I was hoping it would be bigger, but hey, I could only afford so much foil. But I WILL continue to add to it. Eventually I'd like to have a Foil Ball big enough to reenact the boulder scene from Raiders Of The Lost Ark.
Again, special thanks to Molly Bendall (mo11ymonkey) for retweeting it to PeeWee Herman (peeweeherman) who then retweeted it and posted it on Facebook. It was kind of neat that happened. Ah the power of the interwebs.
just got re-tweeted by Pee Wee Herman. Special thanks to mo11ymonkey for re-tweeting me first.
All because I stated I was going to make a huge ball of foil. Which I actually am. It's for an ad. Which I hope goes over well, but hey, it's kinda all I got right now. So again, do what you can.
Alright, continuing the list, house cleaning, editing, re-writes, running errands, and the such.
I am going to bed now. And when I wake up, I will finish the rest of my to do list from today. Also, I will figure out where this $100 will come from. What $100 you ask? Why the $100 dollars I didn't realize that I needed before next wed in order to get all the materials and pay the fees I need to pay to get Monster Cops to the New York TV Fest. The fee is $50. Which I have part of, but as I need to make 5 DVD copies and a couple of data discs with some press materials, I realize I don't have enough disks. So I need to scrounge up the money to get said disks. And lets not even talk about packaging and shipping. I swear these things add up. The money I am getting will not be coming til well after I need to send this stuff off. So the curse of the NYTVF may strike again. Seems like every year it's something. Like fate will not allow me to submit and or screen there.
Hmm. I will figure something out. Hopefully we can get more pledges in and I can cover these costs. Thank you to those backers who have pledged so far. It has been a huge help. I was able to get monstercops.com transferred and paid for, and hopefully soon this means we can move to a better (or at least temporary) server, with way less problems.
My iTunes just started playing Skunk Anansie "Selling Jesus." It's a song off the soundtrack for the movie Strange Days. I played that soundtrack to death back in the mid nineties. Strange Days was a movie not everyone liked, but totally knocked me out. I loved it. It became a prime example of the kind of movie I was trying to model after. It's a movie you can't really put your finger on. Is it SciFi, is it Action, is it a Thriller, is it a social commentary on race as well as technology? It's a movie that qualifies for all of the above. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow from a story by James Cameron and a script by James Cameron and Jay Cocks. It obviously has that Cameron complexity that I love so much. It's never just one thing with him. It's gotta have equal parts thrills, technology, and romance, all wrapped up in an action plot. And with Kathryn Bigelow at the helm, it was bound to be an amazing ride.
A great cast with some great performances. Ralph Fiennes does well as our hero, and Angela Basset is just a total bad ass in this movie. I will say that if you're not in the right mind set, you may not like it. It does have something to say about race and social problems in general, but for me it really adds to the tension of the movie. It gives you the extra layer of depth, and enhances the big finish. The tension totally put me on edge, as I wasn't sure how this movie was going to have a happy ending.
This movie blew me away. It made me excited to write, because this movie was an example of something a little bit different at the time but still had a bit of that detective noir mixed in with a not so futuristic setting. Like Blade Runner on speed mixed with a little crystal meth. This movie comes to mind because of recent scripts of mine I keep coming back to. Right now I'm juggling so much and I needed to think of something to shock me back into the right frame of mind. It's been a heck of a week.
The first time I saw this trailer it blew me out of the water. I distinctly remember watching this for the first time in the theater and just being in awe. It really made me want to just fuckin jump out of my seat and go make a goddamn movie! As a matter of fact I did. It was called Vampire Killer, but that's another story.
Goddamn this trailer blows my mind. I watched it every chance I got back then on VHS tapes, and I do so now, thanks to YouTube.
Aside from a few side adventures today (Being sidetracked by a power outtage, and later the ongoing coverage from E3, some exciting stuff) I tread forward. With what must be done.
