Challenges and Setbacks

Sometimes the best laid plans fail and there is simply nothing within your power to change it.

My heart was set on shooting my first proper short film ‘Inside’ last weekend, and everything was ready. On Friday morning we packed the car and were heading towards Media Film Service to pick up the camera gear when news came through that our location was totally inaccessible by any means other than helicopter.

You can imagine I was less than pleased.

Still, planning a shoot in mid winter at a remote location in the Cedarberg mountains is asking for trouble. I knew this, and to be honest the news was not a big surprise. I had just pinned all my plans on the chance that we’d get good weather preceding the weekend shoot allowing the river level to subside.

There’s a few things you can do when something like this happens. You can hire a helicopter… which is what a Hollywood producer with money would have planned from the beginning, you can throw a tantrum and quit, or you can get over it with the intent (in a very active sense of the word) to let it settle and make another plan.

Inside is a great little story, full of suspense and full of meaning for myself and our lead actor Leon. I also have an opportunity which will not present itself again, of shooting with two of the best digital cinema cameras in existence. I have planned to write a technical blog series on both the Red One MX and the Arri Alexa (although I see Philip Bloom has beat me to it Philip Bloom goes solo with ALEXA). That’s okay though, I’m not Philip Bloom.

So, I’ve taken the setback as a challenge to up the game. I’m working on securing a new location, much closer to town which will change the flavour of the film but not the core of the story. It means I can return the gear sooner to the rental house, which is important as I am borrowing not hiring, and it reduces the cost of insurance which I do have to cover.

It also means I can invite more people to help out on the shoot, and that represents quite an opportunity for some who may not normally get much chance to be on a film shoot of any kind or around this technology.

The location is a bit more challenging. We may need a small lighting kit as much of the film is shot at night, but there is power on site and I am planning on taking advantage of the full moon on Friday July 15th.

I cannot publish much more detail until I have locked down the location. My plans hinge on getting that green light.

The key with setbacks like this is in the attitude you take the second after bad news hits. Don’t let it floor you, if it does you may not be cut out to produce films at all. Actively DECIDE with INTENT that this is not the end, it’s simply a hairpin turn that if you are honest with yourself, you may have been expecting.

Slow down, negotiate the bend and accelerate in a new direction.

In the words of Leon Laubscher ”We were supposed to shoot ‘Inside’ this weekend and we went away… unfortunately the weather said “NO!”… so when life throws you a lemon I say pass me the salt and tequila! “

Getting ready for INSIDE!

It’s now a three day countdown until principle photography for my second short film (or my first proper one) “INSIDE”.

I received the fantastic news only a few hours ago that I won’t only be shooting Arri Alexa, but Red One MX as well! I cannot thank Gideon Furst and the team at Media Film Service enough for making this particular dream come true. I am confident in my eye and ability to see outstanding shots, my vision for the story is strong and the location is breathtaking but now I have total confidence that I can actually capture the images that are already in my mind.

For a few weeks now I’ve felt that I didn’t really have much to blog about. Lots in the pipeline, lots of maybe’s and what if’s but I’ve been waiting for concrete answers before I make a big song and dance about it.

What’s significant to me this time around is that I have a solid story and I know beyond any doubt I can get the shots. This means that I can put my role as D.P. second to directing.

I’m also not shooting neg this time, so I can get it right and get lots of coverage and B roll without running out of film stock. With Daydream I over-compensated and still had stock left over. I also only have one location, Daydream had three and it was a challenge to get between three locations, get set up and move on all in one day.

What I have done with Inside, in common with Daydream is that there is no location sound. There are no speaking roles in this short. I’m not taking any audio gear, neither do have a sound technician, and to be honest I don’t want one. I also don’t want my actor to be concerned with delivering lines. It is a psychological thriller, very intimate to what he’s experiencing in his own mind, it borders on horror and so the visuals and performance will speak louder than any superfluous dialogue. Mood will be carried with music and sound design. What I want to see is believable performance, I want to see fear personified, to capture it and deliver it to the audience.

Daydream was an experiment in technicalities, the story was somewhat insignificant to me then. I will still finish Daydream properly, it needs a online and grade but now I’m moving on, the technicalities don’t worry me and I can concentrate on directing.

I want to point out some specific challenges to this project.

Remote Location – We are shooting in the Cedarberg mountains, at a riverside location 5kms from anywhere. I am hoping for clear skies, but the weather doesn’t really matter as long as it’s not raining. What it does mean is that we don’t have power, and we won’t be taking a generator, so I’ll be operating on batteries alone, that means no big fancy monitors and no lights.

Low Light – we will definitely be shooting at night by the light of candles, a campfire and a kerosene lamp. For these shots I am taking 21mm and 50mm Arri Master Primes at T1.3 and will be shooting wide open, hand-held. These are challenging conditions for both exposure and focus.

Festival Submission Deadline – Inside will be submitted to the Shnit International Film Festival. It’s already entered and the deadline for receipt of the preview copy is July 1st in Berne, Switzerland. We wrap the last scene on Sat June 25th, however the bulk of the film will be shot the 19th and 20th. This leaves the week between to get the bulk of the offline edit and sound design done. I plan to cut the final scene in on Sunday 26th, grade on Monday 27th and get it couriered the morning of Tuesday 28th June.

However you look at it, it’s going to be tight!

Needless to say, I am very very excited.

Going Solo | Film Courage

Check out my first blog post for Film Courage!

Going Solo | Film Courage.

Confessions of a Facebook Addict

Haha! Got your attention there!

How many of you are perhaps accused by the significant others in your life that you may be addicted to social media?

The truth is, this can be good, or it can be very bad.

I’m going to talk about the good kind, the necessary kind, the kind you MUST engage in if you want to push open doors, build a fan base around your work and push yourself forward… because NOBODY ELSE is going to do it for you.

