Tohubohu Productions

Rosebud Film & Video Festival 2009

2009-06-24T15:19:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to remind everyone that the Rosebud Film & Video Festival Nominee Showcase is this Saturday at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre (1611 North Kent Street in Arlington — just two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro station)! The (twenty-film) screening runs from 12:30 p.m. until about 5:30 p.m., but (for those of you who may not be inclined to stay for the entire event), “All Roads Lead Away” will be showing at 2:00. That said, there are some really great films in the lineup — be sure to check out the official site for details!

Tickets for the all-day event are just $8.00, and include an invitation to the Rosebud Awards ceremony at the Clarendon Ballroom on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 703-524-2388.

Hope to see you there!

Oh, and while I’ve got you here, I wanted to give a quick shout-out to Barry Gribble and the Integral Arts production team, whose independent pilot “Dog” (for which yours truly made a very small production-design contribution) was just accepted into the Independent Television Festival in LA. Congratulations!

The Results Are In...

2009-05-24T18:00:00.002-04:00

“Please Forward” has taken home the Audience Award for screening group G in the 2009 48 Hour Film Project! (We’ve got a nice little certificate and everything.) And given that there were four films from our screening group represented in the “Best Of” screening, that’s no small feat. I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make this effort such a success. The screening itself went great, and was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate with a veritable Who’s-Who of the DC filmmaking community.

The full listing of results are posted at the official site, but I thought I’d point out a few personal highlights. (Just my own opinion, of course, but I like to think my opinion’s pretty significant. It is to me, anyway.) Fellow Audience Award winners included Dobler’s Pen entry “He Drove,” Card Sharque’s “Cry Guy,” and River Run’s “Happy Hour.” Cinematography and Editing honors went to Dead City Films’ “The Imperial.” The WIT Films entry “Rakirovka” took home the Best Directing award (as well as Best Sound Design). And our frequent collaborators (co-conspirators?) Integral Arts took home Best Costumes, Best Special Effects, Best Writing, and Best Film awards for “Gwendolyn Dangerous and the Great Space Rescue.” (Whew!) I also want to give a quick shout-out to The Quest for their film “Stonking,” Cavegirl Productions for “Motivation,” and Star Wipe Films for “Like It’s Your Last” — all worth a look.

That’s it for today, but I’ll sign off with another reminder to keep your calendars open (not to mention passing the news along to anyone who might be interested) on June 27 for the Rosebud Film & Video Festival, where “All Roads Lead Away” will be screening. And in the meantime, I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted on any other showings or events to come!

Best of the 48 Hour Film Project 2009

2009-05-18T11:52:00.006-04:00

Well, it’s official — “Please Forward” will be screening as part of the Best of the 48 Hour Film Project this Thursday evening. We’ll be showing with the 7:00 show, and in glorious HD, no less. (I dropped off an HD master with the editor last Friday.)

If you’d like a recap of the big shooting weekend, Pam posted one earlier, so I won’t go into detail here. But I will say that everything came together fantastically. The writing (from “You Pay Your Dues” scribe Robin Brande) was spot-on, the crew was totally gung-ho (a big help given the daunting number of setups we had), and the cast (including a couple of very talented young newcomers) was enthusiastic and extremely dedicated.

Here’s the official listing of films (with links where available):

Screening 1 — 7:00 p.m.

Eastern Avenue Films: “American Institution” (Mockumentary)
Roadside Productions: “Cirque d’Amour” (Comedy)
Unfinished Productions: “Decidophobia”
South County United: “From Behind the Corn Hole” (Buddy Film)
River Run: “Happy Hour” (Surprise Ending)
Two Meter: “Looking for You”
Hugs Productions: “Make a Difference Day” (Holiday Film)
Cavegirl Productions: “Motivation” (Thriller/Suspense)
Bad Media: “Nowhere, Man” (Historical Fiction)
Tohubohu: “Please Forward” (Holiday Film)
WIT Films: “Rakirovka” (Foreign Film)
Woge Sloth: “’Za” (Stoner Film)

Screening 2 — 9:30 p.m.

Card Sharque: “Cry Guy”
Second Minute Films: “Family Outing”
Integral Arts: “Gwendolyn Dangerous and the Great Space Rescue” (Film de Femme)
Dobler’s Pen: “He Drove” (Comedy)
Ad Infinitum: “Ivan Pagoda: A Feel Good Story” (Comedy)
The BetaMacks: “Janice and Jonas” (Silent Film)
Cardiff Giant: “Life Is Super”
Star Wipe Films: “Like It’s Your Last” (Sci Fi)
Loud Noises: “Pipe Dream” (Fantasy)
Dusty Negatives: “Propagation 8” (Sci Fi)
The Quest: “Stonking” (Mockumentary)
Dead City Films: “The Imperial” (Detective/Cop)

I’ve actually seen quite a few of the other films screening on Thursday, and if the ones I’ve seen are any indication, it promises to be an entertaining show. (Be sure to get your tickets soon, as they will likely sell out.)

Beyond that, be sure to mark your calendars for the Rosebud Film & Video Festival on June 27, where “All Roads Lead Away” will be showing. And we’re scrambling to finish up music for “Number One With a Bullet” so we can start shopping that around to festivals in earnest (though we have already made one submission). More news as we have it!

“Please Forward”

2009-05-04T08:56:00.000-04:00

It’s fair to say that the idea for Tohubohu’s newest short film, “Please Forward,” came to me in a dream. Seriously.

In the days before the 48 Hour Film Project, Bill and Robin were joking about chain emails and then thinking how that concept would be interesting for the movie. But with our genre and required elements still not established, they didn’t want to go too far down that road. (In the 48 Hour Film Project, you pick your genre out of a hat and there is a required prop, character, and line of dialogue.) However, that night as I slept, I took that germ of a concept, mixed it with The Office, and a parody video, “Flutter.” I dreamed about a mockumentary about a business that starts all of those obnoxious chain emails. When I told Bill in the morning, he laughed, but not knowing what we’d have to use when we wrote our film, it didn’t make sense to work up the idea. We thought about writing it up afterward for our own film.

