I know I've been posting quite a bit on my upcoming web series recently, which is just my effort to get the word out there and network in any way I can so as to gain funds for the production. My hope is to gain a $5 contribution from at least 200 people and that alone will almost complete my funding. And, for the sake of being a workhorse and wanting to plug myself, you can still take a look at my Indiegogo campaign page to get a better feel for the production and maybe leave a small contribution. I would appreciate it so much!
The link is: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/is-she-isn-t-she/x/1211654
Having said all that however, this is a place where I, as a filmmaker and a human being, want more than anything else to talk to the world and maybe they'll take an interest in what I have to say. Communication, no matter how it's done, can be a truly wonderful and cultivating thing. The last thing I want then is for people accessing my blog to think it's just another station for me to promote and plug my independent film projects. But, in being another avenue for networking, I can't lie and say a good deal of postings I place over the next couple of months won't have at least partial focus on that project. It is, after all, the main thing going on in my life as we speak.
But yesterday I found my mind wandering a little at work. It wasn't a particularly busy day and I began reflecting back on something much more important than any film or web series. And, like most thoughts, it came about through reflection on something else entirely. For some reason, while on my break at work, I started thinking about how much I hate most serial killer related films because so many of them try and take on that crazed psychedelic feel that is just so disassociated from reality. I've always been an avid studier of crime, as some of my earlier postings show, and I have studied serial killers a good deal, mostly because of the psychological aspect of them. But thinking on that transitioned into thinking about all of the bad serial killer films done out there with the exception of very few, such as "Zodiac", which is one of my favorite movies. More than anything else, I love it because it doesn't glorify or create another misguided example of psychedelia, but rather hones in on the story from a humane perspective wherein we see the way those who are trying to solve the case are troubled by it rather than following the killer around on his killing spree and loving him as some anti-heroic character.
It was amidst this pondering and reflecting on such morbid things that I found myself thinking about another morbid case that happened practically up the street from me. It's a case that has always loomed with me and had a much greater effect on me than any other murder cases (probably in part due to the fact that it happened so close to me). I remember when the whole sad experience came to an end in August, 2002 and my father told me, because I was hoping to be a successful writer back then, I needed to write a book on the case because people would forget about this event and people needed to remember. I, unfortunately, never got around to writing anything of real substance on the case (outside of some writings I did on it when it was still an unsolved case, in which I posed some of my theories). But it is sad that in the years since the case has become generally forgotten. Even around here, in my own neighborhood and those surrounding me the case hasn't been talked about in years. At the site of the events there is no plaque or memorial for the events that happened there and it just astounds me that such an event could be so easily swept under the rug because back in 2002 it was the murder tragedy of the year in America. Every major network in the country was following the case up until its bitter end, and ending which has always stayed with me.
The case I am talking about was the disappearance of two girls from Oregon City, Ashley Pond, 12, and Miranda Gaddis, 13. Back in 2002, children seldom ever seemed to disappear in the Portland area. Maybe in the city of Portland itself, but down in my neighborhood and places like Oregon City just a little south of me, if a young child went missing it was almost always a runaway. So when a 12-year old girl named Ashley Pond vanished on January 9, 2002 the whole Portland Metropolitan Area went into a frenzy. And there I was, only 16-years old myself. And I remember my parents telling me to keep a close eye on my friends and some of the girls I knew, even though this disappearance happened some 10 miles away from where I lived. But none of us really knew what was going on. All that was known was that Ashley disappeared, supposedly, while walking from her apartment up to her bus stop. Being a sophomore in high school and taking the bus I often took it upon myself to monitor girls around me to see if they were all right or being followed, and I'm sure many other students were doing the same thing.
Now I am constantly reminded of this case because I have, during two different stints, attended Clackamas Community College, which is in Oregon City and literally just a small hill away from where all the events in this case took place. I've driven by the location many times and it always perplexed me as to how Ashley had been abduction. She lived in a fairly compacted apartment complex and her bus stop was literally at the front of the driveway to this apartment complex. It's also located on Beavercreek Road which, for those who don't know or aren't from around here, is a wide, four-lane highway stretching from the middle of Oregon City and out past the college before it becomes a more rural two-lane road. There is a large shopping complex almost directly across the street. At practically every moment of every day there is lots of car and pedestrian traffic through there and there were other kids at Ashley's bus stop who never saw a thing. I choose to believe she vanished earlier than that, and I'll tell you why.
The defense that Ashley vanished on the way to her bus stop based on the story her mother gave, but as time went on it was found that her mother's account was somewhat shaky and inconsistent, suggesting that she hadn't seen her daughter right before she left, but rather had last seen her almost an hour before. Now anything can happen in an hour? It was discovered, in the midst of the search for Ashley, that she had been carrying on a rather strange relationship with the man who lived next door to her apartment, a man named Ward Weaver. Now Weaver is hardly a household name now, but again back in 2002 you couldn't find a person who didn't know exactly who he was. Ashley had lived for a period of a few months practically in Weaver's home at which time the 39-year old man had reportedly become so attached to her that his girlfriend at the time left him when he decided he'd rather sleep with this 12-year old girl than her. Weaver also had an extensive history of assault, often focused on the women of his past. And these were violent assaults, some of which could have killed his victims. Furthermore, his father was an ex-trucker and convicted serial killer who had killed multiple people, mostly hitchhikers, as he drove along the freeways of the west coast. There were lots of reasons to point the finger at Weaver as the individual who caused Ashley's disappearance.
It is known that after that period of time living in Weaver's home that those who knew Ashley claimed that she had gone through lots of changes and was much more reactive and yet also apprehensive. One of her teachers even saw her kissing Weaver on the lips when he dropped her off at school. Finally, I believe it was either the end of summer or the start of fall of 2001, Ashley finally came out and said that Weaver had assaulted her. Weaver immediately banned the girl from his home and Ashley became the target of hazing in her school, mostly targeted by Weaver's own daughter, who understandably, didn't want to believe her own father could be such an animal, and thus Ashley had to be a attention-seeking liar. There is little evidence to show whether there was any correspondence for the remainder of 2001 between Ashley and Weaver. One of the last things known about Ashley is that at a Christmas party she had told her mother that she was genuinely afraid of Ward Weaver. Then, 2 1/2 weeks later, she vanishes.
Weaver became a suspect and immediately thrust himself into the spotlight, claiming his innocence of course. However, taking such action, going out of his way to do public interviews and so on, only made him look more guilty. Ward Weaver was a rather unattractive man with a bushy head of hair and a bushy mustache. When he opened his doors for local news interviews he often dressed in a wife-beater, was captured chain-smoking on camera and despite his rather calm and sometimes eloquent way of speaking, he just looked guilty. I wasn't convinced yet, as a young man. And maybe it was his ability to act so calm. I just figured a guilty person wouldn't be able to play himself off like that. Of course, any real sane person probably couldn't. Then March came, and my opinion changed rapidly.
On March 8, 2002 another girl, Miranda Gaddis, vanished in the exact same way that Ashley Pond did, from the exact same apartment complex. It didn't take but a moment to realize that the two crimes were related; they were identical! Miranda Gaddis was quite the opposite of Ashley, much more active, popular, quirky and outgoing. But, like Ashley, she came from a troubled background. Her father was a convicted sex offender, who later died in a shooting after his release. Both Ashley and Miranda had experienced sexual assault at a young age. There were so many connections, but still they didn't convince me 100% that Weaver was the man who did it. After all, he didn't seem to have any connection to Miranda Gaddis at all. Then I read a story in the Portland Tribune, which had a few staff writers who had taken a vested interest in the case. Near the ending of it there was reference to Weaver's daughter's birthday party, of which Miranda was invited. At this party Miranda had begun spreading talk about when Ashley lived there and what Weaver and done to her. At one point she even told some of the other girls there not to spend the night because Weaver would probably do something to one of them. Angered, Weaver's daughter reported this to him, at which time he got very angry. Hearing that story changed everything for me. First, we have Ashey, 2 1/2 weeks before disappearing telling her mother that she was genuinely fearful of him and now we have Miranda, about 2 1/2 weeks before she vanished pointing the finger at Weaver as the probable abductor of Ashley. And Miranda and Ashley knew each other. Weaver had to ponder what Ashley may have told her. And Miranda was a very expressive outgoing girl who likely wasn't going to keep her mouth shut about the situation.
I also found it very intriguing that on the day of one of the girls' disappearance he went to a store and bought a whole bunch of bathroom, and specifically bathtub, cleaning supplies. That has always lead me to believe that he may have drowned or at least attacked one of his victims in his bathroom and later bought supplied to clean everything up.
But beyond that, right after the disappearance of these two girls, Weaver had a part of his backyard dug up so he could place barrels down there and then lay a slab of concrete over it for placement of a new hot tub. This caused frantic attention as Weaver's own father had buried one of his victims in his backyard and laid a concrete slab over her body. Weaver practically sealed his own fate as murder suspect #1 with this action. The media came calling again and angry parents all over the place were screaming for Weaver's head on a platter and for authorities to get back there and tear up that backyard. Even after the event ended we heard the same old clamor: if only the police had acted sooner! But the fact of the matter was, just because Weaver was following in the footsteps eerily similar to those of his father, this was note remotely sufficient evidence to even get a general search warrant for the property. Interestingly enough, Weaver had allowed multiple searches of his property, even one with police K9's, who sniffed all around the concrete slab and never reacted to it. There was just no, pardon the pun, concrete evidence to prove Weaver was guilty. There wasn't even a known crime scene to examine seeing as neither of the girls were seen being abducted and neither left any evidence behind. The evidence just wasn't there.
For months then the case dragged on and started losing traction. Any other possible suspects came and went and eyes always remained focused on Weaver. But by late summer the case was beginning to lose attention. Both Ashley and Miranda had been missing for months and much of the general public presumed they were dead. Then, on August 13, 2002, the case was launched back into the spotlight. There were signs that Weaver may have been about to split, possibly fleeing to Mexico. On this night however he was given a ride home by his son's pregnant 19-year old girlfriend. Once they arrived there the two went into the house and while inside Weaver attempted to rape her. She managed to break free and ran screaming from the house naked. She found a tarp to wrap around her body and dodged into traffic on Beavercreek Road, getting a man to stop for her. He quickly took her across the street to a nearby salon where police were contacted and alerted to the fact that Ward Weaver had just attempted to rape a young woman. Weaver immediately took off, leaping into his car and tearing out onto the street. It was a rather anti-climactic way to end things. The police tracked him to the nearby I-205 freeway where they pursued him briefly and he ultimately pulled over and was arrested. Later, Weaver's son Francis, the boyfriend of the rape victim, contacted police and told them that his father had admitted killing Ashley and Miranda to him. His claim had to be taken with great caution as he was most definitely angry and vengeful to his father for what he had done. But this event got the ball rolling.
It was at this time that Weaver was also evicted from his house, which was located directly next to the apartments where Ashley and Miranda lived. With Weaver evicted, the power of whether the police could search the property lay in the hands of Weaver's landlord, who openly allowed them to set up shop and search the property. On August 24th the search was underway. It was a media circus with at least four news helicopters circling overhead around this one little house. The property had been fenced off and people surrounded the fence line for practically the whole duration of the search. Over the course of the three days that the property was searched people began placing notes, signs, stuffed animals and things such as that into the fencing, turning it into a spontaneous memorial (and this was before it was even known if the girls were there - but someone it seems everybody knew deep inside). As the concrete slab was being torn up the police and FBI had focused a part of their search on a small shed in the background, wherein they found a set of human remains stuffed in a microwave box. I remember, about a hour before this discovery was mentioned in the news, watching the coverage and being unable to take my eyes off of it. This was right around the corner from me. These girls went to school at a place where I played youth basketball. A kid in my biology class was Miranda Gaddis' cousin, I mean, this hit right at home to me. And then, when nothing new seemed to be going on out of nowhere a coroners van pulled up and entered the property. There was this collective gasp. I remember it well because we were watching Channel 2's coverage of the events and Anna Song was the main news person on the scene who had spent more time than any other news person on this case. She had interviewed Miranda Gaddis personally when the search had begun for Ashley. I remember Song being in the midst of giving an update as the coroner's vehicle pulled up and she just completely went silent and was so overcome that they had to cut back to the main news room while she collected herself. I think, in that moment, everyone knew the worst had happened.
A short while later the discovery of these remains was announced and the following day, as the backyard had been practically torn apart, and the barrels below the concrete unearthed, another set of human remains were discovered. It was Sunday, August 25, 2002, one of the most agonizing days I have ever experienced and I didn't even know these girls. It was during the afternoon that another report was made for the news media. They announced that a second set of human remains had been recovered and that the remains discovered the day before belonged to Miranda Gaddis. There was a collective scream and just complete shock by everyone gathered there. And I just felt my heart feel like it was going to collapse down to my stomach. I was watching the coverage with my parents and even though it felt clear to us at that time that the two girls were in that backyard we all went silent with shock when this announcement was made. It was a forgone conclusion the next day when it was reported that the remains found in the barrel were those of Ashley Pond. I remember there was hardly a reaction when that announcement was made because everyone knew by then.
Weaver, being the heartless jackass that he was, denied guilt as long as he could, even trying to enter in a plead of insanity. He was sent to the state hospital where he was examined and found to be completely sane and just a sick, manipulative person. Once it was clear that Weaver would have to stand trial he took a plea and in admitting his guilt got life in prison over what would have likely been the death penalty. I seriously wonder how much longer Weaver will have. Child killers don't last long in prison. In 2007 a fellow prisoner who was going to cut his hair tried to stab Weaver to death. Weaver escaped with a few stabs to his neck and shoulders. And that was about it. It seems when Weaver confessed everyone was satisfied and the case has slowly faded from memory. I've talked to people about it who moved to the Portland area after 2002 and most of them have no knowledge of the event because it has gone forgotten. The location where Weaver's home once stood is just a grassy field with no memorial or reminder of what was taken from our world back in 2002. The apartment complex, once known as the Newell Creek Apartments, has changed its name understandably. Why would you keep an apartment name that had been nationally associated with disappearing children?
Going to school so close to that site I've walked by it so many times. I've looked down the entryway to the apartment complex and it looks more or less the same. I've stood right where Ashley and Miranda's bus stop was. I've walked by the salon where Weaver's almost third victim contacted the police. And it's such an ominous experience walking through there knowing everything that happened. But it's equally sad that so many people have no idea and drive through that small area completely clueless of what happened right under their noses in their own neighborhood. While others have forgotten there is no way that I can. It was an experience that altered me. Afterward, if I was ever around younger children, either family or relatives of friends, I always keep an eye on them, especially when those who should be watching them aren't. When I'm at work and I ever see a child walking around by his or herself I always keep a close eye on them to make sure they leave with the right person. Children are precious and sadly the prey of many sick and twisted people, many of which we don't even know are out there waiting for an opportunity. Those opportunities can occur at any time so we must always remember to keep our kids close to us so tragedies such as this become fewer and fewer.
Good day everyone.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Utilization of a Gay Theme
As some of you know, my upcoming web series production revolves around two roommates, one of which happens to be a lesbian. That simple fact got me to thinking as I was journeying through that period of structuring and restructuring this series. To this point I haven’t done much film work that has dealt with gender issues or gay-relation issues and I wanted to make sure that I thought it all through before I just leaped into incorporating a gay theme into this production (as I feel I would have done with any project in which this issue arose). I’ve sought out being very reflective on this issue not only with regards to being respectful, but because I’ve spent the better part of the last several years feeling frustrated at the way film has made use of gay characters.
Most major Hollywood productions are relatively directionless when they place gay characters in their films. When I say that what I mean is that they often place gay characters in their film for the sake of having a gay influence of some kind in their picture, even if the film itself has relatively nothing to do with homosexuality. In the end, unfortunately, like any other business, they place these small gay elements in film to get attention. They want gay people to buy tickets for the film and so they stick a gay character in there for appeasement. And if that wasn’t often the case then why are some many of these gay characters so comparable and one-dimensional. Often times they’re always secretaries or hair dressers or any other style of job that traditions of the past have presumed to be jobs for women (or “feminine” people). And how many times has the gay character been there to interject some sensitivity into the insensitive straight man. That particular stereotype has become so infused into our media culture that it’s presumed to be a truth by some people. More than once I’ve been presumed to be gay simply because I responded with sensitivity to a given situation. Now while there are plenty of sensitive gay people out there and lots of insensitive straight people out there as well, the fact of the matter is that regardless of sexual persuasion, people are people. We are all the products of whatever specific background we had. Some of us are nice and some of us are jerks. Straight people can be wonderful and they can be jerks, same goes for gay people, or bisexual people for that matter. None of us are perfect and we are all unique, striving for different things. So why so much emphasis on forcing gay film characters to be overtly feminine if they’re guys and overtly masculine if they’re women. It works both ways. The number of times I’ve seen the “lesbian truck driver” character in films is astounding. Personally I know lots of gay people, both men and women. In that regard, I’ve yet to meet a gay man who has wanted to be a hair dresser, or a secretary, or the the big one: interior decorator! And if they do choose to go that way then I wish them all the luck in the world. That’s one of the purposes of life is that we are given the opportunity to do what we want with it instead of being forced into some niche because we find that dude more attractive than that girl, or vice versa.
I guess what frustrates me the most with regards to how most high level movie productions portray homosexual characters is that I always seen people close to the media and movie directors and film actors all talking about how progressive they are and how they support the rights of everyone (gay rights then obviously included) but then we see this nonsense being bore out in the productions they get involved in. And then, as is almost always the case, they talk about how special, unique and different whatever that production is that they worked on. Most of the time it’s all just promotional nonsense. In that vein I don’t want to be too pessimistic because there are films out there that treat gay characters more as real people as oppose to living, breathing symbols and stereotypes.
Overall then, in deciding to employ a gay element into my new series has led me to stop and think about what these characters are going to be like. More than anything else, I want them to be portrayed as real people because then they’re given the opportunity to be multi-faceted and not just what we’re always used to seeing. In creating that style of character, and I’m talking primarily about the character of Talyor, the lesbian roommate, I did my best to make her a real person. She’s entertaining, you like her often bizarre personality, but she is still an imperfect person. She can be very self-centered and when her roommate Jake goes off on one of his rants she is quick to divert her attention from him. She is also a somewhat introverted character, which allows her to come full circle as the series progresses and she finds she has feelings towards Cary’s character (whom for the most part she doesn’t know whether Cary likes men or women). Emotions seem to be something she tries to keep in check early in the series and we see those emotions and that expansion of her personality grow as time passes, without completely breaking and altering her character to a point where she’s not credibly the same person anymore. And certainly Jake functions in much the same way, but in most regards he functions in the opposite direction. Throughout the series we see him letting out his feelings and emotions endlessly and it’s more near the end that he realizes he needs to slow down and examine himself to best discover why he’s such a loser with girls and why his life has become so erratic. Thus, they are both realistic people dealing with the experiences of life. Straight Jake is no more unique than lesbian Taylor and she is no more unique that he is either. Neither one needs to worry about that because the objective is for them to be two very different people without one being more humanistic or original than the other. And that is a struggle when you’re trying to make a wild and appealing comedy series where you have to be willing to raise the bar with the level of antics you allow your characters to engage in. But in the end I’m really glad that I had cause to take pause and examine this aspect of my series before leaping into structuring and shooting it. It makes everyone in the series stronger and the ride will be just as wild!
Most major Hollywood productions are relatively directionless when they place gay characters in their films. When I say that what I mean is that they often place gay characters in their film for the sake of having a gay influence of some kind in their picture, even if the film itself has relatively nothing to do with homosexuality. In the end, unfortunately, like any other business, they place these small gay elements in film to get attention. They want gay people to buy tickets for the film and so they stick a gay character in there for appeasement. And if that wasn’t often the case then why are some many of these gay characters so comparable and one-dimensional. Often times they’re always secretaries or hair dressers or any other style of job that traditions of the past have presumed to be jobs for women (or “feminine” people). And how many times has the gay character been there to interject some sensitivity into the insensitive straight man. That particular stereotype has become so infused into our media culture that it’s presumed to be a truth by some people. More than once I’ve been presumed to be gay simply because I responded with sensitivity to a given situation. Now while there are plenty of sensitive gay people out there and lots of insensitive straight people out there as well, the fact of the matter is that regardless of sexual persuasion, people are people. We are all the products of whatever specific background we had. Some of us are nice and some of us are jerks. Straight people can be wonderful and they can be jerks, same goes for gay people, or bisexual people for that matter. None of us are perfect and we are all unique, striving for different things. So why so much emphasis on forcing gay film characters to be overtly feminine if they’re guys and overtly masculine if they’re women. It works both ways. The number of times I’ve seen the “lesbian truck driver” character in films is astounding. Personally I know lots of gay people, both men and women. In that regard, I’ve yet to meet a gay man who has wanted to be a hair dresser, or a secretary, or the the big one: interior decorator! And if they do choose to go that way then I wish them all the luck in the world. That’s one of the purposes of life is that we are given the opportunity to do what we want with it instead of being forced into some niche because we find that dude more attractive than that girl, or vice versa.
I guess what frustrates me the most with regards to how most high level movie productions portray homosexual characters is that I always seen people close to the media and movie directors and film actors all talking about how progressive they are and how they support the rights of everyone (gay rights then obviously included) but then we see this nonsense being bore out in the productions they get involved in. And then, as is almost always the case, they talk about how special, unique and different whatever that production is that they worked on. Most of the time it’s all just promotional nonsense. In that vein I don’t want to be too pessimistic because there are films out there that treat gay characters more as real people as oppose to living, breathing symbols and stereotypes.
