SterlingCanada2

CathyDirector made a Promo film trailer for IWG

2012-03-08T14:05:00.002-08:00

This is a cool film trailer that Cathy Director edited from from film I sent here. I directed it. There is a few small changes to be made. They are clips from the QHR Report Un-dead Warrior episode we made a few years ago and clips from The Great Scout Adventure. So this is a possible production design fro the film but not the final one.

I hope this generates some interest in helping us get the film made. We need to collect as many donations as we can as fast as we can. please visit the website for more info on donating and the perk we offer. http://www.sterlingproductions.ca/iwgfund.html

Plywood Canoe Update

2012-03-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

So I added a ridge beam down the bottom of the Canoe so it doesn't drift as much on the open water and it will also help keep the Canoe going in a straight line when paddling.

Then I cut out strips of Fiberglass like I did for the inside and now I'm doing the outside edges. This is what holds the canoe together.

Then I put the fiberglass resin on. So far I have used 3 liters and I need to buy one more to finish the canoe. total cost of the fiber glass will be $150. To make the other five Canoes I need for the film I will buy a 5 gallon can of resin because it only costs $252.95. Then the fiber glass mat will be another $200. The cost sure adds up in a hurry.

I also have a few more Canoes lined up that I can barrow for the film. I just need to round up the fuel to go get them and take them back.

Casting Call still going on

2012-03-02T11:28:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. I'm still doing the casting call for The Indian Warrior Ghost. We have had a great turn out of young actors wanting to be in the film. So rather than spend a huge amount of money renting an audition space in Toronto or driving around to meet everyone we are doing self-taping audition for the first round.

So casting call for boys 10 to 14 years old. We do make exception and take younger or older if they really want to act in a film. Just sent us a photo and some background info. name, age, interests, skills and if you can swim.

A good example of an actor picture is on the left of Sam Kilpatrick.

Self-tape addition is very simply.

Part 1: just ask your child to stand in front of a camera ( home video, web cam or cell phone) and state their name, age and why they would like to be an actor.

Part 2: I have attached a page from a film script. Please memorize it and say the lines. The actor can try doing both parts as two different people or someone off camera can read the other lines to them.

The director is looking for level of imagination and how true the lines sound. Do I believe this person?

We can also do in-person auditions if you like. You just have to set up a time with me. I will be in Torornto area March 10 and March 30.

I will be posting more actors names and pictures on my website as soon.

Sterling Johnston

And So the Work Continues

2012-02-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

So now I was working on the fiberglass seams on the inside of the Canoe. I cut the fiberglass matt into 4 inch strips and sat them inside.

I then titled the canoe up to one side and coated it with fiberglass reason.

My friend Dale says to remind you to always wear a mask when working with Fiberglass because it's not so good for your health.

When it dried I did the other side.

I also fiber-glassed the both ends on the inside.

Then after it dries I flipped it over and cut the zip ties off with a wood chisel. Then sanded the outside edges round to get it ready for the next step.

Work continues on the Plywood Canoe for my feature film

2012-02-25T14:43:00.000-08:00

So once the fiber glass dried I could then start to set up the sides. i lined ten up and placed s 1 x 3 in the middle to hold up the sides and make the right width for the center.

I then bent the ends in and placed two more smaller pieces of wood in to help keep the shape.

I tied the ends together with three zip ties. It worked really well. I just had to drill three holes in the ends to put the ties threw.

I then flipped the Canoe over and lined up the bottom of the Canoe. I used a air powered finishing nail gun to nail the bottom down.

My next blog posting will cover how I fiber glassed the seams inside the Canoe.

Plywood Canoe Construction for my feature film

2012-02-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

So I found that a thin piece of MDF board worked well for drawing the curved lines. I just weighted the end down with a sand bag and bent the wood to line up with my measured lines.

I then cut the pieces out with my jig saw. Easy as pie. Nothing to it. I just had to make sure I didn't try cutting threw the table below. It has metal edges and it doesn't cut so well.

Next I set all the pieces of the Canoe on the table ready to get the banding added. I had to cut a few small pieces of plywood for that.

I then fiber glassed the pieces together. The wood banding will help hold the two ends together when it comes time to bend the sides into the canoe shape.

When the fiber glass dried I flipped the pieces over and fiber glassed the other side with a small 4" strip of Fiber glass mat. Once everything dries over night I will start to assemble the canoe.

I will post more of the Canoes progress tomorrow.

Production Update

2012-02-22T16:18:00.000-08:00

So I will be cutting out the first plywood Canoe tomorrow. I will post some pics. We got an other offer to barrow some canoes. One from Owen Sound and 6 from the Owttawa area. The Owen sound one is a go for sure and the Ottawa ones I'm still thinking about. Its a long drive over there and back and at todays gas prices that may be too much money.

Also a quick update on GJE We only have 13 DVD copies to go and it will be the very first Sterling Productions project to ever make its money back. Buy it here on DVD

Sam's new production update video

2012-02-18T15:58:00.000-08:00

My workshop

2012-02-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Well I got my old workshop organized so now I can start thinking about building that Canoe. Sam Kilpatrick is hopefully coming over on Friday to help with the first Canoe and make a behind the scenes video about it. I should be uploading that video on Saturday afternoon. Also please like and comment on Sam's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Kilpatrick/251305288272309 and also our Indian Warrior Ghost facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Indian-Warrior-Ghost/177828282316866

Troy from USA donated $100 to the production fund and Harlod donated an additional $75 to our YCDTOYT production. That production starts the first weekend in April. Mike Scheffer is going to help set up the sets.

Well that's all for now. please come back soon for more behind the scene's info.

Early next week

2012-02-02T14:40:00.000-08:00

So early next week I will start building on plywood canoe and see how hard it is to do. I will make a video and post it on my youtube channel and so with any luck it will look like a Canoe made by some Scouts in the late 70's early 80's.

Canoes Needed for the Indian Warrior Film

2012-01-27T11:24:00.001-08:00

So for the Indian Warrior Ghost film we need to barrow 6 Canoes that are light enough for boys 10 to 14 to carry for the duration of filming in August 2012. Also looking for 25 or so vintage life jackets like the ones in the picture. If you have some and are willing to let us use them for the month please contact us.

