Hello People,

Well! I must say, It has been an eventful week! Getting ready for the video was a bit harrowing as I am a teensy weensy bit of a perfectionist (to say the least). I finally got all my ducks In a row and was ready to begin the shoot for my very first ever video for my new single, Stormwinds. As those of you who have been following my blogs already know, I released my first single this year completely independently. I did it this way as a experiment and I learned ALOT. However I have already written a whole bunch about all of that in aforementioned previous blogs.

The shoot went very smoothly. We had a great deal of shots to get done but we managed to accomplish alot:)

I came up with the concept of the video about a month prior to shooting and sat down and made a shot list and storyboard it. It was so cool to be able to come up with an idea, figure out how to pull it all together and then go shoot it!

I guess I never realized or gave myself credit for just how much I have learnt through osmosis about filmmaking. I knew how to plan the whole thing out and That was a very cool discovery for me and got me thinking about all kinds of possibilities Including making my own short films.

The crew on the video were great, a bunch of total troopers and were all consummate professionals. The makeup and hair was provided by Tanya Ramirez who did a fantastic job. She can be found at The Sweet 9 Salon in Hollywood. She was great to work with and worked very fast. Chad Michael Ward was great to work with as a director. He was extremely open to all my ideas and had me come over and look through the camera to approve the frame each time which was great. We worked very well together. I had some very specific ideas about how I wanted things to look and how i wanted it to be lit. He did a great job of taking my ideas and his and working with me to get them accomplished. Working on a video is FAR different from working on a film. I have done a few of them now (videos) and It’s always a very fast and intense experience. You basically have 2 days to capture in the video what on a film you might have 2 weeks or more to get. He has a really good eye and is very talented with Lighting. I would work with him again in a snap. I am very curious to see a first cut of the video. I want it to be great, and I’m sure it will be. Chad ‘s crew were fantastic and all very hard working and cool. Especially Mary Taylor who worked as second Camera. She’s a great gal and very talented photographer herself:)!

The clothing was Provided By Serene Ciccora ,an amazingly generous creative and brilliant woman who I have known for a few years now. The clothing I chose to go with was by Suzie Turner, Coco de Mer and Leila Hafzi. gorgeous couture creations. They had that fantastical dreamlike quality that I was looking for and was not able to find with what Vivienne Westwood had available in LA. Although, my absolutely incredible Booties are by Vivienne Westwood. All In all everything came together for the best at the last minute and I think we pulled off a great shoot. I haven’t seen any of the footage but Chad tells me he is very pleased with what we got. The video stars myself and the lovely Solana Feldthouse, My gorgeous red-headed niece and will be her debut on screen. She has studied acting at school and done several of the classic plays, including Romeo and Juliet. I wanted her first experience with film to be a safe and supportive one, and I am so happy that I was able to provide her with that. Wait till you see her, she is a absolute living doll and gifted with a brilliant mind also.

Not Long after the shoot, actually really only a few days, Kyle Cassidy, a photographer friend of mine that I met through Neil Gaiman, came into town. We got started on what will end up being a fun and potentially wonderful book.

We shot over the course of 2 days and had a blast doing it. It was a far more informal shoot them I am used to but I found it to be fun, fast-paced and creative. I really like what I have see so far of the photos and I cant wait to be able to share them with you all through the upcoming book! yay!

Shannon, my webmistress extraordinaire, had suggested doing a book of photography on me many months ago but I laughed and thought, “No, dont be silly, I’m an actor not a model”, but then Kyle suggested the same and sent me his book “Who Killed Amanda Palmer“. I thought he had a very unique and special eye, and I thought the book was very well done. I milled the idea around in my head for awhile, coming to the descision to go forward with it.

I had wanted to put together a book of poetry, short stories and some of my writing for awhile. The idea of doing a book that was not only of photos but also bits of stories and poetry through my life so far appealed to me. Since we started moving forward with this idea, several other photographers have come forward wanting to be a part of it, and it is growing in momentum. I am very excited about it:) So far, the response from fans has been really positive, and people seem to love the idea so That’s Great too!

I must say, I am very inspired, and now I am certain that I want to make a short film. I have written several shorts over the years and I am starting to go back through them and also contemplating newer ideas. With the advent of digital camera and editing technology, making a short film is not as expensive as it used to be. It is slowly creating a large resurgence in independent film making also which I am overjoyed about.

It has been a really exciting time for me, and I love getting the feedback from folks through FB and twitter. So, thank you to all of you who have been posting!:) I know I have said it before, but this year so far has been so positive for me, and I am so thankful. Last year seemed like just treading water and trying to survive disaster after disaster for me. No point in dwelling on that thought! ONWARDS AND UPWARDS MY FRIENDS!!!!

Ok, this post is getting SOOOOOO LOOONNNGGGGG. So, I’m gonna go now, but I wanted to just thank everyone who made these wonderful new things possible, and thank all of the people out there who have been sending such great support and love my way. I send it all right back to you double:)

HUGE LOVE to you all

xoxoxoxoxox

F