Produced

America's Got Talent Review: San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:19:00 +0000

From left to right, Nick Cannon, Sharon Osbourne,
Howard Stern, and Howie Mandel

After getting to work for 5 of the audition cities, one being San Fran, I was ecstatic when I got to see some old friends. Granny G, Funk Beyond control, David and his CMYKs, Mars, and others all brought their “A” game to the stage in San Francisco. America's Got Talent airs Monday and Tuesdays at 9/8c!

Granny G got put through and her act is rapping about traditional values. When she first got to the audition city and I got to register her she was above and beyond nice. She was cool and I was blown away that she was a rapper. If you missed the whole song there is a YouTube music video she made of it. I’m not sure if Granny G is going to win but this is great PR for her new career and if she were to release an album, I’d buy it. Check out her video below!

Funk Beyond Control brought it and did an excellent job on stage. Their coach Darnell was the main person I talked with at registration and they are an extremely dedicated group and are willing to push themselves far to win. Their dance was on spot and beautifully choreographed. Each move was precise and right on time; they are a force to be reckoned with and are going to be a delight in Las Vegas.

Check out their website here and like their Facebook page.

David and his CMYKs are also a new hip dance/ painting group. They incorporate dance with painting and create a spectacle to watch and a beautiful piece of art at the end. My only question is how good can this really get? Granny G can come to Vegas with another really good song, Darnell will for sure be stepping up his game and bringing an even bigger and badder dance to the stage, so will there be two canvases on the stage in Vegas? Or will the judges get bored of such a simple act. When I met the CMYKs they were all really dedicated and I hope that dedication will inspire an awesome performance in Vegas.

The Avengers

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:06:00 +0000

As everyone has heard the Avengers has become a hit in the theaters. I was fortunate enough to go to the Avenger’s Movie Marathon at Downtown Disney. It was an all day event, 6 movies in one day. First was Iron Man, then the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, and then the final midnight release of The Avengers. The Avengers was amazing, not only were the scenes packed with action there was drama and surprisingly a good amount of comedy, With the help of Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man, The Avengers set a new standard for action films. While reading my Google Reader I found a ton of articles about The Avengers. My main highlight will be a video with the sound recorder and mixer of The Avengers talking about certain scenes and what is was like working with on The Avengers. The video is posted below and is worth the watch. There is also some other links that take you to behind the scenes photos and more. If there is anything to say to recommend The Avengers is that one, this movie not only battles good vs evil, it shows you what each super hero is capable of, highlights each one of their strengths and weaknesses, and best of all you get to see them battle each other. After they realize that they are important and needed the come together to fight the evil that is afoot. I will gladly be seeing the movie again in theaters.Click the link and Enjoy the video.

Will the Online Streaming Service HBOGo keep Cable TV alive?

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:02:00 +0000

Online Streaming Services HBOGo

Being the world 11^thmost innovative company by FastCompnay HBO is setting up and new type of streaming that you have to have cable to get it. For a while after Netflix and Hulu took off there was talk about cable getting replaced but not anymore, HBO has started a service called HBOGo. It is a streaming service that is offered to HBO Paying members (so people who pay for HBO with their cable provider) streaming of movies and show from an apple tv, xbox, and many more, and its EXCLUSIVE. They do not share their content with any other provider, so if you want to watch it you have to get cable and HBO. HBOGo is becoming a huge talking point to people who are interested in the shows. People want to see their content on Netflix and Hulu but in a recent article HBO made it clear that there was not going to be any content of theirs on Netflix or Hulu anytime soon. With 30 million subscribers to HBO they aren’t hurting for more sales. What they are doing is keeping people plugged into cable TV and it is very interesting. If HBO were to offer its content to Netflix and Hulu what is stopping the current subscribers from canceling their service and going to streaming, It would be cheaper. I’ve seen HBOGo and interacted with it and it’s amazing. A five start streaming content app that lets you watch great movies and great shows. It also has an interesting category called Collections and it offers a wide variety of different genre specific films. All in All this is something that is keeping people plugged into cable and with its success I wonder if other companies like Showtime, Cinamax, and others will use this type of model for their content.

Troika Seminar

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 05:18:00 +0000

Negotiating and Producing

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:54:00 +0000

An Interview with President of Detour Entertainment, Producer Chris Green

Chris Green, President, DetourEntertainment

After reading Getting to yes, I realized that compromising wasn’t the only way to go, and that people can actually come to mutual agreements through joint brainstorming (another term used in Beyond Reason.) I have been finding real life examples through media and the Internet but I got a one on one talk with a local producer who reassured me of some of the key points in both books I mentioned. Chris Green is a local producer who is the founder of the Entertainment group, Detour Entertainment.

In Getting to Yes, there are five main points to better negotiating. One of them is inventing options for mutual gain. When I first spoke with Chris I asked him about talent and how he negotiated with talent for contracts, which usually means getting them to work for little or no money. His first response was “you have to figure out what they can benefit.” He talks about trying to get an actor who has been type casted to play a comedic actor to play a drama roll. He tells the talent that he wants to give them an opportunity to expand as an artist and not be stuck in just the comedic rolls. This is providing the actor with something else they want as well, adaptability. When you can be the star in a comedy then dominate in a drama by your performance, Critics will have a lot of good things to say about your skill as an actor. Telling this to an actor shows that you have faith in them as an actor and think they can make it. This is a great way to inspire talent and get them to work for you because you are both benefiting, now you don’t have to pay as much and the talent is on their way to stardom. Chris seems like a great negotiator and understands what to look for when recruiting talent, you can check him out at his website detour entertainment.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:45:00 +0000

For the past few months I’ve been seeing this title for a movie coming out and I finally got to watch the trailer, it looks awesome. If the chemistry is there this movie might be extremely moving. It is about a boy who looses his farther to the tragedy on September 11, 2001. But after finds a key that he must find the lock it goes to. Searching for anything that could bring him closer to his dad. I think this film will be something like Little Miss Sunshine or Sunshine Cleaning. A movie that when you leave the theater you leave happy for what you have and who you are.This movie also seems like a comeback movie for two falling stars.

Tom Hanks plays the Dad who is killed but there seems to be a few scenes in the beginning where he might get to shine. Sandra Bullock is the mom and hasn’t done a movie since her last hit The Blind Side in 2009. If her performance is anything like The Blind Side, the movie will be fantastic. Bullock is also coming out with a new movie called Gravity, with George Clooney. The film is in Post-production but there is not much information on it. Tom Hanks may also be making a comeback with two new movies on the books, Cloud Atlas, coming out in 2012, which is currently filming and A Captain’s Duty, scheduled to release not until 2013. From the previous movies these actor might have what it takes to pull off this type of movie. Extremely Loud and Incredibly CloseOpens in theaters on Jan 20, 2012 and will have a limited screening in select locations on Christmas Day. Check out the trailer below. Will this be a comeback for two fading stars? What do you think?

Martin Scorsese and 3D

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:31:00 +0000

I read an article about Martin Scorsese and how he has dipped his fingers in about every different kind of genre and then I found out he was switching to 3D for his movies. He said because of his experiences with his recent feature Hugo, he has 3D in mind with his next movie. 3D is a touchy subject to some and in my opinion more like a fad. It comes and goes but never really catches on. Maybe I’m wrong, but Scorsese wants to use the 3D as a tool that adds depth as a story telling technique. I like Scorsese because his films are about the emotion, acting, and the story. I’m just not sure if 3D fits in. However, back to the article about Martin Scorsese and his ability to fit into all genres of film. Below is an info graphic pointing out different films in certain genres that Martin Scorsese goes through. From Who’s That Knocking at My Door to Boardwalk Empire, Scorsese has done it all. He is also the founder and chairman of The Film Foundation, which has restored more that 550 old movies.

His commitment to 3D is unusual but if he can successfully bring the movie to life like 3D was intended he might have struck gold. After reading the comment that were posted on the Article about him switching to 3D I think it might not be a good decision. To check out the articles click on the link below. Scorsese has an eye for film and would be considered one of the best, the only thing that puzzles my mind is if this is the right move. I hope that my company can create suspense and captivate an audience like film by Scorsese.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/161/martin-scorsese

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/nov/28/martin-scorsese-films-3d-hugo

Ed Ulbrich: How Benjamin Button got his face | Video on TED.com

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:07:00 +0000

Very Cool.

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 06:30:00 +0000

“I'm going to keep writing anyway because that's my job. And I would please like the record to reflect today that I showed up for my part of the job.”

After watching this speaker I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulder and that I could actually be ok with the path that I am taking and the choices I am making. I have always had the worst luck with getting that idea and it never came at the right time and one reason could have been focus but I think the opportunities and choices that I am making now are inspiring me and creating that creativity. Attitude is what I feel like its about. A huge part of going through life is your attitude is going to decide a lot. Being able to just brush off the loss or failure and get back up to start working on the next product is the best feeling ever. But it doesn’t happen all the time and its like Elizabeth was saying, it just come to you and it unexplainable. I think that this is touching on a subject that I am really concerned about. When are we going to adopt better teaching methods? I’ve written about that more in the read more section but needless to say I’ve been inspired so much by this ted talk that every Thursday I’ll post different Ted talk that I think is worth watching. Tune in next Thursday for Thursday is Ted Day!

