I think it’s time for a progress update on the new web series staring Vlad. It’s already been seven month since I last wrote about this project and there is probably one question burning in 3 peoples mind including myself. When will it come out? I don’t know, but probably not this year. Starting this project, I was very aware it would probably not be finished in 2015 but at the time, 2016 seemed so far away. I refused to fix a 2016 goal, but now, being only a few month away from this new year, I know the web series won’t be released before January of next year. So, Summer 2016? Yes please. ow wait…

In the past seven month the script went through a few more rewrites with a focus on episode 1. I’ve been strengthening the dialog, I’ve been learning the lines and action, trying out shots, testing special effect and creating a very detailed shooting plan. That last point is very important. Up to now I have been able to break down all the tasks over time and tackle them one at a time. However when shooting comes this will not be possible anymore. I will have to pay simultaneous attention to framing, lighting, acting, movement, props, and many more fancy shmancy aspect of filmmaking. I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit overwhelmed which is why a solid shooting plan and a few beers are very important.

As I was waiting for the last few props and pieces of gear to arrive I have been working on the introduction sequence of the series. I was scratching my brain for an original way of making an interesting looking introduction. I came up with the concept of using 3d paper letterings instead of using CGI. Long story short, I spend the past few days cutting out letters. With 27 characters and an average of 30 minutes per letters, you can do the math, but it’s exactly 810 minutes more than I expected to be thrown back into kindergarten. It was nice.

Spending so much time on such a large project will inevitably lead to some doubt about your capacity. The simple fact that you will not see the final product for the next few month or even years makes it very daunting. To keep the motivation going you have to look for the smaller achievements, such as being the new proud owner of 27 awesome homemade 3d paper letters. But more seriously with a bit of organisation these achievements are everywhere. Having some sort of to do list will not only help you visualise and plan your work but crossing tasks off the list will make you feel like you’re actually going forward. This is coming from someone who has avoided organising things for the past 25 years, so don’t be scared to take 10 minutes every morning planning tasks you want to achieve during the day. (also if you want tips on never planning things ask me in the comments)

Since I talked about a todo list let’s finish with an app recommendation. This app is called anydo. It is a fairly simple todo list app that allows you to sort tasks by date. Even if you can set a specific date for a task it is not a calendar. it gives you four choice: today, tomorrow, upcoming and someday. if you have a specific deadline for something than set the date otherwise just drop it in one of the four sections. I’ve been using it the past few weeks and I feel and been a lot more productive. Few years ago I heard the best tip about todo lists. It’s simple, start every task with an action verb. It will keep tasks short and to the point. If you can’t start it with an action verb it’s probably too vague and you need to break it down and be more precise. On that note it’s time to go cross off “writing blog post about how that web series that is never happening” on anydo and feel like i’ve achieved something. bye.

ow, and I shaved my head.