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!

March of the Swivelheaded Ant Man

Let’s start with the mystery of my opinion of THE DARK KNIGHT, since I last left off before seeing it. I dug it. It rocked. Yes, they clearly used HEAT (1995) as a basis of the overall plot structure, which was a good thing. If the idea was to make Batman ™ seem “realistic” they took that ever further in this one than BATMAN BEGINS (2005). I’m seeing it again soon in IMAX™ and I have since read the script. There are some subtle details in the words, but mostly I’m enthralled with the very well written dialogue. Very natural and something filmmakers should bear in mind.

Well, we just did another INDIE GATHERING in Cleveland this past weekend. They are always fun. I set up a booth, sell some DVD’s, give away CD’s and hand out for upcoming events. Of course, I sell more DVD’s and books when My Sexy Fiancé Veronica ™ sits at the booth by herself. How odd that the pretty girl sitting alone gets more and more convention boys to buy more product!

I did 5 panels on various aspects of film. I haven’t done much of this stuff lately, as my public appearances have voluntarily dwindled. The social and public coma I have been in for the past year has started to fade. As I prepare for the next few months, I’m already turning up the volume on what I’m doing.



On the way home, the magical MARIE’S PIZZA was had with a brief stop in Wadsworth Ohio where my arteries choked on the most blissful combination of tomato sauce and cheese on bread. Every time I’m within 50 miles, I stop off in my old home town to partake of the pizza I grew up on.

Cleveland fascinates me. They have so much more in the way of older buildings, gothic architecture, and MOM & POP stores. There’s a lot more identity to Cleveland than Columbus. I feel like if Columbus were to be defined, it would be a strip mall with an Applebee’s next to it. There are these tiny pockets of originality here and there, and I wish they could succeed and explode to drive away the corporate, test-market-y stains of retail that permeate everything else.

I cannot blame the giant anonymous “they” of the corporations. They are only 50% to blame. The other half is the people and consumers themselves that prefer this generic, uninteresting blah.



GOODNIGHT, CLEVELAND! has almost finished its sound mix. We’re on time for the Sept 11th premiere, but it has not been an easy road. Miguel Baldoni Olivencia has decided not to Alan Smithee the movie, and take credit. This pleases me immensely. It’s his movie, not ours, no matter how different the “intent” was during the shoot and the “result” from the edit. Micah Jenkins works his head off with these edits and smoothing of audio from 1996-1997 in the new digital realm. I often have to say, “We can’t make it good, only better”. That’s the mantra for a film this old.



THE COWTOWN FILM SERIES just got our big wish. For the Halloween screening on October 30th, I wanted a HORROR film, and specifically I wanted to screen Bob Kurtzman ’s THE RAGE. THE RAGE was shot here in Ohio after Bob Kurtzman
moved back here from LA. For those not in the Know, Bob Kurtzman is the “K” in KNB Effects. He worked on movies like EVIL DEAD, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, AUSTIN POWERS, & SCREAM. Rob is also the originator of FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, writing the story that Quentin Tarantino adapted into a screenplay and Robert Rodriguez directed, and he made his mark as the director of WISHMASTER, and more recently THE RAGE. What most people don’t know is that Bob Kurtzman came from Crestline Ohio, interestingly, the same place my entire mother’s side of the family came from. Bob has come back to the Midwest and planted a firm foot in the community and away from either coast. He’s started the studio PRECINCT 13 and setup shop doing visual FX for movies like Rob Zombie’s DEVIL’S REJECTS and more.

I might be losing friends as I turn down some shorts that have been offered to me for the whole series. I asked for a public call for entries, but not all of the pieces are up to snuff. I’d rather play fewer shorts of surpassing quality than let something go because I’m friends with someone. It’s a business and I’m sorry. Here’s an idea of what I’m doing with graphics/animation thanks to VideoCopilot.net’s tutorials.

Work shows no sign of letting up. My head hurts. Very little sleep for me as the August heat destroys the equanimity of cool air distribution on the 2nd floor of Rossdonia. I have picked up a cheap futon for the basement so that I might get some proper sleep at night on various nights. The problem is removing the old family blue couch from the basement, along with it dolly, and dolly tracks, and even a ¾” deck for relocation to the Production Partners studio. This is more than a 2 person job. At least I can afford an El Cheapo futon with a decent pad.



I once reposted a story about the great Stanley Kubrick
and how a London reporter got to go to his estate 2 years after his death and discovered all his boxes of research and information. It’s now a documentary and I found it hilarious and fascinating.

CLICK HERE to watch video



We upgraded our 2nd edit system (Edit “B”) here at work to the Matrox RTx2 system for real time HD editing. I am pleased that it works well with the other motherboard, as Matrox products are sticklers for compatibility. We’ve also increased our storage by 3.5 Terabytes at work, and I added 2.25 Terabytes of storage at home for My Sexy Fiancé Veronica ™ and her documentary. We have some progress. A rough cut is done, some graphics work is complete and now we have some archive footage from MARCH OF TIMES from the HBO Archives to go over what selects we’ll use & buy for the project.

We re-watched NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN in Blu-Ray™ last night. What strikes me best about this movie is the maturity of the filmmaking. Most people don’t grasp the concept of subtlety. Very little is spoken out loud in this film, so is not to beat the audience over the head with obvious or pointless dialogue. In a 3 minute film by John Whitney locally, “A FAMILY MATTER”, reminds me of that kind of mature filmmaking where the story is told visually with the words being spoken often telling you something other than the blatant plot points.


This was a big one, but I’m busy, so I gots ta G.O.

Peace out homies, and I hope the crazy people find peace in reading my blogs.

- Ross