Intense Math, Part III

It's official, the Phoenix Film Project Screen Wars Comedy Challenge is on! Watch for Intense Math, Saturdays at 5:30pm on AZTV (Channel 27, 55, or Cox 13) beginning April 2nd. Tune in and vote!

AGTC, Part IV

Wow, what a night! The Almost Famous Film Festival screening and awards ceremony. I'll cut to chase and just say it... ah, no I won't. Read on.

The venue was the Icehouse on Jackson. The exterior was neoclassical, yet unassuming. Once inside it was revealed that the building had no roof. It was an interesting courtyard, brimming with anticipation, kettle korn, and hot cider. The Matter of Chance posse was in full effect, sixteen people total: parents, brothers, sisters, an aunt, cousins, and friends (here's to winning the audience favorite award). Gabe and Rebecca were sorely missed.

Further into the depths of the structure was a large silver room with projector screen, speakers, and stills from all the films adorning the side walls. We got our seats and talked. Finally, the screening began. There were a number of very impressive films, our film, AGTC, screening roughly halfway through the evening. In fact, two teams did the typical "film about the 48 hour film challenge" thing, but did it with such attitude and flair that it was thoroughly entertaining. There are always surprises, and a few cliche films, ideas that everyone immediately thought of given the contraints, but we rejected as "too easy," thankfully.

Twenty-one films done and on to the awards ceremony. First, the novelty awards, Best Non-Human Actor (a pug), and so on. Next, Acting, all well-deserved winners. Nevertheless, Brock was cheated. Then, Cinematography, for which Brock has long said we should win at least some award, and we did that, taking 2nd place solid, and winning a 5-pack of DV tapes. 1st place was the breathtaking Somerset Storm, with images so perfect, I wouldn't have wanted to win 1st place from it, if such a thing were possible. Next, Story, and surprise of surprises, we won 1st place, and an iPod Shuffle! This, we were not expecting. 1st place Acting for Brock, perhaps, but not this. Our intentionally mind-boggling plot complexity worked. To think we almost scrapped the story half way through the night. It'd a good thing Brock made us stay with it. Finally, the Overall category, and Angie thought we might get it up until they announced the winner. Even all the people in the row behind us were murmuring that it must be AGTC. However, it was not to be. First Date by Friendly People Productions took the top prize, and a guaranteed spot in the 2006 Phoenix Film Festival.

The whole event was very well run. It was great to see as many awards given out as there were. At the end of the night it was announced that everyone got to take home the glossy, mounted stills that adorned the venue. So, that was it, no one left empty-handed, and a good time was had by all. I hope A3F keeps up the good work, it was the best Phoenix film event I have attended yet. I even had the pleasure of transporting the Brothers Brown and discussing the nuances of language and sanity. Delightful.

Two awards in the bag, the audience award on the horizon, and, yet, work on AGTC continues...

AGTC, Part III

The 48 hours have long since expired, but work on AGTC continues.

The most recent edit would not qualify for the contest, but is truer to the original vision. The editing has been tightened up, every frame painstakingly perfected (I'd say over 50% of the stills in the original post differ in some way at this point), shots removed, shots added, and some subtle sound effects. Saturday, Micah and I recorded an entirely new score, piano-based with a number of accents, including intense drums and bass at one point. This piece is much more cohesive.

What's next? A title sequence. A final pass on the floor titles. Overhead announcements. Oh, and a cool DVD menu.

Intense Math, Part II

You'll be happy to know that I dropped off Intense Math at the Phoenix Film Project office yesterday afternoon. That's a full day before the deadline, and that may be a new record. In case you missed it, Screen Wars will begin on Saturday, April 2, 5:30pm, on AZTV, Cox cable channel 13. Be there or be square.