Sometimes I do things that some might consider generous. I put together film festivals, or I offer a place to edit, or I loan out some gear that might help someone else. Most of the time, these kinds of favors are not directly repaid, but I am not expecting them to be. I throw it out to Karma to see if the universe will pay it back in some way. Sometimes it does…
I cast a net into the world. I needed a dub to HDCAM, the rare and expensive Sony High Definition tape format. Very few places in Columbus have this $60,000 deck. The ones that do want to charge a very high rate to dub to it (about $250 for a 6 minute short… kind pricey).
When I screen ACCIDENTAL ART in Beverly Hills at the Film Festival, I want it to look it’s best, but cost to return analysis says $250 is too much, but I really feel it is important to put a best foot forward on this. So I checked with Bryan Michael Block, actor extraordinaire, but also connected to the higher end of commercial production around town. He pointed me to Ben Bays who did the Horsemen short, and he was able to help me out. I showed his AIDAN 5 project at Cowtown and he was more than willing to give back a little by helping a brother out on price.
I am so grateful for the return of support and help. Doing things for other people often turns to regret when those people aren’t there for you, but then on occasion with something as important as this, it comes back when you need it the most. These guys are classy and cool and I appreciate this more than I can ever type.
Then there are those who feel they can take advantage of your generosity. This is a misunderstanding, mostly on their part. There are people who walk all over me and I continue to offer them help. They feel that I am either stupid, ignorant, or that they have successfully pulled the wool over my eyes. This isn’t true. What they don’t grasp is that I am a good person, regardless of how many times they take advantage of me. I know what they really are like, I’m not stupid. I am generous regardless of what kind of selfish bastards they are. It’s not about them; it’s about doing good things no matter what.
Although I do have my limits…
Big congrats to ACCIDENTAL ART D.P. GREG SABO of SABOSTUDIOS for his camera work making it on national television with this week’s episode of UNDERCOVER BOSS on CBS. That rocks so much. A local guy getting his work on network television is a score. Rock on Greg!
Here is a trailer for ACCIDENTAL ART. I’m not at all a fan of trailers for a short. Seems kinda silly to me, but they wanted it for this film festival, so I made this.
Accidental Art TEASER TRAILER from Peter John Ross on Vimeo.