Well I did some research and found schools all around are adopting new ways to teach children information. “Spaced Learning” is a method where short sharp lessons are interspersed with an entirely different activity and repeated at regular intervals. And high-speed learning is proving far more effective in helping children improve their concentration – and their grades – than conventional lessons. This sounds awesome. Its talks about playing basketball for a few minuets and talking about what you are learning and then sitting down and learning from a desk. Researchers say it is changing the way teachers are teaching. I hope that every teacher starts adopting these types of concepts. This is going to be a whole different avenue I think for the creative students. Maybe incorporating art, theater, acting, cinematography, dance, and music along with general education a better more confident creative era or kids will come.

My First Inforgraphic

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:11:00 +0000

I just finished an Inforgraphic for class and wanted to post it so you guys could see. Its about how the majority of people going to the movies is way smaller than what it should be. Only 33 million people go to the movies twice or more and its upsetting. the movies are structured to fit their needs, not the other 144 million people who only go maybe once a month. Hope you enjoy!

The MoMa and the movies

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:38:00 +0000

Well for my birthday I'll be asking for a plane ticket to NYC to go to the MoMa, or Museum of Modern Art. Twitch Film.com recently posted that in November the MoMa will screen films that focus on the early Hollywood pictures of Spencer Trey.

Films include Face in the Sky, Man’s Castle, Quick Millions, Bottoms Up and “Now I’ll Tell” by Mrs. Arnold Rothstein. They are also celebrating the distributor Fortissimo Films and their legacy of bringing Asian films to an international audience. Full Info and Tickets Here. The last thing is their annual Best Film Not Playing At A Theater Near You. From the 18^th to the 21^st

Movies they have nominated are Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, Green, Sundance Winner The Redemption of General Butt Naked, and the grand jury winner at the Full Frame doc fest Scenes of a Crime. One of my favorite Museums in the MoMa and I am looking forward to going. Come back to my page for an update and the end of the month.

USC to restore and release John Carpenter’s first student film

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:08:00 +0000

Last month at USC a man by the name of Dine Everett stumbled upon a very interesting roll of film. It was John Carpenter’s first student film called Captain Voyeur. This 8-minute short follows a man at a boring computer job who eyes a woman at work and followers her home. He dons a mask and attempts to kill her but is shot by his co-worker.

This is a amazing discovery that shows the first of a legend. He has written over 30 titles, directed 28 and produced 9 titles, including the Halloween series and a more recent film called The Fog. His first film will be available online for purchase. Also Dine Everett, the man responsible for the find says “at one point, the voyeur puts on a pair of glasses over his mask, much in the manner that Michael Myers wore glasses over the bed sheet covering his head in the Halloween prologue. “

That movie was a chill and the second that movie comes out I will for sure be purchasing it. Being able to see the progression of a filmmaker is always a beautiful thing to see. This was a great find for the National Film Preservation Foundation and the restoration I know will be beautiful.

Visually Stunning vs Story driven

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:19:00 +0000

I’ve noticed after reading the MPAA’s theatrical market statistics for 2010 that there has been a 5% decline in the number of tickets sold per year. The lowest it has been since 2008. Its crazy, even though there are so many factors that contribute to the loss in sales, one that is starting to arise is I think people are getting tired of the big budget movies that have high CG and baldy written features. Everything is becoming so unoriginal and the studios are using way too many special effects and aren’t providing enough content (story, acting, direction).

Out of the MPAA’s top 25 films by US/Canada Box Office Earing’s only three films on the list were low on special effects. The top three however were Avartar, Toy Story, and Alice in Wonderland. These movies were great and looked amazing but only to compensate for the average acting and undeveloped plot; the director just relies on the visual effects to dazzle the audience, not the actor.

Look, it cost enough to go to the movies at least make them worth watching. Taking computer graphics to add a little something to the film is not harmful. Movies like ET, Back to the Future, and Lord of the Rings have a story that you can connect to and gets you into the movie by the effects and the actors.

