Plebeian Punditry

I’ve kept busy since Cowtown. The total film festival submissions has now surpassed 37, a magic number. In days long gone, I used to submit like this all the time, all year round. As a got involved in post production full time, the time to seek out and focus on self promotion and marketing waned. I need to get back to it, not quite as much as the past, but definitely more than of late.

Accidental Art will make some rounds on the minor festival circuit, but will it crack any of the major festivals? I can only afford to send it to so many, plus I want to maximize its effectiveness. I want to plot a bigger roll out and a more significant and directed plan for what it is and what it will do.

This is the beginning of a new feature film, one that I hope to make in 2010. It’s the perfect low to no budget feature. Strangely, my entire year is filling up fast for projects. First I have a short I want to shoot in the very near future, one of the few short subjects I still have a passion for. It’s ambitious in its own way, but the stars need to align.



The spring is spoken for with Brandy’s documentary project. We want to shoot additional interviews, getting historical context, then we want to shoot some re-enactments. I guess the connexions made during HORRORS OF WAR will pay off again. I’ll direct the re-enactments and handle casting, but I’m producing for the whole thing. This project is enormous and the subject is crucially important. As much as I like the 10 minute demo we did for COWTOWN, it is far from perfect and needs a lot of work even as a demonstration of the whole. We need to raise money, but given the subject matter (Holocaust), and having a female director (Brandy), this opens up options that we otherwise might never have. I predict this project will be in post production for at least 6 months after any shoots we do. I want to find a dedicated editor to work on this instead of relying solely on Brandy or myself. It needs another point of view and someone with a fresh idea on how to approach the material.

The goal is to create a 58 minute version for PBS, then a longer 90-120 minute version for film festivals/DVD. If we can get it on local WOSU’s PBS affiliate, then I’ll pay to submit it to the regional Emmy’s to see if it can do anything. Anything we do with the documentary will help Brandy in selling her screenplay of the book/story.

In the late summer/early Fall I want to shoot another feature. Hopefully it will be Accidental Art, but if not, there are back up plans. In the mean time, it looks likely I’ll be doing 2 Cowtown Film Series in 2010. The responses were positive and some headway was made with local media and sponsorship. Combine that with full time work as an editor and 2010 looks to be a busy damn year for Sonnyboo and me.



I’ve got a shoot tomorrow for some video podcasts and a few other new items, but none of it is particularly narrative. One set of podcasts will be more instructional/informative style videos, taking advantage of all the B-Roll I have from behind the scenes of the 2009 shoots that haven’t really been utilized. The other will be a Short Film and Making Of podcast series about the short films. This is part of the new marketing stratagem of 2010.

There are a few other surprises and mini-projects for 2010, but all in good time. We’ll see what does and doesn’t pan out.

Stay Tuned,
Peter John Ross

Erudite Edict from Edith

Whew. Another Cowtown Film Series done. These things are a lot of work, but I do most of it myself. After that Look At My Shorts iV screening, it will be a really long time before I start delegating again. I am very pleased with many things, but I have my own criticisms of my own screening as well.

For one thing, the show was too long. I asked for too many movies, and then played them all. It was a little over 2 and half hours, which is hard to sit through no matter how good the movies can be. Between the Thursday show and the Sunday show, I re-arranged the play order. I moved the longer running pieces to be the last thing shown, plus bumped some of the faster paced movies to the head of the whole show. Programming is an art in itself as you never know exactly how an audience is going to react, and sometimes it takes sitting there with them to figure it out. Sunday’s show was better paced.



Some of the movies were dark. Now, I can’t be held responsible for the gaffing and lighting of other people’s movies, but digital projection is very different than film projection. Film has light being pushed through it, so the darks are still much greater in illumination. Video projection, even HD is pushing a dark light and that does not facilitate contrast or detail in the blacks. For Sunday’s show, I was able to lower the lights in the theater all the way and bump the brightness some on the projector. It wasn’t enough for some of the movies, but therein is the art of lighting a movie too. Looking good on a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) TV is not the same as thinking theatrically or other venues.



