Brewing On Up documentary

It's happening. Before one project's finished, we start another one! I don't think we can help ourselves. It's inspiration twisting our arms.

This is Chad to my right, and my hubby, Shad, to my left.

We were hanging out in Frederick, CO a couple months back enjoying a lovely Texas sized BBQ, courtesy of Chad and his sweet girlfriend, Charlene (aka Char), when the idea hit.

Chad's been a long-time brewer of many things, and he's damn skilled. I can't believe he hasn't pursued this already. My husband has been home brewing for four years and I honestly never see his face light up the same as when he has a Dogfish Head 120. You can watch some of his instructional videos here for brewing, if you're into that kinda thing!

After tasting one of Chad's marvelous concoctions, I turned to Char and said, "Don't kill me, but I can see it now... I have a(nother) show idea." Granted this was the first time we had met, it seemed as though she might have telepathic devices, and could sense my track-record for making (or lack there of) a TV show go from treatment to reality.. and I might be transparent. *Sideways smile*

                                                                              
                                                                           Char

My idea was warmly chuckled at, and I'm not sure anyone took me seriously, although they may have been entertaining it. That following week, a production studio head exec sent me a text message saying that if I had any more show ideas, (we have one being pitched now) being a filmmaker and all, that he was always interested in hearing the pitch.

That's it. It's fate. Exec or no exec, I'm telling this effing story!

Then there's Taylor, our new CO friend, whom we met after living here for only a couple of weeks. Taylor's drive to be a part of something special, coupled with his desire for adventure, and love for beer, made him the perfect final addition to this adventure.

                                                                         Taylor

Brewing On Up takes a look inside the current lives, and interesting pasts, of three 30-something creatives who decide, after a long corporate run, to go after their dreams of owning a brew pub.





Now, this brewery (below) is of our Austin, TX friends' brewery, Jester King.  While we're no where near this stage in the game, it gives us something to aspire to.

For ongoing video clips of this brewing adventure, check out the guy's official brewery website, our documentary's Facebook page and official documentary website (coming soon).

Photo by Shad Chancey: www.goat45.com

Wanna follow our brew journey, too? Go here:

www.grossenbart.blogspot.com

Volando Muerte Production Stills

Well, it's that time... Volando Muerte's on IMDB, (yay!!) and we're beginning our festival submissions. Crossing fingers & toes! J

Photos by Shad Chancey with Goat45 Design

My first feature to direct solo, Born Good

So I thought my first feature to direct would be Lost In Sunshine. I was wrong.

Since my first endeavor to produce LIS with Lorie Marsh in 2008, a lot has changed. All but our willingness and dedication to see LIS through to fruition.

Since then, we've both gone on to work on and produce other successful film projects, which we feel will be a greater asset to LIS, when it's ready to hatch.

Last year, I co-produced Volando Muerte, a horror docudrama with Aether Paranormal, which will be for sale at this year's Transworld in March! *Can I get a hand in the air!* Shad will be accompanying Matt Valentine in support of Matt's team, and Global Fear Enterprises. Look for 'em if you're there! Can someone say, I mean, scream #FaceOff!?

As cool as this is for us indie folks, I crave the excitement of directing a feature film solo. Perhaps it's because one of my new year's resolutions (which I don't believe in) is to fear less, and adventure more! Whatever the case, I feel I need to prove to myself and to other (future) investors that I can make this happen. And with balls on! Nothing funny.

So here we go, and off to a crazy start as expected with any indie film! So far, we have changed the shoot date (at least 3 times!), only gotten thru the first draft of my script, and lost our lead male actor (due to family matters).

I have one producer, Sabrina, in NY, one associate (satelite) producer in ATX with me, Jeff, and I'm looking for another right hand (wo)man to help me move things along. I thought we'd have 5-8 people on set, but it'll probably be more like 10 (who's counting) and we'll probably have to pull some bank out of our arses. But hey, Jentri, what'd you expect? Luxurious smelling pink roses sprinkled on you while drinking hot chocolate in a bubble bath?

Maybe. Don't judge.

Hey, at least love don't cost a thang. Thanks for nothing, JLo! You never worked on an indie project in your life.

