Some of the stuff I shot at the office isn’t bad … that concept might just work … so well, in fact, that the stuff I shot at home might seem out of place …
I did some editing last night and was happy. Still nothing I wanna show anyone … I just want to be able to say I finished what I started … it’s been a while.
I’m taking a day off from this silliness.
I taped almost everything I wanted to today. Hopefully it won’t look as stupid as it might.
I asked one of the other guys in the training department to help me shoot something. After I explained the shot he asked what the symbolism was. I told him the truth: there isn’t any.
I am reminded of how Tom Petty explained the video for “Running Down A Dream.” He said, “I like nonsense.”
So little time. So few resources.
The good news is Jeff is giving me his old eMac which means I’ll have a CD burner at home again!
*sigh*
Jeff remembered he has a previous engagement and when I told my wife I was taping Saturday, she was like, “Oh no you’re not – I have plans.”
So I taped some stuff last night and will tape some more stuff of some last-ditch effort ideas and … just submit it.
My life is so sad.
Jeff’s wife did eventually decide, apparently reluctantly, to act but I don’t have time to find my second actress so I brain-scrambled some other ideas and ran one by Jeff over lunch which he’s willing to try. And I think it might be better than the original idea.
If he’s free Saturday, we’ll do it then – he’ll catch some footage with his HD camera as well. If he’s not free … it’ll be a long day for me but I’m definitely gonna give it a shot. I believe in this idea.
I’m watching This Is It while I work today – it is SO inspirational. I even have another idea for a personal music video thingy rumbling around in my head for after the contest.
Jeff came to my desk to grab me for lunch today and noticed I was listening to Michael Jackson – which I almost always am – and said, “I thought you’d be listening to Roy.”
True story: I am so thick-headed I thought, “Why would he think I’m listening to Roy Orbison?”
Barbies?
I gotta do something to feel like I’m doing something. My impression from the (very vague) rules of the contest is you can submit multiple submissions.
Neither female twas invited is interested. That means neither my wife, nor my actor’s wife. I may have to completely rewrite this thing. That’s okay. Madre was made in less than a week and I have almost two whole weeks left for this. I will turn something, anything in – even if it’s bottom-level animation – just to say I did it. I’d rather win, though. Perhaps I should brainstorm with my actor.
The good news is/was that the local Harley Davidson dealership is willing to let us film inside and outside as well as provide a couple stunt men.
I’m making my standard Roy Orbison mix for a couple friends. For me, his voice is matched only by Meat Loaf for songs of love and heartbreak.
I think his most beautiful song was one of his last – “Not Alone Any More” with the Traveling Wilburys. If I made a video for “She’s A Mystery To Me” it would probably be a lot like the “Billie Jean” video (and the video would probably be more appropriate!).
I find the video for “You Got It” (one of his very best songs) to be very disappointing.
Been outlining and storyboarding. The idea is evolving beautifully. I asked my first choice for an actor if he’d be interested and he really likes the story concept.
Song length 2:58
Important dates:
Who are the judges doing the voting? Is there a panel of people at Gibson or is it the general public? It would help me make the best video possible if I knew who my audience will be.
I intended on listening to Pretty Woman over and over again on the 45 minute commute home but, although I had many Roy Orbison songs on my iPod, I didn’t have “Pretty Woman.” When I got home and put it on my iPod, I realized I only had the live version from “Black & White Night” but I’ve now downloaded (to my computer and uploaded to the iPod) the studio version.
I would be happier being a runner up than first place. You know, like the Bradys? I would love to have that 12-string but I’d rather have the t-shirt and sunglasses (plus the box set, of course).
I’ve already come up with a general concept/idea. I wish it was colder outside.
Anyone who knows me knows I love me some Roy Orbison. When I was in the Air Force, I called my girlfriend at the time and she told me he’d died. I crumbled in the phone booth. Here is my chance to honor him:
Of all his songs, I would honestly rather do videos for half a dozen others – in particular I have been daydreaming about making a video for “I Drove All Night” lately but this will do. This will do quite nicely.
Maybe if I post about it, I’ll be more motivated. Maybe not. “Mean Florida” hasn’t gone anywhere.
And the 1TB external hard drive I bought isn’t working and neither is my CD burner … *sigh*
My new “serious” project idea is a documentary about homelessness in Florida. I’m blogging progress for that project in it’s own blog called Mean Florida.
The Apple Store was cool enough to install iMovie 6 for me. I haven’t played with it much. Just been making some short family videos and video podcasts. I have an idea for my next “serious” project and another short film I’d LOVE to do but requires more time and resources than I have so it’ll have to be the “serious” one if anything.
The aforementioned laptop didn’t have a firewire port! After lots of searching and research, I found a USB to Firewire Adapter but, as awesome as this holy grail was, it still didn’t help me because my camera is a Sony and it absolutely will not work with anything but a bone fide iLink cable. Fortunately, usbfirewire.com has a risk-free money-back guarantee. From beginning to end, their customer service was awesome.
So I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my eMac. Installed 2 GB of RAM, bought 1 TB of storage and upgraded the OS to Leopard. Sadly, the latest version of iMovie needs an intel processor but I’m happy just finally be able to edit some video. Eventually, I’ll get me some Final Cut Express.
Got a new computer. A laptop with the software and power to edit video. It’s only MS MovieMaker but it’s better – way better – than nothing!
And it’s been even longer since I wrote a relevant, interesting post.
A couple nights ago I read about the First Annual Village of the Arts Short Shorts Film Festival. Deadline is January 24, 2009. Right here in Bradenton, FL.
Here we go, again.
My first thought was to pick up Buscar but my time limit is 10 minutes. Madre is exactly ten minutes but I want to make something new and I want to film it in Bradenton.
I returned all but two of those horror movie books. I’ve set down the book by Roger Corman but I’ll pick it up once I’m done with the Lloyd Kaufman book which really grabbed me and I’m absolutely loving. All the others were just some guy or girl making a list of movies and giving their opinion. Seriously, who wants to read that? I can sit around with my friends (if I had any) and do that. The Roger Corman didn’t grab me as quickly because there’s a bunch of bio in the beginning I really wasn’t that interested in (except – did you know he’s from Detroit?!) but the Kaufman book dives right into the how-to stuff. Very detailed, very made for the very poor and/or beginning filmmaker. I’ve read some really good books on the subject and this is easily the best. I thought it would be interesting and entertaining. I had no idea how informative and educational it would be. Here’s a list of my favorite “young filmmaker” books besides Make Your Own Damn Movie (buy all of them and you don’t need any others):
I also remember enjoying What They Don’t Tell You In Film School by Camille Landau but I don’t include that in “required buying” for no other reason than I can’t remember anything specific I read in it. That’s not a criticism … I’ve read plenty of books on independent filmmaking that I’m not bother to list here at all. Newton’s book not only goes step by step (but not with all the examples, lessons, alternatives, etc. that Kaufman gives) but provides examples of budgets, contracts, and oodles of other things that you need and might have no idea that you need or where to get. It’s an invaluable companion to Kaufman’s book. Rebel Without A Crew is Rodriguez’ journal from the moment he decided to make a feature through pre-production on his next (first), “big studio” picture. That’s the sit-back-and-be-inspired book, the others are sit-back-and-learn books. Since everyone now has a DV cam, and you have a lot more competition than Rodriguez did … you REALLY need the instruction of the other two.
My confidence has been almost non-existent for a long time now. A lot of it has to do with the systematic stomping of it by Little Caesars over a couple years and showing my work to people who are just … well, the wrong people. I make every effort to not try being funny because I’m afraid of looking stupid. There are a few people… I hear their voices in my head no matter what I’m writing or doing and they’re all telling me that whatever I’m working on sucks for whatever reason. I’m afraid to write anything meaningful because I’m afraid of some a–hole saying it seems kneejerk or shallow because of my political or religious beliefs in which case I think whatever I’m doing is just a waste of time.
There’s that and the fact that I beg people to read stuff I write and no one has any interest. I beg my teenage daughter to share her stories and poetry with me and she has no interest in letting me see it. I should have known better than to have girls – just more of them around me to reject me.
However, the “school” script I’m working on … that – and the cadet I exchanged some emails with – really lifted me up and I keep getting great feedback on something else I wrote. I wrote this stupid little post on my Facebook “blog” and sent it out as a mass email about something that happened the other day and people keep telling me how funny it is. Marci Karp, a girl who was in many of the early movies I did for Little Caesars (none of hers are on here – not for any particular reason, they just aren’t), told me I should write “or something.” She wasn’t the only one … but … it’s all been nice to hear.
I’ve been succumbing to repeated thoughts that Florida will be just another place I’ll fail but today is a bit better (I just woke up, though, so who knows). Maybe my wife is right, maybe the sunshine will make me feel better.
Got some groovy books from la biblioteca esta noche:
I just can not get any further in Buscar. Total blockage.
On a whim, I called my alma mater and asked if I could film a short there in a couple weeks. Based on some minimal feedback, it seemed like the school would be willing. Much like Madre Sabe El Mejor, this was a project I’d only start writing if I could produce it. After this brief moment of positive energy, I tried to write something that I would only need a classroom, maybe a dorm shot, and a few cadets to film. I’d have Robert play a teacher. After a few false starts, I came up with a really cool idea which, of course, I’m going to be totally secretive about. It’s also more than a short. Which is okay because after Jean told me I might be able to do it on campus and have some cadets as actors, I realized, “Oh crap, I no longer have unlimited access to thousands of dollars of equipment.” That’s the one reason I didn’t want to leave Little Caesars. They were my sugar-daddy when it came to movie-making.
Then, last week at work, I started getting really inspired and had some great ideas and the notes & brainstorming storylines started flowing. While trolling around in myspace and facebook groups for Howe Military School alumni I found a former cadet who seemed just like how I envisioned one of the main characters. I want to grill her with questions about her experiences but … I really, really don’t want to … accidentally steal her experiences or something. But exchanging messages with her has helped keep me pretty inspired and excited about it. Shortly, I’m going to write some more tonight.
For a $20 (or more) donation to the Humane Society, you can obtain a free copy of Roger Corman’s The Fantastic Four (1994).
Inexpensive copies of The Star Wars Holiday Special are readily available on eBay and come with lots of extras including an episode of The Muppet Show and Hardware Wars.
http://www.infocus-magazine.com/
Florida’s Film,Television and the Arts Industry
They should give it to Phillip Seymour Hoffman over Javier Bardem. Bardem’s role wasn’t that complex or difficult and my teenage daughter – who hates drama class – could have done it. I’ve loved Tom Wilkinson ever since The Full Monty in everything he’s in but his role in Michael Clayton wasn’t anything remarkable. As I’ve said many times, the award should go to above average, excellent performances. He’s always good, the movie itself was good – but not truly great. When I pay my $9.50, I expect the movie, actors, etc. to be good. Better than good. These movies cost tens of millions of dollars – they’d darn well better be worth that investment. So a crappy performance or movie is inexcusable and the oscar should go to someone or something that is truly exceptional – way beyond “worth the investment.”
Yet another movie that is far too long.
Let me be clear – I like long movies. Finding movies that are too long is, for me, a recent phenomenon. Usually my complaint is that movies are far too short. For example, Harry Potter movies that get continually shorter despite the books getting longer, leaving out entire characters and storylines.
Another example is George Lucas cutting out entire scenes because he feels character development slows a movie down and no one cares about that stuff anyway.
American Gangster, however, is one scene after another of the same thing. If couldn’t even finish watching it because it was so boring. Good cop keeps showing what a good cop he is, gangster keeps showing what a good businessman he is. New Jack City was better. It was neat seeing Clarence Williams III, though – I haven’t seen him in anything since Tales from the Hood. Denzel Washington was boring as always. Yesterday, I read Don Cheadle was the first choice for that role – I would have seen it already if Cheadle had been in it. He is one of the most underrated actors ever.
Best thing about American Gangster was this. Out of NOWHERE Josh Brolin, this crazy guy from Grindhouse: Planet Terror, is all of a sudden in No Country for Old Men and American Gangster.
Ruby Dee should give Cate Blanchett no competition. Speaking of, you know what my favorite Cate Blanchett piece is? Coffee and Cigarettes. Some of that movie was unwatchable, but some of it was simply the bestest.
Filmflorida.org is different than filmflorida.com! The former seems to have much more content than the latter.
You know that feeling? You wake up and it’s way too bright in your bedroom? I just had that feeling. The Academy Awards are this weekend! I thought they were in two or three weeks! Yet again, I will not be having any sort of a party … friends and family are scattered more than usual. But, more importantly, here’s my to-do list:
So far, I think I completely agree with Roger Ebert’s feelings and predictions. Juno really deserves best pictures, among others. This year certainly won’t be as suspenseful and exciting as others but at least we’ve had the presidential primaries for that.
