PHX Blog - Saying goodbye is hard to do

Tonight we say goodbye to Matt. He is returning to Nashville tomorrow morning, so that he can teach summer classes at our alma mater. I was talking to Kat the other day, about how long I've known all of these guys, when I realized I have known Matt for 9 years. That's crazy, right? I remember our first semester at Watkins, when we met. My roommate at the time, Tim, became absolutely fascinated with Matt (he has always been an interesting character), and told me that I had to meet this guy. I did, and we've been friends ever since. I love Matt. I would go so far as to say that I love him like a brother. He is an amazing and creative talent. Soft spoken but focused and clear about what he wants. Thanks, Matt, for coming out, and for being a part of PHX. We will ALL miss you.

PHX Blog - The Importance of Great People

We've been shooting, now, for six days. I have learned a lot of things, but the most important of these is how truly important it is to have amazing people to support you. My friend, Amethyst, has been the back bone of this project, taking on everything from local casting, location scouting, and scheduling, to helping to plan out menu's, and getting people and things to the places they need to be. Jeremy Adams has been the glue that has kept the project together cinematically. He is always there to talk about the shots, the quality of the performances, or whatever else may be necessary to discuss a long the way. Josh Nix is my go to guy and is always available for anything I may need him to do. Matt Christy, last but certainly not least, has been running sound, and making sure all of the things we can't hear are heard by someone. These people are a team, and they are all here to make this project happen.

This is what it feels like to not only feel like you are living your destiny, but also be supported by the amazing people who surround you.

PHX Blog - Dear Independent Filmmaker, Go screw yourself.

Permits are something that I've always had mixed feelings about. Most of the time, I feel like they are used, simply, to make money for Film Commissions that are really only helpful to big budget productions. Today, that opinion was reinforced. In talking to the Phoenix Film Commission about shooting a scene at South Mountain (a state park), I was tasked with three things -

1.) a 100 dollar fee for the permit. This is not outrageous, and seems about on par with similar shooting permits.

2.) A Ranger must be paid to be in attendance during the shoot. They are paid 30 dollars an hour, for a minimum of 3 hours. While I think this is reasonable, for the most part, I can't help but wonder if a Ranger makes even close to 30 dollars an hour when he or she is just on the job.

But here's the kicker -

3.) A One MILLION dollar certificate of insurance must be submitted in order to get the permit. Now, hold up, don't freak out. The insurance policy doesn't COST a million dollars, it's just for a million dollars. However, this doesn't come cheap. To break it down, a scene, which we can probably shoot in less than two hours, will mostly likely require a full day of insurance. A full day of a million dollar policy could cost up to a thousand dollars. I can tell you right now, a thousand dollars for two hours of time is RIDICULOUS. Now, it will probably be less, but even a few hundred dollars for a few hours is ridiculous. What is a state park in Phoenix but some (beautiful) mountains, a lot of dirt, and some scrub? Don't get me wrong, the parks are gorgeous, but how could ANYONE do a million dollars worth of damage? What is the value of dirt and scrub bushes?

On top of that, I'm left to wonder, after all of the wild fire's in California, do the State Park's have insurance? I mean, let's be honest with each other, hundreds of people, maybe even thousands of people a month come through those parks. Do they ever check all of those people to make sure they have insurance? What if their point and shoot camera explodes and a spark from it scorches half of the park? That person, more than likely, does not have personal liability insurance that covers burning down a State or National Park. I don't know of anyone that does. What if someone is injured because of something that happens in the park? Is it not the park's liability to take care of that? And yet, I don't see an insurance certificate posted on the gate's when you drive in. You can camp there for a minor fee, have a fire for a minor fee, but you can't shoot a single scene, with three crew members, two actors, no lights or other extraneous equipment, without having a million dollars worth of insurance?

EPIC FAIL Phoenix Film Commission!

PHX Update - The Power of the Postcard

PHX Update - The power of a postcard from Stewart Schuster on Vimeo.

PHX Video Update, 041010

PHX Update 041010 from Stewart Schuster on Vimeo.

PHX update, 040810

It's totally crazy right now. I have written 50 pages on the script in about a week and a half. My first feature script took me eight months to finish. I'm still not done, but I'm on track to finish by the end of this weekend. Amethyst is working on locations. I talked to my friend, Matt Christy, and he may be joining us from Nashville. I ordered my postcards yesterday, and they should be in April 19th, which means my Kickstarter will be starting shortly after. Jeremy is excited, which makes me even more excited. Some things are falling into place, but there is still a long hard road ahead.

If your reading this, please consider coming back and checking these updates, and donating to my Kickstarter campaign when it begins. I would greatly appreciate it!