IMDB

this doesn't count as one of the many updates we previously promised, but it's kinda cool nonetheless...

Icebreaker is now listed on the IMDB. I guess that means it's officially a movie (at least according to the internet).

The page is pretty sparse and only seems to want to list a few members of the cast plus crew credits for some guy named Matt Knapp... but hopefully the names of the rest of our hardworking cast and crew will get their links approved soon.

so, yeah... hooray internet!

status on lots of stuff unfinished

took a few hours yesterday to convene with the venerable michael johnson and the inimitable joseph ballman to records various noises, sounds, even words, that will hopefully put us on track to finish all those projects still in post-production limbo within the next month. as soon as they are done, we'll update with links and video and assorted awesomeness.

this big push will hopefully clear the slate for new and exciting developments...

keep your eyes open.
m

tease

wow... two posts in one day! aren't you a handfull of lucky readers...

so, in case you haven't noticed, we're lighting up the vimeo like mad lately. it's basically going to serve as our primary video resource until grammarschoolpictures.com finally get's that much needed upgrade.

anyway... re-watching and converting the archives for vimeo has got me thinking about the teasers and trailers. specifically, our own teasers/trailers. you may not know this, but we are not a huge operation. grammar school is basically a two-man operation with a bunch of freelance advisors and an intern who is literally 15-months old.

that means that we post our own blogs, set-up our own equipment, design our own posters/fliers, and, yes, cut our own trailers. (this is the part where we toot our own horn...) one such trailer that i'm especially pleased with is the little piece we put together for Icebreaker.

normally, you wouldn't bother cutting a trailer for a short film. i mean, seriously, why would anyone spend 35 seconds watching a video to help them decide if they want to watch another video that's only 7 minutes long? silly, right? and totally unnecessary.

but, in the case of Icebreaker i had an idea. a concept even. a way to make a funny little pitch for the concept without giving away 20% of the film. nothing is revealed in the teaser that would potentially ruin any of the twists and turns of the short, but the tone is established. the door is opened just a crack and you can kind of see what might be waiting for you inside that room. in any case, it's not perfect from a technical standpoint, but if you haven't seen it, it's good for a quick laugh.

enjoy.


Icebreaker Teaser from grammar school on Vimeo.

vimeo of the week: Icebreaker

It's back! Enjoy...


Icebreaker from grammar school on Vimeo.

vimeo of the week: This Song

This is neither newly produced nor new to the interwebs, but it is technically new to this blog. For your embedding/embedded pleasure, here's the 2006 final cut of our short film, This Song. Enjoy...


This Song from grammar school on Vimeo.

2 and 3

so the final, official, definitive version of the aforementioned dimes project consists of 2 parts. here they are, seperated, but in order of appearance. (the previously posted Paul Revere video will, i suppose, be considered an outtake as it did not make the band's final cut).


The Dimes - Catch Me Jumping (Live) from grammar school on Vimeo.


The Dimes - Paul Kern Can't Sleep from grammar school on Vimeo.

now that that's in the can, we're looking to tie up a few loose ends and finally get more stuff, new and old, on-line for your viewing pleasure. keep your eyes to the skies, kids.

finally: new video!

UPDATE: the band has requested some time to tweak the audio on Paul Revere. we'll put it back up when it's ready.

we've recently compeleted a big promotional project for our friends and frequent clients, the dimes. the final product is a three-song live dvd that they'll be handing out and playing on a loop at NACA next month. we might put the whole thing on-line at some point, but for now here's my favorite of the three songs, Paul Revere.


The Dimes - Paul Revere from grammar school on Vimeo.

also: how cool is vimeo? it pretty much kicks youtube's ass as far as we're concerned.

pictures

last night i was personally criticized for posting two (2!) blog entries that were essentially wordless. while i certainly wouldn't want to innundate any of you with too many pictures, i thought those two (2!) entries would serve as nice little teases of our recent activities.

in fact, we've had a very busy month or so...

7/11/08 - we did a live recording of the dimes at doug fir as part of a larger, promotional project we're working on for pet marmoset.

7/27/08 - we shot a short with the lovely michael johnson. it's still in post-production and we haven't yet worked out the details on releasing it for public consumption.

8/2/08 - we taped another show, this time catching the dimes, derby, and dcrs at the someday lounge.

