Saturday, March 26, 2011

A Statement

There’s been a lot of speculation as to what Garrick has been doing for the past five months. My close friends will tell you, I’ve fallen off the face of the earth. I’ve heard my OCD has gotten the best of me and I’m afraid to leave my house. I’ve heard I’m off the wagon, indulging on stimulants and all night edits. I’ve even heard that I’m back with my wife and am afraid to come out with it.

 

I’ve heard it all. Yes, my OCD has been in “rare form,” lately as the stress of my business growing in leaps and bounds has begin lingering like the flu. It is still nothing I cannot handle even if there are days I clean the house twice. The other reasons are not even close. 

 

The truth is: For years I reveled in being in the limelight and finding a way to somehow be the center of attention even going so far as to get myself in trouble just to make “headlines.” I spent years trying to keep that image up and it was exhausting. I ruined relationships, friendships and my background slip being “that guy.” I loved parties and making appearances. It wasn’t me. It was my quest for acceptance after a long stint at a boarding school where too, I didn’t fit in so well.

 

It may be “shoddy” of me to say, but I get quite annoyed with the bullshit talk over beers or the late night card game. To me, it’s counter productive. I’ve never owned a Playstation nor an XBox not because I don’t think it’s cool, but I just feel there are other things I can be doing with my time. 

 

I’m 36 and I’ve had my fun. I’ve had my women. I’ve had my time in the limelight and now it’s time to get down to business of living the life I dreamed about having when I was simply screwing off and talking about it.

 

I’ve given many people opportunities to be a part of “my small little business,” only to be disappointed by the countless mistakes and excuses for the mistakes. I’ve squandered a ton of scratch paying people to allow me to fix and redo their mess over and over and continued to allow it because I felt a need to keep people working to survive this horrible economic state we are in.

 

What many people fail to realize is that I ate shit and took it on my knees for over eight years for no pay, no respect and no “perks,” with absolutely no “help” from mentors, peers in the business, or any kind of avenue with the exception of the great Mike McDaniel in Orlando, Florida. The “Chi” wasn’t found for a long time and even then wasn’t handed to me. I had to bust my ass to get it, so looking at me with your hand out wanting something from me with your year of experience only shows me just how lazy people are in general.

 

You can sit in front of facebook and click the “LIKE” button all day and update your RSVP’s to a bunch of stuff that isn’t really relevant and feel good about the fact that “viral advertising,” is where it’s at if it helps you but let’s be honest. Facebook is a front. It is a lie. People don’t care what you’re doing or selling. The only way to get the “quwan” is to do it and do it well. That’s the only marketing you will ever need- Being great.

 

The only reason I’ve posted up everything on Facebook this last year is because I separated from my wife a year ago and lawyers use facebook to argue in court on custody of children. (THAT’S A FACT.) So posting up my every move was a way to document that I was a single father out there working his tits off to feed his kids. 

 

You wanna’ do what I do? Get some gear and go do it.  Learn how to shoot a camera and go take on scores you can handle. Don’t tell me you want to learn but put family bbqs, partying, girls and other crap in front of it. 

 

With that said, I’ve been doing the same thing I was doing 4 years ago. Only now I’ve trimmed the fat. I have kids to feed and have to figure out how to continue doing what I love to do on a grander scale. Your money problems are not my problems. I’m not obligated to put you to work. I’m not obligated to come “hang out,” with you at some bar. I’m not obligated to do anything but be me. You want to find me: I’m at the office, in the park with the kids, on a business call, looking for a business loan, searching for a building to open a gym in, listening to music, playing the guitar,working out, planning a birthday party, doing laundry, researching the latest trends of my trade, and with a little luck finding time to write my next film.

 

I was in a relationship for seven years where every move I made, every decision I stuck to and every dream I had was scrutinized by people who fed on my failures. Everything I did  was “aiming too high,” or “ignorant to do with kids,” so forgive me if for now I’m catching up on some ME time.

 

And as far as, “Garrick promised me this?”......

 

I didn’t promise you anything. I said, “Hey, I’m gonna go do this. You want to go?” It was up to you put forth the effort to keep up because as “arrogant” as it sounds, unfortunately I can do it without you. I would appreciate a little less judgement as to why Garrick is being a “dick.” I’m not a dick. Just living my life and doing it my way. You wanna’ spend sometime with me, put your work boots on and find me.

 

Thanks.

Posted via email from Diary of A Shoot Stuff Guy

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Raw Truth in Austin

So here is my assessment of the ever "overhyped" SXSW film festival. Pretention runs amuck even worse than the other Geek/Pretention Circle Jerk in Utah. This festival has to be, (and this an honest opinion from a guy with all access, not a disgruntled dude who hasn't blown anybody therefore has not been able to do anything,) the biggest cluster duck I have ever had the misfortune of being crewed for. There is no access to anything..... Even the poor naive peeps who pay $1250 for what they call the "Platinum Badge," that well, gives them absolutely nothing but a lanyard get nothing but a slim chance to see something maybe cool.

 

In order to see a film, even with full access you have to get in line at least 2 hours in advance which kinda' sucks considering you are missing the countless 20 minute "panels," IPAD 2 giveaways at the trade shows and the buffet line that is completely impromptu'd at the Microsoft Booth. The week is jammed packed with a bunch of great stuff you will never see and while your recent purchase of your faggedy ass IPAD 2 at the Apple Store on Congress pre-installed with your bloated interactive SXSW schedule, may help kick you in the face showing you that you've missed a great band that is playing this minute in a bar that is a 30 minute walk away, it gives you nothing but an impossible curriculum to a damn near impossible festival that only has one certainty.... It ends on Thursday at 6pm sharp and YOU will head back to the Austin Airport unfulfilled and $7000 poorer than you were. (You should have gone to Vegas. You may have had a better chance there.) 

 

But no worries.... It will give you an excuse to get rid of those pretentious Chuck Taylors you bought just to look cool at the show because you will have to have some room in your suitcase for all the un eco friendly brochures and magazines about nothing you collected or better yet, the plastic footballs, usb sticks, and stupid little green cubes you can do nothing with and will be trashed once you get home and realize you have just been takened for a whole lot of money that you could have just bought the technology these AHOLES just spent whacking  your ears off about. 

 

Tweets mean shit people.... Nobody cares... I thought it was cool too for about 5 hours.... Then I realized I'm nobody.... I'm a nobody who paid $3 for a bottled water, $50 for a steak, and couldn't even get a schedule being a camera geek paid to shoot the "events," of SXSW? Events? What events? I missed them all running around trying to catch one of them. You can tweet "@SXSW" all you want, it doesn't give you access to the movies, music or anything else. It gives you nothing but the idea that you are connecting with a bunch of other "people like you," and you are right. You are connecting with people like you..... The lost souls like me that think that "tweeting" is some form of being cool or "being in." Newsflash..... Gotten you no where but made the people behind SXSW fucking millionaires. Like a Fan Page of some new hosting server and get some discount you're never gonna' use. Get on that email list so you can get SPAMMED some more in one of your seven email address accounts. I especially like the ones who call themselves "CREATIVE DIRECTORS" or better yet, "CEOS" yet their email address is "fiascoproductions@gmail.com." You are a CEO and have no dedicated email.... ? Ol, wait, you don't even have a site for your so called business, yet you do have a great business card that you are putting in a jar to win a free Tshirt? You tweet about some business so you could get a Dos Equis and think you are cool.... ? This my friends IS "being cool." This my friends is being one of the "lucky ones" at a "film festival." .... Seriously, no thanks.   Call me Charlie Sheen as I bite the hand that feeds me but all this week is is a money pit for people who think they are a "part of something." You aren't. You are a nobody. 

 

Just like me. You are the dumb ass behind me in the line who's getting ready to be told you don't have the "pink pass," therefore cannot enter. You are the guy who too will be forced to spend ten dollars on a grilled cheese and soda. You too are the guy who will run your phone battery out tweeting about meeting Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows like me and realize it didn't make a crap box difference to anybody.... But then in two weeks when the aura is gone you'll spend two weeks unsubscribing to all those companies and movies that promised you Ipad giveaways, backpacks and God knows what else and you will also realize that you are no closer financially to buying anything that you saw there... 

 

But you'll be able to talk about what you saw and act like somebody cool talking about "the new gear you've seen and used".... And I guess that to you will be priceless....  To me.... Means nothing as does the technology.... Because if you don't know how to use it, it all means "nothing," just like this festival, my small to nil paycheck and the aura of trying to be cool does.

 

 

Retweet this useless tirade: @SUXSW using the hash tags #gonad #tweetdick #facedoushe

 

Posted via email from Diary of A Shoot Stuff Guy

Monday, March 7, 2011

Why I Love My Job

The cool part of my job is watching things materialize. What may start as a sketch or a paragraph on a hotel note pad may turn into a fantastic piece of film, (or may be the worst.) Either way what starts as merely an idea ends in something that may entertain a lot of people. This is perfect example.

We were shooting a tattoo parlor and an idea to do an old time PSA from the 50's about how "tattoos are bad," just popped in my head. Kenny Davis and Chris Sepulveda wrote a great script for it.

I contacted Edd Robinson and begged him to do the spokesman role. Many people thought after looking at the script that it was a bit, "cinematic," instead of "old preacher from Linkerton County." So I took their script and rewrote it, "country-frying," it a little to better suit the material. Two pages it in my journal and typed it up.

Sent it Edd and he loved it! We shot it in an hour and half. This is the final piece without the commercial attached to the end of it.

 

_mg_0067

Posted via email from Diary of A Shoot Stuff Guy

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Shooting 24/7

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