But Content DOES count

My last blog-diatribe got a lot of grumbling under the hood. There was some speculating that I was targeting specific people with my rant, which I should make clear, I wasn't. I was targeting a type of person that has been driving me crazy. If there were any targets, there were several magazines I had in mind. Magazines tend to, by necessity, overblow things and package them to make them seem more important than they are. Heck, it is the duty of a magazine to be a marketing tool. However, I will admit there was one 'zine in particular of which I was thinking. I am not guilt free. Once upon a time this magazine was great. I still have a subscription to it. However, in recent years, with the purchasing of it by larger, less caring entities, it (and even worse, its online version) have gone to a ridiculous "why everything you know is wrong, and why we can tell you what is right" and the top ten reasons these things are hot" tabloid silliness. Even more annoying, the online version of it has largely become a series of RSS feeds masquerading as original material. Blech. I'm tired of websites that do nothing more than aggregate and gather other people's content.

Again I will not mention a name – and likely cause even more conjecture as people try to guess which magazine I've soured on.

The other side of the grumbling and commenting came from people arguing that marketing is something that many artists and creators don't get, and that it is important beyond what they realize.

Yes, of course marketing is important. I could easily play devils advocate and argue it as being the most important aspect of entertainment. And it depends with whom I am discussing this. Neophytes just getting their first baby out there generally don't know how to promote something. For those people, lessons in marketing, showing the trickery of the sales magicians, is important. So, I need to make clear that I was really talking about pretty large Hollywood product and savvy low-budget filmmakers and distributors who are imitating the marketing style of these larger entities – and in both cases – with nothing behind the marketing. I was talking about marketing that exceeds the budget (in terms of money AND time spent) of the actual product.

Let me complain a bit more about something else:

Style over substance. Last night I saw a series of short films. Most were mediocre, a couple stood out as above-average. What really drove me up a wall (and this is a common "Hollywood" issue) were the movies that had the gloss of a high end movie – all the production and post production value – but without a decent story. It's really a pity when a movie looks and sounds fantastic, but is lacking in story. Huh, I just described half of what comes to the big screen, didn't I?
Oh well. No one ever said that making movies was easy. It's a long series of hurdles and there are so many ways to fail.

I guess something to be remembered by all "civilians" that read this blog too; no one, no independent filmmaker, no studio, makes a movie with the intention of it being a piece of junk. Everybody hopes the movie they are making will be decent.

Tonight – Birthday bash in the Hollywood Hills.

Next blog entry – pictures of the bash.

Content Counts

A few days ago, I started a blog entry that remained nothing more than a draft. I have bunches of them; orphans with tidbits of ideas, incomplete ranting, too personal thoughts, etc.

This to-never-be-published entry was about marketing and networking of self vs. production of actual quality material.

The crux of the thought was how I see a lot of filmmakers, writers, musicians, etc. lamenting how they can't make it in the business. How, somehow, they are being held down by the powers that be. Because of this, they have taken distribution and exhibition, recording, productions, etc. into their own hands and now – if only they yell loudly and plainly and long enough, people will hear and see them for the great undiscovered artists they are.

To which I call Bullshit.

I have a right to call bullshit too. I've made some good stuff, but I've also made less-than stellar work. I know what it's like to try to wrap something up in enough fresh, shiny paper to try to fool people. Hey, it's the nature of all show business. This is not something that is unique to "indie-(fill in the blank)". I know, more than most, the importance of marketing. I know that with all the noise out there, it is important to delineate oneself. I know that without a horn tooting your greatness, you may go nowhere.

BUT… a lot of people produce a mediocre (or less) product and then spend the next couple years trying to convince people (themselves included) that they've made something good. It's the basis for a lot of time wasting seminars, festivals, websites, alternative distribution approaches, etc. The simple fact is, It's the product that counts. If it's good, not a lot of promotion or marketing is needed. It WILL be found.

And here… to make a point of what I have just written is Emily Elbert. I saw a simple youtube clip, nothing more. No fancy flashing lights and bells. Nothing claiming to be the next coming of an Internet god or some high-tech (WHATEVER). No "DIY Innovative, I am writing a book about how I'm doing this cool thing online, our band will be the first to perform while free-falling from low earth orbit, I'm using Myspace and facebook to.... blah blah blah."

