The Glamour of Making Movies!

Exciting! Let's see - get up at 5:30 am, edit a couple hours, go have coffee - pretending to be normal and catch up on the news, then back to editing until noon. Super quick workout, back to editing - picture, sound, color correction, rendering, backing up, logging, checking the script, archiving, adjusting, planning pick ups and reshoots. Make calls and start lining up the rest of the shoot days. Going over the schedule, adjusting, making calls, adjusting. Editing until 7 or 8 pm. Quick dinner. Editing until 11 or 12, quick shower and start again the next day. The good news - there are only seven days a week. The bad news - there are only seven days a week...

6 - 8 months of this and we should have a movie! Then comes the long 3 or 4 day vacation and if things go right - I'll get to start again.

Pretty glamorous! But someday - if it all really goes forward the way I'm hoping and working toward - I'll live in a bigger house, drive a nicer car, sleep in a bigger bed - and get up at 5:30 am, edit for a couple hours. go have coffee - catch up on the news...

Kely

Kely McClung on being the "coolest filmmaker on the planet"

I go out to coffee and the paper nearly every morning. My attempt at being sociable. Being a regular at a bunch of regular places gets me the inevitable question of "what do you do?" I'm a filmmaker. "Oh yeah, that sounds really cool." Yeah it is. "Where can I see your work?" Well right now, just on the web. "What's your name again?" Just look up "coolest filmmaker on the planet". "Really? That is cool!"

It's actually best to go the same places every day so the 'asking' doesn't happen so often.

If being cool was the requirement, then I would really get tossed out... of course if the requirement included confining oneself to only making films, I'd never get in!

The cool people spent the 4th of July upstairs on the roof of our downtown building looking out at a half dozen fireworks shows across the city. And though I stopped up for about 10 minutes, I came back to work on the film until long after the last cherry bomb and firecracker echoed through the streets. Pretty sure the really cool people slept in the next day, stumbled out of bed looking all cool and all, but I was up as the sun rose and started piecing together what we have done into some semblance of a story.

So one might think that making movies is all I do, that the obsession is all encompassing. It's not. Or maybe it is. I just think the defination of being a filmmaker has broadened out.

For one, I have my girlfriend. And though I don't see her or spend as much time as I want with her and her life, she is in my thoughts always. Knowing she is there is a comfort and a strength to me, and I am grateful.

Making a movie with my limited resources does not mean I am a one man band (was trying to work in "director" there as in band director but guess I'm not that clever i.e."cool").

Still, for those who take on the making of a movie, or film, or whatever the accepted word is now that digital acquisition blurs the traditional definitions, here are a few of the other things someone needs to take on.

Blogs. They are fun. They are cool. And also take a bit of work. Writing these are part of my commitment to myself and in hopes that they can help document the process for others to either take comfort in, warn off, or get a laugh from. We did almost no documentation on the making of BLOOD TIES, and I am trying hard to do better.

Business cards. A person needs an identity as they go out into the world and recruit support for locations, catering, equipment, etc... Not to be taken lightly, if a card is to represent you or your endeavors, it will probably take some thought and then the work to create it. So logos, layouts, fonts, revisions, printing, etc...

Websites. Which take on all forms these days. There again, no matter how simple, from full blown corporate flash sites to MySpace and FaceBook, they still take time and effort to accomplish something.

Computers. Buying, installing, maintaining, repairing. Hard to imagine a modern day epic, even the 60 second sleeping cat videos on YouTube, not utilizing the power of the modern desktop computer. Of course that means being educated on the latest hardware and software even if you don't have the opportunity to use it.

Music. Even if you are lucky enough to have someone say they have the time and talent to create it, it is still a major process. And don't hang out forever waiting on that first note. Or, even if you are near tone deaf and musically illiterate, you can attempt your own with the incredibly powerful software that exists to make you think you know what you are doing. Of course that means "computers" and "software" and... see above...

Want some "cool" titles for your masterpiece? Of course at this level that means interesting, effective, polished - just because I don't have a team of experts or a designer with Saul Bass-Kyle Cooper-like skills doesn't mean I don't want to compete. It means I absolutely do want to compete. And that takes work.

Work is my antidote and/or replacement for talent and resources. I'm not pretending to be humble enough to not think I have neither, I am a "film director" after all, but I try to hedge my bets by working harder.

Which is how I taught myself Photoshop. Not on the level of a Deke McClelland or Scott Kelby, but not too bad. I am sure you could spend an entire 4 year college curriculum just on Photoshop and if that's what you are into, it would be time well spent. So if those guys are the ones teaching the grad classes, maybe I'm up to starting on my masters.

Photoshop? "I just want to make a movie! What the hell is this nut talking about?" Well... you do want those business cards, websites, etc... don't you? You want to post some stills of your work. You want stills cropped and resized and placed in your MySpace pages. You want posters and DVD covers. And yes, there are other programs, both complex and simple, good and bad, but they still come down to - yep.. you guessed it. Computers. Hardware. Software. And all the rest...

Can you make a movie without Photoshop? Of course. I think. But it will definitely help your understanding of After Effects. Or Motion. Or Color. Or Flame, Inferno, Da Vinci, Nuke... And of course without the big, big toys, that means you'll have to work even harder to compete.

Wow... it's actually time to get back to work. That other work. Planning the next shooting days. Editing the material we have. Updating the websites. Expanding our presence on MySpace. Putting together another part of the film score. Fumbling my way to a kick ass trailer that shows off the other people working their asses off on this flick. Writing the next script.

I don't about 'me' being cool... but being a 'filmmaker' these days is really cool!

Kely McClung

http://www,kerberosbites.com/
http://www.bloodtiesmovie.com/
http://maifilmcorp.com/




"Talking people and doing people, for myself, I hope to do" Kely McClung

Filmmaking and Storytelling still comes down to Content

Searching for one of my seemingly one million different log ins and passwords, I ran across this bit of notes... not sure if I already posted it somewhere, but the inspiration of that day still holds and has been on my mind of late... "it comes down to content!" (my moments of inspired thought are rare, so bear with me...)

Reading and studying and trying to absord the massive amount of info available on each and every camera and each and every situation, it's easy to forget about content.

After content, it's easy to forget about the basics; that the camera only sees a part of what we point it at. It's value and values are still made up of light and shadow, expressed through composition and angle, rendered with focus or the lack of with digitally interpolated color and luminance.

After acquisition, it's easy to forget about the value and effort of editing and post. We get lost in the semantics of PC vs. Mac, Intel vs. AMD, and then the myriad debates on editing and finishing systems with more effort than in the understanding of the cut; the when and why's, the intricities of montage and rythm, of the emotional impact of our choices for juztoposition, continuity edits, jumps cuts, fades and dissolves.

Whether weddings or birthdays, corporate and industrial, music video and training tapes, shorts or feature films... it still comes down to content.

Kely McClung - back to filmmaking...

How to make a film

I was recently asked to speak at a film festival that I was lucky enough to win last year. Not only speak once - but twice - with a couple main themes. One, "How to make an action film" and two, "Why we make films". I don't know if anyone will show up to hear me talk, but it of course has made me examine my own motivations and methods.

Of all the tools available for making modern day epics, the new cameras, new lens choices, the proliferation and accessibility of high quality, DIY camera rigs and supports, and the new software/hardware combinations with the newest, latest, greatest plug-ins and newest, latest, greatest delivery formats; my favorites remain the three that started it all.

One: The desire to tell a story. Of course, that doesn't really sum up the absolute need to tell the story. The constant obsessive compulsion to dedicate and sacrifice whatever part of one's life one must in order to tell that story. Probably started somewhere before Cro-Magnon man and the advent of the RED camera. Certainly, the still amazing cave paintings of Lascaux were done before the consolidation of Intel chips on competing platforms happened. Still earlier masterpieces but less famous paintings are dated as old as 30,000 years ago.

That sacrifice will be different for each person and each set of circumstances and abilities, but the fundamental need to not just talk about doing something but actually doing it at whatever cost gets it done remains the same.

Two: The story itself. The blueprint, the themes, the foreseen actions committed and worked out on paper that deliver the message, the passages of dialog or the lack there of that inform and entertain. The plan devised with rhythm and pace and escalation, climax and denouement.

Being tied in through friends to at least the local film community, I constantly hear of the next newest, latest, greatest project being done somewhere. Even more common after being told it is being shot on the newest, latest, greatest camera by someone who may or may not have actually ever used that camera (hey, we all start somewhere), I am more often that not left with the informer informing that everything is looking really good... except that, well, maybe the script isn't so hot. It could use a little work. The story seems weak, and the dialog doesn't seem to be working.

Eeeeshhh... can't wait to see that in all its really high resolution pristine glory!

Three. The actors. And actresses. Those people and faces and voices that bring the previously conceived ideas to life. They can be trained or untrained. Young or old. Handsome or pretty or stunning or frankly a little hard to look at. They might be famous already or obscurely working away in a Bangkok bar, but the bottom line is that they are either good or they are not good.

In my quest and circumstance as auteur I wear many hats. I know that I become obsessive before, during, and after my projects. Performing so many roles with at this time still limited resources means that my projects take longer than many other peoples, which means they tax and strain my mental state, tax and strain my physical being, and tax and strain my relationships.

The discipline to work hard was probably instilled from an obsessive father who thought that Olympic type workouts were the norm for all grade school kids. I can look back on training schedules even before high school that compete with any modern day Olympian. And they worked! I was fast. World class fast! Until a short drive my first time behind the wheel (20 feet) took me off a bridge, 20 feet down, and under another 20 feet of water where I eventually emerged with two sliced knees. (guess I really made it 60 feet!)

That same work ethic let me train obsessively in martial art. I had the will to travel and learn and train around the world with some of the greatest teachers and practitioners who have lived. I was a poor student of each separate art but obsessed with the art as a whole. Most my teachers probably wouldn't claim me today, but I pay respects to each as they colored the art I displayed as I fought and later taught my own distillations and concepts in my own schools here and overseas, and to law enforcement and military. Those basic concepts can also be found in my movie fights and choreography.

And now of course I am a filmmaker. Pretty much unknown except by a very small, growing circle of colleagues and fans. Pretty much working away obsessively as I always have. And making progress. World Class progress? That remains to be seen...

Meanwhile, the fuel that keeps me going, that makes me want to get up at 5 in the morning to edit - is the realization of the three components above.

To see the long obsessed with concepts and ideas come to life, leaping or crawling their way from pages written over brief bursts of inspiration and fingers blurring on abused and coffee sodden keyboards, with the gift of performances I've been freely given or coaxed or demanded or been able to trick my actors into, from those actors and actresses who trained or untrained, handsome or a bit hard to look at - none of us famous at this time - some of them going from good to great - is why I make films.

I can not speak for other filmmakers. But as a viewer, watching everything from old cracked super8 to IMAX and flash delivered YouTube, I know I appreciate a film when I can see the primary attention given to those three: the desire and dedication to get it done, the story, and the acting.

Kely's first film BLOOD TIES won several film festivals including the Action Film of the Year at the Action on Film Int's Film Festival, Best of Festival and Best Visual FX at Indie Fest USA, Best Director at Big Bang Film Festival, and Best Int'l Film at the Rincon Puerto Rico Int'l Film Festival. He is scheduled to speak at the Indie Fest USA in downtown Disney on August 12th and 13th.

He is currently editing and obessing about his newest film KERBEROS.

