“Off the Leash” is a comic book idea I’ve had in my head for about 10 years now. It originally started out as an action/comedy done in the anthropomorphic style about CIA agents. I did my own artwork, and it was dreadfully awful because of that. Thankfully those drawings are nowhere to be found, mercifully destroyed by the universe. A year ago I decided to try and make it again: this time as a neo-noir taking place in Washington, D.C.
I found Preston Asevedo and we began work. In order to pay for the pages to be drawn I scrimped and saved, but still it wasn’t enough. So last month I decided to launch a kickstarter campaign to get “Off the Leash” funded. For those unfamiliar with kickstarter here is how it works: you ask people to pledge/invest in your project. If you reach your funding goal (and only if) then they give their pledge money to the project and get a reward in return related to the project. In this particular case the funding deadline is February 4th at 8.40pmEST. If you decide to pledge to “Off the Leash” you will not be charged until then.
Art by Preston Asevedo, lettering by Brenton Barnes
This is a passion project for me, a chance to really stretch my imagination and create something special. If you are able to pledge please know that every little bit counts! It’s been amazing thus far with all the support people have shown me, but I still need a big push to reach our goal. Any help is greatly appreciated.
More information on the comic can be found by visiting the kickstarter page which you can go to by clicking here. Please spread the word about the comic to your friends and thanks once again for even taking the time to read about it. One way or another this comic will be made, but through kickstarter it can be done much more efficiently and be something that everyone can be take pride in helping have produced.
Artwork by Preston Asevedo, logo designed by Brenton Barnes
Baron Redman has made some impressive films over the past few years one of my favorites being: “The Selected” which I did a review of. Baron has an eye for cinema and has a skill for creating distinct atmospheres with everything he touches. “Peace” is his latest film clocking in at just over an hour. It’s a quick 60 minutes where Baron has created a quite engaging post-apocalyptic world.
This review will be virtually spoiler free, I want you to seek out the film. You can visit the facebook page for “Peace” by clicking the hyperlink. The gist is that on the eve of a landmark peace treaty; war breaks out. Now America and (it’s assumed) the rest of the world is at war, but not with other countries. It has become a war of brother against brother and insurgent against guerrilla solider. Baron does a particularly good job with the build for all of this and got me hooked right in. It’s ambitious to try and create a dystopian war state with a limited budget but for the most part that’s pulled off effectively.
The strongest point of “Peace” is the cinematography which Baron Redman did himself. There are several extended shots that follow character’s actions, sometimes through some intense moments and I’m always intrigued by people who can pull this off. There are also quite a few well placed compositions that create that Redman atmosphere. It’s violent, it’s cold but it’s also entertaining and eye catching. I have to give a lot of credit to the grips on this production and the lighting department which consisted of: Thadd Triplett, Cassundra Lynee Kircher and Kati King. One thing that constantly plagues independent films is bad lighting. Baron has vastly improved from previous works, while the images are dark in subject nature you can see everything clearly. It’s not a murky mess of images and I think that speaks volumes about Baron and his crew’s ability to evolve and the time and patience that was put into every shot.
“The Final Cut” welcomes graphic novelist/writer Jeffrey Morris on the program in this episode to talk about his efforts to put more science in science fiction stories. He also talks about his graphic novel “Venus: Daedalus One” and his upcoming project “Mars: Daedalus Two” which you can help get created using kickstarter.com Morris talks on the future of the American space program and all the other works he’s involved in as well, whether you are a fan of sci-fi, science or just comics in general this is an episode you can’t afford to miss. Make sure to visit the official website of “The Final Cut” to listen to previous episodes, you can also subscribe to the show on itunes and don’t forget to join our facebook page.
With only 10 episodes left until the landmark 100th episode country artist Chuck Schaeffer of the “Chuck Schaeffer Band” swings onto “The Final Cut” to talk about his music career, his current tour, the city of Nashville and being recognized by ‘country hipsters’. Plus I play his song “The Earnhardt Blues” on the program! So be sure to listen to this episode right here or go to the official website of “The Final Cut“. Be sure to subscribe to the show on itunes and to check out our facebook page!
"Hey kids want to spend your Saturday pretending you're in school?"
It’s taken me a long time to find some legit free time to write this latest installment of the DSAM production blog, and I hope you’ll find a few minutes to spare in order to read it. There have been 4 shooting dates since I last posted so there is a little to catch up on.
For Thanksgiving I went home to Cincinnati to see one my best friends get married. I stayed in my hometown a bit longer than the break and so I was on a plane when the 2nd shoot of DSAM ever took place. I was still doing a lot of producing work while in Cincinnati over the computer and one of the major issues was a very small crew and problems finding an appropriate location for the scene. Eventually Jenn Marlis, the director realized that we were in a frenzy for no reason and suggested her apartment right off campus for the shoot. Brilliant, one of those “why didn’t I think of that?” kind of moments. Anyway the shoot was set up though not having a key grip proved to be the most difficult issue. There was a lot of stress as I was miles above the earth in a plane waiting to land in L.A. I just wanted to know how the shoot was going, if all the cast and crew were comfortable, if everyone was getting along, how long was it all taking? All I could do was watch the Samuel L. Jackson version of “Shaft” which I had forgotten featured Christian Bale in it. Anyway the point is I was worried and I knew I wouldn’t know how the shoot had gone/was going until I landed in Los Angeles.
There have been many movies about dysfunctional families. We’ve either lived it in real life or seen it on the big screen but what makes each unique and worth seeing is the characters that are presented. We want to see contrasting personalities that lead to strange, funny and but realistic characters that each have their own messed up lives that when brought together create a bloody train wreck that we can’t turn away from. And these people are related?
Just released on DVD this week was Peep World, a comedy about an upper class family who’s secrets have been aired out when their youngest son, Nathan, writes a tell-all books exposing his siblings’ and parents’ flaws. The movie culminates on the day of their father’s 70th birthday and with friction between all the family members leading up to the big birthday dinner, the night is sure to take a turn for the worst.
Take gaze….
The film has just a stellar cast which drew me to it initially. As a small indie flick I had to seek it out in the few theaters it was playing in (thank god, I live in LA). The ensemble includes Michael C. Hall, Sarah Silverman, Rain Wilson, Judy Greer, Taraj P. Henson, Kate Mara, and taking on a big role as Nathan is UCB alum Ben Schwartz. Everyone gives a great performance creating strong emotions either towards liking or disliking the characters as the story unravels their many imperfections. You want to console Jack (Hall), stab Cheri (Silverman), hope that Joel (Wilson) can get hisact together and that Nathan would stop being such an ass. But we all have friends (or god forbid) family members much like them. The story lines for each sibling are what make the movie fun and unpredictable as they each could have a movie just about them.
The movie has some great laughs though at times they can be spread apart. It is definitely has that dark-indie comedy vibe and pacing that may not stick with everyone. It has good situation humor and physical comedy. Also it was filmed in LA so I like picking out all the streets and landmarks I drive by (cheap thrills for someone new to the city). I believe this is worth watching just to see a talented cast of comedians in the same movie…plus Dexter.
It seems everyone under the age of 30 is talking about the music video to the song “Friday” by Rebecca Black that went viral earlier this week due to its absolutely atrocious lyrics, auto-tune sound and just plain strange video cues. So I’ve decided to break down the music video that I have watched over and over again for anybody out there who wants to know the truth about this video. Which has become an instant internet meme. But first if you haven’t watched it here is your chance…
Oh good, you survived watching that video. Actually I don’t find the song to be torture at all, it is easily one of the funniest things ever created, and apparently it is not a joke. Now when I write this article Rebecca has yet to appear on “Good Morning America” and explain to the country why this song exists, so I will say now even if she says it was a big joke we all know it wasn’t. There is a difference between something that is bad that is trying to be good and something that is bad but trying to have some fun with it.
Like most Americans this girl loves her some Friday.
“Friday” is trying hard, way too hard to be a good song, and it just isn’t. So let’s break it down:
Friday starts out innocently enough with Rebecca waking up in her Suburban home and being excited that its Friday! Honestly this is the only thing the music video got right, she wakes up hair is a mess but she has a smile on her face because well…its Friday! Then the song just goes downhill, first off its auto-tuned and while auto-tune has its place in the music industry even auto tune can’t hide bad singing and this wasn’t good singing. I’m not saying Ms. Black is a bad singer she just didn’t do well in this song, and maybe that was the transformer she was trying to hide in her vocal chords who knows? So then the music video shows its true colors, you know its going to be bad. She is standing singing and then out of nowhere she drops this set: Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal Seein’ everything, the time is goin’ Tickin’ on and on, everybody’s rushin’ Gotta get down to the bus….. stop.
And this is where the decoding begins and this innocent little song becomes more than that. “Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal.” There is a comma there, obviously a new thought has been created. Is there a subliminal message in here about toking it up before school? She never said she was putting the cereal in that bowl, she’s gotta have MY bowl. Even though I’m in college now and have my own set of dishes I never refer to them as my bowl. Food for thought people. Oh and that mentioning of the Bus stop? Well here is the next bit of lines: “Gotta catch my bus, I see my friends (My friends) Kickin’ in the front seat Sittin’ in the back seat Gotta make my mind up Which seat can I take?”
So I guess she won’t be taking the bus to school then? Her friends just pull up and offer her a ride, which is nice but then something really strange happens we just cut to night and she and her friends are driving around. I think the message Rebecca is trying to convey here is to skip school on Friday. I mean why even go when your stoned and are still munching on cereal. I’m not even sure if that car belongs to the driver none of these kids look old enough to be driving. Has the makings of a joy ride all over it. And why is Rebecca so concerned with what seat to take, she is the last one in the car and probably the smallest. I know what that means; you gotta ride the middle seat dear. But she really seems fixated on the seat to take. Is there a deeper philosophical meaning behind all of this? Perhaps her seat in the car represents where she is in life right now, or how she relates to her friends. It’s important to note all of her friends are white. It would have been interesting if they had thrown a black or Asian kid into the mix. Maybe she doesn’t want to sit in the back seat with the Latino kid? We’ll never know, socially conscious opportunity missed there. It could mean a lot of things, Rebecca is a deep woman we as people aren’t giving her enough credit. The more I analyze “Friday” the more deep I realize it truly is. Did I mention it gets deeper? “It’s Friday, Friday Gotta get down on Friday Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend Friday, Friday Gettin’ down on Friday Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) Fun, fun, fun, fun Lookin’ forward to the weekend!” You just read the chorus for this song. Do you feel confused? Maybe upset? Its okay just breathe deeply, because its going to only get worse from here.
So Rebecca and her friends are driving around and Rebecca is still obsessed with which seat to take. Is it really that important? Its not like she ever had a true opportunity to call shotgun. Rebecca and her friends are just driving around after skipping school jamming to music and standing up without their seat belts on. Rebecca doesn’t follow safety laws, ’cause she’s a thug! Just listen to her flow: “7:45, we’re drivin’ on the highway Cruisin’ so fast, I want time to fly Fun, fun, think about fun You know what it is I got this, you got this My friend is by my rightI got this, you got this Now you know it Kickin’ in the front seat Sittin’ in the back seat Gotta make my mind up Which seat can I take?” Wait a minute why does she keep saying that she’s got this? And that I’ve got it? Got what? Then it hit me, she is obviously hitting us with some subtle hints here about her Illuminati past. I’m sure the secret society had some weird correlation to the day of Friday and if they don’t some paranoid dude in his basement will make something up to connect them. I think she may be planning to pick off her friends one by one until she either is riding shotgun or is driving the car itself. She is just biding her time, waiting to strike.
