Daddy Types

A post about an African movie on the mystery of fatherhood seems like as good an excuse as any to soft-launch a new publishing work-in-progress. Daddy Types, a weblog for new dads, (will) gather advice, gear and resources for thinking fathers. Or at least for the ones who cringe at the sight of tole painting. inspirations: Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools, Matt Haughey's PVRblog, and Gizmodo (and, by extension, Engadget)....
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outline for Wed. Seminar

Ignore me. I'm making notes for a seminar at CCNY that Paul Myoda invited me to speak at and screen some of the films. I should probably make a Venn Diagram for this... Production diary of my own films Ideas behind my own films (including development of some scripts, why the hell I'm doing a musical) Influences and inspiration, whether filmmakers, artists, writers Subject matter, themes, background and continuing dialogue/unfolding events (death, grief, 9/11, memorials, architecture) Art & architecture I...
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Shoot sequentially, post asynchronously

Don't know how I missed this; in Feb., Gus Van Sant talked to The Onion A.V. Club about making his films. The sequential filming mode from Gerry was used again on Elephant; with a small, light crew, Van Sant was practically flying along, shooting whatever he wanted. It was an approach he'd missed since his first feature, Mala Noche. One review of Gerry deadpanned that Los Angeles is enough of a desert itself, why go to Death Valley; since...
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On how I always think I have two more days than I do, sort of a staggered Groundhog Day

Sent off entries to festivals in Rotterdam and San Jose, even though Rotterdam's short film deadline was last week (I got as close to special dispensation as they're willing to do in these circumstances, pleading and dropping the heavy name of the festival that accepted the film for December.) The memefeeder online film project doesn't have a upload deadline Monday, it goes live on Monday, so I'm scrambling to shoot, edit, digitize and upload that by Friday night. Net net:...
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Memefeeder scene preparations

from to Currently prepping to shoot a 1-minute scene for an online collaborative film at Memefeeder.com. I'm doing Scene Three, "Commute," for which the first and last shot of the scene has been provided; what actually happens in the scene is up to me. The story: previous instances of missing his ride flash through the mind of a commuter worried about being late once again. shot 1: a failed attempt to hitchhike in Greenwich, CT shot 2: missing the bus...
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Screenplay for a new (very) short - Penguins

Here is the first completed version of a screenplay for a short short film (and I AM thinking of shooting it in film), called Penguins (at least until I make some progress on the larger project that this would fit into). Check it out, don't steal it, and let me know what you think....
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MemeFeeder online film project

And speaking of composite films by collections of directors, MemeFeeder is a collaborative online movie I am participating in. Based somewhere in the aether (the use of the phrase "first in best dressed" makes me think at least one Australian is involved), MemeFeeder has invited ten directors (and other contributors) to each create a one-minute silent film based on a scene from the storyboard they've provided. The ten completed minutes will be runtogethertomake a ten-minute short, which will screen online...
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When my grandfather was still

When my grandfather was still farming, the shed behind their house was where he parked his tractor and combine. It's still where spare parts and empty grain bags hang at the ready and where tools fill the old kitchen cabinets. This NYTimes article by Becky Gaylord talks about mens' sheds in Australia. There's apparently a book, Blokes & Sheds, by Mark Thomson, who's quoted in the article. Some ideas I liked: What looks like chaos to outsiders is easily deciphered...
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My video equipment's out on

My video equipment's out on loan for a music video, and I've been location scouting in DC for the last few days and haven't been able to work on the movie at all. For cheap thrills, I'm flying out of National Airport this afternoon (good old Delta Shuttle), and will report any happenings of note....
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[Just ignore the dates. There's

[Just ignore the dates. There's so much going on, I'm more than a little behind on the log.] On location, day 3 - We spent most of the day following around Chad, a 32-year old farmer in Mapleton. Along with his father, he works several hundred acres of land around town, including the fields he leases from my grandparents' farm. Here's what we spent the day shooting: Changing the course of irrigation water: While the irrigation ditches we shot on...
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On location, day 2 -

On location, day 2 - Email still is spotty, dialup is only AOL. And it's hot as heck (as they say around here in rural Utah). Shooting's going well. We were up and out at 7 yesterday (Tues.) to pick up additional sound equipment (add a Sennheiser boom mike to the list of required gear.) and to find hay fields being cut, baled and loaded. (Note: It takes 3-4 days for cut hay to dry before it's baled; hauling is...
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We're here in Utah, shooting.

We're here in Utah, shooting. Got in last night. Two points: 1) Having been on DSL at home for so long, I didn't realize what a pain a dialup connection could be. Right now, I'm logged in through my grandmother's AOL account. This can't last. 2) It's freakin' hot (you can't swear in Utah without turning major heads). Been running around picking up sound equipment, testing filters, fixing the eyepiece on the camera. If you don't have a full time...
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It's two days before leaving

It's two days before leaving for location shooting, and I've been wrapped up in myriad other responsibilities and projects that won't resolve. The takeaway: I've been ten minutes late all day, and it's made all the difference. (This phenomenon was portrayed in the Gwyneth Paltrow vehicle, Sliding Doors, which I didn't see.) Waiting in line for some free theater tickets from 6:10AM until 1:30, They handed out the last tickets 55 people in front of me, and the last cancellation...
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First week of shooting is

First week of shooting is scheduled. We (the crew = Jeff and me, with another guy joining up on location) leave NYC for Salt Lake City next Monday and drive down to Mapleton. (The town has the rockin' URL, Mapleton.org. It's some Novell millionaires interspersed (or overlooking) the original farmers who built the town. Part of the Springville metropolitan area. Springville.org. These people were really on top of the domain registration thing...) We'll shoot through Sunday in and around Mapleton...
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