Posts Tagged reality la
A day in the edit bay
I spent most of my day in Final Cut Pro working on Standing Firm. I got up at about 10:30 or so, and didn’t have much choice (some inconsiderate moron was blasting music outside in the morning). I got to work in some of the scenes that need tweaking and changes. I also started putting together a new trailer that we can release. This one has music in it that is royalty free and fair game without the need of paying to use. It is coming together really well and I got a lot done today. It’s the first time I’ve spent this much time working on the film in a while. I talked to a few friends today as well that I hadn’t spoken to since I left. Sam Torcasio called and we talked about some hopeful thoughts he has on shooting a short film this summer sometime. I think he can pull it off easily, and I hope that moves forward. I also spoke to Matt Ceislack, a good friend from back home. I’ll be sure to visit with everyone as best I can when I head back. It’ll be like I never left, except my house will be empty. My parents are both leaving this week to head to GA. That is where my dad currently works and my mom is going down there with the dog to stay for the summer. It should be interesting being at home with nobody else. First I move away and get a taste of living on my own in a new place, now I’m going back home to the old place and it’s empty too. It’s crazy how things change isn’t it, and how quickly?
We’re moving forward. This week I’ll get some things worked out with my job for preparation to leave towards the end of July. That should be interesting calling my bosses. I’m really looking forward to Memphis and this film opportunity. It’s a really big deal for me, and I can’t wait to get started amongst all the other stuff going on right now. Lots can be done via Phone, Email, etc. so hopefully we get a ton done even before July is over. The more preparation you can do before you shoot, the better off everyone will be. We shot Standing Firm in the worst possible way for the sake of the films quality, and it was very difficult. Shooting in the “logical” way would’ve given us a terrible product, so I’m glad we did it the way we did but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever shooting something that way again. This next film in Memphis will be legit. Full shot lists, storyboards, call sheets, etc. along with a pretty decent size crew compared to what I’ve worked with before. It’s going to be busy, scary, exciting, a growing experience, etc. I want to make movies for a living, so to have something like this show up and me NOT be the waterboy/coffee guy…is quite the Blessing. These kinds of opportunities do not come around everyday, especially for those my age.
Tomorrows another day of sleeping in, then church at noon. G’night folks.
Sunday & Sunburns
I went to Reality LA at about noon today. The service was really great. If I leave LA I’ll definitely keep track of Pastor Tim’s sermons via iTunes when I’m gone. His preaching is excellent, humorous, and packed with heart. Afterwards I sorta mingled with folks going from person to person until almost everyone was gone. The last of us went to go eat at this little cafe in Hollywood. I’m still not used to the fact the Hollywood sign looks down on the building I go to church in. The cafe was great and had excellent food. I got a salad with grilled chicken. Little did I now it was in a bowl like 6 inches deep and 9 inches wide. This salad was huge, and no way was I eating the entire thing. I finished the thing when I got home and got to work on a poster I needed to throw together for David Evans. He has an event coming and needed it quickly. I can’t believe how hard of a time my computer has working with large Photoshop files. Maybe my memory settings are messed up for the program, I’m not sure. While I relaxed I watched Leon aka The Professional. It comes highly recommended as a great film from the 90′s and I hadn’t heard of it until a few months ago. It was an interesting story with some very awkward and uncomfortable moments, and others very touching and relatable. I love stories of a “monster” who becomes softened by another like Beauty and the Beast and things of that sort. Gary Oldman plays the villain and man is he intense. He is like Daniel Day Lewis with some pepper sprinkled on top. View the trailer here.
Afterwards I spent some time organizing the zillions of files on the Standing Firm drive into the proper places. I was terrified at one point where I opened up the ADR folders and found the file size of the folders to be really small, forcing me to think the RAW files recorded from my actors was just deleted by me. That scared the living crap out of me. Luckily it seems everything is OK after opening the files and reconnecting the files. I was terrified until that point, as I’m in LA and obviously that would royally screw up me finishing the film…not to mention I have an actor in my film all the way in Korea right now teaching english. Phew…what a scare.
I’m going to get to bed a little early tonight I think, so I can get up earlier tomorrow and hang out before work. I also found a wonderful sunburn on my back today, in the exact shape of the neck on my shirt. I knew I was going to get burned, it was 80 today and the sun beat down on me after church just like it does every week. This is the first time I was outside without my light jacket which normally protects me. I figured I would get burned but not this bad…owy.
I’m also abit aggravated I haven’t received my first paycheck yet. It was supposed to arrive almost a week ago and my bank account is low, not to mention I need to send in rent, my car payment, etc. soon. Hopefully it gets deposited soon. I’m trying to figure out what I can do about finances soon here. I use my bank account at home to pay for things, bills, etc. but when my mom leaves for GA I can’t deposit anything into that account. But if I don’t stay in LA I’m going to be setting up an account just to close it again. What a pain in the butt that would be. I suppose I wont have much choice, since after this month there’s no way to deposit any pay I get.
Meeting New People, Bonding with Old Ones
Today was a good day. I got up and went to church at about noon. There was a guy from San Diego that I planned to meet while I was there. He was a cool guy and I met his friend and sister who was with him. We talked for a while after church and I met up with some others I had met the previous night as well. They’re really cool folks that I hope to know better in the future. Service was great as well. The message has been solid every week since I got here. I find it to be just as solid as what I received back home which is a great surprise to me considering the churches age and location. It’s great what God can do with little.
After church I wanted to make sure I had something to go do. I didn’t want to drive home and just sit around all day. Some folks were going to In&Out Burger after church so I tagged along. They picked the one on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood which was crazy busy. Think of a burger joint where finding parking in or even surrounding the place is impossible. I haven’t seen something like that before, pretty remarkable. The food is great there too. A simple menu and real beef and potatoes for their burger and fries. I’ve met a lot of new people every week, it’s insane. There are a lot of pretty girls out here too (not surprising). I’ve never had a girlfriend (sorta glad), but maybe someday…lol. My time will come 
Hollywood is one interesting place I must say. It’s very busy, even at regulated intersections with stop lights the traffic is insane and difficult. Finding parking is a challenge, and every walk of life lives there. It’s more colorful and exotic, and all sorts of great shops and stuff are there too. It’s got a little bit of everything. I saw a few floats drive by when we were at In&Out. They weren’t full of people, just being taken somewhere. I guess there was a gay pride parade going on later in the day. I made sure I got out of there before then, yikes. The drive home was nice, I hit a little traffic but having the windows down and music blasting like I always do just makes everything easier. When I got home it was really hot in my room. It was only 70 or so outside but it must have been 90 in my bedroom. I took a cold shower to cool off, which felt really good (obviously). I started watching Munich later in the day and didn’t finish it until way later. It’s one of the few Speilberg movies I’ve never seen, and runs almost 3 hours long. Soon after I got home and I was about 1/4th of the way through the movie, my roommate and his girlfriend Jennifer got home. They were going to go grocery shopping so I went with them to get some stuff. I got lettuce, carrots, broccoli, artificial crab meat (good stuff, I haven’t had it in years), pistachio nuts, cherries, and raspberries. I basically bought a bunch of things I like eating, something I can have for snacks or dinner that isn’t going to be unhealthy.
When we got back we sat down to eat and afterwards had a long conversation about things. Jen is very skeptical and into the “interfaith” thing. I don’t mind this really, and she is really nice and open to talking. Chris is much more grounded in his theological beliefs. We talked for a long time, a few hours at least as we ate and afterwards. I didn’t encounter much skepticism at home because I was in a little bubble, something I explained to folks last night at the party I was at. I was in a protective shell, and wasn’t around anything threatening, different, etc. It was good that I moved and threw myself into a new culture, new groups of people, etc. I really needed it I think. I needed to see some new things and sample other ways of life (not beliefs, lol no worries there). I was so sheltered at home that there was a fear of people in general, and an uncomfortable tendency towards different folks. I’m around different cultures everyday so I’m getting used to interacting and being around others. That’s good for me, someone who was very shut off and reserved to most around me when I was a teenager. Back home everyone noticed something different from the norm. If most people here showed up back home, they would be looked at funny. Just the clothes alone would be made fun of by some of the punk kids around Ransomville, and the hick race fans in their big trucks. At home if even the smallest thing felt out of the ordinary it was spotted really easy. Out here everyone and everything is diverse so nobody cares. I don’t have to feel so examined and such like I did back home. I’m not as nervous out here or as “on the defense,” because honestly nobody notices. That is a nice change for someone like me. Hopefully this helps get me out of my shell even more so than the last year has brought me.
Till next time…
