Thomas M. Watt's Blog, page 26

Fake Pregnancy Tests – 1/9

I spent the night learning how to use Adobe Pro Premiere CC 2015. I was overwhelmed initially, but once I got the hang of some basic interface controls, it wasn’t so bad.

My favorite feature of this software is that it allows you to trim, cut, and overlap the audio. Coming from a program that is geared toward home movies, this was an outstanding upgrade. I can keep the audio from a main clip running while the visual can be a playing card or an actor’s reaction.

I was all set to upload my rough edit onto Youtube and link to it here, but my brother advised me not to. He insists that viewers perceive rough edits of video the same way that avid readers interpret 1st drafts from novelists. I’ve decided to include a short behind the scenes clip at the bottom of this post instead.

This analogy keeps me from uploading the scene I edited tonight, no matter how much I’d like to post it. I think I’ll just stick to behind the scenes footage and stories from now on.

Thursday night was awesome. The actors all arrived on time, even early. Phil showed up in a bathrobe and a underwear, which was hilarious considering that’s what he had to wear in the shoot.

My brother set up the lights and a fog machine. Dan came along to help film, and I was blown away at how much more efficient the shoot went with two cameras.

Before starting, I had to purchase quite a list of props to fit Phil’s character’s eccentric personality. Among them were:

2 porn magazines
2 porn DVDs
2 cigars
A playboy bunny lighter
The “Big Carl” from Carl’s Jr.
3 hard tacos from Taco Bell, with a coke

I also had to buy a pregnancy test, and figure out how to manipulate a positive result. I discovered that coca-cola and a hair-dryer are just some of the ways you can influence a false positive.

What I found to be really strange on my quest was that Spencer’s sells false-positive pregnancy tests. That wasn’t the strange part – the fact that they were sold out, was.

Ladies – is this your idea of a joke?? The honest to God truth is, if you’re not using these fake pregnancy tests as pranks, than you’re intention is even more sinister than I am comfortable imagining.

Thomas M. Watt

 

Cheaters Prosper – 1/8

Just wrapped up the third day in a row of heavy duty filming. I’m exhausted, but happy. I’ll get to today’s filming in Saturday’s post. Today I’ll discuss yesterday’s shoot.

El Nino struck Southern California for 2 straight days. The first day didn’t affect us much. Wednesday was much more trying.

Not only were we freezing our asses off, but the downpour came sporadically. The scenes we shot were all outside, and on several occasions we had to cut the scene early to protect the equipment. The rain fell so hard we actually added a line to the script – “It’s raining, let’s go play inside.”

Thankfully, conditions improved so that line can be omitted.

The biggest difference in writing for film versus writing for books is that you have to consider your budget in each and every scene. I can’t afford to have any car accidents, expensive props, or high-octane action sequences. I wrote this script knowing full well the dramatic twists would have to come from relationships. Good stories move us emotionally, so this isn’t as limiting as one might think.

Dan filmed for the second day in a row, and got more footage and takes than I could have possibly requested. One reason I think this Independent film will be great is the devotion of all the individuals involved.

It’s incredible to see so many individuals come together and put forth so much effort into making this project the best it can be. I’m not paying anyone, and therefore they’re not obligated to put in the amount of time they are dedicating to this.

Dan filmed until we ran out of daylight and shot every scene I hoped to complete. I’m really happy he did, because everything we filmed takes place during the same day in the script. I was terrified of having to re-shoot, because shooting exterior scenes with rainfall in Southern California is a surefire way to get some major continuity errors.

I tried to upload a video of the footage to youtube. For some bizarre reason, the audio plays fine while the video only shows up when it is paused(on my computer at least). Going to take a crack at fixing it tomorrow, but thought I’d attach the link to this post anyway, in case it is fixed automatically.

The video below features behind the scenes difficulties and a rough, rough edit of one of the scenes we filmed. There is no color grading, audio syncing, or any kind of real editing. All I did was trim shot and put together bits and pieces from the four different angles we had. Unfortunately, one of the takes was recorded with an ambulance passing in the background, so that one’s worthless.

I’m looking forward to telling you all about Thursday’s shoot, with my brother back at the camera, tomorrow.

