The People in Your Neighborhood

[Smalltimore poster designed by Kyle Holtgren!]

I am really starting to get excited now that I have a few more things off my plate, and particularly because some of those things are the layout of the promotional postcard and poster for the screening, which I shipped off to the printers (online) yesterday. By the way, if you need stuff like this, you should use Grove Printing (www.groveprinting.com), they are cheap, their stuff looks great, easy as pie to order online (seriously, if I can do it...), and fast turnaround time. Anyway, Kyle Holtgren (David in "Smalltimore" - he is a man of many talents) is my graphic artist saviour, and if you are making a movie that you eventually intend to promote, you need someone like him on your team. For a living, Kyle designs beer labels for Fordham Brewing, and they are honestly the most gorgeous beer labels you can imagine!

So Kyle is a triple threat - a little acting, graphic design, AND he works for a brewing company! Soooo, when we were filming, Kyle helped land me a few cases of Fordham Brew to use as props in "Smalltimore". Many of the scenes take place in bars, because (a) it is a movie set in Baltimore and (b) it is my movie. So it was quite helpful to have bottles of beer on the bar and tables and not have to hide the labels - a dead giveaway of a low-budget indie.

Another person who came in quite handy in that regard was my friend Ken "Lord of the Beers" Dean, who also happens to be the husband of my Production Manager, Rebecca Clear Dean. Ken tended bar for many years at Sascha's, and he also helped out the production by procuring even more cases of beer from his buddies at Magic Hat. If you watch closely when you see "Smalltimore," you will notice that Gracie always drinks Magic Hat No. 9, Bentley Always drinks Circus Boy (my Magic Hat fave), and Melanie always drinks Lucky Kat.

When making a movie, I am always thinking about production values, and using anything at my disposal - friends who are stunt men, gorgeous mansion homes of people I know, children, animals, artwork, music, whatever... but you also need to think about the people you have in your arsenal for behind the scenes stuff like graphic design, and alcohol supplies. Very important.

Don't be afraid to ask your friends if they would like to lend their special talents to your project. Most often people are not only willing to do so, but thrilled to be asked, because you know what? Making movies is cool. I'm not gonna lie, it is. I can tell you, and I have, about all the little crappy things that go into making a movie that most people don't think about, but even with all that stuff, it is cool, and fun, and I have yet to meet the person who doesn't think so. I used to feel guilty asking people to do things like come be an extra for 12 hours, which probably entails 2 to 3 hours of rolling cameras and the rest of the time just sitting around, often not being able to talk. I still feel a tiny bit guilty, but that usually goes away after we wrap for the day and I tell those people, sorry that took so long, hope you weren't bored to death, and they look at me with their eyes a little wider than usual and their cheeks sometimes a little flushed even and they almost always say the same thing, something along the lines of, no, that was really cool, I had no idea how much goes on behind the scenes, call me the next time you are doing something!

So when you are planning to shoot a movie, even a little one, think about those things, the talents of your friends, and put them to work. My neighbor Joe, a hairdresser, helped me out a couple days on Smalltimore, my friend Lisa, a cosmetologist, did make-up for me on my short The Red-Headed Menace, and a million other examples I could give you. You can't do it all yourself. Just ask Regina Guy, who has no less than FOUR credits in "Smalltimore". I work her ass off every chance I get, and she loves it, loves being on the set, being a part of the collaborative effort, loves being appreciated for the things she does well. If you don't believe me, ask her yourself on the night of the screening, as she will be helping me sell tickets at the theater and then selling DVDs at the party! Because she is awesome like that, as are Kyle, Ken, Joe, Lisa, etc, etc, etc... You probably have friends almost as awesome, put them to good use!

p.s. there will be a VERY limited run of 150 of the above posters for sale at the party. They are 13 x 19 and will be $5 each, so if you want one, snap them up fast at the party, when they are gone, they're gone!

Onward & Forward

[I hope to shoot my next short in this building, a creepy old Civil War-era jail. Am I the only one who sees the face of a bald inmate staring me down in this photo?]

Just a short one today, I have loads to do and have been distracted by Facebook and the Pittsburgh Steelers all day, nope, don't wanna talk about it.

The Poconos shoot is shelved probably until March. I need some distance from the piece right now. It is like in football, when your team is rolling down the field on an incredible drive and just as everyone knows you are about to score, the other side calls a time out and it messes up your whole groove. If I tried to immediately regroup and get it done, it wouldn't be good, and I just don't have time to do it well before the "Smalltimore" screening on December 9th, and after that the weather is probably going to make it too difficult, along with some scheduling issues.

So, gotta shake it off. I recently visited a Civil War-era jail that is under renovation. It is a very cool location and I have an open invitation to shoot there. The script has been stewing in my brain since I saw the place, and I believe I will get started on it soon. Just a short, but very different from things I have done so far.

Tomorrow I will be announcing here the final line-up for the "Smalltimore" screening post-party at The Wind-Up Space. If you are a fan on the "Smalltimore, the movie" Facebook page, though, it is old news to you because those fans get the info first. If you haven't become a fan yet, please click the link in the sidebar and get in the loop!

And now, I am off to tackle something I have been dreading but also am very excited about: setting up my brand-new DVD duplicator. There are a lot of instructions. I HATE reading instructions. But I am going to take my time and read them word for word and get this thing rolling. Miles to go before I sleep, piles (of DVDs) to burn before I screen...

"No Rest For the Wicked...

...and the good don't need it!" That's what my old boss used to tell me, anyway. Though I think he was just trying to get me to laugh about working 70+ hours a week. To imagine I want to get out of the hotel business and into the movie business! It isn't any less work, though it is more fun, and usually does not involve making beds (though even that comes into play from time to time when dressing a set - hotel management experience really does lend itself to moviemaking!).



The above photo may not LOOK like work, and it wasn't really, but it is still movie-related and I am still doing my part to promote Baltimore as The Place To Be for indie filmmakers. The guy checking out Orpheus' bum at Fort McHenry is my friend & fellow filmmaker Adam Bronstein ("My Movie Girl", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7gQ2mCu-PE), who was visiting from L.A. Well, actually he lives in L.A. but was on the east coast because his film screened in NYC last week and he has family over here and had been visiting his Dad in NYC and his Mom & sister in Philly, so he was almost here already, but it sounds cooler to say he was visiting from L.A. than he was visiting from Philly. Though now I've gone and ruined that.

Anyway. I've mentioned Adam before, I met him at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival in June. We stayed in touch and when "Smalltimore" screened in Anaheim he drove 2 hours through hellacious traffic to see it and did that again to come to the awards ceremony where I won Best Director. Then his movie screened in NYC last week so I went up there for that, then he came to Baltimore for 3 days to hang out. It was really fun showing him the locations where we filmed "Smalltimore" and he even got to meet and hang out with 3 of the actors.

While I was in NYC, in addition to seeing Adam I also got to see Mikey B, one of my Exec Producers, and another filmmaker, Vagabond Beaumont (http://www.machetero-movie.com/MACHETERO/Welcome.html). I had met Vagabond at my very first festival, The Heart of England FF, in June, and hadn't seen him since so that was fun. Also I went to see the Broadway show "Oleanna" starring Bill Pullman, and got to see him for a few minutes afterwords. If you go waaaay back to the near beginning of this blog (actually, the previous blog, www.charmcitythemovie.blogspot.com) you can read about Bill's influence on "Smalltimore". Too much to go into right now. Bottom line, he is a great guy, and has been a great cheerleader and very supportive of my efforts as I elbow my way into this world.

The day before getting to NYC I went up to Mikey's cabin in the Poconos with Michelle and her girlfriend/AC/right arm Megan, to do some pre-production for the new short we will be shooting in November. That was both fun and very productive, and we are all feeling really good about this project. In less than 3 hours from the time I am writing this, the two actresses in the short are coming to my place for our first read-through. I love this part of the process. Not everyone does this. I like to have this time to give my actors some input. I believe it strengthens the characters if the actors are given a chance to tweak them just a little, to work out any dialogue that might not come across as naturally in life as it does on the page, and to give the actors time to question me about the background of the characters. It helps them to own the part, as well as giving them a sense of ownership in the entire process. When we were doing the table read of "Smalltimore" last summer, several of the actors commented to me that it was very cool to have their opinions considered. That doesn't mean I changed everything they suggested, it is just that actors so rarely are asked for input, and they appreciated being heard. As a director it gives me a better handle on where they are coming from, and for the actors it gives them a chance to become comfortable with me and my style.

