Somewhat Normal

Hey there. Another long-ish period of silence, but with good reason. I was pretty beat when I got back from California, plus had to catch up on the Day Job. On top of that, just before I left for Cali, I had agreed to take the position of Production Manager/Assistant Director on a short film called, "Please God, Someone Normal," filming in Arlington over Labor Day weekend. That meant that while I was in California trying to promote "Smalltimore" and meeting as many people as possible, I was also doing pre-production for PGSN. I was in contact with the Director, Jonathan Reed, almost daily, plus Michelle, who was DP and referred me to Jonathan for the job.

Friday, September 4th was the first day of filming. Jonathan treated me and Michelle like gold, even putting us up in a very nice hotel the night beforehand so we didn't have to face the hellish weekday morning drive between Baltimore and Arlington. He even found us a pet-friendly hotel so I could bring my dogs and not impose, again, on my neighbors Phil & Ron, who had just finished dogsitting duty while I was in California for 10 days.

The script was 15 pages, and is a comedy. I thought it was cute when I read it, but I wasn't sure if we could pull off all the big shots Jonathan wanted to really pull out the laughs. But it turned out to play out even funnier than it read, and Jonathan was really flexible with the actors and when he or Michelle would think up something funny on the spot, we would throw it in and give it a try.

Jonathan had flown in two friends of his from L.A. who are comedians, Steve (I never got his last name), and Noel ElGrably. They were a lot of fun and kept everyone rolling. There were so many takes during which it was nearly impossible for people not to laugh while we were filming. It is going to be a long time before any of us can think of a quesadilla without hearing techno music in our heads and picturing Noel (in the gayest voice ever) chanting, "Quesadilla, quesadilla," while sashaying and trying not to let his junk fall out of his booty shorts. You had to be there.

We were only shooting 3-4 pages a day, but that allowed us (a) to have time to set up some AMAZINGLY gorgeous shots, and (b) to actually wrap each day in 12 hours (thought we worked EVERY minute of it). In "Smalltimore" I learned to love the jib-on-a-dolly shot. In "PGSN" I got to witness a jib-on-a-dolly-on-a-ramp-built-of-plywood&apple-boxes! Impressive.

Yesterday, last day of shooting, we were woefully behind schedule at a location, the L.A. Bar & Grill on Columbia Pike. Jonathan thought we'd be done by 3pm, which is what he had told the bar owner originally, but we didn't get out of there until after 5:00pm. I was stressed and trying to move it along but there were several shots we really couldn't live without. The owner didn't get upset about it, even when he had customers start coming in at 3pm. Since we were still shooting, sometimes a Production Assistant would hold his customers outside for a minute while we finished a shot. From 3pm to 5pm I tried not to sound apologetic but at the same time not sound bitchy when I yelled, "QUIET!" before every take. As PM/AD, though, it is definitely not my job to make sure everybody likes me. They just need to listen to me. I'm okay with that, and everyone was very cooperative. I have been in that same situation, on a shoot in a bar where we are still filming after real customers come in, and either people won't be quiet, or worse, they will not only NOT be quiet but will complain loudly about how they didn't come into a bar and pay for their beer so that they can be told to shut up.

But the customers were really cool, we did not have to do a single re-take because of customer noise. When we were about to do the last shot before shooting cutaways that didn't need sound, I announced, "This is our last take with sound! Thank you so much for your patience!" and I heard one customer say, "That's okay! It was kind of cool to watch."

I forget that sometimes, that people who have never done this always, always find it fascinating. That is one of the most fun things about filmmaking - everybody wants to talk about it, all the time! People who do it love to talk about it, people who don't do it love to talk about it.

I am a Gemini, as you may or may not know, and according to my horoscope, September 4th (first day of shooting PGSN) was supposed to be a banner day in my house of career, whatever that means, and supposedly a lot of doors to future successes were to be opened for me that day. It was a fantastic shoot, and I hope and expect it will lead to other great things. It was such a pleasure to work with Jonathan, Tina, Kerry, Eddie, Jack, Patrick, Scott, Ricky, Lexy, Kenny, Cindy, Skylar, Megan, Noel, Steve, Jasmine/Kate, Sara/Heather, Marcus, Edan, Travis, Erinn, Will, and as always, Michelle. Seriously, it is a rarity to work on a set where there isn't even one single person who was lazy or unpleasant. I was very surprised to find out that the lead actress, Kate, as well as the Chief P.A. (who was more like Assistant Production Manager) Tina, had never done this before. They were total pros and on point at all times, as was everyone. I SINCERELY hope we all get to do it again sometime, and sometime SOON!

Concessions

Does a fake tan qualify as acquiescing to the superficiality of LALALand? Look, I was downright pasty. Something had to be done.

Actually, haven't even seen that many plastic people and certainly haven't met any. Since my ZZTop adventure, I haven't met anyone except film people (and the bartender at the ESPNZone), and since they are INDIE film people, they are all pretty cool.

I am not quite sure what is going on day to day here. There is no organized destination for the filmmakers to gather at the end of the day, which kind of, well, blows, because that is half the fun. But the day ends late here, last films aren't over until 11pm-ish, so that only leaves room for the hardcore to go out for a few... and apparently I haven't run into them yet.

This is my third fest and they have each been so different. Though Indie Fest has less films than the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival had, there is a far better turnout of filmmakers and their entourages. However, the audiences at each screening seem to be made up of only those same people - no locals. And though there is LOADS of foot traffic past the theater, we don't seem to be capturing any of it. The people who are walking by are here for Disney Land. And when you are paying $72 a day to go to an amusement park, you aren't going to spend any of that time (let alone extra money) in a movie theater.

And the majority of people who are here to support their films, much like the tourists, travel in packs. For many it is an excuse to come to "L.A.", though that is equivalent to being accepted to a film festival in Baltimore and using it as an excuse to go to D.C. I went to 4 screenings today (5 if you count the one I walked out of, but more on that in a minute). Most of the people that I met at the opening night party that I saw here today only went to their own screening and maybe one other.

I won't mention the names of the films I didn't care for, but I will tell you what I liked best. I started off with a foreign feature today that sounded interesting. Technically it was very good, but I could tell you the whole story in 3 to 4 sentences. It would have made a good 30 minute short. But it had two child actors who were wonderful, and initially I was very impressed by some of the steadicam shots. But then it ended up having a slew of steadicam shots, and even though those are difficult and impressive, if the film is a one-trick pony it is not as interesting to watch after awhile.

The second screening I went to was a shorts block. I did not originally intend to go to this block because none of the synopses struck my fancy, but the first buddy I made at the opening night reception was an older gentleman named Bob, who very kindly folded me into his own entourage at the party before I could even start to feel silly being there alone. I have not yet met ANYONE who has a film here who is here all by themselves. Bob is a SAG actor who lives in Fairfax, and I had a lovely conversation with his wife about a documentary on photographer Eddie Adams that we have both seen, called, "An Unlikely Weapon". Anyway, Bob plays, well, a sugardaddy, in a short called, "A Dance of Two". I also met the writer/director and the producer at the party, so I wanted to see it.

"A Dance of Two," was definitely the best short in the block. I enjoyed Bob's performance, although I felt very sad for his character. This block was a very strange mash-up, which made it difficult to get into any particular mood, so I think it is a tribute to his performance that I could get my head into the story. First there were four animated shorts. Then a mix of a few comedies and a horror, then Bob's short, which was a straightforward drama, and then the last short was a Samurai sword-fighting piece!

What I have seen quite a bit of at festivals that annoys me are shorts that are obviously more about practicing, or showing off, techniques and effects (especially with animation) rather than telling a story. I don't go to the movies to see someone's senior project, I want to get caught up in a story and forget that it is just a movie. I want to connect with the character(s), I want to love them or even hate them. I don't want to just watch them do things and marvel at how they did them. But maybe that's just me.

There was another short in that block that I really loved, an animated short called, "Skylight." I laughed my ass off at that, and when the projectionist wasn't paying attention and started running it a second time (which he did three times within the block), I was almost disappointed when he caught himself and turned it off.

The third screening was another shorts block, and this I wanted to see because at the opening night party I had also met some of these people. A short titled, "Boundaries of Attraction," had brought their own motley crew of eleven people all the way from New Hampshire. I would probably have to say this is my favorite so far, it was a very brave and very complicated piece, and had some very good performances.

Another very good one was called, "Captain." I had met a woman, I think she was the actress in the piece, at the opening night party. She was a machine. She swooped in on me and said something like, "You look like a dynamic female filmmaker that I need to meet," as she pressed a postcard of her movie into my hand. Then she said something about only asking one favor of me, and that was to see her movie. I was fine with all of that and was about to continue the conversation, but that was really all she wanted to say to me or hear from me, and she swooped onto the next person. I do admire her, I guess you'd call it, efficiency, but to be honest, I would not have felt guilty if I did not end up seeing, "Captain," because she made no real connection with me. Turns out, though, that it was VERY funny, and very polished, and I am glad I got to see it, even though it faked the death of one of the cutest dogs I have ever seen.

