It's the newest trailer for The Nocturnal Third! Check it out at IndieGoGo, where you'll also find info about the new fund-raising campaign!
http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Nocturnal-Third
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
"You and Harold in there... you're sitters. Bumps on a log. No movement, no thought."
The words of The Nocturnal Third's enigmatic Jeffrey, played by Luke Weaver, must be echoing in the skull of N3rd writer/director Ben Stark. He discusses maintaining a healthy pace in life, movie-making, and movie-watching in the latest edition of Speculatin' a Hypothesis!
http://filmnerds.com/blog/2010/10/06/life-aint-a-track-meet/
http://filmnerds.com/blog/2010/10/06/life-aint-a-track-meet/
Friday, October 1, 2010
The Summer Date Night Screening Series Wrap-Up
N3rd Writer/Director Ben Stark takes us through the land of popcorn and explosions as he and his wife institutionalize the Summer Movie Season experience.
Take a look at the latest Speculatin' A Hypothesis over at filmnerds.com!
http://filmnerds.com/blog/2010/10/01/the-summer-date-night-screening-series-wrap-up/
Take a look at the latest Speculatin' A Hypothesis over at filmnerds.com!
http://filmnerds.com/blog/2010/10/01/the-summer-date-night-screening-series-wrap-up/
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
From Speculatin' a Hypothesis, the filmnerds.com blog from Benjamin Stark...
It seems like I start every blog entry with "boy, I haven't written one of these in a while."
In March, the company I worked for over the past 3 years as head video editor closed. I have a wife and a dog that demand food, but since one of those is healthily employed, and because I'm a member of the Dave Ramsey cult, we were never in danger of starving.
However, the American spirit and my German breeding wouldn't allow me to bum off of my wife and our savings account, and I had to be honest with myself and admit that the fear spread by the media about our nation's economic situation had officially reached our little City of Tomorrow. So, I was looking a grim situation in the face, and I knew this was going to be an interesting couple of months.
We were going to have to boil things down to essentials for the second time in our young marriage, and I realized there were two ships to keep afloat - my relationship with my wife, and The Nocturnal Third.
When faced with adversity, it seems like two easy coping mechanisms are to punish those closest to you and to drop long-term goals for the sake of short-term solutions. To ensure quality time together, we organized a Summer Date Night Screening Series, the results of which I hope to post soon, and I joined in on her triathlon training (periodically). Add to that, I never entertained any job options that would jeopardize any forward movement on the film (working an oil rig in Alaska, taking out a loan and going to grad school, etc.)
Consequently, we enjoyed a lean summer full of fun and productivity, but the entire time I felt I was performing a high-wire act, as God seemingly provided the right amount of work right when we needed it to meet our budget. It was pretty amazing, and now I feel like I've been taught that ever-elusive virtue that this fiscally conservative dorkus has been missing for so long - flexibility. The killer schedule of A Genesis Found and the directorial experience of The Nocturnal Third went a long way in keeping me guessing, but now I feel like we could survive anything.
In the midst of "struggling" (let it not be said that I'm not aware of the real hardships many families are facing here and abroad), I had a few tools, beyond a great family, ever-evolving faith, and the aforementioned dog. I've finally picked back up the amazing Neal Gabler biography Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination. My mom got it for me for Christmas 3 years ago, and after reading a few pages in 2007, I quickly realized this was going to be less of a breezy read and more of a side project. At 880 pages, it functions as a comprehensive history of early Hollywood, the art of animation, and global pop culture. My renewed journey through the book is complemented by my mission to fill gaps and watch every animated Disney feature I've missed over the years. What strikes me about Disney and the principles he was able to establish is the idea of enacting almost subliminal social change through positivity and shared experiential joy. Intentional or not, a Mickey Mouse cartoon is constructed in such a way that it immediately triggers endorphin release. I've even been listening to tracks from the various Disney musicals in an almost therapeutic way. It's hard to have a bad day if you're jamming "Whistle While You Work", or "Prince Ali", or "When You Wish Upon A Star".
I also spent much of the summer reading up on the Space Race, and revisiting films like The Right Stuff and Apollo 13. Again, NASA in the late 50's exudes optimism and stubborn bravado.
