The Animation Production Coordinator - Remembrances of things past…

The Independent Filmmaker - Reel Views

The Music Supervisor - A Few Words for the Songwriters/Artists Looking for Film Placements

I received several CD’s this weekend from aspiring songwriters who are looking to get their music into films. One in particular inspired me to make this the subject of this week’s blog.

It wasn’t until I opened the envelope and examined the contents that I shook my head and asked why. The problem with this submission was the songwriter/artist did not provide their contact information. Other than the snail mail address on the package, there was no way to contact this person using the current technology…such as e-mail or the telephone.

As I drove away from the post office and put the CD in, the music started playing and it was pretty good. This is really rare as I get close to 50 CD a month and a majority of the music is not good. I’m not being mean; it’s just the plain truth.

If you are serious about your songwriting career, there are things that you need to take seriously. If you don’t know enough about your career, then you need to do a bit of homework. I’m not talking about the creative side (songwriting, playing your instrument, etc.). I’m talking about the administrative side.

When a music supervisor is looking for music to clear for a show that airs tonight, they don’t have time to hunt you down. They need your contact information now and you need to be ready to talk business.

Here are a few things you need to accomplish on the administrative side of your career:

1. Register your work with the US Copyright office.
2. Become affiliated with ASCAP, BMI or SESAC or whichever performing rights society is available in your country.
3. Once affiliated, register your songs with the performing rights society that you join.
4. Make sure any collaboration is accompanied with a co-writer agreement outlining ownership/credit splits. This applies to the publishing side and the master recording side.
5. If you are part of a band, have all band members sign a Band Partnership Agreement. This covers who owns the equipment, song ownership/credit splits and other things that could be disputed should band members start disputing things.
6. Learn as much about music publishing, record labels, music supervisors, film & music and just about anything that your music can be involved in. The more you know the better you’ll be when it comes time to negotiate with those that want to use your music.
7. Make sure you are on the cue sheet of any film or TV placement and insure that you get a copy for your records.

These are just some of the things you can do. Networking with your peers and other professionals in your field will be an education in itself. Use Google to do research. You just have to be driven!

These are just a few things that you’ll have to do outside the creative box. If your music kicks butt, but you don’t know what to do or say when it’s time to license your music, you could loose out on opportunities to generate some cash flow and royalties down the road.

Knowing how to talk the talk gives music supervisor, music publisher, advertisers and other interested in licensing your music the confidence to know that they are dealing with someone who understands the business. In the end, you’ll look back and be glad that you made the effort to take your career to the next level. You’ll jump for joy when you get that first royalty check in the mail.