Overall then, in deciding to employ a gay element into my new series has led me to stop and think about what these characters are going to be like. More than anything else, I want them to be portrayed as real people because then they’re given the opportunity to be multi-faceted and not just what we’re always used to seeing. In creating that style of character, and I’m talking primarily about the character of Talyor, the lesbian roommate, I did my best to make her a real person. She’s entertaining, you like her often bizarre personality, but she is still an imperfect person. She can be very self-centered and when her roommate Jake goes off on one of his rants she is quick to divert her attention from him. She is also a somewhat introverted character, which allows her to come full circle as the series progresses and she finds she has feelings towards Cary’s character (whom for the most part she doesn’t know whether Cary likes men or women). Emotions seem to be something she tries to keep in check early in the series and we see those emotions and that expansion of her personality grow as time passes, without completely breaking and altering her character to a point where she’s not credibly the same person anymore. And certainly Jake functions in much the same way, but in most regards he functions in the opposite direction. Throughout the series we see him letting out his feelings and emotions endlessly and it’s more near the end that he realizes he needs to slow down and examine himself to best discover why he’s such a loser with girls and why his life has become so erratic. Thus, they are both realistic people dealing with the experiences of life. Straight Jake is no more unique than lesbian Taylor and she is no more unique that he is either. Neither one needs to worry about that because the objective is for them to be two very different people without one being more humanistic or original than the other. And that is a struggle when you’re trying to make a wild and appealing comedy series where you have to be willing to raise the bar with the level of antics you allow your characters to engage in. But in the end I’m really glad that I had cause to take pause and examine this aspect of my series before leaping into structuring and shooting it. It makes everyone in the series stronger and the ride will be just as wild!
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
So... Why Am I Doing This?
Why do any of us do anything? Many times we just do something because we want to, but when it comes to something we want that takes a lot of time and thought to make happen it becomes about more than just a simple wanting or longing. Why am I doing what I'm doing, right now? I'm talking about my most recent piece of work that I am jumping into that I will be blogging about quite a bit over the next couple weeks (and have already done some blogging about).
I am currently spending hours a day networking in addition to continuing to organize and make sure the structure of my web series production is solidified in the direction that it will be best to go in. I've spent hours alone organizing segments and sequences and then reorganizing them when it appears that something is a little out of its element. Along with that I am spreading the word and bringing people on-board to actually work on this production. It's definitely not about just raising funds and, as with anyone else, I wish that part was simple. I wish the money could just show up but our world doesn't function that way. The only reason I am networking to the degree that I am is to make the production itself appealing and desired for those who will be working with me on it. I love doing this so I don't need to be paid for my efforts. And after all, I have made the choice to take this production on so any exhaustion or labor I put into it I am putting in by choice to make this work happen. It's another thing all together when others are willing to hop on board with you and give you their time to make a production a reality. And a good many of these people are willing to work for free because they love it that much. But I don't want to be asking people to work for free, unless they're just lending a hand for a couple hours or something brief and courteous such as that.
I have watch web series, I have seen some that have even been produced in Portland and the style of them varies greatly from absurdity to pieces that are based almost exclusively on reality. And I would put my series somewhere right in the middle, which is where I really want it to be. The way I look at it is visual mediums be they film, television, internet-focused production find greatness very much in the common ground of dualisms. By that what I mean is finding a place between two extremes. As far as the feel of a production goes you can be way over the top and playing everything to the extreme to a point that the work's artificiality it blatantly noticeable again and again. One of my favorite examples of this is the film "Armageddon", which was made during a period that a lot of over the top action films were being produced. But "Armageddon" is one of my favorite examples because the levels of absurdity are so high. Every thing that possibly could go wrong does. And about every five minutes there comes another line of dialogue that is just above and beyond what someone would really say. It's obnoxious to the point of being distracting. On the other hand, you can become so focused on making a piece of work based in reality that it becomes far too realistic. The problem of becoming too realistic, and a lot of indie films go this way, is you get lost in the fact that we as people waste a lot of time doing things that aren't very interesting. So when we see our lives being presented overly realistic it gets boring very quickly. And that's why a lot of indie films tend to be boring and drag on when they're too focused on being exclusively realistic. The best place to be is right in between those two somewhere so you have elements of realism to your story and the characters you wish to portray. But at the same time there is a sense of excitement and entertainment infused into the lives of these characters so that we don't get bored with them after five minutes.
I've been drawn back into this particular production that again has been in the works for over three years now. Any of us drawn to a particular art form no matter what it is knows that the ideas come and go. And there are really three types of ideas I've found, and two of them are good. There's the ideas that are so amazing you know immediately that you have to make it happen. Then there's the polar opposite, which is an idea comes and shortly after your intrigue is lost and you let it go. But then, every so often, there are those ideas out there that get a hold of you and even when you start to let them go they always come back because there's something to them. That's what this series has been for me and I have spent a great deal of time trying to figure out why. Why does this one keep coming back on me?
It's a good question because I discovered there are endless possible answers to that question. First off, the style of dialogue that is used in this piece successfully goes in two different directions. There is ample banter in this series, which is my favorite style of dialogue (and it's the most prevalent type used between Jake and Taylor's characters). But it's not all banter, it doesn't all go in one direction. And that's something I love in seeing the works of others is when circumstances can change through a particular piece of work and yet the style with which the characters speak in doesn't realistically collapse through that transition. And that's been very important in my organizing the ways in which these main characters speak because the circumstances of their lives change frequently. At the same time, being a comedy, this is not a comedy without soul. By that I mean that this is not one of those freak shows where everyone is just too kooky to be taken seriously as a person. I think of when I see interviews with actors and actresses in films and even in being interviewed independent of the character they play they still take on a fictional persona. Sometimes it's funny but other times it makes one feel like they aren't even really a person, but just a constantly altering artificial personality. In making a cinematic-based piece of work characters like that don't work when you want the comedy to be real and identifiable, even if the circumstances aren't even close to anything the viewer has personally experienced.
I love the story as well, and I'm just glad that me and my friend managed to come together to come up with such an interesting idea that I've been allowed to run with. There have been endless interjections from a variety of different places inserted into this series. Some are things I have personally witnessed or considered. Some parts of it are based from stories others have told me. Some of the material is fresh, things I wrote specifically for this production, and then there are sequences within it that were originally intended for different productions all together but somehow found their way into this series where they fit in so well. There really is a possible beauty in simplicity, and I feel that is being bore out through this production. The overall plot line is simple and can be explained in only a sentence or two. But because of that simplicity there are few restrictions on what can happen in this piece of work. That's enough to get a creative mind going. My eyes went wide when I realized where this production can go. I'm doing my best to hold back from revealing too many aspects of the series because if someone stumbles onto this and wants to see the series a few months from now when it begins posting obviously I don't want you to know everything before you see it. Therefore, in the various blogs I will be posting on here that discuss this new web series will mostly focus on the beginning of the series where all the pieces come together. But yeah, that's something else that really excites me about this production is the simplistic plot and story that allows me to go in a variety of different directions.
I also love the brand of comedy that exists within the piece as a whole. There's lots of crazy things that happen but the style of the series refrains from being just an endless string of dirty jokes (most of those are saved for Jake's best friend - he's a peach). Again, I want there to be a wild a crazy element to the series but I still have the objective of keeping the series grounded. When I think of shows that succeed in that aspect I immediately think of "Arrested Development". Now certainly I'm not calling my still to be shot web series the second coming of "Arrested Development" (that would take a level of conceit that I'm not sure I'd ever be capable of), but anybody who has watched that show will say it's a pretty wild ride. At the same time it's based in reality in so many ways. We have the sometimes plaguing aspects of a once affluent family. We have the frustrations of a son who is working himself to death and going unappreciated for it. There's obviously corporate fraud and corruption, that's a pretty significant aspect of the show. And even the main character, Michael Bluth, is incredibly based on reality. A guy who's so focused on success and being a work horse that he never hears what others around him say and practically drives away any romantic interests he's ever had... that has to sound familiar to at least a few of us. And I just love that aspect of realism that can be taken in so many different directions and be made to look completely absurd. I am hoping to travel in a direction similar to that while producing a series that will be quite different from something like an "Arrested Development".
I do really like the way it all came together as well. It's sometimes a game of "What if?" when you want to create a rather large production and all you have at the start is a shaky plot structure and a few interesting scenes. Sometimes it just goes astray, but this production has really come together. I put together a board, separated into columns to represent the various episodes and then I just made small cards with different scenes and sequences and started organizing them around the board and I was surprised at how quickly everything came together and even segments that I didn't have the slightest clue where to put them in the beginning found themselves into the right place. And even right now there are still ideas coming, which is fun but sometimes stressful, especially when you're trying to find ways to cut other parts down. It's really important when putting together something like a web series, where the episodes alone are incredibly short to make sure what is being expressed is concise without leaving things out or leaving a viewer behind because they can't keep up with how quickly everything is transitions. I think "Scott Pilgrim" is a really good example of a film that moves abruptly and keeps concise without losing anyone. The first time I went to watch it I had no clue what it was going to be about and even with how fast it moves from moment to moment I was able to keep up with everything going on because they had the pacing down. "Arrested Development" works incredibly well that way too (even though I've heard lots of people complain about how they can't keep up with it; but often times those are people who pick up watching the show in the middle of the series).
But most importantly, more than anything, I look at the script, I look at the organization, I visualize the characters and ahead of time I already have a very strong feel as to what this series will look like when it's being shot and how it will look upon completion. In that visualization I see something that will be likeable and entertaining to people of various ages and personality styles. When I finally realized how appealing this series could be and the effect that it could have on others that's when I knew I had to finally make this series a reality. What's the point of making a show if nobody's going to be interested? Why leap into a project and invest so much time in networking for it, shooting it and cutting it all together if throughout the process all you feel is that this is something that, at best, will just be okay? If there's no stimulation and no motivation clear through to the time after the who piece is finished then I have no interest in doing it. I'm sure many artists can identify with that. And that's what really drives me. When I write on it, when I visualize shooting it, I think about how awesome this whole thing is going to look when all is said and done. While it's easy to becoming self-centered and focused in on what you're making being "your" project and "your" art, it's not exactly stimulating, that isolation you feel when it's done because you haven't given anyone else a reason to care about it. And I want people to care. I wouldn't be networking as hard as I am and reaching out for funding if this was something I didn't feel those who are making contributions would be interested in watching when it's all finished up. Regardless of what people may say, creating pieces of art in any medium, they want people to like it when it's done. Every piece of work I've done I think about the response it will receive when it's done, and not will it be positive and ego-boosting, but is what I created something that people will genuinely like and will it spread. There's shows and programs out there that have literally led to the creation of fan clubs and groups where people who never met before have come together and become close friends. Now that may sound a bit lofty coming from a guy who's still seeking out funding for his "little' web series, but that is where much of my drive comes from is inspiring things like that and knowing that my capabilities can be used for creation guided in that direction.
That's why I'm here and that's why I'm doing this. I love it and for the first time in my life I'm in a place that I can't think of doing anything else. And it is my objective in future blogs to not spend quite so much time talking about myself. It gets annoying. :)
Wish me luck and please make a contribution to my series if you can. Any amount is accepted and appreciated! Thank you!
INDIEGOGO LINK: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/is-she-isn-t-she/x/1211654
I am currently spending hours a day networking in addition to continuing to organize and make sure the structure of my web series production is solidified in the direction that it will be best to go in. I've spent hours alone organizing segments and sequences and then reorganizing them when it appears that something is a little out of its element. Along with that I am spreading the word and bringing people on-board to actually work on this production. It's definitely not about just raising funds and, as with anyone else, I wish that part was simple. I wish the money could just show up but our world doesn't function that way. The only reason I am networking to the degree that I am is to make the production itself appealing and desired for those who will be working with me on it. I love doing this so I don't need to be paid for my efforts. And after all, I have made the choice to take this production on so any exhaustion or labor I put into it I am putting in by choice to make this work happen. It's another thing all together when others are willing to hop on board with you and give you their time to make a production a reality. And a good many of these people are willing to work for free because they love it that much. But I don't want to be asking people to work for free, unless they're just lending a hand for a couple hours or something brief and courteous such as that.