When Bill went to the kick-off party and drew the Holiday Film genre, the idea came back into play: What if we went with the mockumentary, but it was at the office Christmas party? On Friday night, Bill and Robin started off the brainstorming and script writing while I finished up the Drama Club performance with my fourth grader (she did an amazing job as a chicken). Back at home, Robin wrote up the script as Bill and I made suggestions, selected our cast, and made phone calls. I ran around the house finding Christmas decorations.

Saturday morning, we headed into Bill’s old office building, where he had gotten permission to film. It was a great set-up for us, offering lots of spaces for scenes, but also lots of room to wait around. Even with only one day to film, there’s a lot of waiting around in the movies. Both of the girls came to be in the Research & Development scenes, and also to help with the clapper board, set decoration, and general gofer jobs. I took calls from our cast and crew, made sure everyone was where they needed to be, picked internal locations, decorated and took down sets, made sure everyone had plenty of food (very important), arranged the order of filming for scenes, walked the actors through some parts, and made sure all the paperwork was in order. Bill just directed the movie. Slacker.

We had a great time during the day, with a pretty relaxed feel considering our tight schedule. The actors gave us some stellar performances. Really top notch. I may be biased, but my favorite scene is with my fourth grader, where the marketing woman is trying to get some ideas about the next generation of chain email users, but is having trouble working with a kid. I also love my seventh grader as a typical teen, texting instead of thinking about the marketer’s questions. The party scene was the most fun to film, and I do make an appearance there as an employee.

We wrapped up at 10:00 p.m. and Bill went into the office to work with the preliminary edit. In the wee hours of the morning he came back to the house for a few hours of sleep, and then went back to edit the film and add sound effects, music, and credits. Oh, and play with sound levels and color correction and technical film kind of stuff. I saw a rough cut at 2:00 and loved it. I reminded him to temper his technical perfectionism and get the film turned in early — no last-minute run for the doors at 7:00.

He did turn the film in with time to spare. Robin has seen it and really liked it. Bill went off with a couple of other directors for a mini-showing at someone’s house and got great feedback and lots of laughs. I can’t wait to show it to you... but it will have to wait until after our screening at the AFI Silver Theatre, Friday at 7:00 p.m.

The 48 Hour Film Project takes place in cities all over the country, so if you’re interested you might check the upcoming dates. While we work with a set team, many other groups need to fill positions in the weeks and days leading up to the competition. On the website, you can indicate your interest in joining a team, and there are often meet-and-greet events to help fill positions. It can be exhausting, but it’s a blast.

Preparations, Screenings, and the IMDb

2009-04-28T12:39:00.001-04:00

Just a few days away from the 48 Hour Film Project now. We are still looking for anyone who’s interested in makeup and guitar or keyboard work — otherwise we’ll likely have to go for the wild card if we draw “Western or Musical” or “Horror.” Please get back to me ASAP if your skills fit these categories!

If you’re not working on the film (and that includes most of you on this list) but are inclined to follow our progress, we’re going to try providing at least semi-regular status updates via Twitter, which you can follow at twitter.com/coughlan. No guarantees we’ll make it through the whole weekend, but we’re optimistic.

Our official screening has been set — Friday, May 8, at 7:00 p.m., once again at the beautiful AFI Silver Theater. Be sure to get your tickets as soon as possible to make sure you don’t miss out!

In other news, “All Roads Lead Away” was accepted as a Nominee in the Rosebud Film and Video Festival. The screening will be at the Rossyln Spectrum Theater on Saturday, June 27. Stay tuned for details, but be sure to mark your calendars!

And one final notification — the Internet Movie Database now has dedicated pages for “Homemade Hero” and “You Pay Your Dues,” and both “Screening Process” and “Number One With a Bullet” will be following shortly. While not all of the details are up there yet, be sure to check out the pages to make sure all of your personal info is correct (and congratulations to anyone who’s earned their IMDb page with these additions)!

Two Weeks’ Notice

2009-04-19T11:02:00.007-04:00

No, nobody’s quitting anything. But in just two short weeks, we’ll be kicking off our sixth year (and our seventh short film) with the 48 Hour Film Project! (Well, technically, as of this writing — Sunday morning — we'll be deep into the editing process.) A lot of elements are coming together, but we still have plenty to work out (as always) before the big weekend.

With that in mind, I’ve got a couple of quick questions for everyone:

One, are there any makeup artists out there (established or aspiring) who’d like to join in? While making our actors look their best is a real concern, my greater interest is in gauging our ability to pull off something in the horror genre. I’m not talking Rick Baker effects work, but at least dressing up a ghostly apparition or two.

And two, I wanted to know who we had out there with quick-working musical skills, should we draw the dreaded “musical or western” genre card. Nepotism accusations aside, both of my daughters are actually really good at writing music and lyrics, but we don’t have any quality recording capability. Assuming we could cobble together some kind of “click track” to work from for the shoot, do we have any guitar players, keyboardists, or even GarageBand experts who could lend their skills to our efforts? (In fact, even if we don’t make a musical, it’d be a real bonus to have an original song or two. We’ve done it before.)

Speaking of genres, here’s the list of genres for this year’s competition:

Buddy Film, Comedy, Detective/Cop, Drama, Fantasy, Film de Femme (i.e., film with strong female protagonist), Holiday Film, Horror, Mockumentary, Musical or Western, Romance, Sci Fi, Superhero, and Thriller/Suspense.

Should we opt not to go with our assigned genre, we can go for a “wild card” pick. Potential wild card genres are:

Fable, Family Film, Foreign Film, Ghost Movie, Historical Fiction/Period Piece, Martial Arts, Silent Film, Stoner Film, Surprise Ending, and Tragedy.

Once again, the competition has worked out an agreement with SAG so that we can use union actors. (I’m glad, ’cause we were kind of counting on it.)

And finally, I’m toying with the idea of Twittering our progress on the big weekend — if so, updates will be at my Twitter feed, @coughlan. No promises (don’t know if I’ll have time), but it certainly seems like a possibility. Maybe we’ll have a designated Twitterer...

