A 2+ year project has finally happened. We removed the kitchen set from our studio, so I quickly put together a shoot in that space that I had intended for several years. I needed some depth and room to make it happen which was not possible with an entire kitchen Read more…
Why is it taking me so long to do another feature film? That’s easy to answer. I don’t want to just make another film. I want to make a good film. This starts with the script. Choosing a script or writing one is also easy. Getting a great script is Read more…
I am a tinkerer. I like to revisit my old works and sometimes re-edit. If I see something I suddenly feel needs changed, I change it. I don’t like to do this on some levels because I should focus on new works, not the old ones. Therapeutically, I have ceased Read more…
For a little over two years I’ve been struggling with how it feels to be liked and hated with such intensity, and usually by strangers. I tried to say I didn’t care, but I obviously did. Looking over blogs of the past few years, since I’ve been blogging a journal Read more…
I love books on filmmaking. I devour a few books a month on the topic. Half Price Books and Amazon.com used are my new best friends. I can find rare and hard to find books for next to nothing. This week I’m getting two used books that I’m looking most Read more…
My long dormancy will soon end. I’m about to embark on several projects and all of them have their individual challenges. I hate that word “challenges”, at least the way it has replaced the word “problems”. Regardless, your faithful narrator has a full plate and none too soon. First on deck, Read more…
The home video store chain HOLLYWOOD VIDEO just went under. The death toll must be ringing for BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO soon. This is not good news for the independent filmmaker. The business model of the video store has been decimated by the mail order DVD service like NETFLIX and video on Read more…
One of the most simple, yet effective ideas in a score was exemplified in the LETHAL WEAPON scores, primarily by Michael Kamen with Eric Clapton on guitar and David Sanborn on saxophone. What made the themes and melodies ingenious was not the brilliant musicians, but the concept of having the Read more…
Ohio State University often has brought in some killer names in film, from Richard Linklater in 2000, to Spike Lee, Kevin Smith, and Gus Van Zant, to last night’s epic James Cameron speaking engagement. This is supposedly James Cameron’s first college lecture. I was early, but I didn’t sit in the Read more…
I’m a bit conflicted. I keep finding some of my videos on YouTube and other sites, but uploaded by other people. I’m starting to ask them to take them down for copyright violation. On one hand it’s kinda cool that someone liked something I made enough to upload it and Read more…
Today I was the guest speaker at the Upper Arlington High School’s film class. The teacher invited me to speak to the kids and do a demo. I made up a DVD of things to show and went on in. Last week I had issued a press release about getting ACCIDENTAL Read more…
Sometimes I do things that some might consider generous. I put together film festivals, or I offer a place to edit, or I loan out some gear that might help someone else. Most of the time, these kinds of favors are not directly repaid, but I am not expecting them Read more…