Ok.. Im as excited and jazzed up as I can be at the old age of 50 right now. Im filming a short on Dec 9th thru the 12th. Im aiming for a 10 minute thriller. I have the "script" in my head and on a dry erase board behind me. Im auditioning 3 more people today and will get serious about getting the script banged out in the next week w/ storyboarding and figger out the camera moves I want to set the mood in the following week AND mebbe a week for "adjustments" and what not.

I've got the core talent all being experienced and most I have worked with or they have worked with others who I have and get along with. I will have one armed standoff/encounter and two killings to do in this project. This is not a splatter or a gore fest, but will have the killings to add to the story if you will.

The most dodgy of shooting days will be the last. I have a hair salon at my disposal and will have 4 actresses and mebbe 20 extras to deal with. I hope to get mebbe 3 1/2 minutes of material that day so I will need to get a good nights rest the night before.

This will be my most ambitious effort so far. I really want to focus on style, lighting, mood and camera work to make this a powerful short film. I have done some shorts, a horrid feature and now I want to focus on quality and style.

This is what I live for right now. Being creative and having people help me get the job done. this is a no-budget short. I'll make pizzas for the talent to eat and have some sodas available and that is it. I expect to have a small crew assist me as I am usually a one man film crew anyways ( with all the results one could expect ).

The working title is "Please Don't Leave Me alone", a story about a young lady who who has mental problems and was abused as a kid. The story has a bizarre twist at the end and Im challenging myself and the talent to bring it out !!

Sweeeet. Sounds exciting.

But dude, get the script banged out now. I think you'll be glad if you can have a 1st cut in the bag, then be able to step away from it for a little while, so that when you go back to revise it, you'll be looking at it with fresh eyes.

Best of luck!

Sweeeet. Sounds exciting.

But dude, get the script banged out now.
Best of luck!

Ya .. I hear you Im gonna work on script tomorrow till it's done. Im self employed and things are slow right now so i can focus exclusively on this so it can sit and simmer. been thinking on it for a while so LETS ROCK N ROLL !!!

Yeah have fun with it man!

Heh, hope you have some assistants for the 20-odd extras, or they'll be roaming all over like lost sheep. :lol:

a bull horn and riding crop are in order!

Heh, hope you have some assistants for the 20-odd extras, or they'll be roaming all over like lost sheep. :lol:

YA ! i know like herding cats !! most have "some" experience and I will have all hands on deck for that one. I have a speech in my mind that goes " my voice is the MOST important voice here today". We'll see how it goes. Hopefully it will be the last day of production and It will go smoothly.

with 20 extras in a shoot em up.. my guess is your going for chaos anyway.. so let the chaos loose on that last shoot! Might want to have a few extra cameras on hand capturing random CU's and cutaways ...

Im looking to have a busy hair salon similar to the beauty spa in the movie Repulsion ( 1960 ). Even w/ 20 extras, it will be on a smaller scale than Repulsion, but. I shall make it look as big as I can w/ camera angles ( I hope ) . I will then have the ladies do a wardrobe change and I shall then re-arrange the salon somewhat in the end and cheat a small darkened room w/ the same 20 ladies grooving & listening to music in a dreamy hallucinogenic setting.



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Sounds cool. Let me know if you need any additional hands.

Sounds great man, I'm sure it will kick ass when it's done.

Sounds cool. Let me know if you need any additional hands.

Check your PM ! yes.. love any help i can get

Check your PM ! yes.. love any help i can get

You mean my e-mail? Yes, just checked and replied. :)

Best of luck on your project!

Where are you in Texas Indie? Give me a shout. I would be happy to help out in anyway I can!!

Where are you in Texas Indie? Give me a shout. I would be happy to help out in anyway I can!!

Hello,
In in Spring TX just North of Houston.

Im shooting Dec 9th thru the 12th.

I finished up the script and am now working on storyboard and the like. Ive got 13 scenes. the script is 14 1/2 pages. i expect to have a 10 - 12 minute runtime. Some scenes will be slow and some will have a fast pace. It's getting to be funtime. Still tinkering with a location or two as alternates. I expect next week for storyboarding and the week following will be tweaking things and lighting tests

Here ya go... we had a rehearsal last night. Some ROUGH , ROUGH footage I just pasted together.. I did not bother w/ follow focus or getting the lighting down. We were playing with the acting & pacing so no need for telling me about focus, white balance, continuity and the like.

