Video Of The Week

Music is truly the universal language.

THIS WEEK @ DMAC - 2 GREAT FLICKS

Besides Brouhaha in your weekend schedule, DMAC has a couple of cool films you should check out - MY BIG FAT INDEPENDENT MOVIE and a music documentary LUCERO, DREAMING IN AMERICA. Get the showtimes and details at the DMAC website. BTW - anyone can pick up free tickets for the LUCERO doc at both locations of PARK AVE CDs

MY BIG FAT INDEPENDENT MOVIE
"Blazing Saddles" did it to the Western. "Airplane" did it to the Disaster Flick. "Scary Movie" did it to the Horror Film. "Not Another Teen Movie" did it to the, uh, Teen Movie. And now, it’s time for Independent Films to get what they got comin’ to ‘em.

"My Big Fat Independent Movie" is a feature comedy that includes spoofs of some of the indie film world's most renowned movies such as "Memento," "Pulp Fiction," "Magnolia," "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," "Amelie," "Run Lola Run," "El Mariachi," "The Good Girl," "Pi," "Swingers" and many others.

LUCERO - DREAMING IN AMERICA
There are hundreds of bands crisscrossing the country at any given moment. This is the story of one of them. From their troubled past, to the recording of their new album Nobody's Darlings, Dreaming in America, by New York Filmmaker Aaron Goldman, serves as an emotional testimony of Lucero, a band that makes music because they love it, they're compelled to, and their lives depend on it. It is the story of a blue-collar rock group's fight to exist and thrive since they formed in the late 90's.

Inspired by films like D.A Pennebaker's classic Don't Look Back, Instrument (the Fugazi documentary), and I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, the Wilco movie, Dreaming in America takes a brutally honest look at a brutally honest band. The film documents Lucero's seemingly endless travels as they slug it out on the road, playing more than 250 shows a year, recording in a barn with legendary producer Jim Dickinson and trying to find their home in an ever changing music industry.

Brouhaha To Screen 6 UCF Films This Saturday!

There's event this Saturday everyone at UCF FILM should be attending - The Brouhaha Film & Video Showcase at Enzian. UCF FILM is proud to say that six of our films were accepted for screening at Brouhaha:

• November Guest (directed by Danny Daneau '05)
• Love Is Deaf (directed by Andrew Gay '06)
  
• Losing Toby (directed by Drew Lindo '06)
  
• On Being Your Average Joe (directed Ryan Pomeranz '06)
• Life To Go (Erin Kitzinger '05)
  
• A Wind To Shake The Stars (The Dastoli Brothers '07)

Brouhaha is different this year in that it's focusing exclusively on student filmmakers. The rest of the program is filled with works from FSU, Ringling and a few smaller schools. Here's the critical thing - the films judged to be Best of Brouhaha will be invited to screen at the Florida Film Festival in a new Emerging Filmmakers Showcase. That's a first and it transforms Brouhaha from a minor, locals-only event to an important lead-in for Florida's best-known indie film event.

Please consider coming to Eenzian this Saturday afternoon to support your fellow filmmakers and to check out student filmmakers from across the state. Showtimes are Noon and 2:30, with a special showcase at 10:30 from the SAG (the Screen Actors Guild). Admission is only $5.

Need Help On Your Shoot?

We got a call from Marcos Grainger, a recent graduate of the Audio Recording Technology Institute who helped with the post sound on LOSING TOBY. He's offered his services on set to any UCF filmmakers who needs a hand on their shoots. In addition to sound, Marocs says he too went to film school and could be helpful with camera or in other departments. You can reach him at (321) 695-0540.

FILMMAKER NICK DAY TO SPEAK @ DMAC THIS THURSDAY (10/20) FOR SCREENING OF "SHORT CUT TO NIRVANA"

Producer, director, editor and photographer NICK DAY, will visit DMAC for the opening night screening of his film SHORT CUT TO NIRVANA on Thursday, Oct. 20, 7:30 show. There will be a Q&A following the screening, led by DMAC's own Darren McDaniel.

Nick Day studied cinema at the British Film Institue and trained and worked as a video editor in London before relocating to New York City. His productions credits include a diverse range of films, documentaries, news stories and commercials for international clients such as RAI Italy, ZDF Germany and Channel 4 UK. Nick also co-produced the feature series "At The Movies", which was broadcast in Brazil and Italy, featuring Giovanna Calvino, Salman Rushdie and Isabella Rosellini.

Nick has written several screenplays, including The Fallen, which won him the screenwriter's award at the 2004 Breckenridge Film Festival. He also serves on the board of HealthShare International as its vice president. In addition, he has worked with various Tibet support groups, helping to build two schools for Tibetan refugees in Nepal and India. He is a long time member of both International Campaign for Tibet and Amnesty International.


SHORT CUT TO NIRVANA
The Kumbh Mela is the biggest gathering of people in the history of humanity – although few in the West have ever heard of it. More than 70 million pilgrims attend this extraordinary spiritual festival, which has been held every 12 years near Allahabad, India, for over two millennia. A vast tent city is established to accommodate the masses, and many of India’s greatest gurus and spiritual leaders set up camp to give discourses to their devotees. On certain auspicious days everyone takes a holy dip at the confluence of two actual rivers - the Ganges and Yamuna - and a mythical river, the Saraswati. On the main bathing day, more than 25 million people bathe in the sacred waters. This single act of faith is believed to cleanse the sins of a thousand lifetimes and secure release from the endless cycle of rebirth – literally a short cut to the state of purest bliss… nirvana.

Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela takes a voyage of discovery through this vivid and vibrant world, accompanied by an irrepressible young Hindu monk, Swami Krishnanand, and several Westerners, each on their own spiritual quest. We encounter some of the Kumbh Mela’s wisest and most fascinating characters, including an ascetic sadhu who has held his arm in the air for over 20 years, another who sits on a throne of nails, a Japanese devotee who is buried in a pit for three days, and a guru who proposes that Americans would do well to start meditating for three hours each day. We also spend moments in the company of an honored guest, the Dalai Lama, as senior leaders of Hinduism and Buddhism join together in an historic moment of unity.

More than a simple account of the Kumbh Mela, this film is a sensory experience of an ancient, grand occasion, a swirl of color and motion, song and cacophony, the sacred and the surreal -- spiritual India exactly as anyone would hope to find it. And from this ancient tradition comes a powerful and uplifting message of harmony, unity, and peace for all humanity.

A Cheap Movie Done Right

Everyone entering the digital age of movie making starts to wonder -- exactly how little equipment do I really need? Here's a compelling answer - a filmmaker by the name of PATRYK REBISZ shot a great little short called Between You And Me using just a Canon EOS20D digital still camera in "burst mode." Burst mode allows the user to shoot at about five frames a second for as long and the camera's memory buffer will allow. For this short, Rebisz said he was limited to about 12-second takes and thus, the entire movie had to be carefully constructed.

The result is quite stunning. The use of the digital camera means each still frame is dense with content (4 megapixels or so). He used natural light or one 100-watt handheld light and the results won Best Cinematography Award at the Gotham City Film Festival. His process was to fill the 1 gig memory card of the camera (about 650 frames), dump those frames into a laptop and continue shooting. The entire short was shot over a few days.

If I have one problem with the film it's the sound - Rebisz chose a camera shutter clicking as his only sound in order to convey to the audience that a still camera was being used. I don't think it was necessary. Almost any other soundtrack - music, experimental noise, the sounds of the city - would have been better for the story. But this is a small grip for a film that both opens up possibilities and is beautiful to view. Check it out online at the link above. To learn more about his process, read this article from Filmmaker Magazine.

Fest Update: LOSING TOBY To Screen @ Griffon Intl Film Fest

The march of the cute little bear continues...Drew Lindo ('06) tells us his Directing 3 short LOSING TOBY has been accepted for screening at the Griffon International Film Festival, set for October 27 - 29th. Films will be screened in Saint Joseph, Missouri, "home of the Pony Express and Jesse James." (Take that Sundance!).

