07.30.07
Posted in Art, Life at 10:10 am by Fletcher
I just recently completed, and handed off, the painting for Sara’s wedding. Mike came into town to work with Puma on the place settings for the reception and when he headed home, I walked the painting to his truck, threw it in back and thanked him for delivering it, as I would not have the opportunity to do so myself.
And now there is an empty space on my wall.
It taunts me.
I look at it and wonder.
Like a demanding child, talent screams for attention. Like a hyperactive puppy, it bounces around constantly, wanting beyond anything else, to be taken out for a walk - to run rampant, to play and explore.
And it won’t be silent. Like Doyle pointed out, Sherlock Holmes’ massive intellect would not sit idly, and the only way the great detective could get any R&R would be to drug it into submission. To beat it down with such a blunt instrument that it retreats for a few blissful moments of quiet.
I have no Seven Percent Solution. I can only be distracted by my wanderings of the city streets, earbuds blasting music as I roam about in the bustle of commerce and tourism.
And still - it’s there, whispering in the back of my mind. That rusty dumpster would make a great texture map, that building would make a great painting, that sullen hipster girl with the fake distressed jeans would be a good portrait…
I think of many projects on my list, things started and set aside, networking, waiting on others to get their part of a team effort done so I can do my part. There are the same number of hours in the day that Monet had, that Dali had… Time to let the fussy child win.
Get back to work.
Permalink
07.24.07
Posted in Film at 8:39 pm by Fletcher
The Director came over for more edits, shaving off frames here and there - tweaking snippets of dialogue and fine tuning this into a masterpiece…
We also did some massive reworking of the credits - trying to squeeze everyone in (from both shoots) and thanking various members of the community, whom we bothered twice, as well as adding additional information for those who’ll see the film and be inspired to help those in need.
It goes without saying that I felt an additional surge of pride when I saw my name listed as an Associate Producer…
Permalink
07.20.07
Posted in Life, Film at 10:31 am by Fletcher
I was thinking about this quote from Teddy Roosevelt:
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
Chris, my longest standing friend in the world, turned me onto that quote years ago, and it fits perfectly about what I’m doing with my life and the direction it seems to be heading…
In the past 3 days, I have spent a little over 24 hours with The Director, on what has proven to be some of the hottest, most humid days of the year, editing ‘Sovereignty’. We just kept cranking out from late afternoon to the wee hours of the morning. And sat back last night and watched the first rough edit.
(In my attempts to be a better person, I’ve been trying to temper my foul mouth, thinking that one can express oneself far more eloquently without using expletives. Not this time.)
Un-FUCKING-Believable.
The look, the acting, the pacing - it all fell together into a juggernaut - this film is going to make people roll on the floor laughing and bawl their eyes out - all in the span of twenty minutes.
And this is just a rough cut. No sound effects, no soundtrack, more editing to be done, the opening and the final credits aren’t even done yet. And still, its one of the most amazing things I’ve ever been a part of. I was telling this to Shannon the Baker the other day, of everything I’ve done as a creative person, I’m most proud to have my name attached to this one particular piece.
I was burning the rough cut to DVD, and rendering out a Quicktime move to send to the composer, when I got an email from The Director:
“Thanks again for everything. I cannot thank you
enough. You are invaluable and I am in your debt.”
No Sir. I am indebted to you. For inviting me on this journey. For pushing my abilities and my talents far beyond anything I had previously thought possible, for perhaps some of the greatest triumphs (and tragedies) I’ve ever experienced. Nothing has come close. For showing me the path that I’m on, and having the time of my life being on.
Re-read that Roosevelt quote; we’re about to win a very glorious triumph.
Permalink
07.17.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:50 am by Fletcher
“Duplex” - written by Scott Brooks, Directed by Sam Viverito, playing at the Jewel Box Theater - 312 W. 36th St, 4th floor.
I had originally wanted to put a different quote from the play as this reviews headline, one a lot funnier, perhaps way more offensive and one revolving around rohypnol and cheerleaders. That is Mr. Brooks style - a verbal slap to the head that stings and makes you laugh at the same time.
He has taken the old ‘film-noir’ classic and given it a modern flavor, centered around a murder, diamonds, double crosses and that Maltese Falcon of current day NYC: Real Estate. This combined with his flair for snappy dialogue, delivered at a blistering pace made for an engrossing tale that ran its hour and a half and was over before I blinked.
Mr. Brooks crafts his characters carefully, revealing motivations for each as the scenes unfold, in a setting so intimate one feels a part of the drama, but never feeling overwhelmed by the constant twists and turns the narrative takes. I was particularly taken with the performances John DiBenedetto as Segio and Benim Foster in dual roles as Abe and Larry - both played classic New Yorker stereotypes to the hilt, to the point of believing that one could run into these characters on the street.
Aside from one or two technical glitches, the opening night went off without a hitch - and aside from one or two plot questions, Mr. Brooks has written a sharp, funny piece of theater that will keep you guessing until the last minute.
http://www.duplextheplay.com/
Permalink
07.16.07
Posted in Art, Film at 8:53 am by Fletcher
Tried a new Wordpress plugin to play videos - which doesn’t seem to want to work properly, so a few other tidbits…
I mentioned that I had finished Sara’s painting but neglected to post a pic of it, so here you go:
Also, straight off the presses, a new Obama Girl video is out.
And since it didn’t work - a direct link to the video I was trying to post:
2 minutes of blood in 20 seconds.
Permalink
07.15.07
Posted in Art, Film at 6:43 pm by Fletcher
Have been editing my eyeballs out - capturing, logging and trimming video. Have 5 hours worth of tape to sort through and its no easy task when the temperature has been hovering around ninety. I have to get release form signed before I can start posting clips, but rest assured, you will be seeing blood soon. It looks like we’ll be doing a wrap party soon…
BUT - I just got promoted. I hung out with The Director, and I’ve seen some of the digi-beta tapes - it looks just awesome. I saw how the blood will look when Heather delivers her monologue and my jaw hit the floor. I really looks like it was a 1950’s TV show that we just happened to go back in time and filmed. As I was talking about this with The Director, chatting about what is next for ‘Sovereignty’, I brought up the final credits, which I have waiting in the wings, I just need a finalized list of who goes where and gets which title.
He told me I should list myself as an Associate Producer.
He cited reasons from having worked both shoots, having had my hand in just about every department, and having been there, through thick and thing, since the very beginning. I have never been so honored. Which also means that I’m bumped way up the list, about fifth or sixth name down the line on the credits.
Freakin’ awesome.
I also managed to squeeze in enough time to finish the painting for Sara, I just have to get it to her, or her family in time for the wedding - and to document it with some high quality stills so I can put it on DeviantArt and sell it…
Next up is Ninjascott’s play Duplex. The premiere is tomorrow night and I promised him that I’d review it here on the ol’ Fletcher blog, to tune in on Tuesday for my impressions. The man is a genius wordsmith, so I won’t accept anything but absolute brilliance. You can read about it, and buy tickets here.
Permalink
07.13.07
Posted in Film at 10:07 am by Fletcher
Our morning was a series of dolly shots, starting with a long establishing shot of the neighborhood. I was press-ganged into deforesting a section of scrub brush for branches and leaves to cover someones SUV, left oh so conveniently in the middle of our scene.
Along with Lydia, we poked tree branches into the roof rack and gaff taped leaves all over the thing until you could have driven it through the woods and remained hidden… I would have laughed my ass off if the owner showed up during the take…
For some reason, the wasps weren’t out in force and the rest of the shots went smoothly - I was on edge, prepping for the big finale; making a delivery system out of foil turkey trays and water bottles, aided by Shannon, who came up with a great deal of ‘MacGuyver-ing’ ideas herself…
When lunch was over, the crew got the dolly ready for the last shot, I went over the plan with Mike, owner of the house and now my partner in the bloodletting, warning him about how slippery this stuff got, once it spilled. We had radios on this shoot, as opposed to the last time, where The Director called my cell phone and gave directions over Sprint’s wireless network… So, we got in our ready positions, and waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
There was a loud banging on the garage door, The Director asking why we didn’t start pouring - the radios didn’t work. Mike and I didn’t hear a thing. One shot wasted.
We reset and got into our positions again. This time I heard the command for blood and we started pouring. Only to hear ‘Cut!’ a mere 5 seconds later. There was a plane overhead screwing up the audio. Reset again.
This time, Lydia was sent in with her phone and, as they say: Third time’s a charm. We managed to get a take in, much to everyone’s relief, especially my own. Once we got it down, we did take after take, working our way through 24 gallons of fake blood until we were down to a bucket of runoff and pouring remnants from used containers into half used ones. We had 4 gallons left.
We couldn’t do a proper take, so, in order to use what we had and to get an extra shot in, The Director had Heather stand in front of the garage, waving, blowing kisses and showing off for the camera.
The Director called cut and pronounced the shoot was a wrap, we all applauded and gathered in front of the garage door for a cast and crew photo, feeling much relief as it was over. Time to clean up - my only regret was that I had delivered my best movie quote and no one caught it: The Director had banged on the garage door, asking if we were out of blood and could clean up, and I had replied with, ‘You’re all clear kid, now lets blow this thing and go home!’ - but he had already walked away…Post clean up and a whole stack of pizza later, we had gathered out on the back deck, The Director and Heather thanking us all for the time and effort, especially for those of us who had been through this twice, to the new members of our little film community, and the announcement that the first festival that this film is slated for is Sundance. We all shared champagne and high-fives, hugs and jokes - piling into the passenger van feeling tired but proud to have been a part of this, a warm full moon watching over us as we made our back to the city…
Permalink
07.11.07
Posted in Film at 12:32 pm by Fletcher
We had the pleasure of little John D. on the set - an energetic ten-year-old, who surprisingly when not in front of a camera, is just an outgoing, fun kid. We were setting up to film his scenes, where his character would run into our two leading ladies, spilling their gift of chocolates all over the sidewalk.
Over my morning coffee, I watched as The Director was distressing the kid’s costume in our host’s flower garden, using a sanding block and raw dirt to beat up and age a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. We joked how everyone on set had multiple jobs and wore many hats.
As we were setting up for the first shot of the day, the whole crew noticed a fair number of wasps milling about - many theories abounded, including that they were drawn to the sunblock the crew was using. They weren’t swarming, but everyone was ducking or flat out running away from them any time one got too close.
The shot involved little John running up to the actresses, spilling the candy and running away again. On one of the takes, John went down, holding his foot - he was stung. The Director rushed over, picked him up and carried the little guy inside - I couldn’t help but think that one day he’ll be a great dad.
Inside the triage area, Gene broke out a med-kit that he carries with him - if I’m the MacGuyver gut on set, Gene is a freakin’ Jedi master. After applying salves and ice, and generally fussing over the patient, John returned to the set, limping a bit - to the applause of the crew, who were all impressed with his toughness and ‘the show must go on’ attitude…
After he wrapped his scenes, John found my video camera and took it upon himself to start filming the set, providing his own commentary. After watching the footage - I realized that the kid was pretty good, describing people’s jobs on set, making mention of who was responsible for what, and even took the time to bake a huge cookie cake for the crew, taking pride in his handiwork.
Funny, he made me realize that not all kids are sullen little monsters, and seeing him act, this guy is destined for great things. He left with his mom shortly after lunch and took the time to say goodbye to each and every person, a born charmer…
After he left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as we could all swear freely now…
Permalink
07.09.07
Posted in Film at 8:32 pm by Fletcher
As per usual, it was an early start, mercifully we had an industrial sized coffee pot, bubbling away with liquid nourishment. The Director set out to create the infamous tulip garden, I was busy filming him planting fake flowers with abandon.
During this, the crew van pulled up, Ninjascott jumping out and harassing the passengers stuck in the back seat, I ran over to greet capt. Ron, Gene and the rest of the crew, busy unloading tons of personal effects and gear. As the actors were occupied with makeup and hair, the crew busied themselves with setting up the camera and reflectors for the first shot of the day.
As I walked around with video camera in hand, I happened upon the still photographer, who was busy shooting Capt. Ron as he took a light reading, standing next to Ninjascott, who remarked, “You’re shooting her, who is shooting him, who is shooting the light - the only camera that isn’t running is the one shooting the movie, I’d just like to point that out…”
When Heather walked out onto set, decked out in the 50’s dress that the role required, I felt a wave of nostalgia - memories of the last time we were here, and how much of an awesome effort it took everyone to come back. We were doing this, again, and our efforts would finally yield the film we wanted. After a couple of false starts - we had our first shot done and got into the groove, filming take after take, Sandra and Heather in top form.
We also had Matt on the set, as Mr. Runihura - a menacing, calculating character, who, when not acting, is the nicest guy in the world, but when he’s ‘on’ - you feel like you should cross the street. He played his role with style, popping several balloons for each take with a protractor, storming off camera bellowing ‘Where are you, you little shit!’ - loud enough for the neighbors to cower indoors for most of the day.
I was pleasantly surprised when my fellow videographer, Shannon, had filmed his ADR lines, as he went ballistic - pounding on the sofa and flying into a blind rage (his lines for when his character is beating his kid) and for a brief moment, it looked like he might start turning a shade of green and Hulking out. I’ll have video shortly, I just gotta get him to sign a release form.
There really is no way to describe the energy on set, surrounded by creative people, truly talented individuals with a passion to team together for a greater purpose. The humor and camaraderie that flow from being on ones feet for 12 hours straight, carrying heavy equipment and standing around in the sweltering heat can only create friendships akin to those found on campaign trails. Or foxholes…
Permalink
07.08.07
Posted in Film at 8:51 am by Fletcher
It was sweltering in the city, the humidity up in the ‘breathe and you’ll sweat’ range - and it was a last minute mad dash to make the train, dodging tourists and 9 to 5′ers with overnight bag and video camera in tow.
The train ride out to CT was quick, quiet, and best of all - air conditioned. The Director and our host, Mike met a small group of us at the station, the mood light, and strangely familiar - as if we had done this before…
We arrived on set, meeting the hair and makeup team - the ever sweet Lisa, the foul-mouthed Michelle and our newest team member, Omar. Heather was already getting spackled up, hair subjected to a shellacking process designed to survive a nuclear blast. The team gathered around the table, chowing down on Chinese food and catching up with each other, toasts and speeches were made, warm and fuzzy feelings around…
All right - time for boy stuff, I retreated to the garage, laying down a tarp and breaking out the first of 24 gallons of corn syrup to begin the blood making process, while being interviewed and videotaped - a process that I get unusually shy over. The Director joined me for a bit, and we deja-vued over the syrup, corn starch and food coloring, crew members making jokes about how uncannily similar the whole process seemed. Next thing I knew it was done, all the gallons capped to ferment for 2 days, and time for bed and an early start…
Permalink
« Previous entries ·
