Mind of Migg

I took a week off from my day job to get things going with the web series. The plan was to use most of the week for prep and then start shooting at the end of the week – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday would be our first three days. I thought that would be plenty of time, but it took every spare second to make sure we were ready by Friday morning.

The toughest decision we had with our limited budget was what crew we were going to have. Since my focus hadn’t been on production the last year or two, there weren’t many crew friends I had kept in touch with enough to ask for volunteer work. We also wanted to avoid too big a crew. We were working with clamp lights in one location with a handful of actors. We had a situation where we were fortunate to not need a lot of people to get by. So there had to be some cuts.

We would get to know this room well.

We had a sound guy , Victor David, who will also be creating our score, we had a friend, Andrew, who was on break between reality shows who would be our sole gaffer/grip, we had Violet, our makeup/hair/wardrobe/production design/production manager, Datta, who was a Producer, but also acting, Ritchie, who was our family PA, and I would was DP’ing as well as directing. From there, we made the decision to hire a Script Supervisor rather than a First AD. We could only afford one. Since there wasn’t much crew and I had already done the scheduling, we thought it made more sense to go with the Script Supervisor. I’m editing the thing too, and with everything else going on, we needed good continuity and good notes. We really needed that organization in the madness.

In hindsight, next time we will bite the bullet and hire a few more people. There were times we really missed having an AD. The first day (which I’ll cover in more detail next post), we simply did not have enough people. Datta had to hold a blanket up outside a window on a day he was filming. Producer or not, it’s never good to have to ask an actor to do that kind of work. For the next shooting days, we added a couple more people, but what really made a difference is that our little crew that could really got the hang of working together. By day 3 we were fast and efficient. But it took finding that right mix of talented people to pull that off.

Back to prep. Those days leading up to filming were filled with small errands that added up thanks to LA traffic. Driving out to meet up with potential crew, then driving to the read through, and then back ate up a ton of time. Having a checklist to get through all the tiny things was priceless. Without that list, so many things would have been overlooked. Next time, the one thing I will have for sure is a Production Manager and help for those prep days, so that I’m not making a shot list between runs to Home Depot and putting together the craft services table.

Next: Part V – Production Begins

Casting in Los Angeles instead of Phoenix opened up a whole world of options. As I mentioned before, we needed a specific look for the four roles we were casting – i.e. they were a Latino family. Not only did they have to look like a husband, wife, brother, and sister, they also had to be (or look like) a certain ethnicity. That made it tough. In Phoenix, we would’ve had to settle based on the responses we received. In Los Angeles, we had options.

Family Photo at the read-through

It’s so hard to find that impossible combination – someone who has the right look and delivers a good performance. Sometimes there’s an actor who is amazing, but might not have the right look to fit with the rest of the cast. Or, an actor who looks exactly as I imagined when writing, but might have an accent that’s too strong or not be just the right fit. By the time we started holding auditions in LA, we were in a bit of a time crunch before we started shooting. We weren’t going to settle, but it meant the possibly of auditioning right up until the first day of production. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. We were so lucky in being able to find amazing actors for the roles with plenty of time to spare.

When I’m writing a script, I have a vision of the movie in my head. I imagine a certain look for a role, and that was made easier in this case because we had two roles cast as I was writing, Vikram’s and Olivia’s. Unfortunately one of those people didn’t commit and we had to recast that role. It made casting for Olivia even tougher because I wrote the part with nuances of a certain person in mind, so the first thing I had to do was let that go and make sure I imagined those auditioning as Olivia, not as the original actress.

It’s interesting and terrifying to see words I’ve written performed live for the first time. There were two really cool things that happened. First, I saw a part come to life exactly as I had imagined it while writing. It was a relief to see a scene work when the lines were delivered. Second, I saw lines interpreted in a completely different way than I had imagined…and I kind of liked it. I love seeing how one line can be read so many different ways.

The other thing I learned is that what you see in person can be completely different than what you see on video. I went home after the auditions with certain perpections about each performance and I was blown away by how different some of them looked when I watched them on TV, for better and worse. In one case in particular, we were very torn between two excellent choices and eventually it came down to not just the audition, but also their reel and available content online.

The table read was the icing on the cake. We felt really good about our cast and once we were all in a room together, reading through the entire series, it finally felt like, “yeah, we can do this.” Now all we had to do was make sure everything else was set to go for the first day of production.

Next: Part IV – Prep

Script was done, days were requested off work, audition notices were posted. Things were moving smoothly the last week of January, planning to shoot in Arizona the third week of February. First of many lessons I learned – I should’ve scheduled sooner. As soon as I did the math I knew that even if I shot from the moment I arrived, we weren’t getting the series wrapped in a week. It would’ve required at least two additional weekends driving out to Phoenix to get it done. And that’s if I allowed zero days of prep out there. Things were suddenly a lot more complicated.

To make matters worse, we had hardly any submittals for our auditions. I knew resources weren’t as abundant in Phoenix, but I really have a soft spot for my hometown and I really, really wanted to shoot in Jerome. Just look at the place. It’s beautiful.

Part of the problem is that the cast is primarily a Latino family. I wanted to try something different. There’s no Spanish, there’s no cultural references, they just so happen to be Latino. Who says an attractive woman with an accent can’t be an astrophysicist? I wanted to break some stereotypes with my cast, but that meant a smaller pool of possible actors.

We were left with a serious decision on our hands two days before we planned to drive out for auditions. We could go spend a weekend in Phoenix to audition the two confirmed actors even though we had four parts to fill. Or, we could scrap the entire Phoenix plan and shoot in LA. Either way, the clock was ticking. We opted for LA.

The problem with LA is that it’s intimidating. I figured in Phoenix I’d find other hopefuls looking to gain some experience and we could all learn together. I felt if I made mistakes out there, it would be okay. But over here, I knew it was a different pool of people. Everyone has more experience than I do (well, that’s how it felt at the time). I had nightmares of people not even being interested in the project. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

The canceled trip to Phoenix bought us some time to get audition notices posted here, find new locations, and rewrite the script. I pushed my time off from the day job back by another week and we decided that if we were shooting local, we could shoot over consecutive weekends without a problem. That way the first half of my week off could be spent on prep. Those few extra days of prep were so helpful in being ready to go on the first day of shooting.

One thing Arizona doesn't have...a beach

The script changes actually made a huge difference. I really didn’t like the original midpoint episode at all. There was a lame chase scene that instead became a cat and mouse game around a house. I hated to lose Jerome, but we gained access to a local house with character. We hardly had to change a thing in production design. It’s like the house was made for the series. We were also lucky in finding other locations all nearby.

In the end, we realized the perks and resources of staying local far outweighed the stress of shooting out of state - especially when it came to casting.

Next: Part III – Casting

I knew I wanted the web series to be sci-fi. I had an idea floating around that involved doppelgangers and time travel, so I built it from there. I originally imagined a more serious tone, a la Primer. I started researching Einstein-Rosen bridges and related material, wanting it to be more scientific. I soon realized that my natural voice started creeping into the story though, so it became a little quirker and had a little more humor than planned. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I dozed off when rewatching Primer (in fairness, it was a late night and I still love the movie), but I couldn’t stop watching episodes of Doctor Who or Firefly that I put on for further inspiration.

I started brainstorming possible stories that could be shot with no budget. I worked backwards from this criteria:

• Minimal locations – a house, neighborhood exteriors, places that I knew I could get for free
• Outdoor locations - nobody would bother us in the middle of nowhere and a majority of the scenes lit in natural light since we wouldn’t be renting equipment
• Minimal cast/crew – Even on a low budget, the more mouths to feed each day really adds up. Needed to keep number of people around as low as possible.

My go-to for brainstorming

I tossed around a few ideas between other work over the next few months and then banged out the first three episodes in August. Those first three episodes had an interesting concept, but I had created a complex story with more questions than answers. I needed to figure out the mess I had created and make the rules to the world. This required some more research and a lot of confusing timelines to make sure I left no holes in the time travel. I had many nights staring at a blank screen, many late nights of frustration, a few “a-ha!” moments, and then, finally, I had the story. I mapped out a plan far beyond the initial season, because it was a lot of fun and because there were so many different way to go. Then I sat down and wrote the rest.

The remaining episodes were written in December and January. I gave that completed season 1 draft to trusted readers, revised, and had a presentable version before February. It was only when I switched to Producer mode that I realized I had become so entrenched in the story that I had neglected some of my initial rules. It was a much more ambitious plan than I thought it would be. Further, the entire season came in at 57 pages. What began as an idea to shoot something simpler than a short or feature was suddenly a sci-fi with special effects, action, multiple locations, and a good number of shooting days.

When I thought “web series”, I imagined how short one episode was, without thinking of what a total season looked like. Did that make me reconsider? Not at all. We were filming this.

Next: Part II – Changing states: AZ to CA

I was tired of waiting. Two years had passed since Pá had screened at festivals. There had been a lot of talk, a lot of progress, and even a few more times on sets. But no final products that were mine. I had a lot more scripts and a lot of potential projects that could take off at any moment, but I was tired of waiting for someone else to determine my destiny. So I decided, “why not make a small project in the meantime?” I sat down and created a document titled, “webisode brainstorm.” That was last April. In the last year, the biggest thing I’ve learned is that shooting one webisode isn’t so bad. Shooting an 11 episode sci-fi web series without a budget isn’t much easier than shooting a feature. What was I thinking?

I was thinking I needed to shut up and film – to put my money where my mouth is. Learn by doing. So I committed to making a project and figuring things out as I went. So far, it’s been a crash course in producing – I’ve learned what works, what doesn’t, how many jobs are too many for one person, and which jobs I prefer over others. I wanted this project to happen, so I told people about it. The more people I told, the more committed I was to shooting it.

Every step where I had to make a commitment – buying equipment, holding auditions, casting talent, hiring crew – was an uphill battle to not back out. The closer I came to having a real project, the more terrified I was about not screwing it up. It’s easy to talk about a potential project. It’s intimidating to know there’s real people and money you’re responsible to. I kept waiting for a moment where I was called out as a fraud, until I finally accepted that 1) I wasn’t and  2) I was working with some amazing people, who were committed to the project and to me. When the first day finally arrived, all the preparation paid off. That’s not to say things didn’t go wrong. They certainly did. Everything that can go wrong will on a low budget shoot. But we were ready.

Right now, we’re about halfway through shooting. We started on March 4. I took an entire week off from my day job in order to make sure everything was ready. Since I’m now out of time off from the day job, we’re finishing up our last few days over weekends in April. The web series, “Chutes and Ladders” will premiere this summer. There’s going to be two aspects to the build up of that premiere – internal and external.

This is the internal part. I’m going to document as much of the process as possible. All the ups and downs, what worked, what didn’t, and how exhausting and awesome it has been. I may eventually cross post these entries at the official site (which will go live in the next few weeks), but right now I’m undecided.

The external part will involve the actual world of the story. This is a lot more than a web series. You’ll see what I’m talking about in the coming weeks, but needless to say I can’t wait for the different things we’re going to try and for seeing how some of these ideas play out. I hope it works, I’ll be sad if it doesn’t, but either way, it’s going to be a lot of fun and a great experience. That’s all you can really ask for, right?

Next Up – Part I: The Story

This'll be getting plenty of use the next few months.

Working two jobs isn’t very difficult, especially when they are in entirely different industries. I’ve been able to easily balance life between Tulsea and the day job without one affecting the performance of the other. This only works because I fit production work in wherever I can, responding to emails here and there, reading scripts after work, and staying up late when I need to. The flexibility allows me to do both.

It becomes completely different when I’m writing though. I have a great story that was supposed to be a rough draft script by now. The problem is, I can’t write tidbits of content here and there throughout the day. It really isn’t possible to sit down and write for 10 minutes, walk away, and write for 10 more the way I could with, say, an email.

Now I have the challenge of writing an entire script while working full time during the day. Sure I’ve done some TV scripts for fun since returning to work, but this one is much more involved. I’ve never written a feature while holding down a day job. So I’ve set up a couple rules to make sure I don’t go crazy trying it.

1. Set specific writing times

This should be a given regardless, but when I wasn’t doing anything but writing, I had the luxury of moving my times around. If I wasn’t feeling it in the morning, I’d do something else and then write in the afternoon. No more. 8pm to midnight are my new hours.

2. Set rough deadlines

Writing deadlines are always tough for me. If I know when something is due, I will wait as long as possible before getting it done. But if I tell myself I should finish Act I by the end of next week, it’s a little flexible. Maybe I’ll reach Act II by next Thursday, or maybe I’ll wrap up Act I next Saturday. It’s open, but I still have some general direction.