Springtime Update

2009-03-27T14:52:00.002-04:00

Spring’s finally here, which (hopefully) means the weather will be brightening up a bit soon (though admittedly, the forecasts for the weekend aren’t looking particularly promising). But in my own attempt to raise spirits a bit, I thought I’d throw out some quick positive notes.

One, we’re now just about a month away from the 2009 48 Hour Film Project, and we’re actively working on assembling our team. If you’d like to join in and haven’t gotten back to me with that decision, now would be a really good time. We can use everything from actors to crew to offers of interesting or unusual props and locations — so if you think you may be able to offer a contribution, drop me a line ASAP!

Two, our short film “The Big Lie (That Solves Everything)” has joined “Quite Contrary,” “Machinations,” and “All Roads Lead Away” in being listed at the Internet Movie Database! So when you get a chance, head on over, check the page out, and submit your own rating for the film (and if you worked on it, take a second to make sure your listing is correct).

And three, “All Roads Lead Away” will be screening on Friday, April 3, as part of the 2009 Heritage Film & Video Festival. Check out the site for details as they become available, and I hope to see you there!

Okay, so maybe the sky’s still a little overcast — but I think I see the sun poking out from behind a cloud up there. Cherry blossoms can’t be too far behind...

Tales of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

2009-02-11T06:59:00.004-05:00

No, we haven’t dropped off the face of the Earth — though lately it may seem that way. In all honesty, I think this may be the longest we’ve gone between updates in... well, a long time, anyway. Things are moving forward, if a bit more slowly than we (and no doubt many of you) would like. Alas, outside commitments have been a little more daunting than in times past, but there has still been some progress of note. Postproduction is moving ahead on “Number One With a Bullet”; the edit of the film is fairly well locked, we’re doing some cleanup work on visual effects, and we’re working on the score (and trying to license some other music). And, of course, we’re gearing up for this year’s 48 Hour Film Project; no date has yet been announced, but we’re planning on the first weekend in May (the usual weekend).

In the meantime, we’re working on several collaborative projects with the folks from Integral Arts, Team Jabberwocky, and the 48 Hour Film Project. Not a whole lot we can talk about just yet, but as soon as we can announce anything, you’ll hear about it here.

Honest.

Edited to add: The dates for this year’s 48 Hour Film Project have just been announced: May 1–3. Be sure to mark your calendars, and let us know if you’d like to join in the production festivities!

Reminder: DC Shorts This Weekend

2008-09-09T14:31:00.007-04:00

Just wanted to remind everyone that the DC Shorts Film Festival opens this Thursday, with a gala opening night party on the rooftop terrace at Carroll Square (open to anyone with an opening night ticket). And “All Roads Lead Away” is screening as part of Showcase 3 — be sure to pick up your tickets before they sell out. And don’t forget to tell all your friends and neighbors; let’s generate some prescreening buzz! (Drawing attention to our MySpace page and our Facebook group would be a good start.)

Remember, our screenings are:

Friday, September 12, 7:00 p.m. (with Q&A afterward — this one I’ll definitely be attending)
Saturday, September 13, 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 14, 9:30 p.m.
Tuesday, September 16, 4:30 p.m.

And then we can all celebrate at the closing night party at Bar Louie on Saturday night! Hope to see you all there!

P.S.: On a side note, I’m just about finished with the first full cut of “Number One With a Bullet” (except for some pickup/establishing shots we still need to get in there). From here, we’ll be showing it to a select group of people to gauge reactions, and then polishing the edit and diving into cleanup, scoring, etc. If you’d like to be an early viewer, drop me a line (no promises — offhand, I’d say this is limited to cast and crew — but I’d just as soon have people who want to offer critiques).

P.P.S.: If you’re not going to be in the DC area this weekend, I suppose we’ll be missing you this time around. But if, on the other hand, you find yourself in New York, be sure to catch the first public screening of the pilot for “Saving Corporate America” at the New York Television Festival. Produced by our friends over at Integral Arts for Fox Television Studios, the screening — at the New World Stages — is free (though space is limited), and will be followed by a Q&A from creators Barry Gribble and Kevin Good (as well as Fox exec Caitlin Foito). Click here for details. (After all they’ve done for us lately, the least we can do is give ’em a little plug. Though for the record, I have seen and loved the pilot, so it’s not an empty endorsement.)

Summer Progress Report

2008-08-14T10:01:00.001-04:00

Okay, so summer slowed things down a bit. But I did want to give everyone a quick progress report, and to let you all know that tickets to the DC Shorts screenings are now on sale!

Editing on “Number One With a Bullet” is proceeding fairly well; we’re about two-thirds of the way toward a true “first cut” of the film. In truly nonsensical fashion, I’ve been working my way in from both ends — so right now, we’ve got scenes 1 through 9 cut together, and scenes 28 through 32, but nothing in the middle (other than a rough stringout). We’ll still have loads of work to do in terms of audio leveling, color correction, effects finalizing, scoring, etc., but once we get that middle portion finished, we’ll have something that we can show to people. Cast and crew get first dibs, of course, but after that, I’ll be sure to let people here know.

Individual screening tickets have gone on sale for the DC Shorts Film Festival. Generally speaking, you can just go to the DC Shorts website, then click on the “Films” tab to find either a particular film or browse through the schedule; then you’ll be able to buy tickets to a particular screening. A reminder that “All Roads Lead Away” is screening as part of “Showcase 3,” and we’ve got four screenings throughout the festival (you can direct-link to our screening schedule here). The first screening will also feature a filmmakers’ Q&A afterward — definitely the preferred option.

For the record, our screenings are:

Friday, September 12, 7:00 p.m. (with Q&A afterward)
Saturday, September 13, 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 14, 9:30 p.m.
Tuesday, September 16, 4:30 p.m.

