Headache

I guess the point of this post is to update everyone. Currently, I'm working two jobs, going to school and trying to do the whole filmmaker thing on the side.

Let's start with the jobs. The first is the job I've been doing for the last three years; working at Halloween Express. I love this job. I do. It just takes up a lot of my free time. I then work on Friday's with kids at after school activities. So much of my free time goes to these that when I do have free time, I'm doing homework. Goody.

My next big thing is school. I love it, but the homework kills me. If I could just stick with the film work I'd be golden. It's the math and science shit that kills me. It sucks. Especially now when I have film projects coming up I need to do. Even more annoying is the Film Equipment Room changed it's hours which really do not work for my schedule. I'll have to come to campus on my days off now. Joy.

Finally, the whole filmmaker thing. I love it, but it's stressful. As of right now I have one full length film that's 3/4 of the way done and I can't seem to finish. I have the ending, just can't get it there. Then, I have three shorts that have consumed my brain. One is a fantasy film, the other a comedy and the other a drama. I'll give more details at a later time. The big thing is, I want to use one of these for my final project but it'll be hard. The fantasy is out. Too much to do for that one. The comedy may be doable, but I'll need to get creative and the drama, which is the most doable, has no real ending.

On top of that, I was asked to write the pilot for a TV show for a friend. I'd love to do it, but I have such a tight deadline and have NO details that I'm starting to freak out. I need this job, but, at the same time, will it be the final nail in the coffin? Stay tuned to find out!

The Citizen Kane of Bad Cinema?

I've been trying to fit as much as I possibly can into my last week or two of summer before I go back to the grind of school. Everything from staying out late to midnight showings of movies I love.

Okay, I exaggerate, it's only been one midnight showing, but it was a movie I love. I saw a midnight showing of The Evil Dead at the Oriental Theater. It was a really neat exploitation/grindhouse theater experience. It showed schlocky trailers for cult classic films that feature outrageous stories and even more outrageous gore. I love it. I love cult cinema and have a very open mind for it. The film and all of it's trailers were presented in 35mm film. I got to see one of my favorite movies on film in an amazing theatre filled with people.

This being said, there are some films that confuse me. I don't get why they're so popular. The other day my friends Greg and Vanessa invited me to a little double feature of bad films that they were holding. The first film was Trey Parker's musical story about Alfred Packer, "Cannibal! The Musical" and Tommy Wiseau's psuedo-drama "The Room". It was the first time I have seen them. I didn't know anything about "Cannibal" but I've heard so much about "The Room". It has a wicked big fan base and is considered "the Citizen Kane of bad cinema". With this much of a build-up, I was expecting something amazingly bad but amazingly fun. I was wrong. I really don't get the big deal about "The Room".

Now, I know some people are going to say "Oh, you don't get this kind of cinema" or "you haven't seen it in a theatre with all the games and what not". Well, first, I do get this kind of cinema. Second, I don't feel one needs to play "games" while watching a movie to enjoy it and third, we did play all of these games while watching. It's bad, yes. But it's not all that funny. It was like a porno with more story. There is nothing in this movie that makes me want to come back to it like, say, The Evil Dead, Plan 9 From Outer Space or Class of Nuke 'Em High has. Am I happy I saw it? Yes. Was it fun to see with friends? Yes. Is it as great as everyone makes it out to be? No. Well, not to me atleast.

There are two types of bad movies. Bad movies which were made truely believing they were good and there are movies that were made to be bad on purpose. For me, The Room doesn't know what it wants to be. I've heard some say Wiseau made it intentionally to be funny, when I've heard from others that that wasn't the case. I'm leaning towards the later. Seriously, a guy that doesn't know the difference between High Def and Standard I don't think gets how to be intentionally bad. I think he realized his masterpiece was really bad and just milked it.

I do, on the other hand, have to give him credit. Somehow this man raised something like 3 million dollars by himself to fund this movie. He then had it released and created a fan base. That's impressive no matter how you spin in and I have to respect that. Even with that, though, I can't seem to be able to get behind this film. To me, there's a big difference between say, Edward D. Wood, Jr. and Tommy Wiseau. The difference, for me, is: Ed got filmmaking. He truely did. He understood what made it good, what made it bad and what he had to do. He just sucked at it, but he made the best damn movies he could! You can feel it! Tommy Wiseau, on the other hand, doesn't get it. You'd think a movie that had 3 million shilled into it would be a bit more fun.

I hope all of the fans of The Room and Tommy Wiseau (that includes the Tim and Eric fans, because I've heard he was on the show) don't completely hate me. No offense was intended, just ranting in one of the few forums I know someone may actually see it.

