Festival Bound with "Missing"

The One-Sheet for "Missing"

I am excited to announce that our latest short film "Missing" has been selected as an official entry at the 2012 Film North International Film Festival in Huntsville, Ontario.  This is the third year for the festival, and we were selected out of over 100 submissions as one of 42 films that will be screened over the three festival that will take place September 20 to 22, 2012.

Back in 2010, we were fortunate to be a part of the innagural festival, where "The Lake" won the award for Best International Short.  I had some family and friends there when I presented the movie and Patrick Gilbert joined me later in the day for the awards ceremony and after-party.  It really is an amazing, festival and after the great time and the great hospitality we received at the 2010 festival, I am really looking forward to being back in Huntsville, and a part of Film North's truly unique celebration of cinema.

Film making is a laborious process, one filled with commitment and passion, but it is an awarding one as well.  For me, the true joy of film making is the ability to share my storiies in a unique fashion with a broader audience.  Being in a darkened theatre and seeing our work on a big screen, with an audience full of people, is a truly rewarding experience.  I have yet to see "Missing" with an audience, but I have seen "The Lake" at festivals in North Bay, Sudbury, and Huntsville.  Seeing the reactions of the audience as the story unfolds is an electrifying experience, especially when you are able to see how complete strangers react to our work.  It is one thing to see family and friends react but let's face it, for better or for worse they tend to be a little biased.

 Accepting the Best International Short Award in 2010.

One of the great things about this year's festival, is that there will be an impressive amount of North Bay talent represented.  I will be there to represent "Missing" of course, but there are also a pair of other films in the competition with North Bay connections, both of which Kevin Hoffman worked on:  Jim Calarco's "One Wish", and Lewis Hodgson's "Morning Zomibies" (which Patrick Gilbert also worked on). 

It's going to be a great time for sure, and it is nice knowing that there will be three very different, unique and dinstinct films screening at the festival that will showcase the amazing amount of talent that Northern Ontario, and North Bay in particular have to offer.

I love the festival expereience.  The opportunity that a festival like Film North presents, especially the ability to discuss the process of telling stories on film, is truly unique.

I am a huge lover of cinema, and as much as it has always been a dream of mine to be a bigger part of the industry, it is a great feeling knowing that festival juries approve enough of my work to present my projects to a wider audience.  It is also cool having my own quiet little corner on IMDB (the Internet Movie Database) where I have credits as an Actor, Producer, Director, and most importantly, a Writer.

I look forward to the day where I have the resources and finances to do this full time, and to be a fixture on the global film festival circuit, but for now, I am thrilled that my work will once again be presented to an audience of unknowns.  And with any luck, a few friends, family, and supporters.  I hope to see you all there.

The festival runs from September 20 to 22, 2012.  No official screening dates are available at the moment, but when they are, I will let you know...

Thanks again for all the support! 

Writers' Block Turns Into Film

The opening scene of About The Girl, shot in late September

at the mouth of Duchesnay Creek.

Writers' Block Turns Into Film

DAWN CLARKE
Community Voices
North Bay Nugget


Mike Humble turned writers' block into an award-winning screenplay ... About The Girl.

He admits he was writing a novel when he came to a gap in the story.

He put the novel on hold and turned his attention to a writing the screenplay, a first film for Somerset Productions.

"I've since finished the novel, but I thought making a film would be different," he said. "It was different; it was a whole different challenge. I thought having others involved would give me accountability to finish it."

So he turned to his friend Patrick Gilbert.

Mike and Patrick started Somerset Productions about eight years ago when they were working on a comic book.

"It didn't go anyhwere, but we have a single copy of a cool comic book, which is kind of fun to have."

Mike admits About The Girl was initially an exercise to see if they could make a film.

The duo brought in their friend Kevin Hoffman and recruited a lot of other friends to do sound, acting, and background. But still, there were problems and the crew quickly experienced its first excercise in creative problem solving.

They had been filming under a bridge on Main Street West.  the weather was bad and the wind continued to blow all day.

It wasn't until they started looking at the footage that they realized that the microphone cord had banged against a post for the duration of the shoot.

