Mind of Migg

That’s right, our web series site is live. Check it out here —> http://www.chutesladderswebseries.com

We also have a Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chutes-and-Ladders-Web-Series/212414365465674

Our first teaser trailer will be going up next week. If you’re a fan of what we’re doing, please like us and be sure to follow those pages for updates about the web series.

I knew I wanted the web series to be sci-fi. I had an idea floating around that involved doppelgangers and time travel, so I built it from there. I originally imagined a more serious tone, a la Primer. I started researching Einstein-Rosen bridges and related material, wanting it to be more scientific. I soon realized that my natural voice started creeping into the story though, so it became a little quirker and had a little more humor than planned. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I dozed off when rewatching Primer (in fairness, it was a late night and I still love the movie), but I couldn’t stop watching episodes of Doctor Who or Firefly that I put on for further inspiration.

I started brainstorming possible stories that could be shot with no budget. I worked backwards from this criteria:

• Minimal locations – a house, neighborhood exteriors, places that I knew I could get for free
• Outdoor locations - nobody would bother us in the middle of nowhere and a majority of the scenes lit in natural light since we wouldn’t be renting equipment
• Minimal cast/crew – Even on a low budget, the more mouths to feed each day really adds up. Needed to keep number of people around as low as possible.

My go-to for brainstorming

I tossed around a few ideas between other work over the next few months and then banged out the first three episodes in August. Those first three episodes had an interesting concept, but I had created a complex story with more questions than answers. I needed to figure out the mess I had created and make the rules to the world. This required some more research and a lot of confusing timelines to make sure I left no holes in the time travel. I had many nights staring at a blank screen, many late nights of frustration, a few “a-ha!” moments, and then, finally, I had the story. I mapped out a plan far beyond the initial season, because it was a lot of fun and because there were so many different way to go. Then I sat down and wrote the rest.

The remaining episodes were written in December and January. I gave that completed season 1 draft to trusted readers, revised, and had a presentable version before February. It was only when I switched to Producer mode that I realized I had become so entrenched in the story that I had neglected some of my initial rules. It was a much more ambitious plan than I thought it would be. Further, the entire season came in at 57 pages. What began as an idea to shoot something simpler than a short or feature was suddenly a sci-fi with special effects, action, multiple locations, and a good number of shooting days.

When I thought “web series”, I imagined how short one episode was, without thinking of what a total season looked like. Did that make me reconsider? Not at all. We were filming this.

Next: Part II – Changing states: AZ to CA

I was tired of waiting. Two years had passed since Pá had screened at festivals. There had been a lot of talk, a lot of progress, and even a few more times on sets. But no final products that were mine. I had a lot more scripts and a lot of potential projects that could take off at any moment, but I was tired of waiting for someone else to determine my destiny. So I decided, “why not make a small project in the meantime?” I sat down and created a document titled, “webisode brainstorm.” That was last April. In the last year, the biggest thing I’ve learned is that shooting one webisode isn’t so bad. Shooting an 11 episode sci-fi web series without a budget isn’t much easier than shooting a feature. What was I thinking?

I was thinking I needed to shut up and film – to put my money where my mouth is. Learn by doing. So I committed to making a project and figuring things out as I went. So far, it’s been a crash course in producing – I’ve learned what works, what doesn’t, how many jobs are too many for one person, and which jobs I prefer over others. I wanted this project to happen, so I told people about it. The more people I told, the more committed I was to shooting it.

Every step where I had to make a commitment – buying equipment, holding auditions, casting talent, hiring crew – was an uphill battle to not back out. The closer I came to having a real project, the more terrified I was about not screwing it up. It’s easy to talk about a potential project. It’s intimidating to know there’s real people and money you’re responsible to. I kept waiting for a moment where I was called out as a fraud, until I finally accepted that 1) I wasn’t and  2) I was working with some amazing people, who were committed to the project and to me. When the first day finally arrived, all the preparation paid off. That’s not to say things didn’t go wrong. They certainly did. Everything that can go wrong will on a low budget shoot. But we were ready.

Right now, we’re about halfway through shooting. We started on March 4. I took an entire week off from my day job in order to make sure everything was ready. Since I’m now out of time off from the day job, we’re finishing up our last few days over weekends in April. The web series, “Chutes and Ladders” will premiere this summer. There’s going to be two aspects to the build up of that premiere – internal and external.

