Ladies and Gentleman...That's A Wrap!

So maybe those weren't that exact words I used this past Sunday August 9, 2015 around 8:10pm when we finally wrapped the pilot episode of my original webseries SHAW, but damn it, it's what I wanted to say. 

To make a long story, longer... I started working on this project in October 2013, I didn't know, almost 2 years later that I would have a pilot episode wrapped in the can. It's a bit of a surreal feeling. We started shooting in mid March and while it's only been three actual shooting days, mind you those three days were long as fuck! But it's been such an adventure, a lesson in patience and a test in courage. 

Shooting SHAW has been so unbelievable! There have been so many times on set where I just zoned out and was just positively overwhelmed with the amount of love and support emitting off of my amazing crew and cast. I mean seeing this world and these character go from basic ideas in my mind to scribbles of random notes on yellow legal pad paper, to sculpted and layered on my celtx screenwriting software to fully realized and living people and places has been such an adventure. I really could not have asked for a better cast and crew to support this idea and to give up their time and put forth so much effort in just being creative. I have been so blessed and fortunate to work with so many brilliantly talented folks. I have learned so much from each and every person who set foot into the world of SHAW. 

Through this journey I received so many lessons in patience. From working with multiple directors, and arranging schedules for over two dozen people, making and sticking to budgets really taught me to just take it all in and then let it go because we can't control every aspect of our lives or our projects. I haven't even touched on the many weather debacles we had through the past five months. I almost had an aneurysm in June, when we has scheduled our biggest shoot day yet. It was a scene with seven principal actors, seven background actors, a dozen crew members and a ten page chunk of footage that needed to be shot. All week the weather forecasts were saying non stop rain and thunder on the day we were scheduled to shoot. I waited till two days before to cancel, after looking for interior locations to shoot because the weather was not going to be on our side. Two days later, I wake up at 5:30am and there are birds chirping, sky is bright with endless sunshine and it stayed that way until literally 5:00pm. I was so upset that I wasted a day of filming, but I had to just take a step back and realize, that I may be "The God" who created this world of SHAW, but that's as far as my "powers" can go. I can't control the real world, no matter how much I pretend I can. When we eventually got around to shooting that scene, it was an actual bad weather day with on and off rain, but I was ready to just be patient and go with the flow and it turned out pretty freakin awesome.

Lastly, my courage was tested. Singer, Erykah Badu has a great quote at the start of one of her most famous songs, "Tyrone": "I'm a test this out... Keep in mind, I'm an artist, and I'm sensitive about my shit". That's how I felt about letting people read my script for this pilot. 


I had all of these little vampires in my brain, just feeding me negative thoughts. I remember after the project was cast and having the first table read, literally feeling like I was going to puke. But honestly, after being on set and actually filming, it wasn't that bad. At the end of the day what's the worst that could have happened? People may hate it, criticize it and it may never amount to much besides a couple of views on the Youtube. But first of, I actually did it. With the help of so many people who believed in not only this script but in me as a leader and person, I was able to finish something. So many people, NEVER get this far. Secondly, it was a workout in my artistry. I like to compare finishing this pilot, as someone who trains for a 5K run and even though they may not be in the top 10 or  50 or 500 to cross that line, at least they still were able to. No one can take that away from them. Third and probably most important through this experience, was so many different people were able to come together and share something special. This will hopefully lead to more projects and collaborations between this tribe of creativity. 


Again before I close out, I have to thank my incredible crew and cast once again for their support, belief, inspiration and for sharing their gifts with me. I am so looking forward to the editing process and working on the next round of episodes. It is going to be a great rest of the summer and fall. I can not wait for everyone else to actually meet Shaw. 


Until Next Time,


J