McCarren Park at New York FIlm Festival Convergence

On September 29, The New York Film Festival Convergence Track will be featuring two sessions on McCarren Park. These sessions will be the premiere of the feature film content (abridged and annotated for your viewing pleasure) and YOU CAN STILL ATTEND.

Whether your interest is simply the ironic pleasure of seeing an Ed Wood style Hipster-Dinosaur Movie at Lincoln Center or you are a die hard fan of elaborate multiplatform comedies, you should get your tickets now while they last.

Our Two Sessions are:

McCarren Park Part I: Hipster Dinos, Transmedia, and Producing Something for Nothing

2pm Saturday, September 29

A selection of scenes in the first half of the narrative will be combined with lessons learned creating the feature for under $3500.00  How do you inspire collaborators to engage in your story world? What are some tactics that worked on this project and others to build an audience and to get that audience to add their own content into the story world? How do you create a story that can translate from one platform to another? How do you do that without a huge budget? Finally, what are the barriers to production on a miniscule budget and how can you overcome them? and immediately following, with the second half of the narrative

and immediately following with the second half of the story:

McCarren Park Part II: Hipster Dinos, Transmedia, and How to Get Noticed Without Paying For It

4pm Saturday, September 29

The means of creating new stories and distributing them have never been more available to so many people. For most, these techniques mean making something, instead of never making anything at all.  In this session, a selection of scenes in the second half of the film McCarren Park—an interactive, educational transmedia experience available on phones, the internet, and via a card game - will be combined with lessons on how to expand your story and get noticed without a huge studio infrastructure. Once you have your story together, how do you choose platforms to expand it? What are the benefits of expanding your story versus adapting footage and scenes to new spaces? What are the benefits of working on multiple platforms with a limited budget?

 For More information on NYFF Convergence's incredible slate of projects check out their website

Re-branding

Hey Everyone,

We've got some big news and some hard news.

We're changing our name and logo, to....

And here you thought it couldn't get more hipster-y, hipsterish, like unto the hair of a hipster on 2am on Saturday when the beat drops...

More details on that in the rebranding chapter of our book (in progress) . But keep an eye out for more changes in the pipeline as we adjust to the new paradigm. Meanwhile, don't think for a second this means that the hipster-dinosaur fun is over... this is only the beginning.

Vote for us in the SXSW Panel Picker!

For SXSW 2013, JPS has submitted two ideas to the Panel Picker. 1) for SXSW Interactive Hipsters & Dinosaurs– JPS: Austin a workshop to show how to make a similar transmedia production on a low budget, and 2) SXSW Film: JPS: Austin Edition where we’d be presenting an entirely new story in our story world taking place in SXSW created by artists from the workshop and SXSW at large for the Moveable Feast Mobile Media mobile catalog.

WE NEED YOUR VOTES!

It’s free and you can control the future of countless potential panelists, but most importantly, you can help us take this story to other nexuses of hipsterdom.

Learn more about JPS on Tribeca Film Institute's Future of Film Blog

 

Films with original content on multiple platforms aren’t the exception anymore; they’re the rule. JPS is a comedy and curriculum for transmedia production.

The P.A.: The Production Assistant

For our dear P.A.'s birthday, we have decided to profile one of the most thankless jobs in show business (don't worry grips and craft services, you'll get your day in the sun, someday. )

Before we get into some real analysis, here is an ode to our very beloved, much appreciated P.A. by Jurassic Park Slope writer, producer and actor, Steele Filipek.

P.A.’s are but a dime a dozen, most

So many are such tools, their class be dearth

But let us raise our glasses high in toast

To he who one night proved his worth

Forsooth, the Michael Watson held the boom

Which no one ask-ed for, but none denied

Were grateful, we, though we did not but choose

To whine on how his arms did shake and slide

How little we did know of this man’s balls

For in that night, eight hours passed us by

We bitched and fought, but lo, so tall

Did Mike still stand, a-smile, with arms on high

So here’s to you, with love, our great P.A.

