Short Film | The Athletic Nerd

The Athletic Nerd: Movies, Screenwriting and Independent Film Blog

August 15th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Web - (0 Comments)

The Athletic Nerd turns 1 in less than a month!

I’ve been busy planning some new content for that week but for now, I thought I’d look back at an action packed first year.

This blog originally began as ‘After Then & Before Now’. A blog about my production company 17 West Productions. It wasn’t long before I realized I had much more to say and the site evolved to become The Athletic Nerd. A movies, screenwriting and independent film blog.

Slowly, the site established an identity with various regular features and content.

Features like:

Most recently, the site introduced Movies That Changed Everything. A series devoted to films that inspired my filmmaking aspirations.

Over the course of the last year, I’ve also spent a great deal of time enhancing each of the categories I write about. You’ll find a ton of posts in topics like:

Recently, I added an Interviews section with several planned in the coming months.

More independent film. More movies.

I’m addicted to the entire process and it’s honestly been a blast to write about.

In addition to all of that, The Athletic Nerd still remains focused on 17 West’s films and the filmmaking process. On this site, you can find out all about our films and upcoming projects.

Not to mention Reviews, Technology and much much more. If you’re an aspiring filmmaker or a film fan then hopefully The Athletic Nerd has something for you.

It’s definitely been a productive year and I’m looking forward to evolving this blog even further in the future.

Basically, I’ve got big plans for this site that include continually updating with new and original content daily.

In the coming months, I’m going to be shifting my focus towards screenwriting in order to finish up some projects and prepare for some ambitious scripts I want to tackle next. I’m also editing our latest short film, The Climb in addition to several new features and content for this blog.

It’s going to be a busy year.

Have any ideas for posts? Want to contribute to The Athletic Nerd? Toss me an email: jason@17west.ca

So dear reader, explore and let me know what you like (and dislike) about the site. I’m always up for suggestions and look forward to making this a better site.

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Scouting Locations For Short Films

August 9th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in 17 West | Filmmaking | Producing - (2 Comments)

17 West is currently developing a few short films in different stages of production.

Some have completed screenplays already while others are awaiting funding.

Recently, I spent some time up north at a cottage with my family. While I was there, I couldn’t stop thinking about one of our new projects that’s still in it’s infancy.

The thriller takes place on an island so small you could throw a rock from one end to the other.

We’re keeping the details secret until I finish the screenplay but that didn’t stop my imagination from racing as I found myself on a boat surrounded by tiny islands.

My family rented a pontoon boat and as I sat there, beer in hand, it occurred to me that some of the islands around me might be perfect for our new short film.

READ: A Screenwriter’s holiday isn’t really a holiday at all is it?

So I borrowed my sister’s camera and snapped about two dozen images of the beautiful scenery.

These images immediately got forwarded to Producer/Director Eric. Now we have some pics to look at while we continue to develop the story.

You never know when you’re going to come across something useful like a contact or location.

It’s important to bank as much information as possible when it comes to locations. So I made sure to write down addresses and phone numbers just in case we need to return someday.

Whether we use the location or not, it’s nice to know something suitable exists.

It’s also nice to have new images to Photoshop and enhance.

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The Climb’s Poster Is Here!

July 28th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in 17 West | The Climb - (0 Comments)

Here is the first poster for 17 West’s newest short film, The Climb.

The low budget short film was shot in Toronto and is currently in post production.

The story centers on Cameron and Destiny and their struggles on the streets. While Destiny lost all hope long ago, Cameron holds to his belief that he will find a way to change things.

It was written and directed by Jason McKinnon, produced by Eric Gamache and stars Michael Clarke and Alyssa LaPlume.

You can catch up on the film’s pre production here.

Learn more about The Climb’s 3 day shoot here.

Complete details on the production here.

Check out the film’s official page here.

Photo by Michel Savoie

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Update: The Climb Short Film

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

I haven’t written much about 17 West’s latest short film lately so I think it’s time for an update.

Editing has been ongoing since the film wrapped in early May. Progress has been slowed somewhat mainly due to various human being responsibilities and projects I wanted to wrap up.

I’ve also spent the last few weeks focusing more on writing a couple new scripts so our slate of upcoming films doesn’t dry up.

That was one lesson I learned after making Playing Through. We finished that film and didn’t have a clear idea of what we would do next. That’s not the case anymore.

The editing was also slightly delayed because I was completing several online courses to learn new software. The new skills I learned will directly affect the technical quality of the film. I can’t even explain how pumped I am to color correct The Climb.

Now that the courses have been completed and some of my screenwriting projects are wrapping up, I’m now freed up to continue cutting the footage on a regular basis.

I LOVE having new footage to work with.

I’m also going to be posting the first poster from the film by summer’s end. We have one finished already but i came up with a better idea right before I posted it.

I’m really looking forward to finishing more of the promotional artwork as well. Hopefully everyone likes it. I’m a fan thus far.

All in all, we are still pushing towards the finish line and as we get closer, I’ll have more updates.

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Playing Through Is On IMDB!

June 15th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in 17 West | Playing Through - (0 Comments)

Playing Through was officially added to IMDB today!

In addition to that, I now have my own page which I hope will continue to fill up as we continue to produce new films!

It’s a good day.

And check out the movie’s trailer below if you haven’t seen it yet!

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17 West Productions, IMDB, internet movie database, Playing Through, Short Film

The Athletic Nerd: Movies, Screenwriting and Independent Film Blog

The Athletic Nerd turns 1 in less than a month!

Scouting Locations For Short Films

The Climb’s Poster Is Here!

Update: The Climb Short Film

I LOVE having new footage to work with.

Playing Through Is On IMDB!

It’s a good day.

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