Hollywood, CA

I should have known better when I decided to start a blog. The other day, my sister-in-law Beth asked me when I would be updating it, and I realized that it's been like two or three months since I wrote the first one. Sorry. I really do want people to know what and how I'm doing. So I could tell you that I'll make a commitment to updating my blog every week, but I would be lying. So expect one every two or three months. Sorry.

Since moving down here in August, I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water. I guess I knew it would be like this when I moved down here, but you never know what things will really be like until you actually do them. The first thing on the list was to find a place to live. Over the summer I had spoken with a new AFI Fellow, Gerry

who was going into the Screenwriting program, and we agreed to room together. Incidentally he is probably the best roommate I could have hoped for (besides having Kevin or Chris move down here), and we get along wonderfully. He is an incredible writer. Anyway, he had a friend down here so we stayed there while we looked for a place. I thought I would have time to actually look during the day, but we just jumped right into things at school, and my schedule was absolutely ridiculous, so it took us two weeks to actually find a place. But now we're moved in, and we love it. It's only a couple minute drive to school, about 12 minutes to walk.

View Larger Map

As soon as we saw the apartment for the first time, we knew we wanted it. It's a great location, it's cute (yeah I use that word from time to time), and it's affordable - sort of.

We're on the top floor with the light on.

5318 Loma Linda Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027 if you ever want to write or send cookies.

Looking south from our back porch toward Hollywood Blvd. We have two parking spaces seen in the picture, which are coveted in Los Angeles. When Rheanne comes to visit it takes forever to find a spot. Twice she had to park at school and walk over. Yes, parking is an issue in L.A.

This is the dining room looking into the kitchen and the living room. Note that we do not yet have a table or chairs in the dining room. We are slowly piecing together the place though, so don't worry. Let us know if you are coming to visit and we will buy a table and chairs.





Obviously this is the kitchen. Note the blue object on the right at the end of the counter. It's the dryer. Yes we have our washer and dryer in the kitchen. Very classy. And as Rheanne points out, it gives us more counter space. And since we don't have a dining table, we often end up sitting on the washer and dryer for meals. No joke.





The living room had nothing in it but an old TV and some lamps on the floor until last week. That's right, we had no furniture in our apartment for almost two months. The couches are genuine fake Italian leather.

This is my bedroom. Dad will be proud of the old Hamilton drafting table, built around 1950.

Rheanne and I went down to San Diego several weekends ago. She has friends down there so we just had breakfast, went to the beach and came home.

Rheanne and her friend Olivia.

My friend Jonathan, who is a second year Screenwriter at AFI directed a music video that I worked on. This is on the AFI sound stage at 4:21 in the morning.

Part of the shoot took place in a pool in Malibu. You can call me and ask me who's house the pool was at. We had an underwater camera and these lights that were waterproof.
In the pool on a break - Jonathan, left, with the Cinematographer.

SCHOOL:

So we have three films we will shoot during the first year at AFI. My team just completed our first film, which was based on story idea I had been working on about a telephone lineman who's wife commits suicide, and he copes by staying high above the world working on telephone poles.

The project was a huge learning experience as I was responsible for obtaining permits, locations, camera equipment, working with SAG actors, budgeting, scheduling, and managing a 20 person crew. It's extremely challenging, but I can't think of any place I'd rather be. It has been amazing to work with some of the best young directors, cinematographers, writers, editors and production designers in the world.

I feel like I've been here for a year already, but there's still so much to learn.

Here are some images from the shoot. We shot 29 miles outside of Los Angeles in a city called Santa Clarita.

Setting up for the last scene of the film. The blond kid in the middle plays the character Sean, who helps the protagonist move on with his life.


Prepping for a dolly shot at the base of one of our prop "telephone poles".


Cinematographer Pawel (from Poland) with Dan, the Key Grip/Gaffer planning a shot.

Setting up another dolly track on a road near the real telephone pole.

