Filmmaker's Journal | Production | Shorts | Contact | Store | MPS Digital This journal catalogues the progress of this film since December of 2000. A great deal has changed, and as more progress is made this page will continue to have all the updates. Enjoy the reading and hopefully in a short time you can enjoy the film!  - Heath McKnight    Writer, Producer, Director October 03, 2008 Check out The 9:04 AM Channel at Vimeo! Higher quality version of the webisodes, starting with the trailer and part 1! 9:04 AM trailer from Heath McKnight on Vimeo. [top] August 20, 2008 9:04 AM webisodes are back, due to popular demand! See the entire film in webisode form at http://www.youtube.com/mpsdigital! Start with part 1: [top] July 06, 2008 Sorry for the HUGE lack of updates, probably the most time of me not updating in a few years. Anyway, I recently co-produced a feature film called DECEMBER, and I'm currently editing it. I'm going to start looking at more screenings of 9:04 AM in Florida; as for film fests, I may still submit to one or two, but I love doing screenings more. I can interact with the audience, and we always have fun. Also, we're already moving onto our next film, The 3 Geeks, so I'll have some updates on that. The 9:04 AM DVD and soundtrack are coming soon, I promise. Be well! Heath ps-Okay, so I put up a few more webisodes of 9:04 AM at youtube.com/mpsdigital. I may put up more, because we had a lot of success with the MySpace webisodes. [top] March 07, 2008 9:04 AM webisodes, found at myspace.com/904am, will be coming down by Sunday March 9, 2008, by midnight. Thanks for watching them--it's been a great way to see 9:04 AM online, in webisode form. [top] February 25, 2008 Just a reminder that 9:04 AM is screening in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at the Cinema Paradiso, Feb. 25 at 8 PM. Tickets are only $5. Click here for details and directions. See you there! Heath [top] January 17, 2008 9:04 AM is screening in Ft. Lauderdale on February 26, 2008 at 8 PM, $5! For information and directions to the Cinema Paradiso, click here. See you there! 9:04 AM part 16 Add to My Profile | More Videos The final webisode of 9:04 AM. Heartbroken, Amanda talks to Justin at the hotel. Find out what happens. Music by Grant Balfour and Jonathan Wilkins. See parts 1-15 here. Thanks for watching! Heath [top] January 13, 2008 9:04 AM part 15 Add to My Profile | More Videos Phil tries to do the right thing, while Amanda and Justin make a bad discovery. Music by DIRTROCKET, Charles Mahon of the Algebra, Jonathan Wilkins and Jessica Santaferraro. See parts 1-14 here. Only one webisode left! [top] January 11, 2008 9:04 AM part 14 .. Add to My Profile | More Videos Suzy stands up to the controlling Monique, but what happens? Plus, Justin learns the truth about his friendship with Amanda. Music by Grant Balfour and Harry of Squeaky. See parts 1-13 here! Also, see the feature film "Skye Falling" and the short "Conversations...," on Stage6. I consider Skye, Conversations and 9:04 AM to be an unofficial trilogy. They're linked together by common themes and similar characters and situations. But there's a progression from each film, from the start of Skye to the end of 9:04 AM. I hope you enjoy Skye and Conversations! Watch Skye Falling. Watch Conversations... You'll need to download the most-excellent DivX player, which is free, to watch the movies. [top] January 04, 2008 See 9:04 AM on YouTube: [top] January 03, 2008 9:04 AM part 13 Add to My Profile | More Videos This is it! The final battle between Billie and Mark Lang (aka, Doug Singer from Intergalactic Odyssey). Amanda and Dan talk, and she decides if she'll go to the park with Justin, or hang out with Christie, for the Fourth of July. Meanwhile, things get rough between Monique and Suzy, plus Justin worries about Suzy. Featuring music by Lance Stranahan, Setting Sun and shortSTACK! See parts 1-12 here. [top] January 02, 2008 I'm posting 9:04 AM clips on stage6.com daily, which uses the DivX codec, so if you want to see much better versions of the 9:04 AM webisodes, go to http://www.stage6.com/user/hmcknight/videos/. You'll need DivX to view the webisodes, it's a great, wonderful, awesome free player. Example of part 5, when Suzy meets Monique: Here's part 5 from MySpace: 9:04 AM part 5 Add to My Profile | More Videos I'll still be uploading to MySpace, but this is another great site and service that I really love. Heath [top] January 01, 2008 See 9:04 AM at a much better quality at stage6.com/user/hmcknight/videos/! You'll need to download the free DivX Player here. Just select the Player and download. Join Stage6 for free and leave me a comment! heath [top] December 29, 2007 9:04 AM part 12 .. Add to My Profile | More Videos Billie stalks Mark Lang, who is starting to go crazy, in his motel room, while Phil is haunted by nightmares. Christie talks to her younger sister Amanda about Amanda's failing relationship with Dan. Music by Grant Balfour, JoMiCo and Jonathan Wilkins. See parts 1-11 here!heath [top] December 25, 2007 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Watch 9:04 AM on MySpaceTV! [top] December 22, 2007 9:04 AM part 11 Add to My Profile | More Videos Billie tries tracking down sci fi actor/author Mark Lang at a local comic shop, while Dan and Amanda fight over cell phones. Featuring music by Jonathan Wilkins, Dirtrocket and Grant Balfour. 9:04 AM part 10 Add to My Profile | More Videos Justin and Amanda bond, and share their most secret successes and failures. Featuring music by Harry of Squeaky. See parts 1-9 here! Heath [top] December 13, 2007 9:04 AM part 9 Add to My Profile | More Videos Featuring music by Quitzow! See parts 1-8 here! I recently talked to Maria de Jesus Castellon (Monique) about why chose Quitzow and Setting Sun (they both play in each other's band, and produce each other's work) for the Monique and Suzy scenes: Awesome! It's a girl named Quitzow, and it was produced (or co-produced) by Gary Leavitt of Setting Sun. FYI, the song when Monique and Suzy meet the guys, plus the song when Suzy is dressed like Monique and she slams Suzy against the wall, that's Setting Sun. Setting Sun is darker, and I think Quitzow is, too. That's Monique music. When Suzy first meets her, a punk-pop band not unlike early No Doubt, called shortSTACK is playing. This is Suzy music. You really don't hear that band again, until the park, because Monique took over Suzy's life. Wow, I didn't mean to go on like that, but that's why I chose it. Find out more at myspace.com/quitzow and Setting Sun's MySpace page. [top] December 11, 2007 9:04 AM part 8 Add to My Profile | More Videos See parts 1-7 here! [top] December 06, 2007 9:04 AM part 7: 9:04 AM part 7 Add to My Profile | More Videos See parts 1-6 here! [top] December 02, 2007 9:04 AM part 6 Add to My Profile | More Videos Featuring music by Lightning Type and Dirtrocket! See parts 1-5 here! Heath [top] November 26, 2007 Part 5 of 9:04 AM...when Suzy meets Monique! 9:04 AM part 5 Add to My Profile | More Videos See parts 1-4 here. [top] November 23, 2007 Hey everyone, It's the day after Thanksgiving, and that means it's Black Friday! Why not avoid long lines and shop at the MPS Digital Studios store for some cool 9:04 AM, Skye Falling, and more t-shirts, clothes, posters and more?! Use the FRFAM2007 code at checkout to save $15 on orders of $50 and more! Free shipping on orders over $75 (use the code SHIP07)! Also, looking for a new DVD to watch? How about Skye Falling? It includes the feature length movie, commentary track, documentary, extended scenes and more, all for the new low price of $14.99! If you don't want special features, pick up Skye Falling for only $9.99 here! Happy Holidays! Heath [top] November 21, 2007 9:04 AM part 4 Add to My Profile | More Videos See parts 1-3 here. Happy Thanksgiving! [top] November 18, 2007 9:04 AM part 3 Add to My Profile | More Videos [top] November 13, 2007 9:04 AM part 2 Add to My Profile | More Videos 9:04 AM part 1 Add to My Profile | More Videos [top] November 11, 2007 Check out parts 1 and 2 of 9:04 AM at myspace.com/904am. Also, working on a new screening as we speak, hence no updates. [top] November 08, 2007 I should have news soon on booking the next screening of 9:04 AM. Stay tuned for details! Sign up for our e-newsletter at mpsdigital.com. It's on the homepage, in the lower left-hand corner. [top] October 08, 2007 While I work on the next round of screenings, check out hellevatormovie.com for details on a little short film we shot recently. [top] October 06, 2007 Good gravy! 