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Fontana Lake 2

2012-01-22T11:25:00.001-05:00

Fontana Lake 2, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

The gentle moving waters in Fontana Lake, looking away from the Dam.

Leaving the Marina

2012-01-04T21:43:00.001-05:00

Leaving the Marina, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

A small boat makes it's way out of the Marina in St. Petersburg...

St. Petersburg reflections (alt)

2012-01-03T19:08:00.001-05:00

St. Petersburg reflections (alt), a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

The Eternal Flame

2011-12-30T08:54:00.001-05:00

The Eternal Flame, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

The Canadian Parliament Building, with a collection of tourists standing behind the eternal flame. Ottawa, Ontario

Vondelpark

2011-12-13T18:38:00.001-05:00

Vondelpark, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

Vondelpark, Amsterdam

Canal City

2011-11-29T14:19:00.001-05:00

Canal City, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

A cargo ship lumbers through one of the many canals; this one in particular rolls beside Jordaan, one of Amsterdam's more upscale neighbourhoods.

Intercontinental Amstel Hotel

2011-09-29T21:07:00.001-04:00

Intercontinental Amstel Hotel, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

The Intercontinental Hotel named "Amstelhotel", built against the Amstel River as it breaks into canals near Centrum.

You'd never guess the nightly rate for a room.....

White Swan in the Red-Light District

2011-09-29T20:44:00.001-04:00

White Swan in the Red-Light District, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

A white swan floats down the small canal that separates the streets of the Red LIght District. How quaint!

White Swan in the Red-Light District

2011-09-29T20:43:00.001-04:00

White Swan in the Red-Light District, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

A white swan floats down the small canal that separates the streets of the Red Light District. How quaint!

Central Canal

2011-08-29T21:30:00.001-04:00

Central Canal, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

The largest canal in Amsterdam Centrum; boats and tour cruises litter the picturesque scenery.

Amsterdam Canals

2011-08-14T19:36:00.001-04:00

Amsterdam Canals, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

One of the many canals that are scattered throughout Amsterdam give some awesome and very picaresque scenes of the city center. I just love the detail in each of the walk-up buildings.

Lea Mill Church - 750 years old

2011-07-24T20:17:00.001-04:00

Lea Mill Church - 750 years old, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

Nassau, Bahamas

2011-06-19T20:42:00.001-04:00

Nassau, Bahamas, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

At dawn, we cruised into Nassau with a fantastic view of the capital of the Bahamas.

2011-05-24T23:27:00.002-04:00

BEHOLD THINE WORK FROM WHICH I HATH BEEN DECREEING WITH NO IMAGES FOR SO LONG - THINE TRAILER FOR YOTH FILM!

Dana trailer

Holding out no more!

2011-05-10T23:34:00.003-04:00

Finally! Dana has an IMDB link!

Dana (2011)

And so do I:

Mark Drewe

Trailer coming soon!

At long last

2011-05-06T21:30:00.000-04:00

Unbelievable. Dana is finally complete. And while we've only just begun to submit to some festivals, it's a strange feeling to have that grueling 2 years towards a project done. It's truly difficult to think that I spent two years on 15 minutes of film. And it's a drop in the bucket to filmmaking, really. As proud as I am of what I've done, and the multitude of times I bankrupted myself just to raise more money and re-bankrupt myself to get through the latest portion of the film, being finished really puts in all into perspective.

There truly is times on the project when you can feel like it'll never be over. And when you work so hard on things, like the 21 hour days we pulled on set to the 3 straight months of editing, followed by the months of visfx and audio editing, soundtrack, etc... for a first timer it really felt that no matter how much I had got done, there was always another thing that would be right around the corner that would demand just as much time and energy as the last, brutally difficult portion.

It really is no surprise how this industry can destroy dreams. The very craft takes so long from start to completion that if you're not dedicated and determined enough you won't stand a chance from the beginning.

There is a great feeling though, when you realize it's finished. With me, this took 3-4 days just to sink in... the initial response is just relief. And although this film is by far the best creation I've ever done, it's now up to the festivals to decide it's worth.

Of course, raising money for those festivals is also another aspect to consider. However, with the help of Indiegogo.com and some unique ideas, I think that at long last, I'll be able to raise the money to get the project's festival submissions done properly.

There's also that trailer, which is being worked on as I type, and the imdb page, which is being considered for approval (thanks to my TIFF submission being acknowledged).

Taxi Driver

2011-04-28T21:06:00.001-04:00

Taxi Driver, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

A collection of Taxis rumble through Times Square on Saturday morning.

Dana... done?

2011-04-26T23:21:00.002-04:00

Two years later, thousands upon thousands of dollars invested... but it's finally DONE! Now it's off to TIFF and to get a trailer cut...

Stay tuned. It'll be submitted to TIFF, Sudbury International, and EIFF (Edmonton) in the next few days...

Late nights, early mornings

2011-04-20T01:40:00.000-04:00

Yet another late night where I can't sleep - I've been pretty energized with a bunch of various things, and naturally film is one of those.

For starters - Dana - the special effects/compositing is finally done. Now I just need to render out a bunch of different versions, send a version off to make a trailer, and start the submission process. Of course, money will be an issue there. I've been looking into Indiegogo after receiving some good recommendations about it - and after meeting another serious London Ontario filmmaker last Sunday, it looks like there may be some legs to using it - I guess it all depends on how good of a campaign you put together. His seems to be working fairly well.

Of course, now I plan on meeting with with Jason Gray to discuss the one commonality we have in this city - filmmaking. If you've got a chance, check out his site: Liminal Arts

It's actually been quite encouraging to meet another filmmaker that's at a similar stage as I am. I have a feeling there's a lot of information we can exchange.

We'll see how that goes. In the meantime, I've definitely got to start putting together some kind of press kit and promo material.

Staten Island Ferry

2011-04-18T21:55:00.001-04:00

Staten Island Ferry, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

A fantastic, in-action shot of the Staten Island Ferry puttering past the cruise as I left port.

Empire State Building

2011-04-10T09:00:00.001-04:00

Empire State Building, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

The iconic building in New York City.

New York Horse

2011-04-05T23:30:00.001-04:00

New York Horse, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

The docile police horses stand in midtown.

Times Square

2011-04-05T19:57:00.001-04:00

Times Square, a photo by Mdrewe on Flickr.

My first experience in NYC - Times Square on a Friday night around 11PM. I ended up being in NYC for only a night and morning but I got a ton of photos and did a lot of exploring in midtown Manhattan.

Setting up a film company is a pain in the ass

2011-03-19T12:02:00.000-04:00

Now I find myself trapped in Penn Station in New York City, waiting for a train home. So, what a perfect time to blog, eh?

It's been a while since I caught up with you on the film process - and while I plan on sticking to my schedule of going from start to beginning, it's hard to reflect on the process when it's still ongoing - although tantalizingly close to completion (with a working copy being judged shamelessly by Cannes preselection committee as I type).

So, where did we leave off? Ah, yes:

When I had the script of Dana completed on the 4th draft, I began to set in motion the wheels to get the script ready. I put out a couple feelers to some of my connections that were working in the industry around the Toronto area - and in general, got the response that I should try and shoot this a summer earlier (which just wasn't possible). I sketched out a supposed budget in my head - which worked out to be between 5K and 7.5K on most estimates, and was quickly informed by my DP that "I should probably take those numbers and double them".

However, that was getting ahead of myself. I had dreams to raise the money through crowdfunding, but had no idea how to effectively go about this - not to mention the fact that all the current crowdfunding sites (indiegogo, kickstarter.org, etc) were really in their infancy so my inital plan was to do it through this blog (how do you think that went?) - and to date, I've raised a grand total of $0 crowdfunded dollars. This, of course, is because I never actually did it.

The other thing I knew I had to do was set up a film company to handle this - I went to a Raindance.tv course in May of '09 that outlined what kind of company to set up.

This started a wave of confusing meetings with a personal accountant, and a business lawyer in preparations to set up the corporation. All in all, it was wildly confusing but in the end (8 months later), Mosaic Mind Pictures Incorporated was set up. In order to set up the company, my dad and I pooled some money together to do it (it's not cheap to set up a corporation). In an ironic twist/annoyance, he named himself the President and I was the "Secretary" - even those these titles are pretty symbolic it kind of sucks to be only the secretary of your own company, when you're going out and doing the work - my dad wanted to remain a silent partner (although that certainly hasn't happened thus far, mainly out of necessity).

Anyway, the whole process of properly setting up the company ended up taking 8 months - partly out of procrastination, partly because of a collection of other reasons that slowed the process down. But regardless, as soon as that was set up, I went about getting my crew together - and the first call I made was to Michael Jari Davidson (MJD from here on out), and sent him over the script and had a chat with him about what I wanted to do with this.

It was at this point that the initial budget I had penciled in began to balloon. But along with that ballooning, came a fantastic opportunity that would reshape the production (for the better).

More on that to come.

Best mountain biking course ever

2011-03-07T22:11:00.000-05:00

Just a teaser to make up for my (totally understandable) absence...

VCA 2010 RACE RUN from changoman on Vimeo.

Un.Real. I'm jealous.

London Life Insurance

2011-01-23T21:40:00.001-05:00

London Life Insurance
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

One of the oldest businesses in London, Ontario - the London Life Insurance Company. The headquarters are located downtown, across from Victoria Park and One London Place (big glass tower).

