Busy!

March 20, 2011 Ashley F. Millerallergies, conference, freelance, freethought, I need a drink, march madness, ncaa, nicholl, sca, secular coalition of america, social axcess, social media, tam, the west wing, tutoring, washington, WritingLeave a comment

Have you ever had one of those weeks where there was just too much going on? That’s the sort of week I’ve been having. It’s been good, great even, I’ve just had a lot on my plate. I love the freelance writing I’m doing but, between working full-time and tutoring and trying to attend local freethought events, my weeks are already too full. Then I got a special assignment from Social Axcess to cover NCAA Social Media for March Madness — so that required a lot of research, because I don’t know much about American sports, and I know even less about college sports. This is because I resented being forced to go to prep rallies when I was in high school — I have a block when it comes to school sports.

Then I was learning a courier route at work, meaning I spent all day in a car driving, so I was working overtime and not in front of a computer. And I had a 1500 word piece due. And I got laryngitis. And it’s spring, so my allergies are in full bloom. And someone wanted to consult with me about an editing project, which I just can’t take on right now, but it’s interesting.

Exciting news! I’m going to the SCA Conference in Washington, DC right before my birthday. Which reminds me that I need to put together some information on Social Media Strategy for them in the next day or two. I hope I get the chance to see a little of DC, I went when I was in 8th grade and that was before I’d seen The West Wing and thought that there was something worth seeing in Washington.

And the world is apparently falling apart, but I haven’t really had time to absorb that. CNN has just had one too many “Where is God in Japan” headlines for me to stomach trying to follow the daily news cycle. And the Nicholl opened, and TAM registration opened.

So it’s Sunday and I still feel on edge, like I should be working, and there’s still plenty on my plate, but I’m taking a day off. Of course, my brain is still going a million miles a minute — I don’t really drink, but maybe I just need a drink.

Nothing to do with the rest of this post

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Flipping Out Season 4

July 15, 2010 Ashley F. Millerauthentic, bravo, flipping out, jeff lewis, reality tvLeave a comment

The great show Flipping Out is coming back for season 4 on August 10th. I am biased, of course, but you should really watch it. And I’m not the only one who says so!

http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2010/07/its-great-day-at-jeff-lewis-office.html

I had the chance to watch the Season Four opener of Flipping Out a few days ago and instantly fell back in love with this series, which manages to effortlessly remain one of the most consistently funny and eye-opening reality series on television today. (That it remains off the radar of the majority of viewers is a crime against reality TV that simply cannot stand.)

Yeah! Take that… reality TV?

Ultimately, the Season Four premiere perfectly matches just what I love about this series, offering the perfect entrypoint for new viewers while continuing the misadventures of the lovable misfits that make up Jeff Lewis Design. So grab a martini, turn off the phone, and prepare to flip out yourself.

See, even new viewers can enjoy it! With a martini no less. So friggin’ watch the show already, jeez. Um, but it won’t be on until August 10, but… on August 10, friggin’ watch the show already, jeez.

Here’s the official site on Bravo: http://www.bravotv.com/flipping-out

First Days

February 1, 2010 Ashley F. Millerassistant editor, Editing, reality tv1 Comment

Always a lot of build up, and then the day is really nothing like the rest will be, of course. Ease into it, figure things out. Everything is deceptively straightforward and laid back. Or rather, the problems you find aren’t problems you’re equipped to address, so you get to outsource them.

I still wish I worked in a room that had any sort of natural light allowed into it. But I have conned my way into getting a drawer and a desk lamp. I may even get two, because it’s dark back here.

Mild Whining and Jeopardy

January 25, 2010 Ashley F. Miller1 vs 100, Editing, Gay, gay marriage, Gay Rights, jeopardy!, maleficent, monty python, moose, prop 8, prop8, reality tv, sleeping beauty, tim burton, vaughn walker, xboxLeave a comment

Next Monday I start my new gig as the Lead Assistant Editor on a reality show. One that my mother loves and my boyfriend hates… so I guess that’s fair. I will be making more money (yay!) but working 10 more hours a week (boo!). That’s like more than an additional day of hours. And because the reality TV industry isn’t about the whole having unions things, my contract stipulates that OT doesn’t begin til after 50 hours.

Need to set aside time to write. Time in which I’m not allowed to, say, go online at all. This week would be good, since I’m losing 10 hours a week starting next week. The rough thing about 10 hour days is that that’s 2 meals you’ve got to do at work, which is difficult to do. At least on film sets, food is provided. 10 hours, plus an hour to get ready in the morning, an hour of commute, an hour of errands or cooking, 8 hours of sleep, leaves… 4 hours. No more 1 vs 100 on Xbox live for me.

Also, the online test to qualify for Jeopardy is happening this week:
East Coast: January 26th at 8pm ET
Central/Mountain: January 27th at 8pm CT/7pm MT
Pacific Coast: January 28th at 8pm PT

Also wik, Judge Vaughn Walker of the Prop 8 trial might be the funniest human being of all time.

Also also wik, I am debating posting the Opening Scene from my old Maleficent script. I would essentially just have to type it up, but I’m not sure there’s any interest and it’s fairly ridiculous. And no one seemed to be NEARLY EXCITED ENOUGH about the fact that Tim Burton wants to make a MALEFICENT movie. SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS.

Wi not trei a holiday in Sweeden this yer? See the loveli lakes. The wonderful telephone system. And mani interesting furry animals. Including the majestic moose. A moose once bit my sister… No realli! She was Karving her initials on the moose with the sharpened end of an interspace toothbrush given her by Svenge – her brother-in-law – an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian movies: “The Hot Hands of an Oslo Dentist”, “Fillings of Passion”, “The Huge Molars of Horst Nordfink”… Mynd you, moose bites Kan be pretti nasti…

Weekend Recap: Nominate me for Awards!

December 17, 2009 Ashley F. Millerbible con, Contest, Editing, Entertainment, Gold, Progress Report, screenwriting, South Carolina, streamys, women in filmLeave a comment

I am still sick, I have been sick for so so long. I mean, I’m 87% better. Which is to say I’m not totally exhausted but I’m still coughing and my nose is still icky. I finished my course of antibiotics, so I’m guessing there’s nothing to do now but hope.

My posting is probably going to be erratic at best starting Tuesday — I’m going to be in South Carolina for a week. I’m hoping to start getting some feelers for raising money there.

I was on set all weekend, shooting two different things. I was script supervising the pilot for Alice and the Monster, which is from the same creative team as Gold: The Series, and then I “starred” in a makeover shoot from which I got a super cute dress that I wore to my company’s holiday party. So, huzzah.

Also, you can nominate Gold: The Series and/or my editing of Gold for the Streamys. They’re pushing for Gold to get Best Comedy and Best Ensemble. Under individuals, you can nominate me for Best Editing, and you can nominate the super awesome Frederick Snyder for Best Director. The site address is www.goldtheseries.com

That’s all for now!

3 weeks to Christmas

December 3, 2009 Ashley F. Millerbible con, Contest, Dyke for a Day, Editing, Gay, Gay Rights, Kevin S. Parker, new york senate, nicholl, screenwriting, scriptsavvy, South Carolina, zoetropeLeave a comment

I wanted to have my rewrite of Bible Con and first draft of Dyke for a Day done by Thanksgiving. I also wanted to have a business plan for the former ready for my trip to SC at Christmas. You know, so I could sort of test the waters for raising the money there. So new deadline, Dec. 22. Except I’m working days, nights and weekends.

It would help if my health wasn’t undermining my energy and I was less easily distracted by QI, which is my new favorite thing in the universe.

In other news, I got my feedback from ScriptSavvy, and for the most part the notes are very good. If you really want decent notes on your script, I would send off to them long before I did to Zoetrope or any other script contest. My only complaint is that the notes have a tendency to talk down to the writer, as though they aren’t terribly bright and don’t know anything about screenwriting. I’m sure this comes from an attempt to guess what you can assume the author knows. They don’t appear to have a terribly high opinion.

I got a 48, which is about 5 points off an honorable mention score, and 7 off a win. I guess that means a strong rewrite could be a winner. One thing I really don’t like about the Nicholl is the complete lack of notes, even for the people who advance. That’s true of many contests, but it’s definitely a flaw in the Nicholl and a strength of ScriptSavvy.

Go to 47:55 of this YouTube video to be incredibly impressed by Senator Parker of NY.

