Meeting Today

Today I am meeting with a local country musician who I went to middle school with about doing some photography for him. He is mainly after a good album cover and a bunch of promotional pictures leading up to his album. I use to hang out around school with him all the time in middle school but have not really seen him since, so it will be cool to catch up after such a long period of time.

Tomorrow at 2:30pm I have an interview with a local production company in Towson which is the internship I am really after. I hope after the interview I get offered the spot so I don't even have to go to my interview on Friday, which I really just don't want to do since I could find nothing but bad things about them online. I shouldn't have rescheduled in the first place, guess I just didn't want to be mean.

Still waiting to get my computer checked up on and hopefully will be able to get all my files off of it. Thankfully a friend at work is willing to build me a new system as long as I get all the parts and bring them to him. I have been working with him since I got there so I trust him a lot. Once that is settled I will be able to edit again!!!! Wish me a lot of luck with that one.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Computer is Dead

Well it had to happen sooner or later, my computer is officially dead, which sucks but an upgrade has been long overdue. It happened last night right after I finished editing another rough cut of my short film Love is Undead which I did to mainly color grade the film. Some of the correction came out better than others but it was made a lot easier using the program Mojo for Premiere Pro. So after that I burned a dvd copy and then went to scan the computer, during the scan it froze for a while and I decided to force restart it. When I did that it gave me that same check disc error like it always does and I bypassed again but then as it was restarting it decided to do another automatic check disk scan, while it was scanning it froze again while it was scanning the indexes. At this point I knew things were bad, and again I forced restarted it which gave me the error message again. This time I could not bypass it and I gave up. Luckily a friend of mine knows a guy who should at least be able to get all the memory out of it. Also a friend at work today offered to build a new one by gutting my old tower which is awesome.

Last night was terrible though and today wasn't much better. I can't edit a project for class which is my whole end of the grade and I also can't do any type of word document papers or powerpoint projects thanks to the fact that the laptop I am using doesn't have those programs. I will just download the trials though since there is less than a month of school and I get the programs for 30 days.

Wish me luck with a new computer,
Daniel Hess

Filming Filming Filming

Well today was my last full weekend off I took for filming The Cat, which is sad but true :(

Anyway on Saturday they felt like filming wasn't going to take that long so I got the day off which was nice because I needed it. Late Friday night I was up at Mania Music Group's studio discussing video possibilities until about 2 am, maybe later. We got a lot done that night and we are ready to go with music videos but we had to stay up late to figure it out. So Saturday I got up at 11 am and just sort of chilled with my day (a little bit of editing Love Is Undead on the side). The rest of my day was spent chilling with my friend Zach and watching the new Conan: The Barbarian which was ok.

Sunday I woke up early again to get ready for filming which took place in Havre De Grace, which is a really nice small town. We had a little bit of setbacks today but we managed to get a few shots in and even got a few locals involved in filming which was cool. From there we went to Everett's house and watched footage, then called it a day. There is still some more filming to go which I will try to get off for in the future. Next week we will not be filming since it Everett's b-day weekend so HAPPY BIRTHDAY in advance to him. It has been a great experience and I can't wait to see a finished product which will be here soon!

As far as other things got a lot going on this week coming up including school work which I have pushed off until last minute again lol and a few business meetings. I hope I don't die!

Thanks for the love,
Daniel Hess

The Day After Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! Besides the terrible day at work once I got home everything was much better. Dinner was good, got to see my girlfriend, and the Ravens won so I had a good rest of the day. No Black Friday shopping for me today though, but for those who did go out today I hope shopping was a success.

Today I am filming the LAST thing for Love is Undead which is just a stand in part which as I have probably said before sucks that I didn't get it earlier but for whatever reason I forgot to do a full over the shoulder shot. After I get this though the last scene I need to edit will come together and then I should be good on the visual editing part, the next step is audio editing, which is going to require a lot of ADR (yay!). Once that is done though today turns into a mainly chill day until work rolls around at like 4.

Thanks for the support and Happy Holidays!,
Daniel Hess

Bumming It

Today I am totally bumming it. Just woke up and was like I need a break. Had an interview for an internship lined up today but I didn't go because I didn't hear all that great things on the internet about the company. I am still going to do the interview for the experience but not today.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am excited even though I am working because it will be a nice sit down dinner with my family which never happens and it will be a chance to get my mind off of all the hecticness (that isn't a word) going on with me. Also I would like to say HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone now because I probably won't be on again until tomorrow night. Just getting that out there.

