Category Archives: producing

LIVE Discussions & Patreon – We’re doing things!

We have been hard at work on all of our new stuff and while we’re are still working on things like sketches:

And things like Rene’s music parodies:

The thing that seems to be taking off is our series of LIVE Discussions. These are weekly (Sundays at 11am Pacific Time) and recorded live on our YouTube Channel. We have a topic of discussion (usually arts or creativity related) and I assemble a panel of friends, co-workers, and contemporaries to talk about it for at least 20 mins (although lately we’ve been going longer). Once a month we do a Feature Discussion with a bigger panel. Feature Discussions last for at least an hour and I do a follow-up video of just the highlights after the fact. Below is a playlist of all the discussions so far:

Please check these out, feel free to click on any of the advertising (wink).

Rene and I have some big plans for the future, especially as we continue building our own content. We can do a lot on our own, but we could use some additional financial support to help raise the bar on our activities. Everything we’ve done thus far has been done on a shoestring where we beg, borrow and steal what we need to get a project done. This has worked pretty well, like with The Chili and Bloody Mary:

But with a little bit more money we can do a lot more!

Please consider joining our Patreon page. We’ve set-up some good starter rewards and I’m very pleased to announce that I got some of our art proofs back this morning for the merch that we will be releasing (actual release date TBD, but it’s coming!!!).

If Patreon isn’t an option, please don’t be afraid to click on the advertising links you see here and on the channel. I try to make sure that all of the ads presented are appropriate for the page and they should be set-up so that the items shown are things you, as the reader/watcher, would be interested in.

Thank you all for your support! We have seen the page jump in activity since we started – and we’re doing very well for only being about 4 weeks into this new effort! We’re really looking forward to what’s next!

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The Business: Adi Shankar Breaks Down Indie Film Finance

The Business Logo

I talk a lot about the changing entertainment industry in this blog, mostly from the perspective of an actor, but the business of movie making itself is in constant flux. I rarely talk about the projects that we are working on until they feel like they are in a position where they look like they are definitely going to happen.

“But Curtis, ” I hear you saying, “you’ve talked about things that have totally gone belly up before. What about those?”

Well, dear readers, those projects that I’ve talked about that ended up not working were all victims of a dangerous calculus known as Independent Film Finance. Getting a film made is a metaphorical tightrope walk over a mile deep chasm filled with razor blades and sulphuric acid. At any moment a stiff breeze could come by and destroy you and everything you’ve worked on – but the promise of a completed project is enough to make you try and if you get to the other side…? Oh there is no sweeter feeling of satisfaction!

However the realities of film finance are not well known among the audience. If you knew what filmmakers know you’d be amazed that any movie ever got made ever and how terrible movies are getting made at all. In the interest of education I’d like to share with you a video made by indie filmmaker Adi Shankar, he’s the guy responsible for the gritty Power Rangers remake that hit all the blogs in late February/early March. He is also the guy behind DREDD which was a great adaptation of the popular comic hero judge Dredd. He breaks down, in a wonderfully efficient way, how independent films get made currently. It is beautifully succinct. Oh, and there’s adult language so be aware.

How do you feel about all this? What movies would you like to see happen? What movie would you erase from existence if you could?

See you next time!

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March 9, 2015 · 8:00 am

Op Ed: The Future of Entertainment

Image from MediaBistro.com

Image from MediaBistro.com

The entertainment industry is changing faster now than it ever has before. The last decade has seen an exponential change in how audiences consume content, where content is created, how content can be monetized, and what that means for the people who create all of this content. I see this from the perspective of the “working class” trenches: no development fund, need to maintain employment, still keeping up a hustle. For people like me (and there are a LOT of us) we have seen this change in a very real way for a long time and, as much as I hate to admit it, haven’t been as proactive as we probably should have been to be on the front of that wave.

Instead the younger set, those without the idea of “this is how things work” found their place. YouTubers are doing very well for themselves and Hollywood is taking notice, ready to monetize on their popularity. Fan films get national attention and have their own festival circuit. The biggest name in horror for the last seven years has been Paranormal Activity – a series that started with a movie made for about $11,000 in a dude’s house with After Effects.

For those with vision and a camera the future is open and ready…

…that being said, the old model is far from dead.

A lot of talk happened the Monday after the Golden Globes when Netflix and Amazon both walked away with coveted trophies about how the nature of television is changing and that the very business is already inexorably changed. And it is, but not completely. Not yet.

Here are two articles that, for me, were kind of the yin and yang of the future of the business, at least for the next few years especially in the context of wide public distribution, like television.

A Few Caveats About The New World Of Television from Monkey See from NPR

The Golden Globes Tell Us Everything About the Entertainment Industry in 2015 from IndieWire

I’m a “new model” guy who’s ready for the wild west, but it’s hard to pass up the money that can come with “old model” companies.

What do you think? Comment below.

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Filed under actor stuff, Andelon, business, career, commentary, filmmaking, independent film, insight, internet, making movies, money, news, NPR, pop culture, producing, technology, television, the future, TV, working for a living, YouTube

Bloody Mary – Fun Size Horror Revisited

IMG_4251

They are finally able to be released publicly! The shorts we made for Fun Size Horror are now available for public view.

“Bloody Mary” was a fun bit of filmmaking made under surprise conditions. Originally we had a different crew, location and equipment – but then there was some bad luck behind the scenes. Thanks to some help from Fun Size founder Zeke Pinheiro we were able to shoot and get this in on time.

Give it a look and then watch it a bunch more and tell a friend. More next week!

See you next time!

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January 7, 2015 · 9:00 am

Due to schedule conflicts, please see this link…

I am in pre-production on a job that had a sudden and drastic deadline change so the blogs I had intended to write this week may be a bit delayed. However, there is still new content of mine on the internet!

My monthly article on Create with Jenna went up today and you can see it by going to any of the links that I have put in this sentence…

…or THIS ONE.

It’s about career management during slow times of the year – like the holidays!

Enjoy!

See you next time.

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Filed under actor stuff, career, Create with Jenna, holidays, Hollywood, producing, productivity, projects

Projects: Eternal

As I’m sure you can tell from the lack of posting on any social network and here on the blog, we have been really busy. The nice thing we’ve been really busy doing some pretty cool things!

Production has been ramping up and the summer is, literally, chock full – but we actually have something completed and up right now! We got hired out to help create a book trailer for the new young adult novel series “Eternal” by H.G. Nadel (go “Like” the Facebook page). I’ll post more details at the Wiggy Site in the Hired Gun section, but since you’re here why not enjoy the trailer?

See you tomorrow!

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Filed under producing, projects, Wiggy VonSchtick

Where have we been?!!?!? What have we been doing?!?!?!?

To say that I have been a poor blogger of late would be an understatement and more than deserved.

Excuses aside, here are some of the things that have been taking up my time:

  • The new Wiggy VonSchtick website
  • My Entertainment 101 class – more on that later…
  • Producing a sizzle reel for a new young adult book series.
  • The Embedded Project.
  • The Cheerleader Project.
  • A new TV pilot called “AcceptSHUNS.”
  • Oh, and some acting stuff too.
So, what’s this all mean?
First off go check out the new Wiggy Web Site! We have a whole new interface and, even though there are still some features and pages being built, this is our new home and the interactive functionality is very exciting! The Wiggy Twitter Feed will be announce new updates and features.
For those of you new to the entertainment business, especially parents of child actors out there, I am doing a seminar aimed right at you! The Entertainment 101 class covers all the material you need to know to help navigate the business of show. We cover vocabulary, what to expect from auditions, how auditions work and how to get both auditions and agents! It’s held the last Sunday of every month and our next class is going to be Sunday February 26th at 6pm being held at the IC Academy building in Lake Forest. The 2 hour class costs $100.00 and you can reserve your spot here: 949-273-8800. Also YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A PARENT OF AN IC STUDENT TO ATTEND! This class is open to everyone! Here’s a video that explains a little bit more:
On the producing front we’ve been REALLY busy! We’ve been making all the stuff listed up top, and I’ll have links to all of it in later blogs.
Also, my Diet Mt. Dew commercial comes out at the end of the month. Probably next week! When I have a link I’ll pass it on.
Now I need to go scan some more documents and mail some other documents.
See you tomorrow!

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Filed under acting, cheerleaders must die, new projects, producing, projects, Wiggy VonSchtick