Creative Dialog for the Action Movie Kerberos

Downtime from movie making usually involves discussions and planning for moviemaking, which is maybe why I have so little life and few friends outside my artistic endeavors. That still leaves me with a lot of amazing experiences and a lot of friends. None of my family is involved, which is why I think they seem interested in the process those rare times I see them.

I was recently able to take an afternoon off from editing to visit with my cousin Brent Clark and his wife Lisa, in town in part to raise money for a two year trip to Hyderabad, India as The Directors of India Ministries for an organization named Back2Back. I was struck with their commitment and practicality, and the ideals of their 'mission': to better the lives of 900 children in the Hyerabad orphanages.

They of course wanted to see what I am working on in my life, which at this time is consumed with the movie KERBEROS.

The scene I had just finished putting together is almost 4 minutes long: two corrupt cops torturing and questioning a drug dealer and realizing they have been missing the bigger picture and payday by looking at the wrong guys.

I am very proud of the scene; good filming, really strong acting, and what I think is very strong writing. Now what makes this scene a bit unique is the scripted f#%$'s and f#%$-you's and assorted variations. I don't know that the movie will set any records (I believe the honor goes to Gary Oldman's NIL BY MOUTH at 428 - unless you look at the documentary F#%$ with over 800), but still there are 54 in this one scene! And then Stan Harrington added to them with his frustration on remembering them, so that "I told you what's what, so f#%$ the f#%$ off if you don't believe me" became "I told you what the f#%$ is f#%$, so f#%$ the f#%$ off if you don't believe me!".

In relaying this to my cousins before they watched it, they sarcastically said "must be some really creative dialog, huh?". And it is! Most of it a cross between prison slang, gangland slang, street slang, and 'cop-speak'. And even my conservative family agreed! Of course my mother will be a different story...

The scene is indicative of many other scenes in this particular movie in that is ostensibly about one thing and then turns on its head toward another but ends up somewhere else again. As the writer, it was fun and exciting to put these scenes on paper with the shades of black and white blurring them gray. As the director and the editor, it's a challenge to tease and inform while creating a pace and structure that shows off the story and the acting. As the primary actors, Rob, Stan, and myself get the joy of translating the colorful language with action and intent into something comprehensible for the audience.

The emotion and intent are clear within the action of the film, yet much of it had to be explained word by word and line by line to the three actors in this scene, and the actors of almost every other scene, so maybe I should supply a glossary when the movie comes out.

As Harris (Ted Huckabee), says to Darius (Haji Golightly), "Would you mind speaking English motherf#%$er!"

Kely McClung
f#%$ing wordsmith

Only a Million Steps to make the Movie KERBEROS!

Or maybe it's a million more!

Wish I could say all the filming was done, which is not say say I don't enjoy that specific process, but that I wish there was some completion or finality to some of the million steps. But it can not be a bad thing to look at footage that we have shot and not only take some energy from the pride of the accomplishment to date, but to analyze it and then be in a position to make our film better as we go. Similar feelings to when we did BLOOD TIES, the knowing that what we have pulled off is pretty amazing, but seeing and knowing that, moving forward with the conviction that this is the time to raise the level on all accounts, including the filming itself.

Even with the half dozen scenes I have already cut, I of course have found shots to redo or pickups to add. What is great about the Kerberos cast and crew is that they too sense something special is happening and have been game to do it better. Already, the simple pick ups with Courtney and Mark have helped raise the bar, and the camera work, under my experimental but now more focused eye, and Attila's rapidly assimilating skills are pushing our overall level upwards.

Okay, a million steps? Maybe an exaggeration but let's take a quick look at just one scene. I have made my first cut of " the mechanics shop", where bank robbing ex-convict Finn (Kely McClung) stops in the middle of the night to the small two car bay garage he owns, talks with Burns (Chris Burns), checks the mail, pounds the heavy bag, finds out one of his snitches is dead, and defends the honor of the girl he's enamored with even while confessing said 'enamorance' as he shares a bottle of 'Jack' with his friend.

