Major News: Web Series Logo Unveiled, Roster Expands, Possible Premiere Launch Date

Hey there. This entry is an update on "MOTW: The Web Series", a series of short films that will tie into the full length MOTW movie.

The first bit of news is that there's a logo now associated with the web series, as seen at the start of this post Again special thanks goes out to my friend Bobby from Waveride Entertainment for coming up with yet another cool logo. What I love about this is that it's unique in its own right, yet still has traces of the logo from the MOTW movie.

Now that the web series has it's own identity, the next big news is about the roster of episodes. Originally, the plan was to have nine or ten episodes. Then several more people began to express an interest making the lineup grow even more. That just blows me away. When I first came up with the concept, I figured me and my friends will do a few that will directly link to the main movie and maybe a few friends would chip in with one or two at the most. But, when I realized how many of my friends wanted to take part in this, it occurred to me how cool and exciting this entire project is going to be. I can't thank all those who will be involved in this enough.

Speaking of people, in addition to those who I've mentioned in my last post, I also want to announce that Tony Gardner, Sterling Gazdik and Michael Rhudy has also expressed an interest in doing an episode. With their additions, the roster is now at the 13-15 episode range. Thanks again guys for taking part.

So now comes the question on when will the series begin. Well, if things go the way I think they will, expect it to happen sometime in December. I'm not going to confirm an exact date, but I can say that my plan is to release them every month after that. I'd like it to be like the first Friday of the month, or something along those lines, but it depends on when the episodes will be done. I'll let you know.

Also, plans are in the works for a trailer to promote the series. Again, I'll let you know when it's up. hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

I also want to give a major shout out to Andrew Mitchell, who has come up with what will be the theme music for the series. I heard it and it has what I think will be the good vibe to set the tone for the webisodes. He'll also be one of the contributors for the series as well. Thanks again man!

So that's the web series update. I'll have an update soon on the full length movie, including plans for a new site associated with MOTW. Stay tuned.

Major News: MOTW Web Series Roster Set!

Small but important update. In my last post, I mentioned about the announcement of the MOTW Web Series, a series of several short films that will be set in the universe of the full length film. I told you that I've asked several friends and acquaintances if they would be interested in taking part, and the response has been overwhelming.

Just today, the last spot available for the webisodes has been confirmed and I can proudly announce that the Web Series Roster has been set.

These are the ones who will be writing and/or filming an episode of the series: William Phelps, Armin Stojanovic, Chas Blankenship, Andrew Mitchell, Thomas Gallagher, Thomas Blevins and Thomas Parker.

Each will do one episode. Some will just write the episode, while the others will write as well as film them. Me and my friends will do the rest of the series, which will total out to either ten or eleven episodes.

Through some of the conversations I've had with the guys, they have told me what their ideas will be about, some have even shown me the scripts, and others have told me what effects they plan to do. So far, all of it looks very very cool.

So again guys, thanks for taking part of this. I look forward to helping each and every one of you putting the episodes together. I'll keep you posted on how things progress.

Major News: Announcing MOTW: The Web Series

Hey there.

I am proud to announce a new addition to the movie project:

"Mark of the Wolf: The Web Series"

Now, some are wondering if I had gone back yet again to doing a mini series, which was the case once before. (For those who don't remember my original plans, MOTW started out as a miniseries, then a film, then back to a miniseries and then back again to a film.)

In this case, the answer is no. MOTW will still be a full length film and the concept for it is still in place.

What the web series will be about, however, will be something entirely new.

Before I tell you what it's about, let me begin by saying it all goes back to my phone chat last month with my friend Josh, who'll be playing the lead role in the movie. In our talk, we got to mention what I was looking for him to do as we prepare to start filming next year. Among the things I was looking for was doing another trailer, this time with Josh in the role, since I wanted the audience to start associating him with the movie.

