I Got the Blues

          I was so looking forward to my audition for "How to Love a Geek." But then, I got an email form the casting director, this morning, that contain my audition material. It was a scene from the actually script. I was so disappointed. Just that little page an a half of dialogue, not only contained content that I was uncomfortable with, but it was poorly written. After torturing myself about should I or shouldn't I, I sent them this email declining the audition....  

Hi, This is Melanie Stahl and I'm scheduled to come in on the 3rd at 2:15. After reviewing the side for Pamela I would like to cancel my audition. I am uncomfortable with the material which would make for a really bad performance.  

My apologies  for the inconvenience , but it is better to bow out now than on the first day of shooting. If you are still willing to consider me I would very much like to participate as an extra.

Thanks,
Melanie

     In response I received ...  

Hello, 

We are very sorry that you have come into scheduling conflicts. Unfortunately, we cannot personally rearrange the schedule. We hope that you can make arrangements and to see you there. If anything opens up we will be sure to let you know.

     That ticked me off even more. There were so many things I wanted to send back to them in response. Such as... DID YOU EVEN READ MY EMAIL?!?! But I did not. Instead I asked my Advanced Production teacher what I should say. Then sent the following...

 Thank you, but I have other obligations at this time. 

     I'm not even 100% why I was so ticked off. But I was and I still am. I guess it is because I don't get many opportunities like this. Opportunities to work on a project that will be seen by more than just my friends and family. But when I saw how poorly written that script was and then how unprofessional they were with their email etiquette... It was really disappointing. I'm sure I could have handled it better, but at this point I really don't want anything to do with the movie or the company. 


    On the bright side, tomorrow we will finish editing Project Z and have it ready to turn in and the only thing that is stopping me from studying for finals is the Chemistry test I have on Friday. After that is all taken care of. I will have one week till the end of this semester. And even though I had to turn down this audition I know that my future Is still pretty bright. 


-M- 


      

         

  

The Start of Something New

      Finals are on the way... and with them comes this restless sensation of wanting more for my life and wanting it all right now. So what have I done. Gone crazy of course. I've loaded myself up with projects for the summer and I just added one more. But perhaps I should go through the list. It has grown since I last posted.


                                                What I will be doing the summer...


                                                     1. Interning at FOX 29 (apart of my degree program.)


                                                     2. Working on the independent film "Escape from Planet X" 
                                                     as the Production Manger/Script Supervisor. (Non paid and 
                                                     not sure if it will ever get any substantial distribution, 
                                                     but it is a can't pass up experience.)


                                                     3. Auditioning this Thursday for a more substantial 
                                                     independent film "How to Love a Geek". (Hoping to get
                                                     cast as a Day Player (step up from extra). pay may be involved.) 


      And the latest log to be added to the fire... I want to break into the Amazon Kindle publishing biz. Or at least get my feet wet by writing and publishing a 50 page short story and seeing what happens from there.


    I know that it's not as easy as everyone makes it out to be, but... I learned along time ago not to let what other people say stop me from at least attempting something. How do you know if you are not meant to do something unless you try? Unless you bury your self in research, find out how everything works, make a few mistakes, and put yourself out there? So, I'm jumping in and cutting away my safety net. I had to do the same thing when deciding to tell my mother at age 10 that I wanted to take acting lessons. I took another plunge at age 20 when I changed my major from Marketing to Theatre, and again when I wrote my first play at age 21 and turned it in to the program coordinator... These plunges and others, were the greatest and scariest things I ever did. And from them my life as turned out far better than it would have if I kept believing that I was being silly and irrational to try those things.   


     Since I was 10 I have worked on over 20 theatrical productions and 5 films ranging from student productions to Independent B list films. That first play I wrote was put on by the university as a staged reading as part of their regular season. That one play brought about the development and performance of 4 other plays, 2 of which were awarded 2nd place in a local competition and preformed at a community theatre as part of the competition. This then led to me having the courage to write this blog and led to me writing the scripts to 2 student films that were shot and edited this semester. Scripts of which have earned the praise and respect of my teacher and fellow students. 


    Do you see the domino effect one little plunge can cause? That one little plunge I took to write and turn in that script "Up to No Good", is still causing an avalanche of good things to occur and me finding my place in this world. It is leading me to jump into e-books and see what happens. 

Amanda Hocking did it. Why can't I? 

-M-

It's Summer Time !!!

   As I add the four exclamation points to this headline I know that somewhere Dr. S is cringing. One of her rules in layout class, besides their must be a verb in your headline, Is no exclamation points. Oh well, I suppose I'm allowed to break the rules on my own blog. Plus those rules really pertain to newspaper headlines anyway. But, still, I'm sure she cringed. 
   