I did get an even better Lead actress so Im glad the first one flaked out. Yes her first lines sucked so we worked that out, sounded fake & forced.

0CSBlM8g2b0

Awesome. :cheers:

Eugene,

Good luck with your new production.

That's SO great you found a new lead that will fit the part. Best wishes for a successful shoot!!

That's SO great you found a new lead that will fit the part. Best wishes for a successful shoot!!

Flicker.. she is AWESOME a true gift works very well w/ others. Totally committed to the project.
THAT and I get to stare at her incredibly cute features while filming.:blush:

Ok....39 hrs to go till shooting...Im drunk.. sort of OK yes, I should have spent the night working on storyboarding. Spent alot of time this day and evening working on the story w/ the talent and a musician bud on the whole picture. I spent an hour with one of the main characters on the phone today cuz it was enjoyable... ( damn she is sooooo lovely... mebbe she will be my next ex-wife ) <<< prolly not. but I can dream.

Mental masturbation was the order of the day... tomorrow I will work on getting storyboarding for first days shoot, have 40% done so far. Most camera work is in my head.

I will get food ready for longest day of shooting, have to go to the bank and run 1 errand. get to bed early tomorrow night. I prolly will stay up all night.

I will set up a room for the film tomorrow. I will work on props ( minimal ) arranged for a gansta lookin friend for a dope deal, and got another friend to show up and bring a mean gun for the dope scene, only real gun in the whole shebang.. I have it in my head.... Have all the talent agreed to be in character for the shoot the whole time in production. have 20 girls hopefully ready for the final scene. Gonna ride the bus w/ Willie before sleep and dream for the night... waddaya think my odds are ??? I'm excited...









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So how goes the shoot? You're probably run ragged by now, huh? :)

I was slammed last couple of days at work, but I'd love to make it out over the weekend. I hope all is well so far.

:cheers:

DUUUUDE ... Im FRIED ! still 2 days of production.. Im a 1 man crew, had 2 folks lined up to help w/ grip & sound, but no shows.

Got a Taste of Charley for Y'all !!

0CSBlM8g2b0

YA ! i know like herding cats !! most have "some" experience and I will have all hands on deck for that one. I have a speech in my mind that goes " my voice is the MOST important voice here today". We'll see how it goes. Hopefully it will be the last day of production and It will go smoothly.

I would pick one or two of the extras who seem reliable and make them 'head extras.' Then you can tell them what everyone needs to do and let them handle it.

I would pick one or two of the extras who seem reliable and make them 'head extras.' Then you can tell them what everyone needs to do and let them handle it.


Yeah, I have one of the main players who is not shooting tomorrow being "extra leader"

Here is a ROUGH, ROUGH mix of a dream scene after the lead kills her neighbor and slips totally into her psychosis.

I'll prolly bring in the guy in the background beating out the rhythm, remix the drums, add ambient funk and more voices, the scene will blend back into reality where the lead gets arrested for the killing


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Hey I really like this so far. Almost experimental how it looks and sounds. It will be interesting to see how the pieces come together. Are you going to cut down the psychosis scene a little bit? It seems kind of long right now. Top notch quality, can't wait to see more.:)

Lovin it..

just ideas here..
the psychosis bit could have some more dramatic shifts.. A few frames of PAINFUL clarity followed by confusion and more OUT OF SEQUENCE clear images will really drive home the crazy.. as well as let you CLEARLY convey information, if the ONLY point of the sequence is to show shes off her rocker, then never mind, but you could, if you wanted to, give some cool clues or misdirection for those viewers that are REALLY paying attention.. .. also, intelligible voices that are JUST out of reach of understanding say crazy to me. ...on the voices lots of low level rabble, with a small CLEAR voice coming through will add some dimension

Looking really good IB, you're doing a great job.

This is all the more impressive if you're still working as a one man crew and I'll be really interested to see the final result. How much have you got in the can?

hey, need an animator? haha, no but really, this sounds really great. I love how motivated you are to this thing.

Looking really good IB, you're doing a great job.
This is all the more impressive if you're still working as a one man crew and I'll be really interested to see the final result. How much have you got in the can?

