It's been quite a while since I updated this thing, and to be honest I've spent more time looking at other people's blogs and profiles on 20sb.net. You're welcome, twenty-something bloggers. The truth is that aside from being busy with the obligatory holiday activities I have been too busy actually doing the work I might blog about to have time to blog about it. But lest my blog be accused merely being a way to talk about "Podunk" while in production, allow me to now provide a brief update.
After the short was finished and sent out and ample time was taken to get away from it I returned to the movie to glean whatever lessons I could from it. I tried to show it to as many people as I could just to get feedback to find out what wasn't working and what did. I heard the same types of criticism repeatedly, which in some ways is reassuring. Often I was told it was a sound issue (we did not have a boom mic on the movie as we were an extremely low budget production. Instead we simply picked up audio directly to my 5D MK2). I've already begun researching mics and sound boards for the next movie I want to make next summer.
I also have the freedom now of being able to write a script until the script is done rather than trying to rush through that aspect of production in order to keep a film festival schedule. I was generally happy with the script for "Podunk" but it could have been altered in some parts and given the time to do so I would have. While scripting last summer I had tried repeatedly to contact the Minneapolis Police Department to no avail. On their website they advertise for ride-alongs if you apply, which I did, but I never heard back. My guess is they either thought that someone applying to ride in a police car because he's a writer developing a script for a crime drama made them skeptical, or they were simply too busy to accommodate. However, in the last month or so I've had the good fortune of making connections in law enforcement. I already have plans for a discussion with one of them the week after Christmas.
I seem to be on a crime drama kick this year, and it holds my interests for a few reasons. One, it allows me to dig in order to get to the meat and potatoes. In college I loved doing research for midterm papers and this feels much the same. For "Podunk" I investigated the economic recession and for my next two scripts I'm researching demographic information for several regions of the country. Besides experiencing a resurgence in the last decade due to such films as "Training Day", "The Departed", and to a lesser extent "The Dark Knight", to me the crime drama offers one the ability to easily discuss critical and relevant themes while in the envelope of an engaging action narrative. Let's face it, action sells.
I have several other script ideas that aren't about crime and their narrative architectures are very different. My question always becomes what do I do with these? Do I finish them and let them sit on my hard drive? Most of them are too large and would be prohibitively expensive to do at my budget level, so it's not an issue of simply going out and doing them. Maybe something will turn up soon...
I've also returned to Final Cut Pro, among other programs, in order to sharpen my technical skills for the next movie. In his "10 Minute Film School" speech, which is actually closer to seven, director Robert Rodriguez said, "creative people can learn to be technical people, technical people can never be creative." I'm not entirely certain it's that bleak for the techies, but the first part is true. And so, I must refine my skills in the tools I need to express my ideas, and that's exactly what I intend to do. I won't make the same mistakes twice, and I'm eager to get back in the director's chair to try it again. I just wish I was getting paid to do what I love to do. Someday, right?
For inspiration, check this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-YpfievjSk
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
End of the line, Podunk.
I just submitted "Podunk" to five more festivals, bringing our overall total now to six. In addition to The Slamdance Film Festival, we're now on our way to consideration in the following fests:
1) New Hope Film Fest in PA
2) San Francisco International Festival of Shorts
3) Fade In Awards
4) Seattle International
5) Hawaii International Film Festival
Woofta. Time to start saving my pennies... Many of these festivals are quite a ways out. Hawaii Int'l, for example, won't have a response for us until September of 2011. I wonder where we'll be by then. I think this sudden surge of festival submissions will have to be the end of the road for the little movie that could, if only because now I am officially broke. Time to return to researching and writing new scripts; at least that's free. Now we enter the phase of praying, keeping fingers/toes, other extremities crossed, hoping, practicing patience, etc...
1) New Hope Film Fest in PA
2) San Francisco International Festival of Shorts
3) Fade In Awards
4) Seattle International
5) Hawaii International Film Festival
Woofta. Time to start saving my pennies... Many of these festivals are quite a ways out. Hawaii Int'l, for example, won't have a response for us until September of 2011. I wonder where we'll be by then. I think this sudden surge of festival submissions will have to be the end of the road for the little movie that could, if only because now I am officially broke. Time to return to researching and writing new scripts; at least that's free. Now we enter the phase of praying, keeping fingers/toes, other extremities crossed, hoping, practicing patience, etc...
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
The next step is already underway.
In case you missed it, the trailer for "Podunk" can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVsZI4nTdz4
Or go to Youtube > "Podunk trailer" > it should be the third video down (We finally broke 200 :)
Well, life has essentially returned to normal after almost three weeks since the completion of "Podunk". In the weeks ahead I'll be submitting to a few more festivals, including the San Francisco International. With objectivity slowly returning and with it my ability to see this first venture for what it is I'm realizing how much I've learned. It saddens me slightly. I was so passionate and excited about this story earlier this year and all I wanted to do with it, but it was ultimately a student film, a trial-by-fire vehicle through which I could experiment and play and, hopefully, see where I can improve.
