Tuesday, December 10, 2013
A Better Fate Postproduction Update
Joe has finished processing all of the sound recorder data. Vitas is currently 1) syncing this clean sound into the video and 2) panning and scanning a shot that contains the shadow of the boom mike.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Postproduction: Sound
We're nearly finished with the sound cleanup due to the hard work of Joe. Vitas is currently syncing the sound. Hence, we'd like to have a final cut of "A Better Fate" done in the next several weeks. We'll send DVDs out to the cast at that time.
In other news, I'm developing the backstory and characters for a feature length screenplay tentatively called CSR. In CSR, I throw my main character, Alex McKenna, a recent college graduate who's just been dumped by his girlfriend (for another woman, nonetheless) and saddled with a $50,000 student loan bill, into the seventh circle of Hell: a Call Center in New Jersey. We then watch Alex writhe in misery as he deals with disgruntled (and sometimes violent) customers, surly, weed-adled co-workers, and even a Belorussian stripper with a heart of gold. Will Alex claw his way out of this living hell to persue his dream of revolutionizing String Theory or will he succumb to the lure of cheap weed, 40 ounces of Steel Reserve, and twenty dollar handjobs at the local strip club: The G-Spot?
In other news, I'm developing the backstory and characters for a feature length screenplay tentatively called CSR. In CSR, I throw my main character, Alex McKenna, a recent college graduate who's just been dumped by his girlfriend (for another woman, nonetheless) and saddled with a $50,000 student loan bill, into the seventh circle of Hell: a Call Center in New Jersey. We then watch Alex writhe in misery as he deals with disgruntled (and sometimes violent) customers, surly, weed-adled co-workers, and even a Belorussian stripper with a heart of gold. Will Alex claw his way out of this living hell to persue his dream of revolutionizing String Theory or will he succumb to the lure of cheap weed, 40 ounces of Steel Reserve, and twenty dollar handjobs at the local strip club: The G-Spot?
Saturday, October 5, 2013
"The Knife Edge" Finished
I've finished the screenplay for "The Knife Edge" this week at 16.5 pages. The last five pages are set on "The Knife Edge" on Mt Khitadin in Baxter State Park:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Katahdin#Knife_Edge
I have this image in my mind of a woman, alone at dawn, traversing the knife edge, with the first rays of the sun diffracting off the edge of the ridge and flaring the camera lens. Incidentally, this phenomena is know as "The Knife Edge Effect", which can be described mathematically by the geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD). Yet all mathematics fail to describe this moment. We must appeal to the passions as well as the intellect. The woman, defying death, defying gravity, defying the diffracted light of the sun, embodies Camus' solution to the problem of the absurd: Revolt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Katahdin#Knife_Edge
I have this image in my mind of a woman, alone at dawn, traversing the knife edge, with the first rays of the sun diffracting off the edge of the ridge and flaring the camera lens. Incidentally, this phenomena is know as "The Knife Edge Effect", which can be described mathematically by the geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD). Yet all mathematics fail to describe this moment. We must appeal to the passions as well as the intellect. The woman, defying death, defying gravity, defying the diffracted light of the sun, embodies Camus' solution to the problem of the absurd: Revolt.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
The Knife Edge
I am currently writing a screenplay for the short film "The Knife Edge". The film poses the question: "What is the final thought that crosses a woman's mind as she commits suicide?". I also attempt to answer this question. I've completed 90% of the 18-page script and we'll develop a budget and casting in the next several days.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Synopsis
Tagline: Nothing can prepare you for this interview.
Synopsis: It's September 20008, the peak of the financial crisis, and ZettaQuest (ZQT on the NASDAQ) is on the brink. Meet Vincent Hemming, a young quantitative analysis at ZQT. He has a degree from MIT, a six-figure job in finance, a kick-ass condo in Boston's Back Bay and a beautiful fiancee, Alisa. He’s living the dream. But his world is about to fall apart in the next 24 hours after a most unusual interview.
"So...where do you see yourself in five years?"
Synopsis: It's September 20008, the peak of the financial crisis, and ZettaQuest (ZQT on the NASDAQ) is on the brink. Meet Vincent Hemming, a young quantitative analysis at ZQT. He has a degree from MIT, a six-figure job in finance, a kick-ass condo in Boston's Back Bay and a beautiful fiancee, Alisa. He’s living the dream. But his world is about to fall apart in the next 24 hours after a most unusual interview.
"So...where do you see yourself in five years?"
