The Confederates Conspiring to Confiscate the Votes

In life, there are ups and downs. Is the goal to spend more time up than down or to find as even a keel as possible? Without a doubt, I find myself riding the waves, undulating like a fat guy’s gut during turbulence.


Your faithful narrator inspires a lot of emotion in people. It seems I’m either loved or hated. What rarely happens is that I am ignored or causing an ambivalent “eh…” in most people. With some, I recognize that I am seen as some kind of antagonist, whether it be because of what little successes I’ve gotten or as some core principal that acts in the opposite of their beliefs. Either way, I don’t care too much, except when I get fascinated with the obsessive ones. I am staggered by their inability to see that their interest in me goes into a place of dementia that only the truly psychotic exist in.

When people take the amount of time it takes to write about me or post blogs, etc. I experience genuine awe. Lately, I’ve been buried in work so it’s less likely to hold my attention. I’d rather create than spend time on this other nonsense. I’ll let my work do its own thing.

On the flipside and what makes me even more fascinated are examples of the opposite. I received two emails with links that are far more compelling than anything negative said or done about me.

First, a film forum in Dallas/Fort Worth emailed me because a discussion was going on about me. When people talk about you like this:

Quote:

He seems to really care about the indie community unlike a lot of other directors out there.

I was invited to participate in their forum and post links, etc. When you make videos and have the intent to have them go “viral”, meaning get them out there and other people pass the links on and several other people pass the links on, etc. until it becomes a self perpetuating marketing. This is certainly true of my “moviemaking techniques” videos of last year. They do a lot of good and many people like them. The statistics don’t lie, and these are promoting themselves more than I am at this point. Everyday more links go to the videos and more and more requests come in for copies of the videos.

CLICK HERE TO READ THREAD

I’ve even been requested to make DVD’s for various film schools in at least 6 states so far, which leads me to the 2nd example. On INDIETALK.COM, a good online pal send me THIS LINK to a blog by Norman Hollyn, not only a professional editor by trade, but also the HEAD OF the University of Southern California’s (USC’s) Editing track at the School of Cinematic Arts. He quoted my article/book on “Editing Your Own Film”.

Now I’ve never been to film school, and I’m hardly a member of academia, nor did I ever make any significant grades at any level. How freakin’ cool is it that the head of the editing department at USC quoted me and my writing?

CLICK HERE TO READ BLOG ENTRY

It’s all humbling. It makes you wonder if you’re worthy of such praise. I don’t think I am. As much as I am accused of arrogance, I am not quite that full of myself. I am no where near where I want to be at. The only critic that truly matters to me is me. I haven’t satiated that one, so I still have the drive to try harder and harder every day.

I appreciate the praise, from the high and mighty to the most common variety. In the grand scheme of things, suddenly all these naysayers start to turn into static on a channel I can change in the click of a button.

A few weeks ago, I made a conscious decision to ignore the hate mongering and focus on the positives. Combine all the above with the recent Wikipedia interview, and your narrator has a lot to be proud of and no one can really affect that. All I can do is proceed with my plans and keep on succeeding, albeit in very small ways, but I feel great about what few things do go my way. Does anyone really believe they will make me feel bad? There are always fools.



CLICK HERE TO PLAY

Part 3 of the UNCLE PETE’S PLAY TIME is online now. As each one goes, they get raunchier and more politically incorrect. George dared to take this journey with me and his participating elevates what I had in mind. Combine that with the contributions of TJ Cooley on the backgrounds and my new found friend J.D. Larabee for character designs, and The Boo is quite pleased.

When I later reveal how these are a piece of a puzzle that won’t be grasped until nearly a year and half from now, it will be even more significant. Just when people I know expect me to zig, I then zag, and when I zag, the next move will invariably be a zog, just because I had no idea what I was supposed to do. These UNCLE PETE clips feel like a kind of homecoming for me in my filmmaking endeavors. I started with these kinds of movies and I’ve come back to doing them and it plays a part in my master plan for the next 24 moons.

This should be enough, Charles. Surely, I’ve made my point.

- Peter John Ross
Sometimes known as Sonnyboo

Wiki This and Somethin’ Else That

The big news of today? Wikipedia did an interview with me this past weekend and it’s already online. What an honor! I thought it was a big deal getting a Wikipedia entry at all, even though it’s on the verge of being removed for lack of relevance, but then they interview me. I love this kind of irony.





I haven’t even been doing much lately, and I certainly wasn’t trying to get an interview with Wikipedia, but hot damn! This rocks.

I’m finishing post on another Uncle Pete segment. J.D. Larabee did some art work for me and I’ve never even met the guy. Jason Morris said he was good and I emailed him on MySpace. He sent me some artwork and it was pretty much spot on from the git-go. I’m digging these bits. It’s some of the best writing I’ve done for satire.


Soon I will finish the latest one and get it online. Each one successively gets more out there. It’s nice to see the public reaction to these get better as each one comes out. I think the best is yet to come. Once I get 2-3 more put out, the real marketing can begin. I haven’t even started yet and I’m already at over 45,000 views on combined sites.

Until next time….

- PJR

Downtown Venus and the Statue of Vulcan

What a strange week it has been since your narrator last wrote to you. I’ve been to Birmingham Alabama for a shoot where I directed a pilot for a reality show. I don’t know which is more obtuse; the fact that I got sick 10 minutes after entering Alabama or that the Discovery Channel referred me for the job. Regardless, it was very difficult to work when my head was pounding and my sinuses acted like they were at the circus.



[[this week’s pics by Darell (D-)Day]]

We shot a lot with my HV20 underwater to get HD footage underwater since the housings and camera controls would be far simpler than the manual cameras. The footage is acceptable, but I think I have to get certified as a diver to be able to operate camera underwater for any future work like this.



I hired The Derek and D-Day to work on my crew and it’s always good to spread the wealth. I’m a big believer in trying to get the best people and when I’m making money, I want other people to make money too. People have done this for me, so I love continuing the good will. It’s like karma in that I feel that if I put money in other people’s pocket, others will continue to do the same for me, or maybe my payback will come in another form. Hording money and selfishness in that regard can only skew the way it’s all going to play out.



So I bought a new car, a nice new Ford Mustang. Let’s just say all the work I’ve been doing has paid off in spades. Success remains subjective, but in most people’s minds it relates to monetary compensation. I guess in other people’s view, I’m getting more and more successful, but why is it no where near enough for me? I don’t care too much about money for myself. I have modest needs and wants, but the "success" as defined by me lies in another realm, one that is purely creative and standards set forth by my own muse. I am not successful, nor do I ever feel I will attain the level I desire, but then again, that is why filmmaking will be a life long endeavor.

I love the fact that my sole income for the last 8 years has been from filmmaking and it took time, but it’s paying off. I am proud of what I have accomplished, even though it’s not enough to satiate my desire to get better and improve, but the comfort of a few luxuries and the security of regular income to make life a bit easier day to day. The trick is to not give up the artistic end for the profitable endeavors. I was able to find a balance during the busiest time of the year and slip in these new shorts.

UNCLE PETE’S PLAY TIME has started to be unveiled. For the most part people like it. As with all comedic films, some people don’t think it’s funny or take what you’re saying too seriously. I’m okay with that. That’s what happens with every joke or comedy – someone doesn’t think it’s funny. Get used to it. Negative comments or posts don’t really affect me. I’ve been reading that kind of stuff since January 2000 and you tune out the nonsense. I guess I get confused by the intent. Am I supposed to read "You suck!", then suddenly go "Oh my god, I thought this rocked, but now someone told me it doesn’t, and I should really quit! I know there was no intelligent discourse or reasonable criticism, but I suddenly changed my mind and my confidence is shaken so I should just delete this and never pick up a camera again. Thank you anonymous poster on the Internet, you just saved me a lot of hassle having to deal with criticism and putting effort into finding my audience. I’m done now…." I just don’t see that happening.

I have self confidence and I like something in every piece I’ve made. That’s not to say every single thing I’ve made is not flawed. I think I could probably write massive amounts of criticism of each movie I’ve ever been a part of, especially ones I wrote or directed. Being self critical allows you to handle when other people want to tear it apart. As my opinion stands, this is the line in the sand or the edge of the abyss. Time to look in and decide what kind of man or woman you are. Will you still love your art even though you recognize the flaws? Will you be swayed into disliking your art because many people, even the majority don’t like it? Are you going to stand tall in the face of adversity or cower under the weight of your own inadequacies?

I don’t fear these things. I believe in myself and what I’ve made. If people want to attack or tear down what I’ve done, I say do as you will. I’m just on my own path and climbing my own mountain. Nothing has deterred me yet, nor has anything even distracted me long enough to keep me from doing exactly what I’ve wanted to so far.



While in Alabama, we stayed at a Lake House the production secured for us and that was nice. The last day of the shoot, we had a mini-wrap party and chilled out with the Beer, darts, and Stewart/Colbert on the tube. I can say in all confidence there really is a thing called "Southern Hospitality" and that this is instilled into most citizens in the South. People were super cool and nothing like expected. I haven’t been to Alabama since the 1980’s, but it’s a cool place.

Before I left, I did some serious 12-14 hour days working on 3 projects. Now that I’m back home, I’ve got another 2 big projects staring me down, nonetheless post production on the Birmingham gig. I am looking to hire a few part time assistants. Not a permanent position, but kind of the A/V temp job as it were. Anyone interested in making some mediocre hourly to work on film/video production rather than delivering pizza?


Be at peace acolytes of Boo.
Peter John Ross

Uncle Pete's Play Time!

From Crackle: Uncle Pete's Playtime - SHARING

This is a clip from a Children's show I'm working on for Channel 19. I think it's more of a show for Bill O Reilly or Stephen Colbert would show to their kids. This one's theme is SHARING.

Patience for the Pleiad

Tomorrow I shoot another short. I've only waited around 5 years to get this one shot. I have to recast one nephew for another one because the original choice is too old now. I just have to tell the little guy "Tough Titty, it's the movie business, kid. Now get out of my shot. Maybe you can get the PA's some coffee. It's called show business, not show family. Scram."

We're inundated with the snow. Lots of it. A record breaking amount for Columbus Ohio. We beat the record set in 1910 for the most snow accumulated in one night by getting 20+ inches as opposed to the record 15+ inches 98 years ago. The snow covers up to 3 feet surrounding my car on 3 sides. It be ugly. Except that I needed this much snow to do a short I've had in mind for 5 long years. This was the only time I could count on snow being on the ground for at least 3 days. I hope to pull this off tomorrow.

Owning my own little "indie run-n-gun package" will pay off in spades tomorrow. My poor man's steadicam, the jib arm, the HD camera, and people owing me favors will come into play. Along with my parents being out of town so I can use their front lawn and house as a set. I bought the necessary props and equipment tonight, so I think we can pull this off.

Did I mention that I am finally getting some film work done again? Oh yeah. After the marathon shooting with George last weekend, this week I'll get this baby shot out and have a plethora of new Sonnyboo movies to infest the web, only they will all be mastered in HD and ready for the new HD outlets my distributors have let me know about.

This past Thursday I drove up to Cleveland to do a TV interview for Cox cable. It wasn't public access, but a cool On Demand show they have put together. The weather and roads were great on Thursday, and then Friday everything went to hell, if hell is actually freezing cold and full of high wind and constant snow. Actually that's just Ohio. In mid-March.

On the way up, I enjoyed a brief respite at the fabled Marie's Pizza. Twice in one week? Oh yeah, life is good. Real good it is. Wadsworth Ohio's pride and joy still delivers and I had leftovers for lunch the next day. I tell you, this pizza is worth the side trip on I-76 to and fro.

After the TV interview, I met up with Johnny Wu and friends for a nice dinner at an Indian place. I had Tandoori Chicken for the first time. Surprisingly, I loved it. I don't normally get into exotic foods, but this was fantastic. The company equally enjoyable.

Music score has started to arrive from Arya for my new project. More animated backgrounds and other goodies for the greenscreen extravaganza are also arriving daily. Ian Ross assures me that a theme song is imminent. They scheduled the studio time to record it Friday night, but then the storm swept through Ohio and all was cancelled. They rescheduled for tonight, so hopefully Cincinnati recovered as well as Columbus did.

My Fiancé and I spent the weekend cooped up in Rossdonia with the cats. I cooked a LOT. She did dishes, which is more of a tri-annual event, so I cooked more. I had inadvertently prepared for this weekend with several kinds of food, etc. so we didn't have repeats at all. We breaded chicken strips ourselves, always fun and tasty. My trick is to add minced onions into the breading for a more unique flavor. Marzetti's Honey Mustard rounds that dish out well.

Tonight I went to Meijer and got the most important element for tomorrow's shoot. Red fruit punch. It's crucial to the ending of this short piece. People will understand when this one gets done. I hope to be done early, but you can never tell with a shoot.

The world moves pretty fast and I hope to continue my rotations while the inspiration is strong.

As always, may you find what you are looking for, but hopefully it isn't just in this blog. Seek your answers elsewhere too.

Peter John Ross

Viagra of the Divine Muse

I recently shed a lot of inner turmoil. About 2 weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to focus on a few issues and not be worried about what may or may not affect me; let's only worry about what is in front of me, not hiding in the bushes nearby. One thing at a time, that's all I can care about. My time is getting more and more precious as I commit to gigs and projects. I don't have time to be worried about little things. Surprisingly, I have honored that commitment, plus the one to get off my lazy ass and get more physical in my daily routines.

