In January of 2024, I was invited to a board of directors retreat at a lavish, modern resort cabin in beautiful Suncadia, Washington… but because I got there early/am a weirdo, I also made this. All that’s missing is a prodigious locked door and some allegorical flesh monsters!
“The Mystery of Mr. Most” | A Short Horror-Comedy Mockumentary
For the second year in a row, I made a submission to the annual “253 Film Competition” put on by The Grand Cinema in Tacoma… but this time, I collaborated with my brother, Kyle! Like much of my favorite media, it’s funny, spooky, set in Washington State, and riffs on social media celebrities. Hope you enjoy!
As usual, entrants had 72 hours to make a film no longer than 253 seconds, containing four common elements not revealed until the metaphorical starting pistol went off — this time around, that was:
1) An election or vote
2) The phrase “break a leg”
3) Something you can’t see
4) A flag
My First Short Film: “INCOHERENT HEIGHTS”
This year, I made my first submission to the Tacoma Grand Cinema’s annual “253 Short Film Competition,” which entails entrants having three days to make a film no longer than 253 seconds and containing four common elements not revealed until those 72 hours commence! This time, the necessary pieces were:
1) A competition
2) The phrase “it’s time to roll”
3) Artificial intelligence
4) A tattoo
With that prompt in tow, I whipped up this cautionary tale of landlord-tenant law gone amuck in an automated near-future. While it didn’t take home any trophies, it was eligible for an audience-favorite award and did get a few noms! The true award, though, was what I got no matter what: a chance to truly say I had a movie screened at a theater. I had a ton of fun with it, and I look forward to doing similar projects in the future!
Vloggin’ In for 2021
So I’ve done some writing this year (new sci-fi short story hopefully to debut soon!), but if it wasn’t evident, I’ve been having a good deal more fun lately practicing video production and longish-form media critique with YouTube movie reviews! I like to hit a balance between “classic” riff review and more modern, thoughtful analysis; if that sounds like your thing, please consider tossing a like ‘n’ subscribe my way! Here’s what’s come out this year from my theatrical visits:
Vloggin In’ #11: “Fatman” (2020)
To celebrate the holiday season, I took advantage of 2020’s charitable VOD selection and saw the new Mel Gibson-as-Santa movie “Fatman”! Is it worth rockin’ around the Christmas tree about, or does this action flick deserve a lump of coal in its stocking? Tune in and find out!
I Tube, YouTube, We All Tube
So, it’s been a time since I’ve been on here! Not sure who still follows, but thank you for sticking around if you do, and a fine hello if this is your first time checking in. Long story short, COVID and some associated professional change-ups haven’t made me the creative powerhouse behind the pen that I thought I’d be this year, hence the lack of writerly updates since May.
However, in the meantime, I’ve doubled down on learning how to do video editing and production instead–and I’m really enjoying the more tangible results. In particular, I’ve put out some more film reviews, as well as semiregular uploads of horror game streams from my Twitch! I also did a short film with my brother as intro for the latter, which I’m rather proud of.
Here’s some highlights — please Like, Share, and Subscribe if you can! It’s just a hobby for now, but I really enjoy having more folks see my stuff:
And there’s plenty more on my channel after you click through! I’m always working on getting that much better each time with the technical aspects of content creation, and I hope to put out some all-new videos soon doing full reviews/riffs on old films with an insightful spin. As always, in the meantime, be sure to check me out on Twitter and Twitch as well–streams are 7pm PST on Sundays!
VLOGGIN’ IN #6 – “The Invisible Man” (2020) | WHITE BUT NOT TRANSPARENT
Put on my full-body bandages and fake nose for a Saturday at the cinema with the new Leigh Whannell Blumhouse/Universal movie monster horror film “The Invisible Man”!
tl;dw: It starts off a bit predictable and ends with some plot holes, but overall it’s a fantastically shot, scored, and acted sci-fi thriller that ironically deserves to be seen.
All non-me media from Google Image Search or Adobe Premiere Elements. I know I fell off the wagon with movie reviews, but I’m hoping to get back on in time for the season of renewal that is Spring!
Also, an invisible man walking sim would be incredibly easy to program, now that I think about it.
–
VLOGGIN’ IN: “Joker” (2019)
Survived a “preview” screening of Joker on Thursday night, so I had to do my duty as a gamer and rise up with a front-seat review!
tl;dw: You’ve seen it all before, but never quite like this in a comic book flick–maybe not worth rushing out, but certainly worth checking out.
All non-me media from Google Image Search or Movavi Video Editor. Bad audiovisual quality this time can be blamed on Movavi being the poorer man’s Premiere than ever before; the exporter wouldn’t work so I had to screencap the laggy preview in OBS. Going to switch back to Team Adobe soon, promise.
Also, where are all those rioters getting their clown masks? It’s the ’80s, so it should be easy for the cops to just question whoever’s stopping by the pharmacy to grab one. Iunno.
Notes&Sketches 