Add to friends So what did go wrong!
The first part of this journal as said before is through rose coloured glasses plus mainly concentrating on the film shooting side.
I would like to make a very important point to anyone who undertakes a project of this size, it will take over your life and you have to be prepared for that.
Cracks began appearing very shortly after the third shoot of Mortus Illumina, at the time I was working 40 to 50 hours in a investment bank , plus on top of that I was working 30 to 40 hours for a freelance client as well a week. Money wise I have never earnt more in my life, it enabled us to only have a gap of only two months between the shoots , in my mind If I could keep up this level of working for three or four months I would have the film in the can before the year end,
From the outside the good ship 5YLAC was at full speed , as well as the production of Mortus Illumina, other projects were beginning to get planned and we started the WRAP networking Night for low budget filmmakers , musicians etc etc (thats another story in itself) Like any ship, the first time you take it to full speed you are going to get some creaking in the hull , the bearings need to be worn in and generally if you keep an eye out when you take up to full speed first time no problems. But in the case of the good ship 5YLAC, no one was on look out.
The first cracks to appear were first with my own health, living on four hours sleep a night is definitely not to good on the system. If you look in the Third shoot photos I do a cameo by the graveside, I look absolutely shit in those photographs, my weight had ballooned to 15 stone and you can tell by the colour of my skin , the sleep depravation. There is the saying Healthy Mind, Healthy Body. I think that is also true the other way round as well. (glad to say I'm back down to 12 ½ stone now just got to get back down the gym!) When you are pushing yourself it is very important that you keep a healthy body and a healthy mind, otherwise one or the other is going to give, That was Crack number one
Crack Number 2 I cant really go into much on this journal, but to summarise it was a huge gamble financially to do the two shoots so close together like that, especially on the cash flow side. It ended up with a lot of the fourth shoot being paid for other 5YLACrs credit cards as something, something halted the immediate cash flow before the shoot, it also wiped out any security on something. The 5YLACrs were all paid back immediately after the shoot but due to that something, it ended up causing me to loose a lot of money, which I am still recovering from even to this date. Sorry I cant go into it more but there are reasons why I cant.. But that was Crack Number 2.
Crack Number 3, I cant talk about this one either sorry ! except it was a crack in the structure of 5YLAC at the top.
Crack Number 4, Is a horrible case of Life imitating art. You know I mentioned my cameo at the graveyard ? A few weeks after the chapel shoot I would be doing that for real. In July of 2002 my dad went down with serious septicaemia., three weeks later he sadly passed away. Sub consciously I wore a very similar suit in my cameo as I did to my dads cremation. (ouch!)
Someone told me that you dont really start to grow up until you loose a parent, very shortly near the time I could believe what they were saying but it has taken a year to fully understand what that means, Keeping to the film side and to go back to what I said near the beginning about a project like this taking over your life ? since I was twenty and started 5YLAC films, everything I had ever done had been towards building up the co, first the shorts and then onto Mortus Illumina. Every week I would do at least one thing towards building that up. All the people I know are someway involved in past/present/future projects, I live and breathe what I do.
In June of 2002, I was at a pinnacle (albeit rose coloured glasses) I was earning enough money to make everything a reality, I was even going to buy a house as a investment to help fund the films, I had the fourth shoot for Mortus Illumina coming up and the end of the film in sight, I was also seeing someone at the time and we had the networking night starting up and the sun was setting less and less on the 5YLAC empire. In the space of a few weeks that all came crashing down extremely fast. To give you a mental picture of what It feels like, it feels like someone sticking there hand in your brain and yanking it right down through your body ripping everything out along the way(nice huh ? ) It also sent us on a spiral downwards.
I can say this now, but coming to terms with my Dads death was extremely hard, what I guess I found hardest of all was I kept thinking I needed to find a new level of normality in my life. Which in hindsight was the wrong thing to be looking for. I dont want to go into it to much here as its another topic all together but, the point is where before constantly going through my mind had been film stuff etc etc, I was finding it extremely hard to get my focus back there. Imagine when you are trying to find your favourite radio station and all you get is static.