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Postproduction Update
A brief update regarding the postproduction of "A Better Fate".
Vitas, Joe, and I are finishing up the sound on "A Better Fate". We have cleaned up the majority of the dialog recorded on the external recorder and are syncing the sound with the video. We plan on finishing these tasks by the end of the week. We've also purchased several electronica tracks from premiumbeat.com to serve as the score. We still need to record some aditional foley to finish the soundmix.
Vitas, Joe, and I are finishing up the sound on "A Better Fate". We have cleaned up the majority of the dialog recorded on the external recorder and are syncing the sound with the video. We plan on finishing these tasks by the end of the week. We've also purchased several electronica tracks from premiumbeat.com to serve as the score. We still need to record some aditional foley to finish the soundmix.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Post-production of "A Better Fate" continues. We are attempting to finish a final cut by early July.
1. Vitas and I have finished the rough cut. Three major tasks remain before we have final cut:
2. Joe and Morgan are filtering the sound recorder files to remove noise.
3. After 2) is finished, Vitas and I will sync the sound with the video and mix an acceptable soundtrack.
4. Several visual errors remain in the rough cut, including a visible boom mike. Vitas is using Adobe AfterEffects to fix these errors.
5. I am developing a poster and synopsis for "A Better Fate", which we'll use for the DVD.
1. Vitas and I have finished the rough cut. Three major tasks remain before we have final cut:
2. Joe and Morgan are filtering the sound recorder files to remove noise.
3. After 2) is finished, Vitas and I will sync the sound with the video and mix an acceptable soundtrack.
4. Several visual errors remain in the rough cut, including a visible boom mike. Vitas is using Adobe AfterEffects to fix these errors.
5. I am developing a poster and synopsis for "A Better Fate", which we'll use for the DVD.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
"A Better Fate" is currently in post-production.
1. Vitas and I have completed several rough cuts using the sound from the camera. We're currently at 16:06. The pacing is still too quick, so
2. Vitas and I will be filming some exteriors and pick-up shots this week.
3. Joe and Morgan are working on processing and syncing the sound mix.
4. Rob Capra is composing a musical score. Check out Rob's music (Thought Brigade) here:
https://soundcloud.com/thoughtbrigade
5. Sean Murphy (Vince) has recorded "since feeling is first" by e. e. cummings, which we'll use during the final two scenes (Towards a Better Fate).
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~richie/poetry/html/poem162.html
1. Vitas and I have completed several rough cuts using the sound from the camera. We're currently at 16:06. The pacing is still too quick, so
2. Vitas and I will be filming some exteriors and pick-up shots this week.
3. Joe and Morgan are working on processing and syncing the sound mix.
4. Rob Capra is composing a musical score. Check out Rob's music (Thought Brigade) here:
https://soundcloud.com/thoughtbrigade
5. Sean Murphy (Vince) has recorded "since feeling is first" by e. e. cummings, which we'll use during the final two scenes (Towards a Better Fate).
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~richie/poetry/html/poem162.html
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Stills from "A Better Fate" shoot (5/11 - 5/13)
 |
| Sean Murphy as Vincent Hemming. |
 |
| A Company on the Brink |
 |
| Steve Provizer as Gerry Hodge |
 |
| For the survival of the company. |
 |
| There's blood on the streets, Vince. Your blood. |
 |
| Heather Conroy as Alisa Viracusa. |
 |
| You never want to have fun anymore. |
 |
| Cameron Torres as Mark Furlong |
 |
| Towards a Better Fate |
Monday, April 15, 2013
"Beyond Black-Scholes: On L evy-Stable Models for Valuation of Generalized Financial Instruments"
by D. L. Hall, V. E. Hemming, and G. Lambeau
As part of the movie, Vince reviews a paper he wrote with his old friend Dave Hall and his advisor at MIT, Prof. Lambeau (yes, the Fields Medalist from "Good Will Hunting). Apparently, Mark and Dave were mutual friends of "Raging" Dave Hall.
by D. L. Hall, V. E. Hemming, and G. Lambeau
As part of the movie, Vince reviews a paper he wrote with his old friend Dave Hall and his advisor at MIT, Prof. Lambeau (yes, the Fields Medalist from "Good Will Hunting). Apparently, Mark and Dave were mutual friends of "Raging" Dave Hall.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Audition Schedule
Unitarian Universalist Church
147 High St., Medford, MA
3/6/13 (1 PM - 5 PM)
1 PM: Setup and Lunch.
1:15 PM: Introduction (Jim Kelly). Introduce crew and characters.
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM: Audition (1)
2:30 PM - 2:45 PM: Break.
2:45 PM - 3:45 PM: Audition (2)
3:45 PM - 4:00 PM: Break
4:00 PM - 4:45 PM: Audition (3)
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM: Closing Remarks (Jim Kelly) and Break-Down.
Unitarian Universalist Church
147 High St., Medford, MA
3/6/13 (1 PM - 5 PM)
1 PM: Setup and Lunch.
1:15 PM: Introduction (Jim Kelly). Introduce crew and characters.
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM: Audition (1)
2:30 PM - 2:45 PM: Break.
2:45 PM - 3:45 PM: Audition (2)
3:45 PM - 4:00 PM: Break
4:00 PM - 4:45 PM: Audition (3)
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM: Closing Remarks (Jim Kelly) and Break-Down.
- Please choose a time-block to audition.
- We'll have a sign-in sheet when you arrive.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
What is a "Quant"?
Both Vince and Mark are quantitative analysts, or "quants". Quants typically study math, physics, or the more theoretical areas of engineering (for instance, aeronautical engineering). Back in the late 80's, there were too many physics and applied math Ph.D.'s and not enough jobs; at the same time, Wall Street was looking to develop numerical models for pricing derivatives and other financial instruments. Rather than drift from postdoc to postdoc, lots of Ph.D.'s joined the dark side as quants.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/science/10quant.html?pagewanted=all&_r
The bedrock of derivative models is Black-Scholes, which is a stochastic partial differential equation that allows a valued to be assigned to a call option. Let's define each term.
A call option is a contract that allows the owner to buy a stock (or some other instrument) at a given price (a strike price). An option consists of two terms: 1) the extrinsic value, which is the difference between the stock price and the strike price, and 2) the intrinsic value, which depends on both the volatility of the stock and the expiration date. 1) is trivial to calculate, whereas 2) requires a model for how the stock price fluctuates. The Black-Scholes model assumes the stock price fluctuates according to a Gaussian distribution; this fluctuation is analogous to the random motion of a gas and is called Brownian Motion (Albert Einstein wrote his Ph.D. thesis on Brownian motion). This random motion is called a random processes and is part of the toolkit of any physicist or applied mathematician. The Black-Scholes model gives an equation which relates the change in the derivative value with respect to the change in the stock value. We can then solve (either on paper or using a computer) this equation, and calculate the derivative value given the stock value.
But stock prices don't behave like gas molecules. They are subject to external shocks. They are subject to discontinuities. Brownian motion is continuous everywhere, and hence does not model this behavior. What we need is a random motion with jumps, or infinite variance. A very large class of random variables that exhibit these jumps are called Levy Stable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stable_distribution
These distributions obey a generalized central limit theorem, which states that a Levy stable distribution is the limiting distribution of a large number of independent, identically distributed (IID) random variables with possibly infinite variance. The resulting motion is discontinuous, like the stock price of Lehman Brothers in September of 2008
Both Vince and Mark are quantitative analysts, or "quants". Quants typically study math, physics, or the more theoretical areas of engineering (for instance, aeronautical engineering). Back in the late 80's, there were too many physics and applied math Ph.D.'s and not enough jobs; at the same time, Wall Street was looking to develop numerical models for pricing derivatives and other financial instruments. Rather than drift from postdoc to postdoc, lots of Ph.D.'s joined the dark side as quants.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/science/10quant.html?pagewanted=all&_r
The bedrock of derivative models is Black-Scholes, which is a stochastic partial differential equation that allows a valued to be assigned to a call option. Let's define each term.
A call option is a contract that allows the owner to buy a stock (or some other instrument) at a given price (a strike price). An option consists of two terms: 1) the extrinsic value, which is the difference between the stock price and the strike price, and 2) the intrinsic value, which depends on both the volatility of the stock and the expiration date. 1) is trivial to calculate, whereas 2) requires a model for how the stock price fluctuates. The Black-Scholes model assumes the stock price fluctuates according to a Gaussian distribution; this fluctuation is analogous to the random motion of a gas and is called Brownian Motion (Albert Einstein wrote his Ph.D. thesis on Brownian motion). This random motion is called a random processes and is part of the toolkit of any physicist or applied mathematician. The Black-Scholes model gives an equation which relates the change in the derivative value with respect to the change in the stock value. We can then solve (either on paper or using a computer) this equation, and calculate the derivative value given the stock value.
