Independent Film | The Athletic Nerd

ERICGAMACHE.COM has a new look!

May 20th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in 17 West | Design | Web - (0 Comments)

A few months ago, I redesigned my portfolio site, jaymckinnon.com.

Instantly, I knew that I would have to upgrade ericgamache.com as well. I’ll be honest, the design wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring.

Note: I’m getting better!

The process was slow due to The Climb’s production process but it was definitely near the top of my list.

Today, I officially unveil the new look of the site.

Click here to check it out!

I’m extremely happy with the results. It’s a much cleaner and focused website that highlights Eric’s work well. It’s also built to be updated easily which means I won’t have to be redesigning it from scratch any time soon.

Next up? Nothing! I’m caught up on my web design work for the foreseeable future. Sweet.

Comments and opinions are appreciated as always!

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17 West Productions, director, Eric Gamache, Filmmaker, independent film, producer, Short Film

A Computer, Some Footage, Final Cut Pro and Me

May 14th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Editing | The Climb - (0 Comments)

A little while before we shot The Climb, I wrote about my NEED to edit a short film.

It’s a craving that’s been getting stronger since the day I finished editing Playing Through nearly 2 years ago.

Happily, I still get to edit full time in a live television environment but there is something calming and inspiring about slowing things down and building a story.

And now I have new footage to work with!

There’s something incredibly exciting about having 6 hours of brand new footage to mold into a short film. Editing has always been a passion of mine and I’ve been pumped about editing something new for far too long.

The next step for me is to continue catching up on my writing, blogging and graphic design responsibilities. I think it’s important to wrap up as many projects as you can before tackling another one. I’m also delaying the beginning of post production to give myself time to distance myself from the footage.

I wrote, produced and directed this short film. It’s based on a script I wrote almost 5 years ago so it’s safe to assume I’m the right guy to edit the movie. Having said that, we just finished shooting and I want to give myself a week or so to recharge before delving into the footage.

Until then, I’ll be bouncing up and down thinking about dropping our company’s opening animation on a timeline and editing a new short film.

Click here for more editing posts

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Apple, Editing, editing a short film, film logo, final cut, Final Cut Pro, independent film, independent low budget short film, love editing shorts, new short film, The Climb, toronto indie short film

THE CLIMB: Rehearsing A Short Film

April 15th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in 17 West | Filmmaking | The Climb - (0 Comments)

I’ve been looking forward to rehearsals for a long time.

The film has a very distinctive tone and I was eager to see how Michael and Alyssa would approach the two main characters.

The Climb is definitely a serious and sometimes depressing short film. I don’t think anyone will ever describe the film as cheerful but it does carry an important message and an uplifting finale. It’s going to be extremely challenging to pull off the heavy emotional scenes while maintaining a specific style throughout.

This past week, I finally got a chance to hear and see the movie. It’s looking and sounding great!

For our rehearsal process I took two unique approaches.

First, we went through the entire script and talked about any and all changes and notes I had for the actors. We literally dissected every single line of the screenplay and talked about every aspect of the story.

I believe it’s important to discuss each scene as a separate entity. In virtually every screenwriting book ever written they will tell you to have a beginning, middle and end to every scene. You take the same mindset into directing.

Each scene should be about something.

I wanted to communicate what I wanted each moment in the movie to be and then explain why. This way, the actors are aware on a basic level what I’m looking for when we start shooting.

At the same time, it’s important to give them enough room to evolve their approach to the characters without my involvement for a few weeks. This way, it’s the best of both worlds.

It was time to head to our main location.

We walked down to the main location and began going through every scene together again. They would read, I would comment and gather feedback and then we would try it a few more times before moving on.

I filmed everything.

Every scene we rehearsed was accompanied by an in depth conversation that led to several line changes and tweaks to the script.

It’s a fantastic process that we capped off by watching the footage I shot and really nailing down which areas rocked and which scenes still needed improvement.

No production will nail the first rehearsal but I was very encouraged by the results.

I really can’t wait to shoot this thing!

PS: Yes… I do the ‘hand frame’ move…

Catch up on THE CLIMB here

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17 West Productions, actors, independent film, movie on low budget, producing a low budget short film, read through, Rehearsing a short film, Short Film, The Climb, Toronto

THE CLIMB: Wardrobe And Props

April 13th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in 17 West | Filmmaking | The Climb - (0 Comments)

Once the make-up tests were done we ventured out into the world to locate our actor’s wardrobe and a few props we had yet to pick up.

The is a Value Village located very close to my apartment and that was the first place we went to look. The short film is about two homeless people living on the street so new clothes were out of the question. So we decided on certain colors we were after and hunted until we found everything we needed.

