A failure by any stretch... Part One

This is part one of an online advertising campaign for the promotion of Season 2 of the HBO series True Blood. Unfortunately the campaign was not picked up after all of our efforts. The series is uploaded with the consent of the band (Battle Circus). All music and incidental music is owned in full or part by Battle Circus. All filming and editing was done almost guerrilla style in a very short space of time on a shoestring budget, was unpaid and shot on two different continents. All New Zealand filming was done by Scapegoat Productions, all filming in America was done by someone else (will acquire his details and credit accordingly if possible).

Part One

Part Two

It was originally meant to be Four parts, but was cut down to three, the third part was never fully completed, I might get to it one day...

Not so secret... Anymore

So the top secret project didn't fly. For all those interested and waiting with baited breath to find out what it was, I can now reveal.

I wrote 4 scripts for an online advertising campaign for the second season of True Blood which featured the band Battle Circus, then I was told to film and edit them in a very short time frame, then I uploaded them to the States and waited, then I got the new EDL and made the re-cuts, then I uploaded them to the States again... Then I waited, then I was informed that no one had the heart to tell me that either HBO or their advertising company had rejected them for unknown reasons. That's the skinny.

Since HBO do not own these videos, I will try and re-cut them a little and upload them to You Tube, with the permission of the band. I currently have other commitments at present so you'll have to wait but I'm pretty proud of what we achieved in such a very short space of time.

An update... cryptic?

Worked at the Bizzone small business expo last week, three days of filming seminars (on various business and marketing related topics), some of which were very insightful and interesting, others... Not so much.

Top secret project is expected to go live in the next 24 hours and I'm anxiously awaiting an email so I can complete part one of a three part act (so it CAN go live on time)... Sometimes it's hard waiting on other people, not to mention what it does for the stress levels... Stay tuned...ned!

If the mountain won't come to Muhammad...

  I was offered a job a few weeks ago, which I accepted... You'd think I'd be happy about that, but sadly I'm still waiting for my contract to be written up and I can't help but feel somewhat impatient at how long it's taking. I was happily sending out copies of my show reel and CV when I get this job offer and have since ceased trying to get my name and work across the desks of Auckland production, film and television community. I know that I'm trying to run a somewhat small production company, but I still need to pay bills and with work presently coming in at a slow pace (the last of which can/could be seen on Alt TV) I'd like to have other options open and available to me so at least I can fund personal projects... The result of my impatience culminated in a brainstorm over the last few days: A short donated budget film (without Government assistance).

  Being an insomniac my mind wanders endlessly to potential ideas, stories and scripts most of which never come to fruition or are under slow development (although one makes me think I should get in contact with an old friend Steve). My current script development, I think and hope can be done on a very small shoestring budget provided I can enlist help from friends, family and the community at large - eg: would the police hold up a street for 5 minutes without having to trace miles of red tape and bureaucracy? Chances are they probably wouldn't which only leaves me the option of trying to accomplish a clandestine guerrilla style production... Which has the potential to sound somewhat like a romantic project of passion not unlike Terry Gilliam and his vision for Don Quixote (See Lost in La Mancha  - but without the budget, legal or location issues) or an abortion of Z-Grade quality.

  The script is in development and I can honestly say will hopefully be finished (within a month), from that point I have to find funding no matter how small and then try and create a film without being thrown into prison and or various court appearance for public nuisance and or disturbance charges. Write, Bankroll, Cast and Action... We're in the middle of an economic slump, does this mean I can't get free actors? 

Trans-coding! It's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it.

 Just completed 50 plus hours of Trans-coding (Converting Mini-DV tape to digital file), it's a slow and arduous process, but it can pay well. 

 However, after watching over 22 hours of footage it raised a question: "How hard can it be to lock off a tripod and film people talking for 20 - 40 minute periods", the answer to this was a resounding - Very, obviously. I know from experience that it's not hard to film lectern based seminars and rebel rousing "life coach wannabe's", but whoever filmed these seminars obviously didn't know what they were doing. I guess I shouldn't really care as I wasn't the one who was filming, but it gives me hope that I can pitch for potential work with the knowledge that I know what I'm doing and can get a better overall look for what is otherwise dull content for a (in this case) niche market.

Pre-Production meeting

 Pre-Production meeting for the pitch/pilot of our potential television series resulted in mutual ideas, dropped ideas and some serious consideration for potential ethnic taboos (I made a call, we're all good in the hood).

Tim enjoyed his "is it Goat or is it mutton" bone curry (briefly).

  I can't really say anything else at this point. Lets hope this goes somewhere?

Lots of Diesel, No Van - Tour Interview series

Diesel Phoenix interview and vignette series completed for Alt TV.

1.) Diesel Phoenix interview CanTeen about their tour to support the charity and the charity itself.

2.) Diesel Phoenix interviewed about their upcoming tour in support of CanTeen, their experiences with Cancer and what to expect at the shows.

3.) Sam, Logan and Richard deliver short vignettes to camera to rally support for their March tour of New Zealand.

Air dates unknown at this stage, but will be posted if and when I find out (if ever).

CanTeen - For more on the Charity.
Diesel Phoenix - For more on the band and upcoming Tour.

Missconception - Music video shoot

 8 hour video shoot completed for Missconception the new Diesel Phoenix music video. The video shoot was nothing too fancy and mostly performance capture at a theatre in Titirangi. The shoot was only meant to take a couple of hours but with costume changes, additional required scenes and potential scenes the shoot when way over time.
I can't say I'm a fan of the music but the shoot was enjoyable. Knowing that I don't have to cut the footage is a little perplexing considering I enjoy cutting, but at least it's more for my show reel when completed.

 After the shoot the editor decided he wanted to go another route, and with little discussion with the band, the singer of the band went off and shot an entirely different video with the editor... The final result:

 All band musical performance was shot by Scapegoat Productions.