FITP: Day 10

(Go back to Day 9)

Today was a field trip for the class to Newtown to meet Buzz Turner of Turner Audio, the leading production sound distributor in Connecticut.

Buzz, a terrific source of technical information who gladly shares his knowledge, lectured and answered questions for nearly two hours about the latest in production sound equipment. After about fifteen minutes I was wishing my credit card had a higher limit! There are some seriously awesome products available to the aspiring sound mixer who possesses a gold card, or who's lucky enough to be employed by a production company that will spring for some of this hot-shit equipment!

I already have a convenient wish list made up, just in case any of my dozen or so blog followers want to do their bestest buddy ol' CT Bob a solid:

The Sound Devices 552 Portable Production Mixer

The Schoeps Shotgun microphone SuperCMIT

An ice cold Schlitz

You can probably guess by that last option what I expect I'll be drinking sometime soon! At least, can you guys possibly spring for a six-pack?

I actually used to drink that stuff back in high school. Hey, don't be so shocked; we all drank at that age in the 1970s. Haven't you seen any teen movies from that era?

Anyway, it was a very interesting and informative field trip, and suddenly all this stuff I've been learning the last two weeks is starting to make sense. Just yesterday I downloaded the spec sheet for my Rode VideoMic that I've been using for three years now, and finally can understand the stuff like the hi-pass filter, the -10 and -20db pad, the frequency range, and shore as shit the polar diagrams! It's like learning French in high school and suddenly getting it!

Tomorrow, a special Saturday class in Aerial Lifts! Good thing I'm not afraid of heights:



Click to go to FITP: Aerial Lift Day

FITP: Day 9

(Go back to Day 8)

Today we continued setting up the sound cart and then got into working with the mics.

We set up a cardiod mic and a hyper-cardiod mic on two booms, then put a lav on Chat. He demonstrated how the sound patterns differ for each mic, and how best to utilize each mic's comparative strengths.

We also set up the video camera and did a scene from the script we'll shoot during our final week. The scene was blocked to include an actor walking about 15 feet across the set, and a boom operator needed to mic him continually.

Even though the booms are made out of lightweight materials like carbon fiber, and the mics don't weigh a pound each, when you hold the end of a 12' pole and try to keep the entire contraption from violating the video frame, you can get a little tired! Usually by the third run-through our boom-ops were getting a little shaky!

But we're learning more every day, and tomorrow looks like it'll be a technogeek's dream, when we go on a field trip to Turner Audio in Newtown to find out a bunch more about sound-related equipment.

Click here to go to Day 10

FITP: Day 8

(Go back to Day 7)

Another interesting day learning loads about the way to successfully make production sound in a film sound great.

Above, Chat Gunter talks to the class outdoors at Quinnipiac about the use of wireless mic and their useful range. We had to hurry because the weather was threatening!

Chat wore a pair of wireless lavalieres and discussed the issues that might crop up on a set when using them. He then demonstrated how to determine the maximum radius of the mics by slowly walking away from us and talking, while we listened to his entertaining monologue.

In another life, I'd almost bet Chat was a comic; he could probably perform somewhere up in the Catskills, with guys like Jackie Mason. He often entertains while he teaches, which is truly a rare gift.

When the mics starting fading out, that was too far to be the usable range, and so we'll make sure the actors didn't go anywhere near that far. There's nine students enrolled in the Sound Dept. class, and we had enough headphones to allow everyone to hear what was going on during the two demonstrations.

This is me, with the portable mixer just visible at the bottom of the screen.

After it started sprinkling we hauled the equipment back inside, and spent most of the afternoon putting the sound cart together. Basically, a sound cart is a portable sound production studio, with the mixer, digital recorder, video monitor, and a bunch of other important stuff lives when on a shoot. I'll try to get some photos of it tomorrow.

We're about to start doing real production work in class, taping each other in scenes and learning about how to operate the boom. This is getting really fun!

Click here to go to Day 9

FITP: Day 7

(Go back to Day 6)

Today we began with our homework.

First off, the answer to the supermarket manager who won't turn off his Muzak is to shoot him. Yes, I was right! Actually, the location coordinator should be the one to be shot, because they screwed up by not securing the location early on during the scout with the firm understanding that they have to turn off their background music while filming.

Another option briefly discussed was the possibility of simply dumping the sound and re-doing the audio in post-production in ADR. But that's a very expensive option to ask the actors to come into the studio at a later date and try to recreate their exact delivery in sync with the video playing before them. It's not a very good idea, especially when you can dispatch the supermarket manager (if you have good aim.)

Then we discussed the script and the sound issues we'll likely encounter. Chat feels that our best bet for good sound is to use the boom mic whenever possible, and only going to wireless lavalieres when necessary. There are some interesting production difficulties in the script, such as a party with people dancing, which will require some kind of music. The party scene is long and has several cuts, so we'll likely have to film the scene without any music in order to not have jumps or gaps in the music or sections out of order in the final cut.

The device above is the sound mixer, which is the heart and soul of production sound. This is where the mixer will blend all the mics together to produce a viable sound to the movie. Anything that goes wrong here would be very bad, so we're all working to learn about using the mixer and how it works with the various mic options we'll be using.

Click here to go to Day 8

FITP: Day 6

(Go back to Day 5)

No photos today; I was too busy learning all this good shit!

Sound Dept. instructor Chat Gunter began two weeks of intensive classroom training with nine of us sound students.

Listening to Chat teach is sort of like learning at the feet of a wise old martial arts teacher, like when Pai Mei from "Kill Bill" instructed Uma Thurman in the art of kung fu. Except he hasn't made us try to punch through a thick wood plank from three inches away.

Yet.

Chat is just loading us down with incredibly useful information, presented in an entertaining way. He rarely lets a single point go by without some kind of funny comment or aside he earned from his years working on all sorts of productions.

Which is awesome. And he gives us useful rules to live by:

Rule 1 is never use the word "sorry".

Rule 2 is "there are NO stupid questions".

Which, of course, is silly, because there ARE stupid questions; previously I'd listed some here. But I decided to remove them in the interest of decorum.

Besides, we're all having a lot of fun learning this stuff, and I'd hate to ruin everything by getting tossed out of a second story window on my first day!

Okay, I gotta go and do my homework. Review the script for sound notes, and figure out what to do when shooting in a supermarket when the manager refuses to turn off the Muzak.

Hmmm....which way to the gun department? Oh wait, this isn't Alabama...they don't sell guns in supermarkets up here.

Okay, I lied...here's an image of the polar diagram of my Rode Videomic. We studied the mothafuckin' shit outta polar fuckin' diagrams today!

Click here to go to Day 7

FITP: Day 5

(Go back to Day 4)

Just finished up the first week at the Film Industry Training Program.

Today we finished the final two disciplines, or "crafts" as they call them in the screen trade. Script Supervision and Wardrobe.

I have to say that after sitting through nine detailed lectures that averaged three hours on each job, I'd be happy following ANY of the career paths they discussed. (Well, maybe not wardrobe so much, but only because I can't sew worth a shit!) But overall, the instructors made their specialties sound really interesting and fulfilling.

So far this week we've discussed the following crafts:

Assistant Director (AD)
Production Office Coordinator (POC)
Location Management
Camera
Sound (my specialty)
Grip & Electric
Props & Set Dressing
Script Supervision
Wardrobe

Today we had Virginia McCarthy tell us about script supervision. Virginia, like most of the instructors, managed to weave a bunch of entertaining on-set stories into her informative presentation.

The afternoon session was wardrobe, presented by Danajean Cicerchi. She managed to make the topic of wardrobe interesting to most of the class. And since the Sound department has a "vested" interest in wardrobe when putting a lavaliere mic onto an actor, it was especially useful to me.

After the final lecture, we were gathered together in our various crafts and asked if anyone wanted to change their career path before starting the next two weeks of focused instruction. Several students jumped from one craft to another, but the most popular choices, AD and Camera, were already booked solid.

Liam said that those two crafts were the first choice of 65 of the 90 or so students in the class, so a good number of students aren't taking their preferred course of instruction. But if we learned anything this week while listening to our instructors, you must get a foot in the door in the business before you can go anywhere. Even if your first job isn't your goal career, you should just buckle down, do a great job, and network with as many people as you can.

If you do that, you just might make a career for yourself in this highly competitive business!

Monday morning, me and about nine other students will begin learning about Sound in movie production from Chat Gunter, who's been around for decades and is a real workhorse in the business. I can't wait!

Click here to go to Day 6

FITP: Day 4

(Go back to Day 3)

Day 4 dawned cold and gloomy. Until we got into class, where the students were anticipating another awesome day of learning about the screen trade.

Just before the start of class. A lot of the students have professional experience, so we're all networking with each other and exchanging information. Since, as we're learning, it's not only what you know, but sometimes getting a job depends on who you know!

Then, the morning lecture was about Grip and Electric, hosted by Micheal Barrow (lighting) and Garrett Boehling (grip).

After lunch, Richard Dobbs, the director of the short film we're going to make during the last week, stopped in and said a few words to the class.

The afternoon lecture was on Props and Set Dressing, hosted by Jonathan Tessler (props) and Jim Kent (set dressing). Jim had probably the best line of the entire course so far, when he said (referring to film school education):

"Film School teaches everyone to be a director. But not everyone can be a director!"

This is exactly why this course is so valuable, because it teaches the sort of practical knowledge that will create a viable film industry workforce here, rather than simply a bunch of people who only want to be the "main man".

Tomorrow we finish up the final two subjects (or "crafts", as each discipline is called) before we break up into our individual crafts for two weeks of intensive focused study starting on Monday.

Click here to go to Day 5

FITP: Day 3

(Go back to Day 2)

Another day of intensive training in the film industry. The morning lecture was provided by Angelo Di Giacomo, a camera operator who's worked on a slew of great films (click on any highlighted name to see their IMDB listing).

Angelo started the session with a documentary on the dangers of the excessively long hours many productions make their crew put in, often 16, 18, or even 20 hours in a day during a shoot. He then spoke about various issues such as creating a budget and interpreting the daily call sheets.

The afternoon lecture was by Chat Gunter, Sound Mixer for films such as Scorcese's "After Hours". Since I'm studying in the Sound Department, I was especially interested in what he had to say.

Chat began his lecture by displaying a history of recording equipment and talking about how he used them in films years ago. This was awesome, because I knew right away Chat was going to get into lots of practical knowledge regarding Sound.

He then continued discussing many useful facts about sound in movies, often peppering his entertaining lecture with funny anecdotes and occasionally snarky asides. Chat's a fellow with tons of experience and he doesn't hesitate to share it with his students. I think it's going to be incredibly interesting to work with Chat over the next three weeks.

I met a few more members of the Sound Dept. today, and sat next to an actress named Katherine Dickson, who just finished filming a role in the upcoming Angelina Jolie movie "Salt". Katherine is studying in the Wardrobe Dept. so she'll have some additional employable skills for those times when she's between acting gigs.

Which makes sense, since basically nothing seems to be permanent or guaranteed in this business.

Although there was some good news today! It was just announced that the huge Connecticut Studios complex up in South Windsor has been given the go-ahead, which will translate into many more job opportunities in the very near future! Artist's conception below:



Click here to go to Day 4!

FITP: Day 2

(go back to Day 1)

"FITP" meaning of course, the Film Industry Training Program. It was another intensive day of learning about the screen trade.

Today started out with my meeting another Sound Dept. trainee, Tracey. Then we were treated to a lecture about Production Management, by Betty Chin, a very experienced Production Coordinator. Betty was incredibly detailed on the minutia of Production Management.

After only these few hours of instruction, I'm starting to realize that film making isn't merely a creative art form, but also a business that requires just as much planning and paperwork as any large corporation. And I've only been here about 10 hours so far!

Film making isn't just "Lights, camera, action!" Without Production planning and coordination, there wouldn't BE any lights on the set, no camera operators either, and the action would be totally non-existent.

Anyway, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!

The afternoon session was led by Location Manager Maria Bierniak, (pictured) who gave us ridiculous amounts of information about location scouting and management. Plus, she told hysterical stories about stuff that happens on location. Such as her recent experiences working on Oliver Stone's latest film in a prison.

During a break I asked Maria about Stone's obsession with shooting in prisons, and we talked about Jane Hamsher's experiences while shooting Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers" in several prisons. Maria's crew shot footage on Riker's Island, which is only accessible via prison bus across the causeway from Queens.

I dunno about you, but I'd probably bring a swimsuit with me just in case something caused that bus to stop running!

Maria also showed footage of "Confessions of a Shopaholic", where they had to do a lot of modifications to the new Hearst Tower at 55th and 8th. I had a run in with that production and wrote about my experiences while staying at the very posh St. Regis hotel for work (yeah, I'm gonna miss this job) in a blog post here.

At the end of Day 2, I still can't believe how goddamned lucky I am to have a chance to take this course! Late today I got a call from my job, where I'm technically still on-call until next Tuesday, for a task in New Jersey. I explained that I'm taking a very important job-training course, and is there any chance they can assign the task to someone else?

Fortunately, they arranged for the engineer in Maryland to drive up and take the call. Whew! One more week to go, then I can really relax and enjoy this amazing school.

Tomorrow is "Cinematography" in the morning and "Sound" in the afternoon. Now we're getting into the real nuts and bolts of making movies. This is gonna be fuckin' awesome!

Click to go to Day 3

Film Industry Training Program: Day 1

Today I began an intensive, month-long program at Quinnipiac University that aims to create a valuable work force for the burgeoning Connecticut film industry.

I arrived at the picturesque QU campus around 8:30 this morning completely jacked up on too much coffee, and registered for the program in the Law School building.

The class began soon after, with lectures by Charles Miller, who works for the state's Office For Workforce Competitiveness; and Liam O'Brien, chair of the Department of Film, Video and Interactive Media for the School of Communications.

I met several fellow students, Zach and Angelo, who are in the A.D. (Assistant Director) program, and Daniel, who like me is enrolled in the Sound Dept. program.

Then after lunch we listened to an incredibly detailed lecture and Q&A session with Danielle Rigby, who teaches the Assistant Director program and has worked on an amazing number of major motion pictures. Danielle was born in Australia and has a twinge of the ol' Aussie drawl in her speech. But she presented a ton of practical knowledge about the business of film making, and how to go about getting jobs after completing the course.

One point she brought up is that everyone who completes this course will have a very usable knowledge about the business of production, and she stated that she'd rather hire a graduate of this course than someone who comes in touting a 3-year film school degree.

It seems like I chose the right school to attend. I can't wait to see how Day 2 goes!

Click to go to Day 2

Coming Attractions: Film School

In about 12 hours I'll be sitting down to start an intensive summer film program at Quinnipiac University. It's a training program aimed at creating a film industry work force here in Connecticut.

Will this be the catalyst to a new career for me? Maybe...but stay tuned for updates!

Click to go to Day 1 (each day you can click on the link to go to the next day!)

We can fix it in post

"Post" meaning post-production, which is the editing phase of a production.

This is probably the most hated phrase in digital video production, because when you say "we can fix it in post", it always means that somehow through lack of preparation or simple incompetence you've screwed something up.

Here's a good example that I made recently. At an early evening shoot, I needed to roll tape on a politician in front of a well-illuminated sky. I wasn't looking very closely at the exposure settings, and the automatic gain darkened her face to not overexpose the sky. The original footage looked like this:

Of course, it's completely unusable in this state. Lucky for me, I was able to adjust the gain on the brightness within my video editing program to what you see below.

However, you have to keep in mind that the more digital manipulation you attempt in post-production, the more likely you are to introduce digital "artifacts" to your finished products, which may manifest itself visually as graininess, fuzziness, jagged image edges, even pixelation.

In this image you can see a little graininess, but since it's a quick political video meant to have a reasonably short shelf-life online, it's more or less acceptable. I'm also mad at myself for not doing a better job of leveling the tripod. Look at the horizon to see what I mean.

The finished video is here (the little glitches at the beginning were caused by a faulty tape, not the editing process). Of course, if this was for a paying gig, I'd either reshoot it or refuse to accept payment for it. But seeing as it was simply a project for my political blog and I did it for free, I can live with it.

By the way, the phrase "I can live with it" is probably the second most hated phrase in digital video production!

Boat cover

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Kevin Smith: Too Fat to Fly?

Kevin Smith is one of my personal heroes. I've often talked about his movies, which quite honestly aren't for everyone, but for those of you who like me possess a certain sense of humor, they're great!

But he's also an amazing public speaker, and I saw him at one of his famous Q&A "evening with's" at the University of Hartford (poster above) about 5 years ago. Kevin often waxes hysterically about his personal experiences, and as a result we all know probably way too many details about his life.

So just this week, when I heard Kevin was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight allegedly for being too fat, I thought "This is gonna make a great story!"

Sure enough, as soon as Kevin returned home from his Oakland to L.A. flight, he sat down with his wife Jen and recorded a 90-minute podcast that liberally smashes the errant airline. The "SModcast" (so named because it usually features Smith and his long-time producer Scott Mosier) is available for free from the website linked below.

Trust me, it's a really funny hour and a half, with Smith alternating between humorous rage and mock outrage. The place to get it is SModcast.com and you want to download or listen online to SModcast #106, "In which, surely, our hero is Too Fat To Fly. And don't call me Shirley."

And the music that plays in the background is, of course, the musical score to the film "Airplane". Obviously.

Oh, and it strikes me as a public relations bonanza for Smith, who's latest movie "Cop Out" is opening in a week or two. You can't BUY that kind of publicity!

10 Second Movie Reviews, Vol. 3

More reviews. And more spoilers. So don’t read beyond THIS point if you don’t want to find out that Adam Sandler doesn’t die in “Funny People”.

The Boat That Rocked (2009) - This could have been great. A “dramatic re-creation” of the Radio Caroline story. They should have made it a straight retelling of the saga instead of this lame fictionalization of it. It kind of sucked.

Overnight (2003) - Documentary about the biggest asshole in the film business. Troy Duffy struck Hollywood gold and got his movie made ("The Boondock Saints"), but he alienated so many important people by being a dick that he blew his shot and ended up in movie jail for a decade. Finally this year they let him direct the sequel. Let's see how he fucks this chance up.

Julia (2008) - Tilda Swinton is showcased in a fearless performance as a desperate kidnapper. With a huge drinking problem. Which makes her even more fun. Especially if you’re turned on by slutty drunken ginger scarecrows.

Doubt (2008) - Great fucking drama, but really, how can you go wrong with Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, AND Philip Seymour Hoffman in the same goddamned movie? Streep and Adams teamed up again in 2009 in "Julie & Julia", a tale of two woman who like food.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Ridiculously overrated rags-to-riches (literally) story. OK, so you're poor and your whole life leads up to your winning a game show, we GET it!

My Dinner with Andre (1981) - I tried, I really did, to stay awake during this film because it was so highly rated and I like Mamet. It ended up being the most boring film I've watched since "Revolutionary Road". Fuck Andre and his fucking restaurant!

Revolutionary Road (2008) - Kids, don't get married!…or you might end up like Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in this 50s-based snooze fest. The good news is she croaks in the end. Leo finally gets his revenge on Kate for ending up like a human popsicle in “Titanic”.

RockNRolla (2008) - I kind of hate to admit it, but I fuckin’ LOVE Guy Ritchie movies! Well, except for “Sherlock Holmes”…that kinda sucked.

Funny People (2009) - It would have been a much better movie if it were true. And if Adam Sandler didn’t get cured of his supposedly fatal illness. Yes, I hate that guy.

Antichrist (2009) - Lars von Trier’s joyful tale about a charming couple and their precocious yet clumsy toddler. See what happens when the adorable little tyke decides to explore the world outside his crib. Heartwarming entertainment for the entire family!

I got a new tripod!

Woohoo! Compared to my old rickety tripod, this one is awesome! A Davis & Sanford Pro Vista V12. It's a decent prosumer model, with a fluid video head for smooth movement, and it reaches nearly 7' high to rise above the crowd when filming a public event. I'm psyched!

10 Second Movie Reviews, Vol. 2

Here I go again with quick reviews of movies I've watched recently. A few spoilers, so don't read the review if you give a crap about spoilers.

Whatever Works (2009) - A Woody Allen flick. "Whatever Sucks" is more like it. Or, "Curb Your Enjoyment". Because Larry David stars in it, see?

Push (2009) - Dakota Fanning in a strange sci-fi thriller. She's growing up fast.

Paranormal Activity (2007) - Made over 100 mill so far. And it cost only 11 grand to make? Now I want to kill myself in the most horrific way possible.

Assassination of a High School President (2008) - I see what they did there. And it sucked.

Mysterious Skin (2004) - One of those flicks that stays with you for a long time. Hard to sit through, but absolutely memorable. The creep factor is WAY off the scale on this one. A very brave movie to make.

What We Do Is Secret (2007) - Great punk biopic about Darby Crash and the short-lived band "The Germs".

The History Boys (2006) - The "I Wish-They-Were-Dead Poet's Society" would be more appropriate.

Next (2007) - Can someone just kill Nicholas Cage already? What the fuck are you waiting for?

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)- Speaking of Nick Cage, I guess when someone is supposed to act like they have a back injury, they should strive to look exactly like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Because you can't actually portray pain through expressions; you need to skew your shoulders like a CP victim.

Fairuza Balk is still very sexy; sort of like a wet dream, only scary. She's a wet nightmare! And sorry about the spoiler, but what's with the happy ending? Didn't anyone see the FIRST one? Christ, not only did Harvey Keitel die, but by the end everyone was looking forward to it! For some reason, they have Cage's character find some salvation, however dubious it may be.

Shelter Island (2004) - Ally Sheedy, Patsy Kensit, Stephen Baldwin, and Chris Penn (RIP) in a tepid semi-thriller where everyone dies except the guilty party, who lives happily ever after. I love a good non-Hollywood ending, even in a so-so movie. Oh, and another spoiler; the moment Chris Penn died made me laugh like hell! (not in real life, in the movie...in real life it was sad to see the dude who played "Nice Guy Eddie" croak so young)

Another wacky video

This is one of those crazy things I used to do when I was in my 20s. Now that I'm 50, I can't imagine doing this ever again. But it WAS fun!

10 Second Movie Reviews, Vol. 1

I've been watching a buttload of movies lately, but for some reason I haven't written any reviews on them. Because I'm lazy, mostly. And because most of them exhibit various levels of extreme suckitude.

I hate having to dissect a so-so movie and carefully examine what it was about and the goals of the filmmakers and all sorts of bullshit like that. Nobody cares for all that, and they just wanna find out if the film is any good or not.

So I decided to spend no more than 10 seconds on each review below. Take it or leave it. Some mostly minor spoilers below, but you're gonna read it anyway. I'll try to do this on a fairly regular basis.

Please note: I'm not very politically correct about movies, so if you're offended by any of this, tough shit!

Recent Films I've Seen:

The Proposal (2009) - For an old broad, Sandra Bullock has a decent body. What is she, about 60?

Wanted (2008) - Sucky sci-fi action thriller. Overuse of shaky cam and CGI. I don't think this is my favorite genre.

The Answer Man (2009) - Shite-ridden rom-dram with Jeff Daniels and some broad I never heard of. What possesses me to watch this crap?

Across The Universe (2007) - It's psychedelic, maaaaan! Cool use of Beatle's songs to tell a fairly hackneyed story. Kind of like "Hair" without so much bush. Evan Rachel Wood has a smokin' little body. Eddie Izzard perfectly cameos as "Mr. Kite".

We Own The Night (2007) - So-so cop/gangster drama. Everyone dies. Well, mostly.

Into Temptation (2009) - Jeremy Sisto is a priest racing to find a prostitute who wants forgiveness before killing herself. Fairly gritty and well-made drama. Good acting turn by Sisto.

The Last Run (2004) - Fred Savage and a bunch of nude chicks. They didn't make up for the fact that Fred Savage was in this shitsack of a movie.

Julie & Julia (2009) - Meryl Streep and Amy Adams do Julia Child in dualing biopics. Not that bad. Don't watch this if you're on a diet. Trust me, I was starving by the end. But how did they manage to tone down Amy's inherent cuteness so much?

Spread (2009) - I want to kill Ashton Kutcher. For way too many reasons to list here. Anne Heche is looking great though. I guess "the cock" is doing her some good.

Oleanna (1994) - A Mamet play. Intense character study with William H. Macy and some broad. I rewound the last five minutes and played it over several times because it was so satisfying. I should probably feel a little guilty about that.

Married Life (2007) - Claustrophobic drama but good. I love Patricia Clarkson in anything she does. Chris Cooper is good in this too.

High Art (1998) - I especially love "Greta", the character Clarkson portrays in the flick. Awesome performances all around, but you have to be patient.

Sappho (2008) - Sucko! I was going to make a joke about how since it was set in the 1920s it's a "period" piece, but even I have some standards.

All the Real Girls (2003) - Zooey Deschenal in a weirdly moving and sad love story. Ooh look, Patricia Clarkson's in this one too!

Moon (2009) - Tepid futuristic sci-fi thriller. I officially despise Kevin Spacey now. What an annoying robot! (not his acting; he's an actual robot in the movie!)

Things We Do, Vol. 2

Another day of trail biking. This time at Hammonasset State Park, on Halloween. It was sunny and nearly 70 degrees with a warm onshore breeze.

Things We Do, Vol. 1

Joyce and I explored the Housatonic Railroad Trail on a beautiful October day.

Cardboard Animation

This is so cool! It's something that a European person made. Check it out:

Robot Dog with Opie & Anthony

OK, so I came across that Robot Dog video a couple days ago, and coincidentally I heard comedian Bill Burr talking about the beast on the Opie & Anthony radio program (on Sirius/XM satellite radio) so I decided to add their commentary to the original video of the thing.

The video starts about 45 seconds in, but I wanted to include the setup they were discussing.

When technology starts getting scary

This is really cool and extremely unsettling at the same time.

Apparently this thing has been on Youtube for over a year now. The freaky part of it is how they wrapped the legs in fake fur to make it appear even more dog-like.

Fire Truck Parade

Here's a somewhat boring video of the annual Engine 260 Fire Muster Parade, held Sept. 12, 2009 in Milford, CT. Lots of antique apparatus, and most of them belching out diesel exhaust which we had to breathe in for the entire parade:

Visual Effects: 100 Years of Inspiration

Hmmmm....maybe if I used some of these cool special effects, I might have won the Milford Independent Film Competition...

See my movie on a big screen!

As part of the Milford Independent Film Competition they're showing all the entries at the Milford Fine Arts Center this week. The theater is the old eastbound train station in Milford center, which is an exceedingly appropriate place to show my 14-minute documentary on the Airline Rail Trail!

Here's the scoop:
Milford Independent Film Competition

August 2009

Sponsored by
Milford Fine Arts Council
Milford Public Library
Friends of the Library
Stonebridge Restaurant

All showings at the Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Ave, Milford, CT

Wednesday, August 5 at 7PM Free Admission
(total run time 84 minutes)
Two Brothers
Herbie's Delight
By the Book
The Clam
Airline Rail Trail
Redux
Veronica Always

Thursday, August 6 at 7PM Free Admission
(total run time 84 minutes)
Bungee Jumping for Tibet
Garden of Eatin'
Art in the Community
Memory Room
En Route
White Toast
Chess Set
True Story

Friday, August 7 at 7PM Free Admission
(total run time 82 minutes)
Oceane
Just a Minor Offense
A Moron by any Other Name
Grueling Guide to Cross Country Preparation
Ophelia

Thursday, August 13 7PM Tickets $5
Awards Ceremonies and Presentation of Film Winners
Emcee: Radio personality, Mr. Brian Smith

The Milford Public Library - 203.783.3290 abargar@ci.milford.ct.us
The Milford Fine Arts Council - 203.878.6647 milfordfac@optonline.net

My film entry in the MIFC

This is the final version of the documentary I entered into the Milford Independent Film Competition.

Finalist Judging
Saturday, August 1, 2009
10 AM - 1 PM and 2 PM - 5 PM
Program Room
Milford Public Library
57 New Haven Ave., Milford, CT
Free, Open to the public

Award Ceremonies
Thursday, August 13, 2009
7PM - 10PM
Center for the Arts
40 Railroad Ave., Milford, CT
Tickets $5
Winning Films, Discussion, Refreshments
I shot the video in the fall of 2005, compiled and edited it in December, and re-edited it this year (mostly by punching up the still photographs, adding sound effects, and fixing the audio levels), and I entered this improved version in the competition.

I also re-visited the trail last fall and shot a bunch more video on the Colchester and Lebanon sections, which I'll probably eventually add to the original footage and create a 24- to 27-minute film.

But for now, here's the latest version of the doc:

Boy, I stink

I'll admit it.

I'm a rotten blogger.

I haven't posted a single thing on this blog in months!

I stink!

Just so you know, I'm still around. Keeping busy with my other blogs (this one gets so jealous when I say that) and doing real-life sorts of things.

My filmmaking career has more or less stalled for now. I ran out of time to make my proposed documentary for today's Milford Independent Film Competition deadline, but I did re-edit and I punched up my rail trail doc and submitted that this week.

So there IS at least that.

Oh, and today it hit 80 degrees here, maybe for the first time this year! Damn, but it was a cool start to the year!

Writing and shooting

(Archive photo of my interview with actor
and activist Danny Glover back in 2006)
I'm currently working on a new short film for our local Milford Independent Film Festival, which has a July 10th entry deadline.

I'm enjoying the writing part, but the actual production is going to be much more stressful. I'm waiting for the weather to finally warm up and the trees to bloom, because a large part of my film consists of exterior shots around town, and it looks much better to have lush greenery than bare, dead limbs.

I expect to be doing a lot of shooting in a few weeks, maybe by the middle of May. Which coincides with the busiest time of the year for me, so it's gonna be difficult to find the time to do this.

The editing and post-production is a lot easier, because I can do that any time, day or night.

I'm keeping the details of my project under wraps for now, except to say that it's entirely a one-man production (which means, sadly, that it WON'T star Danny Glover) and it will be shot and produced within Milford exclusively.

More info later as it progresses.