We're delighted to announce that the first February Project of the Week goes to a clever fellow from Minneapolis, MN named Noah C.G Johnson. Noah is a multi-talented filmmaker, actor, writer of short stories, vocalist... and yes, even an IT Pro to boot!
Of his many endeavors, the one that caught our attention was his Celtx project entitled 'august'. When you read the script and view the project, it's evident that Noah has put an amazing amount of effort into the writing and pre-production of this dramatic, modernized adaptation of the Greek myth of Niobe.
I caught up with Noah yesterday and he said that he first envisioned the august project (august: as in the adjective, not the month name) when rereading Bulfinch's Mythology.
"I had read the story of Niobe several times before, and though it had always seemed deliciously chaotic amongst the other Greek myths, it had never really stood out. This time, however, I found myself thinking that this would work wonderfully on a screen- in the same vein as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard.
Immediately I wanted to know more about Apollo and Artemis, the assassins in the story. What forces were driving them to do something so terrible? Would those same forces drive them apart? Drive them to pieces? Were they "bad" personas?
Originally I envisioned the picture as a period piece, much truer in form and dialogue to the original myth, but a friend of mine on hearing the synopsis suggested that I modernize the piece. At first I was hesitant, because I distrust anachronistic pieces as much as musicals, but I found myself daydreaming and actually seeing entire scenes of what the august project has turned into."
Noah plans to bring the project to fruition this summer, shooting in the Twin Cities as his backdrop and make use of the small, but tenacious film community there.
On Celtx Noah says,
"The program has been a tremendous tool for this production and will continue to be. My entire crew will be coordinating through Celtx. I feel that I wouldn't be saying anything overly dramatic by saying that I think Celtx has the potential to change the scriptwriting and pre-production processes as much as Digital Video has revolutionized the production and post-production processes. Thanks be, that it is free!"
Well we couldn't agree with you more, Noah!
We hope you and your crew have a blast on the shoot, and sure hope you'll keep us posted on that release date!
Cheers to You!
Sheila and The Celtx Team
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