I'm still on a high from this past Saturday's shoot. It was exhilarating to shoot. The execution matched the intent, and with George, it surpasses expectations. I haven't felt like this in a few years. Has it been that long? I guess so. I entrenched myself in HORRORS OF WAR for a time, then the marketing of it. Then for the past 12 months, I've been in money making mode more than personal storytelling endeavors with movies. As much as the itch was there, I could not scratch it. It feels as though the stars have realigned themselves and delivered unto me the will and the path to the future.

Sunday, as God's day, was a day of rest. I did nothing filmmaking related, besides all my footage was digitized on the computer at the office in a codec that is hard ware reliant with the Matrox RTX2 card & software. I cannot edit this on any machine without the same hardware and codec. My obsessive compulsive disorder has gone crazy, although not on Sunday. I watched CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND on Blu-Ray in the original theatrical cut of the film. Then I made out with my woman when she got home from work. It was a great follow up day to Saturday.



Yesterday, after completing my meager editorial jobs, I plunged headlong into the edits of my latest project. Now, the original intent was to edit all the greenscreen footage raw, and worry about post production and compositing until after I had final cut the picture. That makes sense. I can surmise what I need for each background, any character animations, and even make DVD's for the illustrious inner circle of people who will help me complete these mini-pieces of movie magic. This is the most efficient and logical way to do it.

So of course, I decide to go ahead and do an entire rough cut of the first piece, composite it with the test images I asked TJ to make, and then I added a temp music track along with a first pass at the title sequence. I chuckled to myself as I watched the semi-finished bit. My hopes and dreams are coming closer to being a reality with this.



Today, I had more edit jobs to do for work before I could start to tinker and play in the new world I'm creating. I diligently complete my tasks, complete with a spell check and verification on the 2 Suzuki spots I worked on, then I dived into the next clip. Again, TJ sends me backgrounds that match the piece I'm working on, so I composite and try to complete this 2nd one as well. Now I have 2 semi-finished clips.

Tomorrow, I intend to do the other 7 green screen clips and stick to the original plan. Edit for picture, composite and finalize later. I'm already in touch with a composer (Arya) for the score and my cousin Ian to do write and perform the theme song. Some of the remaining pieces will require character design and animation, so those will take longer to post. My impatience to want to share these ASAP kills my OCD, but it will be worth the wait for me to make them perfect before a public showing of any kind. It might take several weeks, but I don't want to put something sub par out there, not where these are concerned. I have to learn patience, especially where film work is involved. My passion for getting things seen sometimes supersedes completion of said work.

If this is any indication of how the rest of the feature will be, I'm in for one hell of a year…

I feel like I'm on fire again. It was a cold day, but the flames of inspiration kept me so jubilant that nothing can stop me. I'm on top of the world and I love the view. I'm not going to let myself get dragged down; besides, my freelance has quadrupled this month. With the Suzuki gig, some high school basketball championship games, my regular workload, and a shoot in Birmingham Alabama – your faithful narrator will have to finish these new movies in between cat naps on the paying work. I may be able to get a new Mustang. I love the 2005's and I found one used that I may snag up as the new Boo-mobile! If everything comes through, I will have made more in the month of March than I did in all of 2006.



I got another big royalty check on my short films today from cell phone distribution. That rocks. Whenever I get a check for over $1,000 for one quarter, I get blown away. I never planned on these things to make money when I made them. They were my self taught film school, nothing more. Now I'm raking in some extra dough from them and getting them seen by thousands of cell phone video watchers.

That's all I got for now, my friends. Peace be with you wherever you go.

Peter John Ross

Conjoined Epigraphs on the Nightstand

Yesterday kicked ass. I mean all kinds of ass, big ass, little ass, fat ass – ALL KINDS OF ASS was kicked. Knowing my friend George Caleodis was coming back to Columbus for a few days, I came up with an idea to shoot him on the greenscreen stage with a bit I have that is both for my upcoming feature film and can also stand on it's own for the web for now. It's not hard to shoot, as I planned on 2 cameras and no moving shots so the keying and tracking will be easy sleazy cover girl.

So all I needed to do was write something. I sketched out a few ideas and hand wrote the random assemblage of ideas as I wrote in a previous bloggy blog. Well, that's as far as I got. I scheduled everyone to be at the studio at 12 Noon. I got there at 11:15AM and STARTED to write the scripts for the day. I am generally not a procrastinator, but the writer's block has been a bitch, so I strangled her at got busy. When it rains, it pours, as they say and I got 4-5 new ideas as I furiously typed them out and proceeded to print them.



The shoot was skedded (using Daily Variety terminology) from Noon to 4:00 PM. We got started at 1:20PM and wrapped at 3:15PM. Everything was shot, we improvised ("we" meaning George) a few things at the tail that work out perfectly as interstitials, or opening teases. George is a professional improviser, currently teaching and directing at the Improv Olympics in LA. Working with George is effortless and simple. I ruined 2 takes by laughing out loud at some of his improv's that took my by surprise.



I have studied several forms of comedy as a hobby for many years. It's not an exact science by any stretch, and in the end all you can do is know what makes you laugh and what you personally find funny. There is so much intangible in the form of "comedy". Laughing is an unnatural act. Literally, laughing resembles a seizure and makes your body react in a form of involuntary convulsion – but in a good way. Making people laugh is probably one of the hardest things you can attempt to do, especially as a stand up comedian where all you have is your words, or in the case of Carrot Top, cheap props, which is why he's not the most respected comedian because he can't do his act without the crutches. Most stand ups are armed with words and wit, which feels kind of naked on a stage. Making a comedic film is not easy either, but you have tools and things that you can use, so it's more comforting. Sitting in an audience, lights dimmed and the flickering images and sounds emanating represent the truest test of a comedy film. Luckily, I have been in the audience when my own alleged comedies have succeeded and failed to cause the desired reaction of laughing. You learn a lot from the experience of being in a room full of strangers and as a filmmaker you attempt to manipulate the audience into the communal response. What bombs with one audience, may work well with another group of people. Sooner or later you just have to form your own opinion of what is funny and go with that, not worrying whether it plays in Peoria. Be true to your own sense of humor and be content if you find it funny.



I will never "master" this, but I hope to get better each time. That's all I can ever ask. At best, you can predict what you think is funny and hope that audiences agree. Strangely, I can say I found what we made yesterday to be very funny to me, if no one else. I haven't laughed this hard in many months. It was such a visceral release for me and I was even light headed by the end due to a lack of oxygen, which my Fiancé says is something I should be used to by now. George makes me laugh. My words, reinterpreted and improvised by George always play out better than what I come up with on my own. Yesterday was no exception. I think if I turn on the marketing machine in a way I haven't in a while, this could get George seen a lot. We'll see…



Now the post production end of things lies heavy on me. With footage of George and a sea of green nothing behind him, it will take a lot longer than usual to finish post on this project. So much of what we're doing with this one is in that green nothing. I will have to supervise a design, character creation, music, and sound design with a far more professional touch than my previous clips to date. I am not going to do it all myself. I love to collaborate with artisans that are far better than me so that the whole equals more than the parts. Since it's a green nothing, other people's contributions can shape the whole piece beyond my limited vision.

Immediately following the shoot, since we were way early, I started digitizing footage and got both cameras set before My Sexy Fiancé Veronica-- arrived and we departed for the legendary MARIE's PIZZA in Wadsworth Ohio whence I came. My lifelong friend Maurice was in Ohio from Seattle for a funeral and since I have a fresh set of wheels, we drove up to have a nice dinner. My brother was already there and we waited out the extra long Saturday night dinner rush, but good conversation doesn't care if you're waiting in line or sitting at the table.



Since the day's shooting was so successful, I was on cloud 9. What I failed to realize is that by comparison to the last shoot I directed, this was a much more pleasant experience. I think I might have been demoralized by the overall experience of the last shoot. Some parts were good, some parts were disappointing, but mostly it was a bland experience as opposed to the excitement and energy I had almost universally experienced on ever previous shoot. What's even weirder was that this shoot had the smallest crew since my original BACK OFFICE days, as it was on a pre-lit greenscreen stage with wired mics and a mixer/video village already set up. Micah ran sound, slated, and also shot Behind the Scenes footage. The D.P. merely pressed record on the 2 JVC HD-110's and walked away since there can't be any camera movement. I still had a blast, and I don't have that ego of having too many people on set. I'd rather have what we need and I only care about the final product, not the way a set "should" be. Some of my dearest friends feel they have to have a big crew, but it feeds their egos more than the story at hand. I will never compare myself to Kubrick, but sometimes once the stage was lit, the mics were checked, and the camera was loaded, there was no one else on set but him and the actors as he operated the camera himself and kicked everyone else out entirely. What a hack! He must be a loser.

I just finished eating leftover Marie's Pizza and I am stuffed again. We got home late last night, but it was a fun time. I haven't seen Maurice since the Horrors of War screening in Seattle in 2006. I hadn't seen his nephew since 2003. Time flies and I'm in the vortex.