i know it’s been a long time since i’ve posted. been a lot going on and leprechauns & lies starts its Hollywood Fringe Festival run very soon, but a few recent developments have inspired me to contemplate some infuriating little truism about life.

for a variety of reasons, i can’t mention names in this post. i actually have to be pretty vague in fact and i hope you’ll be patient with me. suffice it to say that this Forbes post here seems very pertinent to me right now. so is that always hilarious 24 slash b post about a guy wanting him to work for free – and who can forget this classic video?

i honestly believe there are plenty of things worth doing even if there’s no money to do them. i do tons of free work – work for friends, i barter a fair amount, i do an OBSCENE amount of work for We Make Movies. and most of the time i do it feeling fulfilled in other ways. either i feel the gratitude of a friend or family member or i know that if our positions were switched the person i was working for would do the same for me. i often do work knowing that it’s purely a karmic thing – because it’s the right thing to do and that i’ll feel better about myself if i did, but every now and then i find myself in a situation where the person i’m working for thinks of himself or herself as a kind of superior being to others.

in these situations, it’s clear that the person for whom i’m working thinks that i should be happy to have had the honor of working for them. in other words, they don’t see me as a human being at all, but as a cog in a machine that they’re driving. people like this are definitely the minority, but it’s fascinating how often you find them in leadership positions. just fascinating.

i guess it’s because they feel like that’s where they belong and then they’re somehow able to convince enough other people that that IS where they belong. the fact that it happens at all is actually not surprising when you look at it from a distance, but it’s always infuriating when you find yourself there.

of course whenever i’ve roped people into working on one of my own projects, i’m constantly in fear of doing things that might make them feel like i’m taking them for granted. nobody’s perfect though, and out of the desire for efficiency i’ve more than once found myself taking short cuts that may have chapped somebody or cut them short, made them feel unappreciated or worse – like i think i could do their job better than they. this is never the case, but it’s sometimes so much easier to just do a job than to tell somebody exactly how you want it done. the point is that i struggle with this all the time. i’m constantly checking myself and the way i communicate with people that i’m working with to make sure i’m not being a dick or ungrateful or insensitive. that never-ending quest to make people feel worthwhile and wanted and appreciated seems like such a no-brainer to me.

so why then do people constantly get put into leadership positions who DON’T do that? who don’t care about other peoples’ feelings or making them feel appreciated?

i mean i’m just gonna say it: actors are not slugs. they’re NOT a dime a dozen. most of the actors i know are devoted, diligent and extremely hard-working – willing to get up at the crack of dawn to help you shoot some silly half-thought-out sketch or do some crazy performance art piece they don’t even fully understand! they’re one of the most giving and honest groups of people i’ve ever had the honor of working with and yet so many filmmakers automatically remove the actors pay from a budget before anything else! why?!

and if you’re not the kind of director who can even pull a decent performance from an actor in the first place, the actors’ pay is the LAST thing you should be reducing in a budget. that’s by no means the only expression of this kind of sociopathic refusal to see other people as valuable – particularly when it’s exactly this value one plans to benefit from in a particular job or project.

designers get screwed by this same kind of behavior all the time. as do DPs and producers and even directors, but can’t we just decide as a society to stop promoting and helping the jack-holes who treat us like crap? can’t we just stop working for them and working with them and helping them finish some project just to take all the credit for it when it’s over. i mean this is the crazy part: they honestly believe they DID all the work because in a very real way they don’t even think you exist!

seriously: to hell with these guys. let’s just agree to let them play in their one-man band act all by their lonesomes.

so there. i’ve said it. and i mean it.

have a great weekend.

The cast was 11 people, David Lockhart, Eric Kochmer, Julian Curry, Karen Zumsteg, Katherine Feigin, Tara Samuel, Christopher Frederick, Whit Spurgeon, Brendan Weinhold, and Michael Kessler, with a crew a maximum of 6 people, Luke, Allison Scott (Line Producer), Nathaniel Beaver (1st AD), Kevin Rosen-Quan (Sound Mixer), Audreana Comeaux (PA) and myself. There was another guy who filled in for Audreana for one day, but I don’t remember his name.

