Beginner Filmmaker

Editing monologue

2010-10-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes writing your thoughts and experiences out helps you put them into perspective.

I'm currently in the thick of editing my second feature documentary. It's quite an undertaking, what I imagine birth to be like! Once it's over and you have a beautiful baby, you forget how hard or painful the process was of getting that baby out.

I've blocked out how difficult it was editing my first feature, but even as difficult as that was, I still always knew "if it didn't work out, it didn't work out, no big deal"... I honestly didn't have that high of expectations for my first film. Surprisingly, it was well received.

And then I made a short 10 minute film for a film contest. I knew about the contest for 6 or 7 months, and I defiantly procrastinated starting the project until the last month. I worked up a psychological sweat, and beat myself up trying to finish in time. 14 films made it to the finals, and I ended up taking the 2nd place cash prize. What I thought was going to tip me over the crazy person edge ended up being the best financial blessing I could have had.

Now, having two successful flukes, I'm in a position where the bar is set much higher. We have thousands of fans anxiously awaiting this film's release, but what's far more taxing is the personal expectations on myself. I know I can do better than the first two projects, I've learned so much about what plays well in theatres, what distributors are looking for, what audiences are expecting and wanting to see in a film with a particular subject matter, it's all so much clearer to me now. I can't pull an idiot savant rabbit out of my hat anymore, I have to perform with purpose, knowing exactly what I want the outcome to be. I need to know my audience, I need to know my distributor, I need to know my ideal film festivals... and sometimes the goals counteract. Maybe I know that I have a faithful audience from this group of people, but where I really need to change people's minds is in this other group of people. Do I make a film that the LGBT community will love more than anything, or do I make a film that will change the 'non-believers' minds? Will they even see the film? Or is there actually a diamond pin-point of the perfect balance between making the LGBT community happy and also convincing the anti-gay rights people that they were wrong?

I used to think that 90 minutes was a lot of time to fill, but now I'm thinking "how could I ever pack everything important into just an hour and a half?" I personally love documentaries that give time for the moments and the glances and the breaths and the hesitation of words.... I think that's what makes us human and not robotic, but I've learned from my first film that sometimes when you give the interview subject a lot of time to speak, it makes the film seem slow, and the audience gets restless. I have so much footage for this new project, and so many points to make, that I think the best thing to do is take a more (what they call the..) "MTV approach": fast cuts, creative editing, music, graphics, get to the point, make it fun, funny, and informative, and then move on.

This project will be like a new genre for me. The first doc was slower, seasoned with funny, but mostly intense, and sometimes depressing. This new one will be fun, entertaining, hopefully enlightening, sometimes funny, but overall: hopeful. Life is beautiful, love is beautiful, and humans loving one another: gay, straight, bi, transgendered... it's all pure.

We'll see how it goes...

Hot and Cold

2010-09-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

The coolest things that have happened in the past 2 hours:

- Got an inquiry email from one of the leading distribution companies for documentary films.

- Set up an appointment to meet up with a local documentarian who covers all of the LGBT rallies and protests. He's giving us his footage to use in our film. Extremely passionate and talented guy.

- Got permission from an AWESOME band (whose had their songs featured in some big films) to let us use one of their popular songs as the opening song in OUR film.

- Got an email from one of the BIGGEST documentary directors. Someone I highly admire and aspire to be on his level one day. He just emailed me to get 'acquainted' and he wants to 'chat' !!!

The ONLY not so cool thing that happened in the past 2 hours:

- Got rejected from the Doha Film Festival... but no worries, I knew it was a long-shot.

Overcoming fears

2010-09-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

So... for the past 3 months I've been one of the 9 judges on the 2010 IDA Awards panel. It has been such a fun and enlightening experience, and I'm overwhelmed by (and so grateful for) the knowledge I've taken away from all of this... not to mention the amazing people I've met through this opportunity.

Our job was to decide the winners and nominees of the Best Continuing Documentary Series, which was an interesting category for me to judge since I've only made feature documentary films. I've never made or even worked on a documentary series.

This opportunity presented itself (literally out-of-the-blue) when I received an email from an IDA official saying that my work has made me... umm... something like: "a person of interest to the documentary community".... however they said it, it was flattering. They asked if I'd like to be on the judges panel.

I pondered over sleepless nights whether or not I'd have the time to commit to watching about 15 hours of documentary episodes per week, and also meeting with the other judges almost weekly for about 3 months. (I was currently screening my last documentary, and editing my next, so my free time was nonexistent).

But actually, what made me most afraid of participating in this panel was my fear of being around such highly admired, sophisticated, professional documentarians. I was sure that I'd be outcast and looked down upon, and my opinions would be completely disregarded. I've been in my comfort-zone of creating my films by myself, without outside-voices telling me I was green or inexperienced. I didn't want to open the door to be criticized for not having gone to film school or the like...

I vented to my mother (which I often do) about the pros and cons, and she is always quick to put me in my place. She thought I was ridiculous for worrying about all of that, and she more-or-less FORCED me to participate, if not just for the learning experience (even if I were outcasted).

I bitterly stomped my feet to the first meeting, and from there on: I was hooked. The people were so welcoming - still far more experienced than I, but they were open to hearing all of my thoughts, and over these past 3 months, I've felt like they've embraced me as a little sister or daughter (since I'm by far the youngest one there).

Today was the final day of deciding the nominees and winner, and I have to pat myself on the back and say that my involvement in this panel (I'm sure) has greatly effected the outcome of this voting.

Without giving away names: there were 2 series tied for the 5th nomination spot, and there were 2 series tied for 1st place. I wish I had proof, but believe me when I say "I could have been a lawyer in another life".

I'm so proud of myself for sticking to my gut instinct (when judging these series), and I'm proud that I've found a way to articulate my points during a roundtable debate. I used to be the shyest, quietest little girl in Elementary School and Jr. High. I still despise public speaking, and I have panic attacks when having to read out-loud to just a few people. I'm a mess when it comes to public speaking, and somehow I've disguised this fear the best way I know how, and now, today, you would never know that I used to hyperventilate when reading from a text book in a classroom.

Anyways, I'm beyond grateful to have had this opportunity, and I know I'll look back on this experience and say that it was the best leap of faith I could have done.

Face your fear, and don't walk away until it does.

Why I'm looking forward to the 2010 Kansas Int'l Film Festival

2010-08-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

Friday, Oct. 1st

5:30 Mesrine: Killer Instinct - starring Vincent Cassel
8:00 Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest - the 3rd trilogy to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
8:10 Holy Wars - author, Sam Harris is in it!

Saturday, Oct. 2nd

12:30 Room 36 - took 11 years to make!
1:00 Tapped - explores the bottled water industry
2:45 Rock 'n' Roll Dreams Of Duncan Christopher - good reviews
3:00 My Run - a LOT of great reviews, narrated by Billy Bob Thorton
3:15 Please Remove Your Shoes - about the US gov'ts broken promise to keep our airlines secure
5:15 Cash & Marry - documentary about getting your green card through "buying a wife"
5:30 In My Sleep - starring Lacey Chabert and Kelly Overton
7:15 Everyday Sunshine: The Story Of Fishbone - documentary, interviews with Gwen Stefani, Tim Robbins...
8:00 Conviction - Fox Searchlight Picture: starring Juliette Lewis, Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Peter Gallagher, directed by Tony Goldwyn who directed "The Last Kiss" with Zach Braff

Sunday, Oct. 3rd

2:45 Addicted To Plastic - looks like a fascinated doc
3:00 Jack Goes Boating - directed by and starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman!!!
3:15 Men Who Swim - looks like a good doc
4:45 Desert Of Forbidden Art - documentary, narrated by Sally Field, Ben Kingsley and Edward Asner
5:00 Charlie Valentine - won all awards at AOF 2009
7:00 Immigrant Nation! - looks like a good doc
7:15 To Whom It May Concern: KaShen's Journey - doc
7:30 Nowhere Boy - film about John Lennon's childhood

Monday, Oct. 4th

5:10 Monbella and the Curse of 1809 - mockumentary about a haunted restaurant
5:20 Tender Hook - starring Hugo Weaving
7:25 The Last Survivor - about genocide survivors
7:35 Pathways - doc about brain injury

Tuesday, Oct. 5th

7:25 Made In Dagenham - narrative about sexual discrimination - Rosamund Pike and Miranda Richardson
7:35 Burma: An Indictment - doc
7:45 Black Swan - Darren Aronofsky's latest film!!! Starring Natalie Portman and Mila Cunis!

Wednesday, Oct.6th

5:20 Earthwork - SXSW audience award
5:30 Herpes Boy - starring my friend, Ahna O'Reilly
7:25 Milking The Rhino - looks like a great doc
7:35 Daddy I Do - that's me!
7:45 IFC Showcase - I'll be there!

Thursday, Oct. 7th

5:05 Bride Flight -narrative about women pilots
5:30 Scientist Under Attack - Genetic Engineering In The Magnetic Field Of Money
7:25 Murder By Proxy: How America Went Postal - looks interesting
7:35 Inside Job - narrated by Matt Damon

**** FYI: This is not ALL of the films, just the ones I'm personally looking forward to.

Prop 8 was Overturned

2010-08-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

Prop 8 was OVERTURNED yesterday!

This is a huge step for Marriage Equality, and since it marks a major victory for people who believe in equal rights for all, it also directly effects the purpose and focus of the film I'm currently editing: "The Right to Love: An American Family".

We've been capturing all the rallies, protests, and news footage over the past 48 hours. I can't say I'm surprised at how divided this country is becoming, but what makes me saddest is how people who preach love in the name of God are so readily willing to spread lies supported only by hate.

The more I edit "The Right to Love" and see these same-sex couples and these FAMILIES exuding love in everything they do, I wonder: how can this be wrong?

I hope this documentary will not be a film on arguments of faith versus studies, but a film showing the humanity behind this issue, and why it's only common sense for a society that wants peace and love to prevail, Marriage Equality is the only logical step in the right direction.

I pray for Marriage Equality.

"Daddy I Do" won BEST DOCUMENTARY at the Action on Film Festival!

2010-08-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Just had the best week at AOF Fest in Pasadena, CA! I had no idea how much fun it would be! It's such a down-to-earth festival, but still very high-quality films, and with very serious and driven filmmakers. I saw at least 25 films (features and shorts) within 5 days, so I was in my element and so inspired! "Daddy I Do" ended up winning the award for BEST DOCUMENTARY which was a real honor since the 4 other documentaries nominated were insanely beautiful, powerful and thought-provoking films! I'm absolutely stunned that I was even considered on the same level as them!

"Daddy I Do" won BEST DOCUMENTARY at the 2010 Cannes Independent Film Festival!

2010-06-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

We had the most AMAZING time in France for Festival de Cannes, the Cannes Independent Film Festival and Marche du Film. It was me and my sister's first time out of the country, and boy was it a memorable experience! I can't imagine a better opportunity to fly overseas for.

The DADDY I DO screening went seamlessly and to top it all off, we ended up winning the award for BEST DOCUMENTARY!

I'm anxious to see what the future holds....

"Daddy I Do" Trailer

2010-05-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

What people are saying about DADDY I DO

2010-05-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

Since the Bare Bones Int'l Film Festival, we've had overwhelming responses from people giving quotes and reviews on our documentary:

One of the best reviews I've ever had, Lita Robinson explained the film better than I could ever articulate, and I agree with everything she says (even the bad). I'm so proud of this review by ScreenComment.com:

NEW U.S. DOC ON ABSTINENCE: CHOICE ALWAYS MATTERS

By LITA ROBINSON - April 27, 2010, Screen Comment, www.screencomment.com

"Daddy I Do" isn't just an examination of the radically divergent approaches that people take when it comes to sex education. It’s a liberal polemic (albeit a very well-reasoned one) and an affectingly personal examination of the effects of sexual choices on different individuals.

Director Cassie Jaye begins with a fictionalized encounter between father and daughter, a ritual known as a “purity ball.” A practice common in recent years in certain conservative swaths of the country, purity balls are essentially rituals in which young girls (the film profiles some as young as six) pledge to place their virginity in their fathers’ protective custody until marriage. Think of it as a 21st century father-daughter dance, with a large helping of quasi-religious zealotry thrown in.

This opening scene comes off as fairly creepy--it’s hard to imagine how it couldn’t. Jaye interviews a conservative family with three young girls, all of whom are going to be put through the purity ball ritual. It’s clear that she regards their almost fanatical obsession with their young daughters’ virginity as slightly unbalanced. However, she manages to elicit a heartfelt response from the father when she asks him whether or not he saved his own virginity for marriage (he didn’t). He instantly owns up to it and then declares he wants to protect his daughters from his own past mistakes.

At a frat house where college boys display irreconcilable levels of lust and right-wing politics Jaye’s unobtrusive interview strategy is remarkably effective; even though they’re interviewed in a group, these boys reveal things that are hard to imagine them discussing over pizza and beer pong. Jaye then zeroes in on one of her main subjects: Denny Pattyn, founder of the abstinence-promotion organization Silver Ring Thing. Pattyn is your run-of-the-mill fanatic, railing against the promotion of condoms as some sort of government conspiracy and casting comprehensive sex-ed programs as nothing short of a one-way ticket to Sodom and Gomorrah. Jaye also interviews some participants in Pattyn’s movement (boys, again) who display a stunning lack of basic knowledge about sex as well as a wide-eyed gullibility that is clearly captivated by Silver Ring Thing’s rock-concert atmosphere. Who’d have thought not getting any could be so much fun?

The heart of "Daddy I Do" is the numerous interviews with various women who have been affected dramatically by their sexual choices. What they all share is a lack of basic knowledge about sex and reproduction as well as a lack of options and resources. As Jaye moves on to interview authors and academics, the leitmotiv comes into clearer focus: in the absence of comprehensive sex ed. people will almost always make the wrong choices.

These first-person accounts fit nicely with what the various talking heads tell us: that epidemic sexual abuse in girls is a predictor of teen pregnancy, that access to contraception and abortion are sorely lacking in most of the country, and that a focus on abstinence-only “education” actually ends up making unintended pregnancy (not to mention disease) more likely. What’s most shocking of all is Jaye’s revelation that Silver Ring Thing actually received massive amounts of federal funding under the Bush administration, a testament to how vehemently the conservative movement endorses abstinence to the exclusion of even the most basic sex education. Indeed, one of the professors Jaye visits neatly displays the correlation between teen pregnancy rates and the political leanings of each of the 50 states; the correlation between conservative voting and higher teen pregnancy is hard to ignore.

This is Jaye’s first feature-length documentary and in some technical areas this is noticeable. The camera isn’t always steady and the film sometimes cuts back and forth between shots too jarringly. But the minor problems this presents do not influence the overall impact of the film.
It’s hard not to come away from "Daddy I Do" agreeing with everything the film has to say. But unlike many other recent political documentaries, one doesn’t feel swindled into agreement; Jaye explores this complex issue in enough depth that the viewer is actually edified, and not brainwashed by it. And that takes true talent. "Daddy I Do" will be shown at the Cannes Festival in May."

