Week 4 EOC Progress Toward My 4 Professional Contacts

I have had some progress toward gathering together my 4 professional contacts. I have a regular banker that I work with so she has agreed to talk to me about what is necessary for a filmmakers such as myself to secure financing from a bank. I already have her business card and hope to have the meeting scheduled by next week.
Second, I dont know any lawyers here in vegas so I will have to look one up in either the yellow pages or online. I am hoping to find one that knows his way around the film industry or can at least point me in the correct direction. Vegas has a plethora of seasoned lawyers in the entertainment industry Im sure. Having a good attorney to make sure the film is running on all the proper legal outlets is imperative if it makes money.
Third I will be meeting with my insurance agent who handles my rental, car, and equipment insurance. Again the meeting is to get myself pointed in the correct direction to find an insurance company that handles clients in film related field. Insurance is one of the most important parts of the pre-production process because of if something happens to personal or equipment the production could be sunk before it ever gets started.
The most important role of the pre-production, production, and post-production process is the account. Their the person that know where the money is coming from and going to. They keep track of all the records and purchases along with balancing the books. I still need to find someone that knows the ins and outs of the accounting for a film project.

Week 2 Photo challenge: Professional Work Photo

This is a photo of me in the Grand Tetons working on a Canon 7D SLR digital camera. The 7D allows a filmmaker to shoot high quality digital video on a advanced Single Lens Reflux camera body with a number of options for their lens. The depth of field and ability to shoot in low light conditions has made the 7D the camera of choice for beginning to advanced digital video production. I feel very privileged to be able to shoot with my 7D and the feel I can create with its internal settings makes the difficult shots look easy.

Grand Teton National Park is an extraordinary place to shoot scenic photographs and and video. I was lucky enough to find a day with a sunset that made the sky appear as if it was on fire. Combined with with the snow the reflections from the sun falling behind the mountains were extraordinary. Originally this shoot was going to take place in Yellowstone but the park was closed do to snow and was not scheduled to reopen until April. We made the best out of what we had and it turned out to be a day to never forget. Having Jackson Hole Ski resort close by was a nice perk too.

This picture was taken from a digital phone thus the grainy film quality. 

Week 3 EOC: Where are you now and where are you going?

Where I am now and where I am going as a filmmaker? Presently I am just starting on my career path. I have worked in the industry as a production assistant and have much experience as a cameraman. I am very comfortable editing and creating graphics for my short films. Every project I finish and person I work with gets me a little closer to my career goal. This is the time in my life where I am just burying my head in any interesting project that comes across my desk. As long as projects are steady and I am busy the path is clear.
Where am I going? Well, my goal is producing and filming documentary projects. I need to get my studio set up and able to fully create and produce projects but the ground work is currently being laid. I have many ideas but the reality is simple. My first major production is going to be filming the entire year leading up to December 23, 2012. This is a major event in many peoples life and others show no concern. I will be interviewing and and filming both opinions leading up to the big event and hopefully continue after with followups. With the completion of this project I am hoping to gain exposure for my company. I see a bright light at the end of the dark tunnel and know there is a ton of preparation, scheduling, and filming on the horizon but cant wait for the challenges ahead.

Clown Meets Cool Dude

This is a short animation I created on http://www.xtranormal.com as a demonstration of their software and their free animation program. The program allows the user to create a short script and utilize different features and options to create a short animated movie. The options include choosing a number of different pre-made characters, background music, camera angles, and character movements. The program does have some limitations. Xtranormal.com allows a user credits to create their first movie but if you want to make multiple movies then you either need to sign up with a different email or buy credits. It is also is a bit slow when it come to delivering lines and keeping the flow in rhythm. All in all it will take some practice to master this program and if you have an unlimited amount of email accounts you want to register with xtranormal.com then it will only cost you your time. The creative user will have fun working with this program and after a few attempts they should to be able to create a well paced and fun short animated movie.

Week 2 EOC; Things I will have to sacrifice to get ahead in my career

3 Things I will have to sacrifice to get ahead in my career

There will be so many important things I will have to sacrifice to get ahead in my career, especially for the first few years. The first and most obvious is my time. When you are a "rookie" in any new job you are going to have to prove yourself. The new guy is at the bottom of the ladder and gets all the assignments the senior people don't really want. I will have to spend the extra time and effort to make them notice my work ethic and show that I am a driven to succeed.
Being the rookie and having only limited experience I already am prepared to take on some jobs I may find less than desirable to work my way to bigger and better things. Even being an independent contractor I might have to do some work I would preferably not have to do. In the scheme of things doing the smaller harder jobs only makes me a better person and appreciate what I have accomplished later in life.
The third thing I realize that might have to be sacrificed is artistic freedom. When working for others and getting a paycheck for a specific job done a particular way I will most likely not be able to do it the way I think is best. Lesson learned from past experiences; just keep my mouth shut and try to do exactly what the person writing my check wants.
There will be endless sacrifices I have to make in my road to success but hopefully by making many of these sacrifices early in my career I will have to make very few as it progresses.