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Playing Through Now Available Online!

Playing Through is finally up on YouTube!

The film tells the story of Brandon & Nathan. Two friends playing a round of golf terribly. While Brandon does his best to distract his friend, every thought Nathan has rests on a looming phone call. A call that will reveal whether or not he has been diagnosed with cancer.

The film stars John Steptoe, Michael Clarke & Alyssa LaPlume. It was written and directed by Jason McKinnon and produced by Eric Gamache.

Playing Through Short Film Festivals & Awards | 17 West Productions

I had an absolute blast making Playing Through. It was the first film I directed with a professional crew and it was also the first film I edited using Final Cut Pro. Software I purchased along with a sweet new iMac in order to complete the film. I’m extremely proud of the work our cast in crew poured into the short. I also have to thank Clear Springs Golf course in North Bay, Ontario for allowing us to make this film on their course. It was a gorgeous week I’ll never forget. I’m extremely happy it didn’t rain!

Hope you enjoy the film! Pass it along.

There is still one more giant announcement to come regarding this movie in 2012 so stay tuned.

Playing Through independent short film 17 west productions

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The Completely Rebuilt 17WEST.CA

January 19th, 2012 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in 17 West | Technology | Web - (0 Comments)

A NEW ERA BEGINS

I still remember the day I decided to create 17west.ca by myself. I didn’t know anything about web design, I had zero coding skills and limited Photoshop knowledge. Jump forward a few years and I now maintain 5 websites including 3 blogs. … But I’m still learning.

After all this time, 17 West’s home page was still lacking in functionality. It wasn’t built on a content management platform so updating it was a pain. Social media sites and networking opportunities were no where to be found. Most importantly, the site lacked any ability for expansion without having to redesign graphics and layouts from scratch. It wasn’t an efficient website. But these are all lessons I learned along the way. You learn by trying.

Now, the newly rebuilt 17west.ca is a WordPress powered site with more interactivity, more content and a brand new look. The main page is a simple layout that highlights our films but the central system is the new blog which will be updated often with new content.

I’m excited to finally be able to post new items quickly and enhance our presence online. The new site is built to take us into the future. Not only that, we’ve finally uploaded more films for everyone to see.

Head over to 17west.ca and check out our new home!

XTRA | Rookie Photoshop for Movie Nerds

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17 West Productions, movie nerds, New Look, Photoshop, website redesigns

Movies, Screenwriting & Independent Film in 2012

January 14th, 2012 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Web - (0 Comments)

The Athletic Nerd Movie Screenwriting Independent Film Blog

The Athletic Nerd has truly become a big part of my life. Waking up each morning and posting something new from the world of movies was merely a dream a few years ago. I never thought I would make the time to keep up with the enormous amount of work a daily blog demands. Overall, 2011 was a fantastic year that saw the biggest jump in traffic, a brand new look and tons of original content.

When I thought about my goals for 2012 I couldn’t help but feel excited. But goals still need to be set, met and exceeded.

The Athletic Nerd, at it’s core, is a blog about the movies that inspire the aspiring filmmaker. It’s about the passion that fills the pages of a screenplay, the dedication that fuels a director on set and the commitment of an editor pouring over footage in the cutting room. Over the last 2.5 years, I’ve written about virtually everything in some capacity including marketing films, producing and how social media influences a new generation of artists.

I love to write about film. I’m excited to continue writing about my own filmmaking adventures but more than ever, I’m excited to write about the adventures of others. From featuring films in the latest edition of The Post to interviewing filmmakers about their work, I’ve covered tons of projects over the last year.

2012 will come with an increased focus on interviews and features. I’ve spent over 2 years developing a work flow for this blog and now I’m ready to refine it. 2012 will be the year I take the content to the next level. When I start a new screenplay, I challenge myself to be better. This blog is no different.

This post happens to be number 800 overall. 800 posts about movies, screenwriting & independent film. 2012 will see the arrival of my 1000th post. I recently received page hit number 500,000. Half a million! I can’t wait to find out which milestones I’ll be chasing next year.

I’m excited to share the projects that resulted from the fire sparked by the movies I love.

As always, send any suggestions, comments or links to your films to jason@17west.ca

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Movie Blogging: Rediscovering Old Content

January 14th, 2012 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Web - (0 Comments)

The Athletic Nerd Movie Screenwriting Independent Film Blog

AFTER 800 POSTS I’VE LEARNED…

… That there is still so much to learn.

I recently went back to the very first post of this blog and worked backwards to get a sense of how this site has evolved over the last few years. Honestly, those early posts were awful. I can admit it. The formatting was, for lack of a better word, gross. The content wasn’t very detailed and the subject matter wasn’t anywhere near as focused as it is today.

Movies, screenwriting & independent film.
Movies that inspire the aspiring filmmaker.

Those two sentences weren’t around in the beginning but today, they define every single post I write. The key here isn’t to be ashamed of some of the lesser posts of old. The key is to witness the positive steps I’ve taken as I continue to evolve my blogging skills.

Of course, there were several posts I create that I enjoyed as I read them over again. It gave me an idea I’m happy to implement today. The traffic in my first year wasn’t the greatest. I wasn’t getting any links, my posts weren’t ranking high on Google and I had no more than 10 followers on Twitter.

So it’s safe to say unless you were searching for something specific, a lot of those old posts were missed.

Why not go back, update and release them again. If anything, it gives me an opportunity to add better images, links and information. I’ve decided to pick some posts here and there and republish them on weekends when I don’t publish new content.

If anything, it gives me an opportunity to give unnoticed posts a second chance in addition to strengthening the content and SEO.

I’m interested to see how this experiment impacts traffic going forward. If anything it’ll be fun going back and reading my old posts again.

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So Long 2011…

December 22nd, 2011 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Web - (0 Comments)

The Athletic Nerd Movie Screenwriting Independent Film Blog

Well… 2011 was indeed an epic year for The Athletic Nerd. There are so many things that stood out in 2011 and I’ll be writing about all of them… When I get back from holidays that is! The next few weeks are packed with family, friends and some much needed time off.

When the blog resumes on January 6th, 2012, I’ll be posting my ‘Year End’ posts including recaps for The Athletic Nerd, 17 West Productions and my new blog People Tales. I’ll also be posting my top 5, bottom 3 and 2011′s All Time Best Movie Moment. Beyond that I’ll be posting a couple fantastic interviews, features and more…

After that it’ll be a look ahead at 2012 which kicks off with 3 huge announcements that will be completed and unveiled on February 1st.

Happy Holidays!

See you in 2012… In the mean time, enjoy some content you may have missed below: