Holy Crap, it has been too long. I was making these major plans for more blog posts, then I got hit with allergies, the flu, sinus infection, and more allergies. The last two months have play havoc with my respiratory system and sinus faculties. It has been brutal,to say the lease, with the lingering allergies tormenting me non-stop.
Mean while…
So, things keep happening. Galaxy Sailor Productions is in the odd place of not being just me with occasional help, but actually having a team that is out working. I have had Autumn Andel of Photosphere LLC working a whole bunch and it has been pretty awesome. Now coming on is Ryan McCluskey, who, for the most part is just a pretty face, but I felt the company needed eye candy for once. Also on board is Harrison Howes,an up and comer in the camera world of Portland and all around nice bloke! My buddy Evan Phillips, fresh off of a motorcycle accident, is gearing up to lay on his couch and do work with us, as well as Cyndi Rhoads, who has taken GSP in all new directs with a business plan in the works.
It’s a really crazy time. I have no idea how it all happened as it has, but GSP has started to see the beginnings of what I hope is regular work, regular pay, and a regular involvement in the commercial aspects of video production. Not just in Portland, but wherever our services may be of need. More and more, we are getting the opportunity to work not just in Portland, but to travel out of state and beginning to get work that reaches a broader audience, with (what I hope) is a greater impact. It is all part of baby steps. There seem to be a couple of leaps coming, and if nothing else, it really comes down to the fact that I am being pulled along my baby steps in to bigger boy steps, but it is happening all the same and I dearly love it.
Odd how it all plays out. For the most part, I have had no interest in starting a boutique agency. There are plenty to be had in Portland, and I didn’t fancy it to be my thing. The reality has been that there is work, and there are people who want to work, and I want them to work as much as we can. I love getting these projects, writing them, shooting them, editing them, and changing someones mindset as to why they wanted video or how skeptical they were to hire for video.
It is truly a good time right now. I have no idea how long it will last, and I hope it certainly does, but for the time, I am extremely happy and proud of what we are doing together. I just want to do it correctly. Not to say errors won’t happen, because they will, and they will hurt, and I can’t avoid that, but I want to follow a path that is not too safe but not too dangerous. I am willing to take risks, but not a fools errand. I am willing to get in over my head, but just enough so as to know which way is up. I have no idea if big things are on the horizon, but small and medium sized things are, and I am fine with working my way toward my ability (our ability) to do more, do bigger, do better, and do it together. I’m not changing an industry, nor am I creating one, but I am participating with people I believe in to make something better for those of us that are willing to create, willing to drive, and willing to put hard work into play.
Work work work. Things have been going well over the that GSP Global Management Resource and Coordination Headquarters, aka my office. This week marks the postponed filming of parts two and three of an Intel/EMC² case study video. The original was postponed due to conflicting schedules, so I did an impromptu shoot at the Intel offices of Jones Farm in Hillsboro, Oregon. Soon I shall be in air, wondering why someone put a green light to “Air Bud 7: K-9 Cross dresser” and running through the list of items that I forgot. This will end up being video number two with the all new DSLR/audio set up. The last video, that had a mix of old camera and new, looks and sound great. I am really pleased that I took the time to trouble shoot ahead of any work and get the camera running nice and tight. The sound, which is the new DXA-SLR, amazing. Splurge on the extra $100 and get it. The Zoom 4N is ok, but you won’t match the quality of what the Beachtech puts into your camera, and you won’t sync any audio later!