You put up with such shit? No words allay.

There now that we've gotten through the high art, we're posting embarrassing photos.

Here is our P.A. getting a hot dog. See we told you there'd be craft services.

Now, the Production Assistant on a small-crew project like ours has to wear many hats, literally, on one day he wore like 4 hats at once because we didn't have a wardrobe rack. The P.A.'s job is usually to do whatever people tell them to and to learn. These folks are usually just getting into the business and while the hours are long and the responsibilities many, the P.A. usually gets to see a wide swath of all the parts of the production as they run around doing what is required of them.

The Producer's Guild of America actually offers courses in P.A.ing for future members which are incredibly helpful for both learning how to do the best job possible and getting into the business. While we would love to have been able to pay a P.A. to join our crew, ours and most other P.A.s are working on set as unpaid internships or for college credit.

Michael, our P.A. is a film student at Ithaca College who approached us and was able to find the time to help us out on set last Summer. He got to do all the glamorous things one expects from Production Assisting, not being listened to when offering script advice; getting yelled at by passersby as he attempted to divert them around filming on the street (he was very polite, some P.A.'s aren't, they should be to people they're inconveniencing). Helping to fit costume pieces, even making cameos as a dinosaur.

He was attacked three times, twice by dinosaurs once by another actor.

For his trouble, he gets credit on the film. Invitations to all our sexy parties, and our undying gratitude.
He also got to experience the unparalleled excitement of working with Stars.

A huge volume in film has worked as a Production Assistant at one time or another, it's a great opportunity to see how you'll get along on set and if the job is really for you. It's a great opportunity to meet people who you may be able to work with in the future. The responsibilities vary wildly from project to project but it's one of the few low-barrier-to-entry jobs in production and it's worth taking a look at if you're just coming into the field.

Meanwhile, Happy Birthday Michael! We adore you, you're awesome, and we're sorry we made you carry things so much, but not really. Thanks!

We Need Your Music!

Calling all Musicians!

You have a band! We have a movie! Want to team up?

Jurassic Park Slope hopes so. Our hot-shot (read: heavily inebriated) producers are looking for a few good artists to contribute music to our app in time for our mid-April launch. There will be cross-promotion, direct links to contributor’s site, and reaching JPS’s broad (and growing) fanbase. What’s not to like?

WHY DO YOU CARE?

We are looking for musicians and bands who might be interested in contributing to our soundtrack in exchange for cross-promotion and IMMORTALITY IN FILM™. Your MP3 will be directly linked to online and in-app to drive people to purchase your music, that you will retain ownership of and all we ask is that we can use it in our movie and our online/mobile components. An Opportunity to be part of a soundtrack release is also on the table. This whole projects promises to be more fun than you can shake a stick at… unless that’s your thing, in which case, shake away.

We’d need MP3’s and we need them in the next three weeks. This projects rocks so hard it's fossilized, so if you have a band or even if you "have a band". Contact us at Jurassicparkslope@gmail.com for more details!

-The JPS Team

Hipsters are Voters Too.

Friend of the Film, George Martinez is Running for Congress in Brooklyn's 7th District, Find out More at www.JurassicParkSlope.com

Bum Rush the Vote and Get the Dinosaurs Out of Brooklyn.

When Dinosaurs Roamed the Burg... The Land Before Rhyme

Jurassic Park Slope: The Land Before Rhyme

On December 3, an event 65 million years in the making will culminate in the MOST IMPORTANT DINOSAUR HIPSTER PARTY EVER.

In a new space in Brooklyn, live bands, burlesque dancers, hip hop politicians and the combined forces of Jurassic Park Slope will create an experience not to be missed. Also you will drink at it.

