Arbitrarily Ascribing to Arrogation

Slowly but surely my movie gets closer to being finished. Sound mix is officially done. I did some interesting panning for voices and sound FX to match the on screen action. The toughest thing to do was to add some room tone noise to shots that were crystal clear. Since one angle of an actor was noisier than the reverse shots, that meant I had to add that basic sound to these shots too. I hate making something sound worse, but it’s a lot less distracting than hearing each cut go from a sound to no sound. It wasn’t particularly bad, but it was not my happiest moment. It happens on shoots.

Two title effects left to do. I did the scrolling credits last week along with some other titles, but the main title at the beginning and the one at the end needed some motion tracking and insertion, so that was something TJ finished off and emailed me the project files. Either tomorrow or Monday I’ll insert these shots, tweak them to fit the music score by Bill Wandel, and that will pretty much put this project to bed.

ACCIDENTAL ART

The title to my next movie is ACCIDENTAL ART. It will screen on December 3rd and December 6th as a part of the upcoming COWTOWN FILM SERIES. These 2 shows have come together so fast, my head is still spinning.

I got a call from the theater, and the owner wanted to know if I was going to do any Cowtown Film Series this year. I hadn’t thought about it, but I knew I wanted to screen ACCIDENTAL ART soon. Also, I had never done cast/crew screenings of REFRACTORY or RELATIONSHIP CARD. So I started to put feelers out for a few shorts I knew were out there and got a pretty immediate response.

Within 24 hours I had over 2 hours of short films to play. Not a one of these are 48 Hour Film Projects from Columbus 2008 or 2009. My sole purpose in avoiding those movies is because many of them have already played in movie theaters twice in the last couple months. I like to show material that most likely has not been played in a real movie theater. The real reason I make movies is to sit in a dark room with a bunch of strangers and watch a story unfold in pictures and sound.

Since many of these movies showing will be cast & crew screenings, we didn’t want to charge admission, so splitting the box office with the theater was not an option, so we’re splitting the costs of renting the theater, as well as getting sponsors, many of which are already on board.


The biggest difference for this year’s Cowtown Film Series will be projecting in HD. Last year was on DVCAM tape, although great, is still a letterboxed 4:3 image with 720x480 resolution. This year we’ll be in 1920x1080 from an HD deck. I want the best possible color and detail, especially for the movie shot in HD. The colors and details should really pop off the screen.



I’m going to work hard to make sure the projection and sound is top notch. For whatever reason, I guess it’s respect for all the filmmakers’ hard work, I don’t want any screw ups or poor presentation. Few things in filmmaking are more disrespectful than not making sure you’re giving the best possible presentation to EVERYONE’s movie, not just your own. I was partly responsible for a screw up in the past at a similar festival, and I’ll never allow that again. It’s all in who you choose to work with, and I prefer professionals or people who care enough to work to make everyone look good.

The Cowtown Film Series is about the community. The selections this year indicate that the quality of filmmaking in Ohio has increased dramatically. While some local filmmakers are content to remake the same movie over and over again, most are pushing the limits of what you can do with a minimal budget.

A Marked Propensity for Carrion and Fodder

I was serious about taking my time with these edits. I’m not rushing the process. These days I start to tinker and watch takes, and lately, the various performances are being scrutinized more than I ever did before. Since one of these pieces is a drama, the performances are so much more important to nail. Selecting the most consistent and “true” acting is my mandate.

The first clips are a walking montage and the ending is a similar, non-dialogue piece but I wanted to modernize the editorial style for these. It’s not just some passé need to be current, as my justification is the mindset of the character we’re focused on, since her mind is somewhat fractured, so I wanted something editorial and effect-y to represent this visually. Learning that doing things “just because” or because “that looks cool” are lame to me. If there’s no reason to affect the color or stylize the footage, then don’t do it. Few things in a movie can cheapen it or make it appear to be amateur as all get out than people who try to follow the trends without understanding the reasons they were founded, or worse morons who try to create their own trends without any justification whatsoever. These never create waves, only mockery.

I’ve taken to duplicating all the footage and project files to a portable 1Terabyte drive so I can work on this at work or at home or even on my laptop anywhere. I never know when the muse will hit and I want to be able to take my metaphorical mallet and shape the orange metal while it is proverbially hot. Riding the wave of creativity when it starts to overtake one’s self should never be ignored.

I may attempt to create a 5.1 Surround sound mix for these two projects myself. I have never done it before and it interests me a little, especially since I have a DTS sound system now. I don’t have a 5.1 Surround audio card, but I might invest in one if I think it’s worthwhile. I prefer to find people who already have an interest in such things.

For the 2nd piece, the comedy, I made a list of all the CGI graphics work it will entail. I’m humbled by the idiocy on my part for co-writing this incredible amount of post production work. There are well over 120 graphic elements that need to be created for a short that is under 4 minutes. I already did a 4 second title sequence out of nowhere yesterday. I created a virtual credit card and flew it around with specular lighting.



In the end, it will all be worth it. So far, I’ve been dead wrong in my predictions, but I’ll go on a limb again and say this will be the most popular Sonnyboo produced short online I’ve ever been involved in. I don’t regret not being the director, as I am a co-writer, producer, and editor on the movie. There is still a lot of “me” in it, but I am not the sole creator and not the director. This title belongs to the lovely young lady.

George Caleodis and Amanda Howell do a great job in it. George’s comic timing slays me every time and Amanda, whom I had not previously worked kicked ass. It’s hard pairing George with strong female actors with strong comedic timing and Amanda went toe to toe with him just fine.

I estimate 2-3 more weeks of post production work on this short. There’s about 2 weeks left on the first short too. I’m getting some of the aforementioned editorial effects work done now, and doing the meat of the scene work after. Even when the rhythmic muse is not present, I can work on these technical and render intensive elements.

Here’s a conundrum for my friends: what is it about me that inspires so much jealousy? There are a few (can you believe more than 3-4) guys out there that read this here blog and just burn up with the hate and envy.

I guess I am still confused by the “this guy is fat, his girlfriend is ugly, he is gay, he loves Paris (the city, not the girl), he’s a total geek, and he’s a total failure…..” which is why they spend so much time reading my words, watching my movies, then writing diatribes and comments for literally over a year. If I were so pathetic and my life so devoid of meaning, then why am I worth so much time and attention? The answer is a resounding obvious “JEALOUSY” from some, but I have never known jealous to last well into the plus 1 year mark, and isn’t it a contradiction to say I’m such a loser, yet be jealous?

I am not a fan of Michael Bay movies, but I can’t find the productive or usefulness in the idea of going to his message board and writing to him semi-daily saying “You’re talentless and your momma is ugly!” I don’t pay to see his movies; I don’t read his blog, and it is amazing how little Michael Bay bothers me, although I will say I thought THE TRANSFORMERS was decent. I got no time for these people anymore. My recommendation remains the same as it always has; If you’re reading this blog and upset or unhappy, then stop reading it. Find something better to do with your time. Then again, these words are falling on the eyes of either imbeciles without the mental capacity to comprehend logic, or they are being read by emotionally imbalanced, irrational buffoons that are incapable of recognizing their desperate cries for mental and emotional rehabilitation. Either way, not really any concern of mine, just an idle curiosity. Perhaps one of my readers can shed some insight into this phenomenon, or perhaps a trained psychiatric opinion can….

Things are going great for me by my own standards, which are the only ones that matter to me. I am achieving the goals I set forth, so I have no concerns for what other people consider success or failure. When someone calls me a failure (like my mom or my sisters), I am confused more than anything. I’m doing what I want and getting where I want to go whilst simultaneously I am motivated to aim higher and continue my growth. I guess I don’t understand why I would care or give a Shiite about anyone else’s opinion. Why would this possibly matter to me? How can that possibly affect me? See what I mean? I’m confused, not angry or upset. Similarly, I wish that people who read my dissenting views about things I find pathetic would similarly, not care and believe enough in you to not worry about my opinion.



Has anyone else been watching Joss Whedon’s DOLLHOUSE series? Eh, it’s okay. It’s Joss so I’m in for the long haul, but it seems to be missing entirely his trademark HUMOR. There’s little irony or fun in the show. What balanced out the action and horror elements in BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER was the amazing humor and wit. So far, we’re lacking that in this show. I was however deeply disturbed by the performance of actor Graham Norris as a stalker. This guy scared the bejesus out of me! It was incredibly intense how he was stalking and spooky in his appearance as a psychotic nut job. Just look at this guy! COMPLETELY BELIEVABLE as a crazy wacko with a gun and nothing left to live. Joss Whedon, get out of my head!



Anywho, I’m finishing up some DVD burns for a client, and once this last disc finishes, I hope to get some personal editing done.


Peace out ya’ll,
Peter John Ross
Your friend in the Avril Lavigne Fan Club!

Paris et l'amour de cinéma

I just watched a Blu-Ray of the film PARIS JE ‘TAIME, which is really a collection of shorts from a wide array of filmmakers from across the globe, not the least of which are the Cohen Brothers, Gus Van Zant, Alexander Payne, and Alfonso Cuarón. I was floored by the movie for various reasons.



Now I’ve been to Paris France 7 times in my life and each trip was profoundly different. I do love Paris as one of the greatest cities on Earth. On my first visit, I recall meeting a Canadian at the hostel and then proceeding to get drunk on cherry whine in the Latin Quarter with him and his friend, a local Parisian girl. Then there are some vague impressions of vomiting in the middle of the night and sleeping for over 16 hours, and no recollection of how I got to my room and why I still had my wallet.

My second visit had my fondest memory of being near the Eiffel Tower. It was about 2:00AM and I wondered up the long hill to the museum that overlooks the tower and tour buses were still dropping people off from Germany, the U.S., Australia, and more with an incredible carnival atmosphere that late at night with street vendors and musicians enjoying themselves like it was noon. I met people, frolicked and just swooned with the wave that everyone had in that moment. That was the strangest touristy moment I ever had, yet didn’t feel disingenuous for anyone there.

I have shot some Super 8 film in the city myself, but nothing substantial or meaningful. On the last trip I wanted to shoot something, no matter how apparently meaningless. Unfortunately, the Canon HV20 was not out yet and I really wished I had that camera then. To be able to shoot so much, especially in 24P high definition would have been amazing. Perhaps one day soon, I will return for my 8th trip to this city and make even a simple short film there.

Other films have been wonderful post cards to the city such as Richard Linklater’s sequel BEFORE SUNSET, Paris’ hometown hero Luc Besson’s LA FEMME NIKITA, and even the Lawrence Kasden comedy FRENCH KISS. I love each of those films if for no other reason than capturing a small essence of the city.



PARIS JE ‘TAIME is a collection of short films, each with varying styles, casts, and every short focuses on a different district, trying to evoke the flavor of the different parts of the city. American, European, Mexican, Spanish, and even Asian and African casts meld and merge in this amazing set of stories. Each director had 5 minutes to tell a story, from things a varied as a vampire story to love stories, to slices of life vignettes, and fantastical or simple. I recommend anyone interested in making short films watch this feature to get inspired by the elegance of the cinematography, the simplicity of the storytelling, yet with deep impacts. So much is said with so little dialogue, in English or French, and so much is visually told.



I couldn’t have watched this movie at a better time. I’m gearing up for a short shoot and stylistically, this film was right up my alley for the type of movies I’m about to make for the next 3-4 months. Things are prepping well. I want to expand what I’ve done and mature some as a filmmaker.



I give PARIS JE ‘TAIME a very high recommendation. Natalie Portman starring in Tom Tykwer’s segment, which means the film already had 2 stars in my book, rates a 5 star movie overall. If you make or want to make short films, this is a MUST SEE movie.

Adieu,
Pierre Jean Ross