Also from those stupid hours I used to work I was both physically and mentally worn out. (hence the healthy mind, healthy body! Point) there was no way I could go back to working even half those hours or even in somewhere half as stressful. To use another metaphor I needed to get out of the ring, someone ready with a sponge and a change of tooth guard and pushed right back in, unfortunately that person was no where to be seen!
Over the coming months, I tried to keep life breathing in Mortus Illumina, not very successfully but enough to keep some sort of pulse running through.
By the end of 2002, which should of seen the film completed I couldnt even see away of even getting the cast and crew together for a meeting let alone for a shoot. That year ended up with us getting the shit kicked out of in Edgware (you can see the photos from that on the site to!) which I think is quite poetic justice.
Every now and then a David Copperfield producer pops up, I call them David Copperfields, (Tony the Lighting Director first came up with that reference to give credit where credit is due) because they pop out of nowhere , promise lots of things and offers of the earth, then simply vanish ! and low and behold January 2003 one of them popped up.
They wanted a promo of what had been shot so far in a ridiculous short time scale, so it was down to myself to cut the promo. I make no claims of being an editor, ever wanting to be an editor or even call myself a editor. I have 100% full admiration for editors, I prefer my 18 hour days on the front line rather than in a cosy room!
To cut a long story short, the promo was cut and sent of to Mr. David Copperfield,
And
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.Absolutely nothing, I got a few phone calls a promise of a letter that was going to be sent to myself and never was and then in that puff of smoke they vanished!
On the plus side though, doing that promo gave me something I could show other people involved in the film which would help that weak and dying pulse a bit of CPR. I also decided that I would get the promo cut properly as well with the intention of sending that out to as many people as possible to raise the awareness and the cash to finish the film. In around March of this year work started on the clean cut of the promo, by Jon an editor down in Brighton.
The real salvation however came in April. By pure chance, I was lucky enough to get work at Elstree Studios in the armoury for the Warner brothers film Troy (sparrow boy Brad Pitt) and then also for a few weeks on King Arthur.
And I absolutely loved every minute of it, it was great working at the studios and the team of people I worked with were a really great bunch. For anyone working at Elstree Studios around that time, I was the instigator of the infamous Elstree Glued Pound Coin oh how we laughed!
The best thing about working at the studios was being in a environment where the whole days conversation consisted of film, ( oh and winding up the Big brother lot) plus all the film activity going on around constantly. Also a mention to Nicole the bar maid at the studio bar who has to be the best barmaid I have ever come across.
Working at the studios really got my mind back in gear on the film side, which since my dads death I was finding extremely hard to get my focus back. I showed my promo to some of the guys and gals I was working with and it was great getting feedback from them as these are people who are used to working with Spielberg and such and I made some great contacts there.
Like all good things it eventually came to an end at the end of June, I tried getting onto other films after that, but my biggest problem was most of the people I knew had gone out on location with either Troy or King Arthur. Quite a few had moved on to Alexandra and I was hoping to get on to that film but I was very much in the reserve ranks and I missed out on one job on that film because I dont drive (DOPE!) I Also tried to get onto Cody Banks 2 and Sahara, Sahara was promising but after a wait of 4 weeks then another potential wait of another 4 weeks , finances were beginning to run down fast. ( I did get offered a few days on Sahara later on but had to decline youll see why later on , but also Sahara has another nugget to add to the MI stockpile which you will find out much later on in this journal).
I had also by this time long split up with the person I was with and was living in a Bed sit in Elstree ( 3 minute walk to the studio ;-) ) I recommend everyone should earn their stripes in a bedsit, I think to sum my place up, If I wanted to assassinate someone, I would live there. Top tip for living in a tiny bedsit is keep everything you need to find in the morning in your shoe, ie phone, lighter, cigarettes, wallet, keys etc etc. otherwise you have two hopes of finding them in the morning.
So a year on from the pinnacle of my life, here I was in a bedsit , out of work , penniless. Far cry from being in a position to buy a house and having a cash flow which funds films. But dont get me wrong I'm not negative about that whole experience, it makes me laugh looking back at it. oh the irony! If anything that was an end of a chapter and a sigh of relief.
I was still waiting to hear on Sahara at this point, and as money was running low I decided to move back down to Kent to my Mums house. Where the rest of July and first part of August I worked as a odd job man ( you should see the kitchen ceiling I built!) and my plan was as a back up to get some contracting work or temporary work, and get together enough money to throw a party for everyone involved in Mortus Illumina and to be able to send out a 1000 copies of the polished promo, on the basis of finding the money to complete the film this way. So the party was planned for September for this year gone.
At the beginning of August I got a phone call about a job, back in the city ish ( its in the west end ) The money was extremely good and would allow us to complete the film independently which has always been my intention all along. I knew there would be bit of a wait involved and around the same time I got a phone call re Sahara, which I declined so I could be available for this job in the city. Come the beginning of September we threw the party for Mortus Illumina , have to say it was not the most successful of parties I have ever thrown, I think the strain and damage to the good ship MI had taken its toll. I was still waiting to hear from that city job, ( two interviews by now ) and I am going to be a real pain here, as a result of the not so successful party, the only way I could see of salvaging MI was to sink it and rise it ( hence the pictures in the zzmood album) . I cant really go into details as it is all a bit fresh at the moment. I know there have been quite a lot of things In this entry which I cant talk about and must be very annoying to the reader. Main reason being, is the fresh argument. If I was to do all warts et all now, It would be out of context and unfair. Maybe when the film is finished I will come back and fill in the gaps, as then it will be context and in laughable phrase. The important bit in this catch up on the MI story is since sinking the old ship MI and raising the new ship we are now back at full steam to completing the film.
A couple of weeks after the party I got offered the city job, which was fantastic news ( after 6 weeks of waiting) as it now means the money is in place not only to complete this film, but I am under contract for a year so I'm hoping to complete MI then save the rest of my money (hope to be there a bit longer than a year ;-)) and shoot my next feature in a solid block ( no three years business!)
It was very strange going back to the city after a year absence, I used to have a very much work hard play hard attitude, many a tale of night-clubs, parties, champagne , debauchery and waking up in strange places and more debauchery. But I have decided to now be a bit more sensible, the Nightclubs have been replaced with a evening course in Italian and I'm also joining a gym near by ( would of done it this month, but after my first pay cheque in 4 months, it when straight in my bank account and straight out!!!!) and in general I'm keeping the going out down to a minimum. It makes me cringe when I think of the amount of money I have spent on some nights out , do have to admit I have a weakness for a good bottle of Bollinger. I'm trying now when I do go out to do more the things I ve always wanted to do but never got around to, such as go and see the Royal Ballet and also Carmen, stuff like that, just need someone to go with. I guess also in a move to people who know me well, this is a bit like the late Oliver Reed taking up knitting or Ozzy Osbourne starting a petting zoo. I have started dealing in stamps, just came across a big bag of them in a cupoard which hasnt been touched since 1967, and have been chucking them up on e-bay in lots and also now I'm buying in stock from various sources (went to a stamp fair which was a bit scarey) . Have to say it is going extremely well. its not going to make me rich or anything but it is filling up the war chest for MI quite nicely. Thing about dealing in them is, my stock consists of a big cardboard box which lives under my desk., distribution is extremely easily as all lots are in envelopes ready to be sent out, and most mornings when I get my posts theres lots of lovely cheques there. The only real effort is the sorting out and scanning in (really need to buy a faster scanner)
Trying to find a element of cool in this I have tried to find other famous people who have dealt or been involved with stamps. I could only come up with two names. Freddy Mercury and The German Tank commander Rummel. Mmm great spectrum to be on.
I am hoping I am going to be 100% right with the following statement. I am not going to be able to prove this until I complete the film, though could prove myself right if I dont. Is to get something of the ground like this is a hell of a lot easier then trying to get something you have already started back off the ground after it has fallen flat on its face. Reason I'm making this statement, is I get extremely annoyed at wannabes (theres thousands out there!) also I equally get annoyed at people with a lot of talent who get knocked down at the first hurdle then give up, and finally to people steaming along in there projects at the moment a warning not to get complacent!! A rant that I could go on for pages is here in the UK is peoples attitude towards someone who is doing something different or look like they have a chance of being successful, we all seem in this country prefer to knock them down then rather rally round behind them. And this goes on right across the spectrum, a fine example is to open up and British newspaper (especially a tabloid) and pick a story at a random. Even when we do on the rare occasion get behind someone, at the first moment the wind can be knocked out of their sails, we do!
It is very sad to sum it up.
Moving back onto MI, Hopefully you have read the first entry in the journal and now know what has been shot and reading this entry you know what went wrong and over the coming weeks up until the final shoot youll see whats happening.
To give a quick run through of where we stand at the moment., Since September work has truly been underway for the completion of Mortus Illumina, at the moment we are at a concept stage. This is where all the various departments are working on different aspects of the final shoot. Nothing is written in stone yet, more a case of ideas being exchanged before being tied down. Shooting is planned for the first quarter of 2004 and the money is (at least on paper) in place for the shoot. Over the coming entries now in the journal, you will be able to see what goes into the planning of a low budget shoot. I think one of the main reasons I want to do this journal, is to really show how much of a team effort it is, and also to show how much work does actually go into a shoot. By the time of completion of this film over a 100 people (you can see some of them in the Trumps album) will have been involved in the production, all who have donated their time for expenses only, I really want to show in this journal how much work these people do too, rather than having just a list of credits at the end of the film, as I will always be thankful and indebted to them.
The first part of this journal as said before is through rose coloured glasses plus mainly concentrating on the film shooting side.
I would like to make a very important point to anyone who undertakes a project of this size, it will take over your life and you have to be prepared for that.
Cracks began appearing very shortly after the third shoot of Mortus Illumina, at the time I was working 40 to 50 hours in a investment bank , plus on top of that I was working 30 to 40 hours for a freelance client as well a week. Money wise I have never earnt more in my life, it enabled us to only have a gap of only two months between the shoots , in my mind If I could keep up this level of working for three or four months I would have the film in the can before the year end,
From the outside the good ship 5YLAC was at full speed , as well as the production of Mortus Illumina, other projects were beginning to get planned and we started the WRAP networking Night for low budget filmmakers , musicians etc etc (thats another story in itself) Like any ship, the first time you take it to full speed you are going to get some creaking in the hull , the bearings need to be worn in and generally if you keep an eye out when you take up to full speed first time no problems. But in the case of the good ship 5YLAC, no one was on look out.
The first cracks to appear were first with my own health, living on four hours sleep a night is definitely not to good on the system. If you look in the Third shoot photos I do a cameo by the graveside, I look absolutely shit in those photographs, my weight had ballooned to 15 stone and you can tell by the colour of my skin , the sleep depravation. There is the saying Healthy Mind, Healthy Body. I think that is also true the other way round as well. (glad to say I'm back down to 12 ½ stone now just got to get back down the gym!) When you are pushing yourself it is very important that you keep a healthy body and a healthy mind, otherwise one or the other is going to give, That was Crack number one
Crack Number 2 I cant really go into much on this journal, but to summarise it was a huge gamble financially to do the two shoots so close together like that, especially on the cash flow side. It ended up with a lot of the fourth shoot being paid for other 5YLACrs credit cards as something, something halted the immediate cash flow before the shoot, it also wiped out any security on something. The 5YLACrs were all paid back immediately after the shoot but due to that something, it ended up causing me to loose a lot of money, which I am still recovering from even to this date. Sorry I cant go into it more but there are reasons why I cant.. But that was Crack Number 2.
