Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

BY CYNDI GREENING, ARIZONA, USA — I love Diet Pepsi. When we were going to Zambia, last summer, my biggest fear was going an entire month without Diet Pepsi. We have so much video of me whining (oh yes, I can really whine) about how hard it’s going to be to go without diet soda. Imagine my delight to discover they have Diet Pepsi in Zambia. Now, even better news. Just before I blew out of town on Wednesday, I stopped by to see Kayla, my favorite niece in Wisconsin. She told me she had to go to work within the hour. She works for Klingers Farms. She picks peas. She makes a whopping $6.75 per hour to pick peas. She says she likes the work. I say, no wonder there is such an influx of migrant workers. I wouldn’t pick peas for $60.75 per hour. But, she was happy to go to work.

I hadn’t had time for breakfast before I arrived so my sister, Kim, offered to make eggs or something healthy. Kayla and I opted for a bowl of Coco Pebbles instead. Afterwards, we noticed the Fruity Pebbles, so we indulged in a bowl of them, too. Then, to wash it all down, a can of Diet Pepsi. Mmmmm, was I satisfied. Then, to make an already perfect morning even better, Kayla and Kim told me they had tried my Diet Pepsi and they liked it BETTER. (Normally drinkers of Coke products, they had purchased a case of Diet Pepsi just for me. In fact, when I come to town, several homes suddenly have cases of Diet Pepsi in the fridge.) It made my day!

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BY CYNDI GREENING, CHIPPEWA FALLS, WISCONSIN — To be totally honest, I am back in Phoenix now but I am wishing I were back in Wisconsin. It’s so much cooler up there. I could be on the lake, fishing, with the family instead of hanging out in my little sweat lodge. On Monday, Dad, Sandy, Alec and I went fishing on Big Chetac Lake in northern Wisconsin. Sandy is so competitive, she wouldn’t put sunscreen on because she didn’t want the smell to rub off on her line and ruin her chances with getting the biggest fish. Good thing she reminded me. I didn’t put any on either. She still got the first fish. And then Dad pulled in the second. They were throwing little ones back while Alec and I sat there, drowning bait and feeding the nibblers. They kept trying to make us feel better. “It’s awfully windy today,” Dad says, “They just aren’t too active down there.” Plop. He tosses another one in the live cooler. Sandy has a gleeful laugh as she pulls in a big bluegill. She gives Alec jigging lessons. Sandy reminds us that we are due in at 1pm for lunch.

In we go for steaks on the grill, Texas toast and Snickers Salad. That’s right. In Wisconsin, they make a “salad’ out of Snickers candy bars, apples and a creamy substance (vanilla pudding, maybe, but don’t quote me on that). I score politically-incorrect Salt and Pepper Shakers to add to my collection of all things bad. I had a wonderful strawberry shortcake for desert (the Snickers salad was the salad course). After lunch, Alec and I wanted to go back out fishing. It was easy to see that Sandy and Dad were not hopeful. It turns out their hopelessness was well-founded. Dad caught four more. I caught nothing. Alec had a Northern on the line but didn’t have his net handy, so the big beast bit through the line and swam away. He had one but couldn’t land it. Oh well, we all got lovely sunburns.

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BY CYNDI GREENING, ARIZONA, USA — I’m back from the Northwoods. Just in time. The Shea house closed today. The real estate agent called and emailed that everything went smoothly and it “recorded.” It’s funny how every industry has phrases that are really significant. Apparently, “recorded” is such a word in real estate. That is the golden moment in the home sale. It must be like “distribution deal” or “greenlight” in indie film. I’m optimistic that the closing of the house will create new openings for future opportunities. It certainly shifts things around. Closes that chapter.

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“It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over.”
      Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)
      US Poet

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
      Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC)
      in Plato, Dialogues, Apology
      Greek Philosopher

“Life is just a mirror, and what you see out there, you must first see inside of you.”
      Wally “Famous” Amos (1936 - )
      U.S. Businessman

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BY CYNDI GREENING, CHIPPEWA FALLS, WISCONSIN — The wedding was yesterday and, while we’re all happy that it went very well, we’re all beat today and more than a little crabby. Over-tired, stressed out and just plain temperamental. I try to spend a lot of time holding the babies. Some people find children very irritating but I find babies soothing. The only thing I really have to do is make sure I don’t drop them and coo at them until they fall asleep. There are two new babies in the family (Ronan and Kyle), so I’ve got plenty of cooing and cuddling to manage. I’m good at getting little ones to fall asleep. They seem to like the pillows.

One of the hard things about being back home is always having to be on my best behavior. In a small town, anything you do will be know everywhere … within a few minutes of when the thing actually occurs. So, one must make more of an effort to be proper. I can’t remember the last time I dressed up like I did this weekend. Oh, wait, yes I can. The last time I dressed up like this was at my sister Kims wedding. For that event, I was actually in the wedding party. I had a fuschia dress and the most enormous pile of hair. I introduced myself to everyone as “Betty BigHair.” They laughed. As you can tell by the image, I did not have “big hair” or a dress for this wedding. In fact, I needed to help direct the traffic flow and make the toast. What a nerve-wracking experience. I used to be an on-air disc jockey and found it far easier to do that than this toast At least I was looking good!

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BY CYNDI GREENING, CHIPPEWA FALLS, WISCONSIN — I am back in the heartland for my niece Andra’s wedding. The weather is beautiful. Cool and refreshing. Life moves at a different pace here. Sort of a relaxed pace, glacial perhaps. After the wedding, the next most exciting thing I’ll be doing is going fishing with Daddio. Fishing is very important up here. Almost as important as family events. This is life in a small town. Family, fishing and food. So many food related activities. Picnics. Grill outs. Grammy eggs. Fruit pizza. Recipe exchange. And cheese. Cheese curds. Cheese fondue. Cheeseburgers. Four cheese pizza.

Yesterday, I went to Enterprise Rent-a-Car. I just couldn’t stand being vehicle-less. I booked the rental on Travelocity and went to the pickup point. While I’m in there, two fellas are renting a car. They’re talking about whether or not to take out the insurance. I’m a tad unfocused because I’m in a big hurry. I’m supposed to be meeting a friend for lunch and I’m already late. They’re pleasant fellows. One is quite a bit taller than the other. They smile and nod at Alec and me. Alec listens to them give their contact telephone number. “Maryland,” he says, “They’re from Maryland.”

So, in the afternoon, we go to the wedding rehearsal. Who comes walking down the path? These two fellows from Maryland. Yep, they’re Andra’s new in-laws. We end up toasting and laughing about our Enterprising meeting. This is life in a small town.

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BY CYNDI GREENING, ARIZONA, USA — The number one rule of independent filmmaking is always use Other People’s Money (OPM), preferably a studio’s money or a distributor’s money. How many times did I give that lecture? Don’t use your credit cards. Don’t use your family’s money. Don’t use your friends’ money. Statistics say that it is almost certain that your film will not make money; that you’ll lose your friends and alienate your family.

The students always argue with me during this lecture. They talk about Morgan Spurlock’s film, SUPERSIZE ME. Some folks will talk about Kevin Smith’s success with CLERKS. Occasionally, someone will remember the more obscure but equaly suprising Robert Townsend film, HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE. They like to recall the miracle filmmaking stories, stories about the people who do just this sort of thing and end up with a wildly, financially-successful film. It’s my job to remind them that there are THOUSANDS of filmmakers who follow that film financing path into a very dark tunnel. If a distributor or producer gets behind your film, chances are that they see an opportunity for financial success. Since they’ve made a whole lot more films than you, that’s a good thing. If the money people don’t get behind you, they may be doing you a favor in the long run. They may be saving you a lot of heartache and a lot of money. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to get distributors to fund educational projects ahead of time. They want to see the finished product to know if the story hangs together because, well, let’s be honest, it’s students learning by doing. They’re cautious about giving money to that sort of thing.

So, how did I end up in the rabbit hole that I did? Surely I know the rule about OPM. If there’s anyone who knows this rule, it is me. When I told my filmmaking nephew that I was well over $80,000 on these two films and was probably going to go over $100,000 by the time they were done, I thought he was going to have a stroke. “Are you out of your mind?” Jason gasped. “You used your money? Is that why you sold your house?”

Well, there’s nothing like being called on the carpet by someone half your age. And, if I wasn’t feeling stupid before he started lecturing me, l surely got there within a few seconds. To add insult to injury, Pamela edited a short video piece on what it took to finance the two Zambian films. I think she should enter it in film festivals or send it to every university and college with a film program. I think they will find it quite educational, perhaps even amusing. Or not.

• Cyndi’s Houses (quicktime)
• Cyndi’s Houses (swf)

So, now, I’ve added a new portion to my lecture on OPM. So, if you decide it’s a good idea to go to Africa to make two films (and encourage 18 faculty and students to come with you for the learning experience of a lifetime), make sure the OPM you get is waaaaay more than a small educational grant that only covers the flight for about a third of the crew. Unless you don’t care if you anyone ever actually sees the films that you made.

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BY CYNDI GREENING, ARIZONA, USA – I have a Samsung A900 cellular phone. It’s sort of the Sprint Razr. Small, sleek, visually appealing. It does, however, have its challenges. My first one had a bad microphone so they had to swap it out. I lost all of my messages, images and stored content. Ringtones that I’d paid for didn’t transfer and wouldn’t re-download.

The greatest irritation of all has been how difficult it was to make and use my own ringtones. I’m media saavy so you’d think it would be a walk in Central Park but, NO!, it’s been just one problem after another. Although there is a USB cable connection for additional content, it won’t put data in the ringers folder, just storage. At Sprint, they gave me the additional advice that the memory card is NOT expandable in the A900 so I should be very careful about the size of the ringtones I put into the phone. After three weeks of dogging down all of the problems, I am finally able upload my own ringtones.

Here’s the process:

1. Use PEAK or audio editing software to create your clip.

2. Use SORENSON SQUEEZE or other compression / conversion software to change file type to MP3. Make sure the file size is smaller than 2MB.

3. Upload file using PHONE UPLOADER TOOLS

4. When the text message comes in, choose GO. The file will be put in your Ringtone Folder.

5. Access phone book to ASSIGN tones.

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“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”
      Malcolm Forbes (1919 - 1990)
      US art collector, author, & publisher

“Every reader finds himself. The writer’s work is merely a kind of optical instrument that makes it possible for the reader to discern what, without this book, he would perhaps never have seen in himself.”
      Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922)
      French Novelist

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BY CYNDI GREENING, ARIZONA, USA – I think this is the funniest thing. There was a lot of press coverage about how beloved George W. Bush is in Albania and how the crowds flocked to welcome him. So, imagine how amusing it is to watch one of the adoring crowd members steal the watch right off W’s wrist while the Secret Service agents surround him. You can watch the video of George Bush’s watch-snatching.

After my senior year of high school, I spent a summer studying in Guadalajara, Mexico. We also went to Mexico City (D.F.) for a week. On the subway, five of my classmates and I were surround by a group of young men. Jostling us about, they slit Cathy’s fabric handbag and stole her wallet. They disappeared in only a few moments, two hundred dollars richer. It wasn’t until we were racing across the Zocalo, when her mascara and lipstick went tumbling to the ground through the gaping hole that we realized what had happened. I guess I can be consoled by the fact that we were only 18 at the time.

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BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA – Tonight, the series finale of Showtime’s THE TUDORS is on. I’ve really been enjoying the series but I’ve read on the chat boards that this last episode is a bit boring. One post commented that they need us to come back for season two (like we wouldn’t want to find out how Anne Boleyn falls from favor and “loses her head” after only a thousand days of being wed to Henry) so nothing could be resolved but, in spite of that, the overall commentary in the blogosphere is that it is disappointing. (Maybe this means I’ll love it because my expectations are diminished.)

The thing I’m disappointed about is that they took dramatic license with the death of Princess Margaret. So many other things had been done so accurately and so well, I couldn’t believe they would alter the date of her death so severely. Margaret (who was only two years older than Henry) died five years AFTER Anne Boleyn was beheaded. In the ninth episode of the series, Princess Margaret is consumed by consumption before Henry and Anne have even married. I can’t figure out why they felt compelled to do that. It does not seem like was necessary for the drama. There were enough other things going on with Wolsey, Cromwell and the Suffolk Triumvirate. Now, I find myself double-checking all of the other facts.

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BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA – Those of you that follow this blog know that I’ve been working on two Zambian films for the last year. While in Zambia, I started journalling again. That led to creative writing, mostly poetry for a couple months. Of course, that led back to one of my favorite writing forms: screenwriting. I realized that I’d been screenwriting for almost two decades. It didn’t even seem possible. Over the years, I’ve written with a few writing partners. I like bouncing ideas off another person and bantering the dialogue around. It’s just the nature of the beast. I like working with people. That’s why film was a natural art form for me.

When I first investigated screenwriting as a career, I thought I’d move to LA and become part of a writing team on a situation comedy. Then, Alec was born and I opted to remain in the Valley. Teach and do the indie film thing. Sitcom writer/Show runner Ric Swartzlander (husband of former Phoenix news anchor Cater Lee) shared the intricacies of writing as part of a team. I learned a lot from him. Now, I’m working with a new writing partner. As is often true in the beginning, it can be a bit rugged getting used to each other’s styles.

As a side note, Ric has a new show coming out this fall called NEWS. It’s about the crazy goings on at an Arizona news station. It stars Barry Bostwick and Rachel Boston. I’m looking forward to seeing it.

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BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA – Ever since I was a child, I have loved watching surfer films and surfing competitions on the things like The Wide World of Sports. One of my favorite restaurants is Islands. What draws me isn’t the food. Don’t get me wrong, I like it okay. It’s the surfing videos that run non-stop that I find most appealing. Hawaii’s north beach is one of my favorites for the pipeline. In the continental U.S., Mavericks is one of the best.

South of San Francisco near Half Moon Bay, Mavericks is known for challenging big wave competitions and was the death of Hawaiian surfer Mark Foo. Geologists have generated a high-resolution 3D map of the underwater terrain to discover why Mavericks delivers such magnificent waves. According to the researchers, “the abrupt topography of the bedrock reef at Mavericks causes wave energy to converge over the reef, causing the wave to rapidly slow down, shorten in length and substantially increase in height.” As waves get close to shore, their base begins to run into the seafloor, slowing the deeper parts of the wave. The shallower part of the wave keeps moving at the same pace, causing the wave to stand up and then pitch forward.

You can view an animation of Mavericks. The sweep of the undersea floor, its rapid rise, combined with the gaping mouth of the bay creates the powerful wave face so desired by competitive surfers.

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BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA – As an instructor for Final Cut Pro, Shake, Maya and After Effects, I found the post production information on the film about the battle at Thermopylae. Post production on the film 300 took almost a year. The film was edited on an Avid, with an HD cut also maintained in Final Cut Pro The 3D was made using Maya, XSI, and Lightwave The 2D composites were made with Shake, Inferno, Fusion, and Combustion. The filmmakers preferred Macintosh, but large portions of the movie were made under Linux.

Asset management was handled by custom software written in the Panorama development environment, made by Provue. Color management was handled by Truelight software. The film was scanned on a Northlight scanner and was recorded on the Arrilaser.

Most of the film was shot at high speed, between 50 and 150fps. Normal film is at 24fps. The film was transferred to HD SR tape and quicktime, and HD quicktimes were the basis for the HD preview cuts. The working resolution for the film was 2K, at a working aspect ratio of 2.11 and a projected aspect ratio of 2.35.

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BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA – In the woods of Utah, in breathtaking Provo Canyon, some of the most remarkable films are being created right now! How can one be so certain of that? From May 28th through June 28th, the Sundance Institute is hosting the Annual Directors Lab and the Annual Screenwriters Lab. Of the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of submissions they received, the following projects were selected for Institute support.

The projects and participants selected for the June Directors Lab from May 28-June 23 are:
• THE CAVANAUGHS/John Morgan (co-writer/director) and Meg LeFauve (co-writer), U.S.A.
• CIRCUMSTANCE/Maryam Keshavarz (writer/director), U.S.A./Iran
• COLD SOULS/Sophie Barthes (writer/director), U.S.A.
• FARMING/Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (writer/director), United Kingdom/Nigeria
• HAITI CHERIE/Patricia Benoit (writer/director), U.S.A./Haiti
• HERE/Braden King (co-writer/director) and Dani Valent (co-writer), U.S.A./Australia
• SPOONS/Eric Lahey (writer/director), U.S.A.
• WATER & POWER/Richard Montoya (writer/director), U.S.A.

These fellows will be joined at the June Screenwriters Lab from June 23-28 by these participants and projects:
• DREAMING IN COLOUR / Tala Hadid (writer/director), Morocco/U.S.A.
• PARIAH/Dee Rees (writer/director), U.S.A.
• REFRESH, REFRESH/James Ponsoldt (writer/director), U.S.A.
• THIS IS NOT A PIPE: AN IMAGE OF TREASON/J.J. Lask (writer/director), U.S.A.
• UM HUSSEIN/Mohamed Al-Daradji (co-writer/director) and Jennifer Norridge (co-writer), Iraq/United Kingdom

You can download a PDF with full descriptions of the projects and participants.

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