2010-12-25T00:05:00.000-05:00

So, here I sit on Christmas eve, blogging. Has it really come to this?

I find myself hitting lulls when it comes to the editing process; don't get me wrong, editing is something I really enjoy - but after months of looking at the same footage, parts of it start to lose it's meaning. I see the same performances, the same shots, over and over - and I can splice in a slight difference each time but to me, it all looks the same. It's hard to know what looks fantastic, and what looks simply average. Things that I thought fit really well, when I screen-tested it to others, didn't seem so great. As much footage as I have, as an editor I look back and curse myself for not getting more as a director.

I guess that's all part of the learning curve, though. I like my footage, but I see things in editing that I wish I caught as a director.

At the very least, the project is coming along. We've got clear timelines and goals to hit, February 14th being an important one (project render) and March 1st being the biggest (project complete), but the more I pour into this project the closer those deadlines seem to be. At some point, compromise has to be accepted. No film project can ever be considered "perfect" (although for what it's worth, I consider There Will Be Blood to be one of the most aesthetically 'perfect' films).

Anyway, as the present rolls on, and I pass the footage onto the next stage, I can once again sit back and reflect on all the processes that got me to this stage.

...
..
..
..

And what a ride it's been. I remember the idea that spawned this whole project came to be while driving from a mall to my house one day - a simple idea at first, and very unfocussed - almost irrelevant to what the project actually became - but it stuck; the idea of an average person that loved his best friend, and had to face her boyfriend, a brutal person in his eyes. I view stories visually, and the scene of an altercation in an entrance way - I initially saw it as an apartment entrance, but as the script and story developed it changed to a porch at a house. And in every circumstance, my main character has his ass kicked.

That was the initial "birth" of the story of Dana. It grew like an infection. This idea came to me in December 2008 or January 2009 - and if it mattered, I could tell you exactly where I was when the idea sprung to life; but eventually it formed into a rudimentary storyline. But it wasn't until I took this idea - 3 characters, a violent scene, and an ending - to my sister that the story really started to form.

Over the course of three months, my sister started fleshing out ideas - characters - and circumstances that brought "Dana" to life as a story and script. My sister, who has always been a stronger author then I have, really formed the love interest, Dana, into the character she became. Scott, the main character, was a conglomeration of ideas from the two of us; and Dave, essentially, was my character from the beginning. When I brought that initial idea to my sister, the project really branched out from being MY project to being OUR project.

It became the standard that whenever someone asked "who wrote the script?", the response was "the story was my idea; the characters and dialogue were my sister's."

That gave birth to the project as a formative piece. By April 2009 we'd completed a script, and had got it to a point where we were happy and thought that it has some grounds to go to filming.

Of course, we had absolutely no idea what "going to filming" would really entail. In fact, we had no idea on how to go about it at all. But since I had no formal training in any aspect of the industry, I didn't really know any other way to approach it then to "do it myself." It was that attitude that I could figure it out and make this happen professionally that started the most ass-backwards way to approach professional filmmaking that I've thus far heard happen.

But as they say, you don't make it if you don't try. And what happened to get this script off the ground and onto camera was a massive task, and a shift in my life that I had to tackle. I'd decided that I was going to make this happen legitimately, professionally, and deal with people that I wanted to make this project a reality with.

I knew it from the beginning, even if I couldn't admit it to myself. I was about to sell my soul to the real filmmaking industry.

Mark

So I've been making a movie...

2010-12-03T21:33:00.002-05:00

So, for the last 6 months (well, more like year and a half) I've been actively involved in making a short film. For the most part, I've been quiet about it except for people in my network and my close family/friends - and that's not because I haven't wanted to tell anyone, but rather because it's been so time consuming to get to the point I'm at now that I haven't really wanted to give a half-assed effort of internet self-promotion.

However, after a 3 day shoot in July, and a long edit process that started without proper facilities, I'm proud to see that this film, aptly titled "Dana", is really starting to take shape. In a short week, I'll have passed off my main editing portion to the next phase - special effects and colour correction.

To date, I've spent upwards of 18,000 dollars to get to the point I'm at now. And when it's all said and done, I suspect that I'll come in around 22,000 Canadian. This is for a film that figures to run between 15-17 minutes. I had initially budgeted 16,000 dollars - which was more than I ever thought I would spend - and that figure was tossed out the window before we shot our first frame. Being that this is my first foray into the world of professional filmmaking, I anticipated costs that I hadn't considered initially. I had put 9,000 aside for the 3 day shoot - 3 thousand a day - and I ended up spending 4,500 per day on it. But when I sat down with industry pros, veterans of filmmaking, and greenhorns like myself (albeit as director, I certainly was in a more powerful position), I knew that I was where I was supposed to be.

Filmmaking has a steep learning curve, without a doubt. And the shoot wasn't perfect; but it was functional, my actors performances fantastic, and in the end, as I sat down to edit the footage, I knew that it was worth every penny up to that point.

Now, as I venture into the next stage of the post production process, one that will have me focussing on other aspects while I pass the footage off to other industry pros, I will actually have time to talk about it. Over the coming few months, right up to the completion date of March 1st, 2011, I'll be blogging semi-regularly about the project, and all the aspects that I, and my team have gone through to get to the point we're at now, and tidbits of info of current progress.

My hope is to give the casual reader an insight to the pro filmmaking process, which seems so foreign and glamorous to many (and is and isn't). Along the way, I hope to promote and tell you stories of Dana, the short film that's consumed my life for 2 years, and figures to take at least 1 more out of it.

While I'll divulge more detail about the plotline of Dana in upcoming posts, for now I'll leave this: Dana - A love triangle gone horribly wrong.

Oh, and this:

Mark

Renewable Energy sources answer

2010-11-15T15:55:00.000-05:00

So, I was on Yahoo answers recently and the following question came up:

"What is the viability of renewable energy sources for future energy production?"
See the question here

In the midst of answering this question, Yahoo told me that my answer was too long. So naturally, I've posted the full answer here:
---
Talk about a loaded question!

The viability of renewable energy sources depends greatly on use of energy (duh, I know). The more efficient we as a society become in our use of energy, the more viable renewables become. Additionally, as conventional sources of energy (coal, nuclear, gas-powered) rise in cost (as they are doing), again renewable energy becomes more viable. For example, in Ontario, where I live, the average price of energy is about 13 cents per kilowatt hour. The cheapest I've seen wind energy in an "on-the-grid" situation is .65 cents an hour. So as of right now, wind energy is really only useful as a supplement to existing energy, not as a primary source. Couple that with the fact that wind power is intermittent (not consistently outputting power), it's not as reliable as the current sources of non-renewable energy either.

Solar power is more viable then wind energy because it generates more power, but again the cost is prohibitive. For a house to set up solar panels costs a fortune, and the technology still hasn't progressed enough to fully offset the use of conventional "on the grid" power. Again, on small scale it's only viable as a supplement to energy sources. Although one advantage (if one has the money) to solar is that once the panels are set up, the costs are relatively low to maintain. There's also a lot of farms that are converting land use from agriculture to what's known as a "solar farm", which is subsidized in some regions in North America (I can't say much about the rest of the world, because I honestly don't know). Subsidizing is a way to lower the cost to the business and consumer on a startup basis, but it costs the government a ton and that in turn ends up being put onto our taxes. So it's not a perfect solution either.

One renewable that I feel holds potential is geothermal. Geothermal involves drilling a two holes into the ground of various depths (usually a 1km or more, though), one that sends water down and one that returns steam. The idea is that the water is sent down, and because of the thermal heat underneath the earth, the water gets heated until it becomes steam, which is sent back up the second pipeline - that steam at the end hits a turbine which spins and creates power. (That's a crude explanation, but it's along the lines). These can be implemented in houses, and they have potential for much larger, plant-like production as well. This technology is relatively new, so it's again expensive to install initially, but there's huge benefits to it. I've talked with an owner of a housing company that installed geothermal in his own home, and he puts 4 units of energy back into the grid for every 1 that he uses. That holds a lot of promise, in my opinion. This technology also seems to have the most potential to be decentralized and installed in new houses; think of it like it having the potential to become as standard as a home furnace or water heater.

Of course, all renewable sources of energy have downsides to it; some we know, some we don't fully understand yet. Part of the reason we're in such dire straights is from thinking that there was no impact from our previous energy sources, but the sad reality is that everything we do will have some negative effect. Renewables just seem to have the least effect.

Ultimately, most of what I've put here is about decentralized power sources - there's a lot going on in the centralized power sources (think power plants); Centralized power sources are far and above generate the majority of our current energy, and will be relied on heavily in the coming years as energy demands are expected to rise exponentially (due to population increases and more countries developing into second and first world nations). Renewable is something that is in it's infancy - it requires a lot of investment from companies and governments as well as research and development for it to achieve a level of viability that our current, non-renewable sources have.

There's also things we can do with our current, non-renewable sources of energy that may improve it's impact - such as carbon capture technology with coal-fired power plants. I read up a lot on that subject because coal is plentiful and geopolitically stable (unlike nuclear, which has a lot of risks associated with it's development); coal's main problem is that it's dirty when it burns - but carbon capture is a method of cleaning up that pollution output and turning it into a byproduct that's used already in industry. I highly recommend you read Mark Jaccard's book "Sustainable Fossil Fuels", because it brings up a lot of interesting points that may help you better understand the current energy situation we are in. If you google "Sustainable Fossil Fuels", the first result that comes up is actually an online version of the book that you can read (nothing like free reading!)

Anyway, I know this answer was long and if I used terms that you already understood (or didn't), I'm sorry. I do hope that this helps you (I assume you've got an assignment on this or something, and that's why you were asking?)

- Mark

Best vote ever?

2010-10-26T21:36:00.002-04:00

Sweet Street

2010-10-11T09:42:00.003-04:00

Best viewed in 720P.

So I've gone out and shot some more mountain biking videos. Still working on my film (y'know, that real film I haven't talked about? Yeah that one), and it looks to be ready for some trailers to hit the 'net in late November, early December.

Mark

Morgan Run

2010-10-08T19:37:00.001-04:00

Morgan Run
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

A perch of view of Morgan Run from a tree that fell into the creek.

Baby Robin

2010-10-02T20:11:00.001-04:00

Baby Robin
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

A baby robin allowed me to get close enough to it to take a close-up picture as it was perched against our fence, just after it learned to fly.

London, Ontario

Albemarle Pass

2010-09-26T09:08:00.004-04:00

My latest endeavor....

...available in 720P

Capitol touching the sky

2010-07-29T19:53:00.001-04:00

Capitol touching the sky
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

The Capitol building pierces the sky. Washington DC.

Smithsonian Institute

2010-07-28T21:18:00.001-04:00

Smithsonian Institute
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

The Smithsonian, just off the National Mall. This is the main building; there's at least 3 or 4 more buildings that stretch all down the side of the National Mall.

Washington, DC

Capitol Building

2010-06-20T15:10:00.001-04:00

Capitol Building
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

The Capitol Building of Washington, DC, just before a storm rolls in.

Lost Finale Rant

2010-05-24T20:03:00.004-04:00

While I'm not much for blogging about TV shows (or much of anything, really), I had been a regular follower of Lost. And like many other fans, I sat down for the 19-hour finale on Sunday, hoping to finally have all the questions the show had created answered once and for all.

Although with the amount of questions I wanted answered, I pretty much knew that it wasn't going to happen. Too bad I didn't realize they weren't going to answer anything. Even up to the last ten minutes of the show, I was expecting some miracle answer to just fall out of the show and explain things. For example:

* What the hell was the island?
* If this damn light in the middle of the island was so important to all these teams, and had the power to warp people through time, teleport people (yeah, the Black Rock was forced 2 miles inland cause of a bad storm. Right.), make Richard Alpert live forever but no one else, and also house the Black Smoke that only came out when Jacob threw the Man in Black's unconscious body into the Indiana Jones temple it was in, and simultaneously take people off the island while forcing others to stay, why didn't they explain it more?
* What the hell was the significance of keeping Jack and co alive if the Black Smoke/Locke Monster needed them to kill each other or die (come on, just arm a good shot vigilante early on and execute them all before they know what's going on)
* What the hell was the point of season 6's 'flash-sideways' purgatory storyline?
* Explain the polar bear from season 1.
* Why was Charles Whitmore also apparently kind of immortal (after all, he was on the Black Rock), but could die when Alpert couldn't? They both made contact with the Smoke Monster.
* Electromagnitism... okay, Desmond could withstand it and no one else could (except apparently Jack in the clutch moment of re-corking the sinking island), but what was it's significance in the overall story?
* Why did they reveal the Smoke Monster early, but not Jacob until around season 3?
* What was the significance of Hurley talking with the ghosts in the previous seasons?
* If Ben could never see Jacob (also never explained), how the hell could he follow his orders and talk with him? Why did Locke see him once and never again?
* Remember when the Others stole all the children in first season? What the hell happened to them?
* WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!

Some of these things no doubt can be explained by watching the episodes over again; and overall, the show did have a very intriguing concept in the beginning and the two-to-three seasons they spent setting up a showdown with the Others looked really promising (and seemed to be what the show was all about until about season 4), but I personally found when it started getting into the 'main' plot of the Jacob/Man in Black god like storyline, the show really puttered along. They had all these mysteries and questions throughout that had audiences all over trying to guess the next move, but then Jacob took over and those questions seemed to be sidelined for whatever the hell happened in the next three seasons. Remember when Charlie died in season 3 (I think it was, at least), and some arctic base picked up some activity? That looked like it was going to be a mainstay in the series (and followed the story arc up to that point), but it was totally forgotten when the show returned next season.

I also don't totally understand the point of season 5's time skipping adventure. Sure, it was a cool way to integrate all the stuff from the past into the existing story, but it just seemed like a half-hearted way to approach it. The show in the final two seasons really took this right turn into the paranormal, which is a confusing-as-hell move when the audience was in a comfortable groove with the "we're watching a survival show set on this mysterious island". Instead, the show felt like it was "Jack and the gang are doing this.... NOW THIS HAPPENS!"

Now, for season 6. I don't understand the point of the flash-sideways things at all, particularly since I don't care about anything that happens off the island. I know a lot of blogs were saying it was this message that they were all dead in the initial plane crash (which is wrong, btw.. Juliette was in the church with them and she was never in the plane. Same with Desmond, and Penny. So get off that horse, it's been debunked.), but I do remember reading around the start of season 2, Evangeline Lily said in an interview if it was purgatory she "would be so mad, I'd kick a hole through my TV." I know that the producers kept the cast in the dark, but apparently they kept themselves in the dark too. The flash-sideways seemed to be this attempt to give the show a happy ending, but this show was never meant to have a happy ending. If they all died trying to stop the Locke Monster or following Jacob's untold plan (it was untold because the writer's didn't have one), I could accept that because so many characters had been killed throughout the show (some that I liked, such as Boone, Charlie, Echo and Libby) so it wasn't like they were afraid of killing off characters. But instead, they erased a bunch of characters that weren't memorable enough to get in the church and pretended like the ending they gave was good enough. Where was Michael, by the way? He played a pretty critical role in Jacob's "plan" - what with blowing up Whitmore's boat and separating Jin and Sun for the rest of the damn series, yet he wasn't there. So that ending? Not. Good. Enough.

I also didn't like how when the storyline went all Jacob-insane, a lot of the characters started acting in ways their character wouldn't. For example, Sawyer. He was the con-man that went straight, but then vowed revenge on Jack (who he blamed for killing Juliette), but then all was forgiven? Yeah, right. He made his name being this untrustworthy, savvy con artist that only thought of himself, and when all goes to shit, everyone goes back to what they're best at - but he became this afterthought character that always had these plans in season 6 that got people killed more often then not. If anything, the only character that really stayed true to his roots was Ben - from his introduction he always seemed to have the upper hand on others because you never knew where his allegiances were - and true to the end, he was that way (him shooting Whitmore pretty much sold it).

Speaking of Whitmore, what was his significance? He was the leader of these expeditions and experiments with Desmond, and really seemed to be a pain in the Locke Monster's ass, but that war that was supposed to be coming never really happened. And hell, the war was what I was predicting from season 2 on - the Locke/Whitmore war wasn't what I was expecting, but I would have took it.

And remember that water that turned Sayid evil at the start of season 6? Did we just forget about that and Sayid went good again?

Like I said, the show seemed to really lose its focus around season 5 on. It felt like the writers and producers realized that they'd created so many questions that the audience wanted answers for, they knew they couldn't answer them. And sadly, that created the "NOW THIS IS HAPPENING!" mentality the show started to follow. Rather than being intriguing, it became frustrating to watch. As much as it pains me to say it, it was a revelation of poor story writing rather than some master writing.

When the show started, I thought JJ Abrams was some kind of genius our generation had never seen before (but badly needed in the world of shitty reality TV shows). After watching how Lost played out, I'm not so sure now. He's still a great producer with a solid resume of shows, and is always looking to push the envelope either with story or with technology - that I can respect.

Overall, Lost bit off more than it could chew in the end. It is still a good show because it was the first of it's kind in the TV realm, and has created a whole knew genre of similar shows like V (which has a lot of potential) and FlashForward (which was like the poor man's Lost, and was recently not renewed for a season 2), so I'll remember it for that. But it terms of delivering on it's early season promises, it didn't and didn't seem interested in solving the mysteries it created - mysteries that made the show so intriguing and made me want to watch in the first place. But the finale tried so hard to make everything happy in a show that was never meant to have a happy ending.

May 24 Fireworks

2010-05-24T19:29:00.001-04:00

May 24 Fireworks
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

In the neighbourhood, someone started firing off some fireworks by the pond. We had a perfect seat for it from the back porch, and naturally it was the perfect opportunity to snap some long-exposure shots. They come out looking real cool.

10 second exposure

Emblem

2010-04-04T14:20:00.001-04:00

Emblem
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Ford GT40 (front)

2010-03-24T20:53:00.001-04:00

Ford GT40 (front)
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

The Ford GT40, seen at the 2010 Toronto autoshow.

Dodge Viper GTS

2010-03-17T19:15:00.003-04:00

Dodge Viper GTS
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Ford GT40

2010-03-17T19:15:00.001-04:00

Ford GT40
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

1971 Pontiac GTO

2010-03-15T22:29:00.001-04:00

1971 Pontiac GTO
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Audi TTS

2010-03-14T10:30:00.001-04:00

Audi TTS
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

The front of an Audi TTS, at the 2010 Toronto Auto Show.