   In more important news.... I have an internship! 


    That is why I haven't been blogging. I was hired as an Intern at FOX 29. A local FOX station. They are in the process of creating a news program that will begin airing this summer. I'm so excited, because there has been talk about putting me on camera for one of the segments. I really hope it happens. 


   And in other Important news... I get to work on a full length independent film!


   The president of the Lake Area Film Group, I go to a lot of their meetings, is making a movie this summer and he asked me the other day to be his production manager/ script supervisor. And of course I said yes. I start working on the project as soon as I'm done with school for the semester. 


   In other words, This summer is going to rock. And I'm so glad it is. This is my last summer before I graduate and I wanted it to be spectacular. If anything else amazing occurs I don't think I'll be able to sleep until summer gets here. I'm just so grateful and thankful and all of this has really taken away a lot of the fear I've been having lately. You know. The fear of "What am I going to do when I graduate?". I still don't know what I'll be doing, but I know that anything can happen, I do have great resources and connections, and I am a likable and capable individual. I may not have a job when I graduate, but I'm not going to let that thought scare me anymore. If that is the case then I will accept the challenge, pluck my courage, and do whatever it takes for me to earn a living and take care of my mother. I'm not going to have any more sleepless nights over this. Whatever ends up happening is not  100% in my control anyways. All I can do is my best and see what happens. 


  And now I have to get back to homework. I have to finish putting together my website by Friday so I can start studying for finals. Bye. 


-M- 

Color Me Contrary

                               I just finished creating another blog.... Color Me Contrary. This one is for school. All semester I've been learning how to use Photoshop and Dreamweaver to create a resume website and I needed to have a blog section. So I created a new blog and pulled entries from this one that talked about what I was doing in school. Then I started feeling guilty because I have not been blogging 3 times a week like I said I was going to, and I didn't have time to post a Bible Study entry, that I also said I was going to do. 


                           And yes I'm very aware that this post will have lots of grammatical  errors in it. I'm really sleepy and typing really quickly. 


                           Anyways goodnight, and I will be trying really hard this weekend to get back to blogging. I want to talk you more about Amanda Hocking and a few of my more recent inspirations. Like the movie Hugo.

That's all for now,


-M-

A little Randomness

                           So my first narrative short film is done and being graded. About to start on the second one as part of a group project. The one I did was about a princess from the Land of Wonder who used the secret of the rabbit holes to visit the real world. This one is going to be about zombies. The topic was chosen after I volunteered  to be the writer. I am so not a horror movie, zombie kinda girl. 

                           I just started on the rough draft and we'll see what the group thinks about it tomorrow. I think it's hilarious, which is what they were wanting. Its  a comedy about a reporter who goes around interviewing the witnesses of zombie attacks (Not my idea.). I wasn't thrilled about it at first, but I'm starting to warm up to it. Especially after writing some of the dialogue and getting a better Idea about what the film could look like. 

                          Other than that, I'm sorry to report, nothing interesting is going on. My nephew turned 5 last week, my dad's B-day is tomorrow, and I'm going on a school trip to Lafayette, LA at the end of the week.( It's for an SPJ conference.The last day of the conference will be the first day of my spring break.) 

                          

                          I guess there is nothing to report because I've been so busy with homework and spending all my free time writing my book. (I'm on page 70) I've also been doing a much better job with setting aside time to read my Bible. I've been waking up around 4a.m reading a few passages and then, following the SOAP method, I write it down in a journal. (S: Scripture, O: Observation, A: Application, P: Prayer.) I learned the SOAP method from an online Bible Study I was apart of, but for one reason or another I wasn't able to keep up with the readings and I stopped. I'm not happy about not finishing what I started, but I did get a lot  out of it. I got a better understanding of how to study the Bible. It's more than just reading it and hoping that your life changes. There is more to it. Now when I read the Bible I feel like I'm doing research for a documentary or something. I'm examining everything that is said via the notes in my mom's Study Bible (Study Bible's are really awesome and full of all kinds of interesting tid bits that really help you to see the deeper meaning of a scripture.) and ... I don't know how to describe it. It's one of those things that you just have to experience for yourself. 

                       In fact, I have an Idea. The next time I do one of my readings (in about 5 hours.) I'll post it here. I'll tell you what my findings where from the study notes and then I'll tell you my thought process. Maybe it will inspire you to revamp your own Bible Study routine... or at least give it a shot.

                     Other things on my mind....

                    I haven't heard anything from my interview with the production company.... Which means I have to start actually looking for an internship. I need to have one line up in the next 2 months or I'll have to  do it in the Fall. I would really like to avoid that at all cost. 

                     And now I'm so sleepy I can't think straight anymore.

Good night

-M-

Update

Dear World,                                     


                           So what have I been up to since I last blogged?...


                                                                                                 ... A million and one things.


                   I've made great progress on the book I've been working on (I so can't wait till it is published and I can talk about it.), I've been cleaning house, working out on the Wii Fit program I just purchased, and doing homework. Lots of homework. Since I'm a Mass Comm. major, my homework, is not your typical homework. For instance, most of my attention has been focused on "Cindy-Really". A three minute short that I wrote, filmed, and I am now in the process of editing. It is due on Wednesday and I am ecstatic about it. Besides performing a three page monologue in front of 2000+ people at the same time and hearing the roar of the crowd when I was done, this is the coolest thing I have ever done as a homework assignment. in fact, coolest, is such a lame word to describe how thrilled, shocked, and unbelievable happy I am to finally do something like this. To finally pick up a camera and a directors hat, and see if I was any good at this. To finally experience the full, bare root, backyard beginnings, heart of cinema magic. I can't describe how frustratingly perfect the past two weeks have been, once I finally was able to get my actors together in the same place at the same time that is (and have the weather cooperate. It wouldn't stop raining and the entire short takes place outside in a park.). 


                               This experience has been wonderful for me and I can't wait to see where I'm at when this semester ends. At the same time I feel a pinch of sadness. I can't help thinking where i would be if I was at a real film school. A place with brilliant instructors who truly knew how to present this information. Where would I be? Where would my level of skill be if I would have been able to go to a better university like NYU, Brown, LSU, or any school with a true reputation in academic competitiveness. I'm happy to have the knowledge that I have currently obtained, but I will always have a twinge of regret from not knowing how much more I would have blossomed somewhere else. I don't feel that I'm getting a top notch education, but I know it could be worse. 


                                So, I shall move on to happier things. Last Monday I went in for an interview with the owner of a local independent production company. The interview was for an internship opportunity that could lead to a job when I graduate. Mr. Kirby seemed very interested in me, but then again I was the first person he had interviewed from the list. So, I didn't take his promise to call me to work for him this summer too seriously.  I knew that other Mass Comm. students where on that list and I have a pretty good idea who they are. He still hadn't met Jo or Even and I know either of them would be a far better match for the job. As much as I would like this internship and for everything to work out, I know that I'm not going to want to stick around here for the rest of my life filming small town commercials and church services. I want to work on movies and T.V. shows like the Gilmore Girls. I would like the internship, but nothing beyond that from this interview. In 5 years I would like to be out of here and working for Universal Studios, MGM, Warner bros. or Disney. Someone big. 


                             In other words, I am waiting for him to call... and I'm' not waiting. As soon as I finish editing my movie I'm going to talk to Dr. C and seriously start looking for a good internship program. It would be awesome if I could find one near my brother, but I have no idea where I would stay. I really don't know what I need to be looking for, but I really need to figure it out. Summer is 2 months away. and I'm graduating next May. There are a lot of things I need to figure out and fast. Of course that is one of the reasons I'm taking this summer off. I'm hoping it will give me time to figure things out (while I do my internship). 

I can't believe this is going to be my last summer as a college student. I've waited for this for so long !!!

Breathe in, Breathe out,
And good evening, 


-M-



P.S. Before I hit publish I would like to clarify a few things. I still have a concentration in Journalism, not media production, but I still have to take the production courses as part of my curriculum. I'm in Journalism (not sure If I explained) because for a while there was really no one good in charge of the production classes and Journalism seemed more stable. It also will help to broaden my education a bit more in the Mass Comm field which I know will benefit me in the long run. I'm confused about what i'm doing with my education most of the time and it is easy for me to loose track of my end goal in all of this. So really, this is more of reminder for me than it is a clarification of my crazy life. I know if I write it here or in one of my many other journals, it will keep the goal in front of me. I know that sounds strange that someone would forget their reasoning for why they were doing what they were doing, but it actually is a lot easier than you would think. Especially when you are like me and you have several irons in the fire at once.    
  

Good Morning

                        It's 10 a.m. and I've already read my Bible, started on the laundry, had breakfast, and checked on all my facebook corps, animals, and kingdoms. 
                                                  
                                                           I think I'm off to a good start :)


                        For the rest of the day... I'm determined to stay off of facebook. I know I will get a lot more done. Besides, I have a pretty big 'To Do List' this weekend as far as homework goes and the house is a wreck. So, I will be getting ready for my classes next week, cleaning house like a mad woman, and working on developing plans of action for the other projects I would like to complete (I'll talk about them when I take a break latter.). It's going to be a little crazy, but I"m ready to jump in and pray this renewed sense of... whatever this is... last.