These past couple weeks of figuring out pre-production have been a bit rough. Just as Nicole Kassell mentioned… shooting a short means you have to do everything and wear multiple hats simultaneously. So Yong Kim, my mentor, really helped me calm down and focus on the creative side by affording me brilliant advice based around letting your team do their jobs. Everyone from Cinereach to Fractured Atlas to my key crew have been amazing in helping get us closer to our shoot. Moral of the story — people want to help… let them.
Archive for November, 2008
11/19/2008
» Visit to Dena’s Set
Sunday, November 16th Cinereach staff visited the Brooklyn set of “Blues” to get an intimate look at Dena in action. The amazingly prepared, and professional Director Dena, had everything in order and did not exhibit any outward signs of stress – a feat unto itself!
Dena with members of her crew during re-load
Jeremy Kipp Walker also braved the cold, showing his support and offering hands-on help loading equipment or offering advice to Dena and the crew whenever possible.
Dena’s actors had a few rehearsals before the shoot, and seemed comfortable with their lines and each other. We learned that the young actor behind “Moshe,” David Thompson, keeps quite the busy schedule; balancing school, acting, and wrestling according to his parents who were also on the set. Mohammed Trawally sounded better on the harmonica when he picked it up than his character, Ralph, does in the Blues!
Moshe and Ralph meet
A big thank you to Dena for letting us crash her set, and congratulations on a successful shoot!
11/12/2008
» Discretionary Grants Awarded and Announced
Cinereach has selected two projects to receive discretionary grants this month. From a pool of outstanding, invite-only projects, the Grants Committee was most inspired by the visual artistry of the selected films and by the profound connection apparent between the filmmakers and their subjects.
OCTOBER COUNTRY (Doc)
Every family has its ghosts. OCTOBER COUNTRY is a beautifully filmed portrait of an American family struggling for stability while haunted by the ghosts of war, teen pregnancy, foster care and child abuse. With rarely seen intimacy, sensitivity and respect, this vibrant documentary examines the forces that unsettle the working poor and the violence that lurks beneath the surface of American life.
UNTITLED RAINFOREST PROJECT (D0c)
This Yachaywasi documentary will provide a unique insight into modern day Amazonia and the struggle of its indigenous peoples as their lands are auctioned off to international oil giants. A story eloquently told through the eyes of Peruvian indigenous people and a local human rights lawyer, it will reveal how an entire way of life is being pushed to the brink of extinction in the pursuit of oil. More on Yachaywasi here.
11/10/2008
» TRA at the Queens International Film Festival
THE ROAD AHEAD screened at the Queens International Film Festival on Saturday, 11/8 at 11:00am.
Queens has the largest Chinese population of any New York City borough and was a great place for our local debut.
11/06/2008
» The First Blues Rehearsal
Saturday, October 25th, was the first rehearsal I held with Mohammed Trawally, who is playing the part of Ralph and David Thompson, who is playing the part of Moshe. These fourteen year old actors are extremely talanted and I am priviledged to be able to work with them.
Mohammed Trawally and David Thompson will play Ralph and Moshe in "Blues"
Using techniques Paola Mendoza taught us, I started off the rehearsal with games to get to know each other. Within the first 20 minutes, great chemistry developed with the two boys. We moved on to rehearsing the most important scene of “Blues,” when the two boys meet for the first time. After this first rehearsal, I became very excited and more at ease at the challenge of directing two fourteen-year-old boys from completely different backgrounds It was a great feeling to see the the two main characters, Moshe and Ralph come to life.
Reach Fellow Dena Greenbaum working on script revisions with Mentor Jeremy Kipp Walker
"Ralph" and "Moshe" rehearse a scene from "Blues"
11/04/2008
» Mentoring the short film maker
Hello, All.
I’ve starting working with my mentee Jules, and in doing so, the memories of making short films come flooding back. Shorts are so great and SO HARD! When you are directing a short, most often you are also writing, producing, and being your own cheerleader. It is mind boggling; juggling the stress of wearing a million hats, the desire to say so much vs the need to cut it down, and the always nagging question – how will I feed my crew??
Speaking of which, this may seem a random place to start but it’s critical. Whether you pay your crew or not, a well-fed crew is a happy crew. This is as true for a short film as a feature or a TV set. On a good day, you are asking your crew to work 12 hours. Most likely you’ll push them for more. A second hot meal, or a treat in the middle of the day go a long way. If I could give only one piece of advice, this would be it. The alternative is a crew that feels disrespected and is not on your side, and bad energy on set.
The 2nd bit of advice I have is hone your story down NOW. I love how ambitious you all are and the last thing I want to do is curb ambition, but this is not a feature. This needs to be a little polished gem. Lean and mean. Cut it down, make it as tight as possible. Desperately try to make cutting choices before production.
That’s it for now, Nicky
Writer/Director Nicole Kassell
At NYU’s Graduate Film Program, Nicole Kassell’s work was recognized with an Outstanding Achievement Awards in directing, writing, editing, and producing. While at NYU, Kassell produced, and directed three short films; Jaime, which won the 1999 DGA Best Female Student Filmmaker Award; and The Green Hour, which was honored with the Warner Brothers Pictures Film Production Award and was selected for the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Kassell is best known as the writer/director of The Woodsman, based on the play by Steven Fechter and featuring Kevin Bacon. It has won numerous awards, and was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2004. More recently, she has directed two episodes of the television series, Cold Case.
11/04/2008
» Brendon meets with Mentor So Yong Kim
Brendon and So's first mentor meeting
Cinereach has been kind enough to pair me up with mentor So Yong Kim- the uber talented and decidely amazing director of such films as In-Between Days and Treeless Mountain. We got coffee in the West Village and talked about pre-production and film’s larger picture. So was incredibly open with her advice and I look forward to our next meeting. Thanks again So!