Then the most disturbing and baffling thing in the entire song takes place. I wouldn’t believe it was true unless I heard it myself. “Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday Today i-is Friday, Friday (Partyin’) We-we-we so excited We so excited We gonna have a ball today Tomorrow is Saturday And Sunday comes after…wards I don’t want this weekend to end.” Did that just happen? Did she just break down half the week for me? Its like I’m watching a very bad episode of “Sesame Street”. Is it really necessary to let me know that the day before Friday is Thursday? Then she goes further and says the next day is Saturday and that Sunday comes after. Yeah no crap Sherlock! I’ve lived through a week before, I know how it works. Is this girl serious? We we we we so excited? Whose excited? I’m so confused! Its obvious this girl skips school, we we we so excited that’s such bad English it wouldn’t be featured in a rap video. Speaking of which… as Rebecca Black and her friends reach a party of other 13 year olds with zero adult supervision the music video takes a turn from the worse to the down right creepy. Suddenly this random 30 something black rapper comes onto the screen driving in his car and he starts rapping: “R-B, Rebecca Black So chillin’ in the front seat (In the front seat) In the back seat (In the back seat) I’m drivin’, cruisin’ (Yeah, yeah) Fast lanes, switchin’ lanes Wit’ a car up on my side (Woo!) (C’mon) Passin’ by is a school bus in front of me Makes tick tock, tick tock, wanna scream Check my time, it’s Friday, it’s a weekend We gonna have fun, c’mon, c’mon, y’all!”
Who is this dude? He just appears out of nowhere, I’ve never seen him before is he serious? Why is a 30 year old black man in this video? I guess Rebecca has a black friend after all! And he can drive! Obviously this man knows Rebecca well enough to have a cute nickname for her, and it appears he’s coming to her party. That is beyond creepy, he is way too old to be hanging out at this party unless he is there to chaperon them. He is just so out of place in this white bread music video and yet it doesn’t surprise me. “Friday” pulled out all the stops to make the song as much of a hit as possible, and what better way than doing a collab with two unknowns? Its awful, but I’ll remember this man’s face for the rest of my life. Anytime he tries to do serious rap I’ll just be sure to point out that he was the guy who appeared in the Rebecca Black music vid. Was it really worth the paycheck dude? I hope so.
I feel a little bad making fun of this young woman, hey she’s just trying to make a living. But that’s also why I don’t feel too bad for her. People are downloading this song, people are sharing it, people are watching it. Sure its mainly because they find it ridiculous but honestly she is on the lips of so many people now and she will be making a pretty penny from this. Don’t feel too bad for her, now obviously some people have taken making fun of her too far, but I think I kept this well in the realm of fair game. Can Rebecca have a future in the music industry? Who knows, I feel she should could make a mark if she kept churning out songs like this. In the end we we we so excited for Friday too Rebecca, your video reminds us of that. Friday is a good day, Saturday is too. I’m so proud that you feel obligated to educate Americans on days of the week. So I salute you Rebecca do your thing even if we all just stand by scratching our heads and continue to wonder why you will get more press that a million great indie bands.
You can also watch a hilarious spoof video I was in of Rebecca Black’s “Friday” by clicking here.
In 2009 I ventured for my first serious stab at a drama with the 35 minute short film “Drown”. The film debuted on February 19th, 2010 at Pepperdine University. Now just over a year later anyone can view the movie on youtube for free in its entire 35 minute running time. The best part is its not broken up into multiple parts, just one 35 minute long video. The film is far from perfect there are so many “rookie” mistakes I made while shooting the project, but it was a learning experience and in the end I think I still managed to make a enjoyable product. When submitted for early reviews 14 of the 16 critics gave in some shape or form a positive review. If this were the world of Rotten Tomatoes that’d be roughly an 85% approval rating. Not too shabby.
For those who don’t know what “Drown” is about this is a basic rundown: When a rookie cop (Andy DeBurgh Sidley) goes undercover to investigate a possible rogue LAPD officer (John Hays) he becomes entangled in a web of lies and secrecy.
So if you have 35 minutes to kill why not spend it watching my short film? I’d appreciate any and all feedback. Also in the near future I’ll be releasing the audio commentary I did for the project to youtube. And without further ado here is “Drown”…
On this episode of “The Final Cut” I interview filmmaker Tyler Cathey whose gritty short film “5ive” is gearing up to make a run on the festival circuit. Tyler talks about his influences and even gives some zero budget tips for lighting and audio. Any aspiring filmmaker should listen in or download this episode right here!
This week on “The Final Cut” interview with director Daniel Brown and screenwriter Katie McMeans about their new short film hitting the indie circuit “Emily in the A.M.” You can listen/download the episode right here!
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