Instant Applications

This is now the home of my current goings-on in the film world. I will be taking notes about the things that I am writing as I try to work out the kinks and tie up the loose ends. Get ready for possible boredom.

Recently we have been working on a new 'Halloween' project, which we only call by that name because we have a premiere deadline of October 30th (Which isn't Halloween, but it's close). When I say 'we,' I mean the same ol' group, Jarren, John, Colton, Mike, and myself. Most of you don't know them, but we are the collective cinematic superhero.

So I've been heading up the writing on this new project. We don't have a whole lot of time to get it all done, and it's pretty challenging, but I enjoy it a whole lot. I really enjoy these kinds of challenges; it seems to be the only time I really improve.

Writing this film coupled with my two film related classes has really created something special. I go to school everyday and sharpen my techniques and writing tricks, then I get to take that straight to the pages I'm writing. There's nothing quite like instant application.

The project so far is in such an infant stage that I hesitate even bringing it up until we have something more concrete. I wrote out a synopsis for the story and have begun character descriptions.

One of the major problems I have had in the past is having the ability to structure my thoughts and fit the things I want to say into the organized layout for which it is intended. I've also had trying times attempting to justly describe a certain character. I am fortunate enough, however, to be where I am today.

My classes and my friends have helped me begin to cross these barriers. Just the other day, Mike helped me finally see why I could never correctly describe a character. He said something to the effect of:

"When you describe a character, you tend to use adjectives. 'This guy is awkward. This guy is quirky.' Don't tell me he's awkward, show me."

I may or may not have polished his words up a bit, but that doesn't matter. Essentially, that is what I understood from what he said, and it made perfect sense. It seems like common sense, but for some reason I just couldn't see it until now.

Therefore, I have instantly applied this revelation to my writing and have used situations and settings to show who my characters are. For example, in working on my lead character for the 'Halloween' project, I described his morning routine, answering basic questions:

Where does he live?
How well is it kept?
What is his home decor like?
What is his strategy for getting ready in the morning?
What does he eat for breakfast?
What kind of car does he drive?
How does he interact with random people that cross his path?

Any question I had about him had a specific answer. If I came up with one thing, and it didn't feel right, I would try another answer until it fit. It was much easier than to say, "His apartment is clean and nice. He likes eggs." There's no clarity in those statements. How is his apartment clean? How does he like his eggs? How does he prepare them?

It's been amazing having this kind of progress because of a simple change in perspective. It's a true key in bringing your characters to life.

Small Updates...

It has been far too long since I have posted anything here. Some of you may know, I recently began writing for a local online magazine called Rhombus. I write for the film column. You can go there to see some of my articles about random things.

Otherwise, I have felt very strong about something else and it has to do with my other blog.

Some of you started reading my stories at www.sms-writings.blogspot.com. Many of you didn't. Well, either way, I stopped writing. It just wasn't in my best interest. There is something else now that is in my best interest, and I'm going to post it on the other blog.

So follow the link here in the next day or two and you'll get to read some stuff. Feel free to comment or whatever.

Thanks!

Mckay

Sorry

Hey whoever might read this: I have to postpone this experiment for awhile. I've found that I've been putting way too much on my plate and can't stay organized. Therefore, in order to leave myself time for the absolute BEST things in my life, I need to step back from this for awhile.

Thanks for supporting me anyway!

Mckay

It was a good day...

Hey everyone-

It's been awhile. I haven't been able to write on here since just after we got married. So here I be. Hey oh. Also, I think I'm going to move this to a new site pretty soon. I'll give more details later.

So there was this one time while working at BYU Sports Camps that I did something really funny and stupid. Okay, that happened quite a few times, but this was a good one.

Setting: Softball bleachers at the BYU baseball diamonds. I'm sitting up there observing. It's Monday, and I have been placed in charge of baseball, so I stop by the softball camp for a quick visit. We're sitting up on the top row. "We're"= Me and some girl counselors. I have no idea who was actually there. I don't remember and probably never actually knew their names. Not to be rude, but whatever.

So we're hanging out and talking and everything, I'm telling jokes, we're watching these girls underhand pitch the ball at superhuman speeds, things are good. So I'm telling a story now, most likely something about some other dumb thing that I've done, and out of the corner of my eye, I spot something that's way too close to my face. I completely freak out, mostly due to my monstrous fear of bees (I'll deny this if you ask me in person), jumping around in my seat and jerking my head like I'm in the moshpit at a rock concert. After about 3 or 4 very long seconds, I figure that whatever villian was out to get me had gone, and I notice a piece of white fluff innocently floating away from me. The campers and counselors present were much more entertained at that than any other jokes I had told them.

It was a good day.

McMary

Hey everybody-

It's been way too long since I've done stuff. And by 'done stuff' I mean written on my blog. I've been too busy watching a much better thing which is called MikeAlger's Vlog. It's awesome. Click to check it out and watch all the awesome videos. He's really good. He's also in China.

Mary and I have been married for one whole month already. Can you believe it? I hardly can. It seems like just yesterday I was moping around still waiting for her to come home.

Now that we've been married for a little while, and have begun to adjust to living with somebody, I want to say that I love being married. It is so great. I love finding new little quirks about her personality, her likes and dislikes. It's a lot of fun.

My wife is the best ever. She is always thinking about me and she's super sweet.

So right now we are just busy with work and life. Mary is working at a toy store called Funfinity. It's in Orem. She loves her job. The people are great. They are one big family and they treat her like one of their own. She's also preparing herself to return to school in the fall. She'll be going to BYU, even though her heart is still at Utah State.

As for me, I am working full-time at Independence High in Provo. I love that job. The kids are interesting, but that's the fun part. It's very rewarding being able to work with those kids. I've been looking for a second job as well. I just applied to work as a work-from-home content writer for web pages. I am hoping to hear back this week from the company.

I'm still in school, and it seems I will be for the rest of time. Mary and I have decided that it will be best if I continue to go to school during the summer months so that I'll be prepared to move to "Junior" status at UVU and begin the seminary teaching program at the Institute Building.

I have only recently decided that I will again change my major to something like advertising. Yes, something like advertising. That's not very specific, but I need to look at all the details first. The reason behind this is that I have had a lot of opportunities present themselves over the past several days that I just cannot ignore. Doors have been opening and it's really surprised me how insanely awesome all of it is. So, in short, I'm going to take this advertising route and work towards other goals, like filmmaking.

So, we're both very excited to see what the rest of this year has to offer. There are so many things going on, and that's where all the fun is. I love having little dinner dates in our little apartment, and watching old seasons of The Office on my iMac. We have fun. Newlywed life has it's challenges, but the great thing is that we don't have to go through it alone, and I've got an amazing wife.

That's us.

Also, those pictures are totally from Chuck E Cheese. Those are some from our engagement photos. Boo. Ya.

TOMORROW

Hey everyone!

I know it's been far too long since my last blog, but I thought I'd take a second and make sure you all know that I'm getting married tomorrow!

Things have been great, and we're relieved to be past the craziest parts of planning a wedding. We look forward to seeing you if you can come to our reception tomorrow night at Somewhere Inn Time in Lindon.

Take care everyone and we hope to see you soon!

Film News

Hey there everyone- wedding preparations are coming along. I have a little bit of free time this afternoon to write about some film news and ask for support.

I have most recently posted about 'Radicali,' the short film we made back in November. We also wrote a short script called 'The After Scrooge.' Yesterday, we shot a film that is titled 'The Infinipede Space Monster...From Outer Space!'

The reason I am telling you about these three is that they are all part of this years LDS Film Festival.

Radicali will screen on Saturday, The Infinipede Space Monster will screen on Thursday, and the awards ceremony for everything will be Saturday night.

Besides the fact that it would be cool to win something, it would also be cool to showcase our films at a venue like this one.

We want to invite you all to come out and support us. Come see our films and a lot of other films that are awesome. I'll leave the link to the official site of the LDS Film Festival below so you can get a more specific schedule and see which events you will be able to attend.


Thanks!

LDS Film Festival Official Site