Schedule for this week and the next

Dec. 28 -- Scene 2,5 - Ed's house ---- Fairview
Dec. 29 -- Scene 11 -- Gunman Battle - San Mateo
Dec. 30 -- Scene 11 -- Gunman Battle - San Mateo
Jan. 01 -- Scene 11,12,3 or 15
Jan. 2/3 - Scene 15 -- NPC Battle - U.P.
Jan. 4/5 - General meeting & rehearsal (Scenes 3,5,8,13,20,24)
Jan. 6-8 - Scene 15,8,3,5,2,12 or 20 (in order of importance)
Jan. 11 -- Scene 13 -- Jenny's house - Cubao

"/" means "or"

Basically our priority is the NPC Battle at UP. Whenever more than 3 crew members are available along with Edward, Ethan, Jenny and/or NPC commander, we should definitely shoot the NPC Encounter scene at UP and try to finish as much of it as we can. This is one of the longest scenes in the movie and one with alot of action, hence the difficulty of the shooting.

On Jan. 4 (Sunday) I'm planning a general meeting & rehearsal involving most, if not all of our members at our new very own studio (near my house). I'd like to introduce our newest members (3 of 'em) and rehearse a number of scenes that are next on our filming list (alot of them). Finally we can have our final casting now that we've got some new members and probably fill up all those missing holes in our cast of characters. People who I'm hoping would surely be there to practice their roles are:
Eduardo Punsalan
Neil Ryan Santos
Matt Inducil
Terence Agasin
Joesam Naldoza
and the new guy for Ethan
and of course everyone's presence is of vital significance. The more complete we are the better. Plus, I didn't get to give you guys our giveaway Crimson-Kyroz pocket calendars last Tuesday so make sure you're there next Sunday to grab one ;) Now you see, these schedules are tentative, and depends on everyone's availability, we can have the meeting on Saturday or Monday depending on you guys. As for Monday to Wednesday, we shoot whichever scene we can depending on the availability of the actors. So I guess I'll be seeing you then, oh, and by the way, Merry Christmas team! That's it, that's the spirit! Happy Holidays guys!

Updates: What's new and coming up?

Well, there's a lot that's new and some things to expect. But first, some updates on our documents:
Glitched Script:
Glitched v2.1.doc Download
Scene listing (Important):
Scenes.doc Download

So what else is up? Well, we've got a new cast member, and he'll be playing Ethan (awesome!). So that's one stone out of our path, and here's more: We're gonna have two new recruits, a graphic artist and a photographer. The graphics guy got captivated by our works and is willing to help us throughout the whole production. He's already starting to study After Effects so he can help me edit the whole movie! I'll be introducing him along with the other new guys on the next blog. As for the photographer guy, he's also willing to help me out full time with directing and cinematography. And the best part is, it's for free :) Cool eh? Just when I thought the world was on our shoulders, two angels come down from heaven to give us a helping hand. Stay tuned, more to come!

Glitched Script 100% Complete!

Finally, after 9 months into writing, the script for the movie has finally been completed!
Click to download:
Glitched v2.doc Download
or
Glitched v2.mht Download

Not that it's perfect already, but at least we reached the end. This version will be the closest to what will be our final draft of the script. There won't be any more major changes to the story from now on. Still, this script will need alot of improvement. After reading it you may notice that Leo, Ethan and the Hacker's lines sound like they were spoken by just one guy. Well, that's coz they were written by one guy. The only reliable way to create unique distinct characters is to have different people write their lines. So to be able to do that, I'm requesting any contributors, or even the character's actor himself, to internalize his own unique character and rewrite his lines in his own words. I know that would take a while but it'll be worth it. As for everyone else, please read the script and send me your comments, suggestions and any violent reactions. Be the critic as if you were watching the movie. All comments will be beneficial to the further improvement of the script so feel free to speak your mind. Thanks everyone.

Oh, and by the way, we're gonna have a mini-major meeting this Monday at my place. Around afternoon, I'll text everyone regarding the time. I know everyone's busy these days but if you're free on that day please try to come. We're gonna have another casting session with some new recruits and finalizing everyone's roles. We'll also be discussing everyone's schedules. Now that the script is finished, filming sessions from now on will be more prepared than ever, so I need everyone's cooperation to keep things productive. See ya'll on Monday!

Let's all take a moment to reflect

Time is moving fast. Things haven't been going according to plan lately, although we are being quite productive. I think the graveyard scene we've been shooting lately will actually be the first scene we're gonna complete. That's out of an estimated total of 28 scenes that make up the entire movie. And after all our hard work we are so close to finishing just about 0.9 scenes. Hehe. Okay, so I'm writing this blog to give everyone a fresh new perspective on things we've done, things we're doing and things to come. In other words, lets take a moment to reflect on our production in general. So, how are things going lately?

All major roles had been filled in. A lot of props and costumes were set. Most of the crew members had free time. Everything was going according to plan. Production was at its peak. But just before we got to the top, we began to fall. We lost another member, and now Ethan's role is empty. Christmas is approaching and now everyone's starting to get busy. Four of our members are graduating and their scheds are busier than ever. Michael's leaving so that's minus another member and no more cameraman for the scenes involving my role.

Overall, we have gone 9 months into production and we're barely at 10% of the movie.

And so it all comes down to a point where we will be asking ourselves the question, "Can we really make it?". Just like every game has an option that let's you choose between "Continue" and "Game Over", we are faced with a very similar dilemma. So let me start by giving my opinion on this matter. My answer to this question is "Yes, we can do it. But only if we're all in this together".

