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Pre-Production
Friday, July 21st, 2000
I feel that I’ve learned a lot in the year I’ve spent preparing for the production of The Ice Cream Man.
Storyboarding at The Bus Note Press.
I learned not to wait to do the storyboards. I chose to wait until the script was locked. Sounds efficient, but the script isn’t really locked until the negative is cut. Start the storyboards as soon as you feel able. Don’t consider their aesthetics; the boards are a tool to convey visually what you must accomplish. Avoid getting attached to them; they need to be able to change. Draw enough and you’ll stop worrying about your drawing skills; you may even improve.
If the script is your bible, let this be your blueprint.
I learned the importance of rehearsing my actors before filming. We started rehearsals a month before photography. During the rehearsal process, the script began to evolve, and the result was a better script. Don’t cheat yourself out of this process. Make the time, because you won't have time on the set.
I learned not to be too flexible. I postponed our start date a month to accommodate a producer with previous commitment. I didn't want to go it alone. The producer quit, and we had to find crew and equipment during the start-up of all the TV series. In the future, my experience will teach me to be even less flexible.
I learned the cost and the value of insurance. You can’t get filming permits without a liability policy, which comes as a part of a Producer’s Package. A Producer’s Package is expensive, more so if it’s not an annual policy. If you can find a friendly production company that will allow you to name them as the producing company, great. Rental houses and even individuals loaning you equipment will require a Certificate of Insurance naming the vendor for Miscellaneous Equipment coverage. This means that the insurance company must fax a certificate to each vendor before you can take the equipment away, so you will need a contact person at the production company that can make things happen quickly as your needs change. They will undoubtedly expect that you will not file a claim unless you have a catastrophic loss. If you do file a claim, be prepared for a big deductible. There are other options for insurance; the Independent Feature Project and the LA-based Filmmakers’ Alliance may have suggestions.
If you think you can't afford permits, as yourself: can you afford to get shut down? Suddenly permits sound like a bargain. If you’re a student or if you can set up as a non-profit, permits in the City of Los Angeles are free. Something that is not free is a Worker's Compensation policy, issued by the State Compensation Insurance Fund in California. If you are operating under any type of Screen Actor’s Guild contract you must have this, but in any case, if somebody gets hurt on your film, you could be sued. How much do you have to lose?
The First Four Days of Filming
DAY 1 OF 6
Saturday, July 22nd, 2000
The early morning Venice Beach fog slowly thins over the barrio as Producer Cynthia Carlomagno and I set up breakfast.
In my day job on the set lighting crew, I am never the first on set: a village of trucks and tents are in place long before crew call. But today, Cynthia and I are alone; I feel as if we are waiting for the first guests at a party. What if no one shows up?
COFFEE IS NOT READY: Director of Photography Alexandre Naufel, Director Dylan Rush, Camera Operator Roman Jakobi. Photo: D Loeb.
But they do. An hour after our call time we have our first shot. The day goes quickly, and although my appetite is overwhelmed by nausea, my spirits are high. The day races past and suddenly we are wrapped: on schedule and disaster-free.
It will not happen again.
DAY 2 OF 6
Sunday, July 23rd, 2000
We film the first conflict of the story: Grisha meets the competition, Myung-Hee. The rival ice cream trucks, donated by Ahmad Pakzat of Tropical Ice Cream, were initially indistinguishