Project Update Journal: Friday, September 14, 2018

Current Project: Metamorphosis, Interrupted
Current Funds: $347.00 (+$40.00 Since Last Friday)

Regarding Project Funds

Got some work this week but missed one appointment due to a random bout of benign vertigo. About half a year ago I woke up and the world started spinning. Thought something was wrong with my brain so I carefully walked to the University of Washington's Medical Center and down to the Emergency Room. They did their tests and said it was probably nothing, asking me if I was stressed and other such. Never had vertigo before and slightly embarrassed I went to the emergency room for it. Got a bill for $1500 a couple of months later. That sucked. But at least I wasn't dying! They also told me I was relatively healthy, despite being a lazy bloke.

Anyway, got to add $40.00 to this low budget film. Got a few more appointments that should bring it close to $400 before classes start again. Then that extra bit from financial aid should bring it up to a $1000.

You may be wondering where that extra $600 from financial aid comes from. It's mainly to pay rent and other cost of living while going to college. A bit is from student loans and a bit is from state and federal grants. Because I'm not a high-maintenance person I end up saving some of the money instead of using it all. The other year I bought a new laptop with that wiggle room, which is a godsend; this laptop is excellent. This year I will put that wiggle budget to this small film. The Spartan's life is for me!

Regarding Project Progress

First week of working on scene drafts. I intended to take a break from writing for a day but it lasted an extra couple of days when I decided to start playing the Half-Life series again. But I did buckled down and start writing, and as of now I've finished 11 of the 50 scenes.

I'm trying to get these scene drafts done by September 21st, but I'm averaging less than I need to meet that goal. Mainly, I am doing this so I can consolidate it into a rough draft and then into a first draft before the month is up. I said before I'd like to post the first draft for people to read and provide feedback but now I'm having second thoughts. One problem is that you can't link a PDF. And if it turns out the story is even slightly decent, story-hungry production companies have been known to scour the internet and steal ideas since ideas can't be copyrighted. South Park even did this once with a Inception joke.

I think I will try either Indie Film Hustle's or The Selling Your Screenplay Podcast's script-reading services. Provided they give me a start rating as well. But it is possible some of you out there are interested in reading it. I'd still like to share it for feedback and a star rating. Just send me a message and we will work something out.

Personal Life Section

Might be nice to fill you in on my personal life so it doesn't clutter up the above project update. People seem to like getting to know their content creators. Maybe I can capitalize on this and start a Patreon later. This might even be a good vector to generate funds for these indie films!

I started playing entire franchises with Grand Theft Auto. I didn't play the first two top-down games, but I did play GTA3, then Vice City, San Andreas, and then GTA4. I would've played the fifth one, but my computer can't handle it. But, boy howdy, was it a lot of fun. However, San Andreas was the only one I aimed for 100% completion, getting 95% since I couldn't beat the airplane challenges. I must say, you can really tell how much better at storytelling Rockstar got each game. In GTA3 it was just "go here and do this. Now go here and do that." But by GTA4 it's cinematic city. When I get a better computer I will go to town on GTA5. If you're curious to know, after playing them all San Andreas is still my favorite.

All we had to do, was follow the damn train, CJ! - Big Smoke

Now I'm starting the Half Life series with the very first one. It's surprising me how good this game is, game-play wise. Like SCP Containment Breach, it's not so much the graphics as it is the game-play. The only time I experience an immersion-break is during the enemy death animations and some of their AI. I'm already at Nihilinth, the last boss. Not sure how to beat it but I'm sure it has something to do with it's head opening up.

There are two parts of the game I'm not sure if I did right. The first was On the Rail. I couldn't hop over some boxes, so after getting frustrated, I just followed the rails on foot and eventually beat that level. According to a walk-through, I was supposed to hop over the boxes, but I couldn't figure out which buttons to hit. I tried them all!

When I got to Xen, supposedly I had a long jump. Supposedly. After two hours trying to jump, I started shooting my weapons in frustration. Apparently, one of the nuclear-powered weapons' alternate attack produces an explosion that propels you. Not having any other option, I started my rocket man routine until I got past the floating islands. Was this the intention of the developers? Boy, did I take damage. But I made it now to Nihilinth. Just got to figure out how to kill him.

In other news, I've also decided to read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, known as the Millennium series in Sweden. Motherfuckers, nobody cares about Millennium, their stupid failing newspaper Mikael Blomkvist, or that bimbo Erika Berger! People only care about Lisbeth Salander and the chaos she gets into. Stop calling it the Millennium series.

The series can be pretty cringe-worthy. And the first two books start out slow. The first book takes a third of the book to get into, and the long denouement is boring as hell. Again, I don't care about Millennium. I don't know anybody who does. The second book starts getting good at the first third, then shoots off like a rocket in the last third. So far, this momentum has carried into the third book where we're now introduced to a spy organization within a spy organization.

But by cringe-worthy, it's clearly a book with a feminist agenda. All the sane people are women while most men are evil. But all the people who can save Lisbeth are men. Surprise, surprise. And like most feminist books written by men, there's plenty of rape, misogyny, and white knighting. There is even cuckoldry; Erika Berger's husband is happy, even cheerful when she leaves to sleep with Blomkvist. What. the. fuck.

I almost didn't go through with the second book; in the beginning Lisbeth sleeps with an underage boy. Is this the kind of territory the book is going into now? Thankfully, no. But as the novel's mystery unravels and Lisbeth starts to go on her bad-ass ass-kicking spree, you're finally in the territory people read the book for.

The third book, so far, provides a spy thriller undertone as Mikael and his pro-Lisbeth organization work against Sapo and their anti-Lisbeth organization. Meanwhile, Lisbeth lays in a hospital, powerless, but determined to get free of her cage and probably kick ass at some point again. Without this character nobody would read this series. 

I recommend the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series if you can stomach the leftist cringe. When the parts get good they get really good. But get a good armchair because whenever Lisbeth isn't front and center you need a good support for your face-palms.

#minds #update #filmmaking #blog #halflife #girlwiththedragontattoo #gta