This weekend is another filming weekend from Friday to Sunday. Friday I am filming the stand in scene for Love is Undead and Saturday + Sunday are for The Cat which I know will be awesome. I also may be a Production Assistant for a commercial shoot the 28th and 29th, haven't got the official word but I am expecting to any day now. Then the 30th I have a lunch meeting with a friend of mine who is making a country album and needs promo/album cover pictures; so we are going to discuss that further. In the middle of all this on the 28th I have to call to set up an internship at a local production company and I have to get an edit done for class the 29th/ give a presentation for another class the same day. In addition (haha) I may be doing an interview on December 2nd, not 100% yet.

A lot to do I know but this what life is all about, especially when it comes to film, I wouldn't trade my life for this.

Thanks for the support (my biggest thanks this holiday season),
Daniel Hess

The Chase Is Back

Well tomorrow I have an interview lined up for another internship which I was hoping to be paid but it seems like it will be fore college credit which I am fine with just as long as I can get an internship really. Being paid while interning would have been amazing but getting college credit for it is pretty cool too. Just excited to be getting so close to real world experience, plus it will get me away from my job now which couldn't suck much harder (but that is another topic).

In addition I have to contact a member of a production company here in Maryland next week by phone to set up an interview for an internship opportunity as well. Out of the two this is the one I would rather get because it is a production company which means I could get on set experience, the other place is more for photography which is awesome but at the same time I am trying to get into the video field. Either way it will be great to have an internship.

On Sunday I got down a rough cut of Love Is Undead and it is looking like it is going to be a little over 4 minutes long, but a very solid four minutes which I am very proud of. The ending is the part I like the best but the whole film is pretty sweet too. I am very proud of all the work my cast and crew put into this film as well as the way everything has turned out. We may have had a lot of delays with this film but sh*t happens for a reason and it is working out for the best. Soon I want to have a more fine cut, then a fine audio cut, next color correction, then visual/audio fx.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Filmmaker Manifesto

Today I have decided to post up my manifesto. As a filmmaker and artist I feel as though it is important to put into words exactly the way I feel everyday of my life.

I am a filmmaker an auteur as the French would call it. Every morning when I rise from bed the first thing on my mind is film and every night the last thing I think of before I go to bed is the same. Whenever I have a free moment to think about anything it is what moment would this be in a movie or what movie this reminds me of. The first thing to say when there is an awkward silence is "What was the last movie everyone saw," or joke about a really bad film. When I am at work doing something not related to film I think about movie ideas or picture myself inside of a film about my life...what part of this story does this represent I ask myself. When I finally get the chance to make a movie it is the greatest high I can get, the rush of getting shots done seeing my idea come to life, it is like every second is a thousand Christmas' culminating into one giant day. After the film is done I am happy because now I get to edit and can be alone for hours if I need to just making the film look how I want it to look. Once it is a final product I want to show the world, and I couldn't more proud. I show my family and they react in a way that is less than fantastic but I have the biggest smile on my face, people may say mean things about it and I listen but I selfishly think "What do they know." As a filmmaker my ego can inflate higher than a helium balloon and I can see myself as a great artist better than those around me, however I have to deflate to realize that working with others is going to be the way to go. I struggle constantly with inner demons threatening to make me quit but as time goes on I see that I can't stop moving no matter what comes in my way. I am a filmmaker one whose vision knows no bounds together with my crew and cast we can make a world changing film or we can destroy each other. This is my manifesto.

Thank you all for the love,
Daniel Hess

Opportunities on the Horizon

So today was another great day on the set of The Cat it was a quick shoot but it was a fun one for sure, a little rushed but a lot of the shots were really well put together, so everything worked out awesome!

While on set I talked to a good friend of mine Kane Mayfield of Mania Music Group who wants to do two videos fairly soon so it looks like that is what my December is going to turn into, which will be fun. One video will be fairly straightforward I just wanna have really nice lighting going on, the other will be a little more complex but I think I can handle it.

Also coming up next week I should have another internship interview as a photo editor if all goes well on the next phone chat, and I will be contacting the head of a production company here in Maryland to try to set up an interview for either this week or next. So we will see with those two things coming up.

Thanks for the love,
Daniel Hess

Benched Before the Big Game

So today I got benched from the biggest games of the seasons by IBN. I should have been recording 1 or more championship games today but instead they decided to tell me that they were going to go with basketball games in the future, which is fine and dandy but on their website they were reporting how they were going to be at a bunch of games here in Maryland. I hope it is an error on my part because I have bent over backwards to do these games...granted I get paid decent for it still you would think that it would have some kind of pull after all these months. It was my bad that I couldn't do the second game last week but I pushed myself too hard and they kind of put me in a bad spot which forced my hand to say yes. I still shouldn't be punished by not recording these games today. Oh well, at least I got more filming of The Cat to look forward to this weekend.

