2012/2013

Looking back on this year, it has been more than I had assumed possible, I suppose. In 2012, a few major things happened -

- I paid off the initial production costs for PHX
- We achieved a solid second pass of PHX that will, hopefully soon, become a very close to completed third pass of the film
- I edited a lot of stuff, improving my skills, and finally had enough pieces I felt confidant about to build an editing reel
- I got to shoot with Rhys Darby at Bonnarroo for five days
- My friend Jeremy Adams and I began to shoot a short documentary on Nashville artist Herb Williams, which I hope will be coming out soon in the new year

Most of all, though, I feel like I graduated this year. I feel like, with the experience that has been afforded me, I can say that I'm an editor and a shooter. I still have things to learn and more experience will only make me better, but, it was kind of like the realization of finally being able to call myself a director after PHX was shot. I feel like I'm finally "growing up", so to speak.

What does 2013 hold? Well, as stated above, the release of that Herb Williams doc. Also, I'm really hoping for PHX to be finished. We have some technical and financial hurtles to pass through, but we're still moving forward. Jeremy and I will also be shooting another piece in Seattle in February, and have a couple of more ideas on the slate. I finished the first draft of Midway Park, and will be revising that, as time allows. Could we possibly be shooting Midway Park by the end of the year? Who knows... Anything could happen, but that would be pretty awesome!

Ultimately, though, what I hope 2013 holds is this - I want to make films, become better at what I do, and have fun doing it (and, making good money at it would be nice, as well).

Midway Park - The Beginning

I sent a letter out to a handful of local filmmakers I know, asking for help to create a new project while PHX is being finished. I didn't do a very good job of chronicling PHX, at least not publicly, so I want to do a better job with this project, tentatively titled Midway Park. I'm hoping that this letter will mark the real beginning of a real project that will follow up PHX -

This past week I had a Twitter exchange with Joe Swanberg. For those of you that don't know who Joe is, he is an indie filmmaker that has made about ten features since 2005 and also a couple of shorts. He announced on Twitter that he had yet another film coming out that was going to premier at AFI Fest, to which I tweeted back to him - "How do you find the time/money to be so consistently releasing stuff?". His reply was "Treat it like your 9-5 job and put the films on credit cards. Avoid industry bullshit and wastes of time". 

PHX has been under the knife, so to speak, for the last year, but it is coming VERY close to being finished. Unfortunately, though, there isn't much I can do, as the jobs that are left to be done are for other people (the final cut needs to be finished, the sound mixed, the color graded, etc), so, in the mean time, instead of sitting on my hands, I have decided to take one of the more simple ideas that has been kicking around in my head for a long time, and make it.

The last two years, for me, have been absent of a lot of joy, first because of the general experience I had making PHX, and second, because of the fact that I felt pressured by outside forces (mainly my parents) to not make anything until PHX was finished. The only problem with that is, PHX is out of my hands. As I said before, the  work that needs to be done on it is now in the realm of other individuals, whose talents are best suited for the job at hand. So I need to busy myself doing the things that I can best do, which is making something.

Midway Park is the name of this new project. It is the story of a soon to be college graduate, who returns to his small town after three and a half years away, to find that someone with a grudge is making it their mission to take revenge on him. It is inspired by the classic western High Noon, and is a story about how, sometimes, doing the right thing can, potentially, cost you your life. I have just finished the outline of it, and will now begin to work on translating that outline to a script.

In order to bring this from the pages of my notebook to the screen, though, I'm going to need help, and that is why I'm emailing you today. This is not me asking for money. This is me asking for your help. As many of you know, it takes a lot of manpower to put something like this together, and I am hoping to not make a lot of the same mistakes I did onPHX. Here are some of my more immediate needs, if you can help, or know anyone that can - 

Producer - I need a Producer. I didn't have one on PHX, and it would have saved me an INFINITE amount of hassle. If you, or anyone you know would like to step in and help to pull together the logistics end of this project, I need that help.

Script - I am going to begin translating the outline I have been working on into a script. One thing that has always been helpful to me is to have people who can read the script, and give me feedback. Is it realistic? Does it seem natural? Do the scenes make sense? Are they necessary? I have a reason to write down everything I do, but that doesn't mean it works. Having some additional eyes on it is always good.

Actors - I'm going to need actors, and, to be honest with you, I don't know anyone who acts in Nashville that is of the age that I'm looking for. The main characters are all in their early twenties, so, these are mainly kids that aren't even out of college yet. If you know of any actors that age, or know of any acting groups that have people that age, let me know. I would REALLY like to start looking into this as soon as possible, as I would like more time to work with the actors than I had on PHX.

Locations - Location-wise, things are pretty simple, but there's kind of a caveat. I want to shoot everything in East Nashville/Madison, so that it genuinely looks like a small town. Any locations that would be outside of this area (in real life), have to look like they belong in this area. That being said, we're looking at two houses, one a bit larger, preferably older, that the main characters family resides in. The other being something smaller, something that could be passed off as a "newer" couples home, in other words a first or starter home. We're also looking for a dorm room, the exterior of a University (which we could probably just steal from Vanderbilt or Lipscomb), a Police station, a Gun store, and a baseball field (preferably connected to a larger park or school). Their may be additional locations to follow, depending on how the script goes.

That's it for right now. I want to keep this train going. I don't want to walk into a festival with PHX and have someone ask me "What's next?" and my response is scratching my head. If I can walk into that situation and say "Well, we're about to shoot (or have already shot) another film" it's going to be huge. One thing I've learned from Joe is this - You have to keep that ball rolling. Don't stop. Always be moving towards the next project. That's what I'm trying to do, but, as all of you know, no one makes a film by themselves (well, some people do, but they're not very good). If you can help in any way, shape, or form, I would really appreciate it, and you know I am here to help you, as well.

We went to school to make stuff. Let's make stuff.

An Introduction To NAGRA Sound Recorders

An introduction to NAGRA reel to reel analog audio recorders. I used one of these on my final student film, and the quality was amazing. I still regret that I didn't use one on PHX.

PHX Trailer

This is the trailer for my first feature film, which will, hopefully, be making festival rounds by the fall of this year...

"PHX" Teaser

This is a thirty second teaser I put together for PHX. Andrew House, the film's editor, will have a proper trailer, but it will be another month or two. We're trying to finish the first assembly before we dive into the trailer, to make sure we've seen the whole film and can, then, make an informed decision on what we want to put in the trailer. Hope you enjoy it.

Little Fox

Over the last two weeks, or so, I've started to get more serious about a project I mentioned last year called Little Fox. I have finished the initial outline of it, and will type it up and start fleshing it out more in the coming weeks. I have started collecting bits and pieces for it already, props and wardrobe, and will continue to do so over the next couple of months, as well as purchase film for it. I'm going to shoot on Ektachrome 100D Super 8. I was, originally, going to shoot on 16mm, but have decided to go with Super 8 for this project, since it will be a longer piece (15-20 minutes), and since there are so many extras for it that I will be investing money into (props, wardrobe, etc.). I'm really excited to be moving forward with this, as it is the first thing I've done since PHX.

One Year Later

Today marks the one year anniversary of the beginning of filming on my first, and hopefully not last, feature PHX. The production cycle had its ups and downs, but definitely changed me forever. I will not forget the multitude of lessons learned on that set. I am greatly appreciative to everyone involved, for giving their time and resources to something that was such a long shot.

The film is currently being edited, and while there is no definitive date as to when that will be done, we hope it will be before the end of the calender year. Andrew, the editor, is working on putting together a small look at some of the footage, which I hope to be able to post soon, just to let people know that this thing really does exist and really is being worked on.

PHX Blog - 8 Lessons Learned That May Help You Later

I haven't written much about PHX since the shoot, and I have my own personal reasons for that. I had begun to write a blog post about things that I had learned from the shoot, but had a really hard time balancing tact and transparency. But, after seeing Somewhere, I realized that there are some personal things, failings on my part, that I do want to record and publish, in the hopes that, if some other filmmaker reads this post, they may think twice before falling into some of the same traps that I did.

1. If you love a certain style of filmmaking, don't try to make another style because you think it might be more acceptable/mainstream/more likely to sell/etc. I wrote PHX as a traditional drama because I knew we could break down the script, set a schedule, and shoot the movie in the time we had. Looking back, though, I didn't make the kind of film I really wanted to make. I want my films to be more David Gordon Green and Sofia Coppola, but instead, I ended up much more "filmmaker trying to make a calling card film" (not that there is anything wrong with that, but you should always stick with your original intent and purpose for a piece, and not change just because you think it will make it easier to get into a festival).

I was inspired by an area of town, and by the people who inhabited it, but, while my script hit basic sights of the area, it didn't showcase very much of the people (though we did have some locals playing parts). I guess, in the end, I should have taken more time, and created a more docu-style piece, but I was afraid. That is the most basic way I can express why I did what I did - I was afraid. And now I look at a script like The Definers, and I wonder if, maybe, it would just be better to throw away the dialogue and just have ideas of what the scenes are. Spend more time with the actors figuring out what their characters would be doing and saying, and just let it flow from them. Which leads me to my second point -

2. Control is the enemy. When you write a script, even if you're not completely married to it, trying to get what you want out of it is hard enough without trying to get every single thing that is on the page. I wanted to hit the beats, hit the emotions, which is all important, but sometimes you tangle yourself up in all of that, and you end up tying a noose around yourself because the shooting becomes so rigid that, really, you're just doing the filmmaking equivalent of gym class - Showing up, doing the exercises because you're required to, and then leaving with sore muscles and not much else. And that last point, that's what I didn't understand while I was shooting. Everyone was showing up to gym class, and I was the coach, and it ceased to be about making something, and became about running the mile everyday, because we needed to meet the criteria for the curriculum (in other words, shoot the script in the time allotted).

3. As the leader, you will be the enemy. This has become more and more apparent in my life since the film. It is almost human nature to point out everything that the person who is in charge is doing wrong, but I've noticed that, even for myself, I'm more likely to complain and less likely to put on a game face, keep a great attitude and do something that will help move things forward. It's something I've had to try really hard to change because I saw how it made me feel, and realized that I was doing that to other people. On the flip side -

4. You are the leader, which means you are the person people are looking towards for the tone and feel of the day. If you are excited and energetic and friendly, other people are more likely to be the same. If you are not, you have to find a place in yourself to, essentially, bullshit your way through it. Honesty and transparency is not your friend. People don't like a leader who is a human being, they like a leader who is a robot. I don't mean that in a negative sense, but, what I'm trying to say is that you have to take everything human about yourself and put it aside for the duration and be unshakeable. I thought that it was best to just be me, but people didn't want me, they wanted Churchill or George Washington. That's who you have to be.

5. Everyone will talk shit about you behind your back. You will overhear it, or it will get back to you one way or the other. You have to put on the game face, and you have to be unshakeable, and you have to go in every day and look those people in the face with a smile and a good attitude, and when the day is over, you have to go home and leave the day behind you (however you do that, but it should NOT be drugs or alcohol). It's almost impossible when you're not a salesman at heart (I never was), but, I hope that one day I will have enough experience to be that person.

6. Have at least one person, not involved in the shoot in any way, that you can talk to at any time that will provide encouragement and perspective. For me, it was my parents. They were invaluable to me in times when I wanted to shut down the whole thing and walk away (and there were many of those times). They, along with my counselor, were my support team. This is also good advice for any major endeavor or project that you may be working on in your life.

7. This whole thing runs on money. Even if you have enough for your budget, if you don't stick to your budget, you're going to be hosed down the road. Have someone who can hold the money (someone you trust, obviously), and will make sure that you're not just spending a bunch of money that you may not need to spend.

8. Some things are not meant to be. PHX was originally going to be shot in the winter of 2010, but was pushed up to June because of a timing issue. I should have walked away from it. The script wasn't ready, I wasn't in the right head space about what I wanted to do (see point #1), I hadn't had enough time to do a larger audition, to spend time with the actors to really dive into their parts, and to gather up some more crew who would be willing to believe in this project and help make it happen. Those things are all my fault. I can't blame them on anyone else, and those are all things that became liabilities and made the shoot more difficult than it had to be.

I hope that, whoever may read this, that it will help you out a little. If I could go back in time and tell myself about all of this, maybe things would be a lot different, but as so many things in life are - It is what it is. We take the lessons we've learned and put them into the next one, and there WILL BE a next one.

2010/2011

2010. I can't say I wish it would have lasted longer. It had its ups and downs. Not as difficult as 2009, but there have been better years. I look back at my post from last year and, well, I won some, I lost some. Indefinable Orbits is shot, developed and telecined (decided not to edit on film for this one). It still needs to be edited together, so I got close to that one, but fell short just a little bit. I have written more on scripts, but haven't seen any completion on them. I ended up making PHX, though we shot about eight months before I had thought we would because of some time constraints that came about. The film is being handed over to an editor to be finished, and I hope that 2011 will see the completion of it. Canon did release the 24p firmware update for the 5D, but I haven't found myself motivated to use it for a lot of projects. I just love using film too much.

What will 2011 bring? I don't know, honestly, and the thought of sitting down and making a to do list is not one I can entertain. I don't feel like this is going to be a year to make goals, as there may be some serious shifting in my life. So, I'm just going to make a goal to do what I can, and finish what I can. Hopefully, I can achieve that.

Future forward

It's almost November, which means the year is coming to a close. I was looking at my entry "2009/2010" and realized that some of my predictions (or goals) had been met, some had not (though there is still time to meet said goals). I look forward to writing my "2010/2011" entry, as I see a lot of things changing in the next year, and beyond. I have a back log of film reviews to put up, and, hopefully, Indefinable Orbits (which was supposed to have been long finished by now), will be done by years end.

It has been an interesting year for me, as far as film goes. I have seen a lot of great films, shot my first feature (PHX), and have been working on several ideas. I'm currently preparing one short, Little Fox, which I am very much looking forward too, when the time comes to shoot it (definitely next year). I am hoping to both shoot and edit on 16mm. Though I shot Indefinable Orbits on 16mm, I am considering getting it transferred to HD and editing it, with a possible edit and finish on film later.

More info to come at the end of the year when I write my wrap up.

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 Blog - First and Last word (at least on my end)

Yesterday, a reporter for the Phoenix New Times blog asked me if she could write a story about PHX, after finding one of the fundraiser postcards in the Phoenix Public Market (a grocery store one of my friends happens to work in). She emailed me some questions, I sent her back as detailed a response as I could to each one. The article was written, and released later that day. You can read it here, and make up your own mind about it. I will say this, though - I am doing this project because I love Phoenix. I visited there many times over the past four years, and it is an amazing place. My only hope is that that shines through in the film. For all of you that are supporting this film, whether it is through monetary donations, giving your time or talent, or simply sending your love and support while I try to overcome the seemingly impossible odds to put together an independent film with very little resources, I thank you. From the bottom of my heart I thank you.

PHX Blog - Kickstarter is officially launched!

The Kickstarter is officially going for PHX. You can see the page here. Please consider checking it out, and if you believe in independent film, please donate to the project. This film is as independent as it gets. No studios, no producers, no middle men. Just a script, some actors, and a very small but dedicated crew who believes in what we're doing.

Also, if you're on any social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), please consider spreading the word about this project to the people that follow you, are friends with you, etc. You never know when someone might see a project they are interested in, and decide to donate.

Thanks in advance for your support.

PHX Blog - How Telecine destroyed my chance of shooting film

My number one goal in my "professional" filmmaking career has been to shoot everything I could on film. Let's be honest with each other, film will not always be around. It has another ten to twenty years before the monster that is digital will probably swallow it up. Don't get me wrong, I would like to see film around for, at least, the rest of my lifetime, if not beyond. There is something truly magical about it, and that is why I desperately wanted to shoot PHX on film, more specifically Super 8 Ektachrome 100D and Vision 2 200T. So why couldn't I? Well, with the budget I have, affording the film was no problem. The developing wasn't really an issue either, as it would be about the same cost. What killed it? Telecine.

For those of you that are somewhat unfamiliar with what Telecine is, it's actually quite simple. A Telecine machine scans each frame of film, and converts it to a digital video signal to be put onto tape or hard drive in order to edit on a computer. Most telecines are now HD capable, but there are very few that are capable of doing Super 8 in HD. After having called this handful of places and talking to folks at each one, and getting transfer rates and attempting to talk people down (quite unsuccessfully), I realized that the dream of doing this project, with the money available, was over.

The breakdown was simple - The industry standard rate for Super 8 transfer seems to be 3:1, which means for every hour of film you have, you are charged for three hours of Telecine. Now, most places that run standard definition (SD) Telecine's, will give you a 1.5:1 transfer, especially if they just throw it up on the machine and let it go (no color correction at all), but I couldn't get any of the places I called to give me a break, except one - Frame Discreet, in Canada. Unfortunately, though, the break they ultimately were willing to give me was still a little too expensive for the budget. Can you imagine if my only choice was some of these other guys? Figure, roughly, eight hours of footage, at 3:1, and a rate of 300 dollars an hour. Got your number? Needless to say, that's more than the whole budget of my film.

It was a tough decision to make, but, in the end, I had to go HD. We just don't have enough money, or time to go back and reshoot anything that might get messed up, to shoot on film. It's unfortunate, and I hate it, but, it's what's best for the project. Maybe if this one does good, we can do film for the next one.

PHX Video Update, 041710

PHX Update 041710 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!