And I never shoulda written scenes with 70-year-olds who have to act dead in a coffin. Ouch.

Ya win some, ya lose some.

The crazy thing about all the crazy, is that it doesn't matter that much. It's part of the excitement... fun.. adventure.. zest!

I've secured '36 Colors' to be our go-to place for vintage clothing, a kick ass makeup artist (actually 2), a dance instructor and studio, a church (for our funeral home), extra house to shoot at, food donations, an additional assoc producer, a caterer, sound person, ridiculously great music (can someone say #DougBurr), and script consultant, all in about a week. Oh, and I met with a possible lead male actor. Things can move really fast when you're focused on your intention(s).

Just give me some money for post and I'll be golden!!! Or give me another week. ;)

Lots of Love from above, J

Me and my lead princess, Katie!

Volando Muerte at Transworld

So excited!! Our Aether Paranormal film, Volando Muerte will be available to purchase at Transworld this year! Special Makeup FX artist, Matt Valentine (from Syfy's Face Off) of Global Fear Enterprises has invited my hubby, and lead AP investigator, Shad Chancey, to participate with him and his team at this HORRORific halloween attractions event! Spooktastic! READ MORE.

Born Good movie still

Born Good

Katie Page and Steven Goff in Born Good
photo courtesy of Shad Chancey with Goat45 Design
www.goat45.com

The Born Good (Hybrid) Film Challenge: How I'm using Lost In Sunshine and Aether Paranormal filmmaking styles to breed something Good!

Hey, my sweet Sunshines!

Sorry it's been a few weeks since I've officially blogged, but I've been (*deep breath*) working a day job for $, booking makeup gigs for the fall, planning logistics for a trailer to shoot in two weeks that'll hopefully be playing in a 6-plex this summer, learning more about transmedia thru our new LIS transmedia producer, Adipat, finding time to work on my current screenplay, & read my screenwriting magazine, finishing a paranormal feature & figuring out a festival route for it, talking to people in LA about a possible reality show for our group, planning to shoot my first solo feature this fall, while learning about a 5 minute reel we aspire to shoot for LIS this summer so it can be shopped by our team in Toronto...oh, and getting ready to start esthetician classes in Aug. so I can get my license for that... ya know, the regular.

What have you been up to, Jelly Bean? Whatever it is, I hope it boosts your creative juices so that they're overflowing, and that you are inspired to hit your internal GO button! If you find yourself deflated and dehydrated by your day, perhaps it's time for a change...? :)

Today, while on a Lost In Sunshine production call with my producer, Lorie, I realized that the new feature I'm shooting this year, Born Good, has been (stylistically) inspired by previous work. Basically, my two styles of filmmaking are merging, for better or worse! :)

With LIS, we use a more traditional style of filmmaking, so to speak. We're a low-budget film, but we operate about as frequently and thoroughly as a major studio film!! Much of that comes from passion, and the incredible talent that chooses to participate in our journey and make it happen with us, despite an unpredictable timeline.

In example, we storyboard, we do extensive location scouting, we cast with a professional casting director, pay a legal attorney, marketing/distribution specialist, etc., and plan on shooting with a FULL crew when the time comes!

With Aether Paranormal, we are far less traditional. Our style's more fly-by-the-seat-of your-pants, with multiple brainstorming sessions and notes before we shoot from a detailed outline. No real script to talk about. We thrive on the unknown... after all, it's a paranormal investigation, right? Our hope is that we will capture what we don't already know!! And in some cases, we rely heavily on our chemistry and group-dynamic to pull us through!

Born Good is in some way a hybrid. My experimental concoction. I'm more concerned that I have a solid story than a script, even though screenwriting is my first love. I know that we won't have the time or budget to have a script supervisor, or money to pay for something like...oh... PA's!! So, I have enlisted the help of two very talented actors, whom naturally possess the skills my characters need, and hired crew that's used to the fly (i.e., Beaux from AP & ION Image Studio, LeVan Owens, Ia Enstera (AKA Art Goddness), and Shad Chancey from Goat45 Design).