Lexus Concept

2010-03-04T18:14:00.001-05:00

Lexus Concept
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Part of the 2010 Autoshow, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Toronto Business Towers

2010-02-17T18:38:00.001-05:00

Toronto Business Towers
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

The core of Toronto's business district seen from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre's balcony. The BMO building is the tallest skyscraper in the city next to the CN Tower.

One Cold One

2010-02-10T00:43:00.001-05:00

One Cold One
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

High amounts of work these days leads to no days of photo ops.

Village Interior

2010-01-20T21:37:00.001-05:00

Village Interior
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

The interior of the Blue Mountain Village.

Collingwood, Ontario

The Lonely Fisher

2010-01-11T22:01:00.001-05:00

The Lonely Fisher
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

A fisherman braves the frigid temperatures to fish at the end of the Beaver River, in Thornbury, Ontario.

Rocks and Ice

2010-01-08T23:52:00.001-05:00

Rocks and Ice
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

A collection of rocks at Nottawasaga Bay in Thornbury, Ontario, have a sheet of ice overtop of them which made them ridiculously slippery. Here, they form a small peninsula that leads into Georgian Bay.

I enjoy the serene feeling that seeing this gives - it's almost like a painting.

The Village of Blue Mountain

2009-12-31T17:01:00.001-05:00

The Village of Blue Mountain
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

At the bottom of the slopes of Blue Mountains, a ski resort near Collingwood, Intrawest (the same company that owns Whistler), has built a very european-style village for skiers and snowboarders to stay at. The ski resort sits right on the shores of Georgian Bay, between Collingwood and Thornbury, Ontario. I love the colours they're building!

VIA Rail

2009-12-27T17:26:00.001-05:00

VIA Rail
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

A drawing I did of a VIA rail train going over a river in the mountains last year. I drew this while at work - there was a huge slideshow of prizes that were being auctioned off, and a picture similar to this one came up... so I drew it.

Stephen Colbert's Empire State of Mind

2009-12-20T17:22:00.002-05:00

So Alicia Keys was on The Colbert Report recently (Dec 15), performing her song "Empire State of Mind". And in the middle of the song, Colbert jumps in and starts rapping. I took the liberty of converting that to Mp3... and now you can download it here:

Download here

Enjoy!

Dystopian Hamilton

2009-12-12T15:19:00.002-05:00

Dystopian Hamilton
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

This came about partially by accident when editing the Hamilton skyline. However, I liked the initial look so I added in some colouring to create the dystopian Hamilton. It feels like something out of Orwell's 1984.

Beachfront Properties

2009-12-06T18:45:00.002-05:00

Beachfront Properties
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

A collection of beachfront apartments and condominiums stretch as far as the eye can see along the beach in Fort Lauderdale. I can see the attraction to these places - the warmth and great water make it extremely relaxing to just sit on the balcony and stare out at the boats as they float by.

The Cove

2009-11-15T20:06:00.001-05:00

The Cove
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Canterbury Falls, in Ancaster, Ontario, backs into a smooth u-shape as it comes over a section of Hamilton mountain towards Dundas, but this is the best view of Canterbury Creek.

Modern Living

2009-09-30T21:41:00.001-04:00

Modern Living
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

A series of extremely modernist condominiums just outside of downtown Montreal. With a lot of cubist influence and multi-leveled apartments, I found this building to be one of the most unique and interesting structures in the city. It also made me want to live in it. Many of the rooms are suspended with little support beams, and the balconies give a fantastic view of both downtown Montreal and the St. Lawrence river.

Cruise by downtown

2009-09-23T10:28:00.001-04:00

Cruise by downtown
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

An AWL ferry floats down the St. Lawrence river, cruising by downtown Montreal

Structural Changes

2009-09-17T19:31:00.002-04:00

Apart from photography, I've really not updated this much in the last few months. There's a simple reason for that - I've pretty much had no time. I've been working 50 hour weeks for the past two months, and when I've got home it's been hard to muster up the willingness to do anything but make lunch for myself and pass out.

This past summer has been possibly the busiest of my life - both physically and mentally. So much shit went down (including my elbow ligament tearing itself and then going through three months of doctors not knowing what to do) that my art has really had to take a back seat.

However, things appear that they will return to relative normality at the end of the month. And when that happens, Dana, Maxton, and a backlog of other projects will all come spilling out to the forefront. But the most important news is that this site will be undergoing a major overhaul - to something that's more than just a blog. In fact, I've decided to make Dana happen, I need to start a company up. I've lined up a producer, camera crew, and all other departments except one - as well as casting my actors. But the site will essentially be the company, with the blog as a portion of it. I will have to have this running by the end of the year, which means I have to learn how to make a site - and then reload all the content to it. Starting a company in Ontario is a complete nightmare of red tape, but I've got most of the research done.

Of course, this blog will still be active in the meantime as the site is created. For the most part it'll be photos, but I'll also get a little bit of video content and another chapter of Maxton up. So just be patient.

Of course, if you're like me, patience is not your strong suit.

Mark

Montreal from Above

2009-09-10T15:18:00.001-04:00

Montreal from Above
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Downtown Montreal, seen from Chalet Mont Royal

A Quiet Rumbling in the Distance

2009-08-24T19:03:00.001-04:00

A Quiet Rumbling in the Distance
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

During a recent sunset, I caught this storm rolling in overhead of a soccer field in the park. The photo's sky hasn't been touched, it actually looked like that.

Leisure Time

2009-08-15T21:48:00.002-04:00

Leisure Time
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Muskoka River, floating through downtown Hunstville, Ontario

One Way Out Extras

2009-08-10T19:40:00.004-04:00

Here's a few more tidbits of extra promo material done by Ryan R. Yager (Will), for my short last year, One Way Out. Check out his artwork here (it's damn good): Ryan R Yager

Haunted House

2009-08-09T22:27:00.001-04:00

Haunted House
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

A church in the heart of downtown London, Ontario, that's always looked creepy. So I stylized it to look as such.

London Ontario skyline 2009

2009-07-27T17:08:00.002-04:00

London Ontario skyline 2009
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

UWO Campus

2009-07-21T13:39:00.002-04:00

UWO Campus
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

The main skyline of UWO's campus, centered on the UCC and Weldon Library (long building on the right), with Brescia's soccer fields in the foreground.

Sam Maxton: London Calling - 2

2009-07-15T11:28:00.003-04:00

Chapter 1

CHAPTER TWO

The meeting with Sarah Golden had quickly made me realize how much I could make off this one case, and how much work it was going to be. For years my career had been spying on unsuspecting people - and all of the sudden she entrusted me with finding a missing person. I had never done any case remotely close to this job. Frankly, I was ill-prepared for it. For the first two days I did my usual cruise for information - I went into the east-end bars and scrounged for clues, for people with bad blood... but it didn’t take me long to conclude that the shady-types I usually found myself associating with simply were not high profile enough to have anything to do with Golden himself - some not even knowing who he was.

I was only two days into this case, and already it seemed hopeless. Here I was, the thought that this was the case I was ‘waiting for’, and that it may be unsolvable. After all, who was I kidding? I knew this city inside and out but Mr. Golden went missing somewhere between this city and Buffalo... or Detroit. Sarah had been exceptionally useless in giving me any followup information as to what her father did - but I simply just did not believe her story. I knew that she was hiding something; I wasn’t sure if what she was hiding from me was as big as I hoped it was, but it was extremely suspicious that Golden would keep his daughter, who was entitled to 50% of his fortune, completely in the dark about his business and his partners.

What was just as confusing about this case was why Sarah was the one to approach me, and not her brother. In our initial meeting Sarah had told me that her sibling Paul was much more versed in the dealings of the company and much closer to Golden than she could claim to be. Paul was the golden boy, no pun intended, of Golden Holdings. I’d heard of him before - a few years back he’d been nailed for a DUI - the kid had shown that he loved to drink and get into trouble - a man after my own heart. Hardly the person I’d want to be training to take over my mass fortune, though. . . good thing I didn’t have one.

Naturally, Paul was completely unavailable for me to ask him anything. The Golden kidnapping hadn’t hit the news yet, so Paul had conveniently buried himself in something important with the company, playing status-quo with the outside world to keep suspicion from building. As far as any of the investors of the company knew, Mr. Golden was on an extended trip and his son was filling in for him in the meantime.

I had just left Shady’s, a bar I frequently got my first clues for other cases, feeling down. The roll of bills Sarah had gave me still sat in my pocket, as I had yet to find a reason to try and bribe for answers. When money is involved, everybody suddenly has information they’re willing to share at a price. It’s when you start asking questions to a person that clearly has something to say - if they’re playing hardball. . . if they know the information they’ve got is important to you, but they don’t know you’ve got money - that’s when the money in my pocket starts flowing outwards.

I walked down the street to my car, and looked around the area. Derelict buildings that somehow hadn’t been condemned were a staple of the east end’s ‘shopping’ area. People shuffled in and out of those buildings, homeless wandered around the streets and back alleys. . . it was strange that I liked the east end. I’d never lived there - I resided in the south end - but the east end was a place that I always felt at home in, where information was as easy to extract as a beer from a tap. The residents were mostly the ‘undesirables’ of the city: laborers, factory workers, construction workers, unemployed, drug dealers. . . but apart from the occasional fight from an unruly drunk, I got along just fine with them. And like any city, those that were useful typically stood out in some way or another - either as a person others gravitated towards, or one that people kept their distance from except when they needed something. Easy people to read, easy people to deal with.