Patrick Gilbert, Ed Regan, and Kevin Hoffman prepare to film

a scene at the parking garage in downtown North Bay.

"We re-recorded all the audio inside and synced the actual script to what we were doing on screen and then built in actual layers of ambient noise like cars passing by, busses in the distance, and a little bit of rain," Mike said. "It was the first big challenge we had to overcome."

Because most of the cast and crew had day jobs and families, scheduling became an issue.

Filming started in September when the trees were green, but by the time it was finished the trees were bare and three inches of snow fell the night before the final day of shooting.

the entire length of King's Wharf had to be shovelled so the scene could be shot.

"It was a testament to our commitment to get our scene," said Mike.

There was one more step before About The Girl would be ready.  Mike sent it to a friend in New Liskeard.

"He wrote the music for it and it made the world of difference," he said. "You tend to think of film as a visual media, but you realize very quickly sound is just as important as what is on the screen."

Everyone was excited about the final product and they realized it was much different than they had anticipated. They decided to tak a chance and submit it to film festivals.

"We won best cinematography at the Northern Ontario Film and Music Awards," he said. "we were up against an Imax film about the Great Lakes and the rest were all heavily granted with government and BRAVO money.  It inspired us to keep working at it."

That was just the beginning for Somerset Productions. The follow up film was The Lake, which proved to be a bit more ambitious than its predecessor.

"We had a whole scene set in the 50s which presented a series of unique challenges," said Mike. "We went to Canadian tire on a Tuesday and recruited some of the vintage cars and we rented a few vintage bathing suits from a costume house in Toronto."

Bob Clout agreed to be aprt of the movie, and Mike admits he had the local veteran actor in mind when he wrote the script.

The crew set up a shot on the last day of shooting About The

Girl. From left, Kevin Hoffman, Ed Regan, Jeremy Cormier,

Mike Howard, and Michael Humble

"Kevin approached him with the script and he liked it," said Mike. "This put pressure on us. We had actual talent. With the first productio, we would rehearse the day before, or when we were setting up."

This was not the case with Bob who insisted on several weeks of rehearsal.

"The Lake is a simple story that I wrote in high school," said Mike. "It is based on a pretty naieve adolescent view on lov. I had to change quite a bit of it. Hence the difference between a story that works in print and one that works on screen."

Again, everyone was proud of the finished product and again it won the best cinematography award in Sudbury and the best international short at the Film North International Film Festival in Huntsville.

Next came the movie Missing and Mike, who wrote, produced, directed, and acted in it, said they surprised themselves.

"Pat did most of the shooting and used different angles and editing techniques," he said.  "Kevin edited and made some interesting choices as far as the music was concerned. It was a collaboration between the three of us."

Right now, Mike is developing a mockumentary, which he explained is a documentary with some not-so-real elements.

It's about a sasquatch creature that lives in the wilderness around Cobalt that he heard about when he worked as a journalist for the Temiskaming Speaker.

"I thought it would make a great film about friends going in search of Old Yellow Top," he said. "I have a passion for storytelling and when I first heard the story I was pretty sure it was just some of the locals pulling my leg as the new guy in town. But I was surprised when I actually found news stories about it."

While Mike hopes that Somerset Productions will be able to continue making movies, he admits they first have to figure out how to make it economically possible.

"It would be awesome to achieve some sort of sustainability."

A Quick Note About New Pages

Hello again,

Sadly, this is just going to be a brief post about some new additions we have made to this page. As many of you will have noticed already, there is a link to our Twitter feed in the column to the right. Straight above, just below the Somerset Production masthead, you will also find new section about our first two "Somerset" Productions About The Girl and The Lake. These areas will provide you with a brief backgrounder on each project as well as their posters, including this brand new version for The Lake.


Sadly, no news on new productions, but there will be some coming shortly. We promise.

A Quick IMDB Update

Just a quick update to let you know that our IMDB page for The Lake is now more fully fleshed out. Just a few things to add from our end, and a couple to subtract, but it is looking good so far. Check it out over at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1647394/

Of course, there is the small issue of double Patrick Gilberts and the wrong Ed Regan (ours, I'm pretty sure, did not work on Iron Man).

I'll be back soon with more exciting news!

Welcoming The Lake to IMDB

So, we have actually made the transition into legitimate film makers, if that's what your own page on IMDB (the Internet Movie DataBase) means. Still, it's official, and it's my first listing (although they should be adding a writing credit before too long, and a credit to Pat for the cinematography). Kind of a cool day and for those of you wondering what 312% more popular has meant over the past few days, now you know. Let's see how high we can take it!

To check it out yourself, head over to IMDB. Check back often as the credits pile up and stay tuned for more new developments.

The Origin of "The Lake"

As some of you already know, The Lake started off as a short story that I wrote in high school. It was a loose idea that took some finagling to refine into its current cinematic state. Having revisited it to write the script, I found myself cringing at my adolescent efforts, but for the sake of posterity and the annals of time, I present to you the original (and unedited) basis of The Lake, a short story written by an shy and inexperienced adolescent who was trying to figure out what love meant, without having any practical experience. I think I may have posted it here before, but I do so again now for the sake of those who are curious. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you:

FINDING MISS M

A most righteous event has occurred. My good friend M has finally obtained his life's goal; true love. That's right, he recently met the girl of his dreams. The ultimate prize and yet the ultimate price to pay.

M had always been a pretty happy guy though he often told me how he often felt completely alone. I personally believe it had something to do with his struggles in the Questings of Love. He had always wanted a woman whom he could love and cherish and yet, as with most nice guys, he often fell short. Sure, he had his share of lovers but in them (or perhaps himself), he always found something missing, something wrong. M's big problem was that he was never happy with what he had. For him, half the fun was wondering how SHE felt. He spent his nights lying awake in bed wondering if his current "dream girl" liked him or if it was a one sided delusion.

"Sure," he once admitted, "it's agonizing but I enjoy the curiosity. Once I get them, the fun is all gone."

M would often meet great women; beautiful, funny and highly personable yet he would always find some fault. "I don't like her laugh," he would confide in me, "it annoys me. I just don't think we're going to work out." There was always something wrong with M's girls; usually, it was another girl.

"I don't know why but there is always the one I dream of, my Ms. Right but they never happen. It is a depressingly endless cycle. I don't know why I can't be happy, I just can't."

Now don't get me wrong, as I mentioned before, M is of a generally cheerful disposition. I have known him for just over four years and in that time the only sadness was caused by rejections by his "dream girls".

I remember one occasion quite vividly. It was a summer romance (or so he thought) and when it went bad, he took it to heart. He had loved that girl a lot. Who could blame him though, she was small, beautiful, well built and fun. They spent a lot of time together developing a beautiful relationship and when he finally had enough courage to ask her out, she backed off and became cold and distant. M was devastated but he managed to pull through. They are still friends, but things will never be the same.

She was one of the two girls he had ever loved. WAM! right in the heart. An icy arrow that clipped his wings, the Wings of Desire, and sent him crashing to the cold, rocky ground of reality.

He recovered, then he fell in love again. If he was crushed so badly the first time then why risk love again? He said it just 'happened' but I know better. M is a reckless guy and I believe that this was just another risk to take.

He walked up to me as carefree as can be and said, "I fell in love the other day, it was nice.

It was kind of weird and I wasn't sure if I could believe him or not. He told me how he had met a beautifully humorous blonde girl and described her as "the perfect compliment" I realized that he was very much in love and smiled as he described their meeting.

"It was a hot day," he began, a huge grin smeared across his face, "unlike any you have ever known," he continued, "because it was pleasantly hot. I met her on a beach you know. I was walking along with no real destination or thoughts, I was just sort of... walking. Being September, the beach was quite empty. Anyway," he announced, shaking his head as if to clear it, "I was walking along when I heard someone whispering my name. I looked about but there was no one to be seen. Isn't that strange? I remember looking out over the lake..." He paused to collect his thoughts and an even bigger smile passed over his features.

"The sun was setting so at first I saw nothing but the bright orange fear sinking into oblivion," he explained, "then I noticed a silhouette approaching me. She ran her fingers through her long golden hair and the closer she got, the more she came into focus. She's beautiful, really beautiful. More so than the spectacular sunset that had at first, framed her lovely form. She was completely naked and her hand was stretched out towards me. What was I supposed to do? I took it into mine and she looked deep into my eyes. She read me like a book as I looked helplessly into the chasms of her piercing green eyes. They were perfect, unlike any I had ever seen. She talked to me in a soothing voice, tranquil and mild yet full of power." M paused for a moment. "She wants me to return tonight and I want you to come."