Though a premiere of any kind remains to be seen (and indeed will probably be forgone at this point due to several challenges) I have nevertheless shown the finished product to numerous people, many of whom have in turn shown others. I've heard generally positive reviews, with forgiveness granted to the mutually acknowledged shortcomings of the movie (sound being the overwhelming Achilles heel). "Podunk" doesn't look like a movie that would come out of a film school, and that's certainly not to its detriment. It's flaw is that I, the writer and director, had to see my mistakes before I could understand how to correct them.
I've made note of the issues in this movie for the next project. Some were issues I knew existed even at the script level, but wasn't sure how to fix or I wasn't entirely sure how they were issues until they were manifest on the screen. Others became issues in the shooting or often times the editing process, discovering that something I had believed worked on the page indeed didn't when portrayed. I wrote the script for "Podunk" in about a month. I've already begun resurrecting these characters and this world I tried to create. I've begun working on an "episode two", not a sequel but a part two of two that will finish what this movie started. I've also begun work on a feature-length treatment of this story that would incorporate the events of both, as well as revise and expand upon them.
In doing so I've tried to re-imagine this entire concept. My goal is to make both scripts stronger than this one was, fleshing out narrative threads and characters, adding more realism and depth and allowing more room for style in every aspect. I've already made contact with actual investigators and will soon speak with police authorities, an effort I was unsuccessful with in the spring when I began work on the first script. I'll have far more time to fine tune both scripts, starting now and finishing around April. Both stories will be stronger than the last.
Our Cinderella story may pass us by this time, and if it does I'd feel great solace in knowing that I know exactly why. Though I'm an optimist and have high hopes for what may come of this little movie that could I'm also not sitting by and waiting for it to happen. Word of this movie spread much farther than I had expected it would, and what you'll see from us in the future will go even farther. Many people were impressed by our amateur outing and what we were able to do on less than a shoestring budget. Just wait till the spring...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVsZI4nTdz4
Or go to Youtube > "Podunk trailer" > it should be the third video down (We finally broke 200 :)
Well, life has essentially returned to normal after almost three weeks since the completion of "Podunk". In the weeks ahead I'll be submitting to a few more festivals, including the San Francisco International. With objectivity slowly returning and with it my ability to see this first venture for what it is I'm realizing how much I've learned. It saddens me slightly. I was so passionate and excited about this story earlier this year and all I wanted to do with it, but it was ultimately a student film, a trial-by-fire vehicle through which I could experiment and play and, hopefully, see where I can improve.
Though a premiere of any kind remains to be seen (and indeed will probably be forgone at this point due to several challenges) I have nevertheless shown the finished product to numerous people, many of whom have in turn shown others. I've heard generally positive reviews, with forgiveness granted to the mutually acknowledged shortcomings of the movie (sound being the overwhelming Achilles heel). "Podunk" doesn't look like a movie that would come out of a film school, and that's certainly not to its detriment. It's flaw is that I, the writer and director, had to see my mistakes before I could understand how to correct them.
I've made note of the issues in this movie for the next project. Some were issues I knew existed even at the script level, but wasn't sure how to fix or I wasn't entirely sure how they were issues until they were manifest on the screen. Others became issues in the shooting or often times the editing process, discovering that something I had believed worked on the page indeed didn't when portrayed. I wrote the script for "Podunk" in about a month. I've already begun resurrecting these characters and this world I tried to create. I've begun working on an "episode two", not a sequel but a part two of two that will finish what this movie started. I've also begun work on a feature-length treatment of this story that would incorporate the events of both, as well as revise and expand upon them.
In doing so I've tried to re-imagine this entire concept. My goal is to make both scripts stronger than this one was, fleshing out narrative threads and characters, adding more realism and depth and allowing more room for style in every aspect. I've already made contact with actual investigators and will soon speak with police authorities, an effort I was unsuccessful with in the spring when I began work on the first script. I'll have far more time to fine tune both scripts, starting now and finishing around April. Both stories will be stronger than the last.
Our Cinderella story may pass us by this time, and if it does I'd feel great solace in knowing that I know exactly why. Though I'm an optimist and have high hopes for what may come of this little movie that could I'm also not sitting by and waiting for it to happen. Word of this movie spread much farther than I had expected it would, and what you'll see from us in the future will go even farther. Many people were impressed by our amateur outing and what we were able to do on less than a shoestring budget. Just wait till the spring...
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Better late than never.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVsZI4nTdz4
Lame, yes I know. If I can get the embed code to work I will replace this with that later. For now, go to the address above. I think you all know what that is...
Well, we finally finished. Last week was busy; each night I worked well into the night with Victoria and Steve on post-production. As of 3:30 Friday morning the movie was complete and it was in the mail to Slamdance by that afternoon. We won't hear back either way from them until the first or second week of December.
The sound editing was a nightmare. Lesson learned: always, always, always get the sound right the first time and never assume you can fix it post... It feels like we've been working on this movie for a very long time but really we only began shooting back in August and wrapped on October 22nd. I had assumed the movie would be around 12-15 minutes but, for better or worse, it ended up totaling around 27 minutes. The project flowed so smoothly, and there are so many people to thank.
Victoria Nohl (Lead actress)- I love you. There is no other way to express my gratitude for your unrelenting dedication to this project. You were my number one on this, and we will without question work together again very soon.
Steve Hanson (Sound engineering/Housemouse Productions, Factory manager)- Thank you for all the work you did to find the sounds I was looking for. You're a true professional.
