Best concert I've seen in ages. No warm up band. First set Pink Floyd greatest hits and a few solo songs. 15 minute intermission. Then "Dark Side of the Moon" played front to back. Greatness...
We've been so busy shooting the new season of "Pink" - and trying to get the word out on our Webby Nominee for Best Drama: Individual Episode - that we failed to mention we already won an Honoree Award for Best Drama Series.
Check it out
Okay, okay, so it's not an nomination or a win, but it is a pretty cool deal. With over 10,000 entries they selected the top 15% for the Honoree Award. So we'll take it!
In just three short days on May 6th we'll know if we won the Webby for Episode 7 "Feels Like the First Time", and we'll know about the Webby People's Voice Award.
Last thing on award talk - we've got a chance for an Emmy nomination too. The main awards were announced last week and they'll announce the new media ones very soon. Our collective fingers are definitely crossed. :)
I know we JUST wrapped shooting the next round of "Pink", but there's no time to rest. Our next show "Exposed" for Warner Bros. Television is in pre-production and will shoot in early summer.
Here's a snipet from a press release put out today...
“We want to continue the Warner Bros. tradition of authentic voices creating compelling programming for this new digital canvas,” said Craig Erwich, Executive Vice President of Warner Horizon Television, who also oversees TheWB.com on behalf of the Studio. “The office water cooler has moved, and fans of TheWB.com can instantly engage with our content and interact with one another through the site, through the Facebook application, or on their own web sites and blogs. We are working with some of the finest talent in our business to create powerful and innovative programming that will fuel this community.”
TheWB.com will feature an exclusive slate of original series from creative talent such as director/producer McG (the upcoming “Terminator 4,” “Supernatural,” the “Charlie’s Angels” films) and writer/producer Josh Schwartz (“Gossip Girl,” “Chuck,” “The O.C.”), among others, launching on the site within the first year. All original content for TheWB.com will be released under the Studio 2.0 banner, WBTVG’s division for original digital programming, both live-action and animation, created for broadband and wireless.
McG is partnering with production team Big Fantastic (“Prom Queen”) on “Sorority Forever,” an innovative mystery/drama that peeks behind the walls of one of the most intriguing secret societies in the world: the sorority. Separately, McG is also teaming up with the creators of the hit Internet series “Pink” on “Exposed,” a thriller about a college student haunted by a hidden past and trying to remain undercover.
Read the entire release here.
Craig Erwich is the studio exec we work for along with the folks at McG's company. Pretty fun stuff!
-Blake
We need your help! PLEASE VOTE for "Pink" at the Webby's "People's Voice Awards"...We've dropped to 3rd Place!!!
http://pv.webbyawards.com/
You have to register but it only takes a few seconds.
Thank you!
We wrapped production on PINK 2.0 last night. Cast and crew did a great job! Here are a few stills from the last week...
I'll post more info soon. Right now trying to get caught up on sleep!
-Blake
Wrapped our first week of shooting for the next round of "Pink" episodes on Saturday. Had a very smooth week. We shot all of the "Adult Nate" scenes with lead Natalie Raitano. I really hope the second week goes as well.
Here are a few pictures from the week...
Will give a detailed report once we wrap the entire shoot.
And please don't forget to VOTE for "Pink" at the Webbys People's Voice Awards!
-Blake
Saw this today online in PARADE...
George Clooney may earn $20 million per movie, but he's a rarity. Overall, the median wage for actors in the U.S. is less than $12 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As for the rest of the crew, they're clearly doing it for the glamour, not the money.
The median wage for a movie or television writer is just $5,000 a year.
A costume designer or makeup artist can earn more than $2,000 a week. But since work comes on a project basis, year-round employment is not guaranteed.
Production assistants typically earn just $8 an hour.
TV show directors can earn upward of $35,000 for a single one-hour episode -- if they hit it big.
We start principle photography tomorrow morning on the next round of "Pink" episodes. Shooting 25 more over the next two weeks.
BTW, I'm the director and actually make less than $8 an hour. Pretty glamorous, huh? :)
-Blake
CLICK HERE TO VOTE!
What are you voting for? Well, PINK is up for a "People's Voice Award" at the Webbys too. It's kinda like the People's Choice Awards. The audience votes on it's favorites.
PINK is up for best DRAMA: INDIVIDUAL EPISODE
You vote on the Webby Awards site. You do have to register, but it's quick and painless. Please help us out and go vote!
Thanks!
Blake
Just found out "PINK" has been nominated for a Webby Award in the category DRAMA: INDIVIDUAL EPISODE. Click here to see all nominees in Video Category. Our listing is about half way down page.
The Webby Awards are the the "Academy Awards" for the Internet, so it's a pretty cool thing!
Awards are June 10th in NYC. So fingers crossed!
-Blake
If you're in Dallas and are attending the AFI Film Festival stop by today and check out a panel I'm on...
WEBISODES, SCHMEBISODES
What Happened to Writing for Feature Films and Telelvision?
5:30pm
Co-hosted by Dallas Screenwriters Association
How does Internet distribution affect entertainment writing? Did the writer's strike change anything? Will writers earn income from "non-traditional" media?
Moderator: Elliot Kotek, Moving Pictures Magazine
Panelists: Blake Calhoun, Creator, "Pink"; Jim Hart, Screenwriter; and Brad Keller, Fireside Entertainment
And tomorrow I'm on another one...
THE INDIE PAYBACK REALITY
The Real Truth Behind the Cost, Risk and Prospects for the Independent Film Today
5:30pm
Co-hosted by Dallas Producers Association
This discussion will center on what to know before you start spending your hard-earned cash to make your dream feature film project.
Moderator: Corey Scholibo,"The Advocate"
Panelists: Charles Acosta, Arrival Pictures; and Additional Panelists TBA
I'm one of the "Additional Panelists TBA". :) Check them out if you can!
-Blake
It's been a great three weeks or so doing auditions for the next seasons of "Pink". Today we held our last ones and we'll be announcing the final cast next week.
Heck, our shoot starts in just over two weeks, so we gotta get things squared away!
This was one of the more extensive castings I have done. On my prevous projects I have typically cast folks I've either worked with before, or were referred to. It's worked out very well too. But this time I had to cast "college age" actors. All my friends now are pretty much in their late 20s to early 40s, so college doesn't really fit. But it's been a good experience and I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of fresh faces. Since "Pink" is a low budget show I acted as the Casting Director, so I've been involved from the very beginning. This is good though. I'm directing another web series in the next few months and will be going through the same process again. A lot of the actors I've seen recently are being considered for the new show as well. Hopefully it will help expedite that casting!
BTW, If anyone knows of a "college age" Matt Damon PLEASE let me know. We will need someone like that for the lead in the new show. More details will follow.
For now though it's back to "Pink". We kinda need to finalize the scripts now too. :)
-Blake
Check out this interview on TorrentTV with, uh, me! Show originally aired on satellite channel G4TechTV. Out promoting "Pink"...
PINK on TorrentTV
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Thanks!
Blake
Interesting article on the idea of artist (filmmakers, painters, musicians, etc.) finding 1000 True Fans to make a living. Obviously very relevant to online video.
What are "True Fans"? Read to find out
I love the idea. Being in control of your content and making a living is great. My only issue with his thesis is what is a "living"?
From the piece:
I am suggesting there is a home for creatives in between poverty and stardom. Somewhere lower than stratospheric bestsellerdom, but higher than the obscurity of the long tail. I don't know the actual true number, but I think a dedicated artist could cultivate 1,000 True Fans, and by their direct support using new technology, make an honest living.
From a filmmaking perspective, I think this is a stretch (due to cost of production), although he does suggest you'd likely need more True Fans (like 5000) to make a run at it.
What I'm trying to do with my web series "Pink" is find those True Fans, but also explore traditional distribution and marketing to find even a broader audience (without sacrificing too much creative control) and make a good living doing so.
-Blake
Thought I'd shared some cool press regarding our web series "Pink". The show was recently acquired by Santa Monica-based company Generate, run by former WB Network CEO Jordan Levin. We're now gearing up to produce 25 more episodes to be released over the summer...
Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/
business/news/e3ic8069f8098734cd40e0f68323f74fca5
Variety:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981872.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1
NewTeeVee:
http://newteevee.com/2008/03/04/generate/
Broadcasting & Cable Magazine:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6538138.html?desc=topstory
MediaWeek:
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003719379
TV Week:
http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/03/
generate_lands_6_million_in_fu.php
If you haven't seen the show please check it out. First 10 episodes are online now.
-Blake
Online video sharing site Revver has been acquired by, and now merged with social networking site LiveVideo.com (owned by one of the Myspace founders Brad Greenspan).
Full press release here.
I'm just glad they're still afloat! Rumor was times were getting tough for them. In my opinion Revver is one of the best video sites on the web. If you haven't checked them out, please do! It's where "Pink" was discovered afterall. :)
-Blake
We are casting for Season Two of "Pink" and are primarily looking for "college age" actors and actresses. If you would like to audition and are in the Dallas area please send your headshot/resume to loudpics@yahoo.com.
Thanks!
Blake
Good stuff... enjoy!
Unbelievable f**king cameos...
These should/could do good things for online video viewership.
-Blake
This year's Oscars seems to lack a lot of buzz to me. I've virtually heard no one talking about them, except for of course entertainment type shows, etc. Usually some friends of mine have an Oscar watching party and people enter a pool to win prizes. This year? None.
I was at a dinner party last night and the Oscars didn't even come up. Heck, we talked about the easement on the side of my house - but no Oscars. I'm a filmmaker too and they didn't really cross my mind.
The question is why?
My guess is that most "regular folks" haven't seen many, if any, of the nominated films. I've personally only seen "Juno", "No Country for Old Men", and "Atonement". Of course out of these films only "Juno" has been a hit, grossing over $120 million so far. Also I think the writer's strike might have put a bad taste in people's mouths for Hollywood in general. And of course for a while we didn't even know what kind of Oscar show there'd be if the strike had continued.
Are these the reasons? Maybe. Maybe not.
As a filmmaker I am interested in seeing who wins, but if I wasn't in the business I'd probably be watching a re-run of Gilligan's Island instead. Now that's entertainment. :)
-Blake
Cool Yahoo News section called "People of the Web" featuring a story "How to make a zombie for $50 or less"... there's an article AND a video to watch.
Nice info for indie filmmakers and fans alike...
Check it out!
-Blake
Check out this great podcast (from "On The Page") interview with Mike Maden, the writer of our web series "Pink"...
http://blip.tv/file/635227
-Blake
Where have all the good times gone?
Well, last night they were in Dallas. I went to the Van Halen concert at the American Airlines arena and it was great. Really good show. I almost bought a shirt. I didn't, but if I had school today I would have (don't tell me you didn't do that).
