Quintessential Studios' Weblog

The Assassination at India Palace

OR

Well, The Food Was Pretty Good!

You think you're funny, Funny Man!

Pulling from my “education” of the Metro shoot, the plan was to have the writers all work together on a story for this next 2 Hour Film Project.

I even preselected a genre and sort-of story line for the writers to bring to this meeting. (Since they didn’t really get a chance to write the last time, I figured that I’d have them at least show me what they could come up with, given some time on their own.

Our production manager secured an Indian restaurant for this location and, since he’s connected, got the dinner thrown in. (Amazing how many more people showed up for this rehearsal!)

Everyone, and some new people I never met before and who didn’t even end up being on our 48 Hour Film Project, gathered around and I gave these specific instructions: “Okay, so I want everyone that is going to write to sit down together over dinner and come up with a story.”

Everyone got up to get their plates and proceeded to have dinner and to not work on a story at all!

Time was ticking away, as we didn’t have the place for that long and after dinner and after realizing that no one had done any writing at all, I put the writers together to come up with something.

At this point, it was becoming clear that everyone had had their own idea of what we were going to do and that chaos was going to reign supreme again.

The director went off to shoot some establishing shots he said he had in his head and most of us just milled around.

After some time, that same fussy actor from the last shot came to me to declare that the actor and partner “couldn’t stay long”. I said it was alright if they left. The trouble, it seems, stemmed from the fact that the idea they were working on, that actor was helping with the writing tonight as we were short one writer, who happened to take a wrong turn and got frustrated and decided to just go home!

Again, the director had his own idea for the story. And what we ended up shooting was a mix of the two ideas, I think….

Again, the 1st AD had his setup messed with by the production manager. (He didn’t like the lighting set up but didn’t realize that the 1st AD and the director and grip had already figured out that because of the glass entrance, the lights couldn’t be set up that way. Those guys being more passive-types, just opted to let the PM do his thing, as it wasn’t worth the fight.) It was just a practice run after all.

One of the ideas for the story was created by our PM. Everyone kind of went with that idea with a few twists. Our director is very good at taking some idea and putting a funny twist on it that appeals to more people. Our PM told us he used to be a stand-up comedian and so his character would be sort of funny. Uh, well, yeah, right…. Nevertheless, our director made a funny short out of it called Assassins Anonymous.

Laugh Clown Laugh!

We didn’t get close to the amount of footage and there were a lot of mad people at the end of the night!

After we wrapped, the first AD, the director and I met at my house. We talked long into the night about what worked, what didn’t, what we could do to improve things, etc, etc.

We seemed to iron things out fairly well. I had the feeling, that we’d be better off, if I got rid of some people, three in particular, but as fate would have it, I wouldn’t even have to raise a concern.

To be continued…

See the video:

Entertainment in the world is probably the biggest money making proposition there is. (At least for what’s legal, ethical or moral! [Although there are elements of evil in any industry!])

Some of the world’s wealthiest people are entertainers. People can rise to fame in an instant. Talent doesn’t necessarily define what you can earn, either. We’ve all heard music and thought “I know better sounding musicians than that!” and wondered how did they get a record deal. We’ve seen some pretty bad movies at the theaters too, movies that cost millions of dollars to make. We’ve seen no-budget entertainers make the most beautiful pieces of art and thought, “They need to be discovered!” Some of us have even told the artists that.

That’s part of the glamour or intrigue to this whole industry, there are Cinderella stories out there! You can become a millionaire overnight. After all, “You could do THAT!”

Some, a whole lot, actually, feel they can do better or, at least, well enough and try to make a living at entertainment. So many, in fact, that whole industries spring up, feeding on that desire people have to “make it!”

Some easy examples to witness are actors and musicians. A Google search for “acting schools” gave me 4,790,000 results. “Music schools” gave me 84,900,000 results! Whereas “mechanic schools” only returned 589,000 results.

I’m an aspiring film editor and filmmaker but I’ve had other artistic interests before. One of them was music. I’ve “done it all” (on a small scale) in the music business. I’ve played bass in a band, was a lead singer in a band, managed bands, been a college radio DJ, booked bands and even ran a blues magazine.

One of the best educations I got during that time was from a home study course on the business of music. The name escapes me (that was a whole “‘nother” lifetime ago. But, I’ll grab it out of the garage later and fill in the name).

There the instructor (again, I’ll fill this in later) explained that in the music business, you needed to concentrate on one thing: being a musician! Of course there was the “business” side of things but that you didn’t need to build a studio in your bedroom, garage or what have you, like all the music stores were trying to tell you that you did. He went on to explain that there was a whole industry built around selling you on the idea that you just needed that one more extra piece to the puzzle and you could then “make it!” When the fact was, you just needed to learn how to be the best musician you could be and there were other people who were trained in recording, etc. that could do the other jobs.