Already filmed, locations found and paid for, make up and wardrobe chosen and used, fake tattoos drawn on, lighting scheme worked out, props arranged, punching bag found, aged and brought in, sound recorded, footage captured, backed up multiple times, and studied. First cut assembled with frame grabs pulled out to apply treatments and grades to see what the scene might look like when completed. Sound is found wanting, so making plans for the ADR sessions, and the massive amount of Foley (I like full, rich, complex ambiances, even when unobtrusive or subtle - and can clanging at a mechanics shop while pounding a hundred pound heavy bag be subtle?).

So, already sending compressed versions of this first cut to potential composers who begin their own series of steps while I audition various songs for both style and ability to compliment and tell their alternate subliminal versions of the scene.

Now making plans for the the shots which will enhance and/or replace the footage that is not up to standard. The good news is the blocking, the actual script dialog, and the acting are working as they should. The light works great, and the camera, Sony's PMW EX1 is well up to it, especially now that my experiments and discussions with Attila are taking root.

So we have to now re-light, reset the vehicles, which we have finally tracked down - again, re-dress the scene and ourselves, make arrangements for payment, picture cars, sound acquisition, and then reschedule the actors (I never know my schedule but I am always available for shooting and directing our film!), get the tattoos redone by the great Guzik at the East Atlanta Tattoo Shop, drag every one out there -tough for a night shoot but fortunately it's a really small crew.

And then film again. Gather specific location sound and Foley. Attempt ADR 'wild'. Payoff every one, reset and capture the footage. Back it up multiple times. Import it into the editing program (still staying loyal to Adobe even though I am straddling the platform divide with one leg for PC and one leg firmly on a Mac).

Then I get to edit, work the minimum 100 steps to doing the sound right, export the finished picture, reopen in my finishing programs, process the footage (at least 20 more steps), re-import, render, and then pat myself and everyone else on the back long enough to make plans for the next 3 minute scene.

All this for a 'no budget film' on a scene we have already done... eeeshhhhh...

Only 990 thousand steps to go!

Kely McClung
Producer/Director/Writer/Actor/blah blah blah... oh yeah, and "coolest filmmaker on the planet"

No Small Parts in a Movie

Had the official first casting for Kerberos. It was both fun and validating to watch talented actors interpreting the words written on the page. I pulled four scenes that I felt represented the movie and would give me pretty strong indications of people's abilities.

As simple as the task was in running the casting, it was also nice to see how my casting director would handle things and my 1st AD run the show.

The turnout was a bit smaller than I had hoped. It'll take time to get the word out, and we were trying to be respectful of the agency which let us use their offices after hours by only inviting actors they represented. Still, we pretty much locked in three more solid, interesting actors.

Were there other good actors? Oh, yeah. But it does become a battle to find people who are not only good, have a special something that makes you watch, and are also the ones right for the roles. Some were so good, my first instinct is to rewrite just for them and come up with new roles. Fortunately for me as director, and the story and the final film, I am very specific and know how the 56 personalities and looks and voices and the dynamics of presence fit together. As an actor, I know how tough it is to put it out there and not be chosen. Hopefully, that empathy helps me work with the actors in creating memorable performances and a memorable movie.

And of course there are other strong actors who simply won't want to do this project. I understand. It's not for everyone, just as the final movie won't be either. Just the same, I want to do it, and so the search continues.

-- "Talking people and doing people, for myself, I hope to do"

Kely McClung

http://www.bloodtiesmovie.com/

http://www.kerberosbites.com/

Embracing the Obsession

Making movies seems to be an extension of the obsessions I've carried all my life, striving for control in a world that is ultimately controlled by others. Which is maybe how it should be... it's a BIG world!

