Some Guy Ruined My Xmas

So I was set to enjoy the extra time off work, maybe get caught up on some movie watching, and possibly get to the screenwriting, re-writing that has been awaiting me. Nope, that was not in the cards for your faithful narrator. As has become the norm, some guy from my past had to swoop in with ultimatums and needs and take away the relaxation and peace in the world of Boo.

It started with an email, and then after that, another email. After panicked phone calls, it was time to take action. On Christmas Eve, I was asked to do an emergency edit on this guy’s TV show that needs to go out on the 26^th with all expediency. So I bailed on My Sexy Fiancé Veronica’s ™ family gather on the Eve, and awaited the beta tapes so I could start the work. And I waited. Then more waiting. Finally I called the guy back, and he said he wouldn’t be able to get it to me until Christmas morning. So I bailed on the rest of the family activities on Christmas day, and then awaited a phone call that came at 7:30PM. By then, I and the lovely woman had gone to Champps for our annual Xmas homage to American Consumerism. Plus, our entire house was in disarray as we re-arrange, trying to prepare for the new breakfast nook, etc.

I didn’t get the footage in my hands until 9:30PM. By then, we were knee deep in the re-arrangement of our entire first floor and basement. Furniture has been released into the wild, and let go. Desks have been moved from one floor to another, and very little is left undisturbed. I will miss being able to see sunlight, as my laptop and desk has been reallocated to the basement. The upside is the increased security for my DVD collection and computer equipment since the basement has a decent lock, aside from the new security systems for getting into the condo these days. It is a sacrifice, giving up a window and sunlight to the woman, but I’m more or less trading to get the kitchen back. My Sexy Fiancé Veronica’s ™ desk and computer setup was moved into the kitchen some months ago and we have not had a table or chairs to eat at for over 6 months.

Lately, I’ve been cooking a LOT more than I used to and there’s no place to eat. I’ve been eating over the sink or stove, or in front of a computer screen. I hate it. It’s like being perpetually at work unless you go out to eat, which has taken its toll on my bank account. If I had a ton more money, as in a spare $1,000 lying around, I would have bought an actual restaurant booth for our kitchen. They look so cool and it would be like going out to eat in our own house every time I cook.

I’m about to start work on this project that ruined my Xmas. I am charging this yahoo through the roof for wasting my time and pissing me off. He seems pretty cool though, as he tried to pay me via credit card on Xmas eve, but I don’t take credit card. I’m a person, not a company; even Sonnyboo Productions is a façade, not real.

At least I didn’t stuff myself with holiday meals, although I am still a bit hungry… Where are my holiday buckeyes?

Peace.

PJR

My Daily Varieties of Hollywood Reports

This blog is dedicated to some of the goings on of big Hollywood movies, not the lowly indie or micro stuff I usually write about.



First off, because it’s the most personally significant – BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT. BLADE RUNNER is my favorite film of all time. I don’t make movies like this, nor do I even aspire to on some levels, but this remains my favorite movie. The density, depth, intellect, and all the things that a movie should have – this has. I went HD-DVD in the high definition wars so that I could afford to see this movie in HD. I was content to wait for the end of the wars, but this single film pushed me over the edge. I was NOT going to be buying a 5 disc set twice. That’s too much money. One way or another, I wanted it in HD and I wanted to see it in HD. Last night this dream came true.

At work, my Amazon.com order ($27 including shipping) arrived with a 5 disc set, 5 versions of the movie on 3 HD-DVD’s and 2 more standard DVD’s filling over 9 hours of documentaries, behind the scenes, deleted scenes, and all the things a fan-boy like me could ever desire. One thing omitted was a UK famous documentary called “On the Edge of Blade Runner” which was the most comprehensive documentary and history of the movie made – never officially released in the United States for rights reasons – and missing interviews with star Harrison Ford – who both hates the movie, his performance, and director Ridley Scott. The key word in that sentence is “was”. The new, nearly 4 hour long documentary made for this DVD blows that UK one away. DANGEROUS DAYS combines outtake footage, rare 16mm promo footage, even video taped clips, and puts all of it together with newly made videos – including Harrison Ford, to air out some laundry of my Seminole 1982 favorite.




I haven’t even put in the other 3 versions of the movie or listened to a commentary track (of which there are many), or even the other extras disc. Last night was a religious experience of watching the movie in HD with surround sound and turning the phones off. I was struck by the beauty, depth and look in HD-DVD, but I was equally shocked by how similar the movie was to all prior versions. It wasn’t drastic changes, all very small, subtle ones. A few lines of dialogue were changed or added, some small shots inserted here and there, but overall it’s the same as the 1992 “director’s cut” which was not endorsed by the Director, Ridley Scott.

What I love in the movie is the cinematography, lighting, set design, and performances. Harrison plays an unlikable protagonist, and does so with range, unlike most of his characters. Rutger Hauer steals the entire movie away with an incredibly diverse, deep character with many lines improvised, but done so well. I like that the movie, like the best science fiction, presents complex ideas, and ideals, and lets the audience deal with them. The dialogue is always underrated because it doesn’t treat the viewer like an imbecile. The main concept relates to how man-made people, androids/Replicants, are “born” as adults, and can’t handle the complexities of emotions that come with the human form. They have a 4 year life span as a safety net when they inevitably go wacko, so to me the idea of thinking how well most 4 year olds deal with their emotions – translates to how these Replicants act on screen. Brilliant how they make me do some work to think about what I’m watching, but they don’t do it by cheap gimmicks or bad filmmaking technique – just old fashioned narrative.

I can’t wait to finish watching what else is on here. Best $27 ever spent on this one. $27 for probably 20 hours of content – a definite bargain.



IMAX – I AM LEGEND/DARK KNIGHT IMAX TRAILER

Now I saw someone’s cell phone bootleg of the new BATMAN BEGINS 2 – THE DARK KNIGHT trailer online. Now this was not even truly a “trailer”, as that one officially came out Sunday in HD online and it was okay, didn’t do much for me. I’m not a huge Batman (or even DC Comics) fan. I like the movies, but don’t love them. I watch them, might rent, but never on the “must own” list.

I saw BATMAN BEGINS, liked it, but didn’t convert me to a Batman fan. I feel blasé about the new movie enough to watch the trailers, which for movies I’m looking forward to – I tend to try to avoid any reviews, spoiler news, trailers, etc. So for this, I watched because I’m not that excited and had 6 minutes to kill. The IMAX only trailer, which was shot in IMAX no less, even in poor quality blew me away.



When it came time to see I AM LEGEND, I paid the almost double admission price to see it in IMAX, not even to see that movie in IMAX – but this Batman trailer. That alone was worth $12. It was amazing, not only the picture quality, sound, whatever – the whole scene from the upcoming Batman movie – freakin’ SWWEEEEEEETTT. The music and scene were like a clip straight out of HEAT (1995, dir:Michael Mann). No hint of this being a comic-book movie. Even more so that BATMAN BEGINS, the concept being “realism”, they are taking this one even more into that arena. Even with an outrageous comic book villain like THE JOKER, they have a grounding in reality – no CGI, nothing too comic book-y, just straight on story. Wow.

Then I watched I AM LEGEND. Good movie, liked it, but what a mistake putting that trailer BEFORE the movie. I AM LEGEND is not a face paced movie, and I liked that. It wasn’t a balls to the walls action movie.



PETER JACKSON will be involved in THE HOBBIT movies. His plan to do 2 movies is a go, and he is officially and completely signed to EXECUTIVE PRODUCE the movies. Will this be a hands on or “in name only” Executive Producer job? Could it be like Spielberg ghost-directing POLTERGEIST and 100% controlling post production without the figurehead director? Or will it be Tim Burton “producing” BATMAN FOREVER, where the name was attached but he wasn’t there and there ain’t a fingerprint on the movie from him?



The plan is to break THE HOBBIT book into 2 movies by also adding a ton of prequel material for LORD OF THE RINGS onto it. There are chances to make this tie very well into LORD OF THE RINGS. In THE HOBBIT, the character of LEGOLAS does not appear, but he could easily be written into it as a cameo. His character’s father plays a major role, so adding him into the scenes into the movies make sense, plus there’d be better continuity than the books even had.

I hope PJ directs. Fingers crossed – PJ I hope you bring this home to the world that wants your magic back in 2010 and 2011.


Peace,
Peter John Ross

Aristocrats in the Kitchen

I grow weary. Very weary, my acolytes. It seems the work never stops for the Boo. I have piled work loads upon my shoulders and there are not enough hours in the day to do them all. I will endeavor to do so, but it has taken its toll on your faithful narrator. He has need of peace and rest, but there is none to be had in the foreseeable future.

As I'm putting the touches on edits of high school football championship games at night (after the edits of the Derek's ETERNAL), I found the time to write and shoot a new article/video for VIDEOMAKER magazine, and all of this is on top of the daily grind of working Monday thru Friday.

The latest article was something of a challenge since I did not write it to suit something I already had, so I had to create the content as well as the most painful part – shooting myself introducing the video.



