Soft Launch

I've started up a Kickstarter for REDD. I've launched it, but I have yet to really push the marketing for it. I wanted to get the ball rolling and have it out there before I was fully ready. But the next step is to put together a good pitch video for Kickstarter. A video that fully explains the movie, how it's going to be made, where it's going to go, and most importantly why it's important to give the project money.

Even though I'm setting donations as low as $1, you still need to convince people, get them excited. I don't want just their donations, I want their support. I want this movie to have fans. It's part of the reason I produced the first 4 minutes and the teaser. To give people a taste. Now it's time to really show people the movie, before I can even make the movie.

Hopefully I can get to that video tomorrow. I also hope to shoot a video blog and say hello to all the Facebook fans. We've gained a few in the past week, and it's a good idea to say hello, and really keep the freshness of the page up with new content.

Oooh, hold on, lemme check YouTube real quick.

Yup, we're at about 24,898 views. Not too bad for 3 weeks. And I've gotten alot of positive messages and feedback. So a good start, I think.

So here's a list of what I need to get done.

1) Make Kickstarter Pitch Video.
2) Make Video Blog for Redd.
3) Make a Video Blog for Monster Cops about Redd.
4) Personally message all my closest supporters about Kickstarter and hope to God they can donate at least $1.
5) Send out emails and press releases about Kickstarter.
6) Post on Facebook and Twitter.
7) Finish Concept Trailer and post it everywhere, especially on Blogger, Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.
8) Push Kickstarter while at the sametime pursue offline funding. Dayjob, begging on the street, pawning everything, local sponsors, etc.
9) Complete Full Package. This means finish re-writes, get cast and crew, locations in place. Make sure everything is ready to go.

I wanna thank the fine folks over at Night Of The Living Podcast. They've been nice enough to talk about REDD and help get some buzz going. Check them out here:
http://www.notlp.com/
They're a Horror Podcast and they are quite funny.

I posted the DIY Werewolf FX Tutorial at Instructables, in an attempt to get more attention to our YouTube vids for REDD.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Werewolf-Costume-A-Werewolf-Army-for-47/

Ok, I've got to sleep. Get up, run errands, work on a client's project, work on another project, then hopefully get to something on that list above.

A Nice Pace

Monday I posted about 800 views on YouTube for our Red Riding Hood Action Horror Short.

As I've just checked it, it is now at 9,572 views.

Not bad. And we seem to be gaining views at a nice pace.

And what's great is I'm actually applying alot of what I've learned about Viral Marketing to get more views, and each time I do, I can actually see those views come in.  But to reach 9,572 views since Tuesday, that's a pace I just wasn't expecting. The video has been up for 2 weeks, and we're close to 10,000 views.  I've never had a video reach 10,000 views that fast.  So let's hope the viewers keep coming in, and not only that, but they remember what they see, this will all help with the overall marketing of the movie.

Seems to be helping already. The REDD Facebook Page had only 80 likes just a few weeks ago. Now we're at 135 likes.  Again, not bad.

I'm really beginning to see the potential here, and how it all works together into actually making and marketing the full feature film.  I'm excited to go further with this.  Thankfully I'm feeling better. I was sick, then got better, then relapsed, and now I'm slowly getting better again.

Been hacking away at re-writes for the feature film.  Been trying to streamline it, make sure we're going to make a quality movie, and not spend too much money.  I'm so very excited to make this movie and get it out there for people to see. It's going to be fun and unique.

Of course the next step is to create the full concept trailer. Which I'm hoping to get back on next week, depending on my schedule. Still gotta work and try to get some money in.  With the Concept trailer we will explain the full plot, and what you can expect from the feature film.  I may very well cut together a pitch trailer, with me explaining the plot, just so I can get the online fundraising going.  I'm anxious to start up the kickstarter and start fundraising the first round of money. Wish me luck.

Viral Thoughts

Thinking about REDD going viral. I've done the majority of what's on my list, and much of it has worked the way I thought it would. But we are nowhere near Viral. 800 views in a week isn't exactly viral, but I can't really complain when those comments and messages I have received have been so positive. I thank everyone who's watched and done what they can to pass the video along. You all are awesome.

