STBD 5-4: Revealed!

This week's episode of STBD included some brand new locations, a cameo appearance and the return of a missing cast member. (Not bad for 8 and a half minutes!)

The Making of "Creative or Desperate?" involved:

- 2 mostly-scripted scenes

- 1 mostly-improvised scene

- 1.5 hours of raw footage

- 3 shoots in 3 days

- 10+ hours of editing

Fun Facts, Scene by Scene:

* When STBD first began in 2003, Lacey Fleming (aka Dierdre) smoked a lot more than she does now. In fact, she's nearly quit entirely several times, only to complicate things when Dierdre is asked to smoke on-camera...

* Brent's entry-level fraternity task of calling strange women and asking them for naked photos is directly inspired by a similar type of phone call someone in my own family received this summer. (In case you're wondering, that caller struck out too.)

* The 24 Hour Creative Marathon at Creative Treehouse took place overnight on Sept 28-29. We filmed the scene of Pryce and Caroline working through creator's block at 11 PM on Friday night, and then I edited the entire sequence together, minus the music track, by morning.

I had to leave for Connecticut at 12:30 PM on Saturday, so I transferred all assets from the Final Cut Pro project to my laptop (with its broken monitor) and finished the episode at 3 AM Monday morning.

All of that would explain the original typo in the episode's title, "Creative OF Desperate?," which was typed, bleary-eyed, at 4 AM...

Creative Treehouse, and Why I'm Not in Toronto Right Now

PodCamp Toronto kicks off tomorrow morning and I'm not going. This makes me immensely frustrated, not just because Toronto is one of my favorite cities OR because most of my colleagues from the first two east coast PodCamps will be in attendance, BUT because my absence is entirely my own fault.

Due to mismanagement of both time and money, I find myself without enough of either to justify making the trip and leaving my other loose ends dangling for three days. So, I'm buckling down to get work done.

In reality, it makes sense, especially because I'll be out of town for Video on the Net (which I'm speaking at) in March AND PodCamp NYC in April. With so much potential travel on the horizon, and a weekly web series to restart, priorities are a must.

But, unfortunately, I could have prioritized much better about 4 weeks ago and had both the time AND the money to cut free for 3 days now.

(I'll also miss SXSW again this year, which continues to be the annual Event I Keep Meaning To Get To...)

HOWEVER...

I WILL be in attendance at ONE event this weekend, at least -- and it's a local one to boot:

Tonight (Friday, Feb 23), Creative Treehouse launches its kickoff event: a 24-hour art extravaganza! Starting @ 8 PM, artists of all types will begin working on all new, original works... Then tomorrow (Saturday, Feb 24) @ 8 PM, those works go on display -- only 24 hours later!

Come down and see the works in progress! Or come celebrate the space's grand opening! Food and drink will be provided @ the opening, along with music from Jon Miller and Sean Atkins

All art created overnight will be available for purchase. Half the proceeds go to the Treehouse!

WHAT: Creative Treehouse's "Creative Marathon"
WHO: Artists from across Pittsburgh -- and you!
WHERE: 517 Lincoln Avenue, Bellevue, PA 15202 (2nd Floor - rear entrance)
WHEN: Marathon begins @ 8 PM Friday, Opening @ 8 PM Saturday

For more information, visit CreativeTreehousePGH.com or their MySpace!