What Do I Know?

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are very excited to announce that WREX TV Weekend Anchor Jeannie Hayes has joined the cast of Raymond Did It.

Jeannie will be providing voice talent for Raymond Did It as a radio news anchor. We are positively thrilled to have her on board!

Read Jeannie’s profile on WREX.COM

In other news, I have managed to get the next Raymond Did It preproduction video blog online! Please enjoy!

We are a mere six weeks away from principal photography on Raymond Did It and we still have some money to raise, so please donate at http://www.indiegogo.com/Raymond-Did-It every dollar we can raise helps!

Stay tuned, there will be more announcements soon!

Thanks!

Travis

Hello all,

With less than sixty days until principal photography begins on Raymond Did It things are a special kind of crazy around the Plastic Age Productions office. Now, on Friday night, while Rockford is kicking off the spring iteration of ArtScene, I’m at home sneaking in every extra bit of work that I can. As I write this blog, I’m sitting on the couch in my living room, watching Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band with my fiancée and kids, typing away on the iPad in a sad attempt at multitasking work with the increasingly elusive “quality time” I need to share with the family. I leave for Los Angeles on Monday to meet with producers, fellow writers, actors, and friends, so I have been running myself ragged in preparation for the trip. As an unpleasant side effect, I have had very little time to keep up with some of my obligations.

I’ve been so busy handling preproduction on Raymond Did It that I haven’t had time to work on my blog, record and edit Behind The Scenes content, or keep up with my writing schedule.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not a note of complaint. In fact it is exactly the opposite. I’m thrilled to be this busy with preproduction, because it means that I’m moving toward the ultimate goal of bringing Raymond Did It to audiences. We’ve come so far in the past few months that I would be stunned stupid if I took five minutes to stop and think about it.

Having said that, I DO want to share as much preproduction knowledge with you as possible. I want to give the fans, my friends, and fellow filmmakers as much insight into the filmmaking process as possible. To this end, I have been creating YouTube videos that sort of document what I’m doing to make Raymond Did It a reality. Due to an audio issue with my Mac mini (which is going into the shop as soon as I head to LA) I’ve postponed my latest video blog to ensure I can provide the highest quality product for those interested in watching. In the meantime, you can watch the three previous preproduction blogs below.

Preproduction Video Blog #1

Preproduction Video Blog #2

Preproduction Video Blog #3

I hope you enjoy these little tidbits of info, and I look forward to sharing more in depth content in the coming weeks. Upon my return to the Forest City I should have a wealth of information to post about preproduction, the LA experience through the eyes of a poor Midwestern filmmaker, some new insights into certain tools old and new, and much more. With any luck the wizards at Best Buy will have the mini back in fighting shape and the content can flow freely!

If you can, I implore you to support Raymond Did It on Indiegogo. We are an extremely independent and low budget film. Give what you can, every dollar helps. Tell your friends and see if THEY can help…and tell their friends.

Thanks so very much for your support,
Travis

In January of 2009 I began filming Skeet Shooting, the first  part of what was to become a series of short comedies known collectively as the Couch Trilogy.

Tonight I uploaded Memoirs of a Stinky Sofa, the final installment in this zany series of comedies about romance (that are never quite romantic comedies).

Tonight I have come to the finish line on a project I started fourteen months, four mailing addresses, three cars and two girlfriends ago.

I fancy myself something of a writer. I think it is my job, my duty, and my calling to put feelings into words for an audience to consume, enjoy, and understand. However the satisfaction at having completed these movies is beyond my ability to communicate.

I can’t express the deep gratitude I feel for those who have helped me make this vision come to fruition. Brian Shelton, Jerry LaBuy, Shawndra Bateson, and the Rock Valley College Mass Communication department have enabled me to make these films, enabled me to transform from a kid with a camera into a filmmaker.

I can’t convey the feeling of brotherhood I have developed with Tim Stotz as he has worked, in great capacity, putting in HUNDREDS of unpaid hours on these films.

I can’t relate the grand fortune of finding Robert J. Williams, a fellow RVC Mass Comm alum, who joined up with our motley crue as an outsider, lending a hand with Kept and eventually became friend, partner, and brother to Tim and I.

I can tell you this: In two months I begin filming my first feature. I’m using a wonderful actor and great friend that I discovered as a result of these films in the lead role. I have the knowledge, confidence and drive to make a MOVIE because of the Couch Trilogy.

Also, I now have a definition for the term “Eye Babies”

So to everyone who helped make these films, and to everyone who has watched them: Thank you.

…Now go buy a comic book.

-Travis

P.S. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mary Wells and Dustin Urness for their contributions to help support Raymond Did It on Indiegogo. Please donate to support our film! Every dollar helps!

You can watch the Couch Trilogy on our film page OR download our films from iTunes.