But today, these people had provided nothing worthwhile. I opened up my car door and sat inside, rolled down the window, pulled out a cigarette, and took a nice, long drag. The smoke billowed up and out of the car before the breeze whisked it away. I turned and looked through my notes of the last two days. Scribbled and unorganized, written in all directions on the paper, sometimes figuring out what I had wrote was just as time consuming as getting the information.

“There’s got to be a starting point here,” I said aloud to myself, running my finger across the words on the pad. I searched for a little, enjoying my cigarette - my first of the last two days - before it reached the butt and I tossed it out the window. My notes were just names and places right now; all information Sarah had provided me. Over the last two days, smaller scraps of paper had been sprinkled with little tidbits of extra info, but I had essentially discounted all of it as useless.

I looked over the note one last time before going to turn the ignition on. However, one name caught my eye on the pad, and I had an epiphany. Paul Golden.
Who had the most to gain from this whole debacle but him? He was in line to take over the company, his sister as a co-owner. However, if Golden was indeed gone forever, it wouldn’t be hard for Paul to convince the board to get Sarah to sell her ownership and just walk away with the money. Sarah didn’t know about the company, and had been sheltered from it by her father - but in the meantime, Paul knew a lot about where the money was going. . . maybe he wasn’t happy with something his father was doing, and just maybe he saw an opportunity to seize control.

Of course, for him to do that, he would have to overcome a bunch of hurdles - the buyout of his sister, the funeral, the full scale of what Golden Holding’s owned, how all the money flowed, and last, but not least, the actual disposal of his own father. It seemed ridiculous to even suspect him - and no doubt, Sarah wouldn’t take it too kindly. However, I was very curious as to why Sarah seemed to be scared in my office - and what if she thought someone was watching her? What if her and Paul had a rocky relationship? Why, out of an entire family and large company, did nobody but her seemed concerned as to a sudden disappearance of Mr. Golden?

Every question seemed to revolve close to Paul’s actions. In order for Golden Holdings to just continue operating like usual, the board must not suspect anything - and that would come entirely from Paul’s reassurances to them. Then there was the nature of what he was working on, and with who. . . could this removal be an inside job? I smirked at the thought. Everything was a conspiracy theory in this case; I just had to choose the best one to chase.

I had to do something, though. And Sarah would have to sign off on it. But I needed to put in a backup plan. I knew right there that if my suspicions about Paul could yield anything useful, I would need to talk to him - that’s where Sarah would come in. However, it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on him from afar as well. I pulled out my cell phone from my pocket and dialed a familiar number.

“Hello?” The young, nasally voice answered on the other end.
“Richie! It’s Sam.”
“Yeah, what do you want?”
“How’d you like to do a little off-the-record surveillance?”
There was a pause before he responded. “What are we talking about here?”

“Nothing difficult,” I said as I pulled another cigarette from the packet. “You’ll have no contact with the person, just watch them and keep notes. I’m working on a lead with this guy and I want to cover up any loose edges on him that might help me out.”

“I don’t know, Sammy. There’s a lot of shit when you’re following a guy. How big of a profile is he?”

“Known to the public, but not well. Could be in line for a lot of exposure real soon though.”

Richie’s voice picked up. “Is that so? Well that does change things. But you know that this will cost you.”

I sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Look, what are you doing right now? Let’s meet up and talk about what I want you to do.”

Not 30 minutes later, I was sitting in dark corner of another, far more empty east-end bar with Richie across the table from me. A middle-aged waitress came around with two pints of beer from the local brewery, flashing a nice, toothy smile to me as she lowered the beers onto the table. At the same time, she noticed my eyes wander to the generous portion of cleavage she was revealing with her low-cut shirt. I looked back to her eyes, which had the look of excitement rather than offence, and left a generous tip.

My eyes followed her hips as she walked away, and a smile crept over my face. Meanwhile, Richie was throwing daggers at me with his eyes, clearly repulsed by my attraction. “So, Sammy, you want me to spy on this suit?”

I refocused my attention on my business partner. “Yeah. Just make sure you’re never noticed.”

Richie smirked. “My specialty.”

I handed him a small camera to take pictures with. He took it from me with his clawlike fingers, and stuffed it into his jacket pocket. Richie was about eight years younger than me, a few summers removed of a business degree at the University in the north end. He was very much an odd-job kind of guy, picking up cash here and there to run errands for people. Most of his jobs involved driving and deliveries that were legal, but he was also an excellent creep, the kind of guy that could lurk around at night and watch people or things. And he always seemed to find himself in the right place at the right time, falling into high-paying gigs or cushy deliveries. To top it all off, the bastard was handsome and charming, and always got all the girls throwing themselves at him. It made me wonder why he worked for me, but I always figured that he just liked being an amateur spy. More often than not, he’d return from a job I sent him on with a camera filled with sex pictures - some very explicit, others not.

Fortunately for him and I, we always reached an understanding. He liked money, and I was willing to pay. Almost all of my payments to him were deferred to after the job was done, but he never seemed to mind.

In this case, I’d asked him to spy on Paul Golden. The residence that Paul lived in was just north of the city, a giant behemoth of a mansion that was like Fort Knox to get into. Richie exhumed that arrogant confidence that no lock could stop him, no wall could not be scaled, and no person could not be spied on. So, I barraged him with what I knew of Paul, rather than trying to reduce his already excessive self-confidence in his abilities.

After our chat, Richie guzzled his beer and took off, leaving me alone with half a pint. The waitress strolled back over to my table, making me realize I was literally the only one in the bar during the middle of the day.

“So, what is it that you two boys were talking about?” She asked, scooping up the empty glass across from me.

I took a sip. “Just business, dear. Always business with me.”

She gave me a sultry grin. “Oooh, a busy man, always on the go? What kind of work do you do?”

“I’m a spy,” I responded with a devilish grin on my face.

She laughed a deep laugh, pushing out her chest as she did. I took the moment to admire it, and the rest of her body. For a middle-aged woman, she didn’t look half-bad. “A spy? Like, for the CIA?”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “No. Even if I was, do you think I’d tell you?”
Her smile faded slightly. “Then what do you spy on? Animals?”
“People. Other people hire me to watch people.”
She gave me a blank look for a moment. “So, you’re a PI?”
“Bingo.”

Another person walked into the dingy place, and she turned her head to the person as he sat down at another booth. “Oh well, Mr. PI, looks like work calls.” She flashed another grin, and grabbed my now-empty glass before turning away. I looked down at the table, and noticed a receipt on the table. As I picked it up, I saw a number on it with her name beside it. I tucked the paper into my pocket and made my way for the door. “Bye, Karla,” I said to her as I hit the outside world, a spring in my step. It’d been awhile since a woman had come onto me.

However, I had to get my mind back on the task at hand. I drove back to my office, my old car rumbling under the street’s cracks and holes below it. I immediately picked up my phone and dialed Sarah.

“Hi Sarah, it’s Maxton. Can you come down to my office today? I’ve got to talk with you about a possible lead.”

Her voice just melted in my ear, reminding me of our first meeting together. “I won’t be available until later tonight. Can I come around 9 o’clock?”

“Absolutely. Although it might be easier just to meet at my place at that point. Is that okay with you?”

There was a hesitation in her voice. “I guess so. Would it be easier to talk tomorrow?”

“I suppose it could wait, but I’d rather not. You’ll want to hear what I have to say.”

Another hesitation. “Okay then. 9 o’clock. Where do you live?”

When I have no leads, I create my own.

Moving forward

2009-06-28T13:47:00.003-04:00

So, it's been a little since I managed to get on here and talk about Dana. The last month has been pretty busy, however a lot of it hasn't been film-related. But, throughout all the craziness and business, I have managed to take more steps to making this film a reality.

Late in May I went out and got tax advice about how to fund this film - it all entailed me starting a company, which I was supposed to do this month but instead will wait until the second week of July to be created. First of all, I didn't even know what kind of company to create - and when I talked with the accountant (tax advice), he was telling me about companies and corporations - something I didn't know there was a difference between. Of course, I now do know, and given the budget of this film, to create a corporation would be 10% of the budget, while a company would cost only 1%. There's advantages to having a corporation, but there's so much complications involving stocks and shares and voting power that it was nearly overwhelming, and certainly not necessary for this. So as it stands, I was initially going to create a sole-proprietor company....

...however, I was advised NOT to do that because of the unlimited liability clause, which basically states I'd be responsible for the losses of the company (for example, if someone was hurt on set and sued, it'd be coming out of my already bankrupt account). So instead I'm now creating a numbered company, which is nearly the exact same premise as a sole proprietorship company, but I'm legally separate from the company - so if someone sued, the company would go bankrupt, not me (although I am anyway). The next step was finding a way to get government grants for the labor on this project - since the government of Canada and Ontario have arts grants for the labour costs of a film production, which could total up to 35% of those costs, it'd be the difference between needing to fund-raise 3,500 dollars or having it handed to me. That part I'm not extremely worried about.

The second task was finding a way to get 3rd party "investors" to give money to a project that has a near 0% chance to make a profit. Since we were going to ask companies for money, finding a way to make their donations tax deductible was essential. After a lengthy conversation with the accountant, that issue has also been resolved. Instead of 'donating' the money, we're selling them 'advertising.' All that entails is their logo in the credits or carefully put into the film, and just like that, the company can justify their donation and receive that money back on their taxes. This ensures that the money they put in is actually net neutral for them, and that increases the likelihood that we'll receive corporate donations. Finding that out was a massive relief. Of course, the money still needs to be raised....

