Project Update Journal: Friday, September 28, 2018
Current Project: Metamorphosis, Interrupted
Current Funds: $1000.20 (+$623 since last update)
Project Status
On September 26, 2018, I finished writing the scene drafts and consolidated it into the Rough Draft, hoping for between 80 and 90 pages. But it seems I over-accomplished keeping it short and simple. It stands at only 72 pages! That's about the length of an episode of Game of Thrones!
This is both a good thing and a bad thing. On the downside, it means it may be too short to be considered a feature length film. On the plus-side, it means I have at least 8 pages to work with during the editing process. And up to 18 pages at maximum (though less is better). I've yet to read it (which I am planning to do today). Man, I am just happy I was able to finally finish it, especially with college classes starting again.
I counted the total days I put forward to writing the bloody thing. It took from September 11th until September 26th. Just 15 days, which was close to my initial estimate of how long it would take. Pretty good approximation! So, despite starting a few days late I still finished it within a reasonable time. Next time I mustn't procrastinate!
The next step is editing the rough draft until I have something I can show other people as a first draft. When that happens I will let everyone know. Though I won't post or embed the draft, for anyone who is interested in reading it and giving me feedback just shoot me a message!
I repeat: if you'd like to read my first draft send me a message. I'll see if I can post it on Google docs to make it easier on everyone.
Concerning Funds
I had one additional working gig off Craigslist before starting college classes again. Then I transferred 10% of my total tuition award, which turned out to come up short of the $1000 goal by a hundred bucks. Budgeting the next four months, I realized I could make up for that shortcoming and still have plenty to see a movie once in a while. So, yay!
I think if other opportunities come up to work once and a while I will just take those funds and cram them into the film's budget. It's my goal to get an IT internship this quarter, so hopefully that will pay something I can invest in the film as well.
Personal Updates
First of all, I'd just like to share that I hit 50,000 views on my channel in a little over a month! Holy cow! Never thought I'd accomplish something like this when coming to Minds. Though the majority of those came from investing my hard-earned Minds tokens into Boost, that Boosting really helped. It gained me the kind of viewers and subscribers were I get close to a hundred organic views a day. (I never even got more than 14 views in total on YouTube!) I can even expect a few comments now and then despite the Minds platform's core user-base focused on Free Speech instead of movies and film-making.
Finishing my third-ever script (and one affordable enough to actually film!) has filled me with enough motivation to write a novel version for National Novel Writing Month which happens this coming November. However, it's not a long story so it might end up more of a Novella. But I'm considered writing it anyway and seeing if I can publish it on Amazon books. I recently started talking with the Writing Community on Minds and @Aragmar has published bonafide quality books on that platform. I'm about to try his 'Starshatter' book in a few days. But knowing others are writing and making some income off their work inspires me to give it a try as well.
@ME2007Vigil has written a review of it at https://www.minds.com/blog/view/892082536140636160
Some of you who follow my blogs may have heard I'm playing the Half-Life franchise. Just last night I finished Half-Life 2: Episode 2 on Normal Mode. Episode 1 was pretty short at just 5 chapters of game-play. Thankfully, Episode 2 was longer at 7 chapters, and each chapter had more to it, so it felt like more of a game. Finishing it made me really sad since we may never get that fabled Episode 3. Episode 2 was released in 2007. That's been 11 years! ELEVEN YEARS!
If you really want a punch in the gut, just listen to the commentary they make. They had so many plans for Episode 3: more character development about Uriah the Vortigaunt, actual combat with the Advisors, potential overlap with Portal on the Borealis, and so on. You even get tidbits from the actress who voiced the Alex Vance, Marlene Dandridge; if hearing her talk about her character and her experience of working on the Half Life series doesn't make you nostalgic then you are not human.
I am also still reading the third book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. It is a solid book compared to the rest. Even though Salander is stuck in a hospital, they add a spy element to the novel that retains the tension and actually makes Blomkvist an interesting character for once. It takes longer to read than expected, but there is far more to this book than the others. If you can stomach the far left bullshit, and there is plenty of far left cringe in all the books, I strongly recommend them.
This is probably enough of an update. Let me know if you guys have played Half Life or read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo! Are you still hoping Valve makes Half Life: Episode 3 or just Half Life 3?
#minds #blog #update #filmmaking #metamorphosis #halflife #girlwiththedragontattoo #halflife3