Broadcaster

Good news, bad news time. There is a broadcaster that is at least willing to have a look at "Nighthawks" which is good, of course. The bad news is that if, admittedly a big if, they are interested in pursuing it they would most likely insist on setting it up with a known producer who would in turn pass it along to a known production company which would mean their own casting and crew. Not so good. With all this in mind I think I'll keep plugging on my 3 episode approach and cut some of the footage into a feature length which can be entered into festivals and be used as a calling card for all those involved, including myself. If after that they are still interested in a series then everybody who helped with the feature would have at least a chance of being asked to go further with it. So, in the meantime, I've been trying to put a budget together for the shoot. You'd think it would be easier considering the amount of '$0.00's I've been entering on each line. Any rich uncles out there?

Indiecine

For any readers of this blog who are fellow filmmakers I've added a link to 'Indiecine' in the links section. A friend and I have started a short, intensive course which should help all would-be filmmakers understand the steps required in achieving their goals. I'll let the website speak for itself but if I were to sum things up in a nut shell it would be that we would encourage analyzing any project from a feasibility standpoint and to provide an understanding as to how important the proper documentation is when it comes to marketing said project so that an audience will have the opportunity to actually 'see' the final product.

Broadening The Scope

Thanks to the good fortune of having advice from some industry professionals and with the positive feedback I'm getting for the script I've decided to broaden the scope of the upcoming shoot. All in all I hope to have the first three episodes shot by sometime in the fall. Except for the pilot I plan to work the shoot as a series of vignettes or shorts that, for the most part, can be shot on a weekend, in the evenings or in a timeframe that doesn't over tax peoples schedules or their goodwill. There is another core group of characters to be introduced so casting is still very much up in the air. For the moment I have to suspend the meet and greets I wanted until I have a solid gameplan in place for the project.

With all the footage we'll have in the can I will be able to do what I wanted to do from the start; a feature length which will qualify for more film festivals while still having material for a broadcaster if the series idea finds an interested party. Lots of work ahead.

More email fun

I'm afraid I have email problems again. I believe Shaw is doing an upgrade to their High Speed in my neighbourhood which may be the cause. I know I've sent out emails to a number of people but they don't show up in my 'outbox' so my assumption is they're just floating out in cyberspace. I'll be working on this but keep watching the blog for updates.

Musical Good News

I just received some good news from the fine folks at Warner-Chappell. I've been given the greenlight to use Blues Hall of Famer, Nick Gravenites' song "Heartache People" for the online trailer and for Film Festival use. It would be hard to describe how important I feel this song is in the project as it says everything I can't about it. It still cost a bit which means I'll be forced to eat Kibbles and Bits for the next little while but there you have it.

I still have to make sure that the license is okay for Canada and a few other legalees things but it looks good for now. 

I've added a link to the iTunes store for you to be able to download the song if you so desire. 

Progress to date

First, my apologies for not keeping the blog up to date. Much ado at the moment. One of the things is determining the method with which we'll be shooting the project. If we go one way we can start earlier if we go another it will have to wait a little bit. In the meantime I'd like to meet each and everyone of our potential cast members just to get acquainted a little. Then on to some auditions and reads. Expect phone calls or emails in the next few days.

As I stated in earlier blogs I was unable to get all characters in the pilot I would have liked. Most of them won't surface 'til episodes 2 or 3 but I'd still like to meet. When it comes time for reads I have samples of some of the future character's dialogue. Failing that I might have you read for another role just to have a look.