Idyllic Permutations

My Sexy Fiancé Veronica ™ has been ill all night, making for little sleep. After the last month of various ills on my own behalf, I can now return the favor. Plans for chicken soup, bedtime stories, and the TLC enter my purview.

COWTOWN has officially ended. I delayed the final screening for various reasons, not the least of which was my inability to walk at the originally designated time. Combine that with factors that contributed to the delays on the documentary, and we had a recipe for postponement.



I did finish the feature length 92 minute documentary. I felt rushed and disinterested. So much of anything relating to that movie feels like it is “of the past”. I am a different filmmaker now. I see so many things I would do differently now and the helplessness of being unable to change them just creates a pool of disappointment, even though there are many things I am still proud of.

After the screening, as sitting with an audience with a movie for the first time will do, I was bequeathed many ideas and concepts for improvement. I was little motivated to act on them, but My Sexy Fiancé Veronica ™ has been, so she took over a massive re-edit of the documentary. So far, I would say it is greatly improved, but I had no intentions of screening this again. It was simply something I said I would do and I wanted to finish it. I keep my word. I promised to make this movie and it has less to do with anyone else’s expectations or interest as it was to placate my inner promise.

I do have the potential of releasing a DVD of the documentary, as more of an “educational” piece for indie filmmakers. It would be something I sell on the website or possible through AMAZON.COM. The idea of potentially sending it to a few small festivals has also been suggested. I’m not as enthused as I was, but the newer edit seems to have potential.

It’s amazing how you lose sight of things from your original intent to the final product. I had a “MAKING OF SCENE 6” documentary early in the film, even though it took place in post production, which is a major weakness of the overall documentary. We had little to no coverage of the post production process, so I threw together a small, short segment on it. I knew it was short changing the process, but My Sexy Fiancé Veronica ™had the idea of placing in some of the educational Web Docs to tell more of the story of post production and I agree that it is a good idea, as long as we keep the running time around 90 minutes. That means major cuts to other aspects of the documentary, which generally is a good thing since the movie feels “long” and not in a good way.

The movie already has a massive re-ordering since the screening and the “B-Roll”, fly-on-the-wall segments are being chopped down to half the run time to avoid redundancies and a sense of being “boring”. All I wanted to capture was the sense of what it’s really like to be on set of an indie film and I think I achieved that, even in the “first draft” edit that screened.

I now feel free to move on though. I have a shoot this Thursday night for a new quick clip, something in the world I feel compelled to comment on. I need to get a few shots to finish off a short I started last March, although quite frankly, I’m disappointed in the footage shot, but it might be salvageable.



I’m writing a new book, I have several new small & large projects “in development”, meaning I really am working on creating a few shorts and planning the next year’s production schedule for what I want to get done. Now that I’m back on my feet (literally and figuratively), I want to get started on the next phase.

I met with an old Bank One buddy for lunch the other day. That sparked so many ideas. I realize that I don’t really know too many normal people anymore. Most people I spend time with are a bit Bohemian, not at all conducive to the writing about normalcy. To hear the names and remind myself of what the “normies” are like really help inspire me, both to write and tell stories about. Some people are made for mockery and others to be exalted.

And one last stain of vitriol to be addressed… I find it completely refreshing to see some of my worst enemies yet again palely following my footsteps. Nothing in life makes me feel more pleased than to see some of these people, who complain bitterly and loudly about how I do things, and then turn around and use these same methods of marketing and promotion for themselves. Sometimes my methods work, at least they work for me. For some to cry like babies that it’s shameless self promotion, and then do it themselves; perhaps they need to consult a mental health physician as the self loathing might be indicative of some real problems.

What can I say? Some people are followers no matter how original they think they are. It’s no wonder most people don’t waste any time taking them into any kind of consideration.

Catch Up, Cowtown, and Commercials

Now for some more good news. I got a strange call the other day. The BARACK OBAMA campaign wanted to pay to advertise at the COWTOWN Film Series. The fact they had even heard of it blew me away. Now, I have been remaining quite Switzerland in terms of politics, so I must adhere to that here and turn them down. I cannot allow the screenings to become political in that regard, no matter how I feel about one candidate or another. I’m just blown away that they had heard of the screenings and wanted to advertise with me. We must be doing SOMETHING right!







Week Three of COWTOWN went well. Whenever Dino Tripodis can’t MC, I know have two very hot ladies doing the intro. I used to want to do the intros and take center stage, but I guess not only have I mellowed, but I want to work the projection booth and make sure things run smooth to get the show started.



SUMMER NUTS played very well. The mockumentary style rarely gets done well on the low budget, but this one nailed the Christopher Guest milieu better than any I have seen. We had a decent crowd too.



The audience always seems to contain the same core 25-30 people from our local film community, which makes a nice base for attendance, and the rest, and sometimes majority are the general public. Yes, I’m disappointed more people from our “film” community don’t attend. There are supposedly 200-300 people on various email lists. As was discussed the other night, it starts with the leadership. No matter what people say, it’s always their actions that speak louder than words. When people say they care about filmmaking or that they can put personal differences aside, it’s the actions that clearly show that they cannot. People follow the EXAMPLE set by the leaders, not their words. When the leaders only care about themselves and their own screenings, that’s what people take from them. If that’s what the leaders are like, people who are followers tend to be the same way, or at least feel the actions are condoned.







This is why another, much more positive and professional filmmaker group has formed in Columbus. I’m not involved, but I have been asked my opinion on aspects. I want no part of being in the leadership of a filmmaking group, but thankfully, I would like the opportunity to attend a real meeting of actual filmmakers doing bigger and better things. FINALLY, a core group of people are taking action instead of just complaining quietly in dark corners. If something is wrong, then FIX IT. Don’t just complain endlessly that something won’t change itself.



Some of the filmmakers with shorts or features in the series are attending every single show, whilst others only show up for their own screening. It says a lot about community and the interest in maintaining the “team spirit” aspect of the series. Micky Fisher and Johnny Wu have driven up from the opposite ends of the state to support screenings that weren’t their own.



I’m not angry or upset by this. I don’t know some of the filmmakers that well. These are NOT my first film festival or showcase screening, so the attendance from filmmakers is not a shock, nor is their motive. Some people just feel like all the work for a screening SHOULD be done for them, as if they are that good. In other cases, they just reach a point of being sick of their movie or never had much confidence in it, so they kind of DON’T want people to see their movie out of shame or self consciousness from the terror of actually finding out that the film is NOT as good as they had hoped.



GET OVER THE FEAR. Be proud of your movie. No movie is perfect. Every director dreads the moments that don’t work or where some blemish exists aesthetically. Become a “glass is half full” kinda person and embrace the unadulterated reaction of the audience to your artistic creation. No, not everything will go as you expect, and the amorphous beast known as the mob/crowd mentality can be different every single time the movie plays based on the collective mood and sway of the audience. Take it all in and enjoy the ride.



Some filmmakers go their entire lives or careers without having the movie play in front of audiences in a real movie theater. It’s an HONOR and a PRIVILIGE to exhibit on the big screen. This opportunity doesn’t come around that often. I cannot wrap my mind around the concept of NOT getting thrilled and fired up about a film screening. Now, bear in mind, I cannot sit through another screening of HORRORS OF WAR, but the idea of putting it in front of a paying audience again gets me jazzed. The adrenaline kicks in from the interaction the audience to the flickering images.



UNCLE PETE’S PLAYTIME has been playing very well at COWTOWN. So far UNCLE PETE plays very well at all the live venue screenings. I made these intentionally to be viral videos for the web. I’m surprised that they hit so much better in a theatrical setting. Every audience screening has yielded much more positive reaction than the singular viewing experience online. The infection of laughter makes it okay to be amused at the political incorrectness of the piece.



I’m, immersed in TV commercials as I dub over 100 spots to tape. I spent all week making the timelines so I can mechanically and mindlessly record them out to tape. Simultaneously, I will be digitizing and creating the shows for pretty much every single COWTOWN show that’s left. I want to get them done and not worry about it week to week. Procrastination kills the kitties of creativity.



That’s it for now kiddies. Back to the massive working weekend of catch up, COWTOWN, and commercials.