Just a girl and her guitar in front of a locked down camera. It was enough to put a huge smile on my face and make me seek out more. I predict big things from her.

Another example of content counting….

I will say that I haven't seen the movie. It could suck. Based on this trailer though, I think it will, at worst, be a very pleasant romantic flick. Or it could be a great movie.

The point is that there is but one difference between this movie and 7000 other zero budget indie flicks.

The difference is… it's GOOD.

This may all sound like a curmudgeonly attitude, but I really want to make clear, in this amazing day and age of youtube, etc. - this is great news. It's a better time than ever to be that little artist with the huge talent. After all, it is because of the Internet that I am now aware of Emily Elbert from Boston; same goes for Alex Holdridge and his movie.

Bottom line, don't worry so much about how you're going to get found amongst all the other stuff. Just worry if what you're doing is good enough to get found.

That's what I'm doing.

Moviemaker Article – on newsstands now

Brief heads up for you filmmakers: an article I wrote about 3D Previsualization is in the current issue of Moviemaker magazine.

This, for anyone following the saga – is not the article that has given me such grief over the last several months. This is a fun tech-geek article about some awesome software I use called Antics3d.

I am living the dream

I'm at the end of a fifteen hour marathon of writing and have nearly finished a draft of "the article". It's close enough that I've sent it to a friend to read. I need a sympathetic soul to give me notes before I send it to the editor. I know parts of it are still a mess but I'm hoping my friend doesn't think it's too far off the mark. Tomorrow, I intend to (must) finish it and then, with a quick nod to the 'approval gods', send it to the editor—who is one tough cookie...but very good. I had been concerned about hitting the word mark for which I was contracted, but I'm about a thousand over-and still adding. Funny how that happens…

So why the heck am I writing a blog entry after a marathon day of "jobber writing?" Because this afternoon at 1:21 (I know this because I noted it), I had 'one of those moments' and I felt I just had to share. We're lucky if we realize these moments as they're happening, rather than long afterwards. In fact, I think it's incredibly rare to realize them in real time.

It was a moment of complete and utter happiness.

Sounds corny, I know, but think about it: How often do you feel completely and utterly happy in an ordinary day, doing an ordinary thing?
For myself, I've generally thought back on times… days, weeks, even entire years, and realized, "those were good. I was happy." Or—"those times were miserable."

Obviously, you realize you're happy when you have a FULLY OVERLOADED MOMENT OF ULTRA HAPPINESS!!!; seeing a loved one you haven't seen in a long time, a holiday or a vacation to a strange and wondrous land. What I'm talking about is absolute happiness while doing a very average thing on a very average day. If you do experience this frequently, you are very lucky.

So…my moment of complete and utter happiness that happened at 1:21pm: As I was walking back to my desk with a fresh cup of coffee, to sit down in front of my computer and continue writing, it struck me fully that… It was a beautiful day, the coffee smelled incredible and I was about to sit down in front of my computer to continue writing! There you have it—an average moment in an average day of my life. I wasn't being paid a million dollars to scribe a blockbuster. I wasn't having an incredibly inspired jag of writing, nothing out of the ordinary. But I had a moment of absolute 'thrill'. For that instant, I felt… "YES!"

Silly? Well, okay.

Keep in mind that I write constantly. It can be drudgery and it can feel incredibly unfulfilling. That's why I reveled in that moment; savored it and now, share it.

I think happiness is kind of like being healthy. You don't really think about it until something hurts or you don't feel well. It was nice that it occurred to me that I felt good, that I was happy.

I suppose life is a series of these moments interspersed with all sorts of other moments. You hop and skip from one to the next, hopefully not getting stuck on a bad one for too long. I think a lot of us (at least I speak for myself) are so busy hopping that we don't have a chance to experience the minor moments in real time.

There you have it.

Perhaps I'm just loopy from having been in front of this computer all day, every day for the last month on this one story. But I did have that moment.

Budgeting and Scheduling

I've spent the last week working on a script breakdown of The Diamond Chasers and now I'm creating and fine tuning an actual budget. I'm also gearing up to rewrite the script based on notes I'm awaiting. All of which mean, I suppose I'm in pre-production. It's a tenuous time because – ah heck, it's filmmaking -- the whole nature of the animal is tenuous. Anyway, budgeting this movie is daunting. Unlike The Last Broadcast, which I basically made out of pocket, and Ghosts of Edendale which was made with plastic and foreign promises, The Diamond Chasers is quite a bit bigger. So, of course, the much larger pile of money that will be spent is partially dependent upon the actors, who are partially dependent upon any number of things, including which way the wind blows.

The budget being bandied about is also quite modest – not really 'action movie' money. It means that I'll have to pull in the belt and think very creatively. So be it, I'm certainly one of the most qualified directors ever for that job.

Anyway, there is something mildly exciting about this point because it is forward motion to the project. For the moment, I better not detail any more lest I thoroughly jinx things. I'll just put it this way -- Outlook is hopeful. Hey, I even had new business cards made. That may not seem important except that I've never made a movie specific business card unless the movie was relatively close to rolling…

Hopefully The Diamond Chasers will follow in that tradition. It's a project that has been around in one way or another for many years. It's high time to get the thing into the air.

Anyone have a good price for a 48''x30' rubber belt conveyor? Preferably located in the Midwest?

WGA – Will they, won’t they? And where’s my damn money?

Fall – the weather is beautiful as is to be expected in Southern California. For the moment, I'm listening to Bach, sitting under the pergola with the laptop. A picture perfect moment.

While that sounds like a nice respite, it is in fact, incredibly inconvenient; a moment created because the internet is not working. I'm on a silly deadline to write something (a favor for a friend) that is due within a few days and has not yet been started. I'm expecting to do a few interviews for which information may or may not be awaiting; won't know till the internet comes back. Can't make a phone call on my landline cause it's voip. It's frightening how much I've come to rely on that umbilical cord. I suppose I could go to a local coffee shop with my cell phone and computer -- but that's simply uncivilized.

Onto Real issues that might actually interest someone:

The WGA has just re-elected the same board as before. A couple changes, but not many. I don't really have much thought on that, so I'll keep quiet. However, shortly after the elections, the WGA put a vote to its members – a permission to strike vote. That takes this town one step closer to the mess that always arises from strikes. The arguments for and against the vote are all with merit. Those that want a "YES" say that giving the board the power to initiate a strike will give them leverage; that a NO would show weakness in the face of negotiations with the thugs that are the AMPTP (studios). Those in favor of "NO" argue that the board is a bunch of trigger happy non-writers, not overly concerned with general rank and file. Both sides are right. And in this era of stupid wars wrought by stupid presidents, we don't have to look far to see the consequences of giving people power to wage battle.

At this point in time, everybody – the studios, the Guild – are making crazy demands of each other. Where it ends is anyone's guess at this point. My gut tells me there will not be a strike. How much more than that, I don't know. My feeling is that, given the success of the last strike (not very) and the way television has moved toward 'unscripted' shows, a strike would be a real tough nut for the writers. It's not made any easier by the fact that the studios are entities within multi-conglomerates. A strike against Sony or Warner or the like is not going to kill them. Sony makes computers and a bazillion other things. Warner basically owns the world (my non-working internet is via Time-Warner). Unfortunately, I fear that these days, the studios can weather a strike much more ably than the writers. If it were up to me, I'd try to convince writers, directors and actors to give the finger to the studios and start their own damn studios. Okay, so I'm still a bit of a dreamer.

In other Guild-related news … I got another foreign levies check from the DGA. This surprised me greatly as I expected the first one to be a one-off. It's not as if they are still playing my first feature on German television… are they? More interesting is the fact that that thus far, the WGA has not come close to equaling the amount the DGA has written. The amount apportioned both guilds is supposedly the same – so somewhere, someone isn't doing their job properly. Doing the job properly of course is assuming that one agrees that it is their job in the first place.

Which really, it's not. They just 'volunteered' for the job.

And along the lines of that thought – a director friend of mine, alerted by yours truly to the whole concept of foreign levies, discovered that he is owed "under fifty dollars" in foreign levies by the DGA. However, he was told that they are holding on to this levies money because it's their policy not to write checks to people for amounts of less than fifty bucks.
How very nice.

I love it when someone says "it's our policy…" This guild is holding on to money that doesn't belong to them because they have "a policy?" I wonder how many 'less than fifty dollar amounts' they are holding onto? Actually, I don't wonder – I know. MILLIONS… by their very admisson!
Earning interest.
Which they keep.

Keep in mind, the guild was never authorized by my friend to collect his money. The guild is not responsible for having 'created' his money. It's money that was collected by overseas entities. The guild just took, I mean, collected it. Now they have a policy not to give it to him? What if (and this is more likely than not) his movie never makes another dime? Do they keep the fifty indefinitely?

Hmmm. I could have a policy to beat up people that happen to pass by my house. Doesn't make it legal.

That's show biz, folks.

Oh, and with that, my internet seems to have come back.

I'll try to get a few more blog entries written before I go to Russia. Oh yeah – I'm going to Russia!

Rendering…

The Pre-viz is finished!

Well, it still has a few more things to be done. I'm going to replace a voice and trim two shots, but basically it's finished; Finished enough that I'm able to start thinking about other things.

Though this is an industry tool – I'm putting it online for your viewing pleasure. I don't know how long it will remain online, but I see no harm in doing so now.

Currently the file is rendering. My laptop is running at a toasty 75 degrees Celsius and the processor is at full bore – almost literally cooking through the file.

This project has been fun but it's also been a lot of work. It took about two months of ten-to-fourteen hour days to do the ten minutes that you can see – which included learning, improving, and honing my skills with the software itself. The details are what really take the time in these projects. Anyone who has done 3D work will know what I mean. A basic move or virtual world might not take too long to build, provided you know what you're doing -- but getting things to go juuust right… That's the time suck.

Every camera move, every person, every virtual inch of the set – the world – is created. If you re-direct an 'actor' to go somewhere a little more quickly, it means that every camera following his/her/its action has to also be adjusted. And so on with every aspect of the world.

23 minutes left of render time…

I could go on describing the difficulties, but that's not the point.

So what is the intention of this pre-viz? The screenplay for Diamond Chasers is getting very good reviews. That's great, but that's certainly no end game. It's just a start. As it "goes out" into the world, I'm giving it an extra push with these ten minutes. There will be other elements to demo it in addition to what you'll see.

This ten minutes of this pre-vis represent pages 20-30 of the screenplay: The ACT 1 break.

Here are the actual pages from the script. You might have fun comparing them to the actual pre-viz.

The pre-viz not only visualizes the pages, but also visualizes them in the way I would do it; so it's also a demo of my directing style… this is pretty much the way I see these pages (as live action, of course) If you like it, it not only means you'd like the movie as a screenplay, it means my native directing style would be to your liking.

12 minutes left of render time…

When working in the 3D world, it's very easy to do camera moves that would be absolutely impossible to do in real life. The WOW factor might be very high but that's not really the point. It's not supposed to remind you of a video game, it's supposed to be like a live action movie. It was "directed" as a live action piece. This means that I didn't really use the conventions that an animated piece might use to accentuate character emotion. Take this into account when you watch the characters faces – these will eventually be live people, grimacing, gaping, wondering, screaming…

The HOW of it all

Except for two shots – the shots of fuel gauges, this pre-viz was done with ANTICS 3D. The fuel gauge shots were done in After Effects. Any custom set stuff was either done in Photoshop (when 2d) or exported from 3D MAX (which I don't know how to use past making extremely simple models based on unaltered primitives)

4 minutes left of render time… Done… 9 minutes to upload…

And now – here it is…

Diamond Chasers

After viewing, hit the Back button on your browser to return to this blog.

Still grinding the stone with my nose

Just a quick note to let people know I'm actually alive. I'm still in full 3D mode on the pre-viz, but the light at the end of the tunnel has gotten pretty bright. I'm (I believe) about a day away from being done with the visuals; and then I can move on to sound, blessed sound. My friend, mathboy pointed out that this would represent ten percent of the movie. Quite a bit of screen time for such a relatively short period of work. It's also - in terms of animation - some of the more difficult stuff - though the bar room brawl, and the final aerial hand-to-hand battle would be pretty tough too.

In the meantime, I've put a new little do-dad on the right column of the blog. It's an IM of sorts. Good for if you wanna send me a quick note that's not specific to a blog post.

Hollywood Executives Call for End to Residual Payments

From the July 11^th NY TIMES:

'In an unusually blunt session here today, several of Hollywood's highest-ranking executives called for the end of the entertainment industry's decades-old system of paying what are called residuals to writers, actors and directors for the re-use of movie and television programs after their initial showings.'

Now, this should instantly be filed under the "Dude, it's not April fools Day" or "Dude, give me some of that crack you're smoking" or any other number of derisive thoughts. And it will be. But for now, I have the feeling that every industry blog is writing about this as quickly as can be. I'm sure there will be similar thoughts to mine, much better worded. Think of these as quick, undisciplined musings, subject to editing.

'The executives stopped short of saying they would demand an immediate end to residual payments in the upcoming, probably difficult negotiations with writers, actors and directors. But they were emphatic in calling for the dismantling of a system under which specific payments are made when movies and shows are released on DVD, shown abroad or otherwise resold. Instead, they want to pool such revenue and recover their costs before sharing any of the profit with the talent.

"There are no ancillary markets any more; it's all one market," said Barry Meyer, chief executive of Warner Brothers. "This is the time to do it." '

Wow, from the mouth of the head of the Cosa Nostra himself. One must never forget that Warner Brothers invented the Gangster picture. There's a reason for that. Never forget that. I say this not from second hand information. I have a deal with Warners. I know. I get the statements.

The idea of pooling revenue and "sharing profit with the talent" – they should never have said that because that's the giveaway that it's gotta be a joke of some sort. Movie 'profits' and accounting are the worst, most notorious that exist. There are always expenses eating away at the profits – to the point where most movies lose money on the books.

So, this will never fly.

The thing is, I do have mixed feelings about residuals payments. Why should we (the artist) get residuals? We didn't take the risk in producing (funding) the movie, did we? We already were paid to do the work once. It's the same as if a car mechanic wanted a piece of the action when you sold your car down the line.

The studios will likely point to super stars like Tom Cruise who reportedly has made 400 million dollars on the Mission Impossible series with residuals and cry - "oh, we can't afford this." So get rid of him. Oh, yeah... you did. So the fact is that you don't have to pay it if you don't wanna.

The flipside of the argument is that movies become more valuable as the creators of them become more famous – so they should be able to share in the profits. It's also not really the same as fixing a car. It's a creative business. The talents and the faces of the of the people are the thing.

Additionally, most residuals are for actors and writers who aren't making that much money. This is life blood; a one day gig which is dependent upon their face, or words might initially pay a few thousand bucks. If it generates millions of dollars, isn't it fair to give a piece to the face or wordsmith?

Frankly, I believe, while these statements obviously have a lot to do with the upcoming negotiations of the Writers Guild (the big part of the negotiations is INCREASING residuals in future mediums), they also have something to do with the can of worms I helped open a couple months ago – about foreign levies and the perverted definition of Authorship.

See, studios buy the work that the writers, directors and actors do. They own it. Legally speaking, a "studio" could accept the Oscar for "best screenplay by" because according to copyright law with film, screenplays are "works for hire" thus – it's the studio who can take all the credit (why not go for all the money too?).

This is going to be contended; something I think will wind up at the Supreme Court level with the studios fighting tooth and nail, every step of the way. This crazy statement is an early punch in that fight. If they (AMPTP, ET AL) lose that "work for hire" definition, they will have to license the screenplays, etc. from the creators. That will solidify residuals payments in a way that doesn't exist now.

Barry Meyers, along with the other Studio/TV heads are pulling a Cheney/Bush trick: be outrageous in your statements – go WAYYY out into right field, do it righteously and with a straight face. Then, when people ask for something realistic – you're still WAYY out there. Be Audacious.

The one thing that these finite, forgettable people (Barry and co, you will be a forgotten piles of dead dust while people still talk about and remember Billy Wilder, Robert Towne, etc.) must realize… if they push on this in the slightest, every guild AND non-guild member will stop working. NO ONE is going to go for this. It's a war they can't win.

I will elaborate, perhaps edit this entry. For now, I put it up and hope to hear some comments.

Here is the link to the entire article. You may need to login or create an account – which is free and doesn't take long.

Antics 3d Pre-vis Tool is Amazing

Generally, I try to title my blog entries with something clever – something that might not make sense till the entire entry has been read. This is a practice shunned by those trying to get the most readers possible. Rightfully too; people looking through the various feeds, and google searches, etc. – would have no idea what the heck "The Old Grind", "Itchy Fingers on Keyboard", or "Partial Reveal" are about. I don't care as I'm not obsessing about building a reader base or anything of the like. Not at the moment, at least. Ironically, the most frequent searches taking people to this blog are for the ME7ERG Ergohuman office chair (which is the incredibly great chair I'm sitting on now as I write this) and Miniwax Polyshades (awful product btw), which I described when I was building a DVD shelf.

I break my tradition of obscure blog titles because I DO want people to surf to this entry – to learn more about this product.

I'm currently pre-visualizing several scenes from the movie I'm in pre-production on (to be known from now on as The Diamond Chasers) and have to report – this is one of the coolest pieces of software I've used in a long time. I'm excited in the same way I was when I moved from tape to digital editing with audio so many years ago; the same feeling as going from a typewriter to a word processor. This is a radically important piece of software. It works and it works well. It not only makes it possible to visualize a movie before it's made, it enables one to really practice directing; honing visualizations or creating entirely new ones one that might never have been thought of on set - where the ever present knowledge of cash vanishing into the ether rightfully stifles the creative musings of a director in flux.

Incorporating ik (inverse kinetics), lighting, character movement – as well as gaming logarithms AND some AI, this stuff is nuts. It's a big program and it does bog down the computer after a while, but man o man… so cool. I am not a 3D person, as I previously wrote, but this software really allows people who don't do much with 3D to avoid the mind-numbing modeling and other work, and get right to the creative stuff – creating a scene.

I will be putting the actual pre-vis online when it is finished, but for the moment – I tease with twenty seconds of part of it. There's still geometry crashing through itself, lighting and shading is super basic and still in test mode, timing isn't right, I'm still playing with camera angles – and it's obviously silent – but it gives an idea of what can be done with this incredible program.

Pre-Visualization

Okay, I'm back with an honest to god entry. It's bad when people start razzing me from other continents.

Somethings I've noted about why personal blogs and websites are or aren't updated in general:

1. Nothing is happening in your real life, so you sit in front of the computer and write meaningless entries about meaningless things.
   
2. A lot is happening in your real life, so you don't have the time to write about all the interesting things going on.
   
3. You are shamelessly promoting something (usually yourself), so you are trying to keep yourself out there in the world and will write about anything to do so. This frequently devolves into reviews of things or editorializing about other people.
   
4. Things are happening in your life and you are so well organized with your time that you are able to find the time to write about them.
   

By the way, I don't really think #4 exists – unless you are a paid writer. I am a paid (occasionally) writer, but since this blog is strictly for kicks, it gets updated last. And I admit to having been guilty of all the above enumerated reasons.

That all said…

The script for the next project is done. Well, at least it is as done as it's going to be until the next set of changes falls upon it. That's the way it goes.

I'm happy with it, the happiest I have been with any script I've written. Early word back from readers is that - this is it. Which is good because it's going out.

"Going out", for those not familiar with the vernacular of show business types who have the pathologic need to drop dopey phrases to appear 'in', means – The script is going to be sent to people who could help move it to future phases.

"It's going out" is most frequently used by people who "Do Lunch" and "Take Meetings". In case you're rolling your eyes about how infantile everyone in Hollywood is, these are expressions most frequently used by people who aren't actually 'in' but are rather, desperately trying to appear 'in'.

I will leave further snarkiness about Hollywood to those that do it better and focus instead on what I'm beginning to do now – which, actually – is really cool and also the title of this entry.

PREVIS

Given the cost of making movies and given the collaborative nature of the form, from early on, pictures, sketches, still photos, etc. have been used to demonstrate the director's vision. This is most often done for stunt scenes or situations where camera coverage has to be done absolutely perfectly and hopefully as best as possible, artistically. A conversation between two people is not so important. Any decent director should be able to come up with an interesting way to cover those on set. Or perhaps, not so interesting a way, but still a serviceable filming thereof. Okay, some directors should pre-vis a conversation between two people.

Pre-visualizations are also a way to aid in pitching the movie to those who might become instrumental in getting the damn thing to happen in the first place. Frequently these are the same people the movie "goes out" to.

Pre-visualization of stories has, over the years, become quite sophisticated: moving from pencil sketches to beautiful oil painted renderings, to full animations, or clips from other movies; all to demonstrate, "It'll look something like this!"

That's what I'm doing now.

I'm beginning to work on a visual and audible demonstration of what parts of the movie will look, but more importantly, feel like. Basically, it's a fancy sales tool. The idea is that it will help people actually pick up the script and read it – and get it. An unfortunate (and I am one of these people) problem is that reading scripts is a drag. For one thing, there's so many of them. There really has to be a reason. Either you're doing it as a favor, or it's a potential gig. Though a good script can be a great read, I don't think anyone actually reads them for pleasure. Watching something for a few minutes is much easier.

Though I can't draw my way out of a paper bag, I'm a pretty handy animator when it comes to doing 2D animation on a computer. Certainly, I'm no Scott Hale, or any of the wiz kids working up North, but I can get by. 3D though has never been my bag. Too much scrolling around a virtual world, and I always end with 3D characters that look fine from one angle, but from another angle have arms three feet away from their bodies. If you've done any 3D work, you might know what I'm talking about.

In researching methods of doing previs work, I found several pieces of software which I've demo'd. In this brave world we're in, there seems to be a tool for every job. Of all of them, one blew me away. Designed specifically for this exact job, thus far it seems very workable – even for a 3d challenged person. You build a set, inhabit it with characters, direct them, place cameras and move them… and it creates full motion, with all the camera dollies, cranes, lens, etc. built in. Depending on how crazy you want to get, it can do some pretty decent shading and rendering (that roughly translates to – how realistic it looks in the end).

Though it was rather expensive, I just bought it, and am now crash coursing myself on how to use it properly. I feel certain that it will worth the investment.

This is also a tool that could really allow for an idea I proposed around 'town' about nine years ago. More on that in future entries.

So, there you have it. Expect to read much more about the previs of Diamond Road, and hopefully soon, see some examples.

The sound of things hitting

The stories – the LA TIMES, the LA WEEKLY and FADE IN (mine) are starting to cause a stir.

The WGA just issued a press statement in regards to what is going on.

In the interest of fairness, here is a link to it.

On the other side of the coin, here is an email the editor of FADE IN received in regards to the story.

I thought your article about the foreign levies scandal at the WGA and DGA was wonderful. But in terms of the unanswered question as to whether this is inefficiency or corruption, I can assure you as someone who served two terms on the Board of Directors of the WGA it is:

Corruption. The Guild has been deliberately stealing as much of this money and has engaged in a huge cover up. That cover up is falling apart now, but the corrupt people remain in charge.

Writers and Directors won't get their money until the people running these Guilds are exposed.

J. F. Lawton

J.F. Lawton is a pretty well respected screenwriter in addition to having been on the board. His most famous writing credit is Pretty Woman.

A little day in my life to keep you entertained.

A couple weeks ago, Marianne and I went out to enjoy a nice cool night in our Hot tub only to discover – cold water. Very cold water.

Flipping the switch to turn it on was followed by heart sinking silence.

A couple days later I was able to determine that the pump that circulates water when it is heating had died - a 160 dollar part.

Thanks to the wonders of Google, I found a warehouse in Arizona selling the pump for $65.00. I called, only to be quickly told by the very friendly woman, that if I was calling about the little pumps on the Internet, they were all sold out.

We talked for a few minutes longer before she told me to wait while she took a look on the shelves. Lo and behold, there was one pump, but it hadn't been sold for a reason. Upon opening the box, she saw the reason. It had no power cord, hence no one wanted it. She opened it up but couldn't figure out where a cord would even go. For them, a useless item collecting dust on a shelf. I asked her if I could buy it and she told me to "make an offer".

"Ten bucks?" I asked, figuring that if it couldn't be salvaged, no harm done.

Done deal… fifteen dollars with shipping.

Today, I wired it up and HA HA, it worked!

Another three dollars and change in plumbing parts, and about forty minutes to put it in, and I'm back in action.

Total cost: $18.61

The Dead Pump… and it was only twenty one years old.

The Story Has Gone Live!

Because of yesterday's double hit in the presses, the Editor of FADE IN Magazine decided to do the very rare thing of putting the story online before it even hits the streets.

So, dear reader – I submit to you –

THE ARTICLE - When The Levy Breaks

It's on the right column of the website.

Also, if you are a writer or director (or if you want to see the extent of the lists) click on the links at the end of the story.

Please leave me comments here. I'm looking forward to them.

Partial Reveal

Okay, a little bit of info. More as I receive it.

The investigative story that I've been researching and writing is going to be in this coming issue of FADE IN magazine.

What appears to be the cover. I'll let you know as soon as I have one in hand.

My story is about the foreign levies programs of the WGA and DGA.

Never heard of the words "Foreign Levies"? Didn't think so.

Sounds dull? Trust me, it's not.

Remember how I was racing against a couple other writers covering the same story? Well, they both hit the streets yesterday. However, it's not a bad thing – one was in the La Times, the other in the LA Weekly. The LA Times story is good, however the LA Weekly article is incredible. In the spirit of accepting and acknowledging Dennis McDougal's great investigative writing, here's a link to it. My story covers some of the same ground, however it is a bit more independent filmmaker oriented.

You could very well be witnessing the beginnings of a monumental scandal – a scandal you can't quite call a "Hollywood" scandal, because it involves so many people not truly associated with Hollywood.

I'm going to try to keep my blog the free form, "day in my life" thing It's been. However, be prepared to see some future entries get very industry and film specific.

Babble On, Hollywood

As part of this magazine story I've been writing (yes, it has still been in process, now two weeks beyond the original deadline), I tracked down a rather reclusive director. It was an exercise in detective work on my part because certain entities (I promise you will eventually find out what the hell I've been alluding to) said they couldn't find him. It was also because, not only do these entities owe this guy money, he is a legend. It was an excuse to take a walk on the wild side – and tell him of money owed him; certainly a good ice breaker in any situation.

After a bit of searching, I was given his address by someone who said that postal mail was the only way to communicate with him.

Because he has no telephone, this really is the only way to reach him. His mailing address rather than a P.O. box, was an actual address in Hollywood complete with suite number.

I decide to drive to the address. Perhaps I could talk to someone there.

The address led to a seedy hotel in a seedy part of Hollywood. Actually, it was a youth hostel.

The front desk told me that yes, this is where the person I was looking for lived and, after leaving my ID, explained how to find his room.

I entered a tiny elevator, the type where only two people can fit at a time, with the steel cage you close around you; and arrived at his floor with a shaky clang.

I slid the steel door open and then walked down the long, narrow, windy hallway that was painted about four different colors from start to finish until I reached his room.

I stared at the brown painted metal door with the large peephole in the center for a long while. Behind this door possibly was a legend of avant-garde cinema. Then I knocked. I heard the shuffling of feet. Then the door opened slightly and around it peered the annoyed face of the eighty year old director.

"What do you want?" he asked, staring at me with baleful eyes.

I, rather nervously, told him who I was and then, before I had a chance to tell him I had information that would lead to money for him... Kenneth Anger slammed his door in my face.

still investigating

As per the editors interest on a part of the story I hadn't really focused on, I am investigating and re-writing part of the story.

Oh the tangled web some people seem to be weaving...