About fifteen years ago, I picked up recording as a hobby that later turned into an obsession: accumulating a small recording studios’ worth of microphones, preamps, AD/DA converters and boxes of cables, all connected to my Pro Tools setup on my Mac. At the time, I was recording my own … Continue reading “SOUND IS HALF THE PICTURE”
Some of the most magical moments on any film production are those unexpected ones. A technical mistake turns into a beautiful shot. A misunderstanding turns into a wild moment captured on camera. Or something planned fails to work at the last minute, forcing the team to improvise on the spot. … Continue reading “THE GIFT OF THE UNEXPECTED”
Not much to say here in this season of political hatred and mud slinging. We are mostly good. Putting aside our views of our own circumstances and others, when it comes to one-on-one interaction, face-to-face — we want to do the right thing. Whether it’s holding the door open for … Continue reading “REAL HEROES”
With so much turmoil, violence, and hatred bombarding us on our news feeds, it’s not surprising there’s a sense of gloom about where we’re all headed. But each and every one of us has a choice. The easier, default choice is to be cynical, and to give into that feeding … Continue reading “OUR BETTER SELVES”
We wrapped shooting in late June. To say this shoot took a lot out of me is an understatement. It was tough. All told, we shot around 270 scenes (each with multiple setups) in over 17 shooting days (spanning 21 calendar days total) in multiple locations – on virtually no … Continue reading “BACK FROM THE DEAD”
Day Zero. The day before the first day of a shoot. Anxious, excited and prepared. It’s been almost a year since I completed the very first draft of FOR IZZY (originally titled “San Gabriel Valley” before going through multiple changes in title). Before that in early 2015, I didn’t imagine … Continue reading “READY, SET…”
Sourcing and scouting locations on an indie production can often be the most tedious and unnecessarily complicated tasks – especially since it’s not often a budget for a dedicated location manager. Which is why many indie productions limit the number of locations, which starts with the writing. Have the story … Continue reading “LOCATIONS, LOCATIONS”
One of the most wonderfully absurd yet emotionally accurate films about the process of filmmaking is Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056801/) (get the Criterion edition if you can). From the opening sequences to the final frame, it captures the confusion, anxiety, and exhilaration of having to creating something while at … Continue reading “THE DANCE”
Filmmaking has, and always will be to some degree, a collaborative process (note I did not say “art” because not all film is considered “art” even by the filmmakers themselves). Which is why I never understood the underlying reason for developing the “auteur theory” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auteur_theory) in the first place. Or … Continue reading “THE MYTH OF THE AUTEUR”
I was having coffee with a producer a while ago and as I was going through the various projects I was working on (including FOR IZZY), the producer mentioned that all my projects centered around women, which was something I didn’t realize until it was pointed out to me. There’s … Continue reading “WHY I LOVE WRITING FOR WOMEN”