Last Minute Roles

I have one role which was just a telephone voice over, but have now decided to get a real person to do this. Luckily I already had someone interested.

Unsteady Wardrobe Relations

This post should have been posted in April, but I just couldn’t get to it.
I’m not very good at asking for help, but have been very lucky with support for my first film Search Dog’s Raven. However, I’m in an ethical quagmire. A relative has graciously offered to sew much of the wardrobe, for which she will be paid when we sell the film. However, getting the items on time has caused a lot of stress. Despite months and months of lead time, they often arrive at the very last minute covered in loose threads and pet fur. And they aren’t always as requested. Sometimes she lays new pieces on the carpet, further adding to the hair. This greatly increases my work load as I need to remove the fur before actors wear them. Fleece garments are especially bad, some taking several hours to clean. I cannot seem to get the point across. When I do, her response is that she agreed to sew them, not to clean them. This, I am finding, is the dilemma of the first time independent filmmaker. Getting free help, without alienating relationships with all your family and friends.

November 29 PS: Despite all the stress, and all the unnecessary work, the wardrobe for Search Dog’s Raven was quite extensive for an independent film. I now feel a bit guilty about complaining and should just be grateful that someone was helping me.

Living out of Boxes

Most of my living space continues to be devoted to the film Search Dog’s Raven. I’ve been living out of boxes for over a year, with a blue screen type studio for photos and effects in the living room and an indoor set taking up most of the remaining space.

The Vacuum of Film Making

There are still a number of photos and special effects that need to be done and my living spaces is currently a studio. I’m using a vacuum that sucks great on the thrust, but redeposits half the dirt on the backup. This parallels my first film making experience. I’m not making any more films until I can afford a new vacuum.

Indie Film making Side Effects

I was looking for something in my calendar and was shocked at how many injuries and illnesses I’ve had over the last year or two. Guess the stress and exhaustion from making my first film is catching up to me.

Official Film Web Site

Well it took a lot of work, but the first phase of the newly designed SEARCH DOG'S RAVEN Web Site is up and running. The site was fairly large, so I’ve extended it from SEARCHDOGSRAVEN.COM to SEARCHDOGSRAVEN.NET. I hand coded the html’s because I just couldn’t learn yet another software package. Not for this film any ways.
Though fairly simple, the pages are coded to be very search engine friendly. which I haven’t always found to be the case when examining software generated html code. And it’s really paid off, as Google and a number of other search engines are actively bringing up SEARCHDOGSRAVEN.COM pages for search queries. Search dog, dog’s, dog films, a search film and search and rescue are common hits, but some of the more interesting search terms include action thriller log lines, dog wardrobes, dog spirituality, photo de raven in Hollywood, snow dogs trailer and raven movie special effects.
We’re also getting a lot of image searches as there are a lot of photos on the site and many more to come. I really like web sites with lots of photos.
Our traffic has also increased dramatically since the new site was launched. Luckily we’re hosted by Dreamhost.com and they offer great packages with lots of bandwidth.

Thank God for Modern Technology

Without a digital SLR camera, it would have taken even longer to make Search Dogs Raven. Without internet access, and yes I finally got high speed, few people would even know about the film. Thank goodness for the internet and also that high quality technology and software is now available to the masses.

Post Production Employment

I was born in Canada and decided to complete post production in Alberta. With the province’s low unemployment rate, I’ve lost several more people to paying jobs. Can’t expect them to stay forever on a deferred salary. However, my increased work load has increased my level of anxiety.