My film friends, Bryan & Amy Storkel and Jason Connell have produced a film about card-counting Christians who are professional blackjack players called Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians! I’ve been following this film for a while. I’ve seen several pieces of advanced footage and have been honoured to support it’s development in several ways. It’s a fascinating look into a niche world of Christianity and professional gambling! AND IT DROPS TOMORROW!! Check it out on Amazon.com, iTunes or YouTube!

Bryan is currently directing another documentary with Oscar-winning documentarian Daniel Junge called Fight Church. As someone who loves amateur MMA, I’m super excited about this one!!

And I can’t finish this post without noting that Daniel Junge’s Oscar-winning co-director on Saving Face (2011), Sharmeen Ohaid-Chiney, is Canadian (like me)!

Vessie Kazachka in the set of The Artist (first from the left)!

My friend Vessie Kazachka was Second AC on the Oscar-winning film “The Artist” and I remember her telling us while it was being shot that she thought it was a good film and that she was proud to be working on it. This was before the Weinsteins got wind of it.

Vessie also worked on my short film, Sonny! We are so grateful to her for sharing her mad skillz and very proud to call her friend!

I have three projects in their third trimester: two short films and a baby.

Sonny is so close to being finished, I can almost taste it! I’ve even started thinking about what to write for my “director’s statement” and am just giddy with the thought of getting to write one! We’re still finishing the score (with the amazing Joel Davis), and we’ve still got the sound design and final mix to do. Also, Ryan is in the middle of working on the color. But we expect to have all these things finished by the end of March! And then we will begin submitting to film festivals.

Jerry & Diane, the short film we shot just before Christmas (December 2011), is in post. I completed an assembly cut and then handed it off to Ryan, who will put his spin on it, then we will slam-bam-thank-you-maam post it here at home: colour, sound mix and everything. I’m really excited with how it turned out! And am excited for people to see and experience these quirky, funny characters. They’re odd and endearing.

Finally, I’m 6.5 weeks away from my due date with our first child. Even as I type this blog post, the little one is squirming around in my belly. I just had some dark chocolate and I think he (or she?) approves. This is why we’re doing our darndest to get these projects done before April. Because after that, I will focus on the one most important, squishiest, messiest, cutest little project that I’m currently incubating. Literally.

I’ve also got a project in it’s first trimester. I’m working to get a screenplay done before the babe arrives. It’s called Tent City and it’s inspired by a combination of things, such as the short film Sonny to a small extent and to a greater extent the current homelessness crisis in the United States and Canada. It’s currently in outline/treatment form and will hopefully begin to take shape as script pages in early March (second trimester?). I’ve spent the most time crafting the structure and story because I feel more confident with popping out script pages than getting the story right. I’ve just handed off a draft of the treatment to my producing partner (Ryan, again) and am waiting on notes.

I wonder what sort of metaphor I could use Braxton Hick contractions for in the filmmaking process. Any ideas? Perhaps contract negotiations?

I think it’s a cop-out.

To be frank, the kind of life with which I’m familiar can sometimes seem rather boring. I’m a normal Canadian kid from a [somewhat unique] Canadian town. I spent some time in Texas, Oklahoma, Ontario, British Columbia, Los Angeles, and now I live in New York City. My parents are still together. I’m an only child and, for the most part, my relatives are all cordial, at the very least, and loving, during the best of times.

See?

Noah Baumbach would be depressed at the normalcy of my life.

I think the phrase “write what you know” should relate more to theme than subject matter. While I’ve led a normal life on the surface, I’ve experienced pain, fear, pride, insecurity, and, as a quirky Canadian that moved to Texas at thirteen-years-old who played basketball and was a drama nerd, I’ve experienced my fair share of identity issues. I’m also quite familiar with feminism and femininity issues, as a pear-shaped tom-boy (see also: identity issues).

So what do I know? I know universal human fears. I know how it feels to not know who you are nor who you should be. I know the quandary of a person fighting a sense of duty and responsibility with a deep personal passion for something other.

So sometimes I’m writing about 30-something guitar teachers. Sometimes I’m writing about 60-year-old homeless felons. But I’m always writing about my own fears and insecurities. About what I don’t know. About the things for which I have questions.

And ideally, it’s writing that’s honest.

We had the stupendous and fearless Chris Domig playing Jerry.

Chris Domig, JERRY

And the delightful dry and quirky Margaret Rossi Copeland playing Diane.

Margaret Rossi Copeland, DIANE

And our lovely DP, Danielle Campbell, was a wiz with the Canon 5D Mark II.

Danielle Campbell with Canon 5D and Zacuto Rig

One of the things I enjoyed about this process (other than directing comedy) was that it was a 2-day shoot, with two actors (plus one brief cameo) and a crew of four (including me). We had the DP, a grip/AC, and my husband (who is also my co-producer, editor and colourist) recorded production audio. All of us were experienced professionals who’ve each worn many hats so the short hand was effective. We worked quickly and communicated well. My actors were marvellous. They dove right into the material fearlessly and gave me lots of choices and options to cut with. It’s going to be a delightful little film.

