Received a nice note that two of our photos have been selected to show at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, Colorado for the month of July. I did have an inclination of what they were after as their show theme is consumption – something we’ve been toying with lately in our work. And one of the photos, the lush overhead shot titled THE DAY WE STOPPED, was awarded an Honorable Mention. Woot! The other photo selected was the wonderful chaotic mess titled ABSINTHE. Interestingly both projects have a short art/editorial film we produced in tandem with the photo shoot. ABSINTHE will in fact be playing at the 12th annual Artsfest Film Festival in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the end of this month.
Here are the two photos and films …
Click here for THE DAY WE STOPPED.
Click here for ABSINTHE.
As for the details … in both instances we used the Nikon D3X for the still capture with strobes and relighted for motion using the Red and daylight balance lighting (HMIs, kinos, etc.). Absinthe was shot overcranked 60fps for 24fps.
Had a great brunch with Colton Lawrence the other morning. He directed THE SEX MOVIE that I cut for him a couple of years back. He’s down in LA looking to put together his next film, either a follow up to the aforementioned or a angst-ridden love triangle. Either way, he does have a way with words.
One thing is clear with Colton … he really understands the business of film making. He keeps his stories tidy and therefore easy to produce. His last feature was shot in nine days with plenty of coverage. Now it wasn’t a visual feast, more of a roundtable discussion. But the story fit the means and there were a couple of places where you stepped into “private areas” to have discussions where a more traditional setup could occur.
Our meeting was timely as the launching pad for THE SEX MOVIE was certainly the premier at the Frameline Film Festival … where FIONA’S SCRIPT is showing in a couple of weeks. Hopefully Florencia will be able to turn the business end of things toward her favor. She reported during our coloring session yesterday that she has a new script in hand to accompany on her voyage (and handy tool for filmmakers). And the new color is way more mainstream. There’s still a story line that supports her evolution, but it’s not so much of a visual leap. Theory vs. reality.
Fiona’s Script is having it’s official SF Bay Area premier at the 33rd Frameline Film Festival. Prior to this it played down in LA at MethodFest (bonus for the acting team). Our screenings are on Saturday, June 20th at 6:15pm at the Roxie in SF and on Monday, June 22nd at 7pm at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley. There’s drinks at Lexington Club on 19th @ Valencia in SF (I’m assuming after). I have yet to see it large (although I know from past experiences that the Roxie isn’t the best quality screening environment). Looks like they’re screening digibeta so that should help.
Florencia wants to revisit the color story a little. It has a pretty bold statement in it that we had talked about from the get go. But it seems (as happens) that the story has evolved for her in the process and requires more finesse. This will indeed be made easier with our recent hardware upgrades in the editorial department. A little more horsepower to help handle the Red material in realtime.
SIDE NOTE: I had written a post on this before (while I was waiting for my Duc to be fixed up), but it has been lost to the ethers of technology not working together.
Thursday saw Mark and I (and a tiny entourage) head down to the Santa Cruz Film Festival for our screening of DIF. This has been an interesting time to feel the impressions of the environment (read economy et. al). This was the first public viewing of the final version of the film. The latest updates include the indictment for al Bashir and his repercussions. This version is also being pressed to DVD shortly by DER and is available to order on our DER Page.
Mark and I cruised over and grabbed a burger at SC haunt Jacks … an experience in itself, but certainly not the burger that I was looking for. Not that it was bad, but it’s a beach burger, a slider, and I was after the thick and juicy type. Next time …
The festival staff was quite gracious and very interested in seeing our future work. It’s nice when people genuinely engage with you on that level after seeing your film. On the festival circuit, there are so many films that it is hard to make inroads. It seems you have to first make an impression (either personally or via a PR machine) before someone will schedule you in. The response after you’re afforded such an opportunity I find a good barometer for the merits of your film. You always have to weigh that in context of the viewer and situation, but it’s certainly informative.
Mark has been busy continuing to share the film and his experiences with groups and schools across the country. And coming up on May 14th at 2pm the film will screen as part of the Santa Cruz Film Festival at the Regal Cinema. Unfortunately Mark will be in Brazil speaking on a panel supporting our communication efforts. I’ll be in attendance and will be happy to answer any questions about the film and related topics. If you’re in the neighborhood and haven’t seen the film, this is a great opportunity to catch the latest version just updated with the information about al-Bashir’s arrest warrant. I hope to see you there and please introduce yourself. I’ll be sure to stick around if the festival has to boot us out before all questions are addressed.
In other news, we’re checking out the proof copy of the DVD for the release through DER. They’re starting to put the page up to make it available. We’ll let you know when it is live and ready. Please pass the word along to your family and friends and have them share the film with people they know. We’ll make it available through our website and Facebook page where you can become a fan and receive other updates.
On the heels of finishing up the color correction comes word that the feature I shot in August Fiona’s Script will be playing at Method Fest in LA on Saturday, March 28, 2009 9:00pm – 11:00 pm at the Founders Hall, Calabasas Civic Center. Triple bonus is that it will screen in HDCam which should make for a great transfer from the Red footage. The look was quite dialed in during color correction to accentuate the different story spaces in the film and highlight Fiona’s transformation of self.
If you’re in the LA area check it out. I know the director and a number of Actors will be there. Not sure if I can break away to catch it, but I’m sure it will be fun.
So it was cool to jet off at the last second and catch some films and rub elbows in Park City. I didn’t see as much as I would have liked, but I did feel like I was able to chat with a good amount of people. I was surprised at how many people I ran into from the Bay Area … and I know there were a ton more hanging around.
One of the best parts of the trip was seeing Cory MacAbee’s new series Stingray Sam. His team always pulls together quite the show. And the craft with which they do their job is always worthy of admiration. Pulling off a stylized cowboy space musical is already a significant task … but to do it with style, humor and a message takes talent. I look forward to sharing it when it comes out.
Cory at Stingray Sam Q&A
Mark, Ryan and I had a good time talking cinema with old and new friends. Probably more so as Sundance was a veritable ghost town … with most who could travel at the inauguration (as Ozi would say “Go-Bama!”) and the rest stuck at home suffering the economy. So there was no pushing through crowds (although most films were still sold out) and just a smattering of party boys and girls.
The word from the PCFMF was our film did well and the festival staff felt they the film really informed them to what was going on. Unfortunately none of us were there to usher it or field any questions from the audience. But at the least we were heard.
Mark and Jason on Main St.
I was happy to be able to go as a number of friends had films there this year. Running into them and supporting their experiences gave a good insight to the festival. I’m understanding more and more (and this is more true as the landscape evolves) that while film festivals are not the critical point for a film, they are important things to participate in and can help push a film along. It’s a combination of the invitation to participate and the potential collaboration with fellow filmmakers that is a real value. The chance to poke our heads out of the cave and see those who do what we do so that we might do it on a grander scale. And at least when I broke my Sundance cherry, she was (relatively) gentle.
Just heard yesterday that THEY TURNED OUR DESERT INTO FIRE is playing at the Park City Music Festival. Unfortunately, it screened this evening a couple of hours ago … I was able to get some word out via FB and an email blast, but it would have been nice to have been there to support the film.
So that’s why I’m sitting here, putting plane tickets on hold. I got a call from Ryan Harper (who directed Circulation) that there was a bed in a condo with my name on it if I wanted … cheap. And I just got off the phone with Josh Lind of the Dandy Dwarves who is en route to support their short at Sundance. And Mark Brecke is available to go out there with me. And Mark’s bud Cory McAbee will be there premiering his new work at Sundance.
It’s looking a lot like I’ll be freezing my butt off starting Sunday night.
I was finally able to join Mark and Vivek Maddala in Los Angeles on Sunday during the 5th Artivist Film Festival. It was nice that my first time at the Egyptian Theater that they were playing our film. Unfortunately I missed the screening which went quite well … packed house, a lot of great comments, and the film made a great impression on the audience. And since it was our LA premier, a lot of the people who worked on in who live down there were finally able to see the finished version on the big screen.
Mark at Artivist
Our red-carpet duo turned trio with the wonderful addition of Vivek who turned in a powerful score for the film. We were finally able to recognize him in person on camera and truly involve him in the festival process. He did a great job hammering home his involvement, touching on the important aspects of the film and handing off to the next guy. Who could ask for anything more.
Vivek and Jason on the red carpet at Artivist FF
It seems Artivist has been good to get our film in front of some of the right people. We had a couple of requests for screeners from other festivals and reps. More news on that as it develops.
The word came to us a little while ago but now we can make it official. They Turned Our Desert Into Fire won the award for Best Feature Human Rights at the Artivist Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Our screening is next Friday Oct. 3rd at 8pm at the Egyptian. The awards ceremony is Sunday evening. This will be a good introduction for the film to LA. And a great way for us to say thanks to all of those who helped contribute to the film who live down there.
Hopefully this will also help with our cause to get it on TV. Time will tell.