Fest Update: LOVE IS DEAF Accepted @ Deep Ellum Film Fest

This makes two!

Andrew Gay ('06) emailed to tell us say that his Directing 3 Short, LOVE IS DEAF has been accepted as an Official Selection to the Deep Ellum Film Festival, scheduled for November 17-23rd, 2005 in Dallas/Deep Ellum Texas. That's the second festival acceptance for this film.

Thanks for making my job easy.

Alzheimer's Association Seeks Video Editor ASAP For Promo Piece

Orine Boyd, of the Alzheimer's Association says trhe group has "about 2 hours of footage that needs to be condensed into a 10 minute promotional piece to be viewed by the caregivers of Alzheimers patients and more importantly by those companies and individuals who financially support their efforts. Alzheimer’s Association provides all their services free to the families and patients who are suffering from this life altering disease, the impact of which is increasing as our life span increases. As a result we have offered to provide this film to them at no charge."

"If you know of anyone who would like to take on the challenge of completing this project with me, would you please give me their name and contact information. Please feel free to give them mine. I have one week to complete this effort and I am sure that within 24 hours a very creative and experienced editor will make this project work for the Alzheimer's Association, and would effectively add to their resume of work that will be viewed by many influential people in the Central Florida community."

Thanks for your help
Orine Boyd
407-518-0443 / cell 407-810-1241
o_boyd@candoeventplanning.com

PS - This is a non-paying gig

Fest Update: WHEN THE PERFECT & IVAN GORSKY To Screen At Ohio Indie Film Fest

FIVE STORIES, it's the gift that just keeps on giving...Adam Showen ('04) forwarded us this letter email of joy regarding his Capstone short, WHEN THE PERFECT COMES.

CONGRATULATIONS! Your film WHEN THE PERFECT COMES has been accepted into the 2005 Ohio Independent Film Festival! It is scheduled to be shown on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2005 AT 4PM. The 2005 OIFF will be held at Cleveland Public Theatre, 6415 Detroit Road in Cleveland, Ohio November 6-13, 2005.

When I visited their site, I found that AN EVENING WITH IVAN GORSKY, directed by Joe Mauceri ('04) is also playing the festival! Those two, along with ON BEING YOUR AVERAGE JOE (Ryan Pomeranz, '06), make three UCF shorts screening at the 2005 Ohio IFF.

Wow...we should attend this thing.

Where's Rich These Days?

Some of you might have noticed that I'm not in my office much lately. That's because I'm enrolled for a Masters of Science Degree at FIEA - The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy. FIEA is a grad program set up by UCF and Electronic Arts and it's based in the Expo Center in Downtown, Orlando. That's our TV Room/Lounge pictured to the right. Cool beans, huh?

I'm in the Producer Track at FIEA and that means I spend about 40 hours a week coming up with video game designs, managing teams that build a new game prototype every two weeks and basically living as if I work in a dotcom (except for the getting fired part). The people here are great, the facility rocks and I get to write phrases like "Hot Snot" on whiteboards during game proposals (really..."hot snot" was my description for the viscosity of a blob character I was pitching...and they went for it!).

In addition to attending FIEA, I'm the Director of DMAC and still handling the Five Stories project. By my count, that means I have about two fulltime jobs. Much to the annoyance of my wife and son, it will probably stay this way until August or so.

You can find me at my UCF office on Fridays, but most of my previous responsibilities have been reassigned. Technically, I'm still in charge, but on a day to day basis, all equipment and checkout questions should be directed to Travis Bell, the UCF FILM Grad student (and professional grip) who's now working full-time in our equipment room. Art Cordoba will continue to handle queries regarding classroom equipment, faculity office gear and the dub rack. Editing Guru Mark Gerstein is the master of Post Facilities and I believe he's being assisted by Grad students Danny Daneau, Erin Kitzinger and Laura Lopez. In other words, you are in (many) good hands.

