Here is the trailer for a great film that Andrew worked on:
We went to the LA premier a few nights ago to see Andrew's name in the credits; it was such a great film. I highly recommend it, I feel like a lot of people in the United States need to see this movie.
For more information of where it is screening, check out their website at: http://www.biggerstrongerfastermovie.com/
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
A C-48(a reversed C-47) makes a perfect tie clip.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Young Adam, USC Thesis
I just finished 5 days of shooting a USC thesis tentativly titled, "Young Adam" directed by Kyle Burns. It was a lot of fun to work with Jon Miller, the cinematographer, again. I had worked with him on this Heineken sponsored Music video for a band called Low Stars and he is always great to work with because he is easy going on set and he allows me to do my job while he concentrates on camera and telling me what light he wants and not what lights he wants.
Another friend of our, Rob Edgecomb, was 1st AC on it- it's always great working with him, too. Also, a PA named Will Ewing, who I had met the last time I was in New York for a film came out and was a grip/electric on the film. In fact the whole crew was very supportive and had the right attitude. It was fun because we did very little lighting; we took a cinema minema approach(inspired by gaffer Jim Plannette and cinematographer Robert Elswit ASC) to make the lighting look natural and seamless like in movies such as "Michael Clayton" or "Children of Men". We only lit when we had to and that was so much fun... it's going to look so good. The only lighting I was unhappy with was when we had to use tiny units in the small bedroom scene. It is going to be the only thing, I think, that looks like it is lit. Anyway, here are some pictures from it, I tried to make the captions like an article in American Cinematographer Magazine:
Director Kyle Burns(top left) and Cinematographer Jon Miller(with camera) shooting on the small bus. There is a lot less room then you would think.
The film's star Adam, played by Luke Eberl, sits in position while Kyle Burns and Jon Miller discuss the next shot.
Luke Eberl and Kyle Burns sit between takes at the bus stop, lit by a single battery powered 1x1 light panel made to mimic a sodium vapor street lamp.
Jon Miller going over the steadicam shot at Venice Beach.
Key Grip Raul Fernandez checks out his handy work for the night exteriors, entirly lit by battery powered Litepanels.
Cinematographer Jon Miller poses bellow the Litepanels rigged to replicate street lamps.
Grip/electric Will Ewing poses under a Litepanel rigged right under the ceiling in a hallway.
The crew decided to switch positions for the day: (L-R) Boom Op Chris Brenner, First AD Mike Witman, First AC Rob Edgecomb and Cinematographer Jon Miller.
Best Boy/Wannabe Producer Mike Klein observes the monitor during a take.
Roger, played by Warren Sweeney, gets ready for the next take.
Raul Fernandez and Gaffer Phillip Matarrese pose for tie-day, the last of principal photography tradition for both of the Matarrese brothers.
"Absurdly Rediculous Rigs Monthly's" cover for May, by Raul Fernandez.
Producer Pip Satchell does shoe acrobatics as Boom Op Chris Brenner looks on in amazement.
Steadicam Master Dave Baldwin and 1st AC Rob Edgecomb reset for the next take.
Director Kyle Burns tries on the steadicam rig during wrap on the final day of filming.
Cinematographer Jon Miller poses with Director Kyle Burns and Camera PA Monica Sender after wrap.
Check out more pictures from the "Young Adam" shoot on my Flickr page by clicking HERE or by going to: http://flickr.com/photos/15005161@N06/sets/72157605223811807/
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
The small brick shaped Litepanels work well when you make a little "car port" or "fish belly" of diffusion that bubbles out from it. They work well right out of frame next to a practical lamp to just push the soft light a little further to hit whoever is standing next to the light. But careful, their batteries run out fast and there is a slight magenta hint to them.
Another friend of our, Rob Edgecomb, was 1st AC on it- it's always great working with him, too. Also, a PA named Will Ewing, who I had met the last time I was in New York for a film came out and was a grip/electric on the film. In fact the whole crew was very supportive and had the right attitude. It was fun because we did very little lighting; we took a cinema minema approach(inspired by gaffer Jim Plannette and cinematographer Robert Elswit ASC) to make the lighting look natural and seamless like in movies such as "Michael Clayton" or "Children of Men". We only lit when we had to and that was so much fun... it's going to look so good. The only lighting I was unhappy with was when we had to use tiny units in the small bedroom scene. It is going to be the only thing, I think, that looks like it is lit. Anyway, here are some pictures from it, I tried to make the captions like an article in American Cinematographer Magazine:
Director Kyle Burns(top left) and Cinematographer Jon Miller(with camera) shooting on the small bus. There is a lot less room then you would think.
The film's star Adam, played by Luke Eberl, sits in position while Kyle Burns and Jon Miller discuss the next shot.
Luke Eberl and Kyle Burns sit between takes at the bus stop, lit by a single battery powered 1x1 light panel made to mimic a sodium vapor street lamp.
Jon Miller going over the steadicam shot at Venice Beach.
Key Grip Raul Fernandez checks out his handy work for the night exteriors, entirly lit by battery powered Litepanels.
Cinematographer Jon Miller poses bellow the Litepanels rigged to replicate street lamps.
Grip/electric Will Ewing poses under a Litepanel rigged right under the ceiling in a hallway.
The crew decided to switch positions for the day: (L-R) Boom Op Chris Brenner, First AD Mike Witman, First AC Rob Edgecomb and Cinematographer Jon Miller.
Best Boy/Wannabe Producer Mike Klein observes the monitor during a take.
Roger, played by Warren Sweeney, gets ready for the next take.
Raul Fernandez and Gaffer Phillip Matarrese pose for tie-day, the last of principal photography tradition for both of the Matarrese brothers.
"Absurdly Rediculous Rigs Monthly's" cover for May, by Raul Fernandez.
Producer Pip Satchell does shoe acrobatics as Boom Op Chris Brenner looks on in amazement.
Steadicam Master Dave Baldwin and 1st AC Rob Edgecomb reset for the next take.
Director Kyle Burns tries on the steadicam rig during wrap on the final day of filming.
Cinematographer Jon Miller poses with Director Kyle Burns and Camera PA Monica Sender after wrap.
Check out more pictures from the "Young Adam" shoot on my Flickr page by clicking HERE or by going to: http://flickr.com/photos/15005161@N06/sets/72157605223811807/
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
The small brick shaped Litepanels work well when you make a little "car port" or "fish belly" of diffusion that bubbles out from it. They work well right out of frame next to a practical lamp to just push the soft light a little further to hit whoever is standing next to the light. But careful, their batteries run out fast and there is a slight magenta hint to them.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Best Day at Mole!
Wow, so yesterday was the best day I have ever had at Mole-Richardson so far! Larry had asked me to come in and gaff a few interviews of some cinematographers and other hollywood people for a tribute to the president of Deluxe laberatories who recently passed away last week. Levie Isaacks ASC was shooting it and I had worked with him a few times when he has come in to Mole, he's always great to work with. So we get in and they had already done a pre-light on friday, so all i had to do was add a few different lights and make sure that the power was balanced.
So then, as we are starting to turn on some of the lights, Richard Crudo ASC all of a sudden appears behind the camera. He was supposed to come in the next day for an ASC demo but ended up hanging out the entire day and getting interviewed. I was really excited because I didn't know he was going to show up and he is one of my favorite cinematographers to talk to. He remembered me and we chatted a little bit about China and what we new with work, it was great.
Richard Crudo, ASC
Then, at the same time, Owen Roizman ASC and Allen Daviau ASC both come in and sit down. Owen remembered me, which was exciting, and the camera operator introduced me to Allen Daviau(I had met him a few times before) and we talked for about half an hour about both of our experiences in China. He was there last when he was shooting Spielberg's epic film "Empire of the Sun".
Owen Roizman, ASC
Allen Daviau, ASC
Then a few other ASC guys came in including the current ASC President Daryn Okada ASC, legendary cinematographer Bill Fraker ASC, former ASC President Woody Omens ASC and the current President of the camera union Steven Poster ASC. And then we had the biggest treat of them all, a legend walking into the stage at Mole...
Daryn Okada, ASC President
Bill Fraker, ASC and Larry Parker
Woody Omens, Former ASC President
Steven Poster, ASC and President of Local 600.
