Filmmakers! Learn To Kill Your Baby.

No I'm not actually talking about killing a real baby.

It's the trap that many indies fall into, as well as most any artist starting out. You become so attached to your project that you don't see what needs to be cut out, or you refuse to cut something out because you worked so hard on it, or because you think it's just to awesome to omit.

But you have to.

You have to learn to really look at your work through your viewers eyes and understand that what they're seeing may not match what you are seeing. Sure you may think that long 22 second shot of the horizon you worked so hard to get is just so amazingly beautiful you have to leave it in. But through the audience POV it's a long as 22 second shot that's boring as hell.

You have to consider what moves the story forward. Everything within your movie has got to move the story forward. If it doesn't, cut it out.  Learn to understand what may be a potential dealbreaker with the audience. I don't care how beautiful the footage is, how funny, neat, or spectacular YOU think the scene may be, if it's not moving the story along chances are it's boring the hell out of us all.

I bring this up because as I go through what's left to shoot of the script for my feature REDD, I'm noticing things that could be combined, shortened, and tightened up. At the same time I'm going over scenes in editing trying to tighten things up there as well. There is one particular scene that just doesn't work. It's a scene between 3 main characters that is absolutely necessary to the plot. It's exposition that the audience needs to know. It's necessary. And it's boring me to death.

So I cut it and have come up with a new and simpler way to get the info to the audience without them having to stare at three people talking for an eternity (really just 2 minutes, but it felt like so so much longer.)

But there was a time, years ago, when I would have left it just the way it was. I would've thought about how I couldn't possibly cut this out because we worked so hard to shoot this. All the setups, the struggle to deal with the camera  overheating, us dealing with the heat, the long trek up and down hill to the location, the actors working hard to remember there lines and perform under heat and pressure. To cut this scene would mean all that work would have been a big waste.

But you have to find a way to push all that aside and stick to that one rule.

IF IT DOESN'T SERVE THE BEST INTEREST OF THE MOVIE, CUT IT.

But too many moviemakers starting out are too afraid to kill their baby.

"It's my creation, my masterpiece, my baby. I couldn't possibly butcher it."

Get over it. You have to.

Ok, so let's not refer to it as killing. You're sculpting. You're molding.

Like an artist chipping away at stone, you're chiseling away all the excess bits to get to the statue underneath. Does that artist pine and sob over every bit of rock he knocks away? No, and neather should you.

If your movie was really a baby, then you as the director have to learn to be a better parent. You're movie in it's earliest stages is just growing. You have to raise it. Mold it, guide it into the fully grown matured movie that it was born to be. Sure it's adorable when the kid runs around in it's diaper holding it's Cabbage Patch Doll (Wow, that's an old reference). Eventually your movie has to grow up.

It's your job to make sure your movie heads out into the real world fully formed minus the diaper and doll. You don't want to put your film out as an unprepared baby movie. What you want is to put out a fully erect adult film.

I mean, um. You know what I mean.

Patrick A. Prejusa

http://reddmovie.com

http://patrickprejusa.info

No Budget Moviemaking From Script To Screen

Right now Real Vampires is on hold while I catch up on Monster Cops. I'm still planning out auditions and working out casting, but my main concentration is on these Monster Cops episodes. Real Vampires auditions will have to wait for a week.

Just finished re-writes on the episode titled CHIMERA. I'm editing the episode called DREAD as well as planning insert shots for that. And next week we'll get all the office shots for CHIMERA, as well as for DREAD, and DEAD BY DAWN. So yes it's looking like 3 more complete 20 minute episodes before Oct. This hopefully means a DVD with 5 episodes to complete series 1. But things happen when you self distribute, so we shall see.

I'm not even going to talk about the Werewolf Episode, titled BLOOD MOON, which I have yet to do re-writes on. This may have to wait for Series 2 DVD, as I am only halfway through the Werewolf Costume.

