Take it from the frequency of these posts that I'm really getting into this (I tried to think of a pun with 'getting into outer space', but there's nothing there).
I know I've said something to this effect already, but it's like for this project has always seemed like something way off in the distance. It's always felt like it was a year away. Now we're about 3 months from shooting (only about two from building a spaceship), and I'm really excited.
There was a period where I was skeptical and really nervous. This project is really important for me in a lot of ways. Depending on how pessimistic or optimistic you want to be, this could be my last big project (though I think this highly unlikely), but I also see it as kind of the last film from what would potentially be my "school years." After this I get a job. Hopefully a job in film, but the success of this project could have a lot to do with that. Case in point, if this movie sucks I'm gonna have a much harder time getting started.
But now I'm just really focused, which I've found is really hard to do when you don't have a job or school. If free time is your norm, it's actually harder to get stuff done. I suppose because it isn't as precious or valuable. But this week has been great so far. I'm getting so much done and I hope I can keep it up.
I'm really happy about this project right now. I'd say about 65-70% of it is logistically figured out now. There aren't as many unknowns. Whereas at the start of the summer all I really had was a story. Now I have a crew, a leading cast, a (mostly) finished script, and the equipment.
It's weird how much the camera issue had been inhibiting me. It's like I couldn't move forward with the production without knowing how I was going to shoot it and now that I'm not obsessing about specs and release dates, and I can move forward with everything else.
I had lunch with my mom today and we mostly talked about pre-production stuff, and you never really think about your mom as being a resource, but she's really excited about this project and wants to help me build sets and everything. I forget that she's often given the job of organizing events and fundraisers and stuff, but I never thought about her being able to basically help produce this project. It's weird to work with your mom, but she really wants to help, so I'm going to use her.
So now I'm going to go work on a new draft of the script. I think I've spent enough time away from it, and I have several new ideas for scenes to add. Here's hoping it goes well.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Trust the Audience
"...people are clever. If you're sincere in what you do and you try to do it the best way, and you try to put your emotions into what you do, I think people feel it."
That's an obscure quote from a french video game developer trying to make a game for grown-ups because he appropriately believes that shooting, driving, and jumping are for kids, and you can't justify playing those games when you're older. Just like you don't really watch the same movies now as you did when you were a kid, unless for nostalgic purposes...which I think is probably why for the most part any older people still play Mario games. There's really nothing adult about it. And I mean adult as in mature or literary. Something that stimulates a more developed and cultured person.
But that quote in an article I was reading really struck me. There are lots of movies I love for various different reasons. But there's not really one concrete thing that I've thought about that they all have in common. I mean they tend to have visual tendencies and more unique stories, but most of all I think this guy said just it. They're movies that you can tell people put a lot of thought and time and effort and emotion into. And that transcends more than just the artsier films I tend to favor. You can argue The Dark Knight or Lord of the Rings were succesful for other reasons, but they're also movies that everyone knows and can tell that a lot of heart and soul and effort went into making, and people favor and respect that.
And I think that's what a lot of people tend to overlook. It's obvious in more commercial films, but even indie filmmakers like us. We're trying to more objectively identify what makes a good film or photo or any kind of art, and try and figure out some sort of specific improvements to make each time, but at the end of the day it's the projects that we really try the hardest on and have a personal stake in that I think tend to shine. The script maybe could have been better or the acting could have used some work, but those are details. There's always going to be something like that, and bigger budgets, and bigger crews just make it easier to cut down on how much of that there is, but it's not really going to change the effect of the end product that much.
And now that I think about it, I'm reminded of another quote and I don't remember who it's by:
"Filmmaking is not about the little details, it's about the big picture."
For some reason that quote doesn't strike me in the same way though. I think because it doesn't say anything about trusting the audience to sense what you're doing. It's often easy to think of the lowest common denominator in the audience, but almost all my favorite movies don't appeal to them. You can be successful and not appeal to everyone. I don't mean it to sound like I'm having an epiphany about GOS because I certainly don't think it'll appeal to everyone, but I think it's solid for a certain niche so I feel like I'm on track.
It's just a different way to look at it. For me, at least.
That's an obscure quote from a french video game developer trying to make a game for grown-ups because he appropriately believes that shooting, driving, and jumping are for kids, and you can't justify playing those games when you're older. Just like you don't really watch the same movies now as you did when you were a kid, unless for nostalgic purposes...which I think is probably why for the most part any older people still play Mario games. There's really nothing adult about it. And I mean adult as in mature or literary. Something that stimulates a more developed and cultured person.
But that quote in an article I was reading really struck me. There are lots of movies I love for various different reasons. But there's not really one concrete thing that I've thought about that they all have in common. I mean they tend to have visual tendencies and more unique stories, but most of all I think this guy said just it. They're movies that you can tell people put a lot of thought and time and effort and emotion into. And that transcends more than just the artsier films I tend to favor. You can argue The Dark Knight or Lord of the Rings were succesful for other reasons, but they're also movies that everyone knows and can tell that a lot of heart and soul and effort went into making, and people favor and respect that.
And I think that's what a lot of people tend to overlook. It's obvious in more commercial films, but even indie filmmakers like us. We're trying to more objectively identify what makes a good film or photo or any kind of art, and try and figure out some sort of specific improvements to make each time, but at the end of the day it's the projects that we really try the hardest on and have a personal stake in that I think tend to shine. The script maybe could have been better or the acting could have used some work, but those are details. There's always going to be something like that, and bigger budgets, and bigger crews just make it easier to cut down on how much of that there is, but it's not really going to change the effect of the end product that much.
And now that I think about it, I'm reminded of another quote and I don't remember who it's by:
"Filmmaking is not about the little details, it's about the big picture."
For some reason that quote doesn't strike me in the same way though. I think because it doesn't say anything about trusting the audience to sense what you're doing. It's often easy to think of the lowest common denominator in the audience, but almost all my favorite movies don't appeal to them. You can be successful and not appeal to everyone. I don't mean it to sound like I'm having an epiphany about GOS because I certainly don't think it'll appeal to everyone, but I think it's solid for a certain niche so I feel like I'm on track.
It's just a different way to look at it. For me, at least.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
In the Rain
So it took a nice consistent rainy weekend, but today I got shit done.
This morning I got up at 9, which based on my current schedule is like the crack of dawn. I build 5 paper mache asteroids and a paper mache space shuttle to hang from the ceiling in Neil's bedroom.
I bought a used glidecam system from ebay (25% off retail). I've pre-ordered a 7D. I've ordered a super wide angle 11-17mm lens. I've got my budget re-budgeted based on my new camera, and can now afford a mountable HD monitor and follow focus system.
I guess that's pretty significant. I'm no longer waiting on RED. They've pushed their EPIC line to the front of their release schedule, which at the soonest will be out at the end of November, and probably won't be publicly available until the new year (because of wait list). Of course, I'm waiting on Scarlett and it's bound to be out later. So in a way it's kind of a huge blow. I've been waiting almost a year for this camera now, and I won't be able to get it for this project. The good thing is that I'll be saving some money now and can fully deck out a Canon 7D rig which should provide everything I need in a camera for this project. There was a possibility of not even being able to afford a full working Scarlett system, so at least now I'm working from concrete specs instead of rumor and speculation and possible disappointment.
It's definitely a load off not having to stress out about getting the camera I want/need. Turns out the 7D has most of what I wanted from the Scarlett. It's not as perfect and it shoots compressed instead of RAW, but it's still a huge leap from HDV which is the last format I've shot.
But yeah, hopefully I can keep up the pace. I'm feeling really productive and the weather is getting to be good. I think those are correlated.
This morning I got up at 9, which based on my current schedule is like the crack of dawn. I build 5 paper mache asteroids and a paper mache space shuttle to hang from the ceiling in Neil's bedroom.
I bought a used glidecam system from ebay (25% off retail). I've pre-ordered a 7D. I've ordered a super wide angle 11-17mm lens. I've got my budget re-budgeted based on my new camera, and can now afford a mountable HD monitor and follow focus system.
I guess that's pretty significant. I'm no longer waiting on RED. They've pushed their EPIC line to the front of their release schedule, which at the soonest will be out at the end of November, and probably won't be publicly available until the new year (because of wait list). Of course, I'm waiting on Scarlett and it's bound to be out later. So in a way it's kind of a huge blow. I've been waiting almost a year for this camera now, and I won't be able to get it for this project. The good thing is that I'll be saving some money now and can fully deck out a Canon 7D rig which should provide everything I need in a camera for this project. There was a possibility of not even being able to afford a full working Scarlett system, so at least now I'm working from concrete specs instead of rumor and speculation and possible disappointment.
It's definitely a load off not having to stress out about getting the camera I want/need. Turns out the 7D has most of what I wanted from the Scarlett. It's not as perfect and it shoots compressed instead of RAW, but it's still a huge leap from HDV which is the last format I've shot.
But yeah, hopefully I can keep up the pace. I'm feeling really productive and the weather is getting to be good. I think those are correlated.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Too Much Time
I've come to realize that I work better under pressure.
Give me more than enough time, and I'll waste a lot of it. Give me a deadline and I'll get it done.
I've got to figure out a way to convince myself that production starts next week so I will start getting things done.
Today I just played video games. All day. And it was kind of depressing. I don't enjoy playing games the way I used to when I was younger. I like playing them, but I feel guilty when I spend more than 2 hours or so playing a game. Of course, games have to last like 10+ hours. They can't be easily consumable like movies. I don't feel guilty watching movies though. They feel more on par with reading a book or something. There's more substance to it. I suppose if I was trying to be a game designer I might feel better about it. And there are the occassional games that are very inspiring and artful, but I play more than them so I have all of these arbitrary experiences that are basically wastes of time.
But for the most part things are going really well for the movie so far. I only wish I had a casting director and a location manager to handle the supporting cast/background and the locations. Those are the two things I want to work on the least. Probably because they have to do with more scheduling and more people.
I'm also getting really antsy about what camera I'm going to be using. I still don't know because I still don't know what will be available. We're going to be on the cutting edge with this project, and there are two companies, Canon and RED who are pushing that edge and will probably both have new products out before then end of the year. But I really wish I had something to work with now. I'm really itching to just do some shooting and editing. I want to do a music video or something to satisfy my craving to shoot something.
That's part of the problem with being a filmmaker. I get myself worked up and wanting to make something, but it's so much harder to physically produce and practice than it is with many other mediums.
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