Of course there is a whole lot more going on on top of that. Last night was the Members' Committee meeting at the Creative Alliance, where we screen films that have been submitted for the next 4 months of programming and weigh in on if we think they are a good fit. Tonight I am going to go over some materials that were sent to me by Li Zhu, who I have worked with on a couple other projects and I will be helping her with casting her new short. I really love casting. It is like Christmas shopping to me, finding the perfect actor for the part is like finding the perfect gift for a friend. When it is perfect, you just know it, and there is such a satisfaction in that.

The big deal, of course, is the "Smalltimore" screening at The Charles Theater six weeks from now. I have to get together with Kyle Holtgren ASAP, he is going to help me design some marketing materials and cover art for the DVD, and I will probably have to get Cheryl Scungio to come in for a photo shoot so we can slap her smiling face on the cover and posters, since she's my lead.

Then there is figuring out how many DVDs to make and how to make them. I ordered the DVDs and cases in bulk yesterday, and dropped off the check for the theater rental the day before that... it is no joke that you have to spend money to make money. Actually, the saying should be, "You have to spend money to have a snowball's chance in hell of breaking even," but I guess that is not as catchy and slightly discouraging. Economics is so very... inconvenient. If I want to make 600 duplicates of the DVD, I can pay someone else to do it and spend $700-$1,000. Or I can buy a low-end DVD duplicator for about $1,300, not including ink cartridges. Or I can buy a better one for about $2,000. Or I can try to burn 25 DVDs a day from my laptop for the next month and hope that that doesn't kill my very expensive laptop. Which is the only option that at this moment I can actually AFFORD.

Buying the duplicator makes the most sense and it would pay for itself if I sell enough DVDs in the not-too-distant future. I just don't have the money to do it, not even on credit right now. So the best I can come up with for the moment is, start off burning DVDs from my laptop for the next 3 weeks, make only the minimum payment on my credit cards this month from my first paycheck and then with the remnants of my first November paycheck and pretty much all of the second November paycheck, buy the duplicator and I'll have it about 2 weeks before the screening date and have time to make a couple hundred on that, before killing my laptop. And then everyone I have ever met needs to buy at least two DVDs of "Smalltimore". This means you.

I am not saying all of this to complain, and it will work itself out, I always find a way. I am just saying this because that is what this blog is for, to let you know everything that goes into all of this, not just the fun and sexy parts that result in a decent final product or big event. There is a lot of elbow grease, and a lot of cold, hard cash, that go into both.

Not to mention time! Somehow in the month of November I have to pull all of this off, including casting for Li and shooting this short for 3 days in the Poconos. Oh, and on December 12, three days after the screening, I am teaching a pre-production class at the Creative Alliance (http://www.creativealliance.org/events/eventItem1985.html), and I need to prepare for that.

Well, I have to go get ready for the table read now. Put some snacks and drinks together for my actors (Megan Rippey and Julia Broder, if you're curious), and read over the script again to mentally prepare myself. It is a heavy drama and it will be interesting to me to see the difference in this type of table read. The one for "Smalltimore," was a blast, 15 people sitting around the table laughing our heads off. This time, just three of us, and one of the actors (Julia) I haven't even met in person yet, I cast her from seeing her at the Stonehenge auditions.

I think if I ever decide to get out of the filmmaking circus I might... join the circus! It is sort of like that, so much going on at one time, making sure each ring is under control and operating smoothly. Either that or firefighting. Lord knows I have enough experience putting those out! I probably wouldn't meet the height requirement, though.

More semi-incriminating photos of Adam Bronstein will soon be posted on the Smalltimore, the Movie Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Smalltimore-the-movie/54159809709?ref=ts. Keep up to date with Smalltimore happenings both there and here!

SMALLTIMORE DVD Release & Screening!

[Cheryl Scungio, Johnny Benson, and Kelly Coston in "Smalltimore"]

I have been ridiculously busy and surprisingly productive lately, speaking at the film class at UMBC, applying for some local film-related fellowships, writing my film resume, finishing the script for the new short, going with Michelle to Mikey's cabin to do some pre-production for that short, scouting locations for the short AFTER that short (not yet written, still brewing), going to New York to see my friend Adam's film, "My Movie Girl", at the CMJ Festival (I submitted, too, didn't get in :( but very happy to be there to support Adam!), but most importantly, nailing down the big screening and DVD release of "Smalltimore" at The Charles Theater!

"Smalltimore" Screening & DVD Release
Wednesday, December 9th
7:00pm at The Charles Theater
1711 North Charles Street, Baltimore

RSVP here via Facebook to the Social Event of the Season! All are welcome!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=191001070349&index=1

There will be an EPIC post-party very close by, immediately following the screening. Details to be announced soon. Hope to see you there!

I am exhausted, but will write more when time permits. Enjoy my brevity for the moment, we both know it won't last :)

Big in Japan

[At the Indie Fest Awards with Sotu a.k.a. the CannibAlien, whose short "CannibAlien" also won]

I promised on the STM Facebook page that the next posting would be about the photo on this link:

http://ameblo.jp/cannibalien/image-10344096510-10255080138.html

I can't seem to copy & paste the pic, which sucks because I really love this pic! It is even better than the one above. Everything on the page is in Japanese, though, so I can't tell if there is a way to do it that I can't figure out.

Well, ALMOST everything is in Japanese. The caption of this photo reads "CannibAlien Can't Eat Rat". I was quite taken aback by this. I thought maybe Sotu thought it was a page I would never see and he was outright insulting me! This hurt my feelings, because he was very nice at the film festival and I talked to him several times. But finally I found that using one of the buttons that are in Japanese, I could scroll through other pictures of him with the mask at the awards night, and in all of them, he was pretending to eat some screaming person, and under each, the caption was, "CannibAlien Can't Eat Rat." Maybe it is a generalization about Americans, or maybe this is a ridiculously funny joke in Japan that just doesn't translate. Couldn't tell you.

Without rehashing everything I have already told you about Indie Fest and how weird it was to be in freakin' Disney Land by one's self, I do want to tell you a little about Sotu (as I only know a little about him). I believe he is the writer/director on CannibAlien, but I am not sure because his English was limited (though 100% better than my Japanese), and that is not the name on the credits.

I think Sotu was the only other filmmaker at the fest who was traveling by himself. The first day, he asked me where the sign-in table was and I pointed it out to him. The second night, I was standing in front of the theater waiting for the nightly Disney fireworks to start. He was nearby and kept looking at me. I knew he wanted to talk to me, but since for the first day and a half no one was really socializing, I was sliding dangerously deep into solitary mode. All these things were going through my stupid head,

Jeanie, for pete's sake, just talk to the poor guy, he obviously wants to talk to you, and I don't think it is in a hitting-on-me way at all, I am not getting that vibe, he's just alone, like you, in this weird place, which is even weirder for him because it is a foreign country, just give him the green light to say hello, you are probably looking like a stuck-up bitch right now, just SAY SOMETHING,

He kept lurking about and finally started talking to me, and I think we were both relieved. After that, it was all good and when we would run into each other at the fest we would smile and chat for a minute, and I was very happy for him when his short won because it was honestly REALLY good and he seemed to relax and have a lot of fun that night.

I just flipped back through the posts I wrote from Indie Fest, and I can't believe I didn't mention Bob Keiper. He is an actor who had a short in the fest. I met him at the Opening Night Party, while we were in line waiting to go into the ballroom at the Disney Hotel. He is an older gentleman, and asked if he could cut in line with me, his family was already inside. We exchanged vital movie-related stats while we shuffled slowly to the door, and once inside, he invited me to sit at the table with him and his wife and the director and producer of his movie, "A Dance of Two". Bob lives in Northern Virginia and we had a lot to chat about, and I spent a good bit of time talking to his very sweet wife, also. They both talked about how Bob was not usually very outgoing in a crowd of people that he doesn't know, so it is hard for him to force himself to network. Of course I said, me, too! Later, Bob and I walked around a little bit and did exactly that. It was easier to do it with someone who felt the same way. I've taken that walk sometimes with people who are VERY good at schmoozing and I can sometimes become a shrinking violet in that situation. But here was Bob, who has not only got a few years on me but is also SAG, and he is just as shy as I can be when I am out of my element! To have a compatriot in that situation made it a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable.

When I first got my feet wet in the biz, I thought I was the only one who felt that way, but in talking to a lot of filmmakers, I have found out that it is really the norm. We're all in the same boat. We are in an unfamiliar city, sometimes even in an unfamiliar country, putting ourselves on display via our films, waiting to be judged, hoping for the best and almost constantly just wishing someone would talk to us.

At the Heart of England Festival, my first, it was cool because everything was so contained, and none of the other filmmakers had brought a traveling companion, and most of them were American, so we just automatically hung out together. In Philly, I was a bit overwhelmed, it was much larger, much more spread out, social gatherings every night, and everyone was rabidly marketing themselves. Mikey was there with me, and in retrospect, I will admit I used him as a crutch and was not nearly as social as I should have been, though I did meet several people there with whom I am still in touch.

But Indie Fest really sealed the deal for me in a way, and it is frustrating to me now to not have another festival lined up because now I think I've got it. I met some people there who made some GREAT movies, and some of them had rather large groups with them, but they seemed really happy when I would make the rally call, "Let's go have a drink at the House of Blues!" Winning Best Director gave me more confidence in my abilities in that capacity, but attending these festivals has given me immeasurably more confidence in my self, and I am finding myself to be comfortable more and more often in situations that not that long ago would have completely stressed me out.

Some filmmakers put WAY too many expectations on the festival circuit, and others think it is a load of crap and there is little to be gained from it. The people who keep their respective faiths at those opposing extremes are missing much of the point and most of the fun, in my opinion. I went into this with no delusions of grandeur, and personally, I think they were worth every penny.

Finally!!!

After several days of feeling like a freaking leper, or that I wasted a lot of money coming out here, finally I have various people talking/responding to me, including the guy that I thought was Jason Schwartzman. He's not. But he's still cute. Just with a smaller mole.

Besides I just found out that Jason Schwartzman just got married, so screw that guy (who has never met me and has no idea who I am) for not waiting for me.

Tonight was actually FUN. Karaoke (as a spectator sport only) at the House of Blues. I am fading so I will leave it at that. Can't wait to see (at a minimum) Adam, Steve, and Cindy tomorrow night; but I hope to see many others, including Vince, Patrick, Joe, Sato, Paul's friends, etc...

I gotta sleep. G'night.

Perspective

[Reviewing footage of the end piece for my new short, "The Red-Headed Menace" - photo by Regina Guy]

Almost back to normal. This weekend (er, last weekend, I guess, as tomorrow starts another one) was very intense. How the hell did I do this for two weeks straight last summer? Must have been pure adrenaline.

I did finish a rough cut sans credits last night. Worked for about 8 hours, right now it totals about 6 minutes of movie. It will be 7-8 with credits. I have to credit nearly 50 people! One of whom I neglected to mention in my last post is my new friend Billy Poe. Billy is an author and documentarian and we "met" when he sent me a message with some questions about the pre-production class I was supposed to teach at the Creative Alliance on June 6, that I had to cancel when I accidentally poisoned my dogs. (BTW, I will be teaching that class on December 12 at the CA, barring any rat poison debacles). We kept in touch via email for 6 weeks talking shop, and I asked Billy if he would want to film behind-the-scenes stuff on the shoot of "The Red-Headed Menace" for me. So that was the day we met in person for the first time, and I only had about 5 minutes, collectively, to actually speak to him all day. He was extremely unobtrusive and I'm sure he got some great stuff. Maybe some day we will have time to sit down for a drink or something.

Behind-the-scenes footage, or rather lack thereof, is one of my bigger regrets about shooting, "Smalltimore," last summer. I did have a handheld video camera on the set most days, but I didn't have anyone with any experience to assign to it. I would definitely recommend having someone do that for you for every shoot that you can. Especially if you are directing, you are so focused that you don't have time to really absorb the circus that is around you, it is all you can do to keep it under control.

I have to say again that Sunday's shoot went pretty damn smoothly. There was amazingly little to no tension, at least from my perspective. Apparently I did, "intimidate," a few people. That is never my intention, but I can't spend a lot of time worrying about it. I think even those that said that understood by the end of the day why I have to be like that on the set.

What was a little difficult was switching gears when it was time to direct the kids. Of course, that takes a gentler touch. I had two kids in "Smalltimore," but they are my little cousins, so they were already comfortable with me and I knew they'd listen and not get scared (though the younger one, Sean, sometimes gets nervous at first). For kids, you have to take extra time and care to make them feel comfortable, especially with so many people on the set. It is very difficult for them to NOT look at the camera, so I had to position myself behind whichever actor they were supposed to be addressing their lines to and told them to look at me. This seemed to work pretty well and put them more at ease.

Nicole, the oldest (12) was a champ, and for the most part I could direct her as I did any of the adults. Colleen (8) is a friend of my little cousin Sean, and she had a part in, "Juju." She was such a natural that I knew the next time I wrote something, I wanted to write a part in for her. In the first draft of, "The Red-Headed Menace," there was only one kid, a part I had written for Colleen. But at first I wasn't able to reach her, which is when I found Nicole, and then Charlie's mom emailed me with a picture and he was so cute I had to put him in there, and then Colleen's mom got back to me and I thought, what the hell? I GUARANTEE you that no other movie in the 29 Days Later Film Project is going to have THREE cute red-headed kids! Production value, baby!

And that is both my strength, I think, and my curse: Production Value. I just can't do anything half-assed. For my restaurant scene, I couldn't just throw spaghetti on a plain plate and put a glass of water on the table. My Mom and I were up into the wee hours the night before, arranging fanned slices of steak on my Lenox china ("Autumn" pattern, their most expensive) and steaming vegetables so they were nice and brightly colored. We filmed on Sunday, so the liquor stores were closed and as I dressed the set I realized I had no red wine! My neighbor Philip came to my rescue and sent half a bottle over, to be poured in real crystal wine glasses, also Lenox ("McKinley"). I washed the tablecloths just that morning so that I could put them on the tables AFTER the crew had rigged the lights, so they wouldn't mess them up, and wile they were still a little damp so they wouldn't be too wrinkled. My Mom made the flower arrangements for each table. When Elizabeth, one of the PAs, set the silverware, it took her extra tie to do so because I told her the settings had to match. Votives on every table. Some plates fresh, some half-eaten, some tables ordering dessert... I think about all these things and this is why I don't get around to other things I need to be doing, like a shot list.

I did, though, break down the script in the order which I wanted to shoot the scenes, and Unique numbered them for me and kept everything straight, and saved my ass several times with continuity issues. Having a script supervisor/continuity person was another luxury I really didn't have on, "Smalltimore." It was awfully nice to have it this time.

So, yea, I had all these people I didn't have on, "Smalltimore," an Assistant Director, a Scripty/Continuity, a Behind-the-Scenes guy... still, I need to delegate more of the pre-production and production work so I can better direct.

One luxury I DID have on "Smalltimore" that I did not have on "The Red-Headed Menace," was rehearsal time. I really wish I could have done that for this project, at least for the actors with the bulk of the lines, some of whom had never met so did not have established chemistry, some like me and Michelle who could have really used that to ease into putting ourself out on a limb like that.

I also should have scheduled a good hour and a half per page of shooting time (not including set-up or breaks). Or at least done one or the other (rehearsals + a shorter shoot, or if I know I can't have rehearsals, allow more time for shooting). To have done no rehearsals at all and scheduled a short shoot was just not how I would have liked to work. For "Smalltimore" I felt slightly guilty asking the actors for more of their time for rehearsals prior to production, but it was by far one of the best things I could have done. For a short like this, probably the best thing to do would have the actors come in at the same tie as the crew (4 hours before shooting began) to run the scenes and do blocking.