We shot a total of 12 days over a 4 week period. The third week was the most difficult and the most fun of them all. We shot on location in Topanga park and had to deal with a particularly hot day followed by a day that started with rain and ended with direct sunlight. One of the reasons why this didn’t really kill the narrative was because we shot all five of those days in order of the story. It was a bit uncomfortable for me because I am used to shooting with a shot list and verifying that everything will cut together, but since I never really saw the entire script, I didn’t have time, or was given the option of changing any of it. So, I simply went shot by shot and let Nathaniel and Luke worry about making it all work in post. I know that sounds like I was just phoning it in, but the truth is that only about 10% of any of the talking that I tried to do, was actually absorbed and the most effective contribution I could make was simply to figure out what shot the Director needed and record it looking the best that I was capable of. In fact once I had this realization the shoot ended up being far less stressful and I was able to have fun with the actors.

Speaking of actors, this cast was full of some of the most resilient, talented and fun people that I have met since moving to LA. I knew most of them from “We Make Movies” and already had a great opinion of them, but you never really know how a person is until you work with them and share a few hardships. No one complained about not having enough green M&M’s in their honey wagon, about sitting in the sun for hours while we waited for the next shot, or hiking up the mountain in the rain. They were awesome and only one bad apple could have spoiled the bunch, but that never happened.

I would love to give you a bunch of insite to setting up a jib for an epic opening, or how we managed to wrangle 1000 extras for an action sequence, but this feature was completed by the skin of Luke’s teeth and with the hard work of some dedicated film makers. This mile stone in my career didn’t only end up with a feature film IMDB credit, but a bunch of strong relationships, a greater ability to release control of a project and trust in my teammates and a week of great memories hiking in the beautiful canyons of Topanga park. Oooh and a car mount, a nice 5-in-1 reflector and a pretty sweet tan.

We will certainly be posting more of his work in the future.

Confidential to the film student who doesn’t feel like reading this whole post: I ask you at least take this lesson to heart- NO, YOU CANNOT BRING A LOADED GUN ON SET JUST BECAUSE THOSE KEWL GUYS IN NEW YORK DID IT.

Get a good producer. Just do it. I know what you’re thinking, “but I’m a director, I’m pretty sure I can handle buying a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread”. If you’re laughing at that last sentence it’s because you’re not an independent film crew member who’s been graciously provided 30 seconds to wolf down your stale sammich somewhere around the middle of your 16-hr workday, for which you were generously supposed to be rewarded with “copy, credit and meals”. Let’s learn from others’ mistakes, shall we? Like these guys for example:

Yes, you read that right. They stopped doing their yoga so they could run out and shoot a deer. Then they accidentally shot two, whoopsie. I’m not interested in arguing the ethics of killing- the fact is, a gajillion different kinds of animals are killed in this country every day, and that’s just to make chicken nuggets. We kill unadopted cats and dogs, we poison annoying birds, we pest control the pests, we shoot the deer. I am not a hunter and generally do not support the way a lot of people go about it, but I am from Arizona and descended from decent, God-fearing ranchers and cowboys and these hippies skinned, cooked and ate the deer themselves, which is a lot more than most hunters in this country do.

The problem is, these people are not hunters. They are not gun-owners. The guy they tossed the loaded rifle to had no prior hunting experience. None. Should I walk you through all the reasons this was a terrible idea?

A lot of people think of producers as “No” people. Good producers are more like a “Easy-Buddy,-Set-Down-The-Loaded-Weapon-And-Let’s-Just-Figure-This-Out-For-A-Second” people.” And this is where the difference between the directing job and the producing job becomes really obvious, as does the reason why it’s difficult for one person to play both roles at the same time. As a director, it’s your job to look at the script or scene and figure out how exactly to take what’s on the page and put it into a form that your audience will process effectively. All of the elements that land on the screen have to line up correctly, and you are the line leader. What kind of gun would a bunch of hipsters have? What should the character’s reaction be after he shoots the deer? As a producer, it’s my job to look at a script or scene and figure it out logistically. What kind of gun can we afford? How can we do this safely? What kinds of laws are in place around this and why? All of these things can be answered without a ton of work, but they don’t readily spring to mind when you’re in creative-brain mode and trying to tell your story.

Examples of this pop up constantly. Usually they’re not a huge deal and come in the form of peanut butter sammiches, or circles of death (i.e. pizza). Sometimes they’re a little bit worse and result in a whole production day starting late because no one could find parking, or the owner of a location vowing to never let another film crew through their doors (thanks, guys). But sometimes there are much, much worse examples, such as a guy with no gun experience being handed a loaded rifle. The top priority of a good producer is the health and safety of the crew and if you have to slow down your pace a little to do something right, it’s worth it. Easy buddy, you can’t just ask your lead actress to deliberately trip on a curb in 6 inch high heels. Or hang halfway out of that open car window on the highway. Or set that light stand up in front of the only emergency exit in the building.

In the above example, it all turned out fine, though the state is still looking into the permit violations and there could be some fines or something- no big deal. And the film is supposed to be pretty good! I’m happy for them. Except this was an incredibly and stupidly risky thing to do, as they will admit themselves. Bring a producer on who knows how to break down scenarios like this so you don’t have to worry about it. Focus on the creative, get your logistics handled, and create a project you’re not only proud of, but that you have great memories of as well.

]]> http://www.blogfreako.com/2012/05/5312-kendall/feed/ 0 http://www.blogfreako.com/2012/04/video-week-4302012/ http://www.blogfreako.com/2012/04/video-week-4302012/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:13:00 +0000 denny http://www.blogfreako.com/?p=2301 This weeks video of the week is a funny homage to Christmas and Action films. I was introduced to the film by the star, director and editor, Nathaniel Beaver. He is a fellow aspiring film maker from Indiana with a very interesting history. I won’t delve too deep into that, but it did involve two years in New Zealand, a couple run ins with key players of the Lord of the Rings team (Peter Jackson) and a missed opportunity because he was honest about his visa status.

Either Way I hope you enjoy his film and feel free to pass it along cause he is considering developing it as a feature.

Keegan was a classmate of Kendall’s at LA Film School, he is directing one of the Films from the “We Make Movies” Slate Two Kickstarter Campaign and is one of the creators of “The Hub“, I hilarious new web series.

Please forward this link to anyone you know that can help get these projects funded.

The project is titled ‘Strong Love’ which was written by John Sandel, who also hatched this pitch idea. It’s a refreshing change to the standard pitch and ties into the film itself in many ways. I am only peripherally involved in the project, but John asked me to light the set and edit the pitch video and I plan to take this approach for any of the pitch ideas that I come up with in the future. It’s not stealing it’s learning.

The other people that helped on the video were Karen Zumsteg (scary lady or the wife), Wael Shukha (steadicam operator) and Kelsey Boutte (make-up artist).

Check out all of the projects on the campaign at the Slate two Kickstarter Page.

i’ve been thinking a lot lately about a couple friends from college who will remain nameless. exactly one year out of college, i got extremely lucky and booked a great gig with an Off-Broadway show with which i toured the world and made a pretty solid living. it was a great time and i saw the world, but i was a kid and very quickly found myself doing things that made me start to really hate myself. so i did what i had to do: i quit. i came to Los Angeles because my girlfriend at the time was here and i tried to figure things out, to find out what my problem was so that i could succeed without hating myself. my two friends in the meantime hadn’t been so lucky, but their luck turned around. a few years later, one of them helped start a hugely successful TV show and the other started flourishing even later, became an integral part of an even more successful TV show, and then another.

meanwhile, i toyed with levels of commercial success in the theatrical, then music, then TV worlds without anything ever sticking for longer than about six months. these friend of mine were now succeeding, while i was failing. but this is the important part: i am a nice guy. therefore i was doomed to fail. this is basically the “advice” that was given to me by one of these two “friends” at some point during i think 1998. i rejected this advice and these two friends started to soar while i barely got by. there was a point not too long ago when i reached out to the other friend and she had her assistant call me back and basically call me an alcoholic because of an incident that was by then six or seven years in the past! i couldn’t sleep for nearly two full days because i felt so bad about something i couldn’t even remember and my friend wouldn’t give me the details of what i had supposedly done! we sort of patched things up later, but the message came through loud and clear: my “friend’s” time was so much more valuable than mine, that i rated at best a bitching down by her assistant – whom i’d never even met – and then some lukewarm semi-acceptance of an apology via facebook message after two solid sleepless nights. that’s all i was worth.

but i’m a nice guy, so it’s my own damn fault, right?

well cut to 2012 and i’m not doing so bad anymore. sure i’m not living the dream. i don’t have a ton of money or contacts or fame, but i’m making films. Kendall, Denny and i are doing what we love. sure, we scrape by and often worry about this bill or that truck loan payment, but several times a year we see our work on a big screen or on a small screen or on a phone and though our work might sometimes have its flaws, each piece improves from the last, and they’re ours from top to bottom.

we’re making movies. we’re doing what we love and that’s basically our life. and guess what? we’re all nice.

now my friends who write for TV, who live in that backstabbing, dog-eat-dog world of network or cable television are looking around and finding their options shrinking. i saw this just starting to happen with the music world twelve years ago and now it’s happening with TV. i don’t wish it upon my “friends” – i don’t hold any ill will for them at all, but i can’t say i’m not happy to see it happening primarily because while their doors are starting to slam shut, my doors and the doors of my “nice” friends are starting to open.

i very strongly believe that we are entering the age of the Nice Guy. i mean hell, paying for entertainment is becoming completely voluntary nowadays – just look at Louis CK’s ridiculous success with this Live at the Beacon Theater video. i bought one. hell, it was only $5 and i love Louis CK. he’s funny, despite his act being based around the premise that he’s such a horrible person, you can very clearly tell that he isn’t. look where he spent a big chunk of the money he made from that special and tell me his isn’t a nice guy! seriously, why would anybody pay for something from an asshole when they dont have to at all? if they want to see something, they can get it with such ease and via so many different ways and means, that paying for something has become more a matter of validating someone’s right to have your money than it is a matter of actually accessing the music or show or film. of course i’m anti-pirating myself, but i’m the minority. and i have my moments too.

case in point: i love George R. R. Martin. i own all his “Song of Ice and Fire” books – have paid for multiple copies of a couple of them because i’ve occasionally lent one out and didn’t get it back. i read those books over and over. so when his “Game of Thrones” series came out on HBO, i was ecstatic, but the problem is i don’t own a TV. we have at least one in storage, but i haven’t had one hooked up to anything for nearly seven years and that’s how i like it. i watch shows on my computer and when i can’t see it on Hulu or rent it on Netflix, i buy it. i bought the first season of “The Walking Dead”, a couple episodes of “Lost” and the pilot episode of “Falling Skies” on iTunes. i bought the entire final season of “Battlestar Galactica” on Amazon. i own all five seasons of “The Wire” on DVD and will probably buy all the DVDS of “Breaking Bad” once they come out.

and all i wanted to do was watch Game of Thrones as it was coming out and HBO provided zero purchasing options! i couldn’t believe it! they were basically saying that because i didn’t have TV or cable i didn’t matter and they didn’t even want my money. so like probably tens of thousands of others i had only one choice and it was a choice i wasn’t happy about, but for whatever reason, HBO decided they didn’t want to give me the option to pay for something i believed in. sure, i could have waited, but i’m a rabid original fan and have been for a decade.

if they had given me the option, i would have happily paid. i would have paid for the upcoming Season Two and for every season they can afford to make, but they – like my two “friends” – want to whiten their knuckles holding on to a world that’s slipping away. to a world in which you have to play games and be a dick and connive and backstab and lie and cheat your way to the top. but everywhere i look, i see the signs. i see proof that they’re wasting their time. i mean, there will always be celebrity and that top rung of the ladder will always be surrounded by tooth marks and nail scratches and knife stabs, but it’s power is already greatly diminished. as a culture, we’re nowhere near as influenced or held in awe by that top rung as we used to be and so room at the top is shrinking. the entire concept of A, B, C & D-list celebrities is becoming a joke of the past. cable and network staff are getting laid off in droves because huge numbers of audience and their valuable advertising eyeballs are drifting toward niches.

like Chris Anderson says in “The Long Tail” the world driven by hits is slipping away and being replaced little-by-little with the world of the niche, and one thing that’s becoming more and more clear to me is that this is very good news for nice guys. very good news indeed.