I just found out a short film called Blood Red Earth (then Red Earth) is now showing on Time Warner Cable On Demand, under the FearNET section.

This is a small victory for two reasons:

1. It’s pretty rare that someone like me, who only has about 1.5 years of experience, works on a job that will get legitimate viewership. Most of the stuff I work on will never be seen by anyone.  I mean, On Demand is practically cable TV, right? I’ve worked on a music video that has aired on VH-1 Soul before, but they don’t really show the credits for those. It was also nice to see my name scroll up in HD – you could read it clearly. =P
2. It holds sentimental value because Blood Red Earth was my first paid gig back in September 2007. I worked the final 2 days, one of which was a brutal overnight after it rained. We were in a horse pasture (or meadow, or wherever horses kick it) near Woodstock in upstate NY. Good folks on that job, despite the crazy schedule and working conditions. Here are some set photos. (side note: I got so dirty that I actually had to throw away my cargo pants, my NB sneakers, and my favorite Analog t-shirt which had a picture of a reel-to-reel on it)

In the grand scheme of things – especially within the context of a professional grip – it’s not really that big a deal. The longer you work, your chances of working on a big show increase. If anything, it’s just a chance to prove to friends and family that you actually do what you say you do.

The feeling of achievement, no matter how insignificant, probably means I’m not jaded yet. That’s a good thing, right?

Outlined below is a list of firsts I’d like to share. While nothing is neither earth-shattering nor mind-blowing (is there really anything of the sort in this blog?) it’s a nice way to deliver an otherwise ordinary “checking in” post. So here it goes

1st Editing Credit on imdb – Waters is short film about a woman’s struggle to cope with a sexually abusive father. I did a rough cut and a round of adjustments  for the writer/director before she decided to put some more work into it. In the end, she went with a different editor and completed the film with a new voiceover track. She sent me the cut a few months back and I was very pleased to see that much of the rough cut was intact. I totally did not expect her to give me a credit since I had done so little, but it was certainly a nice gesture. She and I seemed to understand where we wanted to take the piece and we had a great rapport when discussing the adjustments after the rough cut. There were some great moments – some that stayed and some that didn’t make it. Congratulations and good luck with future projects, Yana! (more…)

Nothing particularly profound here – just checking in with some of the things going on at the 1/6th mark.

The Homefront – Nothing has changed too much in terms of home furnishing, although it’s clear that Tess and are much more comfortable. This means we’re more lax with leaving items strewn about our living space. Not to say that it’s particularly messy – right now I see Tess’s guitar class notes, my Nikon D40x and my portable hard drive on the rug right now.

The Workplace – Three weeks in and I’m getting the hang of it. I’ve caught on quickly and have been called on for suggestions to improve the process and workflow. This happens because I have a big mouth and generally care about my performance, regardless of where I work. I always think I can just fly under the radar and be a soldier/worker bee. Just go to work, perform the tasks over the course of 8 hours, keep my mouth shut and just go home. But maybe I’m just not wired that way. But you know, taking ownership and initiative is never really a bad thing.

This job is also pretty sweet in that it’s flexible enough to pick up some freelance grip work – maybe one or two days a week. I’ve taken a few gaffing jobs for Albert on some small industrial jobs for a production company called Stun Creative. They’re quick one-day jobs and the rate is more than what I’d make in an 8-hour day at the corporate gig. The Stun folks are super cool and I think they like me, so I’m confident I’ll be getting calls for more jobs in the future. Freelancing doesn’t sound so bad when it’s supplementary income.

Social Life – Not much of one, really. Tess and I have gone out and hit up some spots in the area – 3rd Street Promenade, Melrose, and downtown Culver City. We’ve gone out to bars a few times, but it’s tough to spend a night out when bills need to be paid. I’m sure things will change in the future now that I’ve got some steady income coming in. So this lack of a social life is mainly due to the lack of funds, followed closely by 5 seasons of The Wire thanks to Netflix. Tess and I were obsessed with this show, often viewing at least 2 episodes a night each time we had one of the DVDs. Our record was 6 in one night – and on a work night (for Tess, anyway) no less! The great part about The Wire is that it knew how smart its audience was. Nothing was ever dumbed down and they certainly did not pull any punches. The only bad thing about The Wire is that now I will hold TV shows at such a high standard – to the extent that I may feel like my time has been wasted…which is why I have now removed Dollhouse and Lie to Me from my DVR.

So that’s about it for now. I think The Wire withdrawals are preventing my brain from conjuring up any intelligent or profound thoughts.