This interest in progressive-thinking genius (or at least the image thereof) is definitely informing a burgeoning concept for my second feature-length screenplay, but it's also reflected in The Nocturnal Third. In addition to learning resourcefulness in my personal life, the themes of utilitarianism in your surroundings that surface in N3rd are also becoming more and more clear and clean to me as I mold each scene in sound editing and in examining the film from a "marketing" perspective. Producer Lee and I were recently talking about how refreshing it is to have a story still speak to you in its various stages of development, despite being conceived of three years ago.
I'm currently enjoying the bizarre process of recording foley, basically acting out the aural consequences of decisions our actors made a year ago. It's a slow-moving process, as it's location-based, which is harder to schedule, and dependent on location operations and weather. In the meantime, I'm working on writing copy for marketing materials, prepping the glitzy web site, and chatting with the other artists working on the film.
Let's not forget that there's plenty to be done for the upcoming Southeastern Campus Tour of A Genesis Found... Follow director Lee Fanning's blog (http://sonofarkie.blogspot.com/) to get the latest info on that, as well as some great insight from him.
So, that's how I spent my summer. I'm now working part time at a job with one of the best companies on the planet, as well as working with some great freelance clients doing interesting work. It really does feel like school is back in session, as balance seems to have been restored. Above all, we have a release date set for The Nocturnal Third... April 2011.
Myself and the other filmmakers working on the project are excited about the ever-approaching day when the world can see our movie.
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to getting in Melody Time from Netflix... the last of the post-war anthology features in the Disney line-up. Watch out for my blogging activity to hopefully increase now that I can afford to make a bit more time for such "distractions", including an entry into the "Great Scenes" Film Nerds series, a look at our Summer Date Night movies, and a comprehensive look at the ENTIRE Animated Disney canon (expect that 4th quarter 2014).
Also, if you're not already, come follow @WonderMillFilms on Twitter. It's a little less formal and more abstract than much of our dialogue on Facebook. www.twitter.com/wondermillfilms
Thanks for reading, guys, and for letting me indulge.
God Bless,
Ben Stark
Writer/Director, The Nocturnal Third
It seems like I start every blog entry with "boy, I haven't written one of these in a while."
In March, the company I worked for over the past 3 years as head video editor closed. I have a wife and a dog that demand food, but since one of those is healthily employed, and because I'm a member of the Dave Ramsey cult, we were never in danger of starving.
However, the American spirit and my German breeding wouldn't allow me to bum off of my wife and our savings account, and I had to be honest with myself and admit that the fear spread by the media about our nation's economic situation had officially reached our little City of Tomorrow. So, I was looking a grim situation in the face, and I knew this was going to be an interesting couple of months.
We were going to have to boil things down to essentials for the second time in our young marriage, and I realized there were two ships to keep afloat - my relationship with my wife, and The Nocturnal Third.
When faced with adversity, it seems like two easy coping mechanisms are to punish those closest to you and to drop long-term goals for the sake of short-term solutions. To ensure quality time together, we organized a Summer Date Night Screening Series, the results of which I hope to post soon, and I joined in on her triathlon training (periodically). Add to that, I never entertained any job options that would jeopardize any forward movement on the film (working an oil rig in Alaska, taking out a loan and going to grad school, etc.)
Consequently, we enjoyed a lean summer full of fun and productivity, but the entire time I felt I was performing a high-wire act, as God seemingly provided the right amount of work right when we needed it to meet our budget. It was pretty amazing, and now I feel like I've been taught that ever-elusive virtue that this fiscally conservative dorkus has been missing for so long - flexibility. The killer schedule of A Genesis Found and the directorial experience of The Nocturnal Third went a long way in keeping me guessing, but now I feel like we could survive anything.
In the midst of "struggling" (let it not be said that I'm not aware of the real hardships many families are facing here and abroad), I had a few tools, beyond a great family, ever-evolving faith, and the aforementioned dog. I've finally picked back up the amazing Neal Gabler biography Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination. My mom got it for me for Christmas 3 years ago, and after reading a few pages in 2007, I quickly realized this was going to be less of a breezy read and more of a side project. At 880 pages, it functions as a comprehensive history of early Hollywood, the art of animation, and global pop culture. My renewed journey through the book is complemented by my mission to fill gaps and watch every animated Disney feature I've missed over the years. What strikes me about Disney and the principles he was able to establish is the idea of enacting almost subliminal social change through positivity and shared experiential joy. Intentional or not, a Mickey Mouse cartoon is constructed in such a way that it immediately triggers endorphin release. I've even been listening to tracks from the various Disney musicals in an almost therapeutic way. It's hard to have a bad day if you're jamming "Whistle While You Work", or "Prince Ali", or "When You Wish Upon A Star".