Attendance was decent. The final head counts were approximately 240 on Thursday and 160 on Sunday. Not bad, but ultimately I am disappointed. A free screening with all the press we got should have equated to more people in seats. We competed with another indie film screening on Thursday night at Studio 35 (they sold out), and Sunday went toe to toe with several key NFL games and a 48 Film competition. Combine that with some of the filmmakers themselves not promoting the screening and that’s why we didn’t have the full 403 seats filled. The simple math says 20 short films with their cast and crew, as well as a friend or family member for each should have easily filled 403 seats each show. I get the exact same feeling of disappointment for every single screening I have ever done, so why this is surprising is just my own ignorance.

I received complaints that most of the movies used the same actors too many times. Jon Osbeck was in 6 movies (plus 2 trailers), Bryan Michael Block was in 4, and Amanda Howell was in 3. Several other actors were in 2 movies. What can I say? Good actors get a lot of work.

Now on to the more positive aspects…



The program was exemplary. I couldn’t be happier with the movies. We had such a diverse range of movies, genres, styles, and moods. I split the program (even re-arranged) from Dramas into Sci Fi into Experimental into Comedy. Within each of those was versatility.

Having Johnny DiLoretto from Channel 6/28 host Thursday and Melissa Starker from the Columbus Alive host Sunday was a major coup. Their support was a surprise because I didn’t know how well they knew of our level of filmmaking in the city, except for some occasional support in their respective purview. I had little direct contact with either and they did a great job supporting us, mentioning it on their own Facebooks, etc.



In the past 10 years, I have programmed mostly on potential and less on the actual movies. This was the first time where I screened movies that were good and needed no explanation or asking the audience to look past some aspect, production value, acting, or camera work to see past that and see the potential at the heart. No, these movies actually had everything working well. I can’t single out anything because I could just type the names of the movies.

Audience reaction was fantastic. I make movies to sit in a dark room full of strangers and see how they feel about the things I wrote, shot, edited, and predicted they would. The satisfaction of getting the laughs, feeling the audience gasp, or going so quiet that you could hear a pin drop… this is why I make movies. When you think the audience will react, then they do, that is the definition of success in my eyes.

As for my latest movie ACCIDENTAL ART, this is where I feel the best personally. The movie went over exactly as I hoped it would. What I learned from these two screenings is that I made a movie for a theatrical experience, which I realize now is something I have always done. Especially with HORRORS OF WAR, I knew sitting with live audiences it was made to be a communal experience, and something definitely lost in a solitary viewing on a TV. ACCIDENTAL ART will be the same way. It plays so well with people who feed off each other’s laughter and reactions. I got the laughs in all the right places. The jokes played. The jolts worked. More importantly the emotion worked, which is the biggest gamble of the little movie. I am relieved. It “works”.

Brandy’s Holocaust documentary HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT was more or less the surprise hit. It’s a 10 minute sample from the 20 something hours of interview we already shot with the woman who wrote her autobiography. We’ll be doing a lot more work on this, since this project is set to dominate the spring of 2010 on our production schedule. What was learned was that we need a strong Voice Over as narrator, re-enactments of some of the key story elements, and other additional B-Roll to make the piece more visually interesting. Even with all this, the piece as it is played very well. Our subject, Betty Lauer compels the audience into her experience. The intensity of what she speaks about overwhelms people. I’m proud to be a part of the project, as this is one of the most serious subject matters I’ve ever dealt with and I want to treat it with the respect it deserves.

Overall, I consider this Cowtown Film Series 2009 a success. The pros outweigh the cons, and the venue was happy too, so we’re set to do something else in 2010 and most likely earlier in the Spring. I want to see what feature films get completed by that time and make some choices. I might do 3 weeks of features and 1 night of shorts, or something like that. Depends on what people get done.

The State of the Union of Columbus Film

I pay attention to the constantly evolving, ever changing Columbus film scene. I have read recently several people’s points of view of what they think is going on, and most of them seemed uninformed as to what is actually happening and what people are making TODAY, as opposed to 2-3 years ago. In my opinion, you need to see more than just a trailer from 2007 to make any real judgment of where we are at as a community. I make this state of the union as an observer, not a president or leader. I am not a leader and do not seek to be one.

I respect all forms of filmmaking, whether it’s commercial production, art films, drama, comedy, sci fi, action, horror, whatever. Everyone has the right to create whatever they want and do it however they want. I may not like it, but I respect their right to do what they feel like doing. I’m not in a position to dictate what anyone else should make, as I’m not that arrogant to think I know what is best for anyone other than me.