The Wheels of Fire Have Begun To Turn Again...

It sure has been a while since I've updated this. I've felt it's useless to update if I have nothing of importance to talk about. Well, I finally have something to say. I'm involved in a new project: Producing Void (blue).

I'm sure I've spoken about this project before, but I'll re-cap in case I haven't. Greg, a friend of mine in film school, made a film in High School called "Void". It was an eerie video that I still don't quite understand but reminds me of a modern-day fairytale for some reason.

Well, a year or two later, he has felt it's time to re-investigate the idea and re-make and extend it. Void was Evil Dead and this is Evil Dead -- part re-make part new idea. Well as he was writing it he asked if I wanted to Produce. I accepted.

For almost an entire semester, which isn't that long, we've been preparing. We still aren't completely ready to begin full-on production but we have enough to shoot a few scenes.

We shot the first scene on Monday. It wasn't the fun, easy shoot I was hoping. Greg recently had surgery and couldn't do a lot of heavy lifting. I was still sick from a few days before. The school was hot as hell and the two hours we were there felt like four.

I'm not sure how much I can go into as far as the scene goes, but it involved a canvas, trick photography and a rather annoying dolly shot we tried to do with a computer chair. I'm not sure how many of you have tried to use a computer chair as a dolly, but it's hard because it doesn't like to go in a straight line. Ours liked to veer left. That was annoying.

After the day of shooting I was feeling light headed and annoyed. Greg seemed stressed. I'm not sure how the footage turned out. I heard it was good, but I'm still worried about sitting down at the editing room and playing with it. We'll have to see.

I promise a better update is to come.

Estrogen Deprived: More than a Show?

Hey everyone. I'm aware it's been sometime since I've updated this. I've needed the break, but I thought I'd fill all my readers in on what's going on.

Yes, I'm sure all of my readers are people I know in person and know what's going on, but writing this diatribe is cathartic so I shall continue to do so.

I guess I should talk about my current projects. Well, I've been using all of this free time as of late to do some writing. I wrote a monologue for a character in Greg's soon-to-be developed opus, Void, and I've been working myself back into the right mindset to finish Yes, Matilda..., but it's been harder than I thought. I'm reading the one year anniversary of when I started it. Perhaps I'll have a party to celebrate my procrastination. Anyone want to come?

Instead of finishing Matilda, like I should, I've been working on a project with Samual Fink. Since I don't think I've talked about him up to this point, I'll describe him. He's in the military and has a big TV and a lot of free time. I've known him a long time. Great. Now that that's out of the way I can explain the project. It's a internet show called Estrogen Deprived (working title). It spawned from a psuedo-documentary thingy we wanted to do called Michael, Let's Go to the Comic Book Store and it became this. It's about two guys who created a comic book and their continuing struggles with love and the other annoying things in life. Original right? HA!

Estrogen Deprived is more than a TV show. It's a general feeling that has filled me as I write. The lack of a significant other at times gets annoying. So, I use that angst in the writing. Do I always feel bad about it? No. Does it hit me at times? You bet. It all goes back to the people who can get a significant other with very little trouble at all and as soon as it goes south they say "Oh, it's SO much better to be single". I say bullshit. It's better for you because you can easily find someone new. People like me, who have to work at it, single life sucks. A lot. It's not that we're constantly depressed, but still. Pretty much, to those who say single life is the best, I say, fuck you. Thank you.

Anywho, as far as the show goes, I'm on episode three. I have 8 more left to write. Our goal is to finish it in July and film in August. That's the plan, anyhow. Let's hope. So far it's going well. A few creative differences but other than that no complaints. I just hope I can stay focused.

I apologize for the disjointed feel of this blog. I'm out of practice and I think I'm getting the beginning stages of arthritis in my fingers. Oh well.

The Premiere

It truly has been awhile since I felt the need to update this. It's not that I haven't had stuff to say, because I have. It's I didn't have the need. Why? I can't quite explain why. I enjoy writing these blogs for all six people who probably read it. Am I lazy? Perhaps. I've been known to be quite lazy on occasion. Have I been busy? Yes. Any artist who says they aren't isn't doing their shit right. What's odd is, I've always been lazy. I've always been busy, yet, that's never stopped me before. If anyone has a reason for why they think I haven't updated in some time let me know. I love hearing half baked theories.

Now on to the premiere. As you've read, my film's done. It's been done. I had some editing to do, but that's to be expected. I can always find sometime new to edit or fix or not be happy with. Such is the life of an artist. You'll like something, dare say love it when it's being made or freshly finished, but you then slowly begin to detest your creation. You look at it almost as if you're looking in a mirror and asking it, thus asking yourself: "why the fuck can't you be better!"

Art is one of those things that's hard to be completely happy with. When you've created something it's never exactly how you envisioned it. There is always things you left out or pieces that are missing. It's like growing up and you never have all the pieces for a puzzle. At least I never did.

I've met very few artists who have been happy with their piece. It doesn't matter the media. I feel there can always be improvements. At times you can't see them or don't have the means to make the improvements, but it can be done. Do you think Edvard Munch was completely happy with "The Sick Child"? Did Cecil B. DeMille feel "The Greatest Show On Earth" was flawless in every way? Did the New York Dolls think they surpassed Mozart when they released their self-titled debut? Probably not. An artist who feels his work is perfect in every way is an artist who has either lost his spirit, is blinded by money and success, or doesn't respect his work enough. Not saying it's bad to make money. We all want to make money doing what we love, but there's a point where it becomes too much. It's called selling out.

Selling out is a word a lot of people use without really thinking about it. To sell out means to stop making the music you want to make to make the music the people writing the checks wants you to make. When you've lost your artistic credibility is to sell out. Making money is not selling out. The Ramones never sold out. They just became popular. There's a difference.

I feel I've ranted enough. I kind of lost track about what I was saying, so I'll just simultaneously end the rant and begin a new thought with... the premiere.

The premiere, also called "Strange Little Things", was a thing that Greg set up with Morgan and I. I use the word thing because I'm not sure what to call it. It wasn't a festival. It wasn't really a true premiere because all the glitz and glam was nonexistent and showing sounds like something a streaker would do. I felt dirty each and every time I said it. I still do. Showing... such a filthy word. This was a thing because it was a very impromptu event (even though it was planned) where it felt more like a get together of hip individuals and family members than anything else. We tried to make it fancy. We sorta dressed up. I was in a pseudo dressed-up state with my all black attire and random punk rock buttons. I felt a bit like Robert Smith without the make-up, but I'm ok with that. Thanks go to Amanda for a-ok on the attire. We also used a microphone, which was unneeded for the 40 people that showed up. We also have some very sensual lighting. The UWM Film Department: Touch of Class.

At this "thing", we each presented a body of work mostly spanning through our first semester at UWM with a piece of work or two from High School by Greg and I. My film "Commedia dell'arte" showed. The transfers were bad and it was, at that point, not in it's final stage. I also showed my laughably bad B-movie tribute from high school called "Staring Back at Me" and a film from last semester called "A Short Film about Almost Something".

I went first. I had to speak to an audience. I had a live mic. I'm impressed I didn't swear. I looked at my feet and just spoke. It was a blur. Not sure what I said. Ask around for me and find out if it was bad. There were laughs. Not sure if that's good or not. I was happy when I was done.

Morgan showed "Unforseen" (video), "Tiny Dancer" (16mm) and "LUCID" (16mm). Greg showed "Mr. Pesti Has Cold Hands But a Warm Heart" (video), "The Artist" (16mm), "The Lady in Black" (16mm) and his most popular film, "Void: Festival Cut".

It was a fun night. My stomach turned when my stuff was showing. It was also embarrassing switching DVDs during the show and going through the DVD menu as the audience watched. Had I had time I would have tried to make it into performance art. Oh well.

We were taking donations for the re-imagining of Greg's film Void. I'm the editor and producer and I think co-director of photography. We made 76 dollars. I was happy. Greg was so-so. Vanessa was extremely giddy which helped and talking to a friend pre-show calmed me down.

We'll hopefully be selling DVDs of the evnt at some point. We'll re-transfer our shit so you'll get decent quality stuff. My first year as a film student is almost up. I don't feel any different. I just feel like a poor filmmaker trying to make a go at it. Hopefully that'll improve because I love making films, so it would suck making bad movies forever. Well, I think they're bad. I have some fans though, I guess.

Thanks for reading. I'll try to update more.

Production Journal #7: It's a Wrap!

Wednesday, April 28 2010

Finally, the filming of Commedia dell'arte has come to an end.

It's been a long journey. About two months, I think. I've been physically exhausted for weeks. I'm too tired to do much of anything. It's been a lot of long nights lugging around heavy equipment for the sake of art.

I don't regret a moment of it though. Thus far, this is my favorite film I've made. My rough cut is a little over 5 minutes so far (will be more once I add the new footage) and I love how it's turning out. I'm truly happy with this film.

Perhaps I should show this rough cut to a few more people. Thus far Leanna, Scott, Morgan and Greg have seen it. Most other people have shown their cuts to the class and have gotten feed back and what not. The reason I'm not is because I want to see how this turns out if I stick to my intuition and make the movie I feel is best instead of getting peoples opinions and stressing me out. It's an experiment. Once I'm happy with my rough cut and can call it a fine cut, sure, I'll show everyone. Until then, I want it to stay special. If I show too many people, the final won't be as special.

I guess I should talk about the actual shoot. It was a relatively quick shoot. We filmed what I've been calling "antics" and some inbetweener stuff to round out everything so there are fewer jumps.

The antics were fun to shoot. It was a very mellow, very fun shoot. Morgan made this amazing coffee and some peanut butter sandwiches. It was great watching Morgan, in make-up, try and bite into her food. During the shoot, Morgan and I were switching out our iPod's to pump the place full of tunes. We didn't think it would hurt, considering we're not doing audio. Morgan was playing a lot of Panda Bear while I was sticking to tunes I was listening to while editing: The Dresden Dolls and The Indelicates new album. It really set the mood.

We did so many different things during these antics. We had Greg doing a silly dance with the ukuelele that I've dubbed "the Charlie Brown", we had him pull a bird out of his hat and even tickle Morgan's face with a rather long feather. He really sold the character. Morgan was great too, but most of the focus was on Greg. Greg has the hard job of being happy, yet depressed and ready to crack. To be zany yet subtle. He did it wonderfully.

After we wrapped on my film, we did some credits for Morgan, which was a wrap for her as well and listened to New Order's "Blue Monday". Then shot some stuff for Greg the next day and it was a wrap for his film. Commedia dell'art, Lucid, and The Lady in Black all finishing at the same time. It's a good feeling to be done. Now I just need to finish editing.

Now, time for a video.

"Blue Monday" - New Order

Production Journal #6: Editing... enough said.

Stress is a word. It's also a word to describe my life currently. Fun how that works.

I've been in the editing room for most of the week, and I think last week. I'm not really sure. The editing room has a weird effect on ones mind. Time doesn't exist. It's like the clock in the head is busted. Minutes feel like seconds, hours feel like fractions of that time. The simple process of cutting and taping film onto reels isn't as quick as you normally perceive. I spent an hour (I think?) just re-taping a scene and razor blading the edges to it goes through the projector better.

Yes, it takes time. No, I'm not just a shitty editor.

It's kind of weird to talk about editing, so I guess before I attempt to, I'll give a quick lesson on editing. Not sure how well it'll work. Also, my camera takes bad pictures, as you'll see, so please, bare with me. If you don't like it, fuck you, buy me a good camera.

Here we go.


First, this is the spindle thing we put our reel of film on.


The film goes to this rather dark spindle on the other side. Another reel, known as the take-up reel is placed on there. It takes up the film


This is the Movie Scope. The film runs from the spindle through this to the other spindle. With this, we can see an image.


See? Sorta...


Here's a drawing that pretty much describes what I just told you.

Now, lets say we found a shot we want to use. Well, we take it and attach it to this


That's the guillotine cutter. It cuts the film for you. We then take the bad footage and put it on an OUT roll. An OUT roll is stuff that you either don't want/need or stuff that turned out like crap. You save it for later. An IN roll is your current film or shots you want to use. Usually you assemble all of your good shots at one time. I don't. I just jump in and edit scene by scene and grab the stuff if and when I need it. It works for me.


Guillotine cutter in action.

When we want to attach the new footage to the good reel, we put the two pieces of film in the middle of the guillotine cutter's base.


Once there, we can put tape over the middle of the two pieces to attach them.


We just push the thing down and it attaches the tape and cuts off the excess. If there is still some tape, you just take a razor blade, Exacto Knife or any type of blade and clean it up.

That's editing. I've been doing this for days. It's so time consuming. I'm a perfectionist. I'm trying to get my match-on-action all right and trying to cut out excess time and frames that aren't needed. Plus, inter-cutting footage is a bitch as times. I love doing it though. I wish I had more to say. The days are running together. I can't really tell you about any experiences. Sorry. Perhaps next time I won't wait so long to post. Thanks for reading.

As a special treat, the Indelicates new album has been helping me in the editing room. Fits the feel of the film well. Here's a song from it.

"Europe" - The Indelicates


and another one...

"Flesh" - The Indelicates


Enjoy