I also spent much of the summer reading up on the Space Race, and revisiting films like The Right Stuff and Apollo 13. Again, NASA in the late 50's exudes optimism and stubborn bravado.
This interest in progressive-thinking genius (or at least the image thereof) is definitely informing a burgeoning concept for my second feature-length screenplay, but it's also reflected in The Nocturnal Third. In addition to learning resourcefulness in my personal life, the themes of utilitarianism in your surroundings that surface in N3rd are also becoming more and more clear and clean to me as I mold each scene in sound editing and in examining the film from a "marketing" perspective. Producer Lee and I were recently talking about how refreshing it is to have a story still speak to you in its various stages of development, despite being conceived of three years ago.
I'm currently enjoying the bizarre process of recording foley, basically acting out the aural consequences of decisions our actors made a year ago. It's a slow-moving process, as it's location-based, which is harder to schedule, and dependent on location operations and weather. In the meantime, I'm working on writing copy for marketing materials, prepping the glitzy web site, and chatting with the other artists working on the film.
Let's not forget that there's plenty to be done for the upcoming Southeastern Campus Tour of A Genesis Found... Follow director Lee Fanning's blog (http://sonofarkie.blogspot.com/) to get the latest info on that, as well as some great insight from him.
So, that's how I spent my summer. I'm now working part time at a job with one of the best companies on the planet, as well as working with some great freelance clients doing interesting work. It really does feel like school is back in session, as balance seems to have been restored. Above all, we have a release date set for The Nocturnal Third... April 2011.
Myself and the other filmmakers working on the project are excited about the ever-approaching day when the world can see our movie.
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to getting in Melody Time from Netflix... the last of the post-war anthology features in the Disney line-up. Watch out for my blogging activity to hopefully increase now that I can afford to make a bit more time for such "distractions", including an entry into the "Great Scenes" Film Nerds series, a look at our Summer Date Night movies, and a comprehensive look at the ENTIRE Animated Disney canon (expect that 4th quarter 2014).
Also, if you're not already, come follow @WonderMillFilms on Twitter. It's a little less formal and more abstract than much of our dialogue on Facebook. www.twitter.com/wondermillfilms
Thanks for reading, guys, and for letting me indulge.
God Bless,
Ben Stark
Writer/Director, The Nocturnal Third
Saturday, July 10, 2010
THE NOCTURNAL THIRD Release Date Announced!
N3rd director Benjamin Stark just sent out news of when we'll be able to see The Nocturnal Third!
Hello, everyone!
I hope this message finds all of you healthy and happy. It's been a little less than a year since we started filming The Nocturnal Third, and things have been moving along!
Yes, it's been a bit quiet on the update front for the film, but rest assured that's because we've been too busy to notice time flying by. Currently, things are moving ahead steadily in all departments - animation, sound recording and mixing, scoring, and marketing.
I'm writing today to fill you all in on our current plan for self-distribution and a premiere!
The experience of self-distributing A Genesis Found (available soon on DVD!) has taught us a lot, and we think that for this project, it is also the best route to go. "Do what you can with what you have", right?
We are on track to premiere The Nocturnal Third in April of 2011, most likely at a theater or facility here in Huntsville. Now, that is noticeably later than the previous estimate of July-October of 2010, so let me explain a bit:
In order to maximize the impact of the film, we're using a version of the model that in the "business" is called "Day & Date" - basically, we want to provide the film to be viewable for everyone, on the same day, in all the various formats it can be accessed.
The premiere day will also see the launch day of the film's online streaming availability (you'll be able to stream the first 10 minutes for free) and the loaded DVD (with commentaries, making-of, and other special features), available at the premiere!
We'll look to support those purchasing options beyond the premiere with a screening tour, film festival showings, and other exhibition events.
