Lucky 07/07/07

Today is a day I've been looking forward to for eleven weeks.

Heather, Renee, and Kaitlyn are coming to Vancouver. Yay!!!

Time to head to the airport. More to come soon.

Sweepless in Seattle

It's July 6th. Oh, and by the way, summer is finally here! My condo is actually, almost, kinda sweltering. Outside, the breeze keeps the downtown area comfortable, but there is still an intense desire to blow off homework and storm the beach.

Over the Canada Day weekend, I showed my patriotism by heading to Seattle. What?!

Well, the Blue Jays were playing there, and they needed my support. As it turned out, they got swept in spite of the throngs of Canadians who turned up at Safeco and made Seattle seem like a Canadian enclave for the weekend. The weather was spectacular and the city showed me its fun side, from the various sidewalk cafes and bistros on 1st Avenue to the 'Ride the Ducks' land and water tour. When I ascended the Space Needle on the last day, the wondrous Mount Ranier became visible. It appeared to be floating on clouds, a sight I will never forget.

The only negative was that I was travelling alone, so I couldn't share the pleasures of the Emerald City with family or friends. But, seeing that Seattle is a mere 3-4 hours away from Vancouver by car, it's quite possible I'll make my way down again.

PHOTO ALBUM

There's More to Vancouver

Yeah, so I finally got out of the downtown area, thanks to my buds Terry and Kenn visiting from Ontario. With a rented car, we managed to get up north, first to Lynn Canyon Park, and then up to Whistler. It's spectacular up in that neck of the woods.

Here's a short video of our weekend.

Time Flies

10:25 am. No school today. End of term. A siren howls down on the street, just like everyday. Seems strange because it's a great neighbourhood, but there's always a fire truck or an ambulance roaring by.

Five days off until the next term begins. The first term flew by, which usually means it was a good time. And it was. I've gotten to know my classmates much better, not only in class but outside, as well. And that pitch class that was causing me nightmares? Survived it, and even made a fine pitch of an original feature film idea. Doing so in that class, with that particular teacher... well, I won't say it was like slaying the dragon, but the metaphor lingers in my mind.

I've come to believe that I can succeed at this business of screenwriting. I don't feel as intimidated as I did at the start. We will soon begin the process of writing our feature script, and that will start a week from today when we pitch three film ideas to a panel of instructors.

As for this weekend, my buddies Terry and Kenn are coming from Ontario to hang out. If the weather is nice, I'd like to get up to the mountains, maybe to Whistler. It'll be a righteous time for three buddies who've been doing stuff together ever since the university days (just not nearly often enough).

And that's life on the left coast, exactly two months since I arrived. Time flies.

Term 1 Update

The first term at VFS is rapidly coming to an end. We have ten more days, to be specific. Time is definitely going fast, and that tells me that things are pretty good.

Of course, not everything is roses. I'm learning that I suck at pitching if for no other reason than I don't remember the details of my pitches all that well. I suppose I'm going to get better at it -- that's the hope. Actually, I will say that my success at pitching ideas has boiled down to the person I'm pitching for: When I pitch for Kelsey, I do pretty well. When I pitch for Kat, I feel the noose tightening.

Other than that, I'm pretty stoked about being here. There's something inherently cool about studying movies for a living. I'm gaining respect for good screenwriters because I'm learning how difficult it is to BE a good screenwriter. On my Facebook page, I've started analyzing films for themes and iconography, and practicing my loglines at the same time. It's quite enlightening to watch a movie this way, although it is equally pleasing to then sit back and just enjoy a film for what it is -- entertainment.

So, now I will pop in a DVD this evening. Hey, it's homework, really. Again, pretty damn cool.

On Set

Taking classes at VFS is fun and all, but it isn't the only way to learn about the film industry. Today, I earned my first credits - as an extra and a grip - while a short film was being shot. It was easy to do, and now my name will appear in the end credits. That's cool.

These kinds of opportunities are one of the benefits of attending film school. Not only do you get some on-set experience for the resume, but there's the distinct possibility of being asked back for other shoots, or perhaps of being recommended to other directors. It's another foot in the door.

I want to thank Nicholas Humphries of VFS, who was the writer, producer, and director of the short film, for sending the invitation to anyone in the program to come help out. He appreciated the assistance, and I appreciated the opportunity to participate. Best of luck, Nick, when your film goes to the film festival.

Meeting the People

Three weeks into our classes, things are generally looking good. I'm talking about interesting classes on the whole, and we are getting to know more people at VFS with whom we may be collaborating in the future.

A couple of our instructors who impress me are Dean Burns and Kelsey Kirvan. I think Dean is sharp as a... porcupine needle (sorry, can't use a cliche). He's mellow, but he knows his stuff concerning the film industry. Not to mention that I'll always fondly remember him as the person who introduced the terms 'loglines' and 'beatsheets' to my vocabulary. Thank you so much, Dean!

As for Kelsey, I don't know if "impressed" is really the word I'm looking for. I just love the guy for his personality and approach to our pitch classes. Any guy who claims (even in jest) to have turned down a job because of the pants requirement is fuckin' right on in my books. Last week, he reached one of his objectives, which was to make one of the girls in our class cry. No, he isn't really cruel; he's just funny as all hell. And he attended the University of Western Ontario -- the mortal enemy -- at the same time I went to Guelph. I do believe him when he says he didn't drive a jeep at Western.

Last Friday night was karaoke night, and "WHOA NELLY" did we have fun. The writers were well represented, singing a number of classics very poorly. A few actors and some film production people showed up, too. The highlight of the night came at the end when I nearly knocked the DJ's MacBook Pro on the ground when I tripped coming off the stage.

And tonight was the mandatory mixer for first-termers. The objective was to meet students in the other programs at VFS, collect names and email addresses, and lay the groundwork for future collaboration. The beer we drank immediately preceding the mixer was a definite help.

So that's what life on the left coast has been like of late. For the most part, it's tres cool. No regrets so far.