9:04 AM started production one year ago today! It was a Friday, and we were shooting in the park. A beautiful day, and I consider that lucky compared to South Florida these days. Anyway, wow, one year. This could possibly be the absolute FASTEST year of my life. Wow. So, I'm going to be talking to some movie theatres soon about more screenings. I'm hoping to attract more viewers with season (season for us is when many people come down to Florida for the winter--snowbirds) kicking in by November. More details soon! heath [top] September 11, 2007 Don't forget to watch the first 5 1/2 minutes of 9:04 AM on our MySpace page. I'm approaching a few theaters about screenings later this year. More details soon. Also, thanks for voting for 9:04 AM and 3 Sisters on IMDb. Would you please watch Release Me here and vote for it on the official IMDb page, please? Thanks! [top] September 03, 2007 Watch the first 5 1/2 minutes of 9:04 AM on the official 9:04 AM MySpace page! [top] August 28, 2007 Please check out 3 Sisters here and vote for it on the IMDb page. 3 Sisters is a prequel to 9:04 AM. Cristy Joy Slavis, who plays Christie here (Talia Molé Monson plays Christie in the feature), plays a goth in 9:04 AM. The official page for 3 Sisters can be found at 3sistersmovie.com. [top] August 09, 2007 Some new photos are up over here, near the bottom. Pix from the first screening at the 2007 Palm Beach International Film Festival and the second screening at the Cinema Paradiso. Also, please vote for 9:04 AM at IMDb if you saw it! You'll need a free membership to vote. Review if you wish. Lastly, the clip from a little while ago, and be sure to check out and friend the 9:04 AM MySpace page. More updates soon!! [top] August 07, 2007 Hey everyone, if you've seen 9:04 AM, please give a vote on how you liked it over at IMDb.com. You'll need to have a free membership to rate it. And write a review, if you'd like! Thanks! [top] July 27, 2007 Sorry for the lack of updates; we're going to do more screenings this fall. And fyi, here's a photo of Laura (Suzy), Grant (co-writer) and I doing commentary for the DVD! [top] June 19, 2007 New clip is up here, so check it out! [top] June 10, 2007 Last night's screening was great! Special thanks to the Cinema Paradiso and Hal Axler, plus Frank and the rest! It was an excellent turn-out and the reaction from members of the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival and others was very positive. Our next screening hasn't been scheduled, but the 9:04 AM Road Tour moves on! Expect more details, including details of the DVD, soon! For now, check out photos and the trailer. [top] May 31, 2007 Don't forget next week's Ft. Lauderdale premiere of 9:04 AM at the Cinema Paradiso in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Details of the event can be found here . It's on June 9, 2007 at 8 PM. I hope visitors to the site can make it, if you live in the area. If you don't, you need a South Florida vacation! Directions can be found here. Also, the trailer is here. [top] May 04, 2007 The next screening is at the Cinema Paradiso in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Click here for more infomation . It's on June 9, 2007 at 8 PM. You can find directions here. Also, don't forget to check out the trailer here. Also, I found out that 9:04 AM is listed on the New York Times movie page! Cool! [top] April 29, 2007 Well, it's been a week since the premiere, which was preceded by a couple of crazy months getting the film finalized! WHEW! Anyway, we're working on some new screenings in South Florida theatres over the next couple of months. More details soon. In the meantime, check out the trailer here. [top] April 25, 2007 Some premiere photos can be found in the Photos section! [top] April 22, 2007 I had a great time last night, as did everyone who came out! Thanks, of course, to everyone who came out to support us. I really hope you dug the film. I was also completely stunned to win a Filmmaker Award from the Palm Beach County Film and Television Commission for our premiere at the Palm Beach International Film Festival! I've never won an award before, so this is a HUGE deal. Thanks again to my cast, crew, family, friends and more who helped make this film possible. Now, it's time to get the film out into other film fests and a theatrical run! Details coming soon!! -heath [top] April 21, 2007 You can still buy tickets for tonight's premiere of 9:04 AM at the theatre. It screens at 9 PM and there will likely be a Q & A afterward. The majority of the cast will be there, as will the crew. so come on out! Sunrise Cinemas 301 Plaza Real Boca Raton, FL 33432 Part of the Palm Beach International Film Festival! [top] April 18, 2007 Hey everyone, This Saturday, April 21 is the official premiere of 9:04 AM! Here are the details: 9 PM Sunrise Cinemas 301 Plaza Real Boca Raton, FL 33432 It's part of the 2007 Palm Beach International Film Festival. Buy tickets here (I recommend doing so now). Oh, and check out the trailer here and grab a poster, t-shirt, etc., over here! See you there! Heath 904am.com mpsdigital.com [top] April 13, 2007 I'm finishing up sound post and design (fixing audio, equalizing, laying in sound fx, etc.) and then I'm...gasp!...done! Wow. Only 10 years (from the first draft of the script, before I went and did another feature and a bunch of shorts) to get to this point. How about that? Anyway, don't forget to check out the trailer! More info on the premiere at the 2007 Palm Beach International Film Festival on April 21 at 9 PM: Sunshine Cinemas Address 301 Plaza Real Boca Raton, FL 33432 Buy tickets ahead of time right here! [top] April 08, 2007 Check out the trailer! More info on the premiere at the 2007 Palm Beach International Film Festival on April 21 at 9 PM: Sunshine Cinemas Address 301 Plaza Real Boca Raton, FL 33432 Buy tickets ahead of time right here! [top] April 06, 2007 Visual effects are in, sound is being fixed, sound effects are being added and more. Color correction is next, along with a couple of extra things. Basically, the movie is very close to completion. More soon. Premiere info: April 21, 9:00PM Sunrise Cinemas (via the Palm Beach International Film Festival) Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Florida! For more details, For info, click here. [top] April 04, 2007 9:04 AM is listed on IMDb, which is pretty cool. Plenty of filmmakers and actors would KILL to be on IMDb. Seriously. I don't think I'd go that far, but I certainly think it's cool! Don't forget the premiere info: April 21, 9:00PM Sunrise Cinemas (via the Palm Beach International Film Festival) Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Florida! For more details, For info, click here. [top] April 01, 2007 I'm almost done cutting the trailer (it's gone through a lot of revisions), and it's looking great. As soon as it's ready, I'll put it up here! As for the film itself, still trimming away; I received our final song (for now--if we need another, I'll be talking to our musicians) and it's sounding great. Douglas Spotted Eagle, a very good friend and colleague of mine, is helping out with post-production sound. More sound design this week, so we're getting closer and closer to the deadline! We're very close, a little less than 3 weeks from the premiere at the 2007 Palm Beach International Film Festival on April 21, 9:00PM, at the Sunrise Cinemas at Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Florida! For more details, click here. [top] March 29, 2007 It's funny how far we've come with technology; in 2001, when Grant and I were wrapping up post on Skye Falling, all music, etc., had to be delivered via CD, because we didn't have broadband. But during the Skye DVD production, he sent me updated songs (for the re-mastering) via email, if it wasn't too big, and Jeremiah delivered an animation intro (over 100 mb!) for the DVD menu via AOL Instant Messenger. Nowadays, yousendit can handle VERY large files. Most