I've been assured by our make up artist that the supplies for the fx work for the big baddy in our next Monster Cops episode has been secured. I also am putting some production in motion with a second unit to get some B-Roll shots. And I'm laying down the layers for the new episode in the editing timeline in Vegas. The big plan, even without the major money, is to get the next 2 episodes done and possibly 3 so we have at least 4 to 5 episodes on this DVD we will put out in the fall.
I've also been in contact with a few theaters to hold some local (all over the triad, NC) screenings, still waiting on info from one more theater. We'll have AT LEAST one local screening near Winston Salem, NC.
Already got one backer in for IndieGoGo. If we can get a few more in then I won't really have to worry about the domain name disappearing in the next few weeks, and I can cover the cost to submit to the New York TV Fest. I would love to finally screen a Monster Cops episode there. Especially Monsters Vs. Cops, I think it would go over well with a big TV going crowd.
My main concern right now, other than money, is producing something a little more accessible with Monster Cops. Meaning, I know that if you see a video is around 20 minutes on the internet, you're bound to pass it up. If you really do want to watch this video, you have to make time for it, and you run the risk of forgetting.
Monsters Vs. Cops is 21 minutes long. Either you already like Monster Cops, or you're already looking for something long form to watch. If not, we lose you. Because with all the crap out there, 21 minutes is alot to ask of your normal internet goer. It's the reason I decided to do Minisodes, but the Minisodes are "cute" and are not a true representation of what Monster Cops is.
The key here is to, of course, create something that is so entertaining and epic that people will want to watch it. But at the same time, make it convenient for people to watch time wise. Yes, I'm talking about the very essence of the "Viral Video." We have yet to create any such videos and I feel Monster Cops lends itself to that very essence, or at the very least, has that potential, if we hit it right. I actually tested this theory with this upload.
I cheated a bit with that video. I placed the words "REAL" next to "WEREWOLF" just to see if it would at least get people to watch the whole clip. Which it did. 1 year later 112,000 views. This picked up in the last year since the topic of Werewolves had increased in popularity. Seems to have picked up quite a bit just in the last few months as well. And please see the comments on that upload. Very entertaining stuff.
The point is, I know there are alot of people who know and like Monster Cops, but I'm also aware that many of those people haven't taken the time to watch our episodes, mainly because they're just too damned long. So we have to make better quality Minisodes at less than 5 minutes, and make them true to the essence of Monster Cops. Comedy of course, but more Horror, more Monsters, more outrageousness. This will hopefully lead them to want to watch our other content.
So that's sort of the plan for Dead By Dawn. The episode itself is 17 minutes. But we'll do a 4 minute version to circulate. As I said at the top, I'm already moving on that. I'm also looking at 3 plots that would make better Minisodes. Alot of work to do, and I only hope we can get more pledges in. The more money, of course, the better chance we have of completing all this during the summer.
Working on that Teddy Bear ad was a tease. I know what I saw in my head, and I like what I had created, but in the end it still is just a "cute" little commercial. I think it's very much a case of "what I see in my head is bigger than the tools I have", but this is no one elses problem but mine. There is a part of me, that knows I can create some really great stuff with what I have. I know, I know, I've heard it before "But Patrick you've already created some great stuff with what you have." Yes, I know, but when I say GREAT, it's not anything I can really explain to you. The GREAT in my head is bigger than anything I've made or could ever convey with words. I have to show it to you.
I'm just looking forward to really showing you these stories. My body can barely catch up with my brain sometimes. Somehow, I'll find a way to get there. Right now I can only do what I've always done, do the best with what I've got.
Back to editing. I've got some possible ad assignments to consider. And I've got Vlogs to shoot.
A lot of life is dealing with your curse, dealing with the cards you were given that aren't so nice. Does it make you into a monster, or can you temper it in some way, or accept it and go in some other direction? --Wes Craven
Plog: power outtage, bacon, lists, and a time for contemplation.
