News Updates From Michael Heck

NEWS UPDATES FROM MICHAEL HECK

.:November 17, 2009:.

The word of the day is costumes! Thinking about costumes, talking about costumes, trying on costumes, taking pictures of costumes. Costumes, costumes, costumes! I'm not knocking the importance of costumes (I would never), but maybe not my favorite subject. Just because, well, I've never really had the best eye for costumes, maybe? Amy Christie did a great job with Nathan DuPree...I can't count how many times I've defaulted to a navy blue jumpsuit when I didn't have any other ideas. For Herb X I just used all of Amy's ideas again. For ND3 I had Zairi Malcolm, and of course the amazing horse mask created by Spica Cheng (now Spica Wobbe, I believe). Motel Room I was on my own, I think, and I felt a lot more confident picking out wallpaper than picking out shirts. This time I most likely have help. It's only five outfits, plus three more. Five plus three.

.:November 10, 2009:.

More production planning...things are going well, moving right along. I'm getting convinced that it's actually going to be fun!

Still working on locations, crew, set, costumes, etc. But it's definitely getting real in my head. I've also been thinking a lot about music...I'm not sure yet what direction to go in for the film's music, but I've been inspired lately (as ever) by the music of Ryuichi Sakamoto. I still remember the first time I heard of him. It was at the Bardavon, in Poughkeepsie, at the annual Vassar College dance performance there. It must have been in the winter of 1997, and there was a dance performance that was called something like "Two by Ryuichi Sakamoto." I remember so clearly the feeling of listening to that music for the first time in that enormous opera house that I immediately began searching for the recording. This being just before I would immediately turn to the internet for a search such as this, I went to Tower Records and bought his recent release, Smoochy, the late '90s being the end of the era where one could actually search and find little-known or at least less popular music in a large record store.

Smoochy was a strange genre-bending recording, what I could only describe as easy-listening electronica with ghost-like, breathy Japanese vocals, yet what I was searching for was a hard-hitting piano and string ensemble instrumental. The search continued, but not before both my roommate and his father became enthusiastic Smoochy fans. Once again I returned to Tower Records, until I came upon 1996, a collection Sakamoto's pieces, reinvented (by himself) for a trio of piano, violin, and cello. This was what I'd been searching for, and since then I've been a Sakamoto fan, most recently of his ongoing collaboration with digital sound artist Alva Noto on several recent recordings.

Although there is more to Ryuichi Sakamoto's music than Japanese pop-electronica, ensemble music string trios, and minimalist digital soundscapes, what makes him such an inspiration to me is his constant creativity, his ability to really be forever new, no matter how many times he reinvents Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. His music makes me question why I'm putting the camera at eye-level, why I'm shooting a closeup, why everything is the way it is, and how it could be made more effective, if only it were a little bit more...

.:November 3, 2009:.

As promised, photos from last week's location scout. Bush Terminal is full of amazing locations...but today I have photos of just one.

Hopefully this is where I'll get to shoot...I'm working on it! I'd say I've forgotten how complicated it is getting locations in this city, but I've never had to get a location like this before. One company is the leasee, another's the manager, another's the owner, etc. And whatever one says, the next says the exact opposite, and the third finds a way to contradict both the first and second, even though they too disagreed. At any moment I expect the solicitor's assistant to arrive and report that my trial has not been going well at all...

"Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything wrong, he was arrested."

.:October 27, 2009:.

More short film location scouting and building...I finally took pictures, which I can't wait to share! I'm shooting entirely in Brooklyn this time around, which I'm looking forward to. I haven't shot an exterior in the city since Herb X, when I shot completely with exteriors because I didn't have any locations. Both ND3 and Motel Room were almost entirely shot with interiors, so this will be a nice mix of both. No need to go over the deep end every time!

My Facebook announcement for the Puzzled screening has gone over pretty well...people might actually come! The festival is also hosting opening and closing night parties which could also be fun, adn will give me an excuse to give out some of the Puzzled postcards I have on my shelf!

.:October 20, 2009:.

