Get Fired Up

Illustration by Camden Watts

With the news that I won the shovemedia contest, I have been so thrilled about the reality of finishing Abandoned Allies.  This office space, deadline and encouragement is exactly what I needed--without even knowing it.  I'm so fired up about wrapping up the film and showing it to people that I can hardly sleep at night.  There's so much work to do, and very little time to finish it.

We have only about five weeks before Thanksgiving, which is when I hope to have the film completed. 

The Full Frame film fest submission deadline is November 30th, and I want Abandoned Allies to be entered.  That means we could, hopefully, show the film at the festival in April 2011.  (Hopefully!)  This would then, in turn, give us enough time to prepare for our own premiere event to take place weeks after the festival (more on that in future posts).

While April 2011 feels very far away, Thanksgiving feels like it's just around the corner.  This is both thrilling and terrifying for me, because I so desperately want to finish the film before the holidays. 

It's my belief that our volunteers shouldn't feel stress about working on Abanadoned Allies during the holidays.  It's time they might otherwise be spending with family, resting from being so busy, or working on their own projects.  So I hope we can hustle and have the film in tip top shape and submitted to the festival before Thanksgiving gets here.

That said, it's time to get fired up!  There's not much time, and we have lots of work left to do on the:

• Opening segment
• Narration
• Motion graphics
• End credits
• Music selection / composition
• Branding
• Marketing and communications

Over the course of these next few weeks, with the help of my very talented crew, this little film will start to feel much more like a Film (with a capital F).  We'll be adding the final finesse, finally!  I'm beyond thrilled.

Giving Credit

Yesterday I worked on the Abandoned Allies closing credits, among other things.  It felt good to check that task off of my list, but the sheer terror of having left someone out is enough to keep me up at nights.  So many talented and kind people have helped us make this film since March 2008 that the closing credits list was four pages long (single spaced).

Today I relayed that information to a friend.  She responded, "Wow. That's almost like a real film!"

Indeed.  Just imagine how long our next production's closing credits will be, if such dreams become reality.  I look forward to having many more people on the team.  There's room for them, for sure.  I want people in charge of photography, audio and editing.  Perhaps a personal assistant or an assistant director.  There's definitely room for many more people to help on the next production, and I'm thrilled about building that team when the time is right.

For now, though, we have a mad dash to the finish line ahead of us.

With the news that I won shovemedia's 30 days of free coworking contest, and will soon start working from Designbox, I feel a renewed sense of energy.  I can't wait to start working there!  

Our team is already gearing up to have the film finished before Thanksgiving so that we can relax and enjoy the holidays.  Not to mention submit Abandoned Allies into the Full Frame film fest.  

We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I'm looking forward to having the film finished.  Once we meet that Nov. 30th deadline, we can move our focus to branding, marketing, communications and event planning.  

I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that Abandoned Allies will play at the Full Frame film fest in April 2011.  Wouldn't that be wonderful!  It's a North Carolina production about North Carolinians, produced and directed by a North Carolina native.  I'm such a geek, I know.

Great News: Shovemedia Coworking Contest Results

Friends, I have some delightful news to share. Recently I entered the shovemedia contest to win 30 days of free coworking at Designbox, and today I received confirmation that I won! This is great news, as it means we can finish Abandoned Allies much faster.

Shovemedia, a boutique interactive development studio, is sponsoring the 30 days of free coworking.  I sat down with Jon Williams of shovemedia to tell him about our project, where it currently stands, and how we plan on finishing it within those 30 days.

It's an ambitious goal to finish the film within the next month, but it's definitely possible.  We are so close to finishing it, and having the use of this space will make a huge difference.  I am positively ecstatic about working on the film at Designbox.

Designbox is a really cool space in downtown Raleigh where creative people can come to work. They have fun First Friday events, like the PBaRt show and concert.  Designbox members feature, encourage and nurture creative people so they can do impressive things; but they also make it easy for the public to learn about the creative work and its results.  Check out some of their photos.  Here's what the website states about Designbox:

Designbox is North Carolina’s influential spot where unique creative professionals share space and work together. Located in downtown Raleigh, N.C., the members of Designbox have been nominated and won many national honors in their respective fields. Designbox is responsible in part for nationally recognized events such as SPARKcon, Kirby Derby Day, Xtreme Suburban Endurance Events and helping the City of Raleigh redevelop City Plaza.

Working on the film from Designbox will help me stay focused, motivated, and encouraged.  I'll be able to lead my team much more efficiently and effectively, meaning we can finish the film much faster.  Entering the film into the Full Frame film festival before November 30th is my new goal, and I'm counting on it happening thanks to shovemedia and Designbox.

Scope out this stop-motion promotional video Jon did for the contest.  I loved hearing him talk about the production of the promotional video.  Very cool stuff, indeed.

Designbox Promotion from Jon Williams on Vimeo.