PAST is in the Present

^ see what I did with that title? I'm so clever sometimes.

I just got back from my meeting with Roger Luther of P.A.S.T. He said he doesn't know if he can find me what I want in terms of an old home restoration, but I think I got him excited enough about my documentary that he's going to do his best :) He was a really nice guy and very knowledgeable about the local architecture. for example the building his office is located in (the Perry Building) is the only cast-iron building in the area. etc etc.

I encourage you to check out the articles he writes. very cool.  http://nyslandmarks.com/treasures/

I'm freaking out mentally already. I feel like every minute I'm not filming is a minute wasted but that's absolutely not true and I know that. On the other hand I don't want to shoot only specific events and make each storyline into a sort of an empty event promo video for the area.

Things to think about.

I wonder who actually follows this blog.

-Kevin

Do I Pay?

Does anyone know what the etiquette is if I'm having a meeting over dinner to sign someone on to my documentary? I know it's polite and professional for me to foot the bill, but these people greatly helped me during my KickStarter campaign. won't it seem like I'm just throwing away the money they put so much effort into helping me earn?

Oh! Ps. I have a Dinner meeting with Michael and Joshua from BingSpot Monday Oct. 1st. at Lost Dog


Two updates in one day! I told you I'd be posting more often!

-Kevin

Like Flying Through the Clouds

First shoot done!!! Some real things to update you about are happening now, woohoo! Ok. so I met with Mike Tulsey of Zona & Co. Southwestern Bar and Grille (from now on referred to as "Zona") He gave me a tour of the space, so the kitchen, bar, his office, the sitting area, there will be a patio etc... right now it looks like a workshop, but when it's done it will look be really nice. I shot some footage and was surprised when some of the workers asked me not to film them... I hadn't expected that. how do I work around this obstacle? Anyway, the bigger problem is that of navigation. I feel like a plane which has been crashing upward through clouds and I have finally broken out to the other side. Clarity, the world is wide open, I have access.... but now what do I do?

HAHAHA! I have been working so hard to get to this point and even with all of my planning ahead, now I don't know where to go. how do I do this actual documenting thing? Honestly a laughable situation.

Well now I'm brainstorming again, I need to get with Mike and get his vision of how this year will go with important events and obstacles he knows are coming because of his experience with opening restaurants in the past etc.

Now on to the other three story-lines. After over a month of trying to contact the Preservation Association of the Southern Tier (PAST) I finally threw out formality and sent a text message to the number I have. I know it's a stupid Idea but Mike from Zona prefers texting.... I got a response in under five minutes asking me to meet with Mr. Roger Luther tomorrow evening... What?

When did text messaging become not only an acceptable, but a preferred form of professional communication? Mind = Blown

Hopefully Joshua B from BingSpot has some time to meet with me now that Restaurant week is under way.

Sent another e-mail to VINES today, they responded once saying they were interested but that was the last I've heard from them.

I need to get a crew together because there is no way I can basically be making four different documentaries whilst taking classes (6 hours a week) and projecting (eight hours a week).


Anyway I am above the clouds, things are speeding up and I need to construct my own road. This is what I've always wanted.

-Kevin

The Deadliest Hope

This post is going to be short because I don't want to get anyone's hopes up (least of all mine) but rest assured THERE WILL BE FREQUENT UPDATES starting very soon... hopefully.

I have been vigilantly contacting people from the realms of my four main "characters" and have been getting positive feedback! Stop that! I can feel your hope levels increasing, now just stop right there, ms./mr. because we have been here before... and we're here again. What does that tell you about how it turned out?

PAST is very hard to contact, but I have established some small communication with Mr. Roger Luther and am putting a lot of pressure on that front (ps. he sounded very welcoming to my ideas).

On the Environmental front it's not that I'm a bad researcher, the opposite, actually. I have established significant and lengthy contact with more than four figures from the local environmental community. What I have come to realize is that there is really only one organization here that is making significant progress (maybe this is the reason Bing. has an environmental problem) can you guess who it is? We've discussed them before! You got it! (i'll assume) VINES!

Now I'm not saying there aren't any other environmental programs, but they're either bogged down with the fracking debate or with governmental process. Just another thing to include in the doc. [mental note].

Anyway this is already longer than I had planned on. more updates will come within the next week or two. For Better Or Worse.

-Kevin Hallagan

ps. I bought a polarized filter today and am shopping for an omni mic, and a hot shoe extender. I'm planning on making some of the gadgets from The Frugal Filmmaker