I received a very ominous email from the Big Apple Film Festival saying that my screening as yet had sold no (zero!) tickets! Don't worry, I've kept my composure and responded the only rational way possible: I put the screening as an event on Facebook! Let's see if anyone shows up. I remain calm by believing that if I had a friend/associate/acquaintance with a short film in a festival, I would not most likely purchase a ticket in advance but instead just show up and hope for the best, which is what I'm hoping all the people who consider me a friend/associate/acquaintance are doing right now.

Also regarding Facebook, Ben Miller posted an amazing picture of our Sight & Sound class on his facebook page, setting off a flurry of responses. It was fun, but not all that nostalgic as most of the people who responded I'm still in touch with. The picture:

I made it small so you might not be able to find me! I look the same.

.:October 13, 2009:.

More short film preparations and also working on Kelvin Bias's film this week...I have been building a set, which I haven't done since Motel Room, but it's tons of fun. Actually I'm using much of the set from Motel Room for this film, but I don't think it'll be recognizable. I'm also, by the way, using the wood paneling from the therapist scene in Nathan DuPree and the Knights of Yesterland.

.:October 6, 2009:.

The 6th Annual Big Apple Film Festival program is now available! Puzzled is playing on Friday, November 6 at 6:30pm in Tribeca Cinemas Theater 2. For the complete schedule, CLICK HERE!

Tickets will be available starting October 11. To purchase tickets, please CLICK HERE!

.:October 6, 2009:.

The Big Apple program is scheduled to be out tomorrow. We'll see.

Just found out from the short film depot that applications are now available for the 16th Regensburg Short Film Week! Perhaps it's time for Puzzled's German debut?

Wish I had some cool images to share, but alas, I have nothing. I am short film planning full-time, with no time for taking pictures. But since we're on the topic of Germany, here's one from my 30 mintues in Germany on a Sunday in 2001, when all that was open was a fast food restaurant, and I never got my passport stamped.

.:September 29, 2009:.

Still no official program from the Big Apple Film Festival! What are they waiting for? Impatiently waiting...

So I'm officially shooting a short film this fall. It's based on the feature I've been working on, but it's only 4+ pages long, so it's going to be shot in two days. I'm in the midst of casting and location scouting, the two most difficult parts of filmmaking for me. At least with casting, there's probably some reason why people would actually want to be in a movie, but there's no reason I can think of why someone would want you to shoot a movie at their place, whatever their place may be. I'm working on it.

I hope to get everyone excited and announce casting soon, maybe even before the Big Apple Film Festival announces their program. No, really, I'm not impatient.

.:September 22, 2009:.

I got a message today through my withoutabox account that said that Puzzled had been accepted to the 6th annual Big Apple Film Festival! I am very excited...a film of mine hasn't played in a theater in New York since Nathan DuPree in 2000, and never in a real competitive film festival. And it's a nice change from all those "Dear Filmmaker" rejection emails I've been getting for the last 9 1/2 years.

The official program has not yet been announced for this year's festival, but you can still check out their website: CLICK HERE!

.:September 20, 2009:.

Puzzled and Corn can now be viewed at MiShorts.com! MiShorts is a brand new UK-based paid short film download site, which is great, because I can finally make some pence off my shorts!

In addition, I've taken Puzzled and Corn off view on www.preginning.com, so I can see how successful the films will be when they're not available for free. Don't worry, they'll be back some day (perhaps even some day really, really soon).

Lots of other things going on...there's a rumor floating around that Motel Room will finally be completed in true HD, which would be fantastic, and a first for a film of mine. Also always looking backward and forward at the same time. Currently I'm in need of a Hi-8 video player, a cassette player, and a slide scanner. It will all come together. And to top it off I think tomorrow I will be back wandering around South Brooklyn.

» Puzzled on MiShorts.com

» Corn on MiShorts.com

.:September 15, 2009:.

Well as quickly as summer arrived, now it has gone. Autumn is just around the corner with the promise of shorter days and cold weather. But the long, chilly nights are perfect writing times. I look forward to writing something new soon.