In the meantime, I've nearly fleshed out all of the budget numbers and all of the crew. All I need to acquire now is costume/wardrobe and a sound guy. And from the sounds of it, I've got a line on a sound guy. Wardrobe may be a little more difficult. I know someone, but I'm not sure if she'd be in for this, considering I've sort of lost contact with her over the last year. We'll see.

There's still much to do, but the busier the summer gets, the more I'll want to work on this film. And of course, I'm still working on Chapter two of Sam Maxton.

-Mark

Down Richmond Street

2009-06-07T19:40:00.002-04:00

Down Richmond Street
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Sam Maxton: London Calling

2009-05-27T17:46:00.005-04:00

After a while of talking about the Sam Maxton novel I was planning on writing, I present the first chapter of Sam Maxton: London Calling. It's mystery-themed, for those wondering what genre this falls under. Enjoy, and feel free to leave comments/feedback!

CHAPTER 1

Slowly, I pulled myself to my feet, feeling the swirling pain of last night’s drinks hit my head. I was still wearing my suit - again - so at least I knew I had a good night. After stumbling down the hallway of my one-bedroom apartment while using the wall as a crutch, I found what I was needing the most at this moment. I grasped the cigarette pack off the top of my desk and tepidly pulled out a smoke, telling myself that once again I was going to quit soon. After sparking it, I meandered over to the window, and gazed out at the city I’d grown to love hating.

Another adultery case had been solved by yours truly, and yesterday the newly minted ex-husband had dropped off the check, which still lay beside my cigarettes. I glanced at my name on the check - Samuel L. Maxton, handwritten above the 1000 dollars that slice of paper represented. I always liked to celebrate a finished job, and that one had been of particular ease. Like many before, it was a classic case of the husband suspicious of his wife’s late-night absences, and after a phone call to me, and three days of evidence gathering, I found myself a grand richer.

Despite that new cash, it always seemed that money was in a shortage. I took a long drag from my smoke before setting it down in the ashtray near me as I thought about my impending rent dues, my empty fridge, and the vomit that was quickly surging up my esophagus. Moments later, my mind shifted to my newest expense - getting my suit dry cleaned. Another typical morning.

After cleaning myself up, I decided to head downtown to my office. As I stepped through the door and looked upon the mess that was my paperwork, I wondered what my life was going towards. Another envelope from the landlord with a nice blue strip marked “urgent” across the top; I mindlessly tossed it aside as I sat down in my chair. I peeped outside my second story window at the strip club across the street, which was unusually busy for a Wednesday afternoon. Below me, the local undesirables wandered aimlessly on Dundas Street, occasionally ducking into the convenience store that my office was perched above. My eyes returned back to the heavy wooden desk before me. I sighed heavily and rifled through my papers, wondering where I’d left my paperwork from a case that was still open.

“God dammit,” I whispered under my breath. My mess of an office needed some serious cleaning - another thing I repeatedly told myself I was going to get on top of some day. The sickly brown paint that stained the walls of this Victorian-era building was chipping off in places, some of it covered by framed pictures of myself with important Londoners (all to give the illusion of being successful to clients). In one corner, a picture frame with my accreditation inside proudly covered the hole in the wall that had been left by a passionate client when I showed him a picture of his wife in bed with his best friend.

Opposite to that corner was a television on a stand, which I promptly flipped on to the local news network. I didn’t understand how this city managed to land a 24-hour news channel; especially since we were only 200km west of Canada’s largest metropolis, Toronto. And as you could imagine, Toronto’s news dominated this channel as well. However, what did tend to sift around the station and excite the usually docile reporters was the dealings of one of the two of the most successful Londoners - Gary Sinclair, who owned the hockey team, the city’s beloved London Crusade - and had been driving them towards playoff appearance after playoff appearance in the Ontario Hockey League. He frequently made news, not to mention appearances all over the city. Although there never was any official tally, Sinclair was widely accepted as the wealthiest local tycoon. In addition to the Crusade, he owned a large sum of properties in the downtown core, including the building I rented my office in, and four of the high-rise residential towers (and there was only seven).

My job was bittersweet; I worked for myself and didn’t have to worry about calling anyone my boss - but at the same time, each case I received added to the daily monotony. For the last six years I’d been traveling up to this office, and then leaving it for days or weeks at a time as another suspicious husband or wife called me to spy on their spouse. Those usually took a week to complete, and I frequently found myself in the upper-class North end spying on housewives, businessmen, and newlyweds. These cases were quick, easy, and extremely boring. I’d spent many a night in the rain or cold watching a cheating husband wine-and-dine his co-worker before retiring to the bedroom with her while his wife was out with some friends, or with the kids at a hockey game. Meanwhile, the unfaithful wives typically stuck to a pattern of an old-friend, or a co-worker of their own. I couldn’t even begin to count the amount of times I was sitting in my office with the client, handing them the incriminating pictures, and hearing them proclaim “That’s her friend Chris!” or “He works with her!”

Of course, not every case I took involved suspicious lovers. While they were the majority and barely covered the bills, every now and then union disputes would come knocking, looking for dirt on the other party. Sometimes, it was as simple as following a person while they went to deal drugs (usually, it was parents giving me the job for those). And every time election season came, at least one political wig would sent a nervous assistant to my office, asking me to ‘quietly record the mis-directions’ of the opposing candidate. If I was lucky, both the candidates would come to me, looking to spy on the other. Those were always the most fun - and the public never found out about these campaign expenses, which was almost always put down as ‘outside consulting’ jobs on their public statements. That was just a fancy term for paying me on the taxpayer dime.

As much fun as those jobs were, they were never frequent enough to keep me from hating myself on regular basis. At 34 years old, I still found myself scraping through life, barely keeping my apartment’s rent paid and my fridge full. I’d been a Private Investigator in London for eight years, trying to build enough of a reputation to finally move east to Toronto - or Montreal - or west to the mountains or prairies - or anywhere, really. I knew London well - all its parks, its ghettos, its rich neighbourhoods, all the bars, and I’d at least met anyone that was anyone in the city - some of who had gave me work. The three big office towers dominated the downtown skyline, and wedged right between them was city hall. Meanwhile, just down the street, there was a rehab clinic. The city was like a paradoxical mixture of importance and failure - a city where you could stand in the middle of a downtown street and have a businessman in a suit walk by, followed by a pregnant teenager, and then a crackhead begging for money for their next hit. Victorian buildings built back in the late 1800's either stood majestically on a street corner or looked ready to collapse under a strong breeze. Some city streets had blocks that were just completely marred with potholes, while just on the other side of the traffic light, the road was pristine and smooth. Some bridges that crossed the river into downtown were the originals that were built when the city was founded - and were repaired on a yearly basis - while others were modern, concrete slabs.

A series of parks hugged the river, with the two branches of the Thames River coming together right by the heart of the downtown core. Much of the river parks were naturalized areas, and featured an abundance of old trees and quiet places where many locals relaxed (or got up to no good). The city itself was built in a large river valley, and had only recently reached the top of the hills in its expansion. While the vast majority of the expansion was suburbs, the city had its distinct districts - the core, the poor east-end, the upper-class north side, and Springbank - a long, large park that bordered the river in the west end of the city. During the day, this park was a beautiful place to take one’s kids, or a new love. During the night, it was a hotbed for shady dealings. More often than not I found myself in Springbank, picking up tidbits of information during the dead of night.

I sat in my decrepit office that morning, sipping on my black coffee and sifting through the mountains of paperwork I’d accumulated during the last few jobs I’d worked. My second-last client had wanted an extensive paper trail - a wealthy businessman who had suspected his wife was cheating for months - and in the job, I had to keep extensive records of everything I saw, everything she did - I tell you, the worst part of this job is the paperwork. He’d wanted to make sure that when she tried to take him to the cleaners in the impending divorce, he’d be able to nail her to the cross. Never mind the fact that he undoubtedly had his own mistress - he’d just been better at hiding his infidelity than her.

After a tedious hour of sorting through the documents, they found their place in the filing cabinet near the door. Of course, that cabinet was just a precursor for the shredder, where all my finished paperwork eventually found their way to. I then spent approximately twenty minutes staring at that cabinet, losing myself in daydreams of how I was going to be a big-shot in this city, of how all I needed was that one big case before I didn’t have to live in perpetual poverty any longer. . .

My focus shifted back to reality very suddenly as a knock came upon my office door. My initial thought was that it was the landlord again, and that we were going to get into our usual argument about how I owed him money, and how he never did shit around this building to deserve the rent. Instead, a young, feminine hand pushed the door aside with a creak, and her shapely figure filled the doorway.

“Hello?” She cautiously asked, still standing at the entrance.

I cleared my throat and made a half-assed attempt to sound professional and friendly - two things I wasn’t particularly good at. “Do come in.” I stood as she approached the desk and stuck out my callused hand to shake hers. She smiled and extended her hand. Her skin was soft and smooth, her handshake very much what I expected from a young woman.

“So, what brings you here, Miss...?”

“Sarah Golden,” she responded as she sat down. “I’ve come by recommendation from a colleague of my father’s.”

“Is that so?” I stated, hoping she’d continue on. Her bright blue eyes were fixed on mine - an action that had me transfixed into staring back, while hoping that she wouldn’t take note of the general unpleasantness this office tended to radiate to clients.