The Raven

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 05:03:00 +0000

Seeing how comic books are all the rage right now, why not go to short story and novels. In the latest news from Total Films John Cusack will be staring in The Raven, a movie made from Edgar Allen Poe's Short stories. John will be a detective who is uncovering murders done like in Edgar Allen Poe's book. The Director James McTeigue says he wants to stay away from the idea of it being like the movie saw and have his movie more compared to the Se7en. Comparing the two right off the bat there are similarities, unlike saw where the main character is testing his victims and in Se7en where he is killing people based off the seven deadly sins, just like The Raven, where two detectives are searching for a killer killing based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. If you are unfamiliar with the works of Mr. Poe i suggest you check out this link.

George Clooney and Set Etiquette

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 02:17:00 +0000

Everyone the wheels are spinning and a script is being written. I hope I have a rough by the end of the week. But I read an article about a new movie coming out called the ides of March. Matt Chapman from Total Film talks about this movie and one of the lead actresses talks about what she feels make a good environment on set. She talks about how George Clooney is a great director because he makes everything fun on set and its relaxed. But at the end of the article

it asks if that approach to set etiquette is a best way to go. I say yes. I think that if everyone on the set is happily doing their job, you’ll get flags faster, dolly set up quicker, and a better focus of the above the line position. Keeping a positive vibe on set sounds great, however, there are those who decide to play to much. I think if you run a fun set then you have to lay some ground rules at the beginning. Maybe express to the crew that you want to have fun but you want to be on task and to get everything and more done with the day. Even goes as far as letting the crew know that you need all of them and that they all play an important role. Having that would boost the team’s moral and a efficient and wonderful crew. I did research and found a website that is just talking about set etiquette. My favorite line is, “in any conversation, listen first. Try to understand their side first. It will give you time to plan your own approach. Your ideas will be better accepted if people were given a chance to contribute.”(Dexter, 2004) The rules go on forever but they are worth reading them all. The Cite is a link to the website.

Busy Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:44:00 +0000

Ok so I went into my closet in my office and decided to take out one of the books I got from my film degree. Its called The Guerilla Film makers Movie Blueprint by. Chris Jones. I’ve been reading the producers blue print and realizing that this weekend is going to be a a lot of work for me. Now that I have my script I need to get somewhere to shoot it and something to shoot it with. At this moment I have a Canon Rebel T2i and it is looking like the best choice. The canon T2i is a great SLR that has the performance of a 7d but is lighter and less durable.

Specs on the Rebel here if you are interested

This weekend the location I want to shot at needs to be contacted and set up a time to discuss shooting. I’m not going to reviele my story but one of the locations is a Bowling Ally. I’m hoping that when I call this local one in my hometown they will be more than happy to let us use the place afterhours. On top of location I also need to find cast and crew. On top of getting the crew and actors, the only way ill get this done is with a little bit of cash. In my hometown there are a few local places I know the owners to and will see if I can gather funds. My goal is to get 3,000 dollars for the pilot’s budget.

http://livingspirit.typepad.com/blog/2007/06/out-of-the-blue.htmlhere is the link for the book

Change

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:12:00 +0000

Well every I have decided that my script writing skills are not up to Par. I started looking around Campus and met a new friend who is actually good at writing, we are meeting today and I can’t wait. Other than that I found a website called Tongal and am entering a video into the contest this weekend. If you are looking for a way to earn extra cash video contest are where its at. This website for example is a great way to get your ideas out there and get money for it. So you click on a brand or a contest and there are different phases like concept and pitch, etc.. well if you submit a concept and it is a finalist you win money and a little prize but say someone used your concept to make their video, well that is another chunk of change and it is an awesome way to get more people involved and have better commercials. For the commercial I am doing I didn’t have to think of the idea I just looked at the concept and found one that I could see shot for shot in my head and now I am shooting it this weekend. SUPER EXCITING! Here is the contest website if anyone is interested.

After one of my classes in my master's program I realized I can't be the jack of all trades and other people can do things for me a lot better and I need to hire these people and connect with these people. The motivation today is high!

Schedule for this week:

Today- Meeting with writer

Thursday-Finishing storyboards for commercial

Friday- Shooting

Saturday- retake day if needed

Sunday- Get someone to edit it!

Click here for the link to tongal!

Writing

noreply@blogger.com (William Sherrod) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:12:00 +0000

Hey everyone, my name is William Sherrod and I go by Alex. I started this blog to show the progress of a script I am working on and articles I read to help my screenwriting skills. I also have a goal of starting a project every month. Whether it is a short or a commercial idea, ill be posting statuses and different aspects I learn and obstacles I run into. The first thing I did was buy a script writing software. Its called final draft 8 and it works awesome.

http://www.finaldraft.com/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=AdWords&utm_content=HomePage&utm_campaign=Exact&gclid=CMa6hOT5n6sCFRFR7Aod00nEjQ