Funny thing is last time I saw Van Halen (the original group) was in Dallas in 1984. Ah, the good old days. It so happened that was the LAST TIME the band played together before their recent reunion (minus a few failed attempts over the years). BTW, this was of course not the "complete" original group. Bassist Michael Anthony is not on the tour. There are still hard feelings between him and Eddie regarding Sammy. So, Eddie's teenage son Wolfgang is playing in Michael's place. And he did a nice job. Kinda weird to think he wasn't even born when the band played in Dallas last.
It was very cool to hear all the favorites like "Jamie's Crying", "Dancing In The Street", "Atomic Punk", "Beautiful Girls", "Pretty Woman", etc., etc. They ONLY played David Lee Roth era songs. And they actually played a lot of deep cuts and B-side kinda stuff. Heard a rumor Eddie had to re-learn some of the songs! They even did "Ice Cream Man", which I don't recall seeing before - and it's one of the only songs Roth actually plays guitar on (he's good too).
A couple very cool things in this show that you very rarely see in today's newer bands are the presence of a Guitar Solo and Drum Solo. These are pretty much lost arts today. Now don't get me wrong. I love music from "modern" bands. And really as most folks know Nirvana was the band that killed the guitar solo - and since then (the early 90s) most bands don't do that. Which isn't a bad thing either. It's just nice to see an act that is SO focused on the lead guitar. And it's nice to be at a show that does the old routine of having a drum solo and then a guitar solo so the other guys can go take a piss and do a line of coke. Well, maybe not coke anymore for these guys. More like drink a coca-cola or a glass of ice tea.
But that's a good thing. The band seems like they're in a great place.
Eddie and Dave are definitely fit - for any age - but especially for being 53. Last night was actually Eddie's birthday and David got the crowd to sing Happy Birthday to him. That was fun. Eddie looks better now (since rehab) than he did 15 years ago.
One video-related thing I can share is they had a huge screen behind the stage that was basically just a projected image of the show (in HD). It was great though because otherwise we'd never been able to see much. Why? Well, we were in the nose bleed seats big time. I'd never sat that high up (can you say VERTIGO?). I don't want to sit there again either. You can't see. Heat rises, so it was real hot. And all the pot smoke rises, so it was hard to breathe at some points (especially when some dude fired up some skunk weed and then a cigar!).
In the end I had a blast and I'm looking forward to seeing them again in another 24 years. Talk about nostalgia (though, they're actually coming back to Dallas on March 3rd, so I might just go then).
But I think first I WILL get that shirt so I can show all my friends I went to the show last night. Of course today you don't have to actually go to the show to get a shirt. You can just buy it online. And while you're at it you can see the bootleg video of the show too, on YouTube.
I kinda miss 1984.
-Blake
This is an excellent talk by producer/director J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Cloverfield, etc.). A must watch for filmmakers out there. Thanks to Stu Maschwitz at the Prolost Blog...
WATCH VIDEO
-Blake
D-Day Invasion with only 4 guys? Eat your heart out Steven Spielberg...
See what can be done today with a little (or a lot) of imagination? GREAT STUFF!
-Blake
I'm taking some time off, so just wanted to say Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to everyone!
Thank you for reading my blog and supporting my various projects this past year. It's really been a good one!
A lot of cool stuff to look forward to in 2008 with "Pink", "Killing Down" and several other projects (at least one more web series and another feature film).
Talk to you next year! :)
-Blake
AFI AWARDS 2007 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS ANNOUNCED
AFI has just announced the official selections of AFI AWARDS 2007, AFI's almanac that records the year's most outstanding achievements in film and television. Ten AFI Movies of the Year and 10 TV Programs of the Year have just been determined by the juries.
The honorees are listed below in alphabetical order, with my comments next to them:
AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR--OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD (haven't seen it)
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (nope, haven't seen it)
INTO THE WILD (loved this film, not a Sean Penn fan either, but it's great)
JUNO (planning to see it this weekend)
KNOCKED UP (wife has seen and loved it)
MICHAEL CLAYTON (looked boring to me, but heard it was good)
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (loved 85% of the movie, last 15 minutes or so lost me a bit, but still very good - Josh Brolin was excellent)
RATATOUILLE (not a huge animation fan, but looks good)
THE SAVAGES (haven't seen it, but I really like Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman)
THERE WILL BE BLOOD (not out yet, but I'm a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson)
AFI TV PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR--OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
DEXTER (my favorite current show, love it, and sad this season is over)
EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS (never seen it)
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (great show and shot in Texas)
LONGFORD (never heard of it)
MAD MEN (good show, though only watched part of it)
PUSHING DAISIES (I like the look, haven't watched entire episode)
THE SOPRANOS (my previous favorite show, great final season)
TELL ME YOU LOVE ME (haven't seen it, heard there's a lot of nudity so been meaning to check it out)
30 ROCK (is this still on TV?)
UGLY BETTY (I'm a Selma Hayek fan for sure, but only watched this show a few times)
Pretty impressive list of winners. I just need more time to go to the movies and watch TV. Thank goodness for Tivo (but I still don't have time to watch all the recorded shows!). :)
-Blake
A lot going on right now...
1. KILLING DOWN - my latest feature film is being distributed throughout Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. Still not sure when it will be showing up on DVD in these places, but it has to be very soon. Also, our domestic release should be this spring. We're very close to doing a DVD deal.