I have watch web series, I have seen some that have even been produced in Portland and the style of them varies greatly from absurdity to pieces that are based almost exclusively on reality. And I would put my series somewhere right in the middle, which is where I really want it to be. The way I look at it is visual mediums be they film, television, internet-focused production find greatness very much in the common ground of dualisms. By that what I mean is finding a place between two extremes. As far as the feel of a production goes you can be way over the top and playing everything to the extreme to a point that the work's artificiality it blatantly noticeable again and again. One of my favorite examples of this is the film "Armageddon", which was made during a period that a lot of over the top action films were being produced. But "Armageddon" is one of my favorite examples because the levels of absurdity are so high. Every thing that possibly could go wrong does. And about every five minutes there comes another line of dialogue that is just above and beyond what someone would really say. It's obnoxious to the point of being distracting. On the other hand, you can become so focused on making a piece of work based in reality that it becomes far too realistic. The problem of becoming too realistic, and a lot of indie films go this way, is you get lost in the fact that we as people waste a lot of time doing things that aren't very interesting. So when we see our lives being presented overly realistic it gets boring very quickly. And that's why a lot of indie films tend to be boring and drag on when they're too focused on being exclusively realistic. The best place to be is right in between those two somewhere so you have elements of realism to your story and the characters you wish to portray. But at the same time there is a sense of excitement and entertainment infused into the lives of these characters so that we don't get bored with them after five minutes.
I've been drawn back into this particular production that again has been in the works for over three years now. Any of us drawn to a particular art form no matter what it is knows that the ideas come and go. And there are really three types of ideas I've found, and two of them are good. There's the ideas that are so amazing you know immediately that you have to make it happen. Then there's the polar opposite, which is an idea comes and shortly after your intrigue is lost and you let it go. But then, every so often, there are those ideas out there that get a hold of you and even when you start to let them go they always come back because there's something to them. That's what this series has been for me and I have spent a great deal of time trying to figure out why. Why does this one keep coming back on me?
It's a good question because I discovered there are endless possible answers to that question. First off, the style of dialogue that is used in this piece successfully goes in two different directions. There is ample banter in this series, which is my favorite style of dialogue (and it's the most prevalent type used between Jake and Taylor's characters). But it's not all banter, it doesn't all go in one direction. And that's something I love in seeing the works of others is when circumstances can change through a particular piece of work and yet the style with which the characters speak in doesn't realistically collapse through that transition. And that's been very important in my organizing the ways in which these main characters speak because the circumstances of their lives change frequently. At the same time, being a comedy, this is not a comedy without soul. By that I mean that this is not one of those freak shows where everyone is just too kooky to be taken seriously as a person. I think of when I see interviews with actors and actresses in films and even in being interviewed independent of the character they play they still take on a fictional persona. Sometimes it's funny but other times it makes one feel like they aren't even really a person, but just a constantly altering artificial personality. In making a cinematic-based piece of work characters like that don't work when you want the comedy to be real and identifiable, even if the circumstances aren't even close to anything the viewer has personally experienced.
I love the story as well, and I'm just glad that me and my friend managed to come together to come up with such an interesting idea that I've been allowed to run with. There have been endless interjections from a variety of different places inserted into this series. Some are things I have personally witnessed or considered. Some parts of it are based from stories others have told me. Some of the material is fresh, things I wrote specifically for this production, and then there are sequences within it that were originally intended for different productions all together but somehow found their way into this series where they fit in so well. There really is a possible beauty in simplicity, and I feel that is being bore out through this production. The overall plot line is simple and can be explained in only a sentence or two. But because of that simplicity there are few restrictions on what can happen in this piece of work. That's enough to get a creative mind going. My eyes went wide when I realized where this production can go. I'm doing my best to hold back from revealing too many aspects of the series because if someone stumbles onto this and wants to see the series a few months from now when it begins posting obviously I don't want you to know everything before you see it. Therefore, in the various blogs I will be posting on here that discuss this new web series will mostly focus on the beginning of the series where all the pieces come together. But yeah, that's something else that really excites me about this production is the simplistic plot and story that allows me to go in a variety of different directions.
I also love the brand of comedy that exists within the piece as a whole. There's lots of crazy things that happen but the style of the series refrains from being just an endless string of dirty jokes (most of those are saved for Jake's best friend - he's a peach). Again, I want there to be a wild a crazy element to the series but I still have the objective of keeping the series grounded. When I think of shows that succeed in that aspect I immediately think of "Arrested Development". Now certainly I'm not calling my still to be shot web series the second coming of "Arrested Development" (that would take a level of conceit that I'm not sure I'd ever be capable of), but anybody who has watched that show will say it's a pretty wild ride. At the same time it's based in reality in so many ways. We have the sometimes plaguing aspects of a once affluent family. We have the frustrations of a son who is working himself to death and going unappreciated for it. There's obviously corporate fraud and corruption, that's a pretty significant aspect of the show. And even the main character, Michael Bluth, is incredibly based on reality. A guy who's so focused on success and being a work horse that he never hears what others around him say and practically drives away any romantic interests he's ever had... that has to sound familiar to at least a few of us. And I just love that aspect of realism that can be taken in so many different directions and be made to look completely absurd. I am hoping to travel in a direction similar to that while producing a series that will be quite different from something like an "Arrested Development".
I do really like the way it all came together as well. It's sometimes a game of "What if?" when you want to create a rather large production and all you have at the start is a shaky plot structure and a few interesting scenes. Sometimes it just goes astray, but this production has really come together. I put together a board, separated into columns to represent the various episodes and then I just made small cards with different scenes and sequences and started organizing them around the board and I was surprised at how quickly everything came together and even segments that I didn't have the slightest clue where to put them in the beginning found themselves into the right place. And even right now there are still ideas coming, which is fun but sometimes stressful, especially when you're trying to find ways to cut other parts down. It's really important when putting together something like a web series, where the episodes alone are incredibly short to make sure what is being expressed is concise without leaving things out or leaving a viewer behind because they can't keep up with how quickly everything is transitions. I think "Scott Pilgrim" is a really good example of a film that moves abruptly and keeps concise without losing anyone. The first time I went to watch it I had no clue what it was going to be about and even with how fast it moves from moment to moment I was able to keep up with everything going on because they had the pacing down. "Arrested Development" works incredibly well that way too (even though I've heard lots of people complain about how they can't keep up with it; but often times those are people who pick up watching the show in the middle of the series).
But most importantly, more than anything, I look at the script, I look at the organization, I visualize the characters and ahead of time I already have a very strong feel as to what this series will look like when it's being shot and how it will look upon completion. In that visualization I see something that will be likeable and entertaining to people of various ages and personality styles. When I finally realized how appealing this series could be and the effect that it could have on others that's when I knew I had to finally make this series a reality. What's the point of making a show if nobody's going to be interested? Why leap into a project and invest so much time in networking for it, shooting it and cutting it all together if throughout the process all you feel is that this is something that, at best, will just be okay? If there's no stimulation and no motivation clear through to the time after the who piece is finished then I have no interest in doing it. I'm sure many artists can identify with that. And that's what really drives me. When I write on it, when I visualize shooting it, I think about how awesome this whole thing is going to look when all is said and done. While it's easy to becoming self-centered and focused in on what you're making being "your" project and "your" art, it's not exactly stimulating, that isolation you feel when it's done because you haven't given anyone else a reason to care about it. And I want people to care. I wouldn't be networking as hard as I am and reaching out for funding if this was something I didn't feel those who are making contributions would be interested in watching when it's all finished up. Regardless of what people may say, creating pieces of art in any medium, they want people to like it when it's done. Every piece of work I've done I think about the response it will receive when it's done, and not will it be positive and ego-boosting, but is what I created something that people will genuinely like and will it spread. There's shows and programs out there that have literally led to the creation of fan clubs and groups where people who never met before have come together and become close friends. Now that may sound a bit lofty coming from a guy who's still seeking out funding for his "little' web series, but that is where much of my drive comes from is inspiring things like that and knowing that my capabilities can be used for creation guided in that direction.
That's why I'm here and that's why I'm doing this. I love it and for the first time in my life I'm in a place that I can't think of doing anything else. And it is my objective in future blogs to not spend quite so much time talking about myself. It gets annoying. :)
Wish me luck and please make a contribution to my series if you can. Any amount is accepted and appreciated! Thank you!
INDIEGOGO LINK: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/is-she-isn-t-she/x/1211654
Link: A More In-Depth Intro for My Web Series
The link above here is to a little rambling vlog session I had last night going into a little deeper detail on my new web series. Posting on Indiegogo you have to remember to be quick and to the point with things to keep people from falling asleep. But here I had a chance to just ramble on so if you really want a deep intro into the whole thing and see where it's going this is the place to check. It's around 20 minutes to complete understanding if you don't make it all the way through. Sometimes I get long-winded... I inherited that from my dad. :) Enjoy and support the art!
The Funding for My Web Series Has Begun - An Intro
Good day everyone!
The nuisance train has officially left the station! And I apologize up front if there are a few spelling and grammatical errors in here, but I wrote this out fast in a heap of adrenaline. Earlier today I officially started my Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for a web series I will be producing starting later this January titled “Is She, Isn’t She”. Trust me, you’ll get used to that title as I will likely be posting on it quite frequently in my efforts to network to raise funding for a project that I really think is worthwhile.
My objective at this time is to raise $1,500 in 45 days (which is when the campaign will end). Now obviously, if you know me closely, you don’t necessarily have to bother with going onto the Indiegogo website if you’re interested in making a contribution. We can just do that in person. Even if I don’t reach my goal on the site I still receive whatever money I raise so I’m not super concerned about making sure everyone who makes a contribution does it through that site. And I know I have lots of friends and film colleagues out there who hopefully can contribute in their own little ways. As a man who knows life being poor, a contribution of any amount will be incredibly appreciated by me as I move forward with this project. If you are interested in making a contribution you can access my Indiegogo page at: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/is-she-isn-t-she/x/1211654. There you can see what the project’s all about, get a better feel of what the storyline is before you start thinking about giving towards it. And, as you will see, I have a collection of possible perks you can receive as a result of making a contribution and most of them are very affordable. These perks include getting a copy of the whole series once it’s complete for a $20 contribution, and then for a $25 contribution you can get the Special Edition version of the series, which will include all of those bonus features we all love so much and can’t live without.
Now I should probably make it known now that I may become a bit of a nuisance over these next couple of weeks as I do my best to collect funding to make this production a reality. It’s something that has been nearly three years in the making and I am finally in a good place to put it all together so I am going to be relentless about funding. I have made donations to other people’s Kickstarter and Indiegogo accounts in the past and it really does create a sense of connection when you’re part of the filmmaking community wherever you live. And I love the fact that that exists and that we’re all somewhat interconnected with those we’ve worked with and respect in the film world and we’re always helping one another not because we feel we’ll get some special treatment for it later on, but because we just love doing it. And having worked diligently, especially over the last two weeks getting the script for this piece all organized and closer to its final place I become more and more excited every day for what this can be like. And I’m hoping some of my fellow filmmaking and acting friends will like to get involved with it in some form or another. There’s only a few major rolls but lots of small character roles to fill at the same time. And of course I will need some crew assistance as well, but nothing too extreme (too much crew tends to just create anarchy). But yes, you will be seeing lots of writing on “Is She, Isn’t She” on here over the next few weeks. That’s just what it takes and I’ve already put so much working into this project as of now that the last thing I plan on doing is slowing down and taking a rest. Those who know me well know how ridiculous my metabolism is and that I don’t like to linger around for too long. So I will be keeping happily busy.
