Everything will probably be fine.

Well, we did it. With the generous help of some superb individuals, principal photography on 'My Old Flame' is complete! This week has been a whirl of things that are the opposite of vacationing, but I guess I can vacation when I am dead. After wrapping last Sunday, seeing my Vancouver and Edmonton crew off, and dropping gear back to Calgary on Monday - I shot a series of promotional videos in Canmore for three businesses, took my drivers test (passed, having only had an inking of how to parallel park for about 12 hours), and got home Saturday morning to a city that feels vacant, and yet, is absolutely brimming with noise.

We had a great cast - composed of Rachelle Tomm, Joe Morris, Chelsea Restall, and Joanne Hope.  All wonderful to work with, able to look beyond their lines and right into their character. Plus, our dynamite crew - Daniel Jeffery (assistant director), Christian Lai (gaffer), Nataliya Fedulova (production designer), Justin Madsen (sound), Lauren Tamke (camera assistant), and Amy Diedrich (hair and make-up). We also had some help from Robert - and for our overnight shoot at Café Books - we had the generous super-help of Joy Mclean, Jocey Asnong, and Jasmin Nadeau.

Plus, support from Amanda Suhan, Sandra Wheeler, Sue Girard, Rheanna Toy, Joel Salaysay - and of course, mom and dad - who housed and catered the entire affair, much to their collective horrors. Numerous thanks as well to Panavision, William F Whites, Clairmont Camera, and FAVA.

It's really hard communicating the size of  film set when you're about to move into a location. The people and the gear are always more than they expect. It was even a surprise for my parents, who were slightly overwhelmed by the number of things in their kitchen. Thankfully, we weren't in any space too long, and we had people with decent amount of patience on your side. I made sure we were fully insured, I laid out everything clearly to all of the locations involved. My typical 65% organized was up at about 90%, and that's nice when that happens. I do think it was a success. We got everything done with ample time, everyone was happy (I think), and it's always nice dealing with film. We had only one unloading issue, and one camera trouble shooting issue - which was promptly solved by me throwing batteries around. We cool.

Things I have (re)learned:

1. For the love of god, always ask questions, questions do not hurt

2. Get a crew you like, and who can get a long with each other, especially when the project is on your dime - that one person who's not on the ball can drag the whole thing around

3. It's tough, but you've got to lead a stress example, the moment you become stressed is the moment everyone else becomes stressed and things get messy
4. If your film spaghettis in the change bag, don't panic, even if it turns in a horrible, knotted monster - somewhere there is a beginning of that roll, and an end
5. If you can, get more gear than you need - I supplied my crew with tons of most things, why? Because on a lot of sets I've worked on, there is a lack of one thing that makes everything slog along - whether it's something as inconsequential as tape, clothespins, sandbags - or things like food, drink, and dry socks
6. Stick to your guns - if your vision butts up against an obstacle on set, push right on through - that vision is what will keep this thing together in the end
7. Repeat the mantra: everything will probably be fine

Thank you, everyone - for your ongoing support, your hard work, and your standard of excellence that helped push this production forward!

In this lull that is pre-post-production, and after my relocation to Vancouver - it hardly feels it happened it all. The only telling factor is a stack of 14 rolls of film sitting in my house that wasn't there previously, and a duffel bag in the middle of the kitchen that I am too lazy to unpack. The sooner I can get that film developed, the sooner I can feel like something was accomplished (I mean, something other than a fun shoot). The next steps for me concern a stop motion character who I wrote in (and shot very... unorthodox plates for). The research phase will be a little longer, as he will be a fully articulate figure. I'll be sure to post updates as those arise. 

After an evening of Whistler grapefruit ale on Saturday, and a morning brunch at Thyme to Indulge on Sunday, yesterday was my half day of holiday before getting back into the thick of things. School starts today - it will be an intrepid year of strange things. It feels like there's a bit of a storm on the horizon, but it isn't very clear. There are tons of shoots, and I'm very pleased to be crewing on many of them.

After such a strange, stress-saturated summer, I'm feeling ready, these days, for the cool, sweater-weather of fall. Though, with some bitterness, as I felt I have squandered these summer months in editing suites and not doing anything outdoorsy at all. I picked up some spicy Camino hot chocolate today, so when that damp chilly snap comes, warming beverage and alpaca hair sweaters are in arms reach.

Great news! My fall 2012 film, My Favourite Things, has been selected for the second annual Canadian Young Actors Film Festival! Tickets are $10 for the Gala and Awards on September 21st! More information here! This is the first of my films to be accepted into a festival - I'm super proud of my cast - Eliana, Tytan, and Dawson - pleased as pie! Thank you, as well, to my crew, classmates, and supporters!

Things to look at!

Human Town! A webseries I key gripped on for a few days, produced, in part, by a bunch of SFU grads - it's dark and wonderful, check it out, throw them some support!

Check out SFU grad, Graeme Achurch's film, The Rat on the Contender's Magazine blog!

Chelsea, who played the role of Teddy in 'My Old Flame' also has a blog! Check her out - notes about acting, writing, and life in general

Pop culture ice cream.

