Good showing at Balticon

The weekend at the Baltimore Science Fiction Convention went very well. I spent a couple of days there meeting audiences, meeting other filmmakers, speaking on and attending panels. The screening itself was well received. There were probably more than 100 people. We screened second to last before the intermission so on the break I got to talk to people when it was very fresh in their minds. You can kind of tell, watching the audience watch your film, how they're reacting, but it's even better when people immediately want to talk to you about it.

More Upcoming Screenings

Just at the time that we premiered at SENE we got a bump in acceptances for other screenings. It's made for a really nice couple of weeks lately.

SENE was, as usual, a good festival to attend. The audiences in Providence are always engaged and supportive. We got a lot of great feedback all weekend long. It was nice to screen on Friday in the big theater because there was more time to talk to people who had seen it. Killer and Take Out had both screened at SENE in years past, but on Sunday in the last block of the festival. So as premieres go it was everything I could have wanted.

That same weekend I got notice that Ghost Tours got picked up for season 7 of TvFILM on WMHT in Albany, NY. I don't have the air date yet, but I'm going next week to do the interview part of the episode. In season 6 they played Killer if you want to get a sense of what the program is like.

Since then I got an acceptance notice from Balticon, which is the Baltimore Science Fiction convention held Memorial Day weekend. We'll be screening as part of the Sunday Night Film Festival if anyone is around Maryland and wants to come out for an evening of fun sci-fi films.

And this morning I got word that they will be screening Ghost Tours at the University Film and Video Association annual meeting. This one is not really open to the public as it is a conference for film and video professors. But if any of my professional colleagues happen to be going to the meeting I'd love for you to come out and see the film. They don't have the schedule done yet, but it will be in the program when that gets published.

World Premiere

We have been accepted into our first festival!! Here is hoping for the start of a long and happy run.

Official Poster

So far I've done about a dozen festival submission, but that is a long game. Both in terms of time spent submitting and time spent waiting to here which ones we'll get into. Patience and perseverance are both required. In the meantime I found someone to give us a hand with the marketing. Many thanks to Alexandra Lambdin of the University of Central Missouri.

Ghost Tours is ready for the world

Ghost Tours is officially finished. I am making "hard copies" to be kept on file at school as a record of my thesis. The thank you gifts for the donors are all in the mail if not already in your hot little hands.

I want to take a moment to thank all the folks who didn't have any spare cash to offer a financial contribution, but who still offered the invaluable assets of love, support, and encouragement. It was a huge endeavor, partly because it was a fairly ambitious film, and partly because it was my master's thesis film and so had a bit of extra Importance. Knowing there were people who believed in what I was trying to do and in my ability to do it really helped keep me going. I appreciate each and every one of you.

The goal now is to bring it to a festival near you so that everyone can see it. I've started a few festival submissions, but mostly I'm waiting to have a moment to think so that I can set myself a festival strategy. Submissions aren't free (usually) so it's important to maximize the budget by focusing on festivals that are a good fit, and playing a long game so that you're always getting the early bird rates. If a likely candidate is on their late deadline (and therefore likely twice as expensive) then mark it in the calendar and submit on the next cycle. Festivals usually accept anything finished within the last two years. Patience will get you more viewers in the long run.

Stay tuned here, and subscribe if you haven't already. As we get screenings I'll make announcements and post dates, times, and where to buy tickets.

Ghost Tours Official Trailer

You have all been so patient, I finally have a reward for you.

There are still finishing touches left to be done. I have drafts of the score from the composer, but we will be doing a live recording session so the music will get even better. Sound design is a work in progress. And I am still touching up the titles and transitions. It's so close to done I can taste it.

Fantastic news all around

Please join me in welcoming the newest member of the Ghost Tours team: composer Benn Cole, who will be doing a custom score for us.

Benn is currently part of the Film Scoring program at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, MA. If you want to learn more about Benn and listen some of his music cruise on over to his website Benn Cole Music.

Part of what makes this such an exciting announcement is that it means I'm at picture lock. The story is in place. There's still plenty of work to do, even on actual pictures, despite the name. There are two sets of images that are currently placeholder that I need to do some work on. But the story won't change and the timing won't change so it's safe for Benn to start work and it's safe for Dan the sound designer to start work.

They say sound is 70% of any film you see, so these two guys will be doing some very important stuff for me in the next few months.