Leap Day Update!

It's been a quiet month. After a flurry of posts about whatever struck me, the well was dried up on ideas. That's not entirely accurate. I've been busy. Life. Work. Art. You might have noticed the new promos for Season 2 of Scenes from the Movies have been popping up lately. I'll embed them on the site as well. So far, so good on that front. Season Two is definitely a step up from the first season. Hope you like.

Other than the Scenes stuff, I've been writing and writing and writing. I figure I got in the WGAe for a reason: my writing. (Right? Oh, please make that be the reason) So if writing is why I'm at the party, perhaps writing is what I should be doing.

My first project was writing the Pilot for the TV show based on the Scenes from the Movies web series. Done. It's called At the Movies and it expounds upon the universe I've created with the web series. I wanted to write the Pilot to have in hand if and when Scenes gained interest from anyone looking for a writer. I figure, it's good to have than have not, rather than never have at all. (You get the idea)

Next on the agenda is finishing up the adaptation of A Doll's House I was writing with Sir David Ian Lee. Due to unforeseen life issues, the adaptation took a back seat. Rightfully so. I wrote about 60-70 pages and I want to finish it. We have every intention on getting this bad boy to the big screen, so the more I do now, the better.

Then there's Kiddo. The 23 page short that will be the next big project for Up on the Roof. Currently in the phase of finding money and a producer, myself and Adrian Correia will be busting our butts to get this up and running. We are very excited about it and we hope we can do it justice.

There are other various writing projects I've got on tap and I'm always available to write for others. The more the merrier. While the mechanics of writing sometimes annoy me and make me want to start screaming, I do love the creation of words aspect of writing. It doesn't help as I type this, that my 2 year-old is pushing my chair, but hey...that's my life. :)

Scenes from the Movies: Season Two Promo #1

Sneak peek at what's in store for Season Two.

Never Take Them For Granted

It's Friday night and we're mildly busy. I say "mildly" because out of 14 screens, people are here to see what's on two of them. Woman in Black and Chronicle. The former is in our big house. #7. 424 seats. It still feels small to me, but of course, I come from working at a theater in the 90s that had 600 seat houses.

I'm in the projection booth at this time and I'm standing at the giant port glass window in #7, able to overlook the entire theater. It's empty, since the ushers have just wrapped up cleaning from the last show. I know there's a line to get into #7 for the 7:45 show, so I wait. The theater is quickly invaded by people eager to get a good seat for their movie. They run up the aisles. They dash into their rows and find that perfect seat.

Look at this audience. So excited for a movie made by people they don't know and starring people they only know through magazine articles and twitter posts. And yet, they're elated. Maybe it's the idea of going to the cinema, which seems lost on many these days. I witness it first hand, the amount of customers we get who simply ask, "What's good?" When I was a civilian and not working for the theater, I always checked the times of the movie and I knew the movie I was going to see. It's wasn't just a thing to do. There was a plan. These days, people take the movie theater for granted. It's more about having something to do on the weekend, rather than seeking out something they want to do.

Back to the excited audience members. This got me thinking. I hope that, God willing, when I have the opportunity to tell a story that will be seen by millions; I never take it for granted. I never want to forget about these people, the public, and their desire or excitement to see something I created. I'm always surprised and amazed when I find out that my work has been seen and commented on by people I don't know. I don't care if this sounds like I'm being "Aw shucks", but maybe a little more of that attitude and a lot less of "I'm a visionary, watch it or die" is what we need right now.

Talent is big. Hard work is huge. Earning your dues in this business is paramount. Never taking your audience for granted is just as important. If you refuse to recognize your audience for their support, money and time, then you negate any effort you put into your project. It's all for naught.

I wrote a blog post in January 2011 called: Who's Your Audience? and in that I write about who our true demographic is - the people around us. We thank them immensely (At least, I do.) for watching our content and taking the time to discuss it with us. In that blog post and this one right here, I hope it can serve as a reminder that there are countless others, with no connection to any of us, who also take the time time to watch our content.

Never forget the audience. Never.

Found Footage Is Not For Me

I’m not a fan of found footage film making. For those who don’t know, the recent surge of the found footage phenomenon, started with The Blair Witch Project. It involves a storytelling technique of having a character lens the action in the movie from his/her own personal video camera. They become one with the audience as they, too, are the audience.

Editor’s Note: Yes, there are other found footage style movies dating back to the early 50s, but we’re not concerning ourselves with those movies since they never really started a revolution of found footage movies as we seem to be right now, thanks to the accessibility of HD cameras, editing software and this great DIY culture of filmmaking. (Which I love)

To list a few of these types of movies: Paranormal Activity Series, Monster, Quarantine, The Last Exorcism, Apollo 18, [REC], and more recently, The Devil Inside and Chronicle. The last movie is my reason for the post.

I’m not saying these movies are bad. Far from it. I just don’t prefer that style of storytelling. I know it’s cheaper to produce and the filmmakers involved are extremely creative in how they use the storytelling technique to tell their story. Some might call it “lazy” filmmaking and I would say to them, “Go on and make one yourself, then tell me it’s lazy.” It’s just a technique, not a slap shod way of making a movie.

I’m a classical style filmmaker. I enjoy classical techniques. I respond to those style films and when I watch a movie shot in the found footage style, I’m looking for elements of the classical style. It’s my own issue, I know.

The found footage movies of today play off the fact that the events you are witnessing truly happened. (Hence the homemade look) All these movies are based on the premise that the people involved never meant to show this to the world. One of the greatest things about the Blair Witch Marketing campaign was the fact that people thought it was real. The studio and producers kept this illusion alive on-line and in traditional marketing campaigns of the movie to the point when the opening weekend audience entered those theaters, there was a seed of realism in what they were about to witness.

Paranormal Activity did this as well, but by then, the audience was already aware of the ruse and, while it may have frightened millions, it was still not real.

The storytelling technique has evolved to include other cameras within the world you are experiencing, whether it be a security or an ATM camera. All these random cameras and angles are meshed together to tell the story. The style has also progressed to a point where an explanation of why the camera is present or how it’s present has become secondary to the fact that we’re watching something not meant for our eyes.

For those who have yet to see Chronicle, you might want to stop reading. I’m not going to spoil anything, but I am going to talk about a moment in the movie and if you’re good at deciphering what I’m talking about, then it might be best for you to walk away. Thanks for reading. Share with your friends.

There is a moment in Chronicle where one of the character’s story arc shifts during the third act of the movie. It’s a shift that needs to happen and is expected when you watch the movie. The problem with this igniting moment is that we don’t see it. We see the aftermath of the event. We see his emotional transformation and he talks us through his psychological metamorphosis. We understand why the arc shift is happening, but we never witness it for ourselves.

That’s my main issue. I want to see those moments. Much like in a play, when characters talk about conversations and plot points that occurred prior to the play’s timeline, I yearn to see those moments. To relive them. I’m currently writing an adaptation of the play, A Doll’s House, and in the play two characters are revealed to have a past, but we never see it on stage. The adaptation is for the screen and I wanted to at least see some form of it, so I wrote it.

In most found footage movies, it seems that I miss those moments, whether it be simple character development or plot points that are glossed over in favor of the technique. Sometimes the movies strap themselves to the world they’ve created by only showing what would possibly be on the video camera and other times, for no reason, we get spliced footage of another camera. This happens in Chronicle. We get treated to several different sources of footage and while effective, I couldn’t help but wonder if this is found footage, then who’s editing this movie together…this chronicle of events. How’d they get all the footage?

See what I mean about it being my issue? The rules were created, unofficially, in the beginning and it seems like it’s now taken for granted. Like in the American version of The Office, aren’t they supposed to be on a reality show? It’s been 8 years. No one, in that time, has ever walked into Dunder Mifflin looking for autographs. Wouldn’t these people be pseudo-celebrities by now? Shouldn’t Creed be on Survivor or Meredith in Celebrity Rehab? Why are we accepting the fact that the explanation of a reality show is no longer a part of the series? In the original version, David Brent (played by Ricky Gervais) does celebrity appearances during the Christmas Episode. The reality series aspect of the show remained true.

