About that Slenderblog...

Heyy, Internet - Aaron here. And I've got some cool news for ya. More after the jump.

One of my fav photos of Mike's.
Credit to Michael Bloom, 2010

ForgottenColors, my "Slenderblog" - a blog I'm using as a platform to tell a story in real-time, involving the titular Slenderman - has been coming along well so far. It's still very early in the exposition, but I've got the story planned out, and I'm prepared to continue posting.

The story is about a teenage photography student who uses his blog to share the photos he takes, but soon disappears, and his twin brother begins an investigation to look for him. So far, there are only photo posts and such, but things will heat up in a few weeks. Go check out what I have HERE.

I wanted to take this time to openly thank everyone who's helping me out with this. I myself am not a photography wiz, so I have to toss up a couple shout outs my friends. First off, thanks to Michael Bloom - a veteran photographer I recently met, who's given me free reign to use his photos if I need them (view the post about them HERE). You can check out his website at www.michaelbloomphotography.com

A composition of some of Dylan's photos.
Credit to Dylan Huggins.

Next thanks goes out to my good friend Dylan - who has taken some damn good pictures. He's given me the most, and I've been using those as if they were the main character's. With both Dylan and my character being teenagers who take Digital Photography classes, it kinda works out well.

I also just want to take some time to thank everyone involved so far, even if their work hasn't been shown yet. My actors have all been very willing to participate, and I've gotten some great advice from friends as well.

On the other side of the coin, production on the series has been moving along exponentially. The story is pretty much official, save for the stuff yet-to-be added as I go along. Forthcoming blog posts are written out, they just have to be published. Scripts are coming along more slowly than I'd like, but it's tough to keep everything straight with an unreliable narrator and a story that's almost being told backwards and out-of-order. I'm also in the process learning how to properly use my new editing program (Sony Vegas 8), and how to make Slender-esque video distortion effects.

Masky from Marble Hornets

One of the biggest things I've had to learn, since I'm not a film maker (only a writer), is how to actually shoot, direct, and act. The advantage of the found-footage format (if you don't know what "found footage" is, read about it on Wikpedia) of this project is that nothing is formal. Nothing has to be "perfect" so to speak. Acting is loosely outlined, but it really comes down to well-done improvisation. And, no video is over fifteen minutes.

Jay (MarbleHornets) isn't the greatest
when it comes to...anything, really.

The downside is that I can't just point a camera and film. It is found-footage and informal, but the camera is literally the sole focal point of the series from a technical standpoint. What the camera sees, the audience sees. The camera has to be treated like a character, almost. There has to be a reason the camera is recording. There has to be a reason the camera is pointing the direction it is. The excuse that the character is just carrying a camera around is inexcusable. There has to be a certain suspension of disbelief in a found-footage film, especially a Slenderman ARG. Everything has to have a reason as to why it's happening.



Hm. Maybe I'll talk about that later. That's a good topic.

Anyway.

In terms of "being on schedule" I'd say I'm behind. The series should be done by the end of May. I have time, but if things don't speed up exponentially, I'm shit outta luck. But, I keep my head high -- as well as my optimism. I think it can be done!

In any case, I can't wait to begin on the actual part of the story that's interesting. Exposition is boring. Ugh! I'm impatient, damn it!

And as always, thanks for reading.

--Aaron