My filming debut

I have always dreamed of making a movie. I have no skills or training that would make me good at it, but I have wanted to none the less. I wrote a short story and began the filming of that story yesterday.

I had a vision of what I wanted and made a script and storyboard to help me fulfill my vision. I also gathered a crew of geniuses. Sandra for my costumes and set design , Ali for hair and make up , and my actors: Amy is Barbie ("Milli") Julio is GI Joe (Joe) and Ken (Carson) is played by Blake . Who wins Barbie's heart in the end? You'll have to see the movie to find out!

I had made all the arrangements and decorations weeks in advance. Saturday morning's shoot was to begin at 10 am. I had all characters ready and had some extras to be at the party. 10am comes and I receive texts and calls from flakey friends who "had something come up" and I was left with 2 extras. Lame. Luckily, well an answer to prayer, my family showed up unexpectedly. Ashley pulled up with 4 kids in her car and later Matt also came with 2 kids. My original plan has now turned into something a little different.

We dressed them in the costumes we had for my other extras: Pippi Longstockings , Bob the Builder , Barbie's mom , Barbie's sister, Skipper ,Darth Vader and a storm trooper , Harry Potter , some Bratz dolls , Matt will be found in most shots as Waldo , Andy showed up later and we put him in the Alvin costume , and a homemade Cabbage Patch Doll made a quick appearance .

It was a fun couple of hours and I got about 8 minutes of footage in that time. Now I'm onto the editing process, which is more difficult than I had planned. My newer Mac has the new firewire connection and I couldn't locate the right wire yesterday. Now it is time to organize a photo shoot of Barbie and her two beaus, some wedding shots, some catching butterflies shots, picnics etc.

My goal is to have a film in the Gangrene Film Festival next September! I'll keep you posted.

The Over exaggerated Locker Room Incident by steph doyle

It was 2nd period at Matheson Jr. High School in Magna Utah. Ms. Doyle was preparing for her class while the dancers were getting dressed in the locker room. As she does every day, Ms. Doyle takes a stroll through the locker room... checking for graffiti and sluffing students, and to tell her girls to hurry to class. As she approaches the door a small 7th grade student runs out with a friend, "there's fighting in there" then continues to run away. Ms. Doyle storms in yelling "HEY! WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

Scattering feet is all you can hear, no voices and no other noises. It's eerily silent. She sees her three students, roughed up, blochy red skin and eyes, and a mix of terror and anger in their expressions. One girl is on her phone with her mom, blood on her hand from a scratch and hair a mess.

"What happened?"

"They jumped Citali, Ms. Doyle! We weren't just going to sit there... we had to help... three on one... we had to protect her...self defense..." She rambled on and on. Ms. Doyle nodded, of course you had to help. She would too if it had been her friends, though she does not condone fighting.

"Who was it?"

"We don't know them... I swear!"

Ms. Doyle makes sure everyone is okay and walks into the hallway, the other girls fled minutes ago and could be anywhere. It doesn't help that they don't know who they are, but someone does and she would find them. Just then, two little 7th graders walk by nervously. Ms. Doyle looks at them and the little blonde one bursts out with, "Our teacher said we had to change that's why we were in the locker room we had to change our teacher said we had to so we did..." "Okay," Doyle says flatly, "did you see anything? What happened?"

"we don't know, but a girl in our class recorded it on her phone."

"who?"

"Kimberly... or Michelle... one of the twins" and the girls continue to discuss which twin is in their class as Ms. Doyle heads to the gym, ignoring them.

Ms. Doyle walks in the other gym and sees Michelle hunched over with a friend. Ms. Doyle assumes she must be showing off her little video. She quietly sneaks up behind them and says, "I'll take that please" Michelle, not knowing that Ms. Doyle knows what is on the phone, swears under her breath and hands over the phone (thinking she'll get it back at the end of the day).

Kelley and Doyle watch the video. It looked like it came straight out of a movie. One girl walking around the corner, three little girls jump on her, throwing fists like gangsters do in the movies. Then her friends each take one. Hair flying, blocks, punches, and bodies being thrown into the walls. It was a little frightning to see, though there was no blood - whew.

Ms. Doyle walks a shakey, teary eyed Michelle to the office with the phone and has Coach Kelley take the 3 girls from my class up to see Officer Lee. They head down to the gym and pick up the other girls... tiny 7th graders.

(None of them are here today, so I don't know how it was handled. I had a "quiz" in my classes - What should you do when you see something in the locker room? - I chewed them out about not coming to get me and that if it happened again, I would charge each of them with accessory to the assault. I can be mean, and I was mean.

There you go. Sorry, no Ms. Doyle on YouTube).