Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA — We spent last week working on the trailer for the documentary and three guesses as to what we’re working on this week. Yep, the trailer for the feature. We passed the initial cut to Keith Heffner, the Sound Editor and Music Director. He layered sound, effects and vocals into an appealing and effective mix. It was exciting and inspiring to see everything coming into shape.

Ultimately, we had 88 hours of footage that were shaped into the approximately 90-minute documentary. We had another 34 hours of footage that were crafted into the 90-minute feature. When you’re shooting a feature, there is a primary story line that is being followed and there just isn’t much other footage to spare. The documentary is a whole different story. With 88 hours of footage, you can imagine there were many, many stories that could be found in that mass of material. The students were required to make demo reels after they returned from Zambia so some of the footage was used there. But much of it will remain unseen, many of the more subtle stories will remain untold, parts of what we discovered will remain unknown. We got to talking about it and decided that some of the stories might be suitable in a short format.

Producer Pamela Bowman has created a short based on the poem she wrote while we were traveling to Victoria Falls in southern Zambia. (The original blog entry of the poem can be found on the FilmZambia site.) In addition to working on the documentary trailer, she’s been working this short. I think this piece captures the gentle soul of the people of Zambia. We met so many kind and wonderful Zambians. Check it out.

Pamela Bowman’s Short Film
HEART OF AFRICA

Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007
Heart of Africa (lg quicktime)
Heart of Africa (sm quicktime)
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BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA — Working on the film trailers has us revisting all of the shooting days and recalling the terrific, dedicated work of our amazing FilmZambia crew. Their dedication and determination were unparalleled. So, a reminder to take a look at their reels if you’re looking for a crew member who will do whatever it takes to get your film done!

• Cinematographer Carlos Espinosa
• Line Producer MK Racine
• Cinematographer and Editor Robby Brown
• Editor, Cinematographer and MakeUp Artist Jeniece Toranzo
• Editor and Unit Photographer
• Assistant Director, Editor and Script Supervisor Nick Marshall

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After five years at Sundance, programmer Roberta Munroe has put up a site letting us know that she is expanding her consulting business and offering some much sought after creative, development and marketing services to filmmakers.

She wants to help filmmakers realize their dreams. After watching over 10,000 shorts, several hundred features and making her own award winning short film (DANI AND ALICE - 2005), she can help make your film more successful.

According to Munroe, she can help in the following ways …

• Learn the most common mistakes filmmakers make and how to avoid them.
• Make a short that actually gets accepted into festivals.
• Don’t waste your money, time and energy — get your script as tight as possible before you shoot.
• Figure out the right length for your story and so much more.
  Whenever possible, get your rough cut critiqued by me before you lock picture.
• Strategize around which festivals to aim for before you spend hundreds of dollars on entry fees.

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BY JENIECE TORANZO MESA, ARIZONA— Director and screenwriter, Gina Kim, tells a story of a young woman (Sophie) played by Vera Farmiga, who is married to a wealthy Asian American (Andrew), played by David McInnis. Sophie has a difficult time getting pregnant and discovers how far she will go in order to have a child. In order to save her marriage, she begins a sexual relationship with an illegal immigrant from Korea (Jihah), played by Jung-woo Ha. Sophie then finds her true self while juggling between the two men, one that she loves and the other that she falls in love with. This movie was well shot and edited. The cinematography is just amazing along with the well thought out color scheme. The cast did such an amazing job in their performance in delivering a well scripted movie. You can feel the emotion and pain in each character as they learn to cope with the situations they are put in. I will let you know, for those who care, that this movie is based on a sexual relationship between Sophie and Jihah, which means, be prepared for a whole lotta sex happening. Overall, the storyline well thought out. The ending is controversial which makes it even more appealing. Be sure to check out the Q&A with the Director and some of the cast.

NEVER FOREVER   Post Screening Q&A

Podcast on Monday, February 12, 2007
Cast and Crew of NEVER FOREVER - Large - Direct download link
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BY CYNDI GREENING & PAMELA BOWMAN, PHOENIX, USA – The FilmZambia project has been a life-altering, monumental experience for all who participated. It is because of the Zambian project that we (the producers) have come to realize and refine our life mission. We experienced such satisfaction and joy at helping to bring a new voice to the global cinema, in educating filmmaking students in Zambia, in watching our MCC students expand their skills and have profound cultural experiences. The goal of educating, developing and supporting new voices in global cinema continues to be one of our primary concerns.

However, after attending the Sundance Film Festival in January, we realized that we were overlooking the voices of U.S. filmmakers. We were inspired to expand our commitment to include finding and nurturing the voices of new filmmakers in the U.S. Attending the festival, we found our voice and are stating our desire to help storytellers and filmmakers find their unique voice and get their story into the national market.

So, we are pleased to announce the launch of Greening Productions / Angel&Wings Productions, a site devoted to supporting independent filmmakers worldwide. (You will have to read the story of how the company name was bestowed upon us in Zambia! Whle we don’t make religious films, we are committed to doing good work.) On the site, you will find the dates and times for classes and seminars that will be offered in the Phoenix metroarea. These classes will also be available in different national locations in the near future. In addition, we are making DVDs available to assist in your digital film development.

Wherever we traveled, people interested in film would pepper us with questions. Due to limited time, we felt we could not give adequate answers or explanations. Through these classes and products, we are now able to provide information and assistance to future filmmakers.

So enjoy the site and let us know what you think! If you have thoughts on other products and classes we could offer that would be of support. We will continue our global projects (we are currently working on a FilmEcuador project and a FilmSenegal project), also. We appreciate your feedback and thoughts!

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BY PAMELA BOWMAN, MESA, USA – While we were at Sundance, I was sitting in front of a small group of very young filmmakers at a funding panel. After eavesdropping, I learned that they had done a movie on some guy traveling around the United States … I can’t really seem to remember much more about their film. Not real impactful or just not my cup of cocoa. Anyway they ended up being indie snobs. They were talking about a site called YouTube. They said that they would never post there or respect anyone who did. During the panel YouTube was discussed. The panelist acknowledged the impact YouTube was having on the industry and how some people have found success with their ideas and been offered movie contracts because of what they’ve put up on that site.

As you can tell I was not familiar with YouTube. I had heard of it, but I had not frequented the site. I have now. We did a test run on some clips from Sundance and have been surprised by the results. We’ve put up several of the vCasts from the last three years at Sundance. We have been surprised at how popular one vCast is in particular. Jared Leto stars in CHAPTER 27 and the Q&A following the screening of that film has been viewed 589 times in the last 72 hours … since we like the whole independent voice thing, we can see how YoYouTube facilitates our goal of allowing us to hear more voices. Even the ones in our heads!

… BUT, (there is always one or two around)… how can and do people generate a salary to support life as we know it? Is YouTube killing the market for entertainment media? There is a huge population that applauds that thought. People swap music over networks that bypass the artists, producers and distributors. TV viewership is down. People are turning to other forms of entertainment. And in many cases they are in the creative end of providing it for others to watch and enjoy. Granted some of the submissions are worthy of the Maury Povich show or the wrath of Simon, BUT, (the second one), we have the ability to click away anonymously. No chance of hurting someone’s feelings. Pain free! Personally, I think YouTube is cool.

One of the big drawbacks about the computer age is the isolation. Humans do not like isolation. The internet is our creative way to maintain contact with other humans. We get depressed in our anti-social life style and we plug into the net. We chat and email. We watch movies and listen to music. In fact, movies and music are traded on the internet like baseball cards. As a person who develops media content, it seems that what needs to be considered is the contribution and the rights of the creators. How can the concept of free enterprise (commerce) continue if everything created in the entertainment field is almost instantly free?

In the end it really doesn’t matter. The people have spoken. YouTube and other sites like it are here to stay. We will all deal with it. And like all good Americans, we will try to find a way to capitalize on it.

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BY NICK MARSHALL, GILBERT, AZ, USA - So you’ve got an idea. A good one. You’ve turned it into a film. Now you’re wondering how to get your film onto the film festival circuit. Well, instead of scrounging the internet for hours, clicking on billions of links that lead you astray, spend a minute reading this and afford yourself more time for those other good film ideas.

First, go get Chris Gore’s Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide. Today I frequented my local Borders to skim through this book (I had been hearing it was the be-all, end-all source for film festival information) and I planned on leafing through it casually and then going on my way to finish the rest of my errands for the day. It started off fine, glancing through casually, reading sections of interviews and “Top 10” lists. But oddly enough, I soon found myself seated in a comfy chair, enjoying the interviews with directors talking about their impressions and mistakes on different festivals and then found myself taking out my pocket notepad and jotting down notes. I really intended this to be a five minute escapade and twenty minutes later I got up and really did leave. Gore’s top 10 lists cover mistakes filmmakers make and what to do at film festivals, even how to effectively crash a party at a film festival. Morgan Spurlock (SUPERSIZE ME) talks about how he prepared for Sundance and Jared Hess (NAPOLEON DYNAMITE) also describes his experience with Sundance. The end of the book is filled with detailed info about all the major film festivals in North America. Gore also throws in cheap marketing tips for your film.

If books aren’t your thing, click over to WithoutA Box.com. Sign up for free and get information about all the upcoming film festivals. As a filmmaker, you can search by submission date, genre, location and dozens of other parameters. Without a Box makes it much easier to find the perfect festival for your film.

If you pay a cheap yearly fee, Without a Box will summit your film and press package to as many festivals as you want and you only have to fill out one entry form instead of hundreds. Watch the Demo to see what other services they provide. These two resources make getting on the film festival circuit much less exhausting. You can even see which festivals are going on and buy tickets to those festivals. The site is amazingly easy to navigate and useful.

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BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA — Nick reviewed, CHAPTER 27, the film about Mark David Chapman, the man who killed John Lennon at the doorway of the Dakota. Jeniece recorded the post-screening Q&A in the Eccles at Park City. In the Q&A, lead actor Jared Leto talked about his weight gain for the film and how that altered how he walked and talked. Rumor has it that Leto now has gout in one ankle because of the rapid weight gain and loss. There was also discussion about the family’s opinion of the film and Leto’s process for getting into the mind of the character.

CHAPTER 27   Post Screening Q&A

Recorded Thursday, 25 January 2007 Sundance Film Festival

Podcast on Friday, February 2, 2007
Cast and Crew of CHAPTER 27 - Large - Direct download link
Cast and Crew of CHAPTER 27 - Small - Direct download link
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