But stock prices don't behave like gas molecules. They are subject to external shocks. They are subject to discontinuities. Brownian motion is continuous everywhere, and hence does not model this behavior. What we need is a random motion with jumps, or infinite variance. A very large class of random variables that exhibit these jumps are called Levy Stable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stable_distribution
These distributions obey a generalized central limit theorem, which states that a Levy stable distribution is the limiting distribution of a large number of independent, identically distributed (IID) random variables with possibly infinite variance. The resulting motion is discontinuous, like the stock price of Lehman Brothers in September of 2008
Friday, March 29, 2013
As we prepare the audition on April 6 at the Unitarian Universalist Church (147 High St., Medford, MA), I would like to clarify several points:
- We will cover all transportation costs related to shooting and production. However, we can NOT cover transportation costs to and from the audition.
- Doors will open at 1 PM. After setting up, we will have some general remarks about the project. I would like to begin the audtions around 1:30 PM. We'lll be there till 5 PM.
- Auditions are first-come first-serve. We'll have a sign-in sheet.
- If we have time after auditions, we can do some Q&A about the project.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Auditions for "A Better Fate"
Before December Productions will be holding auditions for "A Better Fate" on 4/6/13 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford at 1 PM. We've reserved the Sanctuary for 4 hours.
147 High Street • Medford, Massachusetts 02155
If you are interested in attending please contact Jim Kelly at kellyja8@gmail.com and I will send you a script. Participants will have a chance to perform their character's dialog and meet the crew. We hope to cast all the roles shortly after this audition.
Directions
Parking
There are parking spaces for approximately 18 cars in the church parking lot; street parking in the surrounding neighborhood does not require a permit. (For large church functions there is overflow parking capacity at a municipal parking lot between Governors Ave. and Bradlee Road a short distance to the east on High Street – see map.)
Public Transit
Take MBTA Bus #94 from Davis Square (on the Red Line) to Medford Square.
Before December Productions will be holding auditions for "A Better Fate" on 4/6/13 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford at 1 PM. We've reserved the Sanctuary for 4 hours.
147 High Street • Medford, Massachusetts 02155
If you are interested in attending please contact Jim Kelly at kellyja8@gmail.com and I will send you a script. Participants will have a chance to perform their character's dialog and meet the crew. We hope to cast all the roles shortly after this audition.
Directions
Parking
There are parking spaces for approximately 18 cars in the church parking lot; street parking in the surrounding neighborhood does not require a permit. (For large church functions there is overflow parking capacity at a municipal parking lot between Governors Ave. and Bradlee Road a short distance to the east on High Street – see map.)
Public Transit
Take MBTA Bus #94 from Davis Square (on the Red Line) to Medford Square.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Before December Videos
"The Interview"
by James F. Kelly
I've been to a lot of technical interviews in my life. These things are brutal. You spends 10 or 11 hours pretending that you understand concepts such as "Highly Scaleable Lattice Boltzmann C++ code optimized for distributed memory architecutres" and "Discontinuous Galerkin formulation of the non-hydrostatic compressible Euler equations". I always feel like a fraud (probably because I am a fraud). So, after an alcohol fueled binge with some co-workers, I went home I created "The Interview", in which my boss finds a much better candidate for my job: A hooker in a Santa outfit.
http://www.xtranormal.com/
"Little Prospect Trail"
by Vitas Polivaitis
Mark Furlong returns home from NYC to visit his folks in Waltham, MA. As he hikes up Prospect Hill in the middle of a blizzard, memories of this one true love, Jule ("a real screamer" in Mark's own words) flood his consciousness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
"The Interview"
by James F. Kelly
I've been to a lot of technical interviews in my life. These things are brutal. You spends 10 or 11 hours pretending that you understand concepts such as "Highly Scaleable Lattice Boltzmann C++ code optimized for distributed memory architecutres" and "Discontinuous Galerkin formulation of the non-hydrostatic compressible Euler equations". I always feel like a fraud (probably because I am a fraud). So, after an alcohol fueled binge with some co-workers, I went home I created "The Interview", in which my boss finds a much better candidate for my job: A hooker in a Santa outfit.
http://www.xtranormal.com/
"Little Prospect Trail"
by Vitas Polivaitis
Mark Furlong returns home from NYC to visit his folks in Waltham, MA. As he hikes up Prospect Hill in the middle of a blizzard, memories of this one true love, Jule ("a real screamer" in Mark's own words) flood his consciousness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Crew Bios
Jim Kelly (Screenplay and Co-Director)
kellyja8@gmail.com
I remember seeing The Empire Strikes Back over thirty times as a kid. They would just keep showing it twice a day on HBO: once in the morning and once at night. So I would catch the first 30 minutes of Empire before school began, day after day. At lunch, I'd meet up with Chris Brozna, my best friend, and we would do scenes: "Your tauntaun will freeze before you reach the first marker!" I'd shout. "Then I'll see you in hell!" replied Chris as he rode out into the frozen wasteland of Hoth (in other words, the baseball field in the rear of our elementary school) in search of Luke, who was hanging by his feet in an ice cave. Chris looked like Han, I could imagine him as a distant relative of Harrison Ford. But that was the spark, back there in Hazlet, NJ, in 1987---I knew I wanted to make a movie one day. A couple years later, I got a Fischer Pixelvision Camera for my birthday. We made an Aliens spoof with my friend Eric in the backyard---I think I played Ellen Ripley. The Pixelvision camera recorded on audio cassettes, so we tried to edit using my cousin's tape deck, which had a counter. Shit, I wonder what happened to that tape?
Vitas Povilaitis (Producer, Co-Director, and Director of Photography)
vitas@GracefulBoot.com
"I used to think about infinity, but I had to stop."
Joe Medeiros (Sound Design and Recording)
jafmedeiros@yahoo.com
"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men." --Saint Francis of Assisi
Joe talks fast but thinks faster. He studied at U. Mass.-Amherst, B.U., and Regis University. His vocation is software engineering, but his avocation is SFX & sound engineering. His interests range from gaming to Japanese and sailing to Argentine tango.
Jim Kelly (Screenplay and Co-Director)
kellyja8@gmail.com
I remember seeing The Empire Strikes Back over thirty times as a kid. They would just keep showing it twice a day on HBO: once in the morning and once at night. So I would catch the first 30 minutes of Empire before school began, day after day. At lunch, I'd meet up with Chris Brozna, my best friend, and we would do scenes: "Your tauntaun will freeze before you reach the first marker!" I'd shout. "Then I'll see you in hell!" replied Chris as he rode out into the frozen wasteland of Hoth (in other words, the baseball field in the rear of our elementary school) in search of Luke, who was hanging by his feet in an ice cave. Chris looked like Han, I could imagine him as a distant relative of Harrison Ford. But that was the spark, back there in Hazlet, NJ, in 1987---I knew I wanted to make a movie one day. A couple years later, I got a Fischer Pixelvision Camera for my birthday. We made an Aliens spoof with my friend Eric in the backyard---I think I played Ellen Ripley. The Pixelvision camera recorded on audio cassettes, so we tried to edit using my cousin's tape deck, which had a counter. Shit, I wonder what happened to that tape?
Vitas Povilaitis (Producer, Co-Director, and Director of Photography)
vitas@GracefulBoot.com
"I used to think about infinity, but I had to stop."
Vitas studied Computer Science and Film at Rochester Institute of Technology. "I want to make a fictional story on video as I had done in college. I really want to work on the technical aspects of video production, and I have friends who want to act in it and write the script for it. This is a major project, and I've been putting it aside until I can truly commit to it." -- from "The Adventures of Vitas Povilaitis", December 1994
Joe Medeiros (Sound Design and Recording)
jafmedeiros@yahoo.com
"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men." --Saint Francis of Assisi
Joe talks fast but thinks faster. He studied at U. Mass.-Amherst, B.U., and Regis University. His vocation is software engineering, but his avocation is SFX & sound engineering. His interests range from gaming to Japanese and sailing to Argentine tango.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Casting Call
3/15/13
Before December Productions (Waltham, MA) is casting for a short, self-financed DV film called "A Better Fate" (see beforedecember.blogspot.com for more details).
Logline: An absurd comedy about an interview that goes haywire.
We are planning to shoot in late April/early May for three days (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday).
All travel expenses will be reimbursed. If you do not have transportation, we can provide transportation. Catering and beverages will be provided during the shoot. All cast members will receive a DVD of the finished film. We are planning on shooting two days (Saturday/Sunday) in Burlington and one additional day in Cambridge/Boston.
Major Roles (several pages of dialog required)
----------------------------------------------
Vince Hemming (lead): Male, late 20's - early 30's. Must be available for all 3 days.
Gerry Hodge: Male, late 40's - early 50's. Must be available for 1-2 days shooting.