A man by the name of Abby Singer walks in, he is 80 years old but still sharp as a tack. Mr. Singer is a legend because he used to be a production manager and assistant director who was famous for calling out the martini shot(the last shot of the night) when it was really the 2nd to the last shot of the night. So from then on, the second to the last shot of the night has become known as the "Singer" or the"Abby Singer".
Mr. Abby Singer
And to make the day even better, we wrapped out in less then fifteen minutes and Levie turned to me and said that he was very happy with the lighting.
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Your contrast will be enhanced if you have something in the frame that is blown out and something that is underexposed enough to be black.
So then, as we are starting to turn on some of the lights, Richard Crudo ASC all of a sudden appears behind the camera. He was supposed to come in the next day for an ASC demo but ended up hanging out the entire day and getting interviewed. I was really excited because I didn't know he was going to show up and he is one of my favorite cinematographers to talk to. He remembered me and we chatted a little bit about China and what we new with work, it was great.
Then, at the same time, Owen Roizman ASC and Allen Daviau ASC both come in and sit down. Owen remembered me, which was exciting, and the camera operator introduced me to Allen Daviau(I had met him a few times before) and we talked for about half an hour about both of our experiences in China. He was there last when he was shooting Spielberg's epic film "Empire of the Sun".
Then a few other ASC guys came in including the current ASC President Daryn Okada ASC, legendary cinematographer Bill Fraker ASC, former ASC President Woody Omens ASC and the current President of the camera union Steven Poster ASC. And then we had the biggest treat of them all, a legend walking into the stage at Mole...
A man by the name of Abby Singer walks in, he is 80 years old but still sharp as a tack. Mr. Singer is a legend because he used to be a production manager and assistant director who was famous for calling out the martini shot(the last shot of the night) when it was really the 2nd to the last shot of the night. So from then on, the second to the last shot of the night has become known as the "Singer" or the"Abby Singer".
And to make the day even better, we wrapped out in less then fifteen minutes and Levie turned to me and said that he was very happy with the lighting.
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Your contrast will be enhanced if you have something in the frame that is blown out and something that is underexposed enough to be black.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Student Academy Awards
Good news! Two films I've worked on just won Student Academy Awards! The films "A Day's Work" directed by Rajeev Dassani and shot by Nicola Marsh(both from USC) won along with a move called "Pitstop" directed by Melanie McGraw and also shot by Nicola Marsh(also both from USC)! I was best boy grip/electric for both of them but ended up stepping in as gaffer for most of the shoot anyway per request from Nicola. Very exciting!
Also, an SFSU student, Phoebe Tooke won a Student Academy Award for her alternative film "Circles of Confusion" ! Woo hoo! Go SFSU!!
Check them out here: http://www.oscars.org/saa/2008/winners.html
Me in the middle for the crew picture of A Day's Work at the house location in LA.
You can check out the film's website by clicking here.
Here is a picture of me on "Pitstop" out in Lancaster, CA with DP Nicola Marsh. We were right down the street from the church they filmed Kill Bill at!
You can see more pictures of the shoot on my Flickr page by clicking here.
I went to SFSU Animation Finals and Film Finals last night which further strengthened my belief that we make incredible films despite being away from LA and not having the Hollywood connections that schools like AFI, UCLA and USC have. It was great to see all my old professors and classmates, the films were great and the food was pretty good this year! but on a sadder note, it was announced last night(I guess I was the only one who didn't get the memo) that Ray Rea, SFSU's Production Coordinator, will be leaving for a post in the midwest. It's sad that he is moving on, but I am happy to have studied under him while I attended State and have been honored to know him while I have become a working professional. I know he'll be back eventually, it's hard to stay away from the Bay Area and SFSU.
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
I'll say it and keep saying it: try to shoot into the dark side of the subject. i always try and use at least a side light if not 3/4 back light as the key for the subject. this is known as a "back key" light. This way their lighting facing the camera is not flat, creating depth and shape to the subjects face.
Also, an SFSU student, Phoebe Tooke won a Student Academy Award for her alternative film "Circles of Confusion" ! Woo hoo! Go SFSU!!
Check them out here: http://www.oscars.org/saa/2008/winners.html
Me in the middle for the crew picture of A Day's Work at the house location in LA.