To be introverted or not to be introverted. That is the question. I mean, we all are naturally, but I feel maybe I've not been taking enough responsibility in my own actions. Maybe that's why funding is failing. Maybe it's supposed to.
Don't mind me, I'm just being an Emo Moviemaker. A little down about fundraising, sure, but more down about not being able to create, well, ya know MOVIES! Something cinematic. Something really great.
I'll keep trying. The best way I can. And that's all you can do.
"Do or do not, there is no try."
Yes Master Yoda, but sometimes, trying is all you can do.
I hate this. I don't like that feeling of coulda, shoulda, woulda. It happens when you're trying to make something out of nothing. You look back on things and wonder what else you could be doing. What else you could have done or would have done.
It's time to look long and hard at the possiblity that no one is going to give you money. But we try anyhow. And you keep trying. And while you're trying to do that, you try to do everything else as well.
For example, my latest ad for Poptent. A commercial for the Nokia Nuron.
I went down the normal laundry list of ideas. Comical, cute, irreverent, or perhaps straightforward and general. All while trying to convey the information the brand wants to broadcast about their project.
Doing many skits, and viral vids, I had immediately come up with several ideas, some of them doable, some of them good, but none of them that click. And when I say click, I mean that click you here when art connects with storytelling, and when the visceral connects with intellectual to create something truly tangible (am I being too cerebral?).
In other words I wanted something that gave me an AHA moment. And I had come up with something that was almost there. But I was holding back. Mainly because in my mind I was separating my ad work from my true creations. It's like there are unseen lines categorizing what I make. The ads are what I make for other people, everything else is geared toward me true goal, to make something truly cinematic, something with gravitas and depth.
And then it finally dawned on me. I was being STUPID. Why am I categorizing? Why have I unconsciously drawn these lines to box in what I was trying to do? There is no difference between my stuff and their stuff. Instead of whining about how I wish I could make something cinematic, why don I just do it. Who cares if it's for another company.
I know it should have been obvious. But sometimes you get wound up in things, I had alot to juggle, and I started organizing my brain, when it didn't need organization. So instead of just making an "AD" let me try to tell a story, and attempt to do it in a cinematic fashion.
Below is the ad I came up with. Went through a couple of versions, but this is the one I'm satisfied with the most.
Maybe when you watch it you only see a cute video using a couple of stuffed animals. But I'm very proud of it. It was an honest attempt to convey a plot cinematically. Which is to say create a story with images and sound. Not just some simple set up a camera and shoot something funny, but a genuine mini-movie about one character looking for something and finding it.
I took great pains to achieve it. I wanted to convey a somewhat Sci-Fi tone, especially with the lighting. Very much in the vein of Amazing Stories or Close Encounters. And then go into that playful child like feel and end on a fairy tale happy ending.
The bears were old props I've had for 10 years. Used for another project, I dug em out of the old prop box. It all seemed to click. Especially with the music. I used an old track I wrote years ago for another project called "Halloweenland". That score I was very proud of when I had created it, and it matched this concept perfectly.
Doing this ad made me excited to do my feature Bobby's Closet. My little sci-fi adventure monster movie that's very much a nod to the 80's adventure flicks. That's going to require a much bigger budget, around $80,000 at the least. Hopefully when I get to it, I'll be able to have a higher budget and really take off with it.
Until then, I'll create my little cinematic moments in everything I do and whenever I can. Perhaps it'll eventually get me the funding I need.
Speaking of funding. Our time at Kickstarter has ended. We did not reach our target goal, which means we did not getting our funding, but it was fun, and we did get the word out to a few more people about Monster Cops. No regrets there. But as I said before, we have to keep trying.
So please take a look at our IndieGoGo page. It's just like Kickstarter but we actually get to keep the pledges even if we don't reach our goal. So this is me officially saying we're putting out a DVD this Fall. Click the widget below, make a pledge and you will get a reward for it whether it be producer credits, t-shirts, or a DVD.