Thomas M. Watt

 

Cheaters Prosper Update – 1/7

Rigging the dashboard cam

Wow. The last two days have been extremely… well, prosperous.

Knocked out 11 pages of the screenplay during that time. Filming more tomorrow. I’d like to give you the day-by-day report, so this post will be all about January 5th.

The reason I failed to post yesterday was because I had trouble running my computer after loading all the footage and editing with software that is geared toward home movies.

In fact, I woke up sporadically throughout the night hoping to get my computer up and running to no avail. I had already put together the behind-the-scenes video that I’ve included at the bottom of this post.

The entire day was hectic. As I mentioned in Tuesday’s post, the decision to film exterior scenes at a local community college came last minute. We’d originally planned to film at a friend’s home on Wednesday, but he made a compulsive decision to go on vacation, forcing the cancellation of our shoot.

Setting up a fake list of grades

I spent Tuesday night memorizing my lines, and thankfully was able to practice more once Scott, who plays “Jax”, arrived at my house. We had a small list of prop items I needed to gather before we left:

2 button down shirts that needed to be ironed
A list of fake names and grades
Poker chips and cards
A tripod
Umbrellas
Towels

Much to my apprehension, “El Nino” was supposed to hit southern California, where we live, during both days of shooting the exterior shots.

It rained all morning and was still pouring by the time we arrived at the college. Once we arrived, we were near certain we’d have to cancel the outdoor shoot for the day. It was to our amazement that we discovered several outdoor areas that were protected by overhead cement pillars (?).

My friend Aaron, who was recently featured in my Amazing Race post, came along to help with the boom mic. He also found a way to arrange the 4 umbrellas we had with us on the nearby puddles to drown out the constant dripping in the background. The towels we brought along were vital, as we needed to wipe down the table and nearby puddles (though my deck of playing cards was completely destroyed by the end of the shoot).

I can’t emphasize enough how grateful I am to have brought Dan, my acting friend, along on this project. He got so many takes from so many angles I have no doubt we will be able to make our scenes appear flawless, despite the many times we screwed up our lines.

Dan the man

All in all, Tuesday was a great success. I can’t wait to tell you all about Wednesday’s shoot tomorrow – the rain was ten times worse.

Thomas M. Watt

Cheaters Prosper – 1/5

Persistence pays.

Yesterday, I discussed my bitter disappointment with learning of my friend’s last minute vacation. We filmed a previous scene in his house, and it seemed as though this week would be wasted.

But my trip to the bars this weekend turned out to be the most productive thing I did last week.  I went out with My friend Dan, whom I met through my acting class. He divulged to me his true passion is photography and film. He told me he’d be glad to film some scenes for me if the opportunity ever presented itself.

My older brother is in charge of filming Cheaters Prosper, and is using his own expensive equipment. For this reason I’ve been apprehensive about bringing in a new cinematographer.

Then the realization occurred to me that the scenes my brother shot have all been interior shots.

That’s me – I play “Torque”

Therefore, it wouldn’t be too disruptive to viewers if exterior shots are filmed on a different camera in a slightly different style.

So I scribbled out a new itinerary.

There are about 3 scenes that take place at a local community college during winter break. Dan confirmed that he’d be to film them tomorrow during the daytime.

I’ve just gone from having nothing to film, to potentially knocking out 10 pages tomorrow. I’m a principle character in these dialogue-heavy scenes, so I’m going to work on memorizing my lines as soon as I finish typing this.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to reschedule Thursday’s scenes for Wednesday. This was going to be problematic for me because I feel that it’s important to attend “drill time” at the local fire station every few weeks. I’m happy that the actors involved had no problems changing the filming date to Wednesday.

On top of all this, my brother showed me some of the footage from our last day of shooting. The audio isn’t synched, but the video footage is stunning – I’m talking studio level.

Dylan, who plays “Elroy” (the bad guy)

It’s nice to be excited again. I should have some pictures or video to show you tomorrow.

Thomas M. Watt

Lisa Emme – Tooth and Claw!

