Short "Golden Foot" Currently In Production

"Golden Foot" is now shooting! Yes, it is January and, so, that means our film was postponed. The consequences of working with a large organization can be- it doesn't know your needs and so, it can't always know how to provide for them. Choice words get spoken by people. Innocent, honest needs get misinterpreted by those who pay the bills, etc.

But, all in all, this film is a very low risk labor of love- going from a mini-budget to micro-budget in no time for the sake of keeping the script intact. 'Everything else' is provided for by me and the writer/producer Luke Sokolewicz.

Having good producers on board is definitely a must- just like having a good director. I know this having mostly been a producer- that it is a thankless role that most people do not understand. People think of producers as "Mr. Money Bags" and out-of-touch ego-maniacs- but generally it is quite the opposite. Often, behind the "Mr. Money Bags" image is really an innocent risk-taker who believes in the arts and the story-telling above all else. And they are willing, more than others, to go out on a limb to provide for this honest story-telling to take place without interruption.

But, with that said, a new partnership was forged with "The Sunscreen Film Society" as a result. And we are so honored to have them as our sponsor!

Shooting will continue through weekends in January and we have already wrapped a few actors.

Here's some of our great crew...


The key players:

Jon Croft - Director, Producer - IMDb
This is about me so I will try to keep it short and sweet. But I am very honored to be blessed with this role here on "Golden Foot". Before I became a filmmaker, I was obsessed with concept albums, so I did songwriting, made music, wrote stories, I delivered medical supplies for cash... then I started doing video production, wedding videography, and then eventually... started participating in making short films in whatever position I could find. I produced a feature in 2009. Then I wrote a feature. Now, I'm a director of shorts "Death Do Us Part" (2012) and "Golden Foot" (2015). I can't believe I am where I am today!

Luke Sokolewicz - Writer, Producer - IMDb
Copywriter by day. Award-winning screenwriter by night. He was recently awarded “Semi-Finalist in the Sundance Table Read My Screenplay Contest for his sitcom pilot, “My Polish Family.” His short, “Max’s Floor Waxes” was also an official selection at the Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival. His writing is fueled by a passion to make hilarious films with an uplifting message.




Joe Davison - Producer - IMDb
Producer/Director/Actor Joe Davison's award winning films "100 Tears", "As Night Falls", and "Experiment 7" have all been released over seas in various markets. His films "Mr. Engagement" and "Frost Bite" are set to be released very soon. Having also written five books, created the show "Nerd Shuttle" and the Game App "Poofender" he stays very busy, but this doesn't stop him from being charitable and working with non-profits, having founded "Robots for the Cure" (seeking a cure for Lupus, Crohn's and Barth's Syndrome) as well as the 4200 member-strong organization Florida Film Network. Joe is a powerhouse of creativity and ingenuity and a great addition to any team.

John Borland - Producer, Actor
John is a lawyer, legal consultant, writer, and filmmaker, living and working in St. Petersburg, Florida. He decided to get fit before and during 40. He loves the outdoors, swimming, horseback riding, and natural living. He is an occasional vegetarian and loves life. 




Crew:

Daryn Murphy - Director of Photography - IMDb
Daryn is an independent filmmaker living in Largo, Florida. He was born in Long Island, New York before moving with his family to Florida in 1988. Science Fiction and Fantasy stories are a passion that drives him through all of his creative endeavors whether it be writing novels or screenplays, shooting and editing film, directing and working with actors to make projects come alive. His current focus is producing an award winning web series called Time Keeper, which took home Best Fantasy/Sci Fi Series from Miami Web Fest, separately received nominations for Best Actor and Best Cinematography and just started the festival circuit.

Raffiel Newsome - Assistant Director - IMDb
Currently Raffi is finishing up his Associates in Film Post-Production at the International Academy of Design & Technology. Ever since he was young he had a fascination with every aspect of filmmaking. He strives to daily to achieve more, work in the industry, and hopefully become an innovative Music Video Director and Independent Filmmaker.

Andrew Durliat - Location Manager - IMDb
Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio and moved to Florida after college to pursue acting, Andrew then took a break to work on houses. He then got back into acting after his 2yr old daughter Ellah wanted in on acting as well. He currently manages her and has worked on 5 short films of his own in 2014.




Keep us in mind. Next week we will showcase our amazing Cast!!! These guys have powered through a tough shoot and made us so proud!!! And after the shoot we will be editing for a good few months- so we will have updates coming on all our progress!!!

May the Foot be with you my friends!
~Jon

Event: Will Prometheus be the Best?

Do you wonder if Ridley Scott's new film "PROMETHEUS" will be the BEST film of 2012?  Find out with us!  Yayy!  MOVIE NIGHT!!

My readers and fellow filmmakers are invited to attend a screening of "Prometheus" in 3D IMAX with me and my wife on Saturday Jun 9th at 7pm at MUVICO Baywalk IMAX!

Additional Instructions:  Please show up early because this is prime-time movie watching so grab your seats earlier rather than later. Keep in touch with me beforehand if you want to sit together so we can meet up with you. Afterwards we will go for drinks! It will be massive Ridley Scott fun!

Looking for a composer

Hello everyone!  I have long wanted some good friendships with musicians to help make films with.  So, I have decided I might as well put out the call to find a composer to either help score a soundtrack for individual scenes or to provide their tracts for use in my upcoming film(s).  Right now, I am working on a short film that is called "Death Do Us Part" and we are now in post-production.  But, this may end up being a long term collaboration or friendship between us- if I like your style!  Often, filmmakers will work with composers and musicians on an ongoing basis because of having a common style in collaboration. You dont have to be 'good'- I just need to like it!  That being said, I cannot guarantee friendship- it sounds kind of funny to put it that way- but this internet collaboration thing can be turbulent, strange and unnerving and yet... it can also be strangely rewarding I have found... if the right chord is struck.

If you find yourself 'interested' in this idea, please respond by leaving me a comment and offering me a link to your content somewhere on the web... or by telling me a little bit about yourself.  I would deeply appreciate any help you would give me to make my films sparkle and come to life- especially if your work is even moderately good!  Remember, if you are good, you probably won't think you are that good- but it really only matters if you work hard and live up to your own personal bar of excellence... if you are doing that pleeeeaaaase contact me!  If you know someone who would fit this description- please contact me or connect us!  Thanks so much people!!  =)

Death Do Us Part - Wrapping Party (2)

So, WHEN is Jon gonna contact us & let us know what the heck he is doing with the movie???  How about a PARTY instead??? 

The Party Down Until... Death Do Us Part Wrapping Party will take place at Rhino Studios on Saturday April 23rd at 7pm.  You may bring any significant others, dependents or attachments with you (within reason).  Lets make sure to have some good clean fun!!  There is no cost for you- this is not a club- it is a film studio. LOL. So, keep that in mind.  We are not allowed to burn down the 600 block on Central Ave- so..... yeah.  We may bring drinks.  If there are any requests- please let me know.  No, not song requests- drink or food requests. LOL.

So, be ready to hang out & watch a behind the scenes video of Death Do Us Part!!!  Please confirm with me by phone, email or my facebook. 

Also, there may be peppery eggs for us on a first come first served basis. :)  Yayy!!!!!  Now THATS a party!!!

Jon

Death Do Us Part - Wrapping Party/Post Production Phases

"Death Do Us Part" is wrapped and is doing very well, thanks to the very dedicated talent and crew that made this film possible.  Thank you all so much!  A Wrapping Party will be taking place in the next few weeks so we can say thank you more personally and invite you all to watch some of the film.  While a rough has not been entirely cut yet, due to other work commitments, our time off has been lots of fun with the little editing we have done so far!

New Developments: The Party will most likely be on Sat April 23rd at Rhino Film Studios from 7-10pm!!!  There will be some behind the scenes video shown at the Party!!!!  Come ready to have a good time!!!!  Peppery eggs will be served to all attendees!!!  (Just kidding!)

As it comes to our Post-Production phases- they will be somewhat typical as films go: a rough cut is done first and is now nearing completion, we will be working on some of the visual effects for certain scenes as well as putting the opening title/closing title sequence together during that time and I will be gathering music during this entire process as I am struck with inspiration and discover the right opportunities for licensing and scoring.  Then we will hopefully be locking everything down including all the pacing and all the extra sequences, of course much of this depends on getting the right music to help set the pacing if need be.  Sometimes the right song can effect a sequence and its pacing for the better, so I will be looking out for these happy occasions.  After getting picture lock we can start getting all the VFX solidified and the colorizing can be done and soon after that- voila!  We will have a film!  


But, again, I want to reiterate that we do not want to rush post-production because we realize it is REALLY about quality.  It is always a good reminder to keep the main thing the main thing in our filmmaking endeavors.  We are never guaranteed success for our hard work and we are never guaranteed any understanding from others or even from ourselves when we don't succeed for whatever reason.  We just need to keep remembering why we are doing it and learn to not lean so much on these "perfect" outcomes happening.  What I feel is, as long as we are working hard on our discipline, we are on the right path.  


So, thanks to so many of you who put the right foot forward & continued to give quality- not simply putting the days work in and going home.  You are on the right path my friends!  It'll be great to work with you again!!

Party time!! 
(More to come soon...)

General Call Times & Locations for "Death Do Us Part"

We currently are in need of a few Extras to play funeral party guests during the Sunday Feb 27th Funeral Scene shoot- best if over 45 years of age.  Wear black 'formal' and sunglasses- make sure to bring a change of clothes and wear sunscreen.  A black or grey umbrella would be a good idea to bring as well- if you got em.

General Call Times

CAST Call Times:
Friday Feb 18th 7:00pm-2am  - Scenes 2,3,4  (Barbara, Cathy, Henry)
Sunday Feb 20th 10:00am-7pm  - Scenes 4,5,6 (Barbara, Henry)
Saturday Feb 26th 9:00am-2pm  - Scenes 7,8 (Barbara)
Sunday Feb 27th 10:00am-3pm  - Scene 1 (Barbara, Cathy, Priest, BG Talent)

CREW Call Times:
Friday Feb 18th 6:00pm-2am  - Scenes 2,3,4 (Matt & Tim not needed, Need Marcus)
Sunday Feb 20th 9:00am-7pm  - Scenes 4,5,6 (Matt & Tim not needed, Need Marcus)
Saturday Feb 26th 9:00am-2pm  - Scenes 7,8 (only need Joyce, Jon, Wheat, Rebecca, & Antonio)
Sunday Feb 27th 9:00am-3pm  - Scene 1 (Need BG Talent & Matt & Tim to help with Funeral Setup)


Locations:

Fri 18th night shoot & Sun 20th

INT/EXT House location
135 9th Ave NE, St. Petersburg, FL.
--Park along the street on 9th Ave NE or along the street going down 1st St.
--Meet in front of 135 9th Ave House. Then on the back deck of the house.


Sat Feb 26th
Crematorium location
Royal Palm Cemetery, 1st Ave S. + 55th St., St. Petersburg, FL.
--Parking along side of street, 1st Ave. S.
--Meet on 1st Ave S. & walk in when called -or- we will drive you into the cemetery if possible.

Beach location
Sunset Beach, 77th Ave + West Gulf Boulevard, Treasure Island, FL
--Park in the Parking Lot at the beach. Pay for parking if necessary- we will reimburse you.
--Meet in the Parking Lot.


Sun Feb 27th
Cemetery location
Royal Palm Cemetery, 1st Ave S. + 55th St., St. Petersburg, FL.
(Same location as the Crematorium)
--Parking along side of street, 1st Ave. S.
--Meet on 1st Ave S. & walk in when called -or- we will drive you into the cemetery if possible.

Backup Cemetery location -2 blocks away:
Park location
Bear Creek Park 1st Ave N. + 60th St., St. Petersburg, FL.
--Parking along side of street, 1st Ave N.
--Meet at picnic benches between ball park behind the house on corner.

Thank you so much for helping & we should have a great fun 4 days of shooting!!!

