Vacation

That's what I'm in need of. It's so close I can smell it; so far away I can't even imagine what it looks like. Like my twitter says, I'm overwhelmed and underprepared.

The next episode of What Lurks in Shandon Forest will probably be a little late. I'm hoping I'll get it up sometime tomorrow, but I haven't been functioning at 100% lately. A lot of you have already heard this from me, but my schedule is a little fuller than it should be as of late. I'm taking five courses in University (a full course load); plus 12 hours of work a week; plus trying desperately to write a feature length screenplay, a short film, April's Pulp Horror serial, and a new series I want to premiere in May or June; and I'm acting in a short film this weekend, all day Saturday and Sunday (with rehearsals on Wednesday and Friday). It's probably also worth mentioning that I have six papers due in the next five weeks.

I'm in a glass house of my own construction. And I'm doing a terrible job of prioritizing, and an even worse job of delaying what can be delayed. For example, I should be doing less screenplay writing, and more essay writing. But I have all these ideas in my head, and not enough hours in the day to get them out.

But enough of my whining. Part Two may be a little late (think: Monday). For that I apologize. If nothing else, let the above stand as a testament; a statement of my intent to organize myself better, and focus myself on finishing one thing before starting a dozen others. My first priority, for the next 38 days, should be school. Then Pulp Horror. Then the rest.

Let's see what happens.

Time and Money

With no money and even less time to produce Pulp Horror, pretty much every episode has changed at least a little bit from script to screen. This has been true from day one, and is no less true with the start of the third serial, What Lurks in Shandon Forest.

I'm going to throw a few examples at you from the script of this episode. According to the script this is how the episode starts:

EXT. FOREST

Untouched snow lies on the ground, branches and tree trunks rising up from unseen dirt.

Without warning footsteps rush past with a flurry of snow and panting breaths.


Of course, anyone who's seen the episode knows that it now starts with a much different shot; George pouring himself a cup of coffee. The shot works. I like the shot. But I still think the original opening is better, largely because it is important foreshadowing for later episodes--it gives you a clue as to what Will is talking about. And it could have still been followed by the shot of George pouring himself that cup of coffee.

Next up:

He approaches the intercom - passing an open doorway where we catch sight of something, not long enough for us to know what - and presses a button.

Not much, and done right half of you probably would have missed it, but important nonetheless for reasons which I think are obvious. This was not just a time issue (as the first change was) but also a budget issue. And although it's not a major change, the fine details can make or break these things--especially for those of you crazy (brave) enough to come back for a second viewing.

Anyways, I've said it before and I'll say it again: hopefully once I'm done with school I'll be able to dedicate more time to this whole crazy endeavour; maybe even a little bit of cash money. Until then, I hope you enjoy what you see, even if it's not as complete as I would ideally like.

The Next Serial

Episode One of "What Lurks in Shandon Forest" is going to be a few hours later than usual. It'll still be up on Friday (EST time anyways), just not as early as they've been for the last few weeks. I'm going to call it at 8pm. I need to get a few more shots, do a touch more editing, and then prime my archaic, simplistic website for everything. Then: showtime.

Those of you reading this while it's still timely and relevant and not after the episode has gone live: Sorry. Thanks for dropping by. Hope to see you again in a few hours/minutes.

The rest of you: Thanks for watching! Hope you've enjoyed what you've seen. Feel free to drop me a line.

Two Down; Plenty More Where that Came From

So earlier today the last episode of The Horror in the Eidolon Apartments went live, and tomorrow we start production on the next serial: What Lurks in Shandon Forest. Part of me loves the fast pace of all this. Most of me in fact. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want a little more time to myself.

Of course, I only have to make 7 more episode before I'm done with school, at which point my schedule become significantly more manageable. I'll be down to 32 hours a week of work, with no homework and therefore undisrupted evenings and weekends to focus on filmmaking. Who knows, I might even find a little time to have a social life in there.

Anyways, I'm counting the days. Thank you all for tuning in so far. I hope you enjoyed watching Pulp Horror as much as I enjoyed making it.

So I'm busy

Not going to say that episode two is going to be late, just letting you know that I'm a little busy right now (what else is new, right?). I just finished a rough cut of Necrotesque as a single short film, clocking in at just over 30 minutes. I'm going to be fidgeting with it a little for a potential future DVD release although that's probably just going to be for cast and crew. If it ever become publicly available I'll be sure to let everyone know here and on the facebook group. Did I mention we have a facebook group? Why don't you go join the facebook group?

Also forthcoming I'm likely going to create a facebook page (you know, those things where you can become a fan of something).

And lastly, the reason I really made this post, I wanted to ask everyone who's checking out the website to let me know if they find any broken links or other problems with the website. Drop me a line if you spot any problems, or if you just felt like dropping me line for some other reason.

I did say February 6th!

So somehow, despite my own low expectations, I actually managed to get the first episode of The Horror in the Eidolon Apartments online, on time. I'm as surprised as you are. Maybe more so. If you're here and haven't watched it yet, well hell, go check it out!

I also managed to get a few more things online. Specifically, you can now check out some bloopers. Enjoy!

Cast/crew pages are still in the works, but I've got a template in the oven and am hoping to get it online by the end of the weekend. Then you'll have even more information to wade through!

I'm also thinking of officially switching back to Friday updates, now that I don't need to wait 12 to 72 hours for my videos to be approved.

I hope to see you all back here next Friday! Thanks for dropping by!

Did I Say February 6th?

What's that Ian? You're shirking your responsibilities on the web series because of your school work?

...yes. Well, no. Maybe?

I have a paper due tomorrow and a mid-term. Due in no small part to my excellent time management skills, I'm not ready for either of them. I'm not expecting to have the first episode of the Horror in the Eidolon Apartments ready Friday. Consider yourself warned.