Thomas M. Watt: Today we’re featuring one of my favorite indie authors, Lisa Emme. She’s the author of the Harry Russo Diaries series, and the first installment (Dead and Kicking) continues to receive 5 star reviews. What motivated you to write this series?

Lisa Emme: It sounds totally cliché, but the characters motivated me. I had this idea for Harry, the entire opening scene of Dead and Kicking in fact, playing out in my head for some time. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. What happened next? Who was Harry? I’m a huge urban fantasy and paranormal romance fan, so it was natural for me to think that this was a story I wanted to learn more about, a story I’d want to read, so I started writing it. I had to write it so I could find out what happened!

Dead and Kicking features zombies, vampires and communication with the dead. Does the sequel introduce any new horrifying characters or paranormal activities that you’d be kind enough to warn us about?

LE: As a matter-of-fact, yes. Book two, Tooth and Claw, introduces you more to the Fae side of the supernatural world. There’s a psychotic ‘elf’ (he hates being called that), blood-thirsty pixies and even homicidal redcaps. For those not familiar with redcaps, they are called that because they soak their hats in the blood of their victims so that it drips continually down their faces in gory streaks. Of course, werewolves, vampires and zombies are still in the mix as well. Harry’s world is bursting with supernatural beings. There’s never a dull moment.

If Harry Russo met Cole Sear from The Sixth Sense, how do you think their conversation would go?

LE: Ha! That’s a good question. Hmmm, maybe something like….

Cole: I see dead people.

Harry: Yeah, kid. I know. Me too.

Cole: They’re just walking around like regular people…They don’t know they’re dead.

Harry: Yeah, I get that, but listen kid, you probably shouldn’t go around telling everyone that you see dead people. They’re going to think you’re not right in the head. You know what I mean? They’ll think you’re a…

Cole: That I’m a freak.

Harry: Yeah, something like that. So keep it on the down-low, all right? And if a ghost is bugging you, just tell them to take a hike. You’re not their grief counsellor.

Cole: You ever feel the prickly things on the back of your neck? And the tiny hairs on your arms, you know when they stand up?

Harry: Okay, now you’re kind of just creeping me out, kid. Enough already.

Cole: I don’t wanna be scared anymore.

Harry: Look…if all else fails, use this. [Harry hands Cole a Taser] Nothing gets rid of ghosts faster than a 1200 volt jolt.

Cole: [Looks at the Taser with glee] Thanks, Harry.

Harry: Don’t mention it, kid. I mean, really…don’t tell your mom I gave you that. And if Tommy Tammisimo ends up flopping on the ground like a fish, I’ll deny ever having met you.

Before Harry Russo embarks on her second journey, she stops by your house and asks for some advice. What do you tell her?

LE: I would probably tell her to get her head out of the sand and quit denying her abilities. I’d also tell her to quit pretending she doesn’t just want to throw herself at Nash and to go for it. But that’s just me, and maybe I’ve been single too long…

You’ve mentioned that you were an avid reader before deciding to craft your own tales. Do you view stories any differently now that you’re designing them?

LE: That’s a tough one. I guess I do. I think it’s hard to take off that writer hat once you have it on. I find myself analysing an author’s style. How they write their dialog, how they handle scene transitions, the POV they write in, etc. Everything I read is a learning opportunity, a chance to think about what really worked and didn’t for the story. I actually think that the way I see stories changed before I started writing. In fact, it’s probably why I decided to start writing. I can remember reading a book and it turned out that it wasn’t particularly well written (it was just plain awful), yet it was hugely popular, I mean insanely popular and I thought to myself that I could write a much better story.

Thank you so much for dropping by, Lisa!

Thanks for having me. I appreciate the opportunity for your readers to get to know me. I hope if they want to know more they’ll stop by my website (www.lisaemme.com). I’d love to hear from them.

Author Bio:

Lisa Emme is a Canadian who proudly ends her ABC’s with ‘zed’. A self-professed book-a-holic, she has spent the last few years trying to stem her book hoarding tendencies by writing her own stories and by avoiding the bargain table at the bookstore like the plague.

A bit of a thrill seeker, Lisa has tried such death defying activities as bungy jumping off a bridge and rappelling down the side of a 17 storey building. She’s also single-handedly raising a teenager.

