Don't mind me, I'm just being an Emo Moviemaker. A little down about fundraising, sure, but more down about not being able to create, well, ya know MOVIES! Something cinematic. Something really great.
I'll keep trying. The best way I can. And that's all you can do.
"Do or do not, there is no try."
Yes Master Yoda, but sometimes, trying is all you can do.
I hate this. I don't like that feeling of coulda, shoulda, woulda. It happens when you're trying to make something out of nothing. You look back on things and wonder what else you could be doing. What else you could have done or would have done.
It's time to look long and hard at the possiblity that no one is going to give you money. But we try anyhow. And you keep trying. And while you're trying to do that, you try to do everything else as well.
For example, my latest ad for Poptent. A commercial for the Nokia Nuron.
I went down the normal laundry list of ideas. Comical, cute, irreverent, or perhaps straightforward and general. All while trying to convey the information the brand wants to broadcast about their project.
Doing many skits, and viral vids, I had immediately come up with several ideas, some of them doable, some of them good, but none of them that click. And when I say click, I mean that click you here when art connects with storytelling, and when the visceral connects with intellectual to create something truly tangible (am I being too cerebral?).
In other words I wanted something that gave me an AHA moment. And I had come up with something that was almost there. But I was holding back. Mainly because in my mind I was separating my ad work from my true creations. It's like there are unseen lines categorizing what I make. The ads are what I make for other people, everything else is geared toward me true goal, to make something truly cinematic, something with gravitas and depth.
And then it finally dawned on me. I was being STUPID. Why am I categorizing? Why have I unconsciously drawn these lines to box in what I was trying to do? There is no difference between my stuff and their stuff. Instead of whining about how I wish I could make something cinematic, why don I just do it. Who cares if it's for another company.
I know it should have been obvious. But sometimes you get wound up in things, I had alot to juggle, and I started organizing my brain, when it didn't need organization. So instead of just making an "AD" let me try to tell a story, and attempt to do it in a cinematic fashion.
Below is the ad I came up with. Went through a couple of versions, but this is the one I'm satisfied with the most.
Maybe when you watch it you only see a cute video using a couple of stuffed animals. But I'm very proud of it. It was an honest attempt to convey a plot cinematically. Which is to say create a story with images and sound. Not just some simple set up a camera and shoot something funny, but a genuine mini-movie about one character looking for something and finding it.
I took great pains to achieve it. I wanted to convey a somewhat Sci-Fi tone, especially with the lighting. Very much in the vein of Amazing Stories or Close Encounters. And then go into that playful child like feel and end on a fairy tale happy ending.
The bears were old props I've had for 10 years. Used for another project, I dug em out of the old prop box. It all seemed to click. Especially with the music. I used an old track I wrote years ago for another project called "Halloweenland". That score I was very proud of when I had created it, and it matched this concept perfectly.
Doing this ad made me excited to do my feature Bobby's Closet. My little sci-fi adventure monster movie that's very much a nod to the 80's adventure flicks. That's going to require a much bigger budget, around $80,000 at the least. Hopefully when I get to it, I'll be able to have a higher budget and really take off with it.
Until then, I'll create my little cinematic moments in everything I do and whenever I can. Perhaps it'll eventually get me the funding I need.
Speaking of funding. Our time at Kickstarter has ended. We did not reach our target goal, which means we did not getting our funding, but it was fun, and we did get the word out to a few more people about Monster Cops. No regrets there. But as I said before, we have to keep trying.
So please take a look at our IndieGoGo page. It's just like Kickstarter but we actually get to keep the pledges even if we don't reach our goal. So this is me officially saying we're putting out a DVD this Fall. Click the widget below, make a pledge and you will get a reward for it whether it be producer credits, t-shirts, or a DVD.
Thank you so much to those that did back us on Kickstarter. It means alot to know we have your support. THANK YOU.
Off I go to make something cinematical. And no excuses, no time for being down anymore, you want to make something really great, with depth, with true AHA moments? Then just go and do it. Then show it to people. Show it to everyone. And yes the coulda, shoulda, woulda, moments will come and go, but the best remedy for that is DO something, and when you can't do something, you can at least TRY. Cuz if you don't try, then you'll end up with a whole lotta nothing.
If you want to make movies, then make movies. If you are a moviemaker then remember, don't just make movies, make movies everywhere and every chance you get. I don't care if you're just cutting together a car commercial or shooting your cousin's Bar Mitzvah, make it a movie.
Betsy? It's now or never. We are gonna make a movie.
- Bowfinger
