Life of Kyle Prohaska

Today I got quite a bit of work done, thank goodness.  I got working late last night on a new website for Standing Firm and within the last 24 hours came up with something really special.  You’ll all love it when it’s done. I think I finally found a concept that fits the film we have…after all this time.  Shaun Smith needed to come over today so we could work on the website for the Niagara Gospel Rescue Mission.  We just saw and threw around ideas and got working on a banner and a page.

I was pretty hungry so later on we headed to Lewiston to eat at the Brickyard.  Jason Myers came along which was an unexpected surprise.  He called right around the time we were heading over there so it was perfect.  As we sat and ate I was a little uncomfortable because of where we were sitting.  Everyone seemed to be staring and I felt like I was being observed.  I really hate it when that happens.  You think in your peripherals that someone is looking at you but you can’t turn your head to actually make eye contact.  It’s just awkward.

Afterwards they both came back to the house to work on the Gospel site.  Jason just sorta sat and watched and threw in his 2 cents as we started making it.  It was a fun time and they were there until later at night.  I spent the end of my day continuing to work on the Standing Firm website and completed about half of it by bedtime.  I can’t wait to get it up and running, it’s very slick.

G’night folks, church tomorrow!

Well there’s never a day I’ll be done with ministry amen?  But in this case I’m done with official title given ministry at my church.  I’ve been working for NFBC on staff as Director of Media Production for over 3 years now, and it’s time to say goodbye.  We’ve sent DVD’s all over the world, starting things in my bedroom with a crappy old PC and a 1 to 1 burner.  Determination goes a long way, and man did God Bless.  I’m sorry to say that my last day there (last two actually) were pretty bad.  I’ve been really sick lately…worse than I normally get.  It’s rare that I get sick but I think in the last year especially with so much business and stress with the film, my body just hasn’t been up to par.  That said I’m down to 210 now steadily which is good news.  I got another 20 to go before I think I would be happy.  My face is fat, every pic shows it…YUCK.  Either way it’s nice to not just lose weight but have it pretty much kept off no matter what.  When I got to the church today I was a zombie.  I immediately got something running on my office computer before Shaun showed up (Gaffer on Standing Firm) so I could shoot his interview.  It went really well and I was glad to get it done.  Shaun has a tremendous heart, especially once you give him some time to open it up and really speak what is on it.  Things went well and we packed up, and I honestly didn’t stay very long.  I packed my car up as fast as I could and went home.  I was so exhausted only hours after getting up.  I really needed to come home and crash, but that was after I unloaded my car of course which didn’t help much.  Maggie and Katy came over to finish ADR and that took a few hours but we got it done.  Glad to have that out of the way now and not just before I leave.  After that later at night I went outside to get a quick shot of my mom I needed for the film.  We needed a shot of her cutting her wheel over in the car as some car lights get bright on her face.  It was simple but the bugs were annoying as all get out!  We got the shot quickly and got inside, those bugs suck!  I finished off the day with Terminator 2 on Bluray, which I had bought but hadn’t watched since then.  It looked pretty good although the movie shows its age.  The film really needs a remastered image, the 80s film stock and some of the mistakes in the FX are clearly seen in 1080p.  I got to bed early to make sure I got another good nights sleep, after pounding down some medicine.

Glad to be done with my job, it’s been long and tedious.  Something else I forgot to mention was of course on my last day something was bound to go wrong.  Not me being sick, no car problems, etc….but the server for the NFBC site took a huge dump the previous night.  Nothing was on it, it was totally gone besides the videos folder we had.  Turns out the server crashed and we lost tons of stuff.  I’m not sure how we’ll get it up and running again, especially since I’ll be leaving.  I hope everything works out…I predict some chaos after I split.

Artistic Filter Added ;)

I went to work today to start my last week at NFBC.  I’ve been there over three years on staff.  I can’t believe its been that long.  The first day our new Pastor preached on a sunday was my first taped sermon and we never let up from there.  Thousands of DVD’s sold to countries all over the world, it boggles the mind.  Started it all in my bedroom with my little PC and a 1 to 1 burner…whoda thunkit?