NC .. Im guessing I have mebbe 60% in the can.. never satisfied. Im improvising on some stuff, but still thinking it's gonna be decent. Im disappointed in all of my previous stuff. Thanxx !

Lovin it..

just ideas here..
the psychosis bit could have some more dramatic shifts.. A few frames of PAINFUL clarity followed by confusion and more OUT OF SEQUENCE clear images will really drive home the crazy.n

YES, Im seeing that too. The dream / dance scene will follow her killing someone and will have her featured more prominently and will have a voice coming in at the end w/ her being handcuffed and read her Miranda rights. Im re-editing it and wanting to add punch. It needs it.

Hey I really like this so far. Almost experimental how it looks and sounds. It will be interesting to see how the pieces come together. Are you going to cut down the psychosis scene a little bit? It seems kind of long right now. Top notch quality, can't wait to see more.:)


YES, Im cutting the psychosis scene and Im going to brighten it up visually and have flashes of "reality" mixed in. the dream / psychosis scene is following a murder and will be a part of the climax of the short film
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hey, need an animator? haha, no but really, this sounds really great. I love how motivated you are to this thing.
hey are U really here in Big Spring Town ? R U an animator ? PM me and we can see wassup !

ah, it seems that private messages aren't working right now..it doesn't seem like my message went through to you..but anyways, yeah, I'm in spring, currently visiting home. been animating for about six years now, still looking for creative opportunity.

OK fine, time for an update.:director:. Im working thru my footage of the Short film get Charley and Im thinking... why don't I turn this puppy into a feature ? Ya know what ?

Im doing it ! :clap:

I have learned a bit in this endeavor and I think I have something that will be worth a watch.. not award winning, but worthy of a watch. I see some areas I have missed the mark and some that are decent and Im pleased with the results. Sound is an issue but not overwhelmingly so, but I wish I had better resources in that department. The movie will be a surreal dreamy environment where distorted voices in some scenes will be used for effect. My shortcomings in capturing dialog will be helpful in areas... In others, might have to reshoot or do ADR. However, it will get done! the sound is not total crap, but still needs help in my ear.

I have been slaving away on adding to the story. The trick was to do this w/ limited resources and limit the time for production. I hope I have come up w/ some creative solutions. Part of the new scenes will involve the lead doing a simple web diary / youtube approach in the story to add to it.

We will be shooting some more scenes this weekend ( Jan 8 & 9th ) and the next weekend ( 15th & 16th ) . I will then have to do 2 more scenes after where my lead kills 2 guys and then onto pickups & ADR then comes post and viola ! a movie ! Im thinking I can do post in 2 weeks ... Just kidding... that will take as long as it needs to, months Im sure

Im thinking... why don't I turn this puppy into a feature ? Ya know what ? Im doing it !

A buddy of mine decided to do this, recently. He is not having a good time. :no:

You sure this will add to the story? Or are you padding an already-okay project just so you can say you made a feature?

Zensteve, I asked myself the same question was I doing the right thing and why.

Im doing it for a few reasons. The story as a short was more a feature in my thoughts, I had some issues keeping it a short. I feel the story would be better told as a feature.

Im pleased working with the talent that I would like to work more w/ them. I thought about the short version of the story and I thought I could add some more by merging concepts & ideas from other movies I have been watching and make a feature work I feel. Will this get a standing ovation at Sundance... no. Will I learn and grow from doing this ? Yes. Im doing it mainly because I love doing this, I love learning from this. Mebbe I will need to do 2-3 more films before I "get it right" Im not getting any younger.


Honestly, I was given advise from someone in this board not to even make a short from the script, but Im hard headed. :blush:

....

Honestly, I was given advise from someone in this board not to even make a short from the script, but Im hard headed. :blush:

That wasn't me. I could've made this concept into an excellent short. :D

No wonder you've been quiet lately. That's a huge undertaking. But it does look like you have access to some great talent, so Godspeed.

:cheers:

WELLL...Things just came to a head and an actress backed out. I would have to reshoot her scenes and the other talent is not willing or dragging their feet.... SOOOOO mebbe no feature after all ???

SOOOOOOO Im thinking either go w/ what I have for now OR rethink, recast and redeaux entirely.

