The Closer She Gets -- Now on Youtube

Today is my mother's birthday.
She would have been 71 years old.
It's amazing to think about that.
71 years old.
She'd be a grandma. She'd  be lively. And she'd still be proud of her boys.

But that's not how the world worked.

Instead the time has come to officially release my award-winning feature documentary "The Closer She Gets", about my mother's battle with cancer.

The movie has screened at festivals like Slamdance over the years. It has been shared on DVD with folks who asked for it, or at private screenings. And now I'm going to put it out there into the world on YouTube.

I have to admit, this has been a difficult thing for me to do. This isn't a movie you watch in pieces. Or something you casually have on in the background while you're checking email. And I've been worried that people will watch it that way. That they won't take 90 minutes of their lives to meet my Mom and understand how wonderful life and love can be. And how terrible.

I hope that you'll set aside some time to watch it. To leave your comments. To know my Mom.
She was the most amazing woman. She taught me so much. And I wouldn't be half the person I am today if not for her love and support.

So grab some kleenex, and a warm blanket, and take a journey with us... I know you'll be glad you did.

 

UNTITLED Film Production 1 Project -- Craigoclassic 22

In fact it does have a title... sort of.
"Goodbye". Or is it "no time for Goodbye". That's probably a better one.
This was for film production 1. It was shot on 16mm reversal film. Anyone remember that?
This meant you shot it, they developed it and sent it back to you and that was ALL YOU HAD. No negatives, no reprints. You screw it up, it's screwed up. I still have this, and the other 16mm film prints in cases in my house. I haven't seen them in that format since college, which is too bad because they looked great (compared to the crappy video transfer here). Oh well.

I challenged myself to make a film that looked like it was sync sound, but we shot it with non-sync film equipment. There's some appearances of some of my college favorite actors, Nikki DeSalle and Mike Ford. Clearly influenced by Evil Dead, hopefully it gives you a bit of a creep out.

I remember the teacher saying I hands down had the best film in class. So that tells you something about how good the films were, I'd say. :)

I paid off my student loan so.... Here's the College films!

Yep Team, I paid off the student loan!
yahhhhhooooooooooo!!!!

So in honor of that momentous and 15+ year adventure, I'm going to post the rest of my college films here with a little bit about them. It might be one entry. It might be a couple entries. I'm not sure, but I stalled out posting the craigoclassic's and now it's time to finish. Because I'm SURE you are all waiting with baited breath.

I can assure you this. MOST of the films from my University of Iowa days are better than the home video style stuff from the first section of this series. Most of them. :)

Without further ado:

THE FOOT...










Okay, so ironically, the first one is a home video style. Ha ha ha.
It's silly. It's screwing around back in Dallas one summer during college. Chris Borden's memorable turn as a fierce assassin has given him a nickname for the ages. And the car chase... MAN this shit is crazy! It might be the best car chase ever filmed. I'm not kidding. The French Connection has got nothing on this.

And it also has many references to such hits as "Army of Darkness" and our favorite B Movie of all time, "ROTOR". Oh yeah. Get ready to get rocked!

(Okay, I'll do one post for each video).

JURASSIC PARK 3D... Hell Yeah!

I saw JURASSIC PARK in 3D at the Dome...
and I have to say:  HELL YEAH!

 


That is what summer blockbusters are all about. The f/x are Flawless even 20 years later. It still fills with wonder and terror. 

The 3D looked great. I'm glad they did such a good job on it. I would choose to see it in IMAX if I were to do it again, as the dome's curved screen and choice of 3d systems adds some weird ghosting at times. But still, it was really cool. The raptors and the t-rex were so real!

The sound was also great. Though as good as the sound was, it wasn't like the Northpark in Dallas, TX in 1993. When the T-Rex walked, the seats actually vibrated. You felt the air rush past your head. Man I miss that place.

It made me so happy to see it, to take that journey again. To believe in the power of movies, and the wonder of the world...

...and it also makes me a little sad to think how many of the great people that created it are no longer with us (the great Stan Winston and Michael Crichton), or have fallen so far in their accomplishments (Spielberg) (I'm sure some will debate this, but for me he hasn't made a great movie in so long. And there used to be nothing more exciting than the words "A Steven Spielberg film" on a poster.)