The fount footage technique started as a reality based entity and has since exploded to a style of filmmaking that no longer asks the audience to hold them accountable for the world they’ve created. I’d probably have more respect for a movie if the director popped on screen in the beginning of the movie and said, “Hey. This is a true story and we got all this camera footage through various ways. Don’t think about it too hard. Just watch and shut-up.”

Maybe that’s what I should repeat to myself every time I watch one of these movies and stop being the tool who's expecting certain facets of storytelling that are not part of the found footage style.

Also, go watch Chronicle. It’s pretty good.

Rejected Before Submitting

Recently, I received an email from a film festival pitching the usual spiel of "Entries now open! Early Bird Special for those who enter before (insert date here)." It went on to explain how they're accepting features, shorts, experimental, avant-garde, photo books where if you flip the pages really fast that the image comes to life.

That last one is a joke, but now that I think about it, that would be a festival I'd like to see! Back to the email, where one of the last few sentences made the comment, "...all genres and styles are welcome."

I stared at the email for a few seconds. All styles? Hmmm...

I decided to send out an email asking about the possibility of submitting a web series. I could package is at as a short, but then it might not be as cohesive a storytelling vehicle like the episodic nature of a web series. I was testing the waters.

The response was quick and to the point, in a very nice way. They didn't really see a web series fitting with a the film festival motif. I'm paraphrasing, but you get the idea. Then another fateful last sentence:

"...quite honestly it's never a great idea to have something you would want to submit to festivals online already..."

I'm sorry? Seriously? I don't really know how to take this. A feature, I get. I wouldn't release a feature on-line and then start shopping it around to festivals...although if I made a kick-ass feature (I can!) and put it on-line, why would I need film festivals to promote my product? I have the biggest audience in the world. EVERYONE! Not just "Podunkville Film Festival attendees"

I thought festivals were created to bring stories, you might never see, to audiences who love stories. People who were passionate about the craft just as much as the writers and directors. Okay, I'm arguing a idealistic point of view here, but that doesn't mean it's entirely wrong. Who cares if my short or web series was on-line? If it's high quality, why shouldn't a film festival want it to be part of their line-up? It would attract people, which attracts money, which makes festival owners happy.

I love the environment of a film festival. Well, I love watching a ton of movies with people who like watching a ton of movies. It's exciting and exhilarating to bounce from cinema to cinema trying to cram in as many movies as possible in one festival day. My record is five at Tribeca Film Festival back in the day. I remember the midnight movie being the foreign film, Antibodies which was really good. Go watch it. I can beat my personal record of five flicks in one day. I will.

First, can we even call film festivals..."Film" Festivals anymore? I'm sure 80% (percentage not checked) of the entries are shot on some form of video and even those that are shot on film are usually screened on a video format. No matter how many film prints are stored in hermetically sealed vaults, film is dead. I've got 14 film projectors crammed in various corners of a projection booth; collecting dust that I can show you to prove it.

The comment still baffles me. I'm, by no means, angry and ticked off about it. Maybe the email was meant to save me the trouble of even submitting a web series shoved together into a short format. But that last sentence, to me, feels like they're out of touch with the digital content revolution.

I don't know. At least I saved the $50 submission fee.

I Miss Video Stores

I miss video stores. I miss the Friday nights when myself and whomever would accompany me (friends, girlfriend, family) to the local video store to peruse the countless, metal racks of movies. When I was younger, I didn't catch on to the fact that the later I hit the store, the less newer movies there would be available, which wasn't exactly that bad of a thing to happen. (More on that later) Typically, it was enter through the front door and...scatter. Meet up in five minutes with selections. Usually, one of my friends slid through the saloon style doors that led to back room section filled with those naughty movies. (Not me!)