I would finish the short. If nothing else its practice. You can always redo it with different cast, but finish what you have or it would be a waiste.

Ohh yup gonna finish it up... wurkin on it right now !

go go go.. it will be the best darn short ever!

Wheat, thanxx for the cheerleading.

not best ever.. but the BEST I can do w/ no budget and no crew..4 more weeks Id say I'll have the short done if Im guessing right

Kinda bummed right now, I had one of the actresses flake and that made 2 others not willing to do re-shoots, so.. im thinking... mebbe finish the short, or just do a trailer and go for a feature even if I have to start from scratch or do both a short using what I have and a feature after recasting, or be childish and drink a lot of booze cry break things and give up.

Im bordering on moving on...

There was an incident in the original filming. An actor got carried away w/ an actress and got a little wild pawing at her in a scene. I thought he knew her and had cleared everything w/ her on the scene. we all had talked about the scene before. he did not speak w/ her on everything and she was uncomfortable... it got weird and after a few weeks she flaked out.. Memo to me.. make damn sure everyone knows for damn sure what a scene will entail before filming ! OK.. you are going to touch HERE and then THERE, you will then say XXXXX.

Complicated story, but I shall not tell the world.. many ways to look at the scene, but I learned from it. LOTS pf gray areas

Wheat, thanxx for the cheerleading.

not best ever.. but the BEST I can do w/ no budget and no crew..4 more weeks Id say I'll have the short done if Im guessing right

Kinda bummed right now, I had one of the actresses flake and that made 2 others not willing to do re-shoots, so.. im thinking... mebbe finish the short, or just do a trailer and go for a feature even if I have to start from scratch or do both a short using what I have and a feature after recasting, or be childish and drink a lot of booze cry break things and give up.

Im bordering on moving on...

There was an incident in the original filming. An actor got carried away w/ an actress and got a little wild pawing at her in a scene. I thought he knew her and had cleared everything w/ her on the scene. we all had talked about the scene before. he did not speak w/ her on everything and she was uncomfortable... it got weird and after a few weeks she flaked out.. Memo to me.. make damn sure everyone knows for damn sure what a scene will entail before filming ! OK.. you are going to touch HERE and then THERE, you will then say XXXXX.
Complicated story, but I shall not tell the world.. many ways to look at the scene, but I learned from it. LOTS pf gray areas

You should be drinking a lot of booze anyway. Your performance at...hell everything, will get noticably better.:)

As for the scene: Yea major lesson learned there.

Here is a Taste of a scene I'm working on .. still needs some work w/ transitions and foley, color, But I still like to share

c4toKLXPscE

Here is a Taste of a scene I'm working on .. still needs some work w/ transitions and foley, color, But I still like to share

c4toKLXPscE

Ah ha! You used my idea. Good job. :)

AARRGGG ! It takes for frickin ever to edit ! I spent the last 2 days on a 2 minute scene... Im 1/2 way thru I guess.. just locked in the video almost, now have to do the soundtrack, dialog, color, FX tweaking.

I still love doing it.. kind of a love/hate relationship goin here.. Im gonna work it and work it till Im done. I still did not get exactly what I wanted, but Im Ok w/ what I got. Will do some pickup shots to finish.. still mebbe a month away ???? It's like cooking, how long to cook ??? Till it's done, of course.

I have yet to "finish" scene but I'm making progress. I love the fact that Im working on a trippy surreal thriller. I have lots of leeway and can cut it any way that feels good to me. I have mebbe a 20 minute "short" here... still have to cut it down to a shorter film. Like to have it mebbe 12 - 13 minutes final cut. nut will let the story and flow decide final runtime. It's gonna be a David Lynchesque creepout.







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Still workin on it ! I will be filming tomorrow to "almost" wrap this puppy up.

Here is a taste, NOTE the scene is unfinished, needs color work, some ADR, foley & dialog sweetening. Im going to create some BG music for this scene, just dropped in something I was playing with for BG noise / mood

77kDErrySIg

Still workin on it ! I will be filming tomorrow to "almost" wrap this puppy up.

Here is a taste, NOTE the scene is unfinished, needs color work, some ADR, foley & dialog sweetening. Im going to create some BG music for this scene, just dropped in something I was playing with for BG noise / mood

77kDErrySIg

That was pretty neat. I have a question you can answer: How did you get the shots to be so bright and lively? What kind of lighting did you use?