Today was certainly a last chance beach day for this summer season, so I took yet another ride out to the Rockaway coast and Riis park, to soak in the warm sea air for maybe the last time, until next year.

What will I do without the distraction of warm sunshine? Well I hope to have an announcement very soon about Puzzled and Corn, and of course I'm always working toward something new. And I'm helping produce Kelvin Bias's upcoming feature film, which should start filming next month.

.:September 8, 2009:.

Photo by Riahna VanSciver

Reporting in from Memphis with this fantastic picture of the big M bridge over the Mississippi.

.:September 1, 2009:.

More photographic travels with which to celebrate the arrival of the great month of September. A couple of weeks ago I took my Brownie Six-20 and took the A train and shuttle all the way to Rockaway Park. My goal was make it all the way to the western tip of Rockaway beach, and I did, but don't tell anyone, because to do it I had to go through Breezy Point, which is not allowed, or at any case highly discouraged. Truly I did no harm, and I respected the dozens of No Trespassing signs I saw on the way and didn't cross any of them.

My journey took me through Jacob Riis Park, which, I guess based on its placement on the subway map (don't even bother looking for it on that map, by the way, because they seem to have taken it off), I thought would be isolated, but was pretty much packed (even though it may not look like it in this picture). I guess lots of people have cars in New York, because not everyone's going to bother taking the secret bus that never comes and goes nowhere.

But I finally made it to the end. The west end of Rockaway looked almost identical to Jone's Beach's West End 2, except that instead of overlooking Long Beach, it looks out over Coney Island. Certainly one of the best and rarely seen views in the city.

This is a picture of seagulls, but there was also this amazing bird that I did not take a picture of, which was black with a truly absurd orange bill, that looked like it belonged in the Amazonian rain forest but instead decided to make its home in Queens. Also, if you are actually interested in Amazon rain forest birds, you may CLICK HERE.

.:August 25, 2009:.

If you like things that are awesome, you're definitely going to want to check out Star Trek: Final Frontier. It's a proposed post-Next Generation Star Trek animated series co-created by Doug Mirabello, the genius behind Corn 2.

If you doubt how awesome it will be, just check out this image of Captain Chase, then be sure to CLICK HERE!

.:August 25, 2009:.

I was looking through my harddrive of pictures, and I came upon the Eight Motel Rooms folder. Eight Motel Rooms was a photo project I shot with the assistance of Todd Lepre back in the summer of 2003, in preparation for the Motel Room shoot that fall. The shoot took place in a motel room on Long Island and was shot on 35mm still film and lit with room lights and a bare incandescent bulb on an extension cord. The images were scanned and color-balanced in Photoshop, and the project was finished on Swish as an eight-part Flash movie, but I realized most of the stills were never seen on their own. Since I think some of them are pretty good, here's a nice sampling of what I think are the best:

.:August 18, 2009:.

I finally got my pictures back from my first-ever medium format roll of film! I am pleased with the result, but since there are only seven images in the roll I still want to see more. As I mentioned before, there is a certain freedom in not being able to make exposure adjustments, and I think with a little more practice, the images will reflect that freedom.

I don't know why I've been so excited lately about using image-making technology that is, if not obsolete, certainly out-of-date. I still have never owned a digital camera, but I do like digital cameras for the convenience, especially the convenience of having nearly no limit to how many pictures can fit on a memory card these days. But I also think there is a certain value to the opposite: having few pictures to take and having to be a bit more considerate of each picture. Not that every image taken with a Polaroid or Six-20 camera is going to be better than an image taken with a cell phone.

I have always enjoyed the separation between making the picture and enjoying it. Although I have no research to substantiate this claim, I think the majority of digital pictures taken are never viewed beyond the LCD screen on the back of the camera. There is something so exciting about waiting a day or two for pictures to be printed. This feeling was magnified when making a movie and shotting on film, because the preparation for shooting was always so intense, and expensive. I remember sitting in the screening room and watching the 16mm work print for the first time and thinking, "Is this it? Is this all I have to show for a year's worth of work?"

This initial disappointment (and it is always a disappointment) was followed by a short (give or take six months) depression. But after that, there is the most glorious acceptance, and an amazing feeling that you have made something, something unique and wonderful, with hopefully the potential of actually becoming a movie one day. And the excitement comes from the fact that you know you can never go back. Any mistake made on set is permanently burned into the silver emulsion, and the opportunity for a do-over has long since passed.

.:August 11, 2009:.

Well, summer seems finally to be here, although we still have been getting an amazing amount of storms. I've never seen so much lightning. Sunday was extra-nice, though cloudy, and I took a walk to test out my grandfather's Kodak Flash Brownie Six-20 camera that I just retrieved and bought some T-Max 620 film for (although every internet source I could find claims 620 film, which was basically 120 with a thinner spool, was discontinued in 1995, B&H seems still to be selling it, although it does look hand-wrapped in aluminum foil, and the inner wrapper did say 120, so that may clear up that particular mystery). Much like Polaroid, there seem to be entire internet cutures dedicated to Brownie cameras and lots of other things, including single-use flashbulbs, which are still being produced, but only in Ireland (really).

I enjoyed shooting with the Brownie, which was produced in the '40s and '50s, because there's no way to control the exposure (a quick survey of websites has people saying things like, "I think the shutter speed is between..." or, "aperature probably about..."), so for me I just looked around and figured I'd get a better exposure on a cloudy day with 400 film instead of 100. I have no idea, really, if that's true. I'll share some pictures when I get them processed and you can be the judge.

I am always happy to shoot in black and white, however. In fact, this picture makes me wish I shot Nathan DuPree in black and white:

Also, here's the first look at one of my black and white shots from Paris this past May, where I went for a few days after leaving Cannes. The woman on the left is definitely not with the band:

Oh, what's one more:

.:August 4, 2009:.

More festival submissions this past week...looking toward some international festivals and markets. Hopefully I'll have good news soon!

In addition to withoutabox.com, I've been sending through the Short Film Depot, which is a resource for European festivals especially for short films. Check it out HERE.

.:August 1, 2009:.

To celebrate the great month of August, here are four brand new Polaroids, taken this week from my very own roof in Brooklyn.

Speaking of August, CLICK HERE if you're interested in learning about the month formerly known as Sextilis.

.:July 31, 2009:.

Today I corrected some long-standing mistakes in the credits of The Making Of Puzzled: Ten Years Later and Corn. The corrected versions are now available to watch on the Films page.

Yesterday I made a change in the credits of Puzzled, since I've been sending the film out to more festivals. Several people at Cannes remarked that they found the acknowledgement that it was shot in 1997 confusing, so I took it out for future festival screener DVDs. For the record, the film was shot in 1997, with the exception of one shot (the closeup of Heath's hand near the end with the red puzzle piece in it), which was shot in January of 1998, and the opening titles, which were elements from a titles project I made in a titles class in the spring of 1999 (according to my unofficial college transcript on the NYU website). I think the craft of optical titles is probably completely dead by now (just a guess), but I was lucky enough to learn all about it from Keith Purdy, who most likely worked on lots of great films, but I can't confirm that anywhere on the internet (the IMDb has completely failed me, although it does have a Keith Purdy, and it may be the same person for all I know). Puzzled, by the way, was completed in 2007-2008 with new editing, sound design, end titles, and music.

.:July 28, 2009:.

I have a new reel! It's just 2 1/2 minutes long and has highlights from Sight & Sound all the way through Motel Room.

CLICK HERE to check it out!

.:July 21, 2009:.

I've been writing again! I love seeing a new idea transform into a script, even though I am constantly reminded of my own weaknesses. Also, I love the excuse to go on Wikipedia and look things up. Not that I believe that Wikipedia should be a writer's preferred reference tool, but it's really so much fun. FOR EXAMPLE.

.:July 14, 2009:.

Puzzled can now been seen on this website! CLICK HERE to watch!