2. PINK - the web series is really doing well. We've now had 3.5 million views on YouTube alone. All told (on Myspace, iTunes, Revver, Metacafe, BlipTV and YouTube) we've had over 4 million views. This all since September - but really since Halloween. We've had several meetings regarding the future of the show, and should have some news by Christmas as to the direction (whether we'll be producing Season Two on our own again, or whether another company will come on board as a partner). Either way we hope/plan to shoot in February.
3. NEW "UNTITLED" FEATURE FILM - the new feature project is moving along well too. Not quite ready to release details of the film, but our script is done, we have an excellent casting director, and our financing is almost in place. In addition, we're already talking to several well-known actors about the project. If all goes well we could be rolling cameras by March - but that's probably too ambitious (see #2 above).
4. NEW WEB SERIES - we're actually looking at possibly TWO new web series. Details coming soon. The first one (which a lot of the footage already exist) will likely be released online in January 2008. The other one we're in talks about for later next year.
Whew! Like I said, a lot going on and a lot to keep up with. Luckily I'm pretty good at multi-tasking. :)
-Blake
Please check it out:
http://pinktheseries.blogspot.com
Not much content on it yet, but will be a good resource for info regarding the series as time goes on.
Also, we'll be doing polls you can vote on at least once a month, so definitely take a moment to excercise your right.
Thank you!
-Blake
It's been just over one week since we announced the One Million View mark for "Pink" on YouTube. Well, today we just topped Two Million Views. Really incredible.
I can't thank the viewers enough along with the editors of YouTube for featuring the show. I don't know the definition of a "viral" video, but I'd say the series is starting to take on a life of it's own and the views are really starting to pile up. It's sure starting to feel viral to me. :)
You can watch and subscribe on YouTube here.
PLEASE keep spreading the word........ thanks!
-Blake
"Pink" reached a cool milestone today going past the One Million View mark on YouTube. This is a total for all the episodes. Not too bad considering we've only been online since September, and we've only been featured on YouTube for two weeks!
Thank you to the fans of the show (and even to the folks who don't like the show) and also thank you to the editors of YouTube and Revver, and iTunes.
You can subscribe to "Pink" on YouTube here. Or subscribe on iTunes here.
Thanks for watching!
UPDATE: As of 11/21 we're now up to 1.6 Million Views on YouTube. Starting to sound kinda viral to me...
-Blake
As of today 11/13/07 "Pink" is the 21st most subscribed to show on YouTube, and the 7th most subscribed to show under the "Directors" banner on YouTube (this is mainly for narrative projects like web series, which is great).
Also, we've had 757,339 views since being featured two weeks ago. We're getting close to that 1 million mark. We've actually surpassed that mark if you count all the other places to watch including our Official website, Myspace, Revver, iTunes, and Metacafe.
Not too bad. :) Thanks for watching!!!
-Blake
Interesting article...
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8SSU3AO0&show_article=1
Excellent news for web shows like "Pink".
-Blake
Nice article in USA Today about "slick webisodes" being the missing link to making web video (web series) make it...
USA Today Article
Hopefully we're onto something (have you seen "PINK"?). They should have mentioned us too. :)
-Blake
As mentioned in the previous post, I was on two panels at the Lone Star International Film Festival and they both went well.
The first one was quite small, but very interesting. Turns out it was the first panel of the event and they had the address wrong. Plus, it was at 11am on Friday at a first year festival. So, only a few people in room besides us panelist, but again, it was very informitive. This was the New Media panel.
The second one was called Directing Your First Feature and it was much better attended. The room was pretty much full. This was the panel Fred Durst was supposed to be on, but he no showed. Very rock n' roll of him I suppose. However, much to my surprise the other panelist were actually a couple of the guys from Broken Lizard (Jay Chandrasekhar and Paul Soter). The comedy troupe behind such films as "Super Troopers", "Club Dread", "Beerfest", etc. and Jay also individually directed the "Dukes of Hazzard" movie. And Paul has just directed his first feature film "Watching The Detectives". Very nice guys and cool to hear their perspective on making films in the studio system versus indie world.
Here are two pictures of me and the Broken Lizard guys:
The top picture of Paul and I is slightly out of focus (thanks Cliff). :)
-Blake
The Lone Star International Film Festival starts today in Fort Worth, Texas. It runs November 7-11. Never heard of the festival you say? Well, it's the first one. Actually, it's not really the "first" one... it's the first one under the new entity putting on the event.
Back in 1998 a group put on the Fort Worth Film Festival, which was really a great festival. I happen to be fortunate enough to screen my first feature film "Thugs" there. Wes Anderson screened "Rushmore". A lot of good stuff was going on.
The festival being in downtown Fort Worth had such a great feel to it. If you've ever been to Sundance Square you know what I'm talking about. Clean streets. Easy parking. Safe. Very quaint feeling for a descent sized city. And all the theaters are located very close together - a big plus compared to most other festivals I've been to.
But the festival didn't make it. Not sure why. Probably funding. So there have been rumors for some time that the festival would be brought back, and low and behold now it has been in the form of the Lone Star International Film Festival.
Several big name folks will be in town, among them Bill Paxton (he's directly involved with the fest) and Martin Sheen, along with several big name films.
I've actually been invited to speak on two panels. So if you're interested come out to the festival on Friday at 11am for the New Technologies and Media Convergance panel, then Saturday at 3pm for the Directing My First Feature panel - another speaker on this one is Fred Durst (yeah, the lead singer from Limp Biskit). He recently directed his first feature "The Education of Charlie Banks", which will be screening Friday evening at 8pm.
Also, they'll be showing the first five episodes of my web series "PINK" in their "viral video lounge" (or something like that). Not sure where this is, but sounds cool. :)
Hope to see you there!
-Blake
YouTube has apparently taken a liking to "PINK". A couple days ago they featured the show under the "Entertainment" category, but today I just saw where they put it on their MAIN PAGE. Not the main page of the channels, or categories, etc.... THE main page. You type in YouTube.com and PINK Webisode 01 is right there. Very cool stuff indeed.
One interesting thing I'm finding is that while we are getting lots of views on the first episode, the subsequent ones aren't near as numerous. Now don't get me wrong, they are climbing for sure, but not near as fast as the single episode YouTube is featuring. My belief is that most YouTube users are accustom to the "one hit wonder" videos (mostly the "kick in the crotch" stuff). So, they usually only watch that single video, then go off to another place.
"PINK" is a serialized show. A mini-TV series if you will. Each episode builds on each other to tell the story. It takes a little to get used to (on the web), but folks are beginning to get the idea. And with YouTube's help, more folks are seeing the show everyday. And as a filmmaker that's really all I can ask for.
THANK YOU YOUTUBE! :)
-Blake
Just saw today that PINK has been featured on YouTube. Not sure when this happened or how, but it happened in the last day or so I think.
THANK YOU very much to the editors at YouTube for noticing and featuring the show.
And since we've been featured we've had over 20,000 views on Webisode 01. Pretty cool!
I'm actually in LA this week for several meetings regarding the future of "Pink". Hopefuly more cool news coming soon. :)
-Blake
Nice behind-the-scenes story on the show...
Online Videos by Veoh.com
Thank you Sunny Gualt and all the folks at Viral and Veoh!
-Blake
If you travel at all these days you know the feeling of arriving into an unknown town and not having a clue how to get anywhere. I travel quite a bit and routinely get lost. But not anymore. Last year I bought a portable GPS from Magellan and it's the most liberating device I own (besides maybe my cell phone).
So this week I'm in Atalanta for a video shoot, which I haven't been to in almost 20 years, and I don't know where I'm going. I get my rental car and turn the GPS on and enter the hotel's address.... and boom, the satellite tracks my location and starts telling me where to go (I have one that talks to you). Only problem? I entered the wrong address. I compared where I was going to a map I printed off Yahoo, and something wasn't right. So I pulled over and re-entered my location and figured out I had put in "Avenue" instead of "Street". In Atlanta there are about 20 different "Peachtree" streets. So, the system is not completely fail safe, but once I entered the CORRECT address it took me right there. Nice.
Next day I had to go to the convention center and the hotel concierge gave me directions on a handy little pre-printed 3x5 index card. It also included directions for the return. The directions were good and I got there with ease. BUT, for the return... I had to park in a parking garage that when I exited put me onto a side street that was not mentioned on the 3x5 card. Nothing worse than driving around a downtown area with one-way streets, etc. and not knowing where you are. I just so happened to throw the GPS in my camera bag (glad I did), so I fired it up and got directions on getting back. Worked perfectly.
There are a lot of GPS brands out there and they pretty much all work the same. And the costs are coming down too. I think I paid around $400 for the Magellan over a year ago, and you can now get a good one for probably $250 or so. Tom Tom makes a good one and so does Garmin.
If you're a filmmaker going to different cities and/or varied locations around the globe I think a GPS is a must have these days. In the not too distant future I think the idea of being "lost" will be gone.
Now if it could just drive the car for you then we'd really be talking... :)
-Blake
Okay, so I've been focusing a lot of my time recently on the new web series "Pink". And BTW, episode #6 is out now so definitely check it out.
BUT, my last feature film "Killing Down" has got several things going on with it too...
First, just got an update from my foriegn distributor that so far we've sold these territories for DVD (and some TV):
1. S.Africa
2. Brazil
3. Romania
4. Italy
5. Taiwan
6. Albania
7. Poland
8. Latin America (via an MGM output deal for DVD)
This is all really cool news. The DVD should start popping up in retailers soon.
Secondly, we're EXTREMELY close to inking a domestic deal (finally). I can't release details just yet, but if all goes well the movie will be availble here in the states by early spring.
So, please keep your eye out for the DVD releases wherever you may be reading this. I'll update specific dates when I have them.
In the meantime, I have to go edit another episode of "Pink". :)
-Blake
This week we posted a compilation of the first five episodes of "Pink" - and our friends at the video sharing site Revver put us on their main front page (thank you guys!).
We've had really great response from the show and are continuing to work on building an audience and our brand, which is NOT easy on the Internet. But sites like Revver do make it easier, especially when they help foster a project like ours.
The nice thing too about Revver is we use their RSS Feed for our iTunes account. And iTunes with it's very large market share is really helping us build an audience. But again, without Revver it would be much harder to do.
If you are a filmmaker and want to upload projects to the web I would highly suggest using Revver. Great site and great folks behind it.
-Blake
More press coverage of "Pink"... this time in a video form.
The new show "Viral Propaganda" did a short piece on "Pink" a few days ago, and they're (possibly) doing a full story later this month (after they interview Natalie Raitano in LA).
Check it out right here!
Online Videos by Veoh.com
Also, a little promo we did for the show (on Veoh):
Online Videos by Veoh.com
-Blake
"Pink" is now on iTunes, which is excellent news - BUT even better - Apple contacted me directly (they really dig the show) and have put it on their main store page under Podcast New Releases. It's right there on the front page for the whole world to see. Pretty cool. I hope we get some viewers from this excellent promotion.
