Good job Gang. All your hard work and talent now begins to pay off.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The Festival Circuit Begins
Three years ago, (correction from my facebook entry status,) I entered my small flawed film , Meter in a couple film festivals on the East Coast. With surprise, we actually got into a couple of them. The Real to Reel Festival was one of them. Of the seven the film got into, R to R was one of the only ones I was able to spend the whole weekend at. They’re hospitality, professionalism, and line up was top notch. Minus the bulb in the projector going out making my already darker film even darker the festival was wonderful. It didn’t really matter the technical issue, my film didn’t stand a chance against the competition it was up against. Meter was runner up against a great film, Warlord that took the gold. So with the deadline for submission closing in on the 2009 festival, I crammed to finish Jeopardy to give it a chance to revisit that great festival in Kings Mountain. When Meter was accepted I received an email from Violet Arth telling me I had got in. It was a beautiful ending to my wedding weekend back in 2007. Well, I returned from Oak Island to a letter from the festival, so I was sure after getting bumped from the Seattle Film Festival, that a letter must be bad news since I had not received an email and guess what: Jeopardy was accepted. So I’m looking forward to a weekend in Kings Mountain and hope maybe this year, my film will have the legs to carry us home the Grand Prize. If not, it will be fine. I will enjoy the company of other great filmmakers and films for a long weekend of screenings, press junkets, and friends at the end of July. It will get me pumped and inspired for the week following when we shoot Bad Ass Killers!
Good job Gang. All your hard work and talent now begins to pay off.
Good job Gang. All your hard work and talent now begins to pay off.
Monday, June 22, 2009
MAYDAY! MAYDAY!
In between trips to Atlanta to edit Keisha Knight Pulliam’s reality show, raising a couple of kids, prepping two other projects, I’m sandwiching one of my regular collaborators Ennix Xiong’s feature film, BAD ASS KILLERS into the last week of July and first week of August.
NOW - I have shot some films in the past, (Demon Cult on Fire, Jobbers, and even Insomnia,) that were shot in, “Gun and Run Mode.” From two take limits, to documentary style shooting, to picking up shots way past principle photography, I am no rookie when comes to the WTF style of filming. BAD ASS KILLERS is by far my biggest challenge to date. It’s a feature film:
Screenplay- 92 pages
Budget- $12,000
Schedule - 2 weeks
If you are in the business you know that’s an impossible feat... Maybe. We have to shoot eight pages a day to make that work and we’re working with a fairly new cast AND alot of dialogue. I fear a 3 week shooting schedule would be more rational, but adding an extra week adds nearly $4000 to the budget which we don’t have and won’t get.
So I find myself the co-captain of a ship that has about a 89% chance of smashing into an iceberg. (Outcome=See RMS Titanic) But there’s no going back now. The horses have left the gate rounding turn two. There is no more postponing it or pushing it back further. It has to happen and it has to happen during that two weeks. I will just have to throw out my meticulously disciplines I’ve learned over the course of the last 4 productions and relearn the ways of the “Hanging by a String” way to do things and hope it works. And even then, I will have no control over a run away schedule. I’ll have no control of any aspect of the film besides how it looks cinematically. And even then, I have no Gaffer and 1 2K to work with, so again, control...? No. This is what scares me most. I just remember, mortgage payment, learning experience and hanging with some old friends for two weeks of work that will be harder than crab fishing in the Bering Sea with half the sleep those guys get.
Stills from the Full Cast Read Through - June 22, 2009
NOW - I have shot some films in the past, (Demon Cult on Fire, Jobbers, and even Insomnia,) that were shot in, “Gun and Run Mode.” From two take limits, to documentary style shooting, to picking up shots way past principle photography, I am no rookie when comes to the WTF style of filming. BAD ASS KILLERS is by far my biggest challenge to date. It’s a feature film:
Screenplay- 92 pages
Budget- $12,000
Schedule - 2 weeks
If you are in the business you know that’s an impossible feat... Maybe. We have to shoot eight pages a day to make that work and we’re working with a fairly new cast AND alot of dialogue. I fear a 3 week shooting schedule would be more rational, but adding an extra week adds nearly $4000 to the budget which we don’t have and won’t get.
So I find myself the co-captain of a ship that has about a 89% chance of smashing into an iceberg. (Outcome=See RMS Titanic) But there’s no going back now. The horses have left the gate rounding turn two. There is no more postponing it or pushing it back further. It has to happen and it has to happen during that two weeks. I will just have to throw out my meticulously disciplines I’ve learned over the course of the last 4 productions and relearn the ways of the “Hanging by a String” way to do things and hope it works. And even then, I will have no control over a run away schedule. I’ll have no control of any aspect of the film besides how it looks cinematically. And even then, I have no Gaffer and 1 2K to work with, so again, control...? No. This is what scares me most. I just remember, mortgage payment, learning experience and hanging with some old friends for two weeks of work that will be harder than crab fishing in the Bering Sea with half the sleep those guys get.
Stills from the Full Cast Read Through - June 22, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Still Got the Old School Touch
BAD ASS KILLERS is now ready to be scheduled. For anybody that doesn't know what this is: It is a Production Board. Every strip represents a scene. The numbers you see are the actors, (given their own number.) On the top header you see the location, whether the scene is Night or Day, Inside or Out, How long the scene is etc-- The color represents the differences in Night/Day In/Out. After you've laid all the scenes out, you take your strips and mix and match them from same locations, to consecutive days an actor is needed, to action sequences to special effects, trying to find the best possible schedule to plan your days and scenes you are going to shoot within those days.
When that is finally accomplished I will label above the strips in the gray area: DAY 1, DAY 2, until we know how many days, hours, minutes, seconds, we will need to shoot the film. From there you re-budget the film depending on time needed and then--- RED TEAM GO! BADDA BING-- WE MAKE ANOTHER FILM ON AN IMPOSSIBLE BUDGET AND SCHEDULE. Love it.
When that is finally accomplished I will label above the strips in the gray area: DAY 1, DAY 2, until we know how many days, hours, minutes, seconds, we will need to shoot the film. From there you re-budget the film depending on time needed and then--- RED TEAM GO! BADDA BING-- WE MAKE ANOTHER FILM ON AN IMPOSSIBLE BUDGET AND SCHEDULE. Love it.
Friday, June 19th: Homework and Boomstick Marathon
Aaaaaaahhhhh! Production Strips. My FAVORITE!!!!! Can I not just buy EP Scheduling, Director? Pretty Please. I had it on my old MacBook. No matter. Rented me the Evil Dead Series and plan on working late and paying for it tomorrow. I have to get it done. I'm running way behind on this production due to my schedule.
Deer Corn
Anybody have any idea what Deer Corn is? I think I'll stick to my EAR CORN.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Bad Ass Killers - Marketing
Going back to my roots. I'm working on a movie poster for the film I'm helping shoot at the end of July. I love the design medium. I hate I don't get to do it as much as I would like. I did all that design for Jeopardy and I enjoyed it. I also promised myself to dabble in the Animation field with my cartoon, "Bobby Badluck," but just haven't had enough time to do it. Movie posters and etc.... Will do for now. It is a work in progress.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Redneck General-Opened 8 E SU TILL XMAS
The most ridiculousness of it all is they actually invested money in a sign to begin with.
Pay Pay Lapue
A break from the normal grind of Ins & Outs, Cardboard Strips and Scene Reports for a little of the stuff I like to do.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Simply Said "F**K YOU"
I sent this to an Aspiring Filmmaker who cornered me about doing his unprepared shoddy movie for no pay. I agreed to read the script and let him know where I stood afterward. This was the letter I sent him. Hours later I received a reply email that simply stated, "Fuck You...."
People are so awesome. Well, let me reply to you kind sir with, "That response is exactly why you will not get my time or energy."
People are so awesome. Well, let me reply to you kind sir with, "That response is exactly why you will not get my time or energy."
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