Lisa has worked as a veterinary assistant, playground instructor, bank teller, store clerk, waitress, telephone solicitor, research writer for an environmental think tank, computer programmer, and systems analyst. Her passion, however, is writing. What else is she going to do during the long, cold, prairie winter?

Lisa would love to hear from you. You can find her here:

Website: www.lisaemme.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LisaEmmeBooks/

Twitter: @LisaEmmeBooks

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/LisaEmmeBooks/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lisa.emme.books

ORDER TOOTH AND CLAW TODAY!!

Thomas M. Watt

Updates – 1/4

Well I just received some devastating news. My friend whose home we were using for our scene on Wednesday just became unavailable (He and his family are going on vacation). The reason this is an issue is that we have already filmed one scene there, so it wouldn’t really make sense to all of a sudden have the group of characters hanging out at a separate location.

I’m not sure what to do yet. I already informed the actors they’d be performing that day. I’m really upset.

Just Leasing should be good to go, the only problem is my friend from Berkeley hasn’t gotten back to me for 2 days. He’s also away on vacation, and I’ve been trying to figure out what day he’s getting back.

One good bit of news is that one of my friends is passionate about filming, and is able to shoot during the daytime this week. That means we can get a lot of footage if we can find suitable locations.

Not sure what I’m going to do yet, but I intend to figure things out.

Thomas M. Watt

Cheaters Prosper Update – 1/3

Waddup, waddup.

Went through the script today and completed the sixth revision. I’m pretty happy with it. One really cool thing about involving actors in a story you’ve penned is you get instant feedback. When writing a novel, it takes some serious hustle to find willing readers. When someone is playing a character you’ve created, they are bound to read the lines and seriously consider whether your material is worth getting involved with.

The father of the main character, Ed, is a mid-fifties deadbeat who lounges around the house in a bathrobe and briefs. I’m happy to have secured a man named Phil for the role. Phil was also in my acting class, and he is an impressive performer. He’s a career psychologist with an amazing willingness to put himself out there. I can’t imagine it was easy for him to be grouped with all the young dreamers at my local college course. I’ve got to hand it to him – not only was he a stand-out actor among us, but he’s gone out of his way to secure a few commercial gigs as well as some voice over work.

I put together an itinerary for the week and sent it out, though I anticipate some changes. Currently we are going to shoot Thursday night and some time on Wednesday.

I need to borrow a friend’s house for Wednesday’s scenes. He prefers I use his place anytime before 6 PM. My older brother, who films, sets up lighting, and has his own professional equipment, doesn’t get off work until 6. One of the actors, Kelin, also works from about 2 until 9 PM.

The only clear way for me to get around these conflicting schedules would be to film the scenes myself, without my brother’s help. If we begin early on Wednesday, Kelin can get to work on time, and we can use my friends house during acceptable hours.

The biggest issue would be me working the cameras. I know nothing about cinematography, how to set up lighting, or how much coverage I need to get. I’m going to ask my brother if he could spend Monday night showing me step-by-step what he would do. The other big issue would be handling his equipment – I’m not sure I have any right to be trusted with it. One other obstacle is the boom mic – I need to find someone willing to hold it for me.

Not sure what’s going to happen, but I’m confident there is always a way to make things work.

Thomas M. Watt

 

Saturday Special – Amazing Race Submission

As many of you are aware, I traveled to Portland in October of last year on a whim. My good friend invited me out to record footage for an Amazing Race submission. I’ve always rejected his impulsive plans in the past, but this time I finally caved in. The above footage is the result of that trip.

Featured alongside me in the video is Aaron Williamson. He is a certified app developer. One of his apps is called “Date Dots.” It stores important dates in your calendar, such as birthdays for your nieces and nephews, and helps you plan birthday cards and gifts accordingly. It’s honestly a huge time-saver.

Date Dots can be downloaded for free on any Iphone.

Thomas M. Watt

New Years Resolutions – 1/1

Today marks the start of a new year. A fresh beginning, a clean slate, an opportunity to improve ourselves.

I have tons of new goals for this year. Mostly, I would like to make strides in the two careers I am pursuing – the tangible firefighter one, and the surreal writer/screenwriter dream.