Sound is also an issue that continues to plague me, but the more I do it, the better I become at it, and to be able to finesse the sound yourself in post will save you THOUSANDS of dollars on a feature-length film. The best thing, of course, is to get it right while you are ON the set, but there are always glitches. If you can figure out how to fix them yourself, you'll be glad you took the time to do so. Next time I am doing a shot list if it kills me, INCLUDING Foley stuff (sound effects). Get it all done on the set and then you don't have to worry about it.

A filmmaker I was talking to recently, I think it was Ronnie Goodwin, I met him at the Heart of England Film Festival, made a suggestion to me that made so much sense I couldn't believe it had never crossed my mind. Every time he creates or records a specific sound (champagne popping, duck quacking, helicopter, rushing water, ambient sound in a crowded room, whatever, he keeps the clips altogether in a sound effects file for future use. If you shoot on a regular basis, you can establish a library of sound effects pretty quickly doing this. I am going to have to borrow ambient crowd noise from some "Smalltimore," footage, as we did indeed forget to record that while we had all the actors and extras on the set for TRHM.

I think those are my main regrets about this latest shoot, though they are negligible considering how well it all went. It was really fun, and it was amazing to me as I sat and edited last night, when the camera was rolling before I said, "Action!" or after I said, "Cut!" more than half the time we would be laughing about something. Even though it was intense and a lot of work, and a long day, it was relaxing in its way. Everyone was there because they wanted to be there, and as the day wore on, they seemed to get more excited about it instead of fading out on me. There were a lot of good photos taken that day, but the one at the top of this post is my favorite. It was about 8:30pm and we were reviewing the shot we just did, the stunt that wraps up the short, just before we are going to break for dinner (half an hour late), and after dinner we still have another two hours of shooting to do. That everyone in this photo is genuinely smiling and laughing makes me feel very good, like not only is the footage what I wanted it to be, but also they were just happy to be there and to be a part of the project. It was a great day, a great cast and a great crew, and this is the photo that spurs me on to think about the next project that I want to do, and within a few months, not a whole year from now. Who's in?

All Systems Go

I am sure I am not the only one who works this way, but I just have to do things when all of a sudden I can't NOT do them anymore. I've been having a very hard time writing this short for the 29 Days Later Film Festival. I've never written a short before and it is HARD, it is hard to decide what to make your story about, and it is very hard to try to squeeze a whole story into 3 to 8 minutes.

The hardest part for me is inventing characters out of thin air. Usually I base my characters on a real person, or more accurately, a combination of real people, OR if I know specifically who will be playing the part, then that makes it a lot easier to write for them, if I know their mannerisms or how they would naturally react to something. Up until yesterday, though I had some ideas, in that I knew the people that I wanted for certain roles, but I had not yet contacted them so I didn't know if they were going to play that part. After a flurry of emails, phone calls, text messages, and Facebook postings, I am happy to report that every single person I set out to get for the principle roles were available, willing, and excited to be a part of it. So now I can really hone the script to them and it is a HUGE weight off me shoulders.

Not only that, but my fellow Baltimore Socialite of the Artistic Circles, Lois Tuttle, put the word out for me as well and set a chain in motion that has rounded me up almost a dozen extras already! Extras are such a tough thing to deal with. Though I know a few people who do a lot of extra work and enjoy it, mostly it is a lot of hurry up and wait for them on the set, and for the director it is an anxiety factor in that you never know if they are actually going to show up. Having little to no extras in the background in scenes that SHOULD have a good number of people is a dead-giveaway that you had no budget to speak of. Having bodies milling about in the background is a lot like having proper lighting: you only notice it if it is absent, AND there is no way to fake it. No one ever looks at a scene and says, wow, look at all those extras in this restaurant, this looks so professional, they must have had a huge budget! But if there is an empty restaurant save for the speaking characters, it can look so fake and terrible, and it stands out like a sore thumb. So I am very happy and send out major thanks to Lois and her friend Steph for rounding up these folks for me!

Also I am psyched that some other people I have worked with on other projects are on board. Fred Baeshe (sound) who is working on the Steve Yeager project, "The Rosens," with me, and Unique Dowtin (script supervisor/continuity), Craig Herron (special effects/CG), Jeff Wilhelm and Mark Mosier (stunts), who all worked with me on the set of "Juju: The Witch Doctor Chronicles"). Plus, of course, my staples, Director of Photography Michelle Farrell and craft services manager Regina Guy, who will also have a nice-sized role in the short. For a small, last-minute, no-budget short, I could not be more pleased with the cast and crew I've assembled. It is such a great feeling when someone says that they really want to work with you, or even better, that they want to work with you again! Makes me feel like I must be doing something right. Can't wait to get back on the set!

The Oracle

Wikipedia: An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature.

[ANOTHER of my Executive Producers, Tom Kyte, offering me a cherry bomb at the Mount Royal Tavern, a.k.a. The Dirt Church, in Baltimore - photo by Melanie Caffrey]

Okay, I WAS going to write more about my experience in Philly in this posting, and I will get to that eventually, but apparently my last post, or more specifically, the photo caption on my last post, got me into some trouble and I have to make amends.

If you are a regular reader of the blog, you know that there are several Executive Producers (i.e., people who gave me money to make the movie) for SMALLTIMORE. Granted, I do talk about Mikey the most, because, well, I SEE him on a regular basis, even though he lives in NYC, which, if you need a reference point, is much further away, than say, Leesburg, Virginia.

The caption of the previous post starts off with, "Executive Producer Michael Bordenick..." According to another Executive Producer of mine, Tom Kyte, this caption implies that there is only ONE Executive Producer. Of course that was not my intention, and I don't necessarily think that [general interpretation] to be the case, but I see how he could. Tom said I should be talking about him, too, and directing people to his website. I said, "I thought I wasn't allowed to talk about your work?" Either I was wrong, or he changed his mind, so this posting will be All Tom, All the Time.

You see, Tom is a bigwig at Oracle. As in, he is literally the world's leading authority on Oracle. If you are a database engineer, whatever that means, he is a god to you. He is, "Ask Tom." (www.asktom.oracle.com) He has also written 3 or 4 books on the subject, that, to someone like me, may as well be written in Chinese.

I met Tom at a party at Pitt when I was a senior in high school. The following year, I enrolled at Pitt and went to countless parties at Tom's place, dated his roommate, worked for him at the student union cafe (Tom was Student Manager), and spent most weekends on his couch because my roommates were big fat C-words. Tom taught me how to play Quarters by rolling the quarter off my nose (we kicked major ass together), and he also taught me how to play pool. In effect, these subjects turned out to be sort of a double-major for me, as they were about the only things I learned at college, and skills that I retain to this day.

Tom was my best friend at Pitt. He was, and is, my big brother. He took this position very seriously. He let me take home leftovers from the cafe when I was poor, he made sure no one messed with me when I was on the losing end of a game of quarters, he let me ruin his shirt with mascara when his roommate dumped me and I cried all over him. He also made endless fun of me at any opportunity, kicked my ass at pool relentlessly, and a favorite past-time was locking me in the service elevator at the cafe and turning the light off. He also loved to embarrass me in front of anyone I had a crush on, such as Kip, a gorgeous specimen who worked with us at the cafe. Though I probably couldn't pick his face out of a line-up, Kip's abs were perfection carved in milk chocolate. When we locked up at night, it was Kip's job to mop the floor. This coincided with a daily decline in my level of productivity. Tom addressed the situation. "Kip," he said, "I'm going to have to ask you to mop with your shirt on, so Jeanie can get some work done."

In short, Tom made sure that no one harassed me, except Tom. To this day he likes to tell people I introduce him to that, "Believe it or not," (as soon as I hear this, I know exactly what is coming out of his mouth next), he says, grinning maniacally at me for effect, "I knew Jeanie all the way back when she was a virgin."

Tom and I have stayed in touch all these years, though granted it was pretty loose for a long time. Still we managed to get together once a year or so. A few years ago, when he was going through his divorce, we got in closer touch and ended up hanging out a lot again. Tom's mom was a little worried. "Be careful about the rebound," she said. I am screwing up my face just thinking about that, and I am sure he did the same at the time. "Mom, Jeanie is like the little sister I never had." This did not go over so well when his mom repeated that sentiment to his actual little sister.

