The Standby Painter - Leaping Lizards
August 31, 2010
The cast of Invaders from Mars included Karen Black, Timothy Bottoms, Hunter Carson, and Lorraine Newman, and they all sat outside in the front garden in their canvas chairs talking and laughing and generally being famous, which impressed me to no end. Summer was just beginning and entire place was …
Tags: Filmmaking, Movie, Film Blog, Movie Blog, Television
The Documentary Producer - BREATHE - A LIFE JOURNEY - the documentary
August 27, 2010
So here we are, end of the summer and editing away. My favorite part of the documentary process. I am pleased to announce that Laura Zellmer and I are finishing up a project that we started over ten years ago!! Yeah us! We decided that the best way to tackle this, both being Mom’s, was by moving in together for two weeks and hiring a nanny to watch after our three children. Fun and never a dull moment. Are we crazy?
This is an interesting film, which is why we are excited to be blogging about it. It is a true passion project of ours, BUT in this instance, passion does not mean unfunded! As you may know, we are not about working for free on any film. As we have gotten older, time and energy is much better spent with compensation. SO, from the beginning of this film we have gone after financing.
Ten years ago our good friend came in with a donation that allowed us to buy a camera and computer, and we were off to the races. Thank you Pat! Throughout the years, Laura has been collecting footage of herself as her life progresses.This is the time to tell you that our film BREATHE is a documentary about Laura’s life living with Cystic Fibrosis. She has been a model of what it takes to truly thrive in life, even though she faces daily challenges that directly effect her health. Our goal is to distribute this film for free to all the CF Clinics in North America… over 500.
The model of financing that is proving incredibly successful is that of fiscal sponsorship. We are sponsored by the IDA and applied to two grants (both of which we received!) to finish the film. We are then going to have a party to raise money for the distribution. (Stay tuned as we hope to see you there!)
The past week we have been plugging away at digitizing over 20 hours of mini DV tape. Yep mini DV. But we have also included some interview footage that we shot on the D7. Really pretty stuff, but boy, what a learning curve.
Some things we have learned in the past week that we would like to share with you…
1. Don’t attempt to fix a drive by yourself. Most important… DO NOT put a plug in it that was not specifically made for the drive, even if it fits. OOPS… Solution: Buy new drive and start digitizing again.
2. Always shoot in the highest resolution a camera will allow. Don’t try to be tricky… Obvious reasons. Solution: Suck it up and learn.
3. Get sleep. 24 hours in front of a computer does no one any good. Solution: Go to sleep.
4. Nannies are a God send! Thank you Kate!As our journey progresses, you can find out more about what we are doing here. So for now, sit back, relax and just BREATHE.
Laura - age 4
Tags: Director, Film Blog, Television, Movie Blog, Film Industry
The Standby Painter - Wild in Malibu
August 23, 2010
After two weeks of traveling and writing (stuff other than this blog) we’re back and ready to return to those days of yesteryear, remembering the first job we ever had on the set of a film as a standby painter. Enjoy these stories of a time when everything was new …
Tags: Filmmaker, Movie Theatre, Director, Film Industry,
The Casting Director - Time to get your groom on…
August 19, 2010
Last night I was having dinner with some friends, one of whom is an actor. He is very good looking and has always worn color contacts, so his eyes kind of pop out at you. He is looking for a new manager and I got him a meeting with someone who I really like. I think they will be a good fit. Anyway, as the drinks were flowing and I was being asked all kinds of questions, I looked at my friend and said, “Look, before you go into meet the manager, I have to ask you about your eyes.” He looked at me inquisitively, “Are they contacts?” “Yes” was the answer and I proceeded to tell him that I thought it would be a good idea to go to his meeting “au natural.” He was confused, concerned and perplexed. The color contacts make us look at his eyes, but I get the feeling that the reason he is not booking as much work as he could be booking is that the eye color is so intense that it is distracting to his acting and his auditioning. If the Casting Director is distracted, that is not a good thing. I should be focusing on the acting not the eye color.
At another audition this week, an actor came in and did a very good job at his audition for the Director. After he left the audition room, I asked the Director what he thought. The Director thought he was good, but something was wrong. “It’s his hair,” I said, nonchalantly. When he was auditioning, he kept looking down at the page and on the top of his head was a shiny bald spot. His hairstyle was also not enhancing his acting; it was kind of covering up the imperfections. The actor is in his 20’s so, when auditioning for a leading action hero, the bald spot and bad hair style got in the way, it will subliminally make the Director (or me) feel like something is just not right.
Now, I kind of hate telling you all of this, because it make what I do seem sort of petty, but in reality, I deal in what looks right for a role on a giant screen in a movie theater. Actors have to be aware of how they look, it’s part of the deal: You get to be famous and successful and we get to scrutinize every ounce of your body. Of course there are a lot of exceptions, and what I am writing about has more to do with younger actors, but we all judge people every day for the way they look, and if someone is making you feel differently about them and or their performance because their look isn’t matching up to the characteristics and needs of the character, then this can sometime, more often then not be a problem for the actor in getting hired.
Distractions like colored contact lenses, bad hair, iffy skin issues, these can all affect the outcome of an audition.
Tags: Movie, Director, Film Blog, Movie, Filmmaker
The Manager - Reflections on the Trend of Film/TV Agents Becoming Managers
August 6, 2010
If you read the trades, you will notice that a lot of agents are becoming managers these days. While sometimes this works, an agent and manager are not interchangeable. Often I have seen agents who became managers quickly going back to being an agent.
Why is this?
Managing is hard work. It’s a lot more hands-on than most agents are use to. It’s also a lot more creative than most agents are use to.
As a manager, I am constantly looking for new ideas for my clients. I am also always looking for the right people with whom to pair them up. In fact, my job is to be as proactive as possible and not wait for someone to call me about my client, which is what most agents are use to.
Agents can sit and wait for the incoming calls while managers are always making outgoing calls.
Also, there is a lot of development that managers do that agents don’t. Often we will do notes on 8-10 drafts of a client’s project before it even goes to an agent. Many agents haven’t developed their notes skills and don’t know how to do detailed notes.
It’s a very different job skill set for managers and most agents don’t realize this when they make the switch. They simply think of it as a different job title for representing clients.
Best of luck to all the agents out there becoming managers. But a piece of advice — it’s not as easy as it looks.
Tags: Director, Movie Theatre, Hollywood, , Film
The Standby Painter - From Set Shop Hell to Malibu Creek
August 2, 2010
That first job on the set of a real feature film was an adventure, the likes of which I will never know again. That’s because I will never again be so full of wonderment and fear, and pure desperation to get out of where I had been working, which was …
Tags: Film Industry, Hollywood, Filmmaker, Filmmaking, Actor