It's sort of like Richard Attenborough's character. I felt so sorry for him. His dream was so big and he wanted to give joy so much, but in the end nature (and life) has other plans. Even so, for 2 hours Dinosaurs lived in 1993. And for 2 hours they lived again tonight.

Awesome.

The Hobbit: 3D, 24fps, HFR...my observations

So tonight I saw THE HOBBIT: An Unexpected Journey... in Real D 3-D ETX 24fps with ATMOS sounds... then I saw 20+ minutes in 2D 24fps...then saw 2/3 of it in HFR 3D IMAX. 

Yes my brain has melted.  But I now feel that I have done ample research to have a solid opinion on all the different formats.  And the results are somewhat suprising.  Read on if you want... (I'll keep plot spoilers to a minimum, but I will comment a bit on the film.)

REAL D: 3D: ETX 24fps with DOLBY ATMOS:  This is the first time I saw it.  The movie is pretty slow going and basically feels like 2 hours of exposition followed by 45 minutes of Rad.   The 3D looked cool.  24fps looks great.  The images felt like a video game, especially the big CGI stuff.  It was like watching Drakes Fortune or God Of War in 3D.  Not that the original LOTR wasn't heavy on the CG, and some of it is spectacular, but sometimes, when closer to the characters, it felt like a video game.  They made good use of 3D (which if done well is cool to me, and here it's done well).  The environments are awesome (as you'd expect in an LOTR film). 

The Dolby Atmos 64 track sound was directional, clear, solid...but not very punchy.  It could have been louder and had more bam, pop, pow!  Which surprised me, I would have figured the sound would have been the best part since it has 64 tracks.  Now, the dwarves voices came from all over, and they really used it to great degree for some Gollum stuff.  But oddly, the Imax sound was more live when it came to atmosfear, wind, bugs and battle.  I like my big action movies to THUNDER, and this was more like a subtle symphony than a kick ass surround sound rock concert.  Both are great, just depends on what you're listening for.


2D 24fps:  Oddly... this looked the most natural.  The CG was blended perfectly (except for Rivendale Long Shots, which only looked non pixelated, non-moire in HFR).  But overall this felt the most natural, was the least distracting.  The lighting felt correct, and there was no video game feel.  It made me focus most on the storytelling and least on the machinery that was telling the story.  (Which for me is the point.  I know it's not for all filmmakers.).  I would not have expected the 2D and the 24fps 3D to have such vastly different feels (natural vs. video game).  Granted, I didn't see the whole movie this way, but I did see numerous all CG characters that felt videogame-y in 3D. 


HFR IMAX 3D.  Honestly, it's laughable, but it's NOT as bad as "smooth motion" on HDTV's (Which is the worst thing that's happened to video/film/tv since...well, ever.)   Still, anytime HFR got to something on a human (or hobbit) scale, it looked really fake if it was moving.  Shots that had minimal movement looked like a window, but as soon as a person moved (or for sure if they moved fast) it felt so strange.  It didn't feel more real to me, as some people have said.  It felt like a...soap opera.  (Big surprise.  This is what happens when you ramp up frame rates above 30fps.)  It's like one of those cheap-o History channel recreations from the early days.  Or a soap opera.  Or anything shot on interlaced video.  It screams video and is pretty distracting.  Because I'd seen the movie earlier I was just amused by how weird it looked, rather than annoyed.  Had this been my first viewing, it likely would have constantly distracted me from the story. 

However ,something unexpected......in the scenery shots, helicopter shots, or big epic battle shots, it's looked pretty cool.  Vivid and energetic.  Sometimes spectacular.   I don't think the distractions anytime people were talking is worth the spectacle, but it was an interesting experience none the less.  Maybe there's a secret frame rate (30 or 36 or something that might give both).

(Does anyone know if parts of LIFE OF PI were shot HFR?  There seemed to be certain times it had a similar feel to the "window" aspect of the wide shots of the Hobbit.  But the motion wasn't nearly as distracting.  Almost like they shot in 30 or 36 fps.  Just guessing here though).

