What Do I Know?

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.

Plastic Age Productions is proud to announce that Steven Lee Edwards has joined the cast of Raymond Did It!

Photo Courtesy Steven Lee Edwards

Steven Lee Edwards will be playing the role of Tim, the practical voice of reason of the group. When the terror begins, Tim tries to keep everyone calm and find a way to stay alive.

Steven is currently living in New York and performing in two stage shows – playing Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as well as portraying a Vietnam veteran in a gospel musical.

Steven has extensive stage experience and is a joyful, charismatic actor. We count ourselves extremely honored to have him complete our adult cast!

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Wade J Campbell and Sue Stephens for their donations to help fund Raymond Did It at Indiegogo Please join them in donating at http://www.indiegogo.com/raymond-did-it or via paypal at our films page.

Thanks,

Travis

Plastic Age Productions is proud to announce that Alex Smeltzer and Ty Yeager have joined the cast of Raymond Did It!

Photo by Kim Brown

Alex Smeltzer will be playing the role of Edgar, the laid back slacker of the group. Out of all of the kids involved in Bryce’s death, only Edgar remains close with Tammy, because Edgar is close with everyone. He is a social butterfly.

Alex Smeltzer was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois. Raymond Did It is his film debut, and we couldn’t be happier to introduce this talented young actor to the world of film! Alex is currently studying theater at Rock Valley College under Starlight Theatre director Mike Webb.

Photo by Kim Brown

Ty Yeager will be playing the role of Simon. Simon is completely unaware of the events that led to Bryce’s death. Simon began dating Paige in high school, long after Raymond was locked away. With Raymond on the loose and his girlfriend in danger, Simon is dragged into a situation he doesn’t understand.

Ty Yeager was born in Fresno, California where he lived until a house fire caused his family to relocate to the midwest. After living in Belvidere, Illinois for 8 years, Ty has recently relocated to Rockford. Ty has dreamed of pursuing a career in acting since childhood and we are honored to be able to make that dream come true.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people for their contributions and support on Indiegogo: Amy White, Chip Copeland, Staci Charles-Heath, George Margalit, Antonia Zipse, Larry Runser, John Peterson, Jeanne Bowerman, Mike Lamps, Vault of Obscurity, Darius McCaskey, zythia13, and er.ic_a082 Your contributions are helping us make our dreams come true and helping us to bring you the best movie we can make! I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

If you are interested in helping finance Raymond Did It you can donate at http://www.indiegogo.com/raymond-did-it or via paypal by visiting our films page.

Thanks,

-Travis

Mothers often play a critical role in the creation of a slasher. In Friday the 13th, Mrs. Voorhees was the original killer, motivated to murder by the loss of her son. Despite her death, her presence informed and guided the storyline of the subsequent sequels. Jason killed because mommy wanted him to kill. In the A Nightmare on Elm Street series, Amanda Krueger was not introduced until the third film, but her story became instrumental in explaining why Freddy was such an evil maniac. Amanda had been the victim of a brutal attack in an asylum, which led to her giving birth to “the bastard son of 1,000 maniacs,” revealing that Freddy was evil born of evil, damned from the moment of conception.

A few weeks back Kyle Hoskins, the skilled actor who will be portraying Raymond in Raymond Did It, joined us to offer his perspective on the challenges of portraying a slasher in a guest blog. As we draw closer to production, I have asked other members of the cast to join us in discussing their roles in Raymond Did It. This week, Linda Cieslik joins us to discuss her turn in the incredibly challenging role of Mrs. Rourke, our slasher’s mother.

The Conundrum of Mrs. Rourke
Conundrum – meaning: puzzle, mystery, challenge. The character of Mrs. Rourke presents all of these. I found the audition side for this role most intriguing. She goes from happy suburban mommy to a bitter gin soaked harridan with approximately 8 pages of dialogue in the first 19 pages of script.
The reason for this is apparent as the first part of the story unfolds. But what does Mrs. Rourke know? – what does she believe? Her character is fairly important to the plot line and the challenge is making the jump convincingly from one side of the character to the other.

As an actor, I sometimes like to consider my character outside of the entire story. This is important for Mrs. Rourke, as it is the case that she is not only unaware of what really happened, but tragically, she has never attempted to explore alternative scenarios. She believes the worst. Its important in bringing her to life… both Mrs. Rourke and myself have to believe they know what is true.

And aside from that, I just love to play gin soaked harridans! Travis has given me that chance AND promised a nifty cameo in a potential sequel. I look forward to being a part of Raymond Did It.