of the musicians supplied their songs this way, though famed Metallica producer Flemming Rasmussen, who mastered Dirtrocket's songs, put them up on his site. Matt Miller is delivering a lot of the F/X this way, too. In fact, Matt and I were chatting via AIM and he would email or yousendit me F/X previews to approve. I would look, ask for a change, he'd make it, render the preview and re-send it. BTW, we're pretty much done with F/X! Modern technology makes life so much easier. BTW, in case you hadn't heard, we have our date, time and location for the premiere: Date: Sat. April 21st Time: 9:00PM Theater: Sunrise Cinemas at Mizner Park in Boca Raton For more details, click here and over here. When ticket info goes up, I'll post it up! [top] March 27, 2007 We have the date, time and location of the 9:04 AM screening! Date: Sat. April 21st Time: 9:00PM Theater: Sunrise Cinemas at Mizner Park in Boca Raton For more details, click here. When ticket info goes up, I'll post it here! [top] March 27, 2007 We're getting a lot closer to completion. Sound and visual effects this week. Don't forget about the clip at the 9:04 AM MySpace page. [top] March 24, 2007 Grant and I were working on the music the other night, and I told him there was an issue with some scenes and sequences I'd shuffled around. Essentially, it worked either way, except for one tiny issue. When I moved it, I "killed" one day in a three-day sequence, meaning you saw three days happen. Scenes in three days. I made it so it's only two days. Ok, still no problem. But Grant and I realized that we couldn't have a scene that once ran in day 2 (of 3 days) now running at the end of day 1, because no one would be at a comic book shop at 12 in the morning! I am being a little vague to ruin the story. Essentially, I created a time continuity error trying to make three days into two. So, I moved things back around and also had it so the third act is 30 minutes long vs. 40, like it was after I shuffled things around the first time, creating 2 davs vs. 3. The three day sequence is closer to the script again and works. Editing isn't just about putting things together to script. Bascially, you have to see if things work or not, and if they don't, move it or cut it. Don't be afraid to cut your favorite shot if it doesn't move the story forward. It works, trust me! Skye Falling could've used some edits! The movie is running around 85-86 minutes, which is great! I keep cutting it, making it nice, lean and tight. This is good for a character- and dialogue-driven movie. [top] March 18, 2007 I am tweaking the audio and should have it done in a few days, along with some cleaned up and re-looped audio soon, too. Grant and I are meeting this week to go over the final song layout in the movie, and to tweak anything in that dept. F/X are coming in next week, so Matt Miller can finish the polishes, etc. After that, we do the final mix of the audio and color correction (aka, grading). We should be finished in a few weeks, but I'll keep everyone up-to-date. We're not going to do what happened with Skye Falling, which was finished two days (!!!) before the release in July 2001. And it was more of a 90% final cut, and by the DVD release in October 2003, I fixed some mistakes. Glad I learned from said mistakes! More later, heath [top] March 17, 2007 Have you seen the 9:04 AM clip I put up a little while ago? It's rough, but check it out! Well, I put in some more music, but of course once Grant and Jon W. come by, we'll probably move some stuff around, etc. I'd say we have around 85% or more of the music in. That and the 2 1/2 minutes I cut out of the movie last week + delivery of effects early next week (we've been cutting them together and tweaking while Matt M. makes further adjustments) means the film is almost done. As soon as I hear the day/time for the screening of 9:04 AM at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, I'll post it up here ASAP. heath ps-Happy St. Patty's Day, be safe. [top] March 13, 2007 Just a little side note...a short horror film from writer/director Lance Stranahan which I Line Produced and Jon Fordham shot is premiering tonight at the Delray Beach Film Festival. If you can make it to IN THE FLESH, please do! Another short, THE VIRGIN AND THE DEMON, which I also Line Produced (directed by Mr. C, a former student of mine), will screen, too. [top] March 12, 2007 Matt Miller, part of the unofficial "Matts" (Matt Beers being the other half of the "Matts") and I are meeting up to start cutting the visual effects sequences together. He'll then output them and I'll put them into the film. We're very close to completion, however Psych and I need to re-shoot one or two establishing shots because I'm not happy with a couple of shots. Also, got music from Squeaky, a Gainesville band whose music has been in, well, almost all my films. Grant always sneaks their stuff in, and it's always good. They're harder, so it's good. I'm happy to continue the tradition of having Squeaky on the soundtrack. They even on occasion have a sound like Helmet, one of my favorite metal bands. Received two songs from Dirtrocket that are hard rock, a little bit of Soundgarden influence (next to Radiohead and Air as one of my top favorite bands of all time), that are absolutely rocking. They even wrote a song based on something I requested which rocks! We may throw in another song from an indie woman singer on the west coast of the USA who sounds a little like Joni, Carly and even a female version of Jeff Buckley. More soon, including, hopefully, the day/time 9:04 AM premieres at the Palm Beach International Film Festvial. [top] March 11, 2007 I cut out around 2 to 2 1/2 minutes from the film, specifically in two key scenes (which make up a sequence) that ran over 7 minutes total--fyi, it used to be one large scene, but I split it up with another "cutaway" scene, if you will, to give the audience a breather. The middle scene now sets up the final part of the overall sequence. Anyway, it's down to 4:30, so yes, it's better. I'm going to run it by Matt, my assistant editor and see if we can shave it down a little more. Some music will help, too. I may put in a score for these two scenes, which doesn't feature much in the film, as we've been going with indie bands. The movie's running time is looking good, under 90 minutes, but I won't know the final time until F/X are in and any other trims are made, plus final end titles. I'm pretty sure it'll stay below 90 minutes. Good length, by the way. More soon, including the date and time of the screening at the Palm Beach International Film Festival. [top] March 07, 2007 9:04 AM will be premiering at the 2007 Palm Beach International Film Festival! We don't have a final date and time, but visit 904am.com often for more details! Trailer coming soon, too!!! [top] March 04, 2007 Well, around 2/3 of the movie now has music in it, after we worked for almost 4 hours. I need to cut a few more minutes out of the movie, then we'll wrap up everything. I'm still waiting on delivery of a few songs, but so far, so good. [top] March 02, 2007 I spoke too soon...Jon Wilkins WILL be joining Grant and I to start placing music in. If you want to check out some of the bands, visit the 9:04 AM Music page. [top] February 22, 2007 We're wrapping up "scouting" for music, and should have another 3 or 4 songs in place shortly. Grant and I are going to start working on putting the music in very soon. Jon Wilkins' band The Postmarks are on a tour right now and kicking serious butt, but he'll be around for final approval! [top] February 15, 2007 Did you know there are some shorts in the 9:04 AM universe? For instance there is 3 Sisters, a prequel with Marissa Medal as Amanda, Sarah Elizabeth Kenny as Billie and a different Christie (played by Cristy Joy Slavis, who plays a goth in 9:04 AM). There's another prequel, Suzy's Out, with a different Suzy (played by Emily Taylor). Lastly, there is Push/Pull, a sort of sequel to 9:04 AM. [top] February 15, 2007 We're almost done getting our songs in from some amazing musicians and bands. There are some very talented artists in the world that deserve to be heard, and I hope we can be a small part of getting them out there. Matt Miller is still working on the F/X, and they're