Also, I had a great experience helping out this past weekend with Chilembwe Mason's short film Escape...can't wait to see some of the stuff we shot, and if something gets posted I will definitely put a link up on this page!

.:July 7, 2009:.

I missed updating last Tuesday, so I wanted to make this update truly spectacular! However, I may not succeed as it seems summer has come in like a lamb, with nothing going on. This coming weekend I'm working for Chilmbwe Mason on the set of his latest short film, so I'm really looking forward to that.

Been taking Polaroids, and I love it more than ever. For those of you who have wondered what the Polaroid process really is, check out Polaroid on Wikipedia, but don't expect to make any sense of it. The point is that it's awesome and quickly becoming a curiosity, if it's not already there. But as long as the stuff is available, people will shoot with it, and the world is big so curiosity interest is better than nothing. Clicking over to Amazon.com, I see that although film and cameras are still for sale, prices are now about $20 per 10-picture roll of 600 film, which is, to me at least, incredibly expensive. The Share the Love film is cheaper and, as far as I know, identical, as I mentioned last update.

Finally, it seems that a company called Impossible will be launching Polaroid-style film for Polaroid cameras sometime in the next year or so. Read more here: http://www.the-impossible-project.com/.

.:June 23, 2009:.

It's been seven years since I've shot a film on real film. Digital has taken over. Recently I've read about Polaroid filing for bankruptcy and Kodak cancelling Kodachrome. I still prefer to shoot 35mm photographs, but much of the time it feels like an unnecessary luxury. Film and its rich texture, color, and depth are simply no longer necessary to capture an image. It has been an amazing shift in the last several years away from film. Products and services that were available recently seem like dinosaurs now. I've mentioned before how black and white 35mm printing is completely dead. I wonder how long relatively inexpensive color printing will last. I think that film will continue to survive, but as an artistic medium, or a curiosity, more than a viable commercial image-creation system.

Check out http://www.polapremium.com/share-the-love/ if you happen to have a large group of friends who are all dying to keep Polaroid instant film alive. I only recently shot my first Polaroid film, and I love it. It reminds me of shooting black and white 16mm reversal back in Sight & Sound, because since there's no printing process when you can fix things, it just has to be right the first time. It just is what it is. That and the pictures are square, and it makes every image look like it was shot hundreds of years ago, before anyone even ever heard the word "digital." This one's from Athens, July 2007.

.:June 16, 2009:.

Final Cannes update (for now)!

Although I've said pretty much all I have to say about the amazing Cannes experience and the Short Film Corner, I think it was a trip worthy of several dedicated articles, so here's the last one. I'm certain I'll be back, but the first time is always special, and it certain won't be forgotten.

I have been hearing some little bits of news from the other festivals I applied to this spring, for Puzzled and also for Motel Room. I only applied to one festival (ACEFEST) for Motel Room, and it was not selected, so the search continues for a Motel Room premiere screening! I haven't gotten any rejections yet for Puzzled, but there's still plenty of time.

Finally, it's been a while since I've had a musical treat, and this one is certainly not mine to give, but it's pretty great. Too bad it's already been in like 500 TV shows and movies. But I've noticed that there's just some music that seems to make any image meaningful. Listen quick before it disappears!

.:June 9, 2009:.

More on Cannes...!

The Short Film Corner at the Festival de Cannes is an enormous meeting-place for filmmakers from all around the world. It's non-competitive, and functions as a market, but in essence it is true forum for the exchange of ideas, and business cards. It's a place where everyone is truly on equal footing and, with film in hand, shows up knowing no one in the hopes of broadening professional horizons on the path to bigger and better things. It is also a big green hallway with fluorescent lights and free espresso.

I attended the Short Film Corner for the final four days, Tuesday, May 19 - Friday, May 22. Each day, after having cafe and croissant for breakfast on the train to Cannes, I immediately went to the coffee counter and ordered a tall espresso. Having such a limited amount of time in Cannes, I wanted to spend as much time meeting people and watching films and as little time as possible eating, so I existed mostly on caffeine, with the occasional sandwich.

