Save the Date!

“Machinations” will be showing as part of a special screening of locally-produced entries in the National Film Challenge on January 13 at the Arlington Cinema ’n’ Drafthouse. And frankly, I don’t think we could have asked for a better venue. Dinner, drinks, and movies. Tickets will be only $5 — and remember, you’ll be supporting us in the process: Revenue will be split according to which movie you’re there to support. So it’s vital not only that you come out and enjoy yourself, but that you tell all your friends and neighbors about it.

We’ll have more details as the date draws closer, but for now, be sure to write it in on your calendars. In ink — none of this “pencil” crap.

New Viewing Options

After seeing the sheer number of NFC films that are available via third-party distribution sites, we’ve gone ahead and joined the pack. We have finished uploading our entire film catalog to both YouTube and MySpace; not only does this expand our potential audience, but it also provides viewers with a chance to rate our films and provide feedback (something we really haven’t had time to build into this site).

So head over to those sites (via the preceding links), watch the films, and let us know what you think! And while you’re at it, go ahead and subscribe to our films at YouTube (and make us your friend), and add us as a friend and make us one of your favorites at MySpace!

It’s all about promotion...

NFC Finalists Announced

I have to confess that I didn't expect to be writing this, but “Machinations” did not make the cut of the top 15 films in this year’s National Film Challenge. What this means is that — while we are still eligible for individual awards (cinematography, best in genre, editing, acting, etc.) — we are out of the running for the Best Film and Audience Favorite awards. In other disappointing news, it also appears that voting for the Audience Awards (i.e., the posting of the eligible films on the NFC site) will now not occur until December 22, and the full slate of awards will not be announced until the Filmapalooza event, March 8-11 of next year. (Talk about dragging out the timeline...)

I do have to say that I’m still extremely proud of what we all accomplished, and am continuing to submit this and other films in our catalog to appropriate festivals, as well as exploring other distribution and promotion avenues. We are still planning to have a screening of locally produced films in the contest, and will let everyone know when we have the details locked up. And we are also planning to produce at least one non-competition film in the immediate future.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us to date, and I look forward to our next opportunity to work together!

For the record, here's the list of the top 15 films (and, where possible, a link to where they can be viewed online):

“Yukai” — Austin Militia, Austin, TX (Horror)
“The Silence” — Brain Child, Nashville, TN (Silent Film)
“Foxxy Madonna vs. The Black Death” — Cinephreak Pictures, Indianapolis, IN (Spy)
“The Make-Up of a Man” — Drop Deuce, Philadelphia, PA (Comedy)
“Ashes to Ashes” — The Hi-Def Chefs, Minneapolis, MN (Holiday Film)
“Rub Out” — The Isotopes, Los Angeles, CA (Drama)
“The Exorsister” — Minefield Entertainment, Chicago, IL (Mockumentary)
“Aw, Crap! It’s a Musical?” — Precision Post, Los Angeles, CA (Musical or Western)
“All I Wanted Was A Beer” — PunchBelly, Valley Village, CA (Musical or Western)
“All Sales Final” — Team CPR, Eugene, OR (Comedy)
“Decision 2006” — Team Midas, Albany, NY (Mockumentary)
“Everyday” — We Don’t Know Yet Productions, Philadelphia, PA (Holiday Film)
“It Happened In Your Neighborhood” — Weary Films, Little Rock, AR (Silent Film)
“Showdown at Root Canal” — What’s In A Name Studios, St. Louis, MO (Musical or Western)
“Dante’s Massage” — Year of the Rooster, Sherman Oaks, CA (Horror)

Photos from DC Shorts

This is a little late, but I thought a few people might be interested in some photos from this summer’s DC Shorts festival, from the opening night party at Drinx, to the screening Q&A sessions, to the closing brunch at Clyde’s.

Photos by Tom Kochel: http://www.gannagency.com/dcshorts/gallery/kochel.shtml
(Featuring Tohubohu contributors Bill Coughlan, Nello DeBlasio, Arvi Gowda, Brian Grundstrom, Karen Hutchinson, Bjorn Munson, and Emily Skelton. Not to mention a whole bunch of other filmmakers, as well as DC Shorts organizer Jon Gann and “Close Quarters” character inspiration Tim Tate, gay glass sculptor extraordinaire.)

Photos by Moshe Zusman: http://www.gannagency.com/dcshorts/gallery/zusman.shtml
(Featuring Tohubohu contributors Bill Coughlan, Nello DeBlasio, Bjorn Munson, and Emily Skelton. Again, among others.)

Photos by Mia Faith: http://www.gannagency.com/dcshorts/gallery/faith.shtml
(Featuring Tohubohu contributors Nello DeBlasio, Arvi Gowda, Brian Grundstrom, Bjorn Munson and Emily Skelton. Et al.)

Now We’re Official

Well, one of our films is anyway. All of the production details (cast, crew, company info, etc.) are still pending, but “Quite Contrary” now has an official entry at the Internet Movie Database. So while you’re thinking about it, everyone head over and cast your vote for it (rating it highly, of course). And add your comments, if you like. Let’s start the buzz on this one!

With any luck, all of the supplemental info will be addded soon, and we’ll have a chance to add things like an official one-sheet poster. Speaking of which, anyone want to take a stab at designing a decent one? All we’ve got right now is a pretty basic black with the title and a still shot from the film...

(In fact, that request goes for any of the films in our catalog.)

Edit: Looks like Tohubohu has its own entry as well, though it’s not much more than a placeholder at the moment.

Georgetown/Adams Morgan Screening and NFC News

Well, as much as we were looking forward to the Georgetown/Adams Morgan festival, I do have to say I was a little disappointed. The audience for our screenings was... somewhat smaller than I’d expected. As in absolutely nonexistent. Well, not including me, Brian, the people running the show, and a couple of people who meandered in. I did get a chance to meet and chat with organizer Eric Sommer, and saw a really interesting ukelele-rapper, and a couple of interesting films, so it wasn’t a total loss. But really not what I’d hoped for.

In other news, the current schedule has the first round of judging for the National Film Challenge wrapping up on November 30th, with the announcement of the first-round selections shortly thereafter. Just thought people would want to know.

Slight Schedule Change

For the Georgetown/Adams Morgan Film & Music Festival showings this Friday, “Quite Contrary” will still be screening as part of the 1:30 Film Block (now dubbed the “Bazooka” block), but the start time for the “Machinations” screening (now called the “Dada” block) has been pushed back to 4:30 p.m.

Everyone make sure to adjust your calendars!

Georgetown/Adams Morgan Film & Music Festival 2006

Just wanted to pass along the news that both “Quite Contrary” and “Machinations” will be screening with the Georgetown/Adams Morgan Film & Music Festival on Friday, November 17th. “Quite Contrary” will be screening as part of the 1:30 block, and “Machinations” will be with the 3:30 block.

All screenings are at the DC Arts Center Theater in Adams Morgan (2438 18th Street, NW), and tickets and passes are exclusively available at the Idle Time Bookstore (located right across the street). Tickets for a film block are $5 apiece, day passes are $50, and all-access passes are $100.

Congratulations to everyone involved, and I hope to see some of you there!

Becoming a Bit More Official

Just wanted to let everyone know that we have finally gotten around to submitting “Quite Contrary” to the Internet Movie Database, in light of its official selection as part of the DC Shorts Film Festival.

The approval process usually takes a few weeks, so we’ll hopefully have some more information as to whether or not it’s been accepted then. Once it’s in (hey, I’m optimistic), we can go about making sure everyone’s name is correct and so on. But for right now, it’s just another waiting game. Kind of par for the course for us.

A Little Facelift

Well, we’re trying out a new website design — probably just a stopgap measure until we get our ideal site up, but since we’ve been tweaking that “ideal” for more than a year now, I think it’s way past time we put up something that seemed at least reasonably respectable. So check it out, run it around the block, and let us know if anything else needs fixing.

In other news, I just received the official word that “Machinations” was received and is considered eligible for awards. Now it’s all a matter of waiting.

“Machinations” Is Now Online!

Just wanted to drop everyone a quick note to let you know that our latest short film, “Machinations,” is now available for online viewing (at least in its “Large” and “Medium” incarnations — still working on the version for those with slower ’net connections).

We (that is, I) also did some minor tweaking of the site — mostly behind-the-scenes stuff, but I did try to more prominently feature our shorts toward the top. If anyone wants to take a moment to check it out — kick the tires, so to speak — I’d appreciate it. (In fact, if anyone wants to redo the site a bit, make it look less like something that was slapped together by a rank neophyte, I wouldn’t turn that down either.)

In other news, after its successful run at the DC Shorts festival, we are submitting “Quite Contrary” to the Cleveland International Film Festival, as well as the Georgetown/Adams Morgan Festival. And given the positive reception of “Machinations” so far, I think it’ll be hitting the festival circuit as well.

That’s all for now — hope everyone’s having a nice weekend (don’t forget to set your clocks back).

The Tapes Are On Their Way

Oh, I forgot to mention the final, definitive title of our little film: “Machinations.”

And by the way, thanks to some technical glitches, I did not make the 6:30 dropoff at the nearby FedEx place. Still (after an interminable stream of profanity far more explicit than anything in “Quite Contrary”), I was able to work those out, and had plenty of time to dump a couple of copies out to tape and get them to the central FedEx facility by its 8:00 closing time. Or so I thought. I’ll spare you all the details, but after seemingly innumerable delays, I ended up in the door just before 8:00 (and, in fact, someone coming up a couple of minutes later was denied entry).

As a little capper, the attendant’s receipt printer wasn’t working, so she said she’d just have to give me the handwritten receipt. Hey, I’m sympathetic, but as this is a competition entry, I’m going to need an officially printed and dated receipt. They had to run the thing three times before it’d work (and change paper rolls twice), but work it did.

Time-stamped 8:02 p.m., but the time’s not the critical thing — it’s the date: October 23, 2006.

Our work is officially done.

Thanks again, everyone. Now I’m going to grab something to eat, have a drink and go to bed.

And despite all that, I can’t wait to do it again. But next time I’ll try not to cut it so close.

Good night, all.

The Home Stretch...