I am not comfortable in front of the camera. I prefer being behind the camera. I can't memorize lines and anything rehearsed becomes a painful effort. I pity those who have had to shoot me doing anything like this. Doing an interview is on thing, as that is spontaneous and more like being in front of people, which I have no problems with, albeit it's not the most enjoyable thing for me. I know I'll never be an actor because of how terrible I am in videos like this. I have never had the inkling to act, and seeing the footage makes me even surer that's a good thing.

I had TJ shoot for me on this for both the interviews and also the demonstration videos. My Sexy Fiancé Veronica -- got her friend Rhoda Cronenbach to help and TJ pulled in local actor Bryan Michael Block into the mix. Everyone did some good work for me. I used my new Canon HV20 for the entire thing, trying out the HD in 24P 1920x1080 mode. Overall, I dig this little camera. It's got a good look to it for a consumer grade camera with some big time features.

The article and video for this one is intended for the March 2008 issue. My first article/video is due out in January 2008, so I can't wait to see how that turns out. Having a regular article series in an international publication is no small feat. I am kind of floored by the whole thing. I would like to parlay this into something else. It definitely establishes a lot of credibility to be an acknowledged writer for a magazine in your field.




I do love TUBEMOGUL. What a great way to keep up with all my sites and videos. It simplifies so much of what I'm doing to market my movies. Being able to keep track of all these sites from one single location makes analyzing easier. From this vantage point, I can see what movies of mine do people like, not like and if changing search key words/metatags changes the views, etc.

Sonnyboo Stats as they are today December 15^th, 2007:

CRACKLE.COM 21,643,442 total views

YAHOO VIDEO 161,910 total views

YOUTUBE 65,829 total views

METACAFE 57,306 total views

plus several other sites that are under 5,000 total views

On some sites, I average hundreds of views a day and others, 2-3 views a day. The marketplace has become convoluted with video sites and content. YouTube acts as the dumping ground for every half witted attempt at home videos and Jack-Ass rip-offs, or worse – meaningless skate boarding videos. I'm surprised YouTube has garnered any views for Sonnyboo, but my subscriptions are constantly on the rise, and none of them are fake accounts I made up to increase my stature! Sony Picture's CRACKLE.COM so far has gotten me the most views thanks to support in their main team. It is true, it's who you know. Thankfully, someone on their programming team has been a Sonnyboo fan for a while and they really dig my movies. 25 awards out of 58 videos ain't bad, and I think it's cool. Many of my old movies find new life on Crackle.com.



Thinking of a time before the Internet, I can't imagine there being a way to get thousands of people to see your short film. Imagine a land before time, the ancient era known as "the 1980's" when VHS was king and metal bands roamed the earth. If you made a short film – who would see it and where? The obscure film festival perhaps, but beyond that who would see such a thing? There was no digital projection, as there was very little on the planet with "digital". In today's world, we can make a movie and within minutes have it uploaded to the Internet where anyone can see it with a click of a button. We must never lose site of the changing world we live in. I am grateful for these new opportunities as the industry warps and bends to the new technology.

There are people with feature films that never get 50,000 people to see it. So having a few movies that have several MILLION views, can only make me proud of what I've done. Anywho, time to get back to the amazing world of High School Football games….and then editing on a video for VIDEOMAKER. This is supposed to be my "day off". Maybe I can pop in an HD-DVD during my longer render times.


Peace,
Peter John Ross

An Oligarchy in Place of Supercilious Skullduggery

No rest for the wicked. I am ensconced with post production work. I took on some extra projects this weekend because I now need to recoup a heavy loss this week. On Thursday morning, I awoke to the sensation of cold. First my hand froze, and then the rest of me started to go quite freezing. I awoke at 7:45AM and went downstairs to see what was happening. The thermostat read a warm 51 degrees. I felt the vents and cold air was blowing from them.

I attempted to see the pilot light, but to no avail. I called the service that read the most reputable and this guy came out within an hour and proceeded to spend the next several hours fixing our furnace. Two units had fried in it and I got stiffed with a $600 bill. It could have been worse in terms of cost – we might have had to replace the whole heating unit, but as is – a chunk of change I had not wanted to part with just blew away. It was 34 degrees in the house when the hot air started blowing again. I lost almost an entire day's worth of work helping this guy work on the furnace and of course the cats looked at me like I'm some kind of sadistic bastard for torturing them in the cold all day.



My cold has faded, at least the part that disorients you and makes you woozy. I can still produce record amounts of mucous, and that means spending more money on tissues. All this money keeps disappearing. I keep making it and it keeps going away. This is life. That is the grind, isn't it? Ce La Vie, as the French might say.

My HD-DVD's started arriving, as in the free ones as a rebate on the player. I now have 4 of the special edition High Definition Stanley Kubrick movies. 2001, CLOCKWORK ORANGE, THE SHINING, and EYES WIDE SHUT are now in my collection. I started going through a lot of the extras and special features. There are documentaries galore. I had only recently seen the 2+ hour documentary "A LIFE IN PICTURES", and I subsequently bought it as a separate DVD from a used seller on AMAZON.COM. Some of the documentaries are even in HD.

One of the things that I have been contemplating as I watch a lot of these newly made MAKING OF's and BEHIND THE SCENES is that Stanley Kubrick would hate them. I think Stanley must be churning around in the ground. He detested any kind of commentary or theories or extras on the movies before. Kubrick was of the mindset that the movies were the movies – your own interpretation is what it means. Whatever the film meant to you is what it means. The End. To see film critics giving their opinion on an official DVD of Kubrick's movie somehow endorses these interpretations or validates them; Stanley would have hated that, at least that was his pattern for the past 45 years.

Now for those out there that know how much I love extras and even have made my own "peak behind the curtain" type videos – I am not Kubrick, nor do I aspire to be him. I appreciate all these insights into one of cinemas greatest minds, but I am not trying to imitate Kubrick, either in practice or theory. I can disagree with methods and technique with someone I truly respect and love. After seeing Vivian Kubrick's documentary last year on the making of THE SHINING, I decided I would never behave the way Kubrick did on that set. It was something that completely demystified Kubrick and made me completely believe you can find your own way to direct.

The only similarities I might have with Stanley Kubrick is in the form of a feline assistant editor.



There ends the similarities between me and Kubrick.




Peace to my homies in North Compton. Word.

- PJ

Amazonian Illness and the Sweetness of Demons (in High Definition)

Acolytes of Boo, your faithful narrator has been ill. The last several days have been a flurry of mucus and imbalance. I lost 2 days worth of work, so some of my recent extracurricular paid work is now filling the gap of everyday responsibility.

I have written my 2nd paid article for VIDEOMAKER MAGAZINE. Now I have to shoot an accompanying video. Luckily, my new job has afforded me my own HD camera to shoot with. I am the proud new owner of a Canon HV20 camcorder. It's my new home VCR for MiniDV, but also a decent enough "B" camera for several types of HD shooting. I can do true 24P 1920x1080 HD shooting with this and it even includes HDMI output. I will shoot the newest VIDEOMAKER video solely with this camera to put it through the ringer and really try it out.

The Canon HV20 is pretty much a consumer camera, but the 24P mode in full HD as well as the "CineMode" color that makes that more cinematic look – all conspire to make this camera a well sought after, sub-$1,000 acquisition. I've been aware of this camera for over 8 months. I debated over getting another $159 camcorder to use solely as a VCR at home since my last $159 camcorder was stolen. I did not want to spend the same money for the same thing. Fate intertwined with my decision and I was able to get the Canon HV20 for $699 and a huge part of it was picked up by the new job.



The camera came in last night, so I hooked it up, shot some very quick footage and also digitized it. The techie stuff to say is that I'm using the Cineform Aspect HD codec with Adobe Premiere for my High Definition projects. I had to use the 1080i 60i settings because of the 3:2 pulldown, but I have no delusions about ever going to a film print, so I don't care about the extra frames. I'll have more to say about the camera when I do more than aim the lens at "V" and "Cousette".



I got my HD-DVD player in last Monday. Two DVD's were in the box, 300 and the Bourne Identity. I went to Microcenter to buy an HDMI to DVI cable; it was $50. I specifically asked the salesperson – will this work going in an unorthodox direction? My 30" does NOT have HDMI input – only component, S-video, composite, and computer DVI. I was going to go HDMI out of the HD-DVD player and DVI input on the monitor. He said it would work – I get home, hook it up and NO it does not work. Depressingly, I plug the component red, green, blue analog cables in. I was expecting this to basically be the same or very slightly better than a regular DVD player. HELL NO. The 30" monitor immediately registered a 1080i signal coming in and I got to see color, detail, and depth I've never seen on my own monitor before. I was floored. Damn, this looks good. I immediately upgraded my Netflix account to take HD-DVD's and ordered a few titles to see in style.

Futurama Returned. The DVD of Bender's Big Score hit and I am in heaven. All of the original voices and writers are back. I always felt it was unfair that Family Guy got renewed, but Futurama did not, even though both shows were neck to neck in the ratings when they moved over to Cartoon Networks Adult Swim. It seems the "jokes per minute" has slowed down slightly from the original series – but you know what? It was extremely high, so the new pace works fine. It's now in widescreen and also – playing it via my HD-DVD player in full surround sound looked freakin' amazing on the big screen. I can't imagine and HD version of this looking any better since there was no artifacting or loss in detail.



I'm finishing off my first edition copy of Stephen Colbert's "I AM AMERICA, AND SO CAN YOU!" which makes me chuckle a lot. I think you have to have a certain sense of humor to go through a few hundred pages of sarcasm, but I certainly love it.

Nothing much new to report on the new features. I'm in a holding pattern while I try to carve out the time to work on screenplays. Being sick does not help. It gives me time, but unfocused, irrational, needy, and dehydrated – not conducive to trying to work out bugs in a script.

Editing progresses on ETERNAL. The Derek has made his way over to Rossdonia to check up on a few scenes and give some input. Mostly, I want to get the assembly completed ASAP. Then we can narrow down our focus to The Derek and me working to fine tune and finesse the whole thing together. We're no where near that point yet. ETERNAL is one of the best looking HD features I've seen so far. Alex Esber, Adam White, and Aaron Smith did some exceptional work.

I can't focus. Being sick sucks. I used to love it when I was a kid because it meant I'd be home watching TV or movies all day. Now, I hate it because I love what I do, so work isn't a bad thing. The one thing of interest about being sick today is that my little terrorist, "V", has been doting on me. He knows I'm not well, and he looks after me. He curls up at my feet like he's protecting me. Vster sleeps on my legs all night and sometimes burrows in on my shoulder to make sure I'm okay. Cousette basically stays away from me when I'm sick, much like My Sexy Fiancé Veronica --, who got me sick by the way.

Statistical Perpetuity For the Misers

Once again, Indieclub comes through for me. Not the local chapter, but the national/international forum with a suggestion from a fellow user who suggested I put my movies out to all the web video sites via a new service that tracks all your videos as well as lets you upload to 12 sites simultaneously. Now THAT is something that helps me out. I have a ton of videos, shorts, news clips, etc. so this service saves me a TON of time getting the videos all up in a single shot. Plus, the main purpose of this service is to track the views and statistics, so I get a twofer which I love.

Now for another short film update on the current stats on my experiment – HOW TO DEAL WITH TELEMARKETERS. On the site that it was made for, Sony Picture's CRACKLE.COM, I have not yet cracked the 5,000 views barrier. It may not make it for a few months at this rate. On Yahoo, part 02 has not cracked the 30,000 views ceiling, but this one seems to be a matter of days (possibly hours). Overall we're at a combined 42,260 views on Yahoo Video.

When I last checked in on these statistics I made mention that one of the more interesting problems is that the series HOW TO DEAL WITH TELEMARKETERS is so popular it's being stolen, as in literally the files themselves are being re-uploaded on multiple sites, including the ones they are already on – and getting sometimes more views. Someone uploaded them to a site called THATVIDEOSITE.COM where someone had uploaded the movie in Windows Media and allowed everyone else to download it as such and distribute all over the video sharing sites in the world. I have mixed feelings about this, as I don't like losing control, but hot damn a lot of people liked the movie and wanted to share it.

The major coup that was done for me by "Anonymous" was to Ebaum's World. Part 02 has gotten 110,134 views on this site alone in less than a month. Whoa. That's heavy and luckily they didn't shave off the Sonnyboo.com at the end either.



That puts my total at over 200,000 combined views of all the segments from every site playing them as of today. There might even be more with the uploads by the "anonymous" users out there.



The BEST OF SONNYBOO DVD has been released on Amazon.com. That makes my 4th product to be released on their site and not as an "Amazon Advantage" where I set up an eStore. This is via Amazon.com's own limited run service. This was presents a new way to get small runs of books & DVD's out there to the peeps. I don't have any idea how many will sell if any at all. I've already been selling the 'Best of Sonnyboo' DVD for a few years, so most people who would want it already have it.

Why do I feel like I haven't accomplished enough yet? Because I'm motivated to try harder, I want more. I have not achieved all of my goals yet. I reach the small plateaus, but I'm still on my way to Everest. I think with making movies, I will never feel "done". With music, I did reach certain goals, and I achieved what I set out to do in some respects. I stopped "feeling" it, stopped being hungry.

I came across a VHS tape whilst making a cleaning overhaul in my basement. It was a compilation of video material from my first two years in high school with some friends. They were really awful attempts at making short films that I forgot existed. A flood of memories came together when I saw this footage. I recalled pulling everyone together to do this and had ideas on how to cheat with editing by using cognitive reasoning, so one actor that was a good guy, via editing, also played the bad guy. We cut it together with two conventional VCR's.



I remembered being very pleased with the result at the time, but I never tried anything like that again until 2000… Why not? I put music first. I tried that for as long as I could and where I failed miserably with music was not being able to effectively communicate my ideas to any audience. With movies, right out of the gate, no matter what technical problems there were – I could get my ideas across far more clearly. That is why I made the switch from songwriter to moviemaker. Seeing what I did when I was 14 years old shocked me into a realization that I should have listened to the muse more clearly then.

What does my muse tell me today? Never mind the bullocks, naysayers, and stalkers – just keep doing what you are doing. That's what I feel today. With all my heart, I know I'm doing what I am supposed to do. Ne'er does a doubt creep in. Ne'er doth negativity get through the shield of support I have from friends and family. I never dreamed I could have the support I have at this point.



I backed up a bunch of DV shorts on DVCAM master tapes. I had been tinkering with old short films, so I liked to have a tape backup instead of just files on a hard drive that may or may not crash. Better to have hard copy back ups on tape – and DVCAM is a great mastering format for standard definition video.

That's all I have for now, my droogies.

Keep on keeping on, I know I will.

- Peter John Ross

FORMAT WARS II : THE WRATH OF HIGH DEFINITION

Yesterday I ordered my HD-DVD player, thanks to a link on the main page of AICN. For myself - it was singularly deciding to purchase the BLADE RUNNER 5 DVD set. I know I don't want to buy it twice, especially not in standard definition, so I had to commit. I chose HD-DVD. Here's why:

For those who are more casually observing the HD-DVD versus BLU-RAY war, know that this is a clash of the titans. Microsoft versus Sony…. Again. First it was video games with Microsoft's Xbox versus Sony's Playstation 2, now the latest incarnations of the same gaming systems are casting a net over the high definition video market. The Xbox 360 can play Microsoft's HD-DVD's and the Playstation 3 can play BLU-RAY DVD's.

In the early 1980's JVC went toe to toe with Sony for the coveted (and then brand new) home video cassette market. There had never been a home video market before that time. Sony had a proprietary format called Betamax or "beta" for short and JVC had the slightly inferior VHS cassette. It looked bleak for a time as many households had one of these or sometimes invested in one of each. Sony held off on licensing their format to any 3rd party manufacturers. JVC did not. Soon the price of VHS VCR's dropped in very high percentages. JVC won the war and Sony dropped the Betamax cassette within a few short years.

Did Sony learn their lesson? Sort of. They are licensing the BLU-RAY manufacturing to other companies (like Toshiba) but they are charging way too much, so no one can make a cheap BLU-RAY player. Microsoft, not wanting to lose they way they did with Xbox versus Playstation 2, lowered their prices and made a very public claim that this Christmas, HD-DVD players would be under $200…. And 3 weeks ago an older model Toshiba HD-DVD player even sold for under $100 at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Circuit City.

Many industry insiders felt that with the Sony Playstation 3 being the clear video game winner (over Microsoft's Xbox NOT the Nintendo Wii), that would make Blu-Ray the winner in the race for High Definition movies. In the war for consumer dollars, the inclusion/exclusion of PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360's in the statistics, along with disc counts are all ploys and very hard to figure what is or is not really the status of whose winning. Everyday a new report comes out claiming that either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD is outselling the other.

Right now, the consumer is in the losing end of the format war. Sony owns several movie studios at this point (Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Pictures Classics, Columbus, Tri-Star, MGM, United Artists, etc.) which means they are putting all of their titles, new & old exclusively on their own format without offering them on HD-DVD. They made deals to get exclusive BLU-RAY for the home video giant – Disney and Pixar Animation. In the 1990's Disney home videos on VHS were considered the new "American Babysitter", an autopilot for holding children's attention for stretches of time to allow parents to have a break. Each edition and re-issue of a Disney title could be accompanied with a "ka-ching" sound of Michael Eisner's pocket. Bagging this library of movies on the Blu-Ray HD market would have almost single handedly ended the war with Sony as the clear winner. They already had 20th Century Fox on their side.

Until Microsoft bagged two elephants. They got Paramount and DreamWorks' entire library to go exclusive with HD-DVD where Universal had gone exclusive before them. This leveled the playing field. Warner Brothers have not committed to one format yet, but they are much like us consumers – waiting out to see who wins before making a commitment. Warner Brothers released the Stanley Kubrick movies in both formats recently, as a compromise, but manufacturing 2 simultaneous formats will be expensive. It's really really really expensive for a consumer to buy 2 different players – especially when the BLU-RAY players are so pricey.

Money talks. The "sale" price for BLU RAY at $399 spoke the loudest to me and I'm sure the majority of consumers. Sony screwed up once again with their greed, although Microsoft is just as greedy, they are smarter about it and most importantly - have the deep deep pockets to take heavy losses now so they can reap the reward$ later.

The 11 free HD-DVD's total will ease my passing into the HD realm (especially since 3 of them will by Stanley Kubrick high definition discs). I've had a 30" LCD for 2 years, but this is my first step into the BLU RAY/HD-DVD fray.

In my opinion, the price this Xmas will end the High definition debate. Microsoft wins. HD-DVD will quickly surpass Blu-Ray from now till December. Consumers would rather save $200 now than get 7-9 gigs more quality later.

Of Appellate and Peanut Butter Jamming

Well, this seems to be it. My movie has been on shelves for almost 2 weeks. The sense of finality has come. The HORRORS OF WAR chapter of my life seems to be over. I'm relieved and glad. This has been my life for so long that I can let it go. I have some final words on the subject, and for the most part it can exist as something in my past.

Now that it's in the public eye, there are some reviews and opinions coming in. Exactly as I thought – the blue Hitler cover is great, but it is greatly misleading and not really right for our movie. One review on AMAZON.COM clearly states a warning to buyers not to be fooled by the cover into thinking it's a war epic. Now I understand the distribution companies thinking. A great cover will get people to rent it or buy it. And their attitude is simply, "We've got their money already, I don't care if they like the movie or not." This is simply an ignorant way to run a business like this anymore. We live in the "information age". By getting one person's money and disappointing them, they can write a bad review on the Internet and prevent 10-20 more sales or rentals from occurring. An honest approach in marketing is always best. Misleading people or attempting to make your movie into something it isn't will alienate the audience.

Most other reviews are either positive or dreadful with very little in between. People either love it or hate it. Another one of my predictions has come true which is the criticism over the storyline being jumbled by the non-linear story telling. Our "Directors' Cut" is the story in a linear, chronological set of events that builds character development and plot in a better fashion. I'm hardly surprised people are less than enthused with the cut currently for sale on DVD. Following the characters or story makes for an effort in the cut on DVD. The words that will live on in my brain forever are "I don't care about story or character; I just want more action and explosions in the first half of the film…" and I was proven right again.



I will trust my instincts a lot more in the future. I will never allow myself to be painted into these corners again or I will choose not to make the movie at all. My instincts on storytelling, audience response, and marketing were all spot on. The next feature will not suffer the same fate as HORRORS OF WAR. I learned a lot and I am still proud of the movie, flaws and all. I'm still getting emails and pictures from the DVD on shelves (or rented off shelves I should say) from BLOCKBUSTER's all over the country. I still get chills from that. I'm going to stop reading reviews of the movie on all sites. I feel I have learned what I needed to from it and I know how I feel about the movie as is. Time to truly move on.

Speaking of which, I'm re-reading the feature length script for my next feature. Working with other writers has its benefits. I'm 95% committed the project, but the screenplay needs work. I will get more involved in the next few weeks with writing, re-writing, and then casting. I'm targeting early 2008 to start shooting. I have a better vision for what this needs to be tonally than what I did 4 months ago.
Editing trudges forward on ETERNAL for the Derek. I don't have enough hours in the day for all that needs to be done. I'm knee deep in editing work all day, then trying to manage to find time to write my articles for VIDEOMAKER magazine, plus produce videos for them now too. My first article hits in January along with my first produced video with them. Now I'm doing another one on transitions. Speaking of which, I have to get back to writing THAT today too. My weekends aren't free of work, and no longer periods of relaxation – just more work I didn't have time for during the week.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=RANT=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Here is a situation brought to my attention. If a filmmaker is online begging for donations – AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE!!! THEY DON'T DESERVE YOUR MONEY! The cost of making simple movies is nominal in the day & age of digital. If you want to be a filmmaker bad enough, you can make it work within your schedule and finances. The worst thing in the world is when these crazy yahoos pull a number out of their butts and say, "I need $10,000 to finish my movie." There is no budget; there is no breakdown of where that money will be spent. Don't give them a dime; you're only wasting it on someone who won't be able to accomplish their goals.

If these wannabes can't raise $10,000 to finish a project that cost $35.67 to shoot, they ain't gonna spend that money wisely. It's obvious they don't have a grasp of film financing and budgeting with things so lopsided. It's like donating cash to a crack addict, not helping an artist achieve their goals.

Too many whiners out there are expecting life as an artist to be easy. It's not. Quit crying, baby, grow up, and play the cards life dealt you. Seems like everywhere you go, there's some girly filmmaker crying about "I have to work full time and because I have rent to pay and food to buy, that somehow prevents me from succeeding as a filmmaker…." Well pussy, life is hard. There is no magical pussy filmmaker fairy that will grant your wishes. Make great movies within your meager budgets. Find the balance and harmony between your world of employment and desires to make movies. If it's meant to be, you'll find the happiness and money and opportunities will find YOU. No one wants to donate to some crybaby that whines about the world being against them. There are no short cuts and nothing will be easy. Life as a filmmaker ain't for wimps. Pussies need to stand up and take responsibility for their own actions & situation.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=END RANT=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



Life in Rossdonia moves forward. The new bathroom and kitchen will begin anew before the new year. Investing in our condo can't be a bad thing. "V" is verboten to be in the bathroom, a.k.a. the MAGIC ROOM. I have no explanation for this, but "V" is obsessed with the bathroom. Just being in there makes him purr and relax. He can be mad as hell, but 2 seconds in there and he is relaxed, purring and positively glowing with happiness. With the floor being up and the walls exposed, we don't want him eating things that will hurt him, so his Magic Room time is limited. Sometimes he cries at the closed door.

At night, he sleeps on my back. Cousette is not allowed on the bed or "V" will attack and pounce. Jealousy abound in Rossdonia. I try to make it up to her during the day.

I'm trying to cook more. I want to make more of my own food but until the kitchen gets remodeled, this will be difficult. I'm also starting to re-aquire some of the DVD's stolen when our house got broken into. So far, buying used DVD's, I'm spending about 20% of what it cost me to buy them the first time. FUTURAMA was the first thing I wanted back because I watch it so much on DVD. It helps to have extra income from book sales (just got a royalty check foro TALES FROM THE FRONT LINE) and my editing class.




Look, I won ANOTHER award on Sony Picture's CRACKLE.COM! I can't turn around without getting some kind of accolade. How many awards till someone can call themselves Award Winning? Answer: one.

I've re-made the "Best of Sonnyboo" DVD for Amazon.com, which will soon have it for sale on their site.



I've lost steam and must get to paid writing now.

Trailing off into confusion,
Ross

Spielbergian, a new adjective

I'm currently reading a book of collected interviews with Steven Spielberg. I am a huge fan, but I have not watched a lot of his movies or even watched too many behind the scenes etc. from his flicks in a several months. This book gets me jazzed because it ranged from his early twenties to his mid fifties and seeing what his mindset is like.




Some of my favorite quotes thus far....
"Anyone who has had as much responsibility as director as I have, HAS to be a business man. They can't avoid it."

This rings so true. If you want to work with money, you have to accept the business responsibilities as well. It's amazing how few amatuers get this. Art and business collide in film more so than any other artform, even music. If you want to have the money, you have to comprehend the business end of the movie business. There is nothing wrong with movie masturbation abstract art-house crap, although I am obviously not a fan. Just don't whine that the general public doesn't give a rat's ass or that for reasons that are apparent to everyone except the performance artists wannabes - nobody wants to invest (lose) money into that kind of movie. So stop whining like little school girls and make your movies and be content with your station in life. No one chose it, you did. Get a hanky, whipe your nose, and stop complaining that life isn't easy.

and the quote I agree with the most...
"I'm still fighting so I can be good in my eyes. When I'm good in my eyes, I might even quit. I don't see that happening for years. I haven't satisfied myself with a film yet. I haven't made a film that I think is great yet."

This is something I can relate to. I am not in a race with other filmmakers, only myself. The only critic that truly matters to me is my own self reflection. It doesn't hurt when other people criticize or bash a movie I've made. I already have my own ideas about what went wrong, and even right with my own movies.

The reason I stick with the filmmaking is because I have not mastered it or come close. I have not achieved my own self imposed goals, not even close. This will be a lifetime of heartache, struggle, poverty, and yet I could not be happier. I know what it is I'm here on Earth to do, and I'm doing it. I'm both perpetually striving to improve, and I am also completely content with the hardships that this entails. Every single disaster is just a challenge to overcome. I can’t imagine complaining about any aspect of my lifestyle. I chose this lifestyle. I chose to be a filmmaker. I chose not to complain about being somewhat poor (although my fortunes have changed in that arena recently), and I chose not to whine about whatever curveball life gives me. Recently I was robbed of several thousands of uninsured DVD’s, cameras, camcorders, and various other sundries. Our bathroom deteriorated and it will cost several thousands of dollars we don’t have to fix it. Even with all these personal tragedies, life is good. I’ve got an unconventional family that I love, that loves me. I am on the verge of a very productive year of filmmaking. My first feature film sits on shelves at Blockbuster Video across the country.

