Dear readers,
As you know I haven't written here for a while. Mostly it is due to the confidentialilty of the work I have been doing, I can't really expose anything of it yet, but of course there are other things to tell. I just haven't dedicated the time, instead I have been communicating by e-mails.
I wish there was a way to be really open during a whole film project, so that everybody could follow the process, even from development, into pre-production, production, post production, marketing and distribution.
What I can tell you now is that we are working on a major feature film, but we are still really early in the process and before we have got more secure funding it's not really worth or appropiate telling anything. We also have a couple of other major projects we are preparing for, but they as well are in the early stages. Thus I ask you for patience about details. I do enjoy though to work so close to the director, I am just one person away from him in the "chain of command" and we all talk in the office. How easy would it be for me to work closely to an experienced film director in a production company in Hollywood? Not very.
One thing we are working with is "Concept Art", which means illustrations th
at convey characters and the mood of the film we are to produce. This material is then used to present the project to investors and co-producers. We connect with artists in the whole world and so far we have been working with illustrators in Japan, Mexico, Sweden, Norway, Rwanda, South Korea, Italy, USA and Spain. If you know a good "fine artist", that is, somebody skilled in making illustrations, please contact me, there are opportunities to work as a freelancer.Something that was exciting in April was a visit to the NAB convention in Las Vegas. We decided to go there as a team to get updated and it was really worth it. NAB is "the" major media technology convention in the world and this year they had a special focus on stereoscopic 3D which was interesting. Especially since we plan to do our major project in 3D!
I also had a chance to see the latest cameras and seeing where it's all going in terms of media technology (picture: a 3D camera setup with RED cameras).
It was fun to see that Ericsson, the Swedish company, was on site and is way engaged in stereoscopic 3D technology as well.
After the convention we even held a seminar here at YWAM, to share our impresssions. My part was to talk about the "Broader-Casting" trend, or the explosion and convergence of media content "pipes" that we see today; cell phones, iPads, IPTV etcetera. The overall trend seems to be that people all over the world are just consuming more and more media. Not bad news for somebody like me.
Anyway, there is more to life than work and I have (as always) been enjoying the climate here in Hawaii, especially during the earlier spring months which are normally quite cold in my home country. Now, I've heard the weather back in Sweden is already warm!
I have changed the place where I live and I now share an apartment with three guys who work in the film school here and I enjoy it a lot. It is great to have company, my rent is lower, it is very close to my work and also to the beach!
Since I wrote last I have also tried surfing for the first time in my life, I took a lesson, and actually stood on the board a couple of times! I must say though to "catch" the wave was really difficult, even with my background of some snowboarding, skiing and windsurfing. I hope to be able to try out more surfing further on.
I also did a hiking trip, we went hiking into a valley that is really hard to access by anything else than boat or walking up on a mountain and down into the valley.
It was very "cool" and the walking was steep and demanding. During the night we slept just under a covering tarp that we put up with cords. On the second day I had the opportunity to swim in a waterfall!
I have also spent some of my free time on my own feature film script, it requires a lot of discipline but I am getting slowly forward, and as most filmmakers turning my own scripts into film is what I dream most of to do in the future. But as somebody said, "Amateurs dream, pro's do", which means I have to take every necessary step. And of course it is not at all sure that my gifting or "take" on the whole thing is enough for producers and investors to be interested and all the rest.
I have now sent in my application for an extension of my US visa, for the rest of the year, and hopefully I'll get a reply within a couple of weeks. I go forward step by step and it's not all up to me, but it seems quite probable that I will get an extension and that I can stay for a bit more.
I leave you here, wishing you a nice spring and beginning of the summer (or sunny winter if you are "upside down"). I also want to say a special, great "Spring Thanks " to all of you who boldly support me both in prayers and financially. I can't really express how thankful I am to you.
Urban
I also had a chance to see the latest cameras and seeing where it's all going in terms of media technology (picture: a 3D camera setup with RED cameras).
It was fun to see that Ericsson, the Swedish company, was on site and is way engaged in stereoscopic 3D technology as well.After the convention we even held a seminar here at YWAM, to share our impresssions. My part was to talk about the "Broader-Casting" trend, or the explosion and convergence of media content "pipes" that we see today; cell phones, iPads, IPTV etcetera. The overall trend seems to be that people all over the world are just consuming more and more media. Not bad news for somebody like me.
Anyway, there is more to life than work and I have (as always) been enjoying the climate here in Hawaii, especially during the earlier spring months which are normally quite cold in my home country. Now, I've heard the weather back in Sweden is already warm!
I have changed the place where I live and I now share an apartment with three guys who work in the film school here and I enjoy it a lot. It is great to have company, my rent is lower, it is very close to my work and also to the beach!
Since I wrote last I have also tried surfing for the first time in my life, I took a lesson, and actually stood on the board a couple of times! I must say though to "catch" the wave was really difficult, even with my background of some snowboarding, skiing and windsurfing. I hope to be able to try out more surfing further on.
I also did a hiking trip, we went hiking into a valley that is really hard to access by anything else than boat or walking up on a mountain and down into the valley.
It was very "cool" and the walking was steep and demanding. During the night we slept just under a covering tarp that we put up with cords. On the second day I had the opportunity to swim in a waterfall!
I have also spent some of my free time on my own feature film script, it requires a lot of discipline but I am getting slowly forward, and as most filmmakers turning my own scripts into film is what I dream most of to do in the future. But as somebody said, "Amateurs dream, pro's do", which means I have to take every necessary step. And of course it is not at all sure that my gifting or "take" on the whole thing is enough for producers and investors to be interested and all the rest.
I have now sent in my application for an extension of my US visa, for the rest of the year, and hopefully I'll get a reply within a couple of weeks. I go forward step by step and it's not all up to me, but it seems quite probable that I will get an extension and that I can stay for a bit more.
I leave you here, wishing you a nice spring and beginning of the summer (or sunny winter if you are "upside down"). I also want to say a special, great "Spring Thanks " to all of you who boldly support me both in prayers and financially. I can't really express how thankful I am to you.
Urban
