i started an improv class

when i was going through my nickelodeon fellowship interviews, the director told us she was going to have the fellows take an improv class as part of the fellowship. i thought that was a great idea, so even though i didn’t get in, i decided to sign up for one on my own.

the main reason is i think it’ll help in interviewing and presentation, and since that’s what cost me the fellowship, i need to fix that weakness. i think it’ll also help with my understanding of comedy in general. it’ll also help in terms of knowing what it’s like to perform for when i direct, and maybe i’ll meet some people i can work with on my short films and stuff.

these were the schools i was looking into:

• Second City
• IO West
• Upright Citizens Brigade
• Groundlings

based on my research, i heard that Second City, IO West, and UCB are all somewhat similar in principal, and Groundlings is very different. i decided to sign up at IO West because they also had a lot of writing classes available.

i had my first class last night, and it was fun. i’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the class goes.

my friend’s short film

my friend peter was part of film independent’s project involve. this year, banana republic and vanity fair were going to sponsor several short films. he pitched his idea and his was one of ten that were chosen. check out his and the other shorts here: http://www.vfagenda.com/BananaRepublic/marketprice.asp

film independent held a screening for the films where he won the audience award!

CAPE digital shorts program

i heard about this new program sponsored by the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) where you submit a short script under 10 pages, and the winner gets $5,000 to shoot the short as well as guidance from a mentor. submission was from may 1 to july 31, but i didn’t even hear about it until about a week or so before the deadline.

luckily, i had an old short horror script, Camera Obscura, that was one of the finalists in the DC Shorts screenwriting contest a couple years ago. i shortened that script from 11 pages to 10, and fixed the ending a little bit.

all 4 short films i’ve made so far have been comedies, so i would love to try shooting something in a different genre. the winner will be announced in october. wish me luck!

mid year creative review 2009

it’s already july (a week in actually), which means the year is half over! i like to keep track of goals and such, so here’s my status report.

ACCOMPLISHED:

• wrote my first tv spec. i wrote one for The Office.
• then i wrote a spec for How I Met Your Mother.
• developed an idea for a sitcom pilot, which i’m working on now.
• applied to a bunch of writing fellowships with my Office script.
• started learning character animation through Animation Mentor. finished term 1 of 6.

cost of webisodes

here’s an article comparing the costs of making webisodes. they look at different web series and give figures in terms of cost per minute of finished, original, scripted content.

the low end seems to be about $500/minute which would be $1500 for an average 3 minute episode. this fits in with the budget of my last short film, which cost about $4,000 for 8 minutes, so $500/minute.

awards for web series

there are now awards for web series.

i want to make a web series of my own, and this a great list to see what’s out there now.

100 Best Blogs for Film and Theater Students

here’s a list of 100 blogs. there’s a lot of good resources here, and if you scroll down to number 89, i’m on there! my name is misspelled, but still cool nonetheless.

dc shorts 2008

i went to the dc shorts film festival again this year with ku klux kornea. the screening went well and the audience reaction was great. it’s always a relief when people laugh at your comedy.

last year i did some sight seeing but this year i stayed at the theater and watched as many films as i could. there were so many good films! the quality of work was very impressive. here are just a few of the films that stood out for me. check them out if you can.

parachute
nina quebrada
the confession
funniest fed 2007
irish twins
cute couple
the replacement child
speed dating
la tangente
english language (with english subtitles)
selling hopkins
the proposal
the bad news bearer
bloom
i’m no stud

aside from watching all the great films, i also met a lot of wonderful filmmakers. i definitely recommend you submit to this fest.

3 heads

in this drawing, the heads on the side aren’t that legible, but that’s what i was picturing.

writers go online

established writers are starting their own companies to create content for the internet, and people are investing in them. check out the la times article.

i have several ideas for shows, some are more visual effects driven, some are more dialogue driven. i need to refine my ideas and start writing so i can start production in 2008.