Everyone worked so hard, and the shortcomings you see are mine not theirs. Particular thanks must go to our wonderful producer Sandra Bridgewater. I hope behind the sometimes choppy editing and quirky dialogue you see the heart of this film, because it’s a heart I think we can all empathise with.

Mesmerised was shot over four days, with a fifth day for pickups. After months of post production it was premièred at the Valhalla Cinema in Sydney, and subsequently bought by Qantas for their in-flight entertainment programme.

I hope you enjoy it.
Rich

PS It’s best enjoyed with headphones on (thanks to the amazing mix by Luke Baker).

Trapped played at a number of film festivals throughout the world, including the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival and Los Angeles International Short Film Festival. I got to go to both with one of the producers, which was really quite cool!

Whilst I was in LA, I even managed to meet up with another Richard Shepherd, who turned out to be the producer behind the wonderful film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. We had waffles at Factors Deli in Beverly Hills, and I listened for an hour as he told stories of Hollywood in the 60s and 70s. Amazing stuff. It still gives me goosebumps when I think about that meeting.

Anyway, here it is. The thrid film I directed, and the most well received. I give you, Trapped.

This weekend I unearthed a bunch of short films and commericals I directed a couple of years ago, and thought they’d make a nice addition to the new site. They were part of a campaign to ‘Change the World in Five Minutes’, which I worked on with Film Australia and Australian broadcaster SBS.

So here’s the first – it’s called ‘Two Degrees’.

My walk to work from Richard Shepherd on Vimeo.

Check out thevideos in DickTV, and the latest commercials and virals I directed in my stuff.

Blog updates to follow shortly…

With movies based on TV shows this good, who can’t be excited about 2009?!

I watched an interesting back issue of ZeFrank’s The Show this morning. He was talking about creativity, and likened it to playing a Sudoku puzzle.  Just staring at a puzzle, at the little blank squares, doesn’t help fill them in. They don’t magically come into being, completing themselves while you watch. You have to fill in the first. And then the second reveals itself. Fill in the second, and along comes the third.

Writing is like that. Nothing is more terrifying than staring at a blank sheet of paper. Nothing flows. There are no ideas. But start to write, and it flows. I think that applies to most things in life. If you just start, that’s half the battle. Once you’re on the road, you are constantly surprised by the nothing of things that help you along and point you in the right direction. So if I can write a list of things I want to do over the coming months, and then write down the first step, we’ll all be well on the way.

So, what are those things.

This website, the ‘playground’. There should be things to play with in a playground. So, I’ll be adding a game, more stuff to watch, and some widgets. My first will be ‘the Nick Dare widget’. More on that soon.

Next is a new project, called ‘Dave Angel, Life Coach’. That’s enough on that for now.

‘The Yowie’ is halfway funded. We are setting a shoot date for early 2008, so it’s (finally!) becoming a reality.

The youCan2 competition goes live in September, and I’m about to shoot some virals for that. They’ll be going live within the next few weeks.

That sounds like heaps, doesn’t it. Not sure where the feature film fits into that schedule, which is a worry. Nor all that guitar playing I’m meant to be doing.

Oh, and did I mention number one is on the way. So. There’s that. There’s always that.

Still, it’s not all work work work. I’ve rediscovered weekends and the joy of hot chocolate before bed. And with so much to look forward to (new Harry Potter book, Die Hard 4.0, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Simpsons Movie, Spring - the season, not the coiled metal – and building a Boori Classic), it promises to be a busy few months.

Expect lots more updates over the coming days and weeks. Starting with myStuff – the complete filmography of Dick Shepherd. Oh, and check out dickTV as I’ve found some absolute screamers of late. As Posh might say, “major”!

http://www.knockedupmovie.com