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Production Notebook: On Growing
"Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer
without being able to do it."
-Sun Tzu
Dear Wingman,
First of all, congrats on the 50k views The WINGMEN: Distortion vid has quickly received. Since this was released entirely independent, that is remarkable! Well done!
If it's not apparent to you, we've definitely outgrown the ARTEMIS ETERNAL site and especially the map. "But that website is awesome!' I hear you cry. You're right, but if you look closely, month's worth of stuff has occurred since Comic-Con that we didn't have in the original plan. That's the thing about a good journey: You can plot it out as much as you like but, there will always be delightful and/or necessary things you couldn't have foreseen. The site is flexible but we need more flexibility in terms of the map.
Greg and I are planning a redesign of the experience for end of summer. For now, as it has been for a while, it is cramped and we have loads of assets that we have to shortcut and squeeze in and we have so much it doesn't fit clean and perfect as we prefer. Growth is good and as always we're up for the challenge of a better evolution.
In terms of the film, everything is prepped to the point that we are really only dependent on filling out the community so that we can lock our budget. In the video we state we're looking for 1300 more Wingmen. Thus, you can check the "who's in" list numbers to see how progress is going. And you can always help the project by spreading the word so that people have an opportunity to enjoy the content and the worthy have the opportunity become Wingman. Obviously the more money we raise the more chances we can take with the film and the web experience. I have a tiered budget that almost works as sort of a wish list of upgrades. The first is the minimum of what I need to accomplish the film properly and at a high quality. The next has the things I'd like to add to heighten the story technically or pad things if we can raise to that level and on and on to a version with upgrades on what sort of composer we'll work with and how the music can be arranged right down to how exotic the instruments can be. When we get closer, this is something I plan to publish and ask you about. I'm also considering jumping ahead and pulling some concept visuals together for you. Although I will have to take a look at the budget and weigh a few choices before I make that decision.
Press and paperwork take me away from those parts, but they are necessary. However we've been through a bunch of that and now I can focus on creative aspects. You know we're good at what we do, and work hard, so most of the time it's more a matter of mobility and resources, which goes back to (that accursed word--) funding. There are many excellent ideas I cannot wait to implement, but alas; I must. That's not to say that you have not already given myself and the project (and those involved) tremendous amounts of freedom. True, things are tight, but we do not have to suffer fools. You absolutely have given that to us and that's really the smartest and most useful gift an artist can be given. That being said, we are wise enough to understand that restrictions are also a good thing as long as they don't wholly impede the work. The right restrictions and hurdles typically challenge the production to be better and life is such that hurdles always present themselves, so we're not in short supply of those. In fact the problem-solving aspect of production is one of the qualities I like best about the filmmaking experience.
Sky's the limit. More soon.
As we continue to outgrow this version of the site and create the new one, I'll continue to write much more on JSDC, which is where I groundwork the production journals. Those are about a year behind in terms of being organized and linked on Artemis Eternal dot com.
With the redesign I am planning to up the amounts for involvement. The idea behind that change is that it was much more challenging to come aboard before this point and therefore for that reasons and others the increments are lower. If you have any feedback about this, then please e-mail me.
In other news, I'm working out our presence at San Diego Comic-Con this year and will update for you as soon as I have the information. I'll be at the Battlestar Galactica/Caprica Paley events this week in Los Angeles, so please say hello if you are there!
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