Oh so very funny. And then I cried. And then I looked for an Avid class. Check it out.
But seriously, we don’t need the FCP bashing. And everyone wants you to find their know-it-all nephew a job. Yeah, I got a job for him. I’ll turn his @$$ out on Santa Monica Blvd. F**k your nephew.
I think I can sum up this past month with one phrase:
What the fuck happened?
The month didn’t get off to a good start and then, for some unknown, after Coachella everything went straight to Hell.
Time to go at it again.
25% of the year is over so it’s time to check in on those goals again.
Finish My Feature Film – My editor finished a cut and it looked pretty good. Obviously, I had notes but we are definitely on the same page and it feels fucking awesome to move forward. Now I just need him to export a QuickTime so I can obsessively watch it at home in High-Def. You’re asking how I’m gonna author & burn a Blu-ray from my Mac, right? Wrong. I’m gonna export the HD Quicktime to play on my PS3. Stu, you’re a hero.
Write Another TV Spec – I am WAY behind on CHUCK and FRINGE but I’m still determined write for one of these shows. I think I’m gonna take a day off, hook up the computer to the TV and just plow through the second seasons of both.
Get Hired to Direct – No bites yet.
Get My Web Series Up & Running – So I had three formal pitches and about a dozen “tell me what you’re working on” while waiting for the elevator and the response has been overwhelming. Most people love it and the rest get a right hook to their prudish sensibilities. No, seriously, one woman yelled out “oh God!” in reaction to one of our randier jokes. Awesome! Also, I’ve cut together some character vlogs and need to do more but I’ve also been writing the first season. Christ, this is really happening. Also, you’ll see that I no longer use the “T” word because it resulted in my getting spammed by those interested in this “T” word.
Write A Feature Script – I started an outline but got sidetracked by the web series and, well…
As for other goals I still don’t have a sport, a class, an acoustic guitar, a way to defy death, a way to invest and I’m still trying to finish GLUE but I did go to SXSW and I had a fucking blast so that counts for something, right?
What? The month’s already over? S**t! Time to check in with those goals I set at the start of the year.
Finish My Feature Film – No real progress here but I should be looking at a cut next month.
Write Another TV Spec – This too has taken a back seat but I am plowing through season 2 of CHUCK on my iPhone and the FRINGE season 1 Blu-ray on my PS3.
Get Hired to Direct – Um, yeah, this really isn’t happening either. Okay, by now you’re asking what the hell is wrong with me. You must think I’m a flake. I’m not, I just got hit with a one-two-punch of having a roller derby girl spurn my affections (lesson: never like them more than they like you) and then the most intense flu I’ve had since childhood. That ate up about 2-3 weeks of my life.
Get My Transmedia Project Up & Running – Good news here: I have 4 pitch meetings this week. I’ll be meeting with a creative/tech agency, a talent agent, a new media producer and a web focused production company. That means I have to get this pitch prepped ASAP.
Write a Feature Script – Nope, didn’t really push the bromance but I’m punching up this horror/thriller that a director, and friend, wants to take into a genre division. And it’s due the same week as my 4 pitches.
Gulp.
As for my other goals, I’m still looking for a sport, a class, a way to defy death, an acoustic guitar, a way to invest and I really gotta finish GLUE by Irvine Welsh.
Apologies that I haven’t been blogging. I got the flu and it knocked me out. Hard. Then I had to work because I was the only guy that wasn’t away for the weekend. Yup, I got no wife, no girlfriend, no significant other, so, sick as a dog, I had to trudge into work.
And then I had to prep a DVD pitch of my transmedia project. Thankfully I had a couple of colleagues step up. One put together a great PowerPoint and the other helped me slug through the 6 hours of footage in record time.
Why should you care? Because I now am much closer to having this project up and ready to share with the world. But first I’m getting back in bed so this flu can finish kicking my butt.
But I promise to blog regularly this week.
There is so much truth in this that it had me laughing through my tears.
So, still want to be an editor?
Okay, time for an exercise in masochism.
At the start of the year I laid out my goals, some professional, some personal. I mentioned the importance of reevaluating them at least annually. Well, how about if I check my progress every month?
Gulp.
Okay, let’s go.
Finishing My Feature – This month I met with my editor and we put together a new schedule that has me looking at a cut soon. I’ll be checking-in with him to make sure we’re still on track to meet our deadline.
Write Another TV Spec – I’ve been consuming episodes of CHUCK (with 7 votes, the clear winner in my online poll which can be viewed on the right of the landing page) but I’ve also been catching up with FRINGE. I’d like to do both specs this year. Also, I’ve added MODERN FAMILY to my Hulu. Why? Cause I’m fucking Colombian and I detest some of the lame Colombian jokes they give Sofia Vergara. Baby, I’m coming to your rescue.