Makeover Show: Pre-Shop

December 2, 2009 Ashley F. MillerEditing, makeoverLeave a comment

It was an interesting experience doing the pre-shop for the Makeover show. I tried on probably half of the store at Nordstrom’s, and then ran around to a half dozen shops looking for other things. It was very much a modeling experience, not a makeover one. What I mean by that is I got dragged around and put on clothes and my input didn’t particularly matter. There are 3 outfits, Casual, Work and Evening, and I get to keep at least one of them. I’m already sure it won’t be the work one, because it’s super boring, but I like the other two. I’ll post sketches of them at some point.

Meanwhile, I don’t feel terribly well and, on top of normal work, I’m editing a narrative short that has a shooting ratio of about 30:1 and the production sound has so far proven to be undigitizeable.

Back to our Regularly Scheduled Programming: Pitching, Zombies, Glee and Otters

November 23, 2009 Ashley F. Millerbible con, Editing, Gay, Glee, musicals, Otters, PitchQ, Progress Report, screenwriting, zombiesLeave a comment

So, I have actually had a good couple of days. I had a pitch with PitchQ. They’re a service that records your pitch and posts it online. I submitted a pitch to a specific call and got to go in and record it without paying the usual fee on the website. It was a really great experience. The guy behind the service is really cool, supportive, and open about the process. He says they accept about 2-3% of the pitches they receive, and then have about a 1% success rate.

He also said if you’ve written a zombie script, you’re in. Which reminds me that I have that zombie idea that I keep meaning to write about. It’s actually web series in my mind — but maybe I could Love Actually that thing up.

And I found out last week that I got a promotion — I’ll now be Lead AE on a full season of a reality show, which is exciting. It won’t start until February, but it’s a decent raise, and an excellent job. I’ll even get to edit the webisodes, which I am stoked about. Because I have a strong attachment to the idea that the web is the new distribution method… as soon as it figures out how to do that.

I also watched the entire first season (so far) of Glee. Which I love. Like, I want to work on that show because it is everything I love: musical numbers, awkward high schoolers, comically over the top bad guys you love, and occasional really touching and honest moments. Also, the gayness. The only thing that would make it better would be otters.

Delinquent

November 16, 2009 Ashley F. Millerbible con, Editing, Logging, nicholl, Otters, Progress Report, screenwritingLeave a comment

I’m sorry I’ve been so lacking in interesting things to say. At the moment I’m just showing up to work and trying to write a business plan. I’m doing a slight re-write of my Nicholl Script, “Bible Con”. I’m hoping to have it and a new script ready to send to Nicholl this year.

So, I dunno, not a lot going on. I’m about to start working on editing a short, but I haven’t actually started yet. I spend a lot of time trolling the internets for jobs. Yeppers.

Craigslist Results

November 8, 2009 Ashley F. Millercraigslist, Editing, experimentLeave a comment

Job Posted at 11:45 AM Friday. I’ll bold the number to the ones I would actually consider. There are 5 of the 21 that I think would be potentially worth responding to, and only 2 of them that I’d feel good about contacting. So… comparatively, I think my resumes and cover letters are at the very least in the pool of worth looking at. I certainly don’t have the impressive credits that some of these people do… you know, actually editing real TV shows and movies, but hopefully the fact that I actually read the posts and respond to what they say will make the difference.

FRIDAY

1) 12:04 PM Fun Resume and Reel
Reel simply a link to Youtube page, featured item a musical composition, not a reel of any sort. Resume focuses on sound and artist work, not editing. Only one editing credit.

2) 12:30 PM Fun Reel
No resume. Several links to reels, too many links, no explanation of what they are. Claims to be able to make my footage look “professional”. Not sure what that means and am vaguely insulted he thinks it looks otherwise without having seen it.

3) 12:36 Fun Resume and Reel
Resume is ugly, has only a few credits, none impressive. Admits focus is directing, and only claims some experience with Final Cut. Does have a link to reel, which is for all of his various film skills. “I am introducing myself and would like to see if there is a job opportunity as a video editor?” His first sentence lost me.

4) 1:04 Fun Resume and Reel
Resume is impressive. Includes a reference to his more impressive work in his letter, and includes that he owns Final Cut, something I mentioned in the ad. This is the first person I’d have responded to.

