… Yours truly.  Yes, for a change you aren’t just able read my written text here, but you can now hear what I have to say about the film.  I recently did a podcast interview, which is something I’ve never done before.  And it was lots of fun.  Maybe because I got to talk about the film, and a little bit about how I arrived at making it.

Anyway, a very nice gentleman named David P. Smith allowed me to be one of his guests on the podcast that he produces periodically.  Apparently he came across our film on Facebook one day, watched the trailer, and was one of the first to pre-order our film on DVD.  He seemed to really enjoy it, and he contacted us about doing a podcast interview.  I know we were a bit swamped with a number of things going on at the time, so it took us a bit to get back with him.  Eventually, we got it together and had fun talking one afternoon.

We seemed to hit if off pretty good, as we talked for a while before and after the section that was recorded.  He seems like a guy with his heart in the right place, so I suggest you check out his podcasts on his website here – http://www.davidduir.com/Podcast/Podcast.html.

Our podcast episode (#17) is around 30 minutes or so, and on it we discussed a number of things about the process of making the film; a few interesting tidbits on the casting process, about Mt. Shasta as a location, a character in the film, and a background tapestry that defines a sense of place for the story progression, on the thematic content of the film, the transmedia world of Dreams Awake Portal, and various other tidbits about the film.  My only regret is there are so many other things we didn’t get into.  But that would have taken several hours more, and I doubt most of you could have hung on for that long.  And I probably would have worn out my welcome with David.

In fact, like I told David, we very easily could make a documentary about the making of the film.  We had so much behind-the-scenes video footage, hours and hours of it, thanks to a local videographer in Mt. Shasta, John Cumming.  And actually, it is something we have thought of doing.  The more I think of it, the more I’d like to do it.  How about any of you out there?  Is that something you’d be interested in seeing?  If so, email us.  OK?

Finally, after all is said and done, I have now reaffirmed my belief in why I am behind the camera instead of in front of it.  And in this audio display, why I should be holding the microphone instead of speaking into it.  Now don’t get me wrong, I think the podcast is actually pretty good, but I think a lot of the credit goes to David for putting this on.  And while I did have fun doing it and I guess I wasn’t too bad, I actually do prefer to be the creative force behind the camera (and microphone?) than in front of it.

So, here is the link to actual podcast interview, and please do enjoy! – http://www.davidduir.com/Podcast/Entries/2011/3/27_Awens_Path_Podcast_Episode_17_Featuring_Jerry_Alden_Deal.html.  And David, once again thanks for having me on!

JAD