Done!

Today we wrapped on The Mustache. I was very pleased with the outcome. We shot it in 2.5 days, right on schedule. The acting was amazing, I couldn't have been happier. The Canon 7D shot as beautifully as we had hoped and Taka and Tony were great with it. Our sound guys were hard-working and nice. Trang cooked up a storm. Wayne was the best host/jack-of-all-trades ever. Almost everyone joined the spirit and contributed to the nice vibe we had going. No major ordeals or back-of-the-mind worries. I just hope the rest of the cast and crew felt the same way. Now it's up to Giz to edit it all and make sushi out of fish and rice.

I do feel utterly exhausted by it all though. The planning, the people, the mustaches.. A reminder that even good things need to end. I'm back at home now, off to Valentine's Day dinner.

Mustache Shoot - Pre Shoot Tech

Yesterday was all about preparing for the Mustache shoot. Started with me shoveling my car out from a mound of snow, then I went and shoveled my Mom's driveway, then drove to New York to pick up Giz, and we had to make 4 separate stops, for the lights, lenses, camera rigs and then finally to Best Buy for a monitor and hard drive.
Then, we rushed over to the location to meet all the crew. Tony coulnt't make it, but Taka did. We went over lighting schemes and played with the camera. Ethan had the sound working great. Gus and I were stand-ins and had fun spewing out absurdities. Wayne was awesome as host and bought a bunch of snacks and made coffee.

We broke at around 9:15pm.

Now I'm off to get Bonnie and all the wardrobe, stop at Wawa to get hoagies and grape soda for props, and snickers for us to eat. Then, I come back and pick up Trang who has been slaving in the kitched for 3 hours making all kinds of culinary delights for the cast and crew.

Finally, a little prayer that everyone shows up or Day 1.

Missile Command

Less than week till we shoot *The Mustache* This coming week is all about executing and troubleshooting. It's a lot like a game of Missile Command with the scheduling, re-writing, emails, props, food, lights, driving, headaches and prayers that it doesn't snow again!


We had a rehearsal last weekend, which went great. We discovered some things we needed to correct and the cast and crew had a chance to gel. The actors did a really fruitful improv session. We merged the existing script, which was written in my bedroom, with the improv and style of the actors, to hopefully arrive at a real-sounding synergy between writer and actor.

We also got a chance to see the Canon 7D in action and were blown away by the richness and color of the Canon 7D. It is twice as good as our Panasonic DV cameras. I'm picking up Giz and a bunch of equipment in New York this Thursday. More to come...

Gearing Up

About a month to go till we shoot *The Mustache.* We have pretty much the entire cast and crew set. This is easily the largest group of people, biggest budget and most talent on any project IdRatherBeHere has been involved with.

CAST:

Jared Delaney as Alex

D'arcy Fellona as Lauren

Jared Nelson as Peter

Amanda Siebold as The Floozy

Ian Sullivan as Evan

CREW:

Eric Balchunas: Writer/Executive Producer

Gisela Aydin: Director/Executive Producer

Tony Obfenda: Director of Photography

Taka Ogawa: Director of Photography

Ken Jordan: Lighting Design

Dan Plunkett: Producer

Gus Milligan: Producer

???: Sound Recordist

Jim Philbrick: Boom Operator

Ken Jordan: Lighting Design

Bonnie Quick: Wardrobe Director

Wayne Johnson: Electric/Grip

Trang Balchunas/Dan Lewis: Top Chef

Goals for 2010

I've drawn up four simple goals for 2010 for IdRatherBeHere:

1. TV Show Pitch
This weekend I wrote an 8 page first draft of a treatment for a TV show about South Jersey. Possible title(s) are "SoJo" or "The Hometown Heroes." The premise of the show is a guy who moves back to SoJo from the city and tries to acclamate amongst the cast of characters down there. I have a wealth of stories, characters and ideas for this. I have mapped out 10 episodes and love how easily the writing comes for this.

2. Short Film Festival
The short film we are shooting in February called *The Mustache* may act as a pilot or a preview to be used in concert with the Treatment in a TV show pitch. BUT, we want to see this shown in at least a few film fests. We think we have a good shot.

3. Wawapalooza 4
Also planning Wawapalooza 4. This year should be the best yet, as we've brought in some experienced, new blood to add to show's content. I'm also looking to make the show more diverse by adding modern dance, stand-up and even artwork, in addition to the short films and sketches. I've got about 12 scripts in the bag so far. And, I'd like to start using musicians' songs for transitions and pre-show.

4. Give birth to one full-lenght script
My final goal for 2010 is to just complete a long play and have it produced in some way, even if it's just a reading. The main idea is to get done a 60-70 page play. It is very difficult for me as I get bored easily so I gravitate towards shorter pieces. I have 2-3 plays that I can expand, just need to stick to it.

Tackling Earl Campbell

Last night I was searching for a decent old school Earl Campbell jersey on eBay. It got me on youtube watching some old highlight films of Earl as a running back for the Houston Oilers. This one is insane:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfJybuzkMT0


I am writing a longer piece called "Tackling Earl Campbell" which is a personal story about struggling with something. I mean, no running back today ran like Earl Campbell. He was a monster. Hence, trying to tackle him is the perfect metaphor for overcoming a huuuge obstacle in life.

Grizzly Bear

Getting into Grizzly Bear's album "Veckatimest" It takes a few listens, but wow, it's tremendous.

A great album to spark the imagination.

Youtube the song "Two Weeks" or "Ready, Able"