Flunky - the film

Flunky: The Trailer

2010-07-30T20:22:00.001+02:00

Work!

2010-05-20T00:08:00.001+02:00

Sweet animated short about working.

Work from Michael Rianda on Vimeo.

10 Crazy Short Films

2010-05-02T00:24:00.001+02:00

From Oddee, 10 Craziest Short Films.

Sound Ch-Check Checked

2010-04-24T16:45:00.003+02:00

Yesterday a sound mix was done on the film, which means everything is set. Except for some final sexy touches. And then, I'll get to see the final product (which I'm pretty excited about). And we'll get to start sending it out to some film fests.

After a long wait it's now down to the final post-production phase. Which means that before long it'll be projected onto the moon.

Or, maybe just online, and hopefully at a film fest in your town.

Post-production: final push

2010-01-18T18:21:00.003+01:00

I just got off the phone with Bernardo. Now that Charles is on board, and we're working towards finishing this film off. Like any good editor Charles brings both creativity and technical skills to the project. I'm not there in the editing suite, but by all accounts, it's getting done!

Which means we should have a completed film by the start of February, and we can move this project into the 'shoving it into letterboxes, mailslots and faces' phase.

One I am looking forward to immensely.

Trailer full of films

2009-12-13T20:29:00.002+01:00

There's an editor on board. This was a long overdue development. Also, he seems awesome, bringing the awesome quotient on Flunky up to 'unanimous'.

We're all very excited as this is the kick we need to bring the post-production of this project to completion so we can get this little beauty out there.

I'm hoping he is able to edit us a sweet trailer for our short film. (See above) Via The High Definite

You say tomato, I say pomidor

2009-09-16T16:03:00.002+02:00

Actress, film-maker and writer Sofia Caessa (AKA Janine Laraque) wrote the cover story for the September 10 issue weekly news magazine The Bulletin, a periodical that should be familiar to all English-speaking expats habitating in Brussels.

The subtitle of the article is 'falling in love in a global city: can it ever work?' The answer is probably yes, but when it comes to work, it's always best to be sure you're prepared for the sacrifices you're going to have to make. Just ask Marco.

Flunky Avant-Premiere!

2009-07-27T09:13:00.006+02:00

Check out this awesome poster Andy made for the avant-premiere of Flunky tonight! I know, sweet.

If you're wondering where this event is at: it's at L'Ane Fou in Scharbeek. Well, the French would call it l'Ane Fou. I'd call it the Crazy Donkey.

There will be more news on the event once it occurs, but for now, this is a Great Leap Forward: our first public-ish screening. By public-ish I mean we will be screening it for most of the cast and crew, but it is a public venue, so some Monday night local tipplers might also watch history unfold.

Things are coming together.

Building a projector screen

2009-07-13T14:56:00.003+02:00

Link

This is how close we're getting to a screening: I'm searching wikihow to learn how to make a projector screen.

The film isn't quite finished, no date for the 'avant-premiere' has been chosen, and there are still many things to do, but we're getting there.

One of those things to do is quite likely "Make a Projector Screen."

The answer to the question: "Could Flunky be anymore of a DIY, shoestring-budgeted example of hardwork and tireless dedication in service of the Art of Cinema?"

I doubt it.

Anyone want to help make a projector screen?

The Wizards of Oz

2009-07-03T15:57:00.004+02:00

As this blogpost goes to press, Flunky continues to be edited. Significantly, we are now more or less in possession of a final mock-up of the image, which we're pleased with. Bernardo has adorned this with some musical stylings which give this powerful film a suitable level of absurdity and gravitas. He is now engaged in the process of taking this model and creating the final mastercopy.
But that's not all...

In Amsterdam, a logo is being created.
In London, the sound of the film is being designed. And...
In Toronto, the website is being touched up and finalized.

What do these three things have in common? They are all activities being undertaken by a creative powerteam of Australian expats who have spread themselves across the globe to bring awesomeness to their new respective world capitals, and channel some of their goodness into the project we call 'Flunky'.