I was lucky enough to experience the paradigm shift from VHS to DVD. Remember the small rack of the DVD copies of a movie that nestled in the corner of the store, hidden from view like the ugly cousin of the home entertainment world, while it's "perceived" hotter relation, the VHS tape, controlled the attention of every movie aficionado who walked through those front doors that were covered in posters and flyers for local bands playing in the area.

With every month, the DVDs grew larger in number. More racks. More DVDs. VHS stock dwindling and dwindling, until the VHS tapes were regulated to that same small rack nestled in the corner. But these VHS tapes were not for rent. They were for sale. Like the good looking, but mean girl, in a romantic comedy, they'd fallen out of favor from the leading man, only to be replaced by DVD, which once was thought ugly, but we discovered had true beauty after all.

Side Note: I know we went from VHS to Laser-disc to DVD, but nobody rented Laser-discs. Nobody. Curse those rot lines!

Back to the video store and the search for the perfect movie to accompany movie night. Remember it wasn't just a trip to the video store we were making, there was a food run attached to this adventure. Whether it was the snacks at the front counter, hitting the convenience store on the way back home or even ordering a pizza to the house, the counterpart to any great move night adventure to the video store was the food run. This wasn't just about watching a movie. It was an event. A shared event that required action on our parts.

So, you hit the video store to grab a copy of the newest release of Cobra, but the video store only ordered 10 copies and they're all gone. (No doubt several are home with employees) Now what? You hit the other racks. The genre sections. The employee picks. Movies you would never even consider. Remember the Full Moon Productions end caps? (I know one person who does. Keith!) I would've never watched movies like The Stuff if not for video stores. Yes, it's truly awful, but it's sugar eating people! How can you not watch?!

I like Netflix and I use it quite often, but how many times do you rush home from work on a Friday night and go: "Hey. Let's see what's new on streaming tonight?" If anything, technology, while glorious and awesome in its assistance of providing the abundance and ease of options to the home, it has seriously damaged a key factor of Movie Night: The sociological bonding action of renting the movie from your local video store. It's no longer that shared event, as stated earlier.

Maybe I'm being nostalgic for a time when I had more movie nights. Maybe I'm forgetting the nights standing in the middle of the comedy aisle arguing over whether we should rent Throw Momma From the Train or Bachelor Party. Maybe I'm acting more like a cranky old man who doesn't see the reason why I need a cell phone, when there's a perfectly good rotary dial phone attached to my wall at home. I just miss walking the racks. Going out and scanning the local video store. Grabbing some Reeses Pieces on the way out. Calling a few friends to come join us.

Now I feel old, but maybe there's hope. Maybe I'm not using Netflix to its full capability. Perhaps movie night isn't lost, but rather in dire need of an upgrade.

Movie Night 2.0. Invite friends over. Order a Pizza. Open up the Streaming Netflix through the PS3 and find us a really, awful movie to make fun of.

Any takers?

I Choose Writing

Epiphany. I'm a film guy. I'm a cinema guy. I'm not a web guy. I wish it wasn't true, but I cannot fool myself anymore. The Puzzle Maker's Son is essentially a short film disguised as a web series. Scenes from the Movies is just an abbreviated television show. Really abbreviated.

Hey, I love writing. I love writing, no matter what the venue and I will continue to write for others and help them achieve their goals, whatever they may be. But at the end of the day, I'm a writer who desires to create cinematic stories. I know this. I'm glad I know this. That doesn't mean it's going to work out for me. The deck is stacked against me, but I'm comfortable knowing that I'm no longer chasing down the next big arena to showcase my abilities. I'm choosing the one I'm most suitable for and win or lose, it's on my own terms.

If anyone is interested in reading what exactly Up on the Roof's next project is going to be about, feel free to email me and I'll send you a copy of the 23 page script to 'Kiddo'. Feedback never hurts, unless one doesn't know how to learn from it. I want to read Kiddo!