I Have A Fan!!! :D

Well, okay, to be completely honest, my friend Kal and I have a fan, lol. ;P

First off, back story:

Back in 1999 (or 1998, maybe?) my friend Kal Ismail came to me with this idea he had been working on, off and on, for an independently produced TV series. We would shoot it with digital technology, which was just sort of emerging at the time. Digital cameras were able to shoot at 24 frames per second instead of the traditional 30 frames per second -- the difference meaning that the human eye perceives the movement recorded in a way that looks more like the way a film camera shoots, as opposed to the way a video camera shoots -- and the technology was being released in prosumer versions (which just means comparable quality to professional equipment, but priced for the "consumer" market, e.i. affordable for some "regular" folks).

The approach was BRILLIANT!!! Computers ran programs that could edit video and audio just as well as the professional AVID system that was quickly becoming the industry standard, and affordable gear -- mics, lighting setups, etc. -- had been affordable for independent filmmakers for years. The huge expenses had been camera rentals, film processing, editing suites and post-production facilities. Now the computer took care of editing and post-production, and video cameras were affordable enough to OWN, and didn't require film processing costs.

TV shows are always struggling with budget and time constraints, so a show that utilized the cutting-edge technology to cut production costs WAY DOWN was a superbly visionary idea!

(The idea was, in fact, several years before its time. If you doubt me, ask yourself why there are so many "Reality TV" programs on every station nowadays. What are they shot on? Video -- not film -- cameras. What are they edited with? The difference is that they cut out the price of hiring quality writers and talented actors. Any beginning writer knows -- or should know -- the basic elements of drama, and since Reality shows are improvised, the writers only have to come up with basic conflicts. And any actor who has spent half a semester in acting classes knows how to improv. So the producers don't need quality, they simply need enthusiasm. But Kal's idea was, as I said, ahead of its time. Hollywood is an industry that is slow to change. But Kal's idea was better, because you would be using unknown actors and writers, rather than unskilled ones. "Unknown" talent and "unskilled" talent get paid the same amount, but shooting documentary style has the advantage of being better for time: You don't have a director possibly going over on his shooting schedule because he's trying to get this one specific shot.)

Kal's concept for the series was also brilliant: 6 college students going to UT.

Austin, Texas -- as Hollywood now knows, but hadn't yet discovered back then -- is an AMAZING place! It's a very Liberal city in the midst of a very Conservative area, you have computer geniuses going to work in the same town as struggling musicians and lawyers (being the state capitol), so you have all these different types of people living together in this finite space!

And if you're looking at the college scene alone, you have every personality type you can imagine! You want militant lesbians? We've got 'em. You want fundamentalist Christians (or Mormons, or Baptists, or Atheists)? We've got 'em. You want ultra-conservative materialists? We've got those, too! You want hippies? Rastafarians? Yuppies? Stoners? Freaks? Geeks? Name a stereotypical young person and they live here!

The series was going to be a Coming Of Age piece, where formerly sheltered young adults had to deal with culture shock and being on their own, had to fit new ideas into old framework... It was kind of Felicity, but way-not. Because of the ensemble cast, this was more about culture than a single person's journey. You know?

And Kal came to me because (1) we are good friends, (2) we are both film flunkies who know and love film, and (3) I am all about the Writing! He's a director and a producer (in the TV sense of the word "producer" -- as in "someone who is all about story, as well as the technical logistics of capturing those story moments on film") and I'm a writer and a producer.

So Kal had a story he wanted to tell, and I helped him tell it. We worked on the script for hours and days and weeks at his apartment and at coffee shops, and it was a magnificent time for me! I hate writing alone, but I LOVE writing with a partner!!! :D I come from Community Theatre, where it's a bunch of unpaid artisans all pooling their many and varying talents to get a show in front of an audience! It doesn't matter if I'm working with 100 people or 1 person, when I'm collaborating, I'm in heaven! :D

The idea was this: We write and shoot the pilot, then Kal shops it around until we find a buyer. We already have, like, the first 6 episodes ready to script, and a really good idea for what the first 3 seasons will be.

So we shot the pilot, Kal edited it and made a DVD, then he went to Hollywood and shopped it, and then the project died.

But I got a copy of the DVD! :D It's really nice!!!

None of us made a cent off it, and Kal spent a great deal of money on it.

Classic film flunky failure, right?

Not so much!

First, film flunkies don't fail, ever, unless we give up. We learn something form every experience, and we ALWAYS have a great time!!! ;P (I'm serious: ALWAYS! We're like the Black Eyed Peas in that regard! If we're creating, we are HAVING A MOTHERFRAKKIN' BLAST!) So writing 40 Acres -- that's the name of the show, because it's another name for UT at Austin -- and producing it, then watching the finished project, taught us both A LOT about filmmaking. I went on to use a lot of what I learned with Kal when I was producing my friend Kelly's shorts, and then working with Tommy and Brian after that.

Secondly, it turns out that 9 years later, the pilot for 40 Acres actually moved some people!!!

THIS is the part that boggles my mind!!! :D

I mean, THAT'S WHY YOU TELL STORIES!!! You're not doing it for the paycheck (I have yet to see one, except for a couple of times that Kal bailed me out of financial jams during the production of the pilot, God bless his kindness!) and you're not doing it for the prestige (because until you reach a certain level of success, you don't get any prestige whatsoever). You tell stories because something about Life, about living, has moved you, and you want to share this insight with anyone who will listen and, hopefully, watch them moved by the experience you created.