He was all for it, and soon an idea sparked in me. I had several short scripts and ideas to use as groundwork for the trailers for the movie. Some of them I didn't want to go to waste. Also, I was thinking about what will work best for the lead character, give some background that may or may not be used in the movie.

Then I got to thinking about the full scope of the werewolf itself. What if we could touch on other werewolves, some that may be associated with the lead character in the movie or with the film's storyline in general?

So with that in mind, that's when I came up with MOTW: The Web Series.

Here's how it'll be broken down:

--The series will consist of about nine or ten short films, probably ranging between five to fifteen minutes.

--About half of the films will have a definitive link to the main feature. I'm already plan on doing a flashback to the character and maybe even doing something that will serve as a direct prelude to the movie.

--The other films will be ones that will be based in the world the film will be set. So it's a safe bet that you'll see other werewolves in these films. Some will be good. Some may be evil. There may be those you won't know whose side they are on.

--I've come up with several story ideas and I've written some of the stories and will even direct a few. But the others will be handled by several friends of mine who've done some film work of their own and will add their own touches and twists to the ideas I've given them.

--I'll tell you who the directors are in future posts. But I can say that I've already got five commitments set already. So we're halfway there as far as that goes.

--It's too soon to say when you will you see these webisodes. But I can say that they'll probably debut towards the end of the year and on into 2008, just as things ramp up with filming for the main feature. I'll let you know when.

--And when MOTW is completed and the film is available on DVD (and it will be) expect the webisodes to be on the disc as well, along with any behind the scenes footage and extras.

So, that's what the webseries will be about. Sort of an extension to what the main film will be about. I personally think it'll be a cool way to expand on the storyline and the universe that will be seen in the film, especially when it comes to some cool plot points that may be addressed in the actual film itself.

I'll keep you posted on how the web series is developing, as well as the main film itself. But I can tell you 2008 is shaping up to be a very cool year ahead for MOTW.

Oh, one quick note I want to mention. The teaser trailer has now passed the 3,000 view mark on YouTube since it's debut over a month ago. Thanks again to everyone who's seen it and commented on it.

That's it for now. Sometime next month, I'll have another major announcement about MOTW. Probably the biggest when it comes to getting the film up and going. So stay tuned.

Status Update: Teaser Hits 2000, Meetings and Plans

Hey there.

First of all, the teaser trailer for MOTW has crossed the 2000 views mark on YouTube. It reached the milestone on Oct. 4 and is still climbing. I'm very pleased about that, especially for a video that's been up for about a month now. So thanks to all that has viewed it and left comments as well. Keep them coming.

Next, last week I had a very good meeting with my friend Josh about the movie. It was the second meet I had with my lead actor, only this time we chatted on the phone instead of meeting in person. A main part of our meeting was still going over the script and also laying the groundwork for him to become more involved in the promotional efforts. Hopefully soon, you will start to see him in posters, trailers and the like.

And lastly, I've come up with another plan for the movie. Now, I can't say anything about this just yet, because it's still in the early stages, but if it works out it will definitely open things in the MOTW universe.

That's it for now. I'll have another report soon.

The Story behind the MOTW Teaser

September 7, 2007 was a milestone moment in the history of MOTW.

On that day, shortly after 7pm local time, the long overdue teaser trailer for the movie made its world premiere online.

In the three plus weeks since its debut, it's been viewed over 1,700 times on YouTube, which is very impressive. Plus it has been viewed countless times through this blog site and also through my website. That blows me away, especially with the countless amount of videos posted online lately.

Amazing to believe that all of this began way back last December when the idea of the film's teaser first came about. Almost ten months later, it is now a reality, thanks to three people who helped make all of this possible.


So, with that in mind, let me tell you the story of how this teaser all came together.

It all started last December, shortly after the second production meeting where me and Josh (who'll be playing the lead role) talked about the film and what I had in mind.

During the meeting, I brought up the idea of filming a teaser. My initial goal was to shoot some footage of Josh after the meeting and use it to set the stage. But due to a lack of time and people available to help out, we couldn't get together. A few days after looking over the original teaser script, Josh came up with an idea on his own, which I liked. It was that idea that would be the groundwork for the teaser that is playing now.

After coming up with an outline based on that idea, I crafted a script that would be used for the teaser. But, since Josh was out of town and busy with school, he wouldn't be able to film his part. And I wanted to have something concrete to show, to get people's attention about the movie and what I have in mind.

Which brings me to the first person I want to thank for helping make this teaser possible, seen in the photo to the left. He is the one who is pretty much the "face" of the MOTW teaser: Eric Smigiel.

I've known Eric for almost two years now, ever since his work in the two Batman fan films, "Batman Brutality" and Batman Duality", through his film company Smigiel Pictures. Through our chats online and messages in emails and the Batman Fan Films website that we both visit regulary, we became good friends.


When it looked obvious that Josh wasn't going to be able to film anything for the teaser, I ran the idea by Eric to see if he was up for acting in the teaser. After looking the script over, he was interested in helping out and things were underway.

While this was happening, I knew that if I needed to pull this off, I needed someone to help put the transformation shots together. I wasn't looking for a full on transformation (sorry for those who were expecting one), but just enough to show what was happening. For that, I asked another friend of mine -and the second person who helped make this possible- Rob Roy from Wits End Entertainment. I had seen his work in his own werewolf movie, Lycan Colony, and I knew he'd be just the guy to help with the CGI effects I was looking for. Through several emails, Rob was able to help out with that.

Flash forward to March, and Eric, who was busy filming several other projects, was able to film the majority of the footage that you see in the teaser. He filmed it in his hometown, just outside Albuquerque. Once I received the ten plus minutes of footage, I then emailed the video over to where Rob lived, in New Hampshire so that he could work on the effects, giving him tips on what I wanted done. In the meantime, I was hard at work on completing the script for the film.


It wasn't till April that Rob started to send me

short clips of what he did with the footage. Slowly and surely I was starting to see how good the CGI was turning out, especially with showing enough, but not too much of the transformation process, which is what I wanted for the teaser.

The short clips were just that, short. So it was pure torture waiting to hear from Rob on how the footage was coming along and if he had done any new updates. It was getting to a point where I would email him just about every week for an update. "Good work takes time" he told me in one email. I went along with it, but believe me it was brutal, waiting for something new to come in.

Again fast forward a few more months. Rob woud send out several more updates in that time frame. In fact, it took until early August before Rob was able to send out the last bit of footage. During that same time frame, I would get behind the camera myself, filming in some footage of the full moon. Once I got the last of the CGI shots from Rob, I asked Eric if he could do a few pickups to flesh out the teaser. I was very lucky that he could squeeze it in, as he was in the middle of filming yet another movie. But again, he was able to come through.

So by late August, I had all the footage and I began the process of editing the teaser. But I still needed one last piece to make it complete. I needed music. And this is where the third and final person I wanted to thank for making this possible comes into play. His name is Jason Feder and I came across him through the Low Budget Horror Film Society boards -the same place where me and Josh first met up. He had done several bits of horror based music for movie soundtracks and after hearing some of his work, I asked him (way back last year when I originally was planning the miniseries idea) if he could do music for my project. I recently renewed my contact with Jason about using one or two of his cuts instead for the teaser. He agreed and after looking things over, I found two cuts that I can use.

By the way, the music you hear come from not one selection but two. The drumbeats you hear from the start and the end come from his Library collectioin and the music in between is from a selection he calls "Increasing Tension". Nice title, I think.

So once I got the music and everything else, I was able to move to the final step, editing. That was a long, grueling process that took about two and a half weeks to put together. And then, that was it.

Which brings me to September 7 and the official launch. Ever since then, I've gotten a lot of cool comments. Not just from my friends but from other independent filmmakers and fans of the genre. They like what the tone of the movie will be about and they really liked Eric's performance. And just so you know, Eric won't be appearing in the film. Any future trailers will include actual members of the cast. However, I did offer Eric a cameo role, if he can be able to do it.

Of course, not every review has been positive. Some say it's too long for a teaser. Some didn't like parts of the footage or the CGI. They were even some that didn't like the lower case letters or the exclamation points in the graphics. But overall, the response has been overwhelming positive, which is exactly what I was shooting for when this came about last December.

So once again I want to thank the three people responsible for helping me make this a reality. I want to thank Eric for acting and especially being able to squeeze it in with his crowded plate of a schedule. You could've turned me down a million times over, especially with what I was looking for, but you didn't and I can't thank you enough for that. I know you and I will get together for a future project someday. I want to thank Rob for doing the CGI and I hope we can work on the film and any future projects. Best of luck to you on your upcoming works as well. And to Jason, for providing the music clips which was a perfect fit.

I also want to thank all those who've seen the teaser and commented on it. I hope this will give you guys just a taste of what I have planned for the full length feature. And if everything works out the way I hope, you guys haven't seen anything yet.

Major News: MOTW Teaser Trailer WORLD PREMIERE!!!!!!

OK, no more talking, no more excuses, no more delays.



After a long overdue wait, it's time to FINALLY present the teaser trailer for "Mark of the Wolf":

Watch for the story behind the teaser on my next post!

Major News: MOTW Teaser to Premiere This Week!!

Hey there. I have a very short, but important update:

The teaser trailer for MOTW will debut sometime this week!

The rough edit is now complete, clocking in at just over two minutes. All the visual shots have been chosen and now I am moving on to the audio feed, laying down the sound effects and music. Once that's done, it will be ready to go.

That means that sometime this week, the teaser will have its world premiere on the web. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow, maybe even Sunday night at 11:59pm, but it will happen this week for sure.

So that's it for now. The next update I'll post on here will be the biggest yet for the movie.

That's when the long anticipated teaser trailer will debut.

Stay tuned.

Major News: MOTW Teaser Trailer Update: Editing Underway

Small update to the one earlier about the MOTW teaser. I just got the music I needed to put the trailer together. With the footage completed, the editing process has begun.

It won't be long now before the teaser trailer will be finally be released. Stay tuned.

Major News: Teaser Trailer Footage Is Done!!

Hey there.

Big news to report. Footage for the long delayed, long overdue teaser trailer for MOTW has been completed.

I don't want to give too much away for it just yet, but I can say that earlier this week, some last minute pickup shots were done to flesh out earlier material that has been shot.

With the footage now wrapped, I'm waiting on one last element: the music needed for the trailer and then I can begin to edit the footage. In fact I've already started working on a rough cut.

So it won't be long now before the teaser is finally released.

In other news, in case you've noticed the blog site has changed its look somewhat with a new header and an updated poster (with both listing its new release date of 2008) Special thanks once again goes to Bobby of Waveride Entertainment for making the changes.

I'm also looking into setting up a MySpace page as well as an official website for the movie, but the website probably won't be up till next year as we get closer to starting production.

That's the latest right now. But stay tuned as we get closer to the debut of the MOTW teaser!!

Major News: MOTW To Be Released in 2008

Hey there. Just wanted to let you know that after giving it much thought, I want to make this announcement:


Mark of the Wolf will be released sometime in 2008.



Now I know what you're thinking: Is the movie having problems yet again?


This time, I can honestly say... No.


This time around, things are progressing slowly and surely with MOTW. A lot of stuff is happening behind the scenes. My friend Brandon, who's doing the costumes, has started some early work with the masks. So far it looks good. I'm also negotiating with someone who may be doing the physical makeup effects for the movie. It's still not a done deal, but it's looking promising. I'll let you know if it's a go.


Also, as far as cast members go, we're still at three. Only you can subtract one and add one, at least for now anyway. Back when we had our first production meeting in December, Jason, my friend and castmate, introduced me to his friend Dave, who had expressed an interest in taking part in the movie. After our talk, it looked to be a safe bet that Dave was going to play one of the supporting roles.

