The End of the Beginning

This is a saying that I love to use (because it makes me sound smart, is apt & is a throw away to the expected), because in life, nothing ever really ends (aside from life itself & even then, it’s a new beginning), things only ever begin. The end of a day is really the beginning of the night, the end of the week is really the beginning of the weekend/the new week, the end of a job is really the start of the next adventure & so it goes.

For those who’ve been following our progress quite closely, you’ll know that last Sunday evening we held our first big event, launching SHOTGUN! out into the world – our live event SHOTGUN! [A Live Script Read]. Not only did we have a capacity audience in attendance, but we were fortunate enough to have many many viewers watching at home all around the world! From Melbourne, to Lyon, to Los Angeles – every person in attendance & watching at home can now have their part to play in the development of SHOTGUN!. And I have already been receiving some great ideas on how we can make this film even BETTER! So I want to put a big BIG thank you out to everyone who watched.

It was a night that I’ll never forget. From all of our careful planning paying off, to setting up the food & bev tables, to cast arriving… It’s always the small things that stick out. The electricity in our make-shift back-stage (a car park), as we passed the clap around the circle (no, not the STI… it’s a game, alright), did a bit of “What are you doing?”, through to “HA!” & finally the rallying speech from yours truly (not sure how I pulled that one off, but I did). Then, coming into our studio space, all the actors taking their seats, all the camera crew on stand-by… Everything ready to go! In comes the audience – 50 odd people packed into our studio space. Nick stands up & delivers his welcome speech & off we go!!! Everyone is on – lights, camera & most definitely action – actors going above & beyond to engage the audience in a dreaded line read, camera crew getting all the finer details of their performances & producers doing live video & audio mixes, while also engaging with our online audience in chat rooms and facebook forums. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude to all of those who went above & beyond, cast & crew, not for money (yeah, not ONE person was paid), but simply for the love of film-making, of story-telling & for the belief that together, we are going to make something really special. So thank you to each & everyone of you.

And then after, the networking, the drinks. The gratification of a job well done! And, for the most part, some great feedback on the night, the script & our direction as tenacious, passionate young filmmakers. I feel so much pride when I think about what we all achieved together, with limited time & budget – and get immensely excited when I think about what we’re going to do with AMPLE time & budget. Sunday truly marked the end of the beginning of the SHOTGUN! process. We’re here now, you’d better believe it. We’re here, & we’re gonna make some kick-ass mother fucking films!!

It’s been real folks, & it’s only about to get more…

AL.

PS. we’ve already had a few requests for DVDs of the live feed. Unfortunately, this is not possible – but maybe, just maybe, we could have another online stream of it… Keep an eye out! And don’t forget to keep coming back to “Me, Myself & Screen” for all your behind the scenes needs!