Show Stuff and Thrice

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.

Nostos

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!