Thank you so much to those that did back us on Kickstarter. It means alot to know we have your support. THANK YOU.
Off I go to make something cinematical. And no excuses, no time for being down anymore, you want to make something really great, with depth, with true AHA moments? Then just go and do it. Then show it to people. Show it to everyone. And yes the coulda, shoulda, woulda, moments will come and go, but the best remedy for that is DO something, and when you can't do something, you can at least TRY. Cuz if you don't try, then you'll end up with a whole lotta nothing.
If you want to make movies, then make movies. If you are a moviemaker then remember, don't just make movies, make movies everywhere and every chance you get. I don't care if you're just cutting together a car commercial or shooting your cousin's Bar Mitzvah, make it a movie.
Betsy? It's now or never. We are gonna make a movie.
- Bowfinger
Above is probably the last Vlog I'll be able to do before time runs out on Kickstarter. Right now I'm trying to get this commercial finished that's due Monday.
I would love to go into detail about what I've been through these last few days. But I am entirely too tired. Just know that it's been an adventure, and now I continue on that adventure as I try to get this project finished before Monday.
Depending on what happens with Kickstarter, I'll probably be starting up IndieGoGo next week, as well as really pushing some of our options for funding. I need to know where I stand so I can figure out which direction to take with Monster Cops and what major projects I'll be working on in general.
Focusing.
It's times like these I need to really appreciate what I've got. It's been a rough ride this week, and I am so very thankful for many, many things. I am very thankful for the support that I have, for friends I can count on, as well as for car air conditioning, bread, housing, electricity, showers, computers, hard drives especially 1TB hard drives, Poptent, screen doors, band aids, salad, Lincoln Navigators, teddy bears, crappy tripods, demos, Dai Green, 3 Chip Cameras, 12mbp Cameras, Basketball, Celtics!!!!, Sly, Emails, Cell phones (even when they suck), Kickstarter (even if we don't make our goal), the US Military and those serving our country, COPS (both the show and actual Officers), thumbs (cuz they come in handy), brussel sprouts, Jena Haze, self checkout lines, Sara Bareilles, hearts of romaine, Reggie Watts, sandwiches, laptops, razors, my health, my wife, my life.
There's alot more, but this is basically me vomitting words onto a blog to somewhat describe this week as I am too damn tired to actually blog about it. I call it Puke Blogging or Plogging.
Ew. That sounds kinda gross. Like something you do to a toilet.
If you were looking for PATRICKPREJUSA.COM and you ended up here, congratulations, you are now at PATRICKPREJUSA.COM. I had my personal site over at devhub.com. But their servers kept going down, there were entirely too many issues, and since I learned you could add pages to blogger, and I really just wanted a place where I could blog AND show people my videos, then I didn't really need devhub anymore. So here we are.
Currently Monstercops.com is built over on devhub, but eventually I'll move it off there and on to a better server. Also I'm hoping we'll have enough money by the fall that I can get a fully professional site up and running. Something I won't have to babysit so much, and that'll have better more accessible video options.
We are only about 4 days going into 3 days left for our Kickstarter. We are now at $645 our of $4000. As you may know, if we don't reach $4000, it all goes away, and I must head back to my seasonal job as an ice road trucker, not really.
If we don't make it, then there is a plan B. This plan B is called INDIEGOGO. It's yet another crowdfunding site much like Kickstarter, except there you keep all the pledges regardless of reaching your goal. I've been testing it out for a year now, and I've finally set a deadline for funding on it. But more on that after the Kickstarter date runs out.
I'm also hoping some of our other plans for funding workout. A few possible investors maybe, and then of course sponsors that we can help advertise for. But as I said before, if none of it pans out, we'll be producing the next episode anyhow, it'll be just like normal, a pain in the ass that'll take about 8 months to do. Meaning you won't see a new episode til next year. Hey that's reality, we don't always get to do our dreams when we want to do them.
