Does Slow and Steady Win the Race?

Happy New Year!

Today, we are exploring a new topic - How to balance being a new parent with making films.  I wish I could just boil it down to some generic, three word call-to-arms like, "Just Do It", "Make it Happen" or "Find the Time", but it's a real challenge for creatives I know to be both a good parent and a productive creative.  I have found this to be an impressive challenge for myself, one that has slowed my traditional creative output to a grinding halt, or at least a slow trickle.  So, in 2014, I have decided to approach my projects differently.  I can't wait until I have a few hours to sit down to write or edit.  Gone are the times when I have an entire evening to focus on churning out a new draft.  I can't spend an entire weekend shooting and I probably can't sit down at the computer to work until late in the night, once everything is prepped for my son for the next day.  By then, of course, my eyes are drooping and my brain is not as focused as I would like.

So, what to do?  Give up your creative projects?

I say that the answer lies in the fifteen minutes.  Or the ten minutes.  Or even the five.

Maybe it is less than ideal, but if that's what we have, then that's what we can do.  Maybe in the first five minutes, I can only turn on the laptop and find my project.  Maybe the second time I get ten minutes and I watch the last edit of my project, to get caught up.  If I get five minutes again, I can watch the four takes I have of an alternate ending.  You get the idea.

Sound depressing?  It is.  But parents know that finding that magical perfect afternoon to sit down and work on a project will likely NEVER HAPPEN and so if you wait for that, your project will never move forward.

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?  I always felt bad for the tortoise.  Side note: I always thought that there needed to be a third character.  One who was fast like the hare, but not cocky.  Arrogance was the hare's downfall.  Otherwise, he had the edge.  Anyway, what I've had to come to terms with is that as a new parent, I am now the tortoise in this race.  And that means that my job is to come out of my shell, put my head down and move forward, slow and steady.

It's currently the only way to the finish line.

We'd love to hear about how other parents make it work!  We invite you to share your ideas in the comments below.

Autumn Days are Here Again

And we're back.  Happy October, everyone!  What an incredible year it has been.  Professionally, creatively and personally, we have had a year filled with unforgettable experiences and opportunities, and we'd like to share them with you.

We'll start with the news closest to our hearts.  As many of you know, we welcomed our newest Erickson family member since we posted last.  We are proud to share that we have a beautiful, smart and energetic son who turns one later this week.  Beckett has been keeping us on our toes and ultimately, making us better producers.  You parents out there know what we are talking about.  Now that we are approaching his first birthday, we are coming up for air and finding ways to get back to a more normal production schedule.

Both Daniel and Brigitte have had opportunities to work on projects large and small this year.  Daniel wrapped work on "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2", which recently arrived in theaters.  He worked on the Final Layout team and can attest that the movie is funny and a must-see for kids and adults alike.  Brigitte has been working on a new television comedy called "Enlisted" that will premiere on Fox in January.  She is working for an amazing team and has really enjoyed the experience.

Tower 26 Films has continued to develop projects as well.  We are very excited about the progress we have made on our biggest film to date, "Project Forty".  Many of you have been direct supporters of this labor of love and we are enjoying the journey of crafting this experimental science fiction film.  Now that we are beyond the earliest stages of parenthood, we will be able to give P40 more of our focus.  While Brigitte was pregnant, we decided to shoot a short comedy written by Brigitte called, "Visiting Day", which is currently in post-production.  Brigitte stars alongside the very talented Jim McCaffree and our son Beckett makes an appearance in utero.  We are looking forward to showing you more on that soon.

Thanks to all of our clients, friends and supporters for your words of encouragement as we became new parents.  Our son certainly inspires us each day!  We're glad to be back in touch and we'll have more updates for you all soon.

Cheers!
Brigitte, Daniel and Beckett

In Development

Hello Tower 26 Fans!  


We wanted to send out an update about what has been brewing with us.  First off, Daniel has been working at Sony Imageworks on a new animated feature film coming out this fall.  Hotel Transylvania is their follow up to Arthur Christmas and looks to be a lot of fun.  Daniel has been working in Final Layout and Stereo 3D since January and is having a great time with the team over there.


Brigitte has been very creative this year...in more ways than one.  She has been writing up a storm and fleshing out her various story ideas.  On top of that, she has been working "in development" on another version of Project 40.  She and Daniel could call it Project 40 Weeks.  Yes, you guessed it - we are pregnant!  Our little bundle of joy - and future film crew member - will be arriving in late October.


Along with all of this, we are also actively working on the real Project 40 and a few other projects.  We plan to get some more shooting in this summer.


All of these things have been keeping us very busy - and happy - and we are anxious to share the fruits of our labor with you.  Stay tuned for more updates and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well!


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tower-26-Films/144665912252023


https://twitter.com/#!/Tower26Films


Cheers!
Daniel and Brigitte

The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!

Ok, I know that most of you whippersnappers aren't going to get the reference (or know what a phonebook is - it was how we found people before facebook.) Oh well, it's our blog, sue us.

The Kia commercial I worked on for Method Studios is online. I did camera tracking and matchmoved the hamsters on several shots. Enjoy!

Also, be on the lookout for the Verizon Droid commercial I worked on (it's the one with the hot chick fighting robots - I know, right??!!) We saw a teaser for it when we saw Attack the Block (go see it if you love aliens, sci-fi, or fun.)

That's it for now.

Cheers!

Daniel

Yes we know that the post is in all caps and the text is grey. Blogspot has been a little buggy today. Sorry.

July Updates

We have been really busy lately (more on that in a bit) but we wanted to give you an update on Project 40.

We are very excited about the story that is shaping up. We are nearing completion on the outline and will soon start the scripting process. It is a pretty dense story and every element has to fit together perfectly, so we are ironing out the last details.

Brigitte has had some writing opportunities come up this year and she has been working on finishing the second draft her comedy feature. She has also been developing a comedy television series that she plans to start pitching soon.

Daniel just started working at Method Studios, where he is part of the tracking & matchmoving team. The company works on high profile films and commercials and Daniel is enjoying the challenge. Check out the link to the company’s demo reel below. We’re sure you will recognize many of the projects they have done!

http://www.methodstudios.com/#/reel/

Also, here is a new animated piece we just worked on. Daniel did the animation and Brigitte voiced the Mom character. We are very grateful to our 3-year old friend Tilly for providing an authentic child voice.

We’ll have more updates for you soon!

Daniel & Brigitte

New Reels!

I know, it's been a while but we've been really busy lately so there are going to be a bunch of updates soon!

I have been doing a lot of tests for an upcoming film project and working with SynthEyes a lot and testing integration of cg characters into live action footage. I also took some time to put a Camera Tracking reel together (which I have been meaning to do for a while now.) Make sure to watch it in HD and full screen!

Also, Please check out the brand new Maya Generalist reel that I (finally) put together.

More to come about the short soon so check back often. Or better yet, add the RSS feed to your email client.

Cheers!

Daniel

The 2 Minute Star Wars

Just having a little fun this morning.

Cheers!

Daniel