Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Artistic endeavors

Chris and I have both taken a turn into artistic ventures lately. He's working on filmmaking and I've been trying my hand at writing. 

A few friends and I have started a writers group, meeting once a month to share and critique each other's work. Our first meeting in January was mostly to figure out how to make this work, so next week will be the first time we actually share feedback. I posted to the group my short play and the prologue and first chapter of my NaNoWriMo novel that I mostly wrote in November. My parents have actually read the full first draft of the novel and my short play has had one reading with critique, although I have expanded it since then.

It's harder than you might think to share something you created. I'm baring a little bit of my soul by letting other people read what I've written.  Every word comes from within me. I let myself get into the characters as I write, which can lead to interesting emotional moments.

The first reading of the play was tough. It was well-received, but that first time, hearing what others had to think, hearing the actors read it..... well, I was a wreck. The play itself makes me cry while I'm writing it. Hearing it put me back in that emotional place. And then the critique came. I was happy that everyone understood what I was trying to do; I was thrilled that they wanted more. So, part of my revising on that is to expand it into a full one-act play. 

No one had read any of my NaNo novel until my parents, who loved the story. Now more people will be reading it and I'm hoping they all enjoy it and understand the story I was telling. I think it's a good story. The key is going to be polishing the writing. That's what I hope the group can help me with.

His first short 3D film wrapped in September and he's still tweaking the editing. His second 3D film is currently in preproduction. He's hoping to do some casting later this month. We're also looking at trying to use Kickstarter.com to help fund it. While the budget it very low, not having to rely entirely on our checking account would be a great help. So if you ever wanted to be part of a movie, watch for your opportunity! 

The second film is going to be a lot of fun to make. Each reading he has had while developing the script has produced laughter and delight. I think a lot of actors are looking forward to auditioning just to be a part of it. 

He's also working on a short documentary. Yes, it will also be filmed in 3D. That is his thing, after all. These are for the final project for his masters degree in video production. You can find out more about what Chris is doing at his 3D/4K blog.

1 comment:

  1. That's the right of it. I'm glad we're lucky enough to be able to be creative and produce things that people want to see/read/hear.

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