As a newsletter subscriber, you get to see the sizzle reel first:
The music you hear in the video is an all-new original theme for The Shadow, composed by longtime collaborator Josh White. He and I have been working on this reel for about four months, and I’m pretty proud of the way it turned out. I think it’s the best trailer we’ve done together.
For the video, the goals I set for myself were:
highlight my 15+ years of filmmaking experience
in a way that demonstrates to The Shadow fandom the look and feel I’d bring to my adaptation
and do it all in about 60 seconds.
As I explained to a coworker, I want to show I know how to make films.
“I’m not a nobody,” I said. “Well, I mean, I am a nobody.”
“You’re a nobody with some credentials,” my coworker said.
I like that! I might add it to my bio.
Do you think the reel accomplished the goals I set? I’d love to hear your feedback.
I was really excited to share the sizzle reel this week. I’m going to try not to let losing my job spoil that excitement.
On a personal note, I was laid off this week from my “survival” job. I’ve been a Writer/Producer in the Creative Services department at a TV station for a little more than 12 years. Of course, part of me wants to be angry about being let go, but the truth is that broadcast has been struggling in recent years. The logical part of my brain saw the writing on the wall quite a while ago.
Still, it sucks.
You know, I’ve been working hard the last couple of weeks to finish the sizzle reel for the October newsletter. I was excited to share it with you all, and take the next step in making The Shadow. Now, I’ve lost my job, and it makes me wonder: What does this mean for The Shadow fan film?
Nothing. That’s my hope.
Obviously, I’ll have to look for a new job, but up until now, I’ve done everything while working full-time. All that’s changing is that my new full-time job is looking for work. I’ll keep making The Shadow in my free time.
Also, a friend of mine pointed out that I should keep working on it if it makes me happy, and it does. As I said, I was really excited to share the sizzle reel this week. I’m going to try not to let losing my job spoil that excitement.
With that said, I hope to reveal the promotional image for The Shadow Kickstarter page very soon. Of course, I’ll share it here in the newsletter first, before anywhere else. Outreach to The Shadow fandom will intensify after that.
If you haven’t followed the film on Kickstarter yet, please consider doing so now:
Just click the “Notify me on launch” button.
Finally, I wanted to share a few articles I wrote for my Substack. My post “What I learned from the actor who threatened to steal my movie (in my own home!)” got more views than my last newsletter. Here are a few you might be interested in:
Thanks for reading, and I’ll speak to you soon!
Sincerely,
Jacob