So, that's my technical review of The Hobbit.
Ultimately all of this is just preference and choice.
As long as they give us the choice of 24fps, I don't really care if they shoot movies in HFR. (Even though I don't expect I'll go see any more in HFR.  I love, love LOVE 24fps. )

So make your choice of frame rates, just don't force your choice or opinion on the rest of us.  (James Cameron, I'm talking to you...make sure we got 24fps options on Avatar 2. :)

The Joy of Cinerama

So in the past 6 days I have seen 5 Cinerama movies at the Cinerama Dome at Arclight Hollywood:

HOW THE WEST WAS WON, THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM, and THIS IS CINERAMA in full, 3 strip Cinerama prints.  CINERAMA HOLIDAY in a digital remaster of a 3 strip print.  And IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD in 70mm...

Yes, the titles are as long as the movies are.  They all have overtures and intermissions.  They all are 2 - 3 hours long.  And they all are AWESOME.

I learned all about the camera (It's 150 pounds with 3 interconnecting lenses, 3 film mags and a single shutter.  It captures 146 degrees of vision.)
I found out why the giant COOPER theater in Denver, where I grew up and watch Ghostbusters, Firefox and Return of the Jedi and other movies, existed.  (The screen was 110 feet across!) 

Or why the RIVER HILLS / RIVIERA in Des Moines (Cadry Nelson, remember that!) had that crazy curved screen.  All these theaters are gone.  Turned into Barnes n Nobles, TGI Fridays or Parking Lots.  In fact, only 3 theaters remain IN THE WORLD that can show 3 strip Cinerama.  How lucky that one of them is 10 minutes from my house?

It has been an absolute joy to journey through this once world famous, box office breaking, mindblowing -- yet now almost forgotten -- period of enormous widescreen cinema.  This is the reason we have widescreen cinema and Surround sound.  It all started here.

And to go back in time, 50-60 years, and see these movies larger than life itself, is a true treat.  It has been so inspiring, and has shown me a pure wonder and joy of cinema that I haven't seen regularly in a long time.  I only wish I could have shared the experience with friends or family.  So they could also have a giant childlike smile on their faces right now. :)

There's a few more movies tomorrow (Thursday) including How The West Was Won.  Treat yourself.  Go back in time.  See, hear and feel the power of movies.  It truly earns the word AWESOME.

And the next time you  watch something on a computer, or iPad or iPhone or iAnything, shot with a shakey, blurry, low res HD camera, you'll know what you're missing.

Bigger is better when it comes to movies.
Big film makes digital look like a toy.
And Cinerama was as big as it's ever been.

1-900-DIAL GOD -- CraigoClassic 20

Oh boy, Intro to Media Production Continues. (As does my ever irregular blogging about these old movies. In theory I was going to have all these posted well over a year ago. Guess I've been busy...)

So in Intro to Media Production we had a Video/Film section, a Radio/Audio section, and this gem, the Live TV section. So we had to do a 30 second live TV piece, complete with graphic (Just 1, please note I tried to pull off 2, somewhat unsuccessfully I might add). As well as a superimposed graphic.

I can tell you, calling live TV, with the "prep camera 1. Go camera 1. Prep Camera 2. Hold on Graphic. Go Camera 2" isn't that easy. Now you can just press buttons on a TriCaster and choose your shots yourself. But back then it was a bit more complicated. Might explain why there are two takes and flub. It was fun that Iowa had this though.

My idea is pretty straight forward. Making fun of 1-900 ads (Remember those!!?? Anyone young enough reading this to have no idea what I'm talking about? :). Anyway, Daniel Kraus was a good sport being the Reverend. (You'll see a lot of him in the upcoming college film). And we had Jesus on a computer rather than a phone because we couldn't find a prop phone, and well, cell phones basically didn't exist. But who knew we were being so prescient in predicting that eventually all things would be online, through the computer, just like this video and blog you're reading now...

wow. We were good.

Please VOTE for Craig Ouellette's short film

Hi Team!

We made a short film, "T is for Truth" for the ABC's of DEATH feature film contest. If we win, our short will be included in a feature film with movies from hot, known horror directors and shown throughout the world! But the only way to do that is to get VOTES.

