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.
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.
I really want an exterior shot of the Henry Ford Hospital so I’m hoping there will be a time of no snow sometime between now and when I leave Michigan. Sooner than that, actually, so I can capture and edit that shot into the movie.
A couple weeks ago, I found a sweet parking space in front of the hospital, put money in the meter and took the camera with me so I could get the exterior shot(s) and hopefully guerilla myself a shot of some interior and, in particular, “room 314″ before getting kicked out. My camera’s “on” switch is very sensitive. If it rustles in the bag, it’ll turn on even though it might not be recording. So all the charging done the night before was wasted. As soon as I pressed record, the thing died. That’s actually okay, it was rather dark by that time – I should really do this over lunch instead of after work (my building is just a few blocks away).
I thought to myself, “Well, I’ll just take some still shots and creatively use them somehow.” Of course, those batteries were dead, too. I’m loathe to admit all this because it makes me look like a most unprepared idiot.
I’d really like to get the Fisher building in the background but there’s no way to get a “Henry Ford” sign in the shot and the Fisher building unless I do some sort of pan which … I really don’t want to do. It would be sweet to get the old GM HQ in there, too but that’s even less practical. Gosh, the original Motown/Hitsville USA house would rock, too. This area around the hospital, called the New Center(check out the slide show on the home page) area of Detroit, is really rich with awesome architecture and historical significance.
Whenever you see a shot of Maggie sitting at the table … look for the parking structure out the window in the background. That’s the parking structure used for major scenes in The Island and 8-Mile.
In an effort to have something ready to be screened Jan 25, I thought if I can’t have the footage I still want to get and don’t have the time to edit what I do have, why don’t I do super-scaled-down version using as little as possible? My idea was to make a silent version and see if the story could tell itself through imagery. I even thought if I inverted the colors whenever The Woman shows herself … that might help with the ending …
Both Nikki (that’s my wife) and I agree it doesn’t really work. For this concept to work I’d need different shots than I had – which brings me back to “I don’t have all the shots I want.”
What I did was do a “save as” on Danny’s finished version and just cut it up, remove the sound, take out the color, etc. And Danny’s version/vision is just very different than mine. Eventually, I’d like to have both Danny’s and my edit up so you can compare them. He includes stuff I won’t and excluded stuff I consider essential. Danny Martinelli, by the way, is the guy in the movie with long hair playing the pinball machine.
So, I’m not proud of this at all, but … here it is for posterity. Stay tuned for the “real” version in 2-3 weeks (hopefully).
Funny = I cut so much out that the opening and ending credits are longer than the movie itself.
The final bit of paperwork I have to submit for a job application packet is any arrest reports for any arrests. So, today I spent the day driving to places and requesting arrest reports. Ann Arbor was even kind enough to let me have a copy of my mug shot which I’ve attached (Yes, that’s a tuxedo shirt I was wearing and, yes, I thought I looked pretty cool). My “criminal record” works like this:
1. Get pulled over for speeding
2. Forget to pay speeding ticket
3. Get bench warrant out for my arrest
4. Get pulled over for speeding
5. Get arrested because of bench warrant for not paying last speeding ticket
6. Repeat
This happened a few times.
Why is this relevant? Well, while I was at the Jackson County Sheriff’s records place, I walked into a Bail Bonds place across the street to try scoring an interview with the proprietor. They also do fugitive recovery which is the really relevant part. I’d like my next little project to be … accurate.
So, I’m kinda gonna be like, Danny Trejo – a hardened criminal turned big Hollywood star.
I can’t believe I never wrote a post about these – I was positive I did! Anyway, here are two free plug-ins for Final Cut that came in quite handy for me.
Final Cut doesn’t ship with a guides or grid feature like, well, every other app in the universe. Even with these plug-ins, creating guides isn’t as easy as pulling them from the ruler like in Photoshop, but at least you got ‘em.