This last week saw POWFest hitting the airwaves in Portland. This is the women-centric film showcase that happens every year at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland. The opening night saw several locally made or locally produced short films, as well as meet and greats, a discussion with Amy Heckerling about Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and coinciding with the OMPA Film Financing Symposium. I was in attendance for the open night as well as the OMPA symposium. Of note at the symposium, the producer for the show Leverage, that films here in Portland, informed me he would never, ever hire me for a job as a director. To fill in the gaps of the story, he gave a talk about all the jobs and attention Leverage has brought Portland in the film and television world. While this is, indeed, true, it is only partially true. Leverage has hired many people, but only so many tech positions. Most people don’t ascend the ranks of Leverage, due in most because of it being a union shop, and the jobs being taken by union people out of L.A. Now, I am not knocking the union workers at all, not in any way. What I wanted to know was how I could be looked at by Leverage, or any other show, as a director. The producers bottom line – He would never hire me. I believe his exact words word “It will never happen.” When pressed as to why, the response was that film is dying, and directors know this, and the A-List directors are all flocking to television. Cable allows for people to push story ideas, creativity, and language. So why hire me when they can get a Terrence Malick? Well, easy – Terrence isn’t going to be around forever. Nor is he going to direct forever. Someone has to come in from somewhere sometime. People die, move on, get tired, retire, burn out, make mistakes, get lost, forgotten, what have you. To say never is being pretty bold and pretty arrogant. That is not to say he isn’t right, but the idea that “never ever” is that certain is pretty crazy. I know for myself, I don’t take it as an answer. I take it as a challenge. If I want to, I can be defeated and accept my role in life as an underling pee-on that will never even get to direct a Leverage show, or I can die trying, having only death being the only reason I didn’t make it. As I replied to the person on my Twitter – Challenge Accepted.
So it comes down to whether or not I want to accept the fate that has been laid at my feet by someone, or do I make my fate. There are no certainties. At all. Even death. No one has ever come back to tell us otherwise. Probably because they went on to something else and didn’t hang around all dead. The short end of it is that I am not willing to roll over and show my belly. Leverage doesn’t want me, then cool enough with me. I will go find an uglier date if I have to, but I’m going to that prom whether he likes it or not!
All in all, I did get some good info out of the symposium. I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, but then again I believe my desire to be introduced to extremely wealthy people with money to burn and wanting to drop it on someone unsuspecting film maker may have been reaching a little far, even for me. However, new contacts were made, enthusiasm/challenges created, motivation meter peaking a bit more, and the fact that Monday I woke up and starting looking into financial matters of myself means I must not be ready to call it quits. I have to keep in mind, this is a journey that only has been happening for three and a half years. I have a long way to travel yet, and have to expect that the things I want can come before the things I need. As long as I don’t stop and don’t concede, there is little chance that I will fail. My stubbornness shall over come all.
That’s right! This is a more of a techie post then one of those heart felt, sentimental, touchy-feely kind of posts. You guys already know that pirates cool, that I am strange, and that I love what I do. So enough said. Instead, I want to talk about the new toys I got. Oh so many new toys!
The first is my new audio rig, because I am most happy about it. I have converted to a lot of DSLR shooting recently. I know, I know – I complained so much about the DSLR rage. I still do. It’s the people and the mentality of it, though, not the gear. I love my Panasonic GH-2. I am one of the few people that have them, and I shoot like crazy with it. The inherent problem with DSLR shooting is that their audio sucks. Now, any good audio is really done by an audio person, but sometimes shoots require one person. That is where is turns to a person to know just enough about audio to make it work well. My prior camera had great audio input and monitoring even though it was limited on it’s shooting. The new camera make beautiful images but the audio is shite. So in comes the BeachTek DXA-SLR setup. Pre-amp goodness in a compact unit, with monitoring, channels, headphone in, and phantom power. That’s right – PHANTOM POWER. So watch your step Nancy Boys! What all this means is that now I have the ability to input mics or a line to my camera and have it record as part of the audio to the card with the video. What a lot of people are doing is getting a Zoom 4N and recording a separate line of audio to a different machine, then they sync the audio in editing. It I don’t have to sync later, I am a happy person. This thing is amazing and it is one of the best purchases I have made for my camera, hands down.
The next toy is Black Magic Intensity Shuttle.I can’t get the damn thing to work, though so far there is no excuse as to why. I am trying firmware updates and the such, but I can’t get the thing to go. It’s not the Shuttle I think. I believe that my hack on the Panasonic firmware is to blame. So I am setting out to fix it. After that, I’m out of ideas.
The whole HD and DSLR world has been really crazy the last few years. The technology really shifted quickly…or I became classified as “Old Man.” Either way, the personal economics of it have a hard time keeping up. So many people jumped on the bandwagon when it was discovered that a DSLR could shoot good footage, that people bought all the accessories to make it an ergonomic device, to only realize that they just spent all the time and money to make a cobbled together video camera, only they had to get all of the cobbled together items to work well together. It’s getting better, or easier, now. People have gotten more aware of what can or cannot be done, or how to properly do it, so the products are reflecting that.
It’s all so crazy to me still!
That’s right. I like what I do. In fact, I love it. I love it so much that I do it a lot. Film! That is what I am talking about. I don’t talk about other stuff on here. I am creeping up on fours years of doing this full time, and Galaxy Sailors birthday of even being a name is almost seven. Oh what fun times these have been.
I have had several moments lately where I have stopped(in my mind) to soak in the moment and realize how amazing my life is and how fortunate I am to be where I am. It is a great night when I can come off of filming a fist fight between pirates and a scientific wonder from the past, to then be drinking later that even with said pirates. At a karaoke bar. With a tiki them. Life is grand. Karaoke tiki bars are fun.
So I film for the fun of it. Or, maybe more appropriate, the love of it. There is definitely a deep passions that I have for what I do. It is a constant reminder that I was once less than a number, with a desk in a cubical farm, doing work that no one noticed.
Why am I commenting and lamenting on this? I was filming with the doors open last night, that’s way. So my Sprinter van has the ability to have the doors stay pinned back, leaving the cargo area open to the free air. So, late last night, in the dark of the winter in Oregon, the Sprinter van drove loops at 25 miles an hour while a Hyundi followed behind, far too well lit to have just a dome light on, with a camera strapped to the hood capturing the occupants every word and move. FYI – the breeze is cold at night on Skyline Drive. What a fun time though. Audio rig pointed out the back. I’m hanging on with my butt cheeks to the deck inside the Sprinter. Grumpy,tired men complaining about water spirits and ass goblins. GREAT STUFF. Oh, and Ryan McCluskey was there. Be jealous.
The fun of filming is most definitely extended to the run of recent work I am getting. I have a pretty steady stream of filming with a local political advisory group, as well as having just scored a new OMSI video. Plus, for the first time, my really big gig coming up with Intel and EMC². I am really excited for this opportunity, as well as scared out of my mind, but I am hopeful for the opportunities and the future work that such a thing will bring me. Taking for granted that I am going to knock this thing out of the park.
I am happy to announce that GSP has a new office. Woop Woop. I found a cool little place out on Jessup in North Portland just down the road from where I live. Good spot, nice and quite, easy to get to, and there are food carts! Yay food carts. I have been missing the office environment. I moved out of my last place to join a group of folks (Earth2World) but that had a lasting effect of two weeks. So, after a few months, I took the plunge into office number two. Soon, there shall be Godzilla posters and Star Wars memorabilia. Maybe a blaster or two.
I don’t hang out with pirates enough.
I feel like a blind pig finding an acorn. Or something like that. I am feeling very blessed, very lucky, and very humbled. OMPA, the Oregon Media Production Association that I am a member of, awarded me the 2012 “Rising Star” award. I was rather shocked and happy and freaked out all at the same time. The shock because I didn’t realize anyone was paying attention. Or that I was doing anything attention worthy. Happy because this is a great award and a fantastic honor to be recognized, especially when you think no one is looking. Freaked out because of several reasons all at once. The first feeling was – am I worthy of this? Am I really doing enough to merit such a recognition? The second being – Holy Crap I’m Being Judged And My Stuff Probably Sucks. But I say that all the time. The third feeling of freaking out was when I started getting emails from people asking me for work…not realizing that I am struggling every bit as much or more than they are. While I do remain busy, I remain so by choice and not by contract. Meaning I do as much paid work as I can, but it isn’t rolling in. I am still looking for the moment where I can get someone to take a chance on me based on my track record and either give me bigger commercial level gigs or fund some film projects. Either would be grand! I don’t blame folks for their assumption, but it affirms for me again the need to build a sustainable industry in this town. One that pays people who do this professionally. I know it can be done, and I know I want it that way for me.
I am sick of talking about it though. This is a reoccurring issue. That of making something. Even when I think I have people on board who feel the same way, I end up getting talkers and not do’ers.
I am trying to do it right. That is very important to me. I think a lot of corners could be cut, and a lot of easy choices could be made, and a lot of people could be hurt. I am not so self righteous, or self important, or self absorbed to think that I can stand on the back of giants so that I can stand higher than the rest, claiming the brilliance of my strategy. In the end, we either all work together or we don’t. I can’t make people do anything they don’t want to do, and if being more together is something that people like in theory and not in practice, then all I can do it beat my drum and hope for people wanting to stand side by side. Short cuts means you get to the end quicker. I’m not trying to get to any end quicker, I am enjoying the journey.
If you pace the isles waiting for the station to arrive, you never enjoy the scenery of the train ride. Enjoy the ride, DAMN IT!
I am not writing enough. How often have I said that?
It has been a great couple of weeks, if not the last month and a half. It has been a roller coaster, to be sure, but the downs seem to be worth the ups in the long run of it all.
So, updates to the world of people paying attention. A Deed without a Name, my short film, has been sent to a few more places. Currently, it is in consideration at Tribeca, Cannes Indie, GenArts, Breckenridge, LA International, Lake Arrowhead, and Cannes Emerging Filmmakers Showcase. What does this mean? Well, I have said it before and I will say it again. It means I filled out the form correctly, I paid the entry fee, and I delivered the DVDs to the correct address. Not the biggest accomplishment of film making, but it is the current stage at which the film is in. The festival world is what it is; the place in which you get your name out there. There are a bazillion festivals, and strategy is 9/10ths of the work. I am trying to hit some big names, if for no other reason than they are seeing my name and will again with more films. To say I was rejected by Tribeca is worth it for $50 considering that not submitting means they will never see my name or my movies. So for the price on one regular film ticket and one 3D film ticket, I made a person in NYC watch my film and judge it. I can live with being shut down for that price. I have had dates that cost me more and their judgments hurt a great deal. So Robert de Niro, feel free to shoot me down, or up. Wait, not like the drug kind of shooting up. I mean, I would totally do drugs with de Niro, and who wouldn’t, but he probably wouldn’t share with me. I meant accept my film. Not in exchange for drugs, because my film probably is only a dime bag worth, I mean let if play at Tribeca. I am going to stop before I offend Robert de Niro.
Anyway, I love the festivals, and the idea of strategy in working them. I love the idea of going to them and pimping my movie. I love the idea of going and talking about my movie. I have no issue with this process. I just wish I could afford to make more movies and get more of them out the door! Don’t we all?
So, new work. Well, let’s see, since Xmas I have had two commercials, two music videos, and a covert operation all hit the ground running. SWEET! I will link all but the secret mission videos. I wish I could talk about them but, you know…I would have to be silenced. I am at a point where I kind of dig my life enough to stick with it, so no Galaxy Sailor Productions Snuff films coming anytime soon. Of these projects, one is getting play on MTV 2 and is the first thing I have done in front of a camera as a character. A cop with a handlebar mustache and a can of mace. How did they know I always wanted to do that?
Things on the filming community front seem to be progressing along. As many of my readers know (and by many, I mean the 3 of you that make up the 5 total readers) I am always talking about the film community of Portland, what it means to me, and what it means to have an industry. I know, for the most part, that I will never ever change the status quo for those that believe in art for arts sake and being the starving artist that is all about the art of their art. I get it, and I won’t challenge you to an ideological debate, because in the end there is no debate – only two philosophies that come close to each other and never merge. Fair enough. What it means for me is that I will define, even change, the environment that I am in for myself. I will exercise my philosophy at every turn, despite what others may do.
With that said, there are a group of people who have read my recent state of the union address about the film industry, and at least in some way believe my philosophy enough to want to come together to start working on building an industry. I can’t build it alone, nor should I try, but together, people of similar desire can make something great. It will take time. It will take initiative. It will take money as well (the fact of the matter). In the end, it will be glorious. How could it be otherwise? I hope that if you are reading this, and you are in Portland, you will reach out and join us. If you are not in Portland, feel free to reach out and join us anyway!
As far as projects, I have so many I am wanting to do that I just don’t even know how I am going to get them done. Mostly because of money. Nothing else, just the dough. What’s that you say? Kickstarter? Look, I am going to do one, soonish, but I am not going to go to Kickstarter every three weeks that I have a new project. I am not going to beg for quarters that many times. As much as anything, that is part of building the industry for me – having the money coming in from commercial work or investors that allows me to create and distribute and entertain in such a way that people are getting what they want without me having to beg for it too often. Kickstarter has its place, but it is not an ATM (as near as I can tell) that has unlimited use. I want to go there once, maybe twice, and hope that the result plays out well enough to have greased a wheel that keeps spinning.
I am not sure as to how much liberty I have to discuss most projects. As for my scripts, I am about to shoot a shorty short short call Benehooy. It has to do with tunnels. That is all you are getting from me until it is done. Next up from me is Sweet Pea, the one I want a Kickstarter for. The hope is to use whatever momentum I have, coupled with the body of work I have created, to justify people giving me $7500 for the film. It is 20 minutes in length, presumably, and is something I hope is a game changer for me. The pirate documentary Part of the Ship/Part of the Crew continues among the work. As well, I am continuing work on two features. I want to talk about them but don’t know if I can. With that is a collaborative set of projects. A web series, a couple of shorts, and a couple of features, all in various stages of completion on paper. So there is no lack of stuff to do. Now to play the lottery so I can talk about how I want to win the lottery.
There is all sorts of drama stuff going on out there, too. I would write about it, even make jokes or poke fun at things. Belittle stuff. Shoot things down. It’s kind of childish to do. Dumb in fact. I have better things to do. Though it is noteworthy to say that I see it out there and I strive to be better, despite what my prehistoric male brain is asking me to do. Sometimes my desire to beat my chest, grunt loudly, and throw poo is a strong set of emotions culminating in fantasized reactions. Maybe I should just script it!
Fever – White Witches from Fever PDX on Vimeo.
Oh, we got a good one this week folks. This entry comes from my brain, and the aching little voices that gnaw at me. No, not the scary voices. I keep them quiet with constant plays of HALO online. I am talking about my reoccurring monologue. The Statler and Waldorf in the balcony of my mind, commenting with a constant volley of slaps to the face (both for me and the intended victims of life).
So, the other day, I was engaged with a discussion, in which myself and the fellow speaking were talking about our movie sets, our processes, and the little victories that we strive for with the little to no money we have. In this discussion, he told me about another film maker in our area that stated “If you don’t have thiry people on your crew, you’re not a real film maker.” Hmmmm, let me process that slap to my face as I begin the geometric calculation for planting one on your face. Really? There is a rule somewhere that says “You’re not really doing this unless you have a minimal number of people around you.”
Look, one person with a camera, filming themselves is a film maker. I can have five people around me that can do wonders and thirty people around me that are going to screw up or, worse, STAND AROUND. While screwing up helps one to learn, it also slows down your production, and when time is money that is not a good thing to have happen. Standing around. Now you’re just wasting life for a paycheck and burning valuable oxygen.
Now I will certainly let someone have their opinion about anything and everything, just as I have granted myself the same leeway. Just so you know, when you say something, there is probably going to be a response. The idea that my film is not a film because I didn’t have thirty people is an interesting idea. One that holds no merit and is easily shot down, but it is interesting nonetheless. It’s interesting because it gives me insight into this dufus. I’m not criticizing his abilities as a film maker, just his ability in life. See, for him, he thinks he needs thirty people standing around on his site. I may have need for that many or more someday, but I did a pretty bang up job on the last film, and it had six people on the crew. Six top notch, wonderful people that I will undoubtedly hire again. If someone feels that the fabric of their life needs certain specifics to make them feel successful or accomplished or worthy, than those are their own guidelines for success. Their’s and their’s alone. I didn’t need thirty folks. This guy maybe did because he can’t do anything constructive on his own and lives in a small dictatorship called “His Set” in which he takes thirty professionals and lambastes them for hours (or insert days, weeks, months, years) because it makes him feel like he is real. Well, buddy, are you real? Are you? Is Cameron calling yet, asking you to make Avatar II: The Awakening because you did it with thirty people and he did it with just twenty-seven on the set? (Please be advised – I completely understand that when it is me doing this very thing, which is defining how others should be by my own set of standards, I am being a dick and a hypocrite, I just wanted to be able to call this one out from the balcony)
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.
