Ben here. Time away. It’s a beautiful thing. And it’s exactly what the “ROM” feature needed.

After spending weeks trying to shoehorn different details and ideas from the short and our own expectations on what the feature should be, Matt and I both just let go, and had the best conversation to date about the project last Tuesday. I told Matt that this would be the conversation that we would talk about after were done making the film. The turning point. So giddy on the phone, I asked Matt “Do you feel super-awesome about this?”

Emotions. Character Arcs. Story. These are important. The details will come in time.

Well it was tight, real tight, but we managed to make the submission deadline for Cucalorus. We won’t hear back until around October or so but I feel good about our chances. We sent a rough cut since Ben is still putting the finishing touches on the final cut but if/when we are accepted to the festival we should be able to get the final cut in to replace it. I actually live in Wilmington, NC where Cucalorus is held each year but have yet to go to one so this is my excuse to finally get involved. I’ll keep you guys updated.

Find out more about Cucalorus at their website.

Ben Here. There will be an article about ROM in the Sept. edition of University City Magazine, available for free in many locations around the University Area in Charlotte, NC. Pick one up!

I’m super excited about the new cut of ROM, so much more polished than the original festival cut. A little late than anticipated, but we’re here nonetheless. And since we just got our prize money from the awesome people over at the Light Factory, hiring a consultant is imminent! Festival circuit, here we come!

Features. They are a tough cookie to crack. And when dealing with a story like ROM it is made all the tougher by the very things that make it unique. Characters, situations, stories. There must be order. But where to start and better yet where to start over? There are i’m sure endless ways to tell a story. If you were to stand 50 feet away from this story and look at with fresh eyes you might only see one. But the question would remain. Is it the right one?

Yep. Tough cookie to crack. Seems like it should be made easier by the fact that a short is in the can that uses a portion of the same idea. I’m here to tell you no, it doesn’t. It complicates things in new and maddening ways. As the storyteller your job is IMHO to find the core of the story and start a fire with it. Burn down the forest and with what’s left make notebooks. Let no words stand in your way. Strangely I thought I knew the core of ROM. But I was wrong.

This discovery was paramount to cracking the cookie that is ROM. It was stale and tasteless. Now it is moist and flavorful. Simply put I learned that I knew my story but not my character. I thought I did. THAT’s the key. I THOUGHT I did. When you think you do is exactly the point they are taken for granted. Without your characters you’re not telling a story, you’re just telling actions. And no matter how clever your actions are they still aren’t a story.

So I’m happy to say I know Daniel now. And ROM is better for it.

Ben here. While we wait for the last few items to get wrapped up on the 2nd cut of ROM the short, and racking our brains to come up with an in-depth and thought-provoking feature, the CFC (Charlotte Film Community) invited me to tape an episode of their public TV show ‘Screentime’. I’d like to thank them for the opportunity, got to promote ROM for about 10 minutes and pimp the website as well! Should air sometime in August, so if you are in the Charlotte Area and love public TV, do we have some awesome stuff for you.

Woooo Hooooo!

Official date released!

The film is playing in a block of films on Thursday, May 20th at the Duke Energy Theater (in the same building as the Light Factory – 345 N. College St. – downtown Charlotte) at 7:30 PM. Anyone is welcome!

For more info:
About the showcase: http://www.lightfactory.org/film

Ben here. Alright! The good news just keeps rolling in for ROM! While formulating our official festival plan for the short, we are proud to announce that ROM will be featured as a part of the Light Factory’s Filmmakers’ Showcase, May 19th-21st in Downtown Charlotte, NC. Official screening times should be posted soon!

LINK

Ben here. Finishing a short film is always a love-hate situation for me. I love the sense of completion, that all your hard-work has culminated in a finished product, and at the same time, it absolutely grinds on me. Cause as I see it, I’m back at the bottom of the mountain again, looking up at my next completed film, and in this case the mountain is much bigger and much more daunting than the last one I towered over.

I’m excited to bring lead actor Tim Holt into the fray as Matt and I start the writing process for ROM. Not only because he’s another idea-well to pick from, but because of his enthusiasm for acting, creating characters, and the film process in general.

The first-step, as always, is trying to create an engaging and enjoyable script. Something that I as a director can be proud of. We’ve got this great bucket of ideas, that, until recently, really had no structure to them. But the outline that we have created is getting me very excited about the prospects for the future of the script.