Doors open at 9:30
Suggested Donation $7, ($5 in costume)

254 Irving Ave, Brooklyn
Between Greene Ave & Bleecker St
Across from Verde Coal Oven Pizza

Off the Myrtle-Wyckoff Station (L, M)
Acts include: Derrek Karg (indie, acoustic), Igor's Egg (Sci-Fi Adventure Rock), the Global Block Collective, performing Occupation Freedom: OWS Hip Hop Anthem and other songs (www.globalblock.org / @occupyfree), The Baron Joseph CR Vorteque (electronic, dance, awesome), 23 (dubstep, "synergetic paroxysm of anarchic bliss), Aesis Sui'Generis (Fantastic beats to inspire your mind and move your ass), DJ Wyser (EBM, Industrial).
The Jurassic Park Slope Cast will be shooting scenes live and YOU can be a part of the action.  The Honorable George Martinez – the Endorsed Candidate of Jurassic Park Slope, everyone's favorite Velociraptor Awareness candidate will be in attendance and performing! Djs! Dancers! Fun Loving Sauropods! Cheap Drinks (with ID)!

Come be a part of the fossil record.
_________________________

Want to be a part of the magic?


Interested parties should contact jurassicparkslope@gmail.com

July 14 Meetup

Join us July 14, Thursday night, for Booze and Hot Dogs at The Gibson

8:30 pm
Bedford Ave and N 11th St

Check out more details on Facebook and Twitter. 

Post-Shooting Drinking, also, Shooting YOU!!

Principal Shooting on Jurassic Park Slope is beginning, and with that in mind, Principal Drinking on Jurassic Park Slop is about to begin.

Please Join us and selected cast members after our very first shoot for drinking and improvisational shooting (with cameras). 

YOU TOO can be in Jurassic Park Slope. You can also drink with us, which is pretty good too. 

 

Time	Thursday, July 7 · 8:30pm - 11:30pm
Location	Bedford Ave "L" Train Stop

 
Stay tuned to the facebook page and twitter feed (@jurassicparkslo) for updates on our location.

Characters on Twitter

Source http://gapingvoid.com

Did you know that 5, that's right 5! of our characters have been on twitter for three months? It's pretty neat. Not only are they tweeting, but they are doing things together, living, loving, partying, testing the very light fixtures of the forth wall.

So check them out, either on this fabulous Twitter List  or as individuals:

Writer, lover of dinosaurs, and whipped. Always up for a beer or a party...

 @drdinosaurbones

Ramblings about things you've never heard of by someone you've probably never met.

                 @Axeshuun
        

                                 you can also find him at 
                                 http://nftgu.tumblr.com/

Social Media Intern by day, Paleobotany superstar by night! Check out my blog.

       


                          @BotanyandClyde

you can also find her at
http://botanyandclyde.tumblr.com/

Your Source for All Thing Chaos. Follow Me... closely.

                @ Chaosuave

                                 you can also find him at 
                                 http://nftgu.tumblr.com/








  

Hackers don't use twitter, really.

                                @iVegetarian

Thursday, February 24--- LIVE ON THE INTERNET

Hey there Jurassic Park Slopers,

We're taking over February's New York Transmedia Meetup, presenting both our first piece of narrative content and our producer, Caitlin Burns will be talking about what we're doing, how we're doing it and how it benefits you.  YOU SHOULD MAKE TIME TO SEE THIS SOMEHOW!

How do you see this?

• You can see if you can get one of the remaining spots to see it LIVE! you must RSVP and it's nearly full.
• You can attempt to watch it with binoculars from a nearby rooftop (not recommended)
• You can attempt to rappel down the wall of the building to watch through the windows (really not recommended)
• OR you can watch it for FREE on the livestream: http://www.livestream.com/transmedianewyorkcity 

If you watch it from the livestream, you'll also want to keep twitter open because there will be EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that will only be available through twitter, (#transmedianyc) providing an entirely additional user-experience provide to you at absolutely no cost, because we're awesome like that.

Twitter is Character Building.

