Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 in Review…


Well, it is really that time of year!  ALREADY?!?!  Yep, 2012 has come to a close.  I try to always reflect on the year that has passed, so here goes:

I started the year finishing Season 2 of ‘Breakout Kings’ (A&E) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  I was only a production assistant on the show, but I learned so much about production and what it takes to produce a weekly hour long program.  Of course, I attended the Sundance Film Festival.  This was my 13th year working Midnights at the Egyptian Theatre.  However, this year I flew from New Orleans and returned immediately to rejoin everyone on the set of ‘BOK’.  I know… Non-stop!

After returning to St. Louis on Valentine’s Day, I thought my year would be dead since I had no options and no offers for long term gigs until Mid-July.  However, looking back at that period of time, I accomplished quite a lot.  I Produced and Assistant Directed  the short film ‘Solitaire’ with Eric Cloughley; I assisted Pascal Beauboeuf and Beautiful Beef Productions with the short film ‘Running’ as well as steadicam work on a couple music videos and even assistant directed for him on a corporate promo video for a new company; I ran camera for Vault Media for two dance competitions in Minneapolis, Minnesota; I assistant directed for Heroic Age Studios on a Corporate Video for the Illinois Secretary of State in Springfield, Illinois; and was a Production Assistant on a couple TV programs, including ‘Sunday Best’ for BET in St. Louis and ‘The X Factor’ for Fox in Kansas City.  

In this same time period I took a huge step towards the production of my own two short films.  I launched a Kickstarter crowds-funding campaign to help promote and raise funds for my two film shoot.  Unfortunately, the fundraising campaign was unsuccessful and Kickstarter being all or nothing, I was not able to raise any of the funding I needed.  But the knowledge I gained about the process and my own two films was priceless, as was the amount of promotion I received.  So I will not truly be starting at square one when I try again. 

After Mid-July, I began a rather rough run on FOUR, yep that’s right FOUR, feature films back to back, serving as First Assistant Director on all of them.  First, I worked on the feature film ‘She Loves Me Not’ in Alton, Illinois for directors Brian Jun and Jack Sanderson.  36 hours after we wrapped I was in Elizabeth, Illinois jumping on the feature film ‘High on the Hog’ with director Tony Wash.  After that film I returned to St. Louis to mourn the loss of a close friend and AMAZING production manager, Matt Romano.  In my mourning, I passed on a project in Chicago.  But a week later was offer the feature film ‘Johnson’ and by the end of that week I was in the office working.  After Johnson wrapped, I headed back to St. Louis.  Right at Thanksgiving I worked on Missouri Shoot for the feature film ‘Apparitional’ for director Andrew P. Jones which shot in Jefferson City, Missouri at the shut down, and haunted, Missouri State Penitentiary.  

Now as 2012 is coming to a close I have been busy finalizing and submitting all my paperwork for the next step in my career.  I am becoming a member of the Director’s Guild of America.  Yep, I’m joining the union as a First Assistant Director in the Third Area (which is everywhere outside of NYC and LA).  It’s a huge step and I need to see how things fall into place, but I am truly excited and looking forward to the new heights I am reaching.  

For a while there I thought 2012 would be a slow and almost dead year.  However, it has turned out to be FAR from that.  Yes, there are still huge steps I need to take both personally and professionally, but 2013 look like the perfect time for them to be taken.  Another year is in the books, now it’s time to see what this brave New Year has in store.  See you on the other side.

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