This is the internal part. I’m going to document as much of the process as possible. All the ups and downs, what worked, what didn’t, and how exhausting and awesome it has been. I may eventually cross post these entries at the official site (which will go live in the next few weeks), but right now I’m undecided.

The external part will involve the actual world of the story. This is a lot more than a web series. You’ll see what I’m talking about in the coming weeks, but needless to say I can’t wait for the different things we’re going to try and for seeing how some of these ideas play out. I hope it works, I’ll be sad if it doesn’t, but either way, it’s going to be a lot of fun and a great experience. That’s all you can really ask for, right?

Next Up – Part I: The Story

It’s time to dust off this blog and get ready for the New Year. What better way to start than with a review of the Doctor Who Christmas special? I know I’m a little late, what with Christmas being two weeks old now, but I have to start somewhere, right?

I’m thinking one way to post regularly can be to write reviews of shows I really enjoy. I know a whole lot of other people do that, and much better than I ever could. But they don’t do it for the random cool shows I like. So instead of tackling the popular ones, I’m sticking with Doctor Who and Torchwood reviews this year, and maybe any other British show that catches my fancy.

So, the Christmas special. First, I’d like to thank BBC America for finally airing it on Christmas day. This meant I was able to watch it on my TV instead of on my laptop, which is nice. It was a great cap to Christmas to be able to watch it in the living room with family. This year’s Christmas special followed the Christmas Carol storyline, somewhat. The Doctor had to change the convictions of a grumpy old man and do so in a way that involved his past, present, and future.

Time and again, Steven Moffat has been able to tell wonderful stories that make full use of time travel. While most other Doctor Who stories revolve around using the TARDIS to get to and from a location, Moffat is able to use the act of traveling through time and space as an essential part of the plot in his stories. We’ve seen it in “The Girl in the Fireplace”, “Blink”, “Silence in the Library”, and “The Big Bang”. He does much more with time than plopping the Doctor and his companions in a strange new time or world.

In “A Christmas Carol” he does it again, with the Doctor playing the ghost of Christmas time. Rather than show his Scrooge, Kazran, how he had changed over time and the consequences of his continued course in the future, the Doctor attempts to change his experience and gel him into the man he could’ve been. What results is a touching story that delves into how experience shapes who we are, and how often youthful optimism and aspirations can be crushed by adults too old to realize the terrible cycle they are perpetrating. We all sometimes get caught up in the cynicism of real life and forget the things that truly matter.

The Doctor allows Kazran to experience things he never originally had an opportunity, such as true love with Abigial, a woman who’s days are literally numbered, but who’s spirit is always positive. Thanks to the wonders of time travel, the Doctor is able to grow up with Kazran, allowing him to spend every Christmas Eve with Abigail as he grows up.

The changes are seen in real time as old man Kazran watches. When all of the Doctor’s efforts appear to have been in vain, he uses a last resort of showing young Kazran what old Kazran has become. The situation is overwhelming for him. Can you imagine, as a child, seeing that you’ve become a bitter old man? It might make you reconsider the actions you take along the way. It had that effect on Kazran, and allowed a bittersweet ending. Abigial’s song saved the ship Amy and Rory were on, and she was able to spend another night with Kazran, her last night.

This has to have been the most creating and touching twist on the Christmas Carol story I have ever seen. It was the perfect finish to Christmas and it ended with an awesome trailer of the coming season. I can’t wait for the series 6 premiere now!

Goodbye Tennant, hello Smith!

David Tennant was my Doctor. Sure, Christopher Eccleston paved the way for the reboot, but I saw most of season 2 before season 1. So I was all about Tennant. I was skeptical heading into series 5 that things would never be the same.

Then Matt Smith made me smile after a tragic regeneration scene to finish the 2009 specials. I tried to stifle the smile, not wanting to appear a traitor to Tennant. It nearly worked, except that the series 5 teaser trailer blew me away. I found myself excited for Doctor Who all over again.