I was thinking about buying 6 Canoes then reselling them but I don't have any credit to do that, also looked into renting but it's cheaper to buy them. Or if any one wants to buy a canoe they could keep it when we are finished filming or resell it. They don't need to be new, used is good. The film takes place in the year 1982 so we need to keep that in mind. Red, Green, plastic, fiberglass or aluminum works. Anyways I just thought i should start trying to solve problem because it may take a while to get them lined up. Thank you so much for your support. You can email sterlingjohnston@hotmail.com or info@sterlingproductions.ca

Sam Kilpatricks feature Film Update Video is now posted

2012-01-25T08:46:00.001-08:00

We just got another $100 donation for the production. Thank you every one for your support. :) I will post the names of people who make donations, I just have to ask them if it's okay to publish their name first.

There's an old saying

2012-01-22T07:10:00.000-08:00

There's and old saying that if you don't use it, you lose it. This seams to be the theme of the day. CharlieIsSoCoollLike posted a tweet that he hasn't written a song in a year so he's a bit rusty and it's so true. I took a year off from writing film scripts and so it's taken me 5 weeks to get back up to speed. So if you have skills, please keep using them because it is kind of hard to get back up to the top of your game.

The Indian Warrior Ghost

2012-01-20T20:59:00.000-08:00

So Sam's first feature film will also be the big production of the year. I still have to confirm that Sam Kilpatrick will be in the cast but things are looking good. The script is well under way and I have most of the props and wardrobe for the film. Jonathon Psaila is interested in playing the Indian Warrior Ghost again. He played the role in the Hallween episode of the QHR Report a few year ago. But I may do a casting call and see if I can find someone else is interested in the part.

The plan is to start filming July 2 2012. I will need a few crew members because some of the camera work is equipment heavy. You know lighting, dolly tracks, camera cranes and we will be filming way out in the woods some where.

I also need to build a floating platform to do filming off of. Maybe something like a dock or raft.

There is going to be a large cast in this film so transportation and lodging could become a problem. I guest I will cross that bridge when I get to it. So anyways I require as much financial support as I can find in the way of Donations in return for perks like free autographed DVDs when the film is finished. For more info you can have a look on the productions website.
http://www.sterlingproductions.ca/iwg.html. Thank you so much for your support and please feel free to drop in on my blog here often for I will be posting lots of production updates as we make the film.

Dylan's Couch

2012-01-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

It was allot of fun working with Dylan from Dylan's Couch. I was thinking about changing the name of Echo beach the Movie to Dylan's Couch the Movie. I wonder if it would have helped sales any. Oh well I guess I will never know. Maybe I can talk Dylan into coming back up or maybe I should drive down to New York and make Dylan's Couch the movie. I think it would be a great idea for a comedy.

Old Computer Junk

2011-12-25T21:48:00.000-08:00

Hey if anyone has old computer junk that they want to get rid of and can't sell maybe think about donating it to Sterling Productions. I'm looking for old Mac G5's we can use for recording music, edit video and after effects work on. You can send it to Sterling Productions Box 96 Alma Ontario Canada N0B 1A0 feel free to drop me an email sterlingjohnston@hotmail.com

Many Thanks

My Main Computer is Down

2011-12-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

So just a quick update. My main computer is down. It could be a hardware problem but it could also be a hacker problem. It is the Holiday season and with so many people shopping online it's a bad guy dream come true for finding banking info. Well says the news cast any way.

So if it's the hard drive that went down that's a huge problem because everything is on that drive. I have a few back up files but not all. backup drives cost money and that is in real short supply. so I stand to lose 25 years of scripts programs and productions files. All my email contacts, some of which are very important in the industry.

So if it comes down to a data recovery there are many company s that can help me out but at a large cost. I'm looking at $500 to $1,500. I won't know the real cost until I hirer someone to to retrieve it.

I have to figure out how to round the money up. Oh well. Merry Christmas to everyone.

2011-12-19T15:23:00.000-08:00

This is one of the many many script meetings we had on the Echo beach The Movie location shoot. It was a never end set of rewrites because of actors not showing up for work. Not any one that was in the film, all the actors that are not in the film. The ones in the film were great to work with and they are real troopers for hanging in there when everything fell apart because there was an other whole to fix.

Or it could be we were just trying to figure out what we were filming that day. No it's a script meeting.

Funding for Sam's First Movie

2011-12-14T17:44:00.000-08:00

So on the left is Actor Sam Kilpatrick age 11. I really hope to start filming with Sam in late Jan 2012. Its a a costly undertaking and it's going to require some capital funds. So I hoping for donations and in return you get perks. If yo donate $25 you will get a Autographed DVD copy of the completed film when it's finished in late March early April. It will be a feature film running about 85 mins.

If you donate $50 you get a Autographed DVD and a special thanks credit in the ending credits which also qualify's you for a credit a page on imdb.com (it's up to imdb.com to post or not post your name but we will submit it) Donations larger are very welcome and we can work out some additional perks for you if you do.

So please help me help Sam get his acting career kicked into high gear. I will post the donations PayPal button on my website http://sterlingproductions.ca/sam.html

The Great Scout Adventure film clip

2011-12-06T15:47:00.001-08:00

Filming Echo Beach in 2007

2011-12-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

So we look like we know what we are doing. I think it was about 70 F when we shot this scene with a slight breeze off the lake and some where around 9:30 pm.

Have you ever noticed that Directors have crazy hair? I'm no different I guess. The stress level was outrageous on this shoot with so many actors not showing up to film there scenes. But any ways the actors that did show were very dedicated to getting the project finished.

Going no where

2011-11-30T21:17:00.000-08:00

I seam to be going no where. I can't seam to get anything going. Projects, scripts, fundraising, its all at a dead stand still. With any luck i will have a break threw on a new film script and in a marathon spree i should be able to crank something out. Well that's it normally works. I let ideas gel for a while then in two or three days I have a finished script for a feature film.