Before any aspiring filmmakers out there get any ideas about asking Tom for money for your project, I'll tell you that I don't believe for a minute that he contributed to the making of "Smalltimore," because he gives a flying rat's ass about being involved in making a movie. I'm not even entirely convinced that he was convinced, at the beginning, that I would even get it done. He just did it for me. It is as simple as that, I think.

A lot of people ask me how I was able to get people to hand me the generous checks (3 to 4 zeroes on the end) that Tom, Mikey, and Dan did. Each of them had very different motivations for doing so, but our strong friendships were the common thread. I am extremely lucky and blessed to have these people in my life who love and believe in me as much as these guys do. It is a trust that we have established over many years, and I have other friends who are just as wealthy that I did not approach because I wasn't sure that it would not effect our friendship if I couldn't get them their money back. With Tom, Mikey, and Dan, I know that is not the case. Though of course I am going to make every effort to see that that (getting their money back) happens.

So, my advice is, make friends with the most intelligent people that you can when you are young, because those are the people who will be wealthy when you are older! But mostly, just always put good karma out there, it will come back to you when you need it most, and also don't rely on anyone else's assistance to accomplish your goals. For the most part, I think my guys know that I would get this thing done one way or another. They saw that I was sincere in my vision, and though in some cases I was asking for their help, under no circumstance was I flat-out expecting it. Life is not on a sliding scale, and you should never think that someone should hand you money just because they have a lot more of it than you do. That right there is bad karma, and that will come back to you, too.

Anyway... one of the funniest things about Tom is that, though he loves to try to embarrass me, there is no one that I can make blush faster than him. The above photo is by his standards downright scandalous, and my new favorite. This was taken just this Friday night, when he and his girlfriend visited me in Baltimore (she snapped the photo). Happy now, Tommy? I hope this drives LOADS of people to your websites!

Four Days In Philly

[Executive Producer Michael Bordenick a.k.a. Mikey B., gesturing towards some Historic Stuff in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia]

Just got back last night and need to wrap my mind around some (day job) work issues as well as burning a bunch of DVDs to send in for some last-minute deadlines (you know that's how I roll), so I am not going to make this a very long entry. I'll do that soon, though. Bottom line is, Philly was great, fun town, GREAT people (those who live there as well as those visiting for the fest), horrible, horrible pizza.

This is no joke. I think Philly has an inferiority complex about NYC in the same way Baltimore has the same in regards to D.C. This is the only theory I can come up with to explain why the pizza is so very bad. I figure that Philly wants to set itself apart, so at some point the city as a whole decided, if New York is known for its pizza, we can't do it the way that they do it, we have to make it completely opposite! Unfortunately for Philly, NY makes their pizza very GOOD. So the opposite of that would be... well, you get the point. Opt for the Philly cheese steak. Even chain restaurants there do it well.

I'll get more into it later, but as a whole I was very happy with the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, and it was far better than I expected a fest in only its second year to be. Several bugs to work out, but that's how it goes, and you have to have reasonable expectations at these things. My objectivity may be slightly clouded by the presence of many good-looking male filmmakers (several of whom you can check out in my photos from the fest on the Facebook page, "Smalltimore, the Movie" - click on the link on the right). But - men being my favorite vice and all - who's complaining?

Press Release for Philly

I know I've already shown you the laurel, but it's so pretty, isn't it? Leaving tomorrow, no time to write anything else, so thought I'd share:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"SMALLTIMORE," a new romantic comedy by first-time filmmaker Jeanie M. Clark, will screen at 7:40p.m. on Saturday, June 27, at Yards Brewery, 901 N. Delaware Avenue, as part of the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival.

Tagline: Baltimore may not be known as an artists' haven to outsiders, but the people who live here know that the pertinent question is not, "What do you do?" but rather, "What ELSE do you do?" Struggling art gallery owner Gracie finds herself in a romantic dilemma when she forgets the Golden Rule of Charm City, "Don't judge a book by its cover."

"I am ecstatic that SMALLTIMORE's first domestic festival will be in Philadelphia," says Writer/Director Jeanie Clark. "Philadelphia and Baltimore have a lot of similarities, and I am certain the humor will translate flawlessly from one city to another. Plus, I am a Pennsylvania native, so I am personally glad to be here."

SMALLTIMORE serves as Ms. Clark's love letter to her adopted hometown of Baltimore. Originally from the Pittsburgh area, Ms. Clark has lived in Baltimore city for more than a decade. It was here that she discovered a strong creative community that was both tight-knit and inviting, after a fashion. "I did have to prove myself," she says. "I knew no one when I moved to Baltimore, and coming from 10 years living in Washington, D.C., people here [in Baltimore] were suspect that I was not so much an artist as a wannabe."

Baltimore has proven to be a desirable location for both film and television, but has suffered from an identity crisis for years. If you haven't visited the city, you may only know of it from crime dramas such as, "The Wire," "Homicide," or, "The Corner." Of course, Hollywood heavyweights such as Barry Levinson and John Waters repeatedly return to Baltimore to make their (respectively) nostalgic and quirky films. "John Waters' films are a lot closer to reality than people think they are," Clark says. "People here really are that weird, and that is one of the many things I love about this town. But still, this isn't an entirely accurate representation of my Baltimore, the Baltimore I see every day. I haven't seen a movie that really portrays that Baltimore."

"The majority of my friends in Baltimore are artists: painters, sculptors, poets, musicians, writers, and filmmakers," Ms. Clark explains, "but we all have day jobs." Indeed, "SMALLTIMORE," showcases a dozen local visual artists' work, and the soundtrack is comprised of a whopping 37 original songs by 11 Baltimore artists. This includes triple-threat and nationally renowned artist Joyce J. Scott, who stars as the eccentric wealthy widow Mrs. Talford, displaying several of her own paintings, and singing three of her own songs on the track. Native Baltimorean T.T.Tucker and his Bum Rush Band also play themselves in the film, and contribute 8 songs to the soundtrack. Even ceramic sculptor Caren Shelley and jewelry artist Wayne Werner made commissioned pieces for the film.

There is a lot more to "SMALLTIMORE," than what meets the eye, or ear, however. "People ask me what made me decide to make this movie," Ms. Clark says. "And the bottom line is, I was tired of seeing horrible movies, especially romantic comedies. People like what they can relate to. Getting knocked on the head or drinking a potion that gives you supernatural powers might be entertaining, but it is not going to happen to you. And your jackass of a boyfriend is not going to turn into Prince Charming, either."

The diverse ensemble cast and overlapping story lines reveal even more sides of Baltimore. In this small town masquerading as a big city, the social circles are small - and they all cross-pollinate. No one bats an eye at the gay or inter-racial relationships, let alone a delusional cross-dresser. "I had to do some work to woo Joyce Scott, who is African-American, onto the project, mostly due to her own busy schedule," Ms. Clark says. "She liked the script, but after reading the whole thing, she had some concerns. Her character's personal assistant is Italian-American. Joyce said to me, not asking me to change the script but just wanting to make sure I was aware of this, that 'traditionally speaking', black people and Italians have not always gotten along so well. I really wanted Joyce for the project, and I did give what she said a lot of thought, because I wanted everything about the story to ring true, and I didn't want her to feel it was a stretch." Soon after, Ms. Scott signed on to the project, with no changes to the character of her assistant, Tony. "I knew what she was saying, but she knew what I was saying: I understand that is how it is, in a lot of places. But it just isn't that way in my Baltimore. Those aren't my friends. My friends don't give a flying rat's ass about that kind of stuff. And I know that Joyce doesn't either." Sure enough, once on the set, Joyce and Orlando Gonzalez, who plays the character of Tony, got along famously. Their chemistry onscreen is a direct reflection of their true personal chemistry. "It got to the point that I was afraid to leave them alone in a room together," Clark says. "I'd come back and within five minutes they would have come up with some ridiculously funny and COMPLETELY un-PC comedy sketch - entirely instigated by Joyce."

