Time And Again (the movie)...

Alex

Andrew

Emmy

Jake

James

Laura

Lexi

Madison

Patrick

Tim

Mike

David

JUNE 9, 2014

The timeline is about 50% complete and on schedule to be ready for the composer and the narrator by end of summer.

MAY 9, 2014

Earlier this week I received terrible news about Patrick Chittenden, the acting student who played the Motorcycle Shop Customer. Here is the email message from Associate Professor David Watson:

"I'm afraid I have some very sad news. One of the students you worked with on your film passed away last Friday. Lexi who was his roommate found him on the floor of his bedroom. [Lexi played Barbara, The Wife] The cause of death was  determined to be Bacterial Meningitis, a very rare condition. Patrick  complained of feeling ill for two days, assuming it was food  poisoning. Tragically, it was not the case. The entire Theatre  Department here at Hartt has been in a debilitating state of morning.  Patrick was quite beloved and he will be sorely missed. It's just not  right that someone so young is taken, but  what's to be done. We can  however remember the light Patrick brought into the lives of those who  new him."

I am personally stunned by this tragedy and at a loss for words, so I published David's words.

APRIL 27, 2014

All the retakes and the missed scene have been recorded and editing is underway. Having seven hours of recording in three cameras makes selecting frames for the final video a daunting task. Consider: 7 hours x 3 cameras x 60 minutes x 60 seconds x 30 frames per second = 2,268,000 frames. More than two million frames! For each scene I need to look at the shots from the center camera, the fixed camera, and Andrew's hand held camera. But we're still on track to have the timeline finished by the end of the summer so Alan Rust can perform the narration and the composer, Bruce Zimmerman, can create the score. Yes, Bruce has generously offered to write the score at a significanly reduced rate.

MARCH 27, 2014

I'm sorry to report that our project, Time And Again, did not meet its Kickstarter funding goal.  The only casualty of this failure will be the original score... I will use available online music instead.

Except for a missed scene and a couple of retakes scheduled for a Sunday in April, the movie is, as they say, "in the can" and I'll be spending evenings and weekends for the next year culling through the video frames for the best stills, matching them up with the appropriate backgrounds, and then putting it all together with dialogue, narration, and music.  Here is a sample of a still placed into a scene background: 

Henry in his basement workshop...

MARCH 14, 2014

The Kickstarter project has 11 days to go with 19% pledged... spread the word:
This project will only be funded if at least $8,000 is pledged by Wed, Mar 26 2014 6:59 PM EDT.

We held a class meeting this afternoon and explained the use of two green screens in a V formation to allow shooting three angles at once. We will set up Friday morning at 10:00 and test the setup until it is ready for shooting Saturday. We will start the shoot Saturday at 9:00 and quit at 6:00 pm. I will review the footage and audio Saturday night. We'll meet again Sunday at 10:00 am to shoot any scenes not completed Saturday, to reshoot where necessary, and to record separate audio if needed. Bart's of Windsor will bring in lunch and snacks for the three days.

This coming week is for gathering props and equipment and Thursday I'll pick up the truck to bring everything to the studio.

Dr. Steve Lipman, our Frank Sinatra performer will record Love Is A Many Splendored Thing as background for the Romantic Montage and he will appear with Henry and Kaye in the Nightclub Scene.

FEBRUARY 24, 2014

The Kickstarter project has launched... spread the word:

CASTING (in order of appearance)
Henry = Tim Longo
Barbara = Lexi Alioto
Kaye = Madison Obery
George (sympathetic co-worker) = James Hussey
Henry's Boss = Alex DiLalio
Bill = Jacob Grannan
Apartment Woman = Emily Riley
Motorcycle Shop Customer = Patrick Chittenden
Men on Kissing Line = Music Department
Extra Women for Kissing Booth = Music Department
Burly Man = Mike Bigda
Realtor Lady = Emily Riley
Kaye's Mother = Laura-Sue Johnson
Associate Director of Photography = Andrew Mazer
Narrator = Alan Rust
Extras = Everybody and/or Music Department
Associate Producers = Anyone who wants to help with props, logistics, etc.

FEBRUARY 23, 2014

The Kickstarter video and program have been completed. It will take several days to get their approval and then we can launch. I visited Redline Powersports Saturday and realized that shooting there would be very difficult if not impossible, so we'll go to Plan B and simulate riding the motorcycle in the studio.

FEBRUARY 18, 2014

On Friday, February 14th (Valentine's Day) we interviewed the students and recorded them reading some of the scenes from the screenplay. Next step is to assign the cast of characters. This will be difficult since they were all so good.

In addition, the Kickstarter program was completed except for my video portion. I shot it Saturday night but I'm not happy with the result and will shoot it again this week. As soon as the video is uploaded to Kickstarter we will go live and begin soliciting supporters.

Dr. Lipman (The Singin' Dentist) has agreed to provide an appropriate 60's song for the Romantic Montage and will obtain the necessary rights to the music. Friend, Wes Gilbert, whose garage is like a motorcycle junkyard has agreed to provide motorcycle parts and tools as props. The Kissing Booth will be built by the Acme Crating Company.

As soon as Henry, Bill, and Kaye are cast we'll head over to Redline Powersports in Winsted to record them them with the motorcycle.

Henry Meeker is nobody. He spends his days as a nervous, uptight bookkeeper for Amalgamated
Conglomerate downtown and his evenings are dominated by the demands and complaints of his wife,
Barbara. At night he dreams.

He dreams about the time before he got married. He was free then, riding a motorcycle and doing
odd jobs for gas money. Sometimes he can't remember why he married or got boxed in this way, but
then it all comes back; Barbara told him she was pregnant and he took the job and bought the house
so he could provide for his new family. He wanted to be a good father and husband. But the baby
never came.

Secretly, in a corner of the cellar, Henry is trying to construct a time travel machine. He wants to go
back to the way it was before. He has no expectations that the the device will actually work, but it is
his only hope.

One day when his experimenting blows every fuse in the house and interrupts Barbara's television
viewing, she discovers his secret and destroys all the equipment – scolding and screeching.

Henry is devastated. His hopes demolished. On his way to work next morning he is even more
listless than usual, drifting to his office in a sea of commuters.

Suddenly, from the crowded train station a lovely young woman seizes Henry's arm gasping, “My
God, it's you!” and faints into his arms.

He holds her up, conscious of her sweet fragrance and her slender, helpless body against his. As she
revives, her pale blue eyes gaze lovingly into Henry's for the briefest instant before she realizes where
she is and she tries to regain her composure.

“I'm sorry,” she says, “I thought you were someone else,” and begins to cry softly. Henry is reluctant
to let her go and in her distress she allows him to take her home. Her name is Kaye.

There's no room in Henry's dreams that night for the time machine; he dreams of Kaye and how
strong and protective he felt holding her.

For the first time in years Henry bounds off to the train station happy and hopeful. He anxiously
scans the platform for Kaye but she's not there. Forgetting his office, Henry quits the train station and
rushes to Kaye's apartment.

She's very upset to see him again, but yielding to his urging she invites him in for a cup of coffee and
explains that he reminds her of someone that she loved deeply. Totally entranced, Henry wants to
spend the day with her but Kaye is unnerved by his presence. Only after she agrees to see him on the
weekend does he leave.

Henry's head is in the clouds all week. Even Barbara notices his new cheerfulness, but becomes
derisive when she learns that he failed to get the promotion that she had nagged him for.

On Saturday, nearly bursting with happiness and anticipation, Henry knocks on Kaye's door. But a
stranger answers. “She's gone,” he's told. “Moved out yesterday.”

Henry is staggered by the news. During the past week his hopes had been shattered when Barbara
junked his time machine and now, from the lofty heights of his infatuation with Kaye, he crashes down
into a terrible despair.

His only salvation is to complete the time machine and go back to meet Kaye before her involvement
with the lover that Henry resembles.

With passionate dedication, Henry devotes himself totally to the time machine. He shuns job and
home, feverishly working in a motorcycle shop as a mechanic by day and a time machine creator at
night. Henry's only hope for survival is the past and from his desperation is born the vehicle that will
take him there.

Without hesitation, he activates the machine and hurls himself backwards through time to arrive
at the exact same spot but three years earlier.

Ecstatic with his success and filled with hope for a new future with Kaye. Henry finds a job and a
place to live. He buys a second hand motorcycle and begins his search for Kaye.

Nearly a year later, his hair is longer and his new friends call him Hank. One of them brings him to
a carnival where he sees Kaye. She is having difficulty with a drunk man and Hank rescues her.
Carefully concealing his excitement at finding her, Hank asks her casually for a date.

There follows a determined courtship as a beautiful love story unfolds: gay, sunny days at the beach,
barefoot walks through the park, motorcycle rides with Kaye's arms wrapped around Hank, bright
dreams and plans for the future, and the intimacy of a shared bed. Hank meets her parents and is
accepted as a future member of the family.

Happy seasons pass while romantic dreams evolve into a joint bank account, living together, and
setting a wedding date. Hank has completely forgotten about Henry, Barbara, and the rusted-out time
machine. Kaye looks forward to a house and children.

That's all you're going to find here. to help us finish the film so you can see how it ends.