looking great. He should have final delivery in a few weeks. The film's getting closer and closer to completion! [top] February 10, 2007 We're getting closer to completion, and things are looking great! The F/X are very cool, the bands we're working with have a killer sound and, of course, the movie is coming together very nicely. On another note, we've announced our follow-up film, which will be an adaptation of the indie comic book The 3 Geeks. Check out mpsdigital.com and richkoslowski.com for more info. [top] February 03, 2007 We're postponing the screening for Grant and Jon until I feel better, as I got sick...again...for the third time since December...Oh, well, but the film looks great! [top] February 02, 2007 Added in the establishing shots, F/X are going to be coming in soon, so things are good all around. I'm having a special screening for two of our biggest music contributors and supervisor (a guy named Jon Wilkins and of course, Grant) tomorrow/Saturday 2-3-07. We're going to watch the latest cut and start thinking of where music will go. [top] January 24, 2007 An update...we're starting the final cut, and things are coming together nicely. Psych took over camera, with Jon's blessing, for establishing shots. Matt M. is on the F/X and taking care of business. With this weekend now open for me, I'm hoping to bring back Assistant Editor Matt B. to finish going through the movie with me to finalize the third edit. I hope to drop in the establishing shots and maybe some F/X. MAYBE some music, but I doubt it. After that, I'll be doing the "patented" conversion to 24p and Saturday February 3, I'll be holding a summit of sorts, showing the movie off to Grant and some of our musicians/bands. My goal is to get ideas on where to put music, thoughts on the cut, and maybe some inspiration for new music. Our goal is to lock the picture and send everything to Jon for color correcting in a month. I'm also getting some more fixed audio in about two weeks, so that'll go in, too. Two more actors need to re-loop, then final tweaking. Movie should premiere mid- to late-spring 2007! Also, go here to buy The 3 Geeks comics, and guess why I want you to buy some! More soon... [top] January 20, 2007 Shooting some establishing shots and some stuff for F/X tomorrow (Sunday 1-21-07). Should be fun! [top] January 16, 2007 Still listening to a lot of music, and we have a 9:04 AM MySpace Music page, so if you're an artist, talk to us there. Almost done with the 3rd cut and I'll be hopefully going out this weekend with Psych Stevens to shoot establishing shots, so viewers will know what location we're at. A lot of these types of shots are usually done later. Also, I am working with an assistant editor now, Matt Beers, who is acting as a second set of eyes. I may think things are great, but he's pointing out things that don't make sense, don't work, moves too slow or fast, etc. More soon... [top] January 06, 2007 Back to work with an eye still on a Spring release (mid-Spring). [top] December 31, 2006 Happy New Year! Well, after taking off for the Holidays and some must-needed and deserved rest, it's back to work this week on the cut, testing, listening to potential bands' music, etc. We'll have some big announcements soon! [top] December 25, 2006 Well, like any Christmas since I was around 14, the evening gets REAL boring. When I was a little kid, I amused myself for hours with my Jabba the Hut and Rankor monster figures. Ah, those were the days (if I still had the figures, I'd be a billionaire). So, I'm a little bored, but the wife and I are going to check out some movies and just chill out. Running around seeing friends and family can wear a guy (and gal) out! But I was thinking we need more music to sample for the film. I posted this at the 9:04 AM MySpace page. What I didn't mention was that, even though I was listening to some alternative music (mostly Soundgarden) writing the script, the movie has a lot of themes similar to many early- to mid-90s indie flicks, like CLERKS, KICKING AND SCREAMING, CHASING AMY, etc. That sorta plays a part in why I want a song or four that sound like early- to mid-90s Alt Rock. Here's the post: Attention indie bands, We have a lot of good modern day-style music that we're checking out (many of these bands are in our friend's list), but we're still looking for more. We need a mix of sound, and since the movie was conceived in 1995 and the first draft written in 1997, this is the music we're looking for. Of course, I was born at the tail-end (VERY tail-end) of Generation X, so some of these bands were big with college students but I was in high school at the time. I listened to some, but not all. I got more into them later. Think Soundgarden, Gin Blossoms, Jeff Buckley, Stone Temple Pilots, Filter, Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead (of course), Weezer, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Morphine, Screaming Trees, Sponge, The Las, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Chili Peppers, The Toadies, The Verve, Oasis, Supergrass, Faith No More, Better Than Ezra, Live, Sublime, The Offspring, Green Day (mid-90s punk only), Jane's Addiction, Hole, Blur, No Doubt (mid-90s only), Lemonheads, etc. Think 1991-1995/6, though some of these bands had some cool stuff in the late 1990s, but most peaked in 1995/6. If you have any song like this, or you can write something like this, let us know!!!! Thanks and Happy Holidays to everyone! You helped make 2006 a great, special year! [top] December 23, 2006 Happy Holidays, everyone! Have a great one and be safe! Here's a little clip you can check out; but do it quick, because it'll come down soon! [top] December 12, 2006 Still sampling a lot of music and really digging it, but I'm still looking for more rock like Soundgarden or The Strokes. I don't know if I'll have use for a metal song, so if you're a metal band, hold off until I make that decision. And for the record, I'm a long-time Pantera fan. [top] December 08, 2006 Sorry for the lack of updates, I'm just busy as hell. We did some publicity shots for the poster, etc., and will be putting that together soon. Thanks to Matt Miller and Kathie Ward for their help, and Maria C. and Laura A. for letting us take over their Sunday. Back to editing, etc., today. More soon. [top] November 30, 2006 I just wanted to take a second to talk about a good friend of mine who is a writer, Jeremy Bursey. I've known Jeremy for around 11 years now, and he's a very gifted writer, doing everything from screenplays to novels to short stories to poems and more. He read one of the earliest drafts of 9:04 AM and gave me 5 pages of typed notes that went far with further re-writes. Earlier this year, he read the latest draft after Grant came aboard as co-writer. His notes were once again invaluable and helped me out with my re-writes which Grant then polished up. Jeremy also helped out on Suzy's Out, a short that's unreleased that Jeremiah and I did in April 2003 when a film we did was at a film festival. (Note: Suzy's Out is a prequel to 9:04 AM, but has a different Suzy.) Overall, I want to thank Jeremy for all his help; he wrote a ton of notes on early drafts of Skye Falling which helped a lot, too. I don't read enough of his work, but he's a great artist and a goal of mine is to bring one of his stories to the big screen. You can buy his first book here, his second book here and his third, latest and greatest book here. Thanks, Jeremy! On another note, I put the clip from 9:04 AM back up at my .mac page. [top] November 26, 2006 Marissa did her re-looping before Thanksgiving, so that's out of the way. Mike and Laura are next, then David. I took off 4 days with the intention of working on the flick, but since I've had barely anytime to rest since before we started shooting, I just chilled with my family and friends. Back to work this week, and I'll have a new trailer (the current teaser is a bit vague, so I'll fix that up). [top] November 20, 2006 Doing some re-looping soon, Matt's working on the F/X and we'll be shooting establishing shots and pick-ups. Rough cut looks good; version 3 is almost done, then more refining. [top] November 19, 2006 I'm going back to getting the rough cut more refined this week--been busy with some