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!
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.
People have been asking us when we were going to post our film "Marlena" online. For those of you who don't know, it is a short film we did back in 2006. Here it is...enjoy!
We actually shot this film over our wedding anniversary weekend. We had just bought our Canon XL-2 and were hesitant to spend more money on an anniversary trip. But then, in a stroke of genius, we decided that if we could turn the trip into a shoot, we could justify going. We chose Las Vegas and set out to write a film noir (perfect for Vegas) that we could do with just one actor and a one-man crew.
Over the next month, our story began to take shape during nightly brainstorming sessions on walks to the Santa Monica Pier.
"We can't go anywhere for our anniversary this year. We spent too much on the camera."
"What if we went out of town and made it a shoot?"
"We would have to drive."
"Santa Barbara? Wait, no. Vegas!"
"Perfect!"
"So what happens in Vegas?"
"Stays in Vegas."
"Stay on track...stop kidding around."
"How about noir?"
"That works. And in black and white, too."
"We'd have to shoot it in the hotel room."
"I have my old wedding dress. And we have a bottle of champagne..."
And from there the seed of a story was planted. We had been watching a lot of classic film noir and knew it had to be a downer. But what kind of downer...murder, kidnapping, betrayal? Things began to fall into place. Daniel's background as a wedding photographer inspired the use of stills. We also knew that we couldn't control noise in a hotel, so it would have be told visually, and remember, one crew member, one actor.
Luckily, we were blessed to have an amazing musician friend, Craig Henry, who in turn, had wonderful musicians in his circle. The music was an essential element that contributed to the success of our film, and we are eternally grateful for the work that they did.
We built the story around what we had available. We played to our strengths and interests. We planned ahead, budgeted, storyboarded and wrote a script. In the end our film cost us $1398 total. If you subtract the travel costs, it set us back $849.
Throughout 2007 and 2008 it was accepted into Reno Film Festival, Big Island Film Festival, Crested Butte Reel Fest and Sedona International Film Festival.
Everybody has stories to tell. A film doesn't have to bankrupt you. Get creative, plan ahead and you don't have to spend thousands of dollars. Good luck!
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