Get Hired to Direct – Yeah, that’s taken a backseat this month.
Get My Transmedia Project Up & Running – I’ve digitized 3 of the tapes we’ve shot and I’ve learned that using “Log & Capture” to convert HDV to ProRes takes 1h45m for every 50 minutes shot.
Develop a TV Pilot – I’ve thought about it. Had a tiny breakthrough with the webseries idea.
Write a Feature Script – I’ve started outlining this bromance/romcom (can I shoot myself after using those terms?) that’s been brewing for a while. My goal is to start writing the script this month.
As for my other goals, I’m still looking for a sport, a class, a way to defy death, an acoustic guitar, a way to invest but I did pick up GLUE by Irvine Welsh and I’m hoping to finally finish it this month.
I don’t do New Year’s resolutions but I find it important to have goals and reevaluate them at least annually. Last year I had many goals and like a lot of folk I enjoyed some success and some failure. I know that’s not a very American thing to admit but if you work in the entertainment industry rejection is a fact of life. That’s okay. You just have to take another whack at that piñata. Maybe you’ll hit it dead center, maybe you’ll just graze it but you always gotta take another swing. That’s success. Plus it’s important to bite off more than you can chew.
But enough of the aphorisms, let’s get back on topic. What are my goals for the new year?
Write Another TV Spec – Last year I managed to successfully write a TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES spec. It placed in the Austin Teleplay contest, was strongly considered for writing fellowships at both Warners and ABC/Disney and a management company is considering me for representation so only good has come of it (plus it was incredibly fun to write). That’s why I want to write another TV spec. I was planning a DOLLHOUSE but now that it has been canceled I’m down to a couple of options. I feel confident that I could write a strong FRINGE or CHUCK. I have to catch up on watching the 2nd season of both but let me get a show of hands from my readers. As you’ll see on the sidebar of my blog’s homepage, I’ve created a poll asking you which I should write. I’m looking forward to your vote. Also, a free beer to anyone that can draw a tie between those two shows (why is it that I feel I can write either of those particular shows?).
Finish My Feature – It’s embarrassing but my first feature has just been sitting there. Yes, it was a hard 2009 and a personal tragedy late in the year really rocked my world but if I don’t do this I’ll only beat myself up more and that yields no good. Besides, finishing this thing is one of the keys to taking the next big step in my career…
Get Hired to Direct – I don’t care if it’s another person’s project or my own, I gotta make this happen. I have to hustle this up for myself. This is mandatory.
Get My Transmedia Project Up & Running – This is another project that’s just hung in limbo. I now have the HDD I need so there’ll be few excuses for me to not get editing what we’ve shot… but we also need to set up our web presence and strategize our development, following a model similar to THE GUILD (BTW, using “we” just now was not a mistake).
Write a Feature Script – I’ve been working on an idea for a while, now it’s time to develop the outline and then crack open Final Draft.
Develop a TV Pilot – If I’ll be writing another TV spec, I need to have a strong idea for a new show. Here’s where things get a bit tricky. That feature film idea I just mentioned, I think it’d also work as a television show, maybe even be better as a TV show. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about developing a TV show treatment/pitch and I feel like I owe it to myself to do the feature version first. And heck, if it doesn’t work then I can revamp it as a show ala GLEE. Maybe I should start with my web series idea and just practice serialized short-form storytelling. Maybe you’re wondering why I don’t develop this into a TV pitch? Because it’s raw, crude, funny and skirts the law. How bad to do you want to see my web series now?
And like the rest of the world, I have a laundry list of personal goals. Last year I was rather vague but how about I get specific? This year I’d like to…
I’m sure I’ll come up with more but that should occupy my January.
And you? What are your goals?
Times are tough. Jobs are scarce. You probably know someone that hasn’t worked at all this year. For those of us lucky enough to still have jobs, there’s a good chance we’re working at reduced pay or being forced into furloughs.
And so I stumbled across this article on freelance editing. If I may summarize, your three goals as a freelance editor are:
The article has some great tips (my favorite might be the “Hard Drive of Tricks”) that every serious freelance editor should take to heart.
Like me.
For the past year I’ve had three part-time jobs while working on my own creative endeavors including writing, directing small projects and posting my first feature.
In the past few months, I lost one of those jobs. Another job is forcing me into furloughs. A third is squeezing my hours and constantly paying me late. Add a recent tragedy that has hoisted additional financial responsibilities onto my shoulders and it’s time to put on the “freelance post-centric ninja” hat and start knocking on doors, offering my services.
I have my own editing rig and access to a second.
I can cut your project on Final Cut Pro, do some color correction and title design in After Effects, cut and mix your audio in Pro Tools or SoundTrack Pro. I can also write, direct, shoot & record audio. I’m a one-man band and here’s the proof:
I’m ready to tackle your documentary or web series. Bring it!
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