Crack Number 3, I cant talk about this one either sorry ! except it was a crack in the structure of 5YLAC at the top.
Crack Number 4, Is a horrible case of Life imitating art. You know I mentioned my cameo at the graveyard ? A few weeks after the chapel shoot I would be doing that for real. In July of 2002 my dad went down with serious septicaemia., three weeks later he sadly passed away. Sub consciously I wore a very similar suit in my cameo as I did to my dads cremation. (ouch!)
Someone told me that you dont really start to grow up until you loose a parent, very shortly near the time I could believe what they were saying but it has taken a year to fully understand what that means, Keeping to the film side and to go back to what I said near the beginning about a project like this taking over your life ? since I was twenty and started 5YLAC films, everything I had ever done had been towards building up the co, first the shorts and then onto Mortus Illumina. Every week I would do at least one thing towards building that up. All the people I know are someway involved in past/present/future projects, I live and breathe what I do.
In June of 2002, I was at a pinnacle (albeit rose coloured glasses) I was earning enough money to make everything a reality, I was even going to buy a house as a investment to help fund the films, I had the fourth shoot for Mortus Illumina coming up and the end of the film in sight, I was also seeing someone at the time and we had the networking night starting up and the sun was setting less and less on the 5YLAC empire. In the space of a few weeks that all came crashing down extremely fast. To give you a mental picture of what It feels like, it feels like someone sticking there hand in your brain and yanking it right down through your body ripping everything out along the way(nice huh ? ) It also sent us on a spiral downwards.
I can say this now, but coming to terms with my Dads death was extremely hard, what I guess I found hardest of all was I kept thinking I needed to find a new level of normality in my life. Which in hindsight was the wrong thing to be looking for. I dont want to go into it to much here as its another topic all together but, the point is where before constantly going through my mind had been film stuff etc etc, I was finding it extremely hard to get my focus back there. Imagine when you are trying to find your favourite radio station and all you get is static.
Also from those stupid hours I used to work I was both physically and mentally worn out. (hence the healthy mind, healthy body! Point) there was no way I could go back to working even half those hours or even in somewhere half as stressful. To use another metaphor I needed to get out of the ring, someone ready with a sponge and a change of tooth guard and pushed right back in, unfortunately that person was no where to be seen!
Over the coming months, I tried to keep life breathing in Mortus Illumina, not very successfully but enough to keep some sort of pulse running through.
By the end of 2002, which should of seen the film completed I couldnt even see away of even getting the cast and crew together for a meeting let alone for a shoot. That year ended up with us getting the shit kicked out of in Edgware (you can see the photos from that on the site to!) which I think is quite poetic justice.
Every now and then a David Copperfield producer pops up, I call them David Copperfields, (Tony the Lighting Director first came up with that reference to give credit where credit is due) because they pop out of nowhere , promise lots of things and offers of the earth, then simply vanish ! and low and behold January 2003 one of them popped up.
They wanted a promo of what had been shot so far in a ridiculous short time scale, so it was down to myself to cut the promo. I make no claims of being an editor, ever wanting to be an editor or even call myself a editor. I have 100% full admiration for editors, I prefer my 18 hour days on the front line rather than in a cosy room!
To cut a long story short, the promo was cut and sent of to Mr. David Copperfield,
And
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.Absolutely nothing, I got a few phone calls a promise of a letter that was going to be sent to myself and never was and then in that puff of smoke they vanished!
On the plus side though, doing that promo gave me something I could show other people involved in the film which would help that weak and dying pulse a bit of CPR. I also decided that I would get the promo cut properly as well with the intention of sending that out to as many people as possible to raise the awareness and the cash to finish the film. In around March of this year work started on the clean cut of the promo, by Jon an editor down in Brighton.
