Bringing A Film To Life

The life cycle of a film, in pictures:

The Script

This is when it goes from an idea in the writer's head to words on a page.

The Storyboard

This is when the writer, who in this particular case has very limited artistic skills, draws a stick figure picture to illustrate the image that they see in their head, based on the script they wrote.

The Workprint

This is a rough demo of the film where the writers are playing the parts of the characters, just to get an idea of what the scene might look like.

The Actual Footage

This is when the real actors are being filmed actually performing the scene.

Filmmaking! Fun, huh?

Day One Of Filming Is A Wrap!

A fun and successful day of shooting two scenes (plus part of a montage) for Hold My Beer was had this past Sunday!

(That's me on the right side of the picture, practicing my "film-bending" moves.)

Thanks to our talented cast and crew, everything went smoothly (despite a few Living In Oblivion-type moments) and we were able to wrap an hour-and-a-half earlier than expected. We were also treated to a delicious lunch! Day Two is scheduled for early May, so in the meantime, I'll be holed up in the editing bay...

More updates to come!

Exclusive Sneak Peek: Props For Hold My Beer

That's right, dear readers - as followers of this blog, you are being treated to an exclusive sneak peek at props for Hold My Beer (props as in objects for use in a film, not props as in "respect," or whatever the kids say. Do kids still use "props" in that way? I'm guessing not, but who knows, I'm old).

Here is a book titled "So You Want to Brew Beer?" by the esteemed and award-winning homebrewing expert Elyk Treblig. Unusual name; I think he's from somewhere in Eastern Europe? Actually, no, this is not a "real" book. It's a fake jacket over a hardcover book that, while real, has nothing whatsoever to do with beer.

And here is a fake homebrewing kit that is basically a poster made from a picture of my stovetop slapped on to the front of a random cardboard box. Show business!

These props will be used in a few scenes of Hold My Beer that we're going to start shooting... this weekend?! Anyway, when the film comes out, you can say that you saw these here first!

TV Roundup, Episode Seven

Holy recaps, it's been about twenty months since the last episode of TV Roundup! Volumes Six and Seven of the Joel Suzuki series hadn't even come out yet. But don't worry, I've been watching lots of TV shows during that time. Here are some of the most recent (beware mild spoilers):

Resident Alien

Dear Show,

Where have you been all my life?* Now that we've met, I can't imagine being without you. You're witty and funny and you do a masterful job of balancing your wacky sci-fi plot with heartfelt human interest morals and side-stories. Your writing is sharp, your acting is impeccable, and your cameos are to die for ("Oh, my!"). Your title card gags are on par with the Simpsons couch gags and always make me laugh out loud. Even your occasional continuity errors are adorable. Also, I am super impressed by how you're able to juggle and intertwine so many different themes and threads - it's an alien invasion! it's a murder mystery! it's a family drama! - in such an effortless and engaging manner. Sometimes I imagine your writers playing a game where the writer of one episode will introduce a storyline and then hand it off to the writer of the next episode while saying "try to resolve this!" and the other writer says "challenge accepted!" Anyway, I hope you go on for a long, long, long time. Just, please, don't jump the shark.

Love,

A Guy Who Writes Love Letters to TV Shows

* The bass player in my band recommended this show to me when it first came out back in 2021, but due to silliness/laziness on my part, I never got around to checking it out until the first two seasons recently dropped on Netflix. And thank the Alpha Draconians they did.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix Live-Action Version)

Look, I understand why some people didn't like it. But that's not a debate I'm going to get into here; there are plenty of other places on the internet for that. Suffice it to say that I, as a huge fan of the original animated show (watching this adaptation reminded me of just how huge an influence the original show was on the Joel Suzuki series), really enjoyed it. And thank you, Show, for the "my cabbages!" and "Pipinpadaloxicopolis" references. Looking forward to Seasons 2 and 3, which are apparently going to happen. Yay, Toph!

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

I'm a fan of romantic comedies. And James Bond movies (mostly the Daniel Craig era). So I figured I would like this show. And I did. Even though I haven't seen the original 2005 movie. Maybe I should. Also, Maya Erskine is hilarious and amazing.

Hazbin Hotel

An animated show about the princess of Hell running a rehab hotel for sinners that started as an indie production and is now on Amazon Prime? And it's a musical? Yes, please! Every time the characters broke out into song (with lyrics that usually included a fair amount of swear words), I always said out loud to my TV, "this show is delightful."

Star Trek: Prodigy

To me, this show started out more Star Wars than Star Trek, but then eventually became much more "trekky" as it went along - maybe even sometimes too much, with generous helpings of fan-service-y references to previous Trek series and a sense that it's almost a continuation of Voyager. But I still liked it anyway.

Until next time!