It is important to remember than any goal, no matter how impossible it may seem, can be accomplished by taking the appropriate steps. For becoming a firefighter, I must receive an EMT certificate, work as a firefighter, and attend the fire academy during the summer. To become a paid screenwriter, I must attain an agent, win some screenwriting/indy film contests, and expose my work. There are no guarantees for either profession, but I know that if I do everything better than my competitors I will greatly increase my chances of working in a career field that I will enjoy.

But the changes I feel will most dramatically alter my exterior goals are directly related to my own internal shortcomings.

I want to improve my relationships. I have always been introverted, highly self-conscious, extremely impulsive, and blind to social awareness. Furthermore, I’m convinced a life centered around God is necessary to make strides in these areas.

2014 I allowed God to rule my thoughts and understanding, but in 2015 I became much more self-centered. In many ways this was beneficial – becoming more logical helped me to attribute the outcome of things to their proper causes. One line of thought that I believe can lead one along a path to insanity is to think the bad things that occur in our lives are caused by unrelated moral decisions.

Despite this positive intellectual development, I have also come to believe there is a certain magnetism that can only be achieved through the grace of God. This realization makes life much more difficult, as the causation of things appears much less linear.

I am looking forward to taking a logical approach to self-improvement while also recognizing God’s involvement and ultimate direction in my life. I guess this belief can best be explained by comparing it to my understanding of writing.

Structure, devices, plot points, and many other story telling elements are crucial for any work of fiction to appeal to viewers. But emotion – love, hate, and all the degrees in between – cannot be artificially produced, in my experience. These moments must come from the heart of the writer, and there is no superficial way to produce them. Furthermore, a strong intuitive sense is greatly affected by a mindful attitude.

Others may claim you can manipulate the feeling of love for the audience of your work, but I have never been able to effectively express emotion through my characters if I am not immersed in the emotions myself.

One truth I have observed from my fluctuating levels of Spirituality is that the further I am from God, the less meaningful human existence appears to be. The value of friends, family, and even ourselves appears meager in comparison to superficial values such as fame, social status, and wealth. If we do not appreciate the beauty each individual has to offer our lives becomes dry, and our work will inevitably suffer.

I hope to become a more God-centered person during this new year, without sacrificing any intellectual pursuits.

Happy New Year to you all!

Thomas M. Watt

Author of Master

Cheaters Prosper Update – 12/31

From left to right: Jordan, Dylan, and Catrina

Today I spoke with Catrina, the lead actress in Cheaters Prosper. I mentioned previously how disappointed I was to discover she and her friend had dropped out from the sitcom they encouraged me to write for them. Today I learned that her grandmother had died in the past week. Goes to show why you should never rush to judgment.

Furthermore, Catrina decided that she is now willing to participate in Just Leasing, though her friend is not. Even more impressive, she read the latest draft of Cheaters Prosper and gave me some really great feedback.

I’m truly astonished at how blind I am to the female perspective.  Catrina provides character insights that are abundantly obvious to her, yet evade my understanding completely. I’m beyond grateful to receive her input, and terribly regret ever doubting her dedication.

The ball returned to rolling today. My brother received a new camera that is capable of shooting longer scenes in RAW. I have a severely limited understanding of cinematography, but from my limited comprehension it seems he prefers to shoot by recording thousands of still frame photographs that flow together fluidly enough to provide beautiful motion pictures. His former camera could only handle shooting in this format for thirty seconds or less, and constantly skipped frames. The camera upgrade should prove highly beneficial.

Furthermore, the first delivery of aluminum pieces came in for him today. The pieces are going to be welded(I think) together to build a circular dolly. The climatic scene takes place at a poker table in my garage. When the dolly is completed, my brother will be able to film one continuous, orbiting shot of us conversing at the table. I share his excitement with this vision, and am sure it will be an incredible scene if he can pull it off.

I contacted each of the involved actors, and was happy to learn they are all looking forward to shooting 1-3 days next week. There are a few scheduling conflicts, but I’m confident I will be able to organize the scenes appropriately over the weekend.

Will keep you updated.

Thomas M. Watt
Author of Master