Hello Faithful Friends

Hey, remember when Dipstick and I used to post stuff here? For those of you who haven't given up on us, THANK YOU!

Have you ever felt caught up in a vortex, where things are spinning so fast around you that you actually see colors and bright shiny things in the clouds (no hallucinogenics involved)? That is how I've been feeling and it's been hard to hold onto the reigns. Beyond basking in glee and drinking packets of EmergenC, that also means any free time I've had has been dedicated to sleep, so sincere apologies for being MIA.

Anyhoodle, for now, I'll fill you in on all things Lipstick since I last wrote.

A little over a week ago, we shot our first short film Til Death To Us Toby. For Patty (who was an awesome Assistant Director) and I, it was a 22 hour day. We got up at 3:45am, crew call was at 5:45 and we were rolling by 6:30. We shot until 11:11pm non-stop, save 15 minutes for lunch and 15 minutes for dinner. I thought it was killer that I said "that's a wrap" at 11:11 (I'm superstitious that way). We partied with the cast + crew until nearly 1am. The cast and crew were beyond AMAZING! Seriously, what a stellar team we had, who never complained or ran out of energy. Can't wait for the big wrap party!

If you're out of the loop, you can follow the thread the Hot Pink Shorts HERE.

It's been an amazing journey with OUTtv and this Hot Pink Shorts program. I'm gushing with gratitude and spinning at the sight of exciting things on the horizon, finally truly within grasp. I told the folks at OUTtv that I felt like a caterpillar who'd transformed into butterfly throughout this process. Week One, I was a furry little larvae and slowly, as we ate all the mentors had to offer, and set out on our own journey into the sticks and leaves, my wings actually began to take shape and I could eventually lift off the ground. And now, well, there's no stopping me as I fly around this wonderful world of opportunity.

More to come soon, for sure, as there are some really cool things simmering on the TV front.


**Small caveat for you Portland peeps: in the upcoming month, we'll be filming a little music video for the original song Christine Havrilla and I are co-writing for Toby. It's called Hightail and it's addictive. Think Jack Black meets Melissa Etheridge. For the video, which will also be part of the credits for the film, we'll need people to come out and help us, so stay tuned. We'll need as many people as we can get for the shoot, which is slated to happen at Laurelhurst Park.

Enjoy the little slideshow below of our shoot, both of the action and behind the scenes. Cate Cameron captured these amazing moments. Be sure to check her out online. She rocks!




*photos by Cate Cameron

Do You Want to Star in "Til Death Do Us Toby"?

Call for auditions!

If you live in Vancouver and fit any of the below criteria, send us your resume and headshot. You can read a full listing for the call for auditions here. Remember, we have a super small budget...

PROJECT INFO

Title: 'Til Death Do Us Toby

Duration: Short film

Storyline: A film about freedom, the need to break out of the chains that keep us in our usual place and a mother’s propensity to put unrealistic demands/expectations on a child. It’s also a story about survival. The protagonist, Toby, is the family’s pug, who misunderstands a conversation between his owners—Mimi, the mom, and her daughter, Sam. The neurotic Toby thinks that they’re trying to kill him so he tries to escape. Sam, Mimi’s teenage daughter, has a friend that Mimi doesn’t like: Megan. Mimi thinks Megan is a bad influence on Sam because Megan is edgy/alternative/gayish. Financially, times are tough for the newly-divorced Mimi, who is trying to keep up with the lifestyle she and Sam have grown accustomed. To supplement her income, Mimi leads a double life as a business woman/high-priced dominatrix. (Role info below.)