I’m a filmmaker. I chose this life. There’s no greater compensation than being able to put my movies out there to be seen. I cannot fathom complaining and crying about “woe is me! This is so hard!” Stop complaining and make do with that you’ve got, wimps.




The book comes from the same series as my previously mentioned STANLEY KUBRICK INTERVIEWS. I also have Ridley Scott's book waiting in the wings and Quentin Tarantino, George Lucas, and Francis Ford Coppola on order. All used and very cheap (average price $6 including shipping).

I feel like watching the original RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK soon. That film is damn near perfection as far as I'm concerned. I recently re-watched BACK TO THE FUTURE, and that too is continuity perfection.

Obviously, I’m gearing up, motivating myself for the next film adventures. I have several new stories to tell cinematically and this is the beginning of the process for me.
Peace acolytes.
PJ
JR
PJR

Day of Days

Well, my movie came out on DVD this past Tuesday. To celebrate, John Whitney had the idea of a DVD release party. So we had one at Scott Spears' production Partners studio. It was a blast. As per usual, I had no idea how many people to anticipate. You can invite people, but I had no clue how many would actually show up. As someone so eloquently said to me on the phone earlier in the day, "I don't want to waste my time because I don't think anyone's showing up…" and to be honest, I didn't either. Some people didn't show up, but a great number of people did.



I saw several people I had not seen in a long while, some since the shoot in 2005. Others, I was really glad they didn't show up. Not all my memories from HORRORS OF WAR are great ones. We celebrated, but there was one thing in small supply – DVD's of the movie itself.

I woke up early on Tuesday, anticipating the party, but mostly anxious about the DVD itself. I had not seen a proof copy or had anything to do with the promotion (or lack thereof) for the DVD. I gave them a plethora of extras on DVCPRO to use or not use. It was way more than they could ever fit on a single disc, but I wanted to provide them with options. We recorded a commentary track, which to me was the no brainer.

My single biggest anxiety lied with the audio soundtrack of the whole movie. The DVD specs boasted a commentary track and "5.1 Surround". The original sound mix, both in stereo and 5.1 are substandard. It's not Cobblestone Studio's fault as we were on the same page. Over a disagreement with the Executive producer of the film as to what constitutes a good sound mix, we lost this battle because he believes "If you can't see it, you shouldn't hear it…" which is an appalling concept. One of the reasons our original 3.5 minute scene worked so well was because we made up for the small number of people on screen by implying a larger number with sound FX. It worked staggeringly well. In the final sound mix, that same scene plays thin to the point of anorexia. For the final delivery to our distributor, I had added back in several more layers of gun sounds, sound FX, and even some unused incidental music. To my horror, I did this in stereo, but not in Surround sound. This scared me to death that the bad sound mix might be on the DVD without all the extra work I did.

I did order a copy of the movie, but it had not arrived and I wanted to see it. Unfortunately, none of the retail stores in Columbus were carrying the title for sale. Best Buy's store manager told me they could not allocate the valuable shelf space because they wanted the slots for Spider-Man 3. Thankfully, Blockbuster Video had 4 copies on the shelf. I could at least hold the box in my hand. Doing that forced me to sign up for an account and rent the movie. I had to shell out $4.68 to rent my own damn movie. What a sad, sad world we live in. The clerk at the store told me he watched that movie the night before, so I asked if he liked it. He said it was great. He then went on to tell me he lived in Youngstown and that he recognized the old rubber factory where we shot the ending of the film.

Because I was in a mad rush to finish a big client project BEFORE the party, I could only skim the DVD and its extras. Good news and bad news abound. The bad news? There was no commentary track, even though it was listed as an extra by the distributor. The good news? It does contain my sound mix and that has been remastered in 5.1 surround. As for other extras, they included a nice selection of the web docs (with a weird intro they cut), plus even B-Roll and the Visual FX demo.

The party started at 7:00PM on a Tuesday night. We packed the house. I was relieved. Had a blast, spoke to a ton of people, saw some old friends, and met some new people. It was a party after all. I speak the obvious. Even my parents came to the party.

How does it feel to see your own movie on a shelf and being rented at Blockbuster? It feels great! More people should get to feel this way. I'm on top o' the world. My movie is out there in the world. Sean Velie emailed me from Hollywood and snapped a pic of 4 copies on the shelf at Blockbuster, all 4 rented out. Someone called Phil Garrett and told him that they had 4 copies at a Blockbuster in some obscure little Florida town, all rented.



Since there wasn't room, we've made the commentary track a free download on the site. CLICK HERE, it's a 28 meg download of an MP3, so feel free & put on your Ipod or MP3 player, and cue it up with the start of the DVD and enjoy the commentary with directors Peter John Ross & John Whitney with producer Philip R. Garrett.



The review in our local paper, the Columbus Dispatch was very good! Local filmmakers rarely get reviewed or mentioned in that publication, so this is a major coup for us.

CLICK HERE TO READ DISPATCH REVIEW

Not everyone likes the movie. Then again, I don't know of a single movie that every single person likes, so you get used to it. I like this movie. Hell, I even love it, warts and all. I'm very proud of what WE did. We made this movie and we have come a long way.

Now the movie belongs to everyone else. The Boo sleeps well tonight. The Boo is happy. Have peace my acolytes.

- Peter John Ross
- Co-director, Co-writer, producer of HORRORS OF WAR

HOW TO DEAL WITH TELEMARKETERS

Just won the "Editor's Choice Award" for this!!!

From Crackle: How To Deal With Telemarketers

WE WAS ROBBED!!!

I have Good News, Bad News, and Good News again.

Let's start with the bad.

CHAPTER I - A ROSSDONIA STORY OF CRIME, LOSS, and LOVE

This past Thursday, My Sexy Fiancé Veronica-- and I got to have a nice lunch, then she was to drop me off at work. That part went off without incident. What I was not expecting was the panicked phone call a few minutes later when she informed me that our house had been robbed.

I hauled ass to get home. Surprisingly, the police were already here. They didn't take anything too big. Aside from My Sexy Fiancé Veronica's-- laptop, everything else was small. CD's, DVD's, my cameras, camcorder, and a handful of other smaller items were gone. They got in through the back window because the storm window was open and they were able to pry the window open.

The phone from my bedroom was off the hook, as well as in our bedrooms, all the drawers were overturned. This was a simple quick, low risk grab, but what worries me is that they might come back or tell someone else to get the big stuff now that we've been thoroughly inventoried.

Now, for the worst part of my story. On route to the homestead, My Sexy Fiancé Veronica-- called me back. She told me the cats were missing. Since the back door was open and the front door unlocked, they were both gone.

All my stuff, my worldly possessions seemed so much less valuable. All I cared about was finding my cats. By the time I walked in the door, there was Coussette, sitting all prim and proper on the floor and more than a little vocal, telling us what happened – not understanding that we can't comprehend "Meow". Where was "V"?

I searched the house upside down. The cop wants to ask questions, but I want to find my boy. Under every couch (except the one in My Sexy Fiancé Veronica-- room where it has been sufficiently turned upside down), I look. Nada. TJ comes in to help and we drive around the condo complex and even the apartments across the street. After 3 hours, my thoughts go very dark. I check every dumpster for his body because I know "V". He is a demon sometimes, so I imagine him being himself scratching and/or biting anyone in the house, and those being not so amused.

As My Sexy Fiancé Veronica-- leaves for work; I set cat food out the front door and the back door. The weather was great, so I leave the windows open to listen for him. Nothing. I ask every person who walks by if they've seen a little black cat with a white underneath. No one has seen or heard anything. Finally, two girls tell me they saw him around the corner. I haul ass, but nothing. I lock the place up and circle every single building in the complex again. Nothing. No trace, no people, nothing. Did they take him? Did he run away? Did they hurt him?

When I get home, I collapse in exhaustion and being distraught. I truly believe I'll never see the little bugger again. I start to lose my shit. As I do, the phone rings and its TJ, covering for me at work. As my thoughts drift again to my baby boy…. That little bastard starts head butting me. He was hiding upstairs for over 5 hours. "V" walks a little funny, as the thieves has hit him or thrown him. He was hurt, but not too bad. Obviously he was terrified, but I was so happy to see him. He would not be pet or touched for over half an hour. Eventually, his back was sore, but okay.



For the last several nights, he has slept very close to me (usually on me), and he's recovering nicely. "V" is spoiled, but I love the little terrorist.

In the aftermath, our insurance is not covering any of this, not even with deductible. I said over and over again that I didn't care about my stuff; I only wanted my cat back. Now I have to live with that promise and I do. I lose over 600 DVD's, but I still have "V". That's what matters most and every time that little bastard head butts me or gets in front of my monitor while I try to edit, I smile, knowing I have not lost what is most important to me.

Even in the end, even criminals can't take away the warm glow of Rossdonia these days. As the next chapter will further demonstrate, Karma pays me back rather quickly for my losses….