The real salvation however came in April. By pure chance, I was lucky enough to get work at Elstree Studios in the armoury for the Warner brothers film Troy (sparrow boy Brad Pitt) and then also for a few weeks on King Arthur.
And I absolutely loved every minute of it, it was great working at the studios and the team of people I worked with were a really great bunch. For anyone working at Elstree Studios around that time, I was the instigator of the infamous Elstree Glued Pound Coin oh how we laughed!
The best thing about working at the studios was being in a environment where the whole days conversation consisted of film, ( oh and winding up the Big brother lot) plus all the film activity going on around constantly. Also a mention to Nicole the bar maid at the studio bar who has to be the best barmaid I have ever come across.
Working at the studios really got my mind back in gear on the film side, which since my dads death I was finding extremely hard to get my focus back. I showed my promo to some of the guys and gals I was working with and it was great getting feedback from them as these are people who are used to working with Spielberg and such and I made some great contacts there.
Like all good things it eventually came to an end at the end of June, I tried getting onto other films after that, but my biggest problem was most of the people I knew had gone out on location with either Troy or King Arthur. Quite a few had moved on to Alexandra and I was hoping to get on to that film but I was very much in the reserve ranks and I missed out on one job on that film because I dont drive (DOPE!) I Also tried to get onto Cody Banks 2 and Sahara, Sahara was promising but after a wait of 4 weeks then another potential wait of another 4 weeks , finances were beginning to run down fast. ( I did get offered a few days on Sahara later on but had to decline youll see why later on , but also Sahara has another nugget to add to the MI stockpile which you will find out much later on in this journal).
I had also by this time long split up with the person I was with and was living in a Bed sit in Elstree ( 3 minute walk to the studio ;-) ) I recommend everyone should earn their stripes in a bedsit, I think to sum my place up, If I wanted to assassinate someone, I would live there. Top tip for living in a tiny bedsit is keep everything you need to find in the morning in your shoe, ie phone, lighter, cigarettes, wallet, keys etc etc. otherwise you have two hopes of finding them in the morning.
So a year on from the pinnacle of my life, here I was in a bedsit , out of work , penniless. Far cry from being in a position to buy a house and having a cash flow which funds films. But dont get me wrong I'm not negative about that whole experience, it makes me laugh looking back at it. oh the irony! If anything that was an end of a chapter and a sigh of relief.
I was still waiting to hear on Sahara at this point, and as money was running low I decided to move back down to Kent to my Mums house. Where the rest of July and first part of August I worked as a odd job man ( you should see the kitchen ceiling I built!) and my plan was as a back up to get some contracting work or temporary work, and get together enough money to throw a party for everyone involved in Mortus Illumina and to be able to send out a 1000 copies of the polished promo, on the basis of finding the money to complete the film this way. So the party was planned for September for this year gone.
At the beginning of August I got a phone call about a job, back in the city ish ( its in the west end ) The money was extremely good and would allow us to complete the film independently which has always been my intention all along. I knew there would be bit of a wait involved and around the same time I got a phone call re Sahara, which I declined so I could be available for this job in the city. Come the beginning of September we threw the party for Mortus Illumina , have to say it was not the most successful of parties I have ever thrown, I think the strain and damage to the good ship MI had taken its toll. I was still waiting to hear from that city job, ( two interviews by now ) and I am going to be a real pain here, as a result of the not so successful party, the only way I could see of salvaging MI was to sink it and rise it ( hence the pictures in the zzmood album) . I cant really go into details as it is all a bit fresh at the moment. I know there have been quite a lot of things In this entry which I cant talk about and must be very annoying to the reader. Main reason being, is the fresh argument. If I was to do all warts et all now, It would be out of context and unfair. Maybe when the film is finished I will come back and fill in the gaps, as then it will be context and in laughable phrase. The important bit in this catch up on the MI story is since sinking the old ship MI and raising the new ship we are now back at full steam to completing the film.
A couple of weeks after the party I got offered the city job, which was fantastic news ( after 6 weeks of waiting) as it now means the money is in place not only to complete this film, but I am under contract for a year so I'm hoping to complete MI then save the rest of my money (hope to be there a bit longer than a year ;-)) and shoot my next feature in a solid block ( no three years business!)
It was very strange going back to the city after a year absence, I used to have a very much work hard play hard attitude, many a tale of night-clubs, parties, champagne , debauchery and waking up in strange places and more debauchery. But I have decided to now be a bit more sensible, the Nightclubs have been replaced with a evening course in Italian and I'm also joining a gym near by ( would of done it this month, but after my first pay cheque in 4 months, it when straight in my bank account and straight out!!!!) and in general I'm keeping the going out down to a minimum. It makes me cringe when I think of the amount of money I have spent on some nights out , do have to admit I have a weakness for a good bottle of Bollinger. I'm trying now when I do go out to do more the things I ve always wanted to do but never got around to, such as go and see the Royal Ballet and also Carmen, stuff like that, just need someone to go with. I guess also in a move to people who know me well, this is a bit like the late Oliver Reed taking up knitting or Ozzy Osbourne starting a petting zoo. I have started dealing in stamps, just came across a big bag of them in a cupoard which hasnt been touched since 1967, and have been chucking them up on e-bay in lots and also now I'm buying in stock from various sources (went to a stamp fair which was a bit scarey) . Have to say it is going extremely well. its not going to make me rich or anything but it is filling up the war chest for MI quite nicely. Thing about dealing in them is, my stock consists of a big cardboard box which lives under my desk., distribution is extremely easily as all lots are in envelopes ready to be sent out, and most mornings when I get my posts theres lots of lovely cheques there. The only real effort is the sorting out and scanning in (really need to buy a faster scanner)
Trying to find a element of cool in this I have tried to find other famous people who have dealt or been involved with stamps. I could only come up with two names. Freddy Mercury and The German Tank commander Rummel. Mmm great spectrum to be on.
I am hoping I am going to be 100% right with the following statement. I am not going to be able to prove this until I complete the film, though could prove myself right if I dont. Is to get something of the ground like this is a hell of a lot easier then trying to get something you have already started back off the ground after it has fallen flat on its face. Reason I'm making this statement, is I get extremely annoyed at wannabes (theres thousands out there!) also I equally get annoyed at people with a lot of talent who get knocked down at the first hurdle then give up, and finally to people steaming along in there projects at the moment a warning not to get complacent!! A rant that I could go on for pages is here in the UK is peoples attitude towards someone who is doing something different or look like they have a chance of being successful, we all seem in this country prefer to knock them down then rather rally round behind them. And this goes on right across the spectrum, a fine example is to open up and British newspaper (especially a tabloid) and pick a story at a random. Even when we do on the rare occasion get behind someone, at the first moment the wind can be knocked out of their sails, we do!
It is very sad to sum it up.
Moving back onto MI, Hopefully you have read the first entry in the journal and now know what has been shot and reading this entry you know what went wrong and over the coming weeks up until the final shoot youll see whats happening.
To give a quick run through of where we stand at the moment., Since September work has truly been underway for the completion of Mortus Illumina, at the moment we are at a concept stage. This is where all the various departments are working on different aspects of the final shoot. Nothing is written in stone yet, more a case of ideas being exchanged before being tied down. Shooting is planned for the first quarter of 2004 and the money is (at least on paper) in place for the shoot. Over the coming entries now in the journal, you will be able to see what goes into the planning of a low budget shoot. I think one of the main reasons I want to do this journal, is to really show how much of a team effort it is, and also to show how much work does actually go into a shoot. By the time of completion of this film over a 100 people (you can see some of them in the Trumps album) will have been involved in the production, all who have donated their time for expenses only, I really want to show in this journal how much work these people do too, rather than having just a list of credits at the end of the film, as I will always be thankful and indebted to them.
Comments:
