Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Casting for The Misselthwaite Archives



Pencil Ink Productions is casting male and female roles for The Misselthwaite Archives, a multimedia web series adaptation of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. (This series is in the same vein as The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and The Autobiography of Jane Eyre.) More information can be found at misselthwaitearchives.com.

Female Roles:

1. Mary (17) - lead
Surly, cynical, and guarded; sees the worst in every situation and rarely opens up to other people. Particularly dislikes adult authority figures. Sarcastic and easily irritated, generally unpleasant to be around. Her negativity stems from loneliness and self-doubt, and her coming-of-age journey focuses on overcoming her trust issues and learning to find friends and family in the people around her.

2. Phoebe (20s) - supporting
Mary’s tutor. Optimistic and outgoing. The oldest of several siblings; loves kids and is a natural storyteller. Studying to be an elementary school teacher, and works multiple jobs to help her mother support the family. Very organized and focused.

3. Mrs. Medlock (40s-50s) - supporting
Mary and Colin’s caretaker; Art’s sister. Overprotective and strict, with a tendency for yelling. Has made many sacrifices for her family, and Colin’s well-being is her topmost priority.

Male Roles:

4. Colin (14-17) - supporting
Mary’s cousin. Allergic to everything and prone to asthma attacks. Spoiled, arrogant, melodramatic; hates when he doesn’t get his way. Obnoxiously intelligent, but afraid of the world outside his room and therefore very sheltered. Only understands social interactions from what he’s seen in movies or read on the internet.

5. Declan (19) - supporting
Phoebe’s brother. Quiet but friendly, good-natured, earthy. Loves animals and the outdoors. Avoids interpersonal conflict at all costs, even at detriment to himself, and always puts others’ needs before his own.

6. Uncle Art (30s-40s) - supporting
Mary’s uncle and Colin’s father. Became a workaholic after the death of his wife. Constantly away on business trips so as to avoid all reminders of her, including Colin.

Scheduling:

The show will run from January through June of 2015, but production commitments may begin as early as November 2014 in the general Portland area. There are approximately 40 episodes, each 3-5 minutes long. Actors must be able to shoot 3-4 full days per month from December through June, likely on weekends, but we do plan to create our shooting schedule around the needs of our cast and crew.

Compensation:

As this is a passion project on a practically-zero budget, all roles are non-union and unpaid. We can offer IMDb credit and HD copies of the footage, and Pencil Ink Productions will also provide significant discounts on our custom acting reel services for any actors cast in the series.



If you are interested in any of these roles, please send a headshot, résumé, and reel (if available) to contact@pencilinkproductions.com with “Misselthwaite Auditions - CHARACTER NAME” as the subject of the email. We will respond with more information on audition times and sides.

Feel free to contact us with any other questions!

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

"Something New" (A 48 Hour Film Project)


Pencil Ink Productions presents "Something New" a short film created for the 48 Hour Film Project in Portland, OR. The film was written and shot from August 1-3, 2014.

After agreeing to try a threesome to spice up their relationship, a married couple takes to Craigslist to find a third partner.

Genre: Romance
Character: Tina or Trevor DuMonde, a racer
Prop: a mirror
Dialogue: "I looked at it a long time before I saw it."

The version of this film that premiered on August 6th at 7pm at the Hollywood Theater is available on YouTube.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Seeking writers/multimedia team for The Misselthwaite Archives

Pencil Ink Productions is seeking writers and visual artists to join our development team for The Misselthwaite Archives, a multimedia web series adaptation of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. (This series is similar to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and The Autobiography of Jane Eyre.) More information and a teaser trailer can be found at misselthwaitearchives.com.

We are looking for:

1) Screenwriters to join our writers’ room, develop the story, and pen a few episodes! Screenwriting experience preferred, but not necessary. (Strong storytelling skills are more important to us than whether or not you know how to format a script.) Experience working with online video or adaptations is a plus.

2) Multimedia team members to create in-world story content for our website! We need people who can create in-world written documents (emails, newspaper articles, psych evals, school essays), as well visual images (posters/flyers, call logs, receipts, travel tickets, social media accounts). Photoshop/graphic design skills will be necessary to mimic the layouts of various documents. Familiarity with a variety of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat) is a plus.
(It’s worth noting that we haven’t been referring to this as “transmedia” because the social media elements will not be live or interactive, but will instead be screencaps posted on the website; imagine it as an online epistolary novel.)

The show will run from January through May/June of 2015, but development meetings will begin in September 2014. We’d like most of the team to be located near Portland, Oregon, but we are open to considering people from other locations, especially for the media team, provided you can attend meetings via Skype or Google Hangouts.

As this is a passion project on a practically-zero budget, all positions are unpaid.

If you are interested in writing episodes or contributing to the multimedia team, please send an email with the subject “Misselthwaite Development Team” to contact@pencilinkproductions.com. Let us know why you’re interested in the project, and attach a resume and any writing/media samples, if available.

Feel free to contact us with any other questions!

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

"Something New" (48 Hour Film Project) Trailer!


Pencil Ink Productions presents the trailer for “Something New,” a 48 Hour Film Project from Portland, Oregon:

After agreeing to try a threesome to spice up their relationship, a married couple takes to Craigslist to find a third partner.

This film will premiere on Wednesday, August 6th at 7pm at the Hollywood Theater. Tickets available online (screening group A).

Monday, June 23, 2014

The Misselthwaite Archives - January 2015!


Announcing our newest project, a multimedia web series, coming January 2015!

The Misselthwaite Archives is a modern adaptation of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, told through a series of online videos, images, and written vignettes.

Find out more at misselthwaitearchives.com.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

"No Time to Wander" Book Trailer

We're excited to launch our book trailer for No Time to Wander: The Financial Compass for Young Americans by Paul Nourigat! Working off Paul's concept for the video, we created a storyboard, conducted the interviews, and edited the final product.

Update: Within one week of its release, the No Time to Wander trailer already has 10,000 views on YouTube!


Saturday, April 5, 2014

Updates and Announcements

Exciting things have happened in the past few months, so it seems like a good time to share some project updates and general announcements!

We're pleased to announce that as of February, Pencil Ink Productions is officially an LLC! We have also begun offering a variety of video services to local organizations and individuals, including customized acting reels, online promotionals, and live event coverage. Check out our services page for more information.


We recently finished a book trailer for No Time to Wander: The Financial Compass for Young Americans by Paul Nourigat. The trailer and marketing campaign should be launching in the next week or so, and we can't wait to share the video!


We're currently working on several projects with the An Daire Academy of Irish Dance here in Portland. We spent the weekend of St. Patrick's Day filming their performances at various festivals and venues around town, and we will be using the footage in promos for the school.

We've also partnered with An Daire for a documentary about the cultural importance of Irish dance, which will focus on feiseanna (dance competitions) and their ability to bring the Irish community together. We are currently in pre-production, and we'll be launching a crowdfunding campaign soon to help offset some of our costs.

Until then, however, check out the An Daire dancers' awesome rendition of "Gangnam Style" by Psy!