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Daily Blog

November 8, 2008

Alright I may have hit my limit.  Last week two of my friends and I were sitting around bemoaning the sturm und drang of making short films.  So we decided to get off our asses and challenged ourselves to shoot a film the next weekend for as little money as possible.

With that goal in mind we knew the concept had to be simple, the location had to be accessible, the cast had to be small, the props had to be minimal, there could be no dialogue and we had to shoot outside, in daylight and on tape.

So.  Here’s what we came up with - we decided the film would be called THREE DOORS.  We would each write a three-minute film about someone approaching the obstacle of a door.  The completed films would then be combined in to one nine minute short.  A short film trilogy.

We planned to shoot it all in one day - each of us getting three hours for our productions.

Here are the concepts…  One is about a man having a mid-life crisis who, after a hard night out, has come home to ask his wife’s forgiveness.  One is about a mother walking to visit the daughter she gave up years ago.  And mine is a comedy about a postman who has to deliver a letter but is desperately afraid of a homeowner’s dog.

We cast on LA Casting.  We found our locations by talking to neighbors.  (Yes, we knocked on doors and asked complete strangers.  Humans are actually mostly nice.)  We spent a total of $300 - on lunches, renting an old car from Rent a Wreck for our guy coming home from his hard night out, renting a postman’s costume from Sony for my dude and tapestock from Edgewise. Fortunately we had casting space at one of our offices and a camera that we own but those things could have been borrowed from friends.  In six days we were ready to shoot.

We started the morning with the guy coming home to his wife and it went really well.  We showed up to the house we wanted and other people had parked where we planned to set up our picture car (we didn’t exactly have PA’s to hold spaces the night before) so we had to work around that.  No worries.  We just shot the car interior stuff across the street where we liked the light better anyway and moved back later.  That was really the only bump in that shoot.  We lit minimally with reflectors and two dollar mirrors from Walgreens.

Then for the woman coming to meet her daughter.  Again, that shoot went really smoothly.  This one was the simplest of the three and went off completely without a hitch.

Just before we broke for lunch I took the rental car back - we needed to make sure we only had it for one day - and then met the guys for lunch near the third location.

And then it happened.  The one day of the year that it freakin’ rains in Los Angeles.  My first thirty minutes we sat watching it pour.  There was even lightning.  Grrr…  The rain finally stopped but the clouds didn’t clear which meant there was no sunlight left to reflect so the look was pretty flat.

But the big thing about comedy is the timing.  And it’s built from a combination of actor instinct and editing.  If you don’t have those things you can’t bring the funny.  It just won’t be there.

So.  With my decreased time and on the spot shot cutting I’m not convinced I have what I need.  It certainly wasn’t genius directing on my part - with the sun sinking fast the discussion devolved fairly quickly to technical, result-oriented commands.  It was a fun day and great to just make something but I’m procrastinating putting it in to Final Cut to deal with the reality of what I may have created.  But I’ll get around to it soon enough.

As they say, cheap, fast, good.  It’s your choice.  You can have two but never all three.  Annoyingly, I know I had cheap and fast.  Now I just have to bust my ass to see if I can force the third.

October 23, 2008

I am currently prepping a short film called Touch and it has thus far truly been a labor of love.  This week, finally, I have some really exciting news to report.  We are cast!

Congratulations all around because my very hardworking, patient and persistent casting director, Lisa Mione, did an amazing job and I am absolutely thrilled to get started working with the brilliant women she found.

Touch is a simple little film about two women waiting for a train who make a deep but fleeting connection with one another.  It’s one location, one day shoot and all about the performances so there’s zero room for error in the casting.  This is a quiet film that will provide no distractions from bad performances.

And I couldn’t feel more confident with my team.  After a very picky and exhaustive search we found our gems in Lily Knight and Tanna Frederick who have signed on to play the two women, Jean and Heather.

There’s a wonderful feeling that comes over me as a director when I know I’ve cast properly.  It’s excitement, anticipation, eagerness to get on set and record the magic.  And oddly a sense of calm.

To me, casting decisions are the most important ones I make on a film.  After a long hard search I know I’ve found the best women for the roles and that brings us that much closer to executing the vision that’s been dancing around in my head ever since the producer first brought me the script.

I can’t wait to get shooting!

October 17, 2008

I just got my festival acceptance letter, now what do I do?  First of all, congrats!  Now, let’s get to work.  Here’s a quick little guide to all things festival…

Every festival is different, but there are a few things you should have no matter where you go…

• Press kit - In it should be a logline & synopsis, crew & cast list, key bios, director statement, director photo, production stills, press release, list of awards & screenings, reviews, and any press you’ve already received. You can put other stuff in too, but if you want to check out the example for my thesis http://www.latebloomerthemovie.com/press.html.
• Postcards & flyers - these are great to print a large batch ahead of time, but make sure you leave customizable room for the screening dates, times and addresses because that will change with each festival. Also, if you think you might win awards, you may want to print a small batch early on in the festival run and another batch with laurels later.
• Poster - it’s good to have three - one for the theater, one for the press room and one for the ticket sales area. I come with an easel (you can get cheapo easy to carry ones at art supply stores), 2 posters mounted on foam core and one rolled up. Remember, your goal is to look like a real movie so people actually want to see it.
• Backup tape for projection. You never know, the festival could lose your film, the projector could go down, whatever. If you travel to the festival, bring a backup.
• A few dvd’s. Sometimes you’ll have an audience member freak out over your film and want to know where to buy it. Don’t be a jerk, just give them a copy. Also, you may want to give them to other programmers, press, other contacts or filmmakers.
• And don’t forget business cards for yourself!
• Something else. Everyone will have the six things listed above - what’s going to make you stand out?