Also in that block was a short called, "The Cost of Living," which was very cute and starred Jim J. Bullock and Molly Hagan, who has been in a lot of stuff but I always remember her from the short-lived and underrated sitcom, "Herman's Head." She was one of the people in his head. She was actually in the audience, so a real celebrity sighting! She seemed very nice and I was within a few feet of her, but didn't really have anything to say, so I didn't speak to her. I thought I had seen Jason Schwartzman at the opening night party, but I was never quite sure it was him, and by the time I got up the (liquid) courage to go up and talk to him, he had disappeared. Which was probably best for everyone.

Part of this is my training from back in my D.C. days, dealing with celebrity clientele at the hotel that I worked in. I met loads of famous people, but I never asked anyone for an autograph, and very rarely was I ever impressed enough that they made me nervous. One exception was Adam Ant, but hey, it was the 80's, and though I could have probably beat him up, he was still hot. The other reason I don't bother celebrities unless I have something extremely pertinent to say, is that I always remember a story about a friend of a friend who ran into Dame Judy Dench (or was it the other Dame actress whose name I can't recall? Maggie Smith? I don't know...) outside of a theater in London. At a loss for words, my friend's friend blurted out, "I loved you in "Sister Act Two"! Not even "Sister Act ONE." She had to go with "Sister Act TWO." Needless to say, Dame Whomever completely ignored her, after visibly wincing.

The fourth screening... my first choice was a feature comedy, for a couple reasons. First, I wanted to check out the competition. I think there are 4 or 5 other feature length comedies besides "Smalltimore." Secondly, it was made by a female writer/director/and I think also actor. I like meeting people who wear a lot of hats. Plus, the female filmmaker thing. This is a boys club, believe it. Having been through it myself, I like to see what makes them tick. The interesting thing is that it is something different every time and I feel these are the people (multi-taskers, both male and female) I can learn the most from and I definitely receive the most inspiration from them, they impress me and so in my mind I think I pit myself and what I can do against them and their own accomplishments.

Wearing all of those hats, just FINISHING a feature length, and then having it accepted into a decent festival, that is a lot to be proud of. But, if it is supposed to be a straight-up comedy... and I have only laughed out loud (I am not that tough an audience!) maybe once in the first 20 minutes... when I reach that point in a movie, I give myself another ten minutes. If I don't laugh out loud or at least am dying to see what happens next, I leave. It has only happened a handful of times in my life, I hate to walk out of a movie. But it happened today. I was really bummed about that.

I walked down the hall to another theater where there was yet another shorts program. This was a fairly cohesive block of drama and horror. Could have lived without most of them, but they were well done. I don't like blood & guts, but even seeing a well made horror flick is better than seeing a poorly executed comedy. It has been a crapshoot so far, but that seems to be par for the course at festivals. Audiences have also been scant, though the later the screening time, the bigger the audience, so I am hoping since "Smalltimore" has the last time slot on the last night that (a) we will have a decent audience and (b) it means that the programmers thought it was a strong piece. Cross your fingers and knock on wood for me, and I'll let you know how it turns out.

Comedy of Errors

[Tiffany Ariany as Angela, goofing around on the set]

Sorry about the break, just been busy, AND tired of sitting on my hindquarters (my ass actually HURTS from sitting so much). I drove up to Mikey's cabin last Friday, it is a 200-mile hike. The next day Mikey and I ran around scouting locations for a future project, and in the process logged another 200 miles. That Sunday, Mikey returned to NYC and I only put 140 miles on the car running around without him, then Monday drove 200 back to Baltimore - after an editing session of 9 hours straight from 9:00pm Sunday night to 6:00am Monday morning. That is a LOT of sitting.

But all worth it. I have been so holed up in my cave, editing or doing other movie-related stuff, it was nice to see the light of day, trees, people, etc. And equally importantly I did get a lot done in that nine-hour session - the GAG REEL!

I think it must be everyone's favorite part of a movie. Don't you always hope that you get to see the clips of actors messing up while the credits roll? I don't care if it is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Actually, that makes it even more funny to see the behind-the-scenes.

I was afraid I wouldn't have much to work with. Because we were shooting with the P2 (digital) cards, we did have a limited amount of recording time per day, and there were a couple days where we used up almost every second. So, as soon as I yelled, "cut!" Michelle would turn off the camera to preserve space on the cards. Therefore, when we did have a screw-up, even a funny one, we didn't have the luxury of letting the camera roll to capture it.