Here's a review that popped up on IMDB a little bit ago:

"The way a documentary should be made. This documentary had an exceptional quality; it did not allow the film maker's perspective on this contentious issue to dominate or even raise its head until the very end (and I won't spoil that for you). For the first half of the movie, every time one of the advocates for one side or the other of this issue (abstinence only, sex education) was presenting their case I would think she was on "their side". Then I realized that she was simply allowing all of these people to present their best case and she honored the nature of debate, which SHOULD be present in all documentaries about controversial topics. Until I saw this film, I didn't realize how incredibly rare it is in contemporary documentary films. I certainly haven't seen them all, but I have seen over 300 feature length docs in the past two years. I can not recall another one that came across as this balanced, a stunning achievement. I'm not sure if this was where director Cassie Jaye intended to focus her career energy, but she does have an exciting future as a documentary film maker."

- Ramsey, Rat City Film Society, Seattle, Washington

The Bare Bone Festival organizer said this:

"DADDY I DO is a 'must see' documentary in the vein of Bowling For Columbine and Sicko without the running commentary. An impressive feature length documentary that bring new voices to the decades old debate of sex education and the more recent one of 'abstinence only' indoctrination. It is the kind of film that could h...old its' own at the box office and a savvy distributor would be smart to take it there."

- Oscar Ray, Director, Bare Bones FIlm Festival

Here's a review from a Canadian film blog:

Sex Education at Center of Cassie Jaye's Documentary "Daddy I Do"

"Fear. That’s the first word that comes to mind watching the trailer for Cassie Jaye’s documentary Daddy I Do. Not from the film itself but from the subject matter. Films about sexuality and birth control always seem to have that affect on me, likely because I’ve never felt sexual education is something that is well handled in schools and communities. It’s a topic which has garnered a fair bit of attention in Canada over the last few weeks and for that reason alone, Jaye’s documentary seems particularly well timed.

Daddy I Do is a documentary that looks at the Silver Ring movement (some may recall that Mitchell Lichtenstein’s Teeth (review) featured a similar group) and “examines the effects of Abstinence-Only Programs versus Comprehensive Sex Education in schools and what society can do to help lower teen pregnancies, abortions, and STDS, as well as poverty and sexual abuse.” The film has played a number of film festivals and was recently selected to screen at the Cannes Independent Film Festival in what I can only assume will be the beginning of a much wider release, even if only through the festival circuit, later in 2010.

It’s a promising trailer for a film that is bound to stir up some discussion and I can’t wait to see it."

- Marina Antunes, Row Three, www.rowthree.com

Here's what the San Diego IndieFest organizer had to say:

"Daddy I Do is a brilliant, entertaining and hilarious documentary that explores the ins and outs of sex. This is a great debut by first time filmmaker Cassie Jaye who has a raw, natural talent that makes me look forward to her work."

- Craig Wilson, Mental Eclectic, San Diego, California

I swear I'm not leaving out any "bad" reviews, this is all we've gotten so far. I love reading reviews because I honestly think everyone takes something different away from DADDY I DO. It's a film that doesn't push an opinion down your throat, it just shows the different sides, and the viewer is left to decide what they think. So, when I read these reviews, I can tell a lot about the way they think and where they're coming from based on how they take away DADDY I DO. It's fascinating to me. I love it!

DADDY I DO won BEST DOCU-DRAMA

2010-05-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

My producer and I attended the 2010 Bare Bones International Film Festival last week.

We arrived on Tuesday, April 20th, and our screening was Wednesday night. We stayed in a tiny hotel with an odd stench, but luckily only saw 1 spider. Muskogee is an interesting town. It's very small but seems kind of spread out, where you can't really walk the town, you still have to drive everywhere. The only way you would know how many people live in the town is if you go to the one bar in town, Max's Garage. On a Friday, there was maybe 100-150 people, and I'm sure that was everyone.

Our Wednesday night screening was quaint. Even though there weren't that many people, they were definitely captive, which lead to a great Q&A afterwards - my longest to date. It was reassuring to hear the compliments and general intelligent questions about the film. They were really paying attention!

We didn't realize until Thursday that most all of the "big" narrative films were scheduled to screen Friday and Saturday. The documentaries were scheduled earlier in the week. This meant that most (probably 80%) of the filmmakers weren't arriving until Thursday night! Sure enough, the festival got hoppin, and we made a ton of great friends, and saw many promising films.

Unfortunately, of all the new friends we made, none of them were at our Wednesday night screening, and all of them wanted to see DADDY I DO. So in a final rush, my producer and I petitioned to the festival organizers to have a second screening of DADDY I DO.

Saturday was the last day for screenings, and of course the schedule was all booked up. The only option was for us to screen after the final film, which ended at midnight!

We jumped on the opportunity and gathered enough of an audience to make our midnight screening worth it. We even bought pizza for everyone assuming that they'd been watching films all day and haven't had time to eat. Every person there ate pizza. I think they liked that!

We showed DADDY I DO for our new filmmaker friends, and despite some technical errors (the dvd skipped in the middle which caused a 5 minute intermission, which actually was good because everyone was able to talk about the film), it was a GREAT screening! Right up there with San Diego IndieFest (which was our loudest and most laughs screening) and Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema (which was a largest screening). What I loved about this Bare Bones midnight screening was everyone was talking to each other during it, so they would see something in the film and then turn to their neighbor and say "I can't believe that", and stuff like that... I LOVED it because that's what I do when I watch a film. I like to make it an experience with who I'm watching it with. I don't think it's wrong to talk during films if you're talking ABOUT the film. I think that's a compliment!

All in all, Bare Bones was amazing. I'm most thankful for the people we met. We've all stayed in close (online) contact since then, and we're all actively helping the other go to more festivals and giving suggestions on marketing and getting your film out there. Everyone was so selfless and just wanted to help each other. It was amazing.

On Sunday, April 25th (my producer's birthday) was the Awards Ceremony. I didn't know what to expect because the film we were up against had their entire cast and crew there, and they had a HUGE screening (far bigger than ours), and it was also an important subject matter.

We heard our name called, and like usual, the acceptance speech was a blur. I do remember giving credit to our competition though and everyone gave a round of applause for their work as well. I said something along the lines of "it's important to have filmmakers that want to improve the world and make positive changes"... something like that... I think I said it better though (haha, hopefully!).

Here are some of the pix from Bare Bones:

That's Harlad Williams (Rocketman!), me, Ford Austin (Filmmaker), and my producer!

Oscar Ray (the Festival organizer), my producer, Aki Aleong (Actor and Director), and me on the red carpet before the ceremony!

All of the award winners get together for a group photo. Basically everyone in this photo is a new good friend of mine. I'm so grateful to have met all of them (on such an intimate level that only an uber-small town can give you!).

Choosing the right Film Festivals

2010-04-28T00:43:00.001-07:00

Which festivals do you choose to submit to when you only have so much money alloted for submission fees??? So many festival deadlines are coming up this week, and I wish I could submit to them all, but right now I can only do $200. Which ones to choose???

All of these are due this or next week unless otherwise specified. Please pick your favorite 3-5 (as many as you want, but do not exceed $200 when added together) so I know which ones to submit to this week!

Glen Rose Neo-Relix FF (per recommended by Tom Huckabee at Bare Bones)- $15
Red Rock FF (Utah) - $14
Accolade (La Jolla) - $50
Colorado FF - $45
Toronto Int'l FF - $80
Hollywood FF - $50
Hawaii Int'l FF - $50
Action on Film (in LA) - $50
Stars Denver FF (35th annual FF) - $35
Atlanta Int'l Docufest - $60
Heartland FF - $45
Washugal FF - $60
Syracuse NY FF - $50
Cine Gear Expo (LA) - $60
LA Int'l FF (1st annual) - $40
Philadelphia Independent FF - $60
Philadelphia Filmathon - $21
Philadelphia FF - $30
St Johns Int'l Womens FF (in Canada after Toronto FF) - $25
Mill Valley FF - $50
New York United FF - $35
Tacoma FF - $50
Napa Sonoma Wine Country - $50
New Filmmakers LA FF - $30
Santa Monica Intl FF - $55

LATER DEADLINES:

Austin FF (Oscar qualifying) - $45 (June 2nd)
AFI Fest - $70 (Aug 13)
Oregon Film Awards - $45 (July 24th)
Fans of Film FF - $30 (July 1st)
Vancouver Intl FF - $60 (July 9th)
Documentary Edge Fest (Australia) - $20 (June 15th)
New Jersey FF - $75 (June 1st)
Bend Film Fest - $50 (June 7th)
Lonestar Intl FF (Texas) - $30 (May 31st)
SF DocFest - $35 (June 4th)

In the Cannes

2010-04-06T15:00:00.001-07:00

Oprah says that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. I feel extremely lucky to have my little no-budget film be apart of the 2010 Cannes Independent Film Festival, however, this opportunity opens the doors to step or leap forward, depending how much risk you take. I may never get another opportunity to have a film in Cannes, so I obviously want to utilize this experience to the best of my ability; however, ability doesn't only mean how hard you work, but how much money you're willing to spend.

The flights alone will cost me and my producer over $2,000. The hotel probably much more. The food is easy to be frugal on, I can live off of baguettes ;) But the real kicker is the Marche du Film (the market where films are bought and sold). Besides meeting huge connections at Cannes, the other big possibility is to have our film bought for International distribution! The thing is, just by being included in the film festival does not enter you into the film market. It's about $500 per person to enter into the film market, and on top of that you need the press materials (posters, postcards, trailers on dvds, press packets, business cards, etc) to help SELL your film. It's quite an undertaking.

I absolutely want to be included in the film market, but financially I'm not quite sure how we can do it. All these festivals have been paid for out of pocket (from my winning a film competition last winter), and the funds are quickly depleting. Especially after San Diego and Oklahoma, and those are on this same continent! Obviously Cannes is going to be a MUCH more expensive endeavor.

These are the times I wish we had outside backing. We've never had a single investor this entire time of making "Daddy I Do", and now it's starting to weigh on us (not really starting... it's always been a struggle).

I wish there was an angel that would appear and say "I believe in your project and I want to help you get to Cannes". That would be a dream come true, but regardless, things will happen how they're supposed to.

"Daddy I Do" is an official selection at the CANNES Independent Film Festival!

2010-04-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

OH MY GOD! How quickly things can change! "Daddy I Do" was accepted into 2010 Cannes Independent Film Festival! It was the only foreign festival we submitted to, and we were ACCEPTED!!! I've never been happier! I'm going to the south of France in a month!

My interview with Film Courage

2010-04-05T01:12:00.001-07:00

My interview with LA Talk Radio's "Film Courage" (Karen Worden and David Brenin) at the San Diego IndieFest on Saturday, March 27th.

I just LOVE this radio show, so it was really cool to be on the other side, actually being interviewed by them.

Film Courage has a new filmmaker guest on every Sunday at noon, and they give tips to budding/aspiring filmmakers on how to make it in this crazy industry.

They came to SDIF and interviewed most of the filmmakers or panelists involved at the festival, so that's how I was on their show.

Take Charge with your Film's Destiny

2010-03-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

"A modest man is usually admired - if people ever heard of him."

- Ed Howe

I had a great weekend at the San Diego IndieFest, and I could go on and on about all the many wonderful people I met at the festival, the amazing screening we had, and the beautiful house my family and I stayed at on the beach... but I would rather use this blog post to explain my eye-opening experience that could quite possibly change the way I approach this industry.

It was minutes before the "Daddy I Do" screening, I was in the car with my family and boyfriend, and he was cracking jokes along the way but I wasn't being very receptive. I was unbelievably nervous. I did my best to promote this screening to all my friends and contacts in LA, but every single person that I thought could *maybe* come, bailed! I was mentally preparing to be at the screening with two people watching outside of my entourage, and I was going to be okay with that.

We arrive at the theatre, the first time checking in, getting our badge, meeting the Festival staff, etc... and I was blown away by the young/hip vibe, the awesome projector screen, and the rows of lazy-boy style chairs for the audience to get snuggled up in! It was impressive.

We waited for the movie that was playing to finish, and then we walked in and spread out to find spots to sit. The announcer went to the mic and said there would be a short break before the next screening. I expected people to leave, and to my surprise, no one got up! In fact, people were entering the theatre for what seemed like they were coming to see my film!

I sat in the very back row, to be hidden and see the audience reactions. There were only a couple seats empty and I ended up counting 40 people total! I was shocked... by no means did I expect that great of a turnout.

The film played, and to an even bigger surprise, the audience reaction was the best I'd ever seen! We had a great reaction at its Premiere, but this was huge! ROARING laughter, people crying in their seats from laughing so hard, people vocally agreeing or disagreeing with what was being said on the screen; everything I could have wanted to happen, DID happen!

The first credit rolled, and there was a flood of applause! I couldn't believe what just happened, they truly "got it"!

After the screening, I was introduced to people who wanted to say hello, congratulate or compliment the film. Among one of those people was a film critic I had invited (at last minute), I didn't even know he was going to be there, but he came and he loved it!

I also had 2 of the main interview subjects in the film show up! They both saw the film for the first time, and I'm so glad they saw it with a responsive audience, rather then alone in their living room on a dvd.

The conversations died down, and people were scattering to other film screenings and events.

Then, in the corner of my eye, I saw my boyfriend fill out the "voter ballot" (which they hand everyone as you check in at the festival for the first time). The instructions were to put the title of your favorite film on the ballot and drop it in the bucket at the front of the theatre were the film screen was. I knew I still had my ballot in my purse, but I strongly decided NOT to fill out the ballot because that would mean walking to the front of the stage (as another film is screening) and vote for my own film which then everyone would know I was doing. I thought of how unclassy that was, so I ignored it.

The rest of the festival continued, me and my producer (my sister) made our rounds talking to people at mixers. We were interviewed by some big local stations and an LA Radio Show called Film Courage (which I'm a huge fan of, I couldn't believe they were interviewing ME!). We got great accolades from the people putting on the film festival, the guy running the festival said that we had the best turnout, the biggest laughs, and he genuinely seemed interested in helping us move further with our film.

I was soaking it all in and enjoying the ride. Even though we talked to a ton of people, it always felt more "friendly" than "businessy". I prefer being friends with people rather than business contacts anyways...

Well, you're probably wondering where this is all leading... Here's the kicker:

The last event of the 2 day festival was the Awards Ceremony. I was really excited to dress up (even though it was a casual event, but I'm a girlie girl!), and I actually thought that we maybe had a good shot at winning! I wasn't 100% sure... but I knew that we would have been in the running. I told my boyfriend beforehand that "even if we don't win, at least I know that we had a fighting chance".

We got to the Awards Ceremony and the announcer starts powering through the awards. The first 5 or 6 award winners were not present, so he just went to the next ones. Then he said "and the Best Documentary Award goes to...". - I won't say, because I don't want to demean their win by what I'm about to say, but we did not win. - I was happy for the winner because I'd be happy for anyone in that position. It's a huge accomplishment, and I've been there and I know how amazing it is to win an award for something you put so much heart into. So, of course I was happy for them, but again, I was down for getting my hopes up.

The ceremony was over, and one of the festival organizers turns to me and says that she loved the film, and we were a close second. How close you ask? TWO VOTES! TWO!!!!!

Now, the reason this is groundbreaking information for me to learn is because I thought that my one vote would not make a difference in winning or losing. If we lost, it would be because someone deserved it more. I literally thought that. Never in a million years would I guess that 2 people writing on a piece of paper would make that much of a difference.

Do you know what the other gut-wrenching thing is about this situation? MY MOM DIDN'T VOTE either (she later told me)!! Turns out, our friend Nancy never got a ballot at the check-in place, and so my mom gave Nancy hers.

So basically, we lost because my mom and I just didn't think our votes were necessary.

Now, this is a break-through in my psyche that I will never forget. If I think that my vote doesn't count, then what makes me think that anyone else's vote would make a difference? That's the root of the problem! I did not ask one single person to vote for our film! It would have been so simple for me to say, "oh thanks, you liked the film? Well then, would you mind voting for it? I'd reeeally appreciate it, thank you!" - How easy is that?!?

Okay, now, one may ask: why am I so set on winning an award, isn't a great screening enough? Well, yes and no. Yes, a great screening is a great ego boost, but the only way that that a great screening will live on is if someone tells a friend about it, reviews it, blogs about it, OR you win an award for it! Even though most awards do have politics involved, they are HUGE selling points for distributors. Every industry uses the award title to their advantage. It validates things, like a degree would validate someone being educated (even though there are a lot of intelligent people without degrees, and a lot of unintelligent people WITH degrees). And... it would just be awesome to say we were 2 for 2! (it has gone to 2 festivals, and it won Best Documentary at the first festival)

I guess, the main advice I can give a filmmaker after this experience is: don't be afraid to promote your work! Besides, who else is going to do it for you? I may have taken the humble road too far at times, and I often let karma do the work for me, when I need to be doing the work myself! I can't tell you how many times a waiter has talked up a specific dish and I got it JUST because of that waiter, even when I didn't want that dish to begin with. Selling goes a long way, and I'm learning to be better about it.

What are the next steps to put into action my new-found aggressive approach to selling my film?

I'm going to ask the people (with credible titles) who have seen the film, to provide a quote about it for me to use on the website and in press materials. Anyone who would have a relevant and credible opinion (people in the industry, professionals in the field of what the documentary is about, the festival organizers, etc).

I'm also going to start actively approaching film critics to review the film. I'm just going to start sending out screeners like wildfire, and hope that it gets reviews to brag about *let's hope*

And of course, now I've learned the value of the vote. LEAVE NO BALLOT BEHIND!

Let's see where my new attitude gets me...

Tiburon Film Fest Week!

2010-03-24T00:46:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking how I really need to document these moments because I know how fleeting they can be, and I want to remember and appreciate these times while I have them. So... even though I'm up to my neck in work, I will set aside this time to blog...

This past week has been all about the Tiburon International Film Festival. It started with the Opening Night Gala at the Corinthian Yacht Club. An absolutely stunning venue, with authentic Turkish dancers performing (the Festival was celebrating Turkish films this year), an alternative-soul band following, and locals dressed to the nines. My associate producer and I pictured right:

The next night was the Filmmaker Mixer at Sam's Anchor Cafe (LOVE this place, and the people who work there, it became the filmmaker hangout). I got to meet some very talented filmmakers, which a couple have become very good friends with now, and could possibly see working with them in the near future. That's always the goal with these mixers. Either meet a friend, or meet a work contact. If you get both in one person, that's the best! I was lucky... Pictured right is me and Christina with the director or "Virtuoso":

After the mixer, I went to one of my best friends' birthday party in Petaluma, at one of the 3 vodka bars on the west coast (one in Vegas, one in LA at Nic's Martini Lounge which I've been to, and this one in Petaluma called Graziano's - I'd recommend it to everyone!). The whole group put on the complimentary faux fur coats, and entered the 28 degree freezing cell! 70 premium vodkas from all over the world, and each of us tasted about 13 different kinds! Yeeeeaaahhh.... we were a little stumbly. The flavored vodkas we tried were: saffron, bison grass, black cherry, chocolate, ginger, grapefruit-honey, lychee, dutch caramel, coconut, and green tea. The lychee was the best, hands down!

I went to a couple films at the Festival over the weekend. A wide array of foreign films and documentaries. Unfortunately, the ones I really wanted to see, I missed because of kinkos issues... we were getting a print made of the "Faces Overlooked" poster, and it required a couple trips, so I missed the films I was looking forward to, like "Shaped" (documentary), "Ana's Playground" (short film), and "Nowhere Kids" (feature narrative). Of the films I did see, the ones that stood out the most were: "Mrs. Menendez" directed by Nancy Saslow (documentary about Tammi Menendez, who is married to the infamous Eric Mendendez who was convicted for murdering his parents), and "Heaven, Hell, Earth..." directed by Laura Sivakova (feature from the Czech Republic about a ballet dancer who tries to find herself while dealing with a series of unfaithful relationships).

Yesterday, March 22nd, 2010, was the first of 2 screenings for my short documentary "Faces Overlooked". It played with 5 other films in a showcase called "Marin Filmmakers". This was the first time at the Tiburon Film Festival that I saw a packed house, and I mean PACKED! Some of the filmmakers gave up seats so others (who paid) could have a seat and watch. It was pretty crazy. I didn't know really what to expect, and to my surprise, shortly after my whole crew got situated, the lights turned down, and my film started! I didn't know it was going to play FIRST of all 6, so my heart was racing. There was a nice applause afterwards, and the other 5 films proceeded. All the filmmakers got up on stage at the end and there was a quick Q&A. A couple pix from the screening:

^^^ Me and my mom with the "Faces Overlooked" poster :)

After the screening, I met up with some good friends and filmmakers over at Sam's Cafe (yes... we like this place), and had a grand ol time, mainly bonding over being film geeks. It was just perfect!

Tomorrow (March 24th) at 3:30pm is the second screening of the "Marin Filmmakers" showcase. I'm a lot less nervous this time around after having already gone through the motions. I'm really just trying to soak it in, enjoy the moments, and know that these wonderful times don't last forever, but when they do happen, I need to be ever so present, and extremely thankful.

On Thursday I drive down the coast to have "Daddy I Do" screen at the San Diego IndieFest on Friday, March 26th at 3:10pm! I'm soooo stoked for this! "Daddy I Do" is my baby, and it has only had one screening so far (at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema) and it had such a great response, it ended up winning BEST DOCUMENTARY at its World Premiere! So, San Diego IndieFest is its second screening EVER, and I just hope we have the same results. I'm so proud of this film, and I'm just excited to have people see it. I think San Diego will be a really great audience too since it's a young/college vibe, and they'll definitely find it entertaining, funny at times, and probably really enjoy in the music (the music budget was well worth it!).

Then on Saturday, The San Diego IndieFest has a ton of bands playing. I'm gonna try to see Metric, Far, and Children of Nova... but we'll see, those are probably the ones that'll be the most packed and crazy to get into. We're staying right on the beach though, so there's always a break away from the craziness - AHHH I'm so excited!!!! ;)

*whew*

Well, I suppose I should get to bed, lots going on tomorrow. Okay, I shall try to keep this current, but don't hold it against me if it's not. Find me on twitter if you want more current updates ;) <-- plug!

Tiburon, San Diego, Bare Bones oh my!

2010-03-11T13:54:00.000-08:00

It's been almost a month since my last blog post, and it's just because so much has been going on, I haven't found the time to write about it. Of course, that's a good thing.

I guess the BIGGEST most recent news is that Daddy I Do was accepted into the Bare Bones International Film Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma (April 15-25)! This will be the 3rd festival for Daddy I Do. I've heard SOOO many good things about this festival, I'm absolutely floored that we got in! My Associate Producer and I will most likely be flying out to Tulsa on April 18th, and hopefully staying the whole second half of the festival. The only thing that would prevent me from being at the Bare Bones Awards Ceremony is if Daddy I Do gets accepted into the Las Vegas Film Festival or the Newport Beach Film Festival (I will be notified within the next 4 days), and both of those festivals are the exact same week as Bare Bones! I don't think we'll make it into Newport because that's a biggie, but maybe Las Vegas since I sent them a letter saying I'm from there and have a lot of friends and family there. We'll see. If not, I'm thrilled to be at Bare Bones the entire time! They have such a great reputation among filmmakers! Can't wait!!!

In other news, Faces Overlooked is getting geared up for the Tiburon International Film Festival (March 18-26)! We finally got our screening dates and times:

- Monday, March 22nd at 7pm

- Wedesday, March 24th at 3:30pm

Faces Overlooked will be screening in a showcase called "Marin Filmmakers" (8 films total), and all of the filmmakers will be present for a Q&A afterwards! I'm so excited, mainly to meet the other filmmakers in my hometown. I've only lived in Marin for about 8 months, and I still don't know very many people here, so it'll be a great opportunity.

Another cool thing that happened about 2 weeks ago was I got my first digibeta made for Faces Overlooked! What's even cooler than that is who made it... a good friend of mine works at Skywalker Ranch, and he offered to have the guys at ILM make my digibeta! So, I went to the Ranch, got a personal tour, saw where all the magic happens, even got to walk inside the main house (pictured right) where George Lucas' office is (he was there but I didn't see him), and the best part for me is that I get to put ILM on the Faces Overlooked credits! It doesn't get much fancier than that.

The other big event that we're gearing up for is the San Diego IndieFest! Daddy I Do will be screening there on Friday, March 26th at 3pm. I'm soooo excited for this festival because we are only 1 of 7 features screening! The rest are shorts, music videos, and live bands playing all of Saturday, March 27th. I'm bringing all of the producers, and some of the cast will even be attending this screening! I have 3 people (who are very prominent interviews in Daddy I Do) that will be flying in from all across the country to see the film for the first time! I'm so anxious to hear what they think, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are a bit nervous. Even I get nervous watching myself on the big screen, and I'm an actress! These 3 people opened their hearts and souls, shared their triumphs and struggles for everyone to see. I know their stories have affected so many people, and I just hope they will be as proud of this film as I am.

Besides all of this festival craziness, we're still trying to get in touch with the right people to secure distribution for Daddy I Do. That seems to be the hardest part right now. A good friend of mine who has made the rounds successfully with his feature narrative (went to Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca, etc..) has been mentoring me in marketing and publicity. It's an endless routine of putting eggs in different baskets and hoping a hen (with big connections) will sit on one and make it hatch. One path that may look promising is taking Daddy I Do on a college tour, since this is a film that young people (and especially students studying women's issues, psychology, sociology, and reproductive health) need to watch. Our first college campus screening will be on May 7th at the University of Reno, Nevada! We will be conducting a Q&A and focus group afterwards, which should shed light on what people are taking away from the film. I'm very excited to see how it goes.

Well, that should be enough of an update for now. Until next time ~

Oh, and here are some websites for reference:

Marin Filmmakers @ Tiburon Intl FF

San Diego IndieFest VI

Bare Bones Intl FF

Info on Daddy I Do and see the trailer!

OFFICIAL SELECTION: San Diego IndieFest

2010-02-17T17:33:00.000-08:00

Now I know what an acceptance letter looks like:

Dear Filmmaker,

Congratulations!

Your film has been selected from hundreds of others submitted to be among the first ever, "Official Selections," of San Diego IndieFest, and is therefore eligible for a "Best Award" in your category.

First and foremost, we would like to thank you for your wonderful work and for choosing to submit to Indiefest.

We are independent filmmakers ourselves so we understand how hard you have worked and what a miracle it is when any independent film gets made.

We loved your film, we think we understood what you were trying to say and we hope you will do us the honor of attending the festival and you're screening, which will take place either March 26th or 27th in beautiful San Diego, California. (We will have information about the date and time of your films screening up on the website very soon. www.sdindiefest.com).

Thank you for making your wonderful film, and welcome to San Diego IndieFest!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I opened that email with every expectation to be another Festival rejection letter like the dozens of other emails I have received, and to FINALLY know that someone watched my documentary, and thought "I'm gonna give this film a chance, and try to convince my colleages to also give this film a chance"... wow. Just, wow.

I cannot thank San Diego Indiefest enough for taking a chance on our little film that could (did). This will be the second screening of "Daddy I Do" since it's World Premiere last month when it took home the award for Best Documentary! yay!

I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to show more people the film, and hopefully word-of-mouth will spread like wildfire for more festival opportunities to come.

With love.

"Daddy I Do" won BEST DOCUMENTARY

2010-01-21T18:37:00.001-08:00

After 2 years from concept to completion, Daddy I Do had it's World Premiere at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema on January 14th, 2010 and was far better received than I could have ever dreamed of or prayed for.

Two days later, at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, January 16th, I accepted the award for BEST DOCUMENTARY.

I didn't expect nor fathom what that experience would be like, but the moment I realized I was walking down a theatre isle, with an uproar of people clapping after my name had been called, I channeled my childish wonderment of what that would be like, and I realized I was living it.

Having my family, dearest friends, and now new fans applauding this accomplishment that I so many times doubted was absolutely surreal, and I never want to forget that hard work does pay off.

You are the Pan.

2010-01-21T03:17:00.001-08:00

A very sweet friend wrote this encouraging email to me the day of my film's Premiere. I want to always remember the moment first reading it, it reads like a poem...

Hello Cassie,

I wish you well all day long today.

Enjoy this day[a full one at that!] - work it, but be sure to ride the wave a bit, too.

Ignore the cynics-

You've worked hard, no one can take that from you, no one.

Your passion makes you very unique and smile, the combo is killer on you.

I believe you, you are the Pan.

- J

Preparing for the Premiere

2010-01-09T23:24:00.000-08:00

Picked up my stepdad, sister, and stepsister today from the Las Vegas airport. Feeling very blessed to have my family so supportive of the doc premiering at the Idyllwild festival next week, that they actually took a full week out their schedule to support this event. In an odd way, I feel like this thing that is very personal and in some ways *selfish*, is actually bringing my family and friends closer together. I couldn't have more supportive and encouraging people around me...

Tomorrow is the last day in Vegas until I drive to Idyllwild for the Daddy I Do premiere. I'll be screening both the feature and the short doc (Faces Overlooked) tomorrow to make sure they're no technical errors. My Uncle has been doing the last minute tweaking and sound-level adjustments to the films... Then, pack, organize, and off on the road for a week of networking, screening, and Q&A panel discussions. Did I mention I'm horribly afraid of public speaking? How I managed to act in LA for 5 years I'll never know.

Should be an interesting and fun-filled week...

First Paycheck

2010-01-07T22:39:00.000-08:00

Got the prize money in the mail today from the hunger documentary competition. This is technically the FIRST time I've ever made money from filmmaking, and it just so happens to be the biggest check I've ever had with my name on it and the most I've ever had in my bank account (which is easy to do when I've been a struggling actress for so long...).

Feels good. It's gonna go right back into the films though. No frivolous spending from me, that's for sure...

Music Budget Overload

2010-01-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

Jem's manager just contacted us saying Jem will be watching the documentary next week, and if she gives approval for her music (4 songs total!) to be in it, then we have to go through her licensing and publishing companies, and they will charge us accordingly to our music budget.

Which I find funny since we've never determined our "music budget" before. It's whatever we're willing and CAN cough up in order to get the music that is absolutely necessary for the film.

*sigh* Looks like our music budget will turn out to be more than our production budget. Ah, the beauty of legalities.

The best investment is time

2010-01-07T01:02:00.001-08:00

In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.

~Harold S.

Ups and Downs

2010-01-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

Always with the ups and downs in this industry...

Up.

My feature doc is premiering in a week!

Down.

That same film just got rejected from The Thin Line Film Festival in Texas and the Sebastopol Doc Fest in San Francisco.

Up.

Magnolia Pictures got my invitation for the premiere, emailed me to say they can't make it, but they would like to see the film and asked me to send a screener.

Down.

The Vines aren't budging on their $500 fee, so we definitely need to replace the song, especially since the $500 only gives us rights to use the song for 1 year in the film festivals, and at this point we aren't making it into any festivals so what's the point...?

Illusionary Up.

I still have high hopes for Cinetic and Magnolia.

The. End.

Interview with the Town Crier

2010-01-06T01:49:00.000-08:00

Click here for the entire article

Just thought I'd share the article with my interview in the Town Crier newspaper, here it is:

Film Festival Spotlights Women

By Marshall Smith, Staff Reporter

By any reckoning, there is still a glass ceiling in Hollywood for women feature film directors, according to Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema (IIFC) Director Steve Savage. “Women have a harder time than men in the industry,” said Savage, noting that women have established themselves as documentary producers and directors, in music videos and commercials, but are a minority in feature directing.

As part of wanting to honor the contributions of women filmmakers, Savage called upon a number of prominent industry women to speak about their careers in a key IIFC panel, “Women in Independent Film,” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, at the Rainbow Inn.

Two of those women, Cassie Jaye and Shanah Blevins spoke about what they’ll bring to the panel. Jaye, a very smart young entrepreneur, established her own production company, Jaye Bird Productions, in 2008 at the age of 21. Jaye is a documentarian who focuses on social issues such as abstinence only programs and their effect on teen pregnancy and poverty. Her feature documentary, “Daddy I Do,” addresses sexual abuse. Her upcoming documentary feature, “The Right to Love,” focuses on marriage equality. In one of the wealthiest communities in California, she documents a hidden hunger epidemic in the short “Faces Overlooked.” Both “Daddy” and “Faces” will screen as part of IIFC 2010.

When asked why she is drawn to social issues and the documentary form, Jaye replied, “I think women are hyper-sensitive to human emotions and see the deeper meaning in the driving forces behind social issues.”

Her production company, headquartered in San Francisco, is comprised of her family — mother, sister and stepfather. “He’s our money man,” she laughed. “Everything we do is out of pocket.”

And that is what Jaye will be speaking about on the panel. “I’ll be explaining how in this economy, documentary filmmaking is a way to express yourself without the huge expense of having a crew.”

Prior to going behind the camera, Jaye spent five years acting in independent features, shorts and television. In fact, that’s how she met Savage — at an audition. “She stuck out as somebody worthwhile who was definitely going to be a success in this business,” said Savage.

Jaye will next shoot, in cooperation with the Caine Learning Center’s Institute for Natural Learning, a documentary about a weeklong film school boot camp to be held next summer in Idyllwild and funded by IIFC corporate sponsorships. Ten Riverside County inner-city kids ages 13 to 16 will join 10 Idyllwild kids to learn the basics of filmmaking.

Panelist Shanah Blevins is an award-winning film, music, video and commercial producer whose work for major clients McDonalds, Coors and Verizon has established her internationally. Her work as a producer in the music industry for artists such as Eminem and Tupac has cemented her reputation as a driving force in that area of the industry.

“I started from the ground up,” said Blevins who credits that immersion with her industry success. “You find out what you’re best suited for. A friend in the commercial and video world hired me as a production assistant. I loved it. And starting from the ground up, you see all facets of the business.” Blevins likes producing. “It’s great putting together a crew of 65 people,” she enthused. “It’s all a puzzle and solving them is one of the things I like to do most — the creativity of putting people and projects together.”

Joining Jaye and Blevins on the panel are: IA graduate and actor, writer, director, producer Amanda Aday, daughter of singer/actor Meat Loaf, featured in the HBO series “Carnivale,” with guests appearances on “My Name is Earl,” “Boston Public,” and “E.R.”; director of photography Tarina Reed; producer, director and writer Galina Leinen; writer, producer and actor Lesley Paterson; documentary filmmaker Dominique Leschart; and producer, actor Alisa Schulz. Festival Director Savage and featured filmmaker/actor Will Wallace will present a seminar explaining the intricacies of film acting from a director’s point of view. Have you ever thought about how many times a director will shoot one scene from different camera angles? Probably a minimum of five different camera setups and six shots.

Say the actor has a coffee cup from which she must drink during the scene. Say there are other people in the scene. Unless the actor handles the coffee cup in exactly the same way and gives the same performance each time the scene is shot, she could jeopardize her own chance of getting her desired performance, not to mention the performances of the other actors, on the screen. “I think film acting is so much more difficult [than stage acting],” said Savage. It’s about the performance but also importantly about the mechanics of prop handling, head angle, eye line and so much more. Savage referenced actor Michael Caine’s advice that, as an actor, you have a choice of getting your performance on the screen or the editor’s.

“The reason I got into this was to work with actors,” said Savage, “and to learn the rules.” And rules for film actors are what Savage and Wallace will talk about in their seminar.

See the Web site www.idyllwildfestivalofcinema.com for credits of some of the panel participants and the location and times of all festival seminars.

Cinetic called ME?

2010-01-04T14:22:00.001-08:00

Just got a call from an executive at Cinetic Media! Called him back and left a voicemail... not sure what it's about, but he sounds interested in my feature doc!

I hope, I hope, I hope.... Cinetic is TOP on my wishlist, next would be Magnolia Pictures.... this could be HUGE!

Happy 2010! I like you so far...

Countdown to Vegas

2009-12-28T00:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, now I feel bad for writing the last post.

I ended up getting permission to film at Mollie Stone's from the owner! He was soooo sweet and didn't think twice about it. I would just delete the last post, but I'll keep it to remember the lesson I've learned: give people a chance, and they'll surprise you.

Today was a successful day:

1) Filmed at Mollie Stone's

2) Finished polishing and editing "Faces Overlooked" for the Idyllwild and Tiburon screenings

3) Made 20 fancy-schmancy invitations for my feature doc's Wolrd Premiere in Idyllwild, and sent them to (in no particular order):

- Variety

- The Weinstein Co.

- Magnolia Pic

- Documentary Films .Net

- 2 publicity people (remaining anonymous)

- Docurama

- The Hollywood Reporter

- ITVS

- Discovery Films

- indieWIRE

- staff writer at Washington Post

- IDA

- 2 agencies that represent doc filmmakers

- VVS Films

- TLC / The Learning Channel

- HD Net

- and of course, my favorite dream company in the world: Cinetic Media!

4) I found another lead for a potential band to replace The Vines song. They really sound PERFECT, but I only got his email tonight, and I'm leaving for Vegas in 3 hours! So looks like I can't replace the Vines until after I get back from Vegas and Idyllwild... :( boo!

5) ALMOST done polishing the feature doc for the premiere... oye, I could polish until I die!

Word to the perfectionist editors like myself: learn to say ENOUGH. Repeat it over and over again until you let it go!

Corporations don't give favors

2009-12-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

When being too cautious prevents good opportunities.

I'm so frustrated with big businesses not helping small entrepreneurs.

I'm dealing with 2 annoying situations right now:

1) I need to replace some bad B-roll footage of produce at a grocery store (that I took with my little under-cover camera), with better footage on my HVX-200 for "Faces Overlooked" to screen at Tiburon. I called Mollie Stone's (the same local grocery store in SF where I shot the first footage) to see if they'd let me come in this weekend on off-hours to get quick footage of their produce. They passed me between 3 people until they finally gave me a speech on how they don't allow anything last minute and I'd have to go through corporate and talk to the owner and he'd have to sign paperwork before letting me in, etc. I explained that I would not show any signs saying "Mollie Stones", and he said it didn't matter, they don't let cameras in without prior approval. This is a LITTLE local grocery store. Not Safeway, not Walmart, little! I said I was a local filmmaker doing this short video for the SF Food Bank, and it didn't matter....

2) I'm also trying to replace the Vines song, and now it's looking like the smaller band I was going to replace them with is being just as difficult. They want me to go through their publishers and sign all this paperwork and work out a licensing fee (just to screen at Film Festivals mind you, I'm not making a penny, no distribution involved). 90% of the singers and bands we have featured in my documentary did not think twice to say yes, and only signed a little release form and are not asking for any fees, just a film credit at the end. It's a win-win, I get to use their music, and they get exposure. But when it comes to corporations or bigger artists, it becomes a legal battle. What are they so afraid of? I'm not making Borat, I'm a young beginner filmmaker making good-meaning documentaries.

It especially frustrates me because I was a struggling actress at one point, doing every film under the sun just to get experience and meet people. 99% of the work I did was unpaid, and some of those jobs were big budget studio films. I was a little actress doing free work for big corporations. And now I'm a little filmmaker asking for favors, and corporations couldn't care less.

What ever happened to being a part something just to help someone.

*end rant*

Finally an Official Selection!!!

2009-12-24T02:02:00.000-08:00

I've finally learned what an "OFFICIAL SELECTION" letter looks like!!! Or email, rather.

"Faces Overlooked" has been accepted by the Tiburon International Film Festival!

Boy, it feels good to get accepted after so many rejections. I guess it wouldn't be as special if everyone could do it, right?

I'm mainly excited for this Festival because I'll finally have a chance to meet fellow filmmakers in SF! I've lived here for almost 5 months, and I only have my family and maybe 2 people I know in this town. It's time I start getting out and meeting people.

I'm also happy to have an opportunity to share the film on the big screen with the people who helped make it happen, like the SF Food Bank, and the many people who opened their homes and hearts to us to let us interview them.

What a wonderful Christmas present. 2010 is looking pretty inviting right now.

Christmas List

2009-12-22T18:37:00.000-08:00

Today was an extremely stressful day. If I said this was all easy and fun (the filmmaking process) I'd be lying. Most of the time I have a handle on my 'To Do lists', but today, for whatever reason, I couldn't help but freak out about HOW MUCH I have to do.

It's 3 days till Christmas, and I wish I could relax with some hot cocoa and enjoy time with loved ones, but the reality is I'm stressed beyond belief with getting ready for the big trip I'm about to take to Vegas -> Idyllwild for the premiere -> and Reno to edit my next documentary ("The Right to Love"). This week will be the last week I'm in San Francisco until probably February/March, maybe even April depending on how long it takes to edit. I'm scared to leave my nest for so long because it's a safe retreat where I have my routines and no distractions. I think I can be a bit agoraphobic at times, and whatever you call "phobia of the unknown"... not having control over every detail of your day.

Well, lists always help organize my thoughts and reduce stress levels:

- I have to tweak/polish my feature doc for the premiere

- Figure out if I'll use the Vines' song or The Shys' (I'm exchanging emails with the Vines' publishers and managers... we *may* be able to use the original song with a small festival fee, they'll get back to me this week...)

- Make the final "Faces Overlooked" screener for the festival

- Make and send out the fancy premiere invitations this week to industry people!!!

- Make an evite for the premiere to send to friends

- Submit to 3 film festivals on withoutabox before xmas

- LAST minute xmas present shopping

- and try to relax (which is the hardest thing of all)

Okay... that list didn't help AT ALL! I didn't realize I had THAT much to do, and it's unrealistic to complete it all in 5 days! Holy cannoli!

*faint*

Home Stretch

2009-12-18T03:05:00.000-08:00

Some interesting things going on right now.

I'm having to change one of my songs in the feature documentary (which is premiering at IIFC in less than a month!) because I haven't received permission to use it yet. The song is called "Ride" by The Vines, and I've contacted their management time and time again, and have not heard back. I'm sure it'd be fine since there is no profit involved, I'm not distributing the film, but it is politically (and legally) correct to first receive the "O.K." before you use a song in a film that is going to a Festival. Sometimes the band will even charge a "festival fee", but usually if you explain that it's a low-budget film and a small festival, then they don't care. In this case, I'm being extra cautious, and The Vines are kind of a big band, so I would rather change the song now and not worry about it, than have it become a problem later when I want to distribute the film.

So... I'm in talks with a SWEET band called "The Shys" to replace The Vines song. It's an awesome song called "Savior" and the lyrics even fit the scene better than The Vines song did... so it may be a very good thing to change it. I'll be figuring out the status tomorrow on Savior, so I'll keep you updated.

In other news, I'm happy that I can use a DVD to screen my doc with at the Premiere. I was assuming I would need to make a DigiBeta (aka 'Digital Betacam') to project the film onto the screen in the theatre. Apparently they are giving the option of using just a simple DVD to screen in the theatre, which ROCKS! It would have been $300-$400 to convert my film into DigiBeta, and I was kinda stressing about that whole process. More money for Christmas shopping! - yay!

Also, in about 12 hours, I will have my first on-phone interview for a local newspaper. The Town Crier (the Idyllwild Newspaper) has a blog about the IIFC festival and some of their writers will be calling me over the next few weeks for interviews. Not really sure what they're going to ask, but hopefully I'll know to edit before I speak. Statements can come off VERY different in writing than in speech.

I'm going to Vegas after Christmas (which is next week!), and there my Uncle will be correcting all the sound levels on my doc. I have to make sure everything is in place before he does this, so my main objectives for the next 7 days are:

- Change out The Vines song...

- Reconnect Media in the second chapter (media was lost when one of my drives died! I have the original footage, I just have to find it...)

- Tighten and polish for the final edit!!!

... then, it's out of my hands. My Uncle corrects the sound and it Premieres on January 14th, 2010!

It's amazing how you can live with something for SO long, and no one else has even seen it yet!

Closer

2009-12-15T02:03:00.001-08:00

"Every once in a while, my heart skips a beat when I can taste success (which is all relative). I try to hold onto those moments." - me, beginner filmmaker

It was the best of times...

2009-12-05T01:16:00.000-08:00

... and it was the worst day of the best of times.

Man, being an aspiring filmmaker can really screw with your emotions and confidence on the flip of a dime!

Today, 2 big things happened (big to me, probably not as big a deal to anyone else):

1. The GotSpot contest ended today, and "Faces Overlooked" ended up in 1st Place!!! Yes, the little film that could, DID, and now the top 6 films go to final judging and on December 21st, there will be a screening in NYC of all 6 films, and the top 3 films will be chosen for cash prizes. I'm not sure when I'll find out who won, but I'm guessing around Christmas...?

2. The Palm Springs International Film Festival (a.k.a. the festival I was putting way too many eggs into, hoping my feature documentary would premiere there) DENIED my film. It did not accept it into the 2010 Festival. Sad, sad day. I read the email while watching a movie with my family, and couldn't muster up the energy to ruin the movie for them by giving them the bad news. It sucked. Royally. Again, it just makes me wonder what went wrong? What didn't they like? What celebrity didn't we have attached to the film? Well... we didn't have ANY celebrity attached to the film, it's a documentary! Oh... but even docs have celebrities attached nowadays. How can a little indie filmmaker win? The Festivals are becoming the new STUDIOS! You need the hookups to get in the door. What's the next step down from a Film Festival? Youtube??? Done that...

As angry as I may sound, I quickly did find the bright side. I get to premiere my feature documentary at one of my favorite places in the world, a little town called Idyllwild.

The Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema has it's grand opening this January, and my little film will have it's World Premiere there! The reasons I'm happy about this are:

1. I have dozens of close friends already attending this festival, so I'll be guaranteed to have an audience!

2. Idyllwild holds a lot of personal attachment for me. I know the small town like the back of my hand. The first short film I acted in was filmed there. My family have all been up there with me for that short film's little screening, AND I even shot my most notable feature film up there, who I met a majority of the most important people in my life now. Even the person who taught me editing I met while filming in Idyllwild. The more I reminisce, the more I realize how this premiere was written in the stars for me!

3. I also think this is a great way to get my feet wet in the Film Festival circuit. There will be plenty of people guiding my hand in this festival, and I don't think anyone will let me fall. Palm Springs would have been pretty risky, and I'm not even sure I could have developed an audience to fill the seats there. This is my first film EVER, so maybe my expectations were a little bold to think I'd premiere at Sundance or Palm Springs... but now I see how fortunate I am to have a place like Idyllwild to scoop me (/my film) up with open arms. Oye... if I think about it too much, I'll cry (out of happiness) so I'll stop.

Moving on...

Bio, Synopsis, Trailers, oh my!

2009-12-03T21:28:00.000-08:00

For the record, I hate writing bio's, synopsis'(s?), and making trailers... and yet, those "short forms" are soooo important for marketing your film.

I hate 'em. HATE 'em! I I just can't compact so much information into one tight little unit. When I start making money, I need to hire someone else to do that. I just can't do it.

That is all.

Sundance Rejection

2009-12-02T01:57:00.001-08:00

To be quite honest, I'm not sure why I started this blog, but I'm beginning to think the main reason was to help me put things into perspective. I think I'm at a very exciting point in my life, where I'm putting a million eggs into different baskets and not knowing which ones will hatch.

I'd be lying if all my posts were always happy and excited about results. Yes, there are a lot of wonderful things going on: I'm in 1st PLACE in the Hunger film competition, I had my film featured on the YouTube Homepage last week, and it's still getting thousands of views per day, right now it stands at: 175,000 views! Crazy awesome! I'm also very content and happy with my days and the people I spend them with (my family), so all seems good, right?

Well.... I need to vent for a millisecond.

I just received word that my feature documentary was not selected for the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. To be honest, I wasn't entirely confident that I would make it in, since SOOO many films are submitted, and SOOO few get accepted, but it still makes my heart drop a little to receive that sad news. Inevitably, a million questions race through my mind about why we didn't get in. All that worrying is pointless, and to look at the brightest side possible: I must say, this is probably for the best! I don't know if I'm prepared to handle Sundance yet. Do I have the capability to promote and fill the theatre seats, utilize the press, handle the business side of it all....? Sundance is a giant mosh-pit! Can I stand on my own there? I don't know.

Moving forward (instead of dwelling on what's done), my feature doc is now on the table for 2 different premiere options. The first option is the Palm Springs International Film Festival Jan 5-18th. I will hear before this Friday whether or not we were accepted into Palm Springs, and if we are, that will be our World Premiere. If not, I will most likely premiere it at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema (which is near Palm Springs, up in the mountains).

Now, this is a total gamble. The golden rule for any indie filmmaker is to not pop your film's cherry at a small festival. The premiere is the one time that your film has all the attention, and everyone pushes, punches and chases to see the World Premiere of a film, any film, just because it's the WORLD PREMIERE!

So, ideally, we would premiere at Palm Springs, which is a semi-big festival. Idyllwild on the other hand is in its FIRST YEAR! Now, it could be a big boo-boo to premiere at Idyllwild since it doesn't have the notoriety yet, or it could be a smart move since the festival may be getting a lot of press, simply because it's the grand opening of the festival. The other highlight of premiering there is my good and long-time friend is running the festival, and he will be taking good care of my film's screenings. I already know a lot of people there, and I will also be speaking on the Women in Indie Film panel! Yes, he asked me to be on the Women in Film panel (I'm stoked), so I can create buzz around my film just from being on the panel!

Although, this is all out of my hands! Whatever Palm Springs decides is ultimately the fate of my film's premiere, so it's useless to be overanalyzing it (I guess I could have edited this post down a lot, sorry).

Anyways, it shall be interesting to see what happens. Everything happens for a reason, right? Hopefully a good reason...

Apathy in America

2009-11-28T14:56:00.000-08:00

Well... it's been an interesting couple days.

We had "Faces Overlooked" featured on YouTube, and now we stand at over 97,000 views in just 2 days! Most of the comments have been a bit... well, ignorant. I decided not to get involved and not delete any comments either, just let people say what they want to, since it is a reflection of how apathetic people can be in this country regarding the poor and hungry.

Although, we did receive some comments that were very sincere, and some people saying the film made them want to give back and reach out through their local food bank, which warms my heart.

In other news, we had our first day of production on our new documentary: The Right to Love: An American Family (on marriage equality). We are following the Leffew family's experiences being a married gay couple with 2 adopted children, in a state (California) that just outlawed gay marriage with the passing of Prop 8. Jay & Bryan's marriage is one of the few still recognized as a legal marriage since they got married before it was banned.

We interviewed Bryan's family yesterday at the antique store they own and run. We spoke with his grandmother, father, and brother, so it was very interesting to see all the different generations and their views on gay marriage. Again, apathy shown in another part of our culture.

We also gathered ALL of Jay & Bryan's raw and edited footage they have made over the years for their YouTube channel (Gay Family Values) and we will be incorporating their "home videos" into our documentary. It's a documentarians DREAM COME TRUE to have so much beautiful and intimate footage available to edit with!

All in all, it was a good (long) day of filming, chatting, and analyzing our attack on this project. Excited to see where the path will lead.

Also, here's a quick video Jay & Bryan made for their YouTube channel yesterday, introducing the new documentary, and me also thanking their viewers for voting for "Faces Overlooked' in the Faces of Hunger competition...

Click here if you would like to vote for "Faces Overlooked" in the Faces of Hunger competition

A YouTube Weblebrity

2009-11-26T23:47:00.000-08:00

"Faces Overlooked" was featured on the YouTube homepage today. Not sure how long it will stay there...

I was actually at a friend's place for Thanksgiving dinner when it was put up, so I wasn't able to see it, but my phone instantly started blowing up with comments from about 2pm until 8pm when I got home.

Comments are a weird thing: for whatever reason, when people have anonymity, they feel invisible to the point of being rude or outlandish in saying whatever they want on the web. I know not to take it personally, mainly because when I like a video on youtube, I'll rate it 5 stars, but I don't comment. So I figure, people who do like the video are rating but not commenting, and the ratings have all been very good, but some of the comments have been just plain callous. Oh well.

All in all, it was an interesting experience, we got 10,540 views on the video within 9 hours. That's almost 20 views per minute! Crazy!

Tomorrow, we start our first day of PRODUCTION on "Right to Love: An American Family".... our newest documentary about marriage equality. We will be interviewing Jay & Bryan from Gay Family Values http://www.youtube.com/user/depfox I'm really looking forward to moving onto our next adventure...

Featured on the YouTube Homepage!!!

2009-11-26T00:37:00.000-08:00

Holy smokes!

Feeling very very fortunate right now.

Just received word that my short (4 min) documentary for the Video Volunteers contest made it into the top 3 and it will be featured on the YouTube homepage starting tomorrow (Thankgiving Day) around 2pm-ish...

WOW! I can't believe it! I'm still a little weary to tell anyone because I don't know if it will *really* happen. I guess I just won't believe it until I see it. I imagine it would be great exposure, but who knows. I'm not really sure what to expect.

I'm so proud to have made something that speaks to people, and helps a wonderful cause and a great organization: The San Francisco Food Bank. I'm happy to be able to share this achievement with them, as well as the people we interviewed, the Elementary School we filmed, the teenage boy we interviewed that was willing to talk with us about his experiences in such a vulnerable and beautiful way... and even the musicians that banned together with me in post-production, and were so willing to give their talents to a good cause. I hope all of them feel as proud as I do about putting this film out into the world.

Thanksgiving Day could not have come at a more perfect time.

I'm an Online Video Contest Survivor

2009-11-24T23:46:00.000-08:00

Wow, so I kinda dropped the ball on this blogging thing... I left for LA 2 weeks ago, went to AFM, spent some time with friends, went down to Newport Beach to be in my friend's wedding, came back up to San Francisco last week and before I knew it, here I am! WAY behind on blogging...

The gist of what I've been up to: all last week, I was working on a shorter version of my documentary, "Faces Overlooked", for a contest on YouTube called Video Volunteers.

http://www.youtube.com/videovolunteers

Every month, YouTube hosts a new contest to spotlight a cause or non-profit they are trying to raise awareness about. November's spotlight is hunger. The YouTube manager for Video Volunteers personally contacted me after she saw my film, "Faces Overlooked", on the GotSpot.com website (where I entered it in the Faces of Hunger in America contest). She loved my film and suggested I submit it to the Video Volunteers contest... BUT, they limit their films to 3 minutes. She said I could still submit the film even thought it was 10 minutes long, but they would only grade it on the first 3 minutes.

Unfortunately, the first 3 minutes of my film barely scratch the surface of the message (in my opinion), so I decided to cut it down as much as possible before I submitted it to Video Volunteers.

In 2 days, I cut it down from 10 minutes to 4 minutes... if you're interested in seeing the results, here's the before and after:

"Faces Overlooked" (10 minutes):

4 minute version:

They're a bit different because the contest that I submitted the 10 min version to asked to show hunger in your community. The Video Volunteers contest asked for to showcase a specific non-profit in your town trying to fight hunger, so that's why they have slightly different messages or central focus.

I'm happy with how the 4 minute one turned out, even though it was like pulling teeth! It did not come as easily to me as making the 10 min one. I've found that I'm the type of filmmaker that needs TIME to tell a story. I do not like to rush building up emotion or moments, and I need time to develop characters. I'm not good at making short short films at ALL! Oye - it was difficult.

With that said, I'm happy I finished in time. I literally completed it just a couple hours before they closed the submission deadline.

We'll see what happens. The films will be rated by a panel of judges (including David Arquette, the host, along with Feeding America and the One x One Foundation), and the top 3 films will be featured on the YouTube homepage at the end of this week (in time for Thanksgiving). No prizes, just the satisfaction of being on the YT homepage (which is HUGE exposure = priceless).

The other contest I'm in, Faces of Hunger in America, is almost done. 14 filmmakers, under the age of 25, submitted their short films depicting the growing epidemic of hunger in their community. For the whole month of November, people could go to the GotSpot website and vote for their favorite films EVERYDAY until Dec 4th!

I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into beforehand. I thought it'd be a good exercise for me to practice my documentary skills and also be a part of something larger than just having my own fun making films... I was able to dive deep into an issue I never really thought about before. Starting out was the hardest. For the life of me, I couldn't find ANYONE willing to do an interview sharing their story about struggling with hunger (which is telling of how sensitive of a topic it is). Finally, the San Francisco Food Bank agreed to let me interview their Executive Director, and from there it literally spiraled. He pointed me to other people to contact and everything flowed nicely, until finally completing "Faces Overlooked". I also learned A LOT in editing (via trial and error), and I even met some AMAZING musicians willing to let me include their music in the film. One is a HUGE composer from some very popular TV shows I grew up watching. He let me use his music free-of-charge because it was for a good cause. I would have never been able to afford him otherwise. I feel very fortunate.

Now, it's been almost 3 weeks since voting started and it's been a ROLLERCOASTER! The top 6 films voted for by the public go to final judging. So, I knew I had to get in at least 6th place in order for all the films to be fairly judged on quality, message, and creativity. Little did I know how much of a popularity contest the first round of voting is! MY GOODNESS! I had a HUGE panic attack! For a good 10-15 days I was teetering between 6th and 7th place, sometimes even 8th! I couldn't believe how all these other films were just soaring with their votes. Through the ROOF! It seemed improbable.

I'm a fairly private person (ironic, here I am blogging...), but I emailed EVERYONE I knew, begging them to vote for my film. Still, that proved to not be enough. I was tweeting (yes, I tweet), asking people to vote. I was Facebooking (verb?) everyone! I was asking people to ask people, to ask people to vote... and on and on...

Still not enough.

Panic.

I went through what I like to call "The 7 Stages of GotSpot"...
1) Shock - "This can't be so... those films are beating me?"
2) Denial - "No way I won't make it in the top 6"
3) Pain - "Why do people not like my film?"
4) Guilt - "I should have been more supportive to my friends when they needed my help"
5) Anger - "This is ridiculous! No one can get that many votes in a day! It's impossible!"
6) Defeat - "I can't do anything more than I'm doing right now"
7) Acceptance - "Whatever happens, happens. This is not the end of my career or this film. Other doors will open"

I left for LA on acceptance. I knew I wanted to submit "Faces Overlooked" to film festivals around the San Francisco area, so I knew there were other options... my film wouldn't just disappear like it never happened....

When I came back from LA, my mom (who is my best friend and biggest motivator) was in a panic that Faces was still falling behind in the votes. I was pretty "zen" about it at this point (or at least that's what she says I was). I calmed her, and somehow... through that process, she gained the courage to be my best supporter and get everyone she knew to vote the heck out of Faces. She contacted all her family and her old friends she grew up with, my stepdad went on a voting rampage at his work, getting everyone to bookmark it and Facebook it to friends. My sister was getting all her office buddies riled up to vote and spread the word. I had some people on twitter "retweeting" it, one of which is a motivational blogger and has a huge following. And probably the biggest help of all was when Jay & Bryan at a YouTube channel called "Gay Family Values" posted up this video helping promote voting for Faces Overlooked:

I was stunned how what seemed utterly hopeless at one point, was now starting to turn around, after I let go of the fight! How did this happen? I still ask this today: "how did this happen???"

My mom explains it as "going viral". Faces went viral when everyone started Facebooking, tweeting, emailing, and ESPECIALLY when Jay & Bryan made that video asking their supporters to vote for me! That was probably the Tipping Point.

Now, 3 weeks later, I stand (well, sit at my desk) here with "Faces Overlooked" in FIRST PLACE! FIRST!!! Yes! I know!!! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!?!

I was struggling to barely stay afloat in 6th place, and somewhere between panic attack and zen/let-it-go I became in first.

In no way am I trying to keep the #1 title. In actuality, it doesn't really matter, I just want to be in the top 6, but I cannot express in words how amazing it feels to know that so many people have your back, when not too long ago I felt like I simply didn't have the power to get anyone to vote for me. I'm shocked. really. I guess I'm starting the 7 stages again! haha... except no pain or anger. I do feel a bit in denial and guilty, feeling like I don't deserve all these wonderful people's support. I wonder if Obama felt like this :) lol, probably not quite like that... but you know...

Anyways, I'm very happy and quite a bit stunned right now. Voting ends in 10 days, and I'm still hoping I at least get 6th place :) That's all I want. at least 6th.

Well, if you feel compelled to be apart of this moment and event, I would love your vote for "Faces Overlooked" ... but only if you want to ;)

http://www.gotspot.com/va.do?m=vcad&fc=true&cId=229&aid=1985&pn=5

Thank you and good day!

AFM (A Fter *Math)

2009-11-12T11:18:00.000-08:00

Everything happens for a reason, I tell myself.

As you know, I've been preparing to go to AFM for the past 2 weeks (I only found out about it 2 weeks ago). I've been working on a new extended trailer to pass out to sales reps and distributors. I did research on all the companies I wanted to visit. I contacted some to schedule appointments with (to no avail). I even got a new business suit for the event!

My plan was to attend on the last day (Nov 11th) because I needed to be in LA for a wedding 3 nights later, so I wanted to make the trip as short as possible to save money on hotel costs.

That is what I planned,this is what happened:

I arrived in LA late Tuesday night, stayed at my friend's place in downtown. I woke up bright and early at 6am to leave for AFM at 7am. Their website didn't say when the show started, so I figured it would start at 8am or 9am, so I planned to get there at 8am.

I got to Santa Monica a little after 8am, paid for the beach parking lot,and took a shuttle (with only one other person on the shuttle besides the driver) to the Loew's Hotel. Walked in, went straight to the Information desk and asked where I could purchase a day badge. The 2 women looked at me confused and said they don't think day badges can be purchased on the last day. I told them I called AFM the day before because I was trying to order it online, but they told me to purchase at the door for a discounted price for the last day. The 2 women look at me: *blink blink*. They tell me Registration opens at 9am and said I could talk to them about it.

I wait. And wait. And wait. Anxious to get my badge and start hustling.

9AM, I walk into Registration and 2 young ladies in the far corner are chatting and on their laptops. The Registration booth has nothing on it. Empty. I ask if I can purchase a day badge, and again: *blink blink*

They tell me that all the venders are packing up, and most of them are already gone. I can purchase a half day pass for $125 (instead of $275, like I was planning), but they told me I should call whoever I have a meeting with to make sure they were still here.

Okay, let me just say: WHY would they call it "the last day of AFM" if all the venders are either already gone or are packing up their booths? I've been to many, MANY conventions in my life (my survival job is a "booth girl" - yeah, I'm one of those girls...) and on the last day, they don't start packing up the booth until after the last hour of the show on the last day. AFM should not have called that the "last day of AFM".

Well, needless to say, I was upset. I felt like I failed in accomplishing what we set out to do, and all the hard work we put towards going to AFM.

So, I took an AFM catalogue, sat down and called all the companies I wanted to meet with. No one answered. Then I called my production team (my family), told everyone what happened, and when I was talking to my sister, a man sat down across from me on the coach in the sitting area in the lobby of the Loews Hotel.

I was talking to my sister for a while, telling her how upset I was and didn't know what to do now. I got off the phone with her and just sat reading through all the research I did. The man said to me "your first time at AFM?". Exhausted, I said "yes, I could only come today, but it doesn't look like a day at all". He agreed and was surprised as well.

From about 9am- 1pm, me and this man, Ari, a producer from New York, chatted away. We got coffee, he told me all about AFM. I gave him my feature documentary extended trailer, he pulled out his laptop and watched it right then and there! He loved it.

Just as he was about to show me a feature he worked on, his friend called, he left for a couple minutes and I called my old roommate, and fabulous producer, Chesley, the one that moved to New York and she was supposed to go with me to AFM but cancelled. I told her what happened and we caught up a bit.

I got off the phone with Chesley. Ari, came back, he was about to play his film, and I asked who directed it. He said Matt B******** (sorry about the privacy)! That is Chesley's GOOD GOOD friend she always talks to me about and tells me I need to meet. Apparently Matt and Ari are business partners, and he was at AFM trying to sell their latest film.

I cracked up and called Chesley back, she thought it was so funny because I was just talking about Ari before to her, and little did we know they were all in the same circle. She even did the PR for his film! Small world!

So I watched key scenes from their film. Beautiful, BEAUTIFUL film! It premiered at Sundance and it was Matt's directorial debut! (so "Sundance = first film" can happen!)

Mid-way through me and Ari's meeting, I also ran into a good actor friend who was at AFM selling a documentary and some narratives. He didn't realize the last day was pack-up day either, and he had a friend with him who wanted to purchase a day pass, but didn't.

So, all in all, it was worth meeting a wonderful Producer, seeing a good friend, and definitely worth all the preparation I did for it (making the trailer, doing the research, picking out my distribution wish list). I don't regret anything, but I do wish I went a day earlier :P

Oh well, everything happens for a reason...

Just Shy of Sixth

2009-11-09T18:56:00.001-08:00

Feeling really discouraged right now. I'm in 7th place with 137 votes for the "Faces of Hunger" contest. I have no idea how the other films have SO MANY votes! I'm literally contacting everyone I know, telling them to vote everyday, and it's still not enough.

The top 6 films go to final judging, and as long as I get to final judging I know my film will do well because I followed all the rules and followed what the contest wanted to convey (some of the films in the top 6 did not follow the rules). I just need to get in the top six, but at this rate, I don't know if I can. I'm already exhausted from begging people every second, and I don't know what more I can do.

Who knew it'd be this hard. I don't know how much longer I can keep fighting to stay afloat like this...

Found a Home

2009-11-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

Feeling humbled. Learning to ask for help.

Maybe I was meant to do this competition to learn that you won't get anywhere in life if you don't have friends to help take you there. And the only way to have friends is to be a friend.

Just as I was crying on my bed, not knowing what to do about where I'd stay in LA this week, my old and dear friend from High School, Alex, emailed me to say I did a great job on the hunger documentary. What odds?

I called him and told him my situation, and he generously agreed to let me stay with him, he didn't even take a second to think about it. I can't imagine a better person to stay with. He's always been this wonderful brother-like-figure in my life, and we've seen each other grow through a lot (we both moved to LA around the same time and have been plugging away in the film industry). I don't see him a lot, but when I do, it feels just like home. I'm so thankful to have him in my life. How in the world did I not think to call him earlier?!!?!

Feeling Defeated

2009-11-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

Mildly freaking out right now.

Just lost my place to stay in LA this week. She has a new roommate moving in, so now I need another plan. My other friend, the one in Japan right now, hasn't gotten back to me. I have no clue where I'm gonna stay.

In other frustrating news, I'm still teetering on 6th/7th place in this film competition. Did I mention how I am so not competitive? Yeah.... This is really eating at me, and it's only the 3rd day of voting!!! Argh! 27 more days to go...

I'm having one of those days that only chocolate can cure.

Competition is not my sport

2009-11-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

I finished the feature documentary trailer last night (well, this morning, at 7AM). I love it. It's definitely a giveaway trailer (gives away all the best parts), but what trailer isn't nowadays. The reason I made it like that was to really give a taste of what the film is about to the distributors at AFM because most of them will not sit through an entire film, so I might as well "WOW" them in 3 minutes.

In other, more depressing news: the competition for "Faces of Hunger" started yesterday and I had NO idea how hard it would be to get people to vote for me :( Makes me wonder if I am one of the following:
1. Have no friends :(
2. Or all my friends are too time-consumed to vote
3. I'm not trying hard enough

Hey - it may be all three...? Especially the last. Here's an example: I was an avid gymnast from when I was about 6 years old up until 12... and I quit when it started becoming competitive. I HATE, DESPISE competition. I've never liked it and I don't think I ever will. It takes the heart out of the sport for me, and I can even tell it's taking the heart out of this documentary contest for me... little by little.

I made my short film because I LOVE filmmaking, I love meeting the interviews, hearing their stories and being able to take their experiences and put them towards changing the world for the better. I was/am so proud of "Faces Overlooked" and especially couldn't wait to start showing my friends what has been consuming my life for the past 2 months...

Then, voting opened, and all went downhill. 14 films were submitted total, and the top six films go to final judging. I'm literally in 6th place and hanging by a thread. The films above me have double and some TRIPLE the amount of votes I have, and I can only explain it as my friends not going out and voting. Worst part is: I hate being persistent! I don't like to nag or beg or plead, or do anything that imposes my wants and needs on the actions of someone else. For whatever reason, I feel sleazy doing it. I just don't like hitting up my friends for votes. It stinks.

But I know I really want this. I AT LEAST want to get in the top 6 so that the judges can make an accurate comparison as to who the winner is. I think the top 6 films will be fairly judged... but this whole voting process, let's admit: it's a big POPULARITY CONTEST. It's not representative of the best quality, but who has the most contacts. *sigh*

Oh well, regardless of the contest, I'm really proud of "Faces Overlooked", what it's taught me, the doors it's opened, and the people I've met through it. It'll go somewhere, just don't know where yet...

Here's the link if you wanna help a beginner filmmaker out ;)
http://www.gotspot.com/va.do?m=vcad&fc=true&cId=229&aid=1985&pn=5

xoxo

Something Old, Something New

2009-11-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

I've been a frantic mess lately, in the best way possible if I get enough sleep... in the worst way possible if I don't. I got sleep last night so I'm good. Yesterday was a different story...

Two good things happening right now. First off, I got the hard drive of soundtrack/trailer music yesterday. 14,000 songs total, and I went through about half of them last night. I was a little dismayed because most of the songs were TOO big than what I was wanting for my trailer. I was hoping for something quirky and off-beat, but 90% of the songs were larger than life (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Transformers, action packed!).

I found a couple (maybe 5 songs) that work well but I'll have to loop them a couple times because they're not long enough (I'm making this trailer about 4-5 minutes, as a teaser for distributors at AFM). It'll work. I'm happy to have ANY music at all!

I'm about 1/4-1/5 of the way through the trailer, and I've been working on it for about 7 hours. Not too bad, and my deadline is in 48 hours! Oh boy...

The other good news... let's not be modest: GREAT news! We have our next documentary lined up!

We interviewed a lovely married couple in San Francisco last year for a project we were planning on making about the "sanctity" of marriage. The project got put on the back burner, but we still loved this couple's story. They are Jay (39 years old) and Bryan (37), a gay couple that have been together for 13 years! They have two adopted children, Daniel, who is 9, and his 6 year old sister, Selena. Daniel has been in and out of hospitals since he was born, and the adoption house specifically wanted a family to adopt them together, but so many families only wanted Selena. Jay and Bryan are seriously two of the most loving parents I've ever seen in my entire life. I can't believe that people fight to prevent gay couples from adopting, let alone getting married. This world needs more parents like them.

One interesting thing about their story is Jay is a police officer and Bryan works at a school. They actively participate in their community and give so much back. Jay was also in the military. How can people who pay taxes, fight for our country and give back to our community have rights withheld from them? It pains me.

Jay & Bryan have a huge following online. They have a youtube show called "Gay Family Values" and host multiple blogs. They have a couple thousand followers and have been getting a lot of attention in the LGBT community. We interviewed them when they were still on the rise, and now they've really made a name for themselves. Bravo, HBO, Oxygen (among others) have all contacted them about doing a reality series, and they have been sitting on these multiple offers. My family and I knew that we really wanted to do the Jay & Bryan story since we felt so connected to them when we interviewed them last year. We weren't sure if they already signed with another show, but we asked them a couple days ago if we could be the ones to do their series.

We got the news yesterday: Jay & Bryan turned down Bravo, HBO, and the others! They have agreed to work with US! I'm so flattered! Apparently they watched our first feature documentary and thought we were extremely respectful to everyone we interviewed (that's a huge compliment to any documentarian), and they knew we would do their story justice and not skew it like so many other "reality" shows out there. I couldn't believe it! Stations have been trying to get these guys for MONTHS and they turned them down for little ol' us!

We've decided to use their home video footage (that they use for their youtube show) in the series since it's so much more personable than we could ever get. Could you imagine someone standing in the bedroom filming you while you read your daughter a bedtime story? We don't want to do that. They have so many beautiful moments on their own without strangers in their face in the most intimate moments, but what we will do is film interviews (used as a sort-of narration) professionally so that we have clear sound and can get the comments we need. Since we chose to do it this way, we will be making Jay & Bryan co-producers, so in the case that the show does well, they will be adequately reimbursed since they are doing a lot of work with their home videos!

I'm so thrilled! It's still taking a while to kick in though! I can't believe it. I feel so good about this project, and me and my family already have a great grasp on what we're wanting to do and achieve. I feel that these pieces really fell in the right places for us. Very exciting.
(that's me on the left filming the Prop 8 protest last year)

Well... enough jibber jabber, I need to get back to editing the trailer... peace!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

2009-11-03T16:22:00.001-08:00

I'll be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing, but one thing I am sure about is if I trust my instinct, I will be lead to where I'm supposed to go.

I've started emailing the "Wizards" (a.k.a. my Christmas List of who I want to meet with at AFM: Magnolia, Cinetic, THiNKfilm, Roadside Attractions, and First Run Features).

I've found that it's better to call the company, quickly say to the receptionist "I want to set up a meeting with acquisitions for AFM next week", and they connect me with the right person. Better to do this than just email: info@"thecompany".com. Even though the receptionists are always kind of thrown off and have no clue who I am, they still help me. ***Hey, I've been a receptionist plenty of times, we probably don't know who you are, but we always act like you're the boss' family, because maybe you are!***

So far, I have 2 leads at THiNKfilm and 1 lead at Cinetic. Both requested to be emailed the information instead of discuss over the phone. Email is the way of the future. But phone calls are easier at obtaining information because you catch people off-guard ;)

Now, onto Magnolia, Roadside, and First Run...

Stress Ball

2009-11-03T12:33:00.000-08:00

Just call me Stress Ball.... Miss Stress Ball to you Sir!

This blog is my only retreat. I need to vent about my fears...

I'm freaking about AFM. It starts tomorrow (Nov 4th) and goes until next Wednesday (the 11th). The hard drive with all the music for trailers hasn't been sent yet, it's being sent out today from Vegas and will arrive Friday. I can't start editing without knowing the music I can use. I'm going to try to get it overnighted to arrive tomorrow, which will give me an extra 2 days, which will help tremendously!

I'm betting that I'll go to AFM on the last day (Wed), so I'll drive to LA Tuesday. The other problem is where to stay. I've always stayed with this one LA friend, who was my neighbor at one point, but he's moving out of his apartment in Hollywood TOMORROW, and going down to San Diego for a bit. Most all my LA friends I hold at a professional arm's length distance, I don't feel comfortable asking to sleep on their couch. My Uncle thinks maybe I can stay with his good friend who has a house. My other plan is to stay at my girl friend's studio apt because she's touring in Japan at the moment, but I don't want to stress her out on such short notice. I don't even know if she has a spare key left somewhere in LA. Worst case scenario, I find a cheap hotel for a couple nights and live off of 2 for 1 energy bars.

I'm going to try to make contact with Magnolia, THiNKfilm, Roadside Attractions, First Run and Cinetic today, to let them know I'll be at AFM and want to talk to them. I hope they respond. Magnolia and Cinetic have booths there, so I guess they can't run away if I corner them there! :)

I have to finish the trailer by Saturday night, so my Uncle can print out 20 DVDs with fancy printing and packaging, he'll overnight them on Monday to arrive in LA Tuesday at his friend's place (with the house, where I may be staying). If the last day of AFM is Wednesday, FEDEX better be on time to arrive Tuesday, or someone will mysteriously disappear! Seriously, I always have the worst luck with priority and overnighted mail. They better not screw this one up!!!

Okay, back to the grind!

AFM Game Plan 2

2009-11-03T01:28:00.000-08:00

Oh, how plans change, and I'm sure they won't stop changin!

My old roommate, the awesome producer living in NY, she said she's not going to AFM now... which means... I'll be going all by myself! If I couldn't be terrified enough being there, now I'm going to have to be there ALONE. Great.... BUT! I'm trying to think of it as a positive, I can focus all my time and energy towards my goals and game plan, instead of trying to organize my schedule with her meetings as well. This is good...

I've been searching though IMDb Pro like a mad woman, trying to find the distributors for my favorite documentaries. So far, here's what I've gathered:

- Magnolia Pictures!!! - Bigger Stronger Faster, Crazy Love, Jesus Camp, Control Room, Man on Wire

- Cinetic International - Little Miss Sunshine, Jesus Camp, Crazy Love, Supersize Me, Trouble the Water, Taxi to the Dark Side, Collapse, The Yes Man, Spellbound

- HBO - Alexandra Pelosi films, Bowling For Columbine, and a gazillion other films...

- THiNKfilm - Overnight, War Dance, Zoo, Lake of Fire, Spellbound, and many other docs

- Roadside Attractions - Supersize Me, Bella, IOUSA, Teeth

- First Run Features - For the Bible Tells Me So, and a million other documentaries...

- Focus Features - Mostly narratives, but the documentaries are: Baby(ies) (2008), The Ground Truth (2006), The Kid Stays in the Picture (The Narratives are: Lost in Translation, 21 Grams, Mean Creek, Motorcycle Diaries, Eternal Sunshine, Shaun of the Dead, Brick, Constant Gardener, Brokeback Mountain, Imagine You & Me, Atonement, Into the Wild, Revolutionary Road, In Bruges, Burn After Reading, Milk, Away We Go, 9)

As you probably noticed, some of the films were repeated with different companies. That is because all of these companies wear multiple hats. They are: International Sales Agents, Sales Representatives, Distributors, Managers, Talent Agents, work in production, and other office services. I didn't realize this until today. So, technically, I could go to Cinetic and ask for them to be my Sales Representative, and then get distribution through Magnolia, OR vice versa! Awesome.

I would love to get in touch with Cinetic, but I just hope it's not another "Producer's Rep" situation where they take an upfront fee and charge monthly "supply costs" on top of that, AND a huge percentage of the film's earnings. Ideally, I hope Cinetic has a commission and percentage only policy. Let's hope because our money rag has been rung :P

THiNKfilm would also be really cool! I like their style, and the films they take on. THiNKfilm, Cinetic, and First Run Features are located in NY, but hopefully that won't be a problem in working with them, as long as they're at AFM and I can meet them in person.

So, my next step is to contact each distributor or sales rep I want to meet as AFM, and try to get a meeting with them in LA, or at least give them a heads up that I'll be there and stop by their booth with a copy of the trailer.

I'm getting a little nervous about having the new trailer cut in time. I haven't received the terabyte drive with all the soundtrack music and scores for me to edit with. I put most of the audio I want in the trailer already in a Final Cut sequence, and once I edit the music with the audio, I can put in the appropriate B-roll footage because I don't just want talking heads, I want movement! I need to bring out all the biggest, most-expensive looking shots I have. I really need to pack in a lot in 5 minutes. Their time is valuable, and I need to make them forget their other commitments when they watch my trailer.

I really hope I make contact with some, if not ALL of the people I want to meet, BEFORE I get to AFM, I would hate to get there and not have anyone give me the time of day.

------------------------------------------------------

In other news, I the Faces of Hunger film competition, that I was told was pushed back to Jan 15th, 2010, was in fact a mistake by the website people hosting the competition. Turns out, the voting STILL starts on Nov 6th, this Friday, and it'll go on for a month. So I'll send out some mass emails Thurs/Fri/Sat begging people to vote for me! Oye... don't know how I feel about that, but that's viral marketing for you!

I'm about halfway through my "Rebel Without a Crew" book, I'm in the POST-post-production chapter, and ready to get through it because it's all film editing, not video editing. Crazy how much can change in just a decade or two. I don't think I'll ever want to work with film, because the editing process just seems so tedious and unforgiving. A single cut could ruin the entire shot. When I edit in Final Cut Pro, I mess up sooooo many times and start over so many times, I would never last a second with film editing. The next chapter is about Film Festivals though - CAN'T WAIT! I really hope I get to make the Film Festival circuit sometime soon. I hope I at least make it into a couple of the... uhh... 40..? ..50..?..Film Festivals I've submitted to so far...? But if I don't make it into any, I'll just re-cut the film, and start over again. We have the ingredients right, but I'm still learning how to cook :)

AFM Game Plan

2009-11-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

After passing on the Producer's Rep company (everyone has reassured me it was the right move... and anyone can have the cover of Hollywood Reporter for a mere $20,000), we have now reevaluated our game plan.

Here's what we're thinking (it'll be interesting to see if it actually pans out this way): I'm going to work tirelessly re-editing a new teaser/trailer for my first feature documentary. The trailer I've been using is very short and ambiguous, I need to make a longer, more revealing one to show to distributors and reps, making them excited about seeing it, and already having an idea of what to expect. It's going to be BIG, BAD, and give away all the best parts of the movie (something I'm usually not a fan of, but in this case, it's necessary).

My uncle, who is the KING of accumulating all media ever SEEN, is providing me with a massive library of movie soundtracks, music for trailers, and movie scores. Usually, I would not use this music in my films unless I could acquire the rights to use them, BUT, in the case of making a teaser/trailer to show distributors and the likes, it IS legal to use this kind of copyrighted music, since I'm not making a profit from the trailer. It's similar to how actors can use popular music in their demo reels and not have to pay licensing fees, because they're not selling the demo reel. It's a fine, sticky line, but it is safe, as long as once the film is sold, a new trailer will be cut with the appropriate fees taken care of.

Anywho, I'm like a kid on Christmas Eve, waiting for this hard drive to arrive with all this music! I can't WAIT! I'm most inspired by music than ANYTHING else when I edit. I actually edit TO music, which some say is a big "no no", but in fact, George Lucas has said he does the same thing! He actually had the songs picked out for American Graffiti BEFORE he wrote it! Awesome!

Now, I actually have a DEADLINE for this new trailer. My old roommate, an absolutely FABULOUS female producer who now lives in NY, said that she is going to AFM (American Film Market) next week and wants me to go with her. It'd be a great opportunity for me to learn that side of the filmmaking coin (selling your film, which I'm obviously in the mist of right now), but it isn't cheap. Tickets are $275/DAY, and it's a seven day event, so I can only afford to go one day (barely even that). I need to make the most of this one day, so here's my plan so far:

- Make the new documentary trailer, make the most DVD copies possible, complete with fancy packaging and maybe even a menu of our other projects we're working on, like our hunger documentary and 2 TV series ideas, etc.)

- Have a map printed out with stars on all the exhibitors I want to visit (1st on the list: Magnolia Pictures!!!)

- Try to arrange appointments, coffee meetings, lunch meetings, dinner meetings, with anyone I REALLY want to chat with (if they will give me the time of day)

- Prepare to market my butt off!!!!

I have to admit, I'm totally terrified. Not only do I get a little shy approaching people like a door-to-door salesman, but I also look like I'm 18 which can make people write me off (or maybe I'm projecting). Either way, I don't feel entirely comfortable, but I know this will be a great experience and I just have to do it, and put my fears aside. *whew* "lord help me"

In other news, the short hunger documentary that was entered into the Faces of Hunger competition is being put on hold by the organizers. They only had 4 (count them, FOUR) film submissions when they were expecting 200 and hoping for more. So, they announced that they are pushing the voting off until January 15th, 2010 now! That seems so far away, and I told everyone involved that they'd be able to vote next week on November 6th! So, needless to say I have to do some damage control on that front. I was also hoping for this short film to help boost people's interest in what I do, since it's only 10 minutes long, and it's easier to get people to watch 10 minutes than 95 minutes (which is how long my feature is). I'm trying to figure out a way to still show people my short film, but not through the competition's website, because the quality of the film is drastically lowered. Maybe I'll make some DVDs of the short, with nice packaging and just start sending them out to festivals, etc. Get the word out there. I dunno, we'll see...

All About Company

2009-10-30T16:07:00.001-07:00

I've had a pretty crazy 20-30 hours here. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, my throat is tight (maybe getting sick, blasted), can't sleep, mind-racing, feeling like a million things to do, and don't know in what order, how I'll be able to do them all, and most importantly: finding the most efficient way to do things, because the last thing I want is to do things in the wrong sequence which will ultimately add unnecessary stress and time to accomplishing the results. Geez, THAT was a long sentence.

Me and my production team had 2 meetings with a Producer's Representation company (won't name names, but they come up first when you google them). How they came about was they emailed us out of the blue a couple weeks ago, interested in our feature documentary, and wanted a screener. We sent them a copy of the film, they liked it, so they set up a phone meeting with us for yesterday (Oct 29th).

According to them, they represent the film in Film Festivals, negotiate and close deals with distribution, and help market the film in any way, shape or form. They are essentially glorified producers with 'connections', and act as legal representation for your film, and take no prisoners. Sounds like a gem, right?

Here's the catch, they are $14,500 UPFRONT! & take a backend profit when the distribution deals are made, a large percentage, like 15%-20%!

I was skeptical from the start, because the night before the meeting I did tons of research and found some blogs saying not to do it!

During the phone call, my 3 producers were with me on the line talking to the producer rep. I left the conversation very negative, while my partners were all very positive. I ended up emailing about 6 or 7 of my closest industry friends, a couple big writers, some producers, some filmmakers, my old acting manager, and ALL of them said "no", "shady", "sketchy", "never heard of that", "you don't need it"..... etc. Verdict was in.

The producer rep INSISTED on a follow-up call the next morning, so today we had yet another meeting with him on the phone. I told my partners that I didn't want to talk as much in this conversation because I got VERY worked up yesterday about it (resulting in tears later in the day), so my other 2 producers gladly took the leadership roles. Thankfully they were VERY poinient, professional, and a LOT calmer and nicer than I would have been.

The owner of the big Producer's Rep agency (female) got in on the conference call, being VERY pushy about closing this contractual deal, pointing out that AFM (American Film Market) was days away and she knows distributors that are looking for a film EXACTLY like ours! She really wanted our documentary. Rightfully so ;)

We held our ground and my producers respectfully declined. I barely said 2 words (lucky for them, I would have snapped at some of the comments they were making to us, I'm like a mother bear to my film).

After the phone call, I looked up the Hollywood Reporter because they said they were on the cover this week. Sure enough, this company (that, mind you, no one has heard of) was on the COVER of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: AMERICAN FILM MARKET EDITION! Blah! I felt my stomach knot up. Did we just turn down a HUGE opportunity? Every distributor is going to be looking for this company at AFM asking about what films they have! We could have been the hot tamale!

Well, it's in the past, and we've learned a LOT in 2 days... not just me, but my production partners and how we work together as a team. As cheezy as this sounds: it was definitely a team building challenge, and we passed with flying colors. Even though we all had our own opinions, we found compromise and listened to each other. I feel confident that we all have mutual respect and understanding for each other. Couldn't ask for better people to be surrounded by. My family. Yes, my production partners are my mom, sister, and stepdad. The most wonderful co-workers in the world.

I have some new plans of action, but I will leave that for another post. Lot's going on, can't wait to share the journey.

Taking the Reins

2009-10-29T02:03:00.001-07:00

I have a phone conference call meeting with a Producer's Rep and my production team in about 8 hours.

I'm a little skeptical, ESPECIALLY after reading this:
http://www.distribution.la/reps.html

But if Producer's Reps make money off of just being the middle man between filmmakers and distributors, then I think I could probably save money and do it myself. After all, I don't think anyone knows my film as well as I do, and if Producer's Reps make money upfront, BEFORE doing the work, then what incentive do they have to do the best work possible?

I fortunately came across this blog when I googled "how to contact film distributors":
http://independentfilmblog.com/2007/10/16/how-to-contact-film-distributors-close-the-deal/comment-page-1/#comment-553

This inspired me to take the reins and really make my Magnolia Pictures dream happen! They have an acquisitions email address on their website, so my plan is to prepare to the best of my ability before contacting them, which will require this one main step beforehand:

RE-EDIT a NEW TRAILER for my feature documentary!

The first one I made for it was great, but it had a Madonna song in it, so youtube disabled it unexpectedly due to copyright issues. Understandable.

Then, I made a new one, but I was rushed at the time, so it was a short 30 sec ambiguous trailer that just makes you interested, but doesn't really give you a taste of what good parts are in the film. It's a little *TOO* ambiguous.

So, for my Magnolia Pictures presentation pitch, I will have a rockin 3-5 minute trailer that will show off some of the best parts of my doc, and will make them interested enough to either see the film and/or give me a meeting with them.

Let's hope.

Training Grounds

2009-10-28T23:41:00.000-07:00

I spent most of the day trying to fix my doc that was smooshed from 16x9 to 4x3 on the competition website. The last thing I want is to tell all my friends back in LA to see my short and vote for me (this would be the first time most of them see anything I've directed/edited), and it turn out to be obviously in the wrong format. It would scream amateur. No, can't have that!

Something I have thought about recently is where I am in my life right now. One, I'm beginning a career behind the camera, making films, editing, marketing, exploring all aspects around being a filmmaker... but TWO, I also just moved to San Francisco recently to be closer to my family during this transition and starting-up period. I didn't necessarily plan this out in advance, it just happened through a series of events when I was down in LA.

Quickly, to catch you up if you don't know my history: I moved to LA at 18 years old, by myself, to pursue acting. I grew up with that being my sole focus in life. After a couple years of some roller-coaster success, I decided at 21 years old that I wanted to start moving behind the camera and create my own vision because a lot of the films I was acting in, I did not feel passionate about being a part of (i.e. some horror films here and there...). I was getting more politically aware around that time as well and somehow (I can't even comprehend how the chips fell) I just thought documentaries would be a good route. So from Feb 2008 - August 2009 I made my first feature documentary.

(that's me at the "Green Humanitaire" event)

(at the premiere of "Crook")

(the cast of "Wolfpeople", a horror film I did in Idaho)

(at the Palm Springs Film Fest with director, Stephen Savage, for the "Cosmic Radio" premiere)

In August 2009, I also moved to San Francisco after 5 years down in LA living on my own and being a "big girl". I was pretty social when it came to networking and meeting lots of people. Many of them I have stayed in consistent contact with throughout the years, and that has really helped me later on when I decided to start directing. I would never have found filmmaking if it wasn't for my years pursuing acting, and the people I met along the way.

I have realized, looking back on the steps that lead me here, this is exactly where I need to be right now. Emersed in work, reading books, creating, learning, making mistakes, and all within arms distance of the people who have seen me through my ups and downs (my family). I don't have the judgement of LA breathing down my neck watching my every step and remembering every mistake, I have people who want to see me happy and succeed and know what to say when I can't stand up by myself.

I feel like my chapter or my new life (don't know if I'll stay or go) in San Francisco is my training grounds. No one knows me here, no expectations, no people calling me wondering why I never go out with them anymore... I still talk to my LA friends all the time, but they know I'm up here with my head down and focused. I might as well be living in a villa in Tuscany (except of course with internet!). I'm so disconnected from the world I used to live in, a world that used to distract me, and now I'm able to focus on honing my talent, so that the next time I go to LA to pitch my work, I can be confident in who I am as a filmmaker.

What a great time in my life.

New Game Plan

2009-10-28T00:51:00.000-07:00

The book "Rebel Without a Crew" really is inspiring me to approach this filmmaking career in an entirely different way.

I've put so much emphasis on Film Festivals being my one opportunity to secure distribution, get agents attention, make a name for myself... but this book did not go that route at all. Robert Rodriguez did not do the Film Festival route to start off with, he progressed by meeting the right people in top positions! It's not like he had some magic connection to those people to begin with either, he literally just walked in, introduced himself and showed off his work. I wonder if that could still happen today? (Rodriguez got away with it back in 1991... when the internet was still in the womb!)

We have gotten some people contacting us out of the blue, asking about our film. Mainly Producers' Representatives (one of which I have a conference call with this Thursday.. I'm just a little nervous). I haven't actively pursued submitting my film to distributors or agents though, I always just assumed that would come from Film Festivals, but Robert Rodriguez FIRST got an amazing agent (ICM) and THEN went on to get production deals, distribution deals, etc... I'm re-thinking my whole game plan!

Who says you have to start from the bottom up? Let's start from the top down!

In an ideal world: I would have Magnolia Pictures distributing my documentary! New goal.

Martini Shot

2009-10-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

In filmmaking, there's something called a "Martini Shot".

No... it's not referring to the size of the glass (it'd be a lot bigger than a shot!), it's referring to the last take, or 'shot', of the film... and when that take is finished, it's MARTINI TIME!

Well... I feel like I'm having a Martini YEAR! When will it be time to have a martini? Hmm.. never? Well, I guess it's okay to be a workaholic when you do what you love... but love can still cause headaches...

Today was stressful, I uploaded my "Faces Overlooked" video to GotSpot.com for the "Faces of Hunger" competition, and after a dozen attempts, I couldn't see the video playback. i uploaded it correctly but nothing was showing. I contacted GotSpot and turns out my browser (Safari) is the problem. I went to a different browser (Firefox) and it worked fine...

Well... kinda fine. When I ended up seeing my video, it was smooshed! The final film I made was in 16x9 aspect ratio (widescreen), but GotSpot's video format is in 4x3, so it smooshed the image to look like stick figures. Bah!

Ironically enough, on my first film (the feature documentary) I made the mistake of making it in 4x3, and BOY did I learn my lesson!

Now, on this short documentary, I learn that if you're making a film for the WEB, best to make it in 4x3. You live and you learn.

Festival Submissions

2009-10-27T02:07:00.000-07:00

I've kinda gotten a "system" down for film festival submissions.

I have an excel spreadsheet listing all the festivals I want to submit to, their deadlines, when they take place, and their fees. As I submit, I use a coloring system on the spreadsheet to determine which ones have been submitted to, which ones I decided not to submit to, the ones "on deck" or "in the hot seat", and the ones in the near future. It's worked fairly well, but let me tell you, festivals submission are a pain!

I usually wait until the night before I ship them out to put them together. It's like an assembly line, here's the routine:

1. Determine from spreadsheet which festivals to submit to that day.

2. Go to withoutabox.com and search for the festival.

3. Click to submit, fill out application, possibly customize a cover letter if it's for a festival I have a connection to or a special connection with the town (like Seattle or Las Vegas, where I grew up and have family).

4. Pay the fee (usually between $25 - $75 depending on if it's an early/regular/late deadline or how popular the festival is).

5. Print out the confirmation page.

6. Prepare the envelope and mark all materials with the Withoutabox Tracking # (mark the envelope & the DVD with the #).

7. Include the confirmation page, DVD (sometimes 2 or 3 DVDs, and it seems that the smaller festivals ask for more copies, than the more popular festivals... don't know why), and press materials or a business card if I'm feeling flashy ;)

8. Seal 'em up and send 'em out!

9. Pray.

The whole festival submission thing is really scary to me. It's basically a big gamble. My good producer friend told me to just think of it as "donations" to the bigger festivals (like Sundance and Cannes, since the chances of getting in are SO slim, but you HAVE to submit because you can't sleep at night knowing that you never even gave your film a fighting chance).

We've spent over $1,000 already on festival fees alone (not even shipping costs or dvd printing materials included!), it's an expensive endeavor for an uncertainty.

I really hope my feature documentary will make it into as least a couple festivals, even if they're smaller, I just want the opportunity to screen somewhere and invite people to come see. But even if that doesn't happen, I know we have so many other avenues to take the documentary, so it'll all work out as it's supposed to, I guess.

People Banning Together for Good Causes

2009-10-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

So, I went to bed last night worrying that I forgot to contact one musician that I pulled his music off of HitRECord.org. I used two of his works, one of some bells that I use during the text-over-black segments, and one of an electronic sounding piano being recorded backwards. It sounds REALLY cool.

So this morning I went to HitRECord and found the musician (Jeff). Just as I was about to email him, I thought I should look him up to find out more about him.

Turns out he's HUGE!!! Like... HUGE!!! He's been seriously composing for over 12 years on some of the most famous TV shows that I grew up watching religiously. I couldn't believe it!

Finding this out instantly put me into a panic. "He's going to expect to be paid", "what if he doesn't let me use his songs", "what if he's offended I didn't go through his representation, a more professional way of contacting him"... I was psyching myself out.

Well, I figured to just write him a very nice email explaining that it's for a good cause, it's a competition for young filmmakers, and to profusely apologize for not having the funds to compensate him. I prayed he'd have a big heart.

He DID!

He said that HitRECord is meant for artists who want to collaborate and he is thrilled it's being used for a good cause. He can't wait to see it!!!

YAAAAY! I feel like the stars really align when you're doing good for the world. I would NEVER have the opportunity to work with this very talented composer if it were a narrative film or of a different nature... but hunger is an issue everyone can agree that needs to stop.

Filmmakers Helping Musicians

2009-10-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

Funny how even when you're "finished", the work still isn't done...

One sticky thing about documentaries is obtaining the rights to use certain materials (anything you didn't shoot or make yourself). In the feature documentary I made last year, I used some news broadcast audio, some references to pop culture that have shaped our society, and audio from radio shows. All of that was covered by the Fair Use Act:
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/files/pdf/fair_use_final.pdf

The only material I did not have the right to use was the music. You have to either pay licensing fees to use certain artist's music, OR on some rare and blessed occasions, the artist will let you use their music free of charge.

Today was a blessed day for me.

I finished editing "Faces Overlooked" yesterday, but the one thing I was unsure about was whether the music I used would be cleared by the artist.

At every chance I get, I try to use an "unknown" artist so that I can hopefully bypass the licensing fees (which for popular artists can be anywhere from a couple thousand dollars to half a million depending on the success of the artist!).

So, for this short film, I decided to utilize the website HitRECord.org. It's a collaborative artist networking site created by actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

The benefit of using this site is that most of the artists are in their teens to early twenties, and haven't really started or even pursued a creative career yet, they are just making art for the fun of it, and sharing it on this site.

So I could browse hundreds of songs, and download the song directly from the site and then put it into Final Cut Pro. This saved me the trouble of having to contact the artist first, have them send me the file via email, and then me edit it in and see if the song worked. Sometimes I would think a song would work, but once I edited it in, it clearly didn't, and I would end up not using the song at all. So hitRECord let me bypass contacting the artist and getting their hopes up, with the possibility of not even using the song.

I edited "Faces Overlooked" while featuring 2 HitRECord musicians work, and their songs are undeniably very integral parts of the film.

I contacted one of the musicians last week and never heard back. He was a young musician from Philadelphia. The other musician is a quirky fun girl from Chicago. She contacted me right away and said she'd be happy to let me use her song with only a credit on the film in return. I was thrilled since her piano piece is reccuring and sets the mood for the entire film.

I was still stuck on hearing back from the Philly guy, and so I sent him another email again last night. This morning I wake-up to this response:

I JUST received this email.

I'd be honored for you to use my song with such a great
cause. I do not need anything from you, all I ask is you
send me a copy of it for my own collection. I only write music
for the chance to have it help people or be put into a film or
documentary - so you're making one of my dreams come true.

Please let me know if I can be of any help, and keep me updated
as to when it will be out.

XO

I was SO THRILLED to hear this from him! I can't describe the feeling of helping another artist achieve their dream. I couldn't be happier that he is so willing to have his song in my film to help a great cause. It feels like my film is a catalyst in promoting good things in the world. I was able to live out my dream, I was able to help some musicians live out their dreams, it is helping the Faces of Hunger organization raise awareness about their cause, and their cause is helping people not go hungry... all my work feels justified beyond measure. Who cares if I'm not making money, no price tag could live up to promoting good in the world.

So grateful.

I Finished "Faces Overlooked"

2009-10-25T03:37:00.001-07:00

I finished!!!

I finished, I finished, I FINISHED!!!

Crazy. This is how it happened:

Last night, I decided to stay up late to work on finishing "Faces Overlooked". I had a midnight carb-filled snack knowing that it'd keep me up late. I ended up staying up until 5am, but in those 5-6 hours of working, I didn't get much done. I was able to edit in the new B-roll I shot that morning, but little was achieved in piecing together that last 2 minutes of the film that I had not figured out yet.

In my last blog post, I was saying how I wasn't sure whether to pull out all the punches or stay true to the story and leave out those shocking sound bites since that would steer too far away from the message of the film.

I got into bed at 5am, but even then, I still couldn't fall asleep. I was puzzled on how to fill in those two minutes... which, to make my frustration clearer: I had completed the first 8 minutes and the final 2 minutes of the film, but I still had 2 minutes in between that I hadn't figured out yet, and those are probably the most important 2 minutes of the entire film: THE CLIMAX! Right before the conclusion. So you can see why I was stressing.

Of course, RIGHT before I'm about to fall asleep, IT HITS ME! Stay true to the mood, the characters, and the message; don't pull out all the stops just because you have them, be true to the story and where it's going. I knew EXACTLY how I wanted to fill in those 2 minutes.

I woke up this morning (well, afternoon...), showed my mom what I edited last night (the new B-roll), and then I explained to her my epiphany I had the night before. I was nervous because she was the one that was so excited about the powerful/shocking sound bites (she was at the interviews with me), and she was encouraging me to work them into the film somehow. Well, I explained to her my idea, which was to keep the main character ambiguous and like a "wise-beyond-his-years" sort of guy, where you know little about him, INSTEAD of adding his powerful sound bites that were a little too off-topic. My mom said to just do it (edit in my vision) and call her when it's ready (because she couldn't imagine how it would work until she saw it).

I edited it within about 10 minutes... showed her... and she cried.

"Oh, Mom...", I said.

I went back to polishing it, making small adjustments... then me and my mom showed it to my stepdad. This was the first time I watched it all the way through after the big finish, and man oh man, I thought it was gold.

Whenever I watch my own films, I always try to watch it like I'm someone who has no idea about it, and is watching it for the first time. I try to act like an opinionated critic: "the camera is shaky", "I couldn't hear what that guy said", "that cut was abrupt", "that text didn't need to be there that long"... etc. Nit-picking EVERYTHING! I can nit-pick a single film FOREVER! It's a curse really... but most of the time when I nit-pick my films, I know in the back of my head why I did it that way: "because he coughs later", "because a plane interrupted", "because I wanted the cuts to match the song and I couldn't edit the song"... and on, and on, and on....

When I watched "Faces Overlooked" for the first time all the way through, pretending I was a first-time viewer, it hit my heart strings. I thought "it pains me to see people like this", and that's the reaction I wanted. I want people to see this film and think that those kids should not go hungry, especially in a country that can do something about it.

I'm thrilled with the final product, and let me just say that there is no greater feeling of accomplishment when you know you just finished something that you worked really hard at and put a lot of heart into, and not only did you put so much time and energy into it, but it was for a great cause. Who knows, it may push someone to change the world into a better place someday... just maybe.

I will link "Faces Overlooked" when it is online in the next 1-2 weeks...

True to the story or pull out everything you've got?

2009-10-24T01:46:00.000-07:00

In an era full of fast cuts, MTV music videos, reality TV and action movies that outdo the last... I struggle with wanting good pacing and telling a good story, but it is inviting to throw in all you've got in order to keep the short-attention-span people's attention.

I'm working on a short film right now about hunger in America for a film competition. I have 8 hours of footage and the film's maximum limit is only 12 minutes!! It's hard to have character developement and a consistent "mood" throughout when you only have so much time to pack in a punch.

I've edited 10 of the 12 minutes already, but the 2 minutes I'm struggling with are the wrap-up before the conclusion. I already have the ending 2 minutes and love it! It's just getting there that's the hard part.

I have some wonderful, powerful sound bites that I REALLY wanted to use because they are shocking and impactful, but I fear it steers too far away from the essence and true message of the film. And to put it in right before the conclusion would probably confuse audiences in what the focus is.

The weird thing about editing documentaries is, you're basically writing a script but the pen is your footage and the paper is Final Cut Pro. You're trying to piece together a story using the (sometimes limited and inconvenient) footage you have. It's frustrating but that's part of the fun about editing documentaries. It's entirely trial and error.

Back to the grind.

I had a midnight snack of veggie sticks and hummus hoping it would help keep me up late to finish this edit. I work best at night because there are no distractions.

Introduction... the beginning of the beginning

2009-10-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Robert Rodriguez's book "Rebel Without a Crew", I have decided to start recording my pursuit of becoming a filmmaker.

I'm probably more green than most filmmakers who claim they are pursuing filmmaking. Many think of "El Mariachi" being Rodriguez's first film which became his launching point for a successful and outstanding career, but what differs from me and Robert is he made 20+ SHORT films before he made "El Mariachi". He started filming when he was in Elementary School, and even learned editing by using the pause and record buttons on his dad's VCR. I, however, never filmed or edited a THING, no home video, nothing, until I made a feature documentary last year at 22 years old (started in Feb 2008 and completed in Aug 09).

I'm about 80% of the way through completing my first short film. This being my second film endeavor in my life, I am convinced that this is what I want to do.

Now, being 23 years old (the same age Mr. Rodriguez was when he made his breakout film), I will keep this blog as a little diary of sorts, representing the quest of a REAL GREEN BEGINNER FILMMAKER.