Monday, August 17, 2009
Imogen Heap - Ellipse
I am listening as I type this. Don't know what I can say about it as of right now but it is something I have never heard before and everything I had hoped it could be.
MK
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Homeless Entertainment Part 1 - Within the Woods
OK so the whole "blog" thing is something I never really got into as I don't think there is enough people who actually care about what I have to say to make this worthwhile - but as Homeless Entertainment comes out of the woodwork and becomes more legit I figure I better suck it up and play the game.
Where to start? In the woods. That's a good place. I won't go back too far as to where and why I started making movies but early spring of 2007 myself and Homeless original creator Colin Campbell thought it best to gather 30 people, toss them in mud and blood and shoot it. This project was called Bloodshed. It allowed us to somehow be on a panel at Anime North 2007 where the film was screened and myself, Colin and writer/actor Bob Barrow (now of Steal My Name Productions) talked about making an indie zombie film. I thought to myself - not bad for a first time out. Maybe this actually could work.
Colin was accepted into the Advanced Film & Television program at Fanshawe College and I was accepted into the Media Arts program at Sheridan College. I pitched a film I wrote called Behind Closed doors fall of 2007 to two generous men who gave us some money to go and shoot this thing. Which we did early spring of 2008. After a screening for cast and crew at The Fox Theatre in the summer, I then submitted the film to 11 festivals in the states and 1 here in Canada. Today I found out that, after being rejected by 4 festivals, finally Shockerfest let BCD in.
I shall back up a bit. Right after Behind Closed Doors was screened at The Fox I took a script I had written in May for a school project and started work on that with new found film maker Nick Matthews. We had shot a film called Stranger together, and he was on Behind Closed Doors for a few days on the camera team. This film would be the first DP - Director combo (Nick as the DP, myself Directing) and we were jazzed about making a film that would make Rodriguez smile.
This film was called "Stripped" and after a big hairy mess with the school, our "cut version" of the film was screened in December. We then recut the film with audio and colors re done as well for a screening this past week at the first ever Toronto ScreamFest. This version was longer and better all around. The affects the film had on the program at Sheridan and what the crew went through and accomplished inside the 1 year epic journey that was "Stripped" is something I may cover in another blog but for the interest of time, sanity and you already being bored, I shall move on.
In the time between Stripped being recut myself and Nick were involved in a few other films one of which we produced together called "Shame". This short dramatic piece went on to be nominated for a few Media Arts awards and cleaned up at the Parry Sound Film Festival. This is also the time where we hooked up with a long lost rocker friend of mine, Jason Armstrong who had this little thing brewing called "48 Hours in Purgatory".
Again, topic for maybe part 2 or 3 of this, "Mike blabs about stuff he's done" blog but in short 48 changed the way I think about and do film. As my first ever main role on a feature, it impacted me heavily as a film maker even though I didn't direct. Nick DP'd and there was a 5 other Sheridan peeps that came along for the insane 10 days of shooting. This all went down this past May. We are now smack dab in the middle of editing and hope to complete the film early December.
OK to wrap up - this is just an overview of SOME things I have done and been involved with up to this point to give any one who cares some context. Oh, I forgot, what happened to Colin? Well he is still in London, making films with a company called Wreckless Crew Productions. He shot his first feature length documentary this past Spring (I was supervising sound editor on it). We still work together but because of distance and such we have sort of decided to do our own things as of right now...who knows what will happen in the future though.
Mike Klassen
Homeless Entertainment
Where to start? In the woods. That's a good place. I won't go back too far as to where and why I started making movies but early spring of 2007 myself and Homeless original creator Colin Campbell thought it best to gather 30 people, toss them in mud and blood and shoot it. This project was called Bloodshed. It allowed us to somehow be on a panel at Anime North 2007 where the film was screened and myself, Colin and writer/actor Bob Barrow (now of Steal My Name Productions) talked about making an indie zombie film. I thought to myself - not bad for a first time out. Maybe this actually could work.
Colin was accepted into the Advanced Film & Television program at Fanshawe College and I was accepted into the Media Arts program at Sheridan College. I pitched a film I wrote called Behind Closed doors fall of 2007 to two generous men who gave us some money to go and shoot this thing. Which we did early spring of 2008. After a screening for cast and crew at The Fox Theatre in the summer, I then submitted the film to 11 festivals in the states and 1 here in Canada. Today I found out that, after being rejected by 4 festivals, finally Shockerfest let BCD in.
I shall back up a bit. Right after Behind Closed Doors was screened at The Fox I took a script I had written in May for a school project and started work on that with new found film maker Nick Matthews. We had shot a film called Stranger together, and he was on Behind Closed Doors for a few days on the camera team. This film would be the first DP - Director combo (Nick as the DP, myself Directing) and we were jazzed about making a film that would make Rodriguez smile.
This film was called "Stripped" and after a big hairy mess with the school, our "cut version" of the film was screened in December. We then recut the film with audio and colors re done as well for a screening this past week at the first ever Toronto ScreamFest. This version was longer and better all around. The affects the film had on the program at Sheridan and what the crew went through and accomplished inside the 1 year epic journey that was "Stripped" is something I may cover in another blog but for the interest of time, sanity and you already being bored, I shall move on.
In the time between Stripped being recut myself and Nick were involved in a few other films one of which we produced together called "Shame". This short dramatic piece went on to be nominated for a few Media Arts awards and cleaned up at the Parry Sound Film Festival. This is also the time where we hooked up with a long lost rocker friend of mine, Jason Armstrong who had this little thing brewing called "48 Hours in Purgatory".
Again, topic for maybe part 2 or 3 of this, "Mike blabs about stuff he's done" blog but in short 48 changed the way I think about and do film. As my first ever main role on a feature, it impacted me heavily as a film maker even though I didn't direct. Nick DP'd and there was a 5 other Sheridan peeps that came along for the insane 10 days of shooting. This all went down this past May. We are now smack dab in the middle of editing and hope to complete the film early December.
OK to wrap up - this is just an overview of SOME things I have done and been involved with up to this point to give any one who cares some context. Oh, I forgot, what happened to Colin? Well he is still in London, making films with a company called Wreckless Crew Productions. He shot his first feature length documentary this past Spring (I was supervising sound editor on it). We still work together but because of distance and such we have sort of decided to do our own things as of right now...who knows what will happen in the future though.
Mike Klassen
Homeless Entertainment
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