It’s also worth noting that thanks to the DC Shorts screening, “All Roads Lead Away” now qualifies for inclusion in the Internet Movie Database (joining our earlier entries “Quite Contrary” and “Machinations”). You can find the dedicated page for “All Roads Lead Away” here — go give it a visit, add your ratings and comments, etc. (Do note that last I checked, they were still adding some of the information, so there might be some gaps in the crew listing; if you notice anything missing, let me know and I’ll investigate further.)

And I’ll also put in a reminder to visit our MySpace page and our Facebook group; we’ll be posting occasional updates and information there as well (though we’re not abandoning the email list just yet).

That’s all for now — hope to see you all at DC Shorts in September!

DC Shorts 2008

2008-06-18T16:02:00.000-04:00

We just got word that “All Roads Lead Away” has been accepted into the 2008 DC Shorts Film Festival. As one of the premier short-film festivals in the country (they received more than 630 films and screenplays for consideration this year), this is a great honor. And on top of that, it’s a great festival experience to boot (both for viewers and filmmakers)!

I just took a quick glance at the official selections list, and with the exception of “The Bad News Bearer” (winner of this year’s 48 Hour Film Project for DC) and “Attack of the Hot Female Alien Man-Eaters” (starring Tohubohu vets Joy Haynes and Kevin Good, and directed by my occasional Integral Arts co-crewmember Janine Sides), there didn’t seem to be many I was familiar with (though I could easily have missed something). But there’s definitely a lot of variety there, and if past years’ festivals are any indication, there’ll be a lot of great films to see. We’ll be screening in high definition (we submitted the film into the HD Short Film competition), so if you missed seeing it in HD before (our premiere was just in standard definition), this’ll be another great opportunity to see it in all its HD, big-screen glory.

The festival runs from September 11th through the 18th of this year (the main events being from the 11th through the 14th, with additional screenings through the 18th), and there will be film screenings, screenplay readings, and meet-and-greet parties. We’ll know more as the date approaches, but I wanted to get this little tidbit of information out as soon as possible. Hope to see you there!

“Best Of” Wrapup and a Special Request

2008-05-30T11:20:00.010-04:00

Well, last night was the “Best of the 48 Hour Film Project” screening, and I have to say it was a blast. Seeing “All Roads Lead Away” up on the big screen in high definition was an awe-inspiring experience. Once again, we were shut out of the major awards, but regardless, I’m immensely proud of our movie and extremely grateful for all of the hard work everyone put into making it.

I’m sure they’ll post the award-winners on the official site soon, but I thought I’d go ahead and let you all know directly. They should all be viewable on 48.tv sometime in the not-too-distant future, but I’ll post links to the ones that are already viewable online (as near as I can tell, anyway).

Audience Favorite, Group A: “The End” (Flat Feet Films)
Audience Favorite, Group B: “The Bad News Bearer” (Sprezzatura)
Audience Favorite, Group C: “Fairy Bust” (3mm Films)
Audience Favorite, Group D: “Skip to the End” (JSC Productions)
Audience Favorite, Group E: “I’ll See You in Hell” (Everyday Astronaut)
Audience Favorite, Group F: “Get Closer” (Dead City Films)
Audience Favorite, Group G: “iLoveU2” (WIT Films)
Audience Favorite, Group H: “Mementos” (Integral Arts)
Best Use of Character: “The End of the Rainbow” (Musky Adventures)
Best Use of Prop: “Spy, Gina, Spy!” (The Quest)
Best Use of Line: “The Loins of America” (Has Been Productions)
Best Sound Design: “I’ll See You in Hell” (Everyday Astronaut)
Best Graphics: “The Mark” (oops! Productions)
Best Editing: “May Day” (Oozing Sarcasm)
Best Acting: “Mementos” (Integral Arts)
Best Directing: “The Mark” (oops! Productions)
Best Script: “The Bad News Bearer” (Sprezzatura)
Best Cinematography (tie): “American Revolution” (Roanoke) and “Get Closer” (Dead City Films)
Second Runner-Up, Best Picture: “The Mark” (oops! Productions)
First Runner-Up, Best Picture: “I’ll See You in Hell” (Everyday Astronaut)
Best Picture: “The Bad News Bearer” (Sprezzatura)

Now for a request: As many of you are aware, we had to cut a lot of material (more than two minutes’ worth) from “All Roads Lead Away” in order to keep our running time under the seven-minute limit. And while normally I’m a big fan of that forced editing — it almost always makes for a tighter, better-paced film — in this case I fear we may have trimmed a bit too much. With that in mind, I’ve posted both the original 48 Hour Film Project cut and a somewhat longer cut that reincorporates some (but not all) of the lost material on the official site.

And I figured what better “test audience” to provide honest feedback than this group?

So if you get a chance, take a look at both versions with a critical eye. Do the new and extended scenes add to your understanding and appreciation of the story, or do they drag the pacing down? Do they add genuine character moments or are they mere directorial self-indulgence? Consider this a “director’s-cut-in-progress,” and one in which your reactions may have an impact.

For our final “archival” cut (i.e., the version we’ll be submitting to festivals) we may go with the full extended edit. Or we may keep to the original shorter cut. Or something in between. So go ahead and let your opinion be heard — at the very least you’ll be getting a glimpse into the filmmaking process.

Best of the 48 Hour Film Project

2008-05-23T16:57:00.001-04:00

Straight from the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner (where several 48 Hour Film Project films — including “The Kumbio Takedown” — screened this week) comes word about the upcoming “Best of the DC 48 Hour Film Project” showcase.

And “All Roads Lead Away” is in, one of 24 films selected for the honor. As was the case last year, there will be a separate slate of films shown across the two screenings (one at 7:00 and another at 9:30), and our film will be part of the second (i.e., we’ll be at 9:30); all shows will be on Thursday, May 29th, again at the AFI Silver Theater.

Furthermore, we’ll be screening in high definition; we’ve been working with the 48 Hour production team to get them our full-HD files (rather than the standard-definition version that was shown at the premiere screening). If you’re at all able to make it, this is going to be worth seeing. In fact, tickets are available (or, as of this writing, soon will be) for both shows, and there are some strong offerings in both screenings (judging by what I’ve seen so far). And after the second screening, there'll be a wrap party at McGinty’s Pub — so do plan on sticking around!

Congratulations to everyone who pitched in on this little picture. I’m so proud of the efforts you all put in, and I hope to see you next Thursday!

P.S.: Here is the full screening lineup — unlike last year, there are no duplicates this time around. (My understanding is that the judges’ final decisions are not yet locked down, meaning there’s no way to pick the “front-runners.”) And I’m just listing these in alphabetical order by team name; we don’t know the screening order yet.

Screening 1 — 7:00 p.m.

Actors With Strings: “The Chair” (Historical Fiction)
Butch’s All-Stars: “Commitment”
Dead City Films: “Get Closer” (Spy)
Double Deuce Films: “The Hauntening, Part 3”
Flik Productions: “Road to Greenwood”
Flat Feet Films: “The End” (Fantasy)
Habitual Offenders: “Recalculating”
The Quest: “Spy, Gina, Spy!”
Roadside Productions: “Sales of a Deathman” (Road Movie)
Roanoke: “American Revolution” (Historical Fiction)
3mm Films: “Fairy Bust” (Fantasy) (behind-the-scenes video)
WIT Films: “iLoveU2” (Sci Fi)

Screening 2 — 9:30 p.m.

Elbow Productions: “al-Kinda”
Everyday Astronaut: “I’ll See You in Hell” (Comedy)
Faisonfilm Productions: “The Invisible Werewolf” (Comedy)
Integral Arts: “Mementos” (Drama)
JSC Productions: “Skip to the End” (Road Movie)
Musky Adventures: “The End of the Rainbow”
oops! Productions: “The Mark”
Oozing Sarcasm: “May Day” (Holiday Film)
Revolver Films: “Dick and the Vault” (Historical Fiction)
River Run Films: “The Dinner Party”
Sprezzatura: “The Bad News Bearer” (Comedy)
Tohubohu: “All Roads Lead Away” (Road Movie)

Grab Some Popcorn

2008-05-11T16:33:00.001-04:00

Just thought I’d send out a quick little notice to let you newsblog readers know that our latest short, “All Roads Lead Away,” is now available for viewing.

The audience reception at Friday night’s premiere was phenomenal, and really gives me hope that we’ll make the “Best of the 48 Hour Film Project” screening on May 29th. (And we’ve already submitted the film for consideration to the DC Shorts film festival. No guarantee that it’ll get in, of course — they receive hundreds of submissions each year — but I’ve got a good feeling about it.)

So sit back, grab a tub of popcorn (or maybe just a bag — it’s not all that long a film), and give it a viewing. And if you like it, don’t forget to let us know (and spread the word)!

48 Recap

2008-05-09T12:49:00.005-04:00

Hard to believe this is our fifth year participating in the 48 Hour Film Project (and our sixth film — what were we thinking doing two films at once in only our second year?). And every time I’m reminded that this really is film school; as far as I’m concerned, we’d better take advantage of that and try something new each time.

So if our big “add-on” last year was bringing in a professional author to write our script (well, and pushing the envelope with noir-styled lighting — no small feat given our meager lighting kit), then this year had a few new elements. We brought in another professional author (Barry Lyga), worked with two great SAG actors (Joe Hansard and Jennifer Massey) as our leads, shot in HDV, and even managed to use a homemade car mount for our “road movie.”

With a lot of our regular troupe (both in front of and behind the camera) unavailable this time around, we’d be a little leaner than usual. But there’s something to be said for keeping things small — and coming right off of “Number One With a Bullet,” we’d honed our workflow pretty well. Of course, the time we’d spent on the earlier shoot also meant we hadn’t prepared as much as usual, so we’d be winging things a bit.

So, about the weekend. After the kickoff event, I spent the drive home brainstorming with Barry (and some really wild ideas got tossed around at that stage), so that by the time I’d arrived at our “base of operations,” we already had a good handle on the story, and Pam and I could begin working out casting and logistics (including borrowing a neighbor’s beat-up old car — as Pam says, the “third star” of our movie). It was still a late night, but we were in great shape to start shooting first thing Saturday morning.

Saturday was (as usual) a loooong day, but we managed to remain pretty flexible. We did have to switch the timing for one location (which meant we lost an actress for that scene and had to recast at the last minute), but we still managed to finish everything by around midnight. And we got some really great performances — and shots — in the process. Then it was time to get the overnight editor (Jacob Cremer, back in town for the weekend) set up and grab a couple of hours’ rest before the big scramble on Sunday.

We did run into a few snags at that point. We weren’t able to get in touch with the artist whose music we’d originally wanted to use (he was out of town without phone or email access), so that was out. (Fortunately, the 48 Hour Film Project organizers had worked out a music licensing deal that gave us a few options.) Jacob wasn’t able to get as far as I’d hoped (we had a lot of material there), which meant I still had to string out a lot of footage before I could start polishing anything. And our initial cut — once we reached that stage — came in at more than nine minutes. The upper limit being seven. Whoops.

So as unfortunately happens at that stage, you make tradeoffs. And in our case, that meant sacrificing color and audio correction for really taking the time to look at the piece and make intelligent cuts. So while it may not be as technically polished as I’d like, it’s a lot more creatively rewarding. And that “second choice” music really ended up complementing the story perfectly.

And most importantly, we got it finished. (Just one copy, though — no time for a backup.)

Oh, and the title? “All Roads Lead Away.”

Will there be a “director’s cut”? Probably — but that’ll mostly be just to correct those technical issues. The old mantra about editing holds true — the forced necessity of cutting it down really does improve the flow of the story. So while I may add a couple of shots (and maybe one scene) back in, it certainly won’t be going back up to that nine-minute version.

Now I can’t wait to see it up on the big screen; it promises to be a great capper to the whole experience. (And for the record, I’ve also gotten a sneak peek at the Integral Arts entry — so I can say that attendees at tonight’s 9:30 screening will not be disappointed. Do you have your tickets yet?)

Hope to see you all there!

