A Great Many Thank Yous

There are many people who helped make the recent private screenings of Abandoned Allies successful. I wish to extend a dear thanks to the many folks, including the people who are helping me make the film itself (too long a list to share here).

Here are just a few of the folks who helped me screen Abandoned Allies twice in one weekend, with more of our cast and one of our largest private audiences yet. I wish to thank:

Abandoned Allies Cast and Crew
Obviously there would be no film screening, if there weren't people helping make the film. The cast have shared so many hours with me to help me learn about the Montagnards, U.S. Special Forces, and Vietnam War. The crew has been incredibly supportive as well. Together, many of us have learned how to make a film. Both the cast and crew have been really patient as we strive to make Abandoned Allies a great film. To each of them, I owe a huge thanks.

Surry Roberts
He is the one who initially wanted to record the history depicted in Abandoned Allies, and has gone above and beyond in supporting the efforts to make the documentary film. Knowing I needed to focus on the film before we showed it, he coordinated logistics with our cast. He hosted the screening, provided snacks, and directed the conversation after the film.

Jack, Chris, and Jenny Spencer
These amazing folks were responsible for the delicious cupcakes, running the A/V equipment (mingling music, the big screen, playing the DVD, house lights, etc.), and setting up the club (putting out seats, tables, etc.). Big thanks to them for showing up earlier than expected, and allowing me to be completely relaxed because they were in control of logistics at the club. (Plus, they give the most amazing hugs. I love Spencer hugs!)

Jessi Nemeth
When I asked her to run concessions for Sunday's event, she said yes with no hesitation. She's one of the hardest working women I've ever met, and one of the most dedicated actresses, too. When she played a character in Chris Moore's film Flush With Fear, she rolled in the dirt and poured coffee on herself to make her costume authentic. If you bought a drink or snack at the screening, Jessi is the one who served you with a smile. (Big thanks to those who tipped her well, too!)

Jessi Nemeth was a character in Flush With Fear, and is one of
the hardest working ladies I know. She managed concessions
at the Abandoned Allies screening at ComedyWorx.

Elizabeth Jackson
EJ is a dedicated volunteer with Abandoned Allies, focusing on event planning. For the recent private screenings, she helped me think through event logistics ahead of time and kept me on schedule at the event. She kindly and gracefully scooted people from the lobby to the arena so we could start the film on time. She also helped me think of ways to collect feedback and take questions from the audience. I'm thrilled to start putting together more events once the film is finished, knowing she's there to help make it happen in style and excellence.

Elizabeth Jackson has been a long-time volunteer with Abandoned Allies, helping
us with planning events. She was a huge help with the screening at ComedyWorx

Brian Crawford (@BCwritr)

If you said something on camera at the screening event, you were talking into Brian's camera. He filmed the event and is creating a short video for the web. He's been willing to edit it all together, which takes a lot of time and effort. I really appreciate him being there. The footage is stunning, and I can't wait to share it with you. We're in post-production and working through a few things, but hope to have that online in the next few months.

Andy Poe helps Pam Ross with the mic, as Brian Crawford
prepares the camera for her interview.

Andy Poe, David Iversen and Mike Garske

You've already heard about the fellas at the Brite Spot Collaborative (related blog post), and Andy Poe is the one that introduced me to David Iversen and Mike Garske. They helped me finalize the film by exporting it from FCP and then burning it to DVDs. Andy had to remind me to breathe. David scanned through the timeline and fixed a few things I'd struggled with in editing. And all three of them joined me for a beer while the film exported. I owe them a huge thanks for their help because that process has given me a LOT of trouble in the past. Andy also helped Brian by wrangling people in to say something on camera at ComedyWorx, and I'm most grateful for it. These are top notch guys, dedicated to doing great work.

Jason Kelly
If you had your photo taken at the event, Jason was the man behind the camera. He met Brian Crawford and me at ComedyWorx the day before the screenings to scope out the place in order to get great photos (related blog post). Not only were the photos fun, beautifully lit, and exactly what I needed, they were also online almost immediately. He's a dear friend for helping me out, and I'm incredibly lucky to have such help.

Jason Kelly was our photographer, and put the photos online
immediately. Pam Ross took this shot for us, though!

Carole Watts
My ever-supportive, wonderful mom. She's been helping me make this film since the beginning, and just finally got to see the latest cut. She brought yummy brownies to the screening and even posed for a few pictures--she seriously hates being in pictures.

Other Unnamed Folks
There are a number of other folks who helped out, and I'm sorry for not naming each of you. Many of you made me so happy simply by showing up. And there's one guy in particular that has been unbelievably supportive. To him, and all of you, I owe a huge thanks.

Back to Blogging

Hello again, friends! Whew, it's been a while, hey? So much has happened in the past few days that it'll be tough to update you in one blog post. So I'll stick with the big news. Last week we submitted a rough cut of Abandoned Allies to its first film festival!

This is a huge milestone because we've been in post-production for about two years. This also means we're on the fast track to have it totally finished by the end of February. What a wonderful feeling to be this close to finishing the film. There's still a significant amount of tweaking left, but we are on our way now.

The team of folks who helped us submit the film is absolutely wonderful. There are so many thank yous to write. I do want to quickly thank Surry, Annie Beth, Kyle, Chris, Zach, Patrick, Drew, Steve, Sally, Adger, and my parents for being such solid forms of support during these past few weeks. They really stepped up to help make things come together (and keep me sane). I'm so appreciative of all the people who have helped make this film. It's a wild adventure, and I have to pinch myself regularly because I feel so lucky to be doing this work.

While working on the film, I have been dog-tired.
Even my pup was wiped out. Don't know why he
sleeps with his tongue sticking out, though.

That said, the past few weeks have been even more intense than usual. I've neglected some important things while trying to make the film ready for its submission, and that hurts me deeply. The list of stuff that's been neglected is probably longer than our credits.

So I'm thinking through ways to improve efficiency for the next film. How can I improve as a producer/director? What can I do to help my team (work better, stay happy, do amazing things, etc.)? What tasks are distracting to me, and who can I find to do those tasks so I can stay focused? My mind works over time on these things so I can make the next film better and more quickly. I can't stop looking back and analyzing it, so that I can make the next film faster and better.

This form of "debriefing" after a period of intensity is probably instilled in me from my days at Camp Don Lee. We'd go on sailing trips, and almost immediately debrief after we returned. It's a good practice, and one I hope to take with me throughout my career. I'm lucky to work with people who are honest and unafraid to give feedback on the process, so I hope to debrief with them next year when we finish the film.

Equally important, though, is a bit of R&R after a period of such intensity. I hope my teammates are resting up. I've already given myself some small rewards: a chocolate chip / peppermint milkshake, two new pairs of jeans (bought on black Friday for 50% off, of course), three days of sleeping in, about five hours of cooking/baking, a night cuddled up with my dog on the couch watching delightfully mindless TV, an hour playing the guitar for the first time in years, and some serious quality time with family and friends that I've missed terribly over the past few weeks. There are a few more rewards on my list, and I plan on checking them off soon.

While there's much more work ahead of us, I'm feeling like a huge weight has lifted. In fact, the other night I was just describing how I feel like a fog has lifted. I can see the future of this film much more clearly now, and I look forward to seeing what happens in the coming years. It's a lot of hard work, but I see it already bringing awareness to this important segment of U.S. history and how it relates to today. So, cheers, to that.