Another lesson learned. On the pick-up day that Eric served as DP, we shot on MiniDV tapes, so we could fool around and keep the camera rolling no matter what. Tape is pretty cheap. However, downloading is a bigger pain with tape, as you download in real time (one hour of tape = one hour of downloading), whereas offloading the P2 digital cards is much faster, something like 1/6 of the time. Also the great thing about the cards is that every time you shut the camera off, it stores that bit as a separate clip. With tape, it is one continuous stream and you have to chop it up yourself in post-production. Some people still prefer doing it this way, but I well prefer working with the cards. SO much easier in my opinion.

Except that you can't just let the camera roll. I know (yet another) something I would do differently next time to alleviate that problem, though. There was one day where we were literally down to the last take because the cards were full. If we didn't get it right on that take, we would have had to have gone back and erased some earlier footage to get another take in. An easy solution would have been to have the hard drive on the set and had one of the Assistant Camera people offload what we had recorded so far onto the drive during lunch. That is definitely the way I will work it the next time.

But, turns out I had PLENTY to work with. Everybody screws up sometime, thank goodness! If it hadn't been so funny, I never would have stayed up until 6:00am working on it. I think it turned out really well. I am soooo ready to be done with editing, but I am glad I made myself do this. Sometimes in retrospect it is hard for me to remember how much fun production was, because I was so focused and wearing so many hats at the same time. I didn't have that much time to enjoy it while it was happening because I had to keep myself and everyone on track. But in the gag reel you can hear me laughing at every single screw-up, and it brought it all back to me that I did have fun, every single day, even the days that I wanted to kill someone (or myself).

The gag reel will run at the end of the movie, with the credits. NO ONE has seen it except me, and no one will before the premiere. So you better be there!

Sunday, May 3rd
SMALLTIMORE PREMIERE!!!
at the Wind-Up Space
Doors 6:00pm
Screening 7:00pm
Cover $7
Cash bar

The Ups and the Downs

[Cheryl Scungio always plays the sweet soccer mom. But not in my movie.]

I received a follow-up email this morning from The Heart of England Festival, where "Smalltimore," is screening on June 8th in Tamworth, England. It was a list of the awards nominations, which, I am sorry to say, "Smalltimore," is not on. I told you before that I would share the disappointments with you as well as the shining moments, so I thought I should let you know.

To be honest, the only reason I thought we MIGHT have a shot at a nomination, and, indeed, the only reason I submitted to this festival in the first place, is because there are awards categories for both, "American Feature," and, "First Film (by a director)". The HOE is only in its second year, so I thought it was at least possible. I am a little disappointed, but not crushed or anything, and I still plan on going to the festival (somehow).

It will save me some money in the long run, because "Smalltimore" screens on the first day of the festival, and the awards ceremony is on the last day of the festival, so I would have stayed in Tamworth all week, but I probably will just stay a few days now. It might work out for the best altogether, because there is another festival at the end of that week that we might get into, and if I can get into and go to that then I won't feel like I am missing anything in Tamworth, though "Smalltimore" would still be eligible for the Best of Festival Award.

I don't really have any delusions of grandeur, and as I have said before, if "Smalltimore" wins an award for anything, it would likely be for the soundtrack - 37 original songs by 11 Baltimore artists - of which I am very proud, and I would love, love, love for those artists to receive some well-deserved kudos.

Romantic comedies are a hard sell at festivals, at least romantic comedies that don't have big stars in them. When most people think, "film festival," they think, "weird," "unexpected," "bizarre". And "Smalltimore," is none of those things. In my completely unbiased opinion ;) it is simply a story well-told, that most people can relate to, with a solid cast, cinematography above and beyond what is expected of most indies, and a killer soundtrack. So, I am happy to just get INTO a few festivals.

The timing of this notice is probably good, it is a minor test run as to how to deal with the blows as I will inevitably start receiving some rejection notices very soon. For the next six weeks I will be hearing yay or nay from at least one festival per week. In a way, I feel like every submission is a long shot, with the exception of certain festivals like the ones that are specifically centered around female filmmakers, though there are only a couple of those. There are a few that, I'll admit, if we don't get into, I will be rather upset about.

But on the other hand, I know I'll be fine no matter what, and I stand by the movie no matter what. I know that I (and a whole lot of other people) really worked my ass off and did the absolute best I could do, and just getting the thing DONE is equivalent to "success". If I was a person who was very beholden to what other people think of me, I wouldn't have put myself out there (i.e., making the movie) to begin with. It's all good. It's all very, very good.