I can’t believe this other plug-in is free because it’s so awesome for that old movie or damaged film look. It allows you to make your footage look old and damaged in all kinds of different ways all of them can be adjusted to your tastes.
As part of a “Then and Now” series for Little Caesars, we did a few black and white videos of how things used to be and full color videos (with intros featuring the THX logo and sound) of how things are now. All “Then” videos used the Aged Film plug-in so you can see how awesome it is. I don’t even think I tweaked any of the settings.
The Remedy Process … Then still makes me laugh every time I see it. Dan Walker, who plays the customer has worked his way up from store manager to Senior Director of National Training because every moment he spends working (which is almost every moment, period) is given all his passion and dedication to standards of excellence whether it is lifting up the employees or serving the customer. Jeff Drozdowski, who does a great job of playing the awful store manager is one of the Managers of National Training and is an extraordinary teacher, also exemplifying the company’s #1 Founding Philosophy: “Little Caesars Must Be A Fun Place To Work.” The best part was an accident – Jeff throwing the returned pizza onto a pile of empty pizza boxes makes it look like it’s a pile of returned pizzas. His delivery of the line “Have a good one” is one of the best in cinema history.
Orientation … Then has another accidental gem. Our first take was interrupted by the phone ringing. These videos were shot really early in the morning so it couldn’t have been a customer but the fact that no one answered it was hysterical as we re-watched it and worked it into the final take by using a cell phone to call the store.
Finally, Workplace Safety … Then, is short but funny. That sound is actually Jeff screaming.
I managed to get a copy of the music I started to compose for my third film, tentatively code-named “Buscar.” I thought it was lost forever. I’ve finally just written the first few words (as opposed to just taking notes) this very day. The music is called Siren (go ahead, click it). I’m not sure if I like it better than Madre’s Theme or not. Madre’s Theme is universally adored but, so far, Siren has gotten mixed reviews.
Update: Someone asked if these were difficult to make. No, I didn’t “write” or “play” them. They’re just arranged loops from Garageband/Soundtrack. I can read music a wee bit. I can barely – and I mean barely – play the flute and guitar. I just threw loops together until it sounded right and fit the mood/purpose.
Just found these sites and I’m excited about being at all of these:
Florida Film Festival
It looks like I missed the deadline for 2008, but that also means I have plenty of time to get ready for 2009, eh?
The Sarasota Film Society looks a lot like the Detroit Film Center (which I hope to see before I leave – they’ve moved to a new location… I haven’t had time to finish Red Eye because as soon as I got my current day job, I had to start looking for a new job in Florida!) in that they show local/independent films and have classes. They also show art films (which is good because the Maple and others in Detroit are just too far away) and first-run films. They’re totally showing Kids which I’ve wanted to see forever but it’s Jan 5 which is before I’ll get there.
“Entries begin January 4, 2008″ (I’m not sure what that means, exactly) for the Central Florida Film Festival held in August. I wonder if I can finish … no, probably not. Well, I suppose I could get Red Eye screened … nah, I’ll do that as a Detroit exclusive … hmm… that might be a reason to come back up and visit for a weekend!
I think every state has an office dedicated to the film industry – Michigan sure does. Florida’s official state-run department, Film In Florida, has it’s own website including a list of Florida film festivals! How cool is that?
I’ve tried to find info on local community access TV but my impression so far is there is none. Poop.
Me at my current (now temporary) gig at AT&T:
In all likelihood, all I’ll have is my own personal camera – not a super sweet one like Little Caesars’ at my disposal. I’ll have to spend a couple hundred on RAM and storage for my little Mac to edit with. Even with more RAM, I’m not sure it could handle Final Cut Express so it might be time to use iMovie. Crap … I’ll need a microphone, too, since my little camera doesn’t have much… it’s all do-able, though.