So if you have a couple minutes, please head to:

http://26th.theabcsofdeath.com/t-is-for-truth/

Please be sure to VOTE by clicking on the button in the upper right:
VOTE FOR THIS AS THE 26TH FILMMAKER,
and respond to the email that they send you. It's easy, fast and prevents cheats.

(Don't just "like" the film, as that won't help us win).

NOTE: There's another film with the same title, but the link above sends you to ours. Also, look for my name "Craig Ouellette", or an image of two lovely ladies in a candle lit room as the still image).

And if you love it, (or even if you don't :), feel free to help us get the votes we need by forwarding this email OR copying the url OR sharing on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr (there are easy buttons to do so at the top of the page), OR all of the above. :)

And thanks again for all the support over the years. I figure we should aim for at least 1000 votes to have a good shot at being in the top 10, which gets us to the final round.

Thank you so much!

CraigO

"T is for Truth"
Starring: Denesa Chan, Sadie Katz, Caitlin Rose Williams
Director / Writer / Producer / DP / Editor: Craig Ouellette
Production Designer / Gaffer / Boom Op / FX Makup: John Elfers

the downward spiral - CraigoClassic 19

Ahhh college kids and their suicide videos. It's sort of a film school joke that everyone has to make a suicide video at some point in their college career. (Not that suicide is a joke. It's actually pretty depressing, and in my opinion not an option).

BUT...

that didn't stop me from making mine!

This was for Intro To Media Production, fall of Sophomore year. It was a class split into radio / tv / and video. This was for the video part. I used a song from NINE INCH NAILS (as I'm sure many of your recognized. I'm sure Trent would be so proud!)

Anyway, watching this made me wish I had a steady cam. Or a dolly. Or a wheelchair. It's funny, I still think I'm moving camera's super steady (and I'm a lot better at it), but it's rarely exactly as I imagined. But it has a certain charm to it's roughness.

Ahhh Molly. My friend Molly Neylan was one of my favorite actresses in college. I thought she was always very real, or pretty, or both. AND, if you think you recognize her, it's because she's in Trespassing On The Lot #4 "Family Ties"! (Tied up in a trunk...thanks Molly!).

As for the other actor, well...I laughed out loud when I rewatched this. Mr. Brian B. isn't the best (and I'm pretty sure he would agree :), but he was my friend, there for the shoot and up for playing the part of the shocked, angry lover.

Perhaps the best part of this is the fact that somehow this college kid who is so depressed about grades, money, being dissed by her friends and dumped by her boyfriend (what other motivation do you need?), was able to get her hands on an UZI to blow her head off! A fricking UZI!!?!?! I couldn't goto wal-mart and get a toy gun that could possibly be something a college kid might get her hands on!?!? Apparently not! And this actually is something I STILL occasionally do, (not use Uzi's), but I'll say "ahhh, this is what I got, it's good enough" rather than going the extra mile on props or production design. Hmmm... maybe I should learn my lesson.

You might have noticed the Hitchcock pull out, zoom in shot after she shoots herself. Yep, I was being clever. Of course it works better if you have a dolly.

The tear looks awesome though.

It was fun to see Hillcrest, my old dorm again. I'm heading back to Iowa in a few weeks for the first time in 10 YEARS, so that was a great blast from the past. Oh, and that crazy steam whistle from the power plant at the beginning.

And finally, the black angel. That grave has so many ghost stories about it, I figured I'd give my own. I can't remember the real story... maybe there isn't one. Or maybe this is the real one...

The Running Man - Craigoclassic 18

Here it is faithful viewers!

After a long absence from posting, due to the efforts to make the feature film "Straight On Till Morning", I am back! Posting my college films to much fanfare (wooo, yeah!). This is in honor of my FINALLY returning to Iowa City this fall after being away for 10 years! (10 YEARS MAN!!!!). It's been far to long, and so going down memory lane with these classics will be fun. Hopefully for you as well.

This first "film" from the college days was for Intro To Media Production. The class had 3 parts. Radio / sound, Live TV, and Film/video. This was a continuity project for the video portion. It has no sound.