Jon

Behind the Scenes of "Death Do Us Part" - Breakdowns

How I do my breakdowns...

We are getting close to production phase!  Let us know if you want to help us out!
libertynumber5-at-gmail.com

Behind the Scenes of "Death Do Us Part" - Part 2

Casting Sessions!!



Let us know if you want to help us out!...
libertynumber5-at-gmail.com

"Death Do Us Part" - Casting Call - 2/2/11

Liberty No. 5 Pictures is Casting for "Death Do Us Part," a short supernatural dramedy film.

Looking for actors between the ages of 45-65.

Casting Sessions will take place during (3) days:
1) Saturday February 5th from 11AM to 2PM
2) Monday February 7th from 6PM to 9PM &
3) Tuesday February 8th from 6PM to 9PM
at:
Rhino Film Studios, 657 Central Ave. St. Petersburg, FL. 33714

Characters (Non-SAG)

Barbara (surviving wife) (45-65) white female
Henry (husband, zombie) (45-65) white male
Cathy (Best friend of Barbara) 45-65 female
Priest (grave and sincere) 45-65 male

Bring a headshot or photo & be ready to read. There will be a moderate action sequence & Henry will need to be made-up in zombie makeup. Shooting will take place during weekends in Late February (the 19th/20th & 26th/27th). We will consider all kinds of resumes of all applicants, possibly for other unadvertised or currently unavailable positions. Please be professional and courteous- email us with your name, age, sex, important contact information, any relevant experience & the date & time you will be coming. You can send it to libertynumber5 at gmail.com. Thank you & I will be happy to meet all of you!

"Death Do Us Part" is an independent short film written by Rebecca Croft & directed by Jon Croft.

Death Do Us Part - 1/29/11 - Production Report

***NEW UPDATES as of 2/3/11***

Hi everyone!  Jon here!  Here's a quick report on what we have "going for us" and what we don't have "going for us" so far.

We have most of the equipment we need to shoot this so that (somewhat large expense) is taken care of.  We also have most of our crew (but we do need to get everyone together before we shoot).  We have found two places to conduct our casting sessions at.  The first is downtown St. Pete, the other is a nice conference room in Largo.  This will POSSIBLY be held next weekend (Saturday the 5th, the day before the Superbowl) and the following Monday 7th & Tuesday 8th in the evening- NOT SOLIDIFIED YET. Most of our locations will need no authorization or permit.  There is a "side of the street" location, a "moment at the beach", stepping out of an ext location which will double as a "crematorium", and a "funeral" which mostly will look like a cemetery but it doesn't need to be at a cemetery really.  Most of the film will take place in an old "bungalow style" house, which of course, we will need have authorization to use.  Probably two days of shooting there.  Then there is the green screen sfx head shot scene which might be effectively placed at location with a plate shot, or added with footage taken at a small green screen studio.  Many of the props are still needed however, as well as all of the cast, which would of course include wardrobe needs.

Again, this is for an 8 min non-union no/lo pay dramedy horror short film shot on the Canon 60D DSLR in Pinellas County.  Say that fast with flaming marshmallows in your mouth!  It'll be fun!  No, just kidding... don't do that!  Put those marshmallows down!

Ok, heres the rundown...

Equipment we have:
Camera Equipment (camera w/ lenses, tripod, head, monitor, skateboard dolly, & possibly a steadicam & small crane, slate), Lights (4-8 small to medium lights 250w-500w lights, one 2k Mole, a few reflectors & flags, gaffer tape, cords & strips), Sound Equipment (recorder, cords, blimp, boom, mic).

Equipment we need:
Camera Equipment (magic arm for monitor), Lights (C-stand, Black Wrap, CTO/CTB, Diffusion or a softbox, Gobo heads, clamps & arms for flags & reflectors, etc), Sound Equipment (mic situation better suited for INT conversations: cardioid mic, lavalier mic system).