There will be more new as we gear up for the next phase. Seriously: we're getting close.<

Getting ready for the film fests

2009-06-22T14:30:00.003+02:00

Truly Free Film has a great To Do list for filmmakers getting ready to enter into film fests. Note that Number 3 is to have a blog.

Yeah, we're pretty ahead of the curve.

Generally though, Bernardo and I have done some of these things others are in some stage of development, and some we need to get on quick. It's a good list.

Most importantly: the film itself; yes, ladies and gentlemen, Flunky is even closer now to being ready to be shown publicly. That's because Bernardo has been locked into an editing suiteshaping the final product.

He has been doing a killer job editing everything together. His creative touch has added layers, depth, and overall sexiness to a short film that was already stacked with sexiness and pitchblack humour.

Is it ready yet? No, it is not.

But we are starting to be able to make out that light at the end of the tunnel. That light is of course, coming from a projector booth, and when we get to that light Flunky will be projected onto screens, walls, hearts, minds and ..uh, whatever else is around.

Value of a Producer

2009-06-02T14:08:00.007+02:00

Photolink

When I read the following blogpost, it helped me understand what I was supposed to be doing when I was co-producing Flunky. Read it to gain some new appreciation for the importance of producers.

The Producer Credit: What It Means To Me

Producing is all I do and the only credit I get. The meaning and value of that credit erodes all the time as financiers and packagers and directors seek to share it. I do something very specific though that none of those other collaborators do. I am there from the very beginning until the very end doing my best to make sure that the best team assembled, best environment created, best film made, full potential realized, best release and marketing strategy conceived, and maximum revenue (within those other considerations) achieved. It is my role to make sure that all options are considered and the ramification of each choice considered in advance. Read the original post here.

Also read this: What is the Actual Job of a Movie Producer?

Alot of this doesn't apply to Flunky - the contracts and finances stuff particularly - but still...

Job Interview - Pepsi Max vs Flunky

2009-05-28T14:06:00.005+02:00

Flunky the film is in no way associated with Pepsi Max... except of course we both made wildly hilarious short films about a job interview.

That's where the similarities end. Right. There.

They had a huge budget. We had no budget.
Theirs is marketing. Ours is art.
Theirs is less than a minute. Ours is approximately a TV half hour.
They had massive resources behind their global megabrand. We are independent geniuses. Geniuses, yes. But also independent. Fiercely so.

Oh and one more difference:
Theirs is finished. Ours is almost finished.

Bernardo and Ryan

2009-05-20T11:32:00.004+02:00

Do we look brilliant? Maybe not. But we do look good.

Speaking of looking good and being brilliant: Flunky should be both of those things. And soon.

Bernardo and I had a meeting last night, and hung out. And it was good. And fun. And productive. We're right on schedule for a late-June avant-premiere. Anyone who knows an excellent place for this event should contact me by leaving a comment.

Also more exciting news: our website (a real website!! For the film!!) is in production and should be coming up soon.

It'll be awesome!!

Onward and upward...

2009-04-21T11:06:00.005+02:00

Photo by France Dubois

Flunky is really happening!!!

This week Bernardo is going to show me a rough cut of the film. I know - soooooooooo exciting!! I cannot wait. It's been a long time coming, but the suspense is fuelling the fire and desire.

Also we'll discuss music and mood and other creative choices for getting the right tone for this brilliant cultural juggernaut of creative synergistic brilliance.

In other news, Bernardo got a grant!!

Congratulations from all of us at Solutions Labour Solutions, as one of our brightest lights gets the recognition he deserves!!

Antwerp Diamond Heist: the movie

2009-03-19T12:08:00.003+01:00

Flunky is still in editing phase, who knows when that will draw to a close, but we can all hope that it will be soon.

In the meantime, if you're wondering what is not the next project, but is an incredible story nonetheless, may I drect you to this post on the brilliant idea to write a film based on the Antwerp Diamond Heist perpetraed by Leonardo Notarbartolo and his gang.

For the benefit of Mr Kite

2009-03-12T15:01:00.000+01:00

Technorati Profile

Typecast

2009-03-03T15:09:00.003+01:00

Recently, I've had two acting gigs.

