My House uploaded to Youtube channel

After a busy week fianlly have managed to edit our Monday shoot from last week.

Behold in all it's 1min 30 glory! (video below)


For last minute stuff turned out pretty good, since then though I have done that workshop I mentioned last blog so heaps of new stuff I want to try out when it comes to shooting the fight scenes for The Bulletlist. Steve's a swords guy so thinking maybe an errant knight battle might be fun? Anyway, hope you enjoyed it for what it was :)

Will post Workshop review once I have been sent the videos :)

How I spent my day off: Cancelled Day 2, shot short MY HOUSE instead!

Had my one day off on the 18th August Monday (7 day rosters are (not) fun) and had planned to shoot day two of the bulletlist and had everything set up, Steve had moved some things around and I had banged out the script, locations and shooting plan earlier in the weeknights to be able to do this, however, the actress we had in mind to play Briana had to cancel at the last minute due to personal reasons which sucked for us but I understand.

Still from My House (Steve Heke)

So to keep the motivation and momentum up since I can never get enough time off for this I txted Steve, "Wanna shoot another test film instead?", we haven't shot a short film since Ambush 2 which was ages ago. "sure, my place is all good if you want". I was happy as, "OK, cool, see you in a couple of hours". I sat in front of my computer....ready to type,....What could be a good reason for a fight scene? lol. Banged out a rough plan and drove over. So funny, spent half an hour tearing my house apart looking for a balaclava I had used when I shot Mondays back at SAE in 2011. Couldn't find it so thank goodness Steve had one. What do you think? It was a hot day, so it was very uncomfortable haha.

Still from My House (Me, Matt Kinsman)

I haven't shot a film my  old way since I left Christchurch. Which are basically all my films I shot with Sam back in the day. This 'method' involves me setting up the camera on a tripod, setting the frame, pushing record, running around in front of it, shooting our scene a couple times for the editing room then running back, stopping record, replaying it, reframing and repeating the cycle! Phew! tough but fun. Below is one unedited take so you can see what I mean. (finished film to be uploaded after sfx added, maybe next week)

May contain spoilers -however chose scene that doesn't give too much away

I have been trying to keep active too. I'm 27 now. It's make or break at my job at the moment so If I want this dream I have to make it happen or it's in with the suit and the sales focus. 

Most actors do their best work in their 30's so I need to make my move now. The First of my moves is getting some credibility (ironic since that was my first film) and getting out in the industry again, so tomorrow I am doing a stunt school fight for camera workshop. Pretty excited/nervous but hoping through it that I a)learn some new things, b)meet some new people who have the same interests and might like to part in shooting bulletlist with me and c)get a notch on my film CV.

Second of my moves is being proactive in sourcing opportunities so I've also put in for an audition for a kids action tv series and an internship as a director in another series. I hope to get good news but the fact I've even applied for this makes me happy, If you don't take action today then you are no better than you were yesterday. Between you and me I really hope I get these roles :)

I also did a camera test for my outfit as 'Mark' in The Bullet List as I had planned on shooting the scene on Monday, (next month now til next free day) so I'll share one of the pics with you below, I reckon it will be nice to play an actual character for once...

Anyway, post a blog tomorrow about how my first day went of this 2 day stunt school course I'm doing. So nervous lol, am I the real deal or a pretender?, we're going to find out... Wish me luck, apart from my football I'm so unfit, hoping to survive haha....

Bullet List shoot - Day 1 review, Agents on the Jetty.

Standing at warehouse stationery, waiting for Thursday's scripts to print off, I was nervous. It had been a while since I've done a shoot, The doubting began, do I know what I'm doing? Will my camera battery last? Will it rain?. The guy's  have faith in me. I look at my phone. 15 minutes late. Great start Matt.

I pick up Steve from his place and we roar down the motorway, it begins to spit and drizzle a little on the way. "Come on god", I mutter, "don't troll me now". We get to the spot and meet Toutai for the first time, He's pretty cool, pretty much like our conversation on the phone the night before, he's passionate about acting and belives in the project. He gets in my car and we drive to the first location of our planned 3 part shoot.

We shoot at the jetty near mission bay. Just me in my grey hoody with my cheap ass camera, and the two boys in their jackets and sunnies. The wind is trying to freeze us and the clouds hang overhead omniously. But this suits the shoot fine. Great color tones :) Fighting the wind I try to hold the camera steady as I shoot the 2 agents discussing the case with the beautiful Auckland skyline in the backdrop. The wind swirls around the performers as they make their way through their lines. Definately going to need ADR. The phone has a windcut mechanism, but I find out later when I get home it doesn't make much difference. I'll definately need to invest in a mic of some sort and a portable powerkit. I should have chosen a cheaper hobby.

 

The second location is nearby, and we roll through that one without any hitches and the last one we wing it. I remembered when I shot Timefish back in the day for SAE I shot it on top of one of the carparking rooftops. This time however I drove to one in which I had worked for as a mascot a couple of years ago and the backdrop below is simply priceless. 

Location, Location, Location. But I admit, we found it quite funny rolling through a carpark looking for a park slowly with a hearty samoan in the back, a tall maori dude sitting in shotgun and a rough looking white guy driving a beat up old car. That could have been a short film in itself :)

Wrapping at the end of the day felt good, finally had some footage in the can after talking about getting this shit started for so long, made a new ally, and practiced doing something I loved for a change. Driving home afterwards I felt happy, lighter as if a weight had been lifted. Feeling Good!

Now on for Day two, finding everyone available on certain days when certain locations are free has been tough but I will be using my talent of words to help make shit happen now I know that this acting thing is definitely what I want. I will be doing a course in a couple of weeks time but more on that once I have done it, follow this blog and you'll be the first to know :)

Prepping for Bullet List. Day 1.

I have confidence! If nothing else, this dream of being an action film maker/actor is all I have. I have had a good week at work getting my targets and some closed sales and had great compliments from customers, you're the man! This boy, he's number one! Can I buy you a coffee? All sorts. Feels good but my heart rumbles at this day job knowing deep inside it's not what I want to be doing with every fibre of my being, the only thing holding me back is me and the decisions I make, so no more indecision's because even that is a choice unto itself. I choose to make it happen, now.

So after much procrastinating/time budget issues and fear of failure I have finally set in motion The Bullet List. All week I have been thinking about this project, when it is done and finished I can use it to make an IMDb profile, cut into a show reel and fund-raise for my first feature, I can see the road and where it will lead me but first I have to START it ;)

 I'm still a little iffy on the Bullet list script as I'm sure I could have done better but I'm done waiting and if I keep tinkering it'll never be finished. It's better to have a prototype than an idea on paper. I don't want to be THAT guy, the OCD and  perfectionist type. I love to create, to get out there and do it, so here goes....

Tomorrow will be Day one of the shoot. From looking at my schedule I have 18-25 days (extra days depend on the fight scenes if they stretch out or not.)

 I have casted Toutai in the role of Dean, SIS Super chief and good friend Steve Heke as my opposite, Special agent Johnson. The day will be made of three set ups, at three different locations that feature conversations between the two. I thought it would be easier on all of us if we tackled the dialog/drama stuff before we head to the action scenes as I want the action scenes to be special and I want to sort out some cheap tables and stuff to break when we shoot them.

It will be shot out of sequence obviously to take advantage of the cast's availability and at the moment this will be all of 'Dean's' Scenes. I will post some screen shots when I have them next post.

I'm so excited/nervous. I'm pretty worried as I'm only using my JVC camera. (below) and I only have to one battery at the moment (trying to track down some extra's) so hoping it holds out for me, it almost ran out when I was shooting No Way out some months back and had to rush the last scenes, no rushing this time, It's going to be done right!

 Also this week I bought the matrix trilogy as my wife hadn't seen it yet, since I quote jokes from it all the time. Watching it again I realized how much it had inspired me first time round, the philosophy, the action, the fleshed out characters and the excitement at new possibilities. This is definitely how I wanted my films to be. Awesome!

