CASTING CALL for Back to Normal Trailer

I am officially "casting" for the "Back to Normal" trailer. There are no speaking parts other than Police Chief James McCloud, just visuals. I am looking for people who look similar to the following photo (click to make it larger):
Basically I still need:
1. Redhead (long hair) female...age 25-40 years old.
2. Well-built bald male, tattoos would be a plus. age 25-40 years old.
3. African American female, college age-ish.
4. Asian-American female 25-40 years old.
The filming will take place in mid January. It will take approximately 3 hours. One day only, in Cape Girardeau.

TRAILER Pre-Production

The snowball known as the "Back to Normal" trailer is quickly accelerating downhill (but that is downhill in the good sense--meaning "gathering natural momentum.") I have planned out, at least tentatively, most of the shots in a rough order, along with some voice-over bits and pieces of text, here and there.

I have begun basic storyboarding as well, I just wish I had more time to devote to the artwork, but at this point--function is triumphing over form. As long as I understand and can remember what I mean, the quality of the artistic elements can be diminished.

TRAILER AUDIO--Because the Sound is 95% of the Picture

I have taught Digital Media for nearly 14 years now, having started the program at the Career & Technology Center just at the turn of the 21st century. Of all the myriad topics that I cover in my two year program, one holds a special place in my heart: AUDIO.

As I think back to my days of University training, I remember well the first day of AUDIO in my video production class. The instructor, Dr. James Dufek, had written on the board something to the effect of "Audio is 90% of the picture." We walked in, sat down, and he just stared at that, and then back at us. Almost awkward silence...but I can tell you that his closed lips conveyed more information in that moment, than any other period of typical lecture.

We got the point.

AUDIO is super, hugely, very, necessarily, immensely, indescribably, totally, and well...really important.

If the images are the glove, then the audio is the hand INSIDE the glove, giving it life, depth, reality and emotional impact. I have carried the import of that day ever since. Now, as a classroom teacher myself, with a fresh batch of eager, impressionable students arriving each Fall--I carry on that proud tradition. (Actually I IMPROVED upon it...no offense to my mentor-professor, but now I teach that it is 95% of the picture)

Now that I am working on the trailer to help promote the "Back to Normal" TV show concept, I have spent the last 3 days finding just the right audio to license for this project. I have acquired 3 different pieces (mainly from www.audiojungle.net) and have been mixing them in Adobe Audition. I want this trailer AUDIO driven, and I am planning the shots AFTER I have nailed down the sound...the sound will drive the shots, their pacing, and their transitions.

Here is the current iteration of the audio (without the voice over pieces and other sound effects) to whet your appetite for the full trailer:

CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO(it may take awhile to load)

The Gaffer Says.....YES

STOP THE PRESSES---this just in:
Professional Gaffer Timothy Hawn has just agreed to be the gaffer for the "Back to Normal" trailer.

I am thrilled by the addition of such a proficient and experienced lighting tech to our growing crew. Tim has worked on major films such as Django Unchained, Gone Girl, GI Joe II, and a host of others.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1457297/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

I met Mr. Hawn while Gone Girl was in production in Cape Girardeau, and I immediately knew that the future would be bringing us together once again.

Trailer: The Visual Marketing Piece Takes Shape

A trailer. A teaser. A sizzle-reel. 

This was the recommendation yesterday from my good friend and true filmmaker, Jeremy J. Ford (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2301263/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1). Jeremy, originally a native of Cape Girardeau, moved to Hollywood and found employment on just about every reality TV show, and at one time even worked for MTV.

But, on Friday, December 20, 2013, Jeremy was giving me some advice on how to promote "Back to Normal." He had read the pilot, he knew the overall concept well, but he said that good ideas are sometimes lost because people have a hard time visualizing a concept, especially busy people.

Jeremy told me to make a trailer, a teaser, a short but powerful video marketing piece that would visually demonstrate the energy, the conflict, the mood, and the complexity of the show concept.


Within hours, my head was already spinning. Ideas and shots and music and styles were racing through my media-saturated-mind, and I did what every person does when they are caught up in the creative moment: I grabbed the nearest thing to write on and began gushing out shots and ideas...on a paper towel. Here it is:

Let's just hope that these ideas get ABSORBED by the right network, production house, or agency. 

Getting a Gaffer

A trailer is an opportunity to put your best shots forward, aligned with carefully crafted audio, to create an emotional response that can say nothing else but....."YES!"

With that in mind, I need the lighting to be top-notch. This trailer will (hopefully) be seen by powerful people in Hollywood and New York, these type of people see high-end lighting everyday. If the lighting for my shots looks amateurish, or indie-only-quality, then I may have missed a crucial opportunity to help sell the show.

Tim and Melissa Hawn

I sent a PM to lighting guru Tim Hawn today, asking him to give me a quote for two solid days of shooting for the trailer. Tim has an impressive list of movies that he has done lighting for, including Django Unchained, Secretariat, GI Joe II, and Gone Girl (here is his IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1457297/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1)

I know that he will be willing to help, but I'm not sure if I can afford him. I don't want to make this enterprise a charity, but, I'm sure my kids won't mind eating mac-n-cheese for awhile (in order to pay for a good gaffer)

Here is an funny and impromptu interview that I shot with Tim Hawn on-location with Gone Girl when they were in Cape Girardeau: