On The Agenda

I am honing in on a shooting date for "Levitation". It will be on a weekend, on or after the weekend of May 15th, but before the end of June. I have just about everything in place and I am trembling with excitement!

I have not heard from Steve Jackson Games about the changes to "GURPS Traveller: Psionics Institutes", so I am not even thinking about it now.

The first draft of "War Paint" is done, and set aside for now. I'll type and revise it later. (Probably late May or June)

So on my plate now is just two projects:

Revisions for "A Tangled Web".

Pre-production for "Levitation".

I've dug out my manuscript for "A Tangled Web" and I am going to read it over this weekend.

I'm also going to install the new DVD burner and video capture card into my computer. I'll need those for post-production on "Levitation".

War Paint

The first draft of "War Paint" is complete. In long hand it is 74 pages long. I'm not worried. Typing and formating will lengthen it. I think it is OK. I'm a bit worried about the characters. I'm not sure I have enough scenes with the main characters or even enough of a sense of a central 'star'.

I'm not worrying about it. I'm setting it aside until after I have "A Tangled Web" completed and sent in to Rogue Publishing. I'm also going to probably wait until after the shooting of "Levitation" before I mess with typing and revisions for "War Paint".

First Phone Call

I made my first phone call to a production company. Whew! It's a good thing I called, too. They had moved from California to New York. I also have the story editor's name, so I can address the letter to her. The guy I spoke with was very nice. I have a good vibe on this one.

I'll make up my query letter for them about "Remember Me" and I'll mail it today. They are Alchemy Entertainment, by the way, the producers of "Ever After", "Anna and the King" and "Sweet Home Alabama".

Progress

I bought the lights, the video capture card, the firewire ports, blank DVDs and DVD burner that I'll need for Levitation. I need to install the firewire ports, card and DVD burner soon.

I'm starting to plan out the shooting schedule. I'm thinking it will take two days to shoot all the scenes with the mother character, so I might as well rent the camera for that long.

I really need to overcome a psychological block that is keeping me from making phone calls. I need to call the script departments of the production companies I found on monday and get the name of the script supervisor so I can address my query to her/him. I also need to call the camera rental place and ask some questions.

Schedule

I just heard from my friend, an actress who is scheduled to play in my movie "Levitation". She is planning to move to Texas in a month, a full two months before I'm scheduled to start filming. I can start filming sooner, but I am not sure she is still interested. Darn it!

I'm also to page 70 on "War Paint", very near the ending.

I read on a website about writing log lines (the short plot outlines used to sell movie concepts), and I made new ones for "Remember Me" and "War Paint", which I will use in the query letters I am organizing.

Monday

Mondays are still my big submission days. I have researched all morning and come up with 6 production companies to send queries for "Remember Me" and 6 production companies to send queries for "War Paint". I'll call them later and A) confirm their address, B) ask for the name of the person I should address the query to and C) ask if they look at unsolicited queries.

Now I am going to try and work on "War Paint" and finish it up. Of the four projects, finishing "War Paint" and the pre-production for "Levitation" are the easiest. Then I can focus on the edits for "A Tangled Web" and try to get that done before the rewrites for "Traveller: Psionics Institutes" arrive.

Changes in Plan

I heard back from Steve Jackson Games, and although the editor thinks my proposal and outline for "GURPS Traveller: Psionics Institutes" needs a lot of work, he is willing to work with me on it. I am waiting to receive his detailed comments to start working on that RPG sourcebook.

I have also received the comments about the changes Rogue Publishing wants for my game book "A Tangled Web", so I need to get to work on that as well.

The new editing software for the production of "Levitation" looks good. I have the funds to get the rest of the equipment I need and I will be buying and installing that this month. I want to have everything lined up by the end of this month, so the shooting schedule can be worked out for this summer.

I'd like to finish the script of "War Paint" while the story is still fresh. I'm on page 64, and would like to have a minimum of 90 pages, but anything over 80 will be acceptable.

I've completed Chapter One of Traveller's Log, and put it on hiatus. I didn't want to do it, but I am stretched too thin as it is.

So, as per my resolution with myself, since other projects have come through, my script writing resolution will temporarily be set aside. Not that I'll stop thinking about it, but I won't beat myself up for not working on it either.

So, time to get to work. Today, I'm starting with the edits for "A Tangled Web" and the pre-production for "Levitation".