3. Don’t overdo it

I plan to allow two late night writing sessions a week, where I can write until the crack of dawn if I’m on a roll. I’m not going to force myself to stay awake, but at least on those nights, I can let the story take its time. The other nights of the week I plan to be in bed at a reasonable hour (if we count 1am as a reasonable hour).

4. Take breaks

I’m not going to have a whole lot of time, but if every waking moment is spent working, I’ll go crazy. On my non-late night nights, I plan to get in some good reading and watch a couple of movies (while also catching up on Dexter. I’m halfway through season 3). I’ll also get in some writing once or twice a week unrelated to the script. There are a couple side projects that I’m very excited about working on once this draft is done and getting a head start on those would be nice.

5. Drink lots of coffee Stay healthy and energized

I will limit my caffeine intake as best I can, maybe even try to exercise or go for walks to keep the energy up, but I won’t make any promises. I’ve never written a feature script under these conditions.

These are 5 simple rules to juggle work with writing. Overcoming writer’s block, online distractions, and a swelling fear of self-doubt – those are topics for other blogs. But at least I’m set to take these next two months head on. This may be rough.

This guy knows how to engage.

One of the great things about an iPhone (besides all the awesome apps) is that when you have one, you can always look busy.  Or at least give the appearance of being busy.  Ok, it really doesn’t fool anyone, but when you’re the one standing alone in a corner because you’re incredibly shy it helps give peace of mind.

I used to think this shyness was only the result of preferring the written word to the verbal one, but then I realized I even do it online.  I hesitate to comment on blog posts I read, I retweet people I admire, but don’t make an effort to speak to them directly, and I even keep my blog in it’s own quiet corner.  I don’t promote it, I don’t talk about it, and I’ve just quietly written personal notes here and there without really letting anyone know.

That all is going to change.  I’ve redesigned this site to be a little more organized and speak to an audience.  I really don’t expect the audience to grow beyond its two regular readers on its own either.  That will be the biggest difference.  Too often it’s easy to become passive in life, thinking a break will happen on it’s own.  I forget that things are only going to happen if I actively create my own big breaks.

One of the most important and inspiring things I took away from the (DIY)stribution and Marketing Symposium at the LA Film Festival a few weeks ago was the need to engage – engage an audience, engage other filmmakers, engage anyone who will listen.  It started with Ted Hope’s talk and became a word used several times over the course of the weekend.  It really resonated with me.

So this new launch of my website is the beginning of my attempts to engage.  I’ve got cool categories on my main page, mostly focused on film and writing.  I’ll still throw in the occasional post about the Phoenix Suns or what I’m doing over the weekend, but they won’t even necessarily pop up on the homepage.  I saved some of my favorite posts from the last two years, although I apologize to anyone who’s commented, because I couldn’t save those when I moved to WordPress.

It’s not going to be the little blog in the corner anymore.  I’m going to be more active in engaging in real life and that will give me more experiences that I won’t hesitate to share.  I will make an effort to engage with like-minded people, not just through writing this blog, but through as many outlets as I can find the time for.  No more hiding behind a phone, absentmindedly checking my email every minute.  Nope, I’m going put the phone away…and then continue standing in the corner, but slightly closer to the crowd.  One step at a time.

The annual NALIP Conference is this weekend.  NALIP is the National Association of Latino Independent Producers.  It’s a group that has been a huge support in my development as a filmmaker.  I attended their Writer’s Lab in 2008 and their Media Market where I was able to practice pitching my project in 2009.  This is also the fourth conference I’ve attended.  And yet, there was something not quite right while I was there today.  I’m not sure what it is, but I have a bit of an idea.

Read more…

It took me a long time to see Avatar, longer than I had planned.  I didn’t want to get caught up in the hype, but I knew I had to experience it on the big screen in 3-D to fully appreciate it, so I finally made the time.

Yes, it’s true that it’s not a very original story.  Pocahontas, Fern Gully, Dances With Wolves.  The story of the man who gets to know the natives, and them helps them fight against his own people has been told before.  But that’s never reason enough alone to knock a film.  Everyone thought Vanilla Sky was original, but we all know it wasn’t.  Most stories have been told before, but if it is well executed, with an original twist, then there’s nothing wrong with that.

That is exactly what Avatar is.  The original twist is the amazing visuals of the film.  Pandora is a uniquely beautiful planet with creatures and landscapes one can barely dream of – strange animals, floating land with waterfalls, and a scientific explanation for the connectedness of all the living creatures (dealt with more deftly than the midichlorian attempt).  Sure Captain Obvious delivered every line of politically charged dialogue, but it didn’t bother me.  I knew I was getting into a tried and true storyline, and so long as I enjoyed the ride, I didn’t care that I knew where the ups, downs, and curves were.

The cool visuals, of course, are what made this movie an experience.  I’ve been adamantly opposed to the use of 3-D.  It’s a gimmick and it doesn’t bring anything of value to the movie-going experience.  It’s like adding extra whipped cream on top of the cherry – after so much, you forget that what you really wanted to enjoy was the ice cream at the bottom.  I will admit that the 3-D made the digital characters look and feel more real.  I did like the effect of small bugs flying around off the screen.  But I hated every swing or move directed at the camera that was a “hey, look at the cool stuff 3-D can do!” moment.  It would pull me out of the movie I was enjoying.  In summary, atmospheric use of 3-D: good, blatant gimmick use: bad.

As much as I enjoyed this movie, I will be a little disappointed if it wins best picture at the Oscars.  To quote Roger Ebert, while listing potential nominees, “Yes, it’s a phenomenon and I loved the experience.  But the best film?  Not compared to those other titles it isn’t.”  More than anything, it’s an experience.  It’s a breakthrough in technology in movies and for that it should be applauded.  But a well told rehashed story should not be valued over richer stories such as “The Hurt Locker” or “Up In the Air”.  No matter how much money it makes.

To qualify for this list I had to either

a)    See the movie in theaters

b)   See the movie on DVD, but it was released in theaters in 2009

A disclaimer first.  There are a lot of great movies from this year that I haven’t seen yet that weren’t factored into this list.  I’m going to try to get to most of them before the Oscars, but some of the popular ones I haven’t seen yet include: Avatar, A Single Man, Crazy Heart, A Serious Man, Nine, The Messenger, Brothers, and many more I’m sure.  It’s hard to get to that many movies in a year without press or industry access.  Anyway, on to my list.

I’m not going to list them in any particular order.  It’s hard enough to choose just ten.

Precious – One of the most powerful, heart-wrenching films I’ve watched.  Amazing performances, great movie.  The final scene is a stand-out, and should singlehandedly win Mo’Nique an Oscar.

An Education – Classically well executed British film.  Alfred Molina is an overbearing father with depth, Peter Sarsgaard romances a teen yet somehow isn’t creepy, and Sally Sparrow was brilliant.

Up – If this movie doesn’t make you tear up at least a little, I don’t know what to say.  Great, honest story that deserves to be nominated along with the live action films this year.

Up in the Air – Understated movie.  It says exactly what it’s thinking, but you don’t even realize it because you’re enjoying the ride.  Also, I love Anna Kendrick.

Sin Nombre – Brutally realistic portrayal of the plight of immigrants.  I heard the actor spent years traveling on trains through Mexico like the characters in the movie.  It shows in the authenticity.

Food Inc. – This, combined with reading Michael Pollan, has convinced me to be more mindful of my diet and the food I choose to purchase.  This is a documentary done right – different perspective, clear message, more content than propaganda.

The Hurt Locker – Most intense film of the year.  My heart was pounding through most of it and I couldn’t relax at all.  I imagine it’s actually like that on a whole other level in Iraq in reality, but this film does a great job of conveying that feeling to the audience.

District 9 – Best sci-fi film of the year (until I see Avatar, at least).  Awesome explosions, cool special effects, and strong story.  You can’t ask for much more from a sci-fi and this one delivered.

(500) Days of Summer – Feel good movie of the year for me.  Zoey Deschanel is the latest manic pixie dream girl and it’s a tough character to pull off successfully, but she does here.  I think every nice guy could feel Joseph Gordon Levitt’s pain and roller coaster emotional ride.

Goodbye Solo – I’ve become a huge fan of Ramin Bahrani.  I loved Man Push Cart and Chop Shop and this latest effort was just as strong.  His movies are so quiet and tell so much with so little.