To help the production recover to its previous, efficient state, I am once again calling out to all our members and supporters for assistance. I have revised our solicitation letter which states our goals and needs, as well as our contact information and web address. Please feel free to download it below:

Solicitation Letter.doc Download

Please support the production by helping spread out this letter. In this letter, we, as a production, are asking for financial assistance, human resources and support. Aside from editors and crew members, what we need most right now are actors. Male actors. There are so many scenes which were already so ready for shooting, all that's missing are the actors. Below is a list of all the roles that are still open.

Ethan (Antagonist)
Hacker
Guitar Slinger (2nd Boss Battle)
Sir Mark (Edward's Boss)
Brad (Edward's Coworker)

The sooner we fill this list, the faster we can produce the movie. The production does not depend entirely on Ed's availability, we could be shooting scenes involving the other characters and double the production speed. But to do this, we need to complete the cast and have more crew members. About the, ehem, financial support, I hate to ask but this is a time when I need your help the most. I've spent a fairly large amount on the movie's funds these past months and I'm sorry to say that I've given all I can. I'm all out. We'll need another source of funds to continue production. I would really appreciate it if you guys can help me fund the movie or at least help spread out our solicitation letters so we can save up on resources.

Right now all I can promise everyone is my time. All I can give. Starting this month I shall concentrate all my free time on completing the script, reviewing and rewriting it twice over to create the best story imaginable. I shall work on the storyboards and prepare everything from scene 1 to 28 so that all will be set every time we shoot. I shall complete all necessary props, costumes and weapons even if it means fabricating everything myself. I shall construct our greenscreen studio and setup all equipment. In short, I shall dedicate all I can to do everything that still needs to be done.

But our biggest problem now is what used to be our biggest problem since the production began. Ethan. Several people tried the role, Dave, Dhan and even myself. But none of the attempts were fruitful. Now that the role is open again, we'll need someone to fill it in, and fast. As soon as we have an actor for Ethan again, we can continue the production at full blast. Guys, everyone, anyone! Please find our Ethan!!! Even if it means he will be the only member to have a talent fee. We need him more than anything else.

And to end this reasonably lengthy weblog entry, I'd like to leave you all with my word that all of this will not be in vain. Rome wasn't built in one day, nor did Edison invent the light bulb in one try. Success takes time. As long as we choose the "Continue" over the "Game Over" button, someday, we shall ultimately succeed. *bow*

"When there's hope, there is always a chance, and when there's chance, there always comes a choice. All I can offer is you is the first. The choice… is up to you." - The Hacker (Glitched, 2009)

Gunman Sneak Peak Vid in (Slightly) Higher Resolution

As you may or may not have noticed, Youtube has recently upgraded to widescreen to give their users a more pleasing viewing experience. So to keep up with that, I re-uploaded the Glitched Sneak Peak Video 01 (Gunman Battle) in high quality. This is the original video with the film-look filter removed, so you may notice that it's not as yellowish and "filmish" as the older youtube upload. Just wanted you people to see the video in its original high resolution glory. However, youtube quality still ain't good enough so if you guys want to view the video in its original quality, I uploaded a link to the DivX version below.
Click below to download the video at its highest resolution (1024x576):
Gunman Battle Sneak Peak DivX.avi Download

Graveyard shoot Day 4

Lately, the schedule of the shoots and locations weren't going exactly as planned. However, we made good use of our time. Monday was supposed to be NPC battle at UP while everyone's free thanks to the holiday. The only one who wasn't was, regrettably, Ed. Tuesday was graveyard scene as planned. We only had two hours of filming time but luckily it went pretty well. Not a bad day, not bad at all. Last Sunday we were supposed to shoot the Jenny's room scene but then Kat had a taping with Star Cinema. Well, I wouldn't object to that, actors get paid alot there, while in our production everyone has to do it for free ;) That's what makes us indie right? So since she wasn't free we prepared to shoot the gunman scene. Just when we were setting up the set on Sunday morning, Adan suddenly had an errand and had to leave. So we were left with no choice but to shoot the graveyard scene instead.

As for today, we had planned to shoot the NPC encounter, but due to everyone's unavailability, we were left with no choice but to shoot the scene we've been shooting the most. Yep, the graveyard scene once again. And so today we went to shoot what would most probably be our last filming session for this year. Looks like everyone's starting to get busy again, and pretty soon, Christmas is coming. So if any of you are free during the 1 week of vacation we have after Christmas, please let me know. We'll need to make the most of whatever time we have. I got alot of stuff to discuss with you guys and I'll be posting it in tomorrow's blog.

Scene 19 - At the Graveyard

This was the scene where the shoots have been so unproductive that they weren't even worth blogging about... yet. It's the scene where Edward heads off from the hospital and meets Leo somewhere down the road, and they have a nice chat about a lot of stuff. Leo explains pretty much everything about the book, NPCs, the creeds, the glitchers and Ethan. This scene was shot last Thursday and once again last Sunday. Both sessions lasted less than an hour, both due to the rain. On the first day, it rained hard before we got to location and we couldn't find a spot which was both dry and sunny, so we ended up making it a rehearsal day instead, practicing our lines, acting and stuff. On Sunday we went back to UP, but this time it was raining WHILE we were shooting, which made things worse although we were able to get a few shots anyways. Well, there was a funny part, when Michael tried placing our tombstone prop right along a pathway where a lot of people usually pass. They were freakin' scared wondering why there would be someone buried right there. The girls were like staring at it saying,"Wtf? Who the hell is that buried right in the middle of UP? That's just creepy!" (But in tagalog of course). The name reads "Leonardo S. Ramirez, 1937-1986", a name I made up a few days back. The funny thing was, it wasn't until Vanessa came along that we learned that there was actually a prof in UP named Leonardo Ramirez. Heh, creepy coincidence. So, today we're going back there, to shoot the same scene, at the same location, with the same people, and I certainly hope we don't get the same weather. Oh well, I hope today's gonna be a productive day. Wish us luck!