HardFork Series, from the Writer: New Territory

HardFork Series, from the Writer: New Territory

As you may have noticed I haven’t been posting as frequently and there’s a good reason why. Today, I’m going to introduce the first in a series of posts that will give you an inside look into my role as co-creator and writer in this very exciting and groundbreaking project, working alongside @dougkarr, @bakerchristopher, @nickytothenines, @andrarchy, @the-alien and many others.

Over the past year Steemit has been like a magnet, drawing countless wonderful things into my life but this one is the best yet (and the most surprising to me.) Film director and writer Doug Karr reached out to me about a month ago and asked me to collaborate with him. Of course, I agreed. A few weeks ago, Steemit’s very own @andrarchy announced his meeting with Doug about our upcoming project.

What Is Hardfork?
The film series, Hardfork, is the first ever blockchain narrative film series. Hardfork is a crypto-noir dystopian thriller set in a world nearly a decade into the future, where decentralized factions work to overthrow a militarized version of a certain infamous three letter governmental tax agency we all know so well. This is a world where the centralized establishment is using increasingly strict measures and unscrupulous means in an attempt to control a world that thirsts for the freedom of decentralization. The plot of the film will speak to a larger hardfork of our global society itself.

The Process
I’ve discovered that the golden thread that ties this project together is one thing…the common desire amongst all core team members to do more of what truly energizes us and gives us purpose, and that is to make our art. The success of this project is the most important thing to us. If HardFork is the massive success we know it will be it will expose the public to cryptocurrency and blockchain while entertaining them. We are truly attempting to engage as many brains and imaginations as possible to open their eyes to a better way of life.

Doug and I identified the need, early on, to craft a creative working process that allows for efficiency and life balance. Thankfully, through years of practice, we’ve both learned to manage our time well. We’re incorporating bits and pieces of Agile Methodology to make the most efficient use of our time. We have to customize the tool to make us efficient but not so rigid that it stifles creativity. We share ideas with other team members through the group messaging app Slack and hold a once a week video conference call to brainstorm and work on goals for the week ahead.

So far, my prevailing thoughts are this is incredibly fun! & I am so lucky to be a part of this team! I am blown away by how electrifying it is to work on a film script. It is like creating a whole new world then getting to breathe its air. I thoroughly enjoy working on fiction but working on a film series elevates creativity to an entirely new level. There have been countless days where I can’t shut the ideas off and a few nights that I’ve been jolted out of bed at 3AM with an idea that I had to write down.

I also realize there is so much that I have yet to learn so I am trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can and enjoy this process. Thankfully Doug has lots of experience with all aspects of the film industry and the filmmaking process itself.

Casting
We are lucky to have the very talented actor, Christopher Baker, (from the Netflix series Ozark) to play our protagonist, Vangelis, in the film. We are still in the process of completing the selection process for our female lead, Drezzie and the rest of the cast. Again, casting is another chance to use your creativity to determine who will work best to play these characters who have been pieced together like a mosaic from the imaginations of the creative team working on the project.

The Coming Weeks
Over the course of the next few weeks we will be polishing the script for our trailer, continuing the casting process, deciding when and how we will shoot the 3 minute trailer, and then setting a date to begin shooting at the various locations.

In the meantime I'll be writing, daydreaming, learning, and having more fun than one person should be allowed to have.