Working on a few ads for Poptent, that may or may not help out. Created two ads for the Moe's Queso assignment, both are listed on the ADS PAGE. Made a La Quinta Inn Ad as well, that one will be listed momentarily. What I love about Poptent is the videos you make aren't chosen by votes or popularity. The companies and brands that requested them pick what they want. Also Poptent is just filled with great creators, and I'm proud to be a part of that community. Also, they have made me money in the past, so I may be a bit biased. If you have any creativity at all and some skill with video creation, then you're bound to make money on Poptent.
I feel the same about fundraising for indie movies in general. If you have some kind of talent, the drive, skill, and a bit of smarts, then you're bound to get the money you need. I'm hoping that's true for me. And fast too, because we're missing out on some major fests for Monsters Vs. Cops, and I'm sure that's one of the things that will help really get Monster Cops noticed. Definitely need at least $400 before July. So fingers crossed. Really need to make it to the NYTV Fest, Vimeo Awards, Rock And Shock, and NYC Horror Fest. This thing needs to get out in front of audiences, now.
Going to work on another Vlog today, updating and trying to entice people to pledge. But mainly I need to finish this commercial for Nokia's new phone. The deadline for that one ends the same time as Kickstarter, so alot to do this week. The ad for that one I'm really aiming for a cinematic look. Don't know if I can reach exactly what I see in my head, but I'm going to try. If you've been watching my tweets then you have a clue that it does involve Teddy Bears.
And I'd like to say again, THANK YOU to Night Of The Living Podcast for helping us get the word out about Monster Cops. Please check them out NIGHT OF THE LIVING PODCAST. Also look them up on iTunes, subscribe, and give them a high rating. Great podcast.
“The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or in defeat. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment..”
A few days ago, HorrorHound Magazine editor-in-chief Nathan Hanneman lost his 34 year old sister Angela to cancer. I know most of you probably didn't know Angela and you probably don't know Nathan either, but that's neither here nor there. The horror community is truly one big family and Nathan and his family could use our help to pay for his sister's funeral expenses - obviously, her being so young, no money was set aside for such a horrible thing. If you would like to help one of our own in the horror family, there's a few ways you can go about it.
- Donate via Paypal to Nathan@Horrorhound.com
- Call/E-mail the John H. Evans Funeral Home directly to make payment: (513) 831-3172 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (513) 831-3172end_of_the_skype_highlighting or info@evansfuneralhome.com
- If you'd like to send a card or a check, drop me an e-mail at mortis45@aol.com and i'll shoot you over Nate's address
If you're a bit low on cash, nobody's gonna fault you. You can still help out by spreading the word on this and by reposting this information on your own blog or website, if you have one.
Like most of my blog posts, this is an affirmation. A reminder.
This situation, like most situations in my life, is indeed in my own hands.
I'm not sure if we're going to reach our target goal on Kickstarter. It's about 13 days left, and we're only up to $575. Am I angry? Nope. Am I worried? A little. But I know it'll be ok. Maybe we won't be able to make as many episodes as I was hoping, but I'm going to put out a DVD this fall for Monster Cops and I'll probably do it the way I've always done it. On my own, with no money, and plenty of creativity and drive.
I'll figure out a way to make it happen. Maybe it won't happen the way I was hoping, but I'll make something happen. I'm encouraged by the support I've been getting. The messages, the emails, the good reviews. Thank you all so much for that. And thank you to all of our pledgers so far.
I know the days aren't up yet, but I need to make plans just in case it all falls through. Even if Kickstarter fails, we still have other options that we are pursuing, but even if all those become exhausted, I'll figure out a way to get the money.
And again, even if I don't, I'll figure it out. It is, after all, in my own hands.
No fate but what we make right?
Oh, Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, million years of mountain building there. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes really, pressure, and time. That, and a big goddamn poster.