I’m really excited to leave though, it’s a lot of routine and I need some artistic changes before I go batty.  They’ll be OK though they got enough people to keep it pumping.  I hope they have many more years of success in that ministry and reach more people than we every did while I was there.  Reach for the stars!

I got some other stuff done at home today but mostly just relaxed.  I watched part of TAKEN with my mom which she rented and downed some awesome Chinese food we ordered.  I scarfed that stuff up really quick.  I tried to get another good profile pic of myself today and came out successful.  You probably take 50 pictures of yourself before you find one that is at a good angle with good light that you don’t look like a moron in.  We have this window at our house with white curtains that act like a soft-box for a picture…so that’s where I took it.  I look good….  

I met with Kevin today to go over some things for the film.  I’ll be working on the film in some capacity the next 3 days.  ADR tomorrow, Last day of shooting on Weds along with my Gaffers interview, ADR with the rest of my actors on Thursday and my Pastors interview, then we are DONE.  This week is gonna be bittersweet!

Btw, I just got sent this by a friend of mine and it rocked my world!  SO AMAZING.

Buddies for LIFE

I woke up this morning feeling pretty tired but ready to get things done.  I had lucky charms for breakfast (woo!) and packed up my car to head to Kevin’s.  Today was our last day at Kevin’s home to shoot, and it was bittersweet at best.  We had two small things to do but they were very important to the story.  The last scene Eric and Rob did together was up in the bedroom and it went off without a hitch.  They work so well together now.  Eric is a talented guy, and he shows it more everyday.  Today he did something he’d done in the past but because it was a harder scene it surprised me a little.  He didn’t have Rob to look at for his lines.  Rob was preparing for one of the hardest scenes he has downstairs while Eric did his side of their first scene upstairs alone with nobody to play off of.  That really shows Eric’s talent as an actor, able to do scenes without someone to bounce off of, he just creates the moment himself.  It’s great to watch.  When we got downstairs we had some trouble as the speech Rob had to give was serious in tone and rich in meaning.  We eventually got through it and wrapped the day.  It was odd as we started packing up.  I felt very strange, I couldn’t believe we were done at the house.  So many days spent there busy, angry at times, upset, happy, overwhelmed by the power of God, etc.  So much had happened in that home in the past year.  On our way out we got some pictures of myself, Shaun Smith (Gaffer), Rob Reisman (Dave Corwin), and Eric Stevenson (Steven Corwin).  I’m glad we got those photos, I’ll cherish them forever.  Even when I went to lock the door, Shaun and Eric were talking in the parking lot and I walked into the house to stand in the kitchen one last time just to soak in the moment.  I won’t shoot here again, it’s over.  We have one more day left, and it ends at the church.

When I got home I immediately cooked a few hotdogs to eat because Eric followed me home to finish his ADR.  We did really well and burned through things like mad.  As soon as we got a process going things moved quickly, and we got everything we needed in 5 hours.  That isn’t half bad considering the amount there was to do.  Not much by Hollywood standards but in this case some scenes had difficult lines that were needed…not just “yea” or “yes” or “no.”  One of the scenes is a COMPLETE dub which means the entire production track will be replaced.  That means not just the lines need to be perfect, but the background noise, clothes rustling, footsteps (synced obviously), etc. all need to be placed and mixed properly to sound coherent and real.  Eric did a fine job and when it was over we had a nice hug, haha.  I’m excited but sad to see him go…it’s bittersweet at best.  He is going to Korea for a year to teach English so regardless of him being done with the film, odds are he’ll miss any premiere or anything of the sort.  I pray the Lord keeps him safe as he travels and works there.  When he pulled out I walked to the window to catch a glimpse of him one last time.  I’ll miss him.

Witness the madness!

Afterwards I quickly got ready for C.O.R.E. which is a college age+ group ran by some friends from church.  We had some fun times while I was there.  Some of the guys decided to goof around afterwards, I naturally stood by and just watched laughing at their goofiness.  I can be goofy but the last thing I wanted to do was roll on the floor and get all sweaty before going to a movie.  I went to see Star Trek again with my friend Sam.  It was great the second time around.  Very few movies get two tickets out of me, this one was worth it.  Sam liked it so I’m glad, it’s probably the last movie we’ll see together before I split.