The payoff is uncertain, as with most endeavors, but something tells me this is going to be a special shoot. There's no time for bullshit. There's no time for anything that's less than productive, so having no-nonsense crew and a positive, friendly cast is crucial. Locations have to be free, food has to be donated, producers have to think outside the girl scout cookie box, and time has to be respected.

I'm looking forward to all the love this production and its 'makers' will bring... oh, and the sweets, too... where's my sweet witch whoopies at yo!?

Don't forget to join our Born Good experience on FB, too!

J

Aether Paranormal: The Volando Muerte (Trailer!)

Aether Paranormal Team branches out into the world of cryptozoology to investigate claims of an alleged winged creature on a 13K acre ranch in Texas. Fortunately for them, someone else was there to document their journey.

What I Know For Sure (behind the scenes)

Hey my lollipop kids, yesterday we shot some sweet pics for our documentary, What I Know For Sure!

If you want to spirituality-stalk us, you can do it on its OWN PAGE!

We shot these "bookends" in Mustang Ridge in SE Texas, and in my ole neck of the woods, South Austin.

Beautiful (still) imagery was captured by Shad Chancey (Goat45.com) and Gabri Means (photosbyGabri.com) in addition to the moving images, captured by LeVan Owens, and I couldn't be more high if I consumed ten thousand sugar cookies!

BIG THANKS to my fab model/actress, Venus Monique, too. Can it get any more gorgeous, daring? I think not.

Talk about 3 peas in a pod! Exchanging lenses, drooling over focus and brilliant manipulation... It was all an F stop blur to me, but I think we came out clearly OK! ;)

Love, J

More pics to follow SOON... in the meantime, join us on FB too!

Aether Paranormal on Kim Iverson show

www.aetherparanormal.com

Aether Paranormal Radio Interview at MIX 94.7 studio
Picture from left to right: Kim, Shad, Jentri, Beaux & Dug

Missed it? LISTEN HERE :)

Interviewing Story Musgrave for documentary, What I Know For Sure

What I know for sure about Story is that he's completely embraced his journey here on Earth. He's followed his dreams,
realized his potential, and literally - aimed for the stars. It was an honor and privilege to spend time with him, and have
him be a part of this magical experience with me. I can honestly say, today, I learned something significant about life (as we
know it) and beyond. I can't wait to share it with you in this documentary... may he inspire you, as he has me, to go after your dreams with fire and aim for beauty... coming soon... 2011-2012. J

Shad & Story


Jentri and Story

Haunted Faust Hotel (trailer)

Full Aether Paranormal movie will debut this Wednesday!

WATCH TRAILER

New Aether Paranormal documentary in the making!

This past weekend, Shad and I made our way to the quaint Texas town - New Braunfels, to make a short documentary. It was a sweet little place, with lots of great bakeries, mouth watering eateries, and water sports! But that's not why we were there (although I took advantage of some baked goods!). We were there to document our ghost hunt at the Faust Hotel.

Our first night, we were graciously given a "ghost tour" by a hotel worker, who I'll let remain anonymous. He said that he gets asked about 40-50 times a day about ghosts. Mostly from people who don't even take it seriously. So, we were happy that he eventually gave in, and noticed how 'serious' we were about capturing the essence of this town, the hotel, Mr. Faust himself, the rich history, and stories from people who'd been fortunate to witness something (they believe to be) supernatural.

The second night, we had a couple of experiences we are still baffled over... I'll let you wait and watch it for yourself... but it's pretty wild (from what we can tell!). It's rare that we, as paranormal researchers, actually get to witness something we can't explain. Most of what we do revolves around gathering research, conducting interviews, and documenting whatever we can for evidence, whether it's to disprove or prove anything.

And in between our 'ghost hunts' we had a lot of fun just getting to know some locals, hotel workers, eating a ton of great food (Huisache!) and walking the streets of downtown to do a little antiquing.

We missed the full team not being able to be there, but it was a nice, romantic getaway for some q-time with my Oney (yes, that's what I call Shad). :)

Now it's chop time... for the next mo. Shad'll be editing the footage from our trip, so you can have a taste of the experience yourself... and if you don't already know, look for our team on the Travel Channel this Sept./Nov. - The Most Terrifying Places In America (series).

We'll also be doing a full feature length doc with the entire team again, sometime this fall... hopefully out for you to watch next Spring.

And we're even thinking of throwing a good ole fashion ghost party this Oct.! TBA.

I'll let you know as soon as I have something else to tell or show you! Spook ya later. :) Jentri

The Texas Ghost Show experience

This weekend was a blast. Went to Beaumont with some of my team members from Aether Paranormal, and met lots of new people/groups in the paranormal field at the Texas Ghost Show on Saturday!

It was a long 5 hour drive for Beaux, Dug, Shad and myself Friday night from Austin, TX to Beaumont. Sadly it was Dug and Carly's birthday, and we didn't get to all celebrate together.. well, not really. But we'll make up for it this weekend at our wrap party! And we (Paranormal Productions) were able to finish our Aquarena Center (investigation) DVD, just in time for the show!!

We got to our hotel late Friday night, where we met up with local (Goliad) historian and paranormal friend, Bill Corey (from Presidio La Bahia documentary). Then we hazily headed to the bar, and met a few other paranormal folks. One of which is known as the Oprah of psychics, Ericka Eoussarhane. She came up to us at our table and called us 'Hollywood Paranormal.' OK...thanks... I think. :)

She was very friendly, and told us a bit about ourselves that was hard to ignore... especially since we had just met! Shortly after, we found ourselves talking with a guy who practices witchcraft... so the night was interesting, to say the least!

Unwinding from a long trip is never easy. We arrived back in our hotel room around midnight, and crawled into our double beds. We couldn't stop talking and laughing.. I felt like I was thrown into a guys' slumber party!!! We seriously couldn't go to sleep, and as hilarious as everything seemed to be, we had a 7am call time! That meant getting up no later than 6am. Yeah.. it was rough getting to the civic center the following morning. But we did!

We arrived at the show to set up around 7:30am. There were 12 booths, and we occupied one of them. About 20 feet away, were Ghost Lab's, Brad and Katie. Beside them, was Ghost Hunter's ex-bad boy teammate, Brian. They were all really lovely to meet!

Larry, a paranormal investigator, who co-wrote 11:11, The Time Prompt, was one of the first people to walk up to our booth after settling. That was pretty exciting, since it's one of about 12 books I've ever read (I'm not a 'book' reader!!). Putting several online friends' names with faces over the next several hours was pretty freakin' cool, too!

We met so many wonderful souls.. I can't name them all.. but among some were the sweet couple from Ghostology, some of you may be familiar with... Dan LaFave from Graveyard Shift Paranormal Investigations/GSPI, and Don Dennis (Texas Ghost Show coordinator) and his lovely family...

Overall, it was a weekend of talking fun paranormal stuff with good people, drinking rockin' good coffee, and eating delicious ice cream (shhhh).. what more could a gal ask for? :)

Here's our documented video from the trip (just for
fun!). xo Jentri

Paranormal Productions: Reinventing the wheel with Aether Paranormal

So, if you read this blog you know all about my first love, Lost In Sunshine! When I'm not working on Lost In Sunshine, I'm making paranormal documentaries with my team, Aether Paranormal via our production company, Paranormal Productions in Austin, TX. I'm partners with my husband, Shad, and our best friend, Beaux, to bring you these full length documentaries to enjoy FREE via our website, year round.

The last year has been quite a journey. After Aether signing a right-to-pitch agreement with a production co. in LA for about 6 months last year, and nothing happening, we partnered with a fire cracker of a talent manager, Scottie Ward with CCM in LA, to co-create a new spin on our reality TV show idea, and pitch to new production companies via his connections. Our original slant has been VERY well received, stepping away from the predictability of an over-saturated market now filled with similar 'ghost shows'. So much so, that a top notch line producer has verbally attached himself to pitching our project to a reputable production co. in Hollywood, as soon as all our very specific ducks are in a row. Those ducks may take 6 mo. to get in a row, for all we know. So what do we do in the meantime?

We keep making f-ing documentaries & movies!! What else?

We've made a bold decision to take a new approach with our NEXT film project, to advance our agendas career-wise, and keep the momentum of our Aether Paranormal team's goals on the rise. We'll still be preforming real investigations with our team throughout. But this experimental project will start from the ground up. We'll forget all the stuff we've been told by Hollywood that we can and can't do, and just make an authentic, raw, killer flick. Because we can.

The brain storming session will begin tonight, before we finish editing our latest investigation that was filmed at the Aquarena Center in San Marcos.

I've always been a fan of the Duplass Brothers. And while I LOVE the way Lorie and I are approaching making our feature, Lost In Sunshine, Paranormal Productions thrives on being more experimental.. inventive.. a little more risky, in the grand scheme of things. We can make our films for A LOT less money, using no big stars, and without permission from anyone, especially since we're not asking for investors to fund us.

Instead of creating a business plan, having a tight script, and nearly a year of prep-work, like Lost In Sunshine's had, Paranormal Productions is choosing to make an outline, similar to the way Katie Duplass describes her experience with a 6-page outline before filming her directorial debut with, The Freebie. They had no scripted dialog, and shot it in 11 days. I believe everyone was getting paid on the back-end, too. Their picture was purchased at Sundance this year. Go, Katie!

The Duplass' Baghead was a great example of melting genres, and experimenting, too. I highly recommend any indie filmmakers, seeking an alternative, unconventional approach to doing things HW style, to check out their films! They do a super job of allowing film folks to know what can be done, if you've got the vision & time, and with little money. I've always been fans of their work, particularly because they don't make up excuses for why they can't do something.. they just do it. And they don't apologize for the imperfections, but rather use those as things to make them stand out.

With this paranormal project.. we want to create something that's never been done before. We want to step away from all the copycat versions of scary movies we know will be made.. others trying to recreate a Paranormal Activity success by emulating that style. Screw that. We have our own style and ideas.. so we've made the decision to start from the ground up... no limitations.. just high quality equipment, real people (no actors!) put in an extraordinary situation. We'll focus on story, originality, details, and entertainment value, at low cost - filming over the next year.

Next week, after some brain storming sessions, I'll have more details to share as to HOW we'll be tackling this.. but I'll blog about our journey, how we pull it off, and the fun obstacles we face.

This year, I'll have the luxury of learning how to operate under tight deadlines and regulations while making a low budget, high quality SAG feature, Lost In Sunshine with professional actors, and an experienced crew. And on the flip side, I'll be making a no budget genre film with real folks (no professional actors) using only a comprehensive outline.

Let the unknown begin- again!

You can connect with Aether here. :) Jentri

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Lost In Sunshine status, newsletter & website

Hi LIS friends,

We've been working. A lot. In between all of our daily lives, regular work schedules, crazy work schedules, and here & there challenges, we've been finding pockets of time to create, visualize, manage, motivate, and develop a website, as well as keep the spirit of our film alive in the hearts of many who support us.

I've been working on new content that fits into the shape of our online new age approach (i.e. blogs, twitter, facebook)

while Lorie's been diligently working with Ari to produce a well-oiled machine to display our inventive, out of the box,

web-site vision for the entire life of our project.

While our designer, Shad, cranked out the new design, our developer, Ari managed to feverishly plug in all the details that make this show experience come alive.

There's a lot more that goes on 'behind the scenes' than anyone would want to hear about, but this is what we've been

pounding away at for the last several weeks... And now it's paying off. We are launching this THURSDAY! :)

Sign up for our newsletter on Thursday via our site, so you can receive our FIRST EVER NEWSLETTER this Friday. Here, you'll get a special first-look at our production status, what's new, and a surprise featured blogger/artist each month!

Our engines have now experienced take off, and we're ready to fearlessly fly... hopefully with you.

Thank you all for your support.

With love, Jentri

Lost In Sunshine September Updates

Pleased to say that we're ON OUR WAY!!

The location scouting has begun with Laura. Here's an image of one of our cafes we plan to shoot in. The large rustic image is of a cotton gin, and the others are simply buildings occupying the town to give you a sense of its character. The town's people were so gracious, inviting, and excited. It was refreshing to see their glowing faces when we said we were "filming a movie" there. That has, lucky for me, and surprisingly, never been done before in this tiny little Texas town....

(this blog has moved -- read the rest here!)