I’m back in NYC via a red-eye flight from SLC to JFK– which means two things: HELLO HUMIDITY and I’ll be missing the SLC screening of the 4WF film tonight, along with Clint. :\ But I could not be more excited for us and for the rest of the team who will get to see the oohs and ahhs first hand!! So let’s turn this up and get ready:
I can’t promise you as much cleavage and glow paint as the music video at our screening, but tonight really is gonna be a good night.
love/peace/it’s showtime,
Sumi
YO YO YO! Four Week Feature is officially complete in T-minus 48 hours!!
Celebrating the occasion at midnight was Keith, Mike Lavoie, DVG, Michael Rhoton, and myself. Watch the video to see how excited and tired we are!
And as a bonus, you can get a sneak peek of a SPECIAL FRAME from our feature! (Which may or may not be edited out.)
We are excited. And scared.
love/peace/midnight,
Sumi
That's a lot of manila.
One of the first things Will, Matt, and I decided to tackle today– the first day of post-production– is to send out the lovely 4WF t-shirts to our generous Kickstarter donors. This project really could not have happened without the support of the many family and friends (and even strangers!), and you can now proudly sport the colors of your favorite filmmaking team!
If you didn’t get a chance to pledge, don’t forget that there is STILL time to purchase the 4WF t-shirt that my friend Eric Noon of Go West T-Shirt Company designed for us. The t-shirts are $20 and you can purchase them HERE. Water bottles are only $15!
And if you purchase now, I will include a personal thank-you note with a 4WF quote of the day.
Go team blue,
Sumi
That is love.
We spent the last few days in the Utah desert– places without addresses and where even AT&T and AAA are reluctant to cover. I could tell you how to get there, but you’d have to use your judgement more than your GPS. Preparing to shoot a film in the hot hot heat was like preparing for a trek into no man’s land– there’s no room for forgetting the right props, gear, or essentials, because the fix is anything BUT quick or easy.
Being miles away from civilization, however, also meant that we were treated with incredible, untouched landscapes and PURE silence and tranquility, which are hard to come by especially for this NYC-based cast and crew. I saw colors I had never seen before and the “magic hour” seemed to stretch on for ever and ever. All in all, we crawled back to city lights as desert survivors and even managed to stay cool where we could. Watch the following how-to video presented by Clint Byrne with DP Derek Van Gorder as model to learn how to make your own desert headgear!!
SPF40 always,
Sumi
INT. MAIN CONDO – NIGHT
11:30pm. Just made Mike and Keith their second cup of tea. Peppermint and Sleepytime tea respectively. Both with honey.
Producing an original piece of work on a time crunch requires inspiration, complete focus, and many cups of coffee and tea with a serving of madness. I know well from my speed filmmaking experiences with Mike and Keith. But writing an original screenplay for a feature film in a time constraint—to breathe months and years of character and conflict and journey to this infant of a storyline that we birthed less than 50 hours ago— is beyond crazy lake. I am not sure if anyone, even I, can understand the task that Mike and Keith have in front of them in the next few days.
But this is the thing: I know they can do it. This is probably the toughest and the least fun hill on the 28-day marathon (as of yet), and unfortunately no one else can run this part of the journey for them. (We would, if we could.) But if Mike and Keith keep doing what they are good at and let energy and inspiration flow straight from their crazy brilliant brains out onto the page, we will have a script and one talented team so ready to carry it out.
Meantime, all I can do is put the water on the stove and be prepared to produce the beautiful world they create.
In addition to sending us your best creative vibes, leave a comment with your best writing inspirations and words of encouragement for Mike and Keith and I will pass them on!
(Keith and Mike, if you are reading this, please resume writing and holler if you need more tea and/or Oreos.)
-Sumi
P.S.– HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIGITTE!!!!
I'm the water lady. They are the men in short shorts.
Just LOOK at them. They need help.
