I was going to wait until after we shot 20 Matches before posting an update, and then I realized that I hadn't said anything about the film since March! I hate it when people don't update their blogs, so I figured I'll say something now, then tell you more in a month or so.
In short, over the last three months the film has slowly been gathering steam. I hired a cinematographer, a casting director, a sound recorder, a post production supervisor, and (most likely) a composer. I have a place to shoot, and of course I have a budget, thanks to my generous Indiegogo backers. Now I just need an actress, and that should happen shortly: we are holding auditions this Tuesday. If all goes well, we will shoot the film on Saturday, July 25th. I'm very excited about both events.
Meanwhile, my DP and I shot a test film in late May, to see what kind of camera to use. The actress in the still is my friend Rachel, who was kind enough to help out that night. For those who are interested, we used the Sony a7S, which excels in low-light scenarios, and we plan to use it again on the 25th. The other goal of the shoot was for me to cobble together a rough edit, sort of a "live-action animatic", to determine where I should place the camera for each shot, so we're not scrambling on the 25th. I've been busy, and lazy, and haven't gotten to editing it yet. I am filled with shame.
20 Matches is actually a creative project with three different fronts: along with making the film itself, I've been painstakingly sculpting little 2-inch-tall Sculpey matchbox figures for my Indiegogo backers (see, the matchboxes are tie-ins with the film) as well as designing and printing the T-shirts, which turned out to be a bigger production than I expected. Thankfully, all 100+ shirts are now finished, and I'm mailing them out as I can, usually with the clay figures as I complete them.
Along with all the 20 Matches work, I'm still working as a freelance writer for Fandango.com, and am plugging away at a couple of other freelance gigs. It's a busy summer.