CHAPTER II : MARKETING ON THE WEB

I don't work as hard as I used to when it comes to web video. I used to do it a lot more because I had new material. It's been a long time since I did more than a webdocs for HORRORS OF WAR, which is starting to grate my head. As I have said, I'm ready to move on, so in gearing up for the next feature, I'm testing a few things.

Getting back to directing actors, working with script, and editing are all like any other art form – you need to practice to get better, and practice to stay sharp. So I delved back into the art of the short form because I was asked to by someone at Sony Pictures for their site CRACKLE.COM. I chose to make HOW TO DEAL WITH TELEMARKETERS as a victim because it's something everyone can relate to. So my first test is to see if what I find annoying/interesting/popular holds true. Do people want to watch a video about torturing telemarketers?
The second test was involving the workflow, testing technology in the shoot using tapeless shooting on a hard drive instead of on tape, shooting in HD, editing in HD, and working with another editor. How are my communication skills? Working with actors again had its ups and downs. I will be more careful in casting in the future. Like any other aspect, I have to keep in shape with actors and work with them more often.

Working on a soundstage and set as opposed to location was new for me, at least as director. I've worked crew on sets before, but this was my first time to experiment with that environment. Playing with moving set pieces and lighting were fun, but I still have a lot to learn there. A lot. I did not get the lighting I wanted, but I was not communicating what I wanted well enough.

Given the "sketch comedy" style of the piece(s), I decided to break them up into shorter vignettes (see how to spell this John?) and release those as separate items on all the sites but CRACKLE.COM. The goal is to get "viral marketing" going on the other sites for the individual bits. If any one of them catches on, then they might watch more, or even if they like one and hate another, I get some idea what worked and what didn't. I'll put the compilation exclusively on CRACKLE so that it is more of my main focus. My original intent was to enter it into the SHORT FILM contest, but since there isn't a true "narrative" in these, it felt more appropriate to enter it into the Sketch Comedy contest called "MOVING TARGETS". The prize is still $15,000 and you meet with Sony Picture's TV execs as opposed to Movie Execs.



The final test was related to the first – marketing to see if people would respond to the material. Given that the intent was the Internet and specific sites, I think the statistics answer fairly well. My results are that YAHOO VIDEO so far was boosted this by making it the "FEATURED VIDEO" and got me over 9,000 views in less than 24 hours. I won the Editor's Award for Oct 19th from Sony Picture's CRACKLE.COM for the movie. Other sites are slower going, as YouTube sits in the hundreds of views, but the pool is much diluted on their site. It's a LOT harder to break through there these days. YouTube has become a brand name and there are literally millions of videos of any yahoo doing anything for :10 seconds to sift through.



Now in terms of the individual vignettes, the one where I simply made a video of what most people visiting Rossdonia have personally witnessed. I ask the telemarketer/bill collector to hold on, start playing soothing elevator music and start to speak into the receiver "please stay on the line. One of our residents will be with you shortly" and eventually hang up. I thought this would be funny to demonstrate, so that was the impetus of this project. George Caleodis contributed many ideas to the mix and Ouila! We had ourselves a new web series of videos.

We'll check up on the statistics and numbers in the next blog to continue the hypothesis as it experiments its way to full on theories. Various techniques of promotion and hype have not been implemented fully yet, but as I do, we'll check these against the stats. That will be the next blog, my faithful acolytes.

As it is, I am not distraught about the break in. We've taken several measures to prevent further break ins, including an alarm security system and some window protection (thanks TJ!).

Keep Feeling Fascination, my acolytes!
- The real PJR, accept no substitutes!

Let's face it people, Avril Lavigne speaks like Lord Byron or a 5 foot 1 inch tall peroxide blond Hemmingway. With words like "She's like, so whatever!" – That really sums up life you know? It really is that simple. I know have the international CD single that has no less than 7 language versions of "Hey Hey, You You, I don't Like Your Girlfriend" and I torture My Sexy Fiancé Veronica -- with multiple repeat listening.



Combine that with THE HUMAN LEAGUE's greatest hits and we've got ourselves a dorkfest, musically speaking. Don't you want me baby? Keep feeling fascination. These are all valid statements of my emotional and mental state.

As is now becoming apparent, I delved into the making of another short form piece. I shot on HD and worked with a semi familiar crew. This was a quickie project to appease a request from Sony Pictures' CRACKLE.COM, where I have been wracking up the views for a few months now. I'm experimenting with viral marketing to see if I still have some instinct as to how to get views and the interest in subject matter. Also, it helped to get back in the saddle a bit.



For my techie, filmmaking geeks – we shot with the JVC HD110 HD camera, John Whitney edited for me in AVID XPRESS PRO, but I did the finishing pass, sound mix, and titles/FX in the full ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE. We had lavaliere mics on the actors as well as a boom. I mixed the best audio levels from both tracks and added the rest myself on about an average of 6-8 stereo tracks of audio. It's amazing how much time an energy goes into the creation of a soundtrack, music, and effects, to make a good sound.

Sound represents 50% of the experience of any movie, so it's astounding how few filmmakers take the time to make and work with good sound. Nothing will rip you out of a movie faster than bad sound, and yet so many movies, especially from amateurs don't work on or with their audio more.



My Sexy Fiancé Veronica -- and I are preparing for a journey to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a film festival in a few weeks. I can't wait. I'll see several people I met via INDIECLUB, as well as from the other appearances and speaking engagements. I can't wait to meet Uwe Boll. He seems like such a character, but I just confirmed a long sought after dream – I will meet Mark Borchardt from American Movie. In 2000 I met Sara Price and Chris Smith at the Drexel Theatre after the screening when they did a Q&A. The only thing to top this will be to meet Mike Schank and to buy his CD "Songs I Know" and possibly engage in a 1980's metal thrashing guitar solo.

All seems to fare well in Rossdonia these days. The weather remains unseasonably warm. I still have work, and continue to get paid for it. I'm just enjoying the peace and sanity from without.



Rossdonia's activity level has increased exponentially. Editing happens no less than 6 nights a week. Several of which are for the Derek's ETERNAL, more are for a feature length documentary on the Making of Horrors of War. I also did all my own post work on these shorts in between, and I shot and will soon edit a very short musical piece for my cousin, Ian in HD at the studio as a camera test and a post production workflow. So Rossdonia is afire with filmmaking activities.

Working on ETERNAL has many benefits in that I am training another army of assistant editors and that in itself if a microcosm of the real process. They are doing the logging, creating bins, subclips, and organizing everything for the actual editing process. I will let the assistants do a first pass of all the scenes to get us to the assembly, then I'll work directly with the director (the Derek) to fine trim and reduce the film down to its final form.

Aside from the politicking of the politicians, the world seems to be a better place for now. Of course when the real estate bubble bursts, we might all be in deep Shiite, but until then, stay cool my acolytes. Stay way cool.


- Peter John Ross

RANDOM ACTS OF COLLEGIAL MIASMA

Well, this Friday night my cousin Ian Ross will be here while prepping for a gig on Saturday. His father, my uncle has surgery here on Sunday, but it looks to be minor. My uncle is responsible for getting me into Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, whilst I am responsible for introducing him to Stevie Ray Vaughn and other more modern bluesmen. I gave up music many years ago. I never felt I conveyed my intentions to listeners very well. No one “got it” and as an artist trying to express yourself, there is frustration when your thought or idea is not being interpreted. With filmmaking, I feel I was getting my ideas across right out of the gate.


I recall the night I had an impromptu screening in my attic to about 15-18 friends of my first 6 short films, the “Back Office” series. Several guests were people I had been in bands with over the years. I was blown away by their responses. It was validating, unintentionally, that several people liked what I did as a filmmaker.

Back to the present time, I am finishing my next personal project, a series of short films. Working with another editor has its benefits. Working with an editor who understands rhythm and pacing has even more benefits. Since we’re both working class Joe’s at this point, it’s a lot harder to get things done fast. I took yesterday and today off work to try to get things done and I’m glad I did. I got 5 out of 9 segments finished off with final audio and graphics work.

In these little vignettes, I still felt the need to challenge myself in some ways, so I did titles that are tracked to the background and worked with more jib and dolly shots, along with a little rack focus, you know – things not normally scene in a Sonnyboo movie. My main focus, since picture was complete, was to finalize the sound mix. This involved altering voices to sound like they are on a telephone, music from a source boom box, and mixing dialogue recorded from 2 microphones. Then I would add music and effects tracks – yes even on :40 second long clips. Sound is 50% of the experience of any movie, so I try to spend as much time on that as anything else. I finally got to work with Arya from Cleveland on some music scoring.

The plan as it is now will be to release 1-2 vignettes a week as a viral type video, although I will oblige one site with an edited whole piece as was requested of me by the studio that owns that site. I will market these little bits as I have all Sonnyboo shorts, but it was an exercise for the upcoming feature with workflow of the system, working with a very small crew, and getting my legs back into directing – although I may crack and do 1-2 more shorts beforehand. I have a backlog of pieces, not the least of which is the SNOWMAN short I’ve been trying to do for 3 years, but it’s hard to plan around definite snow, especially snow that you can make Snowmen with.