You can check out the film's website by clicking here.
Here is a picture of me on "Pitstop" out in Lancaster, CA with DP Nicola Marsh. We were right down the street from the church they filmed Kill Bill at!
You can see more pictures of the shoot on my Flickr page by clicking here.
I went to SFSU Animation Finals and Film Finals last night which further strengthened my belief that we make incredible films despite being away from LA and not having the Hollywood connections that schools like AFI, UCLA and USC have. It was great to see all my old professors and classmates, the films were great and the food was pretty good this year! but on a sadder note, it was announced last night(I guess I was the only one who didn't get the memo) that Ray Rea, SFSU's Production Coordinator, will be leaving for a post in the midwest. It's sad that he is moving on, but I am happy to have studied under him while I attended State and have been honored to know him while I have become a working professional. I know he'll be back eventually, it's hard to stay away from the Bay Area and SFSU.
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
I'll say it and keep saying it: try to shoot into the dark side of the subject. i always try and use at least a side light if not 3/4 back light as the key for the subject. this is known as a "back key" light. This way their lighting facing the camera is not flat, creating depth and shape to the subjects face.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Back in the USofA
Hey guys, i am back in the US! Man, it is god to be home. I can't wait to get back to work!
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Use a contact cleaner spray to clean out old sockets in HMIs and tungsten units so that the bulb makes a solid connection to the socket.
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Use a contact cleaner spray to clean out old sockets in HMIs and tungsten units so that the bulb makes a solid connection to the socket.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Little Trouble in Big China
Ok, so it had been almost 3 days since we heard anything from Fan Fang and had that last meeting about our A-bomb contracts. So we decide to go find her before we head to lunch, so we walk down to her room and we see here cross the hallway to her assistant’s room. We were lucky because we were prepared for her not to open the door because she’d be “busy” and then she would ask to come find us later… which means we wouldn’t hear from her again.
Anyway, we find her and we ask if there was nay news about our contracts in talking to the investor. We wanted a yes or no answer so that we could give people back home definite answers. We were prepared t tell her that we needed an answer by noon the following day(24 hrs) and that if we didn’t hear anything then we would assume it was a no. So the conversation went a little something like this:
ROB & PHILL:
Hey Fang Fang, how’s it going?
FANG FANG walks briskly across the hall, back to her room.
FANG FANG:
Oh, hi Rob, hi Phill. I’m fine.
ROB & PHILL:
So it’s been a few days since we spoke last and we were just wondering if there was any update on our contracts because we need to start giving solid answers to people back home. Have you spoken with the investor yet?
FANG FANG:
Oh… um… yeah, Rob, my situation is this… I have not spoken to Mr. Chew yet, because I want to present him with all the information first…
FANG FANG keeps talking, repeating herself.
ROB & PHILL:
Yes, we’ve heard all this… We were thinking that we could hear within 24 hours, would that be reasonable?
FANG FANG:
Ok, how about this, if I don’t come to you in 24 hours then you can go home.
ROB & PHILL:
Ok, so we will wait for 24 hours but if we haven’t heard from you then we will assume it is a no, ok?
So she beat us to the punch, which is fine. Anyway, we waited 24 hours and we hadn’t heard anything by noon the next day so at lunch we agreed that it was a “no” on the contracts and we were heading home. We have been told that the negotiation tactic here in China is a “Last Man Standing” tactic where each opponent tries to stall the other one until they give in, so we simple just added a deadline(which does not seem to exist in this production) and made a solid decision(which also does not appear to be anywhere in this production).
The only thing we wanted to do was make sure that we told Sonic, our acting translator, and Wan and Darius, the two guys who worked directly under us in lighting and camera. We felt responsibly to tell them that we were leaving, to respect them enough that they could hear it from us that we were leaving. We wanted to make sure they understood that we were leaving and why we were leaving directly from us so that nothing was lost or mixed up in the miscommunication that seems to have plagued this production.
So we brought Sonic in to translate and we broke the news to Wan and Darius that we were leaving and we hinted at the reason being the lack of progress that we’ve seen here and that we won’t wait around because we have other(better) things to do back in the US. Sonic was shocked, which Rob and I were amazed at because we figured he would have put it together since he was downloading other DP reels for Fang Fang… Wan and Darius and Sonic al understood, they were bummed of course, but they know that we work a lot and have our lives back home.