I used a Smith Victor 600 W 3200K Quartz Can Light bounced off the ceiling and some 200w incandescent bulbs. I'm planning on doing color corrections and making the scene a little darker when I do the final edits

I used a Smith Victor 600 W 3200K Quartz Can Light bounced off the ceiling and some 200w incandescent bulbs. I'm planning on doing color corrections and making the scene a little darker when I do the final edits

My brother along time ago told me about bouncing light off the ceiling. That's something. I like the way it looks. The only shot that looks different, is the CU of the girl's face.

Yup gotta make the face shot blend in or make it an obvious artistic statement to enhance the fact I screwed up in lighting it in the first place

If you darken the other shots like you said, it'll blend in perfectly. Plus if when all is said and done, if people really notice it, then it's the least of your problems.

More stuff..unfinished.. I like to let people see the before & after.

This is still RAW. mebbe too dark, I will play w/ it and put some different sounds in the background and the timeline will change. I have a creepy character to chat w/ the young lady that I still need to shoot.. Im gonna have the girl say some different lines in the beginning as well

For some reason Youtube added solid gray at the beginning where it is supposed to be black

enjoy a taste

K-G1V2p3Yco

I will be shooting a climactic scene for my feature Get Charley

Im gettin me some lovely ladies, all gonna be dope fiend street hookers ( Yummy ! ) . We are going do do a scene ripped out of Inland Empire & More Things That Happened by David Lynch, kind of. Im hoping to shoot tomorrow evening, have eight "girls" my trusty T2i, some battery powered lights, a zoomH4n, some digital recorders & lavs and we gonna go to Downtown Houston and pay homage to Mr Lynch & Inland Empire.

The scene will be street girls wasted out of their minds, my Lead actress who is going mad, lost everything and is now a killer hooker type will exit a previous scene where she was jilted by her lover and humiliated. The lead will enter the scene w/ the hookers she will get a phone call where her babysitter announces she will turn her son into Child Protective Services because she has refused to pick him up since she has no money, she screams and then out of nowhere her alter ego appears and stabs her with the below murder weapon. The girls will all circle around her now having pancake white faces w/ darkened eyes chanting..My lead will painfully pull the saw out of her guts and limp away to die. YAAAY !!!

http://spasunlimited.com/murder.jpg

http://spasunlimited.com/night.jpg

Well I did not get to film my big scene last night.. I had the MOST CRAZY night of my life !!!

I shot all day w/ my lead, shot a few scenes, Got my hookers together, shot a scene where a "John" window shops the hookers and then gets my lead to go with him, a second scene where my lead gets approached by muggers and saved by the street hookers... I was ready for my big scene and IT GOT FREAKING CRAAAAZY ! I was setting up getting my talent in line, my camera set up and a drunk Mexican Cowboy type stumbled into our street set. I ask him if he would move and he screamed at me. I got upset, told him I had permission from the police to be there and I would have him arrested. I pretended to call the cops and stated he was drunk and he lost interest and left.

THEN boys & girls...

I was getting upset cuz we were running late and once again, I was a one man crew / director/ sound guy !! THEN it got REALLLY bizarre. I started feeling flushed and dizzy two of my actors called me to tell me that their car had just gotten the "boot" for parking in a lot where I told them I felt it would be OK to park w/o paying. I started really feeling bad, very dizzy almost panicking. my two actors were understandably furious and were saying I needed to go pay the fees to get the boots removed. I had no money on me. One of them a 6'8 300lb guy w/ an attitude was screaming at me on the phone even after I was telling him I was ill and wondering if I need to call 911 for an ambulance.

It gets crazier

I really started feeling very ill and shut down everything. All of my talent was looking at me really funny saying I looked like shit. We loaded my car up and I tried to chill out, but no luck. I finally called 911 and had an ambulance come over. I did not know what was going on, being fat 50 and the like, I was getting nervous. The EMTs checked me out and said prolly just a panic attack and I should just go somewhere and calm down. DAMN that was crazy. I never had a panic attack before.. I guess I need to slow down huh ? Or get on the bus w/ Wilie when I get nervous like that



HOWEVER got some decent footage on my project Im gonna share w/ ya. Shot w/ T2i 18-55 kit lens on my Shoulder rig. Used a digital audio recorder & a lav for dialog recording.

trSDgJc8mVc

The attacks won't persist, if you've never suffered from them before, it's more so a combination of the unexpectancy and the unexplainable, that catches you off guard at the time.

