We need more – in any language, any quality is fine. For more info on submitting yours (by August 31 end of day), click here.

I will be headed out, film under my arm, to the GSCA Expo and show the clip film to interested and major backers. I’m not at liberty to tell you who they are, but if I did, you’d know.

I’m taking a 30-hour bus journey to Austin, Texas. No flights, first class accommodations or plush amenities for this filmmaker – all the funds are going towards the big expense of recording the three minutes of footage to IMAX film.

Cafe Pasta is generously providing light appetizers and drink specials, including their newest Cassini Martini, named for the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn. Tickets are FREE and you will have a chance to see a portion of the film on HD projection, and mingle and network with others in our creative community, and a chance to support an ground-breaking film.

RESERVATIONS ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED – Only 200 are available. RSVP deadline is Monday, September 5. Don’t miss the best party to kick off the Fall.

RSVP Here: http://event.pingg.com/OutsideInCafePasta

Here’s all you need to know if you’d like to record a short video for Outside In. Again, you can use any camera (e.g. your still camera probably has a video function) but do a short test before to make sure audio and video are okay. Use the highest quality setting the camera offers.

• Make sure the space is quiet – turn off anything noisy (air conditioner, loud computer etc.), indoors is better.
• Frame yourself so that we see mostly your face and a bit body (see images below). You can look either directly into the camera or you can have someone off-camera ask you the questions and you can look at them as you answer.
• Feel free to do multiple takes or have someone there talk to you so you are relaxed and natural. Don’t worry if you stumble etc. – just be yourself. And feel free to say anything (e.g. some people say when they first saw the clips that it did not real i.e. from real photographs). I will edit these and make sure you come across well.
• You can use your own language (does not have to been in English) and we will subtitle. In facts, it’s BETTER if you speak your native language.
• You can do it solo or with friends or family.

Suggested questions to answer (you don’t have to use all of these and you can make your own):

1. If you like, state your name (can just be first name), where you are from (can just be city or country), what you do.
2. How did you hear about Outside In?
3. What did you feel when you first saw clips from the film?
4. What appeals to you about the film?
5. Why did you decide to donate (or support the film)?
6. What are your plans for seeing the film? (e.g. what theater – it would be great if you could look up the theater by their official name and use that)
7. What do you like most about the film?

When you have it done, you can use a service like YouSendIt (www.yousendit.com) or upload to as private (password protected) video on Vimeo (www.vimeo.com).

OUTSIDE IN ON THE GIANT SCREEN:

Mark your calendars as new footage from my non-profit film “Outside In“ will be on the giant screen at Wells Fargo IMAX Theatre at Marbles Kids Museum on Sunday August 21st at 5:00pm, followed by a reception and short presentation. Until you’ve seen these amazing images brought to life on 70ft wide, 50ft tall screen with 24,000 Watts of sound, you’ve not seen or heard them at all. And if you are too far away to attend, please let us know anyone you know in the area.

The occasion is the kickoff event of the Summer Fundraiser to support production and promotion of this ground-breaking film. We will be showing stunning new footage, a Q&A, a casual reception and special presentation from space outreach advocates Mike Malaska and Tony Rice. This is a critical time for the film to create a new film-out of the new footage to present to global theaters and distributors at this years international Giant Screen expo in Austin TX.

IMPORTANT FACTS:

• You must RSVP to this event as soon as possible – seating is limited. If you have not received an Evite, contact us or call 336-315-6081. All donors in NC so far (big thanks to you) should have received one.
• Please invite anyone you know in NC that you think would help support the film but please let them know this is fundraiser – the goal is raise enough funds to cover the cost of a new filmout of 3 minutes of new footage. Please contact us with their name, email and/or phone number.
• If you are attending, please arrive a few minutes before 5pm. We have a narrow window in the theater.
• We will be serving non-alcoholic beverages and light snacks in the reception following the screening.
• If you are not able to come or don’t live in the area, you can still support our Summer Fundraiser by contributing in the online campaign and/or spreading the word on IndieGoGo here: http://igg.me/p/29650?a=1258&i=shlk

Thanks to all our donors and sponsors – it’s people like you that make a project like this possible.

Kubrick on the set of "2001"

Today would have been Stanley Kubrick’s 83rd birthday. There is a reason that launching a fundraiser today for “Outside In“  is very appropriate.

In 1985, I was at a library in Knoxville, TN watching movies on VHS, trying to catch up on the many films I had missed as a kid. I put in a tape of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and watched it on the tiny 13″ TV.

I was simply blown away. I had no idea movies could be like this — so rich, complex, mysterious and elegant about things that excited me – science, space, exploration, the unknown.

Later, as I studied film and became aware of the craft, “2001” became even more special. The amazing editing, sound design, cinematography, use of music (Kubrick was a pioneer in using existing music as score) was a huge influence on not only me, but generations of filmmakers.

“2001” probably inspired more filmmakers that any other film and is a landmark in cinematic history. Of course, on release it struggled with the critics. But today, it’s one of the most influential films ever made.

The entire concept and execution of “Outside In” is based on what I learned watching and dissecting “2001“. Most importatly, if you want to truly engage an audience on both a primal and intellectual level:  show, don’t say. Cinema is about visuals, sound and music. Not talking or reading. “2001” demonstrates the power of this. Hopefully, “Outside In” can live up to this standard.

That’s why, from the beginning, Outside In is “in memory of Stanley Kubrick”. May he rest in peace but live on the screen forever.

On the one hand it’s frustrating that Outside In has yet to land a single grant. Film grants in the US almost always go to “socially conscious” films and despite the fact that professional grantwriters have helped rework my applications, the few grants that will allow IMAX films to apply have rejected Outside In multiple times.

Of course, film grants are scarce in the US and most of them refuse to let IMAX films apply – believing that only well-heeled filmmakers make IMAX films despite much letter-writing in protest.

Outside In is, well, too outside-the-box for the usual indie film world, so fundraising will need to be outside-the-box too. Outside In already has impressed people with how much start-up seed money has been raised and the progress so far. Now it’s time to launch the film completely (see the cool rocket launch graphic added to the site).

It’s my mission to keep the film true to the pure vision: to inspire and spark interest in space exploration as way to understand the big questions. It’s also very important that the film reach as many people as possible and that the film sparks many new efforts in outreach, inspiration, dialogue and community building around the world.

You can help, even if you don’t have dime. Start a Team 11. Ask a generous friend to donate. Help find a corporate sponsor. And always continue to spread the word.

The images in the film belong to all humanity, so it’s only fitting that the film is of the people, by the people, for the people.

Sometimes it really is the simple, small gestures in life, from someone I will likely never know or meet, that matter.

click for larger image

This is fly-through of this photograph – photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11141 – only a little brightness and contrast has been made to balance the moons with saturn’s body. Do note that several thousand layers of many Cassini photographs were animated to make the fly-through work without any 3D CGI. The saturation is off due to lack of Flash Player ICM support. This is still a work-in-progress and it’s an art film, not a science film, but as new image data comes down I will tweak this shot for improved accuracy. To watch in HD, click on HD in window below or click here.

And if this excites you even half as much as it does me, I need to raise $2500 in the next couple of weeks to showcase this clip at the international IMAX conference at the end of September (GSCA Expo 2010). I heard today the my last grant application was denied, so it’s up to you to help Outside In get made.

I’ve set up a special fundraiser at IndieGogo that is tied in with Fractured Atlas for tax-deductible status. If you can’t donate, please spread the word far and wide. Click here to claim your special perks!

The quiet is because I’m in the middle of the final weeks push to get the low-budget feature film Hellphone finished which will help fund Outside In. Hellphone was created during the period when Outside In was on semi-hiatus waiting for the 64-bit version of Adobe After Effects (which I beta tested – if you missed it, the whole saga is here).

On the Outside In front, first some bad news. I was not awarded the NC Filmmaker’s Fellowship which is awarded every 2 years. My application was very strong but it appears, as in the past, the fellowship looks more at academic background (I’m a film school dropout), festival screenings/presences (applying to lots of film festival costs thousands of dollars and needless to say, I don’t enter any that cost money) and “southern/regional work”. My work is not southern or regional at all – obviously Outside In focuses on the whole universe – though perhaps I should add a banjo score.

Step two back: I had spent much time (many, many months) trying to secure full funding through a small NC based company that would acquire the technology developed for Outside In for other IMAX projects – however, they have passed in favor of doing their own film project as they did not feel Outside In has much “box office potential”. Despite the fact the Outside In is not-for-profit film, the response I’ve had locally, online and in the giant screen industry has been tremendous, so I think given its very low budget, it will be a big success. But they did not see it that way. However, I made a lot of good connections, got a chance to do some very heavy testing of IMAX film production issues which will greatly benefit Outside In.

Anyone who knows me at all realizes setbacks just motivate me all the more. I’ve already got another grant applications in the mail, two more grants upcoming this fall, two private fund-raising events in two cities where my dad has connections are being planned and a major fund-raising event in early winter here in Greensboro. And don’t forget Team 11!

And there’s more – I have some great new footage to showcase which I aim to generate some great new buzz for Outside In – some very cool “never be done before” stuff. It may seem like Outside In is taking a very long time, but just remember, the average time from start to a release in theaters for a project like this is 8 to 10 years and I’m not even halfway to that.

So, yes a couple of steps back, but good things ahead.

However, “Team 11″ is up and running – today is a great day to put in your $1 a month donation to the film, fully tax-deductible. And, if you donate and/or organize of group of your friends/family/colleagues to donate at least $11 a month, you get official “Team 11″ status and a team name from one of Saturn’s moons. Good moons still available.

If you’ve already got a donation in, starting working on building your team. If you already have a team, expand it. There will be special prizes and credits for the largest teams including producer credit on the film which comes with all sorts of juicy perks.