Sunday --from Team Bj

So we did some shooting Sunday.
Haven't had a chance to look back on it yet, but I will.
The shoot went OK, I wanted to get to more, but I realized I can hope for only so much material for us to cover to make it quality work. So I will adjust other shoots accordingly. I'd say we have 2-3 more depending on how the next two go. Better planning on my part will make them run a bit smoother. But I am still happy over all. Mason is good as James and Robert is just awesomeness as Dicklan. It's fun.

In addition to that I am working on a couple of audio projects. One is an audio play (like the old school radio shows) the other is a fan dub. Fan dubs are taking animated works and dubbing them over with new voice actors, music and fx, like any major studio does with anime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJsz17wKMBg
Nothing fancy at all here just playing around with what could be the intro theme to the dub.

Doing these mostly for practice using Soundstage and with audio editing in general as I think that is an area I could be stronger in and since I don't have formal school training on this, any project that give me some experience and trial and error with this I am all for.

Stupid Sexy Flanders - A Team Billy post

Not even one full episode into the writing of the new project and I already have to change the name. It would appear that The Brothers Grunt was an MTV cartoon circa 1994. Oddly, I had never heard of it. It was pre-Beavis and Butthead, which could explain why. Stupid MTV with their never showing videos and retroactively stealing good ideas and their long hair and their Dan Folgelberg. I hate it and I hate it's stupid face. If MTV was a box full of kittens, I'd run over it with a lawnmower.

Anyway, I'm leaning towards calling it The Brothers Mung now. Mung is a word I really like, and I knew a dude whose last name was Mung once upon a time.

Looking ahead - A Team Billy post

I haven't had a lot to do since finishing the Insourcing scripts and sending them Bj's way. In fact, my involvement with the project is more or less limited at this point to waiting for Bj to send me rough edits so I can gripe about sound levels and/or let him know the guys are nailing their parts. To pass the time I've been brainstorming ideas to come up with the next project I will be trying to shove down Bj's throat.

As of right now, that project appears to be a mockumentary-style serial called "The Brothers Grunt" that follows three grown men that still live with their mother. Two of them are just lazy, the third is mildly agoraphobic and subscribes to many paranoid conspiracy theories. I haven't quite finished the script for the first episode, but it seems like an idea that might have legs.

On the Insourcing front, Bj is set for a big night of shooting on Sunday. I will both figuratively and literally be peeing myself with anticipation to see what goodness comes from this session.

Updates from Team Bj Land

Mason, Vegas (cameraman) and my best friend Jermaine are on my youtube list so they can see the rough cuts of "Insourcing." Haven't spoken to Mason or Vegas about since they were added to it, Jermaine watched it last night. He thought mostly the same about it as I as far as the lighting goes. But other than that "them shits is funny."

He and I go back to first and second grade so I hold his opinion in high regard. We have some planned collaborative work in the future.

Sept. 27th should be the next shooting day. I have to check back with Mason again to see that he is still golden for it. Robert is. Looking at having another person there to operate a boom mic. Listening to the eps with good headphones you can notice the audio levels as the camera was at different spots when we were shooting and using the mic on the cam, well that does that.

The exact eps...I was thinking 3-8, but we may not do the eps where Bobby G is as we don't have a Bobby G just yet. So I will work around it. I do hope for 5-6 eps worth and then a 3rd shoot to tie it all off.

We shall see.

Mild state of shock

A Team Billy post

I have seen the nearly completed first two episodes, and it's hard to describe exactly how I feel. People throw around the word "bonerific" an awful lot these days, but that is really the best word at the moment.

Everything is working so much better than I had anticipated. Actors are bringing their own style to their roles (in a good way) and even though Bj is lamenting over a ton of technical stuff, the production value is better than I expected. Of course the bar for me is pretty low since my last major production was "Der Movie," my 12th grade German project. That little stink bomb was awesomely bad.

Edging toward completion...

The following post is courtesy of Team Bj.
So cuts of episodes 1 & 2 are currently online on a super secret youtube page for cast/crew consumption and comments. I am liking what I have done so far. Of course part of me is nitpicking some of the technical stuff, lighting, sound, composition in the scenes. But the notes I am making are things I can fix in future episodes.

Robert is golden. His facial expressions are classic and some of his ideas and ad-libbing is great and adds to the script. Love how he is really getting into this role. Anxious to see more of Mason and I's interaction is Travis and James from the little bit we have done so far. I am still working to tweak my portrayal of Travis and find my niche with him.

The important thing for this really for me is completion. I have tried many times over the years to get some projects off the ground, original and not original ones. Along the way people have flaked, equipment becomes scares, I have gotten too busy or admittedly disinterested in the work, but even for something short I did not have something I worked on to the end to give me that sense of completion. I can't sell short the role I had in organizing "The Pact" that Jermaine and I worked on together under the banner of Jigsaw Entertainment. But he did the shooting, editing work on it. I just got him the script and actors, and I suppose that's no small feat either.

But this is hands on work and and I feel like this project will give me that and a sense of something to build on.

Can't wait for more.

Shooting shooting shooting....

From Camp Awesome AKA Team Bj
Robert as Dicklan is awesome.
His monologue provided the shots come off as I hope they do, is going to be great and the highlight of the episode. Definately look forward to seeing more of him.

We're looking at shooting again on the 27th, I have to check with Robert to see if he is working anywhere and if he is not, I am shooting for episodes 3-10. Seven eps, yeah seems like it could be a lot, but as long as we bring our game, it should be doable.

In the meantime I will be re-reading scripts as I have been, cutting together the first two episodes, I hope to have them out by the end of the weekend, depends on how my Saturday and Sunday go.

Like a boss

Team Billy - Got my first glimpse of Robert's portrayal of Insourcing's king of lower-middle management. All I got to see was a brief scene, but good stuff all the same.

It's also important because with Robert's scenes taken care of, we're almost at 100% for episodes 1 & 2. Not bad for two night's shooting. Team Bj may or may not agree, but based on the amount of work done in the first shoot and the funky scheduling problems associated with our actors I'm guessing the series should debut in mid-December. It may be good to go earlier, but I like to leave space for bad stuff to happen.

My role in this process is minimal. Bj send me rough edits and let's me make suggestions that neither of us expect to be acted on because reshoots for dinky stuff is almost out of the question. That means I'm thinking a lot more about the release time than he is. He's trying to get the next shoot lined up while I'm wondering if the guy at the T-shirt shop would put the Insourcing characters' faces on thongs. (Don't care what anyone says, that's an awesome idea)

Team Billy approves of the progress

I've seen the rough edits for the first half of episode 1 and nearly all of episode 2. Verdict: I am impressed.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was skeptical of getting this shot. There were times when it looked like it wouldn't happen, but Team Bj is nothing if not determined. Is it perfect? Of course not. We're talking about an inexperienced writer, inexperienced actors and an inexperienced director. But we're learning, and learning fast.

I showed the footage to Mrs. Team Billy and she laughed...for real...out loud and stuff. This is a big deal. She's by far my toughest critic. I eagerly force everything I write on her in hopes of pleasing her. Her usual response is "It's not your best work." Nevermind that she's never bothered to tell me what my best work was.

What really excites me is that it's only going to get better. I freely admit the scripts for the first few episodes are weak (not bad, just not as good as the others). If Bj and the guys are making this stuff work, I can't wait to see what they do with the scripts I actually like.

First shooting day... A team Bj posting.....

It went pretty well. My only complaint really was lighting. Which I expected to be an issue as that has always been a weakness of mine. This was a reason I pushed for shooting one or two episodes at first and then going back to look at them and see what needed to be fixed, rather than having a huge chunk of eps that had the problems I saw.

Script translated well it seemed. Mason was good with his lines as was I I like to think, I could be biased in that regard. Just need to shoot the caller from the first ep and my scene with Robert and then the tail end of ep. 2 with him as well. Looking to do that hmm....I will call him today and see if he can't run up here tomorrow evening for that.

With episode 3 and onward I seek to fix the lighting issue. Looking at some equipment now that won't bust my bank.

I have tested the funny on a couple of co-workers here and they got some laughs out of the brief bit that was seen so it gives me hope for the rest of the series.

Just need to fix the lighting and we will be golden.

It's alive!!!!!!!

Filming officially began last night on Insourcing. Bj and Mason shot the majority of the first three episodes, namely the stuff that just involved them. As promised, Team Bj sent me a rough edit of the episode one intro, and I was impressed. I wasn't expecting much, but it looks great and the the guys made the jokes work.

Apparently there are some lighting issues with some of the other scenes, but I like what I see so far. The scene Bj sent me was one of my least favorite as far as the scripts go. It was the first thing I wrote for the series and I didn't really have a grasp of the characters and direction yet. If they can make me like it on video, I can't wait to see what they were able to do with the stuff I actually like.

They've set the bar pretty high for Robert when he comes in to shoot his stuff. Needless to say, I'm geeking out a little today.

This has been a Team Billy post

On the precipice of the cusp of the edge of something

The following is a Team Billy post


So Team Bj found a set and will begin shooting as soon as he can wrangle his actors. I'm both excited and a little nervous. It's cool that they are going to get to it, but wondering if the humor on the page will translate to the screen. Naturally I think it's funny, but I'm apparently a poor judge of my own work. (just ask my friend Kevin about my now infamous Charlie Brown drawing or my wife about pretty much everything I do)

I'm comforted by the fact that I've gotten to meet the major players involved. Bj knows me well enough to have a grasp for the rhythm and flow of the comedy. Both Mason and Robert came to our meeting back in July with some great ideas for their characters. Mason really seems to grasp the role of straight-man and looks like he has a few mannerisms that will give the character James a little more depth than was written. Robert came to the meeting with strong vision for the boss character. So strong, in fact, that it changed the way I wrote the character from there on out. His character went from almost part of the background to a scene-stealing beast.

Team Bj will be sending me either semi-edited or near-finished footage as he works on it. That will be the test. I'll either get a chuckle or start writing my manifesto on how Team Bj is molesting my artistic vision.

Insourcing has found an office source

Wootness has insued in the land of Taurian Films.
We now have an office to shoot Insourcing in. I asked my boss, big big boss, at work about using the facilities and he gave the OK. It would be scheduled and carried out after hours so it would not interfere with anyone's job or my own, so he said it was cool. As long as it was not an all the time thing...so no...no reality TV show will be able to be done here, but Insourcing will....great great news. Now to just get in touch with Robert and Mason to get their schedules and we can begin. All the scripts are written so I will need to do some re-reading and logging, making note of props, people and all that. But the biggest hurdle for us, location, has been jumped. Rejoice.
-Team Bj