100 films

Cleo

2009-07-14T22:33:00.001-04:00

It needs no introduction.

The Gold Standard

2009-07-14T09:02:00.000-04:00

the fan box

2009-07-09T23:13:00.004-04:00

As you've no doubt noticed (unless you're using an RSS feed), there's a Facebook box in the right-hand column of this here blog for the express purpose of promoting my new film. Normally, I wouldn't mention such a thing, but I think it's an example of where indie film distribution is heading.

There's an article in Wired about how Facebook is trying to operate in direct competition to Google in fundamental areas such as search. Essentially, whereas Google uses really complicated formulas and whatnot to tell you where to go on the internet, Facebook relies on the recommendations of people you know (or sort of know or think you maybe went to school with). The theory being that people trust people they know. It's all very interesting stuff, but what does it mean for us?

In the article, Facebook claims to be "an advanced communications network enabling myriad communication forms", so let's assume for a minute that it is. Let's assume that all that random information about your friends and co-workers actually means something, let's assume that when my status update reads (as it does now) "Lucas McNelly is supposed to be getting things done, but is instead spacing out and listening to the new Bill Callahan album" that Facebook can take that start to build an idea of who I am. What does that mean? Well, for one, when my friends start searching for something new to listen to, Facebook can tell them that I listen to Bill Callahan, which if used correctly could prove more valuable than a search for new albums on Google. A friend of mind can add that to what they already know about my musical tastes and purchase their music accordingly.

If you're thinking this sounds kind of creepy and Big Brother-ish, stop. This sort of thing could save our asses.

Lately, Facebook seems pretty committed to utilizing this sort of thing as they strive to find a way to actually make money on their social network (much like Twitter will be in a little bit), and so they've rolled out the fan box you see on the right to try and spread their reach a little bit further into your web experience.

I'll repeat: this is a good thing.

So now, not only can you get people to be fans of your film (which, let's face it, almost no one is utilizing effectively) who are already your friends, but people who are friends of friends, or stumble across your blog. And then, you have access to information about them--demographics, tastes, etc.--information you can use to promote your film.

There's so many ways to make this work. Your Facebook fan box should absolutely be integrated into every other web page you use, it should be your point of contact to the world. You should be giving away content to people who are fans that other people don't see. Hell, it could even be your film's Official Web Page. There's no reason not to be using it, none at all.

But you need to be doing more with it than just setting up a page and hoping people become your fans. A lot more.

You can start by being a fan of Blanc de Blanc (hint, hint).

9 minutes

2009-07-08T21:56:00.000-04:00

For your viewing pleasure, David Lowery has posted the first 9 minutes of St. Nick. Enjoy.

oh bloody hell

2009-07-07T20:57:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, my beloved, 6 year-old G5 ran into a bit of trouble and had to take a trip to the Apple Store. It was a minor issue, but I had to back up everything important while they formatted my hard drive or whatever it is they do. I was pretty sure I did that properly, but I'm not the most tech savvy person in the world, so mistakes will be made.

Can you see where this is going?

So last night I finally go to boot up my screenwriting software, and after I track down the serial number, I realize that all the scripts are gone.

Seems I didn't back up everything.

I've managed today to track down a pretty recent pdf copy of a feature script I was thinking of doing next, but I don't believe that'll easily convert back to Movie Magic Screenwriter, so it looks like I'm going to have to re-type it by hand. The rest of the stuff is totally gone. Ugh.

But, you know, other than the time issue, maybe it won't be such a bad thing. It might actually be a not-terrible method of seeing what works in a way I might have missed otherwise. At least, that's the hope.

Wish me luck.

Billy Mays (RIP)

2009-06-28T21:16:00.001-04:00

Somehow, of all the celebrity deaths this week, this one hit me the hardest.

Billy Mays, at his best.

Free!

2009-06-24T07:50:00.003-04:00

I asked this on Twitter a couple of days ago:

lmcnelly I know everyone thinks giving your film away for free online is the future, but I'm not convinced. Does it help the filmmaker? 18 Jun 2009 from web
lmcnelly It seems like it essentially turns the film into a commercial 18 Jun 2009 from web

From what I can tell, people who've done this successfully fall into a couple of categories:

1. Radiohead, etc.

Radiohead could put out a blank CD and still sell 250,000 copies and get glowing reviews. I'm sure I'd buy one.

2. Four Eyed Monsters

FEM made something like $125,000 from DVDs and YouTube ads, but not until after they'd played festivals and shown in 31 different cities and been sponsored by Spout and YouTube.

3. Stuff on Hulu

What I'm having trouble finding is evidence of single feature-length films that started out free online and then were able to translate that into something more tangible than a view count.

And the more people I ask, the less possible it seems. Perhaps it's a myth?

2wkfilm: teaser number two

2009-06-22T09:59:00.000-04:00

wow

2009-06-16T23:07:00.003-04:00

on my iPod: Breathe Owl Breathe

2009-06-14T12:52:00.003-04:00

I'm not so sure about these videos, but their music just kills me. Someone needs to get them to score a film. Obviously, this is about as lo-fi as you can get. Visit their webpage. Buy a CD.

And, yes, most of their songs are about the woods.

It Came From Yesterday (a local film)

2009-06-13T10:12:00.002-04:00

To prove that there's actually more to Pittsburgh these days than hockey and zombies, we have news today that Jeff Waltrowski has uploaded the teaser to his long-in-development It Came From Yesterday, which essentially looks like Sky Captain, minus Jude Law and all the shitty parts (i.e. all of it).

I've not seen the entire film, but I have seen some of it, and Jeff was kind enough to rent us his camera at a fraction of the going rate so we could complete Blanc de Blanc. Even without that, I have high hopes for this film, based mostly on the previous work I've seen from them, namely Steve Tolin's effects abilities and Jeff's work as a DP on Rue Snider's short The Bar is a Beautiful Place[1].

Anyway, there's not yet an embedded version, but here's a link. Go, check it out.

http://www.itcamefromyesterday.com/

***********
[1] A film in which I played a creepy drunk guy.

Happiness is a warm puppy

2009-06-07T12:03:00.003-04:00

For the last couple of days, I've had the idea of filmmaking as it relates to happiness stuck in my head. Blame, if you will, David Lowery's post, which was itself a reaction to a great post by Ted Hope that runs the gamut of what challenges currently face the indie filmmaker. There's more there than I can digest in one sitting and you'd be a damned fool not to go read it right now. Go on, I'll wait.

[imagine your favorite hold music here]

Anyway, this is the part that hit me. From Ted Hope:

I know that back in my early days -- when I gave up trying to be happy and instead decided to pursue an interesting life -- I found as a result: things got better and I got a lot happier.

To which David replies:

That sentiment seems to trickle down through the rest of Ted's discourse, and it's one I subscribe to entirely, both in terms of my life and in filmmaking. Which isn't to say there's much separation between the two; for myself, and for many of my friends, there's come a point when the two become more than intrinsically linked, more than symbiotically bound. Filmmaking ceases to be a career and becomes a lifestyle, and just as in one's life one must achieve a balance between comfort and integrity, similar choices must be made regarding filmmaking - choices which aren't always the most immediately careerist options (and which can, indeed, entail turning away from it entirely), and certainly don't lead to the happy ending to which we've all, at one point or another, prescribed.

Filmmaking ceases to be a career and becomes a lifestyle. What I haven't been able to get out of my head lately is that right now, I couldn't say with certainty that either is true. My checkbook will gladly inform you that filmmaking isn't a career (hell, it isn't even an extra income), and in the process of getting older, I don't know that it's even a lifestyle anymore. And I'm not sure how I feel about that.

The other day I turned 30, and while it wasn't fun, it wasn't the soul-crushing event I suspected it might be. My hair didn't all turn instantly gray. The world didn't stop spinning. Really, other than a deluge of messages on Facebook and the yearly reminders of how old Orson Welles was when he made Citizen Kane, nothing happened. (Although a friend did point out that if 30 is indeed the new 20, I have plenty of time to become Orson Welles, for whatever that's worth) Thing is, if five years ago today you would have asked me where I'd be at 30, this is a pretty far cry from it. And maybe that's a good thing, maybe not. There's certainly a lot less on my IMDb page than I would have predicted.

But the question of the hour isn't career ambitions, but the contrary. Can happiness replace it (and ultimately prove richer)? Of course it can. Am I happier than I was at 25? Sometimes.

Part of the problem for me is that I struggle with depression, a fact that should surprise no one, so things maybe tend to look worse than they really are. That can be helpful at times, but at other points it's crippling. And in the aftermath of a high-energy, high-stress event (like, say, shooting and editing a feature-length film in 2 weeks), it can sometimes get real bad. Maybe that's why I haven't gotten this topic out of my head ever since I read it on the way to work this past week.

Maybe I just need a puppy.

Or maybe I need to work harder, to immerse myself more in film, to make it more of a lifestyle. I've never been depressed sitting in a cinema.

More from Ted Hope:

Your work is your life. You aren’t striving for any one thing other than to improve and to change. Don’t think about that ONE movie you want to make; focus on the long term and what you need to feel as excited, as engaged in fifteen years as you are today. Use your resources. Use your audience. Grow it. Sustain it.

Your work is your life. Amen.

#2wkfilm: Teaser number 1

2009-06-02T09:30:00.001-04:00

Here it is. Enjoy. Feel free to embed all over the internets.

It more or less starts like this

2009-05-27T00:09:00.000-04:00

#2wkfilm wrapped

2009-05-24T13:38:00.003-04:00

We're done. Finished.

Well, not really, but we kind of have to stop or we won't be able to turn in a finished film.

We had a sound crisis on the second weekend, so we're almost going to have to ADR stuff before sending it to festivals and stuff.

The biggest thing you lose doing this (besides sleep) is those little things to connect the dots: establishing shots, transitions, things like that. There simply isn't time.

Last day

2009-05-23T21:15:00.000-04:00

Sexy time

2009-05-22T20:05:00.000-04:00

A screenshot of a screenshot

2009-05-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

2009-05-17T13:09:00.000-04:00

A production in sync

2009-05-17T08:51:00.000-04:00

someone call imdb

2009-05-12T11:17:00.001-04:00

We have a working title:

From God's Eyes

We don't have a finished script, but we do have a working title.

Also, look for production updates from @whitebellykitty

a boy's best friend is his mother

2009-05-10T13:03:00.005-04:00

Happy Mother's Day.

But don't, you know, overdo it.

2 Week Film: Clue #6

2009-05-08T07:48:00.002-04:00

linky

2009-05-07T21:45:00.002-04:00

I always wanted to be one of the Links of the Day

In related news, today I did an interview with a local paper for #2wkfilm. It probably won't run for a bit. I think they want to take photos of the production.

2 Week Film: Clue #5

2009-05-06T17:19:00.002-04:00