One was playing job applicant Marco Duran, in the jawdroppingly compelling short 'Flunky', directed by Bernardo Camisao.

The second was playing job applicant John Driver, for an industrial role-play, as part of a training course.

The most striking coincidence, other than their striking good looks, is that these men are both job applicants.

Typecasting? Or perhaps I've found my niche...

I need an acting job, and if you need an under-employed actor to play someone who needs a job, well then you've come to the right place.

What did that last sentence mean?

It doesn't matter. Like a mobius strip chasing its own tale, the journey is the end in and of itself.

View from the bridge

2009-02-19T10:18:00.001+01:00

I haven't yet seen Flunky: the footage, but there's a chance I may get to do so tonight.

Am I excited? Well, actually, thank you for asking. Yes. Yes I am.

Flunky- the word cloud

2009-02-12T17:55:00.002+01:00

From Wordle

Editing ongoing

2009-02-05T17:25:00.003+01:00

Editing seems to be going slowly. Post-production, huh?

The edits

2009-02-02T14:23:00.003+01:00

Link

Right now, as I type this, Bernardo is in an editing suite, somewhere in Brussels. What's he doing there, you ask?

Editing.

He's currently cutting, chopping, stirring, mixing and basically sexing up Flunky, for your enjoyment and edification.

The picture above was pulled more or less at random from the internet, and may or may not accurately represent the environs in which our fair director is working. If I had to hazard a guess though, I would guess that it is slightly less well-appointed, more utilitarian, with less ergonomic seating.

The point is: we be moving forward.

Two thousand and Flunky

2009-01-19T17:28:00.003+01:00

It's 2009. We're almost one-twelfth of the way in. which might have you panicking, thinking 'OMG, I had such big dreams for this year, and it's already slipping away'.

Fear not, I encourage you to think of this year as a glass, not 1/12 empty, but rather 11/12 full.

I hope that relaxes you. I know it fills me with serenity, calmness and relaxation. All at once.

OK, enough with the pep talk. I know why you're here, you're clamoring for news of Flunky.

Here it is: so far it has not been edited. But between the holidays, the bout of wintry weather, and a post-production plan still in development, that is hardly surprising. And like I said, time is (still) on our side.

I'm meeting up with Bernardo on Thursday, for our first meeting of this fresh new year. After that meeting expect a flurry of activity followed immediately by a finished product, wrapped in a bow and delivered to your house in the middle of the night.

Is it just me, or does the air in 2009 smell of promise, honeysuckle, and smiles?
It isn't just me is it? I thought not.

Made up - photo

2008-12-11T13:30:00.000+01:00

Photo by France Dubois

Office worker D speaks

2008-12-09T12:42:00.007+01:00

This email, penned by one of our extras, really sums up the excitement around this project. I therefore commit it to record in it's entirety. This, he will learn, is one of the perks of being famous.

"Here is another picture of me on the set of "Flunky" - in this still, I am being directed by the, uh, director on which, um, directions, i should take...

You cant see it too well in this shot but I had been given a stack of papers with graphs and charts on them but my PC was opened initially to Word. Well, I closed that, opened up Excel and proceeded to recreate my hard copies onto an Excel spreadsheet. And so when it was time for my close-up, Mr. Deville, I was so locked into the mindset of Office Worker Number D, with his back-story as an Ivy League educated closet homosexual with dyslexia who also has a martyr complex and hates Jewish Mexican midgets, that more than one of the crew noted how good i was - the word "natural" was used too i believe.

But that's just how i do my acting. Some call it method acting. Others call it new school. Some call it De Niro-esque. I refuse to put a label on this awesome power that I have harnessed - The Power of Acting.

But if you feel it necessary to give it or me a name, how about you just use: "Hollywood". So, for example, "Shane Hollywood" works. Or even, Shane "A-List Red-Carpet Tinsel-Towne Bright-Lights" Dempsey if you are not into the whole brevity thing.

Flunky is scheduled to be released to a limited number of theatres at the end of January 2009. I'll keep you posted as my big screen debut approaches.