One of my favorite Tumblr, second only to Gene Kelly's Butt.

A reminder: Astronaut's advice

Pie in the Sky July

"By the time it came to the edge of the Forest the stream had grown up, so that it was almost a river, and, being grown-up, it did not run and jump and sparkle along as it used to do when it was younger, but moved more slowly. For it knew now where it was going, and said to itself, 'There is no hurry. We shall get there someday.'"

I had an nice post going describing how June was going, but alas. It never made it out before June was done speeding past. And now July's a good chunk through. By September I'll be wondering where the hell my summer's gone.

Old news to some but, after some fighting and some deliberating, turns out, instead of making a graduate film this year, I'm going to be making an independent short. Which sounds a thousand times more terrifying, but infinitely more challenging and exciting. This project I'm shooting this August no longer bears that 'film student' pallor. It's super 16, it's indie, it's in Canmore, and it's mine.

The past couple months were a little strange with things just dribbling by, not much to do. I'm now two weeks into my new job - in Banff! - and things are finally picking up. I've got a lot of video projects with work to power through, meeting and working with tons and tons of new people. It's especially nice to be working in an environment with students and employees of all ages. It's really getting me back into the practice of actually talking to people about something other than film or school.

And in terms of my film next month; crew is coming together, gear is being booked, drafts are being assembled into something that is hopefully intriguing. With my next draft, visuals will start crashing together and I can really get the sights and sounds of this film together in my brain. My only disappointment this far is the lack of commitment I have seen out of peers from Vancouver. But thankfully, some old friends from Alberta are coming to my rescue!

For a few weeks there, I was feeling rather doubtful about my short film - the largest question of all being "Why should I even make this film?" - since I have spent a great deal proving to myself that this film means a lot to me in story, in experience, and in end product. After two months of being well set up to be on track, I suddenly felt that nothing was going to get done. This was also during my time where I didn't have too much to do in the summer. Because given infinite time to think about anything, it seems very easy to find doubt in everything. Those stress fractures sooner or later become voids - and their increasing number makes it difficult to avoid them all. The minute you look up at that horizon, it's inevitable that you're going to end up stepping in something negative. There's a lot of things I've got to keep balanced for this project, and I think the most important thing is the head on my shoulders. It's going to be a ton of work, and I've got a ton of work to do between now and then. But it's happening, and it's going to get done. And it's going to be great.

Over the past month or so, I have been considering what my ideal path would be post post-secondary. It seems to change each year with some trepidation, but the more I talk about this new plan, the more I think it is the wisest and most constructive idea yet. I'm considering moving back to Alberta - either to Calgary or to Edmonton - to engage in a different kind of provincial film business. There are many reasons why this, to me, would be the best place to be - but I think a move from Vancouver will be healthy. Thinking about it, there isn't much keeping me there - when I think of what I would leave behind, it would be very little. A few friends, a year-round gardening season, and an aquarium. No connections robust enough to lead to creative collaboration in the long term, no leads to jobs in my field. I guess my cure-all for this is just pick up and move to somewhere that is generally friendlier, less costly, and somewhere where I could separate myself from my University stint, start fresh - and jump into my career.

Even being out of Vancouver for a couple weeks has me in a weird zen state. It's quiet here. I can see the stars. I can walk everywhere. A lot more people walk around with smiles here. It's got a groove I understand.

I hope to someday refer to my years in Calgary as my 'gathering street cred years' - an experience/connection platform that will vault me back to Vancouver, maybe to Toronto, or fling me farther out. 

Something I've been ruminating on lately is the surprising polarity between people who are generally accepting in their lives, and those who are not. This, perhaps, in light of me trying to get out there and date a bit (which has been an extra smooth combination of awful and hilarious), and having interesting conversation with peers on the topic of relationships. Relationships are weird. That's pretty much all I've discerned about life from this whole experience.

A book I've been reading lately has gotten me thinking about the base 'goodness' of a human being. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. It is a lengthy book encompassing the strange, passionate lives of a modern family who set out to be good - but by their own blindness, ignorance, shame, or greed, they find it is difficult to change, difficult to surpass the past. I don't often read fiction like this because I've never really understood it. But I think after this year in particular, I am starting to understand the nature of 'The Mistake' (whatever that means) and it's life-long effect on every person I will ever meet. New fiction gives me all sorts of things to mull around in my brain, this one perhaps a little more melancholic, but a good learn (and an interesting read) nonetheless.

I've got two very important mantras for this year coming up. I believe this final year of school will prove to be more emotionally than academically challenging, now that the game has changed.

1. Burn no bridges. (Even if you dislike those bridges - even if those bridges have no respect for you)

2. Be honest. Be kind.

It's going to be important to keep an even keel as things happen around me this fall. Essentially "keep your eye on the ball" has never been a more important sports philosophy for life in general.

Happy summer, all!

Things to look at:

Congratulations to all you SFU kids who made it into the Montreal Film Festival's student competition!

If there's one thing I enjoy in this world it's production photos - Edgar Wright has been featuring Shaun of the Dead ones recently and it is super great

This from BriTANick

Nautilus - a lovely little online publication exploring science, philosophy, and culture

Tripping all over Western Canada.