After that rather lengthy rambling session, let me briefly lay out what this web series is going to revolve around, cause that’s what everyone’s really interested in. If I’m going to do a film advocating animal violence you’d all want to know that right away so you could tell me what a psychopath I am. But fortunately, my web series is going to be much more down to Earth than that... well, in a way. The title “Is She, Isn’t She” refers to the third most significant character, a quirky, bright and spontaneous gem of a girl named Cary. Cary becomes the center of attention for young Jake, who cannot seem to make anything with girls work and sports the dubious record of never managing to score second dates with women. But in meeting Cary he finds someone that he actually connects with right out of the gate. Then he takes her home and she meets Jake’s roommate, Taylor. Taylor is quite the opposite from Jake in that she has no problem getting girls... oh, right. She’s a lesbian. And upon meeting Cary she too becomes enamored of her right away, and the love battle begins. Instead of posing the simple question to Cary: “Who do you like? Men or women?” They decide to engage in competition for Cary’s attention, a competition that builds and builds and builds leading to arguments, misunderstandings, spoiled dinner experiences, and hey, even a little bit of infidelity. Needless to say at this point, the focus of this web series will be of the comedic value. And those of you that know me know that I have a rather dry, sometimes intriguing sense of humor.
But don’t me misled into thinking this is just going to be another meandering piece of comedic work that is simply a mess of jokes and off-and-on sight gags to keep people entertained for a few minutes. This series is going to be stocked! I’ve had to spend several hours just the past few days trying to think of what to cut because there’s just too much material for a short web series. And for this series I will be incorporating various styles of comedy, not just one, so the feel and the flow of the piece will remain consistence but not get drowned in redundant overused comedic elements. There will be dialogical comedy (which in and of itself will be filled with individual social commentary on subjects such as love, relationships and, of course, homosexuality and the relationships between the sexes), and there will obviously be physical comedy. The physical comedy will be of all various styles from borderline slapstick moments to more realistic moments such as getting smacked in the face by a girl you had a horrible date with after she discovers you just slept with her roommate. .......In case you’re now curious, yes that does happen in this series. And every character has meaning and a feel, even if it’s primarily through their corroboration with others. There are only a handful or main and reoccurring characters, but even the small roles are memorable and serve a specific purpose whenever their scenes occur. One element of small roles in the film is constant flashbacks we have on horrible dates that Jake has gone on that help develop a better understanding as to how bad his dating life had been (and sometimes how horrible he is at picking out the right type of girl to date). So this series i going to be in-depth and one of my deepest focuses is to prevent the series from every getting lost or hitting a low point, even if it’s only a minute or two, because it’s a web series! You only have 10 minutes or so an episode to keep viewers entertained. I want this to keep everyone’s attention from the opening moments of the first episode until that last shot from the final episode fades into the credits and you have to sit back and take in all the insanity that you’ve just witnessed. Obviously I want that moment of reflection to be a positive one. I want people to walk away from viewing this series with one objective, and that is to turn right around and watch it again. I have friends who see a video and the first thing they do is send it out to other friends or have a friend come over so they can watch it together because it’s really that entertaining. That’s what I want from this series. It’s what Paul Schrader (film historian/critic and the screenwriter of “Taxi Driver”) refers to as “rewatchability” I believe, which means just what it sounds like. Is it something people will see and want to see again?
But look at me, I’m getting ahead of myself in thinking about how everything will be in the end. Right now it’s first things first, and that is getting this wild ride funded so it functions more like a wild ride and not that little rusted out kiddy ride that breaks down every couple of weeks. So I’m just here to let you all know that my Indiegogo campaign is up and going and I hope what you have read here will inspire you to go take a look at my page. It won’t take very look to take a glance and making a contribution literally takes seconds (who woulda thought? when it comes to taking someone’s money the system works fast). So hopefully as many people as possible have either read to this point because they’re intentionally here, or, if I’m that lucky, you’ve stumbled onto here and kept reading, and you’ll go take a gander at my campaign page. Either way, thank you so much for making it this far and even if you can’t make a financial contribution at this time get the word around, because I’m sure there’s lots of people out there that will be interested in this series. They just need to hear about it first.
Again, the link to my campaign is:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/is-she-isn-t-she/x/1211654
Thanks again and wish me luck!
Steve Poole
The nuisance train has officially left the station! And I apologize up front if there are a few spelling and grammatical errors in here, but I wrote this out fast in a heap of adrenaline. Earlier today I officially started my Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for a web series I will be producing starting later this January titled “Is She, Isn’t She”. Trust me, you’ll get used to that title as I will likely be posting on it quite frequently in my efforts to network to raise funding for a project that I really think is worthwhile.
My objective at this time is to raise $1,500 in 45 days (which is when the campaign will end). Now obviously, if you know me closely, you don’t necessarily have to bother with going onto the Indiegogo website if you’re interested in making a contribution. We can just do that in person. Even if I don’t reach my goal on the site I still receive whatever money I raise so I’m not super concerned about making sure everyone who makes a contribution does it through that site. And I know I have lots of friends and film colleagues out there who hopefully can contribute in their own little ways. As a man who knows life being poor, a contribution of any amount will be incredibly appreciated by me as I move forward with this project. If you are interested in making a contribution you can access my Indiegogo page at: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/is-she-isn-t-she/x/1211654. There you can see what the project’s all about, get a better feel of what the storyline is before you start thinking about giving towards it. And, as you will see, I have a collection of possible perks you can receive as a result of making a contribution and most of them are very affordable. These perks include getting a copy of the whole series once it’s complete for a $20 contribution, and then for a $25 contribution you can get the Special Edition version of the series, which will include all of those bonus features we all love so much and can’t live without.
Now I should probably make it known now that I may become a bit of a nuisance over these next couple of weeks as I do my best to collect funding to make this production a reality. It’s something that has been nearly three years in the making and I am finally in a good place to put it all together so I am going to be relentless about funding. I have made donations to other people’s Kickstarter and Indiegogo accounts in the past and it really does create a sense of connection when you’re part of the filmmaking community wherever you live. And I love the fact that that exists and that we’re all somewhat interconnected with those we’ve worked with and respect in the film world and we’re always helping one another not because we feel we’ll get some special treatment for it later on, but because we just love doing it. And having worked diligently, especially over the last two weeks getting the script for this piece all organized and closer to its final place I become more and more excited every day for what this can be like. And I’m hoping some of my fellow filmmaking and acting friends will like to get involved with it in some form or another. There’s only a few major rolls but lots of small character roles to fill at the same time. And of course I will need some crew assistance as well, but nothing too extreme (too much crew tends to just create anarchy). But yes, you will be seeing lots of writing on “Is She, Isn’t She” on here over the next few weeks. That’s just what it takes and I’ve already put so much working into this project as of now that the last thing I plan on doing is slowing down and taking a rest. Those who know me well know how ridiculous my metabolism is and that I don’t like to linger around for too long. So I will be keeping happily busy.
After that rather lengthy rambling session, let me briefly lay out what this web series is going to revolve around, cause that’s what everyone’s really interested in. If I’m going to do a film advocating animal violence you’d all want to know that right away so you could tell me what a psychopath I am. But fortunately, my web series is going to be much more down to Earth than that... well, in a way. The title “Is She, Isn’t She” refers to the third most significant character, a quirky, bright and spontaneous gem of a girl named Cary. Cary becomes the center of attention for young Jake, who cannot seem to make anything with girls work and sports the dubious record of never managing to score second dates with women. But in meeting Cary he finds someone that he actually connects with right out of the gate. Then he takes her home and she meets Jake’s roommate, Taylor. Taylor is quite the opposite from Jake in that she has no problem getting girls... oh, right. She’s a lesbian. And upon meeting Cary she too becomes enamored of her right away, and the love battle begins. Instead of posing the simple question to Cary: “Who do you like? Men or women?” They decide to engage in competition for Cary’s attention, a competition that builds and builds and builds leading to arguments, misunderstandings, spoiled dinner experiences, and hey, even a little bit of infidelity. Needless to say at this point, the focus of this web series will be of the comedic value. And those of you that know me know that I have a rather dry, sometimes intriguing sense of humor.
But don’t me misled into thinking this is just going to be another meandering piece of comedic work that is simply a mess of jokes and off-and-on sight gags to keep people entertained for a few minutes. This series is going to be stocked! I’ve had to spend several hours just the past few days trying to think of what to cut because there’s just too much material for a short web series. And for this series I will be incorporating various styles of comedy, not just one, so the feel and the flow of the piece will remain consistence but not get drowned in redundant overused comedic elements. There will be dialogical comedy (which in and of itself will be filled with individual social commentary on subjects such as love, relationships and, of course, homosexuality and the relationships between the sexes), and there will obviously be physical comedy. The physical comedy will be of all various styles from borderline slapstick moments to more realistic moments such as getting smacked in the face by a girl you had a horrible date with after she discovers you just slept with her roommate. .......In case you’re now curious, yes that does happen in this series. And every character has meaning and a feel, even if it’s primarily through their corroboration with others. There are only a handful or main and reoccurring characters, but even the small roles are memorable and serve a specific purpose whenever their scenes occur. One element of small roles in the film is constant flashbacks we have on horrible dates that Jake has gone on that help develop a better understanding as to how bad his dating life had been (and sometimes how horrible he is at picking out the right type of girl to date). So this series i going to be in-depth and one of my deepest focuses is to prevent the series from every getting lost or hitting a low point, even if it’s only a minute or two, because it’s a web series! You only have 10 minutes or so an episode to keep viewers entertained. I want this to keep everyone’s attention from the opening moments of the first episode until that last shot from the final episode fades into the credits and you have to sit back and take in all the insanity that you’ve just witnessed. Obviously I want that moment of reflection to be a positive one. I want people to walk away from viewing this series with one objective, and that is to turn right around and watch it again. I have friends who see a video and the first thing they do is send it out to other friends or have a friend come over so they can watch it together because it’s really that entertaining. That’s what I want from this series. It’s what Paul Schrader (film historian/critic and the screenwriter of “Taxi Driver”) refers to as “rewatchability” I believe, which means just what it sounds like. Is it something people will see and want to see again?
But look at me, I’m getting ahead of myself in thinking about how everything will be in the end. Right now it’s first things first, and that is getting this wild ride funded so it functions more like a wild ride and not that little rusted out kiddy ride that breaks down every couple of weeks. So I’m just here to let you all know that my Indiegogo campaign is up and going and I hope what you have read here will inspire you to go take a look at my page. It won’t take very look to take a glance and making a contribution literally takes seconds (who woulda thought? when it comes to taking someone’s money the system works fast). So hopefully as many people as possible have either read to this point because they’re intentionally here, or, if I’m that lucky, you’ve stumbled onto here and kept reading, and you’ll go take a gander at my campaign page. Either way, thank you so much for making it this far and even if you can’t make a financial contribution at this time get the word around, because I’m sure there’s lots of people out there that will be interested in this series. They just need to hear about it first.