I draw. I paint. No one else moves the brush. No one else chooses the paint or the color And if it works and communicates some small idea, then I can find pride in that success. If it fails to do that, then I take the responsibility.

As an athlete, I played on teams in school, and excelled as a player in several sports -- was frequently captain of the teams, but it was only when I was performing for myself, first in track, and then in various forms of sport combat, where the responsibility and outcome relied on myself, did I truly find myself.

My first full contact fight was lost to judges debating and scoring in favor of the my opponent. I vowed to never let it happen again - and made good on my promise by making sure I always knocked the other guy out. I knew there were other people with more talent, more skills, stronger, faster, with more training and better conditions for their learning and practice, so I made up for it by embracing the obsession and making myself try and work harder. When I fought full contact stick fighting for the international championships, I again made sure that my skills and conditioning overwhelmed my opponents so there could be no debate.

Now that I have directed my focus on film, I find myself searching for ways to do the same. I know that there are people with more talent. Certainly more money and resources. Better situations and conditions for them to thrive and ultimately market their skills and wares.

My only hope in making something that I can be proud of and feel the level of success that I want for myself is to once again embrace the obsession. And so I watch films. I study. I practice. I learn. And I work. And turning full circle I find myself again captain of the team, having a wealth of collective talent to direct into a coherent vision. I hope the skills and ethics I set for myself for these many years can help me lead us all into work we'll be proud of. Like, Hercules, who was known for his obsessions as much as for his strength, I am determined to subdue and conquer KERBEROS.

Kely McClung

Kerberos - Another Violent Movie!

People who have seen or know about my first film are asking me about Kerberos; how do you say the name? What's it about? Didn't you get the violence out of your system on Blood Ties? And why do you like violence so much anyway?

So a couple brief answers, without trying to analyze them too much or adding too much psychological mumbo jumbo. We would need more than a few pages for that!

Kerberos comes from the Greek spelling of the three headed dog in their mythology, a fierce beast of various descriptions that guarded the Gates of Hades. Kerberos was subdued by Hercules as one of his twelve trials, shown to the fearful King of Tiryns, Eurystheus and then returned. That idea of allowing access to Hades, glossed over and thought of as Hell by most in the modern world, but never allowing the souls to escape, guided the creation of this story.

Eventually written in Latin and later Anglicized into the more common spelling of Cerberus, the idea of getting in but not getting out remained the same. Kerberos, the movie, navigates through the underbelly of the city and the deep shadows of the human soul, and the three main characters are definitely trapped in their own hell.

And though human nature tends to gravitate toward the softer "C" sound, the harder "K" sound seems to better fit the nature of this story. So... Kerberos.

Violent? Yeah, pretty much. A dark tale from the dark side of human nature with a lot of pain. And I tend to want to show it, finding ways in both the script and the filming to make the audience feel it. That there are consequences to actions, even one as simple as hitting someone. They feel it. They bleed.

And then hopefully the rippling waves of Karma within a small kindness, a gentle voice, a quiet touch. Hopefully as the director, I can let the audience feel both extremes. After all, I'll only have them for a couple hours, and at the rate I am going, a few times in my life.

I actually don't like violence, though I recognize I am good at it, in real life and on the page, and hopefully on the screen. I do like the heroics of rising above it. I like thinking that most people wish they could and knowing that there are some people that do. And I like the idea of creating a story and movie that in just a couple hours may in some small way inspire someone to do just that.

Kerberos, the new movie from Kely McClung, starts coming together

What a difference a little money and a film crew make!

BLOOD TIES, the international action movie written/directed/edited by Kely McClung, produced by Kely and Robert Pralgo, was done on an absolute "shoe string" budget with the most limited of resources. It's quality and originality was able to attract a lot of talent as we went, and its success on the festival circuit and in the eyes of its audience proved we could make a movie.

With that bit of history and proof behind us, and my short film, AM SESSION, now playing on HBO, tackling Kerberos should be an easier project, right?

