Music for the Weekend: Kerosene by Crystal Castles.

As a result of the interest in my short film 7x6x2 (which hopefully everyone will be able to see soon), I’ve been asked to create something I haven’t had to do for the past ten years: a director’s reel.

All of the work I’ve done in the film industry to this point has originated from two sources: my own brain and through the generosity of friends, friends who at some point I helped along the way. I haven’t had the need to put a reel together for new work. But I’ve found that in my pursuits of financing my next film, people want to see what I’ve done, and truth be told they don’t have the time to sit and watch all my films - they need something concise, to the point, and effectively displaying my talents. Hence a reel.

Being that I’ve never put a reel together before, I’ve been at a bit of a loss in terms of where to start. My writer/ director instincts keep trying to tell a story, and that’s not really the point of a director’s reel. I’ve watched countless director’s reels online (just type ‘director’s reel’ into YouTube and Vimeo) and they largely seem to be a series of images stitched together by music. There’s no narrative, and it’s all peppered by an occasional outburst of performance.

I totally understand the purpose of cutting a reel this way, which is to largely draw attention to advertising work. I’ve been told by many agencies that I’m an outstanding ‘image maker’ and that I know how to put together a composition right there alongside some of the best in the business. These are platitudes that humble me immensely, but my inner artist wants to tell stories - I just don’t want to make images for the sake of making images.

Perhaps I’m being unrealistic here. The bread and butter of many filmmakers is doing ad work, and I’ve done my share from an art direction and storyboarding standpoint. But I made the conscientious choice to focus my directing energies on narrative film; it’s the reason why I left a lucrative career in science, which is to not make Chevrolet ads, but to create my generation’s versions of Blade Runner and The Shining. As the cliche goes, what I really want to do is direct.

Taking a few much-needed steps back, I have to shelve my directing ego and see the bigger picture here, something which every stubborn indie writer/ director/ producer must do. There is a fine distinction that must be made, which is the difference between the business of art, and the art of business. The business of art is to create something truly amazing - something that stands above its competition and innovates - and to do it on a budget that guarantees a return. Think of a film like Looper or Beasts of Southern Wild or Drive - all films done on budgets ranging from modest to micro, all of them pushing the envelope of what we expect from movies and what is currently out there on the market. They all have a distinctive artistic vision that is largely uncompromised, and because of that they stand out from the pack and have garnered the attention of audiences willing to pay for a new experience.

Drive.

The art of business doesn’t care about all that. There is no such things as new experiences and artistic visions. If you tell a potential investor that you have a distinctive artistic vision, they’ll kindly show you to the door because in the world of return on investments, artistic vision is synonymous with box office poison. Business by nature is a conservative venture, and not in the sense that business people don’t take risks - they do that every day - but rather that they take risks on the things that won’t sink them in the long run. Business favors a sure thing that delivers moderately over a maverick that has potential to explode any given day. The art of business is therefore packaging a high risk venture as a calculated risk, and not as a shot in the dark. Which is where a good, solid reel comes into play.

I have to assemble my reel with the eyes of a conservative investor, which is to see narrative films existing first and foremost as advertisements, as trailers, as television spots. It’s done this way because these are the things that primarily get butts in seats. Narrative dexterity and nuanced performances aren’t what sell a film in a trailer - its beautiful images, electric pace, recognizable faces and a really kickass song/ music composition. Thinking as a conservative businessman, I know in my mind the project worth investing in is the project that I can outright sell. If the project is a hard sell, then it becomes more and more difficult to rationalize financing it.

A good reel filled with beautiful images, a memorable music track, and expert pacing is the first indicator that a director knows how to create moving images that first and foremost sell. It’s not just “this kid knows how to put a movie together,” it’s moreso “this kid knows how to sell a product.” And that’s what you need to display if you want to get money to make movies, because it takes the very rare investor - or your parents - to invest in a filmmaker who can’t demonstrate marketability.

