March 5, 2010
Once, I hated YouTube. They offered low video quality, a crappy interface, and lots of yahoos making viral videos that were–sometimes–funny.
Most of that has improved. If you want to be elegant and exclusive, you still have to head on over to Vimeo or any of the other more esoteric video-sharing services. But video on YouTube looks much, much better.
I originally had the videos hosted by Revver.com, with the hopes that everyone would watch them, that my viewers would view (and even click on) the ads that Revver presented, and I would make a couple of bucks.
But as proud as I was of the videos, I’m no Ze Frank. I made about $12 in the months after I posted the videos on Revver, and then, in the past couple of years, Revver sort of imploded. After hoping they would pull themselves out of their funk, I’ve given up. I’ve given in. And now I’m uploading everything to YouTube.
I’ve already uploaded Film #1, Leaves. More to come in the next few days.
Enjoy.
January 7, 2008
I couldn’t get the outtakes edited the way I wanted. They were too long, or too short, or too something. I exported a version and watched on my TV. Several times. Still no idea how to fix the edit.
Then my editor, a free, bare-bones version of Avid’s Xpress, stopped working: if I tried to export a movie, the program would disappear. No error message, no error log. I got the program for free, and Avid said they wouldn’t support it, and anyway they stopped even offering the download, so now (at least) I can’t re-install it. I’m sure it broke because of some automatic Windows Update or another, but I wasn’t about to start selectively rolling back O.S. patches; who knows what else would break?
The completed movies sat there on my computer’s hard drive. I’d made a draft of the DVD, but it didn’t feel right.
I felt guilty. I acted in a show; I still felt guilty.
I started studying with Terry Schreiber, and I felt less guilty.
I took another show. This time it was a lead, with page after page of quasi-Chekhovian monologue mixed with paranoic evangelical raving. And in class Terry had me doing multiple scenes, and wild, hairy acting exercises. I forgot to feel guilty, except in odd moments when I fought with someone I love; and then I gloomily rehearsed my all my failings, right down to my irregular flossing schedule.
Hanukkah passed, and Christmas.
I reviewed the draft of the DVD. It wasn’t bad. The new sound mix on Professor F’s Party was actually pretty good. The story didn’t make any more sense, but at least you could hear what people were saying. And the outtakes–not bad. Not as good as those ones on the Internet with Tim Conway. Sorry.
I made some copies. I put on labels. And on December 28th, 2007, using a months-old list of addresses, I sent them out.
At long last.
I’m sure there are people I’ve neglected. If you’re one of them, and see this blog post before I contact you, just write or call and I’ll pop one in the mail. And sooner or later I’ll get the bug to make another movie or ten, and I’ll start the whole thing over again.
And, by the way: Happy New Year.
March 17, 2007
We got pelted with tiny daggers of ice yesterday. Snow fell from a great height, melted on the way down, and then re-froze. I took the subway several times on my round of errands. Each time I emerged from a station, I thought snow had given way to rain because those sharp little crystals sounded just like rain.
I’m struggling to finish the Ample Catnap 10 Films DVD. It’s the outtakes, which should be long enough to be amusing, but not overstay their welcome. Without the hard deadline of releasing a film each week, I’ve allowed myself to linger over the edit, imagining that by taking longer, I’ll make a more perfect cut.
Actually, it’s kind of boring.
When bored, we have three options, right? We can
- accept the boredom, and try to live with it,
- abandon what bores us, and try something else, or
- raise the stakes.
I think most of us choose some combination of the three. And the third one is the hardest to faithfully execute.
My answer has been to set tiny artificial deadlines. I’ll make a list of edits, and complete them in a half an hour. Then I’ll walk away for a day or two, watch it again, and make another list of edits.
Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Over sized green hats abound. I wish I’d had my camera with me, but I had left it sitting on top of the computer, having uploaded yesterday’s pictures of the storm.
March 13, 2007
Coming home from the gym, I ordered a fish taco with rice and beans at Rachel’s Taqueria. I ate with ravenous gusto, even though my meal had a ridiculous name. I mean, really: fish taco?
This afternoon I finally was able to watch a movie I helped make back in early February. Check it out at On The Lot: Out of Darkness. I like the graphics, but all the movies at On The Lot look muddy, which makes me sad. Why do we put up with such crappy video? Some of the stories are really clever, and the presentation does them no favors.
Recently I got back on track producing the final DVD for the 10 Films, which should have been done ages ago. Progress is slow, what with audition season ramping up and spring fever creeping into my brain. That trip to Puerto Rico didn’t help one bit. (Plus, I never got to try the pinchos.)
February 28, 2007
Puerto Rico. Having to help a dear friend put her dog to sleep. General laziness.
Forward progress? Hidden.
Soon I hope to ship the DVD of the 10 Films to its participants. And shortly I’ll put up bios and beautiful pictures of them.
Until then.
February 12, 2007
Tonight, at a whiskey tasting, I had a passionate conversation with a good friend (”S”) about the Ten Films. We were pretty tipsy, but this took place before the serious incoherence, cab rides home, and the late night hunger for ice cream and bagels had arrived.
He, S, really liked Film #5. On the other hand, someone else very close to me (”M”) found it too obvious, too predictable and (here’s the kicker) “too much like a novel.”
This same critic, M, vastly preferred Film #10. Which S found to be below my normal “cleverness.”
What does this teach me? That people I love and respect have wildly different opinions.
And that ultimately I should please myself.
February 9, 2007
That’s how long I’d last in a boxing match. That’s why I’m not accepting any challenges. But check this out: a strange mix of pugilism, soccer, and chess, observed at
Leonor Dix 2.0
Oh, and yes, I’m mentioned there. In all, very odd. But delightful.
I didn’t finish re-engineering the sound. The outtakes were incomplete. My publicity was inadequate. But roughly thirty people came and saw the Ten Films, and the polite applause continued through each of the ten sets of credits.
The three bottles of wine got drunk, I got tipsy, and the donations half-way paid for the screening room. In the next few days I have DVDs to send out–roughly twenty of them–so the costs continue to mount, but tonight made it worth my while.
What next? I dunno. Tomorrow morning I’m acting in a short film by Chris Adornato of the Motorboatin’ Maniacs. But after that? I have plenty of great ideas, and no definite plans.
Watch this space.
February 6, 2007
I’ve been assembling a rough version of the 10Films DVD for the screening using a trial version of Nero 7 Ultimate. It’s not a bad package for the money and I’ll probably pay for a license when the trial period expires.
A lot of the footage looks pretty good on my TV at home. I’m trying to correct for the inevitable washed-out look that NTSC video gets when you project it on a screen ten feet tall. But even if I fail, people who have watched the films online will see a whole new host of details. Like that curious glass goblet on the bureau, or the regular reappearance of a favorite prop. Or the pile of lighting equipment at the end of the hallway.
Tonight I started working on the outtakes. I’m starting with #2 (Roger from Accounting), which has the richest vein to mine. I packed the script with goof-ball sci-fi jargon, because I think it’s funny. One of the actors came to the shoot after about two hours of sleep, and a distinct hatred of goof-ball sci-fi jargon. Neither of these things helped this person get the lines right. But it should make for some fun outtakes.
I really look forward to screening this stuff in front of an actual audience. I’m anxious, but a crowd always has a much bigger reaction than one or two people sitting in front of a computer. The funny stuff will be funnier, the sad stuff will be funnier, and when audience doesn’t make any sound at all, I’ll go and quietly strangle myself in the bathroom.
January 28, 2007
I’ve arranged for a screening of the Ten Films at the Millennium Film Workshop, 66 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave & Bowery, here in New York. Nearby subway lines: F & V at 2nd Ave, the 6 (or D) at Broadway-Lafayette.
The screening will start at 8pm sharp, on Friday the 9th of February. Arrive early!
All ten films will be screened, with bonus material from the cutting room floor.
I’ll be asking for a donation of $5 to offset the cost of renting the space.