In regards to Film #9, I’m close to picture-lock and I’m getting started on the sound design and soundtrack.  I’m still trying to balance the blending of film noir and kung-fu.  The  sequence that’s been giving me the most trouble has been a fist-fight that we shot.  As it stands in editing, it doesn’t have the right rhythm and pacing yet.  It lacks momentum.  Other then that, the other main challenge is to find/create a soundtrack that can evoke both genres.

At the same time, I’ve also been working on Film #10.  I have wanted to do a horror movie and more specifically, a zombie movie since I started this project and I decided that October would be the perfect month to dive into the horror genre (October being the month that this film was originally slated to be produced).  Well, we shot it this last weekend and I’m seriously excited to get it put together and share it with you.

Finally, I’m starting into pre-production on Film #11.  This month’s film is a sci-fi thriller based on story by my wife, Christina.  It’s a story idea she passed by me before I even started 12 Films in 12 Months and I’m stoked to include it in the project.

Well, there you have it.  That’s the current state of the remaining films for the year.  I have six weeks exactly until the project is completed and I’m ready to kick into high gear and finish it well.

Roger Ebert wrote a fantastic, short guide to film noir here.  I love his last point.  He describes film noir as:

The most American film genre, because no society could have created a world so filled with doom, fate, fear and betrayal, unless it were essentially naive and optimistic.

Well we did indeed shoot Film #9 on Sept. 30 and the shoot went well.  It went longer then expected, but everyone involved was very gracious and stuck it out.  Everyone did a fantastic job and I got some great footage.  The next day I shifted gears and put the editing of the film on hold.  My wife and I were in the process of buying a house and escrow closed at the end of that week.  So I spent the next few days after the shoot working like crazy at my job at YS (prepping media for our conventions this fall) and joining my wife in packing up our apartment.

We moved into the new house that weekend and then three days later we were both on a plane on our way to Sacramento for the first National Youth Workers Convention.  For the next week, I was working non-stop at the convention creating, modifying, and running media for the general sessions (which is what I do at YS in terms of our events).  I shot and edited a couple of short videos that we showed over the weekend and after we wrap the third convention in November, I’ll put them up here as well.

Since getting back to San Diego, we got a little more settled into our house, I’ve been prepping for the next YS convention in Pittsburgh next week, and now I’m diving back into finishing these 12 films before the year’s end.

I’m in the middle of editing Film #9 as well as planning the shoot for Film #10.  #9 is coming together well and I think the Film Noir and Kung Fu are going to play nice together.  I can’t wait to play with the sound design on this one as it has a good amount of voice over and sound effects and I think it could be really fun.

#10 is going to be a zombie movie!  I’ve been looking forward to this one since I started this project.  We’re planning on shooting it in two weeks and I want to make sure everything gets set for it because I think that it could be great.  Stay tuned for more.

As far as Film #9 goes, I’m still moving forward and in fact, I’m shooting it tonight.  So, it should be no big surprise that since I’m only shooting the film tonight, it won’t be completed by the end of September (since today happens to be the end of September).  But, my goal is to have it finished and completed within a week or so.  I’ll definitely post updates and a more exact release date as I get into editing the film.

I’m very excited for this month’s film.  I’m trying to make a film that fits into the genre of Film Noir while playing with it a bit and mashing in some elements from other genres, namely Kung Fu.  I’m still somewhat aprehensive about how well they’ll combine and whether they can play well with each other.  But, making it work is part of the fun of trying it in the first place.  I’ll let you know how the shoot goes tonight!

As I’ve mentioned, Mystery Box is screening this Thursday, September 25th at 5:00pm and then Friday, September 26th at Noon at the San Diego Film Festival.  If you’re planning on coming to either of the showings, let me know in the comments and I’ll be sure to look for you down there.  Also, if you’re coming to the Thursday night screening and feel like some dessert, we’ll be heading over to Ghiradelli on 5th Avenue afterwards.  See you at the festival!

ht to Jim Hancock

The screening times for Mystery Box at the San Diego Film Festival have been announced.  It’s going to be screened twice during the festival: Thursday, September 25th at 5:00pm and Friday, September 26th at Noon.  Both screenings are at the Gaslamp theater in downtown San Diego. (The address is 701 5th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101).  Right now you can just buy passes for the full festival or specific entire days.  The tickets for individual screenings will be on sale September 15 for $10.  All tickets and passes can be purchased here.  I hope to see you down there!