My first Toastmasters on TV Episode

Ugh… finally.

I’ve been a “producer” at the cable access station for a YEAR, and just NOW finished editing one episode:

I’ve actually tape three episodes, but the footage on two of them got corrupted.. and I’m pretty sure I can’t retrieve it.    So this is it.

Update: What I’ve been working on.

• I have been very lazy when it comes to my Toastmasters show.  I have been a producer for one year, have taped three shows, lost the footage for two of those shows due to technical problems, and aired NOTHING.  After accepting the fact that I am never going to get around editing the footage I do have, I sought out an editor on Craigslist.  A lot of people responded, actually.  Some with a good deal of experience–and all apparently willing to work for free, in order to either gain experience or add work to their resume.  Anyway, I’m working with one of them now, and I’m wondering why I hadn’t done this sooner.  Hopefully I’ll have something to show for it soon.
• I would like to produce a Star Trek fan film.  I did some research into the legality of this, and discovered that Paramount pretty much looks the other way when it comes to fan films, as long as no one makes money off them.  This makes sense, as it is for the fans and only strengthens the fan base.  I found a fan fiction on line that I really liked, and I’m in the process of converting it to a screenplay.  Right now, it’s way too long, though.  If I can’t shorten it enough, I might make it into a miniseries… maybe release it in 10-minute chunks.  There is a lot of work ahead for me if I end up doing this, but I’m very motivated.
• Finally… I actually completed something!  Without the benefit of a contest or anything like that!  I found out about a small film group that just got started in my area, and when I showed up for the first meeting, they were already ready to put together the cast and crew for their first film.  It was great, because we were all relatively inexperienced people, but we had such varying talents that we walked out of there with a script, a crew, and all of our actors.   And since I was the only one with directing experience, they made me the director!  It was such a great experience, and a fun project to be a part of.  I’ll get more into it when the footage is posted (it’s being worked over by our sound and fx guy at the moment, but story editing–by yours truly–is finished).  I’m very proud of it, and I can’t wait until it’s ready to be seen.  You can really tell the difference in quality from what I’ve done before, as this was a team effort by a number of talented people, and not just a one-person show put together by only me.

Film Racing 24 Hour Film Contest.

Check it out–I missed the 48 hour film project because of a previous commitment, but then I found out about another one that is happening next month–Film Racing. It’s the same idea, but you only get 24 hours to produce a film. I’ve already started putting together a team, and I’m very excited!

The only problem is that it takes place on the FIRST DAY OF RAMADAN (I’m Muslim). Which means that I will be fasting–no food or drink from dawn to sunset–for a good portion of the time. And the first day is always the hardest. That’s okay. Maybe I’ll get some extra blessings, lol. That’s why I named my team “Team Baraka.”

Cable Access Show Clip

I’m producing a Toastmasters show on the local cable access program.  I’m putting together a PSA of sorts to talk about what our show is going to be about once it airs.  I wanted to post a clip of some footage I took of our host Marlo.  I’m getting better at the technical details…  As I mentioned in my previous post, my boom mic died, so I ended up getting another cheap microphone at radio shack at the last minute.  It wasn’t great (hear the buzzing in the background?  Gotta see if I can subtract that noise out with audacity), but it was much better than the mic on the camera, which picks up all the ambient sound in the room.  Here is a clip of Marlo’s segment:

I wanted to shoot her with some natural light, but we didn’t get started until after dark.  So I lit one side of her face with the ceiling fan light, and for the other side of her face, I shined my work light on the window to her left and bounced that light onto her face–direct light would have been too harsh.  I like the effect, but the picture is still kind of grainy.  I’m sure it has at least in part to do with my cheap camera, but I noticed that when I shoot outside in natural light, the picture looks much better.  So I need to improve my lighting technique, for sure

Public Access Television

While filming my current project, I met a lady who happened to be a fellow Toastmaster.  She mentioned to me that we wants to film her meetings and air them on public access television, and asked me if I would like to help.  Hell yeah!  I got even more excited when I found out that the public access station has all the equipment and software, and they train you to use it all!  As well as teaching you filmmaking theory.  The classes are short (more like workshops) and REALLY inexpensive (between $50-$150), so that is right up my alley!  I want to learn all this stuff, but I don’t want to pay for, or spend time going to film school.  …I guess it just shows you, when you take a step toward your goals, the universe presents opportunites for you.

The Trunk

I want to share an amazing experience I had working on the set of a short film yesterday. I belong to a “film industry” club on meetup.com, and the group occasionally asks for scripts and produces films. One day, the owner of the group solicited free help for a short film he’d be working on. Long story short, I offered to help, he made me the caterer, and after a bunch of people (including one of the actors) didn’t show up, he had me ACT in the film instead!

Postponed.

…well, looks like the deadline for the film contest has been postponed by THREE MONTHS.  My first thought was, “Man, now I have to wait even longer for the contest to start!”  But then I realized.. this gives me time to put together another entry!  With my new camera!  Woo hoo!  

So I’ve decided to create a film to submit under another category–American Muslim Women.  And I have just the right person in mind to profile.  More to come!

Yay!

…the nice lady at the library faxed the location release today after I gave her a follow-up call.  She is super-busy and was very apologetic for not responding for a couple of days, but I told her it was totally ok.  I’m almost ready to submit my film to the contest.

Film contest update

So…. after much procrastination, I contacted the library administrators a few weeks ago, and a really nice lady in the main office said she’d sign the location release.  But she said she wanted evidence that my actress had also signed a release.  So I got my actress to sign one for me, but it took a while because she left town for a while.  So I have the release now, but… we got hit by hurricane Ike!  I sent the library administrator the form to sign, but she didn’t get back to me today, and no wonder…  They are trying to get libraries opened again.  Most of the city doesn’t have power right now.  The deadline for submission is Friday of next week.  I hope I can get her to sign and fax me that paper before then.  Because if I can’t… well…. I guess there’s always next year.

Muslim Film Contest!!

OMG, I just found this link:

http://www.linktv.org/onenation

THIS is the contest that inspired me to produce my short film! I was going to enter this last year, but I missed the deadline… I didn’t know they were doing it again this year! I can still submit!! Just one problem though… I wasn’t able to get a “location permit” for filming at the library. They let me film, but they wouldn’t sign anything saying that I’d gotten their permission and unfortunately this is required in order to enter the contest. The lady at the library said she didn’t have the authority to sign anything, and she deferred to the library’s lawyers, who never got back to her. I didn’t follow up on it, thinking I would never enter this in anything, but now… NOW!!!! I shall pursue this till they give me what I want!! (at least I hope)