I’m not talking about wasting your time or being distracted from important responsibilities and tasks. I’m talking about strategy, managing your own PR and being in charge of your reach, your influence and your reputation.

I have found that the two platforms to keep open in front of you at all times, all day, no matter what else you are doing are Facebook, and a good twitter client, I use Tweetdeck. Tweetdeck allows you to manage multiple twitter accounts as well as your facebook status updates from one client.

Your goal should be to engage people, both in maintaining existing relationships with friends and fans, but also seeking to engage new people every day. This is something that forms an integral part of any advice I give anyone wishing to do anything with social media. It’s a 24/7 365 job, it knows no time zones, no boundaries and it must go with you everywhere.

The fact is, too many creatives lurk in the dark waiting to be “discovered” as if there are talent scouts dredging the internet to find you and your undiscovered talent. I’ve got news for you… you will be waiting a very long time. Nobody is going to come to you asking for your demo tape, or your short film. You may have created a youtube or vimeo channel and left it there for Google to do the rest, I guarantee your channel will sit there at zero hits until you start getting it out there.

You need to take responsibility for your future, for your work, and promote the hell out of yourself. It’s not a ego thing at all, its simply standing up and making sure you are seen and counted.

I recommend that you have a intentional strategy, for your twitter, your personal facebook account, or personal fan page and any project pages you may have created, and start writing a blog. Get a real grasp on what you are trying to achieve across all these platforms and be coherent, brand yourself and make sure your branding is consistent. Be calculated and intentional with every single link you share and status update.

Give yourself a schedule if you need to and try to stick to it, an hour in the morning, and hour in the evening… more if you can manage it, or if you can multitask effectively and work with multiple monitors on your desk, keep it open on one screen to the side at all times and scan it every 10 minutes seeing if there is anything that should demand your attention.

If you find youself wondering what on earth will occupy even two hours a day, then you have an awful lot of work ahead of you and you shouldn’t even be contemplating a kickstarter or indigogo campaign.

Get involved in community… especially on twitter, join discussions, start discussions, participate in organized and scheduled conversations such as Scriptchat. Meet other creatives in your field, collaborate find out what else is going on, support others projects, take interest in others. I promise you an hour will go quicker than you can imagine.

Start writing a blog, and make sure you create new content at least once a week… make it good, write about what you know, what you have authority to write. Promote your articles on twitter and facebook. Content is what will attract people to you and your projects.

For further reading I highly recommend today’s post by Danny Lacey - You’re a Filmmaker, Get used to Self Promoting

and another article of mine published today – The Value of Authority 

No matter what anyone tells you… it’s a full time job, and you still have to get all your “real” work done.

Quarter Life Crisis… or for me more like a One-Third Life Crisis.

I was just searching my favourite online writing resource, The Script Lab for some kind of divine words of wisdom or guidance in writing a “director’s treatment” for Plague, the feature film for which I am applying to the National Film and Video Foundation for development funding. I came across this opening paragraph to a unhelpful article pertaining to commercials treatments.

I’m not writing a treatment for a commercial, I’m writing a directors treatment for a feature… whatever that is, and I’m not even the director… yet the application calls for it.

In any case I found this opening paragraph very representative of my current state of being… and thought I would share it with you.

If you haven’t noticed, lately I feel like I’m spinning into a vortex of self-loathing and reevaluation. Talking to my sister yesterday, we confirmed that this is indeed a Quarter Life Crisis. Scoff all you want, but it’s true – I mean… it feels true anyway. It’s a situation where you’re blinded by being unsure all the time, and in effect, you mistake opportunity for “getting stuck.” By “getting stuck” I mean you feel pulled in different directions, and at the same time, you feel like you can’t say no, but then you can’t seem to find the light at the end of the tunnel, the big picture, a year or 2 or 5 from now. You live in the ever present – you don’t treat this period of life like the beginning of adulthood. You treat it like the end of youth, and the beginning of the end of the rest of your life.

This is of course… retarded (pardon my flippant use of the word, but it’s the only word that really encompasses how I feel about this). What is it going to take for me to see that I’m being offered amazing opportunities, even though these opportunities pay in ass pennies?

http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/564-fear-and-loathing-in-the-commercial-industry

Setting loose your inner Oprah | johnaugust.com

This article today from John August’s blog totally dovetails with mine this morning. Strange coincidence. Give it a read.

Setting loose your inner Oprah | johnaugust.com.

Creating Credibility

When you apply for a loan at a bank, or a new cellphone contract, or these days even when you want to rent an apartment, your credit rating… your credibility in financial terms is checked. Your ability to deliver on your financial promises is judged according to your net worth, your assets minus your liabilities, and your track record.

More important than your financial credit rating in my opinion is your online credibility. I believe we are heading for a new economy where cash is not all that matters.

The good news is online credibility can be created and it doesn’t cost you anything. It does however take time and a whole lot of work.

Here’s some things that are key to increasing your online credibility score.

Authority – this is one of the primary end goals of creating credibility and a natural by product… authority in your field.

Association – “who you know”, the social circles and individuals you are seen to engage with. This plays a big part in others first and lasting impressions.

Transparency – Be honest, you’ve got nothing to hide, people smell dishonesty from a mile away and that will instantly reduce your score to zero or less than zero.

Trust – Trust is a by product of authority and association.

Reputation – Follow through on your promises and pursue excellence in everything you do.

Value – Don’t be afraid to give something of value away.

Practise these things and you will realize rewards in the form of real fans and followers, a dedicated audience for your work, and new clients and career opportunities.

This is the currency of the future, how much money you have or don’t have has little to do with it in my opinion. If you work on keeping a high online credibility, money can very easily be found as a by product of applying these principles in everything you do.