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
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Martin Vavra
galaxysailor@gmail.com
541-621-4825
Breckenridge Festival of Film recognizes local filmmaker’s doc ‘Patrick’s Story’
For high-rez press images, more info:
http://galaxysailor.com/patricks-story/
Another Oregon documentary is making waves on the film-festival circuit.
Martin Vavra’s doc “Patrick’s Story” has been accepted into Colorado’s Breckenridge Festival of Film.
“Patrick’s Story” follows a gay man, Patrick, who was removed from a Portland hospital as his partner lay dying.
Vavra explores what the word “marriage” means in our culture — taking a powerful look at the social confusion associated with registered domestic partnership rights.
Another Vavra project, “The Last Stand” — a zombie-apocalypse Web series filmed in Portland — recently won three awards at the LA Web Fest. “The Last Stand” has been distributed by three other Web sites and translated into three other languages. It will soon be available on Hulu and Netflix.
Established in 1981, the Breckenridge Festival of Film ( http://www.breckfilmfest.com ) is one of the oldest film festivals in the country. Breckenridge 2011 runs Thursday-Sunday, June 9-11 — featuring 56 independent dramas, comedies, documentaries and big-picture premieres.
Vavra is available for interviews.
For high-rez press images, a trailer and other press materials, click here:
http://galaxysailor.com/patricks-story/
[END]
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]
Well, fellow followers and travelers with Galaxy Sailor, it was a great Sunday night for us over here GSP Headquarters. This past weekend was LAWeb Fest, a festival dedicated to web series from around the world. This was there second year of the festival, which was created by Michael Ajakwe, a twenty plus year veteran of television and film. When I found out last year about LAWeb Fest but couldn’t get in I vowed to make sure I was on it by the first day of applications. This year, The Last Stand made it in, and was one of the top twenty web series to be named by LAWeb Fest.
The award ceremony took place this last weekend, amongst a couple of days of panel discussions, viewing of other web shows, and guest appearances by industry folks. Unfortunately, I could go, but Shawn Mesman (aka Tenison in TLS) lives in LA now, and was able to use my tickets. He sat in for TLS and was there when they announced our victories!
In all, we won three awards. I won for best writing in a web series, and best creator/producer in a web series, and Ken Webster of Innervoice Studios won for best score in a web series. I consider this one little victory on the road to whatever the next victory is!
Now, on to the new camera. Yes, I did get a DSLR, after all the ranting I have done. Why, you ask, are you such a hypocrite? That may be a Nature/Nurture answer, but the better question is why did I get a DSLR. In my previous rant, I stated that my issue really lies in the DSLR owner who suddenly discovers he has the capabilities to shoot video footage with his camera. My complaint was that an entire industry of people are rising up and claiming to know and do video or film simply because they have a camera that can record video. There is a lot more to it than just hitting record, and I am, quite honestly, angry at the number of people that have come to me to ask me to either fix their footage or tell them how the do video/film work. It’s my job, and I’m not going to do that.
At the same time, I cannot deny that buying a Panasonic Lumix GH2 with the 14-140 lens gave me more flexibility and better results than if I went out and bought the comparable lens package for my XL H1a. It would have been at least another $1k to buy the lens that the Lumix package came with, and it shoots great full frame HD. It is a fantastic camera. By no means am I now a photographer. Quite the opposite, in fact. I am shooting pics with it for FaceBook, but if someone tried to hire me, I would tell them to go to one of my professional friends. If they want video, well, then I’m the right person to talk to!
Now, for my rant. If you are uninterested in my soap boxing, then this is a good time to step away. If you are also a Firefly or Serenity fan, you may want to take warning here. As I am a fan, I am also a realist in that the people on the show are characters played by real people. While I may enjoy the character of Jayne Cobb, and appreciate the performance put in by Adam Baldwin, I also think he is a ID-10-T (computer folks will get that one, Adam won’t).
So here is the deal. I followed Adam on the twitters. He is a very active twatter, because he is a very outspoken Republican Conservative Christian. He hates Obama and states so all the time. He battles against the Democrats from the comfort of his home at all hours of the afternoon. He rages against the Unions who enslave us, while comforting in the fact that his SAG card keeps him well paid. Baldwin sent out a tweet last week stating that Obama’s attacks on Libya are nation building tactics, and that this act constituted impeachment level responses from the Republicans. Now, I disagree. I saw our move as protecting civilians, and I tweeted that back to him, stating “It is unfortunate that we cant see the difference between protecting civilians & invading nations. I guess that is why we are still in 2 wars.” Baldwin’s response was multi-layered after this.
First off, I do think we are protecting civilians, but I also think it is in an oil rich nation. We don’t protect civilians in a lot of countries, and I wish the world (not us – the world) would protect them. The US has a less than good record with who we choose to protect, support, and even influence. The Taliban were once our allies, as was Saddam Hussein. Most of the Middle East was a land of nomads, waring tribes, and feudal lords. After WWII, we started to divide these properties with boundaries, something these people weren’t accustom to. We left weapons behind, or gave some of them weapons to boost their strength in the region, but only so much. We placed people in power that were suddenly Princes and Kings. We allowed them to take our money and give us their one resource: oil. We have never helped these countries join the 19th century, let alone the 20th or 21st century.
Anyway, Baldwin retweeted my response to him, which includes my handle on twitter, for those that don’t tweet. Everyone on his side of the political spectrum and follow him immediately knew who I was. My inbox and my respond box was inundated with attacks from people. Claims of anit-Americanism, telling me to seek god, telling me I know nothing of history, international relations, or political policy. Somehow, I was engaged with people that were masterminds at all of these things, and they all happen to be following Jayne Cobb, the savior of Canton.
Baldwin went one better though. I giggled it off and wrote: “Haha I finally get RTed by a Firefly hero & it had to be political. Ur still my big damn hero.” Thinking that we had opposing political views, but we could still be movie star and fan. But the attacks still came from his followers. Then his response finally came to my big damn hero reply. He said to me: “Sorry, but you should apologize for ur ignorant statement and move on.” My heart actually sank. It was now a personal attack. The RTing was a personal attack to get his followers to come at me. For no better reason than differing views. I stated back to him: “I just have a different point of view on things. Shouldnt apologize for different points of view.” To which Baldwin’s response was: “Ur point of view is ignorant & not worthy of respect. U should apologize.”
My heart sank even more. Wow, Jayne Cobb is coming after me. I had to block seventeen people would continued through the day to respond to and message me. I sat on Baldwin’s statement for about three hours, and on the final minutes before I went to bed, I responded to him. In the end I apologized. I said: “Im sorry I looked up to u, sorry I followed u, & sorry ur and idiot.” Then I removed and block Adam Baldwin, the man they call Jayne, from my twitter account.
Here’s the thing; he and I differ on where our policies lie, but our hearts are in the same place. We want what is best for our nation, our people, and the way we interact with the world. We can argue our points, but they should never be personal attacks. I am making a general statement here, but he and his followers made the point hard to argue: republicans attack people who don’t have their opinion. That makes no sense to me, but when you are that narrow in scope, that limited in understanding, I can see where you would allow your fear to rule as a cudgel, smashing down all things that could possibly break down your pillow fort of reality. Adam Baldwin and his minion attacked me because they could never want to try to understand me, or believe that what I want or that my view is just a different path than theirs. That is what freedom is supposed to be. It’s about difference, about choice, about mistakes, about possibilities. Freedom comes in different forms, and it has different safety nets and different risks, depending on the person. A porn star is going to have a different perspective on the world than a person who has never had sex. You can never expect two people to come to the same place at the same time with their views on the world. That would be devastating and catastrophic, as well as just plain boring.
Adam Baldwin. You’re kind of a dick. I’ll still watch Firefly and Serenity.
[newsletter]
Yes, you read that right. Cow films. If you were in India, you would be filming a god…which is a cow…that gives milk…which is why I was filming the cow to begin with. I was recently hire to be the DP/Camera operator for a film involving the Oregon Dairy Counsel. I was hired by Kelley Baker aka The Angry Filmmaker. You may know his work because it’s angry. Or because you watched Finding Forester. Anyway, we shoot for two days in Tillamook, Oregon, most specifically on the days when it snowed in Tillamook for the first time in something like a million years. Literally, Tillamook has not seen snow since the dawn of the Pleistocene. That’s the kind of shoot days I generate. I have seen the edit, though, and I must say it look marvelous!
Our music video marches on with the last major day of shooting completed with machine guns being present in downtown Portland. I have to say this was a highlight for me. I had big guns in the streets, and I am quite pleased with myself. We only had one person who questioned anything, other wise, people just stared at us and kept going. The edit is rough and I am zeroing in on a final! When the band releases the video, I will have it out all over the place.
Now, as to scuttling your career. I don’t that I can say how to scuttle your career in three moves or less, but I will say that I continue to have lessons in integrity and value in what anyone would call LIFE. I have had some issues with a company here in town that owed me money for working. Months I have toiled to get paid, with no resolution. Oddly, as I look back, one of the first work opportunities I had in town was one in which I did what would account to be thousands of dollars in work, and yet I only ever saw $50. I pulled the plug when I recognized that I wasn’t getting any where. I had been accomplishing feats of ledger domain and semantic intrepidity to make myself believe that I was going to get rich or famous with what I was a part of. My attitude was in the wrong place, and I didn’t know it until much later.
I will say this. I think there are several people that I think are scuttling their credibility as well as there ability to make film in this town. I know for my attitude with that first group of folks that if I had never done that work, suffered through all that I had done, and persevering I wouldn’t be here today, doing what I love.
Hello everyone, and happy Monday. There is so much going on over here at the new GSP Headquarters, I barely have time to keep up with it myself.
First off, the new office is AWESOME! I am loving this place, and I am loving having a store front. The best move I could have made was one in which GSP had a place that was called work that wasn’t also called home. I have successfully spread geek film memorabilia all about the place, so it feels like home. I mean, really, did you think I was going to have a space that didn’t have a HALO helmet on some shelf somewhere?
Galaxy Sailor Productions is very happy to have brought PacWest Communications the type of services they need. We have taken on a few filming projects, such as the expansion of PGE Park for the Timbers, as well as filming the installation and new solar panels on a retirement home, all facilitated by the local NECA/IBEW. I am realizing, though, that I don’t have a commercial reel. I am having to tone down my zombie work so that I can get gigs that pay instead of frighten.
On a final not, Galaxy Sailor Productions is currently working on the new short film, A Deed Without a Name. Written by Jeri Klein, and directed by Martin Vavra (owner of GSP) A Deed Without a Name is a film noir influenced sexual thriller in which being the good guy is not the best thing. Shot in Portland, Oregon, A Deed Without a Name is looking for your support. Click on the link about to find out more about the film and how you can help make it happen.
Ok, back to work…
So many things to say and catch up on. Why do I so infrequently bombard my own blog. I need to punish this thing with more frequency and unabashed goodness.
So, I got to shake hands and say hello to Guillermo del Toro last night. For those that don’t know, he is the screen writer and director for Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, Blade 2, Hellboy 1 and 2, and the most important for me – Pan’s Labyrinth. To say that I was (internally) giddy as a school girl would be understating the massive amount of giddy that was inside of me. It was contained well, but the well was full.
It was an amazing two hours of question and answer and discussion by one of the most amazing and influential directors of our time. He is on the road promoting his new book, The Fall, which is book two in The Strain series. I was introduced to The Strain but didn’t get though it all, not because I wasn’t captivated, but because I was going through some tough emotional times, and focus was at a minimum. With seeing him last night, I got a signed copy of The Fall, so now I will read The Strain and move on quickly. He is an amazing guy, for no other reason that he seemed like the perfect person to hang out with, drink beer, discuss faerie lore or politics or religion, and just have a blast with. He took a shirt from The Last Stand on it, so here is to hope that he sees it!
Speaking of faerie tales, I have found a sudden fascination with certain aspects of The Field Guide to Demons, and links to things I have been writing and creatures that inhabit the pages and the layers of many worlds. Coupled with my reading of The Sandman, my brain seems to be weaving a story that I am pretty compelled by. Details as it unfolds to me.
Over at The Last Stand, we had a winner for the Xbox 360 competition we had going. Justin Turner, aka @EyeOfCthulhu, won our Dead Rising 2 game and will no doubt have to keep his eyes open for snipers sent by the losers. Justin already sleeps with one eye open, so it’s not new to him. A huge thanks to all that watch and participated!
On the Koldacst.tv front, we were the number one show for the day a couple of times. We seem to be locked in a battle with SpellFury for some top honors and numbers. Episode 8 comes out today, which concludes our release run with Koldcast. They were fantastic to us, and I wish everyone to go over there and watch all that they have to offer.
I am sure there is more to say, but I am going to spread it out a little bit!
Thanks from Galaxy Sailor!
Hey folks, I feel like I am slacking on this. I want to be getting at least one post in a week, and I am not doing it. So I will try to step it up, because I know you all can’t wait for an update…
For those that saw my tweets, I spent last week working on the Freeman Brother’s movie Wake Before I Die. I was asked to come in a work as a grip, which is meant that I did lights and ran around and did other stuff that needed doing. It was really great work, and I enjoyed working with Jason and Todd Freeman. It was cool to meet their producer, Robert Blanche, who has quite a resume of work. As this production nears a theater or DVD, I will keep you informed.
As a number of people know, the latest episode of The Last Stand Episode 3: Purpose in Chaos is out and doing quite well. I decided not to host on YouTube and go with Vimeo, which has meant that we are getting traffic to the site and to various other places, and not in from YouTube. This makes me very happy, because people are watching us and not bumping into us on YouTube. Kind of a big deal to me.
Galaxy Sailor Productions, in association with My Nice Monster Films, is working on our first feature length film. It is to begin filming this summer, but at this time I can’t release much more for details. When I can let the cat out of the bag, I will. I will also tell you about this film when I can. The cat is really making a lot of noise back there.
If there are any. Well here is to hoping there are Galaxy Sailor Production fans out there. I thought I better get in here and update the site, and make some announcements as to what is happening in the filming world.
First off, the big project, The Last Stand, is about to release Episode 3 on Monday, February 1st, 2010. We are finished with all the special effects and we are completely scored music wise, and all the color is in place. Now we are getting our audio mixed and sweetened by Tag Team Audio. These guys are gems, and they have an extensive history of amazing work for some big dogs. I am pretty amazed that I have the opportunity for them to put the finishing touches on our audio. Once that is done, Episode 3 is out to the masses.
There are some films our there that I think need a tip of the hat for people to go out and see. First off, everyone is talking about Avatar. I did see Avatar, as a midnight movie, opening night, in Digital 3D. What did I think? Well, I have always been a Cameron fan, but I was left flat by Titanic. Cameron is the master at developing characters with texture and soul, despite the environments he creates (which are amazing). Look and ALIENS and The Abyss. These are movies that are amazing and beautiful and scary and dynamic, and the characters are the real starts, as well as amazing stories. That is what we care about: the characters and the story. I thought Avatar was meh in story and characters. I love Sigorney Weaver, but she was wasted in the film as a talent. There are also holes in the story. BUT! When the story involves our exploring of the environments and the textures created by the new digital 3D technology, Cameron is at the top of his game. If you were to compare Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, the technology was pretty but it didn’t give us anything we didn’t already have, plus it failed in story and characters. While Cameron may have failed me with story holes, he created environments and textures that made me feel like I was truly part of something new. So with that, it is totally worth it!
Up next, people need to watch Food, Inc. and The Cove. They are harsh, brutal, and earth shattering in what you will learn of what people do to each other and the environment, but you have to be aware of what is done around you that you choose to ignore. We need to wake up, fellow humans, for we are our own worst enemy.
I think that is good for now. Galaxy Sailor, signing off…
