The Ticket
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Trailer
Been cutting a new trailer since 5 a.m. We need to have this done soon. Foreign markets are coming up so once we have it we can approach sales agents. So far we've cut two other versions but neither of them catches the film in the right way. This one should have a better feel. I'll get it posted once it's done.
Cleveland: Decision in fight between Elecia Mega Battle
& Veronica"Vicious Bee" Walker Still frame from The Ticket
Been cutting a new trailer since 5 a.m. We need to have this done soon. Foreign markets are coming up so once we have it we can approach sales agents. So far we've cut two other versions but neither of them catches the film in the right way. This one should have a better feel. I'll get it posted once it's done.Cleveland: Decision in fight between Elecia Mega Battle
& Veronica"Vicious Bee" Walker Still frame from The Ticket
Labels: Cleveland, Elecia Battle, The Ticket
¶ 4:34 AM 0 Comments
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Silent City
Since this is a blog for The Ticket I should be writing about my own project. But I just saw a short film worth your time. This one's for all you filmmakers out in the trenches figuring out how to make ends meet and how to make a film at the same time...
Ruairi Robinson made an amazing short film, Silent City. He just went from wondering how to pay the rent to getting offers from L.A. Now he's slated to direct the live-action version of Akira. I lifted the following quote from a Q&A thread on www.dvxuser.com
Budget - cost me 7k euro + 3-4 grand from my producer to SHOOT the thing... then eventually got some assistance from the film board to complete it...
Time is a bit of a sore point for me, since it took wayyyyy long to finish than I would have preferred. I spent 6 months on the post with no income, then had to stop to figure out a way to pay my rent... then before I knew it a year had passed and the film was sitting there like an Albatross. At this point I hated every poo pooing frame of the thing and wasn't even going to finish it. I decided finally to get my shi* together and hacked all the stuff I hated out of it, and spent a couple more months on it (actually it was quite quick to finish in the end) and that was the end of last October - done and dusted.
3D was 3dsmax and vray to render.
Check out his site: Ruairi Robinson
Ruairi Robinson made an amazing short film, Silent City. He just went from wondering how to pay the rent to getting offers from L.A. Now he's slated to direct the live-action version of Akira. I lifted the following quote from a Q&A thread on www.dvxuser.com
Budget - cost me 7k euro + 3-4 grand from my producer to SHOOT the thing... then eventually got some assistance from the film board to complete it...
Time is a bit of a sore point for me, since it took wayyyyy long to finish than I would have preferred. I spent 6 months on the post with no income, then had to stop to figure out a way to pay my rent... then before I knew it a year had passed and the film was sitting there like an Albatross. At this point I hated every poo pooing frame of the thing and wasn't even going to finish it. I decided finally to get my shi* together and hacked all the stuff I hated out of it, and spent a couple more months on it (actually it was quite quick to finish in the end) and that was the end of last October - done and dusted.
3D was 3dsmax and vray to render.
Check out his site: Ruairi Robinson
Labels: Akira, Ruari Robinson, Silent City, The Ticket
¶ 6:20 AM 2 Comments
Monday, February 11, 2008
End in Sight
Saturday - had a great phone meeting with Darren to plan the next cut. We're going to move away from the current minimalist style. We're going to add interviews and characters back in and we're going to add a narrative as well so that the beginning. The opening will have a lot more going on and will give the audience a much better sense of where the film is going. Once we've got all that done we're going to meet to work together to finish it - if all goes according to plan we'll be done next month.
Above - Old School Boxing Gym where we filmed Elecia Battle. The pressed dubbed her as"The Lottery Loser."
Find out what Darren's thinking: Eclipse Cafe ¶ 4:13 AM 0 Comments
Saturday - had a great phone meeting with Darren to plan the next cut. We're going to move away from the current minimalist style. We're going to add interviews and characters back in and we're going to add a narrative as well so that the beginning. The opening will have a lot more going on and will give the audience a much better sense of where the film is going. Once we've got all that done we're going to meet to work together to finish it - if all goes according to plan we'll be done next month.
Above - Old School Boxing Gym where we filmed Elecia Battle. The pressed dubbed her as"The Lottery Loser."
Find out what Darren's thinking: Eclipse Cafe ¶ 4:13 AM 0 Comments
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Musical
Dara Friedman emailed last night her project Musical for the New York Public Art Fund is finished. Dara's an amazing artist and a dear friend. I was thrilled and honored when she asked me to help out with the shoot.
In October last year we spent 3 weeks shooting 50 singers on the streets of New York. While we were there her film, Revolution, was hanging in MOMA. I was lucky enough to be cinematographer on the project which was shot 10 years ago when we were both in Miami. Everything Dara does is entirely hers and utterly unique. It's such a thrill to work on projects as good as hers.
Musical Dara (center) adjusts lav mic. Ian Epps
(right) checks sound levels. Can't recall the singer's
name but I do remember that she was her lunch break
when we shot her scene in Central Park
Dara Friedman emailed last night her project Musical for the New York Public Art Fund is finished. Dara's an amazing artist and a dear friend. I was thrilled and honored when she asked me to help out with the shoot.In October last year we spent 3 weeks shooting 50 singers on the streets of New York. While we were there her film, Revolution, was hanging in MOMA. I was lucky enough to be cinematographer on the project which was shot 10 years ago when we were both in Miami. Everything Dara does is entirely hers and utterly unique. It's such a thrill to work on projects as good as hers.
Musical Dara (center) adjusts lav mic. Ian Epps
(right) checks sound levels. Can't recall the singer's
name but I do remember that she was her lunch break
when we shot her scene in Central Park
Musical will screen first at the New School (NYU) April 30th. So if you're around be sure to check it out. Don't have the details yet so watch this space.
In the meantime The Ticket continues. I'm definitely feeling energized about getting in done - I don't feel so burned out anymore. I couldn't sleep much last night - lay awake re-cutting the film in my head. Talking with Darren tonight to get it done.
In the meantime The Ticket continues. I'm definitely feeling energized about getting in done - I don't feel so burned out anymore. I couldn't sleep much last night - lay awake re-cutting the film in my head. Talking with Darren tonight to get it done.
Labels: Dara Friedman, Ian Epps, MOMA, Musical, Revolution, The Ticket
¶ 3:35 AM 0 Comments
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Monkey Man
Haven't heard from Darren. Must still be recovering from the Superbowl.
Before we made this film I never considered myself a gambling man. No one in my family really gambles. We don't go to the track and we never play the lottery. I like the idea of poker - the camaraderie and all that. But it just doesn't do it for me. Darren likes poker but he's not obsessed.
When we went to the Greyhound Track in Florida to shoot Louis Eisenberg I was amazed to see all the losing tickets just tossed to the floor. The losers would go right back and bet again - all day. It just seemed ridiculous.
It's easy to look at everyone else and pass a judgment like that; "What are those people doing? They're completely mad." But we all have our own things we do - our own addictions to a certain kind of risk. Mine I think is being a filmmaker. That means I'm a huge gambler and I never fully recognized it until this week.
In a Duke University experiment neurobiologists studied risk taking in monkeys. The monkeys were given two buttons. If a monkey pushed the first button he would get a small amount of juice every time he pushed it. If he pushed the second button the monkey would get a lot of juice but this did not happen every time. More often than not he would end up with nothing. Despite this - he would nearly always opt for the second button, which offered the very rare but big reward:
¶ 12:28 PM 0 Comments
Haven't heard from Darren. Must still be recovering from the Superbowl.
Before we made this film I never considered myself a gambling man. No one in my family really gambles. We don't go to the track and we never play the lottery. I like the idea of poker - the camaraderie and all that. But it just doesn't do it for me. Darren likes poker but he's not obsessed.
When we went to the Greyhound Track in Florida to shoot Louis Eisenberg I was amazed to see all the losing tickets just tossed to the floor. The losers would go right back and bet again - all day. It just seemed ridiculous.
It's easy to look at everyone else and pass a judgment like that; "What are those people doing? They're completely mad." But we all have our own things we do - our own addictions to a certain kind of risk. Mine I think is being a filmmaker. That means I'm a huge gambler and I never fully recognized it until this week.
In a Duke University experiment neurobiologists studied risk taking in monkeys. The monkeys were given two buttons. If a monkey pushed the first button he would get a small amount of juice every time he pushed it. If he pushed the second button the monkey would get a lot of juice but this did not happen every time. More often than not he would end up with nothing. Despite this - he would nearly always opt for the second button, which offered the very rare but big reward:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/08/050823080657.htm">Gambling Monkeys Give Insight Into Neural Machinery Of Risk
ScienceDaily (2005-08-23) -- Duke University Medical Center neurobiologists have pinpointed circuitry in the brains of monkeys that assesses the level of risk in a given action. ... > http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/08/050823080657.htm">read full article
Monday, February 4, 2008
Darren @ Superbowl
It's one in the morning. Couldn't sleep. Came downstairs to check on a project I've been compressing to a Quicktime for Melissa. It's a 6 minute promotional film for the Darden Business school and the Innovation Challenge.
Darren just prairie-dogged by email to share his Superbowl news "I was in a bar at the stadium. Crazy!... Let me recover today and we'll hook up tomorrow... - D"
Richard (left) is envious. Darren (right)
was at the best Superbowl ever.
¶ 10:03 PM 0 Comments
It's one in the morning. Couldn't sleep. Came downstairs to check on a project I've been compressing to a Quicktime for Melissa. It's a 6 minute promotional film for the Darden Business school and the Innovation Challenge.Darren just prairie-dogged by email to share his Superbowl news "I was in a bar at the stadium. Crazy!... Let me recover today and we'll hook up tomorrow... - D"
Richard (left) is envious. Darren (right)
was at the best Superbowl ever.
¶ 10:03 PM 0 Comments
SXSW
Cleveland - Elecia "Mega" Battle trains for a her next boxing match
Elecia lied that she was the winner of a $162 million in the Mega Millions Jackpot.
Just as we suspected The Ticket didn't get accepted to the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) We were too rushed to get it polished the way it should have been. While it's a bit bruising to the ego they're right not to accept it. We presented unfinished work. When there are thousands of finished entries submitting unfinished work is a non-starter. This can easily be said for just about anything.
When you've worked on something for years it's a real challenge to be objective. That's why getting feedback is critical - good or bad. Darren was right to screen the film to a diverse group of people he trusts - none of whom new anything about the project. I should have done this too. It's critical to get feedback. Well now we have it from a pretty good authority the SXSW film festival.
I haven't heard from Darren for a few days. He lives in Phoenix. Being the football fan that he is I suspect he went to the Superbowl.
For anyone who's interested here's the rejection email:
Dear Richard,
This is never easy news to deliver, and we appreciate your time.
Unfortunately, we did not select 'The Ticket' for the 2008 program of
the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival. This year, SXSW received
more submissions than ever before (over 3100), which made the
selection process even more competitive. We assure you that your
submission was given full consideration, and we thank you for
considering SXSW when you decided on festivals in which to submit.
We hope that you continue to submit your work to SXSW, and hope to
see you at the festival, either in 2008 or beyond. If you’d like
information on attending SXSW 2008 (and a coupon to redeem the
discounted badge rate), please contact us at film@sxsw.com.
It should be said again, we apologize for the inconvenience and look
forward to the opportunity to showcase your work in the future. Thank
you for your patience during this long and difficult selection process.
All our best,
SXSW Programming Staff ¶ 5:08 PM 0 Comments
Cleveland - Elecia "Mega" Battle trains for a her next boxing matchElecia lied that she was the winner of a $162 million in the Mega Millions Jackpot.
Just as we suspected The Ticket didn't get accepted to the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) We were too rushed to get it polished the way it should have been. While it's a bit bruising to the ego they're right not to accept it. We presented unfinished work. When there are thousands of finished entries submitting unfinished work is a non-starter. This can easily be said for just about anything.
When you've worked on something for years it's a real challenge to be objective. That's why getting feedback is critical - good or bad. Darren was right to screen the film to a diverse group of people he trusts - none of whom new anything about the project. I should have done this too. It's critical to get feedback. Well now we have it from a pretty good authority the SXSW film festival.
I haven't heard from Darren for a few days. He lives in Phoenix. Being the football fan that he is I suspect he went to the Superbowl.
For anyone who's interested here's the rejection email:
Dear Richard,
This is never easy news to deliver, and we appreciate your time.
Unfortunately, we did not select 'The Ticket' for the 2008 program of
the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival. This year, SXSW received
more submissions than ever before (over 3100), which made the
selection process even more competitive. We assure you that your
submission was given full consideration, and we thank you for
considering SXSW when you decided on festivals in which to submit.
We hope that you continue to submit your work to SXSW, and hope to
see you at the festival, either in 2008 or beyond. If you’d like
information on attending SXSW 2008 (and a coupon to redeem the
discounted badge rate), please contact us at film@sxsw.com.
It should be said again, we apologize for the inconvenience and look
forward to the opportunity to showcase your work in the future. Thank
you for your patience during this long and difficult selection process.
All our best,
SXSW Programming Staff ¶ 5:08 PM 0 Comments
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Deacon Jones - Outtake from The Ticket
Deacon Jones used to play trumpet in Baby Huey and the Babysitters. The Chicago-based band put out one album which was produced by Curtis Mayfield. After Baby Huey died Deacon focused more on playing the Hammond B-3. He's a master blues man.
Dennis and Deacon have been great friends for a long time. Before he won his $30 million Dennis told Deacon that he was going to win so we went to L.A. to get Deacon's story.
We couldn't get permission to shoot in the club where Deacon regularly plays but with much thanks to Rick Taub we ended up at Cold6Records in Downtown L.A. Unfortunately Deacon isn't playing his signature B-3 but it's still terrific. Rick backs him up on bass guitar.
This is undedited so it's loose at the beginning and end - one camera, one shot, one onboard shotgun mic.
Dennis and Deacon have been great friends for a long time. Before he won his $30 million Dennis told Deacon that he was going to win so we went to L.A. to get Deacon's story.
We couldn't get permission to shoot in the club where Deacon regularly plays but with much thanks to Rick Taub we ended up at Cold6Records in Downtown L.A. Unfortunately Deacon isn't playing his signature B-3 but it's still terrific. Rick backs him up on bass guitar.
This is undedited so it's loose at the beginning and end - one camera, one shot, one onboard shotgun mic.
Labels: Curtis Mayfield, Deacon Jones, The Ticket
¶ 2:26 PM 0 Comments
