27 posts tagged “film”

Last weekend (August 8-10), version two of the Monmouth Film Collective participated in the Portland, Oregon 48 Hour Film Project. We successfully finished our film and got it in on time (the event ran from 7:00 on Friday to 7:30 on Sunday; we got the film delivered by 7:00).

Our genre was historical fiction, and the Portland elements were:

• Character: Jake or Jane Gravenstein, wellness practioner.
• Line of dialogue: “Okay, I think I got it straight.”
• Prop: jumper cables.

This year's experience was immediately different from last year's in that the genre we drew was both more intimidating and more constraining. Fantasy, the genre we drew in 2007, is nothing but artistic license. Historical fiction comes with more limits, and more of a burden in terms of “getting it right.”

We decided on a 1930s, Great Depression story involving a family, three kids and a dad, looking for a place to stay and falling into the web of a maybe crazy, maybe craven “inventor” claiming to have a magical “healing machine”. I jumped on the idea because I immediately envisioned the family walking along a dusty railway. The writers did much more with the idea, obviously. It was also relatively easier to imagine at least roughly being able to approximate the look and feel of the period.

Naturally, the weather did not really cooperate. It rained over night, and was alternately sunny and cloudy all day on Saturday. Getting the “dust bowl” look and feel was not going to happen, but fortunately it being August, there was a lot of gold and brown in the landscape in any event. In other respects, the constantly changing light was a challenge for the photography, but I think we were able to work around it sufficiently to give us a consistent look when we needed it.

I remember being pretty happy with last year's film. I wouldn't say I was unhappy with this year's, which we titled “The Decision”, but it is more uneven, and there are more things I wish I had done a little different, particularly in editing. Our genre and our story was, ultimately, more ambitious this year. So, whereas last year, the low rent approach that is almost necessitated by the strictures of the event really worked, this year it became a source of frustration. On the other hand, the best moments in the new film are better than those from last year's.

This has nothing to do with the fine work of cast and crew. Our team was a mix of old and new faces, and we worked together well. I think that work is well-represented in the final film. I just can't help feeling that the end work is less than the talents and ambitions of the team.

This year's Monmouth Film Collective was, in addition to myself: Maren Bradley Anderson, David Berrier, Tristan Berrier, Rachel Bridgewater, Anne-Marie Deitering, David Doellinger, Ben Grimes, Jordan Hofer, Jason Kirtland, Bill Madden, Jesse Madden, Mark Madland, Orion Metzner, Chris Olsenius, Emily Plec, Charley Waller, and Rosanne Waller.

Watch last year's film, “DreemRz, Inc.”
See photos from this year.
This year's film coming soon. (It's now here).

After pushing my production schedule for 24-Hour Comic Day and Stumptown, I was able to move back into research mode. More particularly, I've been sending out a survey to Portland-based comics creators, and their allies in publishing, libraries, and retail, to get an initial sense of why so many in this community have decided to make the city their home. Now, it's time to sit down with the results and plan the first part of the shoot, which will primarily involve scheduling interviews (another purpose of the survey was to net potential subjects).

I am torn between different ways of approaching the next stage of production. I am drawn both to taking an intensive approach, where we focus on three to four subjects and "their" city, and an extensive one, where we build the documentary around many voices. Unfortunately, I don't have the time or resources to effectively try both angles at once. What I think I might do is identify a few potentially interesting subjects from the surveys, schedule interviews with them, and see what I have. How well those interviews go may hint at whether we should to return to those subjects, or some combination of those I initially talk to and one or two new people, or if we should start building up a pool of interviews to draw on in editing. There are, of course, gradations between these two extreme alternatives, but I think the doc will substantially follow one or the other path.

I should also add that with production picking up, this blog will likely become more active again (I also have this to look to forward this summer).

I have begun work on a documentary that will look at comics culture in Portland, Oregon. Officially, I'm in pre-production, pulling together a crew, doing preliminary research, etc., but in reality the shoot will begin next weekend. My schedule has been forced by the Stumptown Comics Fest moving from September to April, a move which inadvertently drew my attention to 24-Hour Comic Day at Cosmic Monkey Comics in NE Portland, an event that takes place April 5-6. So, since I'm starting ahead of schedule anyway, I figured why not add that to the list.

You can learn more about the documentary at the "official" production blog I've set up on TypePad. I'll continue to blog more informally about the film here on Vox.

I have been quietly putting together another version of the Willamette Valley Film Collective to participate in the 2008 International Documentary Challenge. This will be the third time I've done this. With some urging from Anne-Marie, I was thinking about not organizing an entry this year, but then David Doellinger, a WVFC veteran, expressed his enthusiasm for giving it another go, and that's all it took to tip me in the other direction.

One difference between this year and the previous two is that I am limiting my own involvement to producer and editor, rather than taking on those roles plus that of director and co-photographer as well. Partly, this is out of curiosity. Almost from the beginning of my venture into filmmaking, I've wanted to experience the process from the perspective of a photographer or editor independent of also acting as director. Partly, this is due to feeling overworked and over stressed due to added responsibilities on campus this year. And partly it is because I want to give other participants the experience of taking on other roles. David will be directing this year. His wife, Erin Marr, will be one of, or the, primary photographers (her likely co-photographer is William Bragg, who was DP for the Monmouth Film Collective in last summer's 48 Hour Film Project).

My original vision for these experiences was for the "collective" part of the team name to be a driving force for what we did, but what I discovered in the first year is that people aren't actually comfortable with that. Not everyone wants to work the camera or make decisions, etc. Maybe this is due to feeling intimidated by the equipment or lack of confidence. I don't know, but I did learn a valuable lesson about the differences between collaborative and collectivist work. People don't have to be "equal" to be valued or satisfied by their participation in a project like this. And the truth is the second year when I took more of a traditional directorial role was a better experience, and led to a better film, than the previous year when I had a more, well, communist vision of the process, something which just created tension from unresolved expectations of everyone wanting to take a turn on the camera and so on.

Read about last year's event (the post about 2006 is no longer online).

I am still here. Regrettably, I've not been able to do much in film/video production the past few months, and, hence, content has been limited. I have, however, started up a new TypePad blog (still under construction) and one of my initial posts is, essentially, an extended pointer to David Byrne's Wired article on production and distribution options for musicians. My blog post applies Byrne's advice and analysis to film and filmmaking.

This past week we held the public premieres of 5 Cups of Coffee at Western Oregon University, which was appropriate as virtually all of the people who worked on the film have some kind of connection to the school, even if they do not attend or work there. I was nervous about attendance. Western is a small, regional, public university and has the feel of a commuter campus. Significant numbers of both faculty and students live in other towns, and even those students who live in the dorms, tend to head home on the weekends or even in the evening. In addition, our Wednesday showing was at 1:00 on an already crowded day. As it turned out, we had, maybe, ten people for that show, but probably forty or so the next night, which was a relief, except that I found myself picking at flaws, or potential flaws, more than I did in the earlier screening. I think that the bigger crowd, and the knowledge that this was "final" show made me more self-conscious of seeing it with strangers. After both showings, we had a good discussion that ran about thirty minutes, and between the two, almost everyone who participated in making the film, were able to see it on the big screen and take their turn at the front of the room.

Seeing it on the big screen - on dvd, with a digital projector - was wonderful, and highlighted how infrequently we would all get this chance. The colors, in particular, came across much richer than on television or laptop. Details of the mise-en-scene were also more evident, particularly when it mattered most. The weaknesses in the soundtrack were more obvious on the more powerful sound system, but people insist that they don't hear what I hear (on the other hand, I do now hear what the music folks have been telling me about one of the songs, but have insisted that I like it the way it is, that it fits the scene in question. I do believe what I say about the song, but I can imagine that Kerry and Doug may feel the way I feel when people tell me that they don't really notice, say, the refrigerator hum in Rick's when I tell them I like the current recording, that is, they are dubious).

What was most interesting and satisfying about the showings was the extent to which people in the audience wanted to discuss the meaning, significance, and aesthetics of the movie. This suggests to me that we managed to conjure a legitimate work of cinema, something that has interest beyond its novelty. Audiences were also interested in the process, and it was fun to think back on the various stages of production, how we brought everything and everyone together, but it was the interpretive questions and discussions that were most exciting to me. It has also been nice to have so many people ask when there's going to be another showing and wanting to know about the "next" project (which, does, or I should say, do, exist, but more on that later). I am planning on donating a copy to the University, and maybe the public, library. And there likely will be additional local screenings, but for the most part, I think that the future of 5 Cups lies with the festivals we send it to (and possibly, at some point, with the internets).

Want to know more about 5 Cups of Coffee? Check here and here.

5 Cups of Coffee is finally ready for public screening. We'll be sending it to the Mid-Valley Video Festival for consideration and are debating other options. We will also, of course, be holding local and self-organized screenings. Check back here at Mediated Worlds and here at the 5 Cups blog for updates.

I would like to thank everyone involved, which I've done by name in the closing credits, but right now I want to thank Maren for the script and for working with me to make this happen. I look forward to future projects, and am grateful that my early tentativeness about my director's role didn't hamper our progress.

I've added new versions of the opening credits and "Going to Rick's" to this site. The quality of video uploaded to Vox is not great, certainly not equal to the source media (thanks, Dave), but I think it gives interested viewers a taste of the film and now a listen to some of the music.

Last weekend I met with two of the music people for the film, Kerry and Jenn, and the third, Doug, met with his new band, the Collector's Library of True Adventure, to discuss the film. Kerry advocated for a cohesive sound, particularly because of the short running time, but also because 5 Cups already has a musical signature in Rich Swanger's "live" perfomance in the coffee house scene. Both Jenn and Kerry agreed that guitar should be the dominant element. Doug and his band actually worked out a composition for one segement and have a suggestion for the closing credits. What's happening now is that Kerry has asked Rich to compose or adapt music for an important scene in the middle of the film, while Jenn is working on a composition for the final scene. I asked Doug if he could arrange something for the opening credits. I am also looking forward to hearing the music that Doug and his band already have worked up.

Working with real music people was useful for me. I wanted another set of perspectives, particularly because I knew that I would need fresh eyes and ears to see and hear possibilities for music that wouldn't occur to me. This is exactly what happened. I am now considering music for sections of the film that I would not have thought to set to music without Jenn, Kerry, and Doug's advice.

You can read up on the music folks here.

By the way, I am not sure how long I'm going to use this template, but it is very ATHF, no?

The music planning is finally coming together. As anyone who tries to schedule meetings knows, coordinating between individuals with disparate schedules is a challenge. In any event, by the end of this weekend, music choices and composition should be underway. More next week. For now, if you happen to live in the Monmouth, Oregon area, you can check this out. Meanwhile, at refracting kropoktin I have a review of The Departed up.

Getting the music organized for 5 Cups is proving to be a bit of a challenge, no doubt because this week was the first of the new academic year in OUS. I hope to have more on this soon. For now, check out the "Best American Film of the past 25 years" survey at Andrew Horbal's film blog. You can find my vote in the comments and can read more about my selection over at refracting kropotkin.