adding to technorati

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I suggest if you have a blog to add to technorati for more eyeballs. and post it here by replying! I like checking out others art!

you may never see your influence

Teach others along the way. You may die a penniless miserable artist, but who cares?

Worrying about the sharks?

No you're not. Don't worry about getting screwed in the industry. Trust your instincts. Don't agree to a deal where you feel over your head. Get a lawyer instead.

freeze the moment

An actor of mine once told me after a good screening, "No matter what ever happens from here on out the rest of my life, I'll always have that moment. Thanks." That moment where everyone is enjoying them on the silver screen. Moments like that are addictive. It seems so easy.

procrastinator!

What do you need to get started working on your film RIGHT NOW?

A camera.

Something to point it at.

Do it!

PRIMER – Secrets to the Film’s Success

PRIMER is a perfect example of what you can do with a little bit of money, a good idea, and plenty of prep time. For those not in the know, PRIMER is the hot new indie that has already developed a significant buzz and loyal cult following akin to The Blair Witch Project, El Mariachi, Memento, Pi, et al.

The difference is: this one’s smarter than all of them combined. It is the brainchild of former engineer turned filmmaker Shane Carruth from Texas, and is about two engineers who accidentally create a time machine in their garage.

Shane’s story is already the stuff of legend in the indie world: unhappy engineer quits job, teaches himself filmmaking, and makes a $7000 film that wins Sundance, gets distribution and secures a 2 million budget for his next film. PRIMER has become, for Shane, a near perfect calling card for the cerebral, art house sci-fi director.

Many a filmmaker is, at once, jealous and inspired by Carruth’s savvy, as evidenced by a lengthy visit to the film’s site (primermovie.com). There, film geeks are slugging it out–hotly debating whether the film is crap or genius, a testament to the film’s ability to—God forbid—make you think. They all agree on one thing, however—it takes at least two viewings to begin to understand it.

Instead of another “I loved it! I hated it” review that you can find links to on your own via the film’s lively “forum” section, I am going to focus on what makes the film such an incredible achievement for a first time filmmaker, what Shane does correctly behind the scenes and where this film historically fits into the indie equation. That is, what it means for the filmmaker in all of us.

After El Mariachi (1992), many expected to see copycats of the winning formula: (super) 16mm films significantly prepped and storyboarded to a “T”–then shot in 1 or 2 takes, shipped to fests and distribs, and seen worldwide by an endearing public hungry for something different. But it never happened. Where were they—the geniuses that would save American filmmaking and start a new Renaissance? Enter Shane—a guy outside of filmmaking. An engineer.

But what did he do right? Attached are the secrets to his success, a sort of “primer” for the industry…

1. After he finished the film, he went to L.A. for a few weeks, just picked up the phone books and started calling. The difference: he kept calling. He contacted 100 people a day for a week–agents, managers, and reps in LA. Why? Because he was once told that “it’s important to have one of those.” His indomitable spirit proves that, once again, you make your own breaks when you believe in something.

2, That helped in meeting people at Sundance.

3. At Sundance, when the bidding war began and he wasn’t happy with giving up so many rights, he walked away. Not out of arrogance, out of respect for the film and the actors and crew. This showed he meant business.

4. He held strong and secured a deal he was happy with, but it was a long month after the dream makers in Park City had packed their bags and headed back to their warmer climes. (That month must’ve felt like years.)

5. Technically and creatively, he practiced “a hundred times” before he photographed—mostly using just one or two takes.

6. He embraced techno babble in the film, which, arguably, gives the film an air of believability. He didn’t dumb-down the dialogue for a broader market.

7. He scored his own film. The tone is reminiscent of THX-1138—using sounds as music.

8. He uses the jump cut effectively. And except for one nighttime interior car scene, his lighting works. El Mariachi, however, hardly used lights, which makes Primer quite the achievement.

9. He didn’t dumb-down the editing. It’s super tight. Scenes are missing purposefully. It’s masterful editing for a rookie.

10. He uses real people effectively, not actors. In interviews, he says he saw 100 actors but that they were all “acting.” Not “being”–the crucial missing element in most acting.

11. He spent one full year writing the script.

PRIMER, admittedly, is not for everyone. Many raised on Hollywood fare from their local Cineplex will dismiss it as “too difficult” or “choppy storytelling.” But Shane swears everything is in there and I believe it for this one reason: its ingenuity is that the film is told in the cut, not in the camera move—something missing from today’s storytellers.

It is economical in shot selection and pacing and keeps your riveted to the screen. It is also economical in budget. He says he would’ve loved to have had 3 grand more—how 3G would’ve made such a difference. You just gotta root for a guy who says that, and now has 2M to play with for his next one. Oh, how suddenly things change…

PRIMER is not without its faults. The eyelines were off sometimes. A few medium shots were slightly too tight. Some shots could’ve been more uninflected. Too many dolley shots for an already-heady movie. A big problem: it can leave you yearning for more on the morality of it all and less on the specifics.