Zak Freidt (Camera/Lighting, City Homicide Officer)- What can I say? You and I work well together, man. Thank you for giving up so much of your time to hold a camera and help out with this project. It was a blast to work with you.
Bryan Ebbenga (Neighbor)- Thank you for letting us use your farm property and make a mess of your house for the sake of this short movie. You've always been so accommodating, and we always felt welcome.
Hymie Felicilda (Commanding Officer Voice)- All those years of radio broadcasting have paid off once again! Thank you for all the support you gave me throughout this entire process, Dad, and I'm glad you were able to be a part of it in the end.
Bruce Stein (Commanding Officer Voice)- Thank you for making the time to lend your voice to this character.
Kathi and John Brahland- I'm not sure how to thank two people who would allow someone to come into their home on four separate occasions and take over, but that's exactly what you did. Your house was a huge part of this movie and it wouldn't have been the same without it. Thank you for putting up with all our inconveniences, and thank you for all your support on this movie. Can I at least buy you and your family dinner to repay you?
Mike Polston (James Baker)- Thank you for enduring the torturous exercise of sitting in a chair motionless wearing restrictive makeup for hours on end. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all your support and encouragement throughout this entire process.
Clare and Tony Friedrichsen- Thank you both so much for letting us use your beautiful farm property. I'm only sorry the rain didn't hold out long enough for us to shoot more of it.
Dan Harris (Script Supervisor)- To the guy I've never met but knows me better than most people, thank you for finding a way to support me and this movie from half a country away.
Nina Nudsibidze (Script Supervisor)- Thank you for your enthusiasm and involvement in this project.
Mary and Steve Hearn- Mom, thank you for your support throughout this movie. I know this isn't a romantic comedy like you love to watch, so I'll thank you in advance for sitting through a movie that will make you uncomfortable just because your son made it :) Steve, thank you for your advice and interest in this project.
Beth Langlais-Sick/Brian Sick- Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for everything you two have done for me. I would never have been able to do this without the opportunities you have afforded me, and I will always remember that. And Beth, thank you for threatening to kick me out if I ever gave up on this movie...
Nancy Langlais- My second mom. No matter how many times I came home discouraged over some setback you've always believed it would turn out. Thank you for not letting me give up on this.
Lisa, Jerry, and Julian Sturm- To the entire Sturm family, thank you for letting us start fires in your back yard and destroy your grass. It was such a pleasure to get to know all of you, we all felt as though we became part of your family because of this movie, and I am so grateful for your generosity, support, and kindness throughout this entire movie.
Ian Chalmers (Camera/Lighting)- Your family can have you back again now! Thank you for giving so much of your time and energy to helping with this movie. It was great to work with you and have your input.
Erica Fredricks (Script Supervisor/Camera/Lighting)- As with most everything you're involved with, you made this movie better. Thank you for believing in what I was trying to do with this.
Adam Potts (Camera/Lighting)- I'm glad we were able to reconnect through this movie, and I hope we are able to work together again in the future. Thank you for all your help and insight throughout shooting!
http://www.appliedperspective.com/wp
Dan Rollins- (Editing/Publishing Assistance)- My Final Cut Pro Jedi Master. Without you this project would not have made it out on time, and you are truly a life saver. Thank you so much the help you gave me. I owe you, big time.
http://LiveWireFilms.com
Michale Sevy (Camera/Lighting)- Thank you for all your time and work in the early stages of shooting! It was a pleasure to work with someone with such knowledge of the camera equipment.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michales
Ryan Trosvig/Jessy Vittum (Camera/Lighting)- Thank you both for stepping in last minute to help out. We would have been screwed without you.
Emily Jarrett Hughes/ Gail Anderson (Minnesota Council of Churches)- Thank you both for your interest in a project that has nothing to do with why I work for you :) It has been a great pleasure to be an intern at your organization, and I look forward to devoting even more time to our work now that 'Podunk' is finished.
And to those who didn't work directly on this movie, but nonetheless were integral in its completion:
Lisa and Sam Breezee
Frankie Crescioni
Pat Jandro
John Koch: http://johnkochfilm.com
Steve and Marscha Rouch, Steve Rouch Photography, http://www.choicephoto.com/home.php
This was such an exciting process. I'll be submitting to more festivals in the months ahead as we begin to prepare for the projects to come. This is only the beginning...
Well, we finally finished. Last week was busy; each night I worked well into the night with Victoria and Steve on post-production. As of 3:30 Friday morning the movie was complete and it was in the mail to Slamdance by that afternoon. We won't hear back either way from them until the first or second week of December.
The sound editing was a nightmare. Lesson learned: always, always, always get the sound right the first time and never assume you can fix it post... It feels like we've been working on this movie for a very long time but really we only began shooting back in August and wrapped on October 22nd. I had assumed the movie would be around 12-15 minutes but, for better or worse, it ended up totaling around 27 minutes. The project flowed so smoothly, and there are so many people to thank.
Victoria Nohl (Lead actress)- I love you. There is no other way to express my gratitude for your unrelenting dedication to this project. You were my number one on this, and we will without question work together again very soon.
Steve Hanson (Sound engineering/Housemouse Productions, Factory manager)- Thank you for all the work you did to find the sounds I was looking for. You're a true professional.
Zak Freidt (Camera/Lighting, City Homicide Officer)- What can I say? You and I work well together, man. Thank you for giving up so much of your time to hold a camera and help out with this project. It was a blast to work with you.
Bryan Ebbenga (Neighbor)- Thank you for letting us use your farm property and make a mess of your house for the sake of this short movie. You've always been so accommodating, and we always felt welcome.
Hymie Felicilda (Commanding Officer Voice)- All those years of radio broadcasting have paid off once again! Thank you for all the support you gave me throughout this entire process, Dad, and I'm glad you were able to be a part of it in the end.
Bruce Stein (Commanding Officer Voice)- Thank you for making the time to lend your voice to this character.
Kathi and John Brahland- I'm not sure how to thank two people who would allow someone to come into their home on four separate occasions and take over, but that's exactly what you did. Your house was a huge part of this movie and it wouldn't have been the same without it. Thank you for putting up with all our inconveniences, and thank you for all your support on this movie. Can I at least buy you and your family dinner to repay you?
Mike Polston (James Baker)- Thank you for enduring the torturous exercise of sitting in a chair motionless wearing restrictive makeup for hours on end. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all your support and encouragement throughout this entire process.
Clare and Tony Friedrichsen- Thank you both so much for letting us use your beautiful farm property. I'm only sorry the rain didn't hold out long enough for us to shoot more of it.
Dan Harris (Script Supervisor)- To the guy I've never met but knows me better than most people, thank you for finding a way to support me and this movie from half a country away.
Nina Nudsibidze (Script Supervisor)- Thank you for your enthusiasm and involvement in this project.
Mary and Steve Hearn- Mom, thank you for your support throughout this movie. I know this isn't a romantic comedy like you love to watch, so I'll thank you in advance for sitting through a movie that will make you uncomfortable just because your son made it :) Steve, thank you for your advice and interest in this project.
Beth Langlais-Sick/Brian Sick- Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for everything you two have done for me. I would never have been able to do this without the opportunities you have afforded me, and I will always remember that. And Beth, thank you for threatening to kick me out if I ever gave up on this movie...
Nancy Langlais- My second mom. No matter how many times I came home discouraged over some setback you've always believed it would turn out. Thank you for not letting me give up on this.
Lisa, Jerry, and Julian Sturm- To the entire Sturm family, thank you for letting us start fires in your back yard and destroy your grass. It was such a pleasure to get to know all of you, we all felt as though we became part of your family because of this movie, and I am so grateful for your generosity, support, and kindness throughout this entire movie.
Ian Chalmers (Camera/Lighting)- Your family can have you back again now! Thank you for giving so much of your time and energy to helping with this movie. It was great to work with you and have your input.
Erica Fredricks (Script Supervisor/Camera/Lighting)- As with most everything you're involved with, you made this movie better. Thank you for believing in what I was trying to do with this.
Adam Potts (Camera/Lighting)- I'm glad we were able to reconnect through this movie, and I hope we are able to work together again in the future. Thank you for all your help and insight throughout shooting!
http://www.appliedperspective.com/wp
Dan Rollins- (Editing/Publishing Assistance)- My Final Cut Pro Jedi Master. Without you this project would not have made it out on time, and you are truly a life saver. Thank you so much the help you gave me. I owe you, big time.
http://LiveWireFilms.com
Michale Sevy (Camera/Lighting)- Thank you for all your time and work in the early stages of shooting! It was a pleasure to work with someone with such knowledge of the camera equipment.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michales
Ryan Trosvig/Jessy Vittum (Camera/Lighting)- Thank you both for stepping in last minute to help out. We would have been screwed without you.
Emily Jarrett Hughes/ Gail Anderson (Minnesota Council of Churches)- Thank you both for your interest in a project that has nothing to do with why I work for you :) It has been a great pleasure to be an intern at your organization, and I look forward to devoting even more time to our work now that 'Podunk' is finished.
And to those who didn't work directly on this movie, but nonetheless were integral in its completion:
Lisa and Sam Breezee
Frankie Crescioni
Pat Jandro
John Koch: http://johnkochfilm.com
Steve and Marscha Rouch, Steve Rouch Photography, http://www.choicephoto.com/home.php
This was such an exciting process. I'll be submitting to more festivals in the months ahead as we begin to prepare for the projects to come. This is only the beginning...
Friday, October 15, 2010
Podunk to Precinct.
I should be sleeping, but I'm too charged from our shoot tonight. There's really not much I need to say, just look at the still we captured. I think there will be a nice mix of imagery in this short film.
One more week...
Andrew.
One more week...
Andrew.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
There will be blood.
This weekend was perfect. We worked Saturday night and all day Sunday and no one complained once. My goal in all of this is less to finish a short than it is simply to see how far I can push good friends before they never want to speak to me again. So far I've been delightfully surprised by the results.
In all seriousness, we had a very productive weekend. I was hoping to have pictures to post from Saturday night but the barrels didn't last long enough to accommodate. We finished at Jerry's house in about 2.5 hours and I love what we got. We spent Sunday at Bryan's and had the good fortune of perfect weather. After a little more than seven hours we had everything we needed. The scene is much different both from how we shot it when we were there in September and even more so from how I wrote it originally. I like our most recent version far more than our last attempt and I think it will edit nicely. I applied some great make up to my friend Mike for that scene. I really wish I could show you but it would spoil the story.
This Thursday, Friday, and (hopefully) Monday we'll be shooting our last three nights. After we wrap early next week I'll complete the editing process, then the following weekend we'll remaster sound and burn it to a dvd and send it out. The trailer will be up within two weeks, and the movie itself will be up shortly thereafter. I've already begun developing this short into a feature-length story and I'm hopeful we'll get the opportunity to expand upon this story.
Thank you to everyone for all your support on this project. Soon you'll be able to see the fruit of our labor.
Andrew.
In all seriousness, we had a very productive weekend. I was hoping to have pictures to post from Saturday night but the barrels didn't last long enough to accommodate. We finished at Jerry's house in about 2.5 hours and I love what we got. We spent Sunday at Bryan's and had the good fortune of perfect weather. After a little more than seven hours we had everything we needed. The scene is much different both from how we shot it when we were there in September and even more so from how I wrote it originally. I like our most recent version far more than our last attempt and I think it will edit nicely. I applied some great make up to my friend Mike for that scene. I really wish I could show you but it would spoil the story.
This Thursday, Friday, and (hopefully) Monday we'll be shooting our last three nights. After we wrap early next week I'll complete the editing process, then the following weekend we'll remaster sound and burn it to a dvd and send it out. The trailer will be up within two weeks, and the movie itself will be up shortly thereafter. I've already begun developing this short into a feature-length story and I'm hopeful we'll get the opportunity to expand upon this story.
Thank you to everyone for all your support on this project. Soon you'll be able to see the fruit of our labor.
Andrew.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Day 6: Surges and setbacks.
Last weekend Ian and I had an extremely productive Saturday working on the portion in Watertown. But alas, we still need to return one more time in order to completely finish the scene. In the next two weeks we have five shoots scheduled and one more penciled in, allowing one week to edit and redub sound and a deadline of October 30th by which “Podunk” must be in Utah in the hands of Anthony Tong for judgment. It was nice knowing all of you; I’ll see you in November…
Zach and I began working through the laborious process of editing last weekend. We chronologically pieced everything together from three locations into the final scene. After some clip trimming and decision on which takes to use and which to dismiss we watched the final scene and were very pleased with it. My first short film may at times look exactly like what it is: a student film. But I’ve learned a lot from this process, and given more resources (i.e. money and time) the promise it will display attests to its potential to be extended into an even more exciting feature.
I felt confident with the editing we had done. It was an amazing feeling to actually sit and watch my own movie, as though my imagination was being projected before me. Sadly, when I opened Final Cut Pro on Thursday I was frustrated to find that everything I had edited was gone. My raw footage files were intact, but all the work I had done in editing was inexplicably deleted. So, it must all be redone. Fortunately I have the time to do so. Were this two weeks from now the-little-film-that-could would be on the bench until the festivals of next spring. There’s always youtube.
My original intention in this blog was to create a forum to discuss underrepresented works and to tout up-and-coming local artists. However, I cannot keep myself from discussing David Fincher’s “The Social Network”. This is the film I wanted to believe 2010 would give me but as of yet had not. The fact that Fincher is in the director’s seat is fitting considering his professional upbringing in pop-culture and his contribution to contemporary visual media. His 1998 film “Fight Club” in many ways served to retrospectively define the visual and pop culture of the ‘90s: a flippant erudition with trendy literature and sociopolitical ideologies, narratives which build up to a truly anticlimactic finale defused by a disappointingly simple if not unsubstantiated twist ending, and garishly in-the-moment fashion styles, however hip they may once have been. His craftsmanship as a music video director was also on display in his early films.
With “Network”, we see a revised culture in which youth are privileged enough to live beyond the means of an average young adult and are completely in synch with the technical and media landscape available to them. They are as slick and efficient as the systems and machines they interact with, edgier and more refined. Fincher is new as well, telling the story less with visuals and more so with well developed characters. And as with “Fight Club”, in “Network” he again creates a film that touches upon a phenomenon at large. Not necessarily contributing or advancing it (certainly not with the latter’s case), but perhaps again recapping what was relevant in pop youth culture for the particular moment.
Eschewing his usual reliance upon canted or otherwise dramatic angles and gritty lighting effects (though they are still present, simply more subdued) to create mood and atmosphere, Fincher instead utilizes precise focal points in which characters move in and out of range, serving to disconnect and isolate the characters in otherwise socially unified environments (typically, unified against the character in focus) or to highlight their disconnect. For example, consider the intern initiation scene in which the scene ends with a close-in shot of Saverin as he uneasily observes the event, or the close ups employed during the deposition scenes.
He still tips his hat to his own cinematographic tendencies. Consider the shot of Saverin and Zuckerberg outside the Caribbean party where the two stand bathed in a deep yellow light, or the rich texture illuminated in the air by the maglites of the officers in the party scene. His use of editing to create energy by cutting from slow, deliberately moving objects to ones moving rapidly with a rigid end point in their range of motion is also present. Consider the scene in which Zuckerberg first sits down at his computer to begin the “Facemash” website. We see a close up of his hands move from just outside the focal range to deep within it and as his fingers type furiously; this shot is then followed by one of Zuckerberg’s face gazing pensively over the screen. The scene alternates in this fashion. Camera movement also plays a strong role in creating a kinetic energy throughout, with pans so slow they feel static while following objects moving unpredictably through the frame (consider when Zuckerberg runs frantically down the stairs, through the glass door and out into the snow)
Much of the film was shot without overt regard to composition. Objects are depicted in largely utilitarian fashion (especially in comparison to Fincher’s earlier films such as “Seven” and “Fight Club” which employed composition to such a degree almost to warrant it consideration as a character in the film) simply to explain who is speaking and to whom. The machine-gun paced dialogue and tightly woven narrative instead take the forefront, fluidly moving from the present in which Zuckerberg is embroiled in several depositions and the past events and choices that brought him there. Make no mistake, this is a beautiful film to look at, and though Fincher doesn't embellish his cinematography as much as he once may have, it is only because he has reached beyond the stepping stone created with 2007’s “Zodiac” into a more perfect harmony of narrative and visuals, no longer asking the imagery to fill in the gaps his stories once left.
The script, written in characteristically dense and flawlessly judicious detail by Aaron Sorkin, is one of the best this year, if not the best so far. Jesse Eisenberg is effectively cast for his established screen type of an awkward and uncomfortable outsider, here as a cold and calculating Mark Zuckerberg, a performance that while successful in the film seems altogether unbelievable if not impossible in comparison to the few interviews available of the real Zuckerberg. The tongue-in-cheek casting of Justin Timberlake as the seductively manipulative Sean Parker is just too good. Rarely does an actor so successfully poke fun at his own celebrity while at the same time using that mockery to strengthen his celebrity status, and the irony that follows Timberlake from SNL to “Network” is deliciously palpable.
Despite an ad campaign flashing buzzwords including “punk” the film itself is not punk. It is as finely tuned and polished in its construction and as aggressively marketed as any other Oscar contender. Indeed, on the latter point even more so due to the pedigree of its director and screenwriter. And if nothing else, the film’s impact comes from riding the coattails of its source material’s notoriety. However, the story it tells is about one of the most definitively punk movements in the last decade. Individuals who are educated and informed coalescing in a uniform effort of disestablishmentarianism, here working simultaneously within an established business model while also subverting it, deconstructing its assumed timeline and yet simultaneously fortifying its promises for returns if faithfully executed. The engine of the human minds/capital involved and the system they are driving are so symbiotic that it seems less like work and more like playful artistry (however tainted it may become by the end). As with any good story, however, their system is not perfect and it is the (narratively convenient) element of Sean Parker that serves as the catalyst for their own dismantling at the base of Facebook’s unprecedented success and rapid global expansion.
The accuracy of this story is completely irrelevant. It’s not important that the viewer leave feeling somehow informed about Mark Zuckerberg, his friends or his enemies. Those people were merely an inspiration for a narrative vehicle that could synthesize who we are and who we have the capacity to be in our milieu. Mark Zuckerberg may very well be a nice guy (as his recent philanthropic gestures might suggest), or he may be a conniving thief, but you’d never know it from watching this film.
In my opinion, if only as a cult classic this film will stand out as one that is characteristically of our generation. That is, the generation of teens and twenty-something’s in the 2000’s who want everything right now, feels unquestionably entitled to it, and depending on who you are, has the savvy, skill, and brazenness to go and take it. The overwhelming message is clear: if you’re smart enough, you don’t have to follow the rules. Much like 1987’s “Wall Street”, we see here that the end result of an unrelentingly rapacious push towards money, power, and most importantly, an increase in our own perceived social currency, is inevitably emptiness and loss. Unlike Oliver Stone’s film, “Network” feels less like a condemnation of these characters and their aggressive attitudes and more so a frenzied celebration of their ingenuity, depicting the wake of social isolation in which the character of Zuckerberg finds himself as a mildly consequential afterthought. Either way it’s one hell of a ride, and damn if everybody who’s watching doesn’t want to get on, too.
Andrew.
Andrew.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Day 5- Clare and Tony, please don't tear your farm down.
Last night was the best, most efficient shoot thus far. Everything went so smoothly and every shot we ended up with looks so, so good. I wish the entire short could have as much texture as we picked up just last night. The factory scene might come close, but nothing really compares to this. Somebody upstairs must have wanted us to get our shots because the rain stopped virtually as we were on our way to the farm and didn't start again until we had just enough to complete the scene. We arrived around 7:30 and started setting up the lanterns and by around midnight we had significant portions featuring myself and Victoria. In a perfect world, i.e. if we had a budget, we would stay another night and get more because the farm is so expansive and rich. But alas, we all have to work tomorrow and my credit card is still smoldering from all the activity this weekend, so I guess we're little indie filmmakers after all. Really, though, what we got looks flippin' sweet. But you don't have to take my word for it. Observe:
Andrew.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Iowa at long last.
We arrived here in Ames and we're all just hanging out in our hotel rooms (while we wait for the rain to blow over and the sun to go down. The crew we have this weekend is small, consisting of just myself, Victoria, and Zach to help with the camera. Everything is set. I didn't feel entirely prepared for last weekend's shoot and being that Iowa is just a bit farther away than Kasota or Watertown (sarcasm font) I was a bit paranoid in my planning, making sure every detail had been checked.
I can't wait to shoot this farm. I've gone over the pictures I took in July when we first came out here to visit, planning where we'll set up and how we'll capture all the buildings. This place will add a lot of texture to this short movie. We have four small propane lanterns that we'll be arranging in various shots throughout the scene and I'm hoping it will create a unique look for not only this particular scene but also for the entire project.
The deadline for the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah is October 30 which doesn't leave us much time to do quite a bit. We still have work to do on every location we've visited thus far to complete each respective scene, and additionally we have one major scene left to shoot which we have yet to begin. Fortunately, as I've already mentioned, everyone involved has been very available and accommodating in his or her schedules and the next few weeks will be jam-packed with full weekends of shooting and me editing as we go along.
I've been trying to resist the temptation to work on developing the ideas I have for turning this short film into a feature-length movie, which is the ultimate goal at this point as we look forward to film festival submissions. I have several other feature-length scripts at various stages of development but for now this story and this particular genre have really captured my attention. To speak a bit more about "Podunk", it will probably come in around 15-20 minutes and tells the story of two investigators tracking a serial killer from a large metropolitan area into a small rural town. It's meant to be an allegory, and the longer I've obsessed about every little piece of this project the more I find myself thinking ahead to what else I could do with it on a larger scale.
I don't want to think too far ahead because I want to let this short movie have its own life but after almost six months of writing, rewriting, planning, and developing I find myself beyond burnt out on the same idea, so moving feels natural. The feature-length film I have in mind will be less and extension or continuation of the narrative you will see in the short film but rather an elaboration on the theme. I'm excited to finish this short film not only to send it out to festivals (and await judgement...) but to then have license to move on to different territory.
With the end in sight I've begun looking for venues in the twin cities for promotion and exhibition. We want to show this film and have a premiere of sorts at a theater in Minneapolis but we're not sure where. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you to everyone who has checked out this fledgling blog and thank you for spreading the word about it and our movie. After this shoot I'll post some images so you can get an idea of what we've done and the world we're trying to create.
Andrew.
I can't wait to shoot this farm. I've gone over the pictures I took in July when we first came out here to visit, planning where we'll set up and how we'll capture all the buildings. This place will add a lot of texture to this short movie. We have four small propane lanterns that we'll be arranging in various shots throughout the scene and I'm hoping it will create a unique look for not only this particular scene but also for the entire project.
The deadline for the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah is October 30 which doesn't leave us much time to do quite a bit. We still have work to do on every location we've visited thus far to complete each respective scene, and additionally we have one major scene left to shoot which we have yet to begin. Fortunately, as I've already mentioned, everyone involved has been very available and accommodating in his or her schedules and the next few weeks will be jam-packed with full weekends of shooting and me editing as we go along.
I've been trying to resist the temptation to work on developing the ideas I have for turning this short film into a feature-length movie, which is the ultimate goal at this point as we look forward to film festival submissions. I have several other feature-length scripts at various stages of development but for now this story and this particular genre have really captured my attention. To speak a bit more about "Podunk", it will probably come in around 15-20 minutes and tells the story of two investigators tracking a serial killer from a large metropolitan area into a small rural town. It's meant to be an allegory, and the longer I've obsessed about every little piece of this project the more I find myself thinking ahead to what else I could do with it on a larger scale.
I don't want to think too far ahead because I want to let this short movie have its own life but after almost six months of writing, rewriting, planning, and developing I find myself beyond burnt out on the same idea, so moving feels natural. The feature-length film I have in mind will be less and extension or continuation of the narrative you will see in the short film but rather an elaboration on the theme. I'm excited to finish this short film not only to send it out to festivals (and await judgement...) but to then have license to move on to different territory.
With the end in sight I've begun looking for venues in the twin cities for promotion and exhibition. We want to show this film and have a premiere of sorts at a theater in Minneapolis but we're not sure where. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you to everyone who has checked out this fledgling blog and thank you for spreading the word about it and our movie. After this shoot I'll post some images so you can get an idea of what we've done and the world we're trying to create.
Andrew.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Day 4
Hello.
I apologize for the delay in a follow up blog, it's been a busy few days. We had scheduled a shoot last Friday night but cancelled because of the rain. Someday we'll be able to control the weather, when we have a budget... Sunday was a long shoot. We arrived in Kasota, MN at around 9:30 and began preparing for the shoot and we finally started around 11:30. I haven't had time yet to really go through what we've gotten from the day, but most of it looks good.
I've been very, very fortunate at every step of this process to be surrounded by people with endless enthusiasm and support for this project, and it's been invaluable in assuaging much of the stress involved. In a forthcoming post I'll elaborate on them specifically and give them the credit and thanks they truly deserve, but for now all I can say is thank you, this has been so great because of you.
This coming weekend we're taking a field trip down to Iowa for some sequences. Principle shooting should be done in about three to three-and-a-half weeks. Everything we've shot so far has been edited and is waiting for the rest. After that we'll work on sound, polishing the edit, and then burn it to a dvd and send it off. I'm working on securing a venue to show the final movie in late October. I'm hoping to do it somewhere in Minneapolis but it depends on a few factors, namely how many people we think might actually attend (and so far it sounds like a lot) and thus what expense of renting out a theater we feel is justified. Word of mouth has already been very good to us and it seems every day I hear more and more people saying their friends and their friends friends want to see it when it's done. We want you to see it too.
As I mentioned in my first post this blog also aims to promote not only our work but also the work of others, and ultimately to promote valuable resources in and around the cities for artists of many disciplines to actively seek funding, education, or other opportunities to advance their art as a career. My personal investments are obviously in visual and written media so I'll begin there because I have already gathered numerous specific resources for that. However, my hope is that as this blog (hopefully) continues to attract a larger and broader readership that any resources I may have missed or simply not know about are brought to my attention so I can both utilize them myself if applicable as well as spread the word about them to other artists. Later this week I'll begin posting on specific resources I know about so don't worry, I'll keep my promise.
In the mean time, thank you for surfing the web while at work and being salaried to read my blog. My good friend Evan Kelly will be participating in a 26 hour fundraiser for the Duluth-based Renegade Theater. He and his actor amigos will be dropping it like it's hot this coming weekend so if you're in the Duluth area please go check them out and show support. He's a talented guy.
See: renegadetheater
Have a good day, and thank you for reading! "Podunk" will be here soon...
Andrew.
I apologize for the delay in a follow up blog, it's been a busy few days. We had scheduled a shoot last Friday night but cancelled because of the rain. Someday we'll be able to control the weather, when we have a budget... Sunday was a long shoot. We arrived in Kasota, MN at around 9:30 and began preparing for the shoot and we finally started around 11:30. I haven't had time yet to really go through what we've gotten from the day, but most of it looks good.
I've been very, very fortunate at every step of this process to be surrounded by people with endless enthusiasm and support for this project, and it's been invaluable in assuaging much of the stress involved. In a forthcoming post I'll elaborate on them specifically and give them the credit and thanks they truly deserve, but for now all I can say is thank you, this has been so great because of you.
This coming weekend we're taking a field trip down to Iowa for some sequences. Principle shooting should be done in about three to three-and-a-half weeks. Everything we've shot so far has been edited and is waiting for the rest. After that we'll work on sound, polishing the edit, and then burn it to a dvd and send it off. I'm working on securing a venue to show the final movie in late October. I'm hoping to do it somewhere in Minneapolis but it depends on a few factors, namely how many people we think might actually attend (and so far it sounds like a lot) and thus what expense of renting out a theater we feel is justified. Word of mouth has already been very good to us and it seems every day I hear more and more people saying their friends and their friends friends want to see it when it's done. We want you to see it too.
As I mentioned in my first post this blog also aims to promote not only our work but also the work of others, and ultimately to promote valuable resources in and around the cities for artists of many disciplines to actively seek funding, education, or other opportunities to advance their art as a career. My personal investments are obviously in visual and written media so I'll begin there because I have already gathered numerous specific resources for that. However, my hope is that as this blog (hopefully) continues to attract a larger and broader readership that any resources I may have missed or simply not know about are brought to my attention so I can both utilize them myself if applicable as well as spread the word about them to other artists. Later this week I'll begin posting on specific resources I know about so don't worry, I'll keep my promise.
In the mean time, thank you for surfing the web while at work and being salaried to read my blog. My good friend Evan Kelly will be participating in a 26 hour fundraiser for the Duluth-based Renegade Theater. He and his actor amigos will be dropping it like it's hot this coming weekend so if you're in the Duluth area please go check them out and show support. He's a talented guy.
See: renegadetheater
Have a good day, and thank you for reading! "Podunk" will be here soon...
Andrew.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Podunk.
Well, I've finally gotten around to starting this thing. The idea for a blog had been thrown around since early summer and I'm only now organized enough to sit down and do it. My name's Andrew and here you'll be able to read blog posts written by me and my friend Victoria. Who are we? We're friends and current collaborators on a short film we're shooting here in Minneapolis, Minnesota as well as in Iowa. The film (I guess technically a movie, not a film, as we are using no film...) will be finished in less than a month and will probably clock in at a little less than twenty minutes. Then we'll put it on a dvd and send it on its merry way around the country (and perhaps the world...?) to knock on the doors of film festivals to beg them to let us in.
The movie's title is 'Podunk' and is about...well... it's about the recession. I'll just say that. It's been one of the most exciting processes I've ever been a part of watching this thing go from an idea in my head to all its iterations and changes on the page and now actually seeing it right in front of me.
There's an ulterior motive involved in this blog. Aside from promoting our own work and the talented individuals involved we want this blog to serve as a way to connect individuals passionate about pursuing the arts as a career with the resources they need to do so. This includes us. Victoria and I have been looking for grant opportunities to support our growing movie-making habit if nothing comes of the festival circuit route (*fingers crossed*).
When we get our shit together on this blog it will hopefully be helpful tool for all you starving artists out there in the cities and beyond to get started. If you're like us you work a day job to pay the bills while you do what you love in your spare time. Maybe with enough work we can do what we love all the time.
Start spreading the word. This will be an underground movement to pay attention to. More soon...
Andrew.
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