Saturday, December 20, 2014

Loadout: Going In Hot, End of Year Thoughts

Utter Madness.

When I write my autobiography ( which will probably turn out to be little more than a collection of blog posts and social media rants ) that will be the title of the chapter that summarizes the second half of 2014. It's been utter madness. But of course, in a good kind of way.

It was roughly in June that I started marching a path with Vincent Talenti, the very talented director who has brought to life the Fallout universe in the popular "Fallout: Nuka Break" series. He and I have been working together closely and feverishly for a while now, and just a few days ago released our latest and biggest collaboration "Loadout: Going In Hot"

I think it's safe to say that this is one of the top five things I am most proud of in my life. It's a super fun, quirky little sci-fi piece that I think performs at a feature film level in many ways. Vince directed it, I wrote it, and also served as Executive Producer. This film could not have been made without the help of a number of incredibly dedicated professionals, all of which I owe a great debt of gratitude. It also gave me the chance to work with some fantastic actors, and acquire so many great new memories. On a personal level, one of the most amazing elements was seeing my words and thoughts brought to life. When I first sat down in front of the keyboard to write the script for Loadout, I had a head full of ideas, some great story points from Vince, and a lot of enthusiasm. I'm by no means a writer by trade, nor have I ever really had any plans to become one. But opportunity presented itself, and it seemed foolish to let that opportunity pass me by.

I think one of the most profound take-aways for me from the whole experience is just how much time it takes to make a project like this happen. So many people worked so hard for so long to produce eight minutes of content. It really blows my mind. It's staggering how much effort goes into getting those pictures on screen, and how many talented people work together to make it look so good. It really made me appreciate just how much work goes into studio movies.

All of this took place in the midst of producing a number of episodes of "Prime Time" for Machinima, which has also proven to be a wonderful, gratifying, and creatively satisfying experience. Working with the folks at Machinima has introduced me to so many great ideas and personalities, ones which I would never have been exposed to had Vince and I not joined forces earlier this year. I'm extremely proud of the work we have done with them and for them, and am thrilled at the quality of the work that Wayside Creations is producing. My tiny successes at writing have inspired me to try other things too. Little ideas that I've had kicking around in my head for years now. Nothing terribly ground breaking or new, but just little stories that I thought would be fun to tell. With the encouragement of the gang at Wayside and a few other key people, I've found that I'm really enjoying the writing process, and am creating shows, feature films and shorts that *I*would love to watch. Even if they never get made, I'm thrilled to see the words on the screen. The knowledge that I've completed a task I set before myself is extremely gratifying.

As 2014 comes to a close, I'm sitting down to write another draft of Fallout: Nuka Break - Tales From The Wasteland, and could not be more stoked to do so. Knowing that I will contribute to this universe that fans have embraced so much is a huge honor for me. And I don't even consider it daunting. Because I know that the team at Wayside Creations have got my back, and will support me along the way, and help to turn this into another project that we will all be proud of.

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