other stuff, but I have been working on some other things. Also, I'm going to re-do the teaser trailer; it's a bit vague right now, so I'll be fleshing it out a bit. [top] November 08, 2006 I'm working on sound editing with a good friend of mine, Rick Savasten, who has helped clean up audio in the past. Once I get the audio back and into the system, I will then go back into trimming, etc., the film. I'm still wanting to hear indie bands' music for the film, so email me at information at 904am dot com. (And sorry for that...spam is OUT OF CONTROL these days.) [top] November 03, 2006 I uploaded a clip of the film right here for you all to check out. Keep in mind, it's in rough cut form right now, but I'm just curious what everyone thinks. I should have it here soon, but ran into a small problem uploading it, and on my .Mac account, I went WAY over the bandwidth alloted every month, hence it's on the 9:04 AM MySpace page. Also, If you've seen Clerks, Pulp Fiction, Garden State, etc., you know that those movies had killer soundtracks composed of modern (or classic) songs. In the past, we would use a score or a combination of a score and songs, supervised (and usually created) by Grant A. Balfour, the co-writer on 9:04 AM. He will be supervising the soundtrack and contributing a song or two. This time around, I want to have a strictly song-based soundtrack, featuring as many indie bands as possible. Some of the musical influences while I worked on the script and film include: Soundgarden, Radiohead, Air, Fiona Apple, Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes, Tom Petty and more. If you think you as a musician and/or your band have a sound that will lend to the soundtrack of 9:04 AM, email me (information at 904am dot com) a link to your music, so Grant and I can start listening. [top] November 01, 2006 The film looks good so far and I've already started fixing things and shifting scenes around. More soon. [top] October 31, 2006 I've been watching what I've been cutting, and I see what needs some extra smoothing out, and also what's working. I also will be scheduling a day of pick-ups (mostly establishing shots, which are ways to tell audiences where they're at coming into a scene, like so-and-so's house, etc.). Matt Miller will be getting a final list of visual effects to work on and Jon Fordham will start on color correcting, while I'll be finessing the cut with a friend who edits a lot of films. And sound recording, sound design and music, of course. [top] October 30, 2006 Things are progressing quite nicely in the post-production department. Right now, I'm doing another pass on making a DVD of some stuff, and it takes a while. I haven't had to compress a full-length movie for DVD in 3 years since Skye Falling, so I was just trying whatever Final Cut Pro has to offer. It's a LONG process, but not nearly as long since I have a Power Mac G5 with 4 processors (64 bit each), so it's going MUCH faster. I also had to convert the footage from 25 frames per second to 23.98 fps, since film runs at 24 frames a second, and that's now the universal agreement on, generally, how movies' frame rates should be, be it film or digital. Once the DVD is done (it won't be high definition, yet--that's coming), I'll be able to watch it on my big screen, anamorphic (widescreen) HDTV. Even with the DVD being in SD (standard definition), it'll look great on the screen. And I can begin analyzing what I'm editing. More soon. [top] October 26, 2006 I have all of 9:04 AM captured onto my drive, so now it's time to organize everything by scenes (I captured entire tapes...I wanna be a bit more organized), then I'll start cutting. [top] October 25, 2006 I'm now capturing tapes/footage and am around halfway done. Thanks to Sony for the use of a deck. After it's captured, I'm going to sort things out and put them into bins (folders that hold clips) to stay organized, then I start cutting. [top] October 24, 2006 I went back to work yesterday and when I got home, I finally felt the effects of the shoot. I passed out before midnight and slept pretty good. I'm still wiped out, but I'll be taking it easy this weekend. At the same time, though, I'm going to start editing the film. [top] October 22, 2006 We're taking it easy today since wrapping yesterday. Tons of photos are up! Also, some people have been asking about our 9:04 AM store. It's cool and we've got a ton of 9:04 AM products waiting for you to check out! [top] October 21, 2006 That's it!!!! WE'VE WRAPPED THE FILM!!!! Principal photography on 9:04 AM is officially done! I'd like to thank my entire cast and crew, friends and family, my wife and more for helping out in the production of a film I conceived of over 11 years ago and wrote 9 1/2 years ago! It's been a long journey, but finally casting and shooting it has been an absolute blast. And very special thanks to the only DP I'll ever work with, Jon Fordham for shooting some of the greatest footage I've ever seen! Tonight's the Wrap Party, then onto editing. More soon! [top] October 20, 2006 Well, only 1/2 day left and we're wrapped. Today, somehow, we shot 15 (!!) pages of script, including two driving scenes. I can't believe that! Sure, it's all dialogue, but wow! One more day, then the WRAP PARTY! [top] October 19, 2006 This is the final stretch...only 1.5 - 2 days left (depending on what we get done Saturday). We have some extra stuff to shoot, so it's gonna be interesting. Getting close to wrapping! [top] October 17, 2006 Had rehearsals tonight with Conor, Sarah and Don, and it went well. But we couldn't be too loud, because we did a table reading at a major book chain, which seems to be the unofficial joint to rehearse this film. Anyway, things are looking good for tomorrow and Thursday, and we nailed down our location for Friday. Just gotta find time to do some additional shots. Lastly, check out the 9:04 AM MySpace page! [top] October 16, 2006 Off tomorrow, but Jon and the guys are working on a super-secret project unrelated to the film. We're about 75% done with the shooting, so that's good. Only 12 tapes so far (plus one from a Handicam that's part of the plot). Not too bad! More photos up. [top] October 15, 2006 Day 9 is done and we're almost or right around 2/3 of the way through the script. Things are going great and between Friday-Sunday, we shot probably around 29 pages or so (!). I would like to take a moment to thank Keri and Peter Lurtz for allowing us to shoot at their house for four days. They went above and beyond the call of duty, and we thank them very much for that. When Keri's short film, UNCONDITIONAL, comes out, please go and see it! I'd also like to thank Mannie Frances and Douglas Spotted Eagle from VASST for allowing us to use a Sony Z1u to shoot the film. Also, thanks to Leigh Herman of Sony for getting us a Sony V1u to try out for future review! And, thanks to Jon Evans of Pro Video Sales for his continuing support with additional gear. Lastly, thanks to Mike Teutsch for allowing us to use his camper on the first day of production. Thanks to all these fine people and their companies for all their help, service and courtesy! Oh, more photos! [top] October 14, 2006 We're more than halfway done with the shoot, and it's going well. We're on day 9 tomorrow (Sunday). We're updating pix often. [top] October 13, 2006 Back to work and doing well, getting more of the difficult locations out of the way. I put up more pictures. [top] October 09, 2006 Well, we wrapped day 4 early today and even got in two extra scenes with Brock (aka, Phil), who by the way is hilarious as Phil! The crew and cast are constantly cracking up with his performance. Everyone, from Mike (Justin) to Marissa (Amanda) to Laura's ability to pull of the huge changes that affect Suzy to Maria (Monique), so far the cast is just excellent! The crew is doing great, and really getting this film going. We're shooting quite a few scenes and pages a day, which is remarkable. I'd like to thank everyone who are all going above and beyond the call of duty to get this done. We're off today (Tuesday), then back to work Wednesday to get more stuff shot. More soon. Check out some photos. [top] October 06, 2006 The first day went well, couldn't have asked for a better day. No rain, not too hot