Anyway, we decide to go to Starbucks and it was kind of rainy so I called Sonic to ask if there was a car available to take us and the Fang Fang gets on his phone and asks to speak to Rob. I only heard Rob’s side of the conversation but basically she was mad that we “went above her” to tell Wan and Darius that we were leaving. She hung up on Rob- so we went up to her room to try and smooth things out because we didn’t want to leave with bad blood.
We knocked on her door and her assistant opens the door and she says “No, I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to talk to you…” like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Rob and I played the mellow Californian and tried to explain our side without raising our voices at all. She wouldn’t let us get a word in and yells at us saying things like, “they are my crew, I hired them, they are my responsibility and now I look like a fool because I was going to get everyone together and have a going away party for you and tell them myself why you are leaving!” and on and on…
They she told us to get out and then said, “fine, you don’t leave, I’ll leave!” and she leaves her room and walks around to the producers room and slams the door. Hahaha Now, if she was really going to throw us a party, then why didn’t she tell us not to tell anyone? Plus, I don’t think she is that organized to throw us a good bye party. Our feelings were that nothing would be said to us or anyone until the morning we leave and then, since we have to leave at 6AM to get to Shanghai, nobody would be up anyway. We waned to avoid anyone assuming why we left because we saw a pattern of miscommunication and non-communication and we wanted it to be know why we are leaving and that we are leaving out of our own will. We also wanted people to know that we won’t put up with waiting around and not being told information that we need, so we have no reason or faith in the production to extend or renew our contracts.
Anyway, we finally cornered her later that night and apologized that we offended her and explained that we did not mean to offend her. She said “Ok” and that was it, hahaha she’s still mad at us I guess.
So that is the update. The rest of the crew doesn’t seem to know or show that they know, except for Fang Fang, her other assistant Ja Ja(who has always been quiet and a little cold) and one of the Producers. We do want to say our good byes to everyone, but she might not let us do that, hahahahah. We’ll see.
We ARE coming home on May 12th, as in our original contract
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Don't forget to order UV Shield to add to all of your gel frames if you have a lot of HMIs, especially if they are older HMIs.
Anyway, we find her and we ask if there was nay news about our contracts in talking to the investor. We wanted a yes or no answer so that we could give people back home definite answers. We were prepared t tell her that we needed an answer by noon the following day(24 hrs) and that if we didn’t hear anything then we would assume it was a no. So the conversation went a little something like this:
ROB & PHILL:
Hey Fang Fang, how’s it going?
FANG FANG walks briskly across the hall, back to her room.
FANG FANG:
Oh, hi Rob, hi Phill. I’m fine.
ROB & PHILL:
So it’s been a few days since we spoke last and we were just wondering if there was any update on our contracts because we need to start giving solid answers to people back home. Have you spoken with the investor yet?
FANG FANG:
Oh… um… yeah, Rob, my situation is this… I have not spoken to Mr. Chew yet, because I want to present him with all the information first…
FANG FANG keeps talking, repeating herself.
ROB & PHILL:
Yes, we’ve heard all this… We were thinking that we could hear within 24 hours, would that be reasonable?
FANG FANG:
Ok, how about this, if I don’t come to you in 24 hours then you can go home.
ROB & PHILL:
Ok, so we will wait for 24 hours but if we haven’t heard from you then we will assume it is a no, ok?
So she beat us to the punch, which is fine. Anyway, we waited 24 hours and we hadn’t heard anything by noon the next day so at lunch we agreed that it was a “no” on the contracts and we were heading home. We have been told that the negotiation tactic here in China is a “Last Man Standing” tactic where each opponent tries to stall the other one until they give in, so we simple just added a deadline(which does not seem to exist in this production) and made a solid decision(which also does not appear to be anywhere in this production).
The only thing we wanted to do was make sure that we told Sonic, our acting translator, and Wan and Darius, the two guys who worked directly under us in lighting and camera. We felt responsibly to tell them that we were leaving, to respect them enough that they could hear it from us that we were leaving. We wanted to make sure they understood that we were leaving and why we were leaving directly from us so that nothing was lost or mixed up in the miscommunication that seems to have plagued this production.
So we brought Sonic in to translate and we broke the news to Wan and Darius that we were leaving and we hinted at the reason being the lack of progress that we’ve seen here and that we won’t wait around because we have other(better) things to do back in the US. Sonic was shocked, which Rob and I were amazed at because we figured he would have put it together since he was downloading other DP reels for Fang Fang… Wan and Darius and Sonic al understood, they were bummed of course, but they know that we work a lot and have our lives back home.
Anyway, we decide to go to Starbucks and it was kind of rainy so I called Sonic to ask if there was a car available to take us and the Fang Fang gets on his phone and asks to speak to Rob. I only heard Rob’s side of the conversation but basically she was mad that we “went above her” to tell Wan and Darius that we were leaving. She hung up on Rob- so we went up to her room to try and smooth things out because we didn’t want to leave with bad blood.
We knocked on her door and her assistant opens the door and she says “No, I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to talk to you…” like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Rob and I played the mellow Californian and tried to explain our side without raising our voices at all. She wouldn’t let us get a word in and yells at us saying things like, “they are my crew, I hired them, they are my responsibility and now I look like a fool because I was going to get everyone together and have a going away party for you and tell them myself why you are leaving!” and on and on…
They she told us to get out and then said, “fine, you don’t leave, I’ll leave!” and she leaves her room and walks around to the producers room and slams the door. Hahaha Now, if she was really going to throw us a party, then why didn’t she tell us not to tell anyone? Plus, I don’t think she is that organized to throw us a good bye party. Our feelings were that nothing would be said to us or anyone until the morning we leave and then, since we have to leave at 6AM to get to Shanghai, nobody would be up anyway. We waned to avoid anyone assuming why we left because we saw a pattern of miscommunication and non-communication and we wanted it to be know why we are leaving and that we are leaving out of our own will. We also wanted people to know that we won’t put up with waiting around and not being told information that we need, so we have no reason or faith in the production to extend or renew our contracts.
Anyway, we finally cornered her later that night and apologized that we offended her and explained that we did not mean to offend her. She said “Ok” and that was it, hahaha she’s still mad at us I guess.
So that is the update. The rest of the crew doesn’t seem to know or show that they know, except for Fang Fang, her other assistant Ja Ja(who has always been quiet and a little cold) and one of the Producers. We do want to say our good byes to everyone, but she might not let us do that, hahahahah. We’ll see.
We ARE coming home on May 12th, as in our original contract
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Don't forget to order UV Shield to add to all of your gel frames if you have a lot of HMIs, especially if they are older HMIs.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Dropping the Bomb
Well, yesterday, Saturday the 3rd Rob and I went into Fang Fang’s room just before dinner to discuss us leaving once our contract expires on the 10th. We wanted to give her at least a week before our contract runs out so we don’t spring it on her at the last minute, but we also wanted to avoid a hurry-up-and-go effect by bringing it up too soon… plus we also wanted to give them the chance to come to us first.
Rob and I have been going over this for a while now, discussing and re-discussing all the reasons why we need to leave and talking about what it would take to stay. But we went into the meeting knowing it was going to be a heavy blow to Fang Fang, but we knew it was the right thing to do. However, our plan of going in strong and firm and avoiding specific money talks ended up falling apart in the first fifteen minutes. But we both come out of the meeting positive and sticking to our guns with the decision to leave May 12th.
But then Rob got a call from Fang Fang last night and they had a 3 hour talk about the whole situation where Fang Fang made a few offers to Rob, who said, “I doubt Phill will agree to it and I need to think about it, too, so I’ll get back to you by noon tomorrow after I talk to Phill.”
So at lunch Rob and I talked about it and we both left with a clear decision to just say that we were both sorry but we have to decline the offer and stick to our original plan to go home. So we told Fang Fang and she kept pushing us to name our price so we told her that we would have to think about it and write up a whole new contract and really take some time. I could see Rob getting frustrated because he had finally committed to going home and now we were back to square one in negotiations. Rob confessed to me later that he even got a little light headed because he felt like he was getting pushed into a corner.