“All Roads Lead Away”

2008-05-05T08:50:00.001-04:00

I’m still tired from the 48 Hour Film Project, and I wasn’t even that involved in yesterday’s work. The experience of making a film in two days is so intense that it takes a lot out of you. Our script by Barry Lyga was ambitious, and our filming went from our Saturday 8:30 a.m. call time until almost midnight. It was a very long day for the crew and our two lead actors, who really carried the piece. Well, three lead actors if you include the beat-up car which we considered the third star of the movie.

Barry gave us an amazing script, dramatic and contemplative. Bill and I selected two strong actors (Jennifer Massey and Joe Hansard) who could pull off the emotion of the film. We got to test the new camera car mount, to the delight of the cameraman. I kept asking for reassurance that the expensive camera was not, was NOT, going to fall off the hood of the car. After a last-minute location change, I was slotted for a small part in the movie — which ended up on the cutting room floor in the interest of meeting our seven-minute running time requirement. I’m still in the background helping a customer, and my hair is in a later office scene. Oh, the glamour.

Bill spent Sunday editing the film at his workplace, while I searched for music at home. I found the piece that we ended up using within a few minutes. Unfortunately, I then spent almost two hours continuing to search for music, finding almost nothing, and deciding to stick with my first choice. After Bill was forced to make some difficult decisions about editing, he sent me the film online so I could look at it. With my fresh perspective — having not spent the last six hours putting it together — I was able to suggest different places to cut, allowing some great moments to fit back in (though not my scene, alas). For later festivals, we may look at putting in a lost scene where the couple fights outside the car. It was a crew favorite as Jennifer screamed, “GET IN THE CAR!!!” with pure fury.

Our screening is Friday at 9:30 at the AFI Silver Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland. We’re really proud of it, and I can’t wait to see it on the big screen. If you’re in the area, you can order tickets online — but do so soon, because the shows always sell out. If you can’t get to the show, the film — “All Roads Lead Away” — will be available on our website sometime after the screening.

The Adventure Continues

2008-05-02T15:18:00.003-04:00

One last message to everyone before we bury ourselves in this weekend’s filmmaking frenzy. Tickets to our 48 Hour Film Project screening — we’re part of Group H, showing next Friday, May 9, at 9:30 pm — are now on sale online or at the AFI Silver Theater box office. The show is expected to sell out, so if you’d like to attend (and for the record, I’d like to see as many friendly faces in the audience as possible), be sure to pick up your tickets sooner rather than later.

And as an aside, I’ve recut the trailer for “Number One With a Bullet” slightly — mostly just adding in a few extra shots to help explain the plot a bit better. (It’s amazing what another eight seconds can do.) Go ahead and give it a look-see.

P.S.: If you’re on this weekend’s production team, expect to hear from us with more info tonight. And if you want to be on the team and haven’t said so before now... well, talk fast.

Less Than One Week to Go!

2008-04-26T08:52:00.002-04:00

In the frenzy of activity surrounding the finish of principal photography on “Number One With a Bullet,” it’s easy to forget that we’re shooting another movie in just one week. And at this stage, we’ve still got some pretty big holes to fill. So I’ll keep this message short (for me, anyway) and to the point.

We still need actors; a lot of our regular troupe will be unavailable this time around. As always, we can’t promise anything (since we won’t know what we’ll have until we write our script Friday evening), but if you’ll be available, please let me know — and if you’ve got any questions, please ask. Soon.

We need locations; I haven’t had time to do all the legwork I usually try to do beforehand here. At a minimum, we could use a house and/or apartment, an office, and some kind of recreational location (cafe, bar, restaurant, lounge, etc.). We’ll be shooting (mostly) across Saturday, so if you’ve got access to such a place, or have any contacts who can help us reserve some of these places, please let me know ASAP.

And we could still use some help on the editorial end, if only to alleviate some of my own impending exhaustion. Any availability overnight Saturday or during the day Sunday would be a big help.

Okay, that’s it for now. But as a special reward for listening, I’ll direct you to the brand-new trailer for “Number One With a Bullet,” now available for online viewing at www.onewithabullet.com. Okay, so it’s not the full movie, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do before that’s ready. Enjoy!

Not Slowing Down

2008-04-17T14:28:00.000-04:00

I wanted to let everyone know that we officially wrapped principal photography on “Number One With a Bullet” this past weekend. And I’m only now starting to get back up to fighting strength. Which is a good thing — since we’re only two weeks away from this year’s 48 Hour Film Project. (I don’t know what I was thinking with this back-to-back scheduling.)

The shoot was intense, but hugely successful. We had the usual bumps along the way (not to mention more than our share of unusual bumps), but the whole team was running on all cylinders, both in front of and behind the camera. I’ve been looking at the footage, and some of it is absolutely amazing. Performances, look, sound, everything. My enthusiasm for this project has been wholeheartedly rekindled. I’m scrambling to cut together a full trailer for the film, so that we’ll have at least something to show everyone who put in so many long hours bringing this little idea to fruition. I’ll send out a note when it’s up for viewing, but just in case, be sure to check out the official site, onewithabullet.com, for updates. And then we’ll be diving full-on into the editing and postproduction process; there’s still a lot of work to do, but we’re definitely on track.

Which brings me to our second item on the agenda — putting together our team for this year’s 48 Hour Film Project, taking place over the weekend of May 2–4. We’re losing quite a few of our regular contingent this time around, so we do find ourselves in need of participants, especially in the editorial arena. So if you want to pitch in, drop me a line — and if we can use you, we’ll make sure to put you on the roster. (In keeping with our largely accidental tradition of never keeping the same writer twice, we’ve managed to ensnare... I mean, acquire the services of novelist Barry Lyga, author of The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl and Boy Toy, so I want to make sure we can all live up to that standard.)

Of course, I may not be answering my email right away, since I’m on my way to Disney World with the family for a few days — I figured we could all use some quality time together after I effectively abandoned them for the past month. But I’ll be back next week, ready to go!

Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Lock and Load

2008-04-03T12:57:00.000-04:00

Well, folks, we’re now less than 48 hours away from the commencement of lensing on “Number One With a Bullet,” so it seems like an opportune time for a news-blog update. It feels like I haven’t slept in two weeks, and it certainly doesn’t look like I’ll be getting any real rack time for the next couple of weeks either. I never thought I’d be one to espouse the “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” philosophy (I like sleep — sleep is good), but lately it seems like I’m getting closer to that.

Of course, it looks like the big items (at least for the first weekend) are all in order. SAG paperwork, insurance, equipment, locations, shooting schedule... but it’s the nagging little details that seem to eat up most of my attention right now. Like, say, food. (Seriously — if anyone wants to handle making sure people are fed, please let me know ASAP. I’ll even send you a shopping list.)

And then there’s the stress of realizing that we’ve set ourselves a schedule that’ll make the 48 Hour Film Project look like a walk in the park.

But on the plus side, I have to admit that a big part of my insomnia is caused by my sheer excitement at the prospect of tackling a project this big. Sure, it’s still a short, but it’s twice the length of anything we’ve done before, and the production effort we’re putting forth dwarfs that of any of our past projects. I’m happy with the script, inspired by the crew, ecstatic about the cast, and relishing the adrenaline rush that comes with stretching our capabilities just beyond where I would have placed the breaking point only a few short months ago.

This past year has been a positive whirlwind of learning, and I think it’s only by forcing us to make the leap that we’ll really see if we’re ready to advance to the next level.

For those of you helping out with the production, I’ll be seeing you this weekend. For those eager to jump in on the 48 Hour Film Project (May 2-4), drop me a line (but please understand I may not respond in all that timely a manner). And for those who just want to watch and enjoy, I’m optimistic that we’ll have something truly worth your while in the very near future.

“Number One With a Bullet” Update

2008-03-14T15:20:00.002-04:00

Well, things are moving quickly. Casting is complete, and we’ve got a phenomenal bunch of people on board! We had somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 submissions, and saw close to 120 different actors. The selection process was brutal — we had so many great candidates — but in the end, I think we’ve made the best choices for our little ensemble. Kudos to Bjorn Munson for organizing our casting, and thanks to Barry Gribble for letting us use the Integral Arts offices. And a special thanks to all the actors who came out and gave it a shot. I was truly humbled by the efforts you all put forth, and hope to see you again for future projects.

Preproduction is proceeding apace; with just three weeks to go before the cameras roll, we’re right about on schedule. And while I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stressing just a bit (okay, more than a bit), I’m also getting more and more excited as the day grows closer. In fact, I’ve gone ahead and cut together a little “teaser trailer” that I’m hoping will get people psyched for the big shoot. You can view it at the film’s official website — onewithabullet.com — or via YouTube or MySpace as well. It really is just a teaser (since we obviously haven’t shot a frame yet), but I’m hoping it at least sets the stage for our little venture.

We’re still locking down some locations, so if anyone has any leads (preferably in or very near the city), please let me know as soon as possible; while we’ve got our main location (the office) all set, we still need a large house exterior and driveway, a walk-in-freezer (or wine cellar), and a well-apportioned study. And we’re also in the process of filling out our crew roster; if you want to join in, drop me a line ASAP.

And as if that weren’t enough, we’re also signed up for the 48 Hour Film Project, scheduled for the first weekend in May. So if you want to help out there, be sure to let me know as well.

Okay, enough talk. Go watch the trailer and have a nice weekend!

Official Casting Notice for “Number One With a Bullet”

2008-02-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

All right, folks, here’s the official casting notice. We’re looking forward to hearing from some of you soon!

Tohubohu Productions, makers of multiple popular and award-winning short films, are set to cast “Number One With a Bullet,” a fast-paced black comedy short shooting in April of 2008. The film is being shot in HD in the Washington, DC, area, and will be produced under the SAG Short Film Agreement; both SAG and non-union actors are welcome to audition. Under the agreement, payment is deferred, but credit and copy are provided. On top of that, you’ll have a chance to work with an eager and dedicated team, have some great festival exposure, and very possibly get a pony.*

Principal photography will be over the weekends of April 5–6 and April 12–13, 2008

Please visit http://www.tohubohuproductions.com/bullet.html for background on the story, descriptions of the roles, and the audition sides.

Auditions are by appointment, and will be held in mid/late February to early March, with the first auditions being held this Sunday, February 17th. Interested actors may email their headshots (please keep file sizes below 300 KB) and résumés to casting-at-tohubohuproductions-dot-com for consideration. Please be sure to indicate your availability during the shooting dates and the role for which you would like to read.

* Or not very possibly, as the case may be.

Something Old, Something New

2008-02-04T14:54:00.000-05:00

Just so nobody starts thinking that our older projects just sit on a shelf somewhere, I thought I’d pass along the news that “Machinations” has just been selected for the SFF-rated Film Festival in Athens, Greece — our first international screening. The festival’s in March, though we don’t have a specific date just yet (so you may want to hold off on booking your tickets for the moment).

Then there’s the matter of our newest project, “Number One With a Bullet.” Well, folks, we’ve been working like mad on the script, nailing down some key locations (and clearances), and trying to get the paperwork rolling. It’s been a much longer process than we had anticipated, though I think it’s been worth the wait. But finally, in the interests of getting our butts in gear, we’ve locked shooting dates: the weekends of April 5–6 and 12–13, 2008. We’re working backward from there — which means it’s time to start booking our cast and crew. As to the former, we expect to have a casting call out soon. Very soon. We’re looking for two leads, seven supporting actors, and three or four day players (plus assorted extras), and we’re planning to produce the film under a SAG short-film agreement (deferred payment).

As for the latter? Let us know ASAP if you can help out. We’ll need help pretty much across the board — starting with a dedicated production team. And department heads. And lots of equipment. Okay, so really everything.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the project (or who’ve forgotten in the many months since our last communication), here’s the skinny: “Number One With a Bullet” is a fast-paced black comedy short that we’ll be shooting in HD and submitting to the festival circuit. The story follows Jack Reade, a mild-mannered academic who finally has a chance to publish his own Great American Novel. But just as he thinks his tome will see print, Pete Willoughby, a smug and influential editor, informs Jack that the book will remain locked in publishing purgatory. After an accident befalls Pete, Jack forges a desperate alliance with Carrie Singer, a disgruntled employee who also happens to be the book’s number-one fan. Together, they concoct an insane scheme to cover up Pete’s death and greenlight the book. Unfortunately, the publishing process is chock full of approvals and before long, other denizens of Dennison Publishing may fall prey to “accidents.”

