2014 was seriously the best year that I have ever had... I dont think that is anything I have ever said before. I have had some good years and some bad years, and some years that were just okay, but I can tell you with total honesty that this last year, 2014, was the best year of my life thus far... but I stress THUS FAR...
Thank you all so much for experiencing 2014 with me!!! My New Years post is my favorite to write. I look forward to it every year and I really hope that all of you do as well. This is the post where I recap my whole year, look at my goals for last year, hold myself accountable, and announce new goals for the next year. Last New Years post I didn't do too well. It was kind of embarrassing even............. So................. you can look back to that post if you want:
http://wesleyalley.blogspot.com/2014/01/here-is-to-great-2014-what-amazing-year.html
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| By the Great Abrey Adams Photography |
So lets recap my year... In the tradition of last year, and the year before, and in order for this recap to be effective, I am going to write it as one GIANT run on sentence and you have to read it on one breathe and really fast. Okay? I mean it, no cheating! READY???
AND................
GO!!!!!!!!
The biggie and obviously most important, I became a dad, Alice Shauna Alley came into my life screaming and I have been screaming ever since, but from joy of course, I took a ton of really cool newborn photos of Alice, I directed and produced a bunch of commercials and testimonial videos for Cockgrease, its a hair pomade, released the trailer and teaser trailer for my last short film "The Haunted House", finally signed a deal to have DVD's of my first short film ReRe-Animated made and sold, took a billion 6 month old photos of my daughter, directed a music video for Warner Drive, released the Warner Drive music video through Revolver magazine, Directed and produced more episodes of the super secret web series I am making with a buddy, wrote lots, worked tons, and I mean tons, took some awesome fall photography of my daughter Alice, spent Thanksgiving in Idaho with family, directed the music video for Gino and The Gunmen, and it involves puppets, muppet style puppets so its going to be awesome when its released, had Christmas in LA, Alice's first christmas and yes, she is spoiled, took lots of cool Christmas pictures with her, and spent New Years Eve in Yucaipa, CA with family.
It was a crazy year... but when you are listing it out, it really doesn't seem like as much as it was... maybe I left something out? Did you actually make it or did you pass out from lack of oxygen? I am pretty sure you made it, you're strong and healthy right? Here is a photo recap of the year... I promise you won't pass out on this one unless you hold your breath or maybe because Alice is so cute in all the pictures she is in...
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| Its a girl picture I took... this was actually 2013 but oh well... |
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| Alice is born! This is one of the best days of my life. |
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| My beautiful ladies |
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| Some new born photography I did with Alice. |
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| Some new born photography I did with Alice. |
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| Some new born photography I did with Alice. |
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| Some new born photography I did with Alice. |
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| I remember when her feet were this small |
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| What mastermind is she cooking up? |
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| Daddy Daughter |
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| My Favorite Monster |
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| Helping daddy with work. |
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| The Haunted House logo by my buddy Seth Mayfield |
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| Six month old photography |
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| Six month old photography |
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| Six month old photography |
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| Six month old photography |
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| Six month old photography |
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| Six month old photography |
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| Directing Warner Drive |
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| Directing the Warner Drive video |
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| More Warner Drive |
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| More Warner Drive |
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| Video Premiered through Revolver Magazine |
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| Fright Fest |
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| Happy Halloween |
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| Happy halloween |
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| Pumpkin Carving |
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| Happy first Thanksgiving!!! |
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| Puppet drummer in the music video for Gino and The Lone Gunmen |
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| Puppet Gino Rocks!!! |
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| Gino and The Lone Gunmen music video |
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| The fabulous Miss Jacquie |
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| Happy Holidays! |
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| Merry Christmas!!! |
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| Dad its Christmas!!! |
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| Thanks again Abrey Adams Photography for Alice's pics with Santa and The Grinch. |
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| Merry Christmas!!! |
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| Christmas!!!!!! |
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| Thanks for the first set of family photos with Alice Abrey Adams Photography!! |
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| My favorite Pic! Thanks Abrey Adams Photography |
Pretty cool right? one might say "Super Dope", "Super Cool", "Awesome", "Wicked", "Rad", etc right?
Now the moment that everyone has been waiting for, lets review the goals that I had made for myself for 2014....
1. Direct 13 projects. I know I know I know. Last year I only directed 5 but me trying to direct 13 is what lead to 5 so maybe this year I will hit 8 or maybe I will hit 13. 13 is my lucky number so I am going to keep this goal from last year and shoot to direct 13 projects!!!! Holy cow... again just like i said last year... Holy cow! 13 projects is crazy, what was I thinking? Don't I know that I also have a family, and that I also have another full time, or way beyond full time job? Okay here we go. I started the year with: (1.) Four Cockgrease commercials. (2.) Five Cockgrease Testimonial Videos (3.) Two more episodes of the "top secret webseries" (4.) The Warner Drive Music Video (5.)Gino and The Lone Gunmen music video. So that is a total of 13!!!!!!!! I did it!!!! I actually did it!!!!!
2. Lose 10 pounds. I know that I said these were going to be goals as a director and not personal ones, but this blog is making me more accountable for my actions, so I am posting this as one of those director goals. Bahahahahahahahaha Now this I totally did, like twice... I did loose 11 pounds, gained it back, and then lost 10 again, and of course after the holidays I am pretty sure I gained that much and then more... So I am going to count that as a yes, and next year word it so that I have to keep it off...
3. Get my 6 pack back. I don't mean that like I had a 6 pack until last year or so, but I did have one in high school, a very skinny 6 pack, but 6 pack non the less, and I want that back. Bahahahahahahaha again and this is just a flat out no... I might have worked out for 2 or 3 weeks, and then stopped, and then a few months later started again, and did that whole cycle over a few times through out the year haha a big fat No on this one...4. Write 2 feature film scripts. I actually did this... I wrote 3 scripts this year!!!! 1 is 100% finished and awesome! 1 is almost finalized, maybe a rewrite or small notes that I am doing on it, and 1 that is finished with the 1st draft and needs a few rewrites and looks to make it 100% finalized, but all are awesome and I am really excited about them!5. Win a "Best Director" award for something. Could be anything, just has to be an actual award. (My wife telling me that I am the best director she is married to doesn't quite count as an actual award. Although its very sweet and awesome that she says that.) This one is also a No... But I am not really that worried about this one. "Before The Night" the music video I directed for The Rocketz played at 2 film festivals this last year, Shockerfest, and "Atlanta Horror Film Festival," which is pretty cool, because I only submitted to 3 festivals and it played at 2, but didn't win anything. I did submit The Haunted House to a few of the top film festivals in the world looking for a huge world premier, but unfortunately it wasn't accepted so it won't premier at film festivals until this next year... But there is a big festival plan ahead of that film. So this was a No also.
So not bad right? I accomplished 3 out of the 5 goals, and only failed 2. Some of the ones I accomplished I actually never really thought I would, they were just meant to push me forward and inspire me to try hard... So pretty cool. Super dope. Super cool. Awesome. Wicked. Rad....
And now the moment you have all been waiting for... well for at least the last 10 seconds since the last "moment you have all been waiting for"
......MY 2015 GOALS.......
If you have been reading my blog posts, which I am just going to assume you have, since they are so awesome and so much fun, and you all love me, then you read about my realization about how I have spent the last few years being afraid. Not in the traditional sense, but afraid none the less. My goals have been good and honest, but at the same time, I have been playing it safe. Who wants to post their goals and then not achieve any of them... In 2013 I was pretty embarrassed how I did on my goals, but I still did really good and had goals that I could get close to achieving. Last year I did really good with my goals, and my goals this year, well, let's just say I am still afraid, but I am not going to let that fear stop me. My goals this year are very big and they are the ones that I have been afraid of posting because I don't want people to know I failed at them if I did. It's hard and I am still afraid, but I want to post my goals so that I can push myself to achieve them, but also because I want to declare them to the world. Some of my goals might be things people can help me on, and they might not know I need help or want help unless I tell them, so here it is. Enough being scared. Enough stalling. My goals for 2015 are........
1. Launch my Wesley Alley Directing website.
2. Complete an updated demo reel.
3. Get representation! Either a manager or agent. (Even though this is goal number 3 on this list it is my number one goal for the first part of 2015 and the one I will be focusing on the hardest as the new year starts.)
4. Produce a feature film.
5. Direct my first feature length film. (This one scares me but I am going to push very hard for this. I want to direct my first real full length movie.)
6. Direct 13 projects. (1 of which will be my first feature film of course.)
7. Write 3 feature films.
8. Loose 10 pounds and keep it off this time.
9. Sell a script I wrote. (This one also scares me a lot, because it is very hard, but I want to let it be known that I am going to be working on that!)
10. Take like a billion pictures of Alice. (I have to have one goal that I can achieve right?? (haha) and 10 just seemed like a nice number of goals to have... a really hard amount of really hard goals.)
Wow... so those are a lot of goals, and really really really hard goals... as always I am going to try hard to focus on Directing a lot this next year, and a lot on my Family. I don't know how I am going to find the time to do all this stuff and still work like 2 full time jobs but I can do it. I have never been afraid of a challenge I guess..
As always
Thank you for reading and following (Hint Hint, if you haven't followed my blog yet, you probably should) Please, if you have any questions or comments, write them in the comment section below. I would love to hear from you guys (which includes you female doods too)!!!! Please keep reading and share with your friends. Lots more great and exciting things are coming on this long hard road of making it as a director...
Awesome stuff man. I love New Years and making goals and plans. We should collaborate on something.
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