that I start my own production company and with that thought in mind, I began to think about the bigger picture. I see these images in my mind, but it would be nice to be able to communicate it to others. I got five pages into the directing notes for Episode 1 and it took about an hour. I’m fortunate to have had the teachings of Jose Gonzales and Rudy Schoenngen for my mediocre knowledge in camera shots.

I also found my first actor. Kyle Eyer. Eddie or Riley. Both musicians, both fighters. We talked about it last night. He hasn’t read the script but he could do well for both. I sent him the scripts and a more detailed description of the two characters, so here for your reading pleasure is Eddie and Riley uncut.

I always imagined riley as a skinhead, not a nazi, but shaved. probably pierced, maybe even those gross ear plug things. obviously he wouldn't have to get any of those for real. he can get away with this look at the mechanic shop he works at. he likes it. he’s liked cars all his life. he’s good with them too. he's kind of sarcastic, but at the same time, he's the only real optimistic of the main trio. kind of along for the ride - because he wants to be there. he's bored with his every day life and this unique situation comes upon him so he just rolls with it

Eddie i'm not really sure. he's a smart guy. he just doesn't have much initiative. he went to school, got good grades, but nowhere near what he could have. he's a technical genius, he really has an aptitude for electronics and mechanical engineering. because of that he has a very rational mind. he can't really accept the things that unfold in front of him. his friendship with riley, plus a desire to put a logical explanation to inexplicable events motivate him to participate in these events he'd otherwise discard as nonsense

It’s really important to develop where these characters came from. I had someone ask me today why Davis became a cop with his intellect, and the last post had his backstory. Bam, I already had a satisfying answer within a smaller story. It’s encouraged me to go back and write detailed histories for each character, so expect those soon!

Aside from those bits, I started Episode 3 ‘401’. I liked that title. It’s a clue as to what might happen this episode. I’ll give you a hint “RESCUE ON THE 401” will not be the headline. More like… “POLICE HAVE NO SUSPECTS IN ATTACK ON 401”. Hope every one has a great day!

Good Night and Good Luck!

2009-03-12T14:47:00.001-07:00

MARCH 8 2009:

Episode 2 is finished! Tentative title CHASING RABBITS. A bit of an allure to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but I feel like that’s getting to be way too cliché. That and C.S. Lewis. I think it’s a bit more literal than Episode 1’s title, it refers really to the fact that everyone in this episode is really chasing their own tail.

I introduced a few new characters this episode. Paul Brandt the mercenary got a name, Cain has a bodyguard/chef named Vilo Monrae, a information source known as Trust, and a key conspiracy figure, Simon Trusseau. With the exception of Brandt, who’s dead now, I think we’re going to see all of these characters again at least once.

I found this episode to be a struggle to write. I had always intended that the Davis rescue would go down in Episode 3, and I had to find a way to reach that moment but delay it at the same time. I mean the whole episode is literally find one clue to find another. In one way, I regret that, but in another, the episode’s called chasing rabbits for a reason. How would one track someone down without forensic evidence? Derek and crew would have been on the right track had they followed the Trusseau lead – but Davis’ plea for help at the end, setting in motion a very different episode was essential.

By about half way into Episode 3, I’d like the rescue to be under way. Riley and Derek find an opportunity to track down Davis that can’t wait for regrouping, but Eddie and Cain stumble upon Davis’ secret cache of high-tech weapons. This will include the high powered magnet hands, the mounted zip-line and the combat-suit. That last item will be the foundation of Derek’s costume by season 2.

You may never get an opportunity to see Nathan Davis’ back story so here it is. Davis grew up the son of an alcoholic and a mother who stood by it. With high spirits he made it through high school with fantastic grades, which led him to McGill University on a full scholarship. Pursuing studies in psychology, law and sociology he eventually graduated on top of the Dean’s List with a Masters in Criminology. Having deduced his intelligence was on the superhuman level, Davis struggled with what to do with his intellect. He entered law school, but soon discovered the courtroom wasn’t where he belonged. Through his studies, he was introduced to the case of JEREMY RYER, a man being tried on several different charges of fraud. Following the case, Davis identified Ryer as a super human capable of changing his appearance. Ryer disappeared shortly after his sentencing, and Davis began a short journey to track down and bring the suspect to justice. Davis was left was a renewed passion for the law on the side of the police, and soon found himself with a detective’s badge. His escalating war on crime has been fought with advanced-weaponary developed in his secret basement laboratory.