The season premiere episode did a great job of defining the new quirks of the Doctor and companion as well as paying homage to the previous Doctors. It was a strong episode and had the Steven Moffatt flair for adventure that I was hoping to see in the new season. It’s hard to describe how I felt about this season – it was familar, but different. Actually, I guess that wasn’t so hard.

Moffatt appears to go more for entertainment value, less for dramatic epicness the way Russell T Davies did. I love both approaches so it’s hard to choose a favorite, but I do miss some of the moments where Tennant’s Doctor would stand up and save the universe with a wink and a nod. Smith’s Doctor prefers to point out he’s brilliant in smaller doses and is much less cheeky about his actions while saving the universe. Still, he has that Doctor charm.

My favorite episodes, in no particular order:

• The Eleventh Hour – Great intro to the new Doctor and new companion.
• Amy’s Choice – The Doctor holds a mirror up to his darkest side.
• The Hungry Earth – Excellent characters and lots of suspense and adventure.
• Cold Blood – A strong finish becomes tragic with a crazy surprise ending.
• Vincent and the Doctor – One of the most touching episodes of Who I’ve seen. I dare you to not choke up a little at the end.
• The Pandorica Opens – All kinds of epic. Sets up a great finish to the first season of the Matt Smith/Steven Moffatt era.

Of course, there’s things I didn’t like about this season. Sometimes it felt like the ‘science’ aspect of the ‘science-fiction’ was sacrificed in the name of entertainment. A few of the episodes felt a little to rushed, or problems too easily solved, like in “The Beast Below”, “Victory of the Daleks”, and “The Lodger”. And don’t get me started on the finale.

I think paradox’s are fun when used sparingly but I felt the paradox used to get the Doctor out of the Pandorica was a huge cheat. For all the setup of the outstanding previous episode, I was let down by the finale. Strange too, that I had no problem accepting that one word, connected by a psychic link can defeat the Master, but when Amy uses her memory to bring the Doctor back I was disappointed. Maybe the entertainment over science? Maybe the low key epicness? Maybe I’m not fully connected to these characters yet? Maybe a lack of execution? I can’t decided so I’m going to go with all of the above.

Make no mistake, despite my criticisms I loved this season. It has a strangely nostalgic feel. The way so many shots were framed and just the overall vibe of the show feels like a throwback to the older seasons. I’m excited that the mystery of “the silence” wasn’t solved this season and along with the mystery of River Song, will unfold over the course of next season. It’s nice to have a sense of continuity with all these new characters. And one more thing…bow ties are cool!

“You be careful.  Because your song is ending, sir.”

Those were the words of warning in the first Doctor Who special of 2009.  And then this:

“He will knock four times.”

(Watch the scene for yourself here)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBMPTsI-PL0

Doctor Who fans like me were left hanging, wildly speculating on what this meant.  Everyone thought it was obviously a reference to The Master, and his sound of the drums (duh duh duh duh).  But David Tennant and Julie Gardner had this to say on the Planet of the Dead commentary:

David: “…and if you think you’ve figured out what that means, you’re wrong!”

Julie: “But when you do figure it out, it’s a sad day.”

She was absolutely right.  It was a sad day indeed.

The rest of the post includes spoilers, so if you haven’t seen “The End of Time” yet – 1) what are you waiting for!  And 2) don’t read this if you want to be surprised when you do watch it.

Everyone knew David Tennant would be leaving his run as the Doctor after the four specials of 2009.  It was only a question of how.  By the time the two part “The End of Time” came around at Christmas and New Years, I was dying with anticipation.  I was so sad to see him leave, but I was tired of delaying the inevitable.  This is in part due to the great episode, “The Waters of Mars” that showed a conflicted Doctor going through the exact same emotions as the audience, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the prophecy would come to pass.

Each season of the new Who has had a progressively larger finish.  Who thought Rose looking into the heart of the TARDIS and destroying an army of Daleks would come in fifth on epicness scale?  That was followed by a Dalek/Cyberman war, the end of the world by the Master, and the theft of Earth by Davros bringing together characters from three different series.  The End of Time blew all of those finishes away.

The main reason it blew everything else away, besides the heartbreaking story, was the amazing acting.  I look forward to Wilf (Bernard Cribbins) every time he’s on an episode.  He made a great companion to the Doctor in this finale.  John Simm’s Master is so awesome.  The others were brilliant as well, and I loved the appearance of all the supporting people in this Doctor’s life, but those three in particular were the primary players.

The prophecy that I referred to earlier also had another part – “It is returning through the darkness.”  Now, there was a lot of speculation of this line also, and my thoughts about it turned out to be true.  The “it” was Gallifrey!  You’d think this would be an exciting thing, the Time Lords returning and the Doctor no longer so alone.  It would also change the landscape of the coming seasons if there were other Time Lords again.

However, this wasn’t the case.  I got chills when the Doctor, not one for violence and after refusing a gun from Wilf, takes the gun and runs when he learns that Gallifrey is returning.  The Time Lords returning wasn’t a good thing, because it meant everything about the last moments of the Time War came along with them.

A lot of mysteries from the past four seasons were revealed in these two episodes, but a lot of questions were left unanswered.  We saw whom it was that picked up the Master’s ring after the Doctor cremated him at the end of season 3, but we still don’t know who she is (ok, technically we know it’s the Doctor’s mom, but will she back again?).  We also got more tidbits of exactly what went down at the end of the Time War and why the Doctor did what he did.  We may not have had a full play by play as some had hoped, but it was more than enough for me.  We also learned why the Master had the sound of the drums in his head.  The Time Lords created a monster and drove him mad.  He did not appreciate that.  And finally, we learned who knocked four times.

Everyone (at least I did) thought the knocking part of the prophecy was over in part one when the Master knocked four times to get the Doctor’s attention.  But no, that wasn’t the final knock.  That made it even more sad and surprising when the knocks did come at the end.  Part of me even hoped that it didn’t actually mean the Doctor would “die” the same way Donna didn’t “die”.  Just as tragic, but at least he wouldn’t be gone.

It wasn’t to be.  There he was, having survived the Master, survived a leap from a speeding spaceship, fought off the Time Lords, and watched as the Master helped destroy them, when he heard it.  Four knocks.  That’s when my heart sank.  Wilf was trapped in a compartment that could only be unlocked by another person stepping into the other side.  He had trapped himself in to let an innocent scientist out.  That’s the type of person he is.  That’s also the type of person the Doctor is.  He knew he had no choice but to let Wilf out and absorb all the radiation, meaning he had no choice but to die and regenerate.  So he did.  He saved Wilf.

The new series had been building to this moment.  This isn’t the same Doctor from years ago.  He had to destroy his people and is alone now.  He finally reached a point where he’d had enough, and he wasn’t ready to go.  The Doctor carries the weight of the universe on his shoulders but does so with a smile and a run.  But he had been worn down too much this time.  That’s why it’s so heartbreaking at the end.  After all that he does, his reward is another death.  Watch the sequence for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubi1TaVlbso

This was different from previous regenerations because he had time to absorb what was going to happen.  It was bad enough to kill him, but not so bad that he couldn’t delay the regeneration for a bit.  He had a chance to say goodbye to a lot of people, Jack, Martha, Mickey, Sarah Jane, Donna, Wilf, and of course, Rose.  The tenth Doctor’s final lines are fitting.  He had saved so many people, expanded his powers, was a bit pompous sometimes, but cared so much.  Of course he didn’t want to go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQrd44v7Q6w

It was such a great end to David Tennant’s Doctor.  Strangely, I enjoyed the last few moments that introduced Matt Smith.  As much as I loved the tenth Doctor, I’m ready for the 11^th.  I feel like we’ve been saying goodbye forever.  Watching the trailer for the upcoming season of the new Doctor Who has me even more excited.  With Stevan Moffat running things now, I know it’s going to be great.  But David Tennant, you will be missed.

I recently completed the first rough draft of a TV drama pilot I’ve been working on.  Finishing a piece of longer work is strange.  Not only does it feel empty once it’s complete, but it also is a challenge to go back to it.  After all that effort, after all those sweat and tears, reaching “Fade Out” or “The End” is really only the beginning.

The real writing doesn’t begin until the rewrite.  This is a fairly recent discovery for me, mostly because I got away with turning in rough drafts hot off the presses all through college.  In fact, there may have only been one or two papers I actually even read before turning in.  I was lucky to pass, and extremely arrogant in my writing abilities.  I didn’t realize how much that approach hurt my writing potential.  It’s a habit I find hard to break.  Many times I have to force a deadline upon myself to finally get words to paper.

The difficult thing about editing is that the process of writing the first draft is so mentally draining.  Why edit something that already took so much effort?  Add to that the fact that once I’ve stepped away from something for a bit, I can look at it more objectively.  When that happens, my “work of art” quickly becomes a “piece of crap”.  I seriously hate going back to pieces I’ve written.  It’s like going through your digital camera after a drunken night.  You cringe wondering how sloppy those glamour shots you felt you were taking the night before actually look.  I have that same dread when I sit down to edit something I’ve written.  I go through a period of self-doubt and questioning why I keep doing what I’m doing.

At least, that was how it used to be.  Two things have happened over the last year of my writing development.  One, the pictures don’t look so bad, and two, it’s not so hard to fix the ones that do.  I suppose you could say, metaphorically speaking, that I don’t get as drunk as I used to.  Learning how to edit has helped my initial drafts.  I’ve accepted it as a natural part of the process so it allows me more freedom in my writing.

Also, I’m no longer so stubborn and defensive.  I would convince myself that what was already written was not only correct, it was as good as it could get.  Not so anymore.  I won’t hesitate to chop out what was my favorite line or paragraph.  I’ve learned that nothing is written in permanent marker.  I’ve also accepted that just because I didn’t get it right in my first go-round, doesn’t mean it’s a lack of knowledge or talent.  Re-writing is a vital part of the process.  It’s okay to edit.  It took some time to convince the “me” of college of that fact.

Knowing how to rewrite – how to recognize where to edit, what to edit, and how to edit is vital to creating a good piece of work.  I know now that it is one step of the process and not a knock against my writing to edit.

How Awesome Is Glee?

Very awesome.  That’s the answer to that.  I’ve been hooked on Glee this season.  It’s one of only two new shows (the other being Modern Family) that I watch on TV.  I was first turned on to Glee through my summer TV Pilot writing class at UCLA.  The pilot episode was available on Hulu and I just so happened to be writing my own pilot that takes place in a high school.  I watched and thought it was just okay.  It had some potential and closed strong after a shaky middle.  I wasn’t sure it had staying power.  I’m glad it proved me wrong.

Glee follows a high school glee club as they prepare for sectionals with the goal being to move up the ranks and be glee club champions.  The situations are over the top and outrageous, but the characters feel real.  It’s this strange sense of far-fetched reality that I think can only exist in a world where a football team breaks out into a http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ornIWg0VG7g performance of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” to win the game.

I love Glee because it roots for the social outcast underdogs.  Diversity and acceptance are primary themes of the show, but it never feels like an after school special or movie of the week.  There are minorities in the club, football players and cheerleaders mocked for being a part of the team, a singer in a wheelchair, and a girl with a stutter (but not a real stutter.  But she still had a reason for it.).  It’s a group of misfits who are more genuine and caring than any of the popular kids teens so often aspire towards.  It’s been said multiple times by different character that they’d, “rather be part of a group of glee club nerds that accept me for who I am, than part of some popular group that doesn’t care.”  The lead cheerleader discovers who her real friends are when she’s pregnant, and the star quarterback realizes what he really loves doing when he chooses glee club over football.

Glee deals with multiple social issues in touching ways: teen pregnancy, homosexuality, disabilities.  And the best part is, they do it all in song!  There are classic musical numbers, modern songs, and of course, mashups http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMD4Te_SoZM.   I never thought I’d see a show with different musical numbers each week, but I love it and get excited for what songs will be on each new episode.  The songs are always entertaining and have yet to disappoint.

The show provides such a full range of emotions.  It reminds me of the first few seasons of Scrubs.  It’ll have situations that make me laugh out loud, and then serious or heartfelt moments where you can hear a pin drop in our apartment as Violet and I watch.  The episodes are arranged so you can’t help but root for the team and all its members on their path towards Regionals.  You cheer for them every step of the way through the twists and turns.

Glee is on break right now, and won’t return with new episodes until April.  That means there’s plenty of time to http://www.hulu.com/glee catch up on old episodes if you haven’t been watching.  Do it!

What is science fiction?  How would you define it and categorize it?  There are so many types; it’s hard to lock down one clear definition.  I’m taking a Sci-Fi writing class through the UCLA Extension Program this semester and the instructor asked for our own definition.  I had never thought about this and it’s tougher than I thought.

To make our jobs easier, he first gave us his interpretation of science fiction.

“Any story that relies on science for its narrative advancement.”

This helps cover the variety of different sci-fi genres, but I don’t think I like it.  I believe what makes sci-fi so compelling (at least to us sci-fi nerds) is that it holds a mirror up to society better than any contemporary story could.  The science is a way of telling the story in a unique way.  However, the science can be stripped away from many of examples of science fiction and still leave the main story.  When the USS Enterprise visits a warring planet and tries to make peace, it’s a diplomatic story.  No warp drive is necessary to tell that tale.  District 9 deals with apartheid, it just uses aliens to effectively get its point across.  Doctor Who is sci-fi at its finest, but some of the best episodes require the Doctor to make do without technology – his TARDIS can’t be reached in “The Satan Pit”; he is a human in “Human Nature”.

I don’t believe a story has to rely on science in order to be classified as sci-fi.  A time travel story requires the technology to time travel, true, but it’s what happens in the past or future and the characters’ interactions that make up the majority of the story.  The narrative is driven by their actions and attitudes while in a strange new world.  It becomes a reflection of our own thoughts and ideals in our time and how they differ either in hindsight or in potential.  I think in nearly every case of sci-fi, you can tell the same story in a different way without the science.  It just wouldn’t be as interesting.

So how would I define science fiction?  That’s a good question.  I’m sure anything I put forth would be full of more holes than my instructor’s attempt.  The problem is, there’s so many types – military, time travel, distopia/utopia, steampunk, hard, soft.  The great thing about science fiction though, is that it always stirs debate.  Debates about the realism of technology in the story, debates about the moralistic views of the characters, debates about how the characters are reflections of modern day – even when going for pure entertainment, there is something special about the multiple layers of any science fiction story.

I would say any story that invokes science as a story element in a speculative or fictional manner can be defined as science fiction.  That’s to say that, this fictional science is used in order to create the world of the story.  It’s a structure, but it’s only one pillar of the whole.  It creates a world, but it doesn’t necessarily drive the narrative.  That is left to the characters.

A phaser is no different than a gun in the sense that it’s used to achieve the same end.  But how cool is it to see a laser instead of a bullet?  And how cool is science fiction that writers can imagine all kinds of impossibilities that may someday come to pass?  As technology continues to advance at breakneck speeds, the range of sci-fi storytelling continues to grow. The problem with trying to define science fiction is that it knows no bounds.  It speaks to us in many ways, through many forms.  That is the beauty of it.

I had heard great things about The Hurt Locker so I knew I had to see it. I finally got a chance on Saturday and it took the rest of the day to calm down after watching. It’s an intense film.

The Hurt Locker is about the group of soldiers who work on bombs every day. They go into hostile territory to dismantle explosives all the while potentially being shot at or attacked. The movie opens with a quote that talks about the addiction of war as a drug, and you can clearly see the effect of that in this movie.

The opening scene has you on the edge of your seat and I stayed that way until the end of the movie. The opening scene shows the group attempting to blow up a bomb that hasn’t gone off. They send in a robot, but a wheel breaks and the lead guy has to put on “the suit” and place the explosives himself. Things go wrong in all kinds of ways.

After that, the team gets a new leader, one who is reckless and more arrogant than his predecessor. The team is less than a month away from finishing their tour and the by-the-book second in command is ready to be out of there. They face some tricky bombs and tough situations.

The thing I loved about this movie was the connection developed with the central characters. They were multi-layered and much deeper than simple war personas. The new guy is addicted to the adrenaline rush, but he’s not an idiot and he cares a whole lot more than he let’s on. The by-the-book guy longs to be the man who puts on the suit, but knows he never will be. The third guy is a wreck after failing to shoot someone who sets a bomb off.

The emotions in this film are very raw and real. The camera work was great; it almost felt like a documentary for much of it. It gave me such a respect for the people who are out there doing these types of things with no fanfare, and no gratitude shown for their bravery. Go see this movie.