3 Ladies

As promised! After years lost, floating in the negative zone, 3 Ladies has returned to the internet. The children of Danville, Kentucky need to know the names of these legendary women aren’t just signs on a building. They lived. They breathed. And they fought ninjas.

That officially leaves Cannonball as our only production not currently viewable (unless you purchased one of our top quality DVDs). Cannonball will make its way to YouTube also, but pulling a two hour video off a defunct editing system and computer that are no longer supported is a daunting task.

Stay tuned for more updates on that and developments on the rebirth of Space Cops.

We Turned The Lights Back On

Hey, so… our last post was 6 years ago. I’ll just go ahead and own up to that. Basically I had a kid and haven’t done anything creative from that day until right now. But it’s a new day and the Walk Softly corpse is stirring. Actually, a lot is happening. So, let’s get reacquainted and I’ll catch you up.

First, during our hiatus, a lot of our films and videos disappeared from the internet. (Vimeo sucks.) Step one was to fix that. I began the task of digging up all the old projects (easier said than done) and getting them back on the web - this time in a spot where they won’t disappear. So far, Bizarnival, Allen Stares at Thrift Store Paintings, and 3 of Them have been uploaded to the Walk Softly YouTube page. I’m currently working to resurrect our feature film Cannonball (a more complicated task) and upload it in its entirety. Our short film, 3 Ladies should be easier and I hope to have it on YouTube the first or second week of August.

Second… Space Cops. All things Cops. The possibility to do things we could never have done just a few years ago is what lit my fire and has me back here posting on this page. The ultimate goal is to release new/old episodes - some of the best of the series. A lot has already been happening behind the scenes, so let’s walk through it…

• Footage from every appearance of the Space Cops cast on Battle of the Network Stars is being compiled and will be uploaded to the Space Cops YouTube page.

• The Space Cops Wiki page has been updated, including a new Episode Guide that will eventually contain a synopsis for every episode across all five seasons of the series.

• We’ve been releasing some of those episode descriptions on our Facebook and Twitter accounts to reignite interest and hopefully draw the funding we’ll need to release more episodes. If you have a few extra bucks to help restore Space Cops, you can donate here. Or, if you want to buy a Space Cops t-shirt, every dollar of that purchase goes to bringing back more episodes.

I can safely say our next update will be sooner than 2032. I’ll be posting when we upload content as well as the step by step progress on Space Cops restoration. See you in a few days.

3 of Them

WE LIVE!! Not only that; we actually got off our butts and did a little filmmaking. We just got back from another epic trip to Paducah and the Rivers Edge International Film Festival where we debuted our newest short. That means today is online premiere day.

3 of Them is a behind the scenes account of the making of Kenny Rogers’ hit song, Coward of the County. The song itself is a bit weird, but chances are you didn’t know just how much weirder the backstory is. Allow us to share…

Screenplay: Logan

How about another free screenplay for your reading pleasure? This should be an intriguing one. James Mangold took an interesting direction for the best (by far) solo Wolverine film; borrowing from Mark Millar's Old Man Logan story in the comics. Without further ado, here is your link...

Logan by Scott Frank & James Mangold

Screenplay: Guardians of the Galaxy 2

Let's keep the free screenplay train rolling. This week, James Gunn shared his Guardians of the Galaxy 2 script with us for the low price of nothing. So if you're looking for something a bit more fun and blockbustery than last week's screenplays, this one may be your jam.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Script  by James Gunn

Free Screenplays 2017

It's that time of year again! I'm under the firm belief that the best way to improve your own writing is to read and study the work of great writers. Well, as luck would have it, we are now incredibly and improbably provided free access on a yearly basis to screenplays vying for Academy Award nominations. So, without further ado, here is your inspirational fodder for 2017...

• Beauty and the Beast
  • by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos

• The Big Sick
  • by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani

• Brad's Status
  • by Mike White

• Breathe
  • by William Nicholson

• First They Killed My Father
  • by Loung Ung and Angelina Jolie

• I, Tonya
  • by Steven Rogers

• The Lost City of Z
  • by James Gray

• The Man Who Invented Christmas
  • by Susan Coyne

• The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
  • by Noah Baumbach

• mother!
  • by Darren Aronofsky

• Mudbound
  • by Virgil Williams & Dee Rees

• Okja
  • by Bong Joon Ho and Jon Ronson

Filmmaking: Storytelling With Sound

Your filmmaking lesson for the day comes courtesy of the fine folks at The Royal Ocean Film Society.  (And they have to be massive Wes Anderson marks with a name like that, right?)  Anyway... we can never have too many reminders of the importance of sound in film.  In fact every legendary filmmaker I've ever seen weigh in on the subject agrees that, if they have to choose, audio is more important than visuals; that an audience can acclimate to weird or sub-standard cinematography, but never bad audio.

Filmmaking: Free Screenplays

Here is a fantastic resource for you writers out there:  FREE links to the screenplays of every Oscar contender.

Screenwriting is a completely unique discipline. It feels as if you have to rewire your brain to think in script form with all its formatting peculiarities. If I were trying to explain or teach someone how to do it, simple instructions would be nearly impossible on the more subjective elements. How much detail should I give in my action blocks? Should I include any camera/framing directions? Personally I've found nothing is better for finding the sweet spot and getting your mind into the creative rhythm of a script than reading an abundance of screenplays by the writers I enjoy the most or from a specific film that I loved; to see how it translated from page to screen.

Filmmaking: 3 One-Light Set-Ups

My favorite cinematography tips are the simple kind because whether I'm on the job or making a short film, we are normally 1) short on time 2) short on manpower 3) short on equipment. So, anytime I can improve my shots and add style in fast and easy ways, I'm going to take notice.

Here are three highly stylized looks using only one light. Yes, they are often used in music videos as the title says, but you should flex that imagination and use them for any application that fits.

Filmmaking: Stranger Things Titles

I know I'm not the only film geek that has been burning through Stranger Things and wondering just what process they used to make those retro titles. Did they turn back the dial and do it optically? Recreate the look digitally? ...Turns out a little of both. Check out the whole story with this nice little piece by Vox.