This script is going to be for Sam Kilpatricks first film.

Sam's YCDTOYT Commercial

2011-11-19T05:32:00.001-08:00

Update on Stuff

2011-11-12T06:46:00.000-08:00

I was just sending a reply to a Sterling productions follower and I thought I should share part of that email with everyone here on my blog.

Right now I'm trying to get You Can't Do That On YouTube back up and running so I can get a new studio space. I have meeting with 20 kids and parents this week but I'm not sure if they are going to like paying to have their kid on the series. Each kid is going to have to pay $100 to $200 per episode. I'm going to ask them to find sponsors like an Ant or Uncle or company.

Oh well we will soon find out how that goes.

So the good news is I'm flat broke and don't own any money for old productions so every cent can go into new productions. The bad news is I can't start any productions with out having all the cash first because I have no credit. Oh what a tangled web I weave.

the New Studio Space

2011-11-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

This will be the new studio space in downtown kitchener. We just need to make the money to pay the rent and we are all set for the new season of YCDTOYT and a host of new shows I have planned.

Twitter

2011-11-06T21:33:00.001-08:00

So i'm playing around with Twitter more. I'm posting more tweets on my sterlingcanada2 twitter. Also i'm going to try to find 20 to 40 new actors to make 12 new episodes of YCDTOYT

New YCDTOYT Studio space floor tile

2011-11-03T17:12:00.001-07:00

So I found a great deal on the floor tile I need to build the new studios change rooms. I need 800 square feet for the floors and walls of the new showers, washroom area and floor of the change room. It's only fifty cents a square foor insted of the normal price of $6 a square foor. So with taxs its only $452.

So I need to make the money to buy them before they are gone. Please ask around and see if you can talk anyone into donating some money so I can purchase the tile.

Donations can be made to via Paypal to sterling_productions@hotmail.com

Many Thanks

Sterling

Update video and Deth By Design Movie Clip

2011-10-16T16:20:00.001-07:00

I'm still editing?

2011-10-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

Well I'm still diging the footage back into my computer. There seams to be some strange shooting order or I recorded over some footage by mistake. I'm not sure. Oh well hopeful all of its there. I may got looking at old hard drive to see if there is some footage from my first attempt to edit this film.

Finaly Editing it.

2011-10-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

So I have finally got around to finishing the edit of Death by Design. We filmed this way way back in 2007 but never got around to the final edit. I have a car exploitation in the film and i could never get it to look right. cathyDirector is going to try and fix the problem with after effects. If all goes well the film will be available for sale on DVD in a month or so.

And the winner is?

2011-09-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

So Charlie won the Next Star competition. I have started re digging the Death by Design footage into a G5 in hopes of finishing the film. I have all the footage we set out to film with the exception of a car explosion. CathyDirector is going to help me out there with some after effects. The film should look good when its done. That's the hope anways.

So who will it be?

2011-09-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

So who will it be? The Next Star that is. The big night is tomorrow Sept 25. I'll post the winner when I find out.

I was hoping to go to the taping of the final episode but I don't have the cash for a ticket and it would have been really hard to tape a QHR Report while they are going out live. So many rules you know. Yep so sorry Qhr Report covering the event.

The old Studio.

2011-09-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Well this was the studio I filmed Echo Beach in. My 72 Charger is sitting right were the coffee table would have been sitting in the film. Oh the good old days.

Echo beach the Movie on YouTube as a rental?

2011-09-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

So I think I'm one step closer to posting Echo Beach The Movie on YouTube as a rental / pay per view. I now have monetization but not a YouTube Partner Deal on SterlingCanada2. I'm not sure how that works but maybe in time things will work out.

Next Star music videos.

2011-09-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

So I watched Parker's video and I'm wondering what you think of it? I feel that the director made a huge mistake in only recording his lip sink in high speed and didn't do any takes in real time. Also I feel the director fell short of shots of great skateboarding action. He really failed Parker.

Please watch the video and comment on how it could have been made better. Personally I think the Next Star producers should re-shoot the video with a new director.

Sams Poll so far.

2011-09-04T09:05:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like adventure is winner with a bit of drama and action in the mix. Sounds like my kind of film. I'll leave the poll up for its run of 30 days and see how it turns out. I'm hoping to make six films starring Sam. Hopefully I can biuld a large audiance for him and his films make money.

YouTube Rentals ???

2011-09-02T11:56:00.001-07:00

Well its about time YouTube got film rentals in Canada. Now its back to how can I get my films on YouTube for rent? Less hope I can make it happen.

New poll in the side bar ---->

2011-09-01T06:59:00.000-07:00

I posted a new poll in the side bar for your entertainment / my benfit. What kind of film would you like to see actor Sam Kilpatrick star in? I will write a film script and percent to film offer to Sam and hopefully the film will get made early 2012.

Shaggy 72 is right :)

2011-08-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

He is right I should finish the Death by Design film. Its going to be a huge challenge to finish it. One problem I need to figure out is why my Final Cut pro eight point garbage mat doesn't work any more. I was doing this large ten layer effect shot with live video components and each one has slow motion, standard speed or is fast motion effects. I think I may have crashed the program. Maybe I should have exported each shot to tape then diged them back in and then layered them to make the single shot.

Once agian we try for a new production.

2011-07-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

So here I am again thinking about a new project Starring Kyle and Sam. both actors have not confirmed that they will star in the film and rightly so I have written the script yet. I idea is to make a feature film 47 mins or longer with a budget of $2,000. I will have to do some fund raising ASAP if we wish to make something before the snow flies. Each donation of $25 will get a free dvd copy of the completed film with free shipping. Or if the film doesn't get made a 99% refund because paypal takes $1.20 per transaction. I would make it 100% but I'm bankrupt at the moment and have only $23.13 to my name.

The film is a really cool idea and once I have the script finished and copyrighted I will let everyone know the story line. It's a good youth action adventure comedy. It's a bit of a throw back to the Little Rascals bit based in summer 2012 when the internet crashes. Oh no I gave too much away already. Oh well the only people that read my blog are trusted friends so i don't mind.

Going to the Next Star TV show and do the Red Carpet

2011-07-11T05:43:00.000-07:00

So Whats new?

2011-06-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

Well not much. I haven't been keeping my blog up like I had hoped. But oh well not much is happening so there is not much to say. So its now June and the year is flying by so fast it will be 2012 before I know it.

I'm hoping to restart YCDTOY in the new year with an all new cast and studio. I have been looking around and haven;t found anything yet that would work for a studio in my price range. Then it would be back to fund raising to make it all happen.
Well here is to hoping. : ) Stranger things have happened. Maybe Brad pit will donate a large some of money to help kids find their voice through acting.

I miss the good old days.

2011-05-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

I miss the good old days. I really do. All the hard work with impossible deadlines. The photo on th eleft here is a 13 year old actor Cameron Menzies. He is much older now and going to Univirecity. He's standing in my old studio behind the set. I believe the set was the Kitchen of Gone Tubing. Yep his house in the film was all fake.

What to do ?

2011-05-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

I feel uninspired to write any film scripts lately. There is not much chance of being able to make any new productions in the near future so I'm a little down. I only write films I know I can make so I'm kind of stuck.

Making Plans

2011-05-08T04:49:00.000-07:00

So the newest plan is to make a real 35mm film in the summer of 2012. Each actor will need to pay $2,000 for their roll in the film. Yep I have to charge money now that I'm broke. So the casting call will be out soon but if your child really wants to be an actor then this would be the way to get notices.

Parents pay $500 to $5,000 a year just so their kid can play hockey well why not spend some money on your child's acting career?

Just drop me an email to set up your child's audition for the film.

casting@sterlingproductions.ca

What's wrong with people?

2011-05-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

MayByJef has turned down my offer to work on a film. It's always amazes me how fast people turn down opportunities without doing any research. So as history repeats it's self every actor I have ever asked to work with has turned me down. Only actors that ask me to work with me works. It's a one way street. Now if i had huge sales and block buster films maybe. So lets make that happen some how. It dives me crazy that there are actors out there that could make huge amounts of money and they turn down offers so fast.

Wow it's been...

2011-05-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

So it's been a long time. March11 was so long ago. Time really flies by when your not watching it.

So Where Did I get to?

2011-03-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

Well long story short I have been very very ill and I am just starting to recover. There has been a lot off bad news floating out of Sterling Productions so I decided not to say anything until now. What ever. I'm still alive so all is good.

So onto productions stuff. Some how, in some way I am going to make a film in July this year Starring Parker Kary and Kyle Claeys. I'm now thinking that I will try for another Scout troop film with a possible 30 actors. I have a few ideas for a story line but I'm not sure which I like yet. I guess it really depends on how hard it is to write the story. It will be action adventure film. May be a canoe trip gone wrong. For that I would have to make sure that all the actors are strong swimmers. Another idea would be they save a plain crash victim or it could be just a straight up story of friendship building.

So I will narrow it down and write some kind of outline then post a casting call to see if I can find the 30 plus actors for the film.

I Think this is Do-able : )

2011-02-19T20:24:00.000-08:00

Here is what I'm thinking. MadeByJef replied to my email and it sounds like he is interested in working on a film. I haven't heard anything from Tyson Thibodeau. I wish he would get back to me he has a fast growing fan base and I think I could easily sell 1,000 copies to them.

Anyway they way its looking a film to be shot in Niagara Falls Canada in July 2011 Starring

kyle Cleays (I have a tentative yes from his parents)

Parker Kary I haven't asked him yet but I will on Tuesday) and .

MadeByJef pending airline tickets and parents approval.

Budget is going to come in around $8,000 to $10,000 for flights for Jef and a parent, hotel or campground fees, gas for production vehicles, DVCAM Tape and food. There will most likely be some props but I'm not sure what yet because I haven't written the script yet.

Now the pole I have going seems to be leaning in the same direction so that could be a good thing. Hopefully we can have pre-orders, I mean have donations from 500 to 1,000 people that would really like to help Kyle, Parker and Jef get their film acting careers going. Again the pole looks like we may have 74 interested people.

I will post a Donation button for the project and each 25 dollar donation will get an autographed DVD copy of the film when its finish in early October. The DVD will have Dutch and German subtitles.

Now you know how I roll. Any thoughts, anyone? Comment below or feel free to email me. sterlingjohnston@hotmail.com

What New Film Production to do?

2011-02-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

So I have placed a poll on the side bar asking people what film would they buy on DVD based on who is staring in the film. I'm planing what to do next. If we fly MadeByJef over it will add about $5,000 to the cost of a film so I need to know if there is enough interest to go forward. If I film with Tyson Thibodeau its going to add $5,000 to the cost and if they both are in the film we are already at $10,000 and we haven't even bought tape yet. So please fill out the pol and we will see what happens.

Echo Beach The Movie Soundtrack Music Video ; )

2011-02-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

It good to know people that know stuff :)

2011-02-12T19:51:00.000-08:00

Well it good to know people that know stuff and it’s really good to know people who care about what you do. I got the new part from my Mac repair guy. It was just plug and play. So quick, so easy and it was very nice to see two orders for DVDs that came in on Friday so I could pay for the part although my Mac repair guy donated the part. But don’t despair I still required gas money to get there to pick up the part. Also 100% of the money goes right back into the production costs. I thank you for your support.

New Production?

2011-02-09T05:10:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try and make a film over the March Break. I'm not sure what actors I have or even a storyline but I'm still going to try.

My last post, a 4 am Rant. Sorry : )

2011-02-05T10:07:00.000-08:00

Yes sorry for all the negative stuff. I just needed to vent about the whole situation. it's just one of the many problems I face on a daily bases. I am trying to find good stuff to write about and so today I shall. I have a big productions in the works for this summer. I'm not sure how it's going to work out but hopefully everyone I have invites to work on the production says yes and we may have the very first Sterling productions Block Buster. I will be announcing the idea as soon as I get confirmation that the actors are in. : )

How I Get Repaid for all my hard work ! : (

2011-02-05T03:27:00.000-08:00

In late October I told the parents of a film production of mine that I could not afford a big screening of "the film" so that parents decided that they would hold a screening of their own. They asked my permission to screen "the film" offering to give the money raised (after expenses for the screening of coarse ) to me to help pay the bank back for the money borrowed to make "the Film. I agreed because I have to the bank back. So the extra money was promised to me.

On the week of the screening, around Dec 2010, I was raced to the hospital in extreme pain and had emergency surgery to remove an internal infection. There was a puss pocket 6" in diameter and 1/2 thick were my leg, meets my torso. I was told they would put me under for the surgery, which the surgeon decide that local freezing and some kind of pain killer in a drip iv "3 to 5 mins drip" was the only thing needed.

Well the very second the iv drip was hooked and to the protest of the nurse who was working the painkiller drip, the surgeon cut into me. What an unbelievable amount of pain! I'll spare you all the details but basically he cut into the area, removed what ever caused the infection, push all the puss out, packed a cotton string of some kind inside to act like a wick so the wound would weep out any and all remaining infection.

So after the surgery was done and the pain relievers just kicked in, I was given a prescription for an inflammatory, pain relief and anty biotic, then pushed out the door in a wheel chair and sent home.

So I was to come back in two or three days and he would remove the wick. So on the day of the screening I was back in the hospital, the surgeon removed the bandage, tool a look and said it looks good. He then took a pair of surgical pliers and in one swift motion he pulled all 48" of wick out. I had no idea that the wick that was packed in there was about 48" long.

Anyways, I was lying in bed, still in pain, upset that there was no way for me to help the parents with the screening of my film, while the parents of the actors I spent so much time and money helping, were giving the extra money raised from the screening to the local food bank.

So the next day I find out that they gave to money to the food bank and not me to repay the bank. I mean what the F***!. You got to be kidding me! This is so unreal! What gives them the right to give the banks money to the frig in food bank! What evil! What a breach of trust! What ever processed them?

So I sent an email stating my disbelief, I got a reply of, well it wasn't much money, it's not like it was thousands of dollars, it was only $289. Not replying because I had a few choice words for that.

Later on I sent a second email to another parent and got, well some of the parents decided that the money should go to the food bank and I didn't want to start an argument, well it wasn't much money, it's not like it was thousands of dollars, it was only $289. I didn't think it was that much money so I pitched in a few to make it an even $300.

So right now I'm paying 300% interest ( min credit card payment $300 of a $400 payment is interest) on the money that was borrowed for the film. So that $300 could have saved me $900 in interest.

So what do I do? Do I try and have them charged with theft? Do I sue them for breach of trust? What?

One thing I can do is terminating all contact and future work with the parties involved. So those actors are no longer welcome at Sterling Productions because their parents screwed them.

One parent did make a $210. Donation because she felt it was the right thing to do so I'm still working with them. But the others, no way! I mean common man! What a stab in the back.

I could realy use some help form out there. Sales, subscribers, veiws, comments here and on YouTube. I don't under stand why I can't not be sucessful at anything. With all the work I have put in over 25 years, How is that possible?

New blog for Parker Kary

2011-02-01T19:14:00.001-08:00

Yep that's right. We strated a new blog for Parker Kary so everyone can keep uptoday with what's going on in his acting world. Got check it out at www.parkerkary.blogspot.com

Parker's new video

2011-01-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

So I posted Parkers new video today. It took about an hour to film two vidoes, todays and Thursdays video. I think I need to slow down and make better videos. I'm rushing things a bit too fast agian. Bad habbit of mine. Any ways if you haven't seen it yet, go check it out on my SterlingCanada2 YouTube channel.

Recording the Greatest Joke Ever Sound Track

2011-01-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

So one fine day in January 2008 Matthew Rappolt star of my film Emmett spent many evening in my studio writing and recording music with his band The Unbreakable Clocks. I knew that I would use it in a film sound track at some piont but I wasn't sure what film. Throw in the Narx a band I worked with in the late 80's ealy 90's and I had the idea for the Greatest Joke Ever.

Matthew and the twins were ball 15 ears old here and the base player was 16 i believe.

Recording Copyright Sterling Johnston 2008 Music compose and proformed by Matthew Rappolt and band

Production News update Soon!

2011-01-22T20:13:00.000-08:00

We are working on some deals with actors but nothing has been set yet. Hopefully on Tuesday we will know more and Parker will make announcement. If not then maybe on Thursday. At the momnet working on selling some more stuff off to keep up with the bank payments. Hopefully sales pick up soon and I can get onto bigger and better projects that help more actors.

It's Parker Kary!!!

2011-01-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

It's the all new golden voice of Sterling Productions, Parker Kary. Parker will be answering all the questions people submit from YouTube, Twitter, emails and Canada Post. He will also be interviewing our actors about their films past , present and future along with other people at events. If you would like Parker to visit your event please submit a request by emial or Canada Post.

Parker Kary C/O
Sterling Productions
Box 96, Alma, Ontario
Canada N0B 1A0

He can only attend events in Ontario at this piont so please no out of province requests.

Updates & Things to do?

2011-01-17T03:45:00.000-08:00

So I have a new actor Parker Kary age 12. I will be making a video with him on Tuesday Jan 18th and hopefully posting it Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. It will be his introduction video so look for that video. I will post it on here as well.

Kyle Claey's is winning our actor pole on the left there. That's good because we are making a film with him this summer. We have a few story ideas so once I get the script finished and his parents approval we will start work on it. We maybe announcing a fund raiser for that project soon. We have to pre-sell the DVDs to make the money to make the film this time around. I have no credit anymore so I can't barrow the money like I use to do.

Also I'm still hoping to talk a popular YouTuber into working with us this summer.

Kyle Made an UpDate Video

2011-01-15T05:42:00.001-08:00

Dreaming of Next Summer's Production!

2011-01-08T16:48:00.000-08:00

Yep I sure did have fun last summer filming with Quinn, Payton, Tristen, Kyle and Henry last summer. It would have been nice to have the full ten days of filming as it was set up but we got cut short by some parents talking vacations and such so we were down to 7 8 hour days. Not much time but we managed.