With the 2nd annual 48 HOUR FILM PROJECT, we saw a very high increase in quality films. Last year’s 2008 had about 4-5 exceptional films, and this year there were 9-10, and not everyone who participated last year did a movie this time. Between the initial screening and the BEST OF COLUMBUS, awards show, more of the movies showed that Columbus is getting better quality and seeing these movies on the big screen simply showed that off. Even the least polished movies of 2009 were better than the same level of 2008.

Several new players have entered the field in the last two years. With RAVE, VITAL FILMWORKS, and a few others moving to town and creating commercial and film work, a pretty high bar has been set. People working in broadcast and production like John Jackson, Tim Baldwin, and Bryan Michael Block all entering the fray of indie filmmaking, we’re seeing even more high quality work like AIDAN 5 hit the web and festivals.

We’re seeing a lot more crossover from the professional film & video realm into indie filmmaking with Greg Sabo/Sabostudios and Scott Handel/Ohio HD Video getting more involved in the guerilla filmmakers, offering discounts or special indie packages. DP’s like Al Laus and Alex Esber doing indie films when they work on such high end projects demonstrates the lines blurring from professional to indie.

From the nearly 10 year old guard we are seeing dramatically increased quality too. John Whitney’s MEASURED SACRIFICE helped define what is possible with the 35mm film adaptors (D.P. Gil Whitney) and a somewhat unique storytelling. Anyone claiming John makes typical Hollywood fare simply isn’t watching the movies, but making assumptions. You actually have to see the movies to judge without being ignorant. Louie Cowan has made TWO DOORS DOWN, a web series sitcom.

With cinematographers like Gil Whitney, TJ Hellmuth, Mike McNeese, and Howard Newstate demonstrating the shallow Depth of Field in their work, using either higher end cameras or the 35mm adaptors, we are seeing a much more cinematic style permeate Ohio filmmaking.

In terms of HORROR, a genre with legs still, Bo Buckley & Fearmaker Studios have returned to Columbus. Their latest movies look to be of a very high quality and shot with significant budgets and done professionally. Cut Throat Entertainment had a very successful premiere this week at Studio 35 for their HORROR short film. Not necessarily HORROR, but William Lee, by far and away the longest running Columbus filmmaker, continues to make William Lee features, and has been getting distribution and TV deals cut for his movies. No one can deny the perseverance and never ending dedication William Lee has for his craft.

Matt Meindl, Sean McHenry, Jennifer Deafenbaugh, and Sam Javor have spun off a pop-art scene almost of their own. Mixing experimental filmmaking with sometimes pop aesthetics, these guys are working their own magic in their own way.

Ohio State’s REEL BUCKEYE group seems to have gone somewhat dormant without the strong leadership of someone like Amira Soloman, but several students in the Film Studies program continue to make movies. Some of the former Reel Buckeye students, now graduates, continue to work in film and video making movies of their own, like Ruth Lang.

Columbus State and other schools have multimedia programs and are getting into film & video production classes. More and more people are finding their outlet for creation in the moving picture and sound via basic classes at their school.

The Columbus International Film Festival has taken an interesting turn. They are one of the oldest film festivals in the country, but only this past year have they started to really reach out to the local filmmaking community. With lower submission fees and more unique programming, they are evolving.

If this year’s Cowtown Film Series, I am bias here, indicates the direction of Columbus Film, then I couldn’t be happier. Over 2 and a half hours of new short films, none of which were from the local 48 Hour Film Projects, and demonstrated a variety of styles and genres. From subject matter including a Holocaust documentary to science fiction to relationships to intense dramas, we had some of the best films I’ve ever seen Ohio produce. For the few that cast stones that Columbus filmmakers don’t make movies about anything important, I can only think they are sadly misinformed or just not going to see the movies being made. Not a single generic horror movie in the line up this year. Columbus has already begun to branch out into new areas and tackle more important subjects, and they are doing it well. Anyone watching would see this.

There are pockets of the Do-It-Yourself filmmakers still out there, unconnected to others, that get seen or bump into each other on the web. YouTube often directs me to the work of other filmmakers who happen to be in our area. As is always the case, there is a lot of untapped potential or undirected, growing talent. Whether by choice or a lack of knowledge of the groups that exists to unite filmmakers, they are still out there, doing what they do, at various levels of skills and talent.