This is one of my favorite topics – that of our “Industry” in Portland filming. Supposedly we’re about to bust out and blossom. Which I don’t discredit at all. Lately we have had an amazing run of TV being produced in Oregon. Portlandia is a fun show and a great set to work on. Grimm is off and running like a mad machine. Leverage continues to be fun and exciting in it’s episodic “The blank Job” way. Plus we have had a couple of films come through town, and we have one of our own local films actually making a national splash (Rid Of Me). None as of yet have been exploding us on the map, but it has to be a bud before it becomes a flower.
Even with the bud starting to form we need to keep some things in mind as an industry of film makers in our area, no matter what side of the line we are on. By this I mean…are we still begging for people to work for free? Really? REALLY? I have come to the conclusion that FaceBook is pretty much a way of dressing up Craig’s List to ask people to come out and work on your productions. “It’s not free, it’s an investment in the awesomeness that you will get for working with me on more stuff that may or may not be happening and probably won’t pay or get seen by someone because it is too high concept for anyone to get and I am a creative and no one gets me so come on out and work for free which isn’t free because I give beer, pizza, copy, and credit.” REALLY? Are we still doing this.
Hey, if you are reading this, I have a pop quiz for you. Without using IMDb, can you tell me who ran the boom mic for Steven Spielberg on Saving Private Ryan? Ten seconds…time’s up. You know who it was? It doesn’t matter. Why? Because whoever it was, he or she was working a job. One they probably did really well. One they probably love. However, there is no award at the academies for boom mic holder. There is no trophy for best grip.
No one ever got famous by being a PA. So don’t ever assume that your set is a privilege to work on. People need to be paid. Landlords don’t accept awards for rent, so you sure as hell better be paying people. Good intentions may get you into heaven (I’m too far gone for that) but it doesn’t feed someone. Pay them! If you have people in L.A. that are interested and want something from you, they will pay for it. If they don’t pay for it they are either not interested or unable to pay. Grimm was not shot for free. Someone pitched the idea and a budget was given. Then someone wrote a script, which they were paid for it, and then investors handed over money for someone to film the concept and prove that it was a worthy concept.
Now, I admit that I know there is a fine line for doing things to get experience and getting an “in” in an industry. That is why there are intern positions in so many businesses around the world. However, if you sign on to an internship it comes with a statement of what you will learn, how you will be trained, and what you are due to get out of it. Some internships give you consideration toward work if an open position is available in the field you are investing in. If you just showed up at a business and worked for free, and had nothing that was going to prove that you were working toward a goal then really what you are doing is working for free. Businesses love that. They will do it as long as you let them. Let me repeat that – THEY WILL DO THAT AS LONG AS YOU LET THEM.
Have I still done free work? I have, when I have decided to. When someone blasts a post for people to work for them (but there is no pay) I don’t respond. If someone in talking to me and says they need help but just can’t get it because they don’t have money, I may offer. I will say that if it comes to it, asking me straight up to work for you even though there may be no pay is a hell’uva lot better than “blind-blast” posts out to the world asking for the masses to run to work for free on your awesome idea. If it’s awesome, and people are going to put blood, sweat, and tears into it then pay them. Your set isn’t that awesome. Neither is mine. Cameron’s set…ok, yes I would work for free, but that guy sneezes money so I think he would pay me to hold his coffee just because he can.
The point is that an industry is built on standards that allow people to professionally contribute for a compensation. Compensation is not good feelings. Compensation is pay and health benefits. That is why I opened with the definition of Industry. If you want to do work, or want someone to work, for free then I get it – when it is little pieces that are about working on your chops, having fun, producing lit bits of experimental fodder that help you grow. If you are making something that is a festival piece, something that is going to be proving that you are worth the investment, then you need to prove to the others people around you that you believe in that investment by paying them. If you “blind-blast” for free work, it means you don’t care about the quality, you just need warm to luke-warm bodies schlubbing about your space. Even a PA is worth their weight in pay. A good PA makes things happen.
I actually saw a pair of Portland film makers state in their Kickstarter video that they were choosing Portland to film in because it allowed them to get a free cast and crew, and they won nearly $7000 for their short film. What does that say when two locals can state that they are filming locally because people are willing to work for free, and they still score $7K to pocket? Their video pitch went on to state that this short film was jump-starting their career. What about all the people working on their set? Who or what is jump-starting their career? If every jerk asked them to work for free to jump-start their own personal career, we would have an industry of actors and crews that were never paid. Please read the definition of Industry above.
There are a lot of people beyond our borders slugging it out in the trenches that are a better financial risk than we are, making it difficult to get people to invest in our work. Don’t kid yourself; we are an investment. No one puts out a ton of money without the desire of a return on it. Even with our own dollars and our own short films, we invest. Making a short film is paying the IMDb gods so that we can earn a notch of faith. “Believe in me, and invest in me, and I will create films that are worthy. I prove that because I made the following list of successful things.”
As Portlanders I think we are the recipients of an industry from another city. I believe the industry extends itself here because we allow for some great things to happen. For ourselves, we are still caught up in the Portland-style of doing things. That makes us quirky and ironic, but it doesn’t make us an industry (see definition above). Making us an industry means making choices. Choices in how we act professionally, how we are treated professionally, and what we professionally create. We have to make those choices as industry leaders, as individuals, and as creators of content. There are choices that need to be made for us to succeed if an industry is to be established (not created). Filming is not a new industry, and it is not new in coming to Oregon, but the fact that we don’t have our own film industry in Oregon speaks volumes as to how we have treated such industry requirements. No one will take us seriously before we take ourselves seriously. So we need to start taking ourselves seriously before we can build something remarkable here. Otherwise, we will be farming out the best of us to other places.
There are some rules in life that I am trying to adhere to, that I think are general, yet poignant and make life seem easier to digest when I realize that I probably screwed myself when I was bitching about how someone screwed me.
Rule #1: Subduction leads to orogeny (look it up, you will find I am right)
Rule #2: The tide goes in – The tide goes out
Rule #3: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
Rule #4: Figures never lie but liars figure
Rule #5: Big rocks sink fast
Hey there, just a little updater. Back in from last nights win for Patrick’s Story and hopefully a few more people willing to pass on the message for equality in marriage rights. Not only was I really pleased and thankful for the win but I was even more thankful for the thoughtful comments afterwards by people who were moved by the message. I am extremely fortunate in my life to the fact that I am able to take this movie and run with it in every way possible to keep the message of marriage equality alive. While I enjoy people watching the other things that I have (and will) make and enjoying them I can’t hold a candle to the power of Patrick’s message and his ability to move people to tears. Please help to pass the message along and continue the move toward marriage equality.
I would like to say thank you to all that have watched Patrick’s Story so far, and to all that will help to carry it forward.
I thought I would through up the embed of the Sunstall video I did. I have passed this on to Solar World with the hopes of getting in good with their marketing folks. See the video after the bump.
In the mean time, I am trying to figure out how to pay for “Part of the ship/Part of the crew” and start getting Sweat Pea (another short script) paid for and off the ground. My Kickstarter fear has kicked in again, but in a more legitimate way this time. Lately, I have seen so many projects go up and fail on there. More so than usual. I have felt for quite some time that Portland has an excessive amount of people throwing Kickstarter projects on the web with little to no experience, collateral, or history to prove they are worth investing in. I have no idea if I am one of those people or one that has the work to back it up but would just fall prey to the over saturation of Kickstarter campaigns. Somehow, though, I need to fund Sweat Pea. It’s something that I think is a great script and an excellent challenge of a film to make.
One to the solar panels.
SUNSTALL – Sunstalling the future from Galaxy Sailor on Vimeo.
That’s right. Me and Gus van Sant. We buddies. We hit the beer house together. Chums, if you will. I had to bump Neil Gaiman from the top tier to do it, but I think it was a worth while effort. Actually, I don’t know Gus at all, but it’s fun to think that he would be handing me the dollars to do a film instead of Taylor Lautner, but whatever Gus. Friends can forgive.
Actually, I was featured in the recent issue of 1859 magazine, a local publication. You can tell it’s local because it’s called 1859; that’s the year we gained statehood in Oregon. We really did gain statehood. You’re not just born this way. Anywho, the article written by Lucy Burningham is titled On The Set, and it is a reflection of the time when One Flew Over The Cuckoos nest was made all the way to the foretelling of hopeful Oregon film and television dollars. Check out the embed below of the online version of the story.
(I bought six copies!)
In the last week and a half, I have enjoyed a resurgence in work. The feast and famine trend continues! I started picking up NECA/IBEW videos again, and have about five or six slated for the next few weeks (with any luck). As well, I have started work on a proposal set for a local home weatherizing company. They are getting a video series, as well as a new website. I have also had the privilege of getting work from a California company, called SUNSTALL. This was one of the few times I ever did an impromptu pitch that went through. Huzzah! Now to repeat the pattern. SUNSTALL is installing all of the new infrastructure for solar panels on a ODOT/PGE cooperative renewable energy program. Nearly seven thousand new panels will be installed when it’s all done. Sweet!
Oh, those pirates. Why does it always keep coming back to the pirates. Probably because I love them dearly! I accept this. So the buccaneers of Bridgetown have some great events coming soon, to which I am attending. They are also set to kick off a season (not plundering, that’s in spring) recruiting business prospects. Thankfully, they came to me and asked that I do a promo video for them. A promo video? For pirates? Where would I ever get footage for such things? I know – the footage from the documentary movie I am making called Part of the ship/Part of the crew: The making of El Tiburon. It’s glorious, and as soon as the skallywags let me post it, there shall be glorious pirate video posted! HUZZAH!
In the mean time – enjoy and read up!
Good morning all. I am currently in a bathrobe, eating French toast, sipping coffee, and updating the news for all of you interested, curious, or bored with other things in the world. I know…I know. This kind of update is usually reserved for twitter feeds and Facebook subjects. Well, you’re welcome.
Patrick’s Story wins again. Holy crap, that is kind of awesome. The upcoming Humanist Film Festival help in Portland selected the film to be played during their three day festival. They have asked Patrick and I to attend and come to speak about the movie and participate with the festival. I have no idea what award we won, but who cares! I am just glad that another big screen is happening for this film.
On the other front is A Deed without a Name going to Tribeca and Cannes. Yes, that is right. I sent A Deed without a Name to both of those. Tribeca is a festival in which a film needs to premiere, so A Deed won’t see the public light of day until such time as I know if it’s in or not. I wanted to get an IMDb credit for it though, and it turned out that Cannes Independent Film Festival had just opened its door. I figure I can be rejected for $25 with Cannes as well as anywhere else, so why not. Why not indeed. I am already buying my plane tickets. Not because it will be accepted, but because I am an optimist.
So…Galaxy Sailor Productions…how you doin’? Pretty good, I suppose. I am feeling a little grown up, which is uncomfortable and enlightening all at the same time. I was a featured guest on the show Meet The Startup a little over two months ago. I was really excited to be a part of this group and be on their show. It was a really fun interview, and I think I spoke well enough to not be hated by people. Check it out and see my insight into film festivals, film making, and the film world here in Portland. It kind of made me feel like I was sorta kinda maybe accomplished in some way. Weird.
My most current project is still Part of the Ship/Part of the Crew: The making of El Tiburon. I have to keep digging away at the footage, as well as get my interviews done. More than that, I need to get a kickstarter going so I can pay for the post on this baby. Months of time, and lots footage means I need to get this beauty done. There is a fantastic story to be told beyond that of the building of a ship. I just gotta keep the freaking lights on. Things are getting tougher out here in the production world of film and video.
Ok, time to get a move on!