But the art of business is also being a chimera, which is the most exhilarating challenge of all. I simply refuse to sell out - again I didn’t quit a beautiful life as a scientist to make middle of the road movies - I want to stay as bold, odd and indie as fuck. And there’s no reason not to think this way, because some of the greatest filmmakers working today - from Quentin Tarantino to Danny Boyle to Kathryn Bigelow - continue to make widely distributed films that refuse to compromise, but ultimately their films are genre films that can be sold, and sold well. These folks refuse to sell out, but if you were to cut a director’s reel together of Kathryn Bigelow’s work, it would seem like she makes ads for the US Army and Chevy trucks. Danny Boyle’s reel would look like a compilation of music videos. They don’t need to sell themselves as narrative aces, they just have to sell movies.

Amazing drama or an ad for the US Navy? On a reel, it doesn’t matter.

So now I’m on the quest to find that perfect piece of music to cut my reel to, and it’s taken me through the deepest depths of my music library. And anyone that is familiar with my music library knows that it’s pretty much a bottomless abyss of music. Over the past twenty-five years (I’ve been buying records since I was twelve), I’ve amassed a collection of over three thousand albums, ranging from northern soul to death metal to the sounds of southern baptist doomsday cults. Of course that music won’t be appropriate for a reel, but I need to find something that is not only beautiful, atmospheric and catchy, but also very true to my aesthetic. If I had a dime for every reel cut to Linkin Park’s “Cure for the Itch” then I wouldn’t need to be cutting a reel in the first place. But that shit sells, and who am I to argue with that? I’ve narrowed down my musical choices, and will start cutting in earnest this weekend. We’ll see what comes of it!

Have a great weekend!

Music for the Weekend: Paradise Circus by Massive Attack.

Circus is the right word. It’s a tenuous weekend as I’m waiting to hear back on a very exciting project. Script’s been approved, the financiers like it, and it just has to get the stamp of approval. So far so good, but nothing’s a guarantee in this business. Worked really hard on this one, I hope it comes through.

I’ve been going on about two hours of sleep a day for this past week, and I’m dreadfully exhausted. Between releasing Lilith on download and DVD pre-order, getting this new project off the ground, uploading the new trailers, further rewrites on my Paul Pope project, and doing my volunteer work for the Obama campaign, I’m absolutely bushed. But it’s a good kind of tuckered out.

A lot of times people forget that we have lives outside of our profession. Cars need servicing, pets need to go to the vet, homes need maintenance, food needs to be picked up and somewhere in there we try to squeeze in a social life. The fall makes for beautiful late afternoon walks. Leaves are turning, a slight chill in the air. Local shops have pumpkin pies. Kids with grass-stained knees playing football in the park for hours. Spirited political debates with friends and strangers while sipping hot drinking chocolate at the corner coffee shop. Reading comics (current titles: Saga and Punk Rock Jesus) on a park bench while my wife reads a cozy mystery novel. These are good times. Cherish them.

Have a great weekend!

Music for the Weekend: Corsicana by The Antlers.

Today is a good day. Not because anything in particular happened in regards to Lilith or any kind of small victory in work. No, because today when I was having a lunch of leftovers, my wife turned to me and smiled. And in that instant I remembered the fifteen years we’ve known each other, and how many wonderful memories we have, and how many more we are yet to have.

I asked her what she was smiling about. She said “no reason,” and kissed me on the nose.

Hey don’t forget to check out the new trailer for Lilith, and also to subscribe to the new Facebook page for the film, where you’ll find exclusive stuff that won’t be on this blog.

Thanks, and have a great weekend!

Music for the Weekend: High Hopes by Onra feat. Reggie B.

High hopes indeed. Been a solid and hectic week with the launch of the trailer and the Kickstarter campaign, and the response has been tremendous. In less than 24 hours we had almost six hundred views of the trailer, and we reached 3% of our funding goals. I know that’s not Transformers kind of business, but hey we’re a low-budget indie, and that’s the way it goes. It’s all about building momentum and promotion.

