fictionsmith: Archive

Watch

The Fantastic Flyings Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Stellar short film, and the only one I’ve ever bought on iTunes, I like it that much. It’s finally out of Vimeo for free to watch and definitely worth 15 minutes of your time. Pixar level.

Jan 30th

The Fictionsmith Manifesto

I wrote a letter to myself as a reminder why I do what I do and thus is my personal manifesto. If any of this helps you, I’m glad it does, but I don’t intend to hold anyone to this but myself. I’ve been drawn to the made-up word “Fictionsmith,” and in doing so, decided to create a code of what a Fictionsmith does, boiling it down to 5 points. ——- 1...

Jan 26th

Why I love Steampunk.

Gallivanting into the third act of The Wind Merchant caused me to reflect a bit on the world that the story placed within. Airships, flying cities, fun inventions/devices made of brass, wood, and leather… I love all that stuff. Examining the elements, I realized I more drew on the elements of Steampunk that I appreciate and placed them in a fantasy world of my creation instead of ...

Jan 24th

2 tags

Jan 3rd

1 note

Crossing #5 off the bucket list: Writing a novel.

UPDATE: The Kickstarter is now live! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dunlap/the-wind-merchant-and-greyscale I think I was about nine when I first met Ras Veir, and today I’d like to introduce you to him. But first, backstory. Back in the pre-AOL era of Prodigy’s pay-by-the-hour intranet, I would sit at the computer, typing stories and tying up our house’s phone line for...

Jan 2nd

Mist

This morning I left for work ten minutes early. The mist and the silence it brought greeted me at my doorstep. Birds softly chirped hidden within the woods, and I had enough time to stand still and listen to them and them alone. Forgotten was the last time I had allowed myself a margin of time to stop and notice a moment like this. Moments otherwise missed fumbling keys, slinging bag over...

Dec 13th

28

Birthdays often cause reflection and anticipation in me. Looking back at 27, I realize (sadly) that the opening paragraph still very much applies. But as of yesterday, the roadblocks have finally been cleared. I think the only thing that could make me more excited is the day that I hold a copy of Greyscale in my hands. .:Old Soul This last year I’ve found myself mentally pausing time...

Oct 21st

Watch

Here’s the spiritual successor to Leave Me and the 2nd in the Camera Trilogy from Daros Films. Shot by Joseph Hutson in Chicago, voiceover by Muse Watson, Music by Lydia Ashton, co-written by Ryan Dunlap & Dustin Ballard.

Sep 20th

Authentic

I’ve had an apostrophe. (yes, this is a long post) Musings have been made over the idea of identity lately. Branding has also been a topic of much research for me. And in the end, one word keeps cropping up: Authenticity The long and short of it is that people will sniff out when you’re catering to them instead of being yourself. Which brings up an excellent question: How do you...

Aug 26th

1 note

Jul 30th

.:Encumbrance

On Saturday friends of mine were moving. Having had to move by myself once before, I try to save others that personal hell of feeling overwhelmed with such an endeavor. Usually after completing the process (mine or another’s) I have the overwhelming urge to shed anything obviously extraneous I own. When it comes to books, I like to think myself old-school. There’s something special...

Jun 28th

May 10th

Digital Baggage vs. The Art of Reinvention

When we moved to Nashville, I asked my wife if she wanted to go by Ella, since she says Sarah is so common. Moving to a new town where you barely know anyone used to be a good opportunity to pick who you were going to be. Sarah & I both did that (to some extent) when we went to college, and definitely wound up better for it. But, it occurred to me that social media makes it difficult to...

Apr 28th

.:The Economy of Time

Lately I’ve been finding myself in a state of minor panic. For whatever reason it’s hitting me how valuable time is. It’s a resource one can’t recoup, and when I look back at all the time wasted, spending my time hunched over my phone, launching digital birds at pigs*, I begin to worry. I look at myself and ask: “Am I a better person than I was yesterday? Last...

Apr 6th

.:Validation

I check my phone every ten minutes if I am bored. Sometimes more. I look to see if anyone has e-mailed me or touched base with me on Facebook or Twitter. My phone has provided me with things that make me feel better connected so I don’t feel lonely. I am paying for a service (internet) to have connection with friends. I don’t feel this is inherently wrong, but as with all things...

Mar 26th

Feb 23rd

.:Healthful

After reasoning (and peer pressure), health is my latest obsession goal. Utilizing my obsessive-compulsive tendencies I’m leveraging calorie counting apps and gambling to work in my favor. . I started a “12% Challenge” with a couple co-workers. First to drop 12% of their weight wins the pool. $20 buy in, plus $1 paid to the winner for every week you don’t meet your...

Feb 22nd

Feb 11th

The Ocean

The Ocean is frightening. To define: We live our early lives in a fairly linear fashion, ascending grades, going through high school, and then maybe college… all the while we have the next year on the horizon mapped out with a goal in sight. I liken it to riding down a river with familiar landmarks where the current keeps taking your further down your path. You don’t have to look...

Feb 3rd

840 notes

My first trip to the ER.

Having survived to the age of 27, I have somehow managed to avoid a trip to the emergency room. I used to say that with pride, listing it among my other “have nots,” such has having never gotten a speeding ticket, been in a car accident (whilst driving), or having broken a bone (unfortunately, not having a cavity slipped off that list a couple years back…). But many good...

Jan 22nd

Vivian Maier - Her Discovered Work

Extraordinary story about a woman whose beautiful photography was discovered at an auction. Found here. (Thanks Glo for sharing!)

Jan 5th

Urban Tulsa Weekly >> These Persons, Places and... →

I have officially made it on a list with Hanson… This kind of blows my mind. It’s an honor to be put on a list like this.

Jan 5th

Dec 27th

Dec 17th

My social leave of absence/Plugging the timesinks

I’m taking a leave of absence from social networking for an indefinite amount of time. Lately it’s become an excuse to be a timesink and a means of auto-piloting relationships that deserve more real world attention… I read recently that we should weigh what will be of value as time goes on… the time and energy I put into something like Leave Me or Greyscale compared to...

Dec 17th

39 notes

2 tags

Nov 26th

Thankful

I have a lot to be thankful for this year, moreso than most years. It has been a time of life-altering transitions, feeling way in over my head most of the time and wondering how things would pan out. Life has been mostly uncomfortable and invariably qualifies as an adventure (something I dare say is often over-romanticized as an outside observer, but saying that doesn’t incline me to...

Nov 26th

Nov 24th

The right kind of technological innovations.

I’ve been fixated on the nature of social networks and what that brings to society lately (ok, a while now). I think it’s a defining thing for people in my generation, and brings to bear what we are leaving to the next generation, and whether they’re even going to care about what we’re doing now since the information is staggering with few indications on where to even...

Nov 21st

Nov 19th

8,507 notes

Nov 11th

Nov 7th

“Every time you make a choice you are turning into the central part of you, the...”

– C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Nov 5th

Outside the Fences, by Jon Foreman →

Jon’s satirical look at our ‘guilty pleasures’ and why we shouldn’t be ashamed by culture when art speaks to us.

Nov 5th

“There is no good story that doesn’t touch the truth.”

– ~The Name of the Wind

Oct 27th

Spies like us.

Yesterday evening Sarah and I were recruited to be undercover agents for a project one might call a ‘social experiment.’ The Place: Fido The Target: Danny The Title: Operation “Danny Appreciation Day” The Employer: Well, we’d be poor spies if we divulged that info, wouldn’t we? Besides, we already burned the computer we got the email on and are realizing...

Oct 25th

Oct 22nd

Oct 21st

27

I’ve survived to the age of 27! I’m at image lock with Greyscale (which means it can’t be edited any further), and the visual effects, sound design, and soundtrack are almost complete. When I turned 26 I was at image lock with Greyscale… 25, we were about 12 outings into what would be eventually 66 days of filming, which feels like a lifetime ago… 24, I was 4 months...

Oct 21st

Monochrome Outlets →

I’ve come to realize lately that if I don’t have a public outlet for the betterment of others, insecurity creeps in… mostly because I forget I actually know things. It’s easy to get stuck in my own head, thinking that everybody can do what I do, and that I really don’t bring much to the table. With Things Learned in Monochrome, I’ve found a way to share what...

Oct 20th

Sep 25th

Sep 10th