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!
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.
Yes, it is true. A Deed without a Name is done filming. We finished our third and last night of filming this last Tuesday, and as of Wednesday I had a rough edit out to Jeri, the writer of the screenplay. I am cleaning up edits, replacing audio, looking at special effects, and looking at filming the next in about two weeks. I am really please with the way the film sounds, looks, and was performed. The people that were on board did amazing. A huge thanks goes out to all those that were involved, and I can’t wait to do the credits just so I can thank them again. With any luck, this will look as nice to others as I think it does, and it will be off to the races with it.
In the mean time, the next script is already up and ready to roll. It is a no budget jem, and it will probably take a day to shoot. It’s a little more than a one-off, but it won’t be much more than five minutes. I think it will be sweet. It’s intended to get out a little quick without the idea of a film fest, but if it fits the smaller categories, I’ll send it. It will be a small crew and a small cast. All in all, I think six people are going to be on this one. Should be great!
And, no, I am not hearing voices. Today. At this moment. I have to say though (I hope this isn’t narcissistic) that I kind of feel like I have “made it” in filming. I say that because I had some people on my crew that are, what I consider, the top of the game in Portland. First off, my Assistant Director was Susan Funk, who is just awesome and amazing in all aspects. Then there is Brian Mazzola, who shocked me when he said yes to being on my set for audio. Jerry Buxbaum came on board, and I was thrilled. These people are amazing. They are the pros of town. To me, having them on my set, even if it was only three days, was magnificent. This makes me feel like I have made it. Like I’m working like a pro. I hope that what I made lives up to them and what they have done for me.
Thanks to you all!
No, filming or film or filmmaking aren’t really dying. While there was a major shake up a few weeks ago with digital filming and Roger Dekins, I was referring in a very weird way to the recent filming I did in which a murder takes place. Whether accidental or not, it is interesting and fun to set up such a scenario and play it all out. It’s like diving into an odd place in your brain and exploring the nuances that you would reserve for people in bad traffic. Then reeling that in and finding the calm insanity that would make people flinch in terror for a moment. It’s new to express that aspect and I am hoping I will do that well.
I refer to filming A Deed without a Name, the short film I am working on from the script by Jeri Klein and myself. We have two out of our three days of filming done, and will be returning to film our last day very soon. So far, I am totally in love with this cast and crew, and I am feeling so amazed at the work that is getting done. Soon we shall have a trailer and some music, and then it’s off to the festivals if all goes well.
Speaking of festivals, I am happy to announce that Patrick’s Story was accepted into the Breckenridge Festival of Film for 2011. I was starting to give up hope that Patrick’s Story would get any recognition at all. The whole film has been a labor of love; one that I have fought for over a year with some of the most unlikely people. It has been a relentless pursuit to have people get the message. I am really excited to have this story seen, and I hope that more people will watch and support the cause!
The art of war I am referring to…well, it actually has a lot a meanings. Some of you that see me in the real world (not Facebook, twitter, or other such places) know that I have had an open conversation about a certain group of people that are bad. Bad people that I “worked” for in their film. I speak quite openly about their reputation, or lack of, their skills, or lack of. I caught myself the other day really laying the complaining on thick with someone, and finally shut myself up. It’s not always easy to practice your own preaching or keep in mind your own convictions. I have often said that your attitude dictates your actions. Admittedly, when I watch someone that, in my own hypocrisy, is getting something they don’t deserve, I get a little mouthy about it. That is a war that I need not perpetuate. The war is one in which I cannot win. It’s proverbial. The wrestling match with the pig, in which the pig likes it and you are covered in shit. The fact remains, if I choose to repeatedly put energy into my dissatisfaction with these people, I am taking energy away from where it needs to be: making more films.
