The Truth – Part III

The Truth

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

In August of 2011, I started this Blog

It was intended to be a Writing Blog, designed to get me into the habit of Writing on a regular basis

In fact I set a goal at its’ inception of 1,000 Words Per Day (On average), and for the first year and a half, I averaged more

My goal was set on the premise that I’d always heard which is, ‘Writers Write’

Anyway, it worked… I’ve been writing on and off in this Blog for the last 9 years

Originally I wrote about things that interest me, then quickly moved onto Poetry, Blog Stories, Novellas and even a Fantasy Novel

In fact in 2012 I Self Published a Poetry Book based on the first batch of Poems written in this blog

‘Winter, Lust And Wonder’

As well as my First Novella

‘I Died Once’

I also wrote my First Complete Fantasy Novel

‘Chess With Agatha’

Hired an Editor for it, but still didn’t feel it was ready for Publishing

I later had a Second Editor give a few Chapters a go, and during she asked if it would be alright if she ReWrote a bit of the chapters as well

I was so pleased with her ReWrites, that I decided the only way I would Publish it, is if I could hire her to ReWrite the whole book

Sadly, that has not occurred as of yet… But someday I hope

I have tons, and tons of Poetry in this Blog (You can check it out in the Poems Tab)

As well as Blog Stories (Also many Tabs off to the the right)

But at the end of 2012, I wrote my Follow Up/2nd Novella in the ‘Mady Chronicles’

‘Mady’s Storm’

After that, life got a bit busy, but I still posted in this Blog from time to time

But in 2015 I hired an Editor (The one I want to ReWrite ‘Chess With Agatha’), and Published ‘Mady’s Storm’

By the end of 2015, I was really missing Filmmaking

So I decided to do a Mock Trailer for a Web Series based on the Screenplay ‘White Jade’ I had written back in 2002-04

It was really rough, but still, there was something there that inspired me to move forward and actually create a 16 Episode Web Series for ‘White Jade’

I took the original screenplay, and broke it into 16 parts, then started going into PreProduction

It was around that time that I started going out again, and was able to go to dinner, movies, some stores etc., my hope was I’d be up to Directing the Web Series once it was ready to go

After the Mock Trailer, during the Holidays of 2015, my two nephews came down, and we filmed this short

Then it was straight ahead into PreProduction of ‘White Jade’, the Web Series

Here’s a Video Collage I threw together to inspire the Concept of the Project/Story

In addition to beginning a long Casting Process, here’s a Video of our First (And only) Sword Training for the project

And a PreProduction Video I did later in the year

And a Rehearsal Video from October, 2016

And Two Scenes we Shot in September, but never Post Produced (Added Visual Effects Etc.)

And finally, the Video I made which I planned on using for the Kickstarter

I had 8 Actors lined up, a Makeup Artist, Costume Design Concepts from a whole class of Costume Design Students from a nearby College, I had the Budget Planned out for the whole 16 Episodes, I had a CoProducer, a Visual Effects Person/Assistant Director, some locations chosen…

…then, life stepped in

First of all, at the end of 2016, my Third Uncle (I lost two earlier) passed away, and it hit me really hard

Then, while trying some new medicines, I had a severe Anxiety Attack caused by side effects

At that point, it had been so long since I had, had an Anxiety Attack, I decided to take the Holidays off, and work on the Kickstarter in the beginning of 2017

In the early part of 2017, I also parted ways with my Visual Effects/Assistant Director, which was a huge blow to the project

He was the one that was going to create the ‘Futuristic World’ of ‘White Jade’

I looked for a replacement, but finding someone who was willing to work without pay, was very difficult…

After finishing the preparations of the Kickstarter, I came to the painful realization, that the latest Anxiety Attack had lead to me not going out again, which meant I wouldn’t be able to Direct the Project

I then sent a difficult Email to my Actors, suspending Production of ‘White Jade’

The Truth – Part II

The Truth

Part One

Part Two

After 8 months of working on experimental filmmaking, basically teaching myself how to make films, I moved back to Southern California

There I began writing a Teleplay (Screenplay for a Television Series) for a Science Fiction Series, called ‘Masters of Mars’

I wrote the First Three Episodes of it, and continued doing Filmmaking with action figures, but also started to make miniature sets

My brother then convinced me to move back to Oregon, once more, this time I told him that I didn’t want to film action figures anymore, I wanted to do a Short Film…

…he said ok

I then moved up there once more, but it was rough… 9/11 had happened several months before, and finding any kind of work, even temporary work, was largely impossible

During my time there, though I was very stressed about money, I wrote my first full written for feature film screenplay, ‘White Jade’…

My plan was to try to sell feature film screenplays, and use the money to produce my own films

I also wrote a play while I was there…

…but in the end, my brother was having serious issues with his marriage, and simply couldn’t make time to work on a Short Film

I suspect the true reason he wanted me to move there, was because he was really struggling in his life

Out of frustration, I sat down one day and wrote a 5 minute Short Film, called my brother, and asked him if I could borrow him for an hour

Then I shot over there, and started to film the short film, feeding him lines as we went

I shot this film in an hour and a half, and though there are shots I would have liked to shoot over, over all I think it got the message across

Here it is

After I shot the footage, I went home and spent 8 to 12 hours Editing it, then submitted it to a Video and Film Festival in New York, and got it in

My brother than got a job in Northern California, and moved away, leaving me there, though I’d moved up there for him

I had no money, but after several months, was finally able to move back to Southern California

I then flew with my Dad to New York to see the Short Film up on the big-ish screen, and seeing it up there made me feel I was at last a Filmmaker

Three months later I ended up in the hospital

I’d stopped taking some medicines when I went to Oregon earlier that year, due to the fact that I couldn’t find money, and lost my insurance

After 10 days of being in the hospital, I was feeling weak, but better

I then moved to Scottsdale Arizona in 2003, to live near my Step Brother, and began writing my next film

This one would be an hour long

But the medical issues I was healing from lead to some trauma in Arizona, which caused PTSD

So I moved back to my mom’s house in Southern California, and rested for a moment

But several months later I moved to Northern California to be near my bro again, but after several severe anxiety attacks, I returned to my mom’s home once more, and realized I just wasn’t going to be able to pursue Filmmaking for a bit

So instead, I picked up the Feature Film Screenplay First Draft I wrote in Oregon two years before, and started Editing/Rewriting the heck out of it…

…poured hundreds of hours into it

Growing it from an 80 page First Draft, to a 123 page Final Draft

I then wrote a Query Letter, and started sending it out to Writing Agents, in hopes to get one to read my screenplay, and hopefully represent me

To no avail

At that point, I decided I needed to take a break from pursuing my dreams for a while, and started playing ‘World of Warcraft’ for the next 4 1/2 years…

…I mean, I played a lot

I loved it, don’t regret it, but wasn’t really going out of the house because of the anxiety which basically changed into a fear of anxiety (Panic Disorder)

Basically I didn’t want to go out, not because I had anxiety, but because I feared having an anxiety attack when I was out

It had happened several times by now, and it made me feel out of control emotionally, and caused me to have ‘Fight or Flight’ instincts come up because of the PTSD, even though I wasn’t in any actually danger

The Truth

The Truth

Part One

The truth is, i’m a Writer, Filmmaker

It started in 1977, after my brother and I saw the original ‘Star Wars’ with my mom

And it was further fueled by the sequel ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, in 1980

I was a shy kid, but I knew what I wanted

To tell stories

I am a visual artist

If I could draw well, I’d probably Self-Published, written and drawn my own comic books

Just to get all the stories out of my head

When I was 11ish, I started writing my first book, ‘One Knight’

I showed what I had written to my father, who I didn’t live with, or see all that much, and he said, ‘You’re a writer.’

Though I wasn’t all too close with my dad, these words coming from him, meant a lot/hit hard

I never finished the book, but first blood as a writer had been struck

When I was 17, my brother talked me into joining a Community Theatre group

I was pretty scared, being I was so shy, but it was a slow process, and ended up being one of the best things of my life

I was part of it for 3-4 years, and was in three Shakespeare plays, two Children’s Plays, and a Christmas Play

I also played Dungeons & Dragons for 2 or 3 years in my teens, which was an amazing creative outlet, especially because I ran them, which meant I created the world and characters my Players played in/inhabited

I entered the working world at 16/17, and was deeply entrenched in corporate america by the time I was 30

My dreams to Write and Direct films had been put aside, largely because my partner of 8 years told me that they’d leave me if I pursued them

It’s not an excuse, it was my first relationship, and I didn’t want to lose it

But my soul paid

I did, however, write a Children’s Play when I was 28, and tried out and got into a Theatre Production of ‘Hamlet’, which is my favorite of Shakespeare’s Plays

The following year I was in ‘Measure For Measure’, another Shakespeare play, and my partner and I ended the relationship

Suddenly I was free

First thing I did was buy an electric guitar, and start a band

I’d never been interested in playing/writing/singing music as a career, but making music was something that I was passionate about at that time

It went really well, we rehearsed for months

But Filmmaking was calling to me now that I was free

At that time my brother, whom I was very close to growing up, but who’d moved away years before, began campaigning for me to move out to where he was in Oregon

I came to a place where I decided I wanted to at last pursue Filmmaking, I was 31, and burnt out on corporate america

So I quit the good paying job, moved to Oregon, bought a video camera, and began working on experimental filmmaking

Working with regular people as opposed to actors, because that’s all I had

And/or filming action figures, in order to work on lighting methods etc.

Here’s a silly thing we shot, we completely winged this, filming one shot after the other with a visual effect to hide our hands, no editing, we had a ‘Boom Box/Stereo’ playing the soundtrack of ‘Conan The Barbarian’ while we filmed, and added the opening titles later

A Hero Rises, A Hero Falls… Nature Can Be Cruel, But Chadwick Boseman Will Always Be With Us

Zero Cool (Music)

In 2003, I stepped away from Film Making, and started to work on Screenplays

In 2004 I started writing a sequel to a kinda B-ish Cult film called, ‘HACKERS’

I realize it’s not a great film, but the Cinematography, Acting of the Lead, Quirkiness of the other Hackers, the Mystique/Coolness of the Hacker Persona, and especially the music grabbed me

As I wrote the sequel (Only ever wrote a 50 page First Draft), I wrote down songs I thought would be good in certain scenes

Here they are;

Couldn’t find the next song, maybe I had the wrong name, so I included a song by the same artist below

Last Song would either be one below, or one below that

Photo at top from HERE

‘I, Filmmaker’ (Episode III) ‘White Jade’ Vlog

Episode III Of My New Filmmaking/Movie Review Vlog, ‘I, Filmmaker’

Episode II Of My New Film Making Vlog, ‘I, Filmmaker’

Including Watching My Short Film, ‘If Not Now…’

I also do Quick Reviews on ‘Ford Vs. Ferrari’ and ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’…

…and discuss the Character Jen Yu from ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’

I, Filmmaker (Episode I) ‘First Dreams, First’

Episode I Of My New Filmmaker/Film Making/Film & Show Review Vlog! Check It Out

‘If Not Now…’ (Short Film) – ‘May The 4th Be With You…’

In mid 1999, I walked away from Corporate America to pursue my life time dream of being a Filmmaker

Every since I saw the first ‘Star Wars’ in 1977, and ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ in 1980, I wanted to be a Filmaker

In 2000, I gave it a go

In 2002, I filmed my first Short Film, ‘If Not Now…’, in an hour and a half… The actor had never seen the script, and some of the footage was shakey, but it was the only moment I could make it happen at the time, so I went for it

I then submitted and got it into a Film Festival in New York

‘Star Wars’/’The Empire Strikes Back’/George Lucas are why I became both a Filmmaker, and a Writer really

Strong Story, Story Scope, Characters & Character Development are my thing

Thanks George

‘May The 4th Be With You All’!

‘Star Wars’ & ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ Are The Reason I Became A Filmmaker

‘Star Wars’ & ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ Are The Reasons I Became A Filmmaker… Story, Story Scope, Characters & Character Development Are My Thing Largely Because Of It… May The Force, And The 4th Be With You