Right now I'm concentrating on Chimera. Now that the script is finished, it's been emailed to some of the cast, and now I have to send specific pages to the rest of the cast and the crew. What do you do once you have a complete script? What needs to be done to get it shot.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
First is figure out which scenes have the most cast members in it. Let's knock that out first. The office scenes have 4 to 6 characters talking at once, with many extras in the background. Time to find out if your location is available. Our office set is free next Wed, Thu, and Fri after 5pm. I may not need all those days, but it's best to plan for that anyways. Now it's time to contact everyone to see who is free on that schedule.

CAST AVAILABILITY
This is no budget moviemaking. You aren't paying anyone. So you are at the mercy of work schedules and personal problems. They show up because they want to and if they can. So plan for something to go wrong. Everyone I've contacted is free except for one actor. This person just so happened to have a lot of lines, but he has several scheduling conflicts, so that's a no go. Note: I'm not at all angry about it. Because I fully planned for this to happen, also I fully respect my actors and their own schedules. I've planned it so his lines would be easily transferable to another actor, so no major change in plot. So I call one of the other actors to let them know they have more lines.

Another problem. I have a scene between two actors but they aren't available on the same schedule. One is only free on Thursday, where the other one is only free on Wednesday and Friday. What do I do? Cut the scene. If there is an important plot point or message in that scene that is pivotal to the story, then those lines get transferred to another scene. No problem.

PROPS AND COSTUME
Now figure out what scenes you are shooting at that location. Highlight those specific pages. Start making notes on the side next to the start of each scene. The two main lists are PROPS and COSTUMES. Make a list for each scene what props are required, what costumes. Again we are no budget, so everyone brings their own costume. It's office attire mixed with police and military gear. So contact those who are in office attire let them know what to wear. Anyone in police or tactical gear, all they have to do is wear black or camo, I've got the majority of the tactical vests (yay Ebay). Since this is a multi departmental agency mixed with all military branches, For further authenticity I ask any local cops or soldiers I may know if they want to show up on set with their gear on. Many of them are more than happy to.

I've got majority of all props, but I send out an email with a list to see if anyone can fill in the blanks. Thankfully nothing is needed specifically for the storyline, just for the look, so if we don't get it, no biggie.

SHOT LIST
When I write I keep the shots in mind so I often times write in specific camera directions. Although I've shot at this location several times, prepare for anything and everything to go wrong. Maybe a room you were hoping was available is closed off. Or they painted the walls in the hall you wanted to use, and it's going to take a week for it to dry. I keep this in mind when I write out the shot list. At the start of each scene next to your props and costumes list, I right out the shot list. This is just the basic shots and angles I need to convey the action in the script.

Script Action:
"Close up of hand as it turns the door knob. The door swings open revealing the evil monster behind it."

Shot List:
- CU/LA Hand to knob. (That's Close Up / Low Angle Hand to Knob)
- XCU Knob turning. (Extreme Close Up)
- WS behind actor door opens (WS= Wide Shot)
- Rev Shot Reaction (Reverse Shot meaning shot of the actor from behind the door)
- MS Monster Growling (Medium Shot)

Mind you this is just an example. Monster Cops is shot documentary style so the shot descriptions are more complex than this. Also there are some abbreviations that I use that you may not learn in any film school. It's short hand to myself, because I'm pretty much the only person that reads the shot list.

I make a list of the basic shots (meaning the bare minimum of what I need in case I can't get what I really want), with side notes to any more creative shots that I might be able to actually get. Often times I don't have enough room for my entire shot list for each scene, so I write it out on a separate sheet and attach it to the script.

I have software that pretty much does all of the above, but I hardly ever use it. I'm so use to writing it all out myself. Also I do have call sheets, schedules, and all the traditional movie forms, but again, I hardly use them. With the exception of the releases.

SCHEDULE
Over a period of 3 days, starting at 6pm til 9:30pm, I need to get the shot list done. This is how you break it down. You're no longer following the script, you're relying on the shot list. Everyone should know their lines, everyone should have the proper costume, everything else is about getting the shots. So I double check that everyone will be there at about 6pm. And of course they are not. Some of them can't be there til 7:30 or 8pm. Not a problem. Figure out which scenes you can shoot with the actors that will be there at 6pm. Can't do it? Then figure out which shots you can get with the actors you'll have. Maybe you can knock out all of their Close Ups or Medium Shots. You can probably get their dialogue out of the way. Then when the other actors show up, you get their shots, then do the master shot, or wide shot, so we can see everyone in the same scenes.