The summer's pretty much over, but it's making room for delightful fall adventures - where I get to learn things! I cut all my hair off and bought a pair of shoes that aren't sneakers. I'm a grown up! Or something.

I've been traveling a bit. And by traveling, I mean going to see relatives. I don't get out much. First, I ferried over to the island via a long, hellish bus ride with camera equipment and, as usual, too many books. There I spent some time with my Gran and we went on some adventures. It's a tradition we go to Cumberland and pick up some delicious doughnuts at the local bakery. We went to Seal Bay, saw some seals - or rather, we heard them first, as they kept snorting at each other. We also went "plodging" at this great beach that, when the tide is out, there's this vast expanse of sand with shallow pools of saltwater flowing between eachother. Plodging is when you hike up your pants and plodge through these puddles. I think it's an English thing. My Gran is quite English. We pulled over to this road side cafe nestled in the trees called Becky's. They don't really have a menu. Just tell them what you want and they'll see if they can make it for you. What's better is that the owner is a gentleman with an artificial leg who has an affinity for karaoke. Oh, also the Nanaimo bars are the tallest I have ever seen. We spent a lunch at the Wandering Moose Cafe, who've got great soup and sandwiches and tea and things. For a fancy farewell dinner, we went into town to Atlas, where we shared a goat cheese tart and I had a burger that had regular burger fixings, plus pear and brie.

To Calgary! My mom took me to the zoo and we chatted while we perused the caged mammals. I was disappointed to see that the nocturnal portion had been closed down. The reptile and amphibian section was whittled down to some dwarf caimans and a tortoise, I think. I also obtained a pair of maroon pants that make me look like a 70's pimp. I dig it.

Canmore was hot and gorgeous, I spent some time just basking and reading. My dad took me to the Quarry before whisking me off to my Grandparent's farm for a couple nights. I reburned my sun burn. When I got to the farm I got mosquito bites ontop of my twice burned burn. There are few things as painfully itchy, methinks. We took the dogs out to the pond and hunted in the tall grass for (velociraptors) wood frogs and dragonflies and fancy-pants spiders. I found a friend down at the lake, a dragonfly was struggling in the water and I scooped him out. He hung out on my shirt sleeve for a good half hour before he deemed himself dry enough to fly away. I named him Horatio. It was nice to be up there for a bit. I don't think I've been that way since 2009. Seeing my grandparents and my uncle was great too.

Spent some time at the Paw with a group of friends. I would have liked another night with them all. I miss them quite a bit, especially since John left us. Time didn't permit much between everyone's schedule's though. Canmore lost another super guy last Wednesday quite suddenly. I'm sending all of my love out that way still, especially to his wife and all of his friends. It was such sad news to hear.

Spending time with my parents was pretty fly. Cracking vulgar jokes while drinking and roasting marshmallows, staying up to watch a movie only to have everyone just sort of fall asleep around me, pitchers of sangria for an anniversary dinner. It was pretty super. We all took a hike up to Grassi Lakes with my sister, aunt and rolly-polly dog. I walked into a lake and felt the coldest water on my legs since the East coast. I flew back to Vancouver the next day.

Here's a collection of the least dumb shots I took while I was away. I'm always disappointed that I don't have more/better footage. Le sigh. Try to enjoy none-the-less.

I came back to see that my garden had transformed into a tiny plot of jungle. The tomato plants were vast, when I was under the impression they wouldn't make it. One's even got some tomatoes already started. All of them have flowers. The radishes are MAD. I've got some good start on lettuces, flowers on the melon plant, more blossoms on the pumpkin plant. I've also now got another plot out back, which I might fill with root veggies - carrots and beets and more radishes, most probably.

A book you need to read? The Shadow of the Wind by one Carlos Ruiz Záfon. One of the most intriguing and richly written pieces I've read in a couple years. Now, this could mean I just haven't been reading much fiction. And I suppose I haven't. But I did really enjoy this novel. I went and bought his other book The Angel's Game last week. I can only hope it'll be a fraction as good as his first.

A film you need to watch? Rango! It's been said more than once that I have a child's taste in films, but I really did enjoy it. It was probably 20 minutes too long, but I really enjoyed the character design and the wondrous textures and references and all around awesomeness. I can really appreciate a film that pays just as much attention to it's secondary and background characters as it's protagonist. Also, there are very few human beings in the film. I also like that very much.

Now for some angst! There's been a funny, deep seated doubt I've seemed to have grown over the summer. After scraping all of that horrible sadness and lack of worth off my skin, I've seem to uncover something just festering away in a less accessible place, say a kidney or a spleen. I can't seem to shake it quite so easy. Hopefully some film work will drive it away. I don't like the feeling much. A future that once seemed boundless is now this slightly-too-small box that I'm destined to sit in with my knees under my chin and my ear pressed up against the top. I shudder at the prospect.

Here's my most recent Kingfisher Says post. Pretty much talking about what I just talked about in this post. But you get to see my weird face and hear all of my poorly chosen phrases and hums and haws! Yay! (Note: by far, the most convincing thumbnail to date proclaiming my sanity)