I remember looking at M for a long time before agreeing to join him. We got our stuff together and went down to the beach. He chattered excitedly all the way there.

We walked along the sandy beach for a while then M stopped me. "This is the spot," he announced. Soon, as the sun was setting, a figure became visible in the orange glow. She was naked and her body gleamed enticingly in the soft light.

"Hello M," she purred in a voice smoother than silk.

My heart skipped a beat. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. More beautiful even than anyone I had ever dreamed of.

She held her hand out towards M and said one exotic word: "Come." M took her hand and followed her out into the lake. He didn't even look back. I never saw M or the mysterious woman again...

I now live in a small house down by the lake, not far from where M fell in love and in the end, paid the price. He gave his life for an eternity in ecstasy; a price any sane man would be glad to pay.

Every now and then I think I see two people walking out into the setting sun. Two lost souls swimming in a bright orange fishbowl. Year after year I see them and year after year I long to be with them; to know what love feels like with no inhibitions. I long to see through the charade and into the substance.

M suffered through his hardships and found his paradise. I fear he has left me behind on an endless search for ecstasy, not knowing that my paradise is already lost...

It is a different version of the story for sure, but the themes and undertone are the same... I hope you enjoyed it and I will see you all again soon.

NOMFA 2010: Part One - The Way There

I left North Bay a little later than planned, my belly churning with a stew of coffee, sleeplessness and half hatched chrysalises. The Lake was nominated for editing (Kevin Hoffman) and cinematography (Patrick Gilbert and Ed Regan) at the Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards and Pat had left for Sudbury the night before to present our film to a packed house, indulge in the musical showcase, and tie one on in a fury of networking. It was my job to get Jaymee and Nicole there in one piece, and join Pat in the remainder of the day’s activities.

By the time we passed through the not-as-moon-like-as-it-used-to-be dark rocked wilderness and into Sudbury, I had already heard about the warm reception The Lake received the night before; how I could rest assured that my mug looked “pretty good” on a 50 foot screen; how Thunder Bay wanted our film for their festival; and how we didn’t have a chance against the wealth of talent at the year’s event.

For two weeks I had been reminding Pat that our surprise win the year before (in a category that included an IMAX film) might be a sign that we did have a chance – even though we were definitely the untrained amateurs of the ball...

We arrived at the Comfort Inn and quickly chauffeured the ladies out to the mall before speeding back to the hotel for the final information seminar that we had planned to attend. It was a fairly full house and we sheepishly snuck in late and slid ourselves into a row of seats at the back of the room to listen to the CEO of the NOHFC and a pair of representatives from the Ontario Arts Council tell us about available funding. Bill Plumstead was also there, but the room was mostly filled with familiar (but not really at all familiar) faces. When the talks concluded, we moved to the lobby for some networking that resulted in a failed attempt by Pat to introduce himself to Paul Stephens, one of the producers of Oliver Sherman (a film starring Garret Dillahunt, Molly Parker and Donal Logue that Pat had done some art design on), and a successful attempt to introduce myself to Mark Palumbo (after two years).

We decided to head out once we realized that time was slowly slipping by and it would be time for the award ceremony before we knew it. That and the girls were hungry so we picked them up and went for dinner at Montana’s (where we had a brief chat with my parents who had come to see the awards again). Once the girls had been successfully sequestered in the hotel room, Pat and I took a quick jaunt back across town to grab some beer, then rushed back to the hotel.

We changed quickly, chugged a drink, and made it downstairs in time to catch the shuttle over to the university where the awards ceremony would be held in the Great Hall... It was show time and things were about to kick into overtime.

Make sure you come back tomorrow for the conclusion of our thrilling 2010 NOMFA Adventure!

The Lake - Watch It Now!