Don't lie, we've all tried it ;)

Shooting Day One starts tomorrow. Here we go!

Updates and Parnell Rise finished Video

Day off today, decided to enter Action on film festival via a script submission considering I haven't filmed anything else lately, so one act down, two acts to go! Definitely feels like the best stuff I've ever written. Short Film is called 'Away'. It's about a hit-man about to quit and leave town when his old employers decide quitting's not an option. Basically an excuse to stretch some writing muscles and paint some great action scenes I couldn't possibly film at this stage in my career. But one day, right? Will keep you all up to date with how 'Away' turns out.

 

 scene from Kung Fu Elliot doco

Feedback after watching Kung Fu Elliot a couple days ago? Well done documentary, I was literally clapping, some moments of unintentional humor in there with some laugh out loud moments as the wife and I could relate to some of the acting and location stuff. It was a great story, but definitely sickening in the end. This guy has the desire but goes about it the wrong way, love his passion to film stuff and hope he makes something of himself one day but he definitely has relationship issues. Great film to learn from anyway which was the intention, the lessons I gleaned from it is always stay true to yourself and your fans, family comes first, never forget your friends who get you there, and do things for the right reasons. Hope he did make it to China and wasn't just talking shit. Googled that but nothing came up so who knows?

Matial arts :) Lately as you can gather from my last blog's, have been looking at training again properly with other people, not just skipping/working out in my garage. Investigated Hardcore JKD as on the website says can be an instructor in 5 years, which is definitely something I'd be interested in, saw a facebook page in NZ, not sure if Legit, but will follow up on main website as a definite possibility, when I do my fights on screen, I don't want anyone to question my authenticity.At the moment what I do is my expression of myself based on my basic knowledge of karate I learned at GKR and JKD I've learned from DVD's, books and with sifu when I didn't work fulltime. Nice, but my tools are basic, I want to be able to do more than just punch and kick, wrestling and locks seem interesting, and I would like to broaden my artillery.

Been watching heaps of battle raps lately thanks to total slaughter for reigniting my love of hiphop battles :), Dizaster and Daylyt my fav two at the moment, Pat stay is funny as too. Been writing some songs again which is nice, maybe finally finish that one album this year and cross that off of my bucket list ;)

Check out the screenshot below!

 Steve vs Me again :)

Thats right, It's been a year since I've actually completed this, but finally decided to get around to adding the final touches to Parnell Rise!- the web series I abandoned last year due to budget/casting issues. The scenes that we had shot I've edited together to make a somewhat coherent story. But please bear in mind it was shot a year ago (before Ambush 2 and No way out and some other shorts we've completed since then) and I wanted to finish it so I could show the guys/girls that their efforts weren't wasted and they have been immortalized in film.

Check it out below (for those who want to watch just for the fight scene it's at 6minutes 30 )

Thanks again for your support :)

Getting scheduling done for Bulletlist shoot and Kung Fu Elliot

The Bullet List project is finally underway. All day at work I'm trying figure out what I can do on this project when I get home. Been reading 'Three feet from Gold' by the Napoleon Hill foundation and Greg S reid, its full of inspirational stuff and living your passion, so it's great I'm back to my old habits of staying inspired via reading/watching others who have achieved their dreams and it feels nice to get some motivation back, I was suffering from self doubt there for a little minute.

"The knowing. There is a big difference between believing something and knowing."

I know I can be an action star. So what am I waiting for? I've got to get out there and start training again, get mingling and network with other creatives, take any extra jobs I can, sign up for a real acting agency and do what it is I'm really here to do. Customer service pays my bills but my soul doesn't feed on cash. With that said I'll share the little progress I've made since my last post here on the project.

I've copied and pasted the six episode scripts together into one celtx file and it turns out this project will be an hour long!! (that's if the one page equals one minute of screen time ratio plays out, it won't, the action scenes will be cut much longer). Needless to say, for a simple project this still turned out to be something ambitious. This will be the longest project I've ever completed myself but I'll finally have something to call my own!. This is exactly what I need to do.

