I spent over 100 hours editing, audio sweetening, and effects on Detective A, a 10 minute short movie written and directed by Victor A. Nieto, and the hard work paid off — We won, or I should say I won, the Best Technical Achievement award — some think that the award went to the entire group but honestly what did they do to achieve a TECHNICAL award?  Camera?  Acting? Lighting?   I laugh.  In fact once the award was received by Victor, both he and Eric Shackleford, pointed to me as Victor said, and I quote, “This really goes to Gerry our Editor and technical guru.”

Now after spending many more hours creating an extended 16 minute version, I added (winner) under my name in the credits and created an EDITOR’S CUT DVD — Mr. Director was not pleased.  “I can’t show to to my family as my film.”  “I can’t give this to graduate schools as my film.”  “Have you ever heard of an Editor’s cut?” “The award went to the whole production not just you.”

So I fixed his wagon.  I took off the 5 trailers that I made without his input and I took off the longer version that I made without his input as well; hence the name EDITOR’S CUT.  It’s NOT his movie… Well… In a sense I took the original and retooled it, moved things around, added more footage to the scenes, did more effects, wrote extra music, and so forth.  So it is MY version, MY story plot, and MY EDITOR’S CUT from his original movie, which makes it NOT his film to take credit for — he can have the 10 minute original version which he and I both worked on for 12 hours and then I took it home and spent 50 hours more working on it

Anyway, barring the immaturity of the individual who reminds me of someone who used to be family by marriage and his arrogant egotistical, all for him attitude, the whole experience was worth it and fun.

So much so, that I wrote another story called Chardonnay with the cast and crew in mind — well, some of them anyway.

You can see the TRAILERS that I cut for Detective A at the Detective A website.

This month: November 1 – 10th, 2009 the USERNAME is: b3e24 PW: frnka

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I have volunteered my editing and movie making knowledge and skills to Victor A. Nieto and his short movie DETECTIVE A for the Access Sacramento “A Place Called Sacramento” Movie Festival.

I am working with a great group of people:  some fresh out of film studies in college and other who have been acting for quite sometime.

We have been to a few locations in Sacramento and have gotten some great shots.  My daughter Kyriè was background in the art gallery scene, though she wanted the lead or a speaking role, her time will come.

Both screen plays are ready for the Final Draft Contest.

I have spent many hours reading and tweaking then reading and more tweaking and more reading to get the right taste, the right flavor, just the perfect mix and balance of emotions and action — I have achieved this in my mind, but the audience will be the final judge of that, well for this contest the judges will be…

If I do not do well, I will not give up as I am looking for financing to do these myself, in my own way, and with an empghisis on actual entertainment and not the bottom line of IT’S GOT TO MAKE MONEY… Course that would be great, but it is not my motivating force which may be why I’ll never make it or when I do, I will be thanked for thinking about the audience and making a great story and visual entertainment.

Until then I keep going. I know I do well with my editing and storytelling for people and their home movies and pictures. Making something so mundane into something that will be watch over and over again shows a skill and attention to the client  [not saying all family pictures are that way just everyone has seen them in your family and quite frankly "do we have to see the pictures again?" phrase is not what you want to here. But when I make it sop everyone wants a copy, well, I will pat myself on the back and no, my arm does not hurt ]

So I know I have what it takes in the talent area, just hate dealing with wishy washy, unmotivated and inconciderate people, but i need to learn to do that. NOOOOOO

Yes, I know. I know. I know that the world is in an economic downfall, a spiraling financial crash, and we are on a recession / depression path, but I am happy about it.

Happy?

Yes, I am. I have been hit hard: a constant job is hard to find, my career is not stable, and our credit is not pristine.

So why am I happy?

I look at it as everyone is going to have to redo their lifestyle, rethink their priorities, and look harder at what is needed and what is not—yes, go back to the basics when surviving was the focus, a hard honest days work, not trying to sneak by or cheat—we will still have that but it will not be as easy.

Most people, if they are smart and strong—this is a world where only the fittest survive; nature has a way of balancing itself and sad as it may be, nature does eliminate the weak, the cheaters, and the liars—the strong will look at plots, schemes, things that are too good to be true, because there isn’t anything that is out of the ordinary good that is really good. I cannot believe people have been so stupid thinking there are honest ways of beating the system, and unless you are the one devising the scheme, you are just a victim.

I look at it as all those wannabes in music, writing, movies, actors, musicians, artists, and so forth will actually have to have skills, talent, staying power, and a real desire to be in it for the product, the creativity, the integrity of their craft not for the money.

I am wanting this downfall in the economy to wake everyone up to look at what they are buying, supporting, and using to see if those products and services are truly the best. There are so many knock offs, so many followers, so many crappy ideas that get accepted, used, or listened to. I want the world to have just enough funds, time, and needs that only the strong survive.

Yes, I know, open source is great for this, the competitive competition is great for that, blah, blah, blah.

I just want to weak minded, the schemers that think they can just make a mediocre product or service, what ever it be, and take advantage of the populous. Yeah, I said it before, the stupid will buy into those schemes and there is nothing we can do to stop them. The Yin and the Yan is balance. You cannot have light without dark, good without evil, and quality without crap.

So what is my point?

No matter how bad it gets, unless it is just a total melt down and we go into a state of panic and all heck breaks loose, peolple will still go see movies, rent them, and buy them—we are a people, well a society at this time in our existence, that wants entertainment, free time, and to be heard and seen (the last part is one of our downfalls as a society, MYSPACE, YOUTUBE… But I will save that thought for another post.

So. Investing in our project, is a viable alternative to many things. We stand tall, will defend, and never back down when it comes to our projects, the people involved, and the story we tell. Although a risky investment—one may not get their money back (the movie market is not a guarantee what is popular and what is not), it is still an opportunity to try, to make history, to be involved in something great.

And when we do succeed, you will be glad you took the chance and made a difference in the world—one must always think positive; always looking for the opportunities, the good in the bad, and never quitting; if negativity surrounds oneself, than that person is looking for the negative and will go to it before the positive; one must also have a realistic view by understanding and preparing oneself for the bad news if it hits, it does not hit so hard.

Tags: Paint, Finance, Possiblities,

We keep looking for avenues for funding Paint v2008 but with the financial situation of the world, it does not look good right now. Oh no doubt things will turn, but we are in a slump whether you believe it or not. We will not come out of it for a few years. If we are lucky, possibly by 2010…

But we keep hope alive and struggle along because you never know when that door will open. We just need to find the door.

PAINT has changed drastically. Mind you it is still the same story; however, the flashback scenes have been rearranged and it play MUCH better. I am excited about it. It was that something that will take the story to the next level.

One can read it here

Tags: paint, v2008, funding

I am a creative person and want to immerse myself in is 100% of my life; however, working full time during the day doing manual labor does not give me the time nor the energy to do things at night.

One needs a job to pay their bills, especially the school loan they took out to go learn more about creativity and how to channel it (film and TV Post Production school)

But why then am I not in Hollywood area doing what I went to school for?

Well, I do not like Southern California, I have a Family here going to school, I grew up with my dad transferring to location to location and moving from school to school–it was no fun, so I will not do that to my children, plus there are several other reasons; however, that does not mean if the right opportunity comes along…

So what am I working on now?

Well, I am one of those people, I know cannot be the only one, that thinks about things–I do not listen to the radio when I am alone while driving, I think about things–I think about things always, even in my sleep.

Yes I know, I am a different breed.

But, I have just come up with an Idea to extend the “Paint” series and redo the first one and still call it PAINT.

More to come

Tags: Paint, Movies, story line, work, creativity

Well, one does have to work to get bills paid, which meant all creative projects went on hold for some time. Now that we are getting caught up an natural instinct inside is wanting to create again.

Some people have left the area, others have gotten really busy, but all of them have gotten older PAINT 2 is getting a face lift.

Synopsis:
Aria comes back from college overseas (somewhere in a galaxy far, far, away), Trevor’s team is having difficulties with people moving away….

more to come.

As most of you may not know I have been going through the ups and downs of life, not saying I am the only one who is, but just saying that I have bills to pay with no job and I still want to make movies–be creative.

Well sometimes these things do not mix, and what makes matters worse is that I am trying to do it in Northern California 60 miles north of Sacramento. Not a place to try to do this type of thing. If I were a professional surfer, why would I live in Idaho? If I was a professional snow skier why do I live in the Moroccan desert? Well the same goes for me. Why am I up here when the jobs are in Hollywood?

Several reasons.

• I do not like it down there
• I have a home up here and a family
• I do not have the money to move there

There are more, but I would rather not bore you with my personal life struggles.

So bottom line, I am trying to stay focused but do the right thing for the family by getting back to working a dull, boring, regular job until things pick up with financing for the second movie.

Well I expected the On The Lot to be different, since it had Steven Spielberg attached to it, but I was wrong.

I is just another crappy, unfair, amateur infested circus they call a filmmaker contest, but it isn’t; it is a REALITY SHOW based on filmmakers, well mostly videomakers, and bad ones at that, making weekly shorts to be judged by viewers–the audience, just like American Idol and so forth.

Wow. So is this the way we are going to be able to do something in life, be judged by our peers if that is what they want us to do? If they like us? If they feel we are good enough?

Hmm, maybe we should do the presidency like that?

Anyway, if you choose to the the trailer, in poor video quality and in 4:3 not widescreen, then go here