Have you watched a short film today?

23 DEGREES 5 MINUTES

“An old explorer close to freezing in the Arctic re-lives the events that brought him there in the first place.”

VOICE OVER

“I-will-not-tell-you-whose voice leads us through three extreme situations that are actually the same… Will you survive?”

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SIGNIFIED SIGNIFIER

“Signified Signifier is inspired by my experiences directing television commercials. The idea for the short was born from a discussion with a creative director over a couple of beers. I was explaining my distaste for certain industry buzz words, which led to a “You know what would be funny” moment.” (YouTube)

TO THIS DAY

“To This Day is a project based on a spoken word poem written by Shane Koyczan (shanekoyczan.com) called “To This Day”, to further explore the profound and lasting impact that bullying can have on an individual.” (Vimeo)

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SMOKE SELLER

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A STORY ABOUT ROBOTS

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THUMB SNATCHERS FROM THE MOON COCOON

“This 100% hand-made, action-packed short film tries to keep up as a Texas Sheriff hilariously massacres a race of clumsy aliens.” (Vimeo)

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MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB

WEB SERIES | The Comment Show | A show about awful comments found on YouTube

WEB SERIES | Blink | “A sci-fi web series in the tradition of capeless superheroes.”

SHORT FILM TRAILER | Ready 4 Whatever

DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROMOTE?

Email me at jason@theathleticnerd.com and be sure to include links to your project/website. (Note: I don’t review submissions)

Check out The Post archives here.

We all love the franchises, movies and games we grew up with.  For me, it was Ninja Turtles, Super Mario, EA Sports and Mortal Kombat.  For years, I’ve been hoping that someone would reboot the movie franchise but it never happened.  Not until Mortal Kombat Rebirth exploded onto the internet.  It was a gritty and realistic take on the classic video game featuring the characters we love in ways we’ve never seen before.

Still, I thought the original movie was incredible.  Say what you will about the quality of the film.  It was Mortal Kombat on the big screen and that was enough for me. (Except for the first guy Liu Kang fights.  Who the hell was that?)

Sadly, a new movie isn’t coming anytime soon but at least we get a brand new live action web series called Mortal Kombat Legacy.

I’ve been anticipating the release of Legacy for months.  Ever since director Kevin Tancharoen unleashed his vision of Mortal Kombat with this trailer.

Now, the time has come to see more of Tancharoen’s vision as the first episode of Legacy has been released.  Reactions around the internet are mixed at best but I think the original trailer set the bar pretty high.  Hardcore fans of the franchise are all salivating at the possibilities but even I can admit the first episode was a bit of a let down.

What I did notice was that nearly every review of Episode 1 out there still gives the series a chance.  We are all just happy to have something new to watch.

XTRA: Wouldn’t It Be Awesome If The New Mortal Kombat Series Kicked Ass?

I have to admit I expected a little more ‘Kombat’ instead of the guns but then I thought about how much I loved the director’s new approach.  So even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the first episode, I’m still going to tune in for the rest.  I hope we are in for one hell of a show.

I can’t wait to see Scorpion and Sub Zero go at it.

Truthfully, how can I be picky about a free web series based on one of my favorite franchises of all time?  Especially since the trailer below promises so much.

I can’t wait for the new game either.

I still enjoy the original Mortal Kombat movie.

Many people may have been disappointed and perhaps the effects don’t hold up but I adore the Mortal Kombat franchise.  Being able to see the world of… Outworld on the big screen was awesome.

I couldn’t believe what I was watching when I saw Scorpion and Subzero on the big screen.  I remember being terrified that I wouldn’t get in because it was 14AA and I wasn’t old enough.

I think that added to the enjoyment of the film.  I felt like I had to sneak into the theater even though no one really cared as long as I wasn’t 6 years old.

Then the second film came out and ruined everything.  Too many fighters, too little focus and horrible action. (Except Reptile vs Liu Kang.)

I thought it was going to be a bigger and better follow up but I was horrified at how much I hated it.  Still, I always thought they would reboot the franchise and create the ultimate Mortal Kombat movie.

Currently, there are no plans for a third film but we do have a pretty sweet 10 part web series to look forward to!

Mortal Kombat Rebirth

This short film kicked my ass.

I love everything about it.  I love how filmmaker Kevin Tancharoen interpreted the legendary video game fighters.  Every single detail is original yet still faithful to the series.

The film was meant to be show Warner Bros what was possible if they let the director continue with his planned feature film.

Sadly, it was not meant to be but the studio recently announced a web series that is currently being prepared with much of the same cast including Michael Jai White.

THE LINK: Joblo

I’ll take it.  In fact, I can’t wait to see the next chapter.  If anything, Mr. Tancharoen deserves a shot.  He is clearly passionate about the material.

It has to be amazing if we have any hope of seeing Mortal Kombat on the big screen again.  I suppose there is a small chance that I’ve out grown these characters but I doubt it.  Bring it on!

We are about to get a brand new video game that takes the franchise back to it’s bloody roots.

Combine that with this web series and there may yet be a chance.  I hope every single episode of the live action series goes viral and dominates the internet.

I hope they deliver.

It would definitely be awesome.

What do Screenwriting, eBooks, Final Cut, Photoshop & Super Mario Galaxy 2 have in common?

That’s how I spent my afternoons over the last few weeks.

It seems like a lot and it got me thinking:

Is it better to split my time and work on multiple projects or focus only on one?

Where do you stand?

Each morning, I wake up more and more determined to reach the ambitious goals I’ve set for myself.  Every day before work I have about 4 hours or so to work on various projects and I like to think I’ve been productive.

Personally, I like having different types of projects on the go. I like the variety.  I still focus and prioritize but it’s nice to take a break and work on something else too.

For example:

I’m still hammering away at my latest feature screenplay. It’s been getting in the way of some exciting new ideas for far too long and it’s time to finish the story.

I don’t mean to suggest that I just want to get it over with. I simply operate under the theory that you shouldn’t start a new project before you finish the old one.

Before you accuse me of being a hypocrite rest assured I only have one feature screenplay in the scripting stage.  I can’t bring myself to start a new one without wrapping this one up.

I can’t wait to print it out.

The idea has been in my head for nearly 5 years now and I’m extremely happy it’s almost done.

So what are these other projects?

I’ve been working on a top secret eBook that consists of 32 chapters and a February-March target to release.

Can I pull off one chapter a week? Do the math.  Probably not but I’m definitely going to try.

There is still a lot of work to be done to meet that deadline. This week, I finally moved passed the intro and broke some ground on the first few chapters.  A lot of it will come together quickly as I’ve already finished the design and overall style of each page.  It’s just a matter of filling in the details.

Next up on the daily to-do list involves 17 West’s latest short film, Final Cut Pro and me!

It’s been over two months since we wrapped shooting on The Climb and editing is well under way. It’s an exciting project because for the first time I’ll be handling most of the post production process myself.

Hopefully it turns out.

Forgive the pun but editing is a nice change of pace in my daily routine.  Even though my television career revolves around editing, it’s still nice to slow things down and cut a film instead of faster paced sports highlights.

Next…

I love Photoshop!

It’s a great way to let your brain relax while still being creative.  While I love messing around with the program, I also had a few assignments to finish.  First on my list is a poster for The Climb as well as a top secret web series I’ve been developing for a while now.

I like to design posters for screenplays I’m working on.  It’s a good way to really hammer out a tone for the film.

It also gives me a chance to think about the story before writing begins.  I firmly believe that Photoshop as a hobby has helped my writing immensely.

Lets go back to that web series…

Final Draft makes a second appearance in my daily routine as somehow, I managed to write the first two chapters of a new horror story I’m calling AFTER.

I’m having a blast with the new characters and setting up cliffhangers between each chapter.

I’ve always wanted to write a series of short scripts to see how I can pace the different episodes and develop characters over time.  It’s a pretty exciting experiment.

I’ll have more on that series soon.

What else?

I also make time to eat, watch movies and play the odd video game.

Currently, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is dominating my spare time.  I can’t get enough of that game.  It’s incredible.

I think it’s vital to give your brain a rest every once in a while.  It’s a tough lesson I learned long ago after I burnt myself out one too many times.

Sports.  Video games.  Outdoors.  Trips.

General life type stuff should never come second.

The Important Question

The beauty of this routine is that my deadlines are self imposed so I really can take my time with each.  I love working on these projects. (I haven’t even mentioned working on this blog!)

It’s important to keep an eye on the finish line and find a good balance so you are constantly making progress.

But I still wonder if it would be better to drop everything and focus on one project.

Do you focus on one project or pick away at a few?

Personally, I think it depends on the person.

I like to switch things up to keep my mind working.  So far, the system has worked pretty well.

We will find out soon enough if this momentum I’ve generated pays off!