INDIECLUB COLUMBUS has changed management. From the well intentioned J. Michael Lewis, INDIECLUB is now in the hands of Max Groah and Bryan Arnold. Still meeting once a month at the Landmark Gateway theater where they screen movies, finished or not, and discussions and occasional guest speakers, INDIECLUB continues to offer an outlet and meeting place. In 2010, I’d like to see the group cater to a more educational, yet informal, format. Things like test screenings of shorts and features, demos of high end cameras and software are what INDIECLUB can excel at. It can still draw in the professionals, but cater to the beginners and hobbyists.

MOFA, the Mid Ohio Filmmakers Association has been a breath of fresh air. Its function has been mostly to provide a social outlet for people interested in filmmaking in Central Ohio. As with any organization, it cannot go without its controversies and opinions. From whatever bar they choose to meet at to how the group doesn’t do enough to create opportunities for actors, I don’t think any of that matters. MOFA’s primary function is to facilitate a social gathering for the purposes of networking for film professionals. I don’t care if we meet in a gay strip club, as long as there are film people present, I’ll most likely go and it makes no significant difference as to location.

As with MOFA, and the film community as a whole, there are criticisms as to the state of the union of filmmaking in our city. I can only give the same opinion every time. The film community is what you make out of it. If you don’t like it, work to make a change, either within the systems there or on your own. Don’t like MOFA or the way it’s run? Make your own group. Don’t like the movies being made here? Then make your own better movies.

Jeremy Henthorn has taken over as the Director of the Ohio Film Office after graduating from USC for screenwriting. Gail Mezey has still valiantly ran the Columbus Film Commission, securing work for local craftspeople with little or no financial help from the city or state. A film commission’s purpose is NOT to assist local filmmakers, but to bring in outside productions to the city or state. Anyone expecting something else is uneducated as to the purpose of these offices.

If the film commissions bring in more paid work, we can train and have more full time craftspeople for our homegrown shoots. We can have actors who work on larger scale productions and learn set etiquette, raising the overall bar of professionalism brought to more sets. That’s one of the misconceptions of the newbies and the ignorant. The work done at MILLS JAMES as compared to LUCASFILM is 98% the same. One has a name, the other is local. Other than George Lucas, they do almost identical work with the same hardware and software. Similarly, a local commercial shoot is virtually identical to feature film and sitcom work in LA. For the craftspeople like gaffers, grips, hair and makeup, etc. there is no difference in their job except geography. To disrespect local professionals is nothing short of ignorance because these people have never set foot on any real set here or in LA to know the subtle differences.

If we are to make the film community “better”, whatever that really means, what I think we need is to keep improving on our own movies. I personally don’t thrive or improve with a sense of competition, but others do. I can’t say that competition is bad in general, only it’s not productive to myself. For other people, competition makes them excel to much greater heights, so more power to them. Whatever makes you do better, do it.

I like strength in numbers. As an example, I think you get more people to a screening if several filmmakers share their audiences and movies. The cast and crew of 3 movies sharing a venue, and their friends and families create potentially new fans for movies they otherwise might not have seen. By drawing in the general public, we can legitimize our movement to have Columbus filmmaking taken seriously, as a real industry, not a bunch of hobbyists with camcorders.

There is the attitude of some that their way of helping the community as a whole is to be the first one to truly succeed and pave the way. There is NOTHING wrong with that attitude. I may not agree with it, but it is not morally or ethically bad either. This doesn’t hurt anyone. Everyone has their own path to success, and if they want to go at it alone, then I wish them Godspeed, my friends. We are brothers and sisters on a similar journey and I cannot behoove them finding their own way.

The reality is that we are all still somewhat competitors. We are vying for the same market share of precious few investor prospects, screen time, and to be the first break out filmmakers to find the success of the Hollywood industry. Even with the most civil of friendships, every director wants to be the first one to get to the goal line and we are not always thinking the best thoughts for someone else’s success because somehow that will take away from our own, which is rubbish. If my worst enemy gets a 3 picture deal or gets into Sundance before I do, I will be elated because I can use that as examples to how a Columbus Filmmaker CAN succeed, and I will parlay their successes into my own. I have no ill will at anyone else because a win for one, is a win for all to me.

Overall, most filmmakers put the rivalries and pettiness aside and work together to make the community as a whole better. As anything in life, a film community is what YOU make of it. You can bitch and moan or you can actively work to make it better.

I see where we are now and where we were 10 years ago, and I can say that the future of Columbus film looks brighter than it ever has. If you actually look at what’s going on, what people are making now, and how we’re now being viewed by the press and public, you can clearly see a much better stasis than ever before.