After about an hour, both of our leads in the film had their costumes as well as a few other touches like bags and sweaters to carry around.

Add to that the collection of props I started a few weeks ago and we are pretty much all set to go.

I’m actually very encouraged by the look of our film. One of the biggest scenes takes place in the park pictured below:

The outfits we picked up provide a really amazing contrast that’s sure to look great on camera. I’m planning a pretty ambitious post process for this film specifically when it comes to color and the decisions we made regarding wardrobe and props definitely reflects that.

Finishing all the shopping we needed to do is a relief. It’s a major item I can now scratch off my list.

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17 West Productions, independent film, indie, making a short film, producing a low budget short film, props, Short Film, The Climb, Toronto, wardrobe

The Plate: Filmmakers With Jobs

March 31st, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Filmmaking | Screenwriting | Web - (0 Comments)

Is your plate too full?

How many people experience this problem?

Who hasn’t?

It’s important to learn how to prioritize your life with so much going on. I’m still learning that skill. It’s not easy.

I’m having one of those weeks where it seems like there aren’t enough hours to get everything done. The solution?

I’ve focused only on the things that NEED to be done.

For example, I have a career outside of the movies, websites and screenplays. Paying bills is always number 1. (It helps that editing pro sports is really fun.)

But I’m not always at work.

The Climb is now about 6-7 weeks away from shooting and it’s been a busy week of planning.

The other day I woke up and fired off a series of emails confirming our massive make-up/wardrobe/rehearsal day in a few weeks. With everyone confirmed it was time to focus on what should be the final draft of the script. (I wrote about that earlier.)

The new draft is now completed and I was genuinely excited to send it out to the cast and crew. It has a brand new ending that strengthens what I want the movie to be. I say new ending but it’s more like a reimagined version of the original ending. Just a few small changes that made a huge difference.

We’re still finalizing the tattoo make-up for Destiny and it’s coming along gloriously. I’m so happy with the overall look of the design. Alex is doing a great job.

I’ve also got a producer hat on but it’s Eric who is really the MVP behind the scenes. Today we went over the films meager budget to ensure we’ll have everything we need come May. It’s hard to believe we are already gathering tape stock and equipment. It’s coming so fast!

In less than two weeks we’ll be traveling to the main location to rehearse on site and I’ll be filming some of the run throughs.

You may even see some test footage up on this blog soon after.

Things are moving forward nicely. Once the rehearsal is over, I get to go into director mode and really start planning the shots and moments I want to achieve. I’ll have a month to get my act together. More than enough time considering I’ve been thinking about this movie for 4 years.

We’re making a movie!

Note: Actually, we’re making 2 but Strings is a ways off yet. Still on the plate but it’s not taking up a lot of space.

I’ve been in hardcore screenwriting mode for a few weeks now and there’s no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

I’ll be putting my latest projects on hold for the month of April and May to focus on the movie but this summer is all about shorts and features. For now, I’m mainly working on the new feature and developping a couple shorts. One of which is a cartoon. My first.

Screenwriting is by far my favorite passion in life. It’s hard to put it on the back burner but truthfully, I’ll probably still sneak in a few hours here and there to write.

This blog is now over 6 months old with nearly 200 entries.

200 posts!

This blog has been a dream of mine for a long time and it’s been a blast building up the brand. I’ve set my goals extremely high for this site and I’m no where near them yet but I’m certainly committed to achieving them.

Lately, screenwriting has taken over most of the posts but I’ll be switching gears to regular film updates again as we continue towards The Climb’s shooting dates. I say this lightly but there is a strong possibility that 6 posts a week may be too much for the remainder of the production process. Don’t be alarmed if there are a few stretches without updates.

The Lesson

I used to have a tendency to bite off more than I could chew. Another food comparison but my plate has been full numerous times in the past. What I have learned is that prioritizing the work load is key. There was a time when I would become a ghost for months and bury myself in my work.

Those days are long gone because I know that you aren’t nearly as creative or inspired without stopping to live a little too!

So instead of cracking down and setting ambitious deadlines, I’m just working. Making progress.

Oh by the way, I’ll be taking a week off starting Friday!

I’m taking a little time to recharge before The Climb revs up!

PS: When I say week off I mean it. Actual days off!

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Career, film time management, Filmmaker, filmmakers with jobs, Filmmaking, filmmaking jobs, Finding time, full time job, independent film, making a movie full time job, making movies, making movies a career, Toronto

ERICGAMACHE.COM has a new look!

Click here to check it out!

A Computer, Some Footage, Final Cut Pro and Me

THE CLIMB: Rehearsing A Short Film

THE CLIMB: Wardrobe And Props

The Plate: Filmmakers With Jobs

The Lesson

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