Characters:

Name	Mimi Brennan
Gender	Female
Age Range	42
Description	Mimi is a controlling mother who is confident, sexy, image conscious. Her daughter, Sam, bares the brunt of Mimi’s controlling ways. Mimi wants to keep Sam on the straight and narrow. Mimi, who was recently divorced, has had a hard time making financial ends meet, so she leads a double life to supplement her income by being a high-priced dominatrix. Actor must be willing and comfortable to playfully wear dominatrix outfit for funny, brief flashback scene. (Age range: 35-45) Height: 5’5 – 6’0

Name	Samantha Brennan
Gender	Female
Age Range	15
Description	Sam is a precocious, impressionable teen who is feminine, but also naturally a tomboy. Sam may or may not be gay, but she can’t stand her mom’s controlling ways, loves to break the rules and is completely smitten with her best friend, Megan. (Age range: young-looking 17 - 19) Height: 5’4 – 5’7

Name	Megan Ross
Gender	Female
Age Range	15
Description	Megan is a cool, alternative, edgy dyke, who is pretty hardcore for a teenager. Megan is confident, comfortable in her own skin and enjoys that Sam, her questioning best friend, has a crush on her. (Age range: young-looking 17 - 19) Height: 5’4 – 5’7

Auditions are this Saturday! Check out Vancouver Actors Guide for details on casting.

Also, we're looking for a local queer photographer and an art director/wardrobe specialist, to email me at development@chateauentertainment.com for info on that.

Hot Pink Shorts - Day 3 + 4 (Pre-Production + Location Mentor)

Things are really cranking over here! So fast that I've had to get my oil out twice to keep the parts moving. (Interpret that how you'd like.)

On Saturday, we had our first pre-production meeting with our team at OUTtv's offices. It was yours truly, Patty (who's wearing the Assistant Director hat, among other things) and Ryan, our Director of Photography. We talked about some important preliminary stuff: where we were at with the script, casting thoughts, logistics around filming, crew update, equipment needed, etc. At that point on Saturday, we'd yet to lock the script, so that was priority 1.

P and I went to lunch afterward--a little Caribbean food at The Reef on Main--and worked on the script and than did another couple hours of brainstorming later. We finally locked the script on Sunday! There will be little tweaks along the way, but we're truly off and running now.

On Sunday, we met with our Locations Mentor, Mike Cates. It was a great meeting where we discussed:
- scouting locations
- permits needed
- effective scouting strategies
- the need to be flexible and resourceful and not to get sold on one location
- how to protect the place you're shooting at (laying down cardboard or rubberback carpets, tennis balls on the bases of lights, etc)
- the importance of prioritizing when you first start scouting (what is the hardest location to nail down, what is the most important location with the most scenes)
- he told us about the BC Film Commission and said they are an incredible resource for location scouting and have thousands and thousands of digitized photos of locations submitted by filmmakers through the years of locations that have been used or scouted

He was a great guy and very resourceful! Thanks Mike.


We've also been on the hunt for the perfect pug to play Toby and have been in touch with some animal talent agencies. We decided to throw up a post on Craigslist and whatya know?

[Drum roll................. ]

That is where we found our star! We met "Juno" on Tuesday and immediately fell in love. He's "big boned" and we think that adds to the humor that we're going for in the film. Also, Juno is one of our favorite movies and we thought that was a sign. This is coupled with the fact we loved his owner, Peter, and his son Adam. We thought we'd give you a sneak peek at "Toby" here. Juno is a retired show dog and a former Canadian champion. If he could talk, Juno would tell you why he's a champ: his perfect placed ears and perfectly round melon. He did lose a few points because his hind chops aren't as curved as they should be.

We had another production meeting on Tuesday night and met our Camera guy (although he is and will be way more than that). His name is Mic and he's from Australia. He's a super smart guy and is putting our script into a digital 3D storyboard program which makes me so excited I yelp and snort--like Toby--little when I talk about it. Not sure if that is something I can upload here, but hopefully I can share some of that, too. The program he's using is called Frame Forge.

All right, more soon. We've got to check some things off our "To Do" list.

