Cinematic Arias

Posts Tagged ‘Last Night’

March 2010 Goal Check – 1. April, 2010

25% of the year is over so it’s time to check in on those goals again.

Finish My Feature Film – My editor finished a cut and it looked pretty good. Obviously, I had notes but we are definitely on the same page and it feels fucking awesome to move forward. Now I just need him to export a QuickTime so I can obsessively watch it at home in High-Def. You’re asking how I’m gonna author & burn a Blu-ray from my Mac, right? Wrong. I’m gonna export the HD Quicktime to play on my PS3. Stu, you’re a hero.

Write Another TV Spec – I am WAY behind on CHUCK and FRINGE but I’m still determined write for one of these shows. I think I’m gonna take a day off, hook up the computer to the TV and just plow through the second seasons of both.

Get Hired to Direct – No bites yet.

Get My Web Series Up & Running – So I had three formal pitches and about a dozen “tell me what you’re working on” while waiting for the elevator and the response has been overwhelming. Most people love it and the rest get a right hook to their prudish sensibilities. No, seriously, one woman yelled out “oh God!” in reaction to one of our randier jokes. Awesome! Also, I’ve cut together some character vlogs and need to do more but I’ve also been writing the first season. Christ, this is really happening. Also, you’ll see that I no longer use the “T” word because it resulted in my getting spammed by those interested in this “T” word.

Write A Feature Script – I started an outline but got sidetracked by the web series and, well…

As for other goals I still don’t have a sport, a class, an acoustic guitar, a way to defy death, a way to invest and I’m still trying to finish GLUE but I did go to SXSW and I had a fucking blast so that counts for something, right?

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Posted in Last Night, Post-Production, Screenwriting

John August Hawking OTMM – 24. March, 2010

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know I have a feature film I hope to finish this year. In our day and age, making a film has never been easier (The Believer tells you how to make a $15k feature).

No, the trick these days is getting it seen. If your film doesn’t have bankable stars, a high concept or fall into one of the genre barrios (basically horror or sex thriller) then forget about getting picked up by one of the mini-majors. No, these days you’ll have to distribute it yourself.

Which brings me to John August and the film ONE TOO MANY MORNINGS. This flicked premiered at the Sundance NEXT section for micro-budget films (a few of which had stars) and then the filmmakers did something unique–they released the film via download and DVD the day after their Sundance premiere. Soon John August was blogging about the flick and he even hosted a screening and moderated the Q&A at The Egyptian last week.

So why write about this now? One, I’m curious about the fate of this film. If this works for them I have greater confidence in adopting this model for my film. Two, thanks to John August, the HD download of this film is available for $2 until this Friday. I bought this film because John seems so jazzed about it and you should too. Christ, that’s less than a latte at Starbucks.

And now I sound like I’m preaching so I’m out of here.

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Posted in Distribution, Industry

February 2010 Goal Check – 1. March, 2010

What? The month’s already over? S**t! Time to check in with those goals I set at the start of the year.

Finish My Feature Film – No real progress here but I should be looking at a cut next month.

Write Another TV Spec – This too has taken a back seat but I am plowing through season 2 of CHUCK on my iPhone and the FRINGE season 1 Blu-ray on my PS3.

Get Hired to Direct – Um, yeah, this really isn’t happening either. Okay, by now you’re asking what the hell is wrong with me. You must think I’m a flake. I’m not, I just got hit with a one-two-punch of having a roller derby girl spurn my affections (lesson: never like them more than they like you) and then the most intense flu I’ve had since childhood. That ate up about 2-3 weeks of my life.

Get My Transmedia Project Up & Running – Good news here: I have 4 pitch meetings this week. I’ll be meeting with a creative/tech agency, a talent agent, a new media producer and a web focused production company. That means I have to get this pitch prepped ASAP.

Write a Feature Script – Nope, didn’t really push the bromance but I’m punching up this horror/thriller that a director, and friend, wants to take into a genre division. And it’s due the same week as my 4 pitches.

Gulp.

As for my other goals, I’m still looking for a sport, a class, a way to defy death, an acoustic guitar, a way to invest and I really gotta finish GLUE by Irvine Welsh.

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Posted in Last Night, Post-Production, Screenwriting

January 2010 Goal Check – 1. February, 2010

Okay, time for an exercise in masochism.

At the start of the year I laid out my goals, some professional, some personal. I mentioned the importance of reevaluating them at least annually. Well, how about if I check my progress every month?

Gulp.

Okay, let’s go.

Finishing My Feature – This month I met with my editor and we put together a new schedule that has me looking at a cut soon. I’ll be checking-in with him to make sure we’re still on track to meet our deadline.

Write Another TV Spec – I’ve been consuming episodes of CHUCK (with 7 votes, the clear winner in my online poll which can be viewed on the right of the landing page) but I’ve also been catching up with FRINGE. I’d like to do both specs this year. Also, I’ve added MODERN FAMILY to my Hulu. Why? Cause I’m fucking Colombian and I detest some of the lame Colombian jokes they give Sofia Vergara. Baby, I’m coming to your rescue.

Get Hired to Direct – Yeah, that’s taken a backseat this month.

Get My Transmedia Project Up & Running – I’ve digitized 3 of the tapes we’ve shot and I’ve learned that using “Log & Capture” to convert HDV to ProRes takes 1h45m for every 50 minutes shot.

Develop a TV Pilot – I’ve thought about it. Had a tiny breakthrough with the webseries idea.

Write a Feature Script – I’ve started outlining this bromance/romcom (can I shoot myself after using those terms?) that’s been brewing for a while. My goal is to start writing the script this month.

As for my other goals, I’m still looking for a sport, a class, a way to defy death, an acoustic guitar, a way to invest but I did pick up GLUE by Irvine Welsh and I’m hoping to finally finish it this month.

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Posted in Last Night, Post-Production, Screenwriting

What’s NEXT at Sundance 2010 – 21. January, 2010

Okay, I’m not anti-film but continuing from an earlier riff Sundance 2010 doesn’t excite. Maybe I’m grumbling because I have my own film and I’m frustrated with the speed of the post process (so f**king SLOW!) but I did see one film that’s playing at Sundance and it’s just more of the same… with one exception.

I’m very curious about the Sundance NEXT category. As far as I can tell, this is for no/low budget films (although how you have one starring Dax Shepard is beyond me) and I hear that a couple of these flicks have decided to use the festival to launch their DIY distribution. In other words, they’re not looking for a distribution deal, they’re doing it themselves.

If that works, I think that’s where truly independent films are headed.

Can’t wait to see how this turns out.

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Posted in Distribution, Festivals

New Goals 2010 – 4. January, 2010

I don’t do New Year’s resolutions but I find it important to have goals and reevaluate them at least annually. Last year I had many goals and like a lot of folk I enjoyed some success and some failure. I know that’s not a very American thing to admit but if you work in the entertainment industry rejection is a fact of life. That’s okay. You just have to take another whack at that piñata. Maybe you’ll hit it dead center, maybe you’ll just graze it but you always gotta take another swing. That’s success. Plus it’s important to bite off more than you can chew.

But enough of the aphorisms, let’s get back on topic. What are my goals for the new year?

Write Another TV Spec – Last year I managed to successfully write a TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES spec. It placed in the Austin Teleplay contest, was strongly considered for writing fellowships at both Warners and ABC/Disney and a management company is considering me for representation so only good has come of it (plus it was incredibly fun to write). That’s why I want to write another TV spec. I was planning a DOLLHOUSE but now that it has been canceled I’m down to a couple of options. I feel confident that I could write a strong FRINGE or CHUCK. I have to catch up on watching the 2nd season of both but let me get a show of hands from my readers. As you’ll see on the sidebar of my blog’s homepage, I’ve created a poll asking you which I should write. I’m looking forward to your vote. Also, a free beer to anyone that can draw a tie between those two shows (why is it that I feel I can write either of those particular shows?).

Finish My Feature – It’s embarrassing but my first feature has just been sitting there. Yes, it was a hard 2009 and a personal tragedy late in the year really rocked my world but if I don’t do this I’ll only beat myself up more and that yields no good. Besides, finishing this thing is one of the keys to taking the next big step in my career…

Get Hired to Direct – I don’t care if it’s another person’s project or my own, I gotta make this happen. I have to hustle this up for myself. This is mandatory.

Get My Transmedia Project Up & Running – This is another project that’s just hung in limbo. I now have the HDD I need so there’ll be few excuses for me to not get editing what we’ve shot… but we also need to set up our web presence and strategize our development, following a model similar to THE GUILD (BTW, using “we” just now was not a mistake).

Write a Feature Script – I’ve been working on an idea for a while, now it’s time to develop the outline and then crack open Final Draft.

Develop a TV Pilot – If I’ll be writing another TV spec, I need to have a strong idea for a new show. Here’s where things get a bit tricky. That feature film idea I just mentioned, I think it’d also work as a television show, maybe even be better as a TV show. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about developing a TV show treatment/pitch and I feel like I owe it to myself to do the feature version first. And heck, if it doesn’t work then I can revamp it as a show ala GLEE. Maybe I should start with my web series idea and just practice serialized short-form storytelling. Maybe you’re wondering why I don’t develop this into a TV pitch? Because it’s raw, crude, funny and skirts the law. How bad to do you want to see my web series now?

And like the rest of the world, I have a laundry list of personal goals. Last year I was rather vague but how about I get specific? This year I’d like to…

Take up a sport.
Use my passport to leave this hemisphere.
Jump out of a plane.
Take a class that isn’t related to filmmaking or computers.
Buy a new acoustic guitar so I can start playing again.
Read four books that have just been sitting on my shelf.
Invest my savings more aggressivly.
Finally go out with Micki.

I’m sure I’ll come up with more but that should occupy my January.

And you? What are your goals?

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Posted in Directing, Last Night, Post-Production, Screenwriting

Mini Meetings – 8. October, 2009

Wondering about the radio silence? Yes, I am back from all my travels but I’m also attending the Filmmaker Forum by Film Independent this weekend. It’s a 2-day seminar on the current-yet-always-evolving state of independent film.

I know, I know, you’re saying “attending a seminar shouldn’t preclude you from blogging regularly” but I also I signed up for their IndieLink. Normally an IndieLink is a moderated meet-and-greet between two groups of up-and-comping professionals. For example, they regularly have ones where directors and producers get together with composers.

For the Filmmaker Forum, they’re a bit differnt. This time around they’re 10-minute meetings with industry professionals. I sent in my preferences expecting to maybe get one meeting but probably get shutout.

Imagine my surprise when I scored four big meetings. This Saturday, in the space of one hour, I’m meeting with a distributor, a creative executive, an agent and a hybrid distribution consultant.

Therefore, I’ve been doing my homework for the past few days. I’ve been studying up on the kinds of films they package/sell/distribute. I’ve also been trying to figure out how I want to spend my time with them and how to make their time with me, at the very least, pleasant.

In ten minutes, I have to tell them how awesome I am without coming off as an arrogant or clueless jerk. I also have to tell them about one rad project I’m working on, a project that will prove to them that I’m a filmmaker they should want to track.

I think I have a strategy.

For the distributor, I can talk about my recently shot feature, ask what kind of distribution is typical for a film of its size and how I can best position my film (as is) for niche distributors.

For the hybrid distribution consultant I can also talk about my feature but I also have a multimedium project (aka, transmedia) that I can mention. I’ll be sure to ask about the possibilities/realities of generating revenue for such a project through non-traditional streams, how to maximize social media exposure and the possibilities of sponsorships (I keep thinking Nerve or Match might be a good fit for my feature).

As for the CE, I can talk about my feature as well as these two scripts I’m cooking up; one a twist on the bromance genre and the other a haunted house/possession story.

As for the agent, I should cover the aforementioned projects while also talking about my recently completed TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES spec and the CHUCK and/or FRINGE spec I’ll write next… but of course I’d rather be directing those shows.

I have to engage these people, get their advice and expertise, while pitching myself (and my works, both current and future) without coming off as a desperate creative.

So, is there something I’m missing? Am I misguided in my logic and approach? What’s your advice?

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Posted in Education, Industry

My Summer 2009 – 31. August, 2009

As the summer of 2009 draws to a close, allow me a few minutes to look back at what I did for my summer vacation.

Vacation? Bull! I worked my ass off this summer (and I managed to have some fun, too). What did I do this summer?

I wrote my first TV spec for the now canceled TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES.
I found an editor for my feature.
I shot a live-action/stop-motion spec for Amazon.
I went to my first Comic-Con.
I went to my first Tiki Oasis.
I shot the first material for my multi-medium project.
I directed scenes for an actor’s reel.
I saw The Kills, Neko Case, Death Cab for Cutie and Andrew Bird in concert.

I’d say that’s a pretty damn productive summer.

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Posted in Directing, Screenwriting, Short Films

Timecode Mismatch – 20. June, 2009

I’ve run into a post-production issue and I need to call upon the hive mind for help.

My film was shot on the HVX200 @ 1080/24pA (23.98) and the audio was recorded into a Sound Devices 702T as Wave Files (WAV). We jam synced both devices and also used a timecode (TC) slate. We then fed the audio out of the 702T and back into the HVX200 via the camera’s XLR inputs.

As the footage was transferred from the P2 cards and ingested into Final Cut Pro (FCP), we ended up with clips that had one video track and four audio tracks (a doubling of our stereo audio feed from the 702T, I believe).

Now, I was always told that I’d need to take my FCP ingested clips, rip out the four tracks of audio, import the original stereo 702T WAV files, sync audio to picture, lock the new clip and repeat until done. Why do this? So I can use the “better” audio.

For anyone that has ever had to sync hours of footage, you know this sucks big time. But that’s why we jam sync the TC; it’s supposed to make this whole procedure less painful. Plus Sam from the Confidence Bay showed me an awesome way to use QuicKeys to cut tens (if not hundreds) of hours out of this process.

Perfect. I’m ready. I’m excited. I’m dying to sync all this footage so I can hand it over to my new kick ass editor.

Just one problem: the audio and image use two different TC counts.

The WAVs use a 24 (23.98) TC count (check out the TC in the top right window).

The HVX200 footage, well, that’s a complicated story. If I recall properly, 1080 24pA DVCproHD footage is recorded to the P2 cards as 29.97. Then, in FCP, you ingest using the advanced pulldown setting and TADA, you have 23.98 clips. Unfortunately, what I found is that the 23.98 footage still uses a 29.97 count. I kid you not. A 23.98 clip counts up to frame 29. The TC doesn’t convert to a 24 count.

And here’s the proof that 1) the clip is 23.98 and 2) that the sequence is set to cut 23.98 footage.

Do you see my problem? I have one chunk of media that counts from 0-23 and another that counts from 0-29 and I’m supposed to use their respective TC to sync them together. “00:00:00:27″ in the footage is “00:00:01:03″ in the audio. Without resolving this discrepancy in counting, I can’t see a way to have FCP automatically sync the audio and image via TC.

How do I easily resolve this so I don’t spend the next month syncing my footage? Is there a way to resolve this discrepancy without 1) a massive re-ingesting of all the footage or 2) paying for some expensive hardware transcoding? Should I even bother with this now? Is the the audio routed from the 702T to the HVX200 via XLR that much worse than the original WAV files? Would it be simpler to just clone a drive for my editor now and deal with this problem after I’ve locked the cut? This violates the “5 minutes now saves you 5 hours (or days) later” rule I learned from my buddy Ken but maybe this is one where I just have to suck it up and sync the WAVs to the edited picture (that might take a month as well).

Thoughts? Questions? Solutions?

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Posted in Last Night, Post-Production

FFD Seeking UCE For Fun Times In Dark Rooms, Possibly More – 10. February, 2009

Before you perverts get all hot and bothered, let me decipher that headline: “First-time Feature Director seeking Up and Coming Editor to (co)edit no-budget feature.”

In the time since I’ve shot my film, I’ve come to realize this – I don’t have the time to edit my film myself. I’m working three job just trying to tread water plus my attention keeps getting diverted to other projects. Also, I need fresh eyes on this film. Yes, I’m a good editor but I don’t think I should be editing my own film. I need an objective opinion, or at least a second opinion. I’m willing to enter a co-editing situation, I just need a kindred soul to help see me through.

So who is my idea candidate? I’m looking for someone cool and by cool I mean chill and intelligent and a good fit for me, my compliment. In short, I’m looking for my Thelma.

So if you’re a reader of this blog and we’ve worked together in the past or we went to school or we chatted at a festival or met at a party and you’re an editor, drop me a line.

Note: please don’t repost this w/o my prior consent. This is not an open job listing. I’m strictly looking for folks I know or referrals from peeps I trust. I don’t want everyone and their mother to send me their reels (and yes, I said this is a “no-budget” feature).

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Posted in Last Night, Post-Production

Posts Tagged ‘Last Night’

March 2010 Goal Check – 1. April, 2010

John August Hawking OTMM – 24. March, 2010

February 2010 Goal Check – 1. March, 2010

January 2010 Goal Check – 1. February, 2010

What’s NEXT at Sundance 2010 – 21. January, 2010

New Goals 2010 – 4. January, 2010

Mini Meetings – 8. October, 2009

My Summer 2009 – 31. August, 2009

Timecode Mismatch – 20. June, 2009

FFD Seeking UCE For Fun Times In Dark Rooms, Possibly More – 10. February, 2009

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