I’ve never been this proud or happy with Columbus Film. I salute one and all for their efforts. May we all find the success and artistic satisfaction we all deserve.

People have the right to oppose my optimistic point of view on the state of Columbus filmmaking, but some out there have not been to screenings and are speaking about the state of affairs without actually knowing what they are. Similarly, people criticize the groups without actually attending them, and these people should simply be ignored because they are ignorant, speaking out of turn without any facts.

Also, there are many individuals not mentioned specifically in this, but are not any less worthy of mention. This was more of a stream of consciousness. Producers like Phil Garrett, Dino Tripodis, Mike McGraner, Gil Whitney, Victor Matkovitch, Mike McNeese, Michael Evanichko, Scott Spears, and so many others (apparently most of them named Mike) I’d be writing a phone book. My apologies to anyone who feels left out, but we are all in this together.

Peace my brothers and sisters.

Peter John Ross

Sojourn into the Domicile

Just a few days before the new Cowtown Film Series left. I’m furiously putting the final touches on the show, with some animations, plus other accoutrements. The main show is ready, although I am still tinkering with the playlist order. We have a similar theme of people dying in several of the movies, so I’m trying to break those up some so they aren’t all in a row.

I’m jazzed because we’re getting some great press and good word of mouth. There’s 20 short films total, which is a lot. Most of the movies are of an exceptional quality compared to screenings I’ve done in the past. Everyone is upping their game this past year or two.

I can’t believe we got Time Warner cable to be a sponsor, nonetheless the Columbus Alive. They are finally starting to take local filmmaking seriously and that’s a good sign of things to come. Johnny DiLoretto is hosting the Thursday night screening from Channel 6/28 and Melissa Starker is going to host the Sunday show. It takes time and perseverance to build something and let it grow.



Unlike previous screening series and festivals I’ve done in the past, this has gotten significantly better over time. I’m a stickler for presentation, and the content is always the most important part. For the first time I’m not programming for “potential” but for what he really have. Filmmaking worldwide is at a critical stage where anyone can create something that rivals the big multimillion dollar productions. DISTRICT 9 was a short film with very little budget. Thanks to sites like VIDEOCOPILOT.NET, your imagination is your only limitation to creating amazing looking effects or style to your production.

I’m most excited because last night I tested the digital projector with my High Definition hard drive player. This will be my first screening in high def, 1080i. It will also be one continuous play from the hard drive and this machine works flawlessly. It goes from one clip to the next and there’s no hiccups or funky frames. I was terrified because it has HDMI output and the projector only takes HD from Component analog or DVI-I. I once had a 30” LCD monitor and I tried to go HDMI from the HD-DVD player to the DVI-I input of that screen. It never worked so I got paranoid that DVI only works the other direction, like from my Computer to the HDMI input of the new 42” monitor.




I got the device to work with a 23” DVI-I monitor at home, but I needed to test it with the projector and last night I did. It worked great and the picture was very sharp and clear.

I’m glad to be presenting everyone’s work in the best possible way. I always bring this up, but I can’t help but feel how incredibly disrespectful it is to not thoroughly test your presentation. Last night I watched 1 minute of every single movie, found a few hiccups that got fixed today, so that EVERYONE’s movie will play well, not just my own. This screening isn’t about making my movies look good and everyone else is along for the ride; this is about everyone helping each other out and making the community stronger as a whole. It’s my personal philosophy that we do better working together than to each try to do things entirely on our own.

Thursday looks to be the busier of the two screenings by far. In theory, we should have all 403 seats full. If just the casts and crew of the 20 films attended along with a friend or family member, that alone should fill the entire theater. How many will be there? Will we run out of seats? Will it be kinda full, but still a bunch of empty seats? I don’t know. I never know exactly what to realistically expect. I do my best to get the word out there, but I am not a professional marketing guru.

Sure, we’ve got a mention in the Columbus Alive, the Weekender in the Columbus Dispatch, and I’m going to be on Channel 4 news (again, for my 4th appearance in 7 years), but how many people does that tangibly equate to in terms of attendance for people that otherwise never heard of the show? I don’t know. We’ll see. I’m hoping for a killer crowd. It’s a free screening. That’s hard to turn down in this economy.

Talk to you all soon methinks.
Peter John Ross