And it's a natural, human thing to do. Something fucked-up happens to you on your way to work, you tell your co-workers about it! Something jacked-up happens to you at work, and you go home and tell your family/roommate/spouse about it! WE SHARE STORIES. That's the human condition. And it's a beautiful part of being human! It's one of the best things we do with each other while in this physical shell! :D I adore telling people stories and listening to the stories people tell me, because I learn from those stories -- both in the telling and, especially, in the listening.

Okay, so the stage is now thoroughly set.

Kal & I made a pilot for an indy TV show, it didn't sell, we went our separate ways creatively. (That is to say, our lives took us in separate directions for a while. There was never a falling out or a decrease in the level of love shared between us, lol. But when you're young, life does tend to pull you away from some of those who are important to you, and unite you with those who become equally important to you.)

Kal doesn't live in Austin now, but recently -- over the last few months -- I've gotten to see him more and more frequently. He'll call me at work and ask if he can stop by, and then we have these really great conversations while I do my work-thang. It's really cool! :D

So then this Sunday night/Monday morning he calls and asks if he can stop by, and says that he's got someone with him, a fan of 40 Acres. I laugh and respond with something like "Is there such a thing?!"

I mean, we screened 40 Acres at the downtown (original) Alamo Drafthouse and we've each shown our friends, and then that's the extent of it. It's a film flunky project: You pour your soul into it, show as many people as you can, and then it's part of your history. It's something that you've done. It's a project that helped shape who you are today, but everyone else (except for other film flunkies) sees a little movie that you made. I've showed my teenage daughter several such projects and her reaction has been a polite, "Cool," lol. Unless a project gets picked up and sees theatrical release of national air, a film flunky never really expects anyone to be genuinely impressed with work he's/she's done.

So Kal shows up at work on my "Friday" with this gorgeous and intelligent young woman named Rawan. And over the course of a very fun conversation, I discover that she actually, genuinely is a fan of 40 Acres!!! She frickin' LOVES this pilot! She has watched it 12 times, and has shown it to 8 others who also enjoyed it! She's got these amazing plans for making it viral and stuff!!! :D She wishes there were MORE!

I mention that she's intelligent because we're not talking about someone who simply enjoys a piece of fiction because Kal created it! It's not like a fan of a fanfic writer, lol. There was a point in the conversation where she and I are trying to describe Dollhouse to Kal, who hasn't seen it, and she's talking about the subtext, the thematic material (everything that's not on the page, but IS in between the lines of the writing, acting and directing of a show or movie or novel), stuff that I assumed only the writers of the show and I got, lol!!!

So when this woman says she appreciates 40 Acres, I feel very, very confident that she not only appreciates what we were showing and telling the audience, but what we were hoping the audience would figure out for themselves!!! :D In other words, she doesn't merely appreciate the overt stuff, she appreciates the implied stuff, as well!

AND THEN...

This is where my head wants to explode...

And THEN, I discover -- after Kal has taken her home and come back so he and I could discuss an in-progress project -- that she WANTED TO meet me, lol! Apparently, if I understand this correctly, Kal said he was going to meet with me and she discovered I was the co-writer of 40 Acres and decided she wanted to come along, lol!

Now, keep in mind a few key points here: Rawan isn't a fan of me because she just met me. The only work of mine that she's familiar with is 40 Acres, which is a collaboration. And as such, it's Kal's genius that I helped realize. So it's not like I'm saying I have a groupie, lol. ;P

However...

This woman is a fan of a work of fiction, and I am one of the people who helped create that work of fiction! It's like this: If I wrote a few episodes of Buffy, I would know that it's Joss Whedon's brilliance that people were responding so emotionally and passionately to. But imagine I wrote one of the episodes of Buffy that a fan of the show was moved by!!! HOW FRIGGIN' HUMBLING IS THAT?!! :D In essence, I did some work that someone really, really appreciated! :D

Something that I poured my soul into moved someone else!!!

THIS is what blows my mind. :)

And it was an amazing start to my weekend!

Since then, I have watched some more Mystery Science Theater 3000 with Brian, as well as Yes Man, Seven Pounds and Futurama: Bender's Game and Friday the 13th: Killer Cut. I also am a few more episodes into Invasion America -- which I'm REALLY, REALLY enjoying!!! It was better than I remembered it being, and that's always a pleasant surprise -- and watched Underworld: Rise of the Lycans on my iPod, and I also opened a Twitter account.

This weekend continues the slackin' and relaxin' theme of the month, and I'm lovin' it! :D

Things should start hopping soon, though. Texas Spirits has client investigations lined up for the next month solid, and I won't be able to make this coming weekend, but I'll be on the team for every one of the following investigations that I can. (Investigation is always time-consuming because you're not just doing the investigation, you're also reviewing the evidence from the investigation, which takes some 3 times longer than the investigation itself, lol. But it's WONDERFUL work to be doing!!!)

So I am thoroughly enjoying what I imagine may be my last weekend of slacking for a while.

I have Miss March on my iPod and plan to watch that soon, too.

But now the sun is thoroughly up, which means I should be thinking about sleep.

I hope you have the opportunity to feel appreciated in what you do! You deserve it, whether anyone acknowledges you or not, and you know that!

:D