Keeping it Real!

Why do I do it? Why do I always find myself wanting to do another film? I mean it’s time consuming, expensive, and frustrating. Yet just like an addict wanting another fix I revert back to filmmaking. I’ve discussed the whys previously, so why go over old ground. The script I have is almost finished, and I concede that it needs more work, yet I have another idea, and something that is a bit more personal, and maybe more poignant. Should I scrape the first and try the second knowing full well that the idea will not fit in a low-budget format?

Maybe I should finish the first, and then take a stab at the second, and then come back to the first after I’ve either finished the second story or explored all it’s options. All this and not a single piece of film has yet to be shot.

I itch to get back to production. It’s what I’m good at, and once you line up all that needs to be done all one needs to do is follow through. Maybe that’s the problem my enthusiasm for production overtakes me, and I rush things. Then again I HATE talk. There is too much talk already in filmmaking. Not enough people follow through. There are too many wannabe’s and know-it-alls out there, so why not do something quick.

The key is to make it quick and smart. Utilize ALL resources, and maximize them to tell you’re story. Find a common thread that makes the story interesting to others. The best films are films that speak to us, and communicate their message through shared experiences. It has to be real for me. No flashy effects, and no monster on the loose scenario for me. After all we are all saints and sinners, and that fine line between good and evil gets thinner and thinner by the decade. Look to the classics for inspiration, and see what works and what doesn’t. Then take a look at your resources and see what you can use. A relative of mine once said to me that I write about stuff that is violent, and my response to him was that it was a violent world, and only a naïve person would think other. I’ve learned that conflict in drama need not be violent. It happens to us everyday, yet no books or movie of the week are made about us confronting our demons. Love, hate, prejudice, envy & our own desires can cause huge upheavals in our lives, and when well written, and presented a film can do the same. We don’t have to aspire to the same formula that Hollywood or for that matter society feeds us about what conflict is. The “happy ending” is only a myth. Life presents us with challenges constantly, and to simplify it seems pointless, and just plain wrong.

I’m not much of a movie snob. I either like a movie or not. I don’t over analyze something either. I’m not overly academic where I need to dissect a movie to explain it. Force feeding your audience seems to me another way of looking down at your audience. Sure I like pure entertainment for entertainments sake, but what do I want to say with the limited resources I have. In the end it’s all about the work, and I’d rather not waste my time on things the mainstream does better. Walking that line can be a frustrating and sometimes just painful thing to do, but all artists do. I guess I know what type of style I want, and I think I know what types of stories I’m most interested in, but one wants acceptance, and ones film to be seen, so we walk the walk. Always trying to be seen and heard yet not trying to sell ourselves out in the process.

The above photo is of the cast in our bed. While filming in the living room we had so many of the cast crash on our bed because it’s one of those water beds, and they loved the comfort. See what happens during production. The only time I saw our bed was at night when I’d crash into it and fall unconscious in it in a matter of seconds. We were an intimate cast & crew to say the least.