A big part of going viral is having a good video (of course), and since so many folks think it is awesome then I'll just assume for now that we've got that down. Now we have to tap into the other side of social media. I've got it posted on Facebook and everyone I know posting on their Facebooks, as well as Twitter. But now I'm looking to score more views through other sites like DIGG or STUMBLE UPON. Here's a list of the links to some of those sites. You may need to register and log in, but any views, high ratings, good comments, and reposts would be a huge help in getting the video more views.

REDDIT
http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/f73iw/the_other_red_riding_hood_movie_the_non_twilight/
You may need to register, but all you'd have to do is click the up arrow in the top left corner.

BUZZFEED
http://www.buzzfeed.com/patrickap/redd-red-riding-hood-action-short-1h2o
You can log in with your Facebook, may need to quickly create an account. Click like the Heart. Give us an OMG. And like this link on Facebook. Re-tweeting and reposting this link anywhere would be great.

STUMBLEUPON
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7ryxl8/www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D8Wf1C4iBikI
May need to sign up on Stumble Upon. Please click the THUMBS UP and leave a great comment.

TUMBLR
http://onespartan.tumblr.com/post/2997186134/redd-red-riding-hood-action-horror-movie-via
If you're on Tumblr, then please re-blog this post.

CHEEZBURGER.COM
http://cheezburger.com/onespartan/vids/View/14384897
Give us a rating on Excellent.


In Other REDD news I am in major re-writes for the full length feature film, and I must say, I am really enjoying writing this one. I'm very excited to see this movie made and show it to all of you. It's going to be alot of fun. I'm in a rush to get the full script finished, so I can figure out what the final budget number is for the feature, and then I can figure out how to get that money.

REDD Short Film. Watch it Now!

I would appreciate any and all views, likes, and favorites on YouTube. And it would be helpful if this were posted on any and all blogs, forums, facebooks, and twitter accounts. I want a ton of people to see this.

Next up, we complete the full 8 minute Concept Trailer, then fundraising, then the feature.

Wish us luck.

Join REDD on Facebook http://facebook.com/reddactionhorrormovie

Hip-Hop Cassettes

This was such a great video. Nas talking about the old days and the art of using cassette tapes. This brought back alot of memories. I have a box of cassette tapes I found a few months ago. Makes me wanna go through em.

I also love how he referred to Queen's We Will Rock You as Hip-Hop. Really listening to it, I can hear that.

The Paper Puppet's Dilemma

I've made videos for Poptent several times in the past. I'd say that only a few of those times I actually felt a click when I made it. I definitely felt it with this one. Hope I'm not jinxing anything, but I am so very proud of this one. It's silly, stupid, and goofy, but the point is to get your attention and stick in your brain so you'll remember the product and brand name. Boise X9 Paper.



As soon as I saw the assignment on Poptent I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I've always loved paper tricks and origami, and making videos with paper has always served me well in the past. My paper rose tutorial (which I've mentioned several times before, I'm sure) did very well for me. Will this one workout for me as well? Who knows. What I do know is I really enjoyed making this one.

Here's the tutorial on how to make your own paper puppet with one sheet of paper. Made this a while back.

What did I learn tonight?

Can't sleep. Still up. But as I slowly start to feel the slumber creep up, I begin to realize a few things.

1) Everyone loves to be afraid of the tragic end.

2) I think we fear, even more so, great and wonderfully amazing beginnings.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.' We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." (A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles", Harper Collins, 1992. From Chapter 7, Section 3]) - Marianne Williamson

Cee Lo Green 'Fuck You' Sign Language version

This really makes me smile. And she's working it too.

Paint By Numbers

 The first 4 minutes of REDD are done. Completely finalized. Even uploaded a semi final cut so a few folks could see just so I could gauge reaction.  I can only hope that the rest of the world has the same reaction as everyone else.

The first 4 minutes is the actual scene that starts off the feature. When we do the actual feature there may be some minor differences and some amped up action, but it's pretty much going to be the same scene. The Fairy Tale introduction of our Red Riding Hood aka REDD, then the reveal of what kind of movie this actually is. It's straight up action horror and complete fun.

Now it's all about the next 4 minutes, which is the trailer portion, that explains the basic plot of REDD. I expect to get a good portion of it shot this weekend, with possibly 3 more shooting days in the next few weeks. This will be wrapped up before February, weather and reality permitting.

