Char-Leta News

March, 2024

As mentioned below, we have been getting some footage from unique locations during March.  We also shot a very brief scene for the next flick, "The Song of Freddy and Betty".  (This title is not yet written in stone.)  We also shot some footage that we will use in "My High  School Girlfriend, Your Wife".

We have been thinking about slowing the process down a bit for this movie. We were working to meet the application deadline to Sundance this year but this deadline is getting closer and we are starting to rush and put pressure into the process. It is alwasy helpful to put the movie on the back burner for a couple of months then re-watch. Usually there is a lot of editing after doing this.    We're still going to charge ahead, but if we're not done by the Sundance deadline, we will sit on it until we are completely ready. (We always send it out too quickly.)  Working more on the score. Shooting and re-shooting some characters. I tend to do too much cutting and adding to the movie, rather than cutting and adding to the script which requires more work. We work totally different than most people. Stay tuned.

 

February, 2024

Moving in "on the kill".  Shooting for a "polish" by July.  Ninety-five percent of the movie shot and in the time-line.  Score is also 95% complete and in the timeline.  Starting to spend more time in the closet where we do ADR. We still have about 40% to go.  In March we plan on shooting two scenes for our next movie, "The Song of Freddie and Betty".  We have an opportunity to shoot in an unusual location, so we are going to take advantage. 

 

January, 2024

Getting closer to having all of the close-ups shot and edited into the timeline.  We still have a fair number of long-shots to shoot.  Presently it looks like the movie is going to be about 90 minutes.  We still have one complete scene (but only 2 pages of script) to shoot in a small apartment.  It will be a tight place to work. Scoring the movie continues to be the most fun. We score, or experiment with the score as we edit.  Keeps it interesting.  Still primarily using the acoustic guitar and keyboard.  We hope to add a little harmonica at some point.

 

December, 2023

Festivities, shooting, editing, and working on the score. We have one and a half scenes to shoot plus cutaways and long shots.  We have a ton of ADR to complete and the secondary sounds, etc.. Using both the C-100 and 1DC in the same shot. They seem to match reasonably well.  The 1DC  uses a ton of disk-space so we minimize its use (although the image is great).  We're still shooting for the goal of completion by August, 2024.  Happy New Year!

 

November, 2023

Making more music for the score. We're  mostly still using the guitar, electric guitar, keyboard and Logic. We got our drone-shot at the coast and luckily we got the cloudy day we were looking for.  Had a minor crash while landing on the beach.  No damage or injuries. Tough little drone, not even a damaged blade.  I think we are finished with the drone for this movie.  We also did a few pick-up shots while we were at the coast and shooting is complete at this location.   Also started our script for the next flick. We should start shooting in March 2024, Title: "The Song of Freddie and Beatty", a black comedy.

 

October, 2023

So far in October, we've been editing and re-shooting, editing and re-shooting. We can't seem to get some of the scenes like we want, so we re-shoot, then put it in the time-line and see if it works. One scene has now been shot 4 times. Story-telling is obviously an art and we're trying to get better.  I'm trying to focus more on details.  (I tend to see the forest but miss most of the trees.)  I think I may be getting better, but who knows.  Aleta is much better with details so I rely a lot on her.  We hope to get some more ocean-beach shots with the drone soon. We need some cloudy-day beach shots for a specific scene  (mood).  Still working on music and experimenting with different types of music for each scene.. Shooting for completion some time in early summer of 24. We will submit to Sundance as we always have and wait for the rejection 😀.

 

September, 2023

So far in September we have done a little of everything, including shooting, editing, creating the score and re-shooting scenes that had problems.  We are also working on sound sweetening to get the best audio.  The score is the most fun at this point. We are using the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and the keyboard. Maybe we will add a little harmonica soon. We don't edit like the pros suggest.  We do a little of this and a little of that which makes it more interesting.  It all washes out in the end.

 

August, 2023

Editing, editing, and editing. Some shooting but mostly nose-to-the-computer. We have started experimenting with the score by putting some music under 3 scene introductions , yada yada.  Seems like the acoustic guitar and the electric guitar go best with what we have done so far.  Aleta will be back in the saddle in 3 weeks for pick-up shots and completing a couple of scenes.  We are not going to rush this one as we usually put the movie out there for festivals etc, before it is really ready.  We are going to let it set on the "back-burner" for a couple of months then watch it again. This will probably happen next spring.  Stay tuned.

 

July, 2023

Mostly hanging out at the computer editing, making some music to use in the score, writing new lines, etc., etc..  Eighty minutes in the time-line.  Trying to polish the story and characters.  Only two scenes to shoot and it should be "in the can." Experimenting with non-linear story telling.  Stay tuned.

 

June, 2023

Still capturing more drone footage.  We can't seem to leave it alone.  Trying to not over-do it in the editing time-line.  It's easy to want to add un-needed shots just because we are impressed with them. 
We continue to shoot "My High School Girlfriend, Your Wife".  We are closing in on all of the close-ups then we have to shoot the long shots.  We almost have all of our beach shots completed.  We were shooting in very windy weather at one point with the ocean a few feet behind us.    Some of the shots 

look like hurricane-wind shots. Hopefully it looks a little more interesting.  We  now have locations in Europe, California, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina,  and Arizona.  We have more than a year-plus writing and shooting this flick.  Personally I think it's funny. I may be the only one laughing but it's for us anyway.

 

May, 2023

"Thomas A Peeper" is now streaming on 5 different platforms and a total of 10 platforms have ordered it..  AppleTV is the most recent platform to stream and we celebrate!  It is also streaming on Amazon Prime, TubiTv,  Plex Tv, Stash, and others..  Check it out if you like.

In the meantime we have been shooting "My High School Girlfriend, Your Wife" and we probably  have 80%  'in the can'.  We also have a rough edit of all the shot-footage so far.  We have been capturing some setting-shots in the snow, at the ocean, and in the desert. We have a new toy, a baby drone which  shoots 4k.. The drone footage is spectacular, at least to our  eyes although it is our first drone-footage and it doesn't take that much to impress us.  We had our first minor crash last week after a flight over snow covered mountains. We were trying to land it next to our car door (so we could  just reach over and get it without getting out of our car 😊).  We don't have that kind of skill or experience yet, but tons of fun capturing these shots.

 

April, 2023

Thomas A Peeper is now streaming on 4 different platforms. Seven platforms have ordered it and it is also streaming in several different countries.   Based on stats people are watching and enjoying it. We like for people to enjoy our movies.  It has been described as "an off-beat comedy" by at least one platform.  We can't seem to get away from "quirky" and "off-beat" 😊. I guess it's in our genes.

 

 

 

March, 2023

So far this month we have screened our movie at the Loft Cinema in Tucson.  It was anxiety producing, (always concerned about the quality of the picture and audio), but I think it was the best movie we have produced regarding overall quality. We didn't find anything to adjust and I think this is a first.  Great support, great bunch of (fun) people and a great turnout for “Thomas A Peeper”.  The overall response to this movie made us feel good as film makers (we like laughter). We’re always a little nervous before the show, but this was well worth it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this cast did an exceptional job playing their individual characters (proven by the feedback)! Great chemistry.  We greatly, greatly appreciate our fans and hopefully we will be streaming this movie soon on a platform near you.

The Kansas City Film Fest International is a great festival to attend and a great  festival for filmmakers. It takes place at the end of March. A great bargain and lots of fun. Check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

 

 

 

 

February, 2023

We now have all deliverables to the distributor and the requirements were understandably thorough (first class company).   Took us more time than usual to get the materials to them due to their thoroughness. We made some tiny changes to the movie before the submission (just can't seem to leave it alone). We passed Quality Control today (the 23rd) which was a major relief.  We have our fingers and toes crossed for streaming on a platform near you.  We will screen our movie, "Thomas A Peeper"  at the Loft Cinema in Tucson on Sunday, March 5th at 6:30 PM (back on the big screen, hopefully more polished than when screened at the festivals).  The Loft is an excellent theater and they strongly support Independent Film.  We have been madly working on "My High School Girlfriend, Your wife" which is taking a lot of 'blood sweat and tears'.  There are 10 characters in this movie and I'm probably biased, but I think it's going to be a funny movie (you never know for sure).  (I have been laughing a little during the editing, but of course in my later years it may just be my geezer-brain which is easily entertained.)  We'll see what everyone else thinks in a few months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January, 2023

Some streaming platforms prefer that the  poster not have the bottle of wine (or pictures of any kind of drug usage), which is totally understandable.  They also do not want any guns pointed at anyone. All makes sense and it made us think more about the poster and the "look" we want.  It looked too much like a drama anyway and needed to be lightened up a bit.  Now a little more comedy-ish? After 17 years of doing this we are still "feeling our way around in the dark".

There has been an up-tick in views of "Private Dancer in Mom's Kitchen" since last August. More views than the previous 12 months.  Hopefully people are finding it. We're optimistic.