Romantic comedies can be a hard-sell at festivals. SMALLTIMORE's first festival was earlier this month in the Heart of England International Film Festival in the United Kingdom. "By the time the film screened on the third day, I was more than ready for a laugh," says Clark. "So many filmmakers, and festival programmers, think that if it is funny it can't be good, it can't be art. That is absolutely untrue."

SMALLTIMORE has also been accepted to Indie Fest in Anaheim, CA, in late August. In addition to Ms. Clark (who not only wrote and directed, but also produced and edited the film), Director of Photography Michelle Farrell ("Unraveling Michelle", which screened at Firstglance Festival 2008), Executive Producer Michael Bordenick, and leading actor Cheryl Scungio will be in attendance for the screening on Saturday. Ms. Scungio also starred in, "Public Interest," which screened at the first Philadelphia Independent Film Festival in 2008, and took home the award for Best New Director.

More info:
On Facebook: Smalltimore, the Movie
Trailers available on YouTube and www.smalltimorethemovie.blogspot.com

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

And I'll breathe in mid-July. Maybe.

Got home about 8:30pm Tuesday night. Took my neighbors who dog-sat for me out to dinner an hour later. Worked all day Wednesday, plus had fellow filmmaker Brian Morrison ("One Down") help me figure out some compression and burn (making a DVD of the movie) problems, and took him across the street to meet my friend Phil ("Mrs. Simpson" in Smalltimore). Brian is renting Philip's fabulous Corvette convertible for a music video he is shooting this weekend for Lazerbitch (who is on the Smalltimore soundtrack - click their link on the right to check them out!).

Wednesday night went to The Charles to see Steve Yeager's premiere of, "Crystal Fog." I knew Steve had won an award at Sundance for his documentary on John Waters ("Divine Trash"), but I learned something I didn't know from the woman who introduced him: Steve is still Maryland's only award winner at Sundance. Of course, Eric Thornett won an award at Slamdance, and Michelle is winning awards left and right, so I am always in good company!

"Crystal Fog," was great. I wasn't sure what to expect but it turned out to be a very sweet and well-told story. Was NOT expecting the sweet part. Which is great, I HATE going into a movie and knowing everything that happens before it even begins.

It is the story of a drag queen (Crystal Fog) and an allegedly straight man who falls for her. The story is loosely based on a true relationship that happened to Steve's brother. I am always impressed when someone can write for a character that is very different from themselves and have the dialogue be believable, like men writing for women, crossing ethnic lines, an older person writing for a younger character, or a straight man writing for a drag queen. Steve did an amazing job, and it is an impressive tribute to his brother.

The after-party at Nick's Fish House (which was featured prominently in the film) was a great time. I ran into several of the actors and the DP that I have worked with on Steve's new feature (currently in production), "The Rosens". I spotted (actor) Johnny Alonso there near the end, but didn't have a chance to say hello. He has been in so many Baltimore productions, and mostly works in California now. I don't know him really, but met him briefly last year on the set of "Good People," which was the second time I had met Michelle but the first time I had seen her in action on a set.

Yesterday more work at the Day Job, then dropped by the Creative Alliance to pick up some DVD screeners from Kristen to review before our Members Committee meeting on Tuesday. A small panel of film-related people watch films that are in consideration for the next cycle of events. It's fun, I think, and always nice to have your opinion asked.

Today I have dreaded paperwork for the Day Job (god, I HATE paperwork! This is why I have never held a 9 to 5 job), and email/Facebook blasting about the Philly fest, and have to send some materials out to them and also try to get together a press release. That is SORT OF paperwork, but more of a creative kind and it can be emailed, so no real paper is involved and I don't mind it so much.

Tomorrow I have a small walk-on part for the Lazerbitch music video, and am going to try to catch The Degenerettes (also on my soundtrack - also click their link on the right) play a set at 8:25pm at the Pride festival stage on Eager Street (in front of the Hippo). And I know there are at least three other things I have to do tomorrow that I am forgetting about. Sunday is the second installment of my neighborhood yard sale:

Monthly Mother of All Yard Sales!
1 0 Households!
Sunday, June 21, 9:00am-2:00pm
Rear parking lot, 1125 North Calvert Street

Jewelry - glassware - antiques - oddities -
books - clothes - appliances - furniture -
decor items - dolls - kitchenware

Spread the word!!!


And then it's Monday again already? Argh!

300!!!

is the number of fans we now have on our "Smalltimore, the Movie" Facebook page! I love milestones.

Confusions of Grandeur

The Bentleys: Keith Bentley and Johnny Benson, who plays Keith Bentley - photo by Richard Payne at the "Smalltimore" premiere]

9 movies in 3 days at the Maryland Film Festival... I am about cinema'd out. Saw a couple flicks I REALLY enjoyed: "Stingray Sam," I think was my favorite, but "The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle," was also very good and absolutely hysterical. Since that one started 25 minutes late, I missed the first 25 minutes of "The Overbrook Brothers," but I went in anyway and I liked that one also.

I saw two documentaries, "Invisible Girlfriend," and "Rocaterrania." There were a few things about both of them that bugged me, but I thought they were both very good as well. I don't know if I would ever be interested in making a documentary. I think it would be a very difficult undertaking, and most documentaries, if you think about it, are about subjects that are somewhat sad, or politically controversial, or both. Those are exactly the sort of things that put a beat-down on my spirit. It takes so much blood, sweat, and tears to make any sort of movie. I don't know if I could (or would want to) put myself through an emotional wringer while trying to do that. I am too empathetic to people with problems, I don't know if I could make an objective production in those circumstances.

What else did I see... "Daytime Drinking," was good, but a bit too long, and I enjoyed, "Modern Love is Automatic," the closest thing the MFF had to a local production. I saw the John Waters' pick, "Love Songs," which was just okay in my opinion, and not nearly as good as "Sleeping Dogs Lie" two years ago (available at Video Americaine - RENT IT).

"Somers Town," was good. "Lightning Salad Motion Picture," not so much. I was really psyched to see this one, it sounded very "Kids in the Hall", and the creators of it were there and said a few words beforehand and they were cute and funny and energetic and I really WANTED to like this movie. I sat through the first half hour, laughed a few times but not nearly as many times as I think I was supposed to. I know I still have some sound issues to take care of in "Smalltimore," but the sound issues with "Lightning Salad" were beyond forgiveness. As the movie began painfully corkscrewing towards a major crash and burn, I kept trying to hang in there, but finally told myself, if I don't laugh in the next five minutes, I'm outta here. I don't know if I have ever walked out of a movie before, but five minutes later, that's what I did. I felt bad because those guys were in the audience, but it was seriously more than I could take. Maybe it is one of those movies that you need to be high for.

It was a good example, however, of a universal truth I am learning the hard way: when it comes to festivals, being weird is FAR more important than being good. I like seeing weird movies, but they have to be GOOD weird movies. OR I have to be very, very drunk.

Another thing that bugged me is that so many movies "Modern Love...", "Somers Town," "Invisible Girlfriend," seemed to put little to no thought into the ending of the film, they just sort of trail off... I don't think that is "artsy" any longer. I think it is played out. An ending to a movie doesn't have to be happy to be satisfactory. Make me laugh, make me cry, make me think, or leave me with a great big cliffhanger that makes me go, "GAH!!!", but make me feel SOMETHING.

Anyway... all in all, I had a good time at the MFF, and I saw 9 1/3 movies for $50 (I am a Friend of the Festival, so I got into any movies before 6:00pm on Friday for free), so you can't beat that. But it also showed me the difference between movies made for festivals and movies made for widespread distribution. I mean, I sort of knew that before, and Eric talks a lot about it, as he made a movie ("23 Hours") specifically for festivals, and did very well with it, including at Slamdance. But this was the first film festival I have attended since MAKING a movie. So it really brought it home.

Bleah. It's kind of confusing. It's like, what are your choices? Make a weird movie and have a better chance of getting into a film festival but little chance of getting real theater distribution. Make a normal, even watered-down movie that tries to please everyone and spend the majority of your budget to hire an A- or B-list actor so it has a chance at distribution. Or make a good movie with no major actors and have little chance of getting into festivals or widespread distribution!