Hello again, I've mentioned it a few times now, but our most recent effort is one that we are all very proud of. The Lake was definitely a weird piece, beginning with the effort it took to figure out how to tell the story based on a concept, and continuing right through the successful portrayal of a mid'-50s aesthetic. It is a simple story told in a not-so-simple way and we really do thing that it succeeded nicely. Here is what we wrote about it on the National Screen Institute of Canada's website:

"The Lake started off as a simple concept: two different men from two different generations have a conversation on a bench near a lake. As the script developed, a unique challenge presented itself and we decided to attempt to successfully evoke a nostalgic fifties aesthetic through the use of flashbacks."

"With rented costumes, local automobile enthusiasts, and a few tricks of the camera we were able to create not only the fifties vibe, but also a more dynamic portrayal of the story. It added an extra layer to what began as a simple story of a cocky young man and a mysterious old stranger who might still be living in the past."

Again, we are very proud of our efforts. If you are in Canada, you can see the film here. Those of you who are out of the country will have to hold on a little longer - at least until our festival run is complete.

The Lake - Now Available for Your Viewing Pleasure

Oscar Predictions - Part II

And on with PART II...



Best Documentary

Burma VJ

The Cove

Food Inc.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg
 and the Pentagon Papers

Which Way Home

A heavily stacked category, but I’m going with The Cove, a clandestine examination of annual Japanese slaughter of dolphins and the efforts that former Flipper-trainer Ric O’Barry has taken to expose the practice.

Best Documentary - Short Feature

China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province

The Lost Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner

The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

Music by Prudence

Rabbit a la Berlin

A tough category again, especially since I haven’t seen any of these, and know little about them, but I’m going to go with China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province.

Best Editing
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious

My gut is with Basterds again, if for no other reason than the dread-filled build-up of the cabin scene at the beginning of the film. It would be nice to see The Hurt Locker or District 9 on the podium as well.

Best Foreign Film

Ajami, Israel

El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Argentina

The Milk Of Sorrow, Peru

Un Prophete, France

The White Ribbon, Germany

Some dark and heavy subject matter in the foreign films category this year. I’m leaning towards The White Ribbon, but I think it’s a pretty tight race.

Best Makeup

Il Divo

Star Trek

The Young Victoria

Star Trek by a hair, although this category often favours period makeup over creature prosthetics, so…

Best Original Score

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Sherlock Holmes

Up!

Michael Ginacchino for Up! Zimmer had some fun with Sherlock Holmes and Fantastic Mr. Fox is playful, but Up! Has it all for the win.

Best Original Song

"Almost There", The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman

"Down in New Orleans", The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman

"Loin de Paname", Paris 36, Reinhardt Wagner & Frank Thomas

"Take it All", Nine, Maury Weston

"The Weary Kind", Crazy Heart, Ryan Bingham & T-Bone Burnett

"The Weary Kind". Not sure why I like it for the win, but that’s my call.

Best Animated Short Film

French Roast

Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty

The Lady and the Reaper

Logorama

A Matter of Loaf and Death

A Matter of Loaf and Death, created by Nick Park at Aardman Animations in Bristol, UK (my former stomping grounds). For those of you unaware, it’s a Wallace and Gromit short, which is always a good thing.

Best Live Action Short Film

The Door

Instead of Abracadabra

Kavi

Miracle Fish

The New Tenants

I don’t see The Lake on this list… Weird. Again, I never know with this category, but I’m going to go with Kavi.

Best Sound Editing

Avatar

Inglourious Basterds

The Hurt Locker

Star Trek

Up!

It will probably be Avatar, although there isn’t a bad pick in the bunch. The Hurt Locker or Star Trek could pull an upset, but this one is Avatar.

Best Sound Mixing

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Star Trek

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Just to shake things up, I’ll go with The Hurt Locker on this one. Go ahead, tell me I’m hedging my bets, but that’s my call.

Best Visual Effects

Avatar

District 9

Star Trek

Avatar. Loved the work done in District 9, but Cameron spent 10 years getting this one right and really did create a whole new world.

Make sure you come back on March 8 for my recap. I’m shooting for an A+ this year…

Coming Attraction: The Lake on NSI!

Hello again, I had mentioned in an earlier post that our latest project, The Lake, had been accepted into the National Screen Institute of Canada's Online Film Festival. We now have our very own section over there, under the "Coming Soon" banner and if you are interested, you can get a little sneak peek of what is to come. When I spoke with the festival coordinators, they told me that we should be featured in the festival in early February, around the 8th if I'm not mistaken. Our "Coming Soon" page can be found at the NSI website now though.

As an added bonus, once the film goes live, the link to watch it there will too so make sure you bookmark that space now. For any overseas, or beyond-the-borders-of-Canada viewers, I'm afraid the site is only open to Canadians.

We are working on some exciting developments behind the scenes right now though and we hope that these new developments will allow us to make some of our past projects available on a more global scale in the near future. We need to wait out some of these festival runs first though. These festivals work very hard to develop exciting programming and we want to ensure that we aren't stepping on the generous toes of those who select our work to feature in their festivals. Showing a film that can be seen on YouTube isn't exactly a red carpet affair (unless you happen to have red carpets where you do your YouTube surfing).

Anyway, bookmark that page and hopefully in early February, you will be able to see how our hard work paid off on this latest project...

Our hard work paying off
Sam Lafond and Patrick Gilbert

The Lake: 20 Years Later

For those of you looking for a little insight into our latest project... Here is a treat. The Lake began almost 20 years ago as a short story written in high school. Cracking the narrative nut proved a little difficult, but here is the original version of our story, inspired as it was by equal parts Bradbury and Cohen. This is where the story came from. Where it wound up is a whole different thing, but it helps to show that sometimes an idea needs a while to really figure out how its pieces can become a whole. I hope you like the story. It's from my vintage collection, the scribblings of a 15-year-old who still didn't understand the subject matter upon which he wrote. I present to you:

Finding Miss M...

A most righteous event has occurred. My good friend M has finally obtained his life's goal; true love. That's right, he recently met the girl of his dreams. The ultimate prize and yet the ultimate price to pay!

M had always been a pretty happy guy though he often told me how he often felt completely alone. I personally believe it had something to do with his struggles in the Questings of Love. He had always wanted a lover whom he could love and cherish and yet, as with most nice guys, he often fell short. Sure, he had his share of lovers but in them (or perhaps himself), he always found something missing, something wrong. M's big problem was that he was never happy with what he had. For him, half the fun was wondering how SHE felt. He spent his nights lying awake in bed wondering if his current "dream girl" liked him or if it was a one sided delusion.

"Sure," he once admitted, "it's agonizing but I enjoy the curiosity. Once I get them, the fun is all gone."

M would often meet great women; beautiful, funny and highly personable yet he would always find some fault. "I don't like her laugh," he would confide in me, "it annoys me. I just don't think we're going to work out." There was always something wrong with M's girls; usually, it was another girl.

"I don't know why but there is always the one I dream of, my Ms. Right but they never happen. It is a depressingly endless cycle. I don't know why I can't be happy, I just can't."

Now don't get me wrong, as I mentioned before, M is of a generally cheerful disposition. I have known him for just over four years and in that time the only sadness was caused by rejections by his "dream girls".

I remember one occasion quite vividly. It was a summer romance (or so he thought) and when it went bad, he took it to heart. He had loved that girl a lot. Who could blame him though, she was small, beautiful, well built and fun. They spent a lot of time together developing a beautiful relationship and when he finally had enough courage to ask her out, she backed off and became cold and distant. M was devastated but he managed to pull through. They are still friends, but things will never be the same.

She was one of the two girls he had ever loved. WAM! right in the heart. An icy arrow that clipped his wings, the Wings of Desire, and sent him crashing to the cold, rocky ground of reality.

He recovered, then he fell in love again. If he was crushed so badly the first time then why risk love again? He said it just 'happened' but I know better. M is a reckless guy and I believe that this was just another risk to take.

He walked up to me as carefree as can be and said, "I fell in love the other day, it was nice.

It was kind of weird and I wasn't sure if I could believe him or not. He told me how he had met a beautifully humorous blonde girl and described her as "the perfect compliment" I realized that he was very much in love and smiled as he described their meeting.

