AFM 2000 - Day 4

AFM – Day 4
2/25/00

Excerpts from Pete's personal journal.

I woke up around 7:00 a.m. and started working on the script. The only thing I had to do today (besides finish the rewrite of the script) was have lunch with a dear old college friend, Jennifer. So, in the morning I worked on the re-write while Jenni tried to schedule a meeting with the foreign investor, Showcase, our Casting Director and her and Jeff. I finished the re-write around 10:30 a.m. It did what we needed it to do and Jenni would have the rest of the weekend to tweak it more before giving it to the investor on Sunday.

Jenni and Jeff, needing to run some errands (or just get away from me – I'm not sure which) and they dropped me off at the SAG building where I was to meet my friend Jennifer for lunch. I had tried to contact some other college friends, Dave and Sunday, but their phone number was now some auto place or something. So, I made my way up to the eighth floor (eighth floor again… hmmm) and Jennifer greeted me with a big hug. She looked exactly the same. I looked fat. She had told me that she had been exercising a lot and had actually lost weight. I silently blamed her for my weight gain since our college days, knowing deep down that her fat had been mysteriously transferred to my body over the last 12 years.

We went next door and ate at Koo Koo Roos. I offered to pay (I'm serious... you can ask her) but she insisted on paying for it herself. I realized I just may get through this trip with cash to spare! But, dinner still awaited. Jennifer and I spent lunch catching up on the past twelve years of our lives, talking about writing, the film industry, family and goals for the next 10 years. It was a great lunch and I wished we hadn't waited so long to get together.

You can see the effects of
prednisone on my cheeks.
Thank goodness for Remicade.

Jenni and Jeff picked me up and we headed back to the AFM so they could meet about casting. With Adrenaline, there's a basic cost of making the film, let's say $2 million or something like that and depending on what actors you get, the budget will be effected. So, they wanted to meet to determine what actors would fit into the fictional $2 million dollar budget, which actors would bump it up another million or so, and what actors would bump it up yet another million and so on. This is all part of the plan in determining funding and budgetary needs.

So, we arrived at the AFM and I got to meet our Casting Director Harriet Greenspan, who read Adrenaline and had LOVED it! She told me that it was one of the only scripts she had ever read where she couldn't put it down and read it all in one sitting. Granted, she could have been bold-face lying to me, but she seemed like a very sincere, genuine person (yes, there are some of them in Hollywood) so I believed her. This probably makes me a sucker.

While they all met, I again strolled the halls of the AFM, taking more pictures, checking out which old TV star was starring a new disaster flick headed for Asia. As the evening wore on, we all ended up back in the lobby of the hotel. Bill Suchy, a fellow Floridian filmmaker, had flown in that morning and was going to take my bedroom/editing suite for the rest of the festival. While we waited for the meeting to adjourn on the eighth floor we talked a lot about writing, experimenting and using Digital Video as a low cost way to test our writing and directing abilities. It occurred to me, as the evening continued, that there were about five people in this entire room that were cloned to make the hundreds of people around me. There were the tall blondes with large breasts. The short brunettes with large breasts (I see a trend forming). The X-File look alikes. The hippie/European long haired guys. And the old guys who've been in the business so long they don't give a crap what they look like.

We finally all headed to Arnold S.'s restaurant, Shlotzies (or something like that), for dinner. Knowing that I'd been a total mooch since arriving and also knowing that my paycheck would have direct deposited by now, I insisted on paying for Jenni and Jeff's dinner. After we all induldged in some seriously good and expensive food, the bill came. But, it was all on one bill, I would have to charge it since I only had $4.87 cash on me, I couldn't afford to pay for EVERYone's meal and Jeff wouldn't let me pay for his and Jenni's anyway! So, I opened my wallet and threw the remaining four dollars I had onto the table as part of the tip and walked away feeling like week old pond scum.

We hurried out of the restaurant at around 9:15 p.m. My flight started boarding at 10:00 p.m. and was to leave at 10:30 p.m. Traffic was tight, I was tense and I REALLY didn't want to miss my flight home. Just when all seemed lost and the traffic was a near standstill, Jenni did some industrial strength thinking and drove around a parking structure, by-passing a ton of traffic, and exited right into the loading area for my airline. I gave her a quick hug and rushed into the airport. Jeff followed me up to the gate. I gave him a big hug and thanked him for all of his generosity. It was really great to see them after all this time. My trip into the world of filmdom was coming to an end and I appreciated the detour away from my everyday.

Flight 96, non-stop to Tampa started boarding and I was surprised how full the plane was. Every row had at least two people in it, so no one could stretch out on all of the three seats. I had a window seat, which I thought was a good idea, but I just couldn't enter that blissful slumber. Part of the problem was that I couldn't get comfortable… another was that I was anxious to get home and see my wife and kids… and another was that this small oriental gentleman seated directly in front of me continually passed gas in his sleep. Toxic gas. Intrusive, oppressive, oh-my-God-I'm-going-to-die gas. But, the guy was unconscious… what could I do? So, I turned my head and tried not to breath too deeply for the four hour trip home.

My wife and children waited for me at the airport baggage area. It was 5:45 a.m. and my loving wife pulled our kids out of bed just to pick me up. They were all glad to see me and I was thrilled to see them. On the drive home I recapped the trip with my wife as my kids fell back to sleep in the back seat. When I got home I plopped the remaining $.87 onto my dresser before diving into my familiar, comfortable bed and slept one of the deepest sleeps of my life.

I guess if there's one thing I learned during this trip is that, no matter what stage of the process you're in (pre-production, production, post, distribution, etc.), you are still your best salesman. You are still the one who has more passion and belief in your project than anyone else. You still have to keep working the film, making sure the distribution company is on the same page you are, pushing them, networking, making contacts... it doesn't appear that there is ever a stage in the process when you simply let go of the project. It's always yours. That's why it's so important that your first feature be something you are passionate about because you are going to live with it for a very long time.

Remaining Cash: $.87

Until next time...

AFM 2000 - Day 3

AFM – Day 3
2/24/00

Excerpts from Pete's personal journal.

It was Thursday and a big day for us. First, we had the RWA screening at a local AMC theater at 1:00 p.m. Second, we got a call that morning that we were to meet with the foreign investors that afternoon after the screening. But, first, we had to get there. And on the way down the interstate we ran into one of those classic L.A. traffic jams. Fortunately for us, there is a carpool lane, which was completely empty. Apparently we were the only people in the state that actually drove WITH someone else in the car.

On the way into the hotel entrance we passed the Troma people singing and dancing and making a lot of noise. They were dressed in their Troma character costumes (Kabuki Kop, Toxic Avenger, etc.) grooving to accordion music. Only in California can you see a man dressed up in a Kabuki outfit bump and grind to a Lawrence Welk-ish tune with a mal-formed melon head and a scream queen.

We arrived at the AFM around 10:30 to meet up with some people who were going to join us at the screening. Grady Bishop, our stunt coordinator on RWA, got in contact with some of the great women from the Stuntwoman's Association of Motion Pictures and they agreed to come out and help push the film. Nancy Thurston, Elle Alexander, and Cheryl Bermeo were all there to help us out. Originally they had planned to recreate the wheelchair down the cable stunt outside the AMC theater where the screening was to be held, but due to nearby construction, this had to be called off. I asked Nancy why they were willing to assist us and she said, "The more advertisement for women, stunt women, women directors, any woman in any part of the industry, we love to support." She also stated that it's hard enough for women in the entertainment industry and that they need to help each other out as much as possible. Their generosity and time were greatly appreciated. They were going to take our poster and postcards and hand them out in the front of the AMC, so, they donned some RWA t-shirts and headed for the theater.