Don't get me wrong. I'm proud of "Smalltimore," and given the chance, I don't think I'd do much differently. I'm still all over it and I think good things lie ahead. It just makes me think about what I want to do next.

Smashing Smalltimore Success!

My goodness. I am still on a high, last night was SOOOOOOOO much fun! What was equally great was seeing loads of faces that I know and loads of faces that I don't know, but everyone seeming to have an equally good time. It was the first time I have shown the movie to an audience that was not entirely biased. That's the real test. Of course my friends, my family, and the cast and crew who helped me to make the film are going to say nice things about it, and that is always good to hear, but the ultimate goal of any artist is to have a total stranger love your work. And I had a lot of strangers come up to talk to me after the film with smiles on their faces.

The two questions asked most often were, "When can I buy it on DVD?" and "How can I get the soundtrack?" The answer to the first question is, probably about six months from now, but definitely in time for Christmas, so start thinking about all your Baltimoron friends, here as well as scattered about the country, who would love to have this movie in their Christmas stocking!

The answer to the second question is: click on the links to the musicians websites on the right side of this very page you are reading, buy their music and create your own soundtrack! Some of them have downloadable clips, and some are on CDbaby so you can buy just the songs you want or their whole CDs. Of course I recommend doing the latter!

I can't even count how many compliments I got on the music as well as the movie. During the screening, I heard someone behind me say to her friend, "This music is REALLY good." It is one of the things I am most proud of about the film, and I love that people are both surprised and excited about it all being original music by Baltimore artists. 37 songs! That's a box set.

Speaking of music, as in "music to my ears," another thing I heard from a lot of different people was that they loved that it was SO Baltimore. Again, I was glad to hear this from the people who live here and feel it was authentic and I did them proud, but also from people who came in from out of town to see the movie, people who don't know much about this city, who said to me that from the film they had a very clear sense of the Baltimore that I was trying to show them, and they liked it. That made me very happy.

There were a few sound glitches that surprised me, because I literally got done burning the DVD at 6:35pm and we started the film around 7:15pm! I keep telling you I am an 11th-hour kind of gal, but this was extreme even for me. Eric came to the show, and afterwards I was kind of joking about it, but I was upset that the last song, where Joyce sings, was partially screwed up. Eric kinda yelled at me, not real yelling, but my procrastination annoys him a little, I think. Since I didn't have time to proof the DVD, it bit me in the ass because, "You ALWAYS do this!" he said. Yea, I said, but I always seem to pull it off. Almost every friend of mine that is an artist of any walk of life is the same way. If we didn't have deadlines, we'd never get anything done. Anyway, I think the gag reel saved me a bit because then everyone had a good laugh at the end while the credits rolled, and I think that helped them to forgive the glitches. I hope so, anyway.

I will fix them soon, but I gotta tell ya, I am SO glad to not look at it for at least two weeks. The premiere was a big step and a big event, and I am ecstatic at the turnout as well as how well it was received. I did feel badly that there was not enough seating for everyone and that I couldn't reserve seats for everyone who worked on the film, but I DID tell everyone a million times to get there early, and I am just glad that Russell didn't make me turn people away at the door. The Wind-Up Space's capacity is 240 people, and we were VERY close to that mark, and that head count doesn't usually include dozens of folding chairs.

So, like I said, I am glad to step away from it for a bit, but there was so much fantastic energy in that room that I do look forward to the fall when I can have the DVD release party. I don't know the venue yet, but I promise to have it at a proper theater with seating for all!

Thanks once again to everyone - the cast, the crew, the artists, the musicians, and my friends who loaned me their homes and businesses as locations, and thanks to everyone who came out last night and made the evening such a success! Is this a great town or what?!?!

Flyer:

Thanks to Kyle Holtgren a.k.a. "David" for the design! LOVE the snowglobe!

Official Press Release:

STEEL CORSET PRODUCTIONS, LLC PRESENTS “SMALLTIMORE”


An independent romantic comedy feature film
shot on location exclusively in Baltimore City

(Baltimore, April 20, 2009) -- Steel Corset Productions, LLC is premiering the new independent feature film “Smalltimore” on Sunday, May 3, 2009, at The Wind-Up Space, 12 West North Avenue.
Doors open 6:00pm, screening at 7:00pm, $7.00 cover, cash bar. "Smalltimore" will also be screening in Tamworth, UK, on June 9th, where it has been accepted to "The Heart Of England Film Festival."

Shot on location exclusively in Baltimore City, this ambitious romantic comedy features local legend Joyce J. Scott and National Public Radio host Al Letson, as well as a stellar ensemble cast starring local actors Cheryl Scungio, Orlando Gonzales, Kelly Coston, Johnny Benson, Will Lurie, Darik Bernard, Phil Calvert, Tiffany Ariany, Phil Amico, Tommy Divinti and Kyle Holtgren.

First-time Writer/Director/Producer/Editor Jeanie M. Clark offers her love letter to Baltimore with “Smalltimore,” highlighting local artists, musicians, sights and watering holes. The soundtrack features 37 original songs by 11 Baltimore artists.

"I've never seen a movie that portrays MY Baltimore," Ms. Clark says. "The art scene here is not underground whatsoever, Baltimore is just one big art scene! Most of the friends I have made here do one thing for a paycheck, and something else that better represents who they really are. The creative energy in this city is overwhelming, and it brought me back to the artist that I forgot I was."

Michelle Farrell of Absolute Independent Pictures is Director of Photography for “Smalltimore.” A Highlandtown native, Ms. Farrell has been cinematographer for over 10 feature films, various documentaries, and has worked for networks such as NBC, Sony, BET, A&E, Fox and many more. She has won several prestigious awards and
has written, produced and directed other award-winning projects, such as “Unraveling Michelle,” which is currently running the film festival circuit, and is in the distribution process.

Rebecca Clear Dean served as the Production Manager for “Smalltimore.” Mrs. Dean has more than 15 years of film, television and advertising production experience. Her producer credits include both multiple Emmy-winning PBS series “Adam Smith” and “Wall $treet Week With Louis Rukeyser,” PBS and A&E documentaries, live theater and overseas telecasts, and local ad production for nationwide distribution.

An all-female management team - led by a female writer/director/producer/editor — is
virtually unheard-of in the industry, particularly among Indies.

Principle photography of “Smalltimore” filmed August 1 through 14, in locations such as Mount Vernon Square, Federal Hill, Dougherty’s Pub, Dionysus Bar, Baltimore Theater Project, Fin Art Gallery in Fells Point, the Wind-Up Space, and several private homes in Hampden, Waverly and Mount Vernon. Local artists whose work is featured in the film include Joyce J. Scott, Ellen Burchenal, Linda DePalma, Oletha DeVane, Caren Shelley, Charles Lawrence, Jillian Jenkins, Allison Pasarew, Dr. Leslie King-Hammond—who currently has a major piece on display in the Reginald F. Lewis Museum—and Jeanie Clark herself. Jewelry has been provided by local artists Wayne Werner, Caren Shelley, and Anna Zep.

Local musicians starring in the movie are T.T. Tucker and the Bum Rush Band. The soundtrack is strictly comprised of all original music by Baltimore bands and solo artists, including T.T. Tucker AKA Tommy Divinti, Joyce J. Scott, The Remnants,Jen Swartout, Lawnchair, The Degenerettes, Reina Williams, Niki Lee, Lauren Young, Brynn McCoy, and Lazerbitch.

The overlapping stories in “Smalltimore” include gay and interracial romances. “I didn't have any particular race or ethnicity in mind for most of the characters when I wrote it," says Clark. "I just cast the best actors I could find, and it worked itself out - perfectly."

Finally, a romantic comedy filmed completely in Baltimore, completely about Baltimore!
# # #

Kyle Holtgren, as David

[Kyle Holtgren as David, in Minato Sushi Restaurant]

It has been awhile since I profiled any of my actors, and I really need to wrap this up before the big premiere at The Wind-Up Space on May 3rd! Finally, I am getting around to profiling Kyle Holtgren, who plays David. I think he was more excited about being profiled than any of the others, though everyone so far has seemed to enjoy their moment in the spotlight.

The character of David is based loosely on a friend of mine. The real David is one of those people who never stops smiling, but he smiles in such a way that you feel like he is going bring up a secret that you made the mistake of telling him, or, if you happen to be a cute guy, he might just grab your crotch.

I thought casting this part would be a lot of fun and people would be lining up for the chance to steal the show, even though it is a relatively small part. However, as I have mentioned in earlier posts, I was quite surprised to find the number of male actors who would much prefer playing a homicidal child-molester than a friendly, funny gay man. And since I had no part for a homicidal child-molester in this romantic comedy... I found myself with slim pickings among the actors willing to try out for the part of David.

Even after the second round of auditions and checking out over 100 actors at the Stonehenge auditions at the Creative Alliance, I was coming up empty. How could it be so hard to cast an outrageously funny, over-the-top gay man in Baltimore? In Mount Vernon, no less?

But there I was, my only options being a few guys who, god bless them, just seemed to me to be straight men playing a gay man as some straight men seem to see gay men - almost as a caricature.

Granted, in "Smalltimore," we don't delve very deeply into the character of David or his background. And in real life, my friend David is at once an open book and an enigma, and I know there are a million things I don't know about him. But he is still a person, not a cartoon character. He is still my friend, and even when he is trying to steal men away from me, it is really just his way of looking out for my best interests. There have been a few men in my past that it would have saved me a WHOLE lotta wasted time if I had introduced them to David right off the bat! But I digress...

So there I was, stuck, with production starting in less than 8 weeks. Kellie Stevens (who was dying to play the part of Angela, but had just taken a job that was moving her to Austin, Texas) suggested her friend Kyle, who I had met several times when we had all been at Dionysus for cocktails. Kyle, especially after a few libations, is hysterically funny in real life, and I could certainly picture him in the role. So, I rolled the dice and offered him the role without even auditioning him.

Kyle's first encounter with anything to do with "Smalltimore," was at the table read of the script with the entire cast, the bulk of whom had had to fight tooth and nail for their parts. They didn't know anything about the circumstances of Kyle's casting, but they did have the advantage of already having some amount of rapport with each other, as all of them had worked hard through the second round of auditions with each other, with the exceptions of Joyce Scott, and Tucker. I don't think anyone else noticed, but knowing Kyle a little bit at that point, I could tell he was very nervous, and I heard a little quiver in his voice more than once as we read the script aloud. He did a good job, though, and by the end of the read seemed more comfortable and extremely enthusiastic about the whole project.

Soon after it was time for rehearsals. I will be the first to say that for those with smaller roles, like Kyle, Tiffany, and Phil Amico, this sort of sucked. Because their scenes were scattered, and sometimes only with a line or three, they sometimes needed to be in rehearsals for a long day of nothingness, occasionally interrupted by 20 to 30 minutes of rehearsing a scene. This held especially true for Kyle. But he not only showed up, off-book and with a smile on his face, but even came on a day or two where I told him if he couldn't make it, he didn't have to, since he only had a few lines. He took it very seriously and really seemed to enjoy the interaction with the other actors whenever he had the chance.

Then, there was wardrobe... Kyle always looks good and I thought for sure I'd just be able to cherry-pick a few goodies from his own clothing. I went to his place one evening, and he had laid out a bunch of things for me to look at. I had never noticed it before but, for as outrageously funny as Kyle is, his taste in clothing is on the conservative side. Nothing too wild, nothing overtly sexy, things that look good on him, but largely in neutral colors, and some with logos so we couldn't use those. The part I thought that would be easiest to dress, and there was not one shirt in his wardrobe that I could use. Time for shopping!

The actors had all agreed to supply their own wardrobe, and if they didn't own the right stuff, we went shopping, and they paid for those clothes themselves. Welcome to the glamorous world of acting in low-budget indies! Those that I did go shopping with were very flexible and very patient, and Kyle was no exception. If memory serves, it was a Sunday, and we tried to hit the thrift stores I had scouted with Cheryl, Kelly, and Phil Calvert, but they were closed. So, we headed to Hampden, specifically, Mina's. Which is exactly where we should have started to begin with.

Now, though I was able to pay my ensemble cast a tiny bit each, it was really nothing more than what I call pain-in-the-ass money, and also it was on a sliding scale. So, since Kyle had a small part, it really wasn't much to speak of. I agreed to cover the cost of whatever wardrobe we picked out and deduct it from this future pay.

At Mina's, we found some very fun stuff which was exactly what I was looking for for David. A couple of graphic tees that if you look close during the movie, are pretty hysterical, or at least interesting. I loved the Joan of Arc tee so much that I went back later and bought one for myself. The outfit we threw together for the finale scene at first seemed absurd as I found one piece at a time, but once we put it all together, I have to say, I love, love, love this outfit. Kyle looks adorable in hats and should wear them much more often. And Kyle himself was ecstatic about the find of the day - a wide-collared polyester shirt with photos of birds screened all over it (seen in the scene in Minato, the above photo).

We found everything we needed right there at Mina's, and when they totaled up the 4 shirts, vest, and hat... at the end of the production I would then owe Kyle a whopping $30. I'll say again, he was a VERY good sport about the matter.

As he was, and is, about everything. He is one of the actors I remain in closest touch with, and he is constantly offering help with marketing, spreading the word to everyone he can, beating the drums about becoming a fan of the Facebook page, reading the blog, attending the premiere, etc. All very important, of course, but most importantly, I think he pulled off the character of David delightfully, and I SO hope that the real David can be at the screening to check out this very cute, very funny version of himself. In real life Kyle has a similarly devilish smile, the same harmless yet sinister twinkle in his eye, and he did a fantastic job of providing comic relief while portraying a believable character.

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 Waiting Game

[Gracie empties Thom's flask at the Washington Monument]

Damn, I HATE this game. I could use a drink myself.

Today was the day I was supposed to hear from the London Independent Film Festival to see if we got in, but haven't gotten any word from them. I have next to zero expectation of getting into that one anyway, but I just want to know.

Later this week I should find out if we made it into the Maryland Film Festival. I can't even talk about that one, it is too nerve-wracking. I am glad it is one of the first ones I will find out about, I don't want to wonder about it any longer.

For the next 11 weeks, I should be hearing from about one festival a week, yay or nay. I oscillate between being very excited about this, because it is something exciting to look forward to every week, to wringing my hands, wondering how I will feel if I start collecting one "NO" after the other? As my British friend Matthew would say, the whole thing, "does my head in."

But tonight I sat down with the big desk calendar and the colored mini-Sharpies I bought at Staples the other day, and logged all the info on the festivals I have submitted to so far: deadlines for submission (to those I haven't sent a DVD to yet), notification dates (when they tell me if I am in), and the dates of the actual festivals. This turned out to be a useful exercise in more ways than one. As I copied down the info from each festival, I was reminded exactly why I had submitted to each one, and that made me feel better, because I DO have specific reasons for submitting to almost all of them (though there are a few long shots in there for good measure. I love long shots. Ask anyone who has been to the track with me!). It had been awhile since I had thought of them each in such specifics, and lately I had been feeling like, oh dear lord, did I just waste a boatload of money submitting to festivals willy-nilly? And did I really just say "willy-nilly"?

But if course I didn't. That's not how I roll. I have reasons for (nearly) everything I do. I'm just nervous, that's all. Just like when I used to have photography exhibits. I would painstakingly develop and print the black and white photos myself, mat and frame them, measure the wires so they would all hang at the exact same height, curate so that the walls were well-balanced but interesting, and then worry that no one would show up. Then people would show up, and buy some photos, and everything was right with the world. Every artist I know feels the same way before every show. It is part of the process.

I want to talk more about it but I'm afraid I'll jinx myself, so I will leave it at that. I should have news for you soon, stay tuned, my faithful ones.

P.S. If you like my blog, I have found another you might like that sort of reminds me of mine, in that it is very first-person, taking you through the experience step by step, highs and lows, triumphs and roadblocks. This young man, Paul Ridley, just set a record for being the youngest American to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and did it to raise money for cancer research. He makes me look like a slacker. Check it out from the beginning, it is quite a journey of body and spirit: www.solorow.blogspot.com