The editing process on ETERNAL is in full swing here at Rossdonia. Five nights a week, people invade my living room and work to prepare for cutting. The first stage, especially with 28 hours of footage, is to sift through it, organize it into bins, sub clips, and get everything notated so that actual editing can begin. Organization lies at the heart of a multi-editor project. The script supervisor’s notes create the foundation for everything we do. Thank God the Derek had a good script girl. It will take at least another 2-3 weeks to get the bins set up to start editing. Once we start, the process will move in high gear. HD editing is roughly the same except without broadcast monitoring. Oh well.

This weekend will determine the final stages of commitment for my next feature, which is shaping up to be March 2008 for shooting. I have a team of people, some old, some new, that I will choose to work with. They say you should write for what you have, and the scenario has just opened itself up to me. Combine that with my marketing savvy, and we’ve got ourselves a recipe for fun and profitability.



We just celebrated our 1 year anniversary of getting “V”. This also means we mourned the 1 year anniversary of the passing of SPAZ. COUSSETTE has not been the same, but she bounced back in many ways. As I told My Sexy Fiancé Veronica, COUSETTE has not played “Chase Game” even once since SPAZ died. She isn’t as sad as she was last year, but a part of her went with SPAZ and she took some aspects of him into lifestyle. “V” is an irrepressible personality with equal parts sweetness and evil. His fur matches his personality. Most mornings he wakes me up by crawling up my back and purring loudly on my neck or head when he lumps down to fall asleep. I cannot help but be touched.



All else fares well in Rossdonia. As the sun fades earlier and the leaves fall, my spirits rise and my wardrobe gets better since I have a lot of Cosby sweaters. The mighty VANS are put away in the closet until the return of spring. The long cold winter awaits, and with it many new adventures.

Stay Tuned my acolytes. The Boo will have many things to say in the near future.
- Peter John Ross

Degenerates Denigrating the Defeatist Turpitude

Well my acolytes, 'tis a dark night. The moon has passed into shadow, and the demons of the past arise. I speak of course about the fact that Kelsey Grammar has a new sitcom and Charlie Sheen still has a highly rated show on Television.

When last I wrote, I spoke of the locally produced documentary COLUMBUS IN FOCUS, a doc about the local film scene and some of its filmmakers. The documentary spawned a single negative review, but several positive ones. In the maelstrom of postings about the Columbus film scene as it stands and where it has been – one thing cannot be denied. Columbus filmmakers like a good fight.

If you look at the last 7 years, it becomes abundantly clear that the people in our film scene invariably watch, participate, or comment on all the petty battles, both large and small. On OhioFilmandVideo.com, people you could watch the number of people viewing threads swell in great numbers whenever a tiff would occur. When the epic battles ensued, the views would go into the thousands. The same happens today. The only surge on that old site in the last year is when the moderators allowed people to bash anonymously and go crazy on some guy, although he deserved his licks; it was not the proudest moment.

After the bad review of COLUMBUS IN FOCUS appeared on the mighty KARMACRITIC.COM site, no less than 7 filmmakers from Columbus joined the site and most of them participated in the discussion and flat out fighting about the views and opinions. I mentioned the KARMACRITIC.COM site and its benefits on the Columbus forums many weeks ago. Only a single filmmaker joined the site after that. Someone posts the equivalent of screaming "Fight! Fight!" in a high school cafeteria, suddenly 7-10 filmmakers suddenly decide to join the site, ignore the benefits and community – just want to either take part in the fight or spectate with front row seats.

Now I love a good debate, but fighting is another matter. Stick to the issues, please. It's not personal. I had a wonderful debate with Sean McHenry, Deep Blue Edit, and we never devolved into name calling or getting personal, no matter how heated our discussion got. At the end of the day, we can shake hands (literally and figuratively), so I feel like there's some hope, even in our dark Ohio State Buckeyes Scarlet and Grey stained hearts.

What was brought up once more was my alleged responsibility as a "leader" in this city's film community. I'm not a leader. Perhaps I fancied such things 5 long years ago, but not any more. I want to make films. The End. I have no responsibility to do or say anything except make my movies and let people know about them. I find anyone who looks up to me or views me as a leader as foolish.
I'm just some yahoo making movies and I'm really only in this to make my movies. I help some people when the mood strikes me or if someone asks, but really I'm in this for me. I don't pretend to be a saint or some philanthropist. In many ways, I'm sure I'm an ass to people, but who the hell said I had to be anything else? I don't recall seeing a contract stating that by being a filmmaker I had any obligation to help or do anything for anyone. I do what little I do for other people because I feel compelled to. There isn't anything deeper or more to it than that.

Let's move on shall we? I brought the assistant editors together tonight for a pow-wow on how to best attack and start cutting The Derek's movie ETERNAL. We have a game plan, and cutting starts tomorrow. I figure with 4-5 nights a week cutting, we can expect to get a lot done in less time. Much like GOODNIGHT CLEVELAND, my role will be more of a "Post Production Supervisor" until the assembly is done. Then I'll step up to the plate and get more involved creatively and time-wise myself.

Things are moving slower on the mini-project shoot I did. Since the main deadline passed (hey, thanks Dennis!!! Just kidding), I am in less of a rush and I want to do a few things more professionally on this project. I will take my time and wait until I have tweaked and played around with it more. I'm working with John Whitney as an editor and it's a different experience to collaborate on something I normally would do entirely myself – now working with someone else. I don't mind the mixed schedules, it's the creative control. I really don't mind and that's funny to me. I thought I'd freak out or just be itching to grab the footage and tinker. I really really don't. I expect by early November, this will be public, at least some of it will be.

I have to re-edit and tweak one of my MOVIEMAKER TECHNIQUE videos for VIDEOMAKER MAGAZINE. I'm adapting one of the videos for my first article with them. I think it's cool to be a freelance writer. I'm a professional writer again.

I have two feature films in mind for 2008. I have been debating for some time which one to go for first. The one with the lower budget seems to be winning out, less because of money and more because of how it will be shot. During my tenure tagging TV spots, I had one of those divine inspirations in terms of marketing, so that tipped the scales heavily in favor of the 2nd feature. My mind is rapidly coming to closure on the commitment. I have held off so that I can just feel what will be "right". This idea looks like the most ripe and in a month it might be ready to fall off the tree and we'll get married.

Another thing that cinched it was the shoot I just did. If I can use aspects of what went right as a model, then this is do-able, shooting on weekends with my limited budget already available to me. I won't have to quit my job, and work around it. I can continue to make money and not give up my whole life as I did before with HORRORS OF WAR. This will be a less ambitious project, but with more control with me, especially where the marketing and selling will be concerned. Had I had this idea, I would have made this before HORRORS OF WAR, but sadly it was conceived of much later. In this case, I will also take a solid 6 months or more to post it. Post production often gets mishandled due to deadlines. I'm a self motivator (no really), and so it will be finished, but I need to let it take its natural course. In many ways, even in the case of a comedy, perhaps even more so with a comedy, you need to find the movie inside what you shoot, and chisel away in editing and re-examine what works and what doesn't over and over again.

That's basically where I'm at. Work is work. I'm burning out, but it's not so bad. I looked at my bank account today, and I'm not dying. I'm not rich by any stretch, but I don't struggle have the dry spells that occasionally plague freelancers.

One last thing. I'm still fascinated with the crazy people who obsess over your faithful narrator. I guess it's because I don't view myself as someone worthy of much attention. These blogs are really just mini-journals for my own edification and for a few friends. I find it fascinating to look at my webstats and see so many repeat readers. Some individuals read the same blogs dozens of times in one day. I think I've re-read my blogs maybe 3-4 times. I'm not that obsessed with me, and I am my own 1 fan! Maybe I'm not and I don't realize it.

I am fascinated with obsessions over someone like me, who hasn't really done anything that spectacular or original. I set modest, obtainable goals. When I achieve them, I definitely pat myself on the back, but I don't think that's arrogant. I am proud of my achievements, but they are admittedly small. Is that really so wrong? I'm not doing it to seek the accolades; I do it for business reasons.

It is very true that projecting an image of success will result in other people seeing you in that light. It's hardly a deception, as I am not lying or saying I'm doing something that I am not doing, IE winning awards, getting distribution, etc. What it comes down to is the pessimist versus optimist argument that plagues humanity through all its days. Some people will look at these little accomplishments and say, "These aren't very significant!" and other people will view the same things and go, "Congratulations! That's great!" Which one are you and why? I have found in my own quest to be a filmmaker, there are more optimists in the actual film industry and more pessimists in the local film community. Which one should matter more to me? <>

I dislike experimental films. I don't detest them, but they aren't really original and they are full of clichés. In 2001, using all the underexposed film from the original black & white BITTER OLD MAN shoot, I hobbled together a spoof of an avant garde, experimental film. Originally I called it THE Bitter Old man. Seeing a temporary gap in Sonnyboo Entertainment, also known as "BOO-TAINMENT --", I digitized my only copy of this atrocity and put it online on a few sites. I trimmed about :45 seconds out of it and changed the title to "THE DEATH OF SONNYBOO " since I thought the title would be provocative and the footage shows my little ginger-bread man mascot committing suicide off a bridge.

