Through the Eyes of a Producer

I am a gaffer by trade. My opinion of "producers" up till this point was not a very complimentary one. My idea was that all producers did was look for the bottom line and ignore any of the artistic decisions made by the director or department heads. I thought of producers as people only interested in the dollar amount, constantly trying to find ways to cut corners and save money, even at the expense of the creative choices.

Now that I have done a lot of producerly work for this film I have come to realize that producers do a lot more then just worry about the budget(though that is a huge part). I have been doing things like arranging meal donations, calling cast and crew to maintain the flow of information, schedule the shoot days, balance the budget, arrange transportation and contact the equipment vendors and film labs. In this short time I have learned so much of what I thought I already knew about the entire production process that I wonder how I ever thought a production was possible without such knowledge.

My work station, which normally consists of some carts with lights on it and my tool belt with my light meters, is now a mobile command center complete with laptop, cellphone and lots and lots of paperwork. I get up early and spend most of my time checking and replying to emails and returning phone calls. I get up early(ish) and get coffee and go over to the dinning table that is now my desk and spread out all my papers and go through my to-do list for the day. I do constantly check the budget to make sure we aren't spending more money then we have, and I seem to have become a little bit of what I hate because I keep telling people, "we can't spend it, we have to cut things..." I now see WHY they are always looking at the bottom line and it frustrates me but I understand it at the same time.

I am constantly on the phone, constantly putting out fires and trying to accomplish as much as I can in the short amount of daylight hours there are in a business day. It's a lot of work but it is exciting and I like the feeling of accomplishing a lot of tasks in a short amount of time.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
You will find that a lot of people want to participate and get involved with your project, all you have to do is be able to ask. This is a hard thing to learn how to do, I am still learning it. But if you can get past the fear of asking for things then it seems to come easier.

Star Wars: Retold (By Someone Who Hasn't Seen It)

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Safe speed to shoot fluorescents(in a 60hz system) are: 24fps, 30fps, 40fps, 60fps, 120fps.

Fundraising

We have been doing fundraising for Gweilo and we'd like to thank everyone who has contributed, we would not be able to do this without you. We are just a few thousand dollars short($8,000 to be exact) of our goal and right on the cusp of production we are doing one final push to help us get to the number we need!

Here is a list of some ways you can donate to help the students:

•Building materials
(wood, paint, props, glue, etc...)

•Meals during production
(30+ people)

•Craft Services
(healthy snack food and drinks for the crew)

•Money
(tax deductible through SFSU)

•Basic materials
(pens, note pads, paper, etc...)

For more information and to see the progress we have already made, please visit our website at: http://www.distantthunderfilms.com/gweilo/

Film Test

We shot our film test today at Lee Utterbach Cameras here in San Francisco. We were testing three different 35mm film stocks: Kodak 5229 500T Expression, Fuji 8582 400T and Fuji 8573 500T Eterna stocks. We chose a lower contrast stock for the look of this film to help blend and smooth out all the vibrant colors and lights we plan on filling the market place with.

We did an "Over/Under" test where we over exposed the films and under exposed the films by a selected amount to see how it reacts to being over lit of under lit. We also tested out some colored gels that we plan on putting on some of our lights for the bulbs in the shop.

We sent the exposed negative to Deluxe Labs in Hollywood to process and print for us and they will send it back to be screened by us. The reasons for these film tests is to help the Cinematographer and Director choose the film stock(which effects the look) for the project.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
It is important to see these film tests projected in print form to help you make an accurate decision based on color rendering, contrast and grain. If you have the option to print and see print dailies- always, always, ALWAYS take that option. You'll be glad you did.

Gweilo

We are in the middle of prep for a new short film we are doing in association with the Cinema Department at San Francisco State University. The art department is hard at work building the sets, designing and collecting props and constructing the flats. Everything in this film is being designed and constructed from scratch by the students. We are busy working with Kodak and Fuji to find a film stock that will work for us and we have also been working with Deluxe Labratories in Hollywood who will be doing our film processing. Here are a few pictures so far:


The interns hanging out at the art space during a production meeting.


All the hand crafted flats, constructed by Evan Wade.


Bottles collected by the art department for the liquor store shop.


The producers hard at work doing an amazing job stretching every one of our dollars. I have a new found respect for what they do.


Director Joseph Matarrese and Composer Victor Paredes work on some of the songs for the website, trailer and film's soundtrack.


Some of the amazing costumes created for the film by Valerie Galindo, Costume Designer.

For more pictures: please click here:http://flickr.com/photos/15005161@N06/sets/72157608661642321/

For more information on this wonderful project, please visit our website for more pictures, information and updates: http://www.distantthunderfilms.com/gweilo

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
A positive attitude is infectious. Moral must be kept high because it helps promote productivity. Don't forget to take the time to smile and give positive re-enforcement to your fellow crew members!

Congratulation, Brian Corral!

Congratulation to Brian Corral who just got swarn into IATSE Local 695, Hollywood Sound Union! We're proud of you!









PhillM tip-of-that day
Remember to always bring a compass when you are tech scouting. It helps to know which way the sun is moving.