Pythagoras and his silly Numbers

A 2+ year project has finally happened. We removed the kitchen set from our studio, so I quickly put together a shoot in that space that I had intended for several years. I needed some depth and room to make it happen which was not possible with an entire kitchen cabinet corner sitting there. Our studio converted nicely, along with a lot of love and care from several people, we will have a fully functional set place soon.



A television show has long been gestating for us. Over 2 years ago, we shot segments for this program. We’re not only editing these, but we’re also creating new content. I have set a deadline for early July to get the first pilot episode completed. I’ve already got a handful to make that happen. My brainchild segment is one of the 5 anchor pieces. I love Jon Favreau’s DINNER FOR FIVE, but did not want to be a ripoff. I modeled this on filmmaker panels I’ve attended and been on over the years, but in a more casual way. I am moderating these, but I don’t want to make it about me. It’s about the topic or movie we’re covering from Ohio filmmakers.



We did a 4 camera shoot and luckily there is a kick ass multicam editing part of Adobe Premiere, even in HD. I have started using this to edit even 2 camera shoots because of its ease of cutting. Another great upgrade to the CS4 (specifically 4.2.1 upgrade to Premiere Pro) is a DVD to Timeline ripper, which is incredibly time saving. I can bring a *.VOB file directly to the timeline from a DVD or DVD’s VIDEO_TS folder to the timeline, and then export it to any format I need. Since I can create a nearly lossless AVI file with the Matrox codec, this means a lot of saved time and great quality from DVD. Normally DVD files don’t edit well because they don’t have the whole frames, so I tend to capture them analog via component video, but this direct-to-timeline way is quicker and superior picture quality.



Soon I will have the pilot episode of this show put together. We shot enough roundtable discussions for the first 3 episodes. The other segments will be a focus on various film related items for Ohio filmmakers. Hopefully we can make it educational, yet entertaining enough to bring in “Normies”, meaning normal, non-film people.

Why is it when my income goes down, my ambitions and projects multiply? Things take longer than they used to. I’m less obsessive-compulsive than I was even 3 years ago. I like my time off and relaxing a bit. I blame “V” for chilling me out. I can’t take my cats with me to the studio, so I want to spend more time at home and I don’t like to work at home anymore. I’ve divided the two worlds completely.

Looks like I will be shooting some new narrative works within a few short weeks. I’ve got so much to do and not nearly enough time to do it, but I’ll manage to make it all work. Especially with a lack of paying jobs. A part of me is still a workaholic, so this just means manufacturing more work via self imposed deadlines. I’m a self motivator.

Fractal Asperity

Why is it taking me so long to do another feature film? That’s easy to answer. I don’t want to just make another film. I want to make a good film. This starts with the script. Choosing a script or writing one is also easy. Getting a great script is extremely hard. I want my next feature film to be great, not just good and definitely better than the movies I’ve made before.

I have raised my own bar. I do not want to compromise the quality of the movie unless there is no other choice. I don’t need another mediocre movie. I only want to make movies of a surpassing quality. This is all subjective of course, but I have my own standards to live up to.

The culmination of my decade of making film must be used to service a story. In reading my 8th draft of my intended next feature, ACCIDENTAL ART, I am not pleased with it. It starts great, there are a few very small bits in the middle that are good, and it ends great. That’s not good enough for me. I want it all great or it’s not worth doing. I have been working on this since 2006, on and off. Mostly off. My mind has to be in a place to deal with all the issues left undone.



Part of the problem is going at this alone. I like collaboration, but a script is such a personal and private thing. I’ve tried working with writers, several on this screenplay. Only one has worked out well, but I get derailed pretty easily when it comes to writing. I even did a table read of this last draft. I have a recording that has been on my hard drive for 3 years unlistened to because I am afraid of the massive amount of work that will proceed from this.

My first feature film left me wasted, emotionally and energy. My physical condition has deteriorated immensely. I have gout, about 40 more pounds of fat, substantially more gray hair and a lot less of it on top of my head. Now I am losing teeth. Getting old sucks. I’m almost 40 years old. That’s not young anymore and I failed to take care of myself at all.

I don’t want my only finished feature film to be HORRORS OF WAR. I love the movie like it’s a child, flaws and all. It is special to me and taught me a lot and still has some shining moments, but overall it is not the best film I can make. I can do better. I know how to make a better movie now. So maybe I will.



The cruel mistress that is serendipity visits me on occasion. Sometimes I can make that bitch do what I want, sometimes she controls me. I feel like taking her by the reigns and not letting go until I’m done. In the last week or so, I’ve grabbed her by the horns and a lot of good has come from some simple conversations.

I’m not inspired by competition. I’m just not interested in the drama or how two faced people have become. To have a “friend” compliment you to your face after you’ve helped them to having that same person consistently bash you behind you back is not something that interests me. Cowards and weak-willed individuals will never gain the respect of their peers or achieve anything worthwhile in life. Or maybe they will. Either way, it’s got nothing to do with me directly. I don’t care if other people make movies, have success or not. It’s none of my business what other filmmakers do or don’t do, say or don’t say. I’m staying out of the social bureaucracies of local film for now.

None of this junk helps me make a movie. I’m just not that interested in being friends with film people right now.

Revisiting the Revisions of Revolt

I am a tinkerer. I like to revisit my old works and sometimes re-edit. If I see something I suddenly feel needs changed, I change it. I don’t like to do this on some levels because I should focus on new works, not the old ones. Therapeutically, I have ceased doing these types of things for the most part. There are exceptions…



I went back in and re-edited a bit of ACCIDENTAL ART, my latest real piece. I had a legitimate reason (excuse). Since the festival run is starting to slow down on this, as I won’t shell out much more money on festival submissions and the free invites have started to wane, I decided that if I put this movie on the Internet, it needed to be trimmed some. I thought a “web edit” was called for because the attention spans for the WWW, and the experience of watching it on a tiny screen versus in a theater with other people is very different.

So I went ahead and did some trims to the first half. The problem was, now I think it is a vastly better edit and I’m not going to use the original edit anymore. I only got rid of 3-4 lines, but somehow I think the movie moves and feels WAY better. We get out of the first scene quicker and we didn’t REALLY lose anything in terms of performance or story. Looking at the movie now, I let things meander, as in the actors have redundant lines that are unnecessary. I wrote the lines, and then I directed them, so this is all on me. In the end I can’t believe I didn’t see this sooner; as in 7 months ago when we edited it the first time. Sometimes I’m not that bright. Most people I’ve shown the new cut to have no idea I changed anything, so that is actually a good sign.



So probably around July I’ll put this movie on the web.

As I have mentioned recently on this blog, I’m doing three separate TV shows regarding film right now. The “call for entries” for the short film show has been a bit overwhelming. DVD’s and tapes are coming in from all over the country already. I’ve been busy digitizing a bunch of movies and preparing for the show all week.

I made this little promo because I had never made anything with the virtual white cyke and I had this idea I wanted to try in Adobe After Effects. It works for me. It’s a little :08 little ditty with some tricks gleaned from Video Co-Pilot.net and even the music is from the Pro Scores pack from Andrew Kramer. I thought something silly visually and impactful and dramatic audio would make a fun little bit. Take a look: