I've been walking around with the idea for this blog rattling around in my head for a long while now. I've talked to people and babbled about it... but till today didn't do anything with it.
Part of my hesitation has been because I keep asking myself the following question: Why would anyone want to listen to what I have to say on these subject? Well I've been given the answer by a couple of people in the last couple days.
The answers (and responses to them) I have been given are below:
*You're funny! People will enjoy reading it! (The problem is - most of the time, I am not trying to be funny!)
*You know stuff! People need your information. (I think you just want me to stop talking to YOU about the optics and cameras)
*You're an award winning independent film-maker! (I know, right? Mostly, that was just luck and a lack of competition) My partner and I took awards in the Fear Fete Independent Horror Festival in Baton Rouge this year (Their Website). Jearl's short film Killing Time took Best Louisiana Thriller and my piece Project Z took Best Louisiana Zombie.
*People want to make art, and with your knowledge, you can teach them how! (and this is the reason I am doing it)
This is going to be a place where I talk about my experiences, successes and failures in my chosen artistic mediums. For those of you who don't know...
I'm a writer - screen plays, short stories, blogs, essays and novels. We shoot a lot of short films and the scripts for those come from my business partner and I. I have three novels written and am trying to get published. You're reading one of my blogs right now.
I'm a photographer - Non-traditional portraiture, urban landscape, urban exploration, artistic nudes and anything I find beautiful. What I find beautiful is often something like a spot of rust, or a broken down building. My camera is a way for me to show everyone else my warped sense of joy.
I am a film maker. This is a catch all for an enormous number of things that an independent does... On a Hollywood set, each person does one or two jobs. Not so in the indie world. To give you an idea of what goes into making an indie film, here is a list of the jobs I do with descriptions. Please note that most of these duties are shared with my business partner M. Jearl Vinot.
*Screenwriter - I write it. Anywhere from a couple pages for a short to 100 pages or more for a feature. Jearl also writes.
*Script supervisor - I break down the script. This means that I go through the script and analyse it. For each scene, I make notes of location, props, stunts, effects (audio and visual), actors, background actors, etc needed. Then I calculate the number of pages each scene takes. Then organize it into shoot days. Then during the shoot, I keep track of what changes are made to the script, as well as keeping track of which takes were usable, etc. (BTW, This is a job I NEED another person to do... got too much on my plate already)
*Casting director - I, with my partner, sit down and audition people for our productions... (That reminds me, we need to get auditions set up for Extraordinary)
*Production Assistant - I do what ever the director(s) need me to do on set... Wait... That's meta since I am one of them.
*Sound technician - This is something new. We just bought a sound board and mics for our set up. Thankfully, our partnership with Inner Circle Entertainment (Will Warner, Chantal Koerner, and Courtland Thomas) has led to them allowing us to borrow (indefinitely) their shotgun mic and boom set up. It's pretty sweet.
*Boom operator - This is the poor guy that gets to run around and try to follow actors with the mic. Being the director, i have been lucky enough to get out of this duty.
*Craft Services - This means cook/caterer
*Director of Photography/cinematographer - This is fancy talk for the guy who makes it look pretty. Lenses, composition, etc. I and my partner decide how to frame up the shots and make them look good.
*Camera Operator - self explanatory... normally... but on the indy set, this means that I am the steadicam operator, the guy who works the camera, the grip and about ten other things.
*Lead Gaffer - I take care of lighting. This is one that I share with Jearl, but my eye is better... that and I research a lot to hone my craft.
*Producer - A lot of "This stuff needs doing" things... Producer is a catch-all. Lloyd Kaufman has been doing it for 30+ years and in his books, he states that he's not evens ure of what a producer actually does.
*Editor - I piece the footage together into a finished product
*Sound Design - add special sound effects. Typically, if I did it right, you don't even notice.
Honestly, there are probably more jobs that I have forgotten... but you get the point. Being an independent film maker gives you a unique perspective in film as it means you do a little bit of everything.
That's me in a nutshell... it's a pretty big nut... but I'm 6'9" and I need a big shell. Next entry is "Kit and Kaboodle - my recommendation for indie film making gear -or- where to start"
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