Update, 04-28-08

As I sit here, watching footage for the feature-length version of Notahki upload to my Mac, I figured it'd be a good time to write a post.

Yes, I am editing the long talked about "movie version" of Notahki. Why do a movie version when there are already nine episodes on YouTube? Well, why not? Really, for myself it's because the YouTube version was always more or less a rough edit of the story to me. Yes, Notahki was originally conceived as a series of episodes, but the episodes that made it to the internet were by no means intended to be the final versions of those episodes. I always wanted to go back and fine tune the editing and have an original score composed for them (something of a much higher caliber than my Garage Band editing skills will allow), but my impatience got the better of me and I wanted to get product onto the net as quickly as I could, durn it! I would just pull them all and start from scratch, but by now, Episode I is nearing on 4000 views and Episode II is well over 5000. I don't want to lose that count!

Dan and I had discussed a movie version of the episodes for awhile, but the problem was it always seemed too episodic to be one larger narrative. Until we came up with the idea of the young Notahki "flashback." Using that as the framework, I came up with a way to make the stand-alone elements of the earlier episodes work and have moved forward with the movie.

So far, so good. I'm digging the tighter cut, which eliminates some elements of the YouTube episodes, while introducing some footage that was shot and not used for the series. Personally, I prefer this version and think I'll upload it to YouTube when it's done under the label of "Notahki - The Director's Cut." Because, essentially, that's what it is.

As for my other movie, "Covers of Darkness," right now we've been running into scheduling issues that have kept us from completing the last five nights of shooting on the main plot line. Part of this has been that the IMAX Theater I work at is showing the Rolling Stones' film, "Shine a Light" and the late-night showings of that have kept me unavailable on a lot of the nights. And part of it is because one cast member has been fairly stubborn, uncommunicative, and somewhat uncooperative on giving us an idea of when they're available to shoot and so the few times I'm available is passing us by with nothing being accomplished. It frustrates me as I'm not the only one who's invested in this thing. A lot of other people have as well, putting in time to make this vision of killer bed sheets happen. I'm having a hard time understanding why it's so difficult for this one person to find two nights to shoot their remaining scenes (that's all it would take) and I'm getting pressure from other cast and crew to hurry up and get it done. But right now, it's not me holding it back and I'm getting as angry as everybody else. See, this is what happens when you hire friends at no cost. Unprofessional behavior. Well, I can tell you right now, that unless this is resolved quickly and with an apology, I won't be putting them in any more of my projects. And probably won't be bothering to maintain the friendship either (since, it seems not to matter much to them anyway).

Remember kids: always put people that you know are dependable in your movie. Otherwise, you can have it come screeching to a halt.

As for anything else, I've really been digging Indy Mogul. I've been spending a lot of time going through their videos and thinking, "Gee, I wish I had known that earlier," or "Wow. I'm glad I know that now." I'm learning a lot and getting some great ideas for some things I'm cooking up for COD, as well as other projects that have been rolling around in my brain. Certain things that I'd thought were out of my reach are becoming more and more within the realm of possibility for me. This shall be an interesting summer. Thanks, Indy Mogul!