It sometimes feels like a film for engineers, by an engineer. But to pick apart such a solid film is petty. Remember, because he didn’t have any money, each shot was only given 1 or 2 takes and this is a complex film here, with complex dialogue. This alone is a testament that the film works wonders. And it’s all done by a first time filmmaker. Is it worth 154 minutes of your life? (77 minutes times 2 viewings.)

You better believe it.
3.5 out of 4 stars

Are you a lazy, slacker dreamer?

My first post.

Ok, of course I dont claim to know everything. But I get emailed alot because I have alot of experiences for someone my age (34) and I've taught alot of folk over the years, either on set or in the classroom. I always say, GIVE IT ALL AWAY. (Awww, whatta giver, I know.) I've noticed that I've been having to write massive return replies to everyone, and so I dont repeat myself, I'm going to just do it all here and point everybody here from now on. So if you're interesting in filmmaking, the biz, etc., I always say learn from others and their mistakes. So heres a bunch of free friggin' info. :)

Some of these are taken straight from replies to questions. Some personal, some general.

--

an artist has got to be careful never to arrive at a place where he thinks he's at somewhere. you always have to realize you're constantly in the state of becoming and as long as you can stay in that realm you'll sort of be alright. --bob dylan

if the students not better than the teacher than the teacher is a failure. --ginsberg quoting a tibetan monk

my quotes:

I always tell people, you have to keep RAZOR sharp focus and learn from OTHERS--not just what they know, but what mistakes they've made, so you won't do the same.

Most people are lazy slacker dreamers. If you have one ounce of motivation in your little pinky finger, the world is your oyster.

You just gotta set realistic goals, make a 10 yr plan, and keep at it.

end quote.
--

After 9/11, my 10 year plan became to make 10 feature films, each one better than the last. And I'm behind schedule. Gulp! But I'll still make it. (I have til 2011.)

a letter to an aspiring artist:

Well Tim, heres where we left off: The Thug (my first comic) got picked up by DC Comics at the Motor City Comic Con and I moved to NYC and went into development with them. Ultimately, we couldn't come to an agreement on rights. (Plus they wanted to make Sassy blue and take out her belly ring.) So I lived in NYC for 9-10 years and worked in digital media (and taught), loving every minute; While in NYC, I made my first feature in 2001 for 300 bucks, which won some awards and got screened at Cannes. From there, I was able to develop film projects from the money and the buzz and work in film nearly fulltime. I got real lucky on my first film. Real lucky. And from there things just took off.

Around 2004, I moved back to South Bend bc I wanted to teach Indiana students, so I taught wherever I could--at Ivy Tech, and spoke regularly at IU, ND, and Kalamazoo College. There we crewed with students, prepped for a semester, and made my second feature film, shot in Missouri. That experience was probably the second best learning experience of my life--I learned that anything--ANYTHING--is possible (if you're crazy enough). We took the film to Cannes ourselves this time and got distrib offers again--people thought it cost 1 to 10mil to make and we made it for only 2g. (Shhh!) The town where we shot it even got hit by a tornado and it didnt slow us down.

My master plan was always to be totally self-sufficient while making Hollywood-level films on little to no money. I quickly realized I needed to know every single aspect of filmmaking if my master plan was going to work. So I gave up the NY money and moved to FL and taught over 1400 students at Full Sail for 3 years--while doing post on that second film. So I learned everything from beginning to end in filmmaking, and more on distribution. (You never stop learning...)

Then we were approached by big investors and left Full Sail to work fulltime in film again. My wife landed Edward James Olmos (and some lesser stars) to be in my next film. Actually, he called us. We got and lost a HUUUUGE budget twice since then, flown back and forth to Honduras a bunch of times, so its been a WILD year of just development.

He mentored me all year as we worked together on rewriting my script for him as the lead. One of my favorite films is "Stand and Deliver," so it was quite an honor. His other collaborator this past year was Coppola. (It was nice to run in those circles for a year--we met in hotels all around the country--I could write a book on it.) When we lost the budget the second time, Olmos has since moved on... The education, however, was priceless.

Now, the whole world of filmmaking has been turned on its ear by the RED camera--4 or 6x the quality of today's million dollar camera packages--all for only 17g--mine should arrive by November. (red.com) So those in the know are freaking out while we wait. It can shoot IMAX quality, making Hollywood unnecessary.



Ain't she a beaut?

In the meantime, I'm finishing my 3 yr MFA in Film at UCF (gotta have it to top out on the pay scale at a state school) and working for a really cool brand strategy/design company. They have a crazy, totally hardcore process for design. The owner created Starbucks and is a genius, he is teaching me everything. I am learning how to take his process and convert it into branded filmmaking.

Next year, I hope to teach/run the Masters film program at Mizzou, where my wife wants to raise a family, near her parents. With todays technology, I dont mind living in Missouri. I'll get 4 months off every year to write, draw, and make films. I will always teach because filmmaking is so labor-intensive--if that is all you do, you'll go crazy.

And this doesnt have anything about kendras doc work. but i'm tired of talking about myself. i always say, whenever you talk about yourself, you're kicking other people in the shins.