Casting Continues

The question of the day - is Anne Coulter just a PR whore?

Actually, that's not the question of the day, that's what's coming from Meredith as she free-associates and pulls up the 13Bit master database, reads the news, checks her email, and reinvents the wheel via spreadsheet - all at the same time.

We are in the middle of casting and it's going well. "Such talent," as my non-existent Aunt Minnie might have said in some alternate universe.

It is tiring, but exciting, this casting business. We are grizzled, seasoned, well-traveled documentarians, so we have never had to cast. The closest we have come to that is ordering takeout food. Well, actually, we did audition people for the voiceover parts in Lumia, but this is different.

We are still writing. We are still figuring out our HDV workflow. We are still scouting locations and planning the other billion and one details that go into a feature film shoot. So, I'm not really saying much here except that we are insanely busy. And that doesn't even include the new super secret project, which we are calling Project Hans Ringo. More will be revealed later.

"Do you know how easy it is to not look like a Schmuck?"

Meredith just gave me the okay to quote exactly what she said "because I truly believe that."

We are going through email for auditions. Most of the actors and actresses are very diligent, decent people who are trying to make it. We appreciate that so many talented people are trying out for us, that they are willing to work for free, and that they are taking the many risks that go with being an aspiring artist. We know how hard it is. We are right there with them.

That being said, every basket contains a few shmoes. In this case, it's someone who responded to us saying "please refresh my memory as to what your project is about?"

That sounds reasonable, doesn't it? Actually, it's not. How hard is it to go through your email and see when someone last emailed you, then to read the original email? How difficult is it to keep track of what you are applying to so that you don't come off as an arrogant, absent-minded yoyo? The answer in both cases is "not very."

We are dedicated filmmakers. We don't make any money. One day, we hope to, but all of our money, hopes, dreams and sweat goes into our work. We love what we do. We try our best to do right by people and all we ask is that people do their best with us. Most people do. We have been lucky so far in our career. We have worked with some great people. We hope to work with many more.

If you don't remember what the project was about when we call you in for an audition, please don't respond.

Casting for Quesadilla

13Bit has not been posting recently. Paul was hot springing in the west, and I - well I have been licking the man's boots. In between, we have been going through head shots and resumes for "The System" code name Quesadilla. Tomorrow we start auditions, and refining the screen play. I am tasked with becoming a master sound recordist. So I am going to engage in some boom exercises ... I am really looking forward to building some dollies.

Now I 13bit is separating I am going sailing and paul is going to practice with his band.
We will rejoin later or tomorrow

"I Hope I Get Paid Well For Being Abused"

Meredith said this last night. She said something else very funny the night before and something really true, but unpublishable tonight. Well, maybe it's not true. Anyway, what prompts all of this deep thinking? Sitting around and diligently reading many, many acting resumes and other info while casting.

The "being abused" part is about something else, not related to 13bit, but it's all about life, isn't it?

We need to redo the text on Lumia. We have our hands full with Project Quesadilla, creatively and technically. We are also wanting to work on "Letters to My Shrink."

What can I say? We have all four burners cooking. Elko is sleeping in the other room. Wow, we really need to find a midget.

We Need A Midget

PAUL "I don't think it's going to be so easy to get a midget for this part. I think we may have to put up a separate ad."

MEREDITH "We'll get a midget."

PAUL "I don't think it's going to be that easy."

MEREDITH "We'll get a midget."

PAUL "Midgets aren't that easy to find. And we need the *right* midget. We need someone who fits the part."

MEREDITH "I'll get the midget."

PAUL "You'll get the midget?"

MEREDITH "I'll get the midget."

PAUL "I don't think it's going to be that easy."

MEREDITH "I'll get the midget."

PAUL "Okay."

So that's how another day at the compound starts. We need a midget - is there no politically-correct term for a very short person, a dwarf? It sounds derogatory, but maybe only because of usage, not meaning. It *is* a diminutive, after all, perhaps the mother of all diminutives. Anyway, we do need a real actor for this part, a middle aged guy with the right face and great acting ability. I don't think it's going to be so easy to find. The pool of talented tiny actors is very small.

I will trust Meredith, just for today, but I think we'll have to luck out.

There Will Be No People

What a dark thought. What a terrible future we may have.

I was lecturing Meredith on spelling, the one area of 13Bit's bailiwick where I happen to excel and hold primacy. Because of that, I get pompous and defend it with all my semantic strength. I was telling her that her misspelling of "privilege" in the previous post was a common error, that particular misspelling, and then I went on to lecture that even *I*, the master of spelling in the 13bit compound, had not learned how to spell that particular word correctly until I was in my 40's. In fact, I may have known the correct spelling, then forgotten how in the brain cell apocalypse of my 1980's existence. Anyway, I said, in my best condescending way, "You don't have to worry about learning how to spell that for another 15 years." to which Meredith replied "There will be no people [then]."

Sigh. It's so sad. We really need to finish our next few movies before that happens. Otherwise, who will watch them?

Is There No History?

That's what I was mumbling as I was working on the latest mini script for our new project, aka QUESADILLA, also aka "HH, Not Blavatsky."

Anyway, I had found something useful on that compendium of useless things, the world wide web, and then the window/page had gotten closed in the flurry of activity involving the script, as well as further research involving our subtitling adventures for "Lumia," which revolved around searches for XML and XSTL stuff - I cannot even articulate it, Meredith was telling me what to do. She discovered that there is no spec for something that Apple claimed there was a spec for....shoot, I am completely rambling and foaming at the mouth here, she can explain it in a few lines further down.

The point is that I could not find this page and I went to the history in Firefox and found that this version of it on this machine on this day in this lifetime on this planet has no history. So I said "Is there no history?" and Meredith said "That's a deep thought." And I realized that, yes, it *is* a deep thought, but I hadn't uttered it as a deep thought. Then I thought about what a deep thought it was. Still is, in fact, and that's why it takes more than just 6 and a half bits to make a movie.

She can explain more.

I (meredith) wanted to write a profound post about Paul's musing "Is There No History?" However, paul was logged in under 13bit and I was logged under meredith and since only 13bit has authorial priviledge - Paul decided that he was going to post first - since he was logged in.

that is all i can add because now paul must go back and "find that thing he couldn't find"

Does blogger have spell checking?