Well, in the time since then, Jason has told me that Dave has kind of backed off of his interest and hasn't communicated with Jason since then. So hearing that, Dave is no longer part of the cast. But recently, Jason told me about another friend of his, Mike, who is interested in a supporting role. So as of right now, he's aboard. Which means that Josh, who's playing the lead, Jason and now Mike are part of the cast.

The way things are going right now, there's a chance that production may start later on in the fall. But if it does, it'll probably be a few scenes here and there, if that. If nothing else we may do some promotional stuff for the film. The real bulk of the shooting, where the makeup, costumes and other stuff will come into play will happen sometime next spring. So for that reason, the film will be ready to go next year. Which is good, because I want to go into this completely ready and have everything set to go by then instead of having to rush and scramble, which is what crippled the film's development before.

And, slowly but surely, work is coming in for the long overdue teaser trailer. My friend Rob Roy is still working on the effects part of the teaser. But as I've told you before, with each new bit that he sends me, the more I like how it's going. So hopefully it won't be long now before it's done.

So that's the latest right now with MOTW. Again, the film will be done sometime next year, but this time, things are moving along in a positive direction, so I'm not concerned about the delay at all.

Stay tuned. I'll have another update soon.

Status Update: More Photos from the MOTW Teaser

Here's a couple more photos from the upcoming teaser trailer, which is still in post production.

My friend Rob Roy from Wits End Entertainment has been working on the effects for the teaser and was kind enough to send these pics out the other day. I have to say, these effects look cool with each new photo he sends out. I can't thank Rob enough for putting this together.

The big question is: when will it be ready? Hopefully very, very
soon. Rob is currently working on some CGI renders for the teaser as well. And there may be a chance that some more footage could be added to this as well.

So, for the moment, I have to keep things under cloak and dagger for just a while longer. But, if things work out the way I think they will, it will be well worth the wait. Stay tuned.

There will be another behind the scenes update soon.

Major News: MOTW Script Completed!!!!

Hey there, big news to share with you all.

The script for the full length movie is done!

Now, this has been through many, many changes, especially over the past few months. But about a few hours ago, I was able to complete the latest version of the movie script. Now this has nothing to do with the script I had originally done for MOTW when it was still going to be a mini-series, although many elements from that first episode script is still there for the movie version.

What happens next? Well, I've sent it out to my friends Josh and Jason who will be acting in the movie, as well as select others who may be helping out behind the scenes. There probably be some slight changes to the script as we get closer to filming. But essentially, the main storyline will remain the same.

I'm proud with how this script has turned out. Almost as proud as I am over a decade ago when I first wrote out the original storyline for MOTW. Hopefully, what I've written out will transfer into something worth seeing when this is all done.

That's it for now. More news coming soon.

New MOTW Teaser Poster Unveiled

Hot off the heels of the release of photos from the MOTW teaser trailer, still a work in progress, comes a brand new teaser poster based on the photos. You can see it posted to the left.

Special thanks goes out to Bobby from Waveride Entertainment for putting this together so quickly.

Status Update: First Photos from the MOTW Teaser

Hey there.

Wanted to give you a quick update on MOTW.

Here to the left are the first set of photos from the movie's teaser, which is currently in post production.

Now there's still a lot of work ahead before the teaser is finally
ready, but as these two photos clearly show, things are certainly moving along.

I also want to take this moment to give a huge thank you to Rob Roy for doing the effects work for the teaser. Thank you so much Rob for helping out with this and I can't wait to see the rest of your work.

That's the latest for now. More to come soon.

Major News: Work Underway for NEW Teaser Trailer

Hey there. It's been a while since my last post. But I want the posts to be significant updates as we slowly move towards making this movie.

So here's the first of what I hope will be many updates this year.

As I type this, work is underway for the new teaser trailer for MOTW.