Well, we’re not exactly done yet, but we’re getting closer.

Yesterday’s editing session went really well, and it was great to know that (even though we had today to make adjustments) we had a good, solid piece to work with. Which is a good thing, ’cause even though I thought today was going to be just an exercise in perfectionism, I’ve been working just as hard as yesterday to get this picture in shape to ship it out this evening. And believe me, this picture is worth the effort; I’m really not exaggerating when I say this may be one of the best pieces we’ve ever done. Great performances, amazing technical quality, tight editing, and some graphics that are absolutely astonishing. I do want to give a special shout-out to those who weren’t as visible on the shoot — Larry Contratti, our writer and editor, Mike Gower, graphics genius extraordinaire, and Brian Wilbur Grundstrom, who has been working with me all through yesterday and today to polish up the music (which will be the most tightly-integrated bit of scoring we’ve had to date).

I’ll spare you the gory details — the postproduction process isn’t the most dramatic of undertakings (which is why it always got such short shrift on Project Greenlight). But suffice it to say that with every little addition or alteration, we could see the quality of this thing substantially improving. Right now, I’m doing a final rendering of the picture to disk so we can start the output process; at that point, we’ll run it out to tape and double-check the tape (lesson learned after the “Quite Contrary” experience). And at this rate, we should have plenty of time to make the 6:30 FedEx dropoff (and if not, we can travel a bit further to hit an 8:00 deadline elsewhere).

Beyond that, we’ll work on getting the film ready for posting online, but we’re hoping to put together a real-world cast and crew screening first. We’re thinking Friday evening — which would give us the opportunity to go out for a celebratory drink (or two) afterward. I’m checking into using my office’s common room (which has a widescreen TV and DVD player), but if anyone has any other suggestions, please pass them along (and soon). If all goes well, we’ll have the online version up and viewable soon after.

I’ve got to get back to work, but if anyone has any additional suggestions or comments, please pass ’em along. In the meantime, I just want to offer my sincerest thanks to everyone for an outstanding effort, and I look forward to being able to show off the fruits of that labor soon!

They’ll Love It At Sundance

The first time you produce a short film, you’re so stoked. Afterwards, it’s all old hat.

Okay, not really.

This weekend, Tohubohu Productions participated in the National Film Challenge. Actually, I should say is participating, since we (we meaning my husband) will be tweaking the movie all day tomorrow. While the 48 Hour Film Project gives you, well, 48 hours, the National Film Challenge gives you one extra day. Imagine the luxury of writing, filming, editing, and scoring a movie in three days. I don’t know why we didn’t get two films done.

We got our genre and the group’s character/prop/line on Friday at 7:00. In the National Film Challenge, the required character/prop/line is divided by area (at least I assume that is still the case). Our genre was Science Fiction. The required elements for the East Coast were Bobbie Soxer (Candidate)/oil/“If it doesn’t work, give it a shake.”

Bill and I worked with the other producer and our writer to brainstorm the plot. When we felt like we had a good start with Act 1, our writer worked it up while we took care of other movie-making business. Then we talked about the changes we wanted, and he wrote out the next parts. More changes, finishing up at 3:30 in the morning. Bill added the scene headings and some other notes to the script at home and went to bed after 4:00.

Alarm goes off at 7:00. That was a lovely three hours of sleep we had. Or didn’t have, since we were both too worked up to sleep well. We gathered our supplies, loaded the car with equipment, and headed for the creative team’s call at 8:00. Or 8:00ish, since we, along with our camera guy, represented 3 out of 5 of the creative team — and one was at the Metro. We went over the script in general and then met the crew at 9:00 at the location.

A good friend of ours had volunteered the use of his shop for the filming. Since they design upscale kitchens, we had some great places to film to keep the background interesting. There was the showroom, with several different mock kitchens, and a warehouse with high ceilings. We also used the front, side, and back of the building. We would probably have gone under the building if we could have figured out how to do it.

The filming went great. A little rocky in the beginning, with the combination of a tough camera setup and some missing cast members. Next time we will stagger the call times and start with a simpler shot, so lesson learned in any case. But other than getting a slow start, everything went extremely well. The actors were all fantastic in the characters we had assigned them. They had a lot to contribute to the dialogue and to the charaterization. Excellent cast. Our crew was totally on the ball, getting things done quickly and accurately. I worked mostly with the Assistant Director, preparing actors for the next scene while Bill was filming the current scene. Our prep work saved a lot of time, since Bill didn’t have to rehearse the actors, but still could change things that didn’t work for him. We finished filming about 8:30 and were packed up and out by 9:00.

Today I’ve been home while Bill edits the film and adds the music and graphics (we had people working on both as we were filming). I’ve seen the rough cut, and it looks pretty good. There are some shots we could have done better if we had more time, but that’s the “challenge” part of the National Film Challenge.

I’ll let you know when it’s up on our site, in case anyone is interested. I think we did a good job with it, but most importantly — clichéd as it is — we had a great time.

By the way, if any of you writers are interested in putting together a short film script, we’d be happy to give it a look. We’ve wanted to do a non-competition film (i.e., a film not thrown together in one weekend), but don’t have any script ideas. We won’t, y’know, pay you for it, but it could hit it big in the indie market. You never know.