Other things in my life are being turned up a bit, which is kind of pressuring me to really get REDD finished and online and get the fundraising started. I'm planning on doing 3 phases of fundraising. The first phase being a very small amount. Possibly around $500.

The final budget looks to be about $11,000. But honestly I'm going to aim for much more as I'll definitely need about $5,000 specifically for Distribution and Marketing.

Right now it's all connect the dots and paint by numbers. Just follow the steps that are laid out, and we'll have a finished product to get ourselves towards an even more finished product.

This year is all about making REDD into a feature film.

Stunts In The Park

Met up with Bryan Sloyer and Ramon Dickenson. Two guys who are a part of a Parkour group here in Winston known as Vanish Freerun. They've decided to help me out with some of the stunts and fight scenes for REDD.

These are the kinds of guys I've been looking for for a while now. I've been looking for a way to PLUS the action in REDD, and I think I've found it. Hopefully we can knock some great action out to add to REDD in the next few weeks.

Merry Christmas

Thanks to those who messaged me. I never really think that anyone reads this blog, so I didn't think about worrying some folks by posting about going to the ER.

All is well. Me and my wife were at the ER for her Grandfather. He was having heart trouble, but all is well now. He's back home, and doing alright.




Updated Blog post over at http://reddmovie.blogspot.com/.  Things are going as well as can be expected with REDD. Reached a first cut of the first 4 minutes. I'm going back and forth between amazed and dissatisfied.  We'll see where we're at when I finally get the full project up online.

Other than that, not much else going on. Need to make some movement on Monster Cops, but not sure when that will be. Right now my brain is really on just getting the REDD short finished and to it's full potential online, get the fundraising going on that as a feature, possibly on Kickstarter, and then get going on the first steps on raising money offline.

In order to do any of this I need to put together a package. Which consists of:

1) Video Example. Done, well almost. The short will serve as an example of what the feature will look and feel like.
2) Finished Screenplay. Can't have a movie without a script. Well, you can, it just wouldn't be prudent.
3) Cast and Crew. The more assets we have in place the better. Show that you've got your team in place ready to go. Is there anybody that's going to star in this that will help sell the movie?
4) Distribution. Prove this is going somewhere and has the potential to make money back.
5) Budget and Earnings. What do you need the money for? And how exactly do you plan on making it back? And how much?

So I'm getting a head start on the new year.

There are two projects I'm editing right now. One is REDD the other one is a video collage of pictures and video of my niece Brelyn and nephew Ezra.  It's always good to brush up on your editing skills by taking the time to make something for someone else.  It's of course not a professional project, but I try to treat it as so. Everything is practice.

One of the bits I'm excited about showing off is the concept of some of the weapons technology REDD uses. Especially the Trigun.  If you don't want to be spoiled before you see the short then don't watch this video.

It's very short and it's basically how the entire short ends. Well, so far.

 

Merry Christmas folks. And in case I don't get to tell ya, Happy New Year.

Sitting in the ER. Nothing serious, I think. Just one of those times in life when you take the time to sit in the ER.

Between Wake and Sleep

DREAMSCAPE (1984)

I had a nightmare last night. And as vivid and real as it felt, I couldn't tell you anything about it other than within the dream things were really upsetting and horrible.  So bad that it made me cry uncontrollably in the dream, which lead to me screaming "WHY?!" to God.

There was a point during my screaming where part of me realized I was dreaming. And since things were so terrible I decided to wake myself up by trying to get my "real" self to scream as well.

I could feel both sides. The nightmare side where I was screaming, and the reality side, where my physical face was trying to form words, trying to scream, trying to wake up.

When I finally did wake up, I did wake up moaning and my wife poking my back to get me to wake up.

The dread and fear from the dream was lingering still as I laid there finally awake. And all I've been thinking about since then is that space between the nightmare and reality.

I could feel it. I could feel myself in the dream trying to communicate to my physical self (this shit's gettin deep now.) And I remember thinking "I have to push through the ether."  Like I was aware that there was some kind of barrier between dreams and reality that I knew I could dig through. I knew that if I pushed hard enough in the dream, I could not only wake myself up, but do it by getting my waking self to mimic what my sleeping self was doing.

