Saturday, December 14, 2013

Goals of filmmaking

I'm here to wish you a great week coming up. My favorite holiday is Halloween as I get to dress like a maniac and no one seems to care.

My goals are lofty. Sometimes they fail miserably, sometimes they just work, and sometime they work but not the way I'd hoped them to. I'd like to take a moment to share my goals and why I do them. As you can see, I treat all new ideas by starting off small and working my way up higher, and eventually I move on to something new. Over the past 7 years when I moved to California from my hometown in search of bigger and better since I saw the future that was there for me: I had nearly topped out, with very little more I could accomplish in my search of truth.

I moved to California to work. I'm serious about story, whether it's drama or comedy or documentary. I go at a steady beat. I rarely will jump in to attack. I want to seek and find out tactics from others while gathering information and learning from them as well. Know myself and know the people around me. After moving to Los Angeles almost 2 years ago, I studied by watching everyone around me -whether film related or not- to see what works and what doesn't in business and art.

Film is a specialty market. You have to reinvent yourself over and over. I've already got plans to reinvent myself once I've touched the top of the movie mountain here. I'll tell you later about that. Think of companies like Apple that make products that people don't know they need yet. That's the kind of space to be in with any entrepreneurship state that you are seeking.

I'm a writer, director, and film producer. I spend time writing with people who like to write, I'll call friends to direct them in my movie ideas, and I spend countless hours writing up business proposals, going to fundraisers encouraging others to give support, and invest in these projects, speaking at events to encourage others to do well, and overall being a witty guy. This makes me one of the best film producers I know.

Speaking of producing, my film Panomundo has a goal of $100,000 by the end of March. We have gotten support to the tune of $35,000 so far, so we are almost halfway there. And this is all private sponsorships, grants, and a little bit from crowdsourcing. When I came on to this project I had very little knowledge about Trinidad & Tobago and the steelpan. Now people ask me questions about the country and origins of the drum. Very exciting stuff. I'm going to the islands in March/April to celebrate the wonderful movie we're creating and I hope you will watch my path as I go higher and higher up this mountain. Thank you for being my friend, my fan, and a well-wisher. I'm almost there.

Why "The Crow" directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee reaches the biggest audience

In my pursuit of understanding myself and my moviemaking art, I develop deep connections to films that have changed my life. My favorite movie is "The Crow". I still own my VHS copy, I have the DVD, and I have a digital copy. I make it a point to see the movie on or near Halloween, and usually once during the summer.

I watched it on Blu-Ray this last year and saw many different things this time. The lighting seemed a little brighter and the story became more visual in its tone.

Below is a recollection of why the film got to me and why it reaches to the gothic era audience as well as male and female audience members alike.

It's a revenge story.
The reason Eric Draven does what he does is for love.
His true, only love that was taken from him, and is ultimately brought back to him.
Eric Draven as a person or as a sentient being is hurt. He does not want to put revenge on his enemy, he needs to do it.
Eric Draven is not a talker, he is a doer.
The main villains don't care about what's wrong and what's right.
It's not just an action film. It's a thriller with action elements.
The movie is shot monochromatic and it's dark. Black and white films reach to art audiences.
Eric Draven comes back to life to exact revenge on the ones that deserve it.
The film is dirty, very little is clean and crisp. There is trash blowing around the entire city.
Eric Draven is a brooding man.
The villain, T-Bird, is not the real last bad guy.
The last villain, Top Dollar, is truly sorry for what had to be done. He has to die anyway.

The film takes itself seriously as if this situation really could happen. That's where the magic comes from. No one can shake the idea that what is happening in the story is real. No one can be fully sure what happens next.



Sunday, October 6, 2013

Moviemaking and lemonade stands are a lot alike.



Who had a lemonade stand as a kid? OK, who knows the concept of a kid selling lemonade for 25 cents a cup?

Filmmaking isn’t that different from lemonade making. To make lemonade you don’t just say, “I’m going to make lemonade and sell it in the front of my lawn.” and POOF!it happens. To be in the movies you don’t just say, “I’m going to be a Director/Actor/Producer.” and it happens. Though that would be nice, right? “I want to be a filmmaker!”. POOF! “Get me Stallone and Rachel McAdams for my next picture!”

A lemonade stand takes effort, supplies, planning, specific tools, products and services to get that little paper cup full. Little Suzie Q’s mind doesn’t wrap around the fact that the cups have to be bought by the Executive Producer(Dad) and you’ll be lucky to get the cheap paper cups nevermind the red party cups. The lemons have to be picked from the tree or bought at the grocery store(by Mom the Producer), and it takes a while to build a stand(by you the Set Construction). The sign has to be made that says you are selling quality lemonade(again, you as the Art Director).

Now if you’re lucky and Mom the Producer calls all her friends to come buy a cup you’ll be doing good. But if you and her just hope for the best you might not make it. You might get lucky and a random stranger comes by kinda thirsty. Your selling skills on how good this lemonade is will be paramount. You are giving information to the potential customer about your service and how it will benefit them in the long run. Do you see? The customer can be both the ACTOR and MOVIE WATCHER. You are the DIRECTOR.

What’s the point here besides how great lemonade is? Use the tools as a filmmaker to make a great movie.

Actors: Your tools of trade are you mind and body. Hit the gym or go the park and workout regularly. Get your body do as you command. Read as much as you can, and no Entertainment Weekly doesn’t count. Take classes. Practice your craft. Work in as many movies as you can, whether paid or not. I regularly visit sets and on occasion will find an actor that I can see working with at a later date. If you’re not on set, how will someone know how good you are and approach you?

Crew: Be on movie sets. It doesn’t matter what you are there doing, just be there. Practice makes perfect. In one week, I went from Directing a commercial to Assistant Directing a short film to PAing a TV pilot and finished off the week by being a Camera Operator.

Writers: What did I do with my free time away from being on set? I wrote and I wrote and I wrote. Every feature film I have written shows improvement. Each one is better and better. I sell my writing here and there, and I feel lucky about it. Here is how I feel about luck. Being lucky is the culmination of hard work, treating people well & staying positive during times of insecurity. So work a lot, be nice, and good things will come.

Back to lemonade and moviemaking. Lemonade selling is a business. Movies are a self-selling business. Think about sales. Sales works for selling products from internet to wireless phones to gym memberships and if you can sell that, sell the idea and your self-worth to people.

It can be pretty sweet to be in this business. Sugar is what makes lemonade sweet but it only brings out the natural lemon taste. Too little sugar and lemonade becomes sour. Too much sugar and it spoils the lemonade. With just the right amount of sugar, magic can happen. Movie magic.

Go out and make the best movies (and lemonade) that you can!

Short Films are the now.



Short films have never had much clout in the entertainment industry. Sure, they can get attention, but to actually make money off it? Forget it.

Until now.

With Youtube and social media rising and people’s attention getting shorter, a movie for a quarter-dollar that runs less than 10 minutes doesn’t have too bad of a chance. You want a dollar? Forget it. I’ll just go on Youtube and watch free stuff. In a world that is completely international thanks to information, it’s all about quantity in streaming Video on Demand.

The best choice to me is Netflix or Amazon Video grabbing short comedies or thrillers and using them on their service as original content that is exclusive.

Think of being in the mood to waste some time in front of the television or internet video. Click on Netflix drop down and choose “Comedy Shorts”. Five short ten minute comedies play one after another or until you’ve had enough.

That is what will work.

TV AND MOVIES FOR PORTABLE DEVICES



I used to agree with Quentin Tarantino about his view that once movies were no longer seen in the theater that he would no longer want to make movies. Granted, he’s about twenty years older than me, and we like the same types of movies.


Sadly, the last few years I’ve realized that I’m OK with this change. People want to have a portable screen to view their content. Yes, they might have a fifty inch plasma television at home and go see the occasional movie at the theater, but they don’t want to be restricted.

I watch 90% of my movies thru Netflix now; about 5% of it on my Android phone. The other 10% is at the movie theater or video rental store. I have gone to a movie theater every month or two now, and I rent a movie from the video store if I am unable to find it on Netflix or streaming online.

I am not a supporter of Hulu because of their editing content and ads. I have the solution for them: One ad before the movie or show and one after. No inbetween. It ruins the flow of visual imagery.

So either make shorter film content or move the ad space somewhere else.

I hope Tarantino changes his mind about portable devices because I don’t want him to stop making movies. I know I won’t stop because a medium changes how it’s seen from how I originally planned for, but then again, I’m good at adapting.

Here’s hoping he is too.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The Princess Bride: Special Edition

The Special Edition starts out strong. Vivid colors, and the sound felt like it was movie theater surround sound quality. 15 minutes into it, out of nowhere, midgets started having sex with each other.

WTF! I DON'T REMEMBER THIS SCENE.

No thank you, I'll stick to the original version.

Thanks Ethan.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Reasons to love Big Trouble In Little China


  • It's American as can be. Even if you're not American, you gotta admire the passion that Jack Burton carries about him and his fellow countrymen.
  • It's cheesy as hell. There is not one real thing in the movie that truly could happen. Yet.
  • It keeps it's Chinese roots. Even though the movie is American and set in China, us the viewer, really feel like ancient Chinamen run around present day Chinatown.
  • Green eyes for Chinese girls are a rare miracle. But get this: There are always others.
  • Any way possible to get in or out. Example: To get out of a den, use a fireman's pole.
  • The entire movie's point is to stop a royal wedding.
  • Jack Burton isn't the real hero. He's a sidekick.
  • 2 unlikely best friends must save 2 hot ladies with green eyes.
  • Magic potion is real. Very real.