I’m getting prepped for the final mix and color correct, and I had a reader ask me a technical question about color correction, about what kind of software was best for color correction. Truth is, it doesn’t really matter what software you use - you can use the 3-wheel color corrector on Final Cut Pro and achieve professional results - and whether you use Color, or After Effects, or higher end software like Luster, Inferno or Smoke, there is one consistent thing that will give you the professional look you’re seeking.

And that’s to just shoot good footage in the first place, with the colors and textures you want.

It’s been a consistent thing throughout post, which is that because of our attention to detail during production, i.e. shooting the footage with the exact colors and textures, and gathering the best sound we possibly could, I think its freed up our post-production collaborators to really push the creative envelope in terms of their craft. It’s easier to think outside of the box when you’re not completely buried in fixing up the fuck-ups of production.

And that’s a pervasive attitude towards post-production that I think really needs to change. Post-production is too often seen as a stage of “fixing” things, as opposed to the natural progression of a film’s creation. The idea of “fixing it in post” is an insult to post-production, because we’re viewing post-production artists as mechanics and nurses, and not as artists. Truthfully it is in post where the film is actually made. The glamour may be in shooting, but the core of filmmaking is in the assembly and the fine tuning.

I’ve had a really enjoyable run on post with this film, just as much fun as production. And I think in large part it’s because I never came into post as a way to fix my problems. No doubt there were problems to be fixed, but that’s just a small fraction of what actually goes on in post-production. I like to think of it in agricultural terms, where in production we are the farmers, growing and cultivating the raw ingredients. We create something from nothing, nurturing life from the dirt with skill, love and artistry, and collecting it all together. Post-production is the restaurant, where the raw ingredients are shipped to and turned into delicious cuisine by application of the culinary arts. Just as a chef takes a beautiful cut of fish and impeccably grown vegetables and turns them into a culinary gift, so do the editors of a film take the meticulously curated bits of footage and sound and cook them together into a cogent film. The way a vegetable is cut will give the dish a specific texture, the way the fish is cooked will affect the overall tone of the inherent flavor. And the right combination of vegetables and proteins, in aesthetic proportions, will determine the overall impact of the entire culinary experience.

It’s a simple way of looking at things that really brings perspective to what we do, which is an ancient practice that has been replicated in just about every pursuit that civilization has undertaken. We’re not doing anything special, but what makes it meaningful is the attention to detail and thoughtfulness that goes into our pursuits. And we should always aim for perfection. Mediocrity or “just good enough” is never an option. This is where we fail, and where we get lost in the crowd. If you put your name on something, have pride in your work and make sure it represents the very best of your efforts. Know in your mind that you can push to evolve your craft, make it more bold, more visionary, more representative of your overall image and worldview. Educate yourself, read books and volunteer to be mentored by the very best of your chosen profession. Don’t use lack of money as an excuse - mentorship is free if you really pursue it with respect and dignity. Initially you may not make films or cook in the kitchen, but you will be in that world, and you will learn. And the minute you become comfortable in your role, that’s when you know it’s time to take the next step and move your experience to the next level. Remaining in a comfort zone is the killer - it means you’ve stopped looking ahead. Let us be explorers, not knowing what lays in front of us, but relying on our skills, intuition and friends to face whatever challenges that may lurk in the fog.

I hope this blog has given you that feeling of being an explorer, because that’s what it’s done for me. I went into Lilith not knowing what the future holds, and with each passing day I learned something new, and I had good friends who stood by my side on the front line as we took on each successive challenge. We’ve overcome a lot of obstacles, but the biggest challenge still lays ahead, which is releasing our child into the world. It’s scary, and the cloud of failure and rejection always looms. But as the song says, I have high hopes from the initial response to the trailer and the longtime support of this blog. It’s a cliche but your support gives me strength and confidence. So for that I am eternally grateful.

Have a great weekend, and three cheers for the Harry Potter finale! What an absolute monument to cinema.

p.s. Julia posted a much higher-res version of the trailer on her YouTube channel, you can actually see the details in the frame. Check it out below! And please don’t forget to promote and / or contribute to the Kickstarter campaign, thank you for all the help!