Press Whore! The Unfiltered Facts

Okay, so week two of the COWTOWN FILM SERIES played out. Yes, we had a drastic increase in attendance. Over 100 people attended this week. It didn’t hurt that the Columbus Alive did a feature story and interview, as did Uweekly, the OSU print paper. See, I sent press releases about the COWTOWN FILM SERIES in early August, and then did follow ups at the very beginning of September for the Sept. 11th premiere. The early bird gets the worm, as they say.







Now, why both papers wanted to interview me, instead of the filmmakers that have movies playing escapes me, but press is press. I’m helping get attendance to THEIR movies, so it all works out. It’s not like I haven’t been pushing these filmmakers to get their own press. I’ve given pretty concise road maps since this summer on how to get these articles & interviews for themselves. So far, I think 2-3 might actually get some (or try to get) printed press on their own.



When doing short film festivals in the past, I would get angry about the apathy, but I think I’m past that. When you don’t promote, and no one shows up, I won’t be the one embarrassed. I’ll simply have that “I told you so” look and I might even skip out on the after party and not work hard to get anyone to head over to the bar. I want to align myself with winners, not losers. By this stage, the inhibitions and complete lack of ambition hardly can come as a surprise from some of the filmmakers whose work I present, especially when I do so much promotion for them already.



Since it’s predictable, I’m not sweating it. My focus & attention go to the ones who ARE way into this. Some of the directors of other movies are coming EVERY SINGLE WEEK and even some other filmmakers locally are making the Thursday night screening habitual. This makes me very happy. The number of these actors, directors, writers, etc. surprises me even more. There exists a core group of pros and semi-professionals who are looking to support each other, truly, in actions not hollow words.



One thing has been a constant in life and that is that one thing you can rely on is the unreliability of others. That’s why I take so much personal attention to press, but also presentation. Very few others have an interest in making a professional, good looking theatrical experience. I go to film festivals or meetings where the projector and DVD players are not tested, and nothing sucks the energy from the room like a group of people standing around, semi-silent, watching 3-4 people fumble with a not working projector or DVD player for 5-10 minutes. By then the momentum has been train-wrecked, and then when the movie plays, the mind-frame has been interrupted and it takes time to get back into it. It’s a Pavlovian response to the lights going down, the projector starting up…. So when the movie doesn’t actually start, you’ve set up anticipation, and then don’t pay off. It’s frustrating, at least for most people and not the best frame of mind for the voluntary suspension of disbelief that most movies rely on to be effective, especially amateur movies that stretch that suspension (or voluntary part) to its breaking point to get the ideas across.



I’m managing the COWTOWN FILM SERIES by myself. No one has contributed much to it because it doesn’t NEED much help. These kinds of events are not rocket science, nor do I have to put in more than 5-10 hours a week into it and that includes promotion. Now, the one regret I have was not getting a print shop as a sponsor. I wanted to get the flyers, postcards, and programs printed for free. As it is, I pay for the programs out of pocket. If we do another run of COWTOWN film premieres next year in early 2009, I will get not only a print shop to sponsor, but I think I can bag some TV time for free too.



I got in my JAG 35 lens adaptor. It works well, albeit I got what I paid for, but it will do what it needs to do. One problem, for me, is that the image inversion makes my life hell. The 35mm lens adaptor inverts the image upside down. So I can’t use the LCD screen, as it’s upside down and I just cannot adapt to that. I ordered a $50 7” LCD screen that I’ll mount upside down on top of the camera. It will arrive on Tuesday, so I can play with it more. So far, I’ve only tested it indoors with pop cans and minimal lights looking at a big monitor, with the camera upside down. The wrack-focus and depth of field effects are amazing. I will use this thing to powerful effect soon enough…My ASPECT HD codec can invert the image right-side up free of charge when I digitize.







The Columbus Alive interviewers asked a lot about HORRORS OF WAR. I can think of no topic I’m more sick of discussing. That makes editing on the documentary about the making of the movie, still being pushed to a back burner, even though the clock is ticking.



I have re-loaded my AVID XPRESS PRO projects and started to sort out outtakes and demonstrative footage for the documentary sections that have been half-cut and need B-Roll to finish. I knew I wanted to start the documentary, as a feature length doc that is, in a less “flashy” softer, subtle, slower open. I now know how to open the movie, which is a big step to seeing the whole project finished. The goal with the feature length version will be in trying to make it a broader, more generalized approach as to how we made an independent film, although I love the stories and little things. Those carry the most weight to me, as I’m trying to make a movie that I want to see, not necessarily one that anyone else will.