I loved spending lots of time sitting in the Short Film Corner meeting area at one of the small tables, watching all of the filmmakers pass. As all the filmmakers would eventually come in to check out what was going on that day, I saw everyone. On the first day, I was invited to drinks at the Hotel Martinez, one of the large hotels on the Croisette, the boulevard in Cannes that runs along the beach, and all of the people I met at that first drinks sessions I met again by sitting in the Short Film Corner and drinking espresso.

As the hours and days passed I met more filmmakers, producers, actors, and networkers, from Brazil, Norway, Australia, England, France, Italy, and even the USA. Of the 2000 films registered for the Short Film Corner, I estimate about 500 were represented by posters, postcards, or people at the Short Film Corner. Of those 500 I probably say hello to about 100, and I'll probably keep in touch with 10. Knowing how wonderful and interesting the people I met are makes me regret not talking to all the people I didn't meet, but I guess that's the case with any huge gathering.

At 5pm each night was the Short Film Corner Happy Hour. The occasion of free drinks usually packs the house, so it was a great time to find the people you wanted to talk to again but just didn't see during the rest of the day. At the final Happy Hour on Friday, I realized there were so many people around I hadn't even seen before, and it made me really feel just how quickly my time at the festival had passed. During the four days, I met several festival "regulars," people who had come to four, five, or six Festivals de Cannes. They all told me I'd be back, and when I think of all those filmmakers gathering at 5pm without me, somehow I think I'll be back, too.

In the evenings, there were red-carpet screenings and free cinema on the beach. There were drinks at the pavillions, white tents lined up on the shore next to the Palais des Festivals. On the final Friday, there was a party for all makers of short films at the Plage Majestic, the private beach annex of the Croisette's oppulent Hotel Majestic. And on the following day, the Short Film Corner was gone, and I spent the day watching movies. And then it was over.

On the final day of the Short Film Corner, I signed out a nine-seat screening room for Puzzled's official premiere screening. At 1:45pm, there were still a few empty seats in the tiny room, but I started the film and to my great relief received a very positive reception. Once 5 minutes and 36 seconds passed and the film was over, I knew my time at Cannes had been well worth the trip.

.:June 2, 2009:.

I picked up my pictures just now but have not yet scanned any to put on this page! So in order to divert your attention, I did a quick Google search for "Puzzled Michael Heck" and a link popped up (to my general astonishment!). It was a news article on music composer Adam Blau's new website about Puzzled's May 13 debut at the Short Film Corner. CLICK HERE for Adam's article, but also definitely click around his fancy website...especially to the mp3 clips of all his wonderful music compositions (including Puzzled!).

.:June 1, 2009:.

So of course my pictures are not yet developed and printed, so I do not have any to show here. However, I did receive an email from the actor/filmmaker Chilembwe Mason with a link to his pictures from Cannes and the Short Film Corner, and because I am impatient I've decided to go ahead and take some of his pictures and use them here without permission. I hope he forgives me.

It is hard to describe the atmosphere at the Short Film Corner without recalling the last time I was in a room with hundreds of other filmmakers. The year was 2000 and it was the closing night party of the NYU First Run Festival. I don't remember exactly where it was, but it was in some restaurant on the upper west side, and it followed the Wasserman Awards ceremony that was held in one of the Lincoln Center Theaters, maybe Alice Tully Hall. In any case, the party was open bar and followed not just a two-week festival full of screenings, get-togethers, and networking, but was the culmination of four years of college, thousands of hours of work, and truly unthinkable amounts of money. The result was a final release in which I saw sides I'd never seen before of people I'd known for years involving general drunken mayhem, trouble-making, and disaster.

A mere nine years later, I stepped into the Short Film Corner in the -1 level of the Cannes Palais de Festivals and it was like stepping right back into film school. Filmmakers everywhere, postcards or flyers in hand, talking about their films in so many different languages that the only universal was the enthusiasm for the work. From the first minute I entered, I was bombarded with requests to attend this mini-screening, or watch that film, that the only logical response to the barrage was to wait patiently for the next onslaught, postcard in hand, prepared for the counter-attack.

