Wednesday, April 23, 2003 :::
Have to take Rachael-SJ into the shop again tomorrow. Rachael is the name of all my computers. has nothing to do witht he new Rachael just met. It is from "Blade Runner." Did a long long class today. Went over the XL1 with Andy and Mae. OK, since you were going to ask the camera's name is Daphne. My car's name is Trisha. Anyhow it started when my brother at about 6 or 7 named his fishbowl Fred. Not the fish, but the bowl itself. He was (and still is) silly like that.
I might have an alliance partner with the people I met yesterday. we shall see how it goes. I think it would be a nice fit.
I told RMH, she can handle the company account once we get some more capital coming in. Should have did that before. I am bad at balancing the checking account. There is always things to buy. I am not paying anymore for the computer though. Spent $500 to get the new motherboard (and video card), so it should work, right?
Have to back up the footage from "Dark" and the other movies first. Really need to clean the system and reload everything. I know I have a lot of junk on Rachael-SJ that I never use.
Finally wrote the scene yesterday for my character in the TV Series and this young girl he interacts with. It should be fun to play and I really, really want to be finished with this thing. I think I'll be able to take a break when the class is over with and I can get to editing and such.
All in all, I got some good students and I think they will leave knowing something and have something to show, so it was a good thing. Still took a bit out of me and I would not do it anytime soon. In fact it is the last official Indie Cleveland thing in the real world I do for a while. I am just going to concentrate on the web element of it.
And I have to raise some funds for the company, so that will take my time. That is the priority. Getting p2c funded, so the company can go to the next phase. Yeah, I like doing this, but I need to really movie out of that whole "gang let's put on a show" thing. Besides it is a business and a business should make money.
I think I'm going to watch "Buffy." I taped it, so I need to relax and she makes me relax.
::: posted by Alex at 8:51 PM
Tuesday, April 22, 2003 :::
One of these days I really have to balance my checkbook. Company account is about $55 overdrawn right now. I had some expenses and I forgot about buying some cartridges for the EVENT this past weekend. I should really promote the donate page on Prelude2cinema more at http://www.prelude2cinema.com/donate.htm but people aren't much for donating to the arts. Still, it is worth a try. Of course, I still need that major shareholder to come aboard the company. My current shareholders are pissed that Prelude2Cinema is not bringing in any capital right now. Getting the fame, but not the fortune. Believe me, not exactly happy with that one myself. Got to really market more, but hard to market without money. I could ask some people to help me out, but I am sure some of my colleagues would be happy to see me fail. While I don't imagine failing, I do see productions are really slowed down at coming out because of the lack of cash flow.
Funny thing is, I talked to my boy David M. yesterday and he said what I should do is start a film festival. I said, why don't you start one and I'll help you out. Oh, no. I'm just an idea man. You're good at that stuff. Well, since Dave is family I kindly said, screw you, you start it. That is the problem, I have too much going on right now. Hence the recent bank faux pas. Trying to do everything myself. Which has always served me well in the past. I have managed to get a lot done, but not get that all important cash flow coming in.
Ideally, I would love to have people come aboard and help out. Of course, that might require a little trust on my part. And of course, while I trust people to screw me over, I do not trust them to help me when I really need it. Can't bitch completely. I do get a lot of help that I rely on, but really need to be pulling in the income from Prelude2Cinema.
Really got to learn to balance the checkbook or at the very least hand it over to someone else. It just seems that there is always one more thing I need to buy. I will use the net and see if I can get anyone to invest that way. Yeah, yeah, stranger things have happened.
I have been feeling lately that there is something I am not doing that I should be doing- although I am doing a lot of things.
On to other things. Saw Julie last night. I haven't seen her at work since she got in a car accident and broke her wrist. She got my little gift (I know can't balance the checkbook, but I sent her a coffee mug from the Prelude2Cinema store). That is pathetic. My main shareholder's use of words for how I am handling the funds right now. Sending out gifts from the store was part of the plan in getting it noticed, but there have been about a dozen or so gifts and not enough sales.
Have to talk to my consigliere today and figure out what to do that I am not doing. Also meet with some people yesterday, they want me to give them some ideas I have been working on, but I would like to be involved if I do. Hey, if I am going to be involved, I should at least benefit. Well, Prelude2Cinema needs to be involved. Lately I am not too kind at giving out info without making sure I get something out of it. Knowledge is still power.
While I am writing this, I have two other screens open: one the inbox for answering back the letter from the people I met with.
The Final Draft program where I have to write the brief scene with Noel and Raft. Since this show is going to be hardcore like the Shield, I might as well go all the way. Also, Prelude2Cinema now has over 20,500 hits. A friend said, you know if you had $1 for each person who visited your site, you'd be in there. Yeah, that would be wild. After all, it is the entertainment business and entertainment costs. I know, I know I sound fixated on money, but I would do this if there wasn't any money involved. Heck, I have been doing this without money involved, yet if this is going to move into the real studio phase there needs to be budgets and accountants and all that. Ideally, I don't need much to live off and I do have my trust fund, so I am OK, but p2c should be paying salaries for actors and crew and web people.
Well, I should really write back this first letter and see what they say about Prelude2Cinema being involved. Sometimes people just like to pick your brain. Only problem with that is sometimes after people pick your brain, they move on and leave you. As you can see I have major trust issues.
::: posted by Alex at 10:00 AM
Monday, April 21, 2003 :::
Got my weblog added to the Cleveland.com. I think this is a good thing. Of course, now everyone is going to know what I think. Hey, who said this business was personal anyway. Ohh, that mad desire I have to be noticed and at the some time keep a personal secretness about me seems to always be in constant conflict. Nine out of ten times, I tell myself, I have to be out there to do the Studio. Yeah, yeah. Anyhow, went to the party on Saturday night. it was OK, but I left early. Had a little too much schmoozing going on lately and I couldn't do it anymore. I remember when I use to make movies. Anyhow been working some more on my character for "Out of Darkness." He just gets more wicked everytime I think of him, so I might as well, let him be bad. At least one of us will be. The sad part is some people I think I am as bad as he is. Now that's really sad. Most nights, I am in front of the computer instead of with some actress. Maybe I wish it were different, but I have work to do.
At the party on Saturday night, a guy told me that if you work hard, you play hard. I have had a desire to play hard lately, but I haven't really had the desire.. or else I just haven't had the guts. Which I think is why my character is turning out to be so bad. It is safer for him to be bad than me. Besides I do have some morals left.
Still I might at least practice at least one bad thing every other week. Got to at least have some life outside the movie stuff. Don't I?
::: posted by Alex at 7:55 PM
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