Crew we have:
Producer
Director
Cinematographer
1st AD
1st AC
Production Manager?
Production Coordinator
PA

Crew we need:
SFX MU
Sound Recordist
Boom Operator
2nd AD
2nd AC
Grip
1-2 PA's

Casting done:
Found 2 1 office space for casting

Casting yet to be done:
3 casting session days- at least
Get cast (2 leads & 2 supporting)
Get 5-7 extras

Locations we have:
Side of the Street
Beach
INT/EXT House

Crematorium

Locations we need:
Cemetery


Props we have:
book of prayers, holy water, flowers, coat hanger, shoe box, purses, table, mail, mud, something to trip over.

Props we need:
casket, urn, vases, velvet covering, rope around casket, wedding picture, pepper spray bottle, shoe heel, airsoft gun, ashes, exploding head?? (LOL)

MU/Wardrobe we have:
Black clothes

MU/Wardrobe we need:
Properly fitting funeral attire, priestly garb, 2 ladies outfits w/ purses, his graveclothes, Zombie MU

So, thats it!

For right now, I need to solidify the casting times at these locations (should be Sat morning the 5th in Largo (also now in St. Pete), and then, Mon 7th from 6-9pm & Tue 8th from 6-9pm in St. Pete), so that i can send out the casting call.  Then I need to solidify the SFX MU person (its in between two people right now) and the Sound people.  Then we need to have a production meeting and make sure we are all on the same page- we're gonna get this ball rolling forward and then, punch out people getting in our way!  Just kidding!  :D

Which reminds me, I just went to a screenwriters meeting and it was very fun and encouraging to hear that people there really liked the script and hoped the shooting goes well... they were very supportive!  It just goes to show that every little bit of encouragement you can get goes a long way to holding back the discouragement that trials & tribulations can weigh down on you.  Get a shot of enthusiasm & know that if you keep pushing forward, even if it all seems hopeless now- it will come together...

Thx for reading!

Behind the Scenes of "Death Do Us Part" - Part 1

here is our first BTS video... (more of a Pre-Production Diary sort of thing).



I will keep everyone updated with more detail here as things occur...
Thx for watching =)

Jon

Liberty No. 5 Pictures In Development

Here are the projects slated to be shot in the coming months & years in various stages of development as of Aug 2010. The shorts are working up to my Crime Thriller, "Punishment", planned as my first feature. I have been writing and re-writing for the last year or so and have had difficulty finding a good, team oriented, experimental Cinematographer/DP since I have some strong technical ideas and would prefer as little conflict between who I think are "the two most important people on set" during production. Frankly, when you see this kind of conflict on set its always sad because it feels like its like watching your parents fight- its really sad & stupid looking at the same time. And its especially demoralizing to know the Director & DP are more unprofessional & juvenile than I am. So, I want to prevent these things from happening & so, I have put a lot of time trying to find the proper team & proper story working together-- and hopefully it will pay off.

Short Subjects

"Death Do Us Part" -- Pre-Production Phase -- Sept 2010
"Should I Make A Movie?" -- Pre-Production Phase -- Nov 2010
"4 Corners" -- In Development -- Dec 2010
[Untitled Steampunk Feature Camera Tests] -- In Development -- Jan 2011

Features

"Punishment" -- In Development -- Feb 2011
"Bad Day" -- In Development -- Nov 2011
"Deadman's Caye" -- In Development -- Jun 2012
[Untitled Steampunk Scifi-Western] -- In Development -- Feb 2013

Of course, I am working on other people's projects as well. Some as a Producer or as an AC (So that I can learn more about camera right now), but I could also stand to get more work as an AD, PM, or Script Sup. I have learned how to do breakdowns better since the last feature I worked on- I might even use my own custom made production strip boards utilizing colored cardstock cut into business card size scene strips... a very practical design. After I use them on this next production I am working on... a short for the Action Film Challenge... it will no doubt become a more perfected system!

There are another 10 feature films or so planned from my own stories but I try not to put too much on my plate at one time. Heh heh...

The end of the Tampa Film Review & the beginning of something new in Tampa Bay

Having attended the last Tampa Film Review & working with Dan Brienza & the Guzzo's to try & move the Tampa Film Review to another location has left me empty. I saw the press & their concerns & I saw the need for a film screening venue go unheeded by many people. I have met with quite a few people regarding getting a venue & filling the gap left by the TFR to have a screening in the Tampa area. I have to admit I was discouraged.

Then, when I attended the Pinellas Filmmaker's Society on January 13th, Pete Bradshaw had the same concern for our area but it was a very different meeting this time. In one meeting we made a new name for the film society, found a new venue, built a new film-related social networking site and created a new change of course for the entire group. Now they are called the Tampa Bay Film Society and they are meeting at Coconut's Comedy Club in Clearwater on Friday February the 13th at 8pm to start new screenings. A new determination to do more screenings & invite people to network on the internet has been a refreshing new course! The site is called FILM & I hope the group grows & remains an influential part of the film industry in the Tampa Bay area for years to come.

There is also some good growth being experienced by the former St. Pete Creative Network... now the Tampa Bay Creative Network. In fact there are rumors that Film Forum group on the page might even start their own screenings as well.

As it comes to the group in Tampa... things are not over however. There were plenty of fears that no one would be able to fill the shoes that Pete & Paul Guzzo were leaving open for someone to walk in but Dan Brienza has been working tirelessly & faithfully to effect the film industry in Tampa for some time now. Now he has decided to take up the challenge to do even more...

Amazingly, even with his Weekend Film Crew Productions, his Tampa Weekend Film School classes, his Tampa Bay Film Industry & Actors Network & his Film Crew Cafe website... he is not overburdened! The once defunct Tampa Film Network has now ok'ed a transition for Dan to take over this network & merge it with the Tampa Bay Film Industry & Actors Network & the Film Crew Cafe... calling it the Tampa Film Network. And finally the Guzzo's Tampa Film Review will also be taken over by Dan, who will attempt to keep it screening with the same name!

Dan will continue to have classes under the Tampa Weekend Film School & he will run this network in Tampa and do screenings. All he needs now is a venue in Tampa to help sponsor his efforts! If anyone has any leads-- please email me! libertynumber5@gmail.com

So to sum it up- I am amazed at the Tampa Bay area filmmakers... we are doing more & spreading like a wildfire to build the industry here! I just hope that in March the Film Office in Tallahassee sees our solid resolve & does what it can (without going in the red) to assist our film community responsibly! I guess we'll see if there is more good news to come very soon!

Cinematography Class with Erik Curtis

Our wonderfully talented friend, DP Erik Curtis, who was extremely busy during this last movie he was shooting (known as The Chaos Experiment with Val Kilmer) finally arrived back in Tampa for the much anticipated Cinematography class for the Tampa Weekend Film School. The event was sponsered by Kodak & we were going to be 'having school' in ValComm/Chameleon Filmworks Studios in Clearwater and we were going to be using Panavision with (of course) Kodak high grade film. There were about 20-30 students and about 15 crew including Erik Curtis & Pete Guzzo (acting as Director) & while we were training loading film, dolly gripping & using the camera we were going to be shooting a PSA for a benefit to raise money by bicycling for a cause. There was another Director working with us as well (who I really liked) but I didn't really get his name. We shot HD alongside and got to compare between the two on the $30k monitors. Of course, the processing of the film will have to take place in the next week or two & Erik has informed us that we will be going on a trip to the Lab... Continental Labs in Orlando! It should be very informational & a lot of fun! I will learn a great deal I'm sure! I think that as film goes out of style... it will become cheaper, but also the skill set will be harder to come by... this experience will become a valuable one!

I have to say, that Erik was one of the nicest, coolest & most accessible DP's I've met & I was VERY honored to work with him, even a little bit. I LOVED pulling focus for the last second of film in the camera! Go out with a bang, baby!! This has been the favorite of my film school experiences so far!

Dinner with Joe Davison

In anticipation of Director of Photography Erik Curtis (who had just finished production in Michigan on The Chaos Experiment with Val Kilmer), we had planned a dinner to talk about our upcoming Tampa Weekend Film School Cinematography class! What ended up happening instead was an unexpected rare treat!

Instead of Erik Curtis, we got to eat dinner with horror movie writer/actor/producer/director Joe Davison from the movie 100 Tears. Joe turns out to be an awesome guy who schooled us on a lot of misconceptions in the film industry & his experiences. We really had a great time & I think we have formed a long-time bond with Joe... so much so that near the end of our dinner, we brain stormed about some story ideas that we would like to do before Halloween & now we have planned a shoot date & set locations & everything for a three part YouTube video release starring Joe! Sounds like indy heaven! We did miss Erik but we know that he was very busy... After a tough shoot its good to take a break from all the stress & I do hope Erik got to do that!

The State of the Film & Entertainment Industry Summit

On October 9th, the "State of the Film & Entertainment Industry Summit" took place in St. Petersburg, FL. to address the sad situation of the film & entertainment industries in Florida. Most states in our country have gone to some lengths to engage in a healthy competition to court the film industry to continue shooting & doing projects in their states (of course except for a few, one, namely being Florida). The lame incentives Florida offers are kind of like an insult to the industry almost to the point that they are 'asking' productions to leave the state. I really don't understand the logic in it whatsoever but the politicians that headed the 'summit' (as they called it) didn't really offer any solutions except to help them do their jobs & to keep doing more work for them.

I have to say, if I am going to have to do something & if what I do is successful, why do I need these people to speak for us filmmakers in Florida? They are proving to us all that they are not doing their jobs by putting on the farcical show they staged. It ended up being a forum for us to all complain about the fact that the capitol in Tallahassee is doing 'nothing' to help us poor, innocent filmmakers & videographers... blah, blah. Once again a waste of our efforts on politicians to save us.

I don't care for their efforts & I don't expect anyone to do anything to help me, I simply don't want anyone to get in my way to create as an artist. If at least, the state & local governments were offering a policy to help with permits, security & insurance it would make creating easier. I'm not asking for money for myself, I'm asking for these bureaucracies to fast-track some of the processes we have to wade through because we are doing things up-front & in cooperation with these governments. Plus I think it contributes to our tradition in Florida to have smaller government. Taxes could be waived as well possibly... who knows? There are actually so many ways that the state could help (without having to put up any funds whatsoever) that it is almost shocking to see so little action on their part. Which, again, makes it look like they are actually asking for production companies to leave Florida!

Once again, government saves mankind! Well... with some reservations. So, the plan is for us to go to Tally & once again, not be heard. :-\

Our Non-Profit P.S.A.'s

Training at the Tampa Weekend Film School (in Association with the Weekend Film Crew created by Daniel Brienza) has been steadily increasing with our 'Non-Profit PSA Project' we have embarked upon. The project entails finding organizations that might be able to use the help that a Public Service Announcement might give them, in order for our group to practice making small projects (like commercials) and then to continue on to making shorts or films as time goes on & we gather more knowledge & experience.

The first we did about three months ago was for a non-profit organization called "Connected by 25" which helps foster kids who graduate out of the foster care system. Many times, these young adults find themselves cut off from any meaningful help or any support system they may be used to having when they leave their foster home. This organization seeks to help re-establish the support system these kids need so desperately. Dan Brienza Directed, DP'ed & is editing it currently. I Produced. Chris Gayle AD'ed, Cheryl Williams was the Casting Director & we had a few really great actors!

The second one we have been working on is going to be completely created with V.O.'s, Final Cut & After Effects, etc. and the third we are going to be doing is still yet to be determined. So far it has been successful & a lot of fun... we just have to do the editing... :)

Editing Class with Rebecca Croft

About two months ago (I neglected to post it then), we at the Tampa Weekend Film School had a great time putting on the last editing workshop with Rebecca Croft on Final Cut Pro. Rebecca has been editing in Final Cut for the last 8 years but before this event, she had never trained anyone to edit (except for me) and she found it difficult to imagine teaching others at first. But, she did an awesome job and everyone seemed pleased with all the very detailed bits of knowledge she imparted to the 10-12 or so students that attended.

I really hope we continue to do events like this in the future. It was very practical & informative for everyone involved! Thank you Rebecca! :)

The 48hr Film Project

I have to say- I had a great time working on this years 48 hr Film Project. Rebecca was the Editor & I ended up helping as an Assistant Editor & Music Supervisor since we came on board late in the project. When the movie we made (that Bobby Marinelli Directed & Matt Wightman DP'ed) called "The Champ" gets posted on YouTube I will update this post & let you all know...

OK HERE IT IS--




Heres a link to YouTube just in case the embed doesn't work.

Everyone did a great job & I was proud to work with our team members even though I never knew most of them before this. I think more than half were from HSN though.

My take on the films? Ours was pretty good besides a few last minute editing mistakes. When you're given minutes to do everything that you would normally have weeks or months to do... things are going to happen- some things slip by. They were fixed for uploading to YouTube so you wont see those mistakes here. Well, you might see some mistakes. I'm not sure.

As for the other films, I really loved the film "A Minute Too Late" it was like watching a currently produced police/crime network tv show and the winning movie "Crime's a Cookin'" was a really good b&w silent film. It was very funny! I wonder how these guys did all that while being allotted the same amount of time we had!

We have been working with a few of our team members since then & also have noticed... we NEED to update our editing suite badly! A lot of the new cameras (it appears) can't be edited by our older FCP 5 system. We need the Studio 2 to be able to make our workflow more seamless.


If you are interested in learning more about the 48 hr Film Project heres some links.

48hr Film Project
48hr TV

We were participants in the 2008 Tampa/St. Petersburg competition. Our genre was Sports Movie, the character was a food connoisseur named "Bob Percival", the line was "How could you do this to me?", and the prop was a hair dryer.


My hope is that more opportunities open up for us because of this involvement as I'm sure they will.

:)

The new "RED" camera gets shown off at the Pinellas Filmmakers Society!!

First of all, I have to say I am so grateful to Curtis Graham and the other gentleman (a local Digital Imaging Technologist) who brought their cameras to display to the Society! Let me explain...

If you shoot in HD you know the resolution... Well, the RED camera is so much more of a revolution in filmmaking than I could hardly imagine! Curtis Graham (a local commercial & feature filmmaker) brought his entire RED rig to explain it's features for all in the audience to see. He used the in-house projectionist as a subject to get some recording done at a resolution of 4096x2304 as opposed to the normally used 1080 in the industry now!! By the way, the projectionist should consider acting-- he has a great face for film! So, he then transferred his RAGE 320G hard drive from his camera to a Mac G5 with a wide-screen monitor which was wheeled up into the front area. He showed us in post the amazing things you could do right away with your footage (with the free red editing software and with Final Cut) that couldnt be done if you were using film or most digital rigs! I was blown away at the picture quality, size, and incredible features that the red camera offered at a staggering $17,500! I am focusing now, on trying to get this technology into the next major project I want to do in this area.


I couldn't hope to explain all of its revolutionary features to you here! It is the best film rig combined with the very best digital rig imaginable!

As Wikipedia says "According to Red's official website, director Steven Soderbergh is shooting the first of his two upcoming features Guerrilla and The Argentine" using the RED. Also, "Soderbergh is very enthusiastic about the camera, saying that 'This is the camera I've been waiting for my whole career...'!"

Please... if you wanna know what I'm talking about go to their page and these other web pages.
www.red.com | Home Site
RedUser.net | Red Camera Forums
RedRelay | 4k Gallery Host Site
Wiki Red Camera Company
WonderHowTo on the RED camera

If this wasn't enough... as you may be able to notice... next year the Red company is planning on a new handheld 3k camera called "Scarlett"! It is also better than HD!! And in the palm of your hand! So you can understand my gratefulness towards the PFS! They have my full attention with this new technology!

....


Some essential news about the group. The Pinellas Filmmakers Society is run by Pete Bradshaw & Curtis Graham. There is no dues or other fees & the meeting is open to the public. Meetings take place on the 4th Friday of every month (it used to be the 3rd) from 7pm to 9pm (come an hour early for networking & rubbing elbows with local filmmakers). If you want to get involved in the local filmmaking scene, this is the best way to get moving! So, bring a stack of business cards & get over there next month!!

Image on upper right from red.com.