My first short film as a writer-director, called “Sonny“, is still in post-production; but I’m pregnant (due in April 2012!), and my hubby and I wanted to get another project in before the baby consumes our time. We’re hoping to have both projects out of post and heading to the festival circuit by the time the baby arrives in mid-April.

When we shot “The Rock ‘n’ Roll Dreams of Duncan Christopher,” we did our best to produce the film in a sustainable, green-minded way. Some of the things we attempted include:

This was day 1: the Samsung Series 9 and delightfully kind and easy-to-work-with Robert Sudduth (39s).

Day 2: We shot the Sony Viao Y with the handsome and generous actor Brian Palatucci (37s).

Day 3: Our computer was the HP Touchsmart 610 and our actress was Desiree Hall, a beautiful and surprisingly spunky actress (38s).

Day 4: We finished with six (6) computers, some of which we’d already featured and some of which were new, and one new actress, the demure and talented Jocelin Donahue (1:23).

Hope you’ve enjoyed this trip down my own memory lane.

Back in May, I was the First AD on a series of commercials for Microsoft – specifically, for several computers that sport the new Windows 7 operating system. We shot in a studio for four days and to be honest…

It was my best experience as a First AD ever.

I’m not sure what the difference was. Perhaps it was the director, who treated everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) with kindness and respect. Perhaps it was the crew, who were all so comfortable with their jobs and comfortable with their rate of pay, that they just showed up on time, with smiles, did their work and rarely complained. Perhaps it was the gaggle of awesome PA’s we had? Perhaps it was being in a studio? Perhaps it was the shooting schedule?

Or perhaps it was me. And not because I’m amazing (which I’m not) but because of two disparate experiences I’ve had that, combined, have made me a more comfortable (possibly better?) First AD. Those two experiences are:

1. Producing a feature film
2. Working as a background actor

In 2008, my husband and I co-produced a feature film with two friends and business partners. Along with producing, each of us had at least one other key role. One was also the writer and lead actor, one was also the director, my husband was also the editor, and I was also a line producer and costume designer. It was the experience of producing and line producing (the two are not always the same job!) that made me a more knowledgeable First AD. Knowledge isn’t always power, but it certainly can add a level of comfort. And comfort can breed confidence. Comfort certainly doesn’t breed fear.

In 2010, my husband and I moved to New York City where I determined that I didn’t want to First AD, I didn’t want to Line Produce or UPM or Production Coordinate. I just wanted to be a simple artist. I wanted a part-time job that wasn’t taxing or emotionally draining and I wanted to spend the rest of my time writing and working on the Short Film that I’d just finished shooting and was ready to edit with my Los Angeles-based editor. This all sounds kind of selfish in hindsight (especially considering that there are plenty of people with my skill set who can’t find work); it seems nearsighted to avoid looking for the best-paying work I can acquire, but I felt strongly about persuing my passions (and still do).

So what did we come up with for me to do? Background acting! But first! First, I had to get over my pride. “I’ve produced a feature film!” “I’m usually a First AD!” “I’m actually a director!” These lines echoed in my head each of the first half-dozen or so times that I found myself on a set as a background actor (aka expensive organic prop). I had to get over that pride and be okay with my choices.

Once I did that, I was able to open my eyes and learn. I began to watch the First ADs, I began to watch the other crew and (given my experiences) I could actually understand what was happening (many background actors are clueless about the process). And as I watched, I learned.

It’s mostly tacit knowledge: things like, how different ADs run their sets, how different shows plan their days, how different gaffers like to communicate with their DPs, and how long a 2/8 page scene really should take!!! Also, to be frank, as a background actor in New York City, I found myself on bigger sets than I ever had been as a producer or First AD. And being on bigger sets gives you a better perspective of how smaller sets should run.

So now, I recommend that everyone who wants to be in a key creative or technical position in “Hollywood” work on big sets and work on small sets. It doesn’t matter what your position is as long as you pay attention to what’s happening around you.

Anyway, back to being a First AD. I’m kinda energized for the position now.

Anybody shooting anything?

Thankfully I was not working on the night of the event, so I borrowed clothes and jewelry from my former roomie (Pennington) and we did our hair and makeup and drove off in a classy rental car (mine for the week) to downtown Hollywood for the red carpet. We were hoping for the win!

We didn’t get the top spot, but we came close. You can see a video here of us all on the red carpet.

Snazzy group, eh?

In this Gizmodo article we learn about a subscription program for movie theaters. Part of me is excited; part of me is nervous. Having worked in professional theater, I know what a boon subscription offers can be for stabilizing earned income. And in general, it’s been proven over and over again in my experience that what’s good for one theater is good for other theaters.

So can this effect transfer into the film industry? I’m sure that someone somewhere in Burbank or Culver City has run the numbers: the number of movie-going public in America, the amount who own netflix already, and a projection of who would use and recommend the use of both… It’s either going to be a life-saver of the film industry or a catalyst for major change.

As an indie filmmaker, I’ve been watching the whole digital distribution revolution with interest and while I don’t think I’m in a place where I can yet effect change, I am wholeheartedly invested in the changes that do occur. Some would argue that I should be working to effect change if I have preferences about how the dice roll; but do I want to put the time and effort into changing distribution channels yet? I lean towards waiting.

What do you think?