 For our next event on the 24th at the NYC Transmedia Meetup, we're launching some in-story social media. We are staring small, we have two characters committed to the social media launch, with some others floating around who may want to join in and may decide to hold off.

The two characters we're featuring will be those in the scene we're presenting; along with an interview with our Producer, Caitlin Burns, about what we're doing in the context of larger independent features. We're not going to talk about the specifics of those characters right now; though those of you brave and savvy enough to start with them early and start chatting with them on twitter could do so.

What we're going to talk about today is relevant as we go into production- Beginning to develop characters with actors.


First off: Actors!!!

Look at them, ACTING.

For those of you who are just starting out with directing, writing or producing, the idea of actually putting your master-work into the hands of actors can be daunting. It can be well neigh terrifying. This is especially true if you plan on doing some sort of social media. If you can get your actors on board to take some of the burden off writers and actually play with your twitter feeds, blogs, and so on, not only can you do more things, update more often and expand your property... you can do some of the work that usually only comes during rehearsals remotely.

Here are 10 reasons why In-Narrative Twitter Feed Collaborations are awesome:

1. Twitter collaboration between director, writer, and actor allows for character development that becomes part of your story's canon.
2. Twitter feeds are fun for your fans and let you flesh out your fictional character's interests.
3. Feeds can allow actors, writers and directors to playtest character directions with fans before putting them into scenes.
4. Twitter feeds allow productions to include sponsors and promote events and products associated with your I.P.
5. Twitter feeds and blogs can exist when no other new content is available, allowing fans to be involved in properties they love while production is happening, or between releases.
6. Actors, Directors and Writers can collaborate with other characters from other narratives to cross-promote and play.
7. Story elements can be seeded and explored prior to content releases.
8. Fans can develop strong affinities and direct relationships with your characters and storylines.
9. Fans and audience members can pose ideas that can be woven into the canon of your narrative.
10. Twitter Feeds will bring attention to your property that you would not get otherwise, building your audience and potentially garnering press attention.
    

Here are 5 pitfalls to look out for:

1. Figure out how much time each person is willing to put towards the social media project at the beginning and be realistic-- Be aware that twitter and other types of blogging involve timestamps and so, are a different type of time commitment.
2. Set up a hierarchy of approvals-- Producers and Directors must be able to administrate content, and be the ultimate arbiters of the content presented.
3. Establish guidelines for content early-- Know how much profanity, how far you want to take jokes, and what is and isn't appropriate at the outset and make sure people know those baselines.
4. Expect that your opinions may change-- Whether you're the director, actor, writer or producer, what you think about the content online will probably change a lot over the course of the production. Productions on the Internet have an organic quality that is often better to embrace than fight.
5. Set up regular meetings to talk about the twitter/blog system's process and to resolve disagreements-- Hopefully you'll avoid a bunch of angry text messages from 4 different people when you're out to dinner... or away from a computer. Problems WILL crop up, everyone should know there is a time and place to deal with them.

At the end of the day, online narrative collaborations can be a lot of fun, just remember that a smart person learns from their mistakes and that a wise person learns from the mistakes of others. With that in mind, tell me what we've forgotten from your own experiences in the comments.

+1 Contest!

OUR WINNER!!!!

See all of you who are legally allowed to be drinking at the Brooklyn Alehouse at about 7ish.

Runners Up:

Happy Holidays from Hipster Hecklers!

As the year draws to a close we want to thank you, our fans, with something special. 

Once struck by this realization we were struck by a second realization, it's cold out right now and the only group less likely than Dinosaurs to be caught dead outside when its cold is hipsters.

With that in mind, to aid your likely drunken holiday revels with a touch of the Saurian and the Hip, and ideally a liberal sprinkling of Awesome...

Please enjoy our,

Holiday Finger Puppet Spectacular!

And have a Happy New Year.

The George Martinez Write-In Campaign: How To...