5) 1:32 Fun Resume and Reel
Reel is once again simply a youtube page with no direction as to what I should be looking at. None of it appears to be a reel. Cover letter clearly a form letter with no reference as to what the job was. Resume vague and unimpressive.

6) 1:37 Fun Resume and Reel
Most of his credits are in sound, but very impressive online resume. Maybe too good, I’d feel guilty for hiring him for just $100.

7) 1:44
Terrible cover letter. No paragraphs, inconsistent capitalization. Clearly didn’t read my post, doesn’t include Fun in his subject line and is asking to be added to my production company. Includes the unforgivable line “I know for a fact that i am the right candidate for this job”

8) 2:37 Resume and Reel
No cover letter, just a bunch of links. His resume is all director/ credits, which is not encouraging. Clearly didn’t read the ad and sent the response double.

9) 2:39 Fun Resume and Reel
Link for reel and resume is to an unnavigable page in hideous colors. Another director/ Includes a rate which has nothing to do with the rate that I posted, doesn’t even reference it. I didn’t ask for a quote, I gave a quote and asked for someone to do it.

10) 2:55 Fun and Reel
No resume, and states that he focuses on weddings. This automatically makes me think he’s no good. But he follows that up with being Apple Certified in FCP, which is actually quite impressive. He should just start with that. Still reads like he didn’t read my posting but I’d probably think of contacting him.

11) 3:00 Fun Reel and Resume
Links to webpage with Reel and Resume. Resume difficult to navigate. Watched some of the projects and they are very bad. The cover letter is clearly in response to my ad, but the grammar is questionable. Would have thought about using if the cutting hadn’t been so bad on his reel.

12) 3:28 Fun Resume and Reel
This is by far my favorite applicant. I would have contacted him definitely, just because he says he focuses on shorts and opened with a “howdy”. He also has an impressive and long resume and his reel is not bad. Of course, he only has FCP 5, and I am at 6, and the current version is 7, so that’s a little meh.

13) 3:40 Fun Reel and Resume
Terrible cover letter for someone who is way overqualified for the project. He clearly didn’t read it because he wants me to bring it by for a quote. I told you how much I had to spend, no need for a quote. This guy is union and has worked on TV shows. Hopefully he trolls CL for better offers than my short.

14) 5:51 Fun Reel and Resume
Hurts himself by sending stock cover letter that he clearly uses for graphic design jobs as well as editing. Has a picture right at the top of his resume. This weirds me out.

15) 6:20 Fun Reel and Resume
What is with people sending me their picture? Bad. Resume includes the word savvy. “Numerous Free-lance clients as Lead Editor (list available)” Well, I’m asking you to be freelance edit so… that’d be nice. Why not include it in the first place. Argh. At this point I’d be tempted to just give up on any new applicants.

16) 6:39 Fun and Reel
No Resume. Cover letter says simple “I’m an editor located near Beverly Hills.” Well, that’s just not enough information.

17) 10:54 Fun Reel and Resume
Marginal cover letter with reel and resume behind a link that doesn’t work. I did get to his webpage by googling but found that there’s not a single title to something he’s cut, just “7 years of editing experience”.

18) 11:26 Reel
No attached resume, no fun. He’s apparently an “indie editor” whatever that means. He’s also seems to think I’m making a music film. Website is hideously awful.

SATURDAY

19) 10:17 AM Fun Reel and Resume
I feel bad because he’s got some great credits, but his resume doesn’t start with editing, it starts with AD and producing work. So, I don’t feel like his focus is editing and not sure I want him to work on it. Still, if I’d talked to the other applicants and none was working out, I’d certainly get in touch with him.

20) 3:25 PM Fun and Resume
No reel. Majored in Theatre is apparently the most important thing I should take into account, since that’s what he starts with. Almost makes me want to not read the rest of it. Resume is mostly acting and Director/ credits.

SUNDAY

21) 2:25 PM Reel
Mass email to 20 other craigslist email accounts. Doubly emailed to me. His day rate is $250. He didn’t send a resume. I’m sort of insulted to have received it, as a matter of fact, and want to send an e-mail back saying “If it’s not worth your time to actually read what people have bothered to post, please don’t respond.”