teaser

Whale meet again

It's what the eskimos keep saying. And the inuit. And the klinkit.

Stay current with Conviction over on its own blog. This one will pick back up when MPU starts airing..

In the Presence of the Lord

In scouting for our first episode, I've discovered a small town in Maryland that will let us shoot two days worth of scenes there. Normally, I'm not crazy about Maryland, probably because I always picture Bethesda, Silver Spring, Rockville and think traffic, perpetual construction, poor civic planning and a Rockville Pike that seems to go on forever without ever getting anywhere.

Agricultural communities are nice, perhaps because of the sparse ratio of people per square mile, but also due to the lack of modernity: Long fields that span to the horizon, orchards, barns, ponds, as well as Mom and Pop stores by the highway and historic churches whose steeples peek out between twists in the road.

Which is how I came to be at lunch with a group of ladies in a church basement.

This particular church was built in 1850, and is beautiful: stone exterior, gothic
aspects, but small, intimate, in a God-can-reach-you sort of way. The inside is cozy, dark and lit with slashes of color from the stained glass vestibularies.


They had just finished eating, and I told them I didn't want to interrupt, but they insisted now was a good time. Trying to make our story sound redemptive isn't hard, but it takes a positive outlook. We had a nice chat, and they've agreed, graciously, to have us in.

The town reminds me of the area in Kansas where my Dad spent most of his childhood. There's a smell of manure that's not unpleasant, a lot of dust and trucks, and I've seen a lot of guys pull into places of business, get out of their trucks and put their shirts on.

First day conviction

Okay, it's happened again: I've started a new job with a desk and a phone, and I'm sitting here wondering what to do, just like Costanza did when he got a new job. At least this time, I have incentive to look busy: my office is in a well-travelled hallway, so there's a buzz of acitvity and people walk past and glance in pretty regularly.

I'm also not as claustrophobic (and a little more office-saavy) than last time. I'm thinking that for the first few days I'll decorate, blog, read e-mail, and, time permitting, break the script down into managable chunks. There's an editor who has a guitar on a stand in his bay, which I think gives precedent for me to bring a tele in, or at least a Danelectro...

My AP this season has experience (for a change) and has been to film school (what's that like?). I've worked with AP's before who a) were emotionally arrested at age 14 b) would periodically try to go over my head if a particular assignment was inconvenient c) lack professionalism and experience and d) like, talk, dude, like um, this was like, Ridgemont High dude, and um like, Spicoli was our like diction coach dude (no way!)

But as you can see, I'm stoked, because, like I've got another gig directing true crime TV. Right now, someone else is getting Leo's sunglasses converted to AR-coated lenses...(and chatting organic cereal with Russell)

Light in August

Our job begins and ends with light- we capture the reflection of light off objects and people. Without light, there's no image, no picture, no show.

This season of television production is over- many people helped and some did the opposite. It's been a long season, made longer by creative struggles and adversity.

Now that it's over, I feel a huge weight lifted. It's nice to get my life back, and to have a project to look forward to creatively.

Thanks to the great team of actors and crew this season, notably Jake Cross, Stephen Guidry, Tony Parker, Robin Mincher and the extremely talented camera team of Thomas Jacobi, Stefan Weisen, and Martin Filfil.

If you were a positive influence this season, thank you. If you were a negative force- I wish you well.

The Professional

I'd forgotten what a difference working with film professionals can make. Bentley joined us on the set for our penultimate episode of the season, and made a huge difference.

It's nice to have someone on the set that is anticipating the needs of the shooting crew, communicating with the DP regarding equipment needs, looking ahead to prepare shots that will be next, and basically doing something besides sitting on equipment cases and chatting with friends on the phone.

It's called set savvy- either you know it and use it, or you don't . Here's an observation: wherever possible, hire professionals.

Thanks for the help, Bentley- it was great working with you again. I'll call you for my next show and recommend you highly and without reservation.

Veni vidi vici

Okay, so the verdict is in, and if you know where to look, and/or have been following this monologue/thread, feel free to judge for yourself...

I'm going to leave that song playing- I like it. Usually I disable autoplay after a subsequent post, but it's a groove. Let's keep it on. It makes it harder to read...

So the re-shoot door has been opened- we've been asked to shoot additional scenes for episodes already completed. We're already doing one, the meth man gambit from an episode that rhymes with bitch-hole (can't be too careful, might be some dookie lurking around here).

You can hear the floodgates creaking: can we re-shoot a scene where a couple is arguing, and put them in winter wardrobe? (even though it's now July, and foliage will tell the viewer as much). In a paraphrase- we've discarded more footage than you'll ever need- you could make a movie out of stuff we've shot that's not being used...

It would be called True Crime, kinda like Pulp Fiction, the plot would be a girl goes missing, someone smokes on some steps, a fisherman spots a box, a bald guys throws it over a clift, a sexy girl gets in her car, a couple leaves a beautiful but creepy farmhouse and then...

Stay tuned..