And before you ask - yes. Yes, we can still be friends even though I am going to mega-popular in just over 6 weeks."

This film is going straight to the big time, and you're all coming with us. Thank you for your hard work - even if it came 'naturally' to you.

UPDATE: As has been brought to my attention, the likely directions being given by the director are: "Be more like Office Worker E." (Seen here, as in the film, in the background.

The other Flunky

2008-12-02T17:03:00.004+01:00

This short film Flunky (the one we just filmed, which is the subject of this blog) is not the only film with that name. I learned this because I googled "Flunky film."
Right, like you never google yourself.

I discovered that in addition to this blog dedicated to the short film 'Flunky', by Bernardo Camisao and written by Ryan Millar, there's another, similarily titled, short film.

A Japanese film from 1931, called 'Flunky, Work Hard!' According to the review on Slant Magazine It is "the first surviving work of director Mikio Naruse, his eighth film chronologically and available only as a 38-minute digest version created for the Japanese home market." It is also described as a "near masterpiece."

Even though that 75-year old Japanese Flunky sounds extremely rare, the comparisons will be ineveitable. I'm sure years froms now ceneastes will be asking each other 'which is your favorite Flunky?'

As an artist, that's something I'm comfortable with. As an insecure, inexperienced writer and film actor... well, I'm not so sure...

A man and his mittens - photo

2008-12-02T16:28:00.001+01:00

Photo by France Dubois

Lean in, to seem keen - photo

2008-12-02T11:27:00.001+01:00

(Photo by France Dubois)

Perfectly coiffed - photo

2008-12-02T11:20:00.001+01:00

Phot by France Dubois

Boss and piranha - photo

2008-12-02T11:18:00.001+01:00

Photo by France Dubois

Low levels of job satisfaction - photo

2008-12-02T11:16:00.000+01:00

(Photo by France Dubois)

The director speaks - photo

2008-12-01T16:45:00.001+01:00

All photos by France Dubois

Lights and Sound - photo

2008-12-01T16:32:00.001+01:00

All photos by France Dubois

Janine at her desk - photo

2008-12-01T14:46:00.010+01:00

(Photo by France Dubois)

Blu in Berlin

2008-12-01T10:55:00.003+01:00

Blu

I came across this image via Wooster, of a giant wallpiece in Berlin by Blu. Synchronous.

Flunky has been shot!

2008-12-01T10:25:00.004+01:00

The movie has been wrapped, with all principal shooting finished. I hear it looks good. These photos sure do. I will post more soon...

(All photos were taken by France Dubois)

Day 1: Saturday Shoots

2008-11-29T23:37:00.003+01:00

After a mere 12 hours, a big part of the film is finished. And by finished, I mean shot. Which is merely step one (actually step 321) in the journey to "filmdom."

As soon as I get the photos from our official set photog I'll post them. If the movie looks as good as the photos we're in bidness,

There's plenty more coming... but I gotta go to bed.
Filmmaking is tiring, even if it largely consists of sitting around.

Lights, camera....ACTION!

2008-11-28T22:44:00.003+01:00

Today was busy. Bernardo and I traveled the entire perimeter of Belgium. A distance of over 80 kilometers!

It was fruitful. We were graciously provided with all kinds of filmmaking equipment which I'm assured is very important in the making of a film. The equipment included:

An awful lot of lights.

Microphones and mixer (in soundman fannypack)

A camera and monitor

And more stuff to come tomorrow...

Including actors, make-up and hair people, and caterers, set decorators, and... stuff.

It's awesome already. Tomorrow it'll be more awesome. Bernardo has explained to me that the important thing is to have fun. That sounds like the right attitude, so I'm going to sleep on it.

Making History

2008-11-27T15:03:00.000+01:00

The film is taxiing down the runway. The passengers (and the pilot!, and the crew) are all excited for the long dangerous journey into cinema history.

Flunky may not go down in Capital 'C' Cinema history. But it is an historical project. For me as writer and actor, certainly. And for the others as well. It's a big deal. And hopefully, it will all come together and be brilliant and thought-provoking. It will certainly be a learning experience.