?/?/08 - as far as anyone knows, joe ballman has been working tirelessLY, day and night, on polishing up the audio on his directorial debut (1.5 years in the works!), YOU ARE STANDING IN FRONT OF A CAVE.

plus, you know, other stuff that's going on like freelance work and pre-production/development of other projects, etc.

so, yeah... we should have something to show for it all by the end of the summer. even if it's just a few live clips to tide you over until the next film.

buy for now,
mTk

The End

Sunday, July 27 - Besaw's Cafe

photo by gerald lewis

what you might possibly expect from us this year

another short or two (potential titles: The End and 2F)
the long-awaited release of YOU ARE STANDING IN FRONT OF A CAVE
possibly a new dvd to add to your collection
some public screenings

no dates (or promises) for any of that stuff, but it's all on the docket. just so you know, you know.

what?

yeah... we've been a little absent as of late. sorry about that...

rest assured, the gsp is still alive and well. we're just kind of in hibernation mode for the winter - storing up the creative energies, brainstorming new ideas, finishing up some smaller projects, playing with babies, doing homework, watching basketball, enjoying the glut of awards season films, etc.

that said: our little Icebreaker has gone missing. actually, it's just taking a break from the www as we try to find it a more commercially viable outlet. stay tuned for possible festival screenings or dvd releases.

also, we've still got plenty of dvds of almost everything. available in the our shop (see the sidebar). they make terrific valentine's day gifts for that special lady friend or special gentleman caller in your life. think about it.

sorta sordid (but not really)

just a quick update re: Icebreaker. as the myspace contest came to a close there were accusations of tampering and fraud and on-line conspiracies spreading like wildfire. mostly, a bunch of the filmmakers appeared to be getting bombarded with negative votes by supporters of this or that other film, empty myspace accounts were being created for the sole purpose of inflating/deflating voting percentages, people were turning off their voting functions so as to preserve their high scores, etc. basically, it was kind of a mess and a lot of people got all twisted around about it.

so, the good people at fox and the pga opted to dismiss the voting process entirely and make an independent assessment of which 12 entries should proceed to round 2. this is currently in process and the expected due date for the result is still TBD. in fact, almost everything (which, btw, you can purchase from our sidebar!) about this contest is still TBD - including the revised rules and regulations!

so, basically, thank you to everyone who watched the film and gave us a positive vote and passed the link along to their friends. we do appreciate it. and, even though none of this counts toward whether or not we'll make it into the next round, please do continue to share the film with anyone who might enjoy it.

best,
mtk

"Pretty Good" Raves USAToday!

Whitney Matheson of USAToday's pop culture blog, Pop Candy, had some kind words for our short film, Icebreaker , as voting for the Storyteller Challenge was coming to a close...

check out her post here.

i told you so.

UPDATE:
Icebreaker is offline for now while we send it out to festivals. it will reappear in some form again. we promise.

ORIGINAL POST:
friends,

below is our new film, JEFFERSON - ICEBREAKER.

we've submitted it for a contest on myspace (www.myspace.com/storytellerchallenge). and, since it's a contest, obviously the more people that watch the film, the better our chances of rolling into the semi-finals and getting some nice exposure.

for those of you who have myspace accounts, if you enjoy the film, we would definitely appreciate a nice comment and a positive ranking. and if you really enjoy the film, we would love for you to pass the link along to anyone else you think might like it or maybe even post/mention it on your blog or website, if you're feeling generous.

thanks, and enjoy!

Storyteller

Add to My Profile | More Videos

in case you didn't know...

"Icebreaker" Teaser

Add to My Profile | More Videos

coming soon... and we do mean soon.

also: DVDs of our charming debut feature, almost everything., are still available and reasonably priced! please support our promising young group of filmmakers with a modest purchase today. thanks!

something cool.

something very cool is on the way next week.

if you don't have a myspace acct, now would be a good time to sign up for one.

thanks.

Available Now

We have the DVDs in hand! All pre-orders will ship before the end of the week. Thanks for your patience.

SHOP!

hi!

in case you haven't noticed, we've set up a new section to your right... it's called SHOP! as you can see, this is where we're going to start selling dvd copies of almost everything.

just an fyi on the timeline... the release date is expected to be september 25th. but, if you're antsy, you can pre-order it now by clicking the "buy it!" button and we'll try to ship it sooner rather than later.

dvds will also be available on our myspace starting the 25th, and, eventually, on our redesigned homepage when it's finished (very soon - we promise).

that's all the news for now, but keep on eye out for additional dvd releases in the upcoming months as well as updates on all our current projects.

-m

tuesday night screening!

the director's cut of our acclaimed short film this song will be screening at the living room theaters in downtown portland on tuesday night. come see it with an audience - it's free!