A New Year!

My first six months in Chicago has been a whirlwind.

I finished my first Quarter at DePaul incredibly impressed - with my professors, my colleagues, the city, and the school in general.  This was somewhat of a gamble joining a program in its third year, but the rewards have been palpable.  Getting in on the ground floor of something that will likely rise the ranks in just a few years is terribly exciting, and I know it has helped me immeasurably as a writer.

I'm incredibly excited (and a little nervous) for the new Quarter to start next week.  And as I enter into it, I'm reminded that it's been almost 4 years since I launched Next Episode (and just over 15 since I came up with Shiprock Pictures as a "company" name back in college!  I remind myself it's only been a few months since I made the domain my blog and I feel a little better).

I'm also faced with the fact that, for these past several years, I've been more than a little lazy, writing and producing-wise.  So I can't help but make that part of my NY resolution:

2014 - The year of getting sh*t done.

And this time, I mean it.

T.V.'s "Golden Age"

Ever since "The Sopranos" premiered, everyone has been screaming at the top of their lungs that it's the "Golden Age" of television.  What that has to do with "The Sopranos" is beyond me, but I understand the excitement - I just feel like it's misplaced in time.

By Dictionary Definition, a "Golden Age" is "an idyllic, often imaginary past time of peace, prosperity, and happiness."  Noting the key words "past" and "imaginary", this does not bode all that well for a present period of exciting new works.  I suppose in the broader sense, a "Golden Age" is simply a great time to be a part of something - either as a casual observer, or an active participant.  Up until recently, I would have argued that there have been several "Golden Ages" to TV, and I suppose I could continue to do so (noting that even now, there is the exact same "garbage to gold ratio" of on-air programs as there's ever been, there are simply more shows at the moment).

But I've come to understand that when people talk of TV's "Golden Age" being now, they are *really* referring to a "Golden Age" of cinematic, serial storytelling (Hey, that's the mission statement for Next Episode!)  Truly, it's hard to call what we're consuming on a weekly or daily basis even "television" anymore, as most of us get it through a computer box connected to other computers.  The only difference between downloading the last episode of "Breaking Bad" (one of the great serial cinematic programs in history, television or otherwise) on Netflix or iTunes, and downloading the thirtieth terrible rant from a crazy person with a camera phone on YouTube has to do with two things - Money, and Validation.

The "Money" part, while important (there's a reason no one is creating anything near "Breaking Bad" quality on YouTube) is still not the primary issue (as anyone who watches - and for some reason likes - "Girls" will tell you).  The bigger issue is Validation.

Channels of distribution, in whatever form they take (theatrical movies, book publishing, newspapers and magazines, broadcast television, cable, websites, and now direct internet pipelines) are all about Validation.  The reason that these businesses as Brand Names will continue into the future (despite the cries of how the internet has "democratized" creative works) is that they are necessary.  They don't always get it right, and they certainly don't speak to everyone (as I hinted earlier, I think HBO is incredibly overrated as a "channel", but that's me).  But given the outrageous amount of information thrown at us minute by minute, it has become absolutely essential that we have those filters, companies that at least to some extent say "hey, we think we might know who you are, and we believe this is worth your time."

In the past, we had fewer choices (some would argue that's better, and while it certainly gives the population a more common context for discourse, the jury is for the moment still out).  Now we have more choices, which can drive us crazy.  But it can also give savvy entrepreneurs the opportunity to champion great work, not just that which will bring in the biggest number of viewers.

Yes, "Big Brother" is still on the air, and still drawing (relatively speaking) "big" numbers.  In "reality" (okay, pun intended) those numbers are a joke compared to what the big three networks (and then FOX) used to draw.  It's no accident that "Big Brother" is on CBS, part of the old paradigm, and one of the dinosaurs which will have to adapt and evolve to be a "survivor" (sorry, I couldn't resist), or will become petroleum, in a world quickly realizing it has to find other ways to power its engines.

In that regard - and though it may take some distance in time for us to really codify the definition - it truly is a "Golden Age" for serial storytelling, and the more companies on the landscape, the more variety, diversity, and quality for all involved.  At least - as someone who's going to be creating content for those companies - that's my hope against hope.

First Day Recap

Met most of my DePaul classmates and profs.  Seem like a real good group of motivated, creative peeps.

Also, we watched "Back To The Future" on Blu-ray on a great-looking projector.
Now I'm lounging at the Starbucks across the street sipping on a Clover©-brewed coffee.  (If you don't know what that is, or live in one of the many cities where they don't have them, well, then you have my sympathies).

Pretty awesome first day (or night).

'Nuff said.

First Day of School

So after years of hiatus from this blog (okay, okay, I never actually did anything with it) I've now rebranded (as Shiprock Pictures), and am using it to update y'all on my writing projects and activities - most recently my new adventure as an MFA Screenwriting student at DePaul University in Chicago.

Orientation begins in less than 2 hours... I've got my backpack zipped up, my Trapper Keeper is stuffed with mid-90s art deco 3-ring folders, and my metal Astroboy lunchbox has my Thermos full of soup (or whatever Mom packed me today).

I'm quite thrilled, and just a touch nervous (about what, I'm not sure, though I do have 5 movies and up to 20 hours of television to view by next week.  Glad Tamir was here a few weeks ago to help me practice my binge-watching.)

I'll post again after the first class, for the hordes of you who are so likely to be reading this.

(Alright, alright, that was my bad.  I'm posting from now on... I swear!)

PRESS RELEASE

Even with a few minor tweaks to the site forthcoming, we still decided to go ahead with our first press release.  You can read it here.

I'm excited that we're gaining credibility by utilizing these news outlets, although I'm bummed we weren't able to embed our Demo reel on any of the releases.  Most sites only accept YouTube currently, and we're hosted on Vimeo.  Hopefully they will start allowing the longer (and much higher quality) Vimeo embeds soon.

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We're Live!

After months of hard work (too many at this point to count), the Next Episode site is now online in all its glory.

I have many people to thank, but particularly Cindy Bird of Media3 Group for the beautiful design and the bulk of the programming, as well as Matt Drollinger from Smart Interactive Media for help with final coding.

I'm excited to be able to finally show off our work, as well as what we're capable of doing.  I can only hope you'll find what's inside as rewarding to watch as it was for us to make.

Here's to a kicking off the decade with a bang.

Now let's find out what's on Next...


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My First Blog Post EVER

That's right. You read correctly. I have never posted a blog before in my life.

Ok... I've never posted my *own* blog before. I've written a few over at doorQ, but this is the first for me, and the first for Next Episode. I suppose there's a first time for everything, eh?

In truth, I'm not totally on board with the whole blogging thing. I absolutely refuse to support the idea of bloggers supplanting traditional journalists. Journalism is not without its problems (particularly in the popular television media), but professional writing should be done by professionals, not every schlub with a laptop.

But I'll jump down off my soapbox by saying that I do believe that blogs are critical to maintain communication between business and the market. For small companies run by a few individuals, they are even more important.

So it's with that in mind that this blog will maintain a professional presence with a personal touch, just as I intend to do with this company. Whether you are a client, or a client's client, in the end you are all our audience. And without an audience, the show can't possibly go on.


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