And when I say work is underway, I don't mean filming has begun. Because filming was completed almost two weeks ago, thanks to a good friend of mine.

Production for the teaser has moved on to the next promising step: special effects work is going on right now, as I've sent clips of the footage to a friend of mine who will put the effects together.

Once that's done, I'll will edit it all together and finally, the first hints of my long gestating movie project will be revealed to the masses. Now that's all I'll say about it for now. I'll talk more about it once it's released.

So, the big question is: when will it be released?

I don't want to say a specific date, because if there's one thing I've learned while putting this movie together, is to not set a date. But, if everything comes together and I'll be edit it the way I think it'll look, then possibly sometime in the end of April is when it will be revealed. Either way, when it's done and ready, I'll let you know.

In other MOTW news: It's looking like we'll start production of the film in late fall, probably in September. My friend Josh, who's playing the lead, will be done with school in Florida by then and that will give us ample time to prepare for the film. We'll meet up sometime this summer to pin down an exact date.

Also, the latest version of the script is about 65-70% done. If things work out, it will be completed in April.

I'm now looking at opportunites to raise the funds for the movie. I'm looking at several possibilites. I'll let you know what I decide soon.

That's the latest for now. I'll have more updates throughout the month.

2007: The Year of MOTW

Hey there.

A brief update of things since my last post, before I talk about what I have planned for MOTW this year.

-Conducted another meeting last month (Dec. 17th), this time with Josh, who'll be playing the lead role. It was a good meeting, basically to hear what he thought of the story and what he can bring to the part. I like the fact that he's willing to do a lot for the role and also that he's willing to help in other aspects of the movie as well, which is going to so crucial if we're going to get this film done and out there.

So, now that we're in a new year, it's time to look ahead to what I think will be an eventful, crazy year for this movie. Now, these things are subject to change at anytime, so none of this is set in stone, but here's an early timetable for what's to come:

--January-February: Continuing to work on the script. I'm working on the latest draft of it now, and it's about 55% done. I'm still looking for a new opening segment of the film, something unlike the other films that's out there, so that'll probably be changing a lot between now and the time we actually film. But my goal is to have this draft completed by the end of February if not sooner.

--February: Again, I'm hopeful that by this time, we'll have some kind of promotional teaser trailer up and out there for the film. I was hoping that we could get something done in December through our meetings, but due to bad scheduling and/or timing, we didn't get any footage done. But, I do have a backup plan and hopefully if it works out, we'll have some footage to work with and have some kind of teaser out by the end of the month.

--January-May: This will be when all the pre-production stuff will really kick into gear. Things like raising funds, finalizing storyboards, scouting for locations, will be taking place in that time. I'll also be looking for people to help out with makeup, music, cameras, actors, you name it. I'm going to be following any leads and tips when it comes to putting this together, so if you know someone that will help with this, please let me know.

--May-August:Tenatively, this will be the period where we'll begin production. We still haven't confirmed an actual shooting schedule. But I would like to devote one week to getting all, if not the majority of the filming done. If we can't get all of it done in that one week, then there will be time to get pickups and whatever else necessary to complete the footage. My estimate is that this will be roughly a 90-minute movie.

--August-September: Post-production. Editing the footage, putting together the score and the look of the film as well as releasing trailers will be happening during this time.

--October: If things go well, post production will be completed by then. And if that's the case, then I want to premeire this movie right around Halloween weekend. A lofty goal, but that's what I'm shooting for.

After that, we're going to send it out to film festivals, competitions, whatever to promote this movie. Once that's settled and done, then I'll be releasing the movie to the masses.

Like I said, all of this is tenative and is subject to change. But I'll definitely keep you posted on that.

Also, during that time frame, I'll be planning to release an official website for the movie. And, I'm also toying around with the idea of doing a video log of the film's progress from start to finish.

So, that's what I project what 2007 will be like for MOTW. A lot is going to happen, so stay tuned. The best is yet to come.