Closing Door Opening Windows

So yesterday was a day dedicated to closing doors all around me. Today in the other hand I see small windows opening up which could lead to further things. I just got an email from a guy I met in one of my EMF classes who contacted me about a possible internship which would give me the possibility of professional experience either in a studio or on set...either of which would be a huge contribution to my future as a professional. I am again very excited to see what happens. That is only problem with this industry is that it is a constant rollercoaster where one day will be huge, another will be free fall, and long periods of waiting in between.

What is on tape for tonight? I had an opportunity to have two gigs tonight (a concert and a dj event) however I do not really see either one working out...not because I am trying to be a jerk I just need more time for me at this point, I am dead tired from the travel over these past few months and want to stay home for more than a small amount of time...that is what this week has been for. Plus tonight I am going to start editing Love is Undead finally, hopefully by the end of the night I will have a rough cut ready to go off of. I just want to churn it out in time for the Maryland Film Festival.

Class is starting in an hour then I am going to get the lead out.

Thanks for the love,
Daniel Hess

Bummer Night

Well to keep everyone in the loop, I heard back from the Black and Decker internship tonight and unfortunately I didn't get it. Which is hard for me to even type because I had so much going into that job. But I got too carried away and shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. I guess I just saw an opportunity to get out of my crappy job and just wanted to go. I put all my eggs into one basket and lost out big time. It is not the end of the world it just really screws up my night.

I am not going to be marathoning a rough cut of Love is Undead even though I did catalogue all the footage which is nice to get out of the way. I mean I just bummed beyond belief everything that I had going for me this morning fell completely through by tonight...don't you love how life can work.

When it rains it pours.

Thanks guys,
Daniel Hess

Thinking of a Marathon

Tonight I am really debating whether or not I want to marathon a rough cut of Love is Undead to show to a professor of mine at school tomorrow. I have been getting terrible sleep and I don't think this would help any but I really want to jump on the footage and start getting something done. I still haven't figure out what is going on with Thursday night or even Friday for that matter. Usually I hear back from IBN sports by now but I haven't heard anything from them yet. So long story short things are pretty screwy right now. The only for sure thing is I am going to be helping the guys with filming this Sunday really. Other than that there is really nothing else. I just sent another email out to IBN so I am going to wait.

Although Friday I should be hearing back from the internship for Black and Decker, which I am praying I get! Think good thoughts please...I need that job so bad!

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Fresh Week Fresh Jobs

So as another week sets in upon me I have already begun booking gigs for the weekend, which seems to be the time when everything goes down. Right now I am talking to the people over at IBN sports to see if they want me to film both championship games this Friday or just one. For those who don't know the High School football season ends this Friday 11/18/11 with a bunch of championship games. At 2pm I found out that Good Counsel is playing its game at Navy Stadium, then at 8pm Gilman has its game at Johnny Unitas Stadium here at Towson University. I am hoping to do both but since I couldn't do both this past Friday I don't know if they will have as much faith in me. I got it worked out though so I should be good on both.

Not only that but this Thursday as long as I can work out a ride situation I am going to try to go to the Get Down to film my DJ buddy Sean since it a sort of birthday bash/dj gig for him. If I can make it should be the last piece of footage I need to do his promo video which I have been working on since last year only because working with him is a little sporatic and my schedule is hard to work out on short notice. We will see.

Finally this Sunday is another day for sound recording on set of The Cat which has been nothing but wonderful. I am very much looking forward to it!

Thanks for the love,
Daniel Hess

And That's a Wrap

Well today it was the last day of filming for Love is Undead which started around 10:30 am and by 12pm we were all done. It was a short two scenes we had to do and it was the most relaxed time filming yet...so overall a fun time. I am sort of sad that it is all done, but at the same time it is nice to be finished with everything, especially since it was a process of four days from August to November. Looking back at the filming it sucked that I couldn't get it done sooner but I learned a lot from it which was pretty sweet so I wouldn't have had it any other way. From here I am on to editing which will prove to be a lot of fun (not lol).

Thanks for the love,
Daniel Hess

Day 3 Filming

Today is day 3 of filming The Cat which I am very excited for. It is going to be a mainly outdoors shoot by the looks of it so I am not looking forward to that, because it is coooooold outside but I have a lot of layers so I will be ok. The location is about an hour away in Darlington Maryland but morning drives are always nice so it will be fun. I am smart this time and I am going to bring my camera so that way I have lots of pics from the day of shooting which I will be posting up as soon as I can. It is nice just recording sound and not having to worry about the editing process for once (just a random thought).

Then tonight I will be up late prepping the set down my grandmother's old house for Love is Undead shoot day four...yes only day four, but it will be the last day, for real this time.

Thanks for the love,
Daniel Hess

Football Woes

Well today went good and bad. On the good side I was able to film the Gilman game and stream it live successfully. It was fun but tiring. The bad side is that the drive took way longer than I expected and I had too much to get through when I got home so I was not able to make my second game which was the Good Counsel one. It was a combination of fatigue and the fact that I couldn't go from game to game since I did not have enough gas. I am really mad at myself but it was an hour drive and once I walked into my house I wanted nothing more than to just relax for a little bit.

Now I am chilling at home conforming the Gilman game in Premiere Pro which takes waaaaay too long and I am sitting on my bed next to my faithful dog Lexi! I knew it was going to be another tough weekend but jeeze it is only the second of four days of non stop work and I am done. Tomorrow I gotta get up at 5 am to get ready for The Cat day 3 filming up in Darlington, Md. I am bringing my camera and taking pictures on set, hope they don't mind. Also I am going to be booming more!!!! Yay!

Then on Sunday it is the final day for Love is Undead!

Wish me luck,
Daniel Hess

Interview Day

So today is the day for my interview with Black and Decker for their video internship. It is at 2:30pm and I was up pretty late last night getting everything I needed ready to go for the interview. I am extremely nervous as I am for most things that I am unsure of but at the same time I am ready to get it done. I hope all goes well with it and that I may be fortunate enough to get the spot.

Also right now I am about to have another double gig day on Friday with two football games back to back. At 1:30pm I have the Gilman vs. Archbishop Spalding game and then at 7pm there is the Good Counsel football game. The Gilman game is fine but the Good Counsel game is an hour away from where I live so it will be a nice and long drive to get there, it sucks but for the money I can't really argue it. We will see today when I get the confirmation if I am getting both games but I more than likely will.

I swear I could fill like a novel full of papers if I kept rambling on about what is going on over here at TTP but I won't do that today, gotta get ready for school and interviews.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Paranormal Activity 3

So last night I decided to see Paranormal Activity 3 with my girlfriend Ashley. I went in with almost no expectations even though I did enjoy the first two, especially the original. I am not here to give away the story but it starts out right before the events of the second one and you see Katie drop off all these old vhs recordings which neither seems to remember. And then after the whole robbery scene in the second one it switches over to the tapes. Again here the theme is that tension builds up from the beginning in a very strange way, at the start of the film this is achieved beautifully which has a pretty cool effect. However directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (of Catfish fame) begin to stick to a predictable scare/plot factor which seems all too familiar. Things get crazier we start finding out more than the biggest thing that hurts this film is when they leave the house and stay the night with Julie's grandmother...this is where the film loses all the steam. At this point the plot becomes so easily predictable it almost hurts, there is not subtle way to say it. As soon as they got there I thought "Oh it is becoming one of those movies." I understand Joost and Schulman wanted to take it another new direction but the reason no one took the films the way they did is because it begins to make the film more like a conventional horror film which sucks. Plus there are almost no 'little' scares in this film, all of that is traded off for big over the top more crowd pleasing thrills. These young directors are fresh in their careers and it seems as though this franchise was just too much for them to take on. If there is a fourth incarnation in this series hopefully they will release the horror comes from keeping it contained and small; that is why the first one was so successful.

Pass on this one or wait until dvd.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Internship?

So I have an internship all lined up for this Thursday at 2:30pm with Black and Decker. For the internship I am basically going to be creating web content, editing, and just helping out with the video portion of Black and Decker. It is a pretty independent internship which focuses on mostly in house corporate style video production. It is a paid internship through Black and Decker which offers a lot for me to learn as far as video production/corporate communication. I am very excited and hope that the interview goes well even though I am extremely nervous.

I am also going to be finishing up my film Love is Undead this Sunday November 13th in the morning which should be a lot of fun and going back onto the set of The Cat on the 12th to help them again with sound and whatever else they need. So another packed week and another week of brushing school off, it is going to catch up to me but between the future and the now, it is pretty obvious what I am trying to invest in.

Thanks for the support/love,
Daniel Hess

Another Crazy Weekend

So this weekend I had another hectic schedule to say the least. On Saturday I helped out on set of The Cat from about 9 am to 4 pm, which was a lot of fun. I did sound and odd jobs here and there. I had a lot to bring to the crew such as my lens and various other equipment. However I learned a lot from the experience. More than I think I have learned from any set so far in my film career. It was a fast paced style however it was extremely professional and easy going. It was the best of both worlds, extremely relaxed but at the same time amazingly productive.

So I am going to go on a rant for a second and say some nice things about these guys. The director Zach Myers and Cameraman/DP Everett Glovier are two amazing dudes! They are only in Community College but yet they already get how to make a film. They have been able to pull together some great actors which thanks to the help of Craigslist has become very easy and they have all the right equipment. I mean had I been able to get over my social anxiety two years ago and use actual actors instead of myself and friends I may have been at their level a long time ago. I consider them much above my level of expertise and I know these guys if they can stay together as a team will go places. I hope to keep working this well throughout The Cat with them and to for sure work on future projects.

As far as Saturday night I had to go to Archbishop Spalding High School to film the MIAA championship soccer game (Gilman vs. Mcdonogh). It was my first ever time filming a soccer game and it was a tough one between both teams. Very good defense which lead to overtime. In overtime Mcdonogh got a crazy lucky goal to win it 1-0 over Gilman. The worst part of it however was the fact that it felt like 0 degrees at the top level of the press box. At the end of the game literally everything we had sitting out was frosted over because of the extreme cold. After the game we ate and went to bed around 1 am.

In the morning today I got up at 5 :45 am in order to get ready for The Cat day 2 starting at 9 am again. Today we got through a lot more and our actors again put in a great performance, and again I worked sound which seems to be my go to job on set lol. It was fun, free pizza, and a fun chill time. They had some amazing on set effects and Everett seems to be a genius of everything from production to post lol. Even though he is on set douche...just kidding.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Two Gigs...One Day

So today is another Saturday of double gigs, which I wasn't expecting at first but now at least I am breaking even from all the time I missed during the weekend.

My first gig is from 9 am to 4 pm which is helping my buddy with his short film The Cat which should prove to be cool and fun. I don't think I am getting paid but it doesn't really matter because it is a set where I just go to and don't have to direct...which is nice to just do a job only.

The second gig is the MIAA championship soccer game today between Gilman and Mcdonough which starts at 7:30pm. The nice thing is it is being played at Archbishop Spalding High School which is in Severn, Md (only a half hour away). My first soccer game filming ever and it will be streamed live online tonight. Since I am getting paid for this game I am not taking a hit this weekend like I thought I would be.

So now is the time for video work more I guess. Either way wish me luck.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Slowing Down

This week turned out to be a challenge not because of a lot going on just because I have become so drained. I decided not to film a football game on Friday because it is shaping up to be the only day of rest for me even though I am going to be working.

That being said I am still going to be helping out on a fellow filmmaker's film throughout the month of November as well as finishing my film up on what is going to be (at least right now) on November 13th. Plus I have to start editing my corporate video for the Baltimore Humane Society...so now there is a switch from photo back to video again.

I am going to try to keep updating the blog as much as I can but right now I just need a lot of sleep...

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Ellis Island Trip

Well after a long while of editing I have all the best pictures from my trip to Ellis Island this year. I took 107 and narrowed it down to 23 or 24, I don't remember 100% but either way the ones I picked are my favorite from the trip. I recommend going to see the Statue of Liberty to anyone, it is really remarkable and I would go again if I had the chance to. For now though please enjoy these pictures and let me know what you think of them.

Thanks everyone,
Daniel Hess

October is Over!

Well since today is the first day of November I realized that October is finally over (duh!) but it was really a crazy incredible month to say the least. I know I say all the time that To Tony Productions is expanding and growing and on to bigger things but this month really showed me that bigger things are coming. The fact that in one day I managed to fit in three gigs from the morning to night is insane but somehow we managed to get it done.

I have had a blast filming all the great High School football games for IBN sports and the experience I have gained is incredible...just from finding a little ad on Craigslist I have gotten so much work. Also going to the Funky Formal was really cool and a unique experience (a party in an alley really?) that I will not be able to top for some time. Going to the dogfest at the Baltimore Humane Society was fun just to see all the dogs and the cool setup that BHS has. Plus the pics I got from that event were incredible. Then for the first time I got to see the Statue of Liberty which is now 125 years old...it is a once in a lifetime experience.

October 2011 is a month I won't forget and it was the first time in a long time I found a perfect balance between my professional and social lives. November is already shaping up to be a crazy month as well, I just hope things keep up this way for a long time.

Wish us all luck,
Daniel Hess