Did I mention the part where we are just two days away from invading the office location and kicking holes in the walls and painting shit and moving shit to places it doesn't belong and basically swinging our dicks around like a big-shot Hollywood production? I didn't? OK. Fine. That last part isn't true anyway. But the first part is.

Cafe Belga

2008-11-27T15:00:00.001+01:00

Flickr - two dudes at belga, hugging.

Cafe Belga is where this project began, and it remains our touchstone.

The first time I met with Bernardo and Sofia it was at Cafe Belga. Where we discussed the script, and decided to make it a project. It was back to Cafe Belga on Tuesday night, to meet with crew and get to know some of the people who will be working this weekend.

Producers, the writer, the director, two actors, makeup, sound, lights, set decoration, and the DOP all came together for beer, cheese, and shoptalk.

If I had to guess, I would surmise that it won't be the last time we end up in Place Flagey. I dunno... It wouldn't be a bad place for a film screening, for example.. I'm just saying.

Solutions Labour Solutions - logos

2008-11-24T15:14:00.004+01:00

Solutions Labour Solutions, the fictional company where the movie takes place, needed a non-fictional logo.

Andy "Shortcut Kid" McAlpine came through, as he always does, with some hot hot options. Above is Option 1, and the likely victor, with the second after the jump.

Much as we like this second version, it may in fact, be too awesome and eye-catching. The side-hanging banners are not something I'm used to seeing, which is both rad and fresh. But this company is not necessarily on the cutting edge of design, so we may go with the other - still modern and quirky - spin on a classic logo style.

If you want proof of how not cutting edge this company is, you'll have to check out the photos of the location. It is bizarre and beautiful. These may not be available yet, but they will become available.

Directors Note - Bernardo Camisao

2008-11-24T15:11:00.001+01:00

Director’s Note - Bernardo Camisão

Flunky is more than a short film
When someone accepts to be enslaved what more can we do but cry? It’s absurd, strange, and at the same time, pitiful…
But, if we think it through… maybe this is really a situation to laugh at!
Well, in the comedy Flunky we will all witness these mixed feelings. Because our poor hapless Marco has slavery in his fate; the good ol’ traditional slavery.
And fiction is never far from reality…

Flunky is a short film that can act as a powerful metaphor in today’s economy. The individual is a central figure in the world of the job market. This small project is an attempt, through comedy and visual strength, to make our point.

Flunky is a Brussels project
This film is an attempt to emphasize the strong cultural presence of the new Bruxellois: people who come from Canada, Italy, England, U.S.A., Burundi, Portugal, and beyond, all are part of the cultural fabric of the city we call home.
Flunky has the characteristics that make Brussels the city that it is now: a mix of diversity, education, culture, and tolerance towards others.

Flunky is an artistic venture
When Ryan first showed me the script, I found it compelling because of its theme and the way he approached it: fast, funny, sharp. A simple story like this could be transformed into a powerful artistic vehicle.

Flunky is a low-budget film
When we decided to embrace this project, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But that pushed us to roll up our artistic sleeves and get our hands dirty. We poured all of our strength and determination, as well as our extent of professional experience into making this project a reality. Flunky possesses contemporary characteristics of the filmmaking process: digital, cosmopolitan, urban, fast… But without forgetting hard work and the everlasting values of poetry, entertainment, and capital “C” Cinema.

Magic Thirty - Crew

2008-11-24T11:15:00.007+01:00

Even if this barbershop quartet got their top five favorite barbershop quartets together, they would still be outnumbered by Flunky.

Bernardo showed me the crewlist and we're thirty people. Thirty people on set.

This film has grown from humble beginnings to still-humble pre-production, but including a whole lot of people - make-up, sound, wardrobe, lights, catering, etc. Thirty people!

30. That's a lot of people.

For comparisons sake:

-A professional football match consists of 22 players and 3 officials. That's not 30. We're bigger than a professional football match. (Not including spectators).

-A barbershop quartet is only 4 people. Our cast and crew is the equivalent of 7.5 barbershop quartets.

-Jesus had 12 apostles. We have more than double the amount of people it took to get Christianity rollin'.

-A jury is 12 people. These 12 people are the perfect expression of the ideals of justice. We have many more than twelve people. i.e. we are Doublejustice!

BONUS:

- If you put the Marx Brothers (Groucho, Gummo, Zeppo, Chico, and Harpo), The Three Stooges (Larry, Moe, Curly), Abbot and Costello (Abbot, Costello), Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (Grumpy, Bashful, Chuckles, Darling, Doc, Wheezy, Dingo) together in a room, the cast and crew of Flunky would not only outnumber them, but also win in a slapfight, though there is no scientific way to verify this.

Script and snow

2008-11-22T17:02:00.001+01:00

Bernardo and I met again today to discuss stuff. As a way of celebrating, and auguring good fortune for this project, Brussels dropped a snowstorm on our heads.

This, all filmmakers know, is very good news.

While we hashed out the final details in the script and made plans for the upcoming week. Sofia and Tinne scoured Les Petites Riens for deals.

Script updates

2008-11-21T15:00:00.005+01:00

We're just a week away from shooting, but the script needs tinkering. So it's been tinkered with. For me the difficulty comes in imagining the painstaking, carefully choreographed creative process that is 'moving pictures'. I like to improvise, and suggest things on the fly. Cinema demands exactitude.

With Bernardo's help I think we're getting closer to a final version of the script that provides enough information to the audience, while leaving room for some thinking to be done by the viewer.

I maintain that spoonfeeding information is not the way to go. Art (and I think filmmaking is an art. It is? Good. Actually, let's go with craft.) The craft of filmmaking demands that the audience be able to participate actively in the experience. All good art (and craft) demands this of the viewer. Passivity is for reality television.

I may be overthinking this..

Anyway I think we're almost there. Riding a unicycle down that line that separates obfuscation from pandering.

Actor profile - Paul Turner

2008-11-21T14:54:00.002+01:00

Paul Turner - Darryl

Paul's interests and skills have taken him on a traveller's path - from working in Singapore at a drama academy, directing productions on a summer camp in the States, to co-founding and co-ordinating Tightrope in Brussels.

Paul comes from a performance background, graduating in 1995 from the University of Natal, South Africa with a BA Hons in Speech & Drama. After 5 years of living abroad he returned to his home country of South Africa to complete his PGCE. He then left for London where he took up a post as Head of Drama at an inner-city school. He has been in Brussels since 2004.

Paul is excited to be able to draw on his diverse experiences to portray Darryl the haunted mystery man, who may not actually be looking for the supply room.

Actor profile - Ryan Millar

2008-11-21T14:47:00.003+01:00

Ryan Millar – Marco Duran

Ryan Millar is an actor-slash-writer and an expatriated Canadian. Among other things. He has participated in numerous plays, short films, sketch comedy videos, and Education Ministry-sponsored educational videos for high-school students. Often as an actor and more frequently, lately, as a writer. His stage credits include extensive improvisation performance and training, notably working with !nstant Theatre Company in Vancouver, and Boom! Chicago in Amsterdam. Since moving to Brussels he got to play 'The Maniac' in the American Theatre Company's production of 'Accidental Death of an Anarachist', which was alot of fun.

‘Flunky’ follows the success of his first one-act play - ‘The Power Force’, which won the American Theatre Company’s One Act Play Competition in 2007. He now refers to himself as "Award Winning Playwright Ryan Millar," which is pretty annoying.

Ryan is pretty excited to play Marco, the innocent applicant.

Actor profile - Henri Colens

2008-11-21T14:43:00.004+01:00

Henri Colens - Reggie Sheppard

Henri lives in Brussels, where he works in the European Parliament. He is Belgian, but has spent most of his life in England. Before his political career he was employed variously as a teacher, journalist and car and book salesman.