Again, the link to my campaign is:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/is-she-isn-t-she/x/1211654
Thanks again and wish me luck!
Steve Poole
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
WEB SERIES CAMPAIGN STARTS TOMORROW!
All right everyone, going into the final stages before I launch my Indiegogo account for my upcoming web series that I will be starting here in January (approximately six weeks from now). Until then it will all be about refining the script, organizing cast and crew and, of course, networking like a lunatic. And I know I get some traffic here. I am a writer in addition to being a filmmaker. It too is one of my favorite outlets, which might be why when I write on here I tend to be a little long-winded. But that's just me, and yet I'm putting together a web series (a genre of visual entertainment with a focus in short episodes and moving with a flow from one event to another).
So obviously there will be a lost of posts pertaining to this production over the next couple of months as I try and obtain funding towards the production, but that won't be everything I write. Often when it comes to blogging I am very spontaneous. I see something or am reminded of something and suddenly I have a whole subject to write on. And not everything I wrote on this project is going to be that repetition of, "Please give me funding... please give me funding". I am looking to do that and obviously will be asking because I'm only trying to raise $1,500 in the next six weeks. But I will be making an effort to discuss updates in the project and delving into details as far as the story structure and the plot so anyone on here will know what the project is actually about. I'm even writing up a rather lengthy piece that revolves around the whole project (something of a "making of" type scenario but typed out). It delves into where that first inspiration began and continues up until now as I find myself going into the final stages of perfecting the script and making this cinematic experience come to life. I will be offering a copy of that to anyone who makes a $5 contribution or more so that everyone who even throws in just a few bucks really knows where their money is going towards. And I have discussed the overall concept of the piece in recent blogs on here, so if you want to take a glance back you'll be able to check and see for yourself.
But that's really about it. Tomorrow is just another beginning. I'll be up super early to put my Indiegogo campaign to work and hopefully all my hard work and networking will pay off. You'll know when, a few months from now, you turn on YouTube and stumble across and episode from my series and find yourself sucked in that it was definitely worth your while. Trying to make $1,500 in 45 days leaves my at a goal of $33 a day so honestly every dollar really counts. Hopefully there are some enthusiastic supporters of film and young independent members of the cinematic world who have some change lying around that they can toss into this work. It most definitely shall be appreciated.
And rest assured, I shall be back on here tomorrow, probably to chat up on this project a little more. But till then, these fingers are finally getting tired, and thus I bid you all a fond good evening.
So obviously there will be a lost of posts pertaining to this production over the next couple of months as I try and obtain funding towards the production, but that won't be everything I write. Often when it comes to blogging I am very spontaneous. I see something or am reminded of something and suddenly I have a whole subject to write on. And not everything I wrote on this project is going to be that repetition of, "Please give me funding... please give me funding". I am looking to do that and obviously will be asking because I'm only trying to raise $1,500 in the next six weeks. But I will be making an effort to discuss updates in the project and delving into details as far as the story structure and the plot so anyone on here will know what the project is actually about. I'm even writing up a rather lengthy piece that revolves around the whole project (something of a "making of" type scenario but typed out). It delves into where that first inspiration began and continues up until now as I find myself going into the final stages of perfecting the script and making this cinematic experience come to life. I will be offering a copy of that to anyone who makes a $5 contribution or more so that everyone who even throws in just a few bucks really knows where their money is going towards. And I have discussed the overall concept of the piece in recent blogs on here, so if you want to take a glance back you'll be able to check and see for yourself.
But that's really about it. Tomorrow is just another beginning. I'll be up super early to put my Indiegogo campaign to work and hopefully all my hard work and networking will pay off. You'll know when, a few months from now, you turn on YouTube and stumble across and episode from my series and find yourself sucked in that it was definitely worth your while. Trying to make $1,500 in 45 days leaves my at a goal of $33 a day so honestly every dollar really counts. Hopefully there are some enthusiastic supporters of film and young independent members of the cinematic world who have some change lying around that they can toss into this work. It most definitely shall be appreciated.
And rest assured, I shall be back on here tomorrow, probably to chat up on this project a little more. But till then, these fingers are finally getting tired, and thus I bid you all a fond good evening.
Monday, December 9, 2013
MY NEXT BIG PROJECT - LOOKING FOR FUNDING!!!
Greetings all!
It has been a busy past couple of weeks as I transition from the completion of one film project into the preparations for my next big project, which is partially why I haven't been posting too much blog material recently. But I believe that is about to change.
For my next piece of film work I am diving into the web series universe. Yeah, I know, everyone has taken their shot at that, but unfortunately so many of these series that come out are done with their eye on the prize without knowing how they'll get there. So sadly their series' meander and wander about without any real transition or deviation from what was funny in their first episode. It's particularly sad when a series can't even make it to a ten episode season because their project has such little substance. And it's hard, it really is. Coming up with an idea that is sustainable is a very difficult premise. When we look at a show like "How I Met Your Mother", which has powered through nine seasons it's not hard to understand why the premise has worked for so long. The premise is wide open and allows for so many possibilities, and thus the show seldom gets stuck in something that already happened (I say seldom because yes, they do slip into that from time to time). But lots of shows create a premise that either doesn't have the depth to last long term or it's just a premise that is either overused or not interesting and so after one episode people can look at the series and know in their own minds that there isn't going to be a whole lot more than what they just saw.
It's my objective to establish that premise for a series that is open like "HIMYM" and thus there can even be an episode or two that deviates from the focal structure of the piece and still fits. Now my storyline has been in the works for over three years and originally just started as a random film idea I came up with along with a close friend of mine. We developed just enough of it together that I was able to step away and continue working the piece together myself. And somewhere along the line I recognized that the piece as a whole was coming together in sections, which helped me to realize that it would be perfect for an online web series. And it's only expanded from there.
The overarching focus of the piece is relatively simple, against allowing for a vast string of possibilities to occur (this is intended to be a driven comedy piece of work). The story follows roommates Jake and Taylor. Jake is the polar opposite of a lady killer. In fact, what makes him most unique is his inability to obtain a second date with any girl. Taylor is his lesbian roommate, who has no problem attracting women. They are polar opposites, which makes them work together so well. But everything changes when Jake comes home rambling about an amazing girl named Cary that he just met. Taylor is skeptical, until she meets Cary and discovers she is interested in her as well. And so begins the rivalry between the two. We see things escalate from merely backstabbing to spy stings, infidelity, sabotaged dinner dates, the works! Things just continue to escalate because neither Jake or Taylor has the nerve to ask that one fundamental question: Cary, do you like men or women?
I have come up with such a plethora of ideas that I've recently had to go through the sometimes painful process of deleting ideas from the production so as to keep it from becoming overlong. But on the flip side, that can be seen as a positive in that I have no loss of ideas and directives for this piece. Currently I am looking to begin production in the middle of January. Right now I'm just completing organization of the script for these various episodes. My next step will be bringing in the talent for the characters and bringing in crew members. But I know better than to try and bring these folks on too early, because you bring someone on several weeks early and tell them, "I'll let you know when we're ready to go," they obviously don't just wait around for me. They go and see whatever projects they can work on, and sometimes that leads to them making other commitments that force them to break the one's with me. So it is important to pick and choose your moments for bringing cast and crew on for a project that is still a little ways in the future.
I am also, and this is most important for me right now, I am opening an Indiegogo campaign in order to raise funds for the production. For something as significant as a 10-12 episode web series there is going to be a good deal of work and a nice collection of shooting days and I obviously cannot expect my talent to work for free through that. So my primary objective in raising funds is so as to compensate those who are giving their time and talents to me. There will also be other costs such as providing food to cast and crew. I want to be able to reimburse those involved for transportation cost and obviously there will be set, prop and location costs to consider as well. As of now I am hoping to raise $1,500 and hopefully more if possible. I am probably less than 24 hours from launching this campaign and I will be providing further information on it in blogs in the immediate future because I would love any contributions I can get. Even a dollar helps, and I really mean that! I know everyone says it, but being a filmmaker who knows how it feels to save up coins and make sacrifices all around to make sure a project gets done and done right I appreciate contributions from anyone no matter how small. And with an objective of $1,500 it sounds like a high number on its own, but if I can get a $5.00 donation from 300 people then I've already reached my goal. And of course I will be putting as much of my own money as I can in this production. I've even asked everyone close to me to, instead of buying me Christmas presents, to take whatever money they would have spent and to put it towards this production. I can't think of anything else that would be a greater present for me! And it's my hopes that anyone who reads my blogs and can see the love and talent I have for film can make a small contribution in any way towards this production. It's going to be hilarious and a great production experience. And again, I will be making updates on here in future blogs over the next several weeks that will provide more information on the project and information on how to access my Indiegogo account. Making contributions through there is very simple.
So as I begin to launch this thing and get it going I ask you all to wish me luck! It's going to take a lot of work, but I want to do this project so back and I know that when it's done it's going to be something that everyone will love!
Thanks all! Back to networking!!!
It has been a busy past couple of weeks as I transition from the completion of one film project into the preparations for my next big project, which is partially why I haven't been posting too much blog material recently. But I believe that is about to change.
For my next piece of film work I am diving into the web series universe. Yeah, I know, everyone has taken their shot at that, but unfortunately so many of these series that come out are done with their eye on the prize without knowing how they'll get there. So sadly their series' meander and wander about without any real transition or deviation from what was funny in their first episode. It's particularly sad when a series can't even make it to a ten episode season because their project has such little substance. And it's hard, it really is. Coming up with an idea that is sustainable is a very difficult premise. When we look at a show like "How I Met Your Mother", which has powered through nine seasons it's not hard to understand why the premise has worked for so long. The premise is wide open and allows for so many possibilities, and thus the show seldom gets stuck in something that already happened (I say seldom because yes, they do slip into that from time to time). But lots of shows create a premise that either doesn't have the depth to last long term or it's just a premise that is either overused or not interesting and so after one episode people can look at the series and know in their own minds that there isn't going to be a whole lot more than what they just saw.
It's my objective to establish that premise for a series that is open like "HIMYM" and thus there can even be an episode or two that deviates from the focal structure of the piece and still fits. Now my storyline has been in the works for over three years and originally just started as a random film idea I came up with along with a close friend of mine. We developed just enough of it together that I was able to step away and continue working the piece together myself. And somewhere along the line I recognized that the piece as a whole was coming together in sections, which helped me to realize that it would be perfect for an online web series. And it's only expanded from there.
The overarching focus of the piece is relatively simple, against allowing for a vast string of possibilities to occur (this is intended to be a driven comedy piece of work). The story follows roommates Jake and Taylor. Jake is the polar opposite of a lady killer. In fact, what makes him most unique is his inability to obtain a second date with any girl. Taylor is his lesbian roommate, who has no problem attracting women. They are polar opposites, which makes them work together so well. But everything changes when Jake comes home rambling about an amazing girl named Cary that he just met. Taylor is skeptical, until she meets Cary and discovers she is interested in her as well. And so begins the rivalry between the two. We see things escalate from merely backstabbing to spy stings, infidelity, sabotaged dinner dates, the works! Things just continue to escalate because neither Jake or Taylor has the nerve to ask that one fundamental question: Cary, do you like men or women?
I have come up with such a plethora of ideas that I've recently had to go through the sometimes painful process of deleting ideas from the production so as to keep it from becoming overlong. But on the flip side, that can be seen as a positive in that I have no loss of ideas and directives for this piece. Currently I am looking to begin production in the middle of January. Right now I'm just completing organization of the script for these various episodes. My next step will be bringing in the talent for the characters and bringing in crew members. But I know better than to try and bring these folks on too early, because you bring someone on several weeks early and tell them, "I'll let you know when we're ready to go," they obviously don't just wait around for me. They go and see whatever projects they can work on, and sometimes that leads to them making other commitments that force them to break the one's with me. So it is important to pick and choose your moments for bringing cast and crew on for a project that is still a little ways in the future.
I am also, and this is most important for me right now, I am opening an Indiegogo campaign in order to raise funds for the production. For something as significant as a 10-12 episode web series there is going to be a good deal of work and a nice collection of shooting days and I obviously cannot expect my talent to work for free through that. So my primary objective in raising funds is so as to compensate those who are giving their time and talents to me. There will also be other costs such as providing food to cast and crew. I want to be able to reimburse those involved for transportation cost and obviously there will be set, prop and location costs to consider as well. As of now I am hoping to raise $1,500 and hopefully more if possible. I am probably less than 24 hours from launching this campaign and I will be providing further information on it in blogs in the immediate future because I would love any contributions I can get. Even a dollar helps, and I really mean that! I know everyone says it, but being a filmmaker who knows how it feels to save up coins and make sacrifices all around to make sure a project gets done and done right I appreciate contributions from anyone no matter how small. And with an objective of $1,500 it sounds like a high number on its own, but if I can get a $5.00 donation from 300 people then I've already reached my goal. And of course I will be putting as much of my own money as I can in this production. I've even asked everyone close to me to, instead of buying me Christmas presents, to take whatever money they would have spent and to put it towards this production. I can't think of anything else that would be a greater present for me! And it's my hopes that anyone who reads my blogs and can see the love and talent I have for film can make a small contribution in any way towards this production. It's going to be hilarious and a great production experience. And again, I will be making updates on here in future blogs over the next several weeks that will provide more information on the project and information on how to access my Indiegogo account. Making contributions through there is very simple.
So as I begin to launch this thing and get it going I ask you all to wish me luck! It's going to take a lot of work, but I want to do this project so back and I know that when it's done it's going to be something that everyone will love!
Thanks all! Back to networking!!!
Monday, December 2, 2013
The Power of Humanity in Film
I hate horror/slasher films. There, I said it. I know. How could I? They’re so amazing, right? Yeeeeeah, no they’re really not. There hasn’t been a remotely borderline original horror film in at least twenty years. And now before moving on, I’m not so anti horror film as much as I am anti-slasher film. And I have such hatred of them for more or less the same reasons that most others who hate them do. It’s because they devalue human life. The creators of these unoriginal, low budget, low quality mishmashes of cinematic feces, choking us to death in the burning hot summer sun go to great lengths, for purely financial reasons, to show as many people dying in as graphic of ways as possible. There is no mode of graphic violence that these select filmmakers won’t go to anymore and the next filmmaker is only looking for ways to top the brutality of what was created before. We’ll crush people with 1,000 pound rocks, we’ll gouge people to death with a wall cluttered with sharp blades, we’ll saw someone until they look like a crushed tomato, we’ll rush them through wood chippers, we’ll show them decapitated, castrated, mutilated and shattered to the point of near non-existence like a chunk of wood charred by fire and left as nothing more than black soot and ashes when all is said and done. It’s astounding to me that people find entertainment in this venue of filmmaking. Again, I can at least understand the intrigue of the more suspenseful horror style films in that their intention is to keep you on your seats and to leave you boggled as to what will happen next. At least there is so creativity lodged in there somewhere, but these slasher films have no story, and why should they? The story doesn’t matter. It’s the shock value that matters.
Now I don’t critique the way these films make little significance out of human existence because I’m some bleeding heart, nor do I attribute myself to some social standing wherein I think these graphically violent films will lead people to go out and do exactly what they see on the screen. It takes an already demented mind to take action like that, and even then, the violence they see serves as nothing more than a potential catalyst for their actions. I’m not about all of that, I don’t have some ulterior motive or biased perspective. I simply despise these films because they shit on humanity and that is total bullshit! That’s more or less it. But still, every film class I take, there’s some 25 to 30 students in there and the first day of class we go around introducing ourselves and telling the class what our favorite movie is or at least our favorite style of movie. And every class, no matter the focus, 20 of those people say not only do they love horror/slasher films the most, but those are the only movies they really like. And it astounds me. I think of all the great films throughout history, and even today there are a good deal of really good crime films, and comedies and dramas and even some musicals and animation films wherein even the most mediocre of the batch are greater than the best of all horror films. While I acknowledge this is all just my opinion, I find it hard to believe anyone with a remote intellect would watch a horror film and say that they are better than anything else out there. That truly astounds me, it’s just how I feel. In the music world, such is the opinion I have of rap music. It’s horrible, it’s all the same bullshit over and over again and I don’t understand why people still listen to it when it has no real musical quality to it; maybe one in every ten rap songs actually uses real instruments and isn’t just some deadbeat sitting at the soundboard spitting out annoying beating sounds along with the same tired rhythm over and over and over again. I guess you can say, as a young man in his twenties, I just don’t fit in all that way with people of my generation. Even some of my friends see what music I listen to or what film I watched last night and because it’s either something they haven’t seen or heard of I’m the weirdo for watching it. Yeah, good job being open to new things and respecting others for their perspectives. Hehe, having said that I guess I just drew myself into a hypocritical position seeing as I have just been slamming on the intellect that drives one to appreciate slasher films and rap music, but whatever the case, my point here isn’t to just ramble on about my hatred for horror/slasher films forever, but rather to show my gratitude towards them.
Gratitude? Yes! Without these pieces of rotting animal carcasses being in existence I probably wouldn’t maintain the beliefs that I have as far as the types of films that I try and make. When I take on a real serious project, especially something in the dramatic vein, I often deal with story lines and characters that have suffered real and honest pain. I go in contravention to the direction that slashers films go. I suppose you could say I’m trying to go to war with these films that will gladly kill of 30 people without a care. And why should the viewers care, you don’t know any of these people, right? Yeah, great statement on humanity there. If I don’t know them then why should I care what happens in their lives. Fine, hold onto that perspective of the world. Then, when a horror story really happens in your life and your running down a country highway looking for a car to flag down after some psycho abducted you and almost killed you and is still hunting you down, and no car stops for you, don’t start complaining. After all, you believed it yourself, if the people in those passing cars don’t know you then why should they stop and help you? It’s an extreme example to make a valid point. And that’s what frustrates me. Just because we don’t know someone doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care about them, and yet that’s an excuse we use all the time. That is until a horrible tragedy like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina happens and then suddenly everyone is everyone else’s best friend, and we band together as a nation and prattle on about how we all love each other and that we’re all one!!! ................for a couple months. Then it’s back to our own selfish universe until the next big tragedy occurs. What a sad way to exist. I see these people leap to the defense of their asshole friends after they get into a scuffle with a stranger that their friend started. But we have to defend our friend right? After all, they’re our friend and we don’t even know this other person. Wrong! For all you know, that stranger you don’t know might be a better friend to you than this other jackass ever was. Remember, every friend we have were strangers to us at some time. I didn’t meet my best friend, who has been my best friend for over thirteen years, until I was fourteen years old. And he’s my oldest closest friend. The rest of my closest friends I have known for even less time, but we stumbles across each other in the midst of this crazy life and befriended one another. Just because you know someone and not the other is no excuse for siding with the one you know, especially if you know full damn well that they were the screw up under certain circumstances.
But who cares? Our lives are busy enough as it is, we don’t need the problems of others cluttering our lives. Sure. I think it’s funny how the people who complain the most about being busy or tired are often the people who work the least (cause they spend so much time complaining) and have the most opportunities to get rest and sleep. And I’m no saint. I was an only child and let me tell you, when I was a kid I was about as selfish of a bastard as I could be at times. It’s a wonder so many of my friend’s stopped hanging out with me. But fortunately I figured that out and in the prevailing years I have spent a lot of time looking at humanity and while many people who have engaged in this pursuit have found themselves disillusioned and lost as to what qualifies mankind as civilized I have found a much more positive perspective on things because I feel like I understand the behavior of people so well. So I can look at the crazy things we do and often see it for what it is without it just going over my head. In all my years of observing others and taking everything in it really bothers me that so few have a capacity for being open and concerned for others, even though we all preach that we do. Everyone on this planet, including me, has had that one moment, possibly multiple times, where we stand up and start bitching mercilessly about how we do everything for other people and nobody ever does anything for us. It’s a good test of ourselves to determine if we have any grasp on reality when we examine those times when we behave like this. For if you look at the times you’ve said that and laugh it off and see it as a moment of embarrassment for yourself more than anything else such is a moment that allows you to grow. On the other hand, if you look back on the times you spoke in such hyperbole and you still think that’s an accurate portrayal of your life, it’s time for some serious introspection.... or maybe it’s time to see a shrink. Whatever works for you. So of course, being as delusional and careless as we are, it makes perfect sense to a degree that so many of us love these slashers movies and take it in as real entertainment when we see people being mutilated beyond compare.
I look at this however and see it as an opportunity to present the counter to these films, which in no way represent the true pain of death, a horror much stronger than anything that could be set in a horror film. I love how so many of these slasher films integrate the case with these slovenly characters who are often so easy to dismiss that it almost feels like a positive when we watch them get bludgeoned to death. The guys are always douches with little to no appeal and the women are often slutty to some degree or another because after all, what would the response be if we saw a mother and child being brutally murdered? Or an elderly person? Or a baby? Certainly the circumstances would be different and the world of shitty film knows that. They know that any given character is going to be more or less appealing than another. It’s like Quintin Tarantino’s last two films. We have “Inglorious Basterds”, wherein we see many people die, but they’re all Nazi’s and Nazi sympathizers for the most part so we’re okay with the violence. Then he makes “Django Unchained” and again we see lots of murder, but for the most part they’re redneck, racist slave owners, so again it’s okay. This is much the style that these horror films take on, bringing on victims that we don’t mind if they die. But even a bad person is still a person. An asshole may be someone that pisses us off that we wish would get the hell out of our life, but they’re still a person. I’ve had people out there piss me off as much as the next person, but I’ve never wished brutal violence or death towards them. We all feel pain and thus we should know and understand, especially if we experienced or witnessed one’s close to us go through brutal violence in some form or another. But of course, there’s always the people that will say, “Hey! It’s just a movie, it’s not the same as the real thing.” Sure it’s not, but you know what? For lack of putting it more delicately, I don’t give a shit! You act like an idiot and spit on the art of film, or any other art form for that matter, I’m going to call it for the useless trash that it is. The last thing we need in our world today is example after example of how insignificant human life is. And if you personally think human life is insignificant then go climb under a rock and whither away leaving the rest of us alone.
I choose to do film that often deals with violence in some form or another, or even ones that revolve around death. I’m currently finishing up a 45 minute short film about a young man and the plight he faces after his fiance dies in a mall shooting. Instead of killing someone off and leaving it at that I delve into the pain that permeates the lives of those closest to those who have lost loved ones to tragedy. It hurts. It hurts fucking bad and it stays there for a long time, sometimes forever. It’s no laughing matter and it sure as hell doesn’t make for good entertainment. Instead of making light of violence, pain and death I try and provide reminders of what such horrendous things create. I try and present the reality of what death creates because no, it’s not some little insignificant event where someone is important until they die and thus are left forgotten. I believe a week or so back I posted on here about the not-famous-enough cold case of “The Boy in the Box” involving a little boy, approximately 5-years old who was discovered dead, wrapped in a blanket, stuffed in a box and left alongside a rural road on the edge of Philadelphia. It’s heart-wrenching to think this poor child was simply abandoned with no one to claim him as their own. I saw the photographs from his funeral and it was conducted and attended only by the Philadelphia officers who worked his case. Thank God at least they were there to make sure this child wasn’t put to eternal rest all alone. But it follows a realistic look at what many of these bullshit slasher films convey; once your character is gone its significance is gone. They’re just abandoned and forgotten. But in reality such is just not true. The death of everyone no matter who they are effects someone in this world. The death of every person who lives on this planet steals tears from somebody else out there who cares deeply. So you could say thinking in that fashion I hope to achieve a certain level of catharsis in the films I make, tears that don’t come willy nilly or completely misguided but through a personal identification with the reality of what tragedy creates. Say what you want, I just can’t stand a film, or really a piece of artwork in any form that celebrates brutality and death, and I know there’s people out there that do. What can I say? I can’t force them to change and I’m not going to waste my time. It’s just sad though. Not everyone needs to be happy, perky and bouncy every second of everyday, but at the same time there are few pastimes in this world that are a greater waste than to burn away your life dwelling on pain, misery and death, especially to the point that it becomes something positive in your mind. That’s no way to live and, believe it or not, with all the crap in the world we have to deal with, it’s still positive to see the bright side in things, and it’s to be revered instead of demeaned the power and fortitude that it takes to take a tragedy in stride and to continue on living these lives we’ve been given.
Goodnight everyone!
Now I don’t critique the way these films make little significance out of human existence because I’m some bleeding heart, nor do I attribute myself to some social standing wherein I think these graphically violent films will lead people to go out and do exactly what they see on the screen. It takes an already demented mind to take action like that, and even then, the violence they see serves as nothing more than a potential catalyst for their actions. I’m not about all of that, I don’t have some ulterior motive or biased perspective. I simply despise these films because they shit on humanity and that is total bullshit! That’s more or less it. But still, every film class I take, there’s some 25 to 30 students in there and the first day of class we go around introducing ourselves and telling the class what our favorite movie is or at least our favorite style of movie. And every class, no matter the focus, 20 of those people say not only do they love horror/slasher films the most, but those are the only movies they really like. And it astounds me. I think of all the great films throughout history, and even today there are a good deal of really good crime films, and comedies and dramas and even some musicals and animation films wherein even the most mediocre of the batch are greater than the best of all horror films. While I acknowledge this is all just my opinion, I find it hard to believe anyone with a remote intellect would watch a horror film and say that they are better than anything else out there. That truly astounds me, it’s just how I feel. In the music world, such is the opinion I have of rap music. It’s horrible, it’s all the same bullshit over and over again and I don’t understand why people still listen to it when it has no real musical quality to it; maybe one in every ten rap songs actually uses real instruments and isn’t just some deadbeat sitting at the soundboard spitting out annoying beating sounds along with the same tired rhythm over and over and over again. I guess you can say, as a young man in his twenties, I just don’t fit in all that way with people of my generation. Even some of my friends see what music I listen to or what film I watched last night and because it’s either something they haven’t seen or heard of I’m the weirdo for watching it. Yeah, good job being open to new things and respecting others for their perspectives. Hehe, having said that I guess I just drew myself into a hypocritical position seeing as I have just been slamming on the intellect that drives one to appreciate slasher films and rap music, but whatever the case, my point here isn’t to just ramble on about my hatred for horror/slasher films forever, but rather to show my gratitude towards them.
Gratitude? Yes! Without these pieces of rotting animal carcasses being in existence I probably wouldn’t maintain the beliefs that I have as far as the types of films that I try and make. When I take on a real serious project, especially something in the dramatic vein, I often deal with story lines and characters that have suffered real and honest pain. I go in contravention to the direction that slashers films go. I suppose you could say I’m trying to go to war with these films that will gladly kill of 30 people without a care. And why should the viewers care, you don’t know any of these people, right? Yeah, great statement on humanity there. If I don’t know them then why should I care what happens in their lives. Fine, hold onto that perspective of the world. Then, when a horror story really happens in your life and your running down a country highway looking for a car to flag down after some psycho abducted you and almost killed you and is still hunting you down, and no car stops for you, don’t start complaining. After all, you believed it yourself, if the people in those passing cars don’t know you then why should they stop and help you? It’s an extreme example to make a valid point. And that’s what frustrates me. Just because we don’t know someone doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care about them, and yet that’s an excuse we use all the time. That is until a horrible tragedy like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina happens and then suddenly everyone is everyone else’s best friend, and we band together as a nation and prattle on about how we all love each other and that we’re all one!!! ................for a couple months. Then it’s back to our own selfish universe until the next big tragedy occurs. What a sad way to exist. I see these people leap to the defense of their asshole friends after they get into a scuffle with a stranger that their friend started. But we have to defend our friend right? After all, they’re our friend and we don’t even know this other person. Wrong! For all you know, that stranger you don’t know might be a better friend to you than this other jackass ever was. Remember, every friend we have were strangers to us at some time. I didn’t meet my best friend, who has been my best friend for over thirteen years, until I was fourteen years old. And he’s my oldest closest friend. The rest of my closest friends I have known for even less time, but we stumbles across each other in the midst of this crazy life and befriended one another. Just because you know someone and not the other is no excuse for siding with the one you know, especially if you know full damn well that they were the screw up under certain circumstances.
But who cares? Our lives are busy enough as it is, we don’t need the problems of others cluttering our lives. Sure. I think it’s funny how the people who complain the most about being busy or tired are often the people who work the least (cause they spend so much time complaining) and have the most opportunities to get rest and sleep. And I’m no saint. I was an only child and let me tell you, when I was a kid I was about as selfish of a bastard as I could be at times. It’s a wonder so many of my friend’s stopped hanging out with me. But fortunately I figured that out and in the prevailing years I have spent a lot of time looking at humanity and while many people who have engaged in this pursuit have found themselves disillusioned and lost as to what qualifies mankind as civilized I have found a much more positive perspective on things because I feel like I understand the behavior of people so well. So I can look at the crazy things we do and often see it for what it is without it just going over my head. In all my years of observing others and taking everything in it really bothers me that so few have a capacity for being open and concerned for others, even though we all preach that we do. Everyone on this planet, including me, has had that one moment, possibly multiple times, where we stand up and start bitching mercilessly about how we do everything for other people and nobody ever does anything for us. It’s a good test of ourselves to determine if we have any grasp on reality when we examine those times when we behave like this. For if you look at the times you’ve said that and laugh it off and see it as a moment of embarrassment for yourself more than anything else such is a moment that allows you to grow. On the other hand, if you look back on the times you spoke in such hyperbole and you still think that’s an accurate portrayal of your life, it’s time for some serious introspection.... or maybe it’s time to see a shrink. Whatever works for you. So of course, being as delusional and careless as we are, it makes perfect sense to a degree that so many of us love these slashers movies and take it in as real entertainment when we see people being mutilated beyond compare.
I look at this however and see it as an opportunity to present the counter to these films, which in no way represent the true pain of death, a horror much stronger than anything that could be set in a horror film. I love how so many of these slasher films integrate the case with these slovenly characters who are often so easy to dismiss that it almost feels like a positive when we watch them get bludgeoned to death. The guys are always douches with little to no appeal and the women are often slutty to some degree or another because after all, what would the response be if we saw a mother and child being brutally murdered? Or an elderly person? Or a baby? Certainly the circumstances would be different and the world of shitty film knows that. They know that any given character is going to be more or less appealing than another. It’s like Quintin Tarantino’s last two films. We have “Inglorious Basterds”, wherein we see many people die, but they’re all Nazi’s and Nazi sympathizers for the most part so we’re okay with the violence. Then he makes “Django Unchained” and again we see lots of murder, but for the most part they’re redneck, racist slave owners, so again it’s okay. This is much the style that these horror films take on, bringing on victims that we don’t mind if they die. But even a bad person is still a person. An asshole may be someone that pisses us off that we wish would get the hell out of our life, but they’re still a person. I’ve had people out there piss me off as much as the next person, but I’ve never wished brutal violence or death towards them. We all feel pain and thus we should know and understand, especially if we experienced or witnessed one’s close to us go through brutal violence in some form or another. But of course, there’s always the people that will say, “Hey! It’s just a movie, it’s not the same as the real thing.” Sure it’s not, but you know what? For lack of putting it more delicately, I don’t give a shit! You act like an idiot and spit on the art of film, or any other art form for that matter, I’m going to call it for the useless trash that it is. The last thing we need in our world today is example after example of how insignificant human life is. And if you personally think human life is insignificant then go climb under a rock and whither away leaving the rest of us alone.
I choose to do film that often deals with violence in some form or another, or even ones that revolve around death. I’m currently finishing up a 45 minute short film about a young man and the plight he faces after his fiance dies in a mall shooting. Instead of killing someone off and leaving it at that I delve into the pain that permeates the lives of those closest to those who have lost loved ones to tragedy. It hurts. It hurts fucking bad and it stays there for a long time, sometimes forever. It’s no laughing matter and it sure as hell doesn’t make for good entertainment. Instead of making light of violence, pain and death I try and provide reminders of what such horrendous things create. I try and present the reality of what death creates because no, it’s not some little insignificant event where someone is important until they die and thus are left forgotten. I believe a week or so back I posted on here about the not-famous-enough cold case of “The Boy in the Box” involving a little boy, approximately 5-years old who was discovered dead, wrapped in a blanket, stuffed in a box and left alongside a rural road on the edge of Philadelphia. It’s heart-wrenching to think this poor child was simply abandoned with no one to claim him as their own. I saw the photographs from his funeral and it was conducted and attended only by the Philadelphia officers who worked his case. Thank God at least they were there to make sure this child wasn’t put to eternal rest all alone. But it follows a realistic look at what many of these bullshit slasher films convey; once your character is gone its significance is gone. They’re just abandoned and forgotten. But in reality such is just not true. The death of everyone no matter who they are effects someone in this world. The death of every person who lives on this planet steals tears from somebody else out there who cares deeply. So you could say thinking in that fashion I hope to achieve a certain level of catharsis in the films I make, tears that don’t come willy nilly or completely misguided but through a personal identification with the reality of what tragedy creates. Say what you want, I just can’t stand a film, or really a piece of artwork in any form that celebrates brutality and death, and I know there’s people out there that do. What can I say? I can’t force them to change and I’m not going to waste my time. It’s just sad though. Not everyone needs to be happy, perky and bouncy every second of everyday, but at the same time there are few pastimes in this world that are a greater waste than to burn away your life dwelling on pain, misery and death, especially to the point that it becomes something positive in your mind. That’s no way to live and, believe it or not, with all the crap in the world we have to deal with, it’s still positive to see the bright side in things, and it’s to be revered instead of demeaned the power and fortitude that it takes to take a tragedy in stride and to continue on living these lives we’ve been given.
Goodnight everyone!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)