I love the documentaries and DVD extras for things like Peter Jackson’s THE FIGHTENERS (4 hours long) and the LORD OF THE RINGS (nearly 6 hours for each of the 3 movies, plus newer 90 minute docs for each of the 3 movies), and HEART OF DARKNESS with Francis Ford Coppola or FULL TILT BOOGIE with FROM DUSK TILL DAWN. The drama behind the camera, the camaraderie of the cast and crew, the creative process of various people in any department – THOSE are the things I like to see and hear. That’s the basis of the film to me. So it’s 50% interviews and stories, and 50% “fly on the wall” documentation to make a hybrid movie that combines my two completely different styles of filmmaking documentaries.



I’m hoping to replicate and sell DVD’s of this documentary when I’m finished. If I add the Filmmaking Tips, and other bits, it will be marketed more as a “Film School DVD” type thing, but also as the supplement disc that the movie didn’t get.



Time to get back to the grind of commercial work. “V” is NOT happy about the time I spend abroad. He’s taken to waking me up earlier and earlier trying to get his playtime with me before I head into the universe outside the walls of Rossdonia.



Peace out Amigos!

Rossifer

Post Partum Punctuation

FINALLY! GOODNIGHT, CLEVELAND! screened last night. The first night of COWTOWN went well, as well as could be expected. The majority of our press will hit for next week’s screening, and the movie is probably the best in the series on week two, so I’m happy. We had about 55 people for the first night, and I expect over 100 for next week’s show.

I just took a phone call from WBNS 10TV, our local CBS affiliate about details for the next screening and to get summaries of each film for their community events calendar. That combined with the other press all hitting next week on Wednesday and Thursday, right before the screening of THE COURIER. We’ll have the COLUMBUS ALIVE story and video, the Uweekly, and hopefully some more press. All for the glory of Ohio Filmmaking.

GOODNIGHT, CLEVELAND! is not a great film, nor will it win any awards, but it has an endearing heart at its core, which can make it quite watchable. Considering the fact that it took 12 years to be completed, the flaws actually got demagnified when played on the big screen, as opposed to how sometimes the opposite is true. It is not a good film, but it isn’t a bad film either. The audience was moved by producer/actor George Caleodis’ Q&A session where the self deprecating honesty and genuine passion for seeing this through to completion.

Now that it’s been played in the public, I can finally give some of my personal criticisms of the film. I think it suffers from many first time filmmaking mistakes. First off, one entire plotline, one dealing with drug dealing, never shows anything. They talk about everything and show nothing. It’s a common filmmaking mistake (one I’ve made several times). Movies are a “show me” medium, not a “tell me medium”. Unless you have a famous or incredibly charismatic actor, no one would prefer hearing them tell us a story as opposed to showing us through moving images.

Secondly, there are too many “lead” characters. In GOODNIGHT, CLEVELAND there are three lead characters when there should have been only too. It gets convoluted and difficult to invest yourself into any one of these characters when there’s so many lead, and even secondary characters distracting us, the viewers. There is a character named “Matt”, whose performance is good, but I do not like his character at all. So giving this character screen time just grates on me.

Lastly, there simply was not enough coverage to edit with. Sometimes scenes had NO coverage, just one to two takes of a master shot. That’s it. Even if you use up a few seconds of film to grab some cutaways; shots of hands, feet, or anything that doesn’t need synch sound, and you can add dynamics to a scene or remove unwanted dialogue or changing the rhythm to something more appealing.

I like the movie, but simultaneously, I don’t want people thinking I don’t recognize that GOODNIGHT, CLEVELAND is not a well made movie. It’s not. My mantra, as chronicled in these blogs – we can’t make it good, we can only make it better. We did make it better and it is FINISHED. That’s what really counts. I still find the film appealing on many levels, but it’s not exactly fine art. For whatever reason, I like the movie, warts and all.

I can’t believe I have 9 more weeks to go of these screenings…. Why did I do this to myself?