Well, I guess it would be except that I have written an even more ambitious story, and with greater expectations and self-imposed demands, I am determined to make a better movie on all levels; better story, better characterization, bigger action, higher quality in the filming and sound, more ambitious effects, and a greater audience.

The first couple parts of the equation have already been accomplished. Kerberos is a kick-ass action script with great density and deep characterization. Once again breaking all rules of low budget filmmaking logic, the complete cast call is for 56 actors. The level of acting and attention to detail in the directing of those performances will be even greater. Blood Ties will actually be hard to outdo on just the quality of performances, but the greater amount of deep characters and the strong scenes and story structure may allow them come across better.

Second, Kerberos has more funding. While not a big budget by any standard of filmmaking, I have already proved that I can make something out of nothing, and so now of course I have an even greater expectation from both myself and all those around me. I feel the pressure! But with those additional resources comes even more -- an actual crew this time!

Even that is a double edge sword; it should certainly add to the quality and the pool of talent contributing to our final result, but as the director and producer, it means I have more to direct and manage, and guide into the vision I've carried in my head for the past year. Still, I am excited by the challenge and am thrilled with the small team I am assembling.

It'll take another couple of posts to describe our Executive Producers and their talents and marketing resources, so for now I'll just mention the first couple of my burgeoning team.

John Dominic has officially signed on as Director of Photography. Johnny D is a talented director in his own right, an accomplished producer, and a very experienced cameraman. This is quite a bit different from Rob and I doing most of the filming for Blood Ties, and recruiting whoever else we could to help, sometimes having to show them where the buttons were for recording and how to focus. Johnny D is the head of XPlode Films in Sydney, Australia where he produces and directs, and runs his film distribution company.

He'll also be using better cameras, lights, and camera supports, i.e. dolly's and jibs, and maybe I'll breakdown and let him use a tripod for this one!

Dan Slemons is officially the Kerberos Gaffer. Dan is one of the hardest working guys any of us know, is experienced in many crew positions and will be wearing multiple hats on this one as well. Always a pleasure to work with, Dan takes a huge amount of justifiable pride in his work, and I plan to take advantage of that.

Robert Pralgo is the official casting director, once again using his contacts and his experience with the best of Atlanta's talent to help populate my story with the level of acting I am demanding. Every role is important, and every performance will be critical to the film's success.

Mark Harris will act in some combination of Producer/AD, helping to manage the shoot and the additional resources. Mark's experience ensuring the completion of several movies with really low budgets will be crucial in helping me pull this off.

One thing I regret on Blood Ties, with its huge crew of two and sometimes three people traveling around the world, was not having anyone to help document our efforts with behind the scenes stills and video. Ted Westby - "Nice Shot Ted", who I have had the pleasure to work with on a couple occasions, has signed on to be our official still photographer and concentrate on just that task. Ted has a great eye and a quirky sensibility to guide it and always ends up with amazing shots.

Amanda McCarthy, the creator of the THE DARK PLACES, and my line producer on AM SESSSION, will work in the same capacity here, ensuring we have who and what we need when we need it.

It may be interesting to the filmmakers reading that even though the six names above are far from a complete crew, it is already twice what we had on BLOOD TIES! Blood Ties filmed in 3 countries, and six major cities. This time we'll be filming close to home.

I am currently in talks with an amazing makeup/special effects team, a very strong sound mixer, my choice for make up and hair, costumers, and property masters.

Locations are being scouted, vehicles secured, action being choreographed, and meetings with local police and the city.

In some of my teaching of martial arts, and in other blog posts or interviews, I sometimes equate these new experiences to food. I can talk about some exotic dish, but until you actually take a bite, you'll never really know what I am talking about. I am getting my own small taste of what Robert Rodriguez described in his book "Rebel Without A Crew".

It's almost time to make a movie! For now, watch the teaser and wonder what the heck this thing is all about!