I still haven’t decided if Davis lives or dies. He’ll find out that Derek isn’t the target – Eve is, only Danielle doesn’t know who Eve is yet – just that it’s who Derek loves. Derek gets to Eve first, and is able to protect her for a short time – but is eventually captured at the end of Episode 4. While Danielle’s plans involve a nuclear attack – Derek only cares about getting his girl back. Frankly, Davis doesn’t fit into that picture – and obviously must die at some point. Characters with answers are bad. Maybe we can put him in a coma. Comas are good.

Anyway, expect status updates as I go through a second draft with Episode 2. Then I hopefully I can get everyone together for a good reading. You will be the second audience to know how it goes.

Ciao for now everyone!

2009-02-27T11:41:00.000-08:00

FEBRUARY 26 2009

Blogging is difficult. It’s not the only time I’ve done it. It’s not the only time I’ve started, put one post and never done it again.

But writing is important. Even if it isn’t creative, I think I’d like to make a resolution to write at least one thing every day from now on. If I’m going to consider myself a writer – I should probably write.

Not much made me think of anything creative today. I had a lazy day – an uninspired day. I got about 15 pages of Episode 2 done yesterday, as well as naming Episode 1.

‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ is at first memory the title of an Ernest Hemmingway novel, which borrows from a poem by John Donne first published in 1624. I won’t print it in its entirety here, but my interpretation of it is to mean that no man is separate from all of humanity. Despite the fact that my main character is not a human in the sense of the typical boundaries that define us physically, it is very much his acceptance of human emotion and his role in a greater collective that sets the events of the first season in motion. By the end of the episode, I think its not quite evident for whom the bell does toll, but by the end of the season we’ll realize the core-characters are all very different people, viewing life through different lenses.

I also created a new character, an employee under Marcus Cain. Vilo Monrae is of Mediterranean descent, and acts as both Cain’s bodyguard and personal chef. As a personal confidant of Cain, he’s privy to some of the knowledge the mobster has gained on Derek, and has arrived at his own suspicions.

During the course of writing the episode, I had decided that Derek and Riley would break into the restaurant, as to keep Riley close to the van, which led to Eddie providing recon outside the front entrance. This of course led him to confront Dana Steele, who was keeping an eye on the entrance herself. I hadn’t planned on this but I immediately felt Eddie’s sense of attraction to Dana, and that their first meeting would be both sincerely romantic yet tragically taboo at the same time. Not only that, but coincidentally Dana gives in to smoking, parallel to her missing partner, but without a lighter, she turns to Eddie, who was hanging on to Davis’ zippo. I thought it was a funny moment where everything that could go wrong happened all at the same moment during this quite little encounter. I was fortunate enough that Eddie thought of it.

Pat and I had discussed the gadgets stash that Davis has been developing over the years. I really wanted Eddie to stumble upon it at some point this episode – the technologies that Davis has developed for crime-fighting purposes are going to be Eddie’s main interest this season. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see any plausible scenario that would have any of the three give up the search for Cain’s contact for some random goose chase to a weapons cache that may not even exist. What we did discuss were a few near-future, yet scientifically practical weapons Davis could have developed. We came up with a portable mounting zip-line, as well as a pair of magnetized gloves which can alter the trajectory of bullets, as well as create a force of repulsion of attraction (depending on the settings) towards metal for the user. I think the inspiration for these two devices were gadgets that both Davis and Derek could make use of considering their mortal weaknesses. My sense was that Davis had been shot at a few times in the past, and these were his means for survival.

As for getting this thing sold, or looked at – that’s the difficult part. I’ve not put much effort into lately, I mean, school and stuff. Besides, I’m thinking a little bit more practically – securing actual employment rather than aspiring for fantasy employment. I’m the type that needs a reality-check from time-to-time.

I plan on sending out a copy of the script to every agent in Toronto, as Ottawa kind of sucks for ENGLISH writing representation. Three French places, one English/French. What is the world coming to? Maybe the blog will get me attention. Hey, hey, over here!

Ciao For Now!