I immediately started to realize the parallels between this, and making movies.  The barrier between sleep and awake is not too dissimilar to the barrier between thought and creation, between what's on the page and the final cut of the movie, between an idea and a tangible product.

Where am I going with this? I have no fucking idea. Just another deep observation where I try to connect life lessons to filmmaking, again with subconscious subtext and references to universal perception and some shit like that.

Trying to communicate from your subconscious to your conscious is much like trying to take what's in your head and put it on film, or video rather.

Yes I'm running into obstacles with REDD. Can I get it out before December is over. Don't know. All I know is I'm missing a few more shots. Just a bit more work on it and I'll have a completed project. I'm so anxious to finish this, it does feel like my dream self is screaming at me from the other side of the reality wall.

And it;s not just about REDD. It's the overall goal, to make a living off making movies and videos. I've made money from it in the past, and I'm trying to find my way back to it again, but I have yet to make a sustainable living from it. This past year (past 4 years really) I've had a taste of it. Gotten checks for my video editing skills, been paid from video views, which has really convinced me that I should be able to really make this happen as something more long term.

And I will, but of course, since I am human dealing with other humans, we do let our anxieties and emotions clutter the path, make us feel rushed, force us to judge ourselves, which forces us away from our much needed logic and reason.

It's emotions that make up the ether in this reality. It's our fears and pathos that are a good percentage of our barriers that keep us from that final product. But it's also what fuels our creation. It's necessary, and instead of trying to force our way through it, we're better off understanding it, respecting it, and using it to our advantage.

Yes, that is correct, I have absolutely no idea what I am talking about.

Movies to watch after posting this:

DREAMSCAPE
NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS
THE MATRIX

EDIT: 1/8/10

Add INCEPTION to that list.

Conundrum

Hmmm. I've hit a small snag in my storyline.

Hmm. How to get around it.

The truth is, I want my short film REDD to go Viral.

Photo taken from http://marketingblog.net

What does that mean? It means I want to post the full short on Youtube and get a million views.

But Why? Because a high view count is precious to an emerging filmmaker. It'll be easier to raise the money I need if I can point to one of my video's and showcase it's popularity. Also because if I were to turn Redd into a feature, we'd have a head start on building buzz and building a following.

So how does that work? How does one make a video go viral. I've been seriously studying this for the past 3 years. I've tested the waters here and there with a few videos ever since I joined YouTube 5 years ago, but I've never made a full attempt til now.

There are several resources I can point to that pinpoint the best ways to make a viral video go, well, viral. There are very many points to consider, and no matter who you read or talk to, no matter the varying opinions on how it's done, the one caveat that I cross is this:

MAKE A GOOD VIDEO

Yes there are some videos out there with a million views that may not qualify as a good video. Those videos have a niche of some sort, and are, at the very least, entertaining. (Was that a total mis-use of commas? Hmmm.)

REDD is a short film, so I can't very well put my project in the same category as David After Dentist or Bed Intruder (Much love Antoine Dodson and the Gregory Brothers!)

I always look to videos like BATMAND: DEAD END, 405, The Hunt For Gollum, The Raven, and Street Fighter: Legacy.


The majority of those videos already have a niche. Fans of Street Fighter, Batman, or LOTR form a built in audience for any tributes or parodies. All they had to do was make a good video, and they are very good. Great execution.

With The Raven and 405 it's the impressive filmmaking and great payoff. I put mine more akin with those two movies. I don't know if the Red Riding Hood tale has the same fanbase as Batman, if it does, I'll be sure to put in all the necessary keywords and marketing for that niche, but realistically, this is an original story, where, once again it's about making a good video. Or as I just stated, it's about impressive filmmaking. However there is the new Red Riding Hood movie to consider, which I could use to build some steam for my own video.

However, I don't want to deceive anyone (too much), not like I did with my REAL WEREWOLF VIDEO. It's currently at over 180,000 views and although I do fess up to it being a fake in the description, and I have gotten some great positive comments, it's still working off the steam of the deception.




Besides my Real Werewolf vid, I've only had one other video I would consider a semi Viral success. That was my Paper Rose video. It was a tutorial on how to make a paper rose from a napkin. I posted it on Metacafe back in the days of their Producer Rewards Program (Rest In Peace). They paid for every 5,000 views. And since my video reached past 250,000, I did get a nice monthly check there for a while, and I got my first taste of how it feels to have a video go somewhat viral.