Principal Photography Has Wrapped

Just wanted to let everyone know that at about 8:00 this evening, principal photography on Tohubohu’s NFC entry for 2006 wrapped. We had a great time, and I think we really got some phenomenal material.

I’m going to try to catch a few winks before the big edit tomorrow. Good night and sincerest thanks to all!

It’s Time

Oh, crap.

I’ve gotta go direct a movie.

The National Film Challenge Is Upon Us!

Well, just a little more than a week to go, folks. Time to get serious.

Okay, so the time to “get serious” was probably a while ago now, but now we’re really getting serious. I mean it.

Tohubohu is officially entered, and we’re in the process of finalizing our team roster. And that’s where you come in.

If you haven’t gotten back to me with a definitive yea/nay, please do so as soon as possible. The big shooting day is the 21st, but we may also need production assistance on the 22nd, and postproduction help on the 22nd and 23rd. And just about everything’s up for grabs!

Feel free to check out the NFC’s official site for the contest specifics — or just drop us a line with any questions. Which I would prefer, because that means I’m hearing from you. Which is the whole point of this post.

Can’t wait to get started, and to hear back from all of you soon!

Festival Wrap-Up

Well, the DC Shorts film festival is over — though you can still catch one of the “Best of DC Shorts” screenings across this week, something I would highly recommend. No, “Quite Contrary” isn’t part of that show, but there are some really fascinating films that are. Some are viewable elsewhere, but not all, so you really won’t want to miss this.

The festival itself — apart from the screened content itself — was truly a remarkable experience, and hats off to Jon Gann and everyone involved in the DC Film Alliance for putting together a truly memorable weekend. Next year I will definitely be submitting again, and even if we’re not in the show, I’ll likely be springing for a VIP pass. Yes, it was that good (the nonstop stream of free beer probably didn’t hurt either).

As for the content itself — other than our own, of course — there were some personal highlights (and even this is by no means a comprehensive list):

• “Available Men” — just plain funny, without going too far into caricature
• “Bone Mixers”* — a surprisingly engaging documentary
• “The Cell-Phone” — a pretty damned amusing bit of animation
• “Checkout” — this could have been a one-gag bit, but the characters make it a lot of fun
• “The Cole Nobody Knows” — I may be biased by my affinity for the music, but this was a compelling documentary
• “Full Disclosure”* — a really funny first-date film starring Arrested Development’s Judy Greer and Deadwood’s Brent Sexton
• “Fumi and the Bad Luck Foot” — some absolutely hysterical animation
• “Hairlady” — an intriguing experimental film, and some absolutely amazing time-lapse, steadicam, and editing work
• “Ignotus” — an Italian period piece, weaving an artistically speculative tale
• “Jesus Beer” — a funny (if verging on blasphemous) gag commercial
• “Karma Café” — a fun (and funny) little treatment on self-improvement mantras
• “The Leeward Tide” — a remarkable story, but also fantastically shot... and on MiniDV, no less
• “Multiverse” — the Washington Improv Theater’s award-winning HD 48 Hour Film Project entry
• “Olyver Brody” — really dark, but a great story and performances
• “The Package” — a dramatic tale of money, self-interest and betrayal
• “Victoria”* — a spec music video that tells a truly moving story
• “Zombie-American”* — The Daily Show’s Ed Helms is a zombie just trying to fit in

Once again, thanks to everyone involved — and I can’t wait until next year. Maybe this’ll finally get me off my ass to finish my next (non-contest) film...

* Screening as part of the “Best of DC Shorts.”

Double Reminder

First of all, I just want to remind everyone that the DC Shorts screening of “Quite Contrary” will be THIS FRIDAY at 4:00 p.m. at the Landmark E Street Cinema. Tickets are still available!

Yes, I know that’s during the afternoon on a work day. Alas, we didn’t have a say as to our screening slot. But for those of you who can make it, it should definitely be worthwhile.

Furthermore, all ticketholders are invited to attend the opening night party at Drinx on Thursday at 9:00. All you need is a ticket! Whether or not you can make our screening, I do hope to see as many of you as possible there.

Secondly, I can officially announce that we are signed up for the National Film Challenge, taking place over the weekend of October 20-23. We’re already talking preproduction at this point, so clear your calendars and get back to be ASAP regarding your availability, your preferred job function (which we’ll do our best to accommodate, but we can’t promise anything), and any other special information you may have to impart. We’re going to try to be even more organized than usual this time around, so the more we can nail down the better!

Tickets Available!

Just wanted to let everyone know that tickets for DC shorts are NOW ON SALE. Remember, our screening (at the Landmark E Street Cinema) is part of Screening 2, on Friday, September 15 at 4:00 pm.

Hope to see you all there!

Save the Date

First of all, we have not yet received word about individual screening tickets being available for the DC Shorts festival. Rest assured, as soon as we know, you’ll know. (Once they do become available, you should be able to get them either via Moviefone or the Landmark E Street Cinema box office.)

And second, we have just learned that the dates for this fall’s National Film Challenge have been decided — it’ll be over the weekend of October 20-23, 2006. Mark the date on your calendars...

Website Back Up and Running

Howdy, folks. Just wanted to post a quick note to say that the Tohubohu website should be back up and running now. If anyone gets a chance, go give it a look, check it out, kick the tires, make sure everything’s working the way it’s supposed to be.

“Quite Contrary” screening with DC Shorts!

Announcement time, folks!

“Quite Contrary” has been picked up for screening as part of this year’s DC Shorts Film Festival. Our film will be screening at the Landmark E Street Cinema as part of Screening 2, on Friday, September 15 at 4:00 pm. Come on, you know you’re just looking for an excuse to leave work early on a Friday afternoon...

There’s also an opening party Thursday night at Drinx from 9:00 to 11:00 (open to all ticketholders), where you’ll have a chance to meet and greet many of the filmmakers from around the country who have films screening. And if you get a chance, take a look at the rest of the screenings as well — there are a lot of really good shorts being shown (a couple of personal favorites are “Jesus Beer” and WIT’s “Multiverse,” both screening Friday night at 10:00).

Tickets will go on sale mid-August, but — as filmmakers — we should be getting a day’s advance notice over the public at large, so we’ll be sure to send out a group message then (so pay attention).

Congratulations to the entire creative and technical team for “Quite Contrary,” and I can’t wait to see the audience’s reaction.

P.S.: You may have noticed that our website has been down for some time. Alas, this isn’t because of anything related to the long-developing redesign, but something much more mundane. We’ve been having some billing problems with the host and are trying to resolve them — as soon as we get it back up and running, we’ll let you know. We want to make sure everything’s hunky-dory before the big show.

48 Hour Film Project Post Coverage

Thought some of you might be interested in seeing this — one of the teams in this year’s 48 Hour Film Project was the subject of an article in this week’s Washington Post Magazine.

Sure, it’s no Burke/Springfield/Fairfax Station Times, but it’s something, anyway.

“Best Of” and Baltimore

Just a couple of quick updates, folks.

First of all, there’s an article in today’s Post about the real-life “Tim Tate, gay glass sculptor extraordinaire.” Just thought it might be of interest to some of you.

At the end of the article, they mention a (free) “Best Of the 48HFP DC” screening at the Warehouse Theater on June 22 at 7pm. Haven’t heard anything directly about this myself, but if it’s true (it’s on their schedule, but no mention of price), it’ll certainly be worth a look-see.

And I also received word that, contrary to earlier reports, the 48 Hour Film Project will in fact be heading up to the Charm City. Unfortunately, it’s over the weekend of July 14–16th, during which I will be at a long-planned family wedding. But far be it from me to demand that my participation be the deciding factor. If you’re interested in joining in, let us know and we’ll see if we’ve got enough interest to field a team.

(And on a housekeeping note, I’d also like to collect short bios and head shots for both our website and DVD editions of our work. So if you think you’re likely to be so featured (use your judgment — though if you’ve delivered a line on screen or had “director,” “producer,” or “writer” appear next to your name, it’s probably a good bet), you may want to pass along your best photos and brief bio paragraphs. Otherwise, we’ll pick out the most unflattering screen capture and just make up some crap about you.)

We All Like To Have Friends...

Hmm... there’s always a rub somewhere.

On the one hand, I want to promote our MySpace site as much as possible. On the other, I kind of think it’s something akin to cheating to accept the continual stream of thinly disguised porn sites that keep making friend requests. Sure, they’d get our numbers up, but I’m not that obsessed with shameless self-promotion.

So for now, I think I’m going to have to amend my earlier post. Yeah, we’re acccepting just about anyone who wants to join. But there is a human being looking at the actual profiles of our requestors; if all I’m seeing is a bunch of provocative poses and links to your webcam, then sorry, but I’m going to have to say no.

(And for my personal MySpace page, I’m probably going to have to actually have some idea who you are.)

Staying (Somewhat) Current

In our continuing effort to keep up with what the kids are doing nowadays, Tohubohu Productions has gone ahead and set up a MySpace account. We may end up cross-posting blog entries there, uploading videos, and what have you, but for starters, we’d definitely like to see if we can get a few “friends.”

So if you’ve got a MySpace account (and if not, it’s easy to sign up), you can go to Tohubohu’s profile and send us a friend request. We’re not picky, so unless there’s something freakishly abhorrent about you, we’ll accept your request; we like to be as inclusive as possible.

(And on a personal note, I’ve also got my own profile page up, and I’m also desperate for the personal validation that only a whoppingly huge list of friends can bring. I’m also fairly lenient in my friend-accepting practices — though probably just a bit more discriminating. But probably not much, come to think of it.)

We’ll keep you posted on further developments!

The Shoe Drops

Unfortunately, “Close Quarters” did not garner a slot in this year’s “Best of the 48 Hour Film Project” screening. Disappointing, yes, but hardly a reflection on all of the hard work that went into this production. Thanks go out to everyone who made this a remarkable experience, and we look forward to working with you again in the near future!

And finally, for those of you who’ve been waiting anxiously, the movie is now available for on-line viewing. The large-size version is ready now, and the smaller versions should be available in the near future.

So give it a look, and let us know what you think!

Who Knew? Well, Somebody Did

Turns out that the required character for D.C.’s 48 Hour Film Project is a real person: Tim Tate, Gay Glass Sculptor Extraordinaire.

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. And here we were criticizing that selection as being an unrealistic caricature rather than a credible character.

To our credit, we did change it to Tina Tate (as permitted by the contest), and I don’t think we were harmed by our lack of knowledge in the creative process.

To our detriment (or, rather, to the credit of our competitors, which amounts to the same thing), it looks like 2004 contest winner Jon Gann (“Signs”) actually knows the guy. They’re next-door neighbors. Can’t help thinking that might have given them a bit of a head start (nice when you can use a piece of the artist’s actual work — which you happen to have at home).

In all seriousness, I’m not griping — more power to ’em. This contest isn’t meant to start from a “level playing field” for anyone. Our team may not have had actual glass scluptures, but we did have an unfairly creative and dedicated bunch of contributors.

So there.

Tonight’s the Big Night

Remember, tonight’s the big theatrical premiere of “Close Quarters.” As of this writing, tickets are still available.

It’s at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, at 9:30 p.m. The theater’s at 8633 Colesville Road (at the intersection of Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue), and there’s parking available for only $3.00 behind the Lee Building (pretty much at that same intersection).

We’ll try to get the movie up online at some point on our website, but it’ll be a while — we’ve got some technical hurdles to overcome with the 24fps shooting speed versus the 30fps speed of the video. For those of you more technically inclined, we shot in widescreen 24p (23.98fps) with a basic 3:2 pulldown (rather than the advanced 2:3:3:2 pulldown), and (in the interests of speed) edited in 30i (29.97fps); for the archival copy we’ll want to do a reverse telecine to restore the 24p footage, and reedit at that frame rate (and in 16:9 widescreen).

I think I can safely assume that that explanation meant absolutely nothing to 98 percent of you, so just trust me when I say that tonight’s premiere is the single best way to see this movie for the foreseeable future.

See you there!

Tohubohu’s Latest: “Close Quarters”

I have to say, we’ve learned a lot every time we’ve done this, and this weekend probably resulted in our smoothest work yet. Not that it wasn’t without some significant bumps. We drew “Drama” — a tough category for a group whose talents certainly fall more into the comedic vein (though you can feel free to debate our success in that arena). Still, as Drama was a new category this year, it was somewhat rewarding to be one of the “inaugural groups” to give it a go.

On the flip side, we’d lost our writer mere days before. So I, our producer (and my wife) Pam, and a few of our actors all hammered out our script, finally winding up around 4:00 a.m.

A quick catnap (not to mention a much-needed shower) later and we were up and shooting bright and early Saturday morning. We hadn’t had time to work out a detailed production schedule the night before (and several of our actors — being in other shows or rehearsals — had time restrictions), so Pam ordered shots on the fly. A last-minute discovery was that a construction crew was working a few doors down from our location, but at that point it was too late to move — we just scheduled our outdoor shots for the lunch break and hoped the noise wouldn’t carry inside.

Our editor was working on-site, grabbing tapes (and the very detailed notes from our script supervisor) and putting together rough cuts of scenes right there. We finally wrapped around 8:00 p.m. — the earliest we’ve ever finished one of these shoots — and I took over shot-logging and capture so our editor could grab a quick rest. But by about midnight, we had all of our footage captured and a rough cut of everything but two complicated scenes put together.

Unfortunately, we also discovered that we had some story problems. We ran the rough cut past a couple of test audiences (okay, past some coworkers I was able to shanghai to watch it), and there was a lot about the character relationships that wasn’t coming through. So we (i.e., Pam) hammered out a quick prologue scene and sent her, our D.P., and a couple of actors out to shoot it while the editor and I kept at the cutting. Our “second unit” finished shooting by 2:00, and we folded the new scene in, color-corrected and scored the film, rendered a letterboxed version (an agonizingly slow process), and dumped it out to tape.

At 7:28 p.m. — just two minutes before the final deadline — I ran through the doors of the Warehouse Theater, two copies of Tohubohu’s official entry, “Close Quarters,” in hand. Which will screen this Friday night, May 12, at the AFI Silver Theatre, at 9:30 p.m. (tickets are available via their website, hint, hint).

All in all, an extraordinary weekend, a thrilling experience, and something I’m likely to keep doing for as long as I possibly can. It’s just great to have a chance to do this — and most importantly, to have a finished product to show for it.

Thanks all for participating, and congratulations to everyone who gave this a go!

“Close Quarters”

How was your weekend? Did you, for example, MAKE A MOVIE?

I will start at the beginning, for all those who wish to know how a group of ragtag cast and crew put together a short film in two days for the 48 Hour Film Project.

Bill (our director, not to mention my husband) and I went to the kickoff meeting at 7:00 on Friday night; Kori (who had flown in from Chicago just to participate in this) met us there. When all the teams were present, we drew our genre out of a hat (literally). Each set of teams (ten to twelve per showing) drew a unique genre from a single group — so there would be one (and only one) of each kind during the screening. Each time “Musical or Western” was drawn, everyone cheered — either in support of the poor team that drew it, or in relief that it was now out of the hat for the rest of that set’s screening. As we talked during the drawing (we were in the “H” set), we talked about how the only one that would be really hard for us was “Drama.”

So, of course we drew Drama.

The “required elements” — all of which must appear in your finished film — for the D.C. contest were: A fire extinguisher (prop); “This is absolutely the last time.” (line); Tina or Tim Tate, Gay Glass Sculptor Extrordinaire (character). The audience groaned at that last one — the character is usually a little more conventional, like a photographer or rock star. We left the facility saying “What if it is the glass that’s gay, not the character? Like, ‘Doesn’t that glass sculpture look gay to you?’” Politically incorrect, perhaps, but probably no more so than sticking a caricature up on screen. We were off and running.

The three of us went to dinner, meeting up with “Felt” to write out the story. Unfortunately, our team had lost its original writer a few days before the event, so we had to team-write it.

Writing a seven-minute drama as a team is hard.

We were joined by Nello at 11:00, and we were not nearly as far as we had hoped we would be. The five of us hashed out the story, and then the script until 4:00 in the morning. We went home to bed, only to get right back up at 7:00 to start filming at 9:00.

First problem Saturday morning: We were going to film the first scene outside, but there was loud construction going on two doors down. I made my first producer decision to film another scene inside and come back outside when the construction workers were at lunch. I walked over the construction site to confirm their lunch break. As soon as we finished that scene, I had everyone get set up outside and do run-throughs so we would be ready to go the minute the construction noise stopped. As our actors arrived, I briefed them on the scenes and background story, and I stood in for actors in scenes before they arrived. I went over their lines when they weren’t sure we were getting our point across. I made suggestions to the director about acting choices or additional lines (we were still rewriting on the fly). I kept track of which actors were arriving at what times and which actors needed to leave sooner. I made sure the sets were ready (we filmed in Felt’s townhouse and it needed some “girling up”). I kept us on schedule, making sure the actors were rehearsing their next scene while another scene was being filmed. And, of course, I did the only two jobs Bill was able to pin down for me as a producer — get the release forms signed and make sure we had lunch.

The previous paragraph was all about me (because I had expressed concern that I wouldn’t know what to do), but I don’t mean to imply that I was the only one keeping things together. Far from it. The actors were top-notch, bringing the emotion to the film that we needed from them — including some very hard... well, dramatic scenes. Our actors were incredible. Our crew was totally on the ball, knowing what we needed before we even realized that we needed it. Adam, our director of photography, had our vision in mind for every shot, and framed it all flawlessly. As we did different takes, Ginny and Katie, our script supervisors, made detailed notes, so that in editing we could just go back to the best take right away and/or incorporate excellent pieces from other takes. Larry, our editor, started logging and capturing footage the moment it was available, and even started cutting together preliminary versions of the scenes. And, of course, our director knew the vision from the start and gave the actors positive feedback and constructive suggestions to get the absolute best out of each scene.

Our long night in writing the script turned out to be a crucial investment in the filming the next day. With three of the six actors there for the writing, they knew exactly what to do when we started filming. They knew the back story. They knew the point each scene was trying to make. They had made up half the lines themselves. The actual filming, which we had thought could go late into Saturday night, was over by 8:00. The actors went home, the crew went home, and Bill went to the office to put together a rough cut of the film to have ready for the morning’s editing. As everyone left, some at different parts of the day, I was pleased and proud to hear every one of them say how much fun it was. Because it was fun. Given our limited filming time, things never seemed frantic. And while there were disagreements about dialogue, it never came to the point of real conflict. The whole thing was so calm and pleasant and fun.

On Sunday it was down to Bill and Larry to put the piece together. Oh, and add sound effects, music, credits, and a title. As Bill and I drove in, we worried that we had lost the storyline for one character (thanks to the continually evolving script) and that it might be difficult for an audience to know who everyone was. When some people turned up in Bill’s office (where we were doing the final edit) first thing that morning to actually work, we ran the film by them to get some opinions. People liked it, but weren’t nailing the relationships like we wanted them to. I suggested another scene that took place at the beginning, that would help set up the story and recreate a little of the lost storyline. Bill was afraid it was too obvious, but was willing to give it a try. So at 11:00 on Sunday morning, we scripted a new scene — that would also set up the so-far elusive title — and went out with Bjorn, Christine, and Adam to shoot it. I was now, by default, a director.

(Just as I was directing my first scene, there was a little child-care crisis. Do you think Steven Spielberg has to put up with that crap? It was resolved, thanks to some very helpful friends, allowing me to see the film through to the very end.)

We added the new scene to the beginning, amidst some controversy among the team. It was a little “on the nose,” but in the end, we decided that was better then having the audience confused at the end of the movie. We realized that in a full-length drama, you have time to subtly establish the characters and back story. But in a seven-minute drama, not so much.

After the scene was filmed, my job was mostly supportive. Checking in on the process, looking at the cuts for a second opinion, and keeping track of the time. Most important was keeping track of the time. We had said that we were going to pretend the movie was due at 7:00 so we wouldn’t have a last minute rush, but we needed every minute and did end up making a last-minute rush to get the film turned in by 7:30. We made it, with a couple minutes to spare, and toasted each other with a beer before heading home to get some rest.

This morning, as I caught my reflection in the mirror, I realized two things. One, that my left eyebrow was a little over-plucked. But two, that I was looking at the face of a real producer. And it felt good.

The film is “Close Quarters” and will be available on the Tohubohu Productions website after the screening (at the AFI Silver Theatre) on Friday, May 12th. (Of course, if you’re in the area, and would like to see it sooner, you can always come out to the premiere itself — we screen as part of the 9:30 show. The more the merrier!)

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It...

This’ll be the third year that Tohubohu Productions will be entering the competition, and I think we’ve really got it down to a science now. Oh, we’re far from ready to roll (especially since I’ve got to fly out to Monterey for a video shoot on Thursday), but things are starting to gel.

This time around, my wife Pam, of MotherReader fame, will be stepping in to produce as I take the directorial reins for the first time since last year’s “The Big Lie (That Solves Everything).” We’ve got a strong roster of support folks (both cast and crew), and I am really excited about what we’re going to be able to do. I had hoped to have another podcast episode (available now in regular or iTunes varieties) ready before the big event, but as I mentioned, I’m going to have to fly out to Monterey for a video shoot on the day before the event. On the other side of the friggin’ country. I’ll be shooting all day Thursday, then hopping on a redeye that night to make it back in time to do all of our last-minute prep for Friday’s big kick-off.

My thinking is that if I can just sleep on the plane (I figure three Scotches ought to do it), then my circadian rhythms will be all messed up and actually be completely in sync with the production schedule.

Our official premiere screening will be at the AFI Silver Theater on Friday, May 12, at 9:15 p.m. And sure enough, I may be stuck at a video shoot in Kalamazoo, Michigan, but I’m still doing everything in my power to get back in time (or make somebody else go on the shoot).

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the contest... I’ll direct you over to the official site for the specifics; I don’t have time to explain it all (again) here. But as for this weekend’s schedule from our perspective, here’s the (basic) rundown.

The kickoff event is Friday evening, from 6:00 until 7:00. A representative or two from each team heads over to the Warehouse Theater, finalizes registration, and draws a film genre out of a hat (literally). Then the event producers draw a character, a prop and a line of dialogue for the entire group (they’ve got 100 teams in the competition this year). Then, at 7:00, we’re off.

Friday night is reserved for the writing and scheduling groups. The first time we did this, we thought that’d be a great excuse to have the whole team get together, but boy was that a mistake. Efficient scriptwriting dictates that we keep that group as small as possible. We write until the wee hours, then email everyone with the script (or at least a synopsis thereof) and Saturday’s call times (we plan to start the first-shot crew call at around 8:00 or so, with an eye towards shooting by 9:00... or, to be completely honest, closer to 10:00).

Saturday is our big shooting day. And it’s a loooong day. We’ll be based in the city, but depending on our shooting needs, we may be venturing out into suburbia. It’s basically a whole lot of sitting around and doing nothing punctuated by brief moments of frenetic activity.

Sunday may see a couple of pickup or second-unit shots, but for the most part, this day will be dedicated to editing, cleanup, and output. If we were... fortunate enough to draw the dreaded “musical,” then we'll likely be working up until the last possible minute recording music and cutting it into the picture. And then we dump the whole thing out to tape and race like mad across town back to the Warehouse Theater for the official dropoff. They usually have a little happy hour (attended by a bunch of people who look like the Red Bull-enhanced zombies that they are), and then it’s off to bed.

Sound simple? On paper, maybe.

We’re still looking for a sound mixer and an editing assistant, so on the off chance that anyone reading this knows a good candidate, let me know. Otherwise, let the countdown begin...

This Is All I’m Sayin’

There’s a must-listen episode this week on Rob Long’s “Martini Shot” podcast. Rob comments on how the power of the entertainment gatekeeper may be diminishing thanks to the advent of the self-publishing of video entertainment (and, as always, he does so in an exceedingly humorous fashion — after all, he is a professional comedy writer).

Kind of the model we’ve been working from for a while now.

So while you’re at it, go back and watch the movies again. Maybe watch “Loose Ends” while listening to the commentary track...

(And if you’re so inclined, say something nice about us at iTMS.)

Following Right Behind the Pack

Never let it be said that I’m not willing to jump right onto a bandwagon once it’s gained irresistable momentum.

We have officially started a podcast for Tohubohu Productions. For now, the idea is to chronicle our upcoming 48 Hour Film Project venture, and pass on what we’ve learned about no-budget filmmaking* along the way.

Details about the podcast (well, what details there are, anyway) are available on the main podcast page, though you can also find it at the iTunes Music Store (which, frankly, I just find too cool for words).

So you too can hear me ramble on (my delivery making Quentin Tarantino seem like he’s on quaaludes) about making movies.

* Yes, I know digital video is not film. So what I’m doing is not technically “filmmaking.” But in the jumping-on-the-bandwagon spirit, I’m going with the crowd on this one. I think I can safely acknowledge that I’ve lost that argument.