True Hype Productions Inc.

FESTIVALS updates

truehypeproductions — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:56:54 +0000

We are screening on two different nights at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival.

Its our first double header which is cool, and here’s the B-Side link:

http://stiff.bside.com/2009/films/yesterday_stiff2009

We are also screening at the DEADcenter Film Festival!

Just Returned from Okanagan!

truehypeproductions — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:56:29 +0000

Our crew of misfit filmmakers went to the Okanagan Film Festival this weekend to catch our screening of Yesterday and represent the film. I find it most inspiring that people that helped out on this movie more than three years ago are still willing to come and participate!

It’s now 11pm and I just returned to my apartment. I’m tired but it was all worth it. We got to watch our movie at the first midnight screening the festival had, got to meet a lot of other wonderful filmmakers, and got to spend a weekend in the Okanagan with friends.

We were nominated for Best Canadian Independent Feature as well! Pictures will be updated soon!

–Rob Grant

Okanagan Film Festival

truehypeproductions — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:55:43 +0000

So tomorrow marks the first festival our cast and crew will be attending. Pretty lame of us to only make it to our fourth screening but hey its a start. I think going to London makes up for all the missed screenings anyways.

We have the midnight showing on Friday night (technically Saturday morning) at the Okanagan Film Festival. I’m interested to see how it actually shapes up. From what I gather, midnight screenings are for the rambunctious crowd… but who knows? Maybe the crowd will be sleepy and lethargic. I don’t really know what to expect.

Either way we will be there with cameras in tow to document the whole experience!

–Rob Grant

72

truehypeproductions — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:55:10 +0000

That’s how many hours we were given to shoot, edit, and hand in our concept for this year’s Whistler Filmmaker Showdown.

We’ve entered the last three years in a row, and while we are becoming accustomed to not being selected or picked or whatever you want to call it for the Final Screening, we continue.

Why? I’m not quite sure… I always get angry when we get denied. But we persist. Is it because I think each year we try and do one they will accept? Not really, since all of our concepts don’t really lend much credence to the Whistler scene or culture.

The reality is it gives us an excuse to get out there and just shoot SOMETHING. Without it, there’d be no The New Guy, or Behind The Curtain. And while they are not without their flaws, I am proud of them, and also of the practice and experience of doing things fast and on the cheap.

This year we shot Grave Expectations. Yes, it’s meant to be cheesy. It was fast, it was furious, and it didn’t involve Vin Diesel. My apartment is a mess, Kovac’s car is probably filthy, and hopefully I’ll be able to show you why soon.

–Rob Grant

Reversals

truehypeproductions — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:54:42 +0000

A lot of things have been going in a positive direction lately regarding Yesterday. We’ve been accepted to 7 festivals now, and I hope that as we come to the selection dates for some of the dedicated horror festivals that occur in the upcoming fall that number might increase.

But what has been the absolute best part up to this part is that the company is now being contacted in regards to our film, its status, and its screening availability.

It was less than 6 months ago that I was flipping through industry rep books, festival guides, and scouring the internet asking, (begging & pleading even), for everybody and their cat to just take a look at our little movie. That is a harder task than you think! Especially for a movie that starts with a slow, intentional build. I can see in my head right now a lot of people who did decide to watch it could have just turned it off as soon as we got into any character development. After all, it is just supposed to be a “zombie movie” isn’t it?

Well that’s not entirely what we were going for and I think London Sci-Fi understood that and I attribute all of our positive recognition directly to their accepting our movie and their glowing review they gave us.

It now feels very nice to have festivals emailing US about and asking to see the movie.

–Rob Grant

Insignia

truehypeproductions — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:54:16 +0000

So I ordered a pocket camcorder from ebay. I thought now would be a great time to start documenting everything that will be going on. Especially in London… or any other festival I attend.

I didn’t want to lug around my D90 or any other handheld camcorder so I bought this pocket 720p camera. Its a little thicker than my cell phone but makes things far more convenient.

–Rob Grant

More Crazyness / London

truehypeproductions — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:53:34 +0000

So we work on the Whistler 72 Hour festival this weekend.

We drive to the Okanagan Film Festival the weekend after that.

Then we fly to the London Sci-Fi & Fantasy Festival the weekend after that.

Free weekends are few and far between lately, but I suppose that is a good sign. If I had nothing but free time it would be a sad state of affairs in regards to our movie getting out there but that doesn’t appear to be the case. It is getting out there and thats a really good thing.

We are now ‘officially’ in 7 festivals… Three more and we’ve hit double digits. And that would be more than I anticipated, so we’ve had some level of success on that aspect. But I’m still hungry. I want more. I want this thing done and burried. And I’m more confident now than ever before that we’ll be able to build off this thing and make another one. We just gotta stay true and see Yesterday through to the end.

Oh and Mike Kovac is now coming to London with us. We will have a good rounded group to represent: a director, a producer, and an actor. Now all we need is a drunk to… oh wait that will be me as well.

–Rob Grant

Cooking With Gunpowder

truehypeproductions — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:53:03 +0000

Working out a story with more than one person involved can usually be a pain. I suppose I’m used to my thoughts, stories, and ideas being criticized and critiqued (to a small degree). At least at the creation stage. I mean that’s what it is supposed to be. Your literally birthing an idea. That idea then becomes a part of the story you want to tell. So when you approach someone with the idea you want to listen intensely to their first reaction. It will be at its most honest moment. After all, it is the idea your selling someone on, then if they like the idea they just might come watch the story.

I’ve learned that others may not be used to this technique. Either that, or I’m far to harsh for my own good. We recently had a story hash out that while started positive, disintegrated quickly into one of the most negative meetings possible. I understand why. An idea that someone comes up with is personal. If you have a problem with it, you have a problem with something they came up with or that they like. In this way, you have a problem with them. You can’t help but be sensitive about it. It’s like a parent defending their child.

Maybe I need to learn a better tact when trying to critique or dissectother’s ideas. I’m used to it on mine, in fact, most of the time I won’t even present an idea until I’ve thoroughly critiqued it myself. And even then I question what I’ve come up with is any good. But isn’t that how it should be? Like innocent until proven guilty I think an idea, a story needs to hold up to the barrage of questioning before it is considered worth while. And until it does hold up to that rigorous test, it isn’t a good idea, only a premise and nothing more.

–Rob Grant

Crazyness

truehypeproductions — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:52:20 +0000

With all the craziness going on lately I’ve found it hard to decide what to write about. We have been informed we got into Seattle’s True Independent Film Festival now for Yesterday. That should be a fun trip down to the States for June.

It will be the third festival in a row I have attended. Along with that, and weekend projects, with work, and with trying to get everything sorted out with the Yesterday DVD it feels like my feet aren’t even touching the ground. I am about to go 26 STRAIGHT days without a day off! It’s all just nuts, I can’t wait for things to settle down.

Right now the stress level is high to sort out some stuff, update out company website, and find a hotel to stay in for London.

Oh, and I am supposed to graduate from UBC at the end of next month.

–Rob Grant

London

truehypeproductions — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:51:37 +0000

So its official. Me and Scott Mainwood will be attending the UK premiere of Yesterday in London, UK on the weekend of May 1st. We screen Friday night at 6:45pm, the opening film for the night.

There is supposed to be a Q&A afterwards where I tell the audience how to make a zombie movie on the cheap, but I’m pretty sure I’ll just end up telling people what NOT to do.

Looking forward to my first trip across the pond. It’s gonna be a hoot.

–Rob Grant