This is Finish Your Monsters, a weekly blogletter about the creative process. I'm sharing adventures in art and life as well as setting CLIFFHANGER goals for myself, so--

DID I MAKE MY GOAL?

My goal for this week was to get the website for our horror film, Dead Media, up and running.

And I did not fully complete that, but I made some good progress. I’m in the midst of building the website.

It’s a learning curve from the last time I put together a website about 14 years ago.

Nowadays there are many tools to make it easier. Each one of these tools is hidden behind three dropdown menus and each one of those dropdown menus moves around the screen and gets stuck behind the other and the best way to figure out how to do a complicated task like CENTER A DAMN IMAGE is to dig through YouTube help videos until you can’t sleep without being haunted by a chorus of peppy voices chirping, “Hey guys, hey guys, hey guys…”

Anyway, I think a big part of getting work done is being honest with yourself about the emotional work needed to get the task done. I want this to be quick and easy. I want it to work in a way that it doesn’t anymore. And I’ve lost time to being frustrated with the process.

But I’m over the hump now. I’m taking the time to learn how the damn thing works and accepting it. Sometimes you have to spend fifteen hours figuring out how a paint brush works before you can just f’ing paint.

Much more significantly, I’m distracted by what’s going on in my hometown of Minneapolis. The work I need to do requires focus and I keep picking up my phone to make sure my family and friends are okay.

I think most people reading this blog are likely tuned into world news. But if you’re not aware, I’d encourage you to take a few minutes to read up on the violent, cruel, lawless acts of ICE throughout the entire state of Minnesota.

That said, I’m keeping up with my exercise goals, enjoying recording ForceCenter, and other things are rolling forward with Dead Media. Some kind and talented folks are helping me work on booking screenings and I’ve applied to several more film festivals. More on all of that soon, including an announcement about Dead Media’s first film festival screenings!

A NICE THING THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK

My goal with the blogletter this year is to be even more brutally honest. So: This week held very few nice things.

But because of this blog and knowing I needed to report a nice thing I actively made myself do something fun.

When my wife, Sara, works late I often take the opportunity to watch a horror movie. Sara likes some horror, but not all. Since she works in an old mansion she steers very far away from haunted mansion stories.

So I made a frozen pizza, a cocktail, and watched the Criterion Collection of the classic film, The Uninvited.

I find the film inspiring because it so deftly mixes genres. It ranges from a comedy squirrel chase to malignant murder spirits.

Since working on Dead Media, a film about a haunted DVD, I’ve been particularly obsessed with the value of owning physical media. I’d seen the film many years ago on a grainy VHS tape my friend had recorded off of Turner Classic Movies, but I wanted to own the disc because of the bonus features.

The Uninvited features a great visual essay by filmmaker Michael Almereyda. It’s only a half hour, but it was just as moving and powerful as the film itself. Lots of great ideas about how every old film is haunted. The audience, ghost-like, is able to float through this story and observe from a distance people and places that were once vibrant and alive, but now long gone.

The bonus feature inspired some great ideas about the next film I want to make. And the actual film made me think a lot about why I like horror. It’s a classic ghost story. The horror is happening because there’s a truth that needs to be exposed. It’s a situation that forces characters to face the darkness so they can have any chance of finding the light.

We are facing a lot of darkness right now. And I’m happy for the reminder that the more horror is exposed, the better the chance of finding the light.

LIGHT PLUGS

Three light plugs!

DEAD MEDIA MAILING LIST: We’ve got a mailing list for Dead Media. I’m only going to send out messages occasionally with concrete info and asks for help—screening dates, sales news, help getting the word out, etc. You can sign up here if you’re interested!

SHORT FILMS ON YOUTUBE: I had planned on releasing three of the short films I’ve made over the last few years, starting last Thursday, January 8th. With everything going on in Minnesota, I’m going to hold off. I really want to promote these extensively on social media and it just doesn’t feel right at the moment. But it would still be a huge help if you subscribed to my YouTube channel and hopefully it will feel right to put them out soon.

DONATIONS TO DEAD MEDIA: We need all the help we can get for film festival submission fees, advance money to book theaters, etc. Through Film North, you can make a one time tax deductible donation here. Thanks for all the help and support!

MY GOAL FOR THE WEEK--

I feel vexed by this dumb website so I’m sticking with it. So my goal for next week is to get the Dead Media website up and running.

YOUR GOAL FOR THE WEEK--

I would absolutely LOVE to hear what you're working on this week in the comments below. What's your goal? How can I help you literally finish your monsters?

A LITTLE SKETCH--

This week’s sketch is a spirit watching me watch The Uninvited. Because here’s a thing I spend too much time thinking about: If a spirit resided in my apartment, would they be happy with my movie and TV choices? I wish everyone reading this some light in dark times. Thanks again and best of luck with your monsters.