-Playing Through would NOT have happened without my producer and business partner Eric Gamache. Check out his website here and stop by his IMDB page as well.
-Murray Fleming and Danny Sustar, our brilliant sound team. These two talented artists turned a stereo recording into a stunning 5.1 mix I never dreamed was possible. I’ll never be able to fully explain how much effort they put into each and every detail. Murray is also a fantastic musician and has produced a ton of award winning songs for both television and film. You can check out his website here.
-Reuel Meditz created incredible music for the film and delivered beyond what I envisioned for Playing Through’s score. He is an accomplished pianist with multiple albums. Check out all the details here.
NOTE: The music in the trailer is called ‘Reign’ and was produced by Kevin MacLoed. He runs a phenomenal site that provides free music called Incompetech.
-Since Playing Through was my first ‘big’ short film, I really relied on Darrell Faria, my 1st A.D. His ability to run a film set was remarkable to watch. I learned a ton watching him.
-Rose Lagace, our production designer runs an in depth blog about all things Art Department called Art DepartMENTAL. She also writes reviews in addition to providing exclusive interviews and extensive coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival.
-Our amazing make up artist Alex Rotundo has a great site showcasing her work. She came on board The Climb as well and did some amazing work on our lead’s tattoo designs. Check it out here.
-Of course we wouldn’t have a movie without the awesome folks over at Clear Springs Golf Course just outside of North Bay, Ontario. It’s a gorgeous course.
Our entire crew was incredible! I wish they all had sites because I’d feature them all. I had a blast making Playing Through and I have our awesome cast & crew to thank for that..
Recently, Playing Through was accepted into the NSI Online Short Film Festival and we just got word that our film was given an honorable mention for the A&E Short Filmmakers Award!
I’d like to congratulate ‘Remote‘ directed by Marc Roussel for winning the award and I’d also like to congratulate Hugh John Murray for getting an honorable mention as well for his film ‘Desiderata‘. It was the first time there were two honorable mentions.
The NSI Online Short Film Festival is a fantastic collection of Canadian films and we were thrilled to be a part of it. Here are some of the nice things the jury said about Playing Through.
“Solid storytelling by the filmmaker and great chemistry between the actors combined to make a touching and heartfelt film.” Juan Riedinger
“This simple golf afternoon is intelligently layered with complex emotion. I respected its patience and its humble approach in unraveling private anxieties within one simple setting. All elements were nicely in sync in this story – photography, editing, performance, direction, and script. It is a lovely character piece about friendship that is respectful of its medium.” Anneli Ekborn
“This unabashedly sweet and unique portrayal of male relationships captures a moment of reflection on what matters most.” Danis Goulet
Playing Through is 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.
From 17 West Productions, the low budget short film stars John Steptoe, Michael Clarke and Alyssa LaPlume. It was written and directed by Jason McKinnon (Me) and produced by Eric Gamache.
The film is a part of the NSI Online Short Film Festival and we are proud to be among so many fantastic Canadian shorts.
Years ago, Eric Gamache and I started 17 West Productions while we were roommates. Eventually, I moved out on my own but remained in the same building. It’s a lot easier to have story meetings when you just need to stroll down the hall.
This week, we say goodbye to the original 17 West ‘offices’ and hello to a brand new location. (Actually it will be 2 new locations.)
Both of us are moving our families to new buildings that happen to be right next door to each other… Again. I think it’s awesome that through a series of random events, we wound up remaining neighbors. Neither of us wanted to commute across town for meetings and such.
I spent the last few weeks daydreaming about the view from my new apartment and how nice it will be to write in a new environment. I’m also pumped to continue post-production on our latest short film, The Climb. From a directing stand point, Eric feels the same way about his new apartment and future plans. There’s just something exciting about a new home. Something that ignites your creativity. As we continue to build our company and plan our next project we are both experiencing an overwhelming feeling of excitement. A renewed sense of dedication.
New location. New ideas. New movies.
I think 2011 is going to turn out pretty great for 17 West.
Our film, Playing Through premieres online very soon as part of the NSI Online Short Film Festival. The Climb should be out by the fall. We will be developing new films over the next few months that I’ll be writing with Eric directing. Our websites are growing and both of our industry careers are still going strong.
But we’re both suffering from withdrawal. Making movies is our passion and once we move into our new homes this week we will officially be in development mode again.
Personally, I can’t wait to get back at it. Being on the set of a movie we produced is one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. I need more!
Hopefully, we will be able to announce something soon! I love this stuff!
Back to work in 3… 2… Now.
Athletic Nerd Note: There won’t be a Rundown this week as I’ll be unpacking my brains out all weekend. Back on Monday!
This week on The Rundown I’d like to take a look at a few upcoming films that feel a lot like movies we’ve seen many times before.
Will they bring something new to the table?
But first…
With the holidays approaching quickly, I thought I start this edition of The Rundown with a little Christmas news and a new movie called:
Arthur Christmas
Why not right? Could be funny.
That tiny elf is a little annoying but that giant UFO Santa Sleigh looks pretty badass.
I Am Number Four
When the first trailer was released I thought this film looked like a decent FX ride. Super powers have been done millions of times but it felt different.
I personally love the whole the idea of knocking off these aliens (?) one by one in sequence. I’m also a big fan of the villains that appear in this second trailer.
I‘m hoping for some epic climactic battles that feature a bunch of these tattooed, trench coat wearing bad asses. I’m also curious if we will see all 9 in the film. Maybe they are saving them for the inevitable sequel if it performs well at the box office.
What I DON’T like about the trailer is how similar it feels to Twilight. It has a lot of differences on the surface but it appears to be the same story. Vampire/Alien goes to high school and falls in love with a girl and vows to protect her at all costs.
It’s the same isn’t it? I’m hoping it isn’t but some of the action that don’t remind me of X-Men look sweet.
Decide for yourself.
Vanishing on 7th Street
I caught this trailer and immediately thought of all the zombie movies that begin with the same familiar imagery.
The world has ended. Everyone is gone and one man wakes up in the morning having missed the whole thing. In this case, Darth Vader has to figure out where everybody went.
Thankfully, this film is NOT a zombie film and looks to give the ‘everyone is gone’ scenario a fresh approach.
In this case, the Pitch Black approach.
Regardless of the similarities, I’m actually curious as to where this film will go. Who are those shadowy people and where DID everybody go?
I’ll give this one a shot.
Real Steel
This image below is enough for me but the trailer definitely helped.
Giant Robots. Check.
Big VFX battles. Check.
Boxing movies often win the best picture Oscar. Check.
Okay…
This movie has about as much chance of winning best picture as Howard The Duck getting a remake but there is something about an underdog story and this is definitely a different take on the boxing genre.
Now… There is that pesky comparison to that ‘other’ giant robot franchise and this movie will have a hard time distancing itself from the Shia and his Autobot friends but I think it looks pretty entertaining.
The studio then released a wicked poster you can check out HERE.
Then… THEN… We got the first official trailer.
Inception Mapped Out By Christopher Nolan!
Slashfilm put up a pretty great article this week that included a hand drawn image by Christopher Nolan detailing the various layers of Inception. I’m still blown away at how complex the film is while remaining easily accessible to audiences. It could have gone the other way but Nolan is a master storyteller and Inception is one hell of a ride.
Since I won’t get to do this too often in the next little while as we don’t have any new films coming until next summer, I thought I would add in some 17 West news.
We are extremely happy to be included in this year’s fest.
You’ll be able to watch the entire film for free on their website. In the mean time, check out the trailer below and then head over to the NSI website to watch more amazing shorts.