I really need to thank my new friend Tim Street for this iTunes introduction. He's the creator of the web show "French Maid TV" and has been consulting with me, and opened the door to Apple. Great guy and his show is definitely funny and worth checking out (hint, hint - go check it out!).
I also need to thank my contact at Apple (his name withheld to protect the innocent) for helping me get my RSS feed straightened out and get all the proper metadata onto iTunes. He was a big help!
If you have a video iPod or an iPhone you can simply subscribe to the show (for FREE) and when a new episode is released iTunes will automatically download it to your computer - then you simply sync your device and watch it whenever you like. If you don't have an iPod or iPhone, you still can/should subscribe via iTunes because you can just simply watch it on your computer (within iTunes).
And if you prefer to watch the show now, well, here you go!
-Blake
Young nate dreams of a new doll for her birthday, but her daddy has a different idea for a perfect gift...
-Blake
Nice front page mention of "PINK" on the cool site "The Daily Reel"...
CHECK IT OUT
(And here's a direct link to the story if above main link is gone)
Episode #4 is out today too. :)
-Blake
Okay, so a lot going on with the new web series "PINK"...
In the past few days I was interviewed on the FresHDV blog, the producers of the "Viral The Show" have contacted me and are doing a story on the show, the video sharing site Revver put "Pink" as their "Video of the Day" (which got us thousands of views - and they posted a nice blog entry too), and now we're talking to Veoh about rollling the show out on one of their Internet channels.
Additionally, we've been contacted by some other media outlets to do more interviews, and lastly we're working to get "PINK" featured on iTunes (we'll see what happens). However, we will have the show available SOON to subscribe to on iTunes as a video podcast.
So, A LOT going on for "PINK". More news coming soon...
-Blake
Okay, so we just hit the 1000 view mark on YouTube. Not bad for a new show with the only marketing being of the grassroots nature through Myspace, this blog and word of mouth.
The show is also on the aforementioned Myspace and the video sharing site Revver, and the main "PINK" website too - so between all the sites we've had just shy of 2000 views.
Revver has contacted us and loves the project, so they are "featuring" us each week in their Editor's Picks section and in their "Featured" artist section. Hopefully this will help build more of an audience too.
The cool thing about this distribution model is the number of folks who can see your work so quickly - and so easily. For instance, my last feature film has really only been seen by some festival audiences (so far). The DVD is not out yet, so in reality only five or six hundred people have seen it in the past year and a half.
To compare, in the past week and a half nearly 2000 people have seen "Pink". That's really amazing. And I do believe those numbers will continue to grow as the show is released over the next 8 weeks.
Now, if we can just figure out how to make money at this.... :)
-Blake
Check out webisode #2 now...
Also see on YouTube and Myspace.
www.youtube.com/pinktheseries
Thanks!
-Blake
The premiere episode of "PINK" is officially online now.
There are three other ways to check it out too...
YouTube:
www.youtube.com/pinktheseries
Myspace:
www.myspace.com/pinktheseries
Official "PINK" Website:
www.pinktheseries.com
Please take a moment to watch the show and remember to catch a new episode every Tuesday for the next 10 weeks.
We'll also have it available on iTunes in the near future along with offering high-res HD downloads.
Stay tuned... :)
Thanks!
Blake
Here are four frame grabs from my Avid timeline from "PINK". These are flashback shots of "young Nate". Used a warm wash, slightly contrasty look to depict a past era in time. These were all shot on my Canon XH-A1 in HDV at 1/48 shutter using the Letus35 FE 35mm adapter. Nikon lenses were used - 24mm, 50mm and 85mm. Color correction was done in Avid using three-way corrector, Magic Bullet Colorista, and Boris Continuum.
I think they have a very filmic quality. Remember, the show premieres online Tuesday September 4th!!!
www.myspace.com/pinktheseries
-Blake
Tim Burton attended a film festival in Guanajato, Mexico and Jason (my step-brother's cousin who is a professional trumpet player) played at a private party for him. Pretty cool.
-Blake
Three War Stories (and lessons) from the "Pink" shoot:
1. LIGHTS - On our first day of shooting we were at a small farm south of Fort Worth. Most of our setups were outside, although we did have one short scene to shoot in the house. This shoot had been planned for several months remember, but as I've said many times if things can go wrong they often do... Midway through the morning a TXU truck pulls up to the property looking for the owner (his name is being withheld to protect the guilty). :) I told the TXU guy he wasn't home and he proceeded to tell me he was there to turn off the power. Yep. Shoot planned for months. The one day we're actually shooting TXU shows up. To turn the power off. I love indie fimmaking. I tried to offer to pay the bill but he couldn't accept money. I then asked him if he could come back later. Even offered to "buy" him lunch. No takers. He went ahead and turned the power off. So, the shots we needed to shoot in the house... well, we did them guerilla-style with available light. Ended up looking pretty good though. ALWAYS make sure your location's electric bills have been paid!
2. LETUS - This was my first time to use a 35mm lens adapter. We used the Letus35 Flip Enhanced. What this does is allow you to use 35mm SLR lenses on video cameras (we shot on a Canon XH-A1 HDV camera). The footage you get with this looks amazing. Very, very film-like with the shallow depth-of-field. The thing is you have to remember to turn the thing ON before you shoot. By turning a small motor on it make the ground glass vibrate and thus creates the film-like images. However, if you FORGET to turn the ground glass motor on the footage looks like you're looking through a dirty window at it. Well, we forgot to turn the motor on twice. Bad thing was it was on two scenes with actors and we had to reshoot them both. One was MOS and the other did have dialogue. Luckily I watched dailies everyday, so I caught it and were able to shoot again. Just remember, IF YOU USE A 35MM ADAPTER MAKE SURE YOU TURN THE MOTOR ON. We're actually creating a label to put on the adapter to remind us in the future.
3. LOCUST - Okay, so we're shooting a scene in my backyard. It's summertime in Dallas. Behind my house is a fairly large wooded area. A small forest actually. I scouted it for the shoot several times and thought it would work great. And it did. Well, almost. The one thing I didn't take into consideration was the locust singing their tune. They were so loud that we almost couldn't hear ourselves think. We got the mic very close to the actors and so I think it sounds okay. Plus, the sound is constant, so I should be able to notch it out with an EQ. Or I can always ADR the scene, but that cost money. It's a good lesson to remember - ALWAYS check your locations at the time of day (and year) you'll be shooting - not only for light but for sound.
-Blake
Started a Myspace page for the new web TV show "Pink". Please check it out and if you're on Myspace yourself let me know and I'll add you as a friend...
www.myspace.com/pinktheseries
Also have a new traditional website under construction.
Please check it out too:
www.pinktheseries.com
In the near future we'll be adding still pix from the shoot (some already on Myspace) and then the actual show will play here too. It will play on the main "Pink" website, on Myspace and YouTube.
More info will follow soon. And, I will detail the shoot soon as well.
REMEMBER, SHOW PREMIERES ONLINE TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 4TH !!!
Thanks for the support!
-Blake
Well the shoot is over and I must say I'm very tired. Actually yesterday I was really tired. Today I'm much better. Went to bed at 8pm on Monday night and slept a full 12 hours. Night before I only slept 3 hours. So I needed it.
I will detail the shoot in the coming days, but for now I will just say that I had a good time and we got some great footage. BUT, I really hate production. I really do. So many things can go wrong (and often do). You also have a mix of personalities that can (and often do) clash - especially when you're tired, etc. And we had a descent amount of "friction" on this set for some reason. Really the first time I'd experienced it. And I don't like it. Of course not everyone was affected, but it definitely left a bad taste in my mouth.
Anyway, enough with the drama.
It's really all about the show and the work - and like I said, I'm quite happy with that. I also think I've stumbled upon a REALLY good child actor and I'm going to look into helping her find an agent and get more work in the future.
One last thing is I'd like to thank the cast and crew for all their hard work on the shoot. If any of them are reading this just know that you helped the show tremendously and I greatly appreciate your efforts. Nice work!
Now off to the editing suite... :)
To be continued.
-Blake
This Wednesday we begin shooting the new web TV show. It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm looking forward to it - although I must say production is my least favorite part of the filmmaking process. Too many things can go wrong (and often do). But I'm working with a lot of the same crew - and even cast - from previous projects, so that should make things go fairly smoothly. They're all very talented folks, well most of them. :)
I hope to post on the blog some along the way and also get some behind-the-scenes cast and crew video on the web too. But it's funny how things tend to get away from you in the middle of shooting. I'll do my best though.
-Blake
Great little interview with Steve Buscemi about his new directorial effort "Interview". Click here to check it out.
-Blake
I start shooting the new web show on July 25th, so things are really starting to move forward.
Been scouting locations, doing casting, working on the schedule, doing storyboards and shot list, etc. A TON OF WORK. I'm actually doing a lot of the pre-pro myself just based on the budget and availabiltiy of crew. The main person I'd be working with now is the production designer, but the guy I use is on a film in Oklahoma. So, I've been working with a variety of other folks to fill his shoes, and I think we're doing okay.
Next week we build a Jail Cell set. That should be interesting, again, without a production designer - but I know what I want and think it will be fine. Plus, I'm hiring a Scenic (painter) referred by the production designer to make it look good.
I have had some of the normal SNAFUS that come with producing a show, like for example we lost our Church location because it was found to have black mold. We also lost a 80s van I had booked for a scene. And, we're having a heck of time locating a 70s or 80s "farm truck" for another scene.
If anyone has or knows of anyone with an 80s van or a 70s/80s pick-up truck (in the DFW area) please let me know. I can definitely use it in the show! :)
Looking forward to the shoot...
-Blake
Man, Scott Kirshner's CinemaTech blog is really a great place to find info on new distribution models - especially dealing with the Internet. He's really on top of his game.
I HIGHLY suggest reading his blog regularly. I'm especially interested in his reporting right now with my new web show about to shoot, and also with distribution opportunities for several of my feature films.
Definitely check it out!
-Blake
Things are moving ahead nicely on the new web-based TV show I'm producing/directing in late July (still tentative shooting dates). I'll be posting extensively about the actual show in the near future, but for now I just want to comment on working with the actor's union AFTRA (American Federation of Television & Radio Artists).
On my last feature film, "Killing Down", I worked with SAG (Screen Actors Guild). The experience was okay. But SAG is not that easy to work with, well the people are fine, it's all the paperwork and rules, rules, rules you have to deal with. Not that AFTRA doesn't have paperwork and rules - they do - but not like with my SAG experience, and that is very nice.
