- So, once again, Steve gets to have all the fun. He's updated you on the interview he did yesterday, being in front of the camera, etc....although, I think he probably belongs behind it from what I saw. (...I'll pay for that one later, I'm sure. I'll just have to write some very crazy scenes to keep him busy...)

We had our first 'face-to-face'* with the guys at Stun Creative today, and it went over pretty well, I thought. We're both being followed by cameras now during the creative process, so for the first time, I have an idea of what it must be like to be on a reality show. It's...interesting. Let's just say I won't be auditioning for Tila Tequila anytime soon.

We went around, did introductions - Brad and Mark are the two heads of Stun, Christian is heading up financial, and Paul is kind of the renaissance man who we'll be working with most frequently. Then we moved on to the breakdown we'd talked about during that first conference call, and just started looking at it logistically - some basic notes about making sure that everything will be feasible within our budget and within our production timeline.

It's exciting...I've been working for the past few years on documentary series for the History Channel, so I've sat in on production meetings before, but now we were meeting about something that was purely dependent on what I was going to write. Non-fiction provides a really incredible working environment, a great basis for learning to tell stories...but there's always something really compelling about being able to do whatever you want...okay, not 'whatever' you want, but you get the idea.

Things are starting to get more concrete...and the meeting has really gotten my imagination jump-started. It's going to be a really incredible summer...

(*note to self: try not to sound so LA in future entries)

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Well, hello! Steve here with a little post about what's been happening today...

Today we met with Stun Creative for the first time... well, in person anyway. No matter what changes happen with the way films get made I still think that this is a people business and it's always great to put a face to a name.

Everyone we met today was really great and seeing how excited they were about the project ramped me up into a crazy, nearly vibrating out of my chair overdrive. Of course there were a few concerns with what Stu and I thought we might be able to do but this is an indie production and apparently asking for all digital sets and Jar-Jar Binks in every episode was just a little out of our reach. Oh well, maybe next time. ;)

The resources that Mark and Brad from Stun are bringing to the table is a little awe inspiring for someone who is used to having to beg borrow and steal for every production. Plus, they gave us muffins! It's amazing how easy it is to win a place in my heart with baked goods.

The meeting was taped for the behind the scenes video as well, I guess that is something that I am going to have to get used to... so I should just out myself now and let you know that I bite my nails. Not only that, I do it and I'm not ashamed. Much to the horror of my mother. Best I just own up to it now. With all the cameras around me, I keep thinking I'm going to be on a reality show where I have to complete a bunch of physical challenges to make the film. If that happens, the whole production is in trouble because my goal is to be like Orson Welles... not that I think I'm anywhere in the league of Welles as a filmmaker, I mean that I am a very lazy man and I hope to one day be ferried around in a wheelchair on set.

You gotta dream big! ;)

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Hi everyone! This is Steve and today I get to relate one of the most surreal experiences in my life... being on the business side of the camera.

I tried acting in college and I quickly found out that I really should be on the OTHER side of the camera.

Unless you like really bad acting... in which case, I am the actor you have been looking for!

IFC arranged for a camera crew to come over to my apartment and film a few promo and end tag sound bites to help promote the series. This sounds pretty simple, right? It was when I only had to say things like "Only on IFC, always uncut" but apparently I can't string more than two sentences together at a time and it took forever to get four complete sentences out of me. I think I'm going to have to start being a LOT nicer to my actors... well... maybe not. ;)

After that I was interviewed about winning the contest, what my hopes for the series are and some thoughts about indie film. It's a trip to think that someone out there is going to listen to all this.

Now, here is the moment where I knew I had arrived... after the interview I started wrapping the gear and doing the load out with the crew. Yep... I'm a star.

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Hi everyone! I'm Steve Sprinkles and over the next few months Stu and I will be checking in to write about our experiences as the winners in the Red Bull After Hours Web Series Contest. Say that three times fast. ;)

I guess the place to start is the day I got the phone call from IFC...

No... wait... I should start farther back... back when the earth's crust was starting to cool. No, that's too far.

A little over a year ago I had finished a film called "The Last Woman on Earth" and I had uploaded it to IFC's Media Lab. I was fortunate enough to get enough votes to have it play on IFC. It's amazing what threatening people to vote will get them to do. ;)

After the film had played on the channel, there were a few phone conversations that I had with IFC. They were thinking that they might want to use me for another project. Unfortunately, it was not to be and I went on my way, continuing to make films.

Fast forward to present day and Stu and I have made a film for IFC's new contest, the one you are, hopefully, watching now... you're not watching it? Go watch it and then come back. I'll wait.

So... right after we found out we were a finalist, I got hit with a little pit in my stomach fear that I had been in a place like this before. So I made peace with the fact that with four other films in competition we only have a 20% chance of winning and that if I didn't enjoy the process of making the film enough then I should probably be looking into some other line of work anyway.

Then the phone rang... (see, I worked that title in!)

I was at work and I looked down at my phone... it was a 212 number. Someone from New York was calling and since I know none of my family in New York would be calling me at that time I ran for a quiet place where I could take the call. The conversation went a little something like this:

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- Hello all, this is Stuart Chait, and I'm the writer of 'Pushing Twilight'. Steve (the director) has already updated you on how we heard the amazing news of being selected as the winners of this challenge, so now it falls on me to get to the business side of things. (All you writers out there, get used to this - the director always gets to have all the fun.)

Today we started the real work, bright and early at 9 AM, with our 'kick-off' conference call. We spoke with all the creative minds behind this 'After Hours' project - representatives from IFC, Red Bull, and Stun Creative, the production company who's going to help Steve and I bring this whole thing to fruition.

I have to admit, I started off pretty nervous, and let Steve do most of the talking. After all, he'd already been in contact with IFC, and I was hearing a lot of new voices for the first time. But slowly I think I started to get into things, as we both got to talk up our backgrounds and what we thought of winning this amazing opportunity (did I use that description already?...I may have to start using a thesaurus while writing these entries...)

Soon, we were launching into our proposed episode breakdown for the series, which Steve and I had gone over the previous night till around 1:30 AM (the first, I'm sure, of many long nights to come). I think I did most of the talking from here, probably in a rambling fashion. But everyone managed to stay awake (always a positive sign) and seemed happy with the breakdown, even if it was a little...let's say...'ambitious'.

We closed the call with how the process will work from here (all that logistical stuff about who calls who, etc.) There'll be notes on our breakdown coming soon, especially on how to shoot this thing on a realistic timeline and budget...but that's the fun part.

Right now, I'm still a little in awe...and I can't wait to get started.

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