Life of Kyle Prohaska

Tonight was the screening at Niagara Frontier Bible Church (my old home church, the one I grew up in).  I had a headache all day and wasn’t really looking forward to later if the headache continued.  It drifted in and out, but stuck with me all day.  I think today is the day this week finally caught up with me and hit me hard.  Every morning I’ve gotten just under the amount of sleep I needed so I’ve gotten progressively worse every day that continues.  Tonight will be the night to sleep until I feel like getting out of bed, because my body doesn’t need it anywhere near as much as my mind does.  After dinner I quickly got dressed and headed to the church early to make sure things were setup right and pray with some folks.  Rob, Kevin, my mom, Shawn and a few others were there.  We prayed for the night and weeped quite a bit.  Rob was giving the Gospel after the film and we prayed over him as well, that he would speak the words the Lord would have for him.

After we were done praying the hallway was already full of some people waiting to get in.  I paced around a lot, not sure how to feel.  I wasn’t really nervous I just wanted to get it started.  The only thing I was nervous about was going up before the film and publicly thanking certain people for working on the film.  Before you knew it, the place was pretty full, maybe 200-250 there or so.  That’s a lot for our little church!  Kevin got up there and welcomed everyone, and then I went up and thanked everyone for coming and pointed out Rob, Shawn, and a few others.  I felt terrible though because I was forgetting people and slowly got around to thanking them, but then at the end I forgot Kevin.  If you’re reading this Kevin sorry!!  My head was going crazy and I had my unsaved family up front staring right at me the whole time, I was freaking out a little.  I had a lot of other things I had planned to say but just wimped out and started the film, LOL.

I’m surprised I sat through the whole thing.  I had expected myself to get up and leave a time or two during a lot of the parts in the film I can’t stand, but I stuck around.  I can’t believe how well the film played there.  I had yet to see it with an audience before, and it was a home run I think.  Like three minutes into the film I heard the sniffles starting all around the room.  Grown men were crying, even the guy friends of mine who’re my age.  It seemed like everyone was crying at some point during the film.  When funny scenes came along the laughs were very loud, much better than I expected.  As I watched the film I studied every single frame wincing at every mistake, every line I wasn’t happy with, every shot that was poorly filmed or blown out.  Some of the color-correction could’ve been done better, and some of the sound-mix I found some things I didn’t catch, and some music things I wish I knew about.  There was a ton going through my mind.  I hadn’t seen my film in a month and a half, so it was interesting getting a pretty fresh viewing of it.  I’m shocked that it even works, I really am.  That film is a miracle for more reasons than one.  I really think that calling this film my “Flywheel” wouldn’t be an understatement at all.  So much that shouldn’t work…works.  The budget definitely shows it’s ugly head at times, but even regarding that the film looks more expensive than it is so I praise God for that.  Overall I was absolutely thrilled with how the film was being received, and when the credits began to roll I felt like my heart was going to explode because I was waiting for the moment when people would start clapping.  When they started, they didn’t stop for quite a while, lol.  It was awesome!

Afterwards there were a ton of handshakes and hugs, everyone seemed very pleased and blown away by the film.  I’m so incredibly thankful for all that everyone did to help bring the film together, it was a team effort.  The fact that the film played that well there makes the results I read about the Costa Mesa screening even easier to believe.  That’s an encouraging thought.  The more positive reviews and comments come in, the less worried I am about the film being enjoyed.  I think I would be comfortable showing the film to almost anyone now, and not worry too much about their response.

Some people went forward after Rob spoke, although I didn’t get to confirm if there were any souls saved that night, just a few folks that I knew of that had some junk to work through.  Either way I found out that my grandparents were moved and cried which threw me for a loop.  To hear that was very surprising and I’m thrilled to see what kind of doors this could open to witness to them.

Tonight was a great time of closure for this project, especially concerning my church family and those involved.  Since I’ve moved on from NFBC and God is moving me to new things and has moved me to a new home church, it was a great way to end out my history with NFBC and begin anew.  God is good, and he showed up in a big way tonight.  He gets the Glory!  Thank you Jesus.

I’m not sure if I’m ready for this.  I went on a men’s retreat for my new home church The Chapel this past weekend.  It was a great time!  Played some sports, heard some speakers, and soaked in the beautiful scenery out in the woods of NYS.  All of it was going great, except I couldn’t help but check my phone a lot.  Friday night there was a screening of Standing Firm at the Calvary Church of Costa Mesa in California.  I had a friend go and report to me how it went, what the response was, etc.  I’ve never personally seen my own film with a large group of people, so naturally I was nervous even though the screening was 3hrs behind me and 3000 miles away.  I didn’t hear anything the whole night until I went to bed.  My phone vibrated and I checked the text.  There wasn’t much in it since texting is hard sending large amounts of information.  But what it did say is that “three people came to Christ.”  At that moment my head hit the pillow.  That one text made the last three and a half years worth it.  Every hour spent up late had been worth it.  Every single difficulty and tear shed in creating the film had now been shed with purpose.  I don’t mean to say that creating the film because God told me to wasn’t enough, but to see an eternal result and know that it had impacted someone FOREVER was a sobering and humbling thought.  I was very quiet Saturday, because I just needed to soak in it for a while and praise the Lord in my head/heart.

Here’s what another had to say who was at the screening:

“It was a great film! Great story, acting, direction, editing, etc. and my church absolutely LOVED it! Best of all, I could hear people afterwards praying along with our pastor to receive Christ. A couple a few feet away turned to me and said, “We need more movies like that!”  Teens actuallly started CHEERING excitedly at the end of the film last nite b/c of the power of its message! That’s rare in So California. Keep up the great work, Kyle!”

I can’t really articulate what this week has been like for me.  The film has been selling very well from what I can tell, with every online retailer undershooting how much of STANDING FIRM to have on stock.  Everyone sold out, it was insane.  The film continues to stay at #1 on ChristianCinema.com.  There are few films I’ve seen do that for that long, and they were big movies.  Since the stock was out everywhere else I sent everyone to ChristianMovies.com since they are the only ones who had it, and it shot to #1 there in just 24 hours.  All my Twitter accounts have exploded in the last week as well.  The movies Twitter has grown past 12,000 Followers, and my personal nearing 8000.  The other accounts I have for other things have gone up an insane amount as well, in the hundreds and hundreds a day across the board.  I’m so incredibly Blessed right now, there isn’t really any other way to put it.  God is pouring out something special here, and I’m so undeserving of it.  I’m so unholy, and so wicked.  Why me Lord?  Why do I get to enjoy this?  Even if I was faithful with everything 100% of the time in creating the film (which I wasn’t), I STILL don’t deserve what I’ve been given or might be given in the future.  This whole “deserve” and “self-respect” business is over with for me.  Apart from Christ I can do NOTHING.  I have nowhere to point but above for the results taking place right now, it’s all Him…it always was.

Tomorrow the film is being screened at my old home church of Niagara Frontier Bible Church where I grew up my entire life.  That’s the church that provided almost every actor and crew member we had, and they’ve waited patiently to see the film.  The buzz is very high and everyone is excited.  I’ll have unsaved family there, and others are likely to have the same.  I hope I don’t vomit beforehand, because I might want to.  You can bet on me being in the back biting my nails the entire time, because I’m going to be a basket case the entire time.  I have a confidence folks will enjoy it, I’m just not sure I’m emotionally prepared for it all.  I hope someone gets saved tomorrow, I would melt.  On a worldly note…as an artist I always wanted to hear if only once in my life the claps of a crowd for something I slaved over.  It’s something I’ve dreamed about as a kid, and while I didn’t make this film for that reason, I have a feeling everyone will go bonkers after the credits roll tomorrow.  I’m not sure I’m ready for that.  Three and a half years wasn’t enough.  There’s a big question mark in my life right now because I’ve basically completed my life’s dream except for getting married and having children.  Where do I go now?  I know I need to go forward, but it’s still an incredible thought to know that at 22 this is happening.  Again, why me?  God doesn’t have to Bless, but HE DOES.  What a God we serve!

Don’t you dare ever think that because you’re young that you can’t make a difference for the Kingdom.  Don’t think because you’re older that you can’t make a difference in the name of Christ.  Don’t listen to it, it’s all rubbish!  Today is the day to begin a good work in His name!  Are you going to wait until you’re out of high school before you make a difference for Christ?  College?  When your kids are out of College and out of the house?  Today I’m 22, tomorrow I will be 44, the next day I’m 90.  Life is fleeting!  Blink and it’s gone!  I don’t mean you gotta go out and make a film to impact folks either.  Impact them with YOU.  Don’t be the “tomorrow” guy.  What assurance do you have that tomorrow will ever arrive or you with it?

Please pray for tomorrow.  I have unsaved family coming, and I’m terribly nervous, excited, scared, queazy, and everything in-between.

Christ is King, it’s his film, and it’s for His Glory.  May He make much of it tomorrow, and the next day and the next day.  I look forward to the future, without a clue what I’m doing or where I’m going, but I suppose that’s why it’s called faith?

Blessings - Kyle Prohaska

Only two days before my first feature hits shelves, wow.  This upcoming week is going to be pretty busy, not even with a ton of events, just mentally busy.  I have 4 radio interviews to do, packages to ship out, some online interviews to approve, and I’m ending out the week on Friday/Saturday at a men’s retreat for men at my church where I’ll not only get to bond with a bunch of folks I don’t know (not my strong point), but also plug the film there for those attending (reason for that coming after a while).  So yea it’s going to be pretty interesting to see how I handle the week.  Also not today but next sunday we’ll be showing the film at my old home church.  Lots of folks there are waiting to see it, and it’s going to be a pretty difficult night for me.  I’ve been stewing over what I should say while I’m there.  I know what I should say really, but it’s how to say it and being able to keep my composure.  It’s a bigger night for me than it is for some others.  I can’t wait to thank everyone publicly for their help, prayers, etc.  Also I’ll be biting my nails as that screening will be more personal and critical than the others since people who are there were in it.  My unsaved family will be there as well (the local ones) which makes me doubly nervous to show the film let alone get up there and say something about it before and possibly after showing it.  Rob (lead role of Dave Corwin) will be sharing the Gospel as well after the film.  Please, PLEASE be in prayer about the impact this film could have and that God would move mightily in Rob that night.

Also pray for just the ability to get through this week with my mind intact.  There is much to keep going at one time, and sometimes I get behind.  I’m looking forward to my online interview at ChristianCinema.com being released soon, that’s been a long time coming.  Also the film hit #2 at the site today, right behind Letters To God.  I find that to be pretty incredible!  God is good.  There is this other interview for a small blog I did just a day ago.  It was only 5 questions, but I absolutely poured my heart and soul into this thing.  I’m looking forward to sharing that.  While it’s bound to shock a few, I think it’s a good outlet for me to express what I really think of this Christian filmmaking industry, where I see it going, and what I think about that.  I think it could be one of the best “articles” I guess you could say that I’ve ever written, and it’s a compilation of what I think about what I’ve seen these past few years having gotten involved with this industry, met many in it, read what they have to say and spoken to some on the phone, read forum posts by those who are either in this industry or plan to enter it, and much more.  There is much to say and I didn’t really spare anything.  It might shock a few, and possibly even cause some division for those who support me.  Do I have your attention now lol?  We’ll see what happens.

As this month comes to a close I’m also only weeks away from moving into a new place.  You know what’s funny?  The thing that’ll probably be the most difficult in this process is changing ALL my address stuff to my new address.  I have the PoBox for Praise Pictures everywhere, and I’m likely going to feel the repercussions of that for a long time.  When I move I’ll need to go setup a PoBox for me personally, and for the business and keep them separate.  Luckily the Post Office is around the corner from where I’ll be living, so that’s good!  Lots of change coming as you can see, and I look forward to it.

Some have already begun reviewing the film on various websites because sites have started shipping the film already.  If you’ve seen the film, I would appreciate you reviewing it.  ChristianCinema.com requires you have an account to review it, but ChristianBook.com, and Parable.com don’t.  I’ve gotten the film onto Amazon.com finally, and no reviews are present yet.  No Spoilers please! I hope you’ll take a few moments out of your day to submit your reviews to those locations.

Counting down the hours…g’night!

Do I really know what’s coming my way?  Nah.  Does it scare me a little?  Sure.  Am I excited though?  You bet!  I’m really not prepared I think for what the rest of this year could bring, and that does throw me a bit off every time I think about it.  I don’t know why I just have this feeling like something big is on its way, not sure why I feel that.  Yes STANDING FIRM is coming out and yes there have been some great things happening regarding that, but somehow I feel that isn’t the only thing.  It’s a weird feeling to have every day as new opportunities, emails, phone calls, etc. come.

I saw STANDING FIRM landed at #7 on ChristianCinema.com today under Best Sellers.  That’s pretty incredible to be considering the film is 2 weeks from release and as far as I know, not many know about it. (lol)  I got rid of another Church Screening, with a lot of them pending so I look forward to making some phone calls tomorrow to see who’s not sure

I went with Denise to The Chapel tonight to go to our E-Group Leader Training Meeting.  I’m starting this next Vintage (the college ministry there) as an E-Group leader which means I’ll be leading a small group of guys in discussion and such after the message on tuesday nights.  This means a lot more responsibility on my part while I’m there, more accountability, and a ton of things I’ll need to work on if I hope to be effective.  I’m very nervous to do this but excited as well.  It’s going to take some hard work on my part, and also stepping outside my comfort zone in almost every way possible.  It’s going to be good for me, I know it.  Prayers for all of that is appreciated as the next 6 months of my life are going to get increasingly busy, difficult, exciting, scary, and everything else mixed in.

I started using iCal on my Mac to schedule things and I see the next 3 months slowly but surely filling up with different dates and events I have.  Getting my E-Group kit tonight included a ton of dates I’ll need to throw in there.  Life is getting busier, and I’ll have a lot of changes to make.  I’m also moving in about 6 weeks 35-40mins away.  That’s a change as well.  A new place (all mine!), in an area of WNY I’ve been to many times but isn’t where I’ve lived before.  New neighbors, new routine since I’ll be living alone and providing for every need, and LOTS of expenses.  Besides the new editing desk I plan to buy for my office (finally have a room that’s JUST an office!) and a double bed, I won’t have ANY furniture at the start.  It’ll look completely empty.  Even my TV will have to stay in its box until I get an entertainment stand that it can go on or something, because it can’t sit on a floor the way it’s made.  It’ll take some time to fill the place but I’ll get there.  Those first few months are going to be extremely expensive.

I gotta be honest, one of my greatest worries is finances.  I don’t mean right now I just mean in general.  It’s hard to relinquish the control to the Lord at times when it comes to funds.  I have to learn the lesson over and over again it seems, and God is faithful each time to take care of me.  With all that’s going on in life, and where God has been moving me locationally not just with opportunities but with friends, where I’m moving is the right decision and I’m confident of that.  So I need to be confident that if God led me to move out that way finally, then he’ll provide a way for me to stay there.

The current Church Screenings purchased start shipping on the 16th, so there’s a lot to do to make sure those are ready to go just in case I get any rush of them because of the shipping date.  Lots of folks have looked at the page, but I think the pre-order status scared some folks away.  Hopefully once I announce them ready to ship immediately, I’ll get a few more bites!

Lots of stuff to do…keep me in prayer please!

After yesterday, I went to bed praying about a lot which shouldn’t be much of a surprise given the last few blog posts LOL.  I went to bed hoping for a much better day today.  When I woke up I found some nice emails sitting in my inbox.  I had gotten some endorsement responses for the film.  Some really great folks have gotten my emails and responded, I’m very pleased with the results thus far.  If we didn’t have this online screening room for media/press people, I’m not sure where we’d be.  It’s allowed anyone instance access to the film.  If your a filmmaker, I suggest you figure something like this out.  When the church screenings start coming together, I’ll be giving out passwords to Pastors to view the film.  They’ll have 24 hours to view the film, maybe 48 hours then it’ll expire to stop any massive bootlegging from occurring.

Also the Lord brought a solution to my financial woes, ten fold so Praise God for that.  It’s going to make things much easier until the film comes out.  I really needed this to come along.  I can’t tell you what but it’s a huge boost for me.  I feel like I can concentrate so much more on just doing the jobs I have instead of spending time trying to setup a net for myself if they fell through or if payments came in late.  What a load off…glad to see things are going to be OK.  While June will have me finishing up the film itself, July/August will have me doing a lot of business and promotional related things that take just as much work and prayer.  The church screening packages especially will be the big project during that time so they can be setup, as well as a premiere being planned.  Who pays for it and if it’s me (which it probably will be), where is that money going to come from?  How many church screening packages should I have on-hand before they’re available?  What needs to be designed, ordered, etc. and what about capital for that?  How do I ship stuff from my house in bulk?  What’s the best way to setup an online store on the Praise Pictures website for all of this?  Just a few of the wonderfully complicated questions that need answering Yippie!

Sometime soon I’ll write a very personal post I think.  Today Jason while everyone was over (spent the day with friends and with Denise), he dug through these big binders my mom packed with all my old drawings, beginning storyboards for things, special writing assignments from school, etc.  One of them was called “the future me” or something like that.  It featured a speech of a kind on what I wanted to set out and do in life, and how I was going to get there.  It’s incredible how accurate it is, and how early I was determined to make a feature film.  This paper was from 7th grade…crazy.  Making a film has been something embedded in the core of me for so long, just waiting to get out.  Standing Firm while almost 4 years in the making has been in the making since I was a kid.  All them creative juices waiting to bubble to the surface.  I look forward to sharing that with all of you.  It gave me a lot of perspective on just how hard I’ve worked (by God’s Grace) and where He has brought me since my days as a kid when all these dreams started.  Praise God…He’s so good lol.

I look forward to having some quotes and more thoughts from people regarding Standing Firm and what they have to say about it.  The reviews so far have ranged from OK to good and some great.  I’m fully aware of the faults of my film, thankfully.  It’s no Schindler’s List, but it’s no Scary Movie 6 either…thank goodness.  Most of the positive comments seem to center around the message of the film, the look of it (which really makes me happy), and the surprising acting despite the resources we had.  Regardless of faults I think the Lord really helped us make something special and surprising.  The message will shine through as well (I hope!).  For those that have learned the lessons within, it might be a run around the block, but I hope for those that need to hear what the film says…it’ll be something lasting that they can remember.

I can’t wait to share with you further details as we get closer to release.  Where the film will be released on DVD, what others have to say about it, and how you can help us share it! Thanks to all who continue to pray…there is plenty to do.

Hands to the plow…

I got in the car this morning around 10am.  I didn’t get enough sleep unfortunately, but that’s ok.  For those of you who don’t know I was heading to Maryland to the home of Mark Stocker to get the final sound mix of STANDING FIRM completed over the next 2 days.  The drive wasn’t that bad, it went by pretty fast but I started getting tired at the end.  From Ransomville the drive was about 7 hours which is chump change compared to the 20 hour stint I did from LA to Texas last year when I moved home…but because of my lack of sleep it hit me a bit harder.

I got to the house around 5pm.  Little did I know it was Marks’ 50th Birthday and he had some family coming over.  I’m normally nervous in those situations but the environment was warm and I fit right in.  We talked about STANDING FIRM eventually and I had the opportunity to share the story of making the film with everyone, show them the trailer, and show them the first 5 minutes of the film.  Everyone was very impressed…which made me feel good.  I don’t think I’ve let myself warm up to the fact that people may like the film, even with the comments I’ve gotten already from those who have seen it all the way through.  It’s hard for me to watch my own work, always has been.  I normally leave the room and tense up, lol.  Overall though all the comments were very enthusiastic and positive.  It’s a good start to the week

I spoke with Mark for a long time after everyone left about various things, it’ll be cool to see what the Lord does with this relationship in the future, especially with some of the possibilities we have been talking about and talked about further today.  I’m excited

So tomorrow we get up and go to the studio to start the sound-mix.  I’ll post some pictures tomorrow.  The studio space is going to be awesome, I’m looking forward to seeing it and also hearing my film in the best possible environment.  It’ll be the first time I hear Jurgen Beck’s score on a really good pair of speakers so I’m looking forward to the full experience!  Then I’ll be rushing home to hug my GF (love you Denise, I miss you!), and work my butt off for the next few weeks until the end of the month to finish up this films DVD, edit the BTS, and all the other things that need to be done.  It’s going to be insane and I’ll need prayer…so if you have a spare moment, please pray for me.  Thanks everyone, peace out!

This past weekend was very satisfying One of those weekends where you just say “ah…..yes,” after it’s over…realizing you really needed that.  This was one of those weekends.  Just a lot of time out of the house, around people you love, and fun in the sun.  I’m sore though, lol.  Today especially I played volleyball on a nice sand court at a friends house for 3 hours.  My feet are hurting pretty bad, sand hurts after a while and it gets padded down.  My neck has been out of a whack for a week, I’m not sure what’s wrong.  Surprisingly enough, no sun burns.  Maybe a very slight burn on my neck but I expected to be roasted after the past few days.  But nope! That’s a good sign because normally I fry in the sun.  Perhaps I’ll get some color this summer?  That would be nice…I’m as white as a ghost normally.

Work stuff is going decent, but this month was pretty void of activity.  Lots of email and paperwork type progress, but in terms of me personally getting a lot done, it felt very empty.  I’m glad May is over though.  Much has happened in the last 30 days I would like to forget about.  Plenty of arguments, unfortunate phone calls, discouraging messages or circumstances, etc.  Not a fun month in terms of social problems.

The score for Standing Firm is done as of today! I’m very proud of Jurgen Beck and the work he did on the film.  He brings the film to the next level, a step above (at the very least) most other films in our budget range.  Lots of films have a very bland “fill in the blank” type of score.  This one actually has a story to it.  Each character has their own type of melody or recognizable element.  The score develops emotionally along with the story, it’s great!  I’ve always wanted to work with a composer on a score since I love music so much but could never create any of my own.  Thanks Jurgen for all your hard work, my film is better because of it…

June is going to be insane.  I’m looking forward to it but at the same time dreading what’s to come.  My birthday is on wednesday, I’ll be 22.  Yes, I’m only 22…lay off lol.  I feel so much older and my body feels 35+, but I’ll only be 22.  I guess I shouldn’t complain huh?  Standing Firm will be completed in June.  That’s a crazy feeling.  I’ll have a completed copy of the DVD in my hand to mail off by the end of June.  It’s been a long road, and I’ll still have plenty to do in the promotion, church screening, premiere, release, etc. areas of the film but in terms of making the film, making the DVD and behind the scenes, and completing “the package,” it’ll be 100% DONE.  I’m gonna cry when that happens…no shame.  I look forward to heading to Maryland this upcoming sunday to get the sound-mix done, then rushing home to work like a madman every day until I have that final DVD in my hand.  It’ll be a really tight squeeze but I know the Lord will help me through it.  Prayers appreciated…

I’m probably starting some new work in June which is going to make things even crazier.  I’ll be holding down 3 different jobs if you can believe that.  All of them web/graphics/marketing related.  I hope this is something that can continue, because it’s a great way for me to work on other things while I work on normal “work.”  I seem to be pretty decent at it, so that’s good  Here’s hoping all that Standing Firm needs and all that all my clients need can be done on time and with a quality I’m happy with.

One month ends, another begins.  Hands to the plow…again…

Today was a boring day, I’ll be honest.  I didn’t feel like I had much to get done.  A lot of it was just management, emails, phone calls, looking at my schedule, etc.  I suppose you can call that progress but I like physical progress.  I like to see a new graphic made I didn’t have the day before, or a new video edited, or whatever.  I’m too much of a doer to end a day without getting something created.  It’s in my blood I guess, lol.

There were some unexpected blessings today.  Although I felt a bit down a few times, God showed up to brighten the day Someone I’ve had a past problem with (and some bitterness) had a conversation with me today that was short, but uplifting for me.  It’s been a long time since we talked (and I talk to lots of people all day about various things via Facebook chat, AIM, Skype, etc.) and I wasn’t sure what to expect but I got a warm welcome and it felt very nice to have that again with this person.  It let me in a funny way close a chapter from last year that had been hanging unfinished.  Sometimes you forgive and end the bitterness, but you still really want that sign of mending to show…and finally after almost a year, it had.  That’s very cool to see.  Again it was only a few minutes of conversation, but that was all I needed.  I hope for more of that with some other folks I’ve had past issues with, it’ll really put some wind in my sails.

I’ve been keeping a lot of spreadsheets of all that I continually market with and build for myself.  All my websites, twitter accounts, facebook fan pages or groups, etc.  I have many things under my belt most have no clue about, and I only use them at certain times.  It’ll come in handy a lot when it comes to marketing for people and already is with Standing Firm and Ace Wonder.  Standing Firm is closing in on 13,000 fans, and Ace Wonder is moving right along.  Standing Firm is also above 6000 followers on Facebook, more than half of those from this month alone…Ace Wonder is closing in on 2000.  I work like a dog to market this stuff, so I’m glad it works.  I can’t wait for a year from now when somebody hires me to do grassroots marketing for them like Ace Wonder (and websites and graphics and such) and I can put to use what I’ll have built by then.  It’ll only go up people!  I hope that all this hard work will pay off as more people need their films marketed in this arena.  I don’t want to spread myself too thin, but I can definitely see this becoming a viable option for me to make my living in-between each film project, and then using it for my own films as well.

I was supposed to shoot my interview for the movie tomorrow, but it’s put off until early next week.  I’m relieved in a way…I really need some more time to prepare myself.  It’s very important to me this interview.  I’ll be looking back on it for years and years, and I want it to be good, genuine, and God-honoring.

Tomorrow is another day…peace.

Hey folks.  There have been some critical times in the last few years.  Much has happened, and many obstacles jumped.  However the last few years mean pretty much squat if the next 3 months or so…specifically the next 6 weeks don’t go over well.  I have so much to figure out in regards to Standing Firm’s completion.  I have a number of weeks to finish the film entirely, and get a final copy of DVD ready to go to presses.  I’m going to Maryland in a week and a half to get the sound mix done, shooting my interview this friday, and spending the rest of June scrambling to get that DVD completed.  I’ll also need to mail off a bunch of copies of just the film on disc to different places for endorsements, dove approval, film festival entries, etc.  I’m behind in figuring out how to do the church screenings, what’s included in the boxes and how to get it all, how to figure out how I can ship things from home, getting all the contracts in relation to the film and Praise Pictures in hand for safety and verification, some music contracts to hammer out for song licensing, marketing to do, how to get the copies that are going to US/Canadian stores made and making sure they can get paid for, how to pay for the materials for the church screenings, planning a hopeful premiere and all the logistics and politics to get that worked out, and all the while keeping up with a relationship with God, my girlfriend, and whatever other social interaction I can get.  It’s going to be an INSANE few months getting this film ready.

I’ve worked on this film in some capacity almost every night since April 2007.  I can’t believe it’s been that long, it almost makes me ill thinking about it.  So much work, stress, money, time…etc.  It’s absolutely insane…

This is the PERFECT timing for the enemy to be on attack either via other people (which is happening a little bit lately), or just through circumstances that come along.  I really need protection from the body right now, in every way possible.  If you care about this film in any way, pray.  I sound like I’m talking about armageddon or something, but I’m deadly serious.  This film is a gift.  A wonderful gift from God that has been an honor to work on.  He has used it in every area of my life to shape and mold me, and he isn’t done yet.  I have a feeling the rest of this year is going to bring even more refining than the last 3 did, just by the nature of the beast and all that’s happening with it.  I’m terrified but looking forward to the flame…

Hands to the plow…as always.