Strangely, many people gave it genuine reviews. On YouTube, I have over a 125 views in less than a day. On Sony Pictures' CRACKLE.COM, I even won the EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARD for today October 1st. How's that for an unexpected surprise? That makes my awards count on their site at 40, as in 4-0, double digits. The views are in the 20+ millions. If anyone wants to make a competition out of short films, that's 40 awards, and 20+ million views. Does that really make me a better filmmaker than anyone else? Does that somehow make the movies themselves "better"? I think not. You can excel in filmmaking without having an antagonist. Not everyone can, apparently, but it is possible. I wasn't even trying to get this fake short in a contest, and yet I won an award today. Funny. I hate competition, yet I won.

The world is a wacky place. No two ways about it. WACKY

Peace to the acolytes, and gentle curses to the wierdos

- Peter John Ross

Like Riding a Bike made for a one legged orangutan

I am tired. I mean exhausted. I've been working straight since my last blog with no days off. Lots and lots of editing. I even started bringing my work home with me and working off a portable 750 Gig Hard Drive. It makes me both happy and sad. I'm ecstatic because I'm hitting my goals for getting out of all debt and working towards a newer, nicer car, but I'm sad because I feel creatively drained and there's no time to dedicate to my artistic inclinations

Although… there was one exception. Even though I worked for 5 hours before, and a few after it…




I managed to work in a little shoot this past Sunday, which was part two of a shoot started the week or two before. I have always put to myself the challenge that if I don't learn something, or aspire to learn some new technique on each shoot, then I won't do it. On this little sidebar, I wanted to work with HD, lighting a set to look like a real location, and also therapeutically work with another editor, other than myself. All that, and of course because I was requested to make something by a real studio for their own needs. That's what really got me to get back into the making of….. a short.



I shan't divulge much, as I will uncharacteristically let the work unfold more or less on it's own and then talk about how and why it was made. All I really feel like saying, aside from the picture-poems from set, is that this was not an easy shoot, nor was it the most fun I ever had. I was tenser than normal and quite frankly, out of practice as a director.



The next stage, is the often over looked sound design, sound mix, recording stage of making a movie. I have very high standards when it comes to sound. That's why when it comes to HORRORS OF WAR there is a thorn in my side about the sound mix. I had a lengthy set of notes about what the movie needed and it was denied by the powers that be. I did manage to slip one past the goalie and make some sound additions on the final Stereo Dolby 2.0 mix, but the 5.1 surround mix is actually inferior because it's not full or rich enough to fill in the space as both myself and the sound studio themselves intended.

For this little project, I intend to put some real time into the sound mix, plus work on sound design as it's one of the most under-appreciated aspects of any movie. I'll wind up doing it myself because I don't want to shell out the $$$ to another sound designer, especially one I've never worked with and the ones I'd want are out of my price range.

I finally get to work with Arya, my friend from Cleveland doing a proper score for something I'm doing. He pre-wrote the music before we shot. It was important, so I needed it and it was there for me before we even shot.



I spent money on this short. Not a lot, but it's not as cheap as most of my movies, nor was it as flippant. I guess that's another reason I was under self imposed pressure. As well as missing the deadline that it was intended for. That sucked. My obsessive-compulsive nature has gone on vacation as I deal with the after-math of that.



Not much else to report. The local Columbus film scene is alive with rumors and goings on. Blissfully, I am not a part of any of it. I'm just a spectator, neither enjoying nor hating the activities, but rather just observing the behavior.

When your reputation starts to go down the toilet, you can only assume that maybe some aspect of what people are saying is true. I'd recommend a time of self reflection and ponder the mathematics. If 100 out of 100 people are saying that don't want to work with you, then you are probably faced with the reality that you're doing something wrong.



My Sexy Fiancé Veronica --'s car had its engine nearly fall out yesterday on I-270. I happened to be out getting color copies so I rushed in and had a real "Boyfriend" moment as I rescued her from oncoming traffic and got her to work. Now I'm loaning her my car for the next week as that whole ordeal is sorted out.

Why is it when MY car has issues, I'm on my own, but when she has issues and has to get to her minimum wage job, I have to give up my keys? I guess the obvious answer is that because I'm either a sucker or frankly because I'm not all that bothered by not having a car. Either that or there's some kind of relationship handbook I'm missing that dictates that fairness is not really applicable. Also, I didn't HAVE to give up my keys. I volunteered them, more so because I didn't want to wake up at 6:20AM 7 days a week to drive her to work. My Sexy Fiancé Veronica -- works a lot these days at 2 jobs.



More on the shoot and work methods after there's something more to show. I'm expecting to see a rough cut on Monday or so. Then some post-audio work shall begin and a re-edit for picture will ensue.

Till, then – stay at a regulated temperature and never talk to strangers that want money from you,
- Ross

Contentious Carriages of the Understated

One can never ignore this date in America ever again. Six years ago today I was in Manhattan on that fateful day. I remember my father telling me that it will be a day I will never forget and it has never diminished for me. Alas, but we can do no more but I fail to see the connection to the War in Iraq and the current state of chaos that has become our nation. I wish our president would stop trying to cash in on the same tragedy.



I left work early today. That's a first in a long while. I have tomorrow off of post production work too. I have not had a day off in 15 weeks. I almost don't know what to do with myself. I don't watch movies that much anymore and that's not by choice. I have not worked on too much that didn't take less than an hour in longer than the 15 weeks of employment. Maybe I'll go to a matinee and see Jet Li kick some ass. That's always something I would enjoy. Anything but editing because if I stare at any editing software right now, my eyes will bleed.

On to new business. HORRORS OF WAR finally and officially on DVD. How about that? November 6th, 2007 will be the day that I can finally enjoy a bit more of the fruitions of our labor. I am jazzed because we have confirmation that our COMMENTARY track is being used and at least some form of the documentary which will be nice to see on an official DVD somewhere.

HORRORS OF WAR is available for pre-sale at Amazon.com, the screenplay and the book at AMAZON.COM too. How's that for making our first dent into popular culture? I have never had anything for sale on Amazon.com before, so it feels googily.



HORRORS OF WAR has come on DVD from Netherlands. The collection is growing. I got my discs, but they switched from the red cover art to the Hitler Blue cover art. With the recent acquisition of the German DVD and the Japanese DVD I had from last year, I have an ever expanding collection of my own movie on DVD. I swear to you, my droogies, that the day that something like getting a foreign version of my own movie starts to be a bore that will be the day I stop making movies. Right now, I get giddy like a school girl every time something, anything happens with the movie.

One last HORRORS OF WAR announcement. If you are ever told by someone that they were somehow involved with the project or more specifically that the project originated with them, and yet their name ain't in the credits – guess what? THEY ARE LYING. I originated HORRORS OF WAR. No one else did. This was my baby and it evolved into something several people contributed to, but it started with me. There's a difference between being offered a chance to read the script and be involved and claiming (falsely) that the project "originated" with you. HORRORS OF WAR was made in spite of all the blowhards who talk about making movies and never do. Sorry folks, but the truth is that anyone that was remotely involved in the making of the movie is in the credits all of which are on IMDB by now.



I have added two new Sonnyboo hats to my cap collection. Since I am going bald, hats seem like a nice alternative. I like the simple promotion. At the "B" Movie Festival and the Indie Gathering, I got recognized more from my moniker than my actual name. I guess that means the promotions work and work well.



The latest award came in the mail today. BEST MAKE UP FX from the Fright Night Film Festival. That makes 5 awards total for HORRORS OF WAR and I don't really keep track of the overall Sonnyboo record. I am an award winning filmmaker. I guess that's why I keep winning awards. I fooled them! I fooled them all! Now, if only I can trick Sundance or Toronto into giving me one too. My evil plans are coming to fruition and all I did was making movies and submit them and magical faeries (U.S. Postal Carriers) brought me award certificates.



I did a short little shoot this past Saturday, but things did not go as planned. There were some upsides, but overall I cannot finish this project for a while. An actor was a no show and this has whacked everything out of line. Not being able to finish will drive my OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) batty, but what else can I do? I have become more of a perfectionist than I ever was before. When I did music, I was all about the emotion of the take and mistakes and all, it stayed. These days, I'm tinkering for years and nothing ever feels finished. The oft-attacked George Lucas says that films are never finished, they are abandoned and I am inclined to agree with him. I revisit and tinker a lot. The other day a short film website asked for my old film MINIVAN specifically and I could not resist removing what I now consider to be awkward pauses and 2-3 lines of dialogue.

That's all I can muster. I think I'll put in a little DVD and subject myself to voluntary suspension of disbelief at the hands of one of my idols. Who shall it be? Joss Whedon? Ridley Scott? Peter Wier? Neil Labute? Ah, now I have to make hard decisions.

Peace my acolytes of Boo. Even if your skin is brown and you worship Allah.
- Ross