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!
Showing posts with label Episode 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Episode 3. Show all posts
Monday, October 26, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Table Read
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.
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.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
The Watchmaker
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.
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.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Proof That I Should Be Writing and Not Video Editing;
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'
Without further delay, I present, a preview for Episode III - 401.
'The Rescue of Detective Davis'
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Dustin Versus Episode Three
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!
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!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
$thirtyfive/$/fourty$
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;
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!
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!
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Beautiful People (that's you!)
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!
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!
Monday, May 18, 2009
The Storage Facility
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.
It wasn't much, but I was happy with what I put out today and I thought I'd mention it.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Collingwood
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.
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.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Blog!
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!
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!
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