Hot Pink Shorts - Day 2 (Directing + Mentoring)

Our second day in our Hot Pink Shorts learning journey--it's more of a kick ass filmmaker's boot camp--was very exciting and jam-packed. The other winner, the amazing Kevin Kostal (picture here with Aerlyn and I), was also there with me this time. We were separated last week, but it was more fun this way, as we could talk about our projects, help each other, in-between the various documentary set ups.

I met with director extraordinaire, Aerlyn Weissman. She was an unbelievable well of information and I wanted to keep on dipping my bucket, but we only had an hour. Here are some of the major points I learned from Aerlyn:
-- I need to find a central metaphor in my film that inspires
-- I need to be deliberate about framing
-- I shouldn't focus on trying to get artistic shots, as most of the time, those end up on the cutting room floor and take a ton of time to capture
-- There are many "tools" for a director, one being the color palette
-- Different shots: 1 or 2 frame, master shot
-- I need to get close to my characters, need to find their beating hearts
-- Script breakdown: create a storyboard which is the essential communication tool between my DP and I
-- I need to inspire my actors, give them a backstory for each character and let them know it's okay to fail
-- The importance of wardrobe and set dressing

There was SO much more I learned, but I didn't want to go overboard here. Like all the mentors, Aerlyn has graciously left her door open for me to ask addition questions as the process moves along.

Next up: powerhouse producer Morris Chapdelaine. Coincidentally, I met Morris two weeks prior by chance. We have a mutual friend, Ken Coolen, and both sat at his table for the Out in School breakfast. I loved him immediately. Beyond producing, Morris also co-hosted a compelling show for OUTtv during the Olympics called "Pride at the Podium." It was a successful, quirky LGBT look at the Olympics. You can watch one of his latest episodes HERE.

Morris, too, was full of extremely important information. I joked he was like a lemon I wanted to keep squeezing. He answered so many of my questions that you can't find in books and really broke down the "illusive" producer role. Here are some nuggets I learned from Morris:
-- A successful movie is 90% business, %10 show.
-- "The Line" in filmmaking (who is below the line, who is above the line)
-- Dealing with the budget (We have $2500 to spend)
-- I need to create a "production binder" (done, see "Toby Book" below)
-- If I know what's good for me, I ought not skimp on camera and sound because at the end of the day, that is the movie
-- What to expect when casting
-- Insurance, releases and all that good stuff
-- How to fund-raise for a feature film

Morris rocked! And we're going to have a follow up meeting soon with my better half, Patty, who will be the Assistant Director and Script Supervisor for Til Death Do Us Toby.

Where I'm at with the script: I completely rewrote it and took the story in a whole new direction. The feedback I got from my mentors: they liked the direction of the first script better, so now I'm just reworking draft1 and am feeling good about how it's coming together. I need to lock it by Thursday, so wish me luck!

As the script takes shape, I've been drawing inspiration from a place my scripting mentor, SB Edwards, sent me online. It's called "Shorts Bay" and it's a platform where some of the best short films can be seen. My two favorites: Gridlock and The Parlor. Amazing work!

Out in Schools

Last week, I went to a breakfast fundraiser for a great initiative called "Out In Schools." I was so inspired and blown away by all that's being done for our queer youth.

Everyone knows that homophobia and bullying are serious issues facing today's chitlins, particularly queer youth. Out In Schools brings queer films to local high schools to facilitate discussion on bullying, homophobia and stereotypes. They give students a safe place to explore these issues. It's supported by local GSAs, educators and the Vancouver School Board. Very cool stuff! I want to give a shout out to the awesome Dave Shortt with Creative B'stro for putting together this amazing video about it.




It's umbrella organization is Out on Screen, which not only does important work for youth, but also hosts the Vancouver Queer Film Festival and the Queer History Project.

Out on Screen's mission: promote the production and exhibition of queer media art creating opportunity for dialogue and education among diverse communities that cross class, age, ability, ethnicity, spirituality, gender and sexuality.

If you're a student who wants to submit, get more information here. Go for it!

They've been holding competitions for students to submit their own anti-homophobia PSAs. Check this recent winner out...