Minor Roles (less than one page of dialog required)
----------------------------------------------------
Alisa Hemming: Female, late 20's. Preferably blondeor willing to dye hair. Must be available for 1-2 days of shooting.
Yolanda Rivera: Female, late 20's. Hispanic. Must be available for 1 day of shooting. All of Yolanda's dialog is over the phone, so no memorization is required.
Voice-Only Roles
--------------------------------------------------
Broker: Male, 20's - 30's. Able to speak with a New York or Boston accent.
As part of pre-production, we will be taking still photos which will be used as part of the sets. We would like to do this shoot one or two weeks before the shoot.
Please contact Jim Kelly at kellyja8@gmail.com or by phone at 517-230-0323 for more details.
3/15/13
Before December Productions (Waltham, MA) is casting for a short, self-financed DV film called "A Better Fate" (see beforedecember.blogspot.com for more details).
Logline: An absurd comedy about an interview that goes haywire.
We are planning to shoot in late April/early May for three days (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday).
All travel expenses will be reimbursed. If you do not have transportation, we can provide transportation. Catering and beverages will be provided during the shoot. All cast members will receive a DVD of the finished film. We are planning on shooting two days (Saturday/Sunday) in Burlington and one additional day in Cambridge/Boston.
Major Roles (several pages of dialog required)
----------------------------------------------
Vince Hemming (lead): Male, late 20's - early 30's. Must be available for all 3 days.
Gerry Hodge: Male, late 40's - early 50's. Must be available for 1-2 days shooting.
Minor Roles (less than one page of dialog required)
----------------------------------------------------
Alisa Hemming: Female, late 20's. Preferably blondeor willing to dye hair. Must be available for 1-2 days of shooting.
Yolanda Rivera: Female, late 20's. Hispanic. Must be available for 1 day of shooting. All of Yolanda's dialog is over the phone, so no memorization is required.
Voice-Only Roles
--------------------------------------------------
Broker: Male, 20's - 30's. Able to speak with a New York or Boston accent.
As part of pre-production, we will be taking still photos which will be used as part of the sets. We would like to do this shoot one or two weeks before the shoot.
Please contact Jim Kelly at kellyja8@gmail.com or by phone at 517-230-0323 for more details.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Several people have asked me what this movie is about. To answer this question, I wrote down the seven questions journalists ask when writing a story. I don't claim to know anything about journalism, but it seems like a reasonable technique. I therefore wrote a fictional interview with a journalist who didn't know anything about this project.
Q. Where is the story set?
Outside Boston (Burlington, MA and
Cambridge, MA). Most of the film is set in an office off HWY 128, although we a planning some nice exteriors of Cambridge.
Q. When is the story set?
11-12 September 2008.
The weekend before the default of Lehman Brothers.
Q. Who is the story about?
Vince. A quant. As the world experiences the financial crisis, Vince grapples with his own internal crisis.
Q. What is your story about (literally)?
Imagine interviewing
the man who just fucked your fiancee.
Q. How is the story told?
In the simplest, most economical fashion. My background is Applied Mathematics, where economy of expression, or elegance, is valued. The short film (approx. 15 minutes) will be shot on DV.
Q. Why did you write this story?
Several reasons. At first, I simply wanted the experience of writing a screenplay. I've always loved movies, and I felt that I could write a watchable movie given the chance. As the writing process continued, I began to understand a deeper reason: to ignite an internal revolution in my own thinking. At root, this story is about internal revolution. All revolutions require sparks, an external spark. This revolution is sparked my Vince's counterpart, his doppelganger, Mark, the man who he is interviewing, the man who is sleeping with his fiancee.
Film Synopsis
"A Better Fate" is an absurd comedy about a man whose life collapses in the space of a 24 hour period. Vince is a quant who’s having a bad day. He broker just called and wants 80 large by Friday. And his fiancée is sleeping with another guy—the guy Vince is about to interview.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Welcome to Before December Productions
Welcome to Before December Productions (BDP). BDP is
James F. Kelly: Screenwriter and Director
Vitas Povilaitis: Producer and Director of Photography
Joseph Medeiros: Sound
We are currently in pre-production of a short narrative project called "A Better Fate". We are considering an additional crew member and will begin casting within the next several weeks. Please come back for updates.
James F. Kelly: Screenwriter and Director
Vitas Povilaitis: Producer and Director of Photography
Joseph Medeiros: Sound
We are currently in pre-production of a short narrative project called "A Better Fate". We are considering an additional crew member and will begin casting within the next several weeks. Please come back for updates.
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