In the end the enthusiasm was addictive, and I felt equally excited for others' films as for my own. I saw so many wonderful films that mentioning them in a row here would be like scanning the 2000-film Short Film Corner program book into Flickr and posting the slideshow. But each day at the 5pm Happy Hour, I looked forward to congratulating others on their excellent work, or talking with another filmmaker about their future plans, and how our future plans might somehow collide. Perhaps most valuable is the realization that I've never yet made a film without at least one person who wasn't at that wild First Run party back in 2000, and at the Short Film Corner closing night party (La Fete du Court) I had the same feeling, that surrounding me in every direction were people with whom I would be hopefully sharing the next nine (or more) years of filmmaking experiences.

Me with filmmaker Kelvin C. Bias.

Happy Hour at the Short Film Corner.

Me with Chilembwe Mason at La Fete du Court.

Photos by Chilembwe Mason 2009.

.:May 29, 2009:.

I'm back from Cannes! It was incredible and I can't wait to share pictures. Suffice to say it was an amazing trip...I had a mini-screening for Puzzled that went really well, and I met lots of filmmakers from all over the world. And I got some really positive feedback, which of course was a big thrill. I will definitely have more for next Tuesday's update, but I missed 2 and May is almost over so I wanted to check in. For now I'm just writing emails and catching up on sleep!

.:May 12, 2009:.

This week marks the tenth anniversary of my graduation from NYU! Back then it was like a strange dream. In fact, the first thing I did after graduation (after getting a part-time job at Tower Records) was crew on Sean Carter's senior film, The Surface, with everyone else from school. After that I spent the bulk of my time completing Nathan DuPree, which culminated in the First Run Festival the following March. It was only after that that I started to feel really separated from college.

In any case, in celebration of this anniversary, I created a new Sight & Sound - Doug's Reviews page. Sometime after Sight & Sound, which was Fall 1996, Doug created a Group 8 website, complete with celebrity stand-in photos of the four of us (I was Christopher Lambert) and reviews of all of our Sight & Sound films. Since there's no mention of Color Sync, at least on my page, I'm assuming he created the website sometime in spring of 1997.

The site has been down for years, but since I knew even at the time it was completely brilliant, way back then I saved the html to my page. However, since I knew nothing about websites, I didn't save the images, but I do have Doug's fantastic reviews of Rabbit, Dream Horse, Last Dance, Vampire, and The Package, and you can read them on the new Doug's Reviews page, complete with a still from each film. Check it out HERE!

And finally, as promised I found the Corn pictures I was looking for, or rather I found the negatives and the contact sheet. Most of the pictures I have never printed, so I'll have remedy that soon, but for now, I scanned the one print I did make, and added it to the Corn page. And since it's so nice, I wanted to make it super-big, too, so I created a new Corn Poster page, which you can check out HERE!

.:May 5, 2009:.

I just noticed that today is el Cinco de Mayo! Yet another holiday that I will never know the origin of, or reason for.

I've been getting an increasing amount of emails from other Short Film Corner filmmakers, who have either set up mini-screenings of their films, or are just writing people to say hello and introduce themselves. I have no idea how they got my email address, but I think it's nice that they checked in. I've also received some information about different competitions, but I don't think I'm right for any of them (i.e. one month residency for a musical comedy project). Also some workshops, but most of them are the same (adaptation workshop, anyone?). I think it's great, but there's no "original-script urban brooding independent how-to" workshop or competition, because I guess that's just too obvious and enrollment would be flooded. However, to get back to the original point, if people email me I will definitely check out their film, because it's only the courteous thing to do, and I really love short films, and I'm excited when other people are excited.

.:May 1, 2009:.

When it rains, it pours! Just in time for the new Puzzled look, Motel Room gets its very own page on the IMDb! CHECK IT OUT!

And speaking of the weather:

.:May 1, 2009:.

To celebrate this month's Puzzled premiere, I've given this news page a new look, with the first new update icon in over three years and fancy new yellow-black stripes. I hope you like it!

.:News Update Archive:.