So write out the times you need to get started, what scene or shots you can get at specific times. 6pm pages 4, 5, and 8, Close Ups of Martha, Jane, and Nathan. 7pm pages 7, 10, and 13 Medium Shots of Jones, Cutter, and Weir. And so on. Honestly, it never works. Why? Because people show up late. They drop their lines (especially me) and they get to laughing, alot. So your 6pm shots end up finishing at 7:30pm. And you have to push your schedule back. But it's fine, because it's good to prepare, because if you're not prepared you may be screwed. If everyone does show up on time and gets their lines right, and you're the one who's not on the ball, chaos will ensue. Chaos with a big group of people, in a location that you do not own. So keep your shit together.

This is everything I'm working on now. Soon I'll be contacting everyone to double check their schedule, and make changes to my lists and schedules as needed.

Other things you want to keep in mind when shooting your own scenes with several cast members.
- You can't afford to feed anyone, but a few snacks, candy, and definitely bottled water should be considered.
- Make sure there is a bathroom. This should be common sense. Also people need a place to change in and out of their costumes.
- Bring your own trashcan and trash bags. We are borrowing somebodies office. It's best to leave it the way you found it, which means keep and take out your own trash. This is true especially if you have a very large group of people in your cast and crew.

Here's my on set checklist. What I need to remember for every shoot:
Alot of this is common sense, but when you're juggling so much, you'd be surprised what you forget when you're in a rush. Making lists saves my life on a daily basis.
- Camera
- Batteries
- Plug Adapter / Extension Cords
- Tripod
- Lights
- Digital Audio Recorder
- Lav Mic
- Extra Batteries for both
- Tape Stock or Memory Cards
- Script / Shot List
- Energy Bar / Water (Gotta keep your energy up / stay hyrdated, think like you're running a marathon)
- Prop Box
- Costume Box
- Releases (Photo Release/Group Release) Anyone you're shooting must sign. It must be clear that 1) They are doing this for credit only, no money. 2) They give you permission to use their likeness and voice in anyway you see fit, thereby giving you the freedom to create what you need to. Also this helps tremendously when you're typing out the end credits.

This is all about organization and communication. Whatever your method is, whether you stick to traditional forms used in studio filmmaking, or you have your own techniques, in the end it's all about organization and communication. Make whatever lists you need to help keep you in order, and be sure you're in contact with your cast and crew, let them know what they need to know. Get them times, dates, directions to the location, details on make up and costume, and of course their script pages.

Do whatever it takes to help keep your shit together.

LINKS
Monster Cops The Series http://monstercops.com
Patrick's Blog http://patrickprejusa.com

Difficult Is Necessary

It's not traditionally worth it if there isn't a bit of a struggle. Ya wanna get to the next floor, well you're going to have to take the steps. And it shouldn't matter how out of breath you think you'll be when you get there, just get there. If that is indeed where you wanted to go.

I know it seems impossible at times, but I've learned to embrace the seemingly impossible. If you can do that then you can do anything. What you resist persists, and what you look at disappears. If you can look it in the eye, then it's not going to be a problem. Just another step in the direction where you're trying to go.

It's a struggle right now, sort of. Some would call it that. I call it a step. It's easy to look past all the dramatics of the so called struggle, when you know where it is you're trying to get to. I can see it. I could always see it. Sure I've lost my path at times, but I always knew where I was, and how to get back on track. Not once have I ever faltered in keeping my eyes on the prize. I know the direction. I'll get there.

Right now my biggest supposed struggle is time. More time to work. More time to create. More time to do the things I need to do to get where I need to be. This week has been a big struggle with it. But I know what to do. The first step is to realize that everything that is occurring is in my control. If I don't have enough time, it's because I'm not spending it wisely. I have let it get out of control. Yes there have been events out of my control, but it all comes down to what you do have control over, and that's how you react to those events out of your control.

It's about action as much as it is about reaction. You act to set things in motion, but if things get out of hand, then it becomes about how you react to it. I've reacted poorly this week, and because of that a lot of time has been wasted. It all goes hand in hand. Time management and the discipline of action/reaction. I have to master how to control my reactions, especially when you are reacting to surprise and spontaneity.

Remembering that we all get the same amount of time helps. We all get 24 hours in a day. It's all about how you spend it. Every second counts. They add up to minutes, that add up to hours, that add up to days. It's obvious yes, but it's so obvious that we often forget and we let time slip away. We let those wasted days build into weeks, then months, that add up to years in a life spent wondering where all that time went and how your goals and dreams slipped away. Don't let it happen.

Managing your time and the actions/reactions you make in that time is a discipline indeed. And if it's difficult, good. If you're out of breath doing it all and getting to that goal, it'll be worth it. Better to get through that struggle and be a bit out of breath then out of time.

It's Raining In Indian Wells

These are the times that try men's souls. But hey, when is it not. Interesting week, tiring week, A very funny week. It's the stuff comedies are made of.

I haven't had time to workout, not getting enough sleep, not getting a refund, we've gotta pay taxes instead, just got our medical bill and it's HUGE (that's what she said). But it is not without a few revelations and insights. I'll keep that close to the vest. What's a roller coaster ride if there ain't no ups and downs, right?

As for the taxes bit, that's due to my earnings from my video work last year. Because of that, I'm rather proud to pay. Means I was making a decent living doing what I love and I refuse to feel bad about that. I see it as a great sign, and has inspired a whole new tutorial on the ins and outs of being a video/movie maker.

Main idea, save all your receipts. Anything and everything you've had to pay for to help you make your product, I don't care if it's paper clips or your camera. Save those receipts. It'll help you later if you end up making a good chunk of money from your production. The more receipts you can itemize, the better chances you'll get a decent return.

My problem last year is that I got entirely too good at making videos for nothing. I had no receipts for anything because I didn't need anything to make the product. The only thing I needed was my computer. The computer I was using at the time I had for about 6 years, and I did not have the receipt for it. I now have a new computer and you bet your ass I have the receipt for it.

All the productions that I've worked on that will make money this year, I have the receipts for, all organized according to which production and what it was used for. I bought fur for a Werewolf, receipt saved. I bought a hard drive to hold footage, receipt saved. Anything and everything used for production, video tape, microphones, pizza, beverages, extensions cord, hand cuffs, hookers, blow. You name it, I saved for it. (That last bit was a joke, by the way.)

Other updates:

- Added some of my music to patrickprejusa.com

- Bluray is the work of the Devil.

- Updated the about section at monstercops.com

- Working on my Flappy Dog commercial.

- Planning a huge Zombie Shoot. HUGE (that's what she said)

- I need to stop saying and typing "that's what she said." But it's so hard. (that's what she said)

- Monster Cops: Shadow Company will be screening at Horror Fest in Denver, Colorado in April. Yay!!!!

Stopping Power

Welcome to the power of stop.

Things get hectic, the world spins, you're going at full speed, trying to do a thousand things. This is when the power of stop comes in handy. In the midst of all the hubbub, it's often a good idea just to say stop. To hit the brakes, take a good long look at the situation, often times this keeps you from running into problems or creating bigger ones. Or as some say, check yourself before you wreck yourself.

I'm kind of at that point right now. Alot going on. And I forsee a collision of sorts if I don't stop and really look at where things are headed. So this week I'm saying stop. Things are spinning on the Monster Cops project. And I need to take a good long look at exactly what needs to be done, and how that is going to happen. Can't get all I wanted to get done before Halloween, but if I work it right I won't really have to. So we are at Stop for this week.

If you have anything to do at all with production, then know that there will be no shooting this week. Not Wednesday and not Saturday. Need to rethink some things. But I will be contacting everyone individually.