So they went on a location scout and Rob and I stayed at the hotel and drafted up new contracts(after going on a walk and letting off some steam). We put in really high rates for ourselves in addition to other compensations we felt would make us ok with missing out and pushing back commitments and responsibilities in the US, hoping these outrageous prices would be refused by Fang Fang and the investor. We then sent off the email, throwing funny quotes back and forth across the hall like, “bomb’s away!” or, “Duck and cover!” or, “hit the deck!” or, “…did… did you hear that? Sounded like an explosion.”
***BREAKING NEWS***
Wow, ok, just got an update a few minutes ago. Fang Fang just left Rob’s room where we had a quick little chat about the new contracts. She started by saying just what we hoped, that she was surprised by the numbers and how high they were. We gave her the reasoning behind the high prices we put into our contract and she understands why… but the thing tripping us out right now is she says that the prices are fair(even that she thought they could have been more!?!?) and she will see if her investor, Mr. Chew, thinks it is worth it! We had hoped that she was going to say, “I’m sorry, it is too high,” then we would say, “We’re sorry, but we can’t push our commitments back for any less,” and then it would be left at that and we’d go home. But she says that getting the film done for the Olympics is very important to the investor and if Mr. Chew feels we must make the Olympics then she thinks he WILL pay what we ask!?!?!?
We still think that he will say no, and we hope he will say no… I give it about 90% chance he’ll say no. But I am having a hard time being able to predict things now because I was not expecting Fang Fang to even entertain the idea of paying so much. We just don’t what to think anymore.
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Having your equipment on carts not only save time and money but also saves your back!
Rob and I have been going over this for a while now, discussing and re-discussing all the reasons why we need to leave and talking about what it would take to stay. But we went into the meeting knowing it was going to be a heavy blow to Fang Fang, but we knew it was the right thing to do. However, our plan of going in strong and firm and avoiding specific money talks ended up falling apart in the first fifteen minutes. But we both come out of the meeting positive and sticking to our guns with the decision to leave May 12th.
But then Rob got a call from Fang Fang last night and they had a 3 hour talk about the whole situation where Fang Fang made a few offers to Rob, who said, “I doubt Phill will agree to it and I need to think about it, too, so I’ll get back to you by noon tomorrow after I talk to Phill.”
So at lunch Rob and I talked about it and we both left with a clear decision to just say that we were both sorry but we have to decline the offer and stick to our original plan to go home. So we told Fang Fang and she kept pushing us to name our price so we told her that we would have to think about it and write up a whole new contract and really take some time. I could see Rob getting frustrated because he had finally committed to going home and now we were back to square one in negotiations. Rob confessed to me later that he even got a little light headed because he felt like he was getting pushed into a corner.
So they went on a location scout and Rob and I stayed at the hotel and drafted up new contracts(after going on a walk and letting off some steam). We put in really high rates for ourselves in addition to other compensations we felt would make us ok with missing out and pushing back commitments and responsibilities in the US, hoping these outrageous prices would be refused by Fang Fang and the investor. We then sent off the email, throwing funny quotes back and forth across the hall like, “bomb’s away!” or, “Duck and cover!” or, “hit the deck!” or, “…did… did you hear that? Sounded like an explosion.”
***BREAKING NEWS***
Wow, ok, just got an update a few minutes ago. Fang Fang just left Rob’s room where we had a quick little chat about the new contracts. She started by saying just what we hoped, that she was surprised by the numbers and how high they were. We gave her the reasoning behind the high prices we put into our contract and she understands why… but the thing tripping us out right now is she says that the prices are fair(even that she thought they could have been more!?!?) and she will see if her investor, Mr. Chew, thinks it is worth it! We had hoped that she was going to say, “I’m sorry, it is too high,” then we would say, “We’re sorry, but we can’t push our commitments back for any less,” and then it would be left at that and we’d go home. But she says that getting the film done for the Olympics is very important to the investor and if Mr. Chew feels we must make the Olympics then she thinks he WILL pay what we ask!?!?!?
We still think that he will say no, and we hope he will say no… I give it about 90% chance he’ll say no. But I am having a hard time being able to predict things now because I was not expecting Fang Fang to even entertain the idea of paying so much. We just don’t what to think anymore.
PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Having your equipment on carts not only save time and money but also saves your back!
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