Before they left, however, security had come to us twice about our RWA poster. Trying to enforce the "don't flaunt your stuff" policy, they told us we had to turn our poster toward the wall or else they would confiscate the goods. We tried to explain that we were handing it to these women to take with them (which was true), but they didn't buy it. We knew they were only doing their job, but we didn't see them stop the Troma people from dancing and singing through the lobby or tell some woman with a pet monster to take it outside. The best we could figure out was that you weren't allowed to display your film (i.e. large poster), but if you dressed up wacky and people initiated conversation, then you were then allowed to hand them a postcard and flaunt your film to your hearts content. A gray area, sure, but life's full of 'em.

Chris Templeton, RWA's lead actress, arrived and we then all headed to the theater. We got there a little early. We checked in with the stunt-women who were busily handing out postcards to anyone who walked by. Jeff and I then took a stroll down the main street and headed to Borders bookstore. On the way there we ran into a little guy (a friend of the stunt women) who handed us an RWA postcard and said "hey, you wanna see a great action movie?" Jeff kindly pointed out that he produced it and I pointed out that I co-wrote it. He smiled and walked on, going up to the next person.

After a stroll through the extensive film book collection in Borders, we continued down the walk and ran into Gregory Von Hausch, who is President of the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival. For those of you who missed that episode, the RWA showed at the '98 Ft. Lauderdale Film Fest and won the Sunshine Celluloid Award. Gregory said that some little guy pushed an RWA postcard in his hand and asked if he wanted to see a great action film. Gregory said he tried to explain to him that he showed the film at his festival last year… he was certain the guy didn't believe him. You gotta love the little guy's enthusiasm for a film he's NEVER seen!

It neared lunch and Tracy, Olga, Chris and I headed across the street from the theater to Lago's for some lunch. The menu said they had pasta and a salad bar, but after seeing the meals, I wasn't too sure what they were serving. The ladies all got the "salad" bar, which was really like some food freak show with unpronounceable names and weird tastes. I tried to order a simple dish, fettuccini and chicken, but it came out looking different and tasting slightly off. I ate it anyway because I was starving.

Our lunch was interrupted by a parade of picketing janitors fighting for the right to higher wages. Thankfully there was no mop-water spilled or stain remover shed… it was a peaceful demonstration. Tracy and Chris had to leave early because a TV crew showed up at the theater, so Olga and I had a nice meal discussing many things. It was a pleasant lunch. I tried to pay (no, really) but Olga said Jeff insisted he pay for the meal.

The screening finally neared and we made our way to the theater. Outside the Mulder and Scully buyers approached, exiting an AFM shuttle bus dressed like attendees at an FBI convention. Postcards were given out aplenty. The little guy (I really have to get his name) wanted to know if he could sit on the shuttle bus and hand out the postcards to the buyers as they entered/exited (I LOVE his enthusiasm!). We thought that may be a bit intrusive, but we agreed he could hang out where they dump the X-File look-a-likes out and pummel them with advertising.

Ned McLeod, our handy-dandy entertainment lawyer, and John and Susie Millonig some of our executive producers, were in town and showed up for the screening. It was good to meet John and Susie. They are really great people. They've spent the last 12 years building a missionary in a village down in Honduras. They are almost complete and will move to a new village and start again. Great people.

We made our way into the theater and I was deeply disappointed to find out that Snowcaps were not sold in this theater. A movie without Snowcaps? What is this, Russia? Disappointed, I continued on, chocolate-less, and sat in the back of the theater. The way these screenings work is like this… there are about 10 movie theaters that are showing AFM films during the week. Each of the films the distributors want to show gets one, MAYBE two screenings during the AFM. So, during our screening there were other AFM films showing on each of the other screens in our theater… and there are also AFM films at all of the other screens at all of the other theaters all at the same time. So, we were pleased to have about 50 people attend the screening. It's not uncommon to have people come and go during these screenings. Some may spend 10 minutes in one film, 15 in another and 30 in yet another, getting a feel for if the film could sell in their territory. If they want to view the entire film they can always get video copies from the distributor later. We were very happy to have only two people leave after the first ½ hour and the rest stayed through to the end. That was very encouraging.

After the screening the rest of the people were now hungry, so we headed back over to Lago's for some post-screening feeding. Those of us who had lunch earlier indulged in some serious desserts while the rest of them played mystery-food roulette with the menu. This was the first time I was able to meet Isaac, who plays Mo in RWA. He had just finished a gig on the new Charlie's Angels film (like society needs THAT to be a feature film). I asked him what type of roles he's been getting and he stated most of his characters were morally challenged (i.e., bad guys). We joked that, someday, he could get a role where his character yearns to cuddle.

Also, during lunch, dinner or whatever this was, I got to meet and talk with Scott Dobbie, a director who's interested in directing a script I wrote called One View Only. Jenni ran into Scott a while back at a DGA event. Scott said he was looking for a script like Silence of the Lambs… Jenni immediately thought of One View Only, sent him a copy and he loved it! He's working on getting financing and all of the other stuff that goes into getting a film made. Jenni and Jeff will produce the film if he gets the cash in place. I tried to pay at this meal too (stop snickering, I'm serious), but Jeff insisted on paying for this meal too.

After eating we headed back to the AFM and met with our would-be foreign investor who, at this point, will remain nameless. First off, you don't want to jinx a thing like multi-million dollar financing and Second, you don't want to risk pissing off a guy who may invest in your film and Third, it's just not kosher in filmdom. So, we had a good meeting with them and Showcase. They stated that they needed the re-written Adrenaline to review with his people when he goes back home and we agreed to meet the next day with our casting director to discuss possible directions we want to go in casting.

On the drive home we got stuck in traffic again. The half-hour drive took about an hour and a half. On the way home Jeff cracked the whip and said that we should work on the script changes that night so we can make sure and get him a finished re-write before the guy goes back to their country. We didn't want to delay the process of getting financing at all. We also needed to do it before I left for home, Friday night.

So, Jenni and I stayed up as late as we could and worked our way through about 1/3 of the script. Before going to bed, I got on the computer and entered the changes, then crashed.

Remaining Cash: $4.87

AFM 2000 - Day 2

AFM – Day 2
2/23/00

Excerpts from Pete's personal journal.

My mind tried to wake me up at about 3:30 a.m. PST, thinking I was back home in my own bed, ready to go to work. However, it didn't take long to convince my body that a couple of hours more sleep would do me good. I knew these next few days would be packed with events, so I took every opportunity to rest up.

I finally awoke around 9:00 a.m. and found the rest of the house still asleep. Along with Jenni and Jeff, Olga, Jenni's mother and Tracy, who worked with us on RWA, also lived in the house. I would soon learn that, in L.A., no one gets up very early and everyone stays up very late. So, I started to search the kitchen for some breakfast fixings, but didn't feel comfortable rifling through their stuff, so I plopped on the comfy couch and watched Sportscenter.

After a little while, Jeff awoke and we combined to make some delicious eggs and potatoes for breakfast. I then filled my time taking a tutorial on Final Cut Pro on their new Apple G3 machine. By 11:00 a.m. Jenni and I were out the door and heading to the AFM. Jeff would catch up with us later.


The first stop was the Directors Guild of America so Jenni could pay her dues and drop off some tickets for a Guild party. Inside I attempted to take some pics, but the Guard quickly informed me that "taking pics inside the DGA without approval was strictly verboten." The lobby of the DGA has three theaters (Video Theater, Theater One and Theater Two) and I was only able to snap a pic of the outside of the Video Theater. Even though the Guard was distracted by some workers setting up for a Showtime party in the lobby, I didn't want to get Jenni in trouble, so I put the camera away and we headed upstairs to accounting.

We left the DGA and headed, through town (not via highway) to Santa Monica, where the AFM was being held. On the way there, my EST stomach started to growl and Jenni pulled into a McDonalds so I could feed the beast. I was left with four dollars and some change. One more meal like that and I was headed to the ATM.

The sun finally broke through the clouds as we arrived at Loews Hotel about two blocks from the Santa Monica Pier. After some haggling with the valets, we were allowed to park the van ourselves and we headed into the hotel. When you enter the lobby you are accosted by people hawking industry rags (Variety, Hollywood Reporter, etc.) There are tables and tables of free industry publications that are yours for the taking. We made our way past the publication gauntlet and entered the lobby, where I felt like I had entered an X-Files convention. Everyone (distributors and buyers alike) was dressed in black, wearing long black trench coats and talking continuously on cell-phones. Mulder and Scully could have been standing right next to me and I wouldn't have noticed. Having been born without the hip gene, I was wearing color (green and tan), which made me look like a tourist. I didn't realize I should have dressed for a funeral. This is an important tip to would-be filmmakers. At ALL social events, wear black… you can't go wrong with black.

One of the first people we met was Mark Bruder from Bruder Releasing, Inc. (BRI), a domestic distributor. He had contacts with getting films into the Blockbuster chain, HBO, Lifetime, etc. We talked about the niche appeal this film has with handicapped viewers and he already knew the numbers, which was impressive. He took a copy of the film and told Jenni that they'd meet at the end of the market.

In the lobby we also hooked up with Dan Murphy, who is good friends with the Farley brothers (Something About Mary) and Jenni. He agreed to help us spread the RWA word and hand out postcards with RWAs poster on the front and a synopsis and screening times on the back. We would later learn that such overt advertising at the AFM is a faux paus. But, ignorance (no matter how temporary) is bliss, so we handed him a pack of cards and he headed into the thick lobby crowd while Jenni and I headed up to the eighth floor to meet with Showcase. In order to enter any of the floors where the distributors are located you have to have a badge with your picture (I think they cost around $400 each!) The blue badges mean you're a distributor (ours was from Showcase) and the green badges mean you're a buyer. Thankfully, I look enough like Jeff's little photo to get away with using his badge… now I'm not sure if Jeff should be offended by that or whether I should.

Every U.S. based international distributor takes one of the hotel rooms, sets up shop and the buyers strolls from one room to the other, watch videos, dvds, listen to pitches and determines what they think they can sell back in their territories. Jenni and I made our way up to 807, this weeks temporary home for Showcase, where we met with David Jackson, president of Showcase. He was a very nice, straightforward man. We talked about RWA and Adrenaline and tried to finalize a meeting with the foreign investors. He said he was having dinner with them that evening and would try to finalize a meeting with us then. He then went on to describe some of the humorous film investment schemes he had heard (diamonds for collateral, bad escrow deals, etc.) The funniest story was of a director who met with some middle-eastern "investors" who would only fund the film if they could put life insurance on the director. The director declined their offer and ran as fast as he could.

Jenni spent the rest of the afternoon up at Showcase while I strolled the halls checking out all of the distributors and films. It was amazing to see how many films were made that no one in the U.S. will probably ever see. It occurred to me that known to semi-known actors work a lot more than we realize. There were hundreds of films that fall into many of the standard formulas (action, blow 'em-up flicks and sci-fi alien-esque thrillers, sexy soft porn and horror/satanic themed films) that the average U.S. film fan will never see.

Distributors ranked from the ultra small (offering only one movie full of no-names, which were probably friends and local actors) to more "legitimate" distributors, like New Line and Miramax. And some celebrities came to push their films as well. There were a lot of actors that fit into that "oh, I know them from something somewhere but have no clue what their name is" category, a few that you knew well, but still didn't know their names (like the black guy who played assistant DA in the early years of Law and Order and the main hunk on the new Baywatch Hawaii). Then there were the ones you knew like Gene Simmons of KISS (pushing Detroit Rock City) and Jean Claude Van Damme (pushing a tender love story between a man and his injured puppy – yeah right, he was there pushing some action flick with a numeral at the end).

Other sights of interest were the plethora of silicon enhanced mammories, the hosts of calogen filled lips and the sad sight of the aging Hollywood insiders who try so desperately to look 20 and are failing miserably. The last group was truly sad and made me glad that most of the people in Florida let gravity take its course and look the better for it.

That night we drove home, slightly frustrated that we weren't able to nail down a meeting with the foreign investors, and finished the evening by eating some delicious beef stroganoff prepared so expertly by Jeff and Olga.

Remaining Cash: $4.87

AFM 2000 - Day 1

Back in 2000 I had co-written a screenplay for Jenni Gold called Ready, Willing & Able. When the low-budget film was completed we tried to sell it at the famed American Film Market, where distributors from across the world would come to see what was available for distribution in their areas and countries. I wrote a journal of the odd and memorable experience. Over the next four days, I'll share that journal.

*****

AFM – Day 1
2/22/00

Excerpts from Pete's personal journal.

Ten bucks, two carry-ons and an e-ticket were all I had as I entered the airport for my 8:17 p.m. flight en route to California. I had 13 dollars when I got there, but my wife took three of them in order to pay for the privilege to leave the Tampa International Airport parking garage. The ten left wasn't enough to survive the next three days in L.A., but was all I had, since I had remembered getting everything for this trip, except cash! I decided to see how long I could stretch out the 10 bucks before succumbing to an ATM and their exorbitant fees.

About three weeks ago, Jenni and Jeff called me and asked if I would be available to come out to L.A. in order to attend to the American Film Market (AFM) and meet with some potential foreign investors about some re-writes they wanted to make to Adrenaline. After securing some vacation time from work and some understanding from my wife, they booked me on a flight out there. This year the AFM runs from 2/23/00 to 3/1/00. Due to some family obligations, I could only make it Wednesday thru Friday, so, in order to maximize my time out there we agreed to give me the red-eyes to and from L.A.

So, Tuesday night at 8:17 p.m. I took flight 1249 to Chicago. I arrived at O'Hare airport with just enough time to board flight 127 out to L.A. The flight from Chicago to L.A. was mostly empty, which allowed me to take the entire row of seats and attempt to sleep while trying to ignore the metal seatbelts digging into my back. I arrived at LAX at about 12:30 a.m. PST, which was 3:30 a.m. my time. I was exhausted, yet excited to be there. I knew this trip would allow me to forget the daily grind I left back in Florida and play filmmaker for a couple of days. It's these little moments of indulgence of doing what I want to do (filmmaking) that allow me to do what I have to do (my real job) without going creatively postal.

Jenni and Jeff got there about 10 minutes after I arrived. I was surprised to find it rainy and cold. This was L.A. after all, where it never rains, supposedly. Unprepared and without a coat, I shivered until I spotted Jenni's van approaching. Jeff was exhausted from working the past 36 hours straight finalizing a post-production gig, so he hopped in back and attempted to snooze on the ½ hour trip back to their house. Jenni and I caught up on everything and set out our plan for the week.

The primary goal of the trip was to finalize, as much as possible, the foreign investor's concerns about script changes needed to Adrenaline. Their original notes wanted a past love interest added from one of the existing characters. After some thought and a re-read of the script, I believed that this change would actually benefit the script. Jenni was more skeptical. She kept asking me "well, if they don't end up funding the film, would you still keep the changes?" I kept saying "yes" because it added a sense of normality to the group of characters and gave a more satisfying conclusion to the story.

I could tell she wasn't completely convinced, however she trusted me and we talked about our secondary goal, getting RWA sold to foreign markets at the AFM. The AFM is basically a market of middlemen. U.S. based international distributors (i.e., Showcase, New Concorde, New Line, etc.) meet with foreign-based distributors (or buyers). These foreign distributors buy the rights to the U.S. films and then try to sell it to their markets (t.v., theatrical, etc.) in their territories. RWA had a screening scheduled for Thursday at around 1:00 p.m. so our goal was to get as many buyers as we could to attend the screening.

We got back to the house after 1:00 a.m. PST, but I was feeling the 4:00 a.m. EST in me screaming to get out. After a quick tour of the house, Jeff pulled out the sleeper in a small sofa located in their front room, which doubles as an editing suite. After unpacking, I collapsed onto the bed.

Remaining Cash: $10.00

A Prediction?

During the latest debacle that is the Bucs season, my family and I were lamenting how bad they were playing. We were all feeling hopeless.

We mused that if they had to put the Bucs season on a single picture, it would be a take off of Obama's famous Hope picture.

Personally, I like Raheem Morris a lot. I think his intentions are pure and he is doing the best he can. I do question whether or not he was the right guy at the right time.

No matter who they would have hired, it would have been a tough season. Gruden left the team cupboards barren of talent. Gruden/Allen drafted horribly and Gruden didn't have the patience to develop young talent. Allen's picks were under performers or pure busts (Gaines Adams, Dexter Jackson). Plus, the Glazers appear to be in a credit/cash crunch since leveraging themselves to the moon and back to buy the Manchester United... BEFORE the economy took a dump.

We knew we were all in for a rebuilding process anyway... we just felt the new regime would have some sort of plan.

I hope Raheem and the team succeed. But, this level of play sure is a reminder of the Richard Williamson school of football. And that ain't pretty.

Microcinema Flashback - The Last Broadcast Revisited (2001)

From February 2001 I discuss how the film The Last Broadcast was a much better no-budget film than the financially successful Blair Witch Project. Since this article, I have actually been in email communication with Lance Weiler, who started a website called the Workbook Project. The WP is an "open source" website for do-it-yourself filmmakers. Lance, who has always been on the forefront of the evolving independent distribution model, used the WP website to share all of the information he and others have collected on how to best get your indy film out there.

*****

The Last Broadcast - REvisited
By Pete Bauer

This past Monday afternoon, as I recovered from an all night drive from a family event in Atlanta, I sat on my couch and watched The Last Broadcast on HBO. This film was made back in 1998 by Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler and is an example of all that is potentially right with amateur, ultra low-budget film making.

I remember reading about it and visiting their website when the film was first completed. I remember that they spent only $900 on the film and used this new, cool technology called Digital Video. I remember reading that they were the first film digitally distributed, via satellite, to a few select art film houses across the U.S., including the Enzian in Orlando, Florida. Then, life went on and the dreaded Blair Witch Project reared it's ugly head. At first I thought it was The Last Broadcast renamed. But, later I fell for the hype and build-up of the Blair Witch Project only to go away from the theater thinking it was one of the most overly-hyped ineffective uses of my time, exceeded only by another pathetic little film known as The Phantom Menace. But I digress...

The Last Broadcast was not so effective because of its use of DV or Adobe Photoshop or any technical wizardry. It succeeded because it had a great story and they used their financial limitations as creative solutions instead of artistic excuses. There's a quote from Robert Rodriguez that goes something like this... "You're gonna come up with problems everyday on your set. You can get rid of the problem one of two ways - you can do it creatively or you can wash it away with the money hose. You got no money, you got no hose." And Avalos and Weiler formatted their film to fit their limitations. Their idea was to shoot a fake documentary... which, by now, has become all too common. But, what was so effective about it was the way they let the story unfold.

Unlike "Bore Witch," this story had a plot and every character in the film was believable and convincing. Broadcast succeeded because it treated the documentary like a mystery. If you've ever watched Nova or Front Line (yes, that means you'd have to be watching PBS), then you would see the best documentaries made today, because they don't bore you with fact after fact, they give you the problem or task of the documentary and lead you down a path that unfolds like an Sherlock Holmes tale. I mean, if Front Line can make an hour-long documentary on mathematical proofs interesting, they can do anything! And the guys from Broadcast used the same technique. They give you the end of the story, then relay the beginning, unraveling the plot slowly and effectively, leading you down one path, only to change courses and go down another, and so on.

Unfortunately, the brain trusts behind Hollywood did not deem Avalos and Weiler worthy to grace them with the winning indy film lottery ticket which, instead, went to Blair Witch. And because of the similarities of the stories and the "controversy" behind which film came out first (for the record, Broadcast came out first), these two vastly different film watching experiences will be forever linked. As a matter of fact, you can get a new DVD 2-pack with both Blair Witch and Last Broadcast!

Lucky for Avalos and Weiler, this tactic may finally expose which are the better filmmakers. I've never understood why the makers of BW have ever received accolades... I mean if the dialogue was improvised and the camera work was done by the actors then what exactly did the "directors" of this film do? But, I digress... again. My point of this rant is this, we should watch Broadcast to see what is possible with very little. It's a perfect example of how, above all else, a quality story and effective use of limited resources can create a compelling and believable film. And perhaps those Witchidiots who purchase the 2-pack will stumble across Broadcast and realize that the "B-side" is the vastly better film.

I visited the Internet Movie Database before writing this rant to discover that Avalos and Weiler have done nothing since Broadcast. I hope that, when we create something so effective out of virtually nothing, that we are treated better by those in "the know." I know most of us live in a world where we feel that if we're just given a chance to show our talent, that we'll be able to make a living at this whole movie making thing.

However, if you compare the way Broadcast and Blair Witch have been treated, you'll have to come to the unsettling realization that, though it may take talent to make your mark, you'll need a lot more than talent in order to do this for a living.

Kids Journal - 05/02/05

Gabe had his first communion this past weekend. It was so beautiful. The night before we went over the first Passover and how it was tied to the Passion and the Eucharist. After he received, he sat next to me and leaned in say "Just to tell you, when I was waiting to go up there, my heart was beating so fast I thought it would pop out of my chest!" It was very touching. The whole experience made me cry. Gabe looked at me and said "Dad, I've never seen you cry before." What better way for him to see that for the first time than tears of joy of him in union with Christ.

Love ya,

Dad

Microcinema Flashback - Exploding Heads and Bare Naughty Bits (2001)

In this article from January, 2001 I talk about how using an audience's imagination can be far more powerful than showing an image onscreen.

*****

Exploding Heads and Bare Naughty Bits
By Pete Bauer

The primary goal of filmmakers is to evoke emotion from their audience. Those directors who've admitted as much and tailored their films to maximize audience reaction (Hitchcock, Spielberg, etc.) have often been criticized for being so effective at it! As if it were some sort of flaw to actually make an audience cry when they were supposed to. Somehow, because they were able to effect every audience member (not just the illustrious critics), their work has sometimes been disregarded as "popcorn" or "light-weight." It seems that, only after they're dead or they make a dark film are they actually applauded for their talents.

Directors can use a variety of ways to evoke audience reaction. Depending on the subject matter, directors can use shock (exploding heads) or sexuality (bare naughty bits). In my opinion, however, the most talented directors use neither. The most effective directors use the audience's own imagination. Of course, this depends on what type of genre you're shooting. If you're shooting a horror flick, splashing a little blood or creatively exercising some digits from the body may fit the bill. The most powerful true horror films utilize the audience's imagination more than special effects. Halloween, for example, was so effective because there wasn't that much blood, just that scary shadow across the street, seemingly staring at you. And sometimes, exploding heads is just what you need. I mean, Saving Private Ryan was brutally violent, but it was World War II, after all. The violence had a reason. But, sex and violence are used best when they are trying to create a cinematic atmosphere, not as gimmicks. If there isn't a real reason for it, then utilizing the audience's imagination is the best course.

I believe that, in most instances, the weakest choice a director can make is to show a naked breast or show someone getting killed. The most erotic scene for me was in The Last Emperor where the Emperor makes love to his two wives. They move and twist and moan and turn, all completely covered under silk sheets. You only see unrecognizable movement and hear pleasure, but you imagine what's going on under there and that is what makes it so effective. Sure, the director could have chosen to shoot it like any number of bad late-night Cinemax sex/caper flicks, but the director chose a subtle way to portray the scene with maximum impact. If you show it to me, I react to it. If I imagine it, I help create it and truly feel it with you. The latter is always much more powerful.

And I guess that's what the great directors do… there is not one shot in their films that is not there for a specific reason. If the shot is a long shot of two people talking, it's for a reason. If it's a CU of hands fidgeting at a table, it's for a reason. And the great directors' reasons are beyond just setting the camera up to get it shot. Each shot is there in part or in whole to make the audience feel something. Hitchcock, for example, decided in Dial M For Murder that the scene where Grace Kelly gets attacked needed to be a separate "event" in the film. He wanted a beginning, middle and end to the scene that the audience, whether consciously or not, would know that the violence was over. So, he structured each part of the scene to last 30 seconds. The part where Grace Kelly answers the phone is 30 seconds, the part where she is attacked is 30 seconds, the part where she recovers from the attack is 30 seconds. He did the same thing in Psycho with the shower scene, except each part of the attack was 40 seconds in length. How many of us take that much time to determine how best to tell each scene? It's daunting!

It amazes me how many films on cable simply relay the story instead of telling the story. They have the standard long shot, medium shot, close up for every scene. They move the camera in on the main actor once or twice a scene, if that, and then go onto the next scene. The camera remains usually stationary and at eye level. It's like I'm stuck watching the graduate projects from the "TV Movie of the Week" film school. As directors, we all look at the pages of a script. They're basically generic. There's some explanation of events, but the actual scene is created by how the director puts each shot together. I know, especially in amateur filmland, that, due to time, resources or other limitations, sometimes the only thing we can do is set up the camera, get the shot and then get the hell out of there. But, if we do that more than not, we're doing ourselves a disservice.

We have a great opportunity to experiment as amateur filmmakers. Actually, there is no better time to experiment because no one is breathing over your neck waiting to see if your vision is going to give them a return on their investment. I hope that every time someone plops in one of our flicks into the VCR, that we are able to move them, in some way. That we're able to engage their imagination and make them an active participant in the film-watching experience. That we make them laugh when they're supposed to laugh, cry when they're supposed to cry and cringe when they're supposed to cringe. Then our accomplishment moves beyond the fact that we got the project done... but that we got it done well. And then, maybe one day, we all will be called "pop-corn" directors. Then we'll know we're doing it right!

The Demon Files Journal - March 1994

March 21, 1994

Well, it seems like projects never end. I've been really busy over the past few months trying to get work and writing INDEPENDENCE DAY (Note: After the release of the Will Smith I-Day, the title was changed to Cold Storage). I really like I-DAY and it's a better written script than ONE VIEW ONLY. I entered I-DAY into the 94 Houston-Worldfest and I hope to hear some good news in a few weeks.

As far as TDF goes - I was talking with Pam Ginsburg, who is now the script supervisor on MY BROTHER AND ME. Well, she wants to get into post work, like editing. And she has talked to Karen Powell and to Operations about learning to edit. Well, if all goes well, and she is able to learn to edit, she's going to learn by editing TDF. Right now I'm trying to get the tapes transfered to Beta, in case we're able to use the Beta decks. I'll have to get the Lord's help on that.

DC's really cute. She said 'mama' for the first time this past weekend. She said 'dada' about two weeks ago. Unfortunately, she doesn't know what they mean or how much we loved those words coming out of her mouth.

Back to TDF. Paul was telling me that the man who created BABYLON 5 on tv has outlined the first 100 episodes! That's amazing. But, it makes the show so much better than STAR TREK TNG or STAR TREK DS9, because not everything is solved in the last five minutes of the show. On B-5, some questions are raised one week and answered four weeks later. There's a nice sense of mystery that TNG and DS9 really miss. Anyway, after hearing about the outline, I was like, hell, if he can outline 100 shows, I can expand TDF to 13 without much problem.

So, I went through the script and I was amazed at how little was covered in the seven episodes, and how much material there is to expand on for the new six. There were so many things about the characters and subtlties of the plot that were in my head, but never put down into the script, so expanding shouldn't be that much of a problem.

We're going to expand Ivan's involvement in the script by an episode. We're basically going to turn episode 4 into two seperate scripts. We're also going to add a episode where Poole and Nicole, while hunting the demon, stay in a hotel or something that held passionate events for them at one time in their life. I'm going to add an episode with a friend that Poole met on his travels that happens to come into town, revealing a lot of his hidden past. There's also stuff about the death of his parents and about Ed's underground network of friends that I want to work on. So, I'll keep you up to date as I find out.

Until next time...

PFB

Happy Birthday Gabe!

My son turns thirteen today! He's officially a young man.

I am very proud of my son. He is compassionate and thoughtful and bright and athletic and caring. He's a better person than he is an athlete and he makes me laugh using his own unique sense of humor.


I am so blessed to have Gabriel Bauer as my son. Thank you Lord for such a wonderful gift. May you always guide him and give him strength, protect him and give him wisdom, inspire him and give him hope.

Happy birthday, my son! Welcome to adulthood.

The Demon Files Journal - November 1993

November 4, 1993

Here ye, here ye. As of November third, in the year of our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety Three, the rough cut of The Demon Files was completed. After spending $80.00 at the Editworks to do the first four hours of the rough cut editing, I was fortunate to find out the Edit 3 here at Nickelodeon was put back together. After some strategically placed conversation, I was able to finagle the use of Edit 3 for absolutely NO MONEY!

Thank you Lord!

The first day of rough cut editing in Edit 3 happened October 29th. I found out that day that I could use it for free and asked if I could begin that night, during off hours. They said yes. So, that night I started at 7 p.m. and finished at approximately 12:30 a.m. The following Monday, November 1st, I edited from 7:30 p.m. until 3:00 a.m.!!!!! Dea was pretty upset. It was funny. At about 2:30 she beeped me. I call her back and she says "This is ridiculous!!!" Not Hello, Hi, How's it going! Fortunately I was on the last scene, so it only took me another 1/2 hour. Then, Tuesday, November 2nd, I went down to Edit 3 and placed the Voice Overs and the train noise.

What do I think about it? Well, I think, for the most part, it looks pretty good. It's nice to finally see all of these pieces of the puzzle put together in the correct order. Some of the sound is problematic and the visuals aren't top grade, but overall, I'm pretty happy. After the first two edit sessions I wasn't too happy. I told Dea that I wasn't sure if I was a good director. I thought I could tell a real good story, but I wasn't sure I could actually pull off directing it. But, once I laid down the VOs and edited the final action piece together, I felt better about myself. What I really need the next time is a lot more money and a lot more time. It was so hard getting everything packed into the few days. And the space, not to mention, the heat, made even the most efficient plans eventually waver in a pool of sweat.

I must admit I was pretty surprised at how long it took to edit the show together. Editing took about about 16 hours. That's about 2 minutes of finished product per hour of edit time. And that's a healthy chunk! Usually it falls into the 1 minute per hour area.

I'm going to "premiere" it at the next Starving Artists meeting, which is scheduled for November 16th at 7 p.m. over at Chris Linn's house. Steve Holland, who worked as cameraman for most of the shoot, is going to see the rough cut tonight after he gets done working for promos.

I was quite amazed how much the VOs really helped the beginning. Without them there's about 10 minutes of nothing, just images of a guy sitting at a train station. But now, with the VOs, the character's movements and actions have some sort of meaning. Music is the next step. I was going to use Jack Sloss, but he bagged me when I needed him to do some music for Fred Sommers of Sommersports (for the triathalon I filmed for him). The way he handled it was such unprofessional attitude, that I'm not sure if I want to work with him again. It was as if it was a huge hassle for him to do it in the first place, and when he didn't return my repeated calls when time was getting short, well, I think the actions speak for themselves. I'm going to call Randy Glass, an old college buddy who's working over at Epcot Center, and see if he can put something together. I'm not sure what his equipment limitations are, but I know for certain that he could do the job. With music, the piece should really come alive. Especially the transitory scenes.

My next step is to get the original footage transfered to 3/4" or Beta (depending on what I can afford) and work on finding some place to edit for nothing. After that I'll get the real music on, put the sound fx and fix the vocals, and then try and raise money to shoot a real pilot.

As far as ONE VIEW ONLY, Universal (basically for USA Network) passed on the script. A man there really liked it, but his boss didn't. It's now at a place called Wilshire Court Productions, which is some part of Paramount. Mike Fields (the guy at Universal) said they have similar tastes as his and that it should get a good read over there. Pete Bailoff said I should hear something back by the end of this week, but I probably won't here anything until after Thanksgiving. If it's bad news, I probably won't hear anything at all.

Dea, DC and I could really use the money. Clarissa ends in a few weeks and there are NO OTHER JOBS LINED UP AS OF NOW!! I hope the script sells before CHRISTmas. That would be the best present the Lord could give. Dea is so miserable up here in Orlando. I wish she would try to make it work here. She's just fighting it and fighting it, but I really think this is where the Lord wants me right now. I don't feel any pull away from here. And, unfortunately, there's nothing I can really do for her. I've offered, asked and begged, but I can't do things that she needs to do in order to make herself feel good inside. I just keep praying.

DC is a beautiful child. Yes, that's part the proud father speaking, but a lot of people have remarked on how pretty she is. Everyday she grows, the more love I have for her. She is so adorable.

Well, I have to get back to work. I will keep you informed of any further developments, exciting or not.

PFB


November 5, 1993

Well, tomorrow is Paul's birthday. He'll turn 32! Boy, we old get old quick (not that 32 is old, but that 18 doesn't seem that long ago). Steve Holland had a look at the rough TDF and he liked it a lot. He had minor problems with it, the biggest, which by comparison is pretty small, is that Poole shouldn't go back to the library for a second time. That should be cut as it is redundant. We should just move on to the next scene. After reviewing the tape again late last night (as we didn't get out of work until midnight! - ya gotta love when Mitchell, the Executive Producer, is in town) I thought he had a good point. It does seem a little redundant. It would actually work better, if I really wanted to keep the transitory scene, to have him going to the library after the Caldwell house scene (which is what I think I actually intended, but never really thought much about it - you know, it like works in your head, but it's not until you get another objective look at it that you see it the way you intended). Overall, I'm pretty happy with the directing. It's a competent Directing 1 attempt, but I've got a long way to go to become the master story teller in the same class as Hitchcock (which would fit around a Directing 10 class!). I think, for what I wrote, I told the story well, but as far as constructing the story as to best exploit the audiences feelings, well, I've still got a long way to go. I would need to set-up the audience better, by giving them more information.

I'm reading a great book called "Suspense Thrillers: Films in the Shadow of Alfred Hitchcock." It's tremendous (unfortunately I left it down in Clearwater when I visited last week - and it was just getting really good, too). I was at the point where the author was discussing the guilt factor in suspense thrillers. See, the director must manipulate the audience so that they 1) want the main character to do something (which eventually gets him/her into trouble) and then 2) makes them feel guilty when the main character, after doing what the audience wanted them to do, is put into danger. Like in Rear Window: We all want Jimmy Stewart to look out at his neighbors, we've all wanted to do that. But, when it gets him into trouble, we feel guilty because it's almost as if we forced him (or "willed him") into doing it, which led him to danger. And talk about feeling helpless. There's nothing more effective than basically placing the audience inside the helpless character of Jimmy Stewart - what a master Hitchcock was. TDF is more like a suspense-mystery, not so much like a suspense-thriller. Since I wanted to write a serial cliffhanger style series, I needed the audience to discover a little each scene. I'm not sure that if I gave the audience all the information (which you do in a thriller), they could wait 13 episodes for the character to finally realize what you've known for the entire season. So, in order to keep the audience in tow, and in the character's shoes, I wanted them to discover a little at a time, as the characters do. But, in debt to Hitchcock, I gave them a lot of clues that they could figure out before the characters do, which should produce that "thriller" aspect.

I still have to expand the seven episodes I have now into 13. Maybe, in doing so, I can turn it from a suspense-myster to a suspense-thriller. We'll see.

Also, as shooting went into the late hours last night, I was watching the rough TDF in Chris Gifford's office when Neena Beber (the head writer and co-producer, and a hell of a nice woman) came in and caught me watching it. She was intrigued, but I was embarassed. I told her it was just something shot on Hi-8 and she said "Oh, I have a lot of friends who do stuff like that" so I promised her she would see it before the Clarissa season ends. But, not to leave her empty handed, and perhaps help me in selling the script, I asked her, before she left, if she liked thrillers. She said it was her favorite genre. Well, I gave her my ONE VIEW ONLY script, told her it got fourth at the Houston/Worldfest, and that I'd like her opinion on it. So, after she reads that, and, hopefully, thinks I have some modicum of talent, then I'll show her TDF so she knows I'm not some uncredible wanna-be. If she likes it and has someone she thinks I should give it to, I'll call Pete Bailoff a call and tell him about it. She'll probably read it over the weekend.

Well, I gotta get to work (again). I'll write again soon.

PFB

The Demon Files Journal - September 1993

September 15, 1993

Well, a long time has passed and almost nothing has happened. Edit 3 has been out of commission since filming ended and won't be put back together for some time. I found a place (Video Production Center) that has an offline 1/2" straight-cut for $20/hour. That's not a real bad price. I'm pretty sure I could finish it up w/in 5 hours, or $100. Unfortunately, Dea and I have had absolutely no money. Things are so tight that we almost ran out of food. It sucks.

I talked to Shelly Maxwell about the CPN job down in Clearwater. Things look pretty good. I'm hoping that something will happen by the end of the week. Dea and I really need to get out of here. Even though Nickelodeon seems to be going in the right direction with the addition of Albie Hecht in charge, I just can't afford to work here anymore. Plus, Dea and I have no friends. I mean, I have a lot of friends here at Nick, but they're on a different level. They either gay, or single. Both of which don't lend itself to doing things that a couple with a 2 1/2 month old can do. I haven't told Chris Linn about my decision to move, if indeed the job becomes available, but at this point I don't really care. We have almost zero personal relationships with people in similar circumstances.

On the writing front, I decided that my next project will be a short I wrote called DREAM STATE, and will be filmed on Super 8. It's about 20ish pages long and I want to film it on color film, but I may have to do the B & W thing if I can't study up on color lighting/temperatures etc. I really need to get into the film arena. That's the only way I'm going to learn anything.

As far as TDF goes, I'm very frustrated. I really wanted it done by Christmas. Perhaps that's still within reach, but unless I get this offline done soon, then that day will come and go. I really need the offline cause I want to see many things: 1) if the storyboard, or the picture I see in my head, works when actually filmed. 2) What all of the sound problems are and how/if they can be corrected. I went to a seminar on the equipment in Audio 2 here at Nick and they can fix it, but it would be for a pretty hefty price. Only if the end product was really worth spending that much money on would I actually do it. 3) I need to give Jack Sloss a copy of the offline so that he can start working on the score so that the tweaking process will be easier. Since I've never had to work with a composer before, I would like to give myself as much padding with time/creative necessities as is possible.

So, until I get the damn thing offlined, nothing's happening. If only Bob Swan could donate another $100 to the cause. Can't really ask him though. That falls into the category of "WAY OUT OF LINE."

Well, I'll keep you informed if anything happens. Patience is not a real virtue with me. I should probably work on that.

PFB

The Demon Files Journal - August 1993

August 9, 1993

Well, it's a WRAP! We finished shooting TDF on Sunday at around 3 p.m. The week was long and hard. So, sit right back and enjoy the tale, the tale of a...

It all started on Sunday, August 1st at around 8 a.m. My brother Paul Bauer (camera), Chris Linn (playing the character of Ed), Allison Lyons (audio) and myself (Poole/Director) moseyed our way down to the Arnold Palmer Hospital parking garage. We set the camera (provided by Karim Mitef) on the tripod (provided by Chris Linn) on the top floor of the garage and filmed Chris (as a anonymous driver) dropping me off and walking toward Ed's garage/home. After a few takes of that we used the $30.00 dolly I bought from Builder's Square 2 down in Brandon. We placed it on three pieced of 3 x 4 plywood and shot the close up of Poole's feet exiting the car, and dollying back to show Poole walking away.

After that we set up a shot with the camera's view through a bunch of strategically stacked loading flats and filmed Poole walking toward the garage. That shot turned out very nice. Then we again set up the plywood on the ground for a dolly shot of Poole actually walking up the ramp to Ed's garage. We put some more flats in the foreground to give the dolly shot an extra sense of movement. We ended the location shoot with some audio shots of the car arriving, dropping Poole off, and driving away, as well as just some ambient sound of the location to use to cover possible sound problems when editing.

We then went back to Chris Linn's garage where we filmed the interior of the garage scene. We started with the dolly shot of Ed telling Poole about his drug-sale-gone-bad story. It took quite some time to get it right. The rest of the day is mostly a blur, with the exception of the dolly shot closing out the scene of Poole saying "I need you to go to Apopka." We had to do that about a million times. We got done between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., exhausted from the intense heat felt all day. It wasn't the smartest thing to schedule a shoot during the first week of August, but it was the only time I could get the actors, so the suffering was worth it.

Monday turned out to be a day of rest. I went to the Orlando Public Library to shoot the library scenes, but it was amazingly busy for a Monday morning. There were a lot of school kids around and the library wasn't too keen on the idea, so it turned out to be a day of just resting.

Tuesday was a light day. Steve Holland (camera) and I filmed Poole arriving in his home town down at the train station right next to the location we used for Ed's garage Sunday morning. The shots turned out really well and I'm very pleased. Later that day Sarah Peacock arrived and we rehearsed, made some nice discoveries about the characters, and then had a very deep and lively discussion about religion and society.

Wednesday was a day in hell. We filmed the Caldwell house and attic scenes. We filmed the Attic scene first in Jym Buss' garage. Ali couldn't make it that day, so it was only Sarah Peacock (as Nicole), Maggie Rasnick (as Caldwell), Steve Holland (Camera) and myself. It was stiflingly hot in the garage and the shoot seemed to take forever. Jym forgot to leave me the key, so I was going to have to drive out to Nick and pick it up. Fortunately, the Lord was shining down on us, cause Jym's new roommate showed up and opened up the place for us. I have to tell you the heat in the garage was amazing. It was so draining. Even though we had spent a good 4 hours in 110 degree heat, we kept saying "Man, it's hot!" like it was a new discovery. It was amazing. After the Attic scene we filmed the interior of the Caldwell house using Jym's dining room. The shots turned out nice. Then, we finished the day filming Nicole and Poole arriving at the house. I'm really quite happy with the shots.

When I got home, around 3:00 p.m., I was absolutely exhausted. Sarah went to visit a friend in Daytona and I crashed on the couch. About an 1 1/2 hours later Rachel Tench arrived. When I woke up I felt like I could've slept another eight hours. It literally took me another three hours to "wake up." It turned out the Steve Holland had a similar experience. We later realized that we probably had mild heat exhaustion since we didn't really drink a lot of fluid while we were sweating to death in the garage. We didn't make that mistake again.

We expected PB to arrive in town around 4. Rachel and I waited until 8:30 and she went to sleep over Maggie Rasnick's. After a few agonizing hours and increasingly frantic calls to his home in Miami, PB arrived around 10:30 p.m. He got a late start and had to fight traffic all the way up. I was quite relieved he was okay. I went to bed as soon as I got off the phone and struggled to wake up the next morning.

Thursday went very well, even though the workload was quite heavy. Steve and I had gone over the shots the day before and came prepared. Since we were filming in Chris Linn's garage for the police station scenes, we were determined not to have the same experience we had the day before in Jym's garage. It was also a great help to have Ali there for the audio. It's amazing what one more body can do to speed up production.

Anyway, the day went very quick and very well. We got done around 4 p.m. The highlight of my day was when Dea, my wife, and DC, my one-month old, came up to see me. I was so excited. When they left that night I was incredibly depressed. Just when I was getting comfortable with my baby again, off they went, back to Clearwater. It was very hard on me. And I'm sure being totally exhausted at this point didn't help either. As far as the filming goes, we got some really good shots. I'm sure this won't turn into another HOMESICK. If all else fails, the shots will be interesting and intriguing. It was a good day and the garage didn't really get hot until around 4 that night.

Friday was reminiscent of THE TERM PAPER. We started around 6 p.m. inside Chris Linn's house. Steve was unable to make it and Ali had to work, so it was only Paul, Sarah and I. Things started off slowly. Sarah, being a morning person, started to fade quickly. Paul, not used to the efficiency Steve and I had developed, started off lackadaisical. I, on the other hand, realized the long night we had in front of us. After the first scene (the Cafe scene moved to Nicole's house at dinner), which should have taken only an hour to shoot, ended up taking about 3 1/2, I decided a little directorial sternness was in order. After Paul and Sarah started joking around while we were trying to get a scene shot my face filled with controlled anger and said "Look, we need to be a little more professional here! I don't want to be here all night!" then I quickly walked into the kitchen to get something to drink. When I returned their focus had changed and we worked hard and consistently through the night. We ended up finishing at 7 in the morning! It was long, tiring, and mentally exhausting. But, again, we got some really good shots.

We got back to the apartment and showered. Sarah drove home and Paul and I prepared for Bob Swan (Miles) to arrive. He got there at 8 a.m. and we went to the Winter Park train station to shoot the opening of the story. As Paul and I were entirely exhausted at this point, the filming went quickly and efficiently. Again, the Lord shined down on us, and we were lucky to have a train arrive as we were finishing up, so we have a nice shot of Poole waiting for the approaching train. Bob then treated us to a much needed breakfast at the IHOP and Paul and I went home and crashed. After about 5 hours we woke up and saw "DAVE" at the dollar theater. It was a tremendous movie. On the drive home we both felt bad because we weren't the best of company for Bob. We were just so exhausted.

Sunday, we ended our shooting! We started by getting the Lake shots for the Voice Overs. Then, after we concocted some blood from Karo Syrup, flour and red food coloring, we filmed the opening murder scene at the lake behind our apartment. That went surprisingly easy. We then went to the library and sneaked the shots before anyone could stop us. After that we came home and did the newspaper article close-ups and the close-up of the knife marks in the floor for the Attic scene. Paul then left around 3 p.m. After about a 2 hour nap I got up and did the voice-overs. I wanted to do something that night, but I was so tired, I really couldn't.

Today, I'm back at Nick and I'm dubbing the Hi-8's onto VHS on Chris Gifford's machine while he's up in New York. Then I'm going to make a rough cut on the editing equipment in Edit 3, if I can scam it. I hope to have the tapes dubbed to Beta this week, if things are slow in the tape room. I'll keep you informed.

Until next time. PFB

Tourney Wins

Gabe has started to readily improve at his new level of baseball. He's been hitting the ball extremely well. This past weekend he only had one at bat where the ball was not struck with force. In one game he hit three line drives deep to the outfield, but two were caught for outs.

So, even though it doesn't look great on the stat sheet, it does show the improvement we were trying to achieve this year.

The nice thing about playing 13U baseball (meaning 13 and under) is that a combination of things levels the playing field.

• 13U means that no player on the field is older than 13 years old.
• 13U plays at major league distances (60 ft mound, 90 ft bases).

Unlike 12U where the fields are little league sized and some of the players have hit puberty early and can dominate on a smaller field, in 13U, no one is big enough or strong enough to dominate on this field.

Domination can reoccur in the upcoming years, since the field will remain the same size, but the players will get better and stronger. But, for right now, wins and losses come down to simply execution.

This past weekend we spent in Plant City where our team came in third place, going 3-1 in the tournament. Gabe and his teammates continue to grow and improve. It's exciting to see his passion for the game and his exceptional gifts for the game continue to flourish as his competition gets better. Even elite teams in the area have been asking about him.

It makes all of the hours at the ball field worth it.

Microcinema Flashback - Note to Self (2000)

Also from December 2000 are some lessons learned on our first official foray into microcinema with a short film called Justice. We tested out the theory on a bad flick called Raw Footage, but Justice was the first attempt to really tell something with an intent greater than just getting something, anything on film.

*****

Note to Self
by Pete Bauer

Well, as I wrap up JUSTICE I made a few mental notes on the things I've learned from my experience.

1) My wife loves me so much she allowed herself to be in this project even though every atom in her genome screamed in protest. She HATES being on camera, but she did it because the project meant a lot to me. And, that sacrifice meant infinitely more to me than making the film itself.

2) My best friend defined the term "best friend" by always being there, whatever day, whatever hour necessary to complete the project. Without him, or my wife, this thing would still be collecting dust in my desk drawer.

3) Along those same lines... spending time with my family and friends to make this project is worth the price you pay when you do these no-budget things. Their dedication drove me to complete the project while overcoming surgery and hurricanes. Leaving it unfinished devalues their sacrifice for the project and I couldn't let that happen, no matter how convenient dropping the project would have been.

4) After promising myself that I'd never act in any of my projects again, I was forced to take over a role abandoned by my brother and it made me realize the reason I'm ALWAYS in my projects... because I know that I'll be there when the director (me) needs me. You can't really say that about many people in this world (except for #1 and #2).

5) Storyboards saved my life. When shooting with no money and no time in places you don't have permission to be in, it's easy to get distracted and lose your train of thought. Having storyboards made sure that every shot I needed, I got.

6) Editing while you shoot rocks. Non-linear editing makes the process much easier. Every night, after shooting, I'd digitize and edit the project. I'd immediately know what worked, what didn't and what shots to add to fix it. And the fact that you can actually do all this stuff on a crappy little computer is amazing in of itself. Just a few years ago all of this would have been impossible... or damn expensive.

7) If a scene doesn't work either cut it or reshoot it. There's no excuse for keeping a shot or a scene in a project that will only undermine the purpose for shooting it in the first place.

8) MPEG-1 quality sucks. I had viewed most MPEG-1 projects on my computer from the web. It looks a LOT better using the pixels on your computer than it ever does "blown up" on your television. But, since the goal of the project was to use what I got, then I'll suck it up and take my lumps when everyone pans the thing for looking so pathetic.

9) Newly acquired access to an MPEG-2 digitizer made me realize that I'll probably end up re-editing this thing all over again once the thought of recreating months of work no longer nauseates me.

10) It always takes three times longer than planned to shoot a scene.

11) Creating music from Sony Mixman is easy and challenging at the same time. If it would only give you the ability to view your work in seconds instead of beats, life would have been SO much easier. I had to develop the virtue of patience in order to survive this process.

12) The hardest thing to maintain over months of shooting is the length of your actors' hair.

13) When acting in a project, never agree to use the clothes you like best. After wearing it off and on for six months or so, you'll end up wanting to burn it in ritual sacrifice to the gods of wardrobe.

14) Never have characters park their car in an empty parking lot. It looks extremely unrealistic. The only thing it conveys is the place they're going to is closed.

15) Direct with confidence. Amateur actors feed off of you... if they think you know exactly what you're doing, they do whatever you want.

16) Nothing can compensate for a story with bad logic... so fix it before you shoot it.

17) Getting people enthused enough to be in your project is not that hard. Keeping them enthused six months later when they're in the last scenes that need to be shot is MUCH harder.

18) It's nice to know that what you actually imagine in your head actually works on film/video.

19) You've wasted everyone's time and effort if the project is left unfinished.

20) You've done something right when your simple little premiere party costs more than your project.

JUSTICE sat in my desk for almost 10 years before finally getting done. It's evolved a lot since the original storyboards, hopefully for the better. But, no matter what the end result, the process of making the thing has been a great learning experience.

I can't wait to start on the next one...