Henri got started in theatre when working backstage in a couple of school plays and then he started acting whilst at university, in Durham, England. He's been in about twenty productions as an actor, and he has fond memories of all of them, most notably Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing (Debut Theatre Company), Dancing at Lughnasa and Disappeared (Cast Theatre Company), Stage Door and Ali Baba (The Madrid Players), and most recently Accidental Death of An Anarchist and Diana of Dobsons (English Comedy Club) at The Warehouse, Brussels.

He also teamed up with Flunky-writer Ryan Millar for award-winning one-act play The Power Force, which was a blast. He believes all good plays should challenge and involve the audience in some way, and with that philosophy in mind, in 2005 he helped set up a theatre group in Madrid called Compañía Accidente Coregrafiado which was based on the "Viewpoints" technique of legendary theatre director Anne Bogart.

Henri has little film experience, but he really enjoyed working with everyone in 'Flunky', and hopes to do more work with them in the future. Henri is happy to portray another buffoon in the make-believe world.

Actor Profile - Sofia Caessa

2008-11-21T14:28:00.005+01:00

Sofia Caessa – Janine

Sofia is an inspiration. Everyday this Portuguese-English creator displays a different aspect of her broad creative palette.

After studying theatre in her native Portugal, she packed up and took flight to the Big Apple to develop her career as an actress. She also worked at theatrical creation and direction.

After littering the American landscape with broken hearts, she returned Euroside to pursue her dream of writing for children. She has a book ready to be published, and is the alter-ego behind the comical blog Skinny Linney. Apart from that, she’s the physical embodiment of Janine, the sweet, sadistic secretary who pulls the strings.

Blogwriting - update

2008-11-20T11:00:00.002+01:00

So this is Ryan, and I'm 'taking over' from Bernardo in the blog updating department. he has enough to do - Flunky will be filming in 9 days and has a full cast and crew, but tonnes of work to do. As the most experienced person (and the Director) he's the General in charge.

We had a three hour meeting last night (over a couple of 'St. Bernardus' beers) during which we overhauled the script to create a clear concise concrete and compelling masterpiece.

If not masterpiece, at least a solid script from which we can work.

Now that the ink is dry, we focus on the technical - set decoration, costumes, lighting, and a bunch of other stuff I don't understand.

2008-11-18T00:03:00.000+01:00

2008-11-18T00:01:00.000+01:00

2008-11-17T23:59:00.000+01:00

Writer’s Note – Ryan Millar

2008-11-17T20:09:00.002+01:00

flun•ky also flun•key (fl ng k )
n. pl. flun•kies also flun•keys
1. A person of slavish or unquestioning obedience; a lackey.
2. One who does menial or trivial work; a drudge.

The idea for this script began as an offhand joke with a friend. I think I was complaining about the downsides of my (then-current) short-term contract. At least, I said, with slavery there are assurances of long-term employment. We laughed at the absurdity of security trumping freedom of choice and income. He challenged me to go further with the idea, saying, “There’s a script in that.” Never one to turn down a challenge, I wrote a first draft not long after.

As I was setting up the story, I was struck by how easy it was to conceive of this world. Each character acts in a perfectly rational, self-interested, and recognizable way, in other words – everything is normal. Except that, this world is a horrifying dystopia. As least, I hope it is. Because if it’s not, we’re way worse off than I though.

Developing this script from joke, to rough story, to polished draft, and finally into actual short film is a difficult and rewarding experience. Even more difficult (and possibly rewarding) than finding long-term employment. The dedication, encouragement, and belief in this project from everyone involved is truly heartening. Without the support of the other actors, the director and everyone else, this script may well have just remained a joke shared between friends. Instead, it has grown into a project that is both an end in itself, and a beginning.

Synopsis

2008-11-17T19:04:00.000+01:00

The Office seems to be normal, but some things just don’t fit...

Maybe it’s Darryl, waiting for the elevator. Maybe it’s the angel-demon secretary. The Boss is, for sure, more than just the middle man. He knows things! Marco, our hero, arrives nervously to his interview...

“Well, the payment sucks, but it’s great job security!”

SOME REFERENCES...

2008-11-17T18:58:00.000+01:00

Here you'll find some interesting references our film wishes to "drink from".
Do you know where the images come from?