or humid. The shots are great, the crew was fantastic and the cast was ready and rockin'. It's tough shooting exteriors in Florida, but it worked out. Check out the Photos Section for pictures. [top] October 05, 2006 Well, tomorrow is the big day, the start of production. Jon and I have checked out a couple of locations, Boris grabbed the lights with Matt, our actors are coming in, we've rehearsed, had tons of meetings, etc. So now, we just take a look at our shot list/storyboards, plan out where the camera will be placed and just relax. No need to go crazy. More soon. [top] October 04, 2006 A little more than two days until production starts; I've got most of the stuff done and am still stressing, but things will be fine. I pick up Jon and Boris from the airport tomorrow. Boris is heading up to Orlando Thursday to grab the lights, grip and electric from Hollywood Rentals, while Jon and I scout our locations and do some shooting for a simple scene with no actors needed. I was in Ft. Lauderdale doing a dress rehearsal with Laura and Maria, at her nice condo, and it went very well. Still interesting when rehearsing with different actors and storylines, but that's part of an ensemble film. It went well, and we nailed down the costumes for Maria and Laura. I went to the store tonight and bought a lot of stuff we need, and spent some cash. It's bizarre that I'm finally doing this stuff, but I'll admit that as the budgets get higher on future films, I won't miss having to do the shopping! ;-) I'll let a P.A. do it! I'll have more news soon. [top] October 01, 2006 Still finalizing locations, but we nailed down a coffee shop in Lake Worth, Florida called Java Jazz (thanks to Rodney and Josh!), where we'll be shooting in a week. I'm working on a bar next, to be shot in two weeks. This week sees us finalizing the schedule, handling costumes, more rehearsals, the arrivals of Jon, Boris and Brock and production starting Friday! [top] September 29, 2006 We're still finalizing locations, I have to work on the day-to-day schedule so everyone knows what scenes we're shooting, what to wear, what meals will be served, directions to the location(s), etc. Craziness. And I still need to finalize costumes, etc. ARGH! Thank god I hired a Production Coordinator to help me out. Welcome Kathie Ward to the crew! [top] September 26, 2006 Updated 9/29/06: I blog a little more here. Since I'm also the producer of the film (in three ways: I developed the project, I am running the set--line producer, and I'm helping with financing--executive producer), it's easy to get bogged down with the not-so-fun side of things. It's very technical stuff, like scheduling, breaking down the script, etc. And sometimes I can lose focus of my themes, my vision, etc. By the end of this week, I should have most of the locations secured and ready to go. So I'm going to spend next week honing in on my vision, etc. I'm going to watch movies that inspire me and what I feel have similar themes to 9:04 AM. I'm even going to watch some of my old films to remind me where I've come from and what my goals are with this film. An unofficial trilogy, I consider 9:04 AM to be part 3, with Skye Falling and Conversations... as parts 1 and 2. Skye Falling is about a break-up, really a double one, for the main character Skye. It's also about vulnerability, co-dependence, choices and ultimately breaking out of all that. Conversations... is a short I did before I wrote 9:04 AM (spring 1997) and before I made Skye (1999, released in 2001), and it's about recovering and getting over things, mostly a break-up. But it's also a pep talk to myself and my audience to never let anything get you down, and to pursue your dreams (the character does what he loves, drawing comics). 9:04 AM is about love, and it's also about growing up. As my wife said earlier, "It's time to grow up, but no one has the time." That's why I feel that Skye Falling, Conversations... and 9:04 AM are an unofficial trilogy about loss, recovery and love. Those are the main themes, but another big one is growing up. Even if the characters are in the early- to mid-20s, it's time to face life. [top] September 26, 2006 I'm happy to introduce our new George, Brian Russell. Brian is a friend of my wife's, and also goes way back with actors Brock Hill and Claudette Ramos. Brian takes over for Pat Sammon, who is staying aboard as a consultant to the production, helping out many things. 10 days until production starts, and still a lot of work to do. [top] September 26, 2006 I'm still tweaking the schedule, moving some days/locations around to help accomadate the cast. Just the small things to help run the set better and more smoothly. [top] September 25, 2006 We're coming down to the wire with around 10 days until production begins next week. I need to finalize locations, which is happening right now. I hope to have everything locked down by the end of the week. I still need to cast some supporting actors, so I'm going to be doing that shortly. [top] September 21, 2006 I talked to Jon Fordham today about the look of 9:04 AM, and we've started to nail down some ideas. I'd say the general look overall has been established and Jon and I are very excited, to say the least. For those of you wondering which camera we're shooting on, well, since the Sony HVR-V1u isn't shipping until December, we're hoping to shoot on the Sony HVR-Z1u, which Jon and I have both been using on several films. As you may know, I co-wrote a book on HDV with Douglas Spotted Eagle, and I'm very excited about using the Z1. [top] September 20, 2006 Another small update...We'll be announcing who is playing Weaver, the boss of Justin, Amanda and Suzy soon, just need to finalize everything. For those who have seen our movies, he's been in a few. Check out mpsdigital.com to guess. Also, I'm working on locations, extras, hiring more crew, etc. More soon. [top] September 17, 2006 We're around 19 days from production and I'm working on my to-do lists, to ensure I have everything, from final casting to hiring crew, catering to lodging, costumes to props, etc. This is a stressful but exciting time! More soon. [top] September 15, 2006 We've cast Maria de Jesus Castellon as Monique, joining Laura Arias (Suzy). She came to the audition dressed as a goth and read well against Laura, and also Mike Leavitt, and we very impressed. Also, Claudette Ramos joins the cast as Samantha (Sam), Justin's ex-girlfriend from college. [top] September 09, 2006 Laura Arias joins the cast of 9:04 AM as Suzy, best friend to the characters Justin (Mike Leavitt) and Phil (Brock Hill). You may recall Laura was originally cast as Samantha, Justin's ex-girlfriend, but her reading as Suzy was so outstanding, we decided to put her in the part. Unfortunately, that means Tracey Dunn, our former Suzy, has had to leave the project, due to scheduling conflicts. In addition, Melissa Gozukizil (Monique) has left the film, also due to scheduling conflicts. We wish both Tracey and Melissa the very best. [top] September 05, 2006 We are looking for an experienced key grip/swing to work on feature film (low budget) shooting October 6-22, 2006 in Wellington/West Palm Beach, Florida. Must have experience with rigging, setting up lights, grip and electric; you will be working with DP and Gaffer. We're looking for someone close to Palm Beach County with transportation. Email your resume and we'll give you further details. [top] September 04, 2006 It may be Labor Day, but it's a great opportunity to get some of the leads together to rehearse. So, we're going to scope out a key location AND rehearse, all at the same time. [top] September 02, 2006 Conor Timmis has finished his film, KREATING KARLOFF, and it's already been reviewed, so check it out! We're very excited for Conor! Also, we had our first rehearsal with Mike and Marissa last night, and it went very well. Even if we were standing in an aisle at a book store, between Irving and King. [top] August 31, 2006 Tropical Storm Ernesto has thrown us for a tiny loop; I hope we can still have some rehearsals coming up in the next couple of days. [top] August 27, 2006 Rehearsals start up again as we inch closer to production. Mike and Marissa are meeting to go through the script and start working out lines, etc. After that, everyone else will be coming in to rehearse their respective parts. Should be cool. [top] August 24, 2006 Mike Leavitt joins the cast as Justin, the lead character. He has several years acting experience and fits the part perfectly. Our original lead, Justin Sims, had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict with a major play he is doing this fall. We wish Justin the best of luck! The schedule is pretty much done and we're a little over a month away from production. Planning is going smoothly. [top] August 20, 2006 Manually scheduling is tough! I don't recommend doing it without high-end software, but I'd rather spend the money on the film. That's why I'm doing it manually. But I realized I forgot something and I'm just gonna have to finish it tomorrow night (Monday). Peace. [top] August 19, 2006 The schedule is coming along nicely and I should have it done by Monday. The schedule controls EVERYTHING, so I am working to get it finished. [top] August 13, 2006 Pre-production has begun on the film; and though we have most of our cast, now is the time to plan how the shoot will go. Some things I have to work on before production begins: 1. Finish casting. 2. Scout locations. 3. Break down the script (how long are scenes, number of characters, props, etc.). 4. Schedule the shoot. 5. Find extras. 6. Create a menu for the shoot (always important for any film, but even more so with indie films). 7. Hire the crew. 8. Work on shot lists and storyboards. 9. Work on conceptual art. 10. Find props and wardrobe. 11. Rehearse. 12. Do any tests (digital, etc.). 13. Double- and triple-check everything. [top] August 09, 2006 I am happy to report that 9:04 AM is officially a go, it's been given the greenlight! We start shooting in just two months, so there is a lot of work to do leading up to the first day of principal photography. Thanks to everyone for their support and patience! More very soon! Cast: Justin: Mike Leavitt Amanda: Marissa Medal Suzy: Tracey Dunn Phil: Brock Hill Billie: Sarah Elizabeth Kenny Dan: David Barnes Mark Lang: Conor Timmis George: Pat Sammon Christie: Talia Molé Monson Monique: Melissa Gozukizil Jim the Agent: Don Morton Mrs. Esteban: Creece Vojtas Samantha: Laura Arias Crew: Co-Writer/Producer/Director: Heath McKnight Co-Writer/Associate Producer: Grant A. Balfour Co-Associate Producer: Jeremiah Hall Director of Photography: Jon Fordham Visual Effects Supervisor: Matt Miller [top] August 07, 2006 We've FINALLY found our Dan, Mr. David Barnes, an excellent actor! We now are looking for our Weaver, the boss of Justin, Amanda, and Suzy. Along with Don the Mechanic, who plays an integral role in the Phil subplot. [top] August 03, 2006 Small update...things are quiet due to work and other stuff. Things'll be picking up soon. [top] July 23, 2006 Back to rehearsals later this week with Justin, Marissa, Tracey, and Brock, whose in town for 10 days for fun, sun (if it ain't raining) and other cool stuff like that. More soon. [top] July 16, 2006 Sorry for the "all quiet on the western front" over here. Lots of stuff has been happening. We quietly pushed the production back a bit, because of time, the independent director's greatest enemy. Now that Marissa is back and ready, we're going to ease into rehearsals rather than dive right in and hope for the best. More soon. [top] July 07, 2006 You can now download the 9:04 AM announcement trailer for your iPod! [top] July 07, 2006 More rehearsals coming up soon! [top] July 04, 2006 Well, it's the Fourth of July, and time to relax for a little bit. I've been doing a lot of work on the movie and other stuff, too. Have fun with whatever your plans are, and I hope you don't have to work. But I used to work all holidays just 5 years ago, so if you're working, dear reader, I feel your pain! Anyway, have fun and be safe! Anyway, I need to hire a costumer for the movie and start hunting down props. I may also hire a set designer/art director, too. Just depends on the benjamins! And I need to find and solidify my locations. Also, don't forget the 9:04 AM announcement trailer is up. Have a good 4th! [top] July 02, 2006 The 9:04 AM announcement trailer is up! Check it out and enjoy. [top] July 01, 2006 Doing small tweaks on the script, per my good friend Jeremy Bursey's suggestions. Justin and I are going over the entire script shortly and will have details on rehearsals, etc. [top] June 28, 2006 Had the past weekend off, followed by around 26 hours of work for the Film School (my students' films screened). I watched Superman Returns with my wife and best friend and will probably blog about it; it was GREAT! Anyway, I'm taking off four days this weekend for the fourth and to work on some stuff, including wrapping up getting the script in order. More rehearsals, too, soon. And I need to do a LOT of planning (and cast Dan and Weaver in the next week or two). [top] June 25, 2006 Grant sent the now 13th draft of the film. He had problems with an older copy of Final Draft, so he wrote it in Apple's free TextEdit which is a decent Word-type program, minus all the bells and whistles. I brought it into Final Draft and am going through and getting everything back in line. As of right now, the script is at 133 pages (it started at 131), but I think it will be 115 by the time I'm done getting everything back in order. [top] June 21, 2006 Grant should have the final 12th draft very soon--from there I will tweak the schedule a little more and begin my shot lists and storyboards. Rehearsal tonight went well, between Justin and Tracey. They worked "moment to moment," which allowed them to take a look at each small part of the scene, and decide what's best for it. I then gave direction after watching what they came up with, because I feel that we both have ideas, the actors and I, the director. And we have to work together and put those ideas into one performance, if that makes sense. More soon. [top] June 20, 2006 I hope to have the final 12th draft from Grant by the end of the week. Now, this isn't the final, final draft, unless we've totally nailed it. I may tweak up to the week before we shoot. Just rehearsing quietly, getting ready to do bigger rehearsals with more actors and actresses shortly. Since some of our actors live out of state, it's a little tough, but we can nail their rehearsals the week before production. With the lead characters, we need the extra time to rehearse, since they are in more scenes, etc. Justin's and my goal is to have the actors that live here in South Florida ready, so when the out-of-towners arrive, we'll hit the ground running. Ready to rock and roll! [top] June 18, 2006 We're pleased to announce the casting of the 3 sisters' mother: Crece Vojtas will be playing Mrs. Morales! [top] June 15, 2006 Finished the first rough draft of the schedule. Whew! Without scheduling software I had to do it mostly by hand. Thank god for Final Draft and it's screenwriting, reporting, and tagging, plus more, features! I sent it off to the crew and am waiting for word back. [top] June 15, 2006 Still working the schedule (and fighting bronchitis--so that's why I've been sick for two months) and realizing it's very boring. Heh heh heh. So far, I'm about 1/4 scheduled and also realizing I need to ensure locations are close by so we can get in 8 to 10 pages of production per day. [top] June 12, 2006 I've started working on the schedule and am hoping to have a rough outline soon. We need to know how to approach the schedule since there are some exteriors. Note to aspiring indie and student filmmakers, exteriors are tough because of many things, especially the weather. Consider that when writing--"We'll just re-schedule" isn't always a viable answer when the weather is acting stupid. Trust me on this one! [top] June 10, 2006 More rehearsals tonight with Melissa (Monique), Tracey (Suzy), and Justin (Justin/acting coach). So far, so good. The other night, Justin and Tracey did a touch scene with great results. [top] June 06, 2006 A couple of things...First: Don Morton comes to the role of Jim, the agent of Mark Lang! Don was a student of mine and has since started working for the school in various capacities. Welcome aboard! Second, the final characters we need to cast: Dan Roth, 20s: Amanda's boyfriend. In good shape, tall would be cool but we can work around it. Must be able to show a lot of emotion without saying it. He's conflicted. Former star football player in high school and part of college. Weaver, 40s to 50s: Owner of a marketing company that Justin and Amanda work for. A bit eccentric and somewhat like Steve Jobs CEO of Apple Computer. Mrs. Morales, 40s to 50s: the Mother of the 3 Sisters Amanda, Christie, and Billie. Needs to be of Hispanic heritage, or look like she could be. A small role, but she holds the family together. Don: 40s to 50s, a mechanic who owns a garage. The casting will be announced soon. so send resumes and headshots to casting@mpsdigital.com or 904amcasting@gmail.com [top] June 05, 2006 Some of our regular visitors have asked me what we're planning on shooting the flick on. As you may or may not know, I contributed quite a bit to a book on HDV, which is a flavor of high definition video. I do love the Sony Z1u, but there are so many different HD cameras out there, Jon and I have a lot to think about. We'll make our decision on the camera by July, especially after we test some various models. [top] June 04, 2006 Had our first rehearsal with Tracey (Suzy) and Melissa (Monique) tonight--went great. Justin was there as acting coach, which is really the best thing for us, and really helped the girls out with their characters and interaction. The Suzy-Monique storyline is a bit of experimental filmmaking, so we're going to be doing a lot of rehearsals. And, as such, I immediately re-wrote a couple of scenes to mix in what they rehearsed, which was actually NOT in the script. But now it is. (Of course, the new version of Suzy and Monique was envisioned by Grant, but this is still along those lines.) [top] June 02, 2006 I'm still tooling around with the script, focusing on the characters and their relationships with one another. Grant is working on the 12th draft, too--guess I'm just coming up with new ideas and need to plug them in. [top] May 30, 2006 Big casting news announcement! Marissa Medal has returned to the role of Amanda! Earlier this year, when production was to begin in June, Marissa got an amazing job that would have kept her away from the film. Well, now she's returning to the role of Amanda, who she played in 3 Sisters, the prequel short that's been in six film fests around the country! Welcome back, Marissa! Another casting announcement: Laura Arias comes aboard as Sam, Justin's former college love. On another note, our own Conor Timmis, who is playing Mark Lang, is having major horror media coverage on his new project, KREATING KARLOFF! [top] May 30, 2006 Just a little note, 904am.com now ranks at 3,594,685 overall on the web. Pretty cool! We're moving up! [top] May 27, 2006 I finished my part of the 12th draft Thursday night and tweaked a couple of things last night. Grant is tackling it this weekend with hopes to have it done ASAP. Then we'll have the official 12 draft, which I hope doesn't change too much more. I'm sick, again, for the second time in a month. A virus this time, so no antibiotics for me. D'oh! We have to move rehearsals back a few days while I recover. [top] May 25, 2006 I'm about halfway through the 12th draft, then onto Grant, who will strengthen the Suzy/Monique and Dan/Amanda storylines and the overall script more. From there, we'll have an official 12th draft. The more we re-write, the more I realize we both have specific character/storyline strengths. For instance, Grant is doing wonders with the Suzy and Monique arc, and has really done well with Dan/George/Amanda arc (Dan is a more complex character, as it turns out, which is why the role hasn't been cast yet). The Justin/Amanda, Justin/Phil/Suzy, Billie/Mark Lang arcs are my strengths. But we also help make every word in the script better. Anyway, on another note, make sure you friend us at the official 9:04 AM MySpace page! - heath [top] May 24, 2006 Some of you may have noticed Lori Chism is no longer playing Christie, but Talia Molé Monson has stepped in. Lori, who is in New York City, has a very busy schedule this summer, which couldn't allow her time to come to Florida to shoot. We'll miss Lori, but there is no doubt we'll be working with her again. She starred in SKYE FALLING and made an appearance in PUSH/PULL. And we're very excited about Talia coming aboard as Christie! [top] May 23, 2006 I've begun re-writing what will become the 12th draft, with input from our cast. After I'm done, Grant will take a stab at it and hopefully that will be our last draft. We're already one draft beyond SKYE FALLING, my first feature film, so hopefully we're going to have the script nailed down. As some of you may know, I wrote the first draft in three days in May 1997 on an old Mac computer I had. But I had the idea for the movie (or comic book, I didn't know which one at the time) in 1995, around August or so. Crazy! [top] May 16, 2006 Update on the 9:04 AM cast, which has already started rehearsals: Justin Sims as Justin Hayes Tracey Dunn as Suzy McManus Brock Hill as Phil Court Sarah Elizabeth Kenny as Billie Parker Conor Timmis as Mark Lang Pat Sammon as George Moore Talia Molé Monson as Christie Moore Melissa Gozukizil as Monique We're still looking for Dan the still-in-shape-former-jock, and some minor characters that we'll let you know about soon. We should be announcing the casting of two to three more characters soon. For more info on casting, visit mpsdigital.com and click on Studio, then Casting Updates. Production begins late summer 2006! [top] May 13, 2006 We're pleased to announce the casting of Brock Hill as Phil, part of the trio of best friends led by Justin and kept cool by Suzy. And Pat Sammon as George, husband of Christie and best friend of the still uncast Dan. Our other recent casting is the excellent Conor Timmis as Mark Lang, a character who was the co-star on a popular sci-fi TV show. We're still looking for other characters, including Dan, a former jock who is in good shape, mid-20s; George, Dan's best friend (and former jock), mid-20s; Weaver, the boss in his 40s to 50s; Jim the agent of Mark Lang, in his 30s to 50s. Casting will likely be late next week (before Memorial Day weekend). Send head shots and resumes to casting@mpsdigital.com. Production begins late summer 2006. [top] May 06, 2006 Just a little head's up...RELEASE ME was selected to screen at the 1st annual South Florida Internation Film & Video Festival! It will be screening with other short films from around the state of Florida and the country on Friday May 12th with awards on Saturday May 13th! Hope you can make it! (This is the 7th film festival RELEASE ME's been in!) [top] May 01, 2006 We are pleased to announce the casting of Conor Timmis as Mark Lang! Conor has an extensive background in acting, and has been featured in many independent films, a show for the History Channel, and more. Welcome aboard, Conor! [top] April 30, 2006 We had callbacks today and will be planning another open casting in May. Details to follow. Also, those who re-read today, please be patient--both Grant, who is in China adopting, and Jeremiah need to see the readings. Parts still available: Amanda: second lead and the oldest of the three sisters, including Christie and Billie. Phil: a slacker, low-level ID thief who is best friends with Justin and Suzy. Dan: a still-in-good-shape jock who is dating Amanda. George: a past-his-prime jock who is Dan's best friend and married to Christie. Jim (formerly Mike) the Agent: Mark Lang's slick agent. Weaver: eccentric boss to Justin and Amanda. Sides can be found here, so download and check them out. [top] April 05, 2006 Well, I'm counting down the days until we start pre-production. Grant is in China for a while, so I'll be doing the next round of re-writes until he gets back. Then I'll be scheduling everything with the crew and going over shots with Jon the DP. Not to mention getting everything else ready, like catering, travel, gear, etc. And rehearsals! Anyway, call backs/round 2 open casting (only come if you've gotten an email "call" back or you didn't read on March 31): Sunday April 30, 1 PM. Palm Beach Film School, where I am lead instructor, 901 Northpoint Pkwy., Ste. 303, West Palm Beach, FL 33407 Directions: I-95