I'll follow the majority of rules and techniques I've learned. I'll be sure to market as usual on Twitter and Facebook. Tell all my friends and family. Email everyone on my contact list. Use proper tagging and keywords, of course. In the end it does come back to the filmmaking.

Is this going to be impressive enough to attract attention (views!)?

To be honest, right now, we don't quite have it, yet. YET.

April's performance as our title character has been impressive, I do love the footage we've got, but until I get the rest of the shots in, and most importantly, get the Werewolf footage knocked out, I really can't say for sure. If I can get it close to the way I see it in my head, then we'll be fine. I mean, so far so good, but is it a homerun? Not yet. But I am going to try.

As much as I would love a million views, realistically it may take a whole year, maybe even a few, but I'll settle for 100,000 views in a few months. If we get 10,000 views in a week, I'll be ok with that too.

Aside from working on views and our presence on the internet, I am going to submit to specific festivals and screenings. It is going to be very short, around 6 to 8 minutes, but there are venues for it. Perhaps that will help with the general buzz.

So what's the full plan?

Get as many views as possible on YouTube.
Submit to fests.
Really get it out there for everyone to see.
Put together the script, package, and budget for a feature length version.
Start up some crowd funding (Kickstarter or IndieGoGo, not sure which yet).
Pursue sponsors and investors.
Push to get the feature length REDD made early 2011.
Market and Distribute late 2011.
Make enough money to sustain and make another movie (Possibly Bobby's Closet).

Will it work? We shall see. But we're gonna make a run for it, that's for sure.

Check out the official site/blog for REDD

LIINKS AND TIPS FOR MAKING VIRAL VIDEOS:

- 7 Tips For Successful Viral Video Production And Distribution

- 10 Youtube URL Tricks You Should Know About

- 37 Essential Viral Video Tips, Posts and Sites

- What Makes a Video Go Viral?

- 10 Tips on making viral videos Strategies from successful examples

- Making Your Viral Video

- Making A Viral Video - Things To Consider!

- The Future of Hollywood… User Generated Films?

RIP Leslie Nielsen

My wife came running into the room to tell me the news. Leslie Nielsen had passed. After doing the intial Tweet and Facebook RIPS and how much I was sad to hear about this. I of course started on YouTube to find my fav videos of Police Squad.

I am very sad to hear of his passing, but right now, I'm in a terribly good mood, laughing my ass off watching these bits from Police Squad.

Not many know about Police Squad, the show lasted only 6 episodes, but later would hit the big screen in a little known series of movies called The Naked Gun.

This show was from the makers of Airplane, another great Leslie Nielsen comedy. The team of Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, and Pat Proft would go on to produce some of my favorite comedies, but for me, it all started with Police Squad.

The Intro to each show was the same. Note the recurring joke about Rex Hamilton as Lincoln. And they always introduced and killed a special guest star. But since they die in the credits, they never actually appear in the show. I love how everyone is shooting a gun, including lincoln, and the announcer always introduced the episode title, but is the complete opposite of what's shown.

Special Guest star Lorne Green


My favorite one with William Shatner


And the end credits were always the best. Always a "fake" pause as a joke ensued and the credits rolled. Here's a video that features all of them. My favorite is the monkey at 2:28.


Of course, Leslie Nielsen delivered one of the greatest comedy lines of all time.


Leslie Nielsen was of course a brilliant comic actor, but he was in general a very good actor of all sorts. He played a great villain in Creepshow, as well as a great victim.


You made me laugh my ass off more than once and you will be greatly missed Mr. Nielsen.

Xmas music makes me think of home. I miss my family.

Getting a much needed massage.

Beware of spy cameras. Act normal.

Feeling Better About It

Had a great Thanksgiving Dinner, and now with better perspective I was able to get the cut a little closer to what I wanted. Still much more work to be done though.








Looks like rain tomorrow, so re-scheduling shoot for another day next week. Hopefully I can get much more footage then. It really is looking like this will be a complete short film in early December.

Special thanks to Marcellus for once again being in my corner and helping me out with some Visual Effects work. Thanks for the help bud!