Before you get there make sure you…

• Thank the programmers. In person, on the phone, via email, whatever. Someone loved your film and fought for it to be in the festival - don’t overlook them.
• Find out who the festival publicist is and let them know you’ll make yourself available for interviews. Be sure you supply them with whatever materials they need as soon as possible. The big fests will want a clips tape to give to the media.
• Send your press release out to local radio stations, newspapers, magazines, whatever.
• Get the party schedule.
• If you get in town early spend some time posting flyers where you think your audience is likely to be. If you’ve got a doc about marijuana - hit the head shops, colleges, police stations and AA meetings.

Once you get to the festival you have a few goals…

• Pack your house - It’s more fun with a packed house and you have a better chance of winning if the audience is all there to support you. I never had enough local friends to employ this strategy myself, but I’ve seen it in action and it does work.
• Win an award - No strategies on this other than packing the house but if readers have thoughts please send them in.
• Meet the programmers
• Meet other programmers - If you get your film programmed at one other festival at every festival you go to you will double your screenings.
• Get some press - You’ll feel like a whore, you are. Get over it. And if you brought a guest they should know they’re paying you back for that free ticket by talking about you and your genius film every chance they get. No free rides baby! You should be doing this beforehand as well. Find out online who reviews shorts and get some quotes for your poster.

The day of your screening…

• Get there early and set up your poster in the theater
• Make friends with the projectionist and check that the aspect ratio and sound levels are correct - those are the two things most messed up at festival screenings. Remember, the sound level needs to be a bit louder for a full theater than an empty one but if it’s too loud you’ll have audiences leaning away from your film and it may even clip in places. So check your softest and loudest moments.
• Sit near the door in case you have to run up to the booth. (Some fests will let you speak to the booth on walkie.)
• Speak to the audience. Rule numero uno - do not be a dick. I don’t know if it’s nerves or what, but some filmmakers come off like complete knobs in front of an audience and if you think that doesn’t affect what box people check for the audience award you’re nuts. Be gracious, funny if you can, humble, honest, and open. Be yourself but be these things also. These people are there because they love films and are asking questions because they want to learn something. Be prepared for the usual - What inspired you to make this? What was the budget? How did you find your cast? What did you shoot on? What are you doing next?
• Finally, relax. Sometimes little film festivals will end up being your favorites and at others you’ll learn that the filmmakers are an ornament to the town schmoozing that’s really the primary focus. Whatever. Do a good job, have a good time and learn something.

p.s.  A pet peeve of mine with short films and indie features is that sometimes it seems filmmakers don’t realize that they are competing on the open market.  Once your film is out there the goal is not to get praise from friends and family who will support you no matter what crap you make, it’s to be judged positively on equal footing with “proper films.”  You want a “job well done” from Hollywood Reporter, not Aunt Bee.  So in terms of quality do your best to look and sound like a proper film.    Everything that you make and give out will say something about your movie.  Make sure you’re sending the right message.

October 12, 2008

Next blog I’ll go back and talk about how to prepare for festivals, but right now I’ve got good news.  The ad I directed for Viesso won the award for Best Commercial at a packed 7,000 seat house at the Nokia Theater at the Elevate Film Festival.  Pretty cool.

Check it out…

Sorry for the quality on YouTube but I think you’ll get the gist.

If you like it rate it and pass it on.

September 26, 2008

I’m heading down to the San Diego Film Festival to support a friend who has a film screening and it got me thinking about what festivals can do for you.  Particularly in the world of Youtube and a million little no-name festivals.

There are many things a filmmaker gets out of film festivals and it’s slightly different for shorts and features so I’ll stick with shorts for now.

Basically, here’s what you get from festivals…
-    Experience screening your film (including learning how to properly set up your film beforehand because even some of the big fests employ kids to work the booths - and they are usually unsupported, not knowledgeable enough and extremely stressed out from filmmakers jumping down their throats.  Hint: Please, thank you, and a smile goes a long way in this situation.)
-    Practice talking about your film in public (I’m a PR whore so I try to give whatever interview I possibly can to both promote my film and so I get practice giving interviews now when no one gives a crap about me.  It’s painful to watch your first ones, but if you’re honest with yourself you can get better quickly.)
-    Publicity
-    Exposure to lots of great and not-so-great films and filmmakers
-    An opportunity to meet festival programmers
-    An opportunity to meet distributors (though this really only occurs at the bigger fests)
-    A greater understanding of festival programming (there will always be a celebrity-directed film that sucks but screens everywhere, a experimental one that no one seems to understand but also keeps popping up and other such craziness.)  Programming really is an art form though - some fests get it and others definitely do not.
-    Awards (these are much needed because once festival season is over it’s the only thing that sticks around to let everyone know how cool you are.  And if we’re honest, that’s what Hollywood really is, a coolfest.)
-    Bragging rights (see awards)
-    A bit of a vacation seeing the world (most European fests fly you out and put you up.  But don’t get too caught up in this - you could lose a year of your life traveling around when you should be making more movies.)

It’s all a learning experience.  Every moment of this crazy film journey.  And, as a friend reminded me this week, since the only way you really get any value in Hollywood is to direct a feature that wins at major festival or write a script that sells, you have to make your festival experience work for you as much as possible.  Hustle, hustle, hustle people!

If anyone has any questions about what do to prepare for or what to do at film festivals, let me know and I’ll answer them next week.