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Category Archives: Film Making

Speaking at Women in Film and Video Baltimore & Mister Thirty Sixer’s Vintage Curios & Oddities

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Hey folks. This year has been full of transition. I’ve seen my fair share of film and TV production all over the country. From  pilots to commercials (I spent a day as a stand-in for Bruno Mars on a Khaki commercial, true story) to micro-documentaries, I’ve seen almost 30 states in the last 10 months! [...]

Filed in Baltimore, Film Making, Networking, Promotional, Resources, screenwriting, Self Promotion, Short FIlm, Television, Writing | Comments (0)

Halloween Redux: Shaun of the Dead: How do you Pegg it, when you Wright?

Friday, October 28, 2011

Back in 2009, Screenwriter Xandy Sussan and I did a head to head break down of the of the film Shaun of The Dead. In honor of Halloween, let’s take a look at the blast from the past, and how story structure, style, and character elevates a film like Shaun of the Dead. Shaun of [...]

Filed in Film Making, Head to Head, screenwriting, script reading | Comments (0)

Award Winning Life Lessons with Academy Award Winning Sound Mixer Chris Newman

Sunday, May 22, 2011

(MERREL NOTE:  I had a wonderful time speaking with Chris Newman. His candor and intensity for filmmaking was refreshing. This article originally appeared in the most recent issue of Sound & Picture Magazine) Award Winning Life Lessons with Chris Newman   Newman & David Moshlak from the set of Shamus There are a handful of [...]

Filed in Audio Production, Cinema, Film Making, Interview, New York, Production | Comments (2)

LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival 2011: Day 2

Saturday, April 9, 2011

The feel-good vibe here at the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival keeps on growing. Friday, day two, was awesome! Sadly, I missed the panels in the morning, but was able to catch the evening screenings the Male Pattern Badness block (featuring. Atom.com). It’s not too late to see what else is going on for the [...]

Filed in Cinema, Events, Film Making, Los Angeles, Networking, Short FIlm | Comments (2)

LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival 2011: Day 1

Friday, April 8, 2011

It’s exciting to be a sponsor of the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival, the vibe here in downtown Los Angeles is awesome. Over the next couple of days, me (@UncompletedWork) and Xandy (@CoverMyScript) will be tweeting and blogging talking about our experiences and all that fun jazz. Here is the lovely entrance way of the [...]

Filed in Branding, Cinema, Events, Film Festivals, Film Making, Los Angeles, Networking, Promotional, screenwriter karaoke, Short FIlm | Comments (6)

What’s Merrel up to April 2011

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

But, I’m just a dude who loves his craft(s), and has his hand in 15 little fires at any given moment. I’m out to learn from the world. What does it take to keep my engine running? I’m excited to share some of the things I’ve been working on, will be working on, and where you can see me in LA this month:

Filed in Events, Film Festivals, Film Making, Life, Los Angeles, Networking, Production, Promotional, screenwriter karaoke, Self Promotion, Writing | Comments (2)

New Article at The Story Department: “It’s Okay To Say No”

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Check out my new article “It’s Okay To Say No” that’s up over at screenwriting magazine The Story Department

Filed in Film Making, Los Angeles, Networking, Promotional, Self Promotion, Twitter, Writing | Comments (0)

8-Bit Pimping: Scott Pilgrim Vs. Video Game Nostalgia

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World was unleashed last weekend. The $60 million, Edgar Wright directed video game romp is a strange foray into nostalgia, contemporary manga style fiction and stylistic filmmaking, so, when I went to see Pilgrim at the Arclight opening night, I had only an expectation: the film would be fun. Why then, [...]

Filed in Cinema, Comics and Manga, Film Making, Los Angeles, screenwriting, Video Games, Writing | Comments (5)

Visiting Tom Green’s House

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Back in May, I had the opportunity to meet with comedian Tom Green at his home / studio and talk about his web TV show  Tom Green’s House Tonight. The article, for a pro-audio/video industry mag, talks about the unique production considerations for running a broadcast style talk show on the web. (Article copy below [...]

Filed in Film Making, Interview, Los Angeles, Press, Promotional, Self Promotion, Writing | Comments (0)

Become a Better Screenwriter Through Post-Production

Monday, May 31, 2010

Unlike novels, a script has implications far beyond the imagination of the reader. It is the document blue-print for an ultimately collaborative endeavor. In order to be an effective screenwriter, you need to be hyper aware of the production process and post-production process. I say aware, since you don’t have to do those tasks, you [...]

Filed in Cinema, Editing, Film Making, Resources, screenwriter karaoke, screenwriting, script reading, Short FIlm, Writing | Comments (4)