In Voluptas Mors (1951). A portrait by Salvador Dali and photographed by Phillipe Halsman. A tableau vivant (living portrait) of Dali sitting next to a skull made of seven nude women.
This would later be used in the famous poster for Silence Of The Lambs (1991). Where the pattern for the Death's Head Moth, would be replaced by a recreation of the skull from Dali's famous portrait.
It does seem quite fitting for the movie. The killer (Buffalo Bill) saw the Moth as a symbol of transformation that paralleled his own transition from gender to gender, and his deadly and sadistic approach to make such a change.
The Descent (2005), would recreate the skull for the film's poster.
I'm quite fond of this poster. Not only a creative idea, but very fitting symbolism for what the women in the movie go through. It's great to see such creativity in marketing for a movie, but I appreciate it even more when it's applied to a really good movie like The Descent.
To me it makes the movie a little bigger, and in a way helps tell the story of the movie. Which is what great marketing should be. Not just a way to tell people about the product, but to contribute to the overall story and feel of the story, making it bigger than a movie. Giving it what we all sort of look for in art and creativity. A little depth.
UPDATE:
Check out our latest short/trailer. RED RIDING HOOD is a bad ass (REDD)
If ever I had to list my top 10 moviemaking influences. William Castle would be on this list.
Since I learned about him when I was in junior high, I've been obsessed with his showmanship for the cinema. Sure his movies may borderline the cheesy, but it was his flair for the theatrical and his passion for engaging the audience that was so amazing to me. Between him and Hitchcock, I would not only become obsessed with moviemaking, but movie promoting and marketing as well.
I just recently found out there was a documentary about him that's been out for a few years now. Can't believe I haven't seen it yet. Here's the trailer.
His approach to marketing and showmanship was always one I was inspired by. And it's something many movie makers will probably need to return to. Get back to a level where you engage the audience directly. He and Hitchcock stuck to the rule I've been talking about for a while now.
Great night with the wife. We drank our Dharma Initiative Wine, ate great food, laughed, cried, and said goodbye to a show that was one of the best rides of our lives. It was truly a fun and enlightening experience, and definitely one that will help shape me as a storyteller.
Now I'm excited to move on to my own series, Monster Cops, and work to bring you my own thrills, action, laughs, and enlightenment.
I'm sad to see a show end, and happy to get back to work on a new one.
This show has been a huge influence on me. It's been intriguing, and puzzling, and a heck of a ride. And I'll miss it. But as it ends, I look toward my own series creation, and I can only hope that what I make can reach people the same way this series has.
It's been a hard day. I haven't felt very well. I'm not sick. But I am upset.
Don't really want to elaborate, but much of it has to do with ignorance and racism, and possibly on a deeper level, I feel a little on the outside right now.
There was one time, when I was in Russia. I had left the hotel and gone for a walk. I got a little lost. Then I found myself completely overwhelmed. I didn't know where I was, nothing was familiar. The signs were in Russian, the people, the language on the streets, the cars, everything was completely different from what I was familiar. When you travel overseas you realize that you are visiting a foreign country, but when you're lost on the streets in a foreign country, you suddenly truly realize just what that means. You're not in a foreign country. You are the foreigner, and you truly begin to understand what it means to be a stranger in a strange land.
Eventually I found my way back to the Hotel. But I remember vividly that feeling of being completely surrounded by everything that is completely unfamiliar. I started to feel that way today. Mainly because of certain events, certain perspectives, and people not fully understanding that: 1) I'm not white, and 2) Not everyone shares the same opinion and or point of view.
I don't talk to anyone about religion or politics or anything controversial, and I'm ok with whatever POV you want to express. Everyone has their own and they are entitled to it. But if it is hateful, if it demeans me, and attacks me, then it's not something that I will tolerate. I don't care how casual you talk to me. Do you really think I'm going to just stand there and be ok with what you are saying?
