Draconian Disturbances

Oh how time dogs my every move. I have so much to do and not enough time. Re-writes are my highest priority. Learning my lesson from the past, I am not going to shoot a frame until the script is at 100%. The table read proved we were at 90%, but still not all the way there. My newly adopted method is to solicit more opinions, get more feedback.





I think it’s a great thing when out of all the harshest criticisms, there is absolutely NO CHANGE to the structure; the scenes are all solid. Just some character and dialogue tweaks. When the only major revisions are on your second and third string characters to make them as well rounded as your leads, then you know you’re working with a decent script.





In my mind, I know there are a 2-3 tent pole moments missing from this script and I need to adapt scenes that are there and make them better. I want the screenplay to be the strongest it can possibly be before I shoot. I did not do that on my first feature film, so I paid the price for that. This is my blueprint that the rest builds on. I will not proceed until I am convinced there is nothing more I can see done to the words on the page. Lesson learned.





Money has started to trickle in for ACCIDENTAL ART. I’m trying out the whole INDIE GO GO and KICKSTARTER sites. We’ll see if those yield any results, so far INDIE GOGO is more active. I don’t think we’ll see a lot on those sites, though. It’s all about private investment for indie films with a larger budget over $10,000. We want to book at least 2-3 name stars, so our costs will be higher.





Once we get enough money and we start to book talent, then the world will come down on us. The sycophants and haters will converge. I don’t care anymore. People will do what they are going to do. Don’t mistake my notating and predicting as actually caring. At this stage people are so predictable. One of my favorite lines from a movie rings even more true now than ever before…. “People are unreliable, but at least that makes them predictable”.

Maybe I’m too cynical right now, but that’s only in some of the people I know, not about myself or my projects.

Petulant Interjections

A rough cut of a new short is done, but needs some work. It needs a new style that I’m not capable of delivering, so I’ll be looking for another editor on that. Someone with the newer cutting style. Luckily, I saw some work from the latest Columbus 48 Hour Film Project from editors that would be perfect. Here’s where an event like that benefits people. The display of style creates a forum for people to work together.




I’m also knee deep on the feature length script. We did the table read. This is the 2nd table read of the script, and I recorded audio both times. I think the script is much stronger now. It’s not 100% there, but we’re in the 90 percentile. Listening to the words out loud changes everything. No matter how it’s being performed, hearing dialogue spoken gives you an entirely different perspective to just reading it silently to yourself on a page.

Getting opinions on a script is always a sensitive area, but I’ve tried to be more calloused. Since I’ve been working on this with many other writers, like George Caleodis, Chris Gavaler, and now Alex Newman, I can be less personal about criticism. Even though the beat for beat story arc is 100% mine, somehow it’s still less personal when it comes to critiques and suggestions.

I want this script to be 100% with no compromise. What I learned most from HORRORS OF WAR was to make sure the script is as close to perfection as you can get BEFORE shooting the movie. Having the freedom of time without a lot of pressure to make the movie on a schedule means I can wait to try to shoot until the script is the absolute BEST it can be.



Apparently, via the private messages and emails my last blog inspired, people are unhappy that I am viewing this as my “last chance”. I guess I can clarify, although I don’t usually feel compelled to explain myself as often as I used to. I am giving up the idea of being a feature film director as a career. I won’t stop making movies, I may not even stop making feature films; the only change is that I won’t delude myself into thinking THAT will be my career or key to job security.

With that, people are trying to tell me it’s bad that I am applying allegedly undue pressure on myself by thinking this is my last chance, (sorry KC, you’re finally getting mentioned in one of my blogs!), but I respectfully disagree. I think constantly being on guard and adding stress to myself to make this the best movie possible can only result in making a BETTER movie. I want to be constantly striving to make this the best, to always be pushing myself and everyone else to make not just a good movie, but a GREAT film. I cite the behind the scenes footage of the great Francis Ford Coppola while working on THE GODFATHER. He was the most passionate and motivating director I’ve ever seen on a set, in rehearsals, in the edit, and even talking on the phone to whoever was listening. If I’m not pouring every ounce of my soul into the movie, I’m not doing it right.

I’m not quitting film. I’m just going to shift some priorities to getting a nice house, health insurance, being able to afford vacations, and even retirement at some point in my life. Ironically, these are things that most filmmakers I know is already have those as higher priorities.

It’s not as dramatic as it reads in a blog.

Peace out homies.

Lamenting the Lascivious and Lucidity of Certain Ladies

Ah my droogies, your faithful narrator has been more than a bit busy. Between fundraising for the next feature film (which has already gotten us some decent cash on INDIE GO GO.COM, and shooting a new short in series of shorts, and plus shooting for the PBS shows things are non-stop. Combine the day job work and me is tired.



So I got to work with the Canon 5D Mark II with Greg Sabo. It was a really gorgeous look with this DSLR. It has some minor limitations, but for shorts and quick things, it can be staggeringly impressive. Low light, shallow depth of field and portability… the DLSR craze is very much justified. I immediately converted the footage to a low compression, high quality codec for editing. It will maintain quality better in color correction and effects this way.



Alex the Intern has already done an edit pass on the latest short opus, but it needs some magic, as in the Twitch type magic to make this one shine. I can’t even think about getting to it until next week some time because our annual big editing project came in and I’m ensconced in the trenches of my edit bay toiling away for longer stretches of the day. It’s something basic, but will be pretty cool when it’s done; Might take a while if I get some good sound design, sound mix.



I feel really really good about the ACCIDENTAL ART feature script. It’s in the prime shape to get made. There are going to be some tweaks, etc. when it comes time to shoot it, but I’ve gotten some feedback, etc. and this looks to be the one. If… scratch that… WHEN I get to make this, the movie will be the one I was meant to make. It’s got more of my personal tastes in it that something like HORRORS OF WAR. I’ve been honing the skills to make this movie for the last 10 years. This will be the best movie I can make at this point in my life and career.



I’ve made a momentous decision in regards to this. If this movie does not do for me and my career that I intend it to, then I will no longer pursue being a feature film director. I’ll still make movies, shorts, TV shows, etc. but if ACCIDENTAL ART doesn’t do it, then I’m going to change directions in my career path and my life. I want to focus on things with a certain amount of stability and raise my responsibility. I have made many sacrifices to live the life I’ve lived and to do what I have been doing. I’ve reached the end of this rope, and if this movie doesn’t take me to the next plateau, then I don’t think I have the movie in me to ever be made that will.

That’s it for now. There are people reading this blog that talk smack about me and this is all I feel like divulging for now. More is happening on all fronts, but actual friends know how to get in touch with me.