Avoiding a Car Crash

Tuesday I was cruising west along Bell Rd. during work when a white pick-up truck cut across north to a Fry's shopping plaza. Fortunately I saw him when he first took off. I thought he was going pretty fast, but figured he'd be stopping in the center lane, thinking he must see me, being that I was right in his path. Nope.

That only gave me enough time to floor it, and to try turning away from him, as I in was in the center lane, of a three lane, west bound road. I didn't make it past him and he nailed the back corner of my bumper, sending the tail north bound, but I regained control. He slammed on his brakes, after the hit.

I must've gained some distance, because when I looked back he was further away than I expected. He was stopped in the driveway of the plaza. I probably should've stopped the car there and walked back, but I wasn't thinking (the adrenaline was pumping). Plus, I saw a bunch of traffic coming, so I made a U turn to go back. He wasn't there anymore. I realized that he may have thought that I was taking off, since the next turn off wasn't for a little ways. But I searched the entire parking lot for white pick-ups and only came across two. I inspected both but saw nothing incriminating.

I expected my car to be in bad shape, but I almost couldn't tell I was even hit, if it weren't for the scuffs. If I had tunnel vision, and didn't see this guy, I would've been t-boned! It was a scary moment, but all's good.

The Matter of Chance Training Video

In one of my classes, I have to create a three to five minute informative corporate screenplay for my class project. What is that per say? Well, such screenplays might be akin to a training video or "company policy" film, a video you might see if you are training for a new job or applying to an organization. You know...films that tell you how you're supposed to give your customer their Wendy's burger.
I've never really had any job or corporation that I would affiliate myself with, and most of the kids in my class are using their current jobs as the sources for their screenplays. So, I've decided to create a training video for Matter of Chance Productions.

What goes into this MOC training video? Well, this is an introduction into the world of the Matter of Chance team - so I must cover our history, what services we offer and what it is exactly that we do. Every corporate screenplay, just like a feature screenplay, is broken into three parts. A beginning, middle and end. The beginning of the training video is supposed to introduce the organization and briefly highlight what it is that will be covered. The middle of the training video is supposed to cover the important information of the company, like the history, services and accomplishments. And finally, the ending of the video will state a "call to action", or something that entices the viewer into some kind of effect. I think the action for my video will be, "use MOC for your production needs", or some such fiddle faddle.

Now...most videos are presented with standard gimmicks or tricks. Some informational videos are just edited sequences of captured footage with a narrator voice over. Some are designed to be a mini-movie, covering a day in the life of an employee at "Wendy's". Some are simply speakers standing in front of a camera, spouting out info - talking heads if you will. The MOC video will be a combo of talking heads and voice over narration, and an MOC character will introduce each segment.
For the beginning, Harold will introduce us into the Matter of Chance world, using a chalkboard to highlight various components we will be looking at.
For the middle, Leonardo will be going point by point through the company history, following which he will promptly assassinate Joshua J. Provost, Gabriel Loyer and Brock H. Brown.
Finally, at the end, The Printer will give the viewer his or her call to action. The call to action will be punctuated by The Printer's death, which will make his martyrdom an inspiration to all future clients.

I expect it to be a fantastic video, one that the teacher will reject completely.

The New Storytellers

Just got out of my editing exam a short while ago...man, talk about a toughie. I did pretty well though I expect, so that's good.

I had to add one of my favorite Castro pictures to this post

Josh came over yesterday and we chatted about the Castro Film. A big thing we noticed was how young Castro looked remarkably similar in various facial features to Gabe, particularly the eyes. Physically, we have the look in the ballpark, so it'll be up to Gabe to nail the psychological aspect.

Josh also showed me pictures of the main character. Yes, it is a film about Castro, but there is a protagonist that we see the film play out through. And like Castro, he is also a historical figure who resided in that infamous period. No one we know looks quite like this fellow, so we may have to do some casting and searching for this part.

Anyway, all I can say is, I'm stoked.

Phoenix film's new base of operations?

I totally forgot to post this. Looks like ASU is finally taking steps to embark upon a serious film program.