Living the exile

Today I was thinking that we’re about to enter the fourth year of The Wakefield Variation: the project was conceived in late 2011 when Alessandro and I finally agreed on which previously-written-material should be the base of our creative vision. Soon after we picked up Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Wakefield” I wrote the first draft of the screenplay of what should have become a one-off cutting-edge short film to showcase our filmmaking skills.
The project was developed during 2012 and went through several stages (check out the previous posts!) morphing into a series; the pilot episode was set to be shot on early 2013, involving an international cast, a whole crew of film pros, and the need of a lot of money.
The huge storm that hit us on the last day of shooting should have warned us that 2013 wasn’t going to be easy… and it proved right. All is still stuck, not a festival accepted our work, and the continuation of the series is still in our head.
2014 will see a new cut of the pilot episode, split in three mini-episodes tailored for the 21st century-superfast-casual-websurfer. Will it work? We definetely hope so. In the meantime, time goes by… in a fancy we would expect to see in a future (but currently unlikely) episode of The Wakefield Variation.
I guarantee there will be happier posts :-): for now, Effetto Espanso wishes all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a great 2014!

Wakefield is watching you.
Oggi stavo pensando che stiamo per entrare nel quarto anno di The Wakefield Variation: il progetto fu concepito alla fine del 2011 quando I e Alessandro scegliemmo su quale materiale-precedentemente-edito basare la nostra visione creativa. Poco dopo aver scelto “Wakefield” di Nathaniel Hawthorne scrissi la prima stesura della sceneggiatura di quello che sarebbe dovuto diventare un eccezionale cortometraggio per mostrare le nostre capacità nella produzione cinematografica.
Il progetto fu sviluppato nel corso del 2012 attraversando varie fasi (date un’occhiata ai post precedenti!) fino a diventare una serie; le riprese del pilota furono fissate per l’inizio del 2013, con un cast internazionale, un’intera troupe di professionisti e la necessità di un sacco di soldi.
L’incredibile tempesta che ci trovammo davanti l’ultimo giorno di riprese avrebbe dovuto avvertirci che il 2013 non sarebbe stato facile… e aveva ragione. È tutto ancora bloccato, non c’è un festival che abbia accettato il nostro lavoro, e la continuazione della serie è ancora nella nostra testa.
Il 2014 vedrà un nuovo montaggio dell’episodio pilota, diviso in 3 mini-episodi fatti su misura per il navigante del 21esimo secolo, casuale e superveloce. Servirà? Lo speriamo con tutto il cuore. Nel frattempo il tempo passa, nel modo che ci aspetteremmo di vedere in un futuro (ma al momento improbabile) episodio di The Wakefield Variation.
Garantisco che ci saranno post più allegri :-): per adesso, Effetto Espanso augura a tutti voi buon Natale, delle piacevoli vacanze e un fantastico 2014!

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Origin of a name

I won’t talk about where The Wakefield Variation comes from. Not yet, at least. And besides, half of the title should be pretty much obvious, by now. I* will spend  some time on the name of the company behind everything, Effetto Espanso. It’s the least we can do, considering that one of the goals of this blog is to get financial help to make this project possible.

Well, Effetto Espanso comes from two parts blending together: Effetto is italian for Effect, and is part of “Effetto Notte”, which is the italian distribution title of “Day for Night”, the french movie-about-the-making-of-a-movie by François Truffaut. That (wonderful) movie is originally titled, “La nuit Americaine”, the french-slang name of the day-for-night filter. So “Effetto” stands for our “golden age of filmmaking” side, since we can’t help looking back at those times, even when we’re doing some heartless corporate video.

Espanso is italian for Expanded, and it comes from the avant-garde video artist bible Expanded Cinema, a 40-year-old yet unmissable book by Gene Youngblood. Way ahead of its times, the book explores possibilities in media crafting and distribution that sound like prophecies come true. Therefore “Espanso” stands for us looking forward, trying to be smart – staying hungry but not foolish! 😉

Our work, including The Wakefield Variation which we hope to become our flagship, is meant to be this way: something from the past, something from the future.

* You may have noticed the use of the first person: no particular reason, I could have done that since the first post, since I’m the only one writing, for now. I just felt more comfortable right now… but you’ll see a lot of switching between “I” and “we”. Gianluca, writer/director.