While I'm pulling all-nighters in the trenches of grad school, I will be unavailable to handle the multitude of requests that used to come through me - I don't reserve the soundstage, I can't fix your computer, etc, etc, etc. If you leave a phone message for me about such things, I will simply erase it, so please don't bother. Instead, head to the nice folks mentioned above and they will handle your needs.

Having said that, I remain available to view and comment upon your films should you request it. I might not be able to do it instantly, but if you need some outside perspective, feel free to ask and we'll work it out.

And BTW - if any of you have an interest in Game Design and would like to check out FIEA, drop me a line and I'll get you a tour. It is sweet place.

Fest Update: On Being Your Average Joe Accepted @ Ohio Indie Film Fest

Ryan Pomeranz ('06) informs us his Directing 3 short, On Being Your Average Joe has been accepted into the Ohio Independent Film Festival. Giving us the full update, he adds, "That's a whole 2 out of 8 so far. Not too shabby." Your are correct, sir. And I'll bet you get more acceptances soon. Mark my words.

Fest Update: IVAN GORSKY Heads To Memphis & gets Space Coast Nod

Even though the 2004 Five Stories is heading into memory, some of it's shorts are still working it. AN EVENING WITH IVAN GORSKY, directed by Joe Mauceri ('04), has been accepted for screening into the Indie Memphis Film Festival, which focuses on southern culture. The event is set for next weekend, September 20th or so. GORSKY is screening in two shorts programs.

Also on the Gorsky front, the short has been nominated by the Melboune Independent Film festival to the Space Coast Film Commission for their annual "Excellence in Florida Filmmaking Award". There are only 11 nominated films. The award will be presented at this year's Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival.

I ran into Joe at Stardust this morning and mentioned the Space Coast nomination to him. He smiled and said, "I love anything that has to do with space." Look for a unique acceptance speech should he take the prize.

Fest Update: LOVE IS DEAF To Debut At Paste Rock & Roll Festival

Andrew Gay ('06) tells us his Directing 3 short LOVE IS DEAF will make it's world debut at the Paste Rock 'n' Reel Festival 2005 (formerly known as Paste Shorts Festival). Those of you into music will recognize Paste as a fairly cool rock magazine that usually arries with a great bonus CD in each issue. Paste Fest runs October 22-23 in Decatur, GA.

GOODNIGHT CHARLIE Acquired For Distribution By Big Film Shorts

Here's a new twist. GOODNIGHT CHARLIE, the UCF short directed by Danny Daneau ('05) and feataured on the 2004 FIVE STORIES DVD has been acquired for distribution by Big Film Shorts, of Palm Springs, CA. Check out the film listing in the Big Film Shorts Catalog.

How did this happen? Let's go through the steps. As part of the FIVE STORIES project, we submitted GOODNIGHT CHARLIE for the CLOUD 9 Film Festival (BTW - the fest was recommended to us by Kristen Herbst, who used to sit in Patty Hurter's chair). Anyway, the people screening films for Cloud 9 were the folks from Big Film Shorts. I suppose part of their goals were to cherrypick great shorts and try to acquire them

Big Film was interested in several FIVE SHORTS shorts (again, the power of a compilation in focus - we had only submitted GOODNIGHT CHARLIE, but they checked out the others). They emailed a contract to me and I forward it to Danny. We had Randy "The Consiglieri" Finch check the details of the deal and when everything was worked out, Danny signed on the doted line and can now brag of having his film acquired. If all goes well, he'll make some money too. No word yet if other FIVE STORIES films have been picked up, but we'll keep you informed.

Let's review. Student makes film. Secretary recommends festival. Marketing team submits film. Fest screeners turn out to be acquisition company. Student signs acquisition contract.

Any reason you couldn't do this yourself? Nope...though it all starts with making a good film.

Fest Update: IVAN GORSKY To Melbourne Indie FF

The fun never stops! We just got word that AN EVEING WITH IVAN GORSKY, directed by Joe Mauceri ('04) has been accepted for screening at the 2005 Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival. Festival dates are Nov. 10-12th and the event occurs just an hour's drive from here on the coast in Melbourne.