I understand and appreciate SAG for what they do for their actor members. Heck, a lot of my closest friends are actors and they use SAG for their insurance, etc. The thing that gets me is how MUCH power they have over a given production, and this coming from a union with 96% unemployment! Again, SAG is good and the actors they represent are even better (typically speaking), but they can definitely be a headache.
With the new web series I considered SAG at first, but then talked to a few fellow filmmakers and learned that most "web shows" are going with an AFTRA contract. I found this intriguing so I investigated. Turns out they were right. A lot of big companies like Disney, etc. are turning to AFTRA for their web content dealing with actors.
Funny thing is neither AFTRA or SAG has an agreement yet for the Internet! I really couldn't believe it. I know web TV shows (or shows SPECIFICALLY created for the web) are a fairly new thing, but the IDEA for them has been around for a while. So I was just really surprised that no contracts exist yet for this - so what happened? Well, we got to create our own "custom" contract which worked out very well.
Another filmmaker friend of mine did this on a web show he produced - but he went with SAG - and they created a custom contract for that too. So it can be done with either union, but I must say that SO FAR my experience with AFTRA has been MUCH, MUCH EASIER (than working with SAG). Of course we still have to do all the production paperwork, and then post-production paperwork, etc. (similar to SAG) - but the upfront work has been pretty much a breeze.
Have to give thanks to the local Dallas AFTRA rep T.J. Jones for being very helpful and working things out with me. She's been great, even if at the beginning she really didn't understand what kind of show I was producing. I kept using the word "pilot" and that made her and the AFTRA national reps nervous. I guess they hear that word and think NETWORK TV PILOT and lots of money. So, we dropped that word from the conversation and things went a lot smoother. :)
I'll let folks know how everything ends up after the shoot. But for now I would highly recommend considering AFTRA for web-based TV shows and the like (they're indie friendly too).
-Blake
To accompany the stills below (in the previous post), please see the actual test footage...
Quicktime (SD):
http://www.blakecalhoun.com/canon_letus_test01_sdqt.htm
Windows Media (SD):
http://www.blakecalhoun.com/canon_letus_test01_sdwm.htm
-Blake
These shots are with and without the Letus35 Flip Enhanced adaptor on my Canon XH-A1 HDV camera. Subject was standing 6 feet in front of camera. Everything was shot at 1080p 24fps at 1/48 shutter.
There are notations on the bottom right corner of the pictures as to what lens was used and if the adapter was on or not. Overall I'm impressed with the results. BTW, these stills are directly from the raw footage - no color correction or color grading has been done whatsoever...
You can really see the shallow depth-of-field (DOF) in the shots with the adapter. This give the footage a much more cinematic feel. We found that with the adapter and SLR lens on it is rated at approximately 50 ASA - very slow (2 1/2 stops of light loss). And with the adapter off it was rated around 300 ASA.
I will be posting more information and video from this test soon.
-Blake
These shots are from the set of "In The Electric Mist" from Julio Cedillo. Pictured from top to bottom are the DP (with the camera), John Goodman and Julio (second b&w shot), and then Tommy Lee Jones with the director and producer of the film...
-Blake
Yep, there is a lot going on right now...
1. The Texas Legislature PASSED the new film tax incentives bill and Governor Rick Perry will be signing it today (or very soon). This is GREAT news for Texas.
2. My next feature film project is starting to take shape. The script has been done for about two months and we're now working on financing, etc. We also have sent the script out to a Casting Director and a well-know actress for one of the leading roles. Just got word TODAY that the actress loves the project and wants to work on it! This can and likely will help us secure the rest of our production funds and help us lure other name talent to the project. More news on this very soon.
3. I've been talking some recently about a new Web TV Series I'm developing and now THAT project is moving ahead very quickly too. We're actually planning to shoot it in late July and "premiere" the series after Labor Day. I'm very excited about this project for a variety of reasons, but mainly because it is so different. We'll be producing 10 three-minute webisodes to start with (aka "the pilot"). It is going to play much like a serialized comic strip or graphic novel and we have several recognizable actors in the leading roles for this project too. If the show takes off we'll move ahead with future webisodes later in the fall. Look for a new website and Myspace page for the show in the coming weeks.
NOTE: We will be casting for this show in the next few weeks if you are an actor and are interested.
4. My latest feature film "Killing Down" was just at the Cannes Film Market in France. I don't have many details, but I do know it's bee playing well to foreign buyers. I expect to see DVDs start popping up around Europe and the Middle East any day. We have not as of yet secured a domestic distribution deal, but we do have several offers - but we're playing the field some and not in a huge hurry. Hope to have good news though in the near future about when the DVD will be available in the US and Canada.
5. Matthew Tompkins, Sheree Wilson and Julio Cedillo have all been VERY busy since we wrapped "Killing Down" back in early 2006. Just this last weekend Sheree starred in a Lifetime Movie Network movie-of-the-week called Anna's Storm. Matthew recently wrapped a costarring role opposite Dolph Lundgren in Sony Pictures' "Missionary Man", and Julio just finished a leading role in "The Electric Mist" opposite Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman and Peter Saarsgard, and also a part in the new Frank Darabont movie "The Mist" from a Steven King short story. It's great to see these guys and everyone else involved with the film keeping busy and doing good work.
This is looking like it's going to be a fun summer! :)
-Blake
On June 2nd set your Tivo's to record "Anna's Storm" on the Lifetime Movie Network. Sheree Wilson, the star of my recent film "Killing Down" is starring in this new movie-of-the-week.
Here's a link to the show on IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029097/
-Blake