I’ve been reading a lot about John Carpenter, lately, and listening to his commentaries for The Thing and Halloween. I didn’t realize how low-budget Halloween was or that it was an independent film. Carpenter gives really good commentary. I like Halloween’s better, though, because I love the “how we did it” stuff for low budget productions.
I didn’t write Red Eye. Maggie, a fellow student at the Detroit Film Center, did. It’s just so … weird to work on a movie I didn’t write. It’s very different than being in a play I didn’t write. But then … I think it would be easy to be in a movie I didn’t write. Directing is a completely different animal. I’m not sure I’d completely enjoy being one of those directors who is in their own movie.
This sort of thing drives me crazy at my day job. I hate working on everyone else’s projects and never having one of my own. One of the pastors at church said, if I may remind myself, that I need to work on someone else’s vision before working on my own but … dude, that sucks.
I just feel like everyone thinks, “Oh, you’re only the director? You didn’t write it?” or “Oh, you’re only the designer? You didn’t actually create the content?” Actually, I don’t feel – I know … that’s what they say in job interviews. And my Mom says stuff like that. I didn’t plaster my name all over Madre because I feel that’s just, I don’t know, vain. And after she watched it, she said, “You’re name is nowhere on it” which made me wonder if she even believed I made it. Yeah, I could have filled the credits with my name for every crew position, put my name as producer, director, writer, but … whatever.
I should mention the writer/director of the church musical liked the editing and such I did of her show.
I’ve been very bitter and unfulfilled lately, if you can’t tell.
Because of rescheduling, I think, there were two religious themed films my night. Mine, which was I like to think at least a little subtle, funny and brilliant. The other was more like Jesus with a bullhorn and a sledgehammer. Fortunately, mine was shown first, but it was still irritating in that “I can’t believe someone else wore the same dress I did to the party” kind of a way.
Well, I started writing the new one today. Still haven’t started editing the second one but … I can write any time – editing has very narrow windows of opportunity.
This third one will be like Saved but deeper and funnier.
Ever since it was finished, I have been meaning to watch it solely to see if there’s food on the table before the waitress shows up, etc. Well, here are the goofs I noticed re-watching it just now:
When we first see the family as the camera follows the transvestite into the taqueria, all three actresses have their scripts in front of them on the table. After the first cut, when we first hear Maria telling her story, the scripts are gone.
When the waitress brings the food, she lays a plate in front of the Mom. There’s a cut and when the transvestite asks for the salt, her plate is gone, but her script is sitting in front of her.
The camera changes again and her plate has returned.
The scene with the bus boy … the cup he knocks over with no subtlety doesn’t show up until halfway into the scene.
Frank said the editing was very good. I told him that even if it bombed tonight (which I fully expect it to) I’m still in afterglow from the success of my little flicks in Vegas, so it won’t hurt my feelings.
I asked Frank (and everyone else I know) how many people like both country music and movies with subtitles. After last month’s Fourth Friday and Detroit Film Festival got rained out, I joked that the night my film would be rescheduled for would be country music. As it turns out …
Well, I’ve had fun chatting with Frank, the guy what runs the Detroit Film Festival. The Hard Rock Cafe has provided another awesome buffet. Not as many people are supposed to show up as last time, but a few are and by sheer chance, I will (am) actually be there as well.
Keith Anderson is the headlining country act who is playing this very moment. Apparently he’s a grammy nominated “rising star” in country music.
I wrote the theme song for Madre Sabe El Mejor and people seemed to really dig it and say they can’t get it out of their head.
Today I composed a new one for the video mentioned in the previous entry but I think it’d be perfect for the feature I’m starting. I had two ideas but I don’t think I’d be able to write the first one. Just don’t have the life experience or cultural experience. I think this new song is as good as or better than the first.
OH! I’ve been reading oodles of film & video books over the last few months and today I got one from the library with the best title: A How-To Guide for the First-Time, Flat-Broke Film and Video Maker.