“Yes,” she continued, never breaking eye contact. “He said that he had used you recently and that you had gone above and beyond to get the results he wanted.”

“Well I do tend to be good at my job,” I interjected with a slight smirk.

She paused for a moment, no doubt slightly taken back by my self-promotion. However, she flashed a quick, polite smile, and went on. “However, my situation is somewhat more dire than his; my father has been missing for nearly a week now.”

My smile dropped. “Have you contacted the police?”

“No. My father frequently crosses the border into Detroit and Buffalo to discuss business with his partners. He left last week to Buffalo, and was supposed to return this Monday. However, that’s obviously not been the case.”

“So? It’s only Wednesday. Maybe he decided to stay a few extra days.”

“Without contacting anyone from his company? Or his daughter or son?”

I went silent for a moment. “Yeah, I suppose that doesn’t make any sense. What company does he own?”

She leaned back in the rickety office chair, giving me a ‘don’t you know who I am’ look. “My father is Daniel Golden.”

I stopped. “The Daniel Golden? Owner of Golden Holdings?”

Sarah nodded. Now it was my turn to lean back in my office chair. Daniel Golden was another of London’s wealthiest citizens - Golden Holdings being his largest company. Although it mostly dealt with investments and property, anyone who was anyone knew that he owned a series of factories in the east end, had ties with city hall, and sponsored just about every major project the city undertook - whether it be buildings, nature, or the eco-power dam that had been completed a few years earlier and provided much of the city with an increasingly more affordable electricity source. Why the hell would anyone want to kidnap him? He was practically a deity to this city.

“So, you want me to find him?” I finally said.

Sarah nodded eagerly. “I’m not sure how easy this will be for you. My father doesn’t really have any enemies, so I’m not sure if there’s a logical connection.”

“That is, assuming he was actually kidnaped. For all we know right now, he could be juiced up in the states with some hookers and blow.” I bit my tongue after saying that, realizing just how idiotic and insensitive I sounded. Sarah shot me a look that essentially said just that, and I lowered my head. “Sorry, Miss Golden. I frequently say things without thinking. It’s the nature of this business - you deal with some really hard people, and there’s specific ways to talk with them.”

“Well, Mr. Samuel Maxton, please try to control your tongue around me,” she refuted in a calm-but-serious tone.

“I’ll be sure to keep note.” I shifted my weight, the chair creaking loudly as I did so. “Now, there’s the issue of payment.”

She immediately reached into her handbag and pulled out a large sum of 100 dollar bills. “Money shouldn’t be an issue, so long as you don’t go crazy.” She slid 1000 dollars across the desk and into my open palm. “That should get you started, Mr. Maxton.”

I smiled to myself as I leafed the money through my fingers - I was more than accustomed to starting cases with nothing more than a dime in my pocket - having this much would loosen up tongues as I started my investigation - and fast. I hid my smile behind a sigh, and returned to my stoic gaze. “Now, Miss Golden, I’m going to level with you. This case could take some time. And as much as I appreciate the advance, I’m starting with no leads and virtually no clue to where your father was last seen, with who, and what he was doing in Buffalo. If he’s in the states, you can nearly guarantee that there’s going to be lengthy delays. If he’s on our side of the border, that’s a definite plus. However, I’m going to need to talk with you extensively throughout this case - you’re going to need to tell me if anyone contacts you about your father, what they say, and above all, spill as much info as you can to me so I can get an idea of where to start looking.”

She pushed her dark hair out of her eyes before looking around the office and out the window. She leaned in closely, and I did the same. Her fair skin glistened as the sun hit her face, and I detected a faint smell of some expensive perfume. Her eyes flared with what I initially thought was nervous excitement, but turned out just to be fear. I studied her features and subtle movements intently as she opened her mouth and spoke. “My father was supposedly meeting some tycoons in the US border cities. I don’t know what they were discussing, but I do know that a huge sum of money was going to be involved. He casually mentioned to me that he might have to sell off some of his north-end properties just to get the deal off the ground.”

“But you don’t know what the deal was about?”
“No.”
I frowned. “Do you know who he was meeting? Or the company?”
“No.”
“Do you at least know how much money we’re talking about, here?”

She swallowed hard and leaned in so close that our faces touched. My eyes widened and my jaw nearly dropped when she whispered the figure into my ear.

Novacks

2009-05-23T22:51:00.002-04:00

Novacks
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Step 4

2009-05-16T15:57:00.004-04:00

Step 1: Think of Movie
Step 2: Write Script
Step 3: Panic
Step 4: Find Producer

This Was May 13th.

So, Step 4 achieved it's goal last Wednesday, as I had a meeting for said producer (who's named Carys). The meeting went well, as we both seemed to be on the same page for how to approach trying to fund this. For what it's worth, the vibe I got from her was that this was her first 'big' project as well - with some past smaller success. We outlined the parts of the budget that were filled in, and it quickly became apparent that the anticipated shoot date of September 2009 was just not a possibility. I need time to fill out the budget and pick up more crew, and she needed to research marketing potential and break down the dates for the costs.

So the shoot date was shifted back to June 1st, 2010. That may seem like a long time off, but after only 5 days from this meeting it already seems like it'll come down to the wire. On the plus side, London has come through to a certain extent: there's a media industry mingle this coming Friday, and I've just got my new business cards that are ready to be handed out en masse for this event. With any luck, I'll pick up one more department contact (costume, anyone? or maybe locations scout). At the very least, I'll be able to soak in a ton more information from other industrialists that have the fortunate curse of working out of London. That'll be downtown at The ARTS Project. In the never-ending irony that is my life, the company I currently work for will be delivering the a/v equipment to it that day for that event. I really hope I get to deliver it, and then show up to it a few hours later - that kind of thing always gives me a private satisfaction (through hilarity).

So with the shoot date pushed back a year and 0 of 10K raised, and a budget half-completed (and that's just the rough), it really feels like I've only took the first few steps up the mountain. However, at least the steps are forward.

In other project updates, I've got a storyboard that is currently being developed, and I've considered submitting the script to a few script festivals around the Toronto area to see if I can gain notoriety or generate more interest. Since most of those cost some money to submit to, it could be taking from the hand that produces if the script doesn't get accepted. Not that I think it's bad - I've had another positive review on the script from another reader, and Carys called me a few days ago to offer her praise on the script as well.

So Step 4 is completed. Now for Step 5: Gather Crew and Costs.

...And I haven't even considered casting yet.

-Mark

One London Place

2009-05-13T15:36:00.002-04:00

One London Place
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Fueling my addiction to London's tallest building, here's another angle of One London Place from the Delta London Armouries, complete with a reflection of the TD towers. What I really love about OLP is that it's got a ton of unique angles - you can approach it from different directions and it looks like a different building almost every time. Fantastic architecture.

The real beginning of chaos

2009-05-06T15:38:00.005-04:00

It's strange how getting denied can ultimately be a good thing.

"Dana" has been coming along slowly - or at least, slower than I've wanted. With a completed script and a D.P. safely in hand, the next step was to find a producer. Of course, there was a series of steps I had to take in order to successfully pull that one off... the first being understanding what the hell I was getting myself into.

I'm by no means ashamed of my student films - while Wake Up wasn't spectacular, it was indeed my first foray into 'real' attempts at filmmaking, or at least as real as a student film can be. While I did some other piddily projects on my own in between, and a few pieces of contract work for Elgin County Museum and Museum London, and a 30-second ad for an AIDS for Africa lecture, in large part my own creative work did not continue until last year's One Way Out. However, student films and small independent work does not give any insight into how the actual, professional film industry operates. At wow, has that ever been a humbling, and 'holy shit there's a lot of information' experience.

And here's where the information began:

Dana initially began as a short with an estimated budget of $5,000 CDN. There's a definite desire to do this short as a professional piece, which entails setting up a 'limited company' and filing corporate tax returns - two things I both generally expected, although I didn't know how to go about accomplishing this. However, after a meeting with the DOP (Director of Photography), it became clear that the budget would have to be doubled to 10K. So that's where it now stands.

However, in order to raise 10K, I need investors. Well, before I can even get investors, I need a producer. And before a producer, I need to get a budget. And to get a budget, I needed to know how to set up a professional film budget.

Now, if there's one thing I DID know about the industry, it was that doing any paperwork outside of the status quota means that you'll get ignored - and thus, the cycle of no money, no chance would go on indefinitely. So, in order to learn how to set this up, I happened upon a 'Building a Business Plan' course that was being offered by Raindance Canada and the Toronto Writer's Centre. This three-hour workshop turned into an absolute onslaught of information (all relevant and useful) that had me writing as fast as I could the entire time. However, included in the course was a handout of a budget sheet, as well as a crash course in how profit sharing works - more handy for a feature film, but nonetheless it will be useful for Dana.

That was April 23rd.

I returned back to London with the intention of putting out an open ad on crew-and-casting site Mandy.com for a producer or co-producer. This ad was rejected outright - evidently Mandy doesn't accept those kinds of ads - I had issues with this, particularly considering I wasn't just some jackass looking for free help, the ad stated that the position was paid. So, for about a week, I was pretty sure I was screwed - regardless, I was back to square one - fund this myself.

That was April 28.

Well, that predicament pushed the intended shoot date of September 1st back to "Summer 2010." How the hell was I going to raise 10K? While there was grants I could apply to (and will), that still left me having to raise what looked like a minimum of $5000. I was floating ideas around, some of which hold more merit than others (bank robbery WAS an option for awhile...) and may be used anyway.

One of the biggest steps holding anyone looking to put together a film in London, Ontario is the fact that it's slim pickings for crew and connections, since London's arts scene is more geared towards painting and studio work rather than film. This is caused in part by the fact that Toronto is just two hours away, and most people gravitate towards that city when trying to get into the industry.

In the meantime, I returned to my toil of three jobs. On short notice, I took a shift (one of the jobs I has puts me in different places in the city all the time) and ended up running into a girl I went to University with. Much like me, she was toiling away, trying to break into the industry, working at an irrelevant job. But after a quick conversation, it turned out to be a great chance meeting - because she's produced other arts work (such as fashion shows) and has had success approaching private investors. I gave her a quick overview of what I was doing and how I wanted to approach it, and we exchanged info.

That was May 2nd.

So as of today, I've been researching more funding sources, trying to find more crew, and I've got a meeting coming up with her next week.

Funny how things go in this business. We'll see how the meeting goes. Lots to do before then...

Suburban Sprawl

2009-05-03T19:04:00.002-04:00

Suburban Sprawl
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

And They're Off

2009-04-02T20:40:00.002-04:00

And They're Off
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

City Centre

2009-03-20T12:31:00.002-04:00

City Centre
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

"Dana" script update

2009-03-18T13:41:00.003-04:00

So, after months of slaving over a script, my sister and I have finally come to a final script! While I'm in the process of converting it to the proper formatting, we're both quite happy with how the dialogue flows and where the story goes. This brings about the next task in the film, which is building a budget and finding a producer; followed closely by location scouting, building a crew, setting shoot dates, acquiring the equipment, selling my soul to get this film in action... but they will all be tackled as they arise. I've talked to a few people already that I'm confident will be able to help me out in various departments, so the main concern is building up the capital to make this happen. I'm confident that's a task that can be done, especially considering I'm not running an extremely large budget, and I've heard first-hand stories of others raising ten times the amount I'm asking in places less known for filming.

However, with that said, I figure it's my duty to provide a sneak peak into the script - by dropping a few lines from it.

Dave (rigid, irritated):
“You know, I tolerate you because for some crazy reason, Dana seems to like you. But don’t think you fool me– I see the way you look at her when you think no one’s watching. So, in addition to politely asking you once again ‘What are you doing here?’ I’m also going to say back off from the door.”

Scott (passionate, near-uncontrolled anger):
“Fuck you Laduke, I was invited. And don’t give me that hypocritical bullshit; you’re no different to that last bastard I had to help Dana get away from. Don’t think I didn’t see the bruises on her wrist.”

That's all for now - chew over that one! (And yes, it's copyrighted, for anyone wondering).

-Mark

Dundas on Dundas

2009-03-11T13:14:00.002-04:00

Dundas on Dundas
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Chomping at the bit

2009-02-28T15:48:00.007-05:00

There may be a global recession that's gripping half the world right now, but be damned if I feel it. This past February was one of the busiest work-related months of my life, as I sacrificed myself to the god of capitalism, although I seem to be perpetually on the negative side of the supposed dream I've heard so much talk about.

At the same time, winter has raged on in it's usual fashion, with London's weather experiencing 20 degree (C) changes within 24 hours in some cases, essentially confining me to my basement lair; ultimately this is leaving me yearning for spring. It's been a paradoxical winter for me, personally - while winter has made me stir crazy because I can't go outside, I've also been working myself to the point of collapse at times, sleeping in 4 hour shifts some days while collecting 30-40 hour weeks at my three jobs. Ironically, while I've found myself a slave to work, I've also found that out of the 28 days of this month, I had 11 of them off. Not bad for a near full-time worker.

Ultimately, I don't mind the crazy hours I work. I'd much rather sacrifice a few hours of a sleep a night for 3 more days off in the month, especially when these days come clumped together. This gives me time to research my film, and actually get the creative juices moving.

I'm not sure how many people experience the creative phenomena I live with, but I've always discovered that my best ideas, or my enlightened moments come very rapidly, and if I don't write them down or start discussing them with someone, they disappear almost as soon as they've came. At the same time, I can spend hours spaced out at work thinking about my film, or my newly envisioned novel that's been gaining mental steam to the point that it's nearly a runaway freight train. But I digress, so I'll get my priorities straight. 1: Film, 2: Novel.

1: My next short, which I've alas arrived at a working title of "Dana", has been progressing at a painfully slow rate. I've made some calls and done some research for the technical aspect of how this film is going to come together this summer, and I've been talking to virtually anyone that will listen about the conceptual aspect of it. However, since I want this to be a quality product, my sister (co-writer, although really she's put waaaay more effort on the first draft than myself) and I have been slaving over the details of the first draft of Dana's script. The hardest detail has been connecting the plausibility of the action with the motives of the characters, although we've finally got to the final act. Both of us are becoming very impatient with the progress of the script, but we're of the same mind: if it all doesn't fit, it's a piece of shit. By the time this script is finished, which I envision being some time in March, all the small details will match; visual, emotional, and story. Then comes the next challenge.

I've already hammered out the preliminary research on camera equipment. I'm planning on shooting the entire short as a POV [point of view], so equipment and creative shooting will be a priority come call time. Mentally, the visuals of the film are solid, as they were what initially spawned the whole short. I need to affix a camera to a cameraman's/actor's head with a deck [recording device] somewhere on their body or out of sight to make the shooting style believable; and then there's the balance of how much of this film will come together in post-production. It's a lot to think of, especially considering this will be shot on a shoestring budget, and could end up being up to 20 minutes in length... but I've always preferred a challenge over the status quo.

2: Over the last month or so, I've been dreaming up this novel that has a quintessential film-noir feel to it. Living in London has always had its advantages and disadvantages - and my own personal beliefs that London has a 'crime-town' feeling to it is what initially gave birth to this novel idea. I've found that this city balances good and bad in a precarious way - the good things (such as recreation, small-town feeling, big-city convenience, etc) really carry this city's reputation, while the bad things (traffic problems, general administrative incompetence, obvious corruption, 'rich bastard' syndrome, sprawling east-end ghettos, etc) really bring a crushing sense of cynicism to someone that lives here. It's this balance that the city carries that gave birth to the novel; a cynical, perpetually poor private investigator that gets the case that he sees as his ticket to big money finds himself nearly over his head in the details. I will definitely be posting chapters to this blog. I hesitate to set a timeframe because I'm deep in the research stage, but I can tell you while this will be a fictional story, much of it will involve truths or actual London locations.

I've been pretty excited about this novel, and a completed outline came together within mere days. I haven't yet thought of a title for it, but all the characters are in place, the plot makes sense, and I've been chomping at the bit to start writing the chapters. I've already plowed through J.G. Ballard's High Rise and The Drought as some inspiration, while Burglars Can't Be Choosers by Lawrence Block was the initial idea creator. Of course, I can't discount HG Wells' classic War of The Worlds. Naturally, Lost. Prison Break, Veronica Mars, and The Dresden Files DVDs and books have all been a heavy research diet of late. I won't drop too many details as of right now, but suffice to say that the first chapters of this novel, with the main character Sam Maxton's exploits, will be hitting this blog shortly. This won't be a Marathon, Ontario novel situation (a novel I started a few years back) situation because this already has a complete outline - and like I said before, I've been itching to start writing on this one.

So, that's what has been going on recently for LEGP. I know my posts have (as always) been scarce, but that's a situation that will be rectified in the coming months as I lose myself in Dana and Maxton's lives.

-Mark

One Way Out

2009-02-18T11:12:00.001-05:00

So, after a year of procrastination... here it is, the completed short of One Way Out that was in the 2008 UWO Film Festival!

Richmond & Queens

2009-01-23T14:43:00.002-05:00

Richmond & Queens
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

One London Light

2009-01-09T18:30:00.002-05:00

One London Light
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

East Enders Night

2008-12-30T13:29:00.002-05:00

East Enders Night
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Floatation Device(s)

2008-12-16T20:09:00.002-05:00

Floatation Device(s)
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Power of Monarchs

2008-12-07T13:52:00.002-05:00

Power of Monarchs
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Poking Through

2008-12-04T16:08:00.002-05:00

Poking Through
Originally uploaded by Mdrewe

Movie time

2008-11-30T19:53:00.002-05:00

So, I'm actually starting a new project for filming. Although I haven't posted One Way Out, I simply don't know how to compress it smaller. If someone can tell me of a small app or something that does that, let me know and I'll do it within a week of the message and post it up.

However, it will please anyone following this (I see SOME hits down there... if you read this or look at the pictures on a semi-regular or in-oft basis, do feel free to leave a comment) to know that I've started the script for my next film. It's a short, as well, but it's far more ambitious. I'll actually be looking for a producer, applying for funding grants, and quite likely building the camera for this. I'm thinking of running a budget of close to 5,000 dollars. It'll have some special effects (nothing major, obviously), one key makeup scene, and a tight editing style. Meanwhile, I've teamed up with my sister, who's a phenomenal writer that's won University awards, to write the story and make it sharper. I've got the outline together and I just started on the first act of the script. It's 5 acts in total, probably between 6-18 minutes (probably will end up being two cuts).

And what's the story about? Obsession.

More details to come as I progress.

-Mark

PS: I'll still be posting pictures throughout.