That's my buddy Mike Ford running along. And he cruises past Sherry Moore (Now Sherry Eich) at one point. It was great to see those friends again (even if it's on a little VHS shot movie).

On top of continuity, we also proved once and for all that the massive pillars of the old capital building on the University of Iowa campus are hollow.

Enjoy,
craigo

Video To Alex - CraigoClassic 17

NOTE: It's set to private. Read below.

Ahhhh... dearest Alex.

Here is a photo video I made for her when we were dating. As many who know me are aware, Alex was my first "true love". We met at a German Language camp in Bemidji Minnesota. (A place I highly recommend going. They have different villages that teach dozens of languages. You can get a full year's school credit in a month, and you actually learn the language. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and not just because I met Alex... but that is another story).

Back to Alex. I was a Senior in High School. She was a Freshman. And we were a fantastic match. She lived in Minnesota. I lived in Texas. So after camp we wrote love letters for months, talked on the phone, sent gifts, wrote poems. It was pretty much the perfect, super romantic, high school relationship.

I went to visit her in snowy Minnesota over Valentines day. (Her parents were super cool to let me visit. I was a really nice guy. Our whole relationship was very PG). But it was pure, awesome, wonderful love...

... so I made this video of it.

And honestly, it's too personal to show here. Not cause it's some sleazy video, but because it's so sweet. I know it's silly, I've put up videos of me and my fabulously dorky friends from Jr. High, me with my perm, us trying to improv... but this is different somehow.

After many years of losing touch with Alex, going our separate ways and living our separate lives, I decided a week or two ago to see if she was alive, see if she was okay, and see how things have turned out for her all these years later. And after quite a bit of internet detective work I found her! (or at least her Facebook profile). I actually cheered when I did!

She is married, lives on the other side of the country, and seems to be doing well. As of now she hasn't responded to my Facebook message to her... and I didn't really expect her to. Sure, I was hoping to reconnect. Not to restart any love affair or anything. It's about knowing she's still Alex, only all grown up. To know she's happy and doing well.

Even if I don't hear from her, it's still great to know that she's still smiling. And it'll never tarnish any of the fabulous memories of her... some of which are in this video... which are only for me. Sorry faithful viewers (all 3 of you :).

The Matrix - CraigoClassic 16

So here's a story about some heroes who create a device to dismantle their molecules so they can be sent into the Matrix where they battle evil in their search for paradise. No BS: We came up with this story long before NEO existed, somewhere around 1992. So I think we deserve some credit as well as monetary reimbursment from Joel Silver and the Wachowski Brothers.

You will no doubt see the similarities: The action, the pacing, the fight scenes, the IDEA is ours. With my incredible hair, I am a dead ringer for Keanu. We have a snappy montage of building the device (aka: Neo learning Kung-Fu. Sure we took it from Army Of Darkness, but still...). You can "reprogram the chip" to change your life...(um hello!!!) It's pretty clear once you see it that someone saw our video and ripped it off (not pointing the finger at Mr. Wachoski-s, but still...)

Things we did better than the "remake" you might have seen in theaters: Amazing use of dissolves. Creative ways to make one "actor" appear as two "characters". (Mr. Smith eat your heart out). We have an NIN classic SIN shirt as a wardrobe, which is way more hip than Tinity's leather. We quote ALIENS, which is, well... not really relevant to the Matrix, but still. That is an NES Entertainment system that carries us to the great beyond, which if far more realistic than an array of computers jacked into our nervous systems. (Lame!).

So, for you purists out there, here's the REAL Matrix. And though it might not be quite as good as the OTHER Matrix... It is better than the two sequels.

PS: This also marks the end of the High School section of Craigoclassic. (Can I get a hallelluja!) Next stop: University of Iowa... with a quick pitstop in Minnesota.

Do as Robert does...

For those who don't know, we are planning on shooting "Straight On Till Morning" in two parts. Doing the intro and road trip section of the movie this fall, and doing the rest of it in the spring (at an awesome location we have access too).

So, I was thinking, maybe we're crazy to be shooting the movie in two pieces. Maybe we should just shoot the opening and hold off. Maybe it's nuts to try to do that...

... and then I was reading about Grindhouse (Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Terrantino's flick) and it said that In Planet terror and sin city, Robert planned both movies to be shot in two pieces. With a large break in production so he could edit the footage he had and plan out the next stage of the production!

Shit. If RR did it, then we are on the right track!

Trust the instincts.
Rock on
CraigO

1,000,000

So this morning I logged onto my youtube account... and saw 1,000,961.

wow.

To think that over ONE MILLION people have watched my short films. ONE MILLION!!!
That's more than twice the size of Des Moines, Iowa. Bigger than Austin, TX proper.
ONE MILLION!!!

I try to imagine that many folks over the last 3 years (and most of that in the last 1) tuning in to watch all the Trespassing On The Lot movies. The Schism 9/11 video. And even a few for The goofy ass junior high movies. It's pretty neat, to imagine people in places as far flung as Argentina, Russia, Bangaladesh, and even Saudi Arabia, people have tuned in to watch these little movies I made with friends here in LA. It's really cool.

I've had hundreds of comments over the last few years, ranging from praise and hopes to see more of "Family Ties" or "Lonely_Saturday_31", to the longest running debate about whether or not MAC's do get viruses. (It's a parody of a commercial guys. It's supposed to be funny, not a serious statement of the value of computers. :). To a very serious discussion about what 9/11 means to different people.

It's been fun, and enlightening. People have shared their videos with me, and I've seen some really creative stuff because of it.

And I've learned some things about online video I'd like to share for better or worse:

1. You can make short films that tell a story and people will find them and watch.
2. You don't have to have random babies falling, people getting kicked in the nuts, or two girls and a cup of... well, you know.
3. It doesn't hurt to have some sort of sex appeal. Looking at what key words people search for, I realize that the magic phrase of "woman tied up" is just the beginning. And I stumbled on that one by accident. I guess if it leads them to my movies I'm okay that they might have been looking for a different kind of video when they arrive here.
4. Given the comments on "Family Ties" about people thinking it's a real video about a guy who kidnaps his wife, I would say that a lot of people watching videos on youtube are drunk, high or confused. (Again, the fact they're watching is cool, in whatever state they might be in).
5. Make shit. It's best to make shit. Lots of shit. The more things you make, the more things people will see. For the most part I feel like the better films I've made tend to get the most views. There are some exceptions to that, "Deadline" for instance. But mostly it seems true... mostly.

1,000,000.

I'm proud of the number. I'd put the NIN song on here to pump up this entry, but it doesn't seem I can add music. It's a goal that I've watched go from something that was totally impossible, to something attainable, to something achieved. Not that the purpose of making the movies was to get to a million views. The purpose, for me, of making the movies was to make the movies. To have the experience. To be creative. To work with friends who are also creative. To tell stories. To live.

And we did that.
And thanks to people all around the world, and the power of the internet, we were able to share that with others.

It has begun...

So the pre-production continues (wow this is a lot of work! :), but we're finally FINALLY coming up to shooting. In fact, when I was in colorado a couple weeks ago I shot some travel footage. I'm so excited! It's really beautiful up there and I'm glad we're going to be shooting the road trip for real. Taking David and Kaitlin from LA to Chicago and back. So we can shoot them in the real locations and real places they're supposed to be. And to give Mother Nature a chance to give us some of the amazing beauty that only she can.

Here's the first "production still" shot on I70 in western Colorado.

Ahhh... the joys of pre-production!

My buddy (and fellow producer on "Straight On Till Morning") found this video and it pretty much sums up how things are going right now with SOTM.

And the site its on www.xtranormal.com is pretty awesome too. Enjoy!

The Battle Of Hastings, 1066 - CraigoClassic 15

Wow, I sure am keeping up with this. And to think we're actually not even half way through the videos. If I do it at this rate we'll be posting these things until I'm retired! (Or we will have at least shot "Straight On Till Morning", which is cruising along in pre-production. whew, how things have changed. :)

Well this little Gem is a project for history class. It wasn't even my history class, it was Steve and Jim's history class. But I was the video guy and had access to the equipment so I helped out and it was fun... even if the final result isn't quite as awesome as the great battle might have been.

We mixed footage of this bad ass board game, BATTLE MASTERS, with "live" footage of us playing with the High Fantasy Society. A group of fun folks who would get together and beat the shit out of each other with foam swords and shields. Was a good time and something we did every once in a while. It wasn't about costumes or historic recreations, just action and fun. Like D&D but REAL!!!!

We also feature the tunes of MANOWAR! Which we would have used throughout to make it a bit more exciting, but because of the limited editing time on the old reel to reel vhs editing we weren't able to get things together enough to make that happen. Songs are from the "Triumph Of Steel" tape that has a 29 minute long song about Achillis...pretty awesome.

And then there is the special guest appearance by someone from another planet. If you can tell me what movie that's from I'll give you a high 5!

PS: You might have wondered what happened to Craigoclassic 14...well, if you can believe this, it might just be toooo embarrassing to put up. Really to a friend who's in it, so I'm going to not post it for him. I guess I could use a pseudonym for him...hmmm... I'll think about that.

Casting, Crewing and Locations pt. 1

Hey Team,

So we're in the thick of it. So much to do and it's lot of fun (mostly).
We've had more auditions, this time for Virgil. Talk about brave actors to come in there and do improvs for us with no lines. To create characters based on the couple paragraphs we gave them (and the script if they were able to read it). It's been exciting and I have lots of respect for them. Being an actor is tough and to be in that room and see all the people that walk in that door to a room full of (most likely) strangers, and put yourself out there is a challenge. The ones who make a choice and commit to it fully, and connect with the "reader" in the room are the ones who make the strongest impressions, but even the ones who don't go all the way I have to give props to for going into that situation.

On top of that I'm starting to interview Director's Of Photography. On past projects I've always been my own DP, which is something I really enjoy doing, but for this one I know it'll look better and be better if I let someone else unleash their skills in that department. So of the 13 people I've contacted hopefully one of them will be a perfect match for personality, creativity, style and skill.

And we're looking for locations... so if you know of any 3 story (or 2 story with peaked ceiling attic) houses in the desert somewhere around LA (or anywhere really) that we could use, please shoot me an email and let me know.

Thanks!
Craig O

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Thank you EVERYONE who pledged to support "Straight On Till Morning". The outpouring of support and excitement has been amazing. 80 backers. $22,206. Success. Amazing.

All of you deserve a great big hug from me and the rest of the SOTM team. We're so thankful to all of you. This campaign was a very important part of the overall budget for the film, and with this and what we had before we are now able to set a start date to begin shooting. The thank you you will receive in the credits of the film is heartfelt and well deserved. Everyone who pledged will get in the credits.

Stay tuned here as we post updates on the project. Casting, locations, plans etc. We'll post things here as well as at the official blog.

Either way, "Straight On Till Morning" will exist in better form because of all of you.
From the bottom of our hearts, Thank you.

Craig O, Laurel, Brian, Neal, Laura, Greg, Tom, Kimo, Liz and more to come

Our Sincerest Thank You

Thank you,

Thank you so much for the amazing, fantastic, awesome, humbling pledges that have led to the "Straight On Till Morning" kickstarter campaign being successful!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to EVERYONE who's pledged we reached our goal! Yahoo!!!!!!!! It really has been amazing to see all this support for our little horror movie. It's going to be an exciting journey, and I hope we can make it live up to everyone's expectations.

In addition to our sincerest thanks, a number of you had mentioned in email or in person your desire to still pledge the project, so I wanted to let you know you only have until THIS FRIDAY, June 18, at 11:55pm PST to do so. The link is below, and it's super fast and easy to do. Though we've reached the goal set at Kickstarter this is not our entire production budget. So every penny pledged, even now, will be used on the film for all sorts of purposes: to increase the quality of the makeup f/x, to pay for food (I love food! :), lodging or sets, costumes or props, stunts and more.

KICKSTARTER LINK: http://kck.st/cZnK3u

Again: THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for your kind support.

Sincerely
Craig O and the SOTM team

PS: There are still investor opportunities available if you'd like to be involved in the movie to an even larger capacity. Just email me and we can discuss the options.