On the way home I decided to text Devan and see if she was up for the shopping tomorrow since I had ruled it out due to Eric’s ADR (we thought we wouldn’t finish and he would spend the night).  But it looks like the shopping is on for tomorrow!  Woo!  Finally!  I can get some snazzy new clothes before I move.  I’ve been waiting to go shopping for REAL for a long time.  Not just like a new shirt or jeans but a wardrobe of sorts.  Clothing I like to wear and I enjoy wearing.  I don’t own a lot of clothes like that, almost nothing now that I’ve gotten rid of so many that don’t fit or are just plain ugly.

Today was great, tomorrow looks to be even better.  I gotta clean out my car though before I leave, it’s a DISASTER.

I got more stuff done today (how is that different from any other day?).  I got to work in the morning and worked until about noon where I went to lunch with Shaun Smith (gaffer on Standing Firm).  We just talked about the move and stuff, not too much about the film.  I had a salad and quesadillas which was awesome.  They had peppers in them though, yikes.  Those things rip up my insides.  Afterwards I got back to work to finish a few things before running home to do a few things.  I had a dentist appointment soon after so I wasn’t home for long.

I went to the dentist and got my teeth cleaned.  I hate doing that.  When they floss my teeth they are really rough about it and hurt my gums.  When I floss I don’t have any of those problems because I’m in control of how hard I’m doing it.  Afterwards I went to Vintage but I was really early.  I just sat in the parking lot trying to figure out what to do.  My eyes were tired and bloodshot, and I wasn’t feeling so great.  I was hungry, very hungry.  I debated where to go for a while and just caved and ran down to a dunken donuts to get something.  I got a blueberry muffin thinking “yea that’ll do.”  I also got a sweented iced tea.  Now I know why I never go to these places.  The iced tea was MEGA sweet, like crazy sweet and the muffin had so much sugar on the top.  It was like rock salt sized sugar clusters.  It didn’t make my headache any better.  Afterwards I got to Vintage in time to hang out with folks and went into the sanctuary when things began.  I felt like I needed to call a friend (Happy Bday Brad) and afterwards decided to leave because of how I was feeling crappy.

I came home and ate another muffin lol, this time one without all that sugar on it.  Later Brad and Jen came over and we watched a movie.  It was Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist.  It’s a funny movie but had some stuff in it that was awkward to watch.  It was great to laugh though, comedies are fun with friends.

Well it’s 2am and I’m toast…totally spent.  Laters.

We shot a few small things for the film today. It went very well and I was surprised to see how the shots matched to previous footage when I captured and took a look at it. We shot in a house we hadn’t been in since last July. We completed Joan Golda’s content in the film and did her interview which went really well. She went off on a tangent at one point and shared the story of how I got saved. It was really cool to listen to her tell that even though I knew it wouldn’t really be a used part of the interview. Lots of little details she remembers that I don’t even remember. She was the first person I told after I accepted Christ and she was so excited to be that person. Joan is so cool haha, she’s an energetic and just happy person. I love talking to her, lots of great conversation always comes out of it.

I had lunch with Shaun Smith, a good friend of mine and Gaffer on Standing Firm. We talked about the LA Job, the film, the mission Shaun is trying to build in Niagara Falls, etc. It was a good time as always

I went to Vintage tonight, but man was I tired. The worship was excellent tonight, I was really feeling good after I got there. Good message on relationships which isn’t necessarily relatable in the present but will be more so in the future. Went to eat with a few friends, Ben Larson and someone else (I can’t recall her name…oops) :/ Tuesdays are my social night, my night to actually feel human. The rest of my week is pretty work related so I’m glad I sneak my social time in. I talk to whoever I can. There was this girl that I think I knew and she waved but I was so occupied trying to get the attention of a friend to chat that I think I snubbed her. I realized this on the way home and I’m going to find out who she was (I can’t remember her name) so I can apologize. Even if I’m just imagining it I need to find out and see. It’ll drive me nuts if I don’t.

Either way I’m home now, exhausted because of a lack of sleep, and I have to get up early tomorrow for work. Yee (pause) haw. My father is taking my car to the body shop too tomorrow to get an estimate on a dent in my bumper from a tree branch that fell on it (thanks wind). That’ll be fun to pay for, and the other unexpected expenses this month. I’m going to go broke.