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!
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]
Yes, another DSLR rant by me. I think this is the ultimate reason why I take issue with DSLR cameras. I was recently on a shoot, where some of my equipment was rented but I wasn’t shooting. There were no less than five Canon 5D mark II cameras on that set. There were enough in people hands that there could have been more and I couldn’t keep track. It was a combination photo shoot/video shoot, and they were shooting all on the 5D’s. I watched this production go down and it didn’t take long to realize – these folks were in over their heads. The whole deal was a sort of train wreck. While they were accomplished photographers, shooting film/video is totally different.
Look, my cameras shoot still as a bonus to the video they are designed to shoot. I don’t call myself a photographer. Quite the contrary. When people ask me to, I tell them to get someone who is a pro at that and have them do it. They know what they are doing. I have the equipment but not the technique, style, or understanding of still photography that a pro would.
Put a still DSLR camera in the hands of a still photographer, and they are awesome with it…until, it seems, they realize “Hey, I can be a video/film guy, too.” I have been on two shoots with DSLR shooters that didn’t know anything about video, and I have dealt with half a dozen of the same folks. They may know some basics to film techniques, but most haven’t had a clue. To top it off, they don’t know what to do with the footage when it comes to editing, and exporting it out. Not that all still photographers are this way, but the point is a lot of people are claiming something they are not simply because they have the equipment that can do it.
If I had a fast car, I would never tell people that I’m a race car driver. THAT IS ABSURD! The equipment doesn’t make you good at what you do if you don’t already know what you are doing. Just because your Canon 5D shoots awesome footage, you aren’t a film maker. I have people asking me about codecs, editing, compression, or how to fix their stuff. I have to tell them F*&$ NO! You go out and take someones money, claiming to know what you are doing, and then you can’t do it? That’s makes you a fraud and I will let you stew in that, because you took business away from me for no better reason than you were a blind pig with an acorn: your camera shoot good video.
So with that said, I think I am going to buy the new Panasonic Lumex GH2. I am doing this because it shoots great video. I am a video shooter, not a still photographer. I will not advertise myself as a still photographer. Don’t judge me.
My next point is how I wish to talk about how rich I am. My wealth, is pretty huge. Massive. I am a rich, wealthy, snobbish movie maker. Greedy in fact. Though I am completely without money, I am measuring all of this by my desire to work in film, the accomplishments I have made over the last two years, and the fact that I am doing what I love, even though I made just enough money last year to keep my “Poverty” classification one more tax season. I say all of this because it seems that there are those in Oregon that wish to get rid of the tax incentives for film because film making is only a game for the rich. Well, if I was rich, I wouldn’t need a tax incentive. My incentive to do film is one that is personal, as this is my passion in life as a creative/science/technical person. I love the aspects of film and it is the only thing that seems to stimulate the parts of my brain that other avenues don’t.
I am rather surprised by the people that talk about how the incentives for film in Oregon (proposed at 10 million dollars by out governor this year) are under attack considering the massive incentives that corporations get every year for the work they do. Now, a measure of such things would be how many are employed, how many benefit; all the same things one would think when it comes to investing in something. If you look at the movies and shows made in Oregon, compared to the incentives that have been given, and the returns on those, I think you will see that no one made a killing, but everyone benefited a lot better than the incentivised programs of Nike or Intel. You will also notice that the money spent on film making in Oregon were dollars spent in Oregon on Oregonians. Not overhead costs for upper level administrators while the manufactured parts were done elsewhere, namely over seas. Those dollars are spent here on people working here.
I am a rich, bloated, greedy film maker not because I get all the tax and lottery dollars and spend it on big cars, fast women, and swells apartments. It’s because I love what I do, and from that I hope I do it well. It is the richest think I have ever had or done in my life. No amount of money ever made up for the fact that I do what I love in life.
I am now ready to cash your checks.
[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.
Posted on October 9, 2010 by Harold Phillips
It’s Saturday, which means it’s time for our weekly look at some of the news about film incentive programs around the country. Now, you know the focus of this site is Oregon’s film and TV industry, and its effect on the state’s economy. It’s important to keep an eye on trends nationwide, though. The film and TV industry is an interdependent organism; what happens around the country affects Oregon’s industry, and what happens in Oregon affects the rest of the country as well.
While each state’s incentive program is different, it’s important to see the “big picture” by keeping an eye on the choices other states have made – to learn from their successes and their mistakes.
So, with that…
As election day draws nearer, Michigan’s “best-in-the-nation” film incentive program is still the source of great controversy. On a newly launched monthly radio show devoted to that state’s industry supporters of the plan voiced their concern that Michigan’s new governor might eliminate the plan once he takes office, while current Governor Jennifer Granholm appeared on Friday to defend the incentives, saying that they’d always been focused on creating jobs and industry, not tax revenue.
A couple weeks ago, we mentioned a new partnership in Alaska between Evergreen Films and the Nana Development Corporation to expand Evergreen’s existing studio space in Anchorage and build a $1 billion production hub in that city. In a letter to corporation stake-holders, Nana’s board president explains the wisdom of this business partnership – worth reading for anyone seeking a development relationship of this sort!
Residents of Charleston, South Carolina are breathing a sigh of relief with news that Army Wives has confirmed it will return for its fifth season of production. The show had warned it would have to move production elsewhere if the state’s incentive program wasn’t renewed during the last legislative session.
Meanwhile, in Ohio, proponents of that state’s film incentive plan are seeing it begin to draw business to the Buckeye State – but central Ohio is being left out of the film boom. Backers are hoping to steer more productions to that area of the sate.
That’s not the case in Georgia, where that state has designated a series of counties as “Camera Ready” – a designation meant to draw filmmakers to rural areas of the Peach State. Coweta County is one such county, as is Hall County where the Dukes of Hazard shot over 20 years ago – which expects the designation to bring an increase in tourism dollars as well as production dollars.
Film Incentives are playing a major role in the Wisconsin governor’s race, as both major candidates for the governor’s mansion in Madison pledging to restore the state’s gutted incentive program if they’re elected. Meanwhile, Emmy award winning actor Tony Shaloub is stepping in and lobbying for an increase to the badger state’s incentive plan to allow him to make more films there, and new public service announcements featuring Shaloub and Susan Sarandon have begun running on local Wisconsin television channels.
Posted on October 8, 2010 by Harold Phillips
On October first The Oregon Media Production Association released its first ever “Legislative Candidate Report Card” to its members as part of their monthly newsletter, The Call Sheet. The report card was compiled by sending a questionnaire out to all candidates for the 2011 Legislature, and by examining incumbent candidates voting record on two important pieces bills in the 2009 legislature: Senate Bill 621, which raised the “cap” on rebates the Oregon Production Investment Fund could offer to qualified producers, and Senate Bill 863, which created the “indigenous OPIF” for Oregon-based filmmakers.
See what grade legislative candidates for YOUR district got on the OMPA’s Candidate Report Card
(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to download Acrobat Reader)
Don’t know which candidates are running in your district?
Find your incumbent State Representative and Senator (and your House and Senate Districts) by clicking here.
Next, find out who’s running against your Representative by clicking here, and find out who’s running against your Senator by clicking here.
As the heading on the Candidate Report Card points out, many of those running for office didn’t return the OMPA’s questionnaire – but that doesn’t mean those candidates don’t support Oregon’s film and TV industry. They may have simply not finished the questionnaire by the deadline to return it (some candidates get 7 questionnaires like this one each day!)
Take a look at the candidate report card, and take a moment to contact your legislative candidates today. If they received a high-grade on the report card, thank them for their support of the Oregon film and TV industry, and offer to support their campaign! Consider contributing a few bucks to the candidate’s campaign (remember, up to $50.00 of your political contributions can be deducted from your Oregon taxes) or offer to volunteer!
If the candidates for your House and Senate district got a grade of B or lower (or didn’t return the survey at all), they might need a little more education on what film and TV production does for the state. Contact them, and ask them what part the Oregon film and TV industry plays in their plans for our state’s economic recovery. Use the facts contained in Candidate Report Card to remind them that our industry employs thousands of people state-wide, and brings over $60 million into the state annually. Remember, though, not to be confrontational in your discussion – the point of efforts like these is to educate our future legislators about the industry so they’ll be able to make informed votes once they take office!
(And if you meet with your legislative candidate in person, make sure that our industry sticks in their mind by wearing an Oregon Film and TV Dollars T-Shirt or Cap!)
Finally, encourage all the candidates for your district to tell us how much they support our industry on the Share Your Story page, as Rep. Matt Wingard did! We want to give film and TV supporters a chance to meet the candidates who support our industry. We’re looking forward to having a long relationship with them in the coming session!