Below is a screenshot of what my breakdown looks like for when I was figuring what scenes to shoot when so I can try make this achievable. I worked it out to be sixteen different locations.

And below is the first page of my script. Proof :)

Now that I have my jacket for the character of Mark Maxwell, I just need to find some nice kicks and design a simple Tshirt (so I can sell it via my merch site for any enthusiasts but also to stay unique) for him to wear.

Next for the project is the intended camera shots (Shooting script) Exact locations -Might get a camera on my next day off and go on a photo spree :) And then figure out some equipment. Sound is my biggest issue, and half the picture so a biggie!

This weekend I just realxed otherwise, caught up opn The Transporter TV series, definately not statham but an enteratining show nonetheless with some good action scenes, one liners, hot chicks, explosions and car stunts. Bought the wife a bike today and put it together, nothing more empowering than building something, even if I am following instructions ;) Tomorrow We are goign to watch a documentary I saw a trailer for since it's playign at NZ film festival this year. It's a docu on someone similar to myself. He's a big fan of chuck norris and 70's action films (like me lol) and canada has no action stars so he decided he would become one and has dedicated his life to following his dream, it looks funny and sad at the same time but hope for his sake he found happiness. I wanted to watch this in case there are any mistakes I can learn from and to stay realistic with myself. I know the chances of making it are small, but there's still that chance.

Anyway, the trailer is below for those who might be able to find it on netflix or something like that, til next time amigos!

Progress report: Football World cup, and Ideas for Bulletlist look and choreography

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." -Vince Lombardi

Since moving to our new place in April we have made it our home, with purchasing our new washing machine/fridge etc, some basic furniture and I have also finally got a gym set up in the garage! I'll share pictures of my workout space next post. All in all it's been a pretty busy move out/in process, had no idea going in how much it would cost and the time it would involve packing and unpacking, organizing and cleaning and re cleaning and whoa! Just happy it's done. Can finally live!

Trying to settle into writing the Fight me script, I have to do something, I feel my dream slipping from my fingertips. I'm 27, I haven't trained seriously in a year and in trying to do this I was getting feedback from potential actors who weren't feeling it. So shit. Maybe I'm being too ambitious. So I went to work on 'The Bullet list' instead. (posted below in this blog in May).

But then the world cup happened. Those who know me know I love football, so I've sort of had to take the month off working on my webseries to bet and watch some classic football matches, Brazil, Netherlands, Germany and Belgium still in it to win so going good, its been a great entertaining tournament so far :)

 

But it's back to work, real work, not that 8-6 thing I do at the bank, but the make it happen from the ground up thing I decided do 4-5 years ago. I have all 6 scripts finsihed, and I'm in the middle of finalising them now before I can schedule them and start casting/crewing up and finding the locations to shoot them in. I have heaps of leave so might take a couple weeks off to do this? Otherwise juggle it on my days off? Depends on the cast I end up with.

My friend Chris works with me now, wish is awesome, you may recall seeing him appear in JKD1 and JKD2 , anyway, he has been over to Aus recently with Sifu for some JKD training and he's taught me some lockflow techniques, so good news for watchers of our stuff, it won't just be all striking this time round, also I hope to make the show have some fights in each episode and with us playing actual characters I've created for this show they should be more enteratining with things on the line. High stakes :)

Was shopping with the wife today and finally saw the jacket I was looking for, My character Mark Maxwell needs something to make his character, I saw a gold jacket and a slim black jacket, I think gold will be great but is it too out there? I'm thinking it compliments the charcter since he is a 'talk out loud' sort of guy but we'll see, will do a promo shot next post for you to judge.

Anyway, will try finalise another script, have work tomorrow morning (yay *sarcasm*) so better be fresh for that, after all, it's what funds our lifestyles and allows me to chase my dream no matter how wispy it seems these days, we have to make our own motivation!!! :)