To see more about George Martinez, visit JurassicParkSlope.com

George Martinez Profile and Interview

As we embark on our very first piece, an Election Special! we're going to take a bit of time to tell you just how it came about:

Firstly, you're going to ask. How on earth did you get a political candidate to do a piece on Velociraptor Awareness? Our answer is... It's a little surprising we're the first ones to do so.

The second thing you're going to ask is, wait, he is really running for office? and he decided to do a Velociraptor Awareness spot? The answer is yes and yes, George Martinez was and is seriously running for office in New York's 12th Congressional District. Election day is Tuesday, November 2, 2010.

If you'll note, this is pretty much exactly the core of hipness in New York City and a breeding ground for creatives of all stripes. Obviously, George Martinez is a man who knows his potential constituents.

Our only regret is that we were unable to get this sort out before the Democratic Primary, because he was unable to raise the funds and assemble the full number of signatures necessary to get his name on the ballot for election. More on all that can be found at our Interview on the core site, which goes into depth on how one runs for office, how to get involved and the specific troubles faced in the 2010 campaign.

But on to production... since this is the production blog and all. Once we had gotten George and his campaign on board, we drafted the script with campaign staff and George to reflect both the most meaningful issues in his campaign and the funniest material possible. We think we succeeded.

From there we shot the whole thing in two mornings. The piece one day and then the interview after we had a chance to chat further after shooting the spot. We borrowed a camera from a friend (who we love dearly, watch her movie!!!!) had another friend do the tape transfer (you still haven't told me what baked good you want in barter-C) and then edited the whole thing on the iMovie software that came with a laptop, though we're considering updating that to a newer version.

The final bit of magic came when one of our colleges, Adam Nash, watched the roughs over my shoulder and created the sound effects out of the goodness of his heart.

We hope you like the spot as much as we do it was very fun to make and we hope it inspires you to do something, even and especially if it's to throw down and help us out with Jurassic Park Slope, or even better, to help George Martinez after the election organize in and around the Brooklyn community, or to get involved wherever you may be.

Murray Phone Update!

 You all know the Murray Phone, our wondrous cellular/mobile device we use to keep up with Bill Murray and all those who pose as him! So far, our persistence is paying off...

MESSAGES LEFT ON THE MURRAY PHONE

• 8 calls from a collection agency for Crystal Kalhowicz
• 1 Quick Hang-Up
• 1 Call consisting of someone shouting, "NERDS!" and then hanging up.

Thanks for all those who have contributed!

[Ed. Note: there was also a very sweet text message from someone with a 720 area code that said the following: If I were Sir William Murray, I'd totally want to be in your movie. Good Luck! Thank you 720, you warm our nerdy hearts]

Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical: our Review

If you're a fan of Dinosaurs, Watching Things, Comedy or Life in General (and I hope you're a fan of at least one because otherwise why are you here?) you will LOVE Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical. 

Currently playing as part of the New York International Fringe Festival, this musical is utterly phenomenal. The JPS team went last night and ENDANGERED OUR VERY LIVES FROM LAUGHTER. It was that funny. For those of you who didn't go with us, or those of you who live too far away and are not committed enough to Dinosaur Comedies to fly in to NY just to see a play that may or may not be sold out by the time you get here, you can read below the observations of Steele Filipek and Caitlin Burns, Producers of Jurassic Park Slope and former students of THEATRE! reviewing the whole thing here, right now, once I stop typing this paragraph and start typing the rest of this post:


Caitlin Burns:
Now for those of you who haven't read our somewhat redundant posts about who we are and how we started working together on hilarious comedy and high concept transmedia, Steele and I met on our very first day of college both of us wide-eyed students of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and both of us excited about the prospect of working on proper high minded legitimate theatre. I was an acting student with an eye towards design and producing, and Steele was a part of the Dramatic Writing Department. We became fast friends, watched a lot of B-movies and were involved in many productions of varying degrees of seriousness and nudity. So when we go to a play we go with the same sort of commitment to tearing it apart as insufferable film majors (you know who you are). Rarely is a piece of work so amazing and wonderful that it lives up to the expectations we set up for it before entering the Theatre.

Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical lived up to our highest expectations 

and melted our faces off with awesome no less than 6 times.

Steele Filipek: 

You thought you knew the story of Jurassic Park... but that was the book or movie or video game or comic book or what have you... with a "K". Jurassic Parq takes your preconceived notions of dinosaurs running rampant and their sexual identities and boldly splices in Jazz Dance, Glitter and Frog DNA. To describe it further would be an injustice. Rest assured that it is the best off-Broadway Broadway Dinosaur Musical I have ever seen.

Caitlin Burns:

The sheer breadth of inside jokes that we will now be bandying about the office from this single play is probably enough to justify some sort of disciplinary action by our employers, and yet we CANNOT STOP. Also, on a personal joke, I really really really want to thank them for suggesting that there was a Tyrannosaurus Rex named Caitlin. Best use of my name in years. The choreography was super-incredibly well done and I can never watch Law & Order: SVU again without thinking of Mary Ellen Ashley as the Velociraptor of Science.

Steele Filipek:

That is not to say there are no flaws with the play. The structure was off at a few points and a couple of the jokes were either eaten by laughter or died on the spot.

Caitlin Burns:

I'd say eviscerated really, I think you're student of Dramatic Writing! it out a bit here.

Steele Filipek:

Fair Enough, these are but quibbles. As long as you go into Jurassic Parq, with a "q", with an open mind and possibly a little bit of booze in your gizzard you're going to party like it's the Mesozoic Era. I now realize that that was a really lame joke.

Caitlin Burns:

That's Ok, Steele. I'd like to take this opportunity to nominate Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical for the Tony Award for Best Use of Sparkly Glitter. 

Steele Filipek:

As Glitter: The Musical will not be premiering until early 2011 I'd say this musical is the early frontrunner for that award. 

Caitlin Burns:

With that in mind, we'll be covering a finger puppet in sequins and sending it off to you, Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical, just as soon as you contact us with your name, address and bank account information.

Steele Filipek:

Thank you, Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical, for not stealing all our ideas.

Caitlin Burns:

Yes, you did a fantastic job of not stealing our ideas or covering any of the ground we plan to cover while having absolutely no contact with us whatsoever. =)

If you're anywhere near New York, you should go see Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical before it closes which means this Friday at 4pm. 

Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical Writer: Emma Barash, Marshall Pailet, Bryce Norbitz and Steve Wargo Director: Marshall Pailet Choreographer: Hayley Podschun Boldly re-imagined and retold from the perspective of the dinosaurs, Jurassic Parq is an unflinching meditation on gender, sexual, and racial identity in an evolving landscape destined to stun you with its importance. And you should probably see it drunk. 1h 20m   Local   Manhattan, NYC  Musical   Performance Art  Staycation: Fantasy Island Excursion   Absurdly Surrealist Dream  www.JurassicParq.blogspot.com  VENUE #7: The Ellen Stewart Theatre @ LA MAMA           Fri 20 @ 7  Sat 21 @ NOON  Sun 22 @ 6:15  Wed 25 @ 7:45  Fri 27 @ 4

When Dinosaurs Roamed the Burg, was fun, more to come, leave us alone about it for a minute... geez.

So we've been slow getting footage up from When Dinosaurs Roamed the Burg... so sue us it's HOT out. We'll be announcing our next event in the coming week so check back in.

But, in the interest of sating your ravenous hunger for Jurassic Park Slope, here are 3 videos to tease you, and to let you know you really should have been there.







Also, as a note, all the hilarious and appropriate music was diegetic, in fact, the entire day was accompanied by a fantastic variety of sound effects and tracks that came up at precisely the right moment... suspicious? yes. For those of you watching our antics at home because one of us may have been born into a reality show... hi!