Not sure where to go with this post.  I’m probably going to be all over the place.  There have been a lot of lessons learned and much thought about lately.  Some unfortunate circumstances and things that I’ve done, some weird conversations, a few discouraging moments and encouraging ones, you know how it is.  It never ceases to amaze me how easy someones day can be ruined or how quickly joy can turn to sorrow.  Today I was casually talking to a friend and I said something that wasn’t supposed to mean anything, and in fact I was talking about myself…but apparently that wasn’t how it was taken because 30 seconds later I found myself being called a jerk, and them leaving.  Not a fun situation to be in.  I melt like a baby when I realize someone is upset with me.  I emailed immediately to apologize and then called.  I haven’t heard anything back unfortunately, but I prayed God would show himself in it somehow.  I hate it when stuff like that happens.  When was the last time you were misunderstood greatly?  Or you said something you were just about to explain but it’s too late because it was taken wrong already and your ability to do so is gone.  It sucks a lot…probably one of the most gut wrenching things for me.

I’m going to start writing more articles soon, I have way too much rolling around in my head.  I think about filmmaking a lot, and the business side of things too.  I’ve learned much in the last few years, and I think there are some thoughts I can write down that will hopefully help out some others that are in the position I was in.  Perhaps I can save them some grief and help them avoid a few mistakes?  There’s a lot of talk out there by folks who have yet to actually try and do what they’re talking about.  Lots of “facts” that have no experience behind them or information beyond a random Twitter post from Joe Blow.  You know how it is, and I’ve done it too.  I’ll need to get on the ball with some of that stuff.  Most of what’s been on my mind on/off is proper perspective on what your film/story is, whether or not it can sell, what the state of the market is, and how to take smart steps in determining how much you should spend on your film (and that can be changed by so many factors) given the answers to those previous questions.  I think too many are spending way more than they need to and expecting some sort of magical profit that doesn’t exist in this market.  Until you hear REAL numbers on what even the successful people make, you think your the invincible filmmaker that’ll have the next smash hit and make piles of cash.  It’s a shame…so much waste.

Things with Denise are going well I love her more each time we talk.  We’ve gone through some more serious conversation lately and I’m thankful.  It helps us learn more about who we are as people, and get a deeper understand of what we’re both thinking about.  I’ve waited my whole life to have somebody to be completely honest with and someone I can be open with about things I haven’t even spoken about with close friends or family.  That’s a special bond.  I’m really thankful to have her, she’s a treasure.  If your reading this babe I love you!  Your beautiful and I’m so thankful to have you in my life!

Things with the movie are progressing at a pretty steady pace.  I still feel a tad lazy compared to how the last few years have been, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel more and more.  The score should be done very soon, final sound mix, and I’m gathering other materials for marketing.  The PR on the internet has really gone crazy lol.  I know some might not put much stock in Twitter but when you’ve gone up 3500+ followers in 15 days, you’ll raise your eyebrow too.  Films our size don’t get this kind of attention.  I work as hard as I can to get the word out and have been for three years straight, and it looks like it’s working.  Praise God!  I looked at the folks waiting for church screening information, there’s about 220 churches.  That’s crazy in my opinion.  Who knows how many will actually be interested but still, I’m excited.

I’m a little shaky on work right now given some recent circumstances, but that’s ok.  I sorta saw it coming.  I’m hoping this other job I hold doesn’t fall through then I’ll really be in trouble.  I depend on these two steady jobs to pay my bills so I’m a little worried but God will take care of me.  This is such a critical time and the worst for me to be so busy trying to pay for my car that the completion of the film suffers.  After this long I can’t afford (literally) for that to happen.  Pray for me please…

So that’s all I’ve got to say, till next time folks.  Thanks for reading!