"It was a hot day," he began, a huge grin smeared across his face, "unlike any you have ever known," he continued, "because it was pleasantly hot. I met her on a beach you know. I was walking along with no real destination or thoughts, I was just sort of... walking. Being September, the beach was quite empty. Anyway," he announced, shaking his head as if to clear it, "I was walking along when I heard someone whispering my name. I looked about but there was no one to be seen. Isn't that strange? I remember looking out over the lake..." He paused to collect his thoughts and an even bigger smile passed over his features.

"The sun was setting so at first I saw nothing but the bright orange fear sinking into oblivion," he explained, "then I noticed a silhouette approaching me. She ran her fingers through her long golden hair and the closer she got, the more she came into focus. She's beautiful, really beautiful. More so than the spectacular sunset that had at first, framed her lovely form. She was completely naked and her hand was stretched out towards me. What was I supposed to do? I took it into mine and she looked deep into my eyes. She read me like a book as I looked helplessly into the chasms of her piercing green eyes. They were perfect, unlike any I had ever seen. She talked to me in a soothing voice, tranquil and mild yet full of power." M paused for a moment. "She wants me to return tonight and I want you to come."

I remember looking at M for a long time before agreeing to join him. We got our stuff together and went down to the beach. He chattered excitedly all the way there.

We walked along the sandy beach for a while then M stopped me. "This is the spot," he announced. Soon, as the sun was setting, a figure became visible in the orange glow. She was naked and her body gleamed enticingly in the soft light.

"Hello M," she purred in a voice smoother than silk.

My heart skipped a beat. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. More beautiful even than anyone I had ever dreamed of.

She held her hand out towards M and said one exotic word: "Come." M took her hand and followed her out into the lake. He didn't even look back. I never saw M or the mysterious woman again...

I now live in a small house down by the lake, not far from where M fell in love and in the end, paid the price. He gave his life for an eternity in ecstasy; a price any sane man would be glad to pay.

Every now and then I think I see two people walking out into the setting sun. Two lost souls swimming in a bright orange fishbowl. Year after year I see them and year after year I long to be with them; to know what love feels like with no inhibitions. I long to see through the charade and into the substance.

M suffered through his hardships and found his paradise. I fear he has left me behind on an endless search for ecstasy, not knowing that my paradise is already lost...

Welcome to Somerset...

Greetings Voracious Fandom,

Yes, like our embracing of film as a medium for creative expression, so too has it taken us a while to embrace the inherent virtues of blogdom. We may be slow to adapt, and slower still to figure out what it is we are doing, but we are here and we hope to maintain this presence for your sake (or at the very least our own amusement). You are our dedicated fandom (hi mum, hello dad) and it is the least we could do for you.

We've had a great run so far, from finishing a whole issue of The Gloaming (in full colour at that!) to our first handful of short films being produced shipped and somehow accepted to a handful of fairly prestigious festivals. Our first filmed effort About The Girl, managed to surpass its nerve-jangled origins to win a handful of nominations, recognitions and even a couple of awards. We were also approached by the producers of a program on a major Canadian broadcast network (cough, The Border, cough, cough) to feature our program in the background of theirs. Not bad for a first attempt.

Shooting The Lake...in the lake
Zachary Govis, Patrick Gilbert, Kevin Hoffman, and Sam Lafond

Our most recent project started out smaller and simpler than About The Girl, a down and dirty shoot that was meant to be over in day, or maybe two if the pull focus wasn't clicking. Of course, good intentions for a speedy shoot always end up in flashback scenes set in the '50s. Not so fast and dirty after all, but there is good news. After some behind-the-scenes reshuffling, we completed The Lake, and the end result is a rather beautiful testament to the enduring power of love - or was it an enduring testament to a crotchety old man (beautifully assayed by Mr. Bob Clout) and the aloof youth he torments for sport? Either way, we are all very proud of our efforts with The Lake and were thrilled when we were notified we had once again been accepted into the annual National Screen Institute of Canada Online Film Festival.

We should be featured in early February so make sure you check back. I'll post the link when it becomes official. Until then, thanks for tuning in, thanks for the support, and thanks for making sure to come back often for more scintillating insights from Somerset Productions! Up next: a brief behind-the-scenes history of our first production About The Girl. I know, it's exciting!