So, that should explain the extra time that will be spent making sure the film, the website, the DVD, and the premiere arrangements are up to snuff.
Hopefully, our proposed "N3rd Day" will provide a fun and memorable milestone for all of you that have been so diligent in providing the hard work, support, and faith necessary to bring our film to life. I hope you'll all be content with us "working in the dark" as we get ready for the big release.
Between now and April, though, be on the lookout for featurettes, extended trailers, music, posters, and much more content from the film!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or comments! Thanks for reading!!
God Bless,
Benjamin Stark
Writer / Producer / Director
THE NOCTURNAL THIRD
www.agenesisfound.com
www.thenocturnalthird.com
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Jewel Saves Kevin Maggard's Love Life
Check out our own Eli Gottfried, Alabama actor Kevin Maggard, in Jewel's new music video for her single, Satisfied! Be patient, the wait pays off late in the video...
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Be Featured in The Nocturnal Third!
Do you want your product, service, business, band, or organization to be mentioned in a feature film? Just create a 15 to 30 second mp3, and it could be eligible for inclusion in The Nocturnal Third as radio programming! Make a promo for your podcast, announce a fake concert for your real band, create a spot promoting your business, and e-mail it to wondermillfilms@yahoo.com. I can think of very few things that could possibly be easier.
We need a variety of radio programming for sound design in The Nocturnal Third, and we thought it'd be nice to invite our friends to get some free exposure!
If you don't have access to simple audio recording equipment, feel free to send in a script for us to record and produce.
See below for details!
In submitting your audio production to Wonder Mill Films, you are deemed to have read and agreed upon the following terms and conditions:
The following terminology applies to these Terms and Conditions: "Submitter", "You", and "Your" refers to you, the person submitting content for inclusion in the feature film The Nocturnal Third and accepting these Terms And Conditions. "Wonder Mill Films", "The Production", "Ourselves", "Our", "We", and "Us", refers to Wonder Mill Films and the feature film production of The Nocturnal Third, represented by Silas Adventures, LLC. All terms refer to the offer on the part of the Production for individuals and organizations to submit freely usable content for inclusion in The Nocturnal Third.
CONTENT
The Submitter agrees to create and submit, for no fee, and with no financial consequence, a 15 to 30 second audio production to be eligible for inclusion in the Wonder Mill Films feature film The Nocturnal Third. You may submit any content promoting any product or services that you own or hold rights to.
Suggested content includes commercials for products, promotional spots for radio programming or websites, or commercials for stores. For programming promos, please refer to your website and the fictitious station 1230 AM, WMFP.
Audio productions including references to copyrighted materials or websites not owned by the submitter or non-fictitious radio stations will be automatically disqualified from inclusion.
USAGE
Wonder Mill Films does not guarantee inclusion of submitted audio productions in the completed feature film, but does retain the right to include all submitted audio productions as supplemental features on a DVD or Blu ray release.
The audio productions will not be altered in any way beyond filtering and duration trimming.
SUBMISSION
Audio productions can be submitted as .mp3 files at 48 khz, via e-mail to:
wondermillfilms@yahoo.com
A confirmation e-mail will be sent to you upon your submission. Please inquire if submission confirmation is not received.
OWNERSHIP
Submitters waive all distribution and ownership rights to submitted audio productions where financial consequence is concerned. Wonder Mill Films may use submitted audio productions in any way, while never altering submitted audio productions beyond filtering or duration trimming.
Submitters are free to use submitted audio productions in any way outside of the Production, including use in personal or organizational promotions, on websites, or other forms of distribution.
These terms and conditions form an Agreement between the Submitter and the Production. Your submitting of audio productions via e-mail to wondermillfilms@yahoo.com indicates your understanding, agreement to and acceptance of the full Terms and Conditions included herein.
© Copyright Wonder Mill Films 2010 All Rights Reserved.
We need a variety of radio programming for sound design in The Nocturnal Third, and we thought it'd be nice to invite our friends to get some free exposure!
If you don't have access to simple audio recording equipment, feel free to send in a script for us to record and produce.
See below for details!
Terms and Conditions for
The Nocturnal Third Radio Spot Submissions
The Nocturnal Third Radio Spot Submissions
In submitting your audio production to Wonder Mill Films, you are deemed to have read and agreed upon the following terms and conditions:
The following terminology applies to these Terms and Conditions: "Submitter", "You", and "Your" refers to you, the person submitting content for inclusion in the feature film The Nocturnal Third and accepting these Terms And Conditions. "Wonder Mill Films", "The Production", "Ourselves", "Our", "We", and "Us", refers to Wonder Mill Films and the feature film production of The Nocturnal Third, represented by Silas Adventures, LLC. All terms refer to the offer on the part of the Production for individuals and organizations to submit freely usable content for inclusion in The Nocturnal Third.
CONTENT
The Submitter agrees to create and submit, for no fee, and with no financial consequence, a 15 to 30 second audio production to be eligible for inclusion in the Wonder Mill Films feature film The Nocturnal Third. You may submit any content promoting any product or services that you own or hold rights to.
Suggested content includes commercials for products, promotional spots for radio programming or websites, or commercials for stores. For programming promos, please refer to your website and the fictitious station 1230 AM, WMFP.
Audio productions including references to copyrighted materials or websites not owned by the submitter or non-fictitious radio stations will be automatically disqualified from inclusion.
USAGE
Wonder Mill Films does not guarantee inclusion of submitted audio productions in the completed feature film, but does retain the right to include all submitted audio productions as supplemental features on a DVD or Blu ray release.
The audio productions will not be altered in any way beyond filtering and duration trimming.
SUBMISSION
Audio productions can be submitted as .mp3 files at 48 khz, via e-mail to:
wondermillfilms@yahoo.com
A confirmation e-mail will be sent to you upon your submission. Please inquire if submission confirmation is not received.
OWNERSHIP
Submitters waive all distribution and ownership rights to submitted audio productions where financial consequence is concerned. Wonder Mill Films may use submitted audio productions in any way, while never altering submitted audio productions beyond filtering or duration trimming.
Submitters are free to use submitted audio productions in any way outside of the Production, including use in personal or organizational promotions, on websites, or other forms of distribution.
These terms and conditions form an Agreement between the Submitter and the Production. Your submitting of audio productions via e-mail to wondermillfilms@yahoo.com indicates your understanding, agreement to and acceptance of the full Terms and Conditions included herein.
© Copyright Wonder Mill Films 2010 All Rights Reserved.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Meet our Director
Check out "The Nocturnal Third" Writer/Director Benjamin Stark's brief but productive write up for the University of Alabama's College of Communication and Information Sciences website here!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
"I thought you had trouble sleeping."
Well, apparently, the long hours of production and post-production have sent our little production blog into a winter hibernation. I'm sorry it's been so long since an update. Hopefully we can stare this schedule in the face and make a bit more time to keep folks in the loop as far as The Nocturnal Third is concerned.
We're going into our scheduled pick-up and re-shoot days this weekend, hoping to gather what little pieces of the puzzle remain to be found. I can't wait to catch up with everyone again.
There exists, in the bowels of my hard drive, a full up-to-date visual assembly of the film, and we've started to receive feedback from close-knit collaborators and mentors, and signs are positive. I, myself, am pretty proud of everything, but the long process of feature film post-production does have me coddling this little Quasimodo right now. The Nocturnal Third is currently without a score, final animation, color correction, composites, and it's even missing a few essential shots (yes, all of these elements have been addressed... loose ends make us deathly anxious here at Wonder Mill). If I'm proud of N3rd in its current form, I really look forward to watching the polished version to the point of insanity leading up to the premiere!
I met with composer Jesse Ewing last weekend, and what he's come up with so far, score-wise, is unique, striking, and very noisy. If you've seen the trailer, which Jesse did a dynamite job on, you have the tiniest idea of what's in store for you in the final film. I'm hearing things that, literally, are new to my ears.
Well, I suppose I should save some stuff for future posts. Be sure to check back at www.thenocturnalthird.com for updates! You can also keep up with the production at Wonder Mill's Facebook page and you should definitely follow us on Twitter.
Oh, and if you haven't seen the new A Genesis Found site (www.agenesisfound.com), you're missing something special... and to think, that's just the beginning! Stay tuned for some big stuff in the next few months.
Thanks for reading, guys. Talk to you soon.
-Ben
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