The first time I captured the footage for this I did the whole 50 or so minutes we shot and the audio gradually drifted out of sync in this as well. Tonight I’m doing it in smaller chunks and it seems to be fine so far. Natasha had captured takes of everything but I want everything we shot. I am sure my opinion of what shots are good will be very different. I have a … “different” vision for what I want my cut to look like.
I still want to get some cutaway shots in the restaurant and the class still has yet to get the final hospital scene. Apparently, it’s just a problem with getting scrubs which I think we should be able to get at any thrift store. Too bad I don’t still have mine from my nursing school days.
We arrived and the peeps were hanging out inside the Compuware building and the Hard Rock and huddled under the VIP tent. I got some video (I’ll post it soon) of people dancing in the Compuware Building and of the musicians and peeps hanging out in the tent. There was delicious chicken fettucine and the best chicken strips I’ve ever had in the buffet. We had a total of 8 (count ‘em EIGHT) drink tickets and I was only half-way through them and Nikki wanted to go home and gave three of them away. Once she realized my movie wasn’t going to show, her steam and motivation to suppress her feeling ickiness faded.
The good news is, one of the features that was supposed to show in September is having production problems so the three shorts that got canceled for August will be shown in its place. The best part about that is we get ANOTHER free dinner and another two sets of drink tickets!
After the storm passed and things started to clear up, the schedule resumed … which was cool … the Children of the Revolution played … we sat next to them in the VIP tent and joked around with them and Frank, director of The Detroit Film Festival, sat at our table … but the film festival was cancelled because we wouldn’t go on until, like, 2 AM, so my movie will show in September. Frank was unassailably cool. So were the CotR. Footage of me, Nikki, and the CotR to follow. I have to call everyone to tell them not to come. We get free food and drinks in September, TOO!!
The following was written over a period of time while I captured, edited, rendered, and uploaded the three videos:
I’ve been down there twice so far to tape activities. Very sunny & mostly blue skies just after noon and starting to get gray skies but still very hot just after five. Weather.com forecasts thunderstorms for the rest of the evening and they made an announcement about possible inclement weather. As long as I get my free buffet and free drinks from the Hard Rock Cafe, it can rain though I’d much rather my movie actually did get screened.
In the first video, you’ll see the band Universal Xpression and some shots of the park and surrounding landmarks including one of those weird motorized trollies (as if they could replace the ones we gave San Francisco). That was taken just after noon.
The second video is about six or so. You’ll see 2-4 couples that are local and national champion tango & salsa dancers and some salsa lessons. One couple has been married and dancing over 30 years.
It’s starting to get dark out (it’s about 6:30 PM) but sunset isn’t until like 8:20 PM.
Uh oh … I just heard some thunder … a couple in a row … and it’s really dark out … I’m waiting for Nikki who is supposed to meet me here at the office … otherwise I’d rush down there and get my free food & drink now. I keep hearing the words “tornado watch” and it’s all giving me a real big rock in my stomach.
At 7:08 … the Severe Thunderstorm is definitely here. I’m sure Comerica Park is emptying. It’s the worst it has rained all week. I wonder if it stops if the music will start again and if they’ll still have the film festival…
The good news is, as of 7:24 PM it is ten degrees cooler, so if everything isn’t cancelled, it’ll be much more comfortable.
It took me forever to find the drop shadow effect in Final Cut (under the Viewer’s Motion tab, of all places!). Last night or the night before, I was lying in bed with Grace watching some documentary and I noticed they had a semi-transparent white rectangle behind their subtitle which helped them pop even more. Definitely something to remember.
I hope it doesn’t rain Friday night. How much plainer can I say that? Last night it wasn’t supposed to rain like it was supposed to (I heard 80% chance) but it was disgustingly humid so we left the Tigers game early. It would have been more comfortable had it rained.
I, just in the nick of time, remembered I needed to put Robert’s stylist/costume designer in the credits. She, who goes by the name orangesperm.com, is shooting a commercial tonight in Hart Plaza.