The Storyboard Artist - THE KILLER THAT LUCAS CREATED

 Okay, we storyboard artists are a perceptive lot, who call things the way we seem them. We show people the dark underbelly of life that few can stomach, and fewer still have the guts to bring to the light.While working in the three man storyboard dept that is “THE A TEAM” over at building 99 at FOX, Eric, Benton and myself came to the conclusion that Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker was a stone cold blooded killer.Now, please put down the lightsaber and bare with me. This was all figured out while simultaneously drawing action packed sequences for John Singleton, and doing impressions and line readings from both “48 HOURS” and “ENTER THE DRAGON.”  Benton seemingly has the advantage while doing Bruce Lee (as he speaks English and Cantonese as Bruce did), but I still think my Lee is better.Back to Luke, the evidence on Mark Hamill’s most famous character (not counting his voice work voice as “The Joker” on the 1990’s Batman cartoon) is evident in the original STAR WARS.We know that as a farmboy on Tatooine, Luke used to “bullseye Womprats in my T-16 back home.”  So, this kid essentially shot animals for fun from a moving vehicle. I doubt that he ate the Womprats, so this was all for his enjoyment.Luke gets a message from a robot his Uncle Owen bought from scavengers (the company you keep) about a “Princess” being in danger. Hey, as a native New Yorker, I have met many a “Princess”, and they are actually quite resourceful without a man’s help.So, this “farm boy” trespasses on a government sanctioned space station (after being in a shootout in a parking lot) with not one, but two pirates, Han and Chewie. Did I mention the old man who cut off an arm in a bar fight?Once the ship has landed on this space station, a couple of clean up guys (I bet just doing their jobs and they probably had kids) walk up the entry plank to the Millennium Falcon.  We then hear blaster fire right afterwards.What do you think happened to them?  I’ll tell you.  Those poor unarmed men were executed, that’s what.Luke and his criminal friends (whom he met that bar, where the shorter one killed a guy/Greedo – and no George, Greedo did NOT shoot first) break into a jail. Then, they start to shoot the guards. Just shot them down cold and had the nerve to steal and then wear their uniforms. The horror! And…gross!!  What kind of sick fetsh is that??After the old man is killed by his former student (who worked for the government) Luke goes crazy and starts killing more government officers!!  He only stops when he hears the “voice” of the old guy that just got killed! Coo-coooooo.By the way, didn’t that old guy Obi Wan age really, really badly? He was premature gray in his mid-thirties when he let his “friend” Anakin catch fire next to a lava river (were he left him to die, btw) spends twenty years in exile, and ends up looking seventy.Anyway, Luke makes a getaway in the “Pirate ship” where he yells “I got ‘im, I got ‘im” after happily blowing up a government pilot.  Even if the so called Empire was still using clones, that clone pilot may have had dog at home, to say the least.Luke and the other malcontents known as “The Rebels” then come back to the space station with a small fleet where ca-razzzzy Luke kills some more government pilots, before hearing voices once again, then blows up the entire space station with a torpedo ( who designed that station?) which took with it thousands of more people.Luke later goes on to destroy more government property, find out some unpleasant family secrets, corrupt a tribe of teddy bears and kiss his sister.Couldn’t Luke have at least vented his rage on finding and killing a older but still inane Jar Jar Binks???I’m just  saying.

The Casting Director - DEEP (CASTING) THOUGHTS…

Going out to lunch this afternoon, the manager of the office building I am in said that I looked “so Hollywood!” I was wearing blue shorts and a white cotton shirt I bought five years ago in Mikonos with a black t-shirt under it. Basically, I got out of bed and found the nearest clean thing to wear. I didn’t think I looked “Hollywood” at all; in fact I was kind of embarrassed to be seen by anyone in public, because I hadn’t planned on leaving the office with so much going on. But I was hungry, so there you go…

I got to thinking; am I Hollywood? And, what does that mean if I am or if I am not. I don’t think I am, but not because of any bad connotations or lack of trying. I think I could be more social with my work friends; maybe I should make more of an effort to be out and about.

I was at the gym on Monday (Memorial Day) and ran into an actor I know. He told me all about his career and that he got a manager. I was happy for him. That was about as Hollywood as I got over the weekend.  I need to try harder.

I saw “Indiana Jones.” So many things to say about it, but really what is the point? It’s not really art; it’s a lot of money going into a lame story, with very intense lighting, wigs and a lot of accents flying around. But, I did enjoy it; I didn’t have to think so hard about what I was seeing. It was what it was – a tent-pole movie for the masses. It did its job. Not really my kind of thing but after the week of casting my brain needed to down-shift, so Harrison Ford did the trick.

I had a dream last night that I was in the movie “Cloverfield.” I loved that film. That was a smart film. I have high blood pressure and after that film was over I was like, “Take my fat butt to Cedars, I need a heart transplant!” I mean it is genius the whole, Godzilla in NYC bit, and all of the actor’s dying. Trouble is, it is now my stress dream. I dream that I am in the movie, looking at the actors and while we are running all through New York City trying not to be eaten by giant bugs that pop out of the big monster’s butt, I am thinking, “That actor is with Gersh,” or “He is with William Morris, call Theresa Peters call Theresa Peters.” I don’t even really know Theresa Peters.

Obviously the dream is about more than work, but I am still working on figuring out the meaning, so any help is gratefully appreciated, and no, I checked my phone sheet…no call from Theresa Peters to return…M

The Animation Production Coordinator - We named the dog Indiana.

The opening has long since passed and box office results show that Indiana Jones still has it - and I’m going to defend it for what it is, not for what I wish it would have been.  Honestly, the story took a couple of turns that made me kinda go ‘wha?…’ - but just when you thought you were just over it, the film hit you with a fantastic action sequence or a close up on Harrison’s face [he’s so damn charming in this role - don’t care how old he is] or a quick cut to either of the film’s incredible women and you couldn’t walk away.  Way to go Karen Allen!  She’s just luminous, and makes one want to write more stories for her.  Not unlike that Pirates franchise that surprised everyone making swashbuckling cool again, the world of Indiana Jones makes me want to dream again.  And dream big - to create characters that jump straight from the screen and into our history - as if what we are watching were more of an historical document than a fiction.  God it’s good to root for him again.  Now it isn’t all rosey and happy thoughts - at times the story felt rushed and there are some elements that really could stand to have a little bit explained for you… sudden appearances of figures… a mystical element that pushes the limit. 

 There has been talk of it not being a particularly good view of archaeology - for a man who spends the first film spouting the belief that artifacts should be in a museum, he sure does wreck a whole lot of temple in the name of finding one.  A friend just sent me a blog that explores whether or not the Indiana movies exemplify a man’s struggle with certain elements of sexuality, what with all the snakes and caves and the like.  All highly entertaining reading, and a testament to how ingrained the stories have become in our culture. 

 Back to the animated film that I too believe will soon become a part of our culture, if not one as powerful as Indy has become - El Superbeasto presses on.  Today, the producer is in Editing with Mister Zombie to continue their very productive sessions wherein they tighten up the reels, and make them a lot funnier [truly funnier - sometimes wrong, but definitely funny].  We have an intern starting with us - another timer that I worked with on The Simpsons.  Our very abled Production Manager and I are going over Lead Sheets to see where retakes have been called, to continue to pull necessary elements together for more shipping to Korea.    This will go on for another week or so - it keeps us on our toes.

Lastly, the ad campaign for ‘Wall-E’ is kicking into super high gear.  Maybe it’s because I’m so immersed in the 2-D world right now, but I’m not as excited about that as I thought.  But enough for now - gotta send a FedEx to Korea and watch some SchoolHouse Rock.  Yes, for work.  Don’t worry - someday you’ll see why.

The Actor - IN GOOD TIMES AND IN BAD…PRESS ON!

Miss me last week?

OK, so most of you probably didn’t even notice that I was sans blog last week. However, FIB was undergoing an overhaul, hence, no blog from moi. The FIB Site now has a sleeker, more Hollywood-ready look! And what a great look it has, thanks to its wonderful creators Richard and Amy and the fabulous FIB team!

That said, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by the number of you who did send me messages asking where my new blog was, and telling me you missed getting to read it last week, which meant a lot. To you I say, “Thank You!”

I am officially back in LA after my thoroughly enjoyed time in NYC, which did in fact offer a new perspective. What better place to do so, than over coffee in The Village, on a beautiful, sunny, and warm afternoon. All with a very good friend and fellow actor, who offers a listening ear and insightful conversation whenever I need it. It’s a most perfect combination, whether he realizes it or not.

Acting is a part of my daily life, and, therefore, many of my friends are actors as well. Despite having loving, caring, and supportive family and friends around me, sometimes only an actor can understand fully, and relate directly to the ups and downs of what being an actor entails.

Which is why I personally think it is so important to have someone close to you, someone who can understand the acting aspect, but also let it stay backstage, so to speak, at times. Allowing life’s everyday ups and downs, through which we all go, over the years, to shine in the spotlight too. That combination makes for an all encompassing, solid, and, hopefully, open and honest friendship, like the one I am thankful to have.

When I began blogging for FIB, I promised to offer “a positive and refreshing outlook,” and I guarantee to continue doing so, as best I can, just as I try to do in my everyday life. However, I also believe in the importance of honesty, and want that to be expressed in my writing as well. This means including the not so great things too, while trying to see the best in each experience.

Although the highs can be really high, quite honestly, the lows can be very low also. Mix that with going through it all as you age in a youth driven industry, while those around you are entering the next, more adult phase of their lives, and it can sometimes be hard to find consistency and stability - two words that rarely get used when describing a career of an actor, but which are very important in one’s life.

To achieve consistency and stability sometimes requires concentrating on your wants and needs for a while, instead of those of others, which I tend to forget. This is something I was reminded to do this past week. Regardless, if it, acting in my case, is something you truly want for yourself, you must press on no matter what! Which is exactly what I am trying to do, as positively as possible.

Speaking of the positive, while back east, my audition for the role of Elizabeth in a half hour comedy pilot, went relatively well, I think. There are often a few things you would do differently, but, on the whole, I was happy. Plus, it would be so much fun to get to go back and film in Wilmington, NC, once again! That’s where it all started for me, 10 years ago.

However, whether playing the role of Elizabeth is part of the future or not, the audition is now in the past, and I have to start concentrating more on the present, allowing the future to simply unfold as it will, on all fronts. I just have to remember that one must always, in good times and in bad…press on!

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent…Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” - Calvin Coolidge

The Personal Assistant - My boss’s wife just showed me her underwear…”

I just sit there, sipping my wine, hoping someone will walk in and change the subject. I mean, why is she even wondering if I find her husband (my TV director boss, may I remind you) attractive or not? Please, somebody… anybody – walk in and distract her. But as much as I glance around the room and doorways, no one comes. And, all the while, Chloe just stares at me expectantly, waiting for my reply. I take another sip. Shit. “Well…?” she says. “Yes. Yes, I do,” I say. She smiles a bit as she looks me right in the eye and, seeming pleased, takes a sip of her wine in reply. “Good. Me, too,” she says, still looking right at me, making me feel even more awkward (if that’s possible).

The truth is, readers, her husband is not the least bit attractive (not to me, at least). He is not the Ken to her Barbie. She deserves a hotter, younger one, who drives her around in a Barbie convertible, not in a suburban SUV. But I certainly can’t tell her this… at least not just one glass of wine in. : ) And what is the point of this conversation, anyway?

“I went shopping today,” she adds. When did she find the time, I wonder? I thought she was at an audition all day… “Really?” I say. I really could care less… especially when it comes to what a rich-person-who-doesn’t-work buys. “Aren’t these cute?” she says as she unzips her very tight jeans (they look as though they’re painted on) and points out her bright pink thong. Um… WTF? I mean, it is cute. There’s a little black butterfly placed precariously in the center, but… MY BOSS’S WIFE JUST SHOWED ME HER UNDERWEAR. And where is he, anyway? I came over for this?

Just then, as though all my silent praying to be saved worked, her cell phone rings. She quickly zips up and holds up a finger to me as if to say, “Hang on a sec,” as she answers. “Brilliant” is all she says into the phone and hangs up. She smiles at me.

“I have good news and bad news,” she says. “Which do you want first?” What a choice, I think. “Bad,” I say. “I would LOVE if you could start at six tomorrow,” she says. Not much different than today, I think… but at least this time she gave me some warning instead of waking me up and demanding that I come right over. “Okay…” I start to say. She interrupts. “I need you to go to the flower mart downtown and get about five hundred dollars’ worth of flowers. I’ll make a list of what kinds later and text you.” And she thought this was a bad task?! It’s nothing compared to the last few days of hell this personal assistant job has been… getting yelled at by her one moment, flashed the next… getting yelled at by her kids for losing homework I had never even seen one second to going to my boss’s (her husband’s!!) Sex Addicts Anonymous the next… Flowers and the flower mart, I can handle…

“No problem,” I say. After all, I’ve always liked flowers – how bad could this be? “I’ll then need you to come decorate the house with them – mainly, our bedroom and the Jacuzzi tub (she winks), you know, throw some petals around – while Dean isn’t home tomorrow,” she says. “Sure,” I say. “The only thing is, he will be home tomorrow, so you need to find a way to get him out of the house,” she says. “Okay,” I say again, becoming very aware of the fact that I say “okay” waaaay too much. “And try to hide the flowers somewhere in the meantime. The mart has the best ones only in the morning, they run out fast, so please don’t be late. And I don’t want them wilting in your car while you’re waiting to get rid of Dean,” she adds. “Fine,” I say. “No problem.”

She hands me five one-hundred dollar bills as she stands up. She holds up her glass, “Cheers, Avery,” and starts to head out. “Oh. And while you’re out, can you please pick us up some Trojans? The ultra ribbed kind? I don’t need anymore kids right now – I just got back into a size two,” she says as she motions to her tight-ass jeans. “Just use petty cash – Dean won’t mind.” And she’s gone, me left staring after her. Is she for real? And shouldn’t she just be on the pill? But who am I to argue? I’m only her husband’s assistant, after all… So when did I become hers? I gulp down the rest of my wine in one huge swallow, convinced it will overflow out of my mouth… but it doesn’t. Wasn’t there supposed to be some “good” news, too?

The Genre Director - Prosthetic effects for film

INTERIOR. ANIMATOR’S OFFICE - NIGHT

The Animator, on his 33rd straight hour, is slumped in his chair in front of the computer screen. Deep in REM sleep, 8 Redbulls notwithstanding. His dream of playing Frisbee in the park with his dog is interrupted by an old nightmare. His dog morphs into the Tyrannosaurus he animated months ago for the Sci-Fi Channel Original AZTEC REX.

AZTEC REX
Hey, dickhead. Wake up, you’ve got a deadline.

 

ANIMATOR
Don’t bother me. You’re done. You went to air on Saturday.

 

AZTEC REX
How did we rate?

ANIMATOR
The executive producer promised to tell us last Monday.
We’re still waiting.

 

AZTEC REX
How was the promo?

 

ANIMATOR
They ran it a lot…could have been more exciting.
Could have had some of the juicy bits in it.

 

AZTEC REX
I like juicy bits. Helps me be patient during the talky bits.
Did they like the bit where I gobbled up Marc Antonio…
And his guts fell in a heap on the sand…followed by
his shredded torso…That was cool, man!

The T-REX starts to salivate.

ANIMATOR
(to himself)
My reptilian brain is really active tonight.
Must cut out red meat…Seriously.

 

AZTEC REX
So what’s the buzz?

 

ANIMATOR
Overall, people thought it was fun and way above average.
Of course there were the usual self important IMDB snarks
with no understanding of the business of film -
“ the worst picture ever” brigade - I mean,
what sorry excuse for a human being posts
“She’s sour face ugly” about an actress?

 

AZTEC REX
Misogynists. Chronic masturbators with bad eyesight.

 

ANIMATOR
There was a lot of response to the Aaargh!! moments.
E’s The Soup people got it. It’s on U Tube.
Though they left the best chomping shot out.
Their piece was nice!

AZTEC REX
( gobbling a passing skateboarder)
I gotta admit I can’t take all the credit for that.
Those prosthetics wounds were great!

***********

Yes, Bryan Furer’ s prosthetic effects were great under any circumstances, let alone on a make-up budget best described as the smell of an oil rag. And Bryan ran the make-up and hair department at the same time. The number of Conquistadors and Aztecs we could have on the screen was limited by the cost and time frame required to deliver body painted natives and wigged Spaniards to the set. But delivered they were, which is what a director under the gun every day needs.

But the prosthetics guy gets his ration of Acute Pressure, when he has to set up and execute a gore shot with everyone looking at their watch. The effect has to be tuned to the camera angle the director has chosen, which, if the director is sensible, he has selected in consultation with the prosthetic artist at the planning stage. In other words, if the shot works best in profile, don’t change it to three quarter profile on the day just because the camera guy says the background is better, causing blood tubes or prosthetics personnel to have to be hidden unexpectedly. (“ I have to be here because the tube is only three foot long.” etc.) Been there, done that.

I love what Bryan Furer did for the post-bite dying Mendoza, which strongly supported a wonderful death speech by Will Snow.

When we shot the Aztec guard in the throat with a crossbow bolt, it’s a pity it had to be a night scene, which, on our budget and schedule we had to shoot at magic hour, because some of Bryan’s detail work was lost in the gloom.

It also helps to have a patient and co-operative actor, particularly when he has to lose his leg. Shawn Lathrop, seen here waiting patiently, was a real trooper through the lengthy set-up process. By the time his real leg was buried, a real - therefore heavy - rock placed over it, his prosthetic limb positioned on top, the tubes hooked up to the blood pump, we only had enough light for two takes of what I had always conceived as one shot. It was to deliver the audience both an Arrgh! moment and a black hearted laugh.

Start on Alvarado’s sleeping face. We hear crunching sounds. The sleep deprived man groggily wakes up, as the camera dollies back, unaware of what is happening. He looks down just as the camera reveals the chewed off stump spurting blood. ( I know, I am a sick puppy.) Then the pain kicks in and he screams. Contrary to one critic, there is medical precedent for this delayed response. Besides, that’s the joke, madam. Gets a big laugh.

( Perhaps you don’t yet truly understand the genre you presume to judge.) And the pay-off is that the Christian Imperialist Alvarado, when seeing the creature eating his leg, thrusts his rosary into the lens as defense. Gets a bonus wry smile from the cognoscenti.

Time paradox genre cocktails like AZTEC REX are inevitably in the category of Absurdist Drama. The best approach to that kind of material is play it straight with a wry undertone. The campiness will take care of itself.

I been wanting to make this kind of genre cocktail since working on Ray Harryhausen’s VALLEY OF GWANGI and Hammer’s WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH ( Or, what we called it: When Diana Dors Ruled The Earth. UK geezers might remember.)

Absurdist Drama entertains a lot of people.

If you want some undemanding Thud and Blunder, Sci- Fi will be repeating it. Check your local listings. It’s my Hammer style Saturday Matinee shoestring spectacular. I wince at a few things, but I’m proud of the result for the price. It’s a pity we only had 900K below the line, but hell, I’m a cup half full kind of film maker. It’s really the only way to be.

The Screenwriter - SLAMMED

Sorry for the sabbatical. Sweet mother of God, have I been slammed. Per my last blog, the ol’ spec went out and it looks like I’ve been fortunate to go 3 for 3. I can’t say yet who picked it up, but I’m pretty happy about it. I’ve talked to the exec and they seem really serious about the project.

The nice part of the spec going out has been a deluge of assignment opportunities. It’s strange, but at first, you think, “Wow, these guys are really doing me a favor sending me these assignment possibilities”. But in reality, they need a good writer as much, if not more.

Everyone has projects they are trying to crack. The ton is littered with producers and execs trying to get an idea on paper. And the entire machine STOPS, until that writer cranks out a worthy enough script to get the project moving. We all need each other – synergy baby!

Another cool by-product of the spec going out is that since it was so special effects-heavy, I’ve been getting a lot of really fun opportunities for animated projects. I’ve always, secretly wanted to write an animated film. I’m supposed to pitch my take on one next week, so maybe this is it.

Again, I apologize for the lack of blogging. I’ve got three things due this week, but afterward should be able to come up for air a little. Also, if anyone has any questions about the biz or screenwriting in general — lay ‘em on me, I’ll do my best to give a coherent answer!

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