Categories
Category: Art
Categories
Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water
Stories are able to help us to become more whole, to become Named. And Naming is one of the impulses behind all art; to give a name to the cosmos, we see despite all the chaos.
I saw them as soon as the rounded the corner to the cafe area at the AMC Century City. A group of eleven or so, ranging in age from about 10 years old, to a couple in their 50s. They all dropped their things and began pulling “Neptune High Reunion” t-shirts and lanyards over their heads. Their laughter and easy excitement about being here at the Veronica Mars movie fan event made me smile. Again. The same smile I’d been smiling every time my friends and I spotted a fellow Marshmallow wandering around the mall, killing time in the hours leading up to our screening.
One of the women in the group approached our trio, asking if one of us could take a group photo for them. They crowded into the frame, their excitement creating the kind of image I love best — one where the joy of the moment radiates out of every pixel. We all laughed together when I gave them my answer to Team Piz or Team Logan (in case you are also curious, I waffle between the two).
Almost every early screening is filled with a buzz of excitement. This screening had the buzz with an undercurrent of I can’t believe we are actually about to sit down and watch a Veronica Mars movie in a real theater, is this real life? Pinch me! Fandom is awesome. This fandom in particular makes me really proud to count myself as one of them.
I’m not a spendthrift, I have a long history of agonizing over frivolous purchases. Putting down $50 to back the Veronica Mars movie last year was the quickest, easiest decision I’ve ever made regarding fifty bucks. It was more of an automatic reaction than an actual decision. I just knew it was going to be worthwhile. When credits finished rolling Thursday night, and the lights in the theater went up, I wished I had been able to put down more money during the campaign. Maybe that would have served as a sufficient thank you for the whole experience.
Thank you Rob Thomas & Co. for being crazy enough to believe a Kickstarter campaign might work. For creating characters we could love enough to rally around. Thank you for running the campaign and follow up with the honesty and integrity that proves you understand and care about the fan community. I’ve started referring to this as the “Veronica Mars Model,” it’s one that I’ll be using as I work on a film of my own, and I hope that it’s a model other creators will follow.
Hey Marshmallows, we made a freakin’ movie! …Wanna go watch it again?
Categories
6 month plan
A six month plan for Spirit of Tivaevae.
Click the link immediately above to read the big update I just posted regarding the documentary I’ve been working on.
Categories
Film favorites: Pacific Rim
“There are no heroes in a world where heroes can’t die.”
– Travis Beacham, writer of Pacific Rim.
So far, Pacific Rim is my favorite movie of 2013. Yes, there are giant bad ass robots fighting monsters. But I love it for more than that. It’s an action blockbuster with a female protagonist (!!) and a hopeful worldview. You can feel the delight of those involved involved in making the film.
Bonus: it’s also a thrill ride.
Categories
Jeph Loeb, Marvel TV executive
“People go to movies to escape. People watch television to be a part of something.”
Categories
Why Pressgram will be great for filmmakers
One of the keys to becoming a successful indie filmmaker/creator is to build an audience that is willing to support your work. BTS (or behind-the-scenes) photos are one of the easiest and most obvious ways to connect with your audience, it’s pretty much filmmaking 101. At minimum you should be remembering to whip out your cell phone every once in a while. At best you’ll be putting some planning into it and be strategic in your BTS photos and videos.
Lately I’ve been using my personal Instagram account to drop some hints about my next project. As development continues and we move into fundraising, the opportunity for photos only increases. Instagram is great because it’s fast, easy, and free – all important components to the shoestring indie project.
Categories
The intersection of art, craft, and trade
“The truth is that story is an art, a craft, and a trade. Only when all three aspects are in perfect harmony do you get a classic.” – Robert McKee.
I’ve been preparing a 3-week podcast series on how to read comics for the uninitiated (aka n00bs like me). It turns out that picking up a comic book isn’t always as easy as it looks, particularly if you have years experience of reading “regular” books. The first episode goes up this Friday, March 15th.
My cousin Helen, who is in her 90s now, was in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. She and a bunch of the girls in the ghetto had to do sewing each day. And if you were found with a book, it was an automatic death penalty. She had gotten hold of a copy of ‘Gone With the Wind’, and she would take three or four hours out of her sleeping time each night to read. And then, during the hour or so when they were sewing the next day, she would tell them all the story. These girls were risking certain death for a story. And when she told me that story herself, it actually made what I do feel more important. Because giving people stories is not a luxury. It’s actually one of the things that you live and die for.
– Neil Gaiman
Categories
Philip Bloom on becoming successful in video
9: You don’t need a Red. You don’t need an Alexa, you don’t need a C300. Any camera will do, to a degree. Don’t listen to the chattering masses on the internet who say you MUST film on X camera as your Y camera is shit. X camera has .5 stops more dynamic range and Y camera has more noise than camera X, using camera Y would be INSANE! That is nonsense. Yes, some cameras will make your life easier and some will make your life harder. I don’t subscribe to the idea of using the shittiest camera you have because you are an artist and you can make anything shine. Nonsense. Use the best camera you have access to. The camera is NOT the most important thing. You and your ideas are. But don’t be a camera martyr and say “my work is what is important hence, not the camera, I shall film this on my iPad!” Don’t be silly now!!
(emphasis mine)