You see, in the grand scheme of things, I don’t believe in karma as a cosmic balancing of all things good and evil. In the original Sanskritic, karma was defined as ACTION. If you partake of actions that are ill, you will most likely get caught or stumble on your own actions eventually. We’ve all been caught in that white-lie, now just imagine it on a more catastrophic level in which you care so little for the people in your path, or the tapestry of deception you create that to have that come back on you is a devastating act. That isn’t the universe setting you up for a lesson, that is you.
Along with the war of words comes the war of presentation. I am speaking of hype. Hype is such a dangerous thing. It sets up expectations for those skilled enough to create it, but it is a dangerous pit for those that are all talk and no action. I probably lack on the hype aspect of things, bu there are others where I watch and see all the talk. Talk talk talk. Just talk. Are you ever going to do anything? Will you please just finish ONE of your many projects so someone can see them. Just one! One completed action; a fiery hoop jumped through to show that what you say is what you do. This is a war that wages on constantly. I recently met someone on a commerce gig I was filming who was in from LA for a day. We talked and laughed at the talkers. The people that don’t follow through. The Hypers, as I like to call them. The similarities are carried throughout this industry and is not a Portland phenomenon. Thank goodness. I was worried.
Again, this is the conversation that takes away energy from the act of doing. To talk and have a laugh is one thing, but to worry and fret over these is another. I have made such leaps and bounds in the last two plus years, that to lose this to jealousy, or aggression, or just stupid mouthiness is pretty much the worst thing I can do. I have had some very fortunate things happen. I continue to work with some amazing people. AMAZING. It’s astounding the great people around me. To sacrifice them to arrogance or jealousy would be the saddest moment in my life. I can’t give these people up, and I certainly wouldn’t want to lose any moment I am able to create thanks to them.
I think that is good for now. I’m off to do something not sitting I think. I’ll leave you with my latest video.
[newsletter]
Hello fellow film fanatics, filming types, movie lovers, and gun dealers. That’s right, I cater to all sorts now. As I wrote about in an earlier post, I now rent out guns from the Command Center here at GSP Headquarters. Right now, I have a decent little cache of fake fire arms. Most of them couldn’t pass detailed scrutiny, but they are one-to-one scale and have some moving parts to them. The best are the M-16s and the Glocks; those things are sweeeeet! So far, I have had some good little rental deals, but the sweetest one was for Studio Sundell. Carlin Sundell is a photographer and owner, and his group recently did “To Live and Die in Shanghai.” Here is what Studio Sundell has to say about who they are:
Carlin Sundell is the founder and creator of Studio Sundell: a group of creatives that construct exquisite and compelling imagery for fashion, advertising, and editorial clients, with old-school professionalism and high-spirited elegance.
That’s a cool way to describe who they are, but as words are only words, what they put out speaks for what they can do as much as them telling you. Behold, my guns used in their short, non-dialog video “To Live and Die in Shanghai.”
To the other side of that is a recent talking heads video I did for The Art Cubby. These folks are fantastic, and I really want them to succeed. So I agree to shoot a promo video to showcase who they are, what they do, and how it effects kids. The end result is a dandy little piece that highlight Brooke Facteau and her wonderful brainchild. I think they say it best about who they are and what they do:
The Art Cubby is a unique, drop-in child care program focused on introducing children to the world of creative artistic expression. Accepting children 2 – 12 years old, our staff works with each child’s individual skill level to ensure proper growth that is developmentally appropriate.
Brooke and her crew are fantastic, and I really want to see all of you dump your kids off at her place. That may not sound totally right, but it’s still a great plan. Here is the little video for Brooke and crew at The Art Cubby:
The Art Cubby from Galaxy Sailor on Vimeo.
I am really happy about both of these projects coming out at the same time, as well as a video I did for The Dairy Council of Oregon. This particular video is due to have excerpts play at the new Jeld-Wen Park, home of the Portland Timbers, on the big jumbotron. I’m pretty excited this is happening, and a nice little dose of reality that I am doing this for real, even if it all isn’t going as fast as I like. This is a daily struggle that I have, and can leave that for either another post or my therapist.
[newsletter]
There is good news for those of us that are working hard and participating in the industry of film in Oregon. On the news that New Mexico has reduced their incentives for film and video, Governor Kitzhaber announced with the 2011 budget that the tax incentives would remain in place.
A number of Income Tax expenditures are due to sunset by the closing of 2011. Of these, The Film Production Labor Rebate (ORS 316.698/317.394) and Film Production Development Contributions (ORS 315.514) have sunsets for 2011 that Governor Kitzhaber have request be extended through the 2013 biennium.
All in All,the Governor recommends continuing 23 corporate and personal income tax credits that are set to end in 2011-13. Most of them do not have a substantive affect on the General Fund and accumulate to about $38.4million. The Governor recommends enhancing the Business Energy Facility credit, resulting in a decrease of $5 million, and an expansion of the Film Development tax credit by an additional $10 million. Another large gain for Oregon film is the inclusion of $1.3 million in lottery funds allocation.
For the most part, the comments from the governor were brief in regard to film and video productions in Oregon. The report released with his press conference helped to shed light on the continued support that our government leaders are willing to put toward our industry. Things are looking bright for Oregon film and video.
I recently joined the Oregon Media Production Association, and I have one big thing to say about that: why did I hesitate? While that is my answer alone, I can now say I am in, and I couldn’t be happier. I went to the Annual Meetup and Meeting at Urban Grind and Picture This Studios, and it was such a great time. I started out pretty antisocial, for no other reason than I hadn’t sat in days, and I just need a break. So I sat for awhile, read The Goon, and ate the food that was catered for the evening. Once the meeting was over, though, I stepped in and started meeting the massed. I met a cool actor, Rob Harris, and the woman who coordinated the event Jena, Dan Ackerman who runs Stage 13, and a whole host of others. It was great fun, and I encourage anyone who is SERIOUS about film and video to be a part of this great organizations.
You can now sign up to follow Galaxy Sailor Productions as a newsletter, as well as the ever popular RSS feeds, FeedBurner, and my Twitter account.
On a final note, I finished the last two thirds of the music video I am shooting for Cold Metal. The as of yet unreleased song, Rise Again, has it’s mass of zombies eating their way through the shoot, which makes me incredibly happy. I figured I would share some pictures from the first weekends extravaganza of shooting.
Even when things get stalled or stopped, I keep finding ways to stay busy. For those of you that knew, I was in the preproduction stages of In My Eyes. It was a complex story about a female killer, but some twists and turns on love, family, and the twisted intricacies of culture. The investor made some unfortunate investments that didn’t pay off, leaving the production here stranded. So, what next?
That’s easy…more work. I shelved many projects with computer issues and for the film, but now that both are sorted out, I am going back and doing some cleaning. I am finishing the short documentary about Patrick, the man who lost his partner to AIDS and was kicked out of the hospital because he was the Domestic Partner, not the Married Partner. I am cleaning that up for submission into a few film festivals and release for people to finally see.
Things continue on with The Last Stand. Our releases on DailyMotion have been slow but steady. We get spikes in viewings, so it has been odd and erratic. The nice thing is that we are getting more viewers, more responses, and more opportunities to get another season going.
The biggest project currently in the works is a documentary about a local iconoclastic revolution. I am not at liberty to discuss to much, but the beauty is that there seems to be funding in the works. I am really excited to work on this, because it was something that I wanted to do months ago and had to shelve it. Oh, shelf, you have such nice things on you. I hope to come back to them.
In the most immediate future, GSP will be filming for Pride NW and the annual Pride Fest in Portland. While I am not overly excited about continued live event coverage, I am happy to be doing work for the great folks at Pride NW, and I am always happy to have the camera running. When the highlights are edited, I will have them posted here for folks to see.
Next week, Galaxy Sailor Productions meets up with @Large films. Stay tuned for that.