So there it is. That's my story in a nutshell. You can begin prepping yourself for the next installment coming in January 2009. Hopefully sooner. I'm coming to Salem January 1 through 7, so hopefully I will see you all at some point while I'm back. Love you all.

Oregon to Alaska to Oregon to L.A.

After a heavily anticipated yet undetermined launch date, Kyle David Fischer, formerly 29 years of age, has finally catapulted his very first blog into the binary history books. Though hardly laudable, it is probably worthy of a quick glance from time to time, if for no other reason than to check up on how much money I have spent to date on my education (the first week of school cost roughly $1,134.62, but this included my very own AFI Conservatory Production Safety Handbook, which cannot be purchased in stores). This should make you feel better about your financial situation.

But all good stories must never get ahead of themselves, so I'll start with my experience in Alaska before I made the pilgrimage to Hollywood.

I arrived at the newly remodeled South Naknek Airport on June 18 (Click on the pictures to make them bigger).










I promptly chartered a Trident Seafoods van to the cannery, where I found a 1963 Dodge army pickup and loaded it full of food that was shipped up earlier that month on a barge from Seattle.



Later a plane buzzed the cabin, which indicated that I should meet the pilot at the airport in order to unload a new 4-wheeler which we had scheduled to be delivered.









I moved all the supplies into the main cabin, which is the one on the right in the picture on the left. The crew cabin is on the left. Our fishing site is straight out from the cabin.


The fishing was wonderful. We caught a little over 130,000 pounds.

Wild Alaskan Sockey Salmon!

Our boat after we "round hauled" our net. This catch was about 2,300 pounds.

Sockeye (AKA Red Salmon) caught in the 50 fathom Gillnet.

Our net fishing at dawn. Probably about 4 a.m.


This vessel is the 'Karen Kay'. It was a fish tender that we delivered our fish to. The guy in the middle is operating the hydraulics for the crane that hoists the fish into their hold. We put our fish in brailers which can hold about 600-800 pounds of fish a piece.


The net rack. This is where we mended and stripped nets.


The bay at night. Probably about 3 a.m.


In rare circumstances, we found time to wash the fish scales and the 3 day accumulation of general filth off of ourselves in the steam bath.


Babysitting the net in the wee hours.



This is the day we reached 100,000 pounds. The broom indicates that we swept the ocean.



When the season was over I had a week in the cabin by myself, cleaning up, winterizing the cabin, cutting down lots of trees, avoiding bears, and reading. Note the magic spewing from the Annie Dillard book.

I decided to take a few more days to hang out in Alaska before confining myself to a southern California prison of smog, tall buildings and terrible traffic. So I chartered a float plane to Brooks Camp. This is an area where 70 bears came to fish during the peak Sockeye run at Naknek Lake. Below are pictures from my experience.

This is basically the first picture I took after I landed in the plane that you see in the background.


Don't worry mom, there was an electric fence surrounding the camp site. It was about 4 feet high, so no bears could EVER get in.


These were the cleanest clothes I had. They really didn't smell that bad.


Near the Valley of 10,000 smokes.

A bear. A big bear.

Fishing in the falls. Bears will consume 10-20 salmon a day to get ready for the winter. At an average of 7 pounds per Salmon, that's a lot of food.

No, that's not where pilots typically park their planes.

If you've never been to Alaska, you need to go. If you would like to go and want a traveling partner, just let me know.

So now I am down in Los Angeles. Rheanne and I have been keeping each other company when we both have a free minute in the day. Rheanne found a great job at Trader Joe's, so I get a discount on really good food!

My roommate and I finally found an apartment. It's a perfect location, about 3 blocks from school and worth the wait. Rent for the place is $1,900 a month. Pretty average around here unfortunately. My last place with Kevin was under $700. Yikes! I'll write about school in my next post, so buckle up and get ready. But until that day comes, keep your ear to the grindstone.