For fun this year, my wife and I decided we’d plan out our church group’s Christmas Party. It was a lot of fun. Also, this was probably the first chance anyone got to see my writing performed. Yes, I actually wrote a Christmas program to go with that party.

Not only was it a success, but I got to make a complete fool of myself. That might be unfortunate for some people, but for me, I just thought it was fun. This is because I got to sing a song that I’ve been dying to try.

Now don’t assume that I’m a good singer. This is actually the only song I’ve ever been able to sing. The only reason I can sing it, is because nobody is worried about me being off key. This song was originally performed by Mona Abboud on the Johnny Carson Show. I had to change some of the lyrics to make it more appropriate for a church setting. Also, there is no sheet music available for this, so I had to ask my neighbor, a very talented musician, to listen to it and try to re-make it.

I won’t post my whole program here, because I don’t know if the other performers would be willing to give their permission for that. But for no other reason than I might like to spread a little innocent Christmas cheer, even if it is at my own expense, I hope you enjoy this.

For a One minute short film, this horror/comedy (if that’s what you can call it) has been one of my favorite distractions for the last month or two.

Yes, the title is almost as long as the movie itself, but long titles are all the rage these days.

Anyhow, I’ve never really made a real short film before, but Film Riot put together a one minute movie challenge that offered some amateur film-making gear as the prizes. Since my gear is even less than amateur, I decided to give this a try.

I didn’t win, but that doesn’t matter. I still got to make a movie.

I do plan on making more shorts in the future. Since I’d like to eventually make some features films, I need to learn the art. While I can read every book on film-making, the best way to learn anything is by doing.

I hope you enjoy my very first movie. I wrote, directed, and basically did everything myself, with the exception of my actors/actresses (my parents), makeup (my sister), and music (which was provided by FilmStro).

By the way, my mom definitely doesn’t look that old in real life. We added a good 30 years or more to her face. Amazing what latex and makeup can do.

Don’t forget to check out my new release, Swing Low, The Hangman Of The Woods. It should be ready before the end of the year (2018)

Introducing, my second ever short film: WHY OH WHY DIDN’T I TAKE THE BLUE PILL?

(Also, check out my 1st short ever. It was a cheeky 1 minute movie for a FilmRiot competition.)

Why Oh Why Didn’t I Take The Blue Pill is a parody based on the first Matrix movie.

Since this is the 20th anniversary of that movie’s release, it’s fitting that we celebrate with a little fun.

For me, I loved the Matrix. It was new and fresh, in a dark-damp sort of way, and it had quite an impact on modern cinema, and is even influencing movies made today.

Inspiration for this spoof stemmed from the first time I ever watched the Matrix. When Morpheus makes the Alice In Wonderland cracks, I thought, well, this is a no-brainer. Eventually someone is going to make a spoof where Neo actually ends up in Wonderland. Fast-forward twenty years, and I still hadn’t seen anything like that out there. So as I was trying to find a movie to study and make my equivalent of a student film, this story was the most obvious winner.

As you may or may not know, I am a self-taught film student. I’ve been writing books under the name B.C. Crow for a few years now, slowly gaining more experience in storytelling. My next two books, are currently being edited, and will hopefully be great successes. While I’ve been writing stories, I’ve also been reading textbooks and watching tutorials for a few years now, trying to learn the art of visual storytelling.

But as I’ve studied and learned, I realized that it was time to take the plunge and make as great of a short film as I possibly could. After all, you can only take book-smarts so far. The goal on this movie was to see how close I could come to matching the cinematic style evoked by the original movie.

I wanted to do this, so that I could learn from the experts who originally created the Matrix. At the same time, this was to be my first in-depth use of After Effects. I even dipped my toes into Blender for some of the 3D liquid mirror work.

There was a lot to learn, so learn I did, mostly the hard way. I expected this project to last only a few months, but it ended up taking a full year to do everything I wanted to do. Granted, I had a cheap computer with only 8 gigs of ram and a pathetic graphics card, that took hours, even days to render 3 seconds worth of effects at a time. But much of the time I spent on this was learning how to do what I needed to do.

After spending about 1-2 hours almost every evening for a full year, crashing my dinky computer countless times, and making my family think that I’d gone mad with obsession, I’ve come to really appreciate the work that goes into the modern visual effects that we see in Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. While there may not appear to be a ton of those in this short, I assure you that every frame has been touched, tweaked, or completely modified on my end.

So while this spoof is far from a perfect example of cinematic wonder, it was a great tool to help me advance my film-making skills. With the things I’ve learned, which if there’s any interest, I may share later, I think I could do a much better job next time.

And there will be a next time. I’ll leave the Matrix alone, but I’ll study many other great movies, and see if I can’t come up with another fun story to practice my skills on. I expect, given the extended duration of this production, and the fact that I want to push my limits every time, that I’ll only be able to produce about one short film per year. Definitely not the way to become an internet superstar, but I’m not currently in this for the money. I’m in it for the education.

However, if you did enjoy this, and since this did cost me a few thousand dollars to produce, please like and share this with your friends. Maybe I’ll be able to eventually recover some of my expenses. But like I said, I’m not trying to make a buck off of this. Making shorts is my way of learning the trade.

I also wanted to send a shout out to my friend Tyler Weston, who helped me as I filmed this. He truly is a professional in the real world, and I learned a lot by having him on set with me. For those of you interested, he does corporate videos and more for a living. You can learn more about him at TKWP.com. If there is anything good about this short, it was because of his help, and that of my cast. If there is anything lacking in quality, (which there is plenty) I own that fully. (Hey, I’m still learning)

A special thanks to all of my cast and crew who worked so hard with me and put up with me as a rookie producer and director. You performed wonderfully, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. I wish you the best in your careers.

A some years ago, my wife brought home a little children’s book. This self-published book by Leslie Zimmerman was cute and fun. It wasn’t made for mass production, and most of the copies, from what I understand, were donated to children’s foundations.

Fast forward to today, I was approached by none other than Leslie herself, (or maybe we approached her) asking if Blue House Publishing would like to help her publish her next book, but for the masses this time.

We are now proud to represent this wonderful artist. You’ll find, like we did, that she has a rich and diverse personality that makes her much more than just a great author.

BOOKS BY LESLIE ZIMMERMAN
Dream Big
When Dad Deploys / When Mom Deploys

Interview with Leslie Zimmerman

I believe that in life no one is immune to hardship, but the more prepared a person is when approaching adversity, the more likely they will succeed in overcoming.​

I wanted to serve my country from an early age, and through the example of my older sister serving as a United States Marine, I found my true calling as a combat medic in the United States Army.

After my deployments, a tour in Iraq, and having seen things most never witness, this calling has evolved. It is my goal, as both an author and veteran’s advocate, to help children see and understand their innate value and realize their own strength. I’m opening dialogue between military families, non-military families, and their children about the stressful situations they are faced with.

I am also a wife, mother of three, and Utah native. As a family we spend most of our time in the mountains skiing, cycling, or camping. We live life fast, but take each day slowly, enjoying the moments of calm as they find us.

My favorite days are the ones requiring no laundry or dish washing. One day I aspire to make it a complete 24 hours without being asked for a snack.

Check out some of the delightful books written by Leslie Zimmerman. They’re fun and inspiring.

Also available as “When Mom Deploys”

The children of military personnel face the trauma and anxiety of separation due to deployments. Parents are often not equipped with the knowledge or tools that they need to provide comfort through these challenging times. In an easy to understand and entertaining format, this book opens the conversation about deployments. Parents will be able to give children an understanding of what is occurring and empower them to continue to grow and learn and develop their own inner strength and coping strategies.  

“These stories remind me how important it is to help children cope with the separation, sadness and worry that often surface in the military child’s experience. These books are a fantastic resource with amazing illustrations that give the framework of courage and strength through the journey of characters that children can relate to. Delightfully realistic and helpful for parents and caregivers!”

Julia Watson – Carlson

(Mom who deployed and had to leave her children multiple times.)

Master Sergeant, USMC (Ret)

“In her book, When Mom/Dad Deploys, Leslie Zimmerman gets right to the heart of the effect on each family member. She moves us through things that will be missed between deploying parent and child. While validating the sadness/scariness of deployment she affirms that letters will be written and that it is ok to live your life while parted. She empowers both the child and the parent to grow and change. As the wife of a Soldier who deployed twice, and the mother of children left behind, I applaud Leslie for writing a book that touches on so many facets of deployment while keeping her words positive.​

“I congratulate Leslie, a Veteran who exemplifies the brave, strong military parent she writes about, on the completion of a great book that will ensure families facing deployment will know that they are not alone.”

Melissa Joy Hansen
Continue Mission
Executive Director

By Leslie Zimmerman
Illustrated by Paige Briscoe

This one is different and a little weird

In a small rural community in war-torn Asia, people live in fear of poverty, sorcery, and wild creatures. Among these wild myths is a mysterious bloodthirsty killer known in most circles as The Hangman of the Woods.

Every child is warned not to venture into the woods. The witches and their equally hated rivals, the believers, are known to frequent the dense stretch of forest. But none is as feared as the hangman. The witches and believers may have spells to bind you to them, but at least they usually let you live.

Few have seen the hangman and lived to tell about it. That is all about to change in this inspiring adventure of a young man and his quest to understand himself, his world, God, and yes, the Hangman of the woods.

No coming of age novel is quite like this. One boy’s quest to become a man, discovering who he is, his place in the world, even a little about God. The world is what it is, but it won’t stay that way forever.

This book is about to go into revision. I’ll keep it available here for a little longer, but as I develop my craft I want to make sure that my audience is getting the best bang for their buck. Thank you for supporting me.

By BC Crow
ISBN 978-1943239078

In general, conspiracies are bad. Some are downright devastating. When the world finds itself in the clutches of the most sophisticated cabal of our generation, the most unlikely group of hero’s must risk all, not excluding their own lives, to prevent a last and final war that would end all wars, not to mention freedoms.

In my opinion, this final volume of the Nephilim Series is my best. You won’t want to miss this epic conclusion to the Nephilim Series! 

By B.C. Crow
ISBN-13-978-1-943239-04-7​
Third book of the Nephilim Series