Success for Metronome! Accepted & nominated into Miami Webfest.
Metronome was just accepted into the Miami Webfest & nominated for an award! It feels phenomenal putting all your creative energy into a project & having it validated!! I must admit, somedays while producing, writing, & acting in this series I had my own self-doubts; we all do at times, right? We all run into the same cross-road: either we will listen to these negative voices & back down, sticking with the status-quo OR we can brush off these negative voices & keep moving forward nonetheless!!
I'll be traveling to Miami in late September to attend the screening of Metronome & the award gala; it's also an amazing excuse to visit the beach! I can't wait to hear some feed back on this mysterious series! If you haven't seen it yet, here's a link to the full series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLID4qj40BgCmuJvOnNXH4aighNgt85d51
Onward,
Gabe S.
Looking at Metronome Chapter 5 & beyond!
Well after lots of hard work & having to continually push my own professional boundaries, I have successfully completed the first season of Metronome the webseries! It was truly a great experience writing, producing, & acting in this mysterious story! See the conclusion of Metronome Chapter 5 below! Now it's time to submit the series to Film Festivals & show them what we've got!
If you've missed any previous episodes, catch up on them with the links below!
Metronome
Chapter 1: https://youtu.be/pMNDMWs7On8
Chapter 2: https://youtu.be/2IW91tZ9p7k
Chapter 3: https://youtu.be/Vjsn_h6wVJ8
Chapter 4: https://youtu.be/mvmL7rpwo8c
Onward,
Gabe S.
Metronome Chapter 3 - Release
Well after lots of hard work, Chapter 3 of our webseries, Metronome is here! We had a blast putting this together & I'm really happy with the way things turned out.
To be honest, when you start a project you just never really know where it may lead and as an actor you pour your heart into a role & you never really know if it'll even see the light of day ( I've filmed a few projects that never even came out & never even received footage). Unfortunately, so many things can and do go wrong. I'm always thrilled when projects do make it out of the creative obstacle course & are able to be seen! However, the release itself can be riddled with anxiety, what if people say it's no good, what if others think you're not a very good actor, or what if you think you don't look good on camera... I mean the list goes on & on.
At the end of the day none of that noise matters & it IS just noise. The point is that you set out to do something & you've accomplished it (good or bad) nobody can take that kind of experience away from you. You've grown & learned so much, and that alone is worth the journey... which brings me to why I decided to title my website with one of my favorite quotes... "THE VALUE OF ART IS IN YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STARE DOWN THE RISK & TO EMBRACE THE VOID OF POSSIBLE FAILURE." Because it says so much about what we do as creative people. So be bold, take risks & never surrender to your FEARS, never!
If you haven't seen Chapter 1 or 2 of our series I've included links below. Let me know your thoughts! The mystery continues...
Click here to watch - Metronome: Chapter 1
Click here to watch - Metronome: Chapter 2
Onward,
Gabe S.
5 Top Writing Tips - in my own words...
There's lots of websites that will teach you the art of writing, but it's not always as easy as it sounds. Now I am by no means an expert on writing, but these are all tips that have helped me in the past & I hope they can help you going forward with creating your own project!
- Write the way everyday people speak! We are all programmed the way our English teachers had us write... it was all complete sentences this & proper sentence structure that, however, when you are writing a screen play it's best to write the way people actually speak. When we talk to one another there are awkward pauses, we start, stop, think, break up our sentences & jump from idea to idea. I feel writing this way adds a certain realism to what is being said.
- Write about what is interesting to you! What would you want to see on screen, what film genre do you feel is neglected that needs some fresh ideas? Can you give a new spin on an old concept? The more interesting the subject, characters & story are to you... the easier & more genuine it will be to write about said subject. You'll feel it pour out of you when you are really engaged with your own idea. If you're not feeling this way about your project, then you may want to reconsider the idea or reinvent it. Add a new twist & see where the ideas take you.
- Take into account the filming mechanics of your script & ask your self whether it is actually feasible! Robert Rodriguez was quoted as saying that if you are on a tight budget when it comes to filming, you should write & use what you already have. You wouldn't want to set your film in Africa or on the International Space Station as both may become much to difficult to produce. So if you have a great location you know of then write a story around that location. If you have a very unique object just sitting around your house, why not write a story about that object. Use what you have & you may end up with a compelling story of your own.
- Base your characters off real people that you've met & allow them to write the story for you. This one really helped me when writing Metronome. Once I had great characters in mind, they are really the ones who took the story from me & ran with it. You can feel them writing the story for you... all you're doing is typing out their words, but you really have to sit down & listen to the story play our in your own mind.
- Last, but not least. Just Start! Start writing, start formulating ideas, start letting these ideas & characters take you on a wild adventure all your own. Writers commonly talk about writers block or struggle to get started, I've definitely had that same feeling come up. I find the best way to deal with that is to search for inspiration. Give the writing a break & go out into the world in search of ideas. Perhaps you'll catch the last part of a coffee shop conversation or you'll see a random object or interaction that will give you that spark of an idea you'll need. Just be ready for that idea because you never know when it may appear... you may even have a random dream that'll give you an idea. Write down these ideas even if you're not sure how to use them at first. An idea you write down this year may become part of a new screen play 3 years from now.
The point of all this is if you've ever had a desire to write your own script, it's important to just start. Allow it to flow out of you & go from there. You may end up going back & rewriting everything 300 times, but that's okay, it's all part of the creative process. Metronome started as just a simple, very basic idea & somehow exploded into a full on production with different characters, a villainous organization & a huge concept. What are your thoughts or ideas when writing? Share them with me here or on social media!
Onward,