I hope you’re having an “ah-ha” moment right about now. If you aren’t, I haven’t conveyed the idea well enough or perhaps you’ve been sold that idea too hard as well.

See, it isn’t just in the music industry. I mentioned actors before and acting schools. I also said that an artist should perfect his craft. You might be saying, “well then acting schools are a needed thing”. They very well could be. Then again, maybe not. I’m all for taking classes. After all, I’m a 42 year-old community college student! I think people should continue to educate themselves in some form or another, throughout their lives. What I’m trying to explain here today is that “the path need not be long! (nor expensive!)”

I guess in any endeavor one undertakes, there are expenses. There are millions of ways to tackle any goal in life. There are nearly 6.7 billion people on Earth all with their own tact on survival, eh? Money or no money, we’re all heading to the same end. We just each have our own flare about it, good or bad.

Let me get back to the movies and filmmaking, in particular, since that is my chosen path at this time in my life. Do I need to own a full movie studio and know how to run every part of it to make a movie? No. Do I need to even own a camera, a computer, a light kit and boom mic? No. These are what seem the basic tools of the craft. But, do I need to own them? No. Do I need to learn how to use them? No. Not even that! Does knowing how to use them help me with my craft? Yes! Would owning a studio enable me to create more within my craft? Yes! But, they are not necessary. And that is my point.

You are being bombarded with MARKETING constantly. “If you want ‘A’ you need ‘B’!”, “In order to make your movie, you need to buy camera ‘Z’!” “To be the best filmmaker out there, you need to learn how to edit on a MAC!” (Nothing against Macs, I own four!) Marketing has been defined as “creating want”. If you want something, more than probably, it’s been marketed to you!

I am a firm believer that anything can be done on any budget. (I was going to say within certain means but I re-thought that and stand by what I said.) Now, you may need others to join you who have the equipment or money or what have you, but it can be done. Filmmaking, they say, is a collaborative effort. It can or cannot be but, mostly, I’d say it is. It’s also a dynamic effort. Things change constantly, when making a film, just like life. It’s almost a living, breathing entity on its own! (Cue the Frankenstein clip, “It’s alive!”)

You are being sold gazillions of dollars of stuff (as the late, great George Carlin would say), all the time. You don’t need all that stuff!

Take a look at what’s being sold to you everyday as you pursue your filmmaking career. I took a class with producer Jim Lindsay, who had some great mantras. The main one was “Want vs. Need”. In other words, do I need this or do I just want it? Asking yourself this question every time you’re making a financial decision will save you a LOT of money down the line!

“That being said” (*Curb Your Enthusiasm reference), I’m entering a phase of my filmmaking career where I am heading a filmmaking enthusiasts group. One of the “benefits” of such a group is showing off the latest and the greatest products to help you “become a better filmmaker”. That’s all nice and fancy but I’ll be the first to point out that YOU probably don’t need that [name item here].

To learn more about the new group go here:
http://www.meetup.com/Independent-Filmmakers-of-the-Inland-Empire-Meetup-Group

A reference book that shares the concept that you don’t need to own anything to start (highly recommended!):
The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide

Hi Everyone!

This is just a quick update on my latest project.

…

I have begun organizing a local film making enthusiasts group called the “Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire”.

The first organizational meeting went great and we are having another next month, Wed, Feb 3rd.

The purpose of the group is to unite like-minded who enjoy filmmaking or some aspect of it. The plan is to provide A) comradery, B) education and C) support to the local filmmaking community.

The group is for the general public and will allow for many networking opportunities. I am basing the group organization and meetings off of successful meeting groups that I have been apart of. We will provide speakers, demonstrations, showcases and most importantly: RAFFLES!

I am looking for 1) members, 2) speakers and 3) sponsors!

I also would love any advice or suggestions. I have a definite idea of how this group should and will go and grow but I am very open to ideas.

If you fit into any of the categories 1-3 above, please contact me, so that we can discuss how you can contribute to the growth of indie filmmaking!

Also, if you know of anyone else that would be a great fit, let them know about us!

Thanks for listening!

Follow
http://twitter.com/IFotIE
for the latest updates on the group.

And see our new Meetup.com page:
http://www.meetup.com/Independent-Filmmakers-of-the-Inland-Empire-Meetup-Group/

Love,
Eric
___________________

Eric Francis Harnden
Digital Editor, Filmmaker and Industry Blogger

Quintessential Studios
___________________

http://wordpress.quintessentialstudios.net
http://twitter.com/quintessential

http://twitter.com/IFotIE
http://www.meetup.com/Independent-Filmmakers-of-the-Inland-Empire-Meetup-Group/

9 Jan 2010 update: Thanks to


for becoming our first sponsor!

28 Jan 2010 update: Thanks to


for becoming a sponsor!

http://stillmotion.ca/