Linda’s Bio:

Back before most of you were a gleam in your fathers eye Linda Cieslik was cast as Charlotte the Harlot in a stage production of Oliver! The director, most likely remembering her memorable interpretation of a cockney accent and an ad lib off stage WHOOP!, later cast her in Music Man as Zanneeta Shinn where she got to wear a floaty dress and dance. Still later she was in a local production of Guys and Dolls with Anthony Crivello, who sang at her first wedding and went on to win a Tony as best supporting actor for his role as Che in the original Evita. Anthony left Milwaukee for the Great White Way, she stayed, got divorced, got remarried had two kids, got divorced again, got a Ph.D. and embarked on a series of progressively better paying but still soul crushing day jobs. But we digress.

Having done some TV production and commercial gigs on the side she had headshots and a smallish resume. One day, sitting in her office with a window and wishing to be somewhere/someone else, she sent out a response to a Craigslist ad for a local indie production. The rest is history. To date, she has been involved in 20 indie projects including two features and nine commercials. At this time she has Raymond and three more projects on the waiting list.
Linda has a love for creating characters and would rather have a cameo as a memorable character than a lead. She believes actors have to be fearless, grounded in reality and able to channel real life.

Support Raymond Did It! Please donate at Indiegogo

Become a fan of Raymond Did It on Facebook

Follow writer/director Travis Legge on twitter

Planning.

One of the most important (and most often overlooked) aspects of existence, the simple act of planning is fundamental. Whether writing a grocery list, coordinating a night out with your friends, or producing a feature film, planning is the simplest, most basic step to achieving a positive result in most endeavors. The more time you spend formulating a solid, well-conceived plan, the less time that plan will take to execute. If you go to the grocery store with a list, you can travel the aisles in an orderly fashion, checking items off of your list, one by one, without much delay. You save yourself the trouble of wandering the aisles trying to figure out what you do and do not need to pick up that week. If you plan a common place and time to meet your friends, you save everyone the trouble of dozens of text messages and phone calls trying to figure out where everyone is and what they are doing. As my mentor, teacher and friend Brian Shelton has repeatedly told me, “minutes spent in preproduction save hours on set.”

In filmmaking, planning is essential. There are hundreds of elements to be coordinated in even the smallest of film projects. The “fly by the seat of your pants” approach is rarely successful. As production draws nearer on Raymond Did It my days become filled with appointments and commitments. I’ve finally broken down and begun making excessive use of iCal. I am coordinating an extensive team of talented individuals to work on this film, so I often find myself making plans to meet with people so we can sit down and make more plans.

Unfortunately, things happen that can disrupt even the most meticulous planning. This past Thursday, Sarah and I were in a car accident that left us with a destroyed vehicle and a six hour long visit to the emergency room. I had made several plans for that evening, none of which included a car crash and a hospital visit. By the grace of the Powers that Be, Sarah and I were not mortally wounded. We will survive our injuries and insurance will provide for the medical and transportation concerns in the long term, however, the events of the evening threw my plans into chaos. I had phone calls to make, emails to write, a blog to post, and press releases to send off. I had potential investors for Raymond Did It waiting to receive summaries and copies of the prospectus, and I had a very important dinner with my baby sister who was having a terrible day and needed her big brother’s support. One simple single event that was utterly beyond my control demanded I suddenly alter my plans with no regard for my opinion on the matter. Fortunately, Sarah and I survived, and once I was certain we were safe, I was able to make some phone calls, send an email or two and reschedule most of my commitments (though I still owe my sister that dinner). In the midst of the chaos, I was able to adapt.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. Planning is an excellent skill, but planning is utterly meaningless without the ability to adapt to sudden changes and alter the plan if need be. So many people become bogged down in “the plan” and are unable to deviate when circumstances change. Anyone who has been on a film set can tell you that situations can change at the drop of a dime and the plan can often go right out the window. Its never ideal when plans fall apart, but you have got to be able to roll with the punches. There are several ways to go about this. Some people just stop everything thats going on, take a step back and a deep breath, and reexamine the new circumstances to adjust the plan. Others do their best to improvise on the fly, making minor adjustments to the plan as each new circumstance makes itself known. There is certainly something to be said for making contingency plans ahead of time, but those can go afoul as well. The ideal manner of addressing unforeseen circumstances depends on the situation and the person. As I have often said, there is no such thing as “THE RIGHT WAY” to do something. The important thing is to be able to find a way to adapt. I have seen people ruin film projects, relationships, academic careers, and jobs because they were simply unable to adapt to sudden and unexpected changes.

So my advice: Plan. Plan well and thoroughly. Make plans B, C, and D. Then be ready to toss it all out the window on the day and improvise, should the need arise.

Thanks,
Travis

P.S. I would like to take a moment to thank geomv55 and er.ic_a082 for their Fan Contributions to help support Raymond Did It at http://www.indiegogo.com/Raymond-Did-It Fans who wish to offer a donation by credit card to help finance the film can visit IndieGoGo and donate anywhere from $10 to $1000. There are several perks and benefits available to those who choose to donate, which are laid out in detail at http://www.indiegogo.com/Raymond-Did-It

If you prefer to use Paypal to donate, you can visit our films page where we offer the same donation incentives and a convenient Paypal button. Please consider making a contribution to help us make Raymond Did It the best slasher film of the next decade!

Plastic Age Productions is proud to announce that Jessica Palette (VH1 Scream Queens, Under the Raven’s Wing) has joined the cast of Raymond Did It!

Photo Courtesy Jessica Palette

Jessica will be playing the role of Jayme, the popular kid, with a very high opinion of herself and her own importance. She shifts from cute to bitchy with the practiced panache of the most popular girl in school.

Jessica was a member of the season one cast of the horror film stardom reality television show VH1 Scream Queens alongside Raymond Did It co-star Lindsay Felton. This will be the first time the pair have shared the screen since the show. Everyone at Plastic Age Productions couldn’t be happier to have this outstanding actress as an addition to our cast!

Vh1 Scream Queens is the brainchild of the extremely creative and talented Joke Productions and showcases several talented young actresses who compete for a role in a major horror film release. The second season of Vh1 Scream Queens is currently in post production and set to air later this year!

Jessica recently starred in the short film Invincible Summer which will be making its way around the festival circuit this summer.

Keep an eye on this space as there will be more casting updates coming soon!

On February 17th we held an Investor’s ball for Raymond Did It at Kryptonite Bar in Rockford. We were fortunate enough to have the talented Hans Rupert (http://www.hansrupert.com/) in attendance, and he was kind enough to shoot a few pictures of the event.

Cj Alms, Phyllis Galisath, Tina Manning

Travis Legge, Kyle Hoskins, Tim Stotz fielding questions about the film.

Tim Stotz, Kyle Hoskins, Robert Williams, Phyllis Galisath, Travis Legge, Tina Manning

The investor’s ball was quite a success and we were able to forge some relationships with Rockford area businesses and creative people in order to help facilitate the production of Raymond Did It in June.

We are still seeking funds to close the gap in our financing. Parties interested in investing and becoming a producer on Raymond Did It are encouraged to email me at raymonddidit@gmail.com and indicate your interest in investing in the subject line.

If you would like to support Raymond Did It but do not wish to invest in the film, you may donate via the Raymond Did It site on Indiegogo or via the paypal donate button on our films page.

Thanks to all who came to the investors ball and who have shown support for Raymond Did It!

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our latest contributor at Indiegogo: Cerebusthe2nd!

More news and updates soon!

Greetings ans salutations,

As I mentioned in my previous blog, circumstances have delayed the release of Memoirs of a Stinky Sofa. Fortunately, my partner and post-production guru Tim Stotz seems to have recovered from his terrible case of Captain Tripps, and we are hoping to have Memoirs of a Stinky Sofa out within the next week, with the long-awaited Kept hot on its heels.

Thanks so much for your patience. While you wait, visit our films page to watch the trailers for Memoirs of a Stinky Sofa and Kept.

Thanks,

Travis

So as my readers may know, I am an avid twitter user. I’m a tweet-a-holic. I practically LIVE on twitter. So, it’s no surprise that I have made a few REALLY awesome friends, in short 140 character-or-less bursts.

I have also been fortunate enough to come into contact and forge friendships with a large number of people whose work I genuinely respect. If you have read my blog or follow my twitter, I’m sure you’ve seen me go on at great length about the incredible Joke and Biagio (@jokeandbiagio on twitter) and the help they have given me.

I have been fortunate enough to also forge a friendship with Julie Keck and Jessica King (@kingisafink on twitter). Despite the fact that we live less than 100 miles apart, and the ladies even waved at my hometown as they drove by on their way to Egofest recently, we have yet to meet face to face, or for that matter, even speak on the phone. The entirety of our communication has been confined to that social media site that I keep referencing, yet I count them as friends and I have the utmost respect for their work.

So, when they tweeted a link to watch their short film Snow Bunny via streaming video I knew I had to watch it. I even tweeted to tell them as much.

I promised the ladies a review of the film. Given how busy I am of late, that was kind of a boneheaded move on my part, and with the chaotic hell my day became while trying to make simple travel arrangements to New York City (a story for another blog. Short version: FUCK expedia.com) I almost forgot.

But as I said, I count Julie and Jessica as friends, and you don’t forget your friends.

So I offer my review below (which will likely be shorter than the rambling preamble. Leave me be. Its late and I tend to run at the mouth). You may think with all my talk about friendship and such that this review will be biased. Hell, you may be right, but just as you don’t forget your friends, you also don’t bullshit them, so I will try to be as honest as possible in my reflections on Snow Bunny.

Okay really starting the review now.

Snow Bunny, the just-under-thirty minute short film from King is a Fink Productions, is a glimpse into the life of a seemingly normal American family. The film explores the marriage of Dean (Jeremy Price) and Abigail (Marci Ackerhalt-Price). Focus shifts from their playful,  sometimes resentful banter, to their strained and challenging interactions with their children, Mandy (Naomi Trinidad) and Delilah (Lia Trinidad).

One of the finest elements of this film is the realism with which the family’s interaction is portrayed. King and Keck capture the swelling tension of a father whose patience is being tested perfectly, without compromising the story by leaping into high drama. As any parent can tell you, a simple afternoon drive with two children can generate heart-attack inducing stress. This is conveyed flawlessly in the film.

The children’s performances, though brief, are spot on. Each moment with the children captures the essence of a child’s-eye view of the family dynamic through plot and dialogue, and in one particular scene that view is literally conveyed by the skillful cinematography of Jessica King.

The dialogue in the film is real and intense in its lack of intensity. Simply put, the characters in Snow Bunny talk the way people talk, which is an often overlooked element in a screenplay. It is all too easy for a screenwriter to fall into the trap of trying to cram as much witty dialogue into their character’s mouths as possible (not that I would ever be guilty of such a thing…;)). King and Keck avoid this trap and make every word spoken in the film believable and real.

There were two elements of the film that fell a little short for me. I felt that some of the conversations could have been edited a bit differently and the pace was a little off in some spots. This is mostly during the conversation between Dean and Abigail in the second act of the film. The realistic dialogue almost makes up for the pacing being off, but there are a few spots in which its slightly jarring. I also felt that Jeremy Price’s performance as Dean left a little something to be desired. Having extremely natural dialogue to deliver, he still came off on occasion as if he were reading the role rather than being it, to borrow a term from my acting teacher. This becomes slightly more apparent when his performance is weighed against that of Marci Ackerhalt-Price, who is brilliant in the role of Abigail. Price’s expressions and body language in the film were excellent, but his performance seemed to slip whenever he was called upon to speak.

The climax of the film is disturbing yet comforting in a bizarre way. I won’t spoil it for you, but it is probably one of the most tense moments I have witnessed in a short film. I adored it.

All told, I think Snow Bunny is an excellent film and I highly recommend it. Despite my few criticisms, I found it a truly enjoyable way to spend 26 minutes, and it was well worth the price of admission!

You can watch Snow Bunny online OR order it on DVD at https://www.indieflix.com/film/snow-bunny-30390/

Thanks,

Travis

Hello,

I regret to announce that despite our efforts, Memoirs of a Stinky Sofa, the third installment of the Couch Trilogy, will not be released today as planned.

As my friends and followers on twitter may know, my grandmother passed away last Saturday. Due to her illness, I was summoned to Wisconsin to say my final goodbyes. I came home to an impressive backlog of Raymond Did It related work and a very ill effects supervisor.

I got the Raymond Did It work caught up (or as close as I am likely to get between now annd, say, the film’s release) and Robert J. Williams and I gave the sequence for Memoirs a final pass. After soma audio fixes, and a tweak or two, we locked video and audio, with two exceptions:

1. There is one missing digital effect.
2. There are no credits on the film

I passed the film in this state to our effects guru (and all around partner o’mine) Tim Stotz, withh about 36 hours to release deadline. Unfortunately, tim is in the throes of a horrible respiratory infection, and despite his best efforts at resting, recovering, and medicating the crap out of himself, has not yet returned to fighting shape.

Given the nature of the situation, I can’t say for sure when Memoirs will be online, but I am certain we will have it online as soon as is reasonably possible. right now my hopes are that my family is okay dealing with the loss of my Grandmother (don’t worry overmuch, for the most part, we are) and that Tim recovers quickly.

In the meantime, you can watch Skeet Shooting, Jimmy’s Basement, and the trailer for Memoirs of a Stinky Sofa online at our FILMS page.

I apologize for the delay.

Thanks,

Travis