Did I say this Saturday?
Saturday, June 19, 2010, 01:15 PM
Here I sit at home on a Saturday. I forgot the CCCW event in St. Louis isn't until the 26th, so I basically have no plans now. Payne is supposed to come by tomorrow to put the door in, but I haven't heard from him in the past couple of days so I don't know if that plan is still on or if it too will be delayed. I'll probably have to go pick him up and take him back, but since I'm getting the work done for free basically, I cant really complain. One thing is for sure, if AC Jones is making me wait till we have a week without rain before they'll deliver my dirt, then I don't foresee this fence thing happening EVER. When during the spring, summer and fall does it go for a full week without raining once? GRRRR! This is starting to piss me off because this is a project that technically should have been completed one week ago. What sucks is that I am going to sit here all day long knowing we could be working on the door right now, but instead have to wait til tomorrow.
So, what to do today? I've got the HVX, sticks, slate, two wired lav mics and the dolly track sitting here, but nothing to shoot. I've got an Xbox 360 and a LCD tv sitting in front of me, but nothing to play. I've got a car with gas and money in pocket, but nothing to do. I've got a yard eagerly awaiting a fence, but no way to work on it. About the only thing I can do right now at this moment is take my dogs for a walk, which I'll probably do just to do something. That will only take about 30 minutes tops........I just don't know what to do. I could go to Beardstown, but I have to pick Sariah up at 9 PM tonight, so it's kind of pointless to go there now and leave right when things have the potential of happening. I guess you could call this limbo.
I'm probably going to run over to top shelf and grab some Captain Morgan and just play either Red Dead or MW2 all day. That doesn't sound like fun at all.
[ 2 comments ] ( 6 views ) | permalink |
( 3.2 / 11 )Meet the competition
Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 12:02 PM
I had to push back the fence due to a cluster fuck of my events. The silver lining to this cloud of rain and shit is that I'm getting 30 tons of dirt for the same price I was getting quoted in J-Ville for 11. That's the ticket! The only downside is that I have to wait until it dries up before they can deliver it. No biggie. Payne's trying to get through these interviews and get situated himself so I can wait for him to do that before moving forward. The money isn't going anywhere. We will be putting the door on this weekend.
I need to call Paul and clarify a few things with the upcoming shoot and future work I do for them. I'll probably just say fuck it and go ahead with the St. Louis event then start pulling back on my availability. Interestingly enough, I met my competition today. Jerry Gill brought two college students in to see our production facility and one of them just so happened to be the person who made the last CCCW commercials and the intro video for CCCW IV. I thought that was interesting, but it explains a lot since everything is so incestuous in this part of the land. All the more reason for me to talk to Paul again.
[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 3 / 25 )Turtleman has fallen
Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 01:10 PM
Well, I've sent a few emails out to MMA promoters around the area to see if I can stir up some interest in producing videos of their events. I probably won't hear back from all of them, but I'd be shocked if at least one of them didn't respond with something. The hardest part about soliciting your services is doing so in a manner that doesn't scare the potential client away, but at the same time doesn't limit your earnings. Sure, I could put up a website that promoted my services for a flat rate, but I really need to be able to negotiate my fees or I'll just end up burning myself out on a bunch of jobs that aren't making me enough money.
The difficult part will be the travel. If I could contact local videographers around the areas where some of these events are taking place and offer them the job of shooting the event, that would help out immensely. The drawback is that they'll probably want a lot more than I'd be willing to pay. Bah! I'm jumping too far ahead. One thing at a time, old man! I've got to figure out how I'm going to pick Payne up and get Sariah into work in the next 2 hours. I'll probably end up taking her into work, then going to Beardstown to pick his ass up. I really don't want to do that, but I'm running out of options.
[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 3 / 26 )Someone's at the door...
Monday, June 14, 2010, 12:43 PM
Payne's wish has finally come true and one of the jobs he applied for called him back today. That will put him in Beardstown so he'll probably be moving his stuff to Willy's this Friday. Hopefully we'll have the fence put up and everything finished before then, but who knows for sure. Saturday is the CCCW event at the Lumiere, which kind of sucks because I'll be spending a bunch of money on gas to get down there and back and only making $150 for my trouble. Only I would bid so low on something like that. I keep thinking about this job opening at WICS. I tell myself that I would be stupid for even considering leaving Cass due to the flexibility I have there, but at the same time I keep thinking about finally having access to my pension and how that would help me get started doing my own video stuff.
Using the CCCW thing as an example, it's difficult for me to stick to any sort of rate scheme with those guys because they know I am using Cass equipment to do all the work so my rate is just what I want, not what I need. I know that doesn't make any sense, but whatever. The point is that if I had access to my pension and knew I would be doing video work like this all the time, I would buy the equipment I needed to make that happen and constantly solicit my services for MMA events and probably weddings too. I couldn't bring myself to leave Cass on the basis of doing this stuff all the time because I have no guarantee that there will always be work. This is why I put the whole "pay off my debt as soon as possible" plan in motion.
The option to leave Cass for another job that pays equally well or better has always been on the table, I've just ruled it out due to my dependency on the freedom Cass gives me in my life. I could stay at Cass for the next 10 years and not think twice about it. The Scion is paid off next July and that will definitely help us out in paying off our credit card debt and otherwise. While I continue to borrow money for this and that, I haven't increased my monthly debt level in the process, only the amount of money owed overall and the duration of time it will take to pay it back. I feel the TV and this privacy fence are both good choices because they allow us to relieve some of the tension of carrying so much debt and living in the shitty neighborhood we live in - things that cannot be gotten away from anytime soon. I'm just trying to stay positive and keep on track, but at times I feel as though I could do a lot better for myself if I had my own equipment to work with. Still, I've said that before and I know where it got me then. All things are taken into consideration now.
I'm happy that Payne got a call-back and I'm sure he'll use this to his advantage to get his situation back on track...or he'll fuck it all up. You never really know with Payne.
[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 3 / 24 )The money pit
Monday, June 14, 2010, 10:20 AM
I once again figured up our bill situation last night and we're barely able to make all of our monthly bill payments. I have to once again ignore my student loan payment just so I can afford to pay my other bills. The care won't be paid off for another year and my side work isn't really netting me a whole lot of additional money, plus we have that medical bill we have to pay off before they hand it over to their attorneys again. I just found out last night that Sariah has been racking up charges on her credit card ever since we started withdrawing her check each week and living on that. That has pushed her minimum payment up so high that it's screwing with our other bills.
Payne's time living with me is coming to a close. He's in his third week now and he still hasn't found work. I feel for him since he's got that burglary charge hanging over his head, but at the same time it's not like he's straightened his life up and is ready to make a change. He's still the same old Payne, only now he's got a rap about how he's a changed man that seems to work on everyone (except employers). Sure he's not out getting into bar fights all the time, but he doesn't have the money to go to the bars so it's not like he's making a choice. I would believe his story had he not told me about all the bar fights he'd gotten into while in Arizona.
What I know is that I opened up my home to him to help him out in a tough situation. I even told him he could stay here for a few months if need be to get back on his feet. That was all true, but what I'm not going to do is become a crash pad for him every time he fucks everything up. I guess you could say I'm getting a little annoyed at his bullshit. He brags about how he's done smoking pot until he finds someone with pot. He brags about how he's off hard drugs until he's at a party and someone offers him a line. He brags about how he's focused on getting his life back on track, still he's busy hustling his ex-girlfriend (or whatever she is) out of money while at the same time chasing pussy all over the midwest. He brags about how he's a different person, but each and every time he has the opportunity to show you how he's changed, he reverts right back to the same old Payne everyone knows and loves/hates.
He's got to finish the fence for me and then I give it 3 more weeks. If he hasn't found work by then, he's really going to need to give strong consideration to either moving back to Arizona or he'll need to start crashing a his cousin Willy's place. It's not like he's doing anything to wrong me and quite literally none of this is really about what he's done to me. It's about me watching one of my friends make the same mistakes over and over again and knowing I can't help set him straight. It's not my place to and even if I took a more active role in trying to talk sense into him, he wouldn't listen anyway. He's got it all figured out.
Now I've got to go get a new tire on the Scion.
[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 3 / 24 )Firth of Fifth
Sunday, June 13, 2010, 04:48 AM
It's Sunday morning. We were supposed to be working on the backyard, but that has been postponed until we can get the machine we need to level out the dirt in my yard. Once that's finished we'll be ready to put up the fence. Things should go well as long as the weather permits. I'm looking forward to it because it will give our dogs a way to run and play without Sariah or I actually having to be here to take them out. Also, it opens the flood gates for an old idea: POOL!!!
That's not going to be any sort of thing we'll get this year, but by god if we don't have a pool by next year, I won't know what is going on. Payne's been talking to a lot of people in Beardstown and I imagine it's only a matter of time before he ends up back there. I just hope things don't get too awkward because I'll have to tell him to leave, but I really need help with the back yard and I don't know who I'm going to ask to help.
[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 2.9 / 23 )...and pours
Friday, June 11, 2010, 09:06 AM
Looks like rain. Damn! Payne pulled out the fence in our back yard and cut the bush down as far as he could go with a reciprocating saw, now we've got to get a bunch of dirt delivered and rent a machine to get it all leveled and THEN comes the posts, quick-crete and fence. Once we're finished with all that, The final step will be putting the door in. Not and easy task, but we should be able to manage.
I guess it's good that it's going to rain today because I have a cake to do. It will be my first in nearly a year so it's going to take me a little longer than before.
[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 3 / 27 )When it rains, it pours!
Thursday, June 10, 2010, 11:16 AM
Payne and I have been talking about doing some work to the exterior of the house. We're planning on putting up a privacy fence in the back yard as well as leveling out the earth around the house, plus putting in a door from the dining room to the back yard. This paves the way for future things like a deck if we so choose to move in that direction in the future, but for right now I really think it's time our dogs had an area to run around outside that is convenient for us. Materials and rental costs put the total bid at around $1300. I talked to Citifinancial today about borrowing those funds and am supposed to meet them today at 1 PM to fill out the paperwork. All seems to be flowing forward in a positive manner.
No matter how many times I try to move forward, I get pushed back. I got a call from CPI about the remainder of our Pasavant debt. I tried to work with them on setting up a payment plan, but they would only accept an unbelievably large amount that I couldn't swing. So I go irate with them and basically told them to do what they had to do, which I know is turn my debt over to their attorneys. After giving it some thought, I realized that this isn't going to go away until the debt is clear. I only owe $1200 to them, I'm about to take out a $1500 loan extension and I've got $1500 in our savings account. I'm not broke, but I just didn't want to end up closing down our savings account because of a god damn medical bill.
Still, it's just proof that we're not in any secure financial position to be uprooting ourselves from our current home. After talking to Sariah about it, we've decided that we're going to call them back and set up the ridiculous payment plan. I've got the upcoming CCCW stuff and I'm probably going to sell my AKG Solidtube to help pay it off. Why not? It's been sitting in it's case for 4 years now. Push comes to shove I'm going to sell my Krank cab as well. That will be tough though because I'm not going to ship it, so I'll have to wait and see on that one. Still, I've got outs and lots of them. Some of them are more desirable than others, but none of them are what I had intended to do. Still, to finally have those medical bills paid off would be a great relief.
The fence is happening regardless. There's no question about that. I'm tired of our house smelling like piss and shit all the time and knowing how Sariah and I are, if we don't do this, then it's always going to be the same situation. Also, it would be nice to have a place to put the dogs when people come over so they don't constantly bark and jump at them the whole time. Between ghosts from my past and shitty weather conditions, I'm starting to wonder if perhaps I'm being sent a message about this whole privacy fence thing?
Nope! Moving forward as planned! Karma be damned!
[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 3 / 29 )When all is said and done
Monday, June 7, 2010, 11:20 AM
It's Monday. I took the day off even though we had a shoot today. I figured Tom could take care of it. Shawn (the team leader for the 48 hr film project) had some issues yesterday of a thing that I forgot to put on the video. I don't think it will be that big of a deal, but who knows with these people. I guess we'll find out soon enough. It would suck if they pull our entry from the competition because of one piece of text missing before the movie even starts. If that does happen, then I'm not going to do another 48 hr project again. I think everything will be fine.
The one thing that isn't fine is the bill I got from Residence Inn in St. Louis. Shawn told me he was going to cover my hotel accommodations for the night and then I get home to a $140 charge on my credit card for the room. I've sent him an email to find out what is going on. Hopefully he's not going to stick me with it because that will piss me off to no end. The point is that I would have gotten my own damn hotel room; probably in Illinois, but DEFINITELY cheaper, had that been the situation. We were done at 3:00 PM on Saturday so I could have easily had him take me to his office, set up my computer right there and edit this thing together in 3 hours (the same time it took me at the hotel). He could have gotten the damn thing scored between 6 and 9 and I would have been on the road home by 10 PM.
Needless to say, I'm a time-management snob and I don't like wasting time or holding off on doing things just to make use of a set time allotment. I feel much more comfortable completing the task early because it gives everyone involved options. I guess I'm saying that I don't want to get stuck with a hotel bill that I could have avoided had I been given the correct facts. Again, I'm racing ahead to a remote possibility. Shawn seemed like a really good and straight-forward guy. I know he'll clear this up.
So, how is it? Well, it's okay. From a standpoint of looks, I think it looks great, but there are three things in the movie that really bug me and they're all my fault:
One, the female character makes a comment about how the male character isn't a dead beat or "scofflaw" and his response is "Yeah, I guess it does". That was because we did 3 takes of the conversation for each person and they were ad-libbing a lot. If there was a way I could cut the shot after "I guess" it would have worked, but I just couldn't make that cut without a noticeable break in dialog.
Two, there's a shot where the male character is talking and the shot is from behind him focusing on the woman, but you can see enough of his face to tell that he's not talking. This happened because of all the ad-libbing going on. The actors were pressed for time (they always are) and didn't want to stay for b-roll stuff. It's lunacy when you think about it because they were only there for 3 hours. I digress. In order to fill in gaps between cuts I had to cut away to different angles and one problem I kept running into was placement of peoples arms and hands from shot to shot. It got to the point were I was cutting solely based on where I knew I could line up similar shots of hand/arm position between the two actors rather than cut where it felt right. While the editing gets a little ragged toward the end, I can live with that. Seeing that shot where the guys talking but you can see that his lips aren't moving will bug me every time I watch it.
Three, there's a shot of the woman talking to the man where I dolly to the left behind the man and I get to a point where if I go any farther the only thing you would see would be the back of this guys head. So, I reverse directions and go the other way. I knew during shooting that this was probably going to come back to haunt me, but thought at the same time that with all the coverage I was getting that I could simply use a different shot to fill that part of the scene. Once I started editing and realized that hand positions were becoming a constant problem, it became clear that there was only one shot that would fill that part in the scene where both actors limbs were in the right spots to cut to and away from and that was the dolly shot I fucked up. Really, when you use a dolly you should have your scenes blocked and know exactly when and where you're stopping and starting. Due to time, I just set it up and started rolling the thing back and forth. I thought, as long as I change direction when the subject on camera isn't speaking, I wouldn't have to worry about there being an abrupt direction change mid shot. That was the one time I fucked it up, I knew I did while shooting and ended up having to put it in the final cut. It will bug me forever.
Other than that, it's pretty boring the first time you watch it. If there's one thing I know about conversations between two people in movies, it's that if they're going to take up a lot of time, then the writing better be spot on or you're going to lose your audience. Shawn's not a good writer. A saving grace would be having seasoned actors who would know how to dial in their performances to evoke the strongest emotions possible in hopes that it would cover up the bad dialog. Neither of the "actors" had acted before. Getting beyond this, it's not a bad story, it's just a boring one. Seven minutes of two people at a table talking about wedding rings is going to be boring, but that's what he wrote and that's what I shot.
I made mistakes and I listed them all above. I take credit for those mistakes and have learned from them all. There's no way I could direct and shoot at the same time. I mean for one person to push a camera on a dolly, pan and tilt the camera head to keep subjects in frame and pull focus all at the same time is something that requires every last bit of concentration you can muster. I couldn't imagine trying to pay attention to actors performances while also handling camera duties. It sucks because I believe I have a pretty good understanding of how I want scenes to play out, but I can't make it work the way I want because I'm too focused on getting good shots.
If I were to make the leap to director, I would have to find someone to handle camera duties. I think I do a great job with what I have to work with and while most of the things I shoot aren't "take your breath away" beautiful, they illustrate my understanding of how to get a good, clean shot. I haven't yet found someone (in this area) who has the same understanding of motion picture camerawork in both technical and artistic capacities as I do. If I could find someone to fill the bill, I would gladly bring them on and focus on directing. I guess it's just a matter of time. Still, how can I complain about a shitty script when I can't even write one? Overall it was a good experience and I have fun doing it. If everything pans out with the movie being accepted into the contest and the hotel bill, I'll definitely go back again next year to work with Shawn on another one.
[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 3.1 / 29 )Live from St. Louis
Saturday, June 5, 2010, 05:46 PM
I'm in Mariott Residence Inn in Brentwood right down from the Galleria in St. Louis. I'm waiting for the damn footage to finish transferring to the Mac, but even after that I have to convert the files ProRes before I can start editing. It might be for the best since I really have more to shoot. Let me explain.
Last night Shawn Greene (the team leader) called and gave me the low down on what we would be shooting. This meant I didn't need to travel to St. Louis last night, but rather this morning; which I did. I left at around 7:40 and arrived at McGurk's Irish Pub at 9:10. I ended up waiting an hour for Shawn to arrive, but that was okay. From there I unloaded all my equipment, set everything up and started shooting. That went pretty fast (2 and a half hours), then Shawn bought me a couple beers and we loaded everything back up. We talked for a while about what to do going forward and he mentioned that there would be a band at McGurk's later that night playing traditional Irish folk songs. I opted that I return with the camera and some sound equipment and just shoot a few songs then work that into the story as the background music. He liked that idea a lot so we ran with it.
Now, I thought I could simply edit this thing together, get a DVD to Shawn so he could get one of his friends to score it then get out of here sometime tonight, but I found out that his friends were playing shows tonight and wouldn't be able to do anything til tomorrow. The plan now could potentially get me out of here tonight, but Shawn went ahead and got me set up in this motel for the night, so why not just stick it out and deliver the final product tomorrow? At least this way I don't have to drive home really tired. What's really nice is that I've already gotten to take a shower. I would have been miserable had I gone back to McGurks stinking from the sweat that soaked both of my shirts during my earlier shoot. Hell, I even took a towel this time in hopes that I could control the sweat, but it didn't help much. The shower was really nice and now I can go back to McGurk's clean and ready to shoot again. I might have a few beers (if Shawn's buying), but I'm making a conscious decision not to drink too much. Besides, I'll still need to edit this stuff together when I get back later this evening.
My goal is to have everything finished tonight, get a good nights sleep, then meet with Shawn tomorrow to show him what I put together and provide him with the DVD's he needs to submit. I don't know what sort of plans he has, but I would like to get out of here fairly early in the morning as I would really like to take all this stuff back to the office tomorrow so I don't have to cart it all in on Monday. I guess it doesn't really matter, but by taking it in Sunday, I'm leaving myself open to skimp out of work on Monday. I have no idea how Payne is getting back to Jacksonville, or if he's even coming back Sunday. Unless he finds a way to contact me between now and then and let me know if he needs a ride, he's pretty much on his own. I guess I could send him a message through Facebook, but I don't know if he will be able to check it in Beardstown. I'll do it anyway.
Not even half way through converting these files and it's already 5:45. Damn! I don't think I'll be getting much done before I have to take off. I'm thirsty as HELL!
[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 3 / 27 )Back Next