Speak quickly — the ball’s rolling...

“You Pay Your Dues” Screening and More

2007-11-12T21:02:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to post a quick note that our latest outing, “You Pay Your Dues,” will be screening along with the rest of the “Best of DC” 48 Hour Film Project entries, at the Government Video Expo this Friday, November 16th. Entry to the exhibit floor is free, and the films will be screening from 1:30–2:30; if the screening order we received is correct, we’ll be screening last. That said, given some of the other films screening beforehand (including WIT Films’ remarkable single-shot effort “Seasonal Disorder” and Burning Toast’s webcam-style “While You Still Can,” among some other great entries), you won’t want to be late.

In fact, if you can, you might want to get in on Thursday’s screening, which includes “DeLeon Crossing,” directed by our own Bjorn Munson, and “The Kumbio Takedown,” winner of the overall DC competition and featuring a number of people apt to check these updates (and a crew with whom I’ve happily worked on not one but three recent productions). Schedule permitting, I’m going to see if I can get out to as much of the expo as possible (particularly given the digital asset management content, Apple’s presentations on Final Cut Server and Panasonic’s P2 workflow talk), but I do know I won’t personally be able to attend Thursday’s screening (as I’ve got an unbreakable meeting commitment). But if anyone’s planning to go, please let me know and maybe we can coordinate.

As I said, entry to the exhibit floor is free, but you do need to register at www.gvexpo.com.

In other news, I also want to note that development is proceeding on “Number One With a Bullet,” though we’re looking at early 2008 before we begin actual production. We had hoped to get working before the end of the year, but we’re happy enough with the script that we really want to do this right rather than forcing it too early. We’ll be polishing it (i.e., sending it to a couple of knowledgeable critics and asking, “Where are we going wrong?”) and doing budget breakdowns first, and then looking at doing auditions as soon as we have our ducks in a row (and since I know we’ve got a lot of actors reading, rest assured — you’ll get first notification).

On a largely unrelated side note (it’s my news blog and I’ll say what I want to), I’d like to mention that comedy troupe Crisis Lab’s effort at the New York Television Festival’s “PGP Comedy Show” is finally available for online viewing. I’m still kicking myself for not being able to attend the big show itself, but this is at least some small consolation. Speaking purely for myself, I still say they were robbed. Danny “Buddy Jackson” Gavigan, Danny “FunnyDanny.com” Rouhier, Casie “Just Met Her This Weekend But Still Think of Her as Junie B. Jones” Platt, and Kevin “Yes, I Can Do Everything” Good are in top comedic form, even if they weren’t commensurately rewarded. (And as a special bonus, you can see a large Codeword Secret contingent sitting right behind the judges during the final live show. Almost makes you think the audience was stacked. Which it was not. Unfortunately. Dammit, I should have gone.)

You can watch the show (it’s broken down into three parts) here, see the group’s original audition video, “David Beckham in LA,” here, and another sketch series from the group, “Doctors & DJs,” here. (I want to make it absolutely clear that I had nothing to do with this group’s work — I’m just a fan, and thought it worthy of commendation. Kind of like how I keep plugging Buddy Jackson.)

All right, I’ve rambled on long enough. I’ll let you get back to your nachos.

Upcoming Tohubohu Production Plans

2007-10-03T12:44:00.000-04:00

Well, it’s been a while, so I figure it’s way past time I sent out an update with our latest production plans. I’ll try to keep this brief, but those of you who’ve been reading for a while will know that my definition of “brief” differs substantially from most others’.

The first thing to note is that we will not be participating in the National Film Challenge this year. While we’ve had a good run at it in years past (and won two awards), we’ve decided that we’re better off producing something over which we’ll have more control, and that we can produce on a schedule we’re happier with. (And furthermore, I’m committed to working as a production designer on another short film this month — from some of the creative team behind Codeword Secret, “The Kumbio Takedown,” and Buddy Jackson.)

Which brings me to the second thing, and that is what we will be producing in the short term: the long-delayed short “Number One With a Bullet.” This story has been kicking around for more than two years now, and I think we’re finally ready to commit to making it. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, “Number One” is a dark comedy about a struggling writer whose debut novel is about to be scuttled by his unscrupulous editor. That is, until the editor suffers an untimely accident — and the writer decides to turn things to his advantage. But what starts as a simple (if morally questionable) cover-up rapidly escalates as others in the publication chain get a little too close to the truth.

Bjorn Munson and I are still hammering out revisions to the script (from a story by me and Lauren Walsh), but we’re far enough along that I feel confident in starting preproduction. I’ll be directing, and there will be plenty of opportunities for help on this one, as the script is fairly ambitious. If you’d like to offer your services, it’s never too early to throw your hat into the ring; while this will be put together on a tight (i.e., practically nonexistent) budget, we are looking at ways to extend our professional “footprint,” so to speak. We’re targeting a November or December shoot date, though we’ll have some firmer details once we get the preliminary paperwork rolling.

Beyond that, we still have the script for “Some Kind of Hero” (a darker crime drama) and the Tohubohu.tv series Quorum on the horizon (along with any other scripts that may fall into our laps), but I’ll keep those details under my hat a bit longer. Well, except for the fact that I just announced them here...

We are also a step closer to incorporation as a nonprofit, in that our attorney (who leads a secret double identity as my brother Ken) has just sent me the latest versions of the paperwork (well, he sent them a while ago, but I’m just getting around to dealing with them). Ideally, we’ll get those filed before too long, so that “Number One With a Bullet” can be produced under that framework.

And that’s all for now. I’m looking forward to working with many of you again soon — take care, all!