And so my recap of IMPULSE production continues. This will be a story about making an incredibly ambitious short, raising tens of thousands of dollars in a matter of weeks, locking down a notable actor, and encountering and averting dozens of difficult circumstances throughout production. Again, I may weave in and out of journal format and present day reflection, so please bear with me.
June 12, 2009
The script's still not there yet. Bryan & I have been tossing the script back and forth, each of us making revisions... we still can't unlock part of the story. It'll come eventually.June 18, 2009
Worked on a very tentative shooting breakdown. Right now it looks like 5 days, with us shooting 2 1/2 pages per day. I feel funny saying this since its a short, but that STILL feels ambitious. Wish we could have a solid 10 days to do it, but that also sounds ridiculous.June 19, 2009*
Met with a composer last night, Corey Wallace. Christy & I went to USC to hear a live performance of one of his pieces. Very impressive stuff. After the concert, we caught dinner - ended up at a very strange Denny's in South LA. Had to wait 20 minutes to get seated... really?... at a Denny's? We had a great meet-and-greet and fun to talk favorite scores/musicians.
*A PRESENT-DAY NOTE ON ABOVE:
Corey Wallace originally got in touch with me YEARS ago when he saw the trailer for University Heights and sent me some MIDI demo tracks. Once or twice a year, I'd receive an email from him with a new track. As the years went on, his demos became bigger and better. We were supposed to meet a few times and finally, in June of 2009, we met after five years of correspondence. Corey had just completed USC's Scoring for Motion Picture and Television program and has some very incredible musical work under his belt.June 20, 2009
Christy & I met with Darren for brunch (Darren Brandl's a long-time friend and former international film sales agent/producer/director of development). I was hoping he'd want to be a part of the project and - indeed - he does. But... Bryan & I gave him a draft we were 90% satisfied with and... of course, Darren had his own notes. Looks like there's a couple more drafts before we're all happy. So Darren & Christy are now our two producers. We discussed how to move forward... we first need to lock down this script, then make a talent chase list, then go out to the agencies with the script and our reel. Hopefully we can nail down a reputable/recognizable actor and be shooting by September. I wish we could buy ourselves some more pre-production/financing time, but if we have any hope of shooting in Iowa while there's still good weather, we can't push, especially since it rains a LOT in October and begins to snow in November. So... I think we're all INCREDIBLY nervous since we're technically 3 months out from shooting. But... at least we're all on the same page and we're going to forge ahead as if the film will be shot by the end of the year. Let's move boldly and blindly ahead.June 22, 2009
I came across a movie that sounded a little like IMPULSE on Netflix, called Miracle Mile. I'm not surprised there's something a tad bit like it, since we're working in the realm of post-apocalyptic films and there's about a million of them. So out of pure curiosity, I checked it out... WOW. The premise was great but the execution bordered on hilarity at times. I think this might be a good movie to watch when drunk. Maybe we'll save that for the wrap party. Regardless, glad I watched it. Sometimes watching a bad movie is waaay more informative and educational than watching a good one.
June 23, 2009
Hasn't been a good day. My brain has just been stuck on a million details, the biggest of which is: how are we going to raise our full budget and THEN prep the film before September?! In addition, Bryan & I had a conference call about a network project that is turning into something else entirely... and it's NOT good. Ugh. I'm worried IMPULSE might not happen and I'm worried our other project will just fizzle and then we'll be left with nothing to show for ourselves.June 24, 2009
Went to a small birthday party for Darren last night. We tried not to talk much about movies. Sometimes I like that. Especially now.June 25, 2009
So Michael Jackson died today. It's nuts. Helicopters have been flying over my apartment constantly. Regardless, my "funk" has passed. My confidence in getting IMPULSE made has been restored. Christy & I met with Andrew Davis for dinner tonight, a very talented cinematographer. I'd seen some of his work in some student shorts and really dug his aesthetic. Had a great conversation and got a good handle on his sensibilities. I think it'd be great to have him on board... just need to get him the script. He's also experienced with the RED Camera, which I think is our best bet for our workflow. Really hope this works out, especially since Bryan & I just want to concentrate on directing this picture instead of shooting it ourselves, like we've done on every other film. Ah.... how I would love to simply direct instead of worrying about focus-pulling.
June 27, 2009
Corey read the script, liked it, wants to be a part of it. We talked some very early musical ideas and we're all in sync. Very cool.June 30, 2009
We have officially been working on the script for a month. Insane. Hope we crack it soon... we need to, especially if there's any hope of shooting in September.
Last movie Scott watched: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg)