So I'm looking forward to making something this summer. I'm going to start asking people to buy the new film even before it's made. For every donation of $25 there get a free DVD, with Free shipping anywhere in the world and it will be autographed by the cast. Now that's a cool deal if I have ever heard one. My PayPal is sterling_productions@hotmail.com if anyone is intrested in such a deal. Cast to be announced. Film will be 47 mins or longer.

Oh and if anyone knows where I can get a job in the KW area, please let me know. I need to make some cash.

Yips! 25 Years!

2011-01-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

I never thought I would see the day that Sterling Productions hit 25 years of film making. Yet here we are already. It's been a very bumpy ride I must say and I'm hoping that the next 25 goes supper smooth and makes more money than it loses this time around.

Many many thanks to a great person Cathy Danneberg for making this title page for the website. She is a great person to work with and does a great job. If you would like her to do some work for you, just contact her on http://www.youtube.com/cathydirector

Sometimes I get to have fun!

2010-12-26T22:25:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get to have some fun. That's my camera mount and gear strapped onto that brand new Hummer. It only had 12 miles on it. I think it had 200 by the time we finished running it up and down that old durt country road. Oh thats my old 1990 Dodge Truck in the back ground. Not much left of it I'm afriad. We got over 1,000,000 miles out of it before I parked it. I am thinking about put a new big block Dodge engien in it one day, but that takes cash I don't have at the moment.

Greatest Joke Ever Soundtrack

2010-12-23T15:19:00.000-08:00

So Matthew Rappolt form my movie Emmett also had a band called the Unbreakable Clocks and he was in my recording studio back in 2008 recording his demo CD. The guys made lots of money off their demo and I got to use the music in my films as film soundtracks. So when I wrote the Greatest Joke Ever back in July 2010 I planed on using the music as the sound track. I will be making a music video soon and post it on YouTube.

A quick Note:

2010-12-20T06:54:00.000-08:00

I did a quick online study and found that Swim Zack Swim is being pirated at an alarming rate. There has to be over 1,000,000 copies floating around out there now and I lost a huge amount of money on this production. It cots just under $15,000 to make and I only made $1,000 back. I only sold 106 copies so you can see what the problem is.

Press is a big part of promoting your indepenant film

2010-12-18T19:14:00.001-08:00

A making of Clip from Gone Tubing

2010-12-16T09:17:00.001-08:00

Filming Doritos Contest Video

2010-12-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

Almost 2 years ago I wanted to enter the Doritos name the new product contest and hopefully win the top prize. It would have been so great to win because of all the films we could have made and how many more kids I would have been able to help. But we didn’t win and I really didn’t like the ones the judges picked.
In my option they should have set the contest up differently. It was really hard to find someone’s entry.
Anyways, I rented a bear costume for Jacob Caldwell and the tent set was already set up for the Scout Adventure film re-shoot It’s hard to believe it was – 30 c outside the studio and we were filming summer evening stuff in the studio. Those are real trees behind the tent. The sky was just blue light shining on a white backdrop.

Actors on the set of Clear Cut.

2010-12-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

I thought this photo was fitting today because of all the snow outside. This was the group of young actors that offered to help Evan Phillips out. It’s part of the Clear Cut production we filmed in January February 2003. That was a long time ago. Way back before YouTube was around. It was about – 20 C that day. Yep all of those kids are now six feet tall, driving cars and off to University.

That’s my front yard and a quick sign I made with some old plywood I had hanging around.

Swim Zack Swim on location

2010-12-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

My homemade jib arm with the Sony Betacam SP camera mounted on it. This was used for the crane camera shot of Zack arriving at the Trophy Shop to try and get a job so he can make the money he needs to take swimming lessons.

This scene I wrote back in 2001 inspired the Jump Start Hockey commercial were a kid goes into a dinner looking for work so he can play hockey. Rick Mercer made a spoof of the commercial for his show The Rick Mercer Report. Rick worked with Evan Phillips six years after we made the original scene and then Henry Quinn and I got to work with Rick Mercer last summer making it a complete circler.
Funny how that works out.

Had Surgery this week.

2010-12-10T16:15:00.000-08:00

Hi, I had emergency surgery this week and now I'm home recovering. I will post something new later tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for stopping in. -Sterling

Music the sound of money disappearing.

2010-12-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

Unlike anything else music makes or breaks a film. It’s a very big part of how it all works. In the independent world of film making you don’t have the option or luxury of just purchasing what ever you want to make your film work. You simply don’t have the money. What you have to do is create music from scratch and that’s no easy task. You have to find a band that’s good at what they do. In my case we got lucky Camera Menzies has a really good band. You require a recording studio to record in. Can’t afford one at $85 an hour so we built one in my studio.
Well that’s all fin and dandy but we require some gear and that’s where things started to add up quick. A few microphones, headphones, mixing boards, sound systems, cables and a program / G5 tower to record and mix the music. $3,500 to $4,500 spent there.
Then all the band members are 14 to 15 years old at the time so someone needs to drive them back and forth to the studio. Most days the parents drove them out and I would drive them back.
Now we had five bands on the go at the time. All of them making new original music, some good, some not so good.
You can buy the film soundtartcks we recorded on my website www.sterlingproductions.ca

Working with Dylan Eshbuagh on Echo Beach

2010-12-05T20:58:00.000-08:00

Dylan Eshbuagh of YouTube’s Dylan Couch on his first day of filming on Echo Beach the Movie. Dylan and his mother drove up from New York New York to work on the film. I had two other YouTubers at the time wanting to do some work with at the time as well but I turned them down because I was working on Echo Beach. Justin and Locus didn’t have any trouble moving forward with their careers. May be if Dylan didn’t work with me his career may have taken off like the others. I can’t help but feel that I ginst his career.
Dyaln was supper easy to work with, a real pro. I really want to work with him again in the future and I have the feeling he feels the same way. I wish he would make a new YouTube video even if it’s only a vlog update on what he is doing now.

2010-12-04T17:22:00.000-08:00

The fry stand wasn’t real. I put this set together with some stuff I had lying around the studio. The green wall at the back was from the Swim Zack Swim film. It’s Zacks Kitchen wall.

I got back from filming at the beach at 2 am and went to sleep. At 5am I was back up assembling the Fire stand set with what ever I could find. By 10am the cast was there and we went to work shooting all the fry stand interior scenes to match all the exterior scenes we shot 30 days before
Edwin was kind emough to do some sound work and that's me with all the messy gray hair giving the women directions as to how the scene will go.

Echo Beach Stage Set

2010-12-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

Here we have the stage I built in my back yard for all the concert scenes in the film. 2x4 frame about 24” off the ground and it’s 16’ x 12’ . The floor joist was 2x6 16' long @ 16" on center. I built the backdrop wall behind the stage 12’ high and 16’ wide the same as the stage. Then there were 3 sections of scaffolding on each side for the lights to hang on. A two week rental item.

I built a lighting system with ten light switches and dimmers and I had my friend Dale flip them on and off. It was the best we could at the time. We had a big barbecue to try and get some people to be extras. It didn’t work. Dylan was suppose to be at the concert but he wasn’t available at the time we filmed it so I did his part 2 years later just of the road in the bushes at Sauble Beach. The beach is a two-hour drive from my back yard.

Cameron’s band played well into the night, 4 am I think we rapped. I believe we got lucky and most of my neighbors had gone away for the weekend.

Take a guess at what it cost to make the stage set? Post your guess in the comments box below.

The only picture I have when the set was up.

2010-12-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

So this would be why there was never a camera shot looking out the bathroom door at the cabin. There was lots of set panels and places to set lights.

Lighting was challenging at times but we did seem to make do. We only had 3 Mole Richard lamps and one big 2k out side for the fake sun. Yep we film daytime in the middle of the night. Yes all that sun coming in the widows was fake. Well not all I guess some days we did film when the sun was up.

The nights we filmed the party scenes and when guys were playing it was really loud and I was surprised no one complained. Lindsay’s base amp really kicked the sound out.

Echo Beach the Movie was very expencive to make.

2010-12-01T20:51:00.001-08:00

So this is the cabin set in the other direction. This photo was taken after we finished filming so most everything was taken apart. We rapped about 3 am on the last day trying to squeeze all the missing camera shots with Zeffer. He was heading off to University on the other side of Canada the next day.

You may recognize the set panel and the studio space. I reusable everything for the You Can’t Do That On YouTube YouTube shows / children’s acting for television workshops. So yes Shaggy72 you are correct everything is reusable. And if we do get a chance to film the sequel or prequel of Echo Each this summer we will use the set again.

Casey's Cabin Set

2010-11-30T19:52:00.000-08:00

Casey Cabin may be a set I may use next summer. I have plans for Quinn and I to make another Echo Beach film, that’s if I can make the money to make it. Shagy72 is always asking about the behind the scenes stuff so the pic on the left is the set for Casey’s Cabin.

It does cost a few dollars to put something like this together. One screen door $200. One widow $350. some 8 - 2x4s $24 dry wall $18. white latex cocking $5 and white paint $36. and $633 later the garage door is now a cabin wall. The other walls are set panels at $81. each, x 23 so $1863 oh and then there is the 10 foot panel on the ceiling that was used to help with the acoustics.

Then we need furniture, curtains, bathtub practical sink, toilet, bunk beds and other stuff to make it look like some one lives there. It just adds up so fast and then you need to take care of the actors. Pick them up and drive them home and it’s a 2hour round trip each time. Food yad yad yad.

Henry Daemen's RBC Avion Commercial on CTV

2010-11-29T20:28:00.000-08:00

Henry Daemen’s RBC Avion commercial is on CTV now. I just spent the whole evening, last 5 hours taping all the commercials that came on. Just my luck they didn’t show it again. I’m hoping they put it on tomorrow at 5:35 like they did today so I can finally tape it and post it on online for people to see.

The picture on the left is Henry standing at the ticket booth on the set of the commercial when they filmed it about 8 weeks ago.

2010-11-28T07:23:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Holiday is coming up in about 28 days. May I suggest Swim Zack Swim or Clear Cut starring Evan Phillips as a gift for your child under the age of 10. Over the years kids that watch the film watch it over and over and over again. It has that Barney or Disney effect on them. The love to sing along to the songs in the film and they memorize ever word of the film. I believe it would make the perfect Gift for them.

My cousin lent her copy to her neighbour’s child. The child loved the film so much she wouldn’t give it back. My cousin ended up buying a new copy.

My brother showed the film to his kids and his daughter age 5 wanted to swim just like Zack. She was walking around the house singing the songs from the films and she too watched the film over and over again.
Two of my old actors have copies of the films and the films had the same effect on their kids. Not bad for the little films I have made.

If your child has seen the films and have fallen in love with them, Please leave your story in the comment box. You can also purchase them on my website www.sterlingcanada.ca/spstore.html

You May Ask

2010-11-25T21:15:00.000-08:00

You may ask yourself, how did he do those car-driving shots. Why are they so steady and professional looking or maybe not? Well I made a door mount for my camera. It was really built for a much bigger camera than this but I only have a PD170 at this point that works. The Batecam SP croaked on the first day of filming Emmett way back when.

It looks a little beat up there but you need to remember it has a lot of miles on it and has been used in many low budget film productions.

This photo is when we were filming Echo Beach is September 2007. That’s Edwin Mason in the driver’s seat there and Caitlin Alexander in the passenger seat. We were shooting the remaining scenes after we had wrap most of the filming.
The car is a 1974 Dodge Dart that took me 15 years to restore in my spear time. Spear Time? Well I know I was building the car to use in Echo Beach so I guess I was really just building a film prop.

YouTube?

2010-11-24T21:43:00.000-08:00

Yep I was turned down for YouTube Partner Deal. I need a huge amount of sunscribers and video views to get one. So I'm way down this evening. If it wasn't for helping Quinn work on his film earlyer today I would give up film making all to gether. You know life would be so much easyer if I did nothing.
I need to keep going. Quinn is counting on me to help him make his film.

Marketing

2010-11-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

Making the films is way easier than trying to sell them. It costs just as much if not more to market the film once it's completed. To the left is a booth that I had at a local market. It was $1,500 plus all the extras like gas to drive there and back. I may have sold 10 DVDs in 4 months that I had the booth for.

I tried YouTube as well. I think I did better there but you always need to be making new films and videos to keep peoples interest. If you stop all sales stop. I may have sold 50 that way. Ebay worked for a while. 12 copies a week for a few weeks then it just stopped. I looked around the web and found free copies all over the place. Video pirates had put me out of business. I was kind of mad about that for while but what are you going to do. Just keep trying to sell them. My website works best I think if I can get people there to buy stuff but that's not easy. A director flogging his stuff can flog all day and get nothing. It's not until some one else say hey do you see the cool film from Sterling Productions do you get a sale.

Oops I gave away a big marketing secret there. Please tell me if it works for you and maybe do me a small favor and tell people about my great films so I get some sales.

Lighting

2010-11-22T22:47:00.000-08:00

We have thunder and lighting outside tonight. The house rumbles and everything shakes in the house. When I was working on Gone Tubing, in the final stages of editing I was struck by the thought that we hadn't scared the audience at any point. Humm what I need is a thunderstorm and I know just the place to put it. I phoned Cameron up and his dad drove him right over. I set up the tent in the studio and we used a flash from a still camera for our lighting. It was a rather quick to shoot and with an outdoor shot of the tent in Daylight I had everything I needed to make the sequence. I took three frames of video, gave them a blue tint, cranked the brightness, synced in some thunder and we had a scene that made everyone jump right out of their seats. Adam said after the show that the storm was his favorit part of the film. Sometimes the simplest set ups work so well.

Wow time is Flying!

2010-11-21T22:00:00.000-08:00

Adam and Sam from RR1 Alma film that was never finished.

Wow it's almost the end of November already. Time is really flying by. So I had a few new ideas for films today. I have one good idea for next summer. It should be rather cheep to film but it's going to need really good cinematography to keep the audience watching. It would be 12 weeks of filming and star only one 12 year old boy. Well the opening and ending scenes would have 40 actors plus or minus but the main story only fallows one kid. The actor needs to be a really good swimmer and no it's not Swim Zack 2. I can't make that film yet, but I can make this one. I should put out a casting call for a new male actor age 10 to 12 that has the summer free to work on a film. But were to get the money to make the film? That's always the problem with making plans. The money gets in the way every time. Don't you agree?
Speaking of Money the RR1 Alma film is a true story and it's a huge film project that would take over a year to film. I tried making this one a few year ago but sadly it was way to big of a project. It's hundreds of extras and lots of props and locations. To houses that need to be recreated in a studio and a 70's shool with farm feilds beside it. 70's cars and school busses. I really want to get it made before I land in a pinewood box. Oh what to do?

Wish List

2010-11-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

I wish I could find more good local actors and I wish I could make 12 films a year for them to star in. I wishI had a crew to work with and everything ran like clock work. I wish I had ideas for 12 films a year and I could write them as fast as I can think. I wish I wish I wish. All the wishes in the world wont get anyone anywhere. Thats just the way its. But surely there is 2,000 people out there that would buy each DVD as they were made. It doesn't takes millions of dollar to make kids dream come true just a few.

Anyways I'm looking for ideas? Maybe some kind of a film fan cub where people could sign up and pledge to buy in support of the young talent. Kids today have far less opportunities today to get professional acting experience in front of the camera and that's where I came in. It's sad to see it sink below the waves. I'm tired, beaten down by stress and frustration. I really should have taken a year off liked I had planed but I had so many actors wanting to do something that I couldn't say no.
Please feel free to post comments or ideas.

What's New Today?

2010-11-20T06:33:00.000-08:00

Well today I updated my old website a bit. I'm not sure why because on January 5th 2011 it will be closed because I don't have the cash to renew the hosting. Good thing Google is a giver and I can have a blog for free. That is one day things will turn around and they will want money and become a taker. On the left is a pic of my Emmett DVD. I really liked making that film. It took four a temps and 10 years to get it made. The hard part was the car crash footage. You just can't go out and roll a car with out the police and everyone showing up so we did it on a private drive.

We shot the crash scenes first because if we couldn't get them then there was no use filming the rest of the film. The fallowing Wednesday Matthew Rappolt's dad phoned and said Mathew broke his leg playing soccer for the local rep-team. He was so upset about not being able to finish the film that he had his dad phone me before phoning his grandparents. I said not to worry, he still has the lead part and we would put the film on hold until his leg healed in 12 weeks.

Twelve weeks rolled by and Matt was back on his feet. He has a limp but that's okay he is walking. The day before filming Evan Green showed up at the studio asking about a part as an extra for the base ball scene. I thought to myself too bad I don't have a lead part for this kid because he has that potential lead look. The phone rang and it was David ( the part of Mike) and he said he could no longer be in the film his parents are getting a divorce. I hung up the phone, turned to Evan and said " How would you like a lead part in the film?" He took to steps back with a huge smile on his face "Sure, what's the part?"

Sterling, "Well you're playing that kid that hates the artsy, farty kid and you get to make fun of him, but then there is a car crash, he saves the guys life and then you guys are friends at the end."

Evan, "Okay I can do that!"

"Okay take this script home, ask your mom if you can do it and you start first thing tomorrow at ten am." Sterling

Evan" Okay thanks!" and he ran out the door. The next day he was on set and he had all his lines memorized. I have no idea how he did that but he did.

2010-11-19T21:51:00.000-08:00

All New Start

2010-11-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

So I am an independent filmmaker that helps local youth build their professional acting careers. As you may or may not know I live 100 miles form Toronto and it's really hard for kids here to drive in to the city for auditions on a daily bases so I started working with them to build their resumes and accumulate the very important task of on the job training by producing film productions locally. I donate about 4,000 of my time a year and over the past 25 years about $450,000 of my income. Wow I must be crazy when I look at all that cash I have lost.