In the Shooting Gallery: Shooting Video not Guns

Photo by David Wing

This weekend, I'm leading Team Cowboy Blob in the 10th Annual Almost Famous Film Festival 48-Hour Film Festival.  I'm no greenhorn in this rodeo, but this is my first ride as sole Producer.  I've got two returning crew and recruited two more I met during the shooting of "Dead Meat."  I look forward to working with my cast, so far consisting of two talented lady friends/actresses with whom I've worked previously.

The weekend after that, I'll be crew and minor cast for "McBride," the prequel to Gerry Gilbert's award-winning Western short "Blackwood."  We're shooting out at Gammon's Gulch again, so I'm sure it'll look great.

After that, gotta try to finish the Binker Movie "Ready When You Are, CB."

Beyond that, I've got three shorts in the queue to produce before I even think of writing another one... unless they don't get done by summer.  I ALWAYS use the summer road trip drive to brainstorm a script for the Pima College Advance Cinematography class.  That and the summer Binker Movie.

Last year's 72-Hour "One Script Challenge" Movie here.

Pre-Super Bowl Skeet

My best buddies the Copelands (two brothers and Dad) invited me to do some pre-Super Bowl skeet shooting at Ben Avery, and I resolved not to show up with a 12 gauge pump, because I shoot those in 3-Gun all the time, except when I'm feeling handi-capable and bring my Winchester 1300 Lady Defender (I defend Ladies with it... got a problem with that?).  So I dug into the Other Gun Safe (the one with SKSs and other runners up) and brought out my Sile 20-banger for a joy ride.  Determining when we'd last shot skeet together, it seems I was 30 pounds lighter, sporting a GI-haircut, and sucked at the gun game.  Some things never change.  I struggled to manage one hit  at each station over two rounds, but I had fun shooting with old friends and new buddies who were very generous with coaching tips.

My choice of gat drew some attention... "Son, that doesn't quite look right," was a common reaction to the Sile (importers, not manufacturers), and it took me a stage to realize that with the single trigger o/u gun, the BOTTOM barrel shoots first. The Sile got passed around by folks amazed an o/u existed that didn't cost a Grand.  Jon was there with his 3-gun competition rig and brother Wayne with a similar piece; the Elder Copeland sported a .410 gat from a matched set... he cleaned our clocks.

The other two in our six-some were sporting 28-guages... as pro shooters are want to do.  Yeah, they were crazy-good.  I don't mind not keeping score too closely... we were shooting in early February, in Phoenix Arizona, in shirtsleeves in absolutely gorgeous weather.  They'd squeezed us locals into a few of the public positions.  While there, we paused for the National Anthems of the United States and Canada, as the Big Event kicked off.  No Denver Broncos were injured in the making of this event.