If it happens again, you know it's an irrational fear perhaps brought on by stress, but often nothing at all.

Take five, breath and recover.

The project is coming along well, Indie!

It looks like a cool project, Indie. Was that jello-ing out on you toward the end or an effect?

It looks like a cool project, Indie. Was that jello-ing out on you toward the end or an effect?

He definitely did that in post. Jello is actually much more subtle, and you really have to whip the shit out of the camera.

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Budget, you're a Maverick! You've got Tiger Blood!

The Jelloing was simply altering Perspective ..looks cool when done right.. gotta add a sound effect to go along w/ it

Dang Eugene! Take care of yourself! That IS a crazy story. Sucks about the boots on the cars. Man. Production is WAR. You're in the trenches. Really hope you are feeling better and that you don't go through the same thing again. Keep shootin', Tex. ;)

Im plodding along on my new project. I am finding that some are not in tune w/ my methods. I do a lot of improv cuz i never know who will show up or how good they will be. Many times I give a script and they do not learn it or they are flat in my opinion, so I work with them on the set. I call it rolling rehearsal.

I got a good performance out of this feller, her was reading the script as he was going, it worked as a prop. I shall place the actress on the other side of the door in the final edit. I shall make it sound duller like it is being heard from the inside.

Cool thing was the apartment complex was a crack-infested dump and i was totally cool and did not freak out .. no ambulances were called at all !! Yeayyy !

in8B1IHP6ss

dang, that was intense..

sorry about the hell night... but what a great story though !

Wow, Eugene. After watching all of these clips I still have no idea what your film is about, which is a good thing! Quite a mix of characters you got going here. :)

Im kinda stealing..ok robbing from David Lynch, throwing in elements of my life ( the circus midget orgy scene is awesome ) << Ok not really.. I am making this flick as I roll. I have "The Story" and we improv & I adjust the performances as we shoot. I want power, emotion and passion to come out. I hope my flick will get someone's attention and simply entertain.. so we shall see.

YES, I am hoping for peaceful shooting, but as Flicker stated..IT'S WAR ! and many elements are against me, so I have to work hard long and tirelessly to make this happen.

'tis looking good IB!

Just take as long as it needs, you've been nursing this baby for a while now and we're all excited to see a cool finished product.

YAYY ! Man this is tough stuff, but I got it ! My kill the hooker scene in downtown houston that is .

Here are some screencaps of the fun. Just playin w/ it color wise.. I do want dark and Im ok w/ the grain, this will add to the effect when the girl kills the hooker. Ahh the life of an Indie filmmaker..beautiful women doing whatever I tell them to. My life is doin fine !! LOL

http://killerclowntheater.com/the-hand.png

http://killerclowntheater.com/christie.png

http://killerclowntheater.com/kill-baby.png

and a surprise behind the scenes pic

http://killerclowntheater.com/alanna-chill2.JPG

Here is some ROUGH stuff from my Hooker scene. I have more coverage and more angles also will edit to cut out some lines that do not fit. Also will use totally different music I was just playing with the Perspective and it did not look good, but here it is anyhoo. This was shot downtown Houston.. the streets were LOUD. I used a Lav Mic & an Olympus VN-8100PC digital recorder for dialog. the dialog starts at 1:30

81STUoeR-HY

I love the look and the Olympus doesn't disappoint. I've only used that method indoors and it sounds better outdoors for some reason. I wish I lived in Houston to help out in some way and be a part of it.

Thanxx Camvader.. I shall keep on keeping on. I figure Im 1/2 way thru filming so here goes !!!

OK fine.. Life has totally screwed me. I broke up w/ my meal ticket, the ideal woman, you know she has a disability check. I am now forced to work a job to get beer money so it has slowed me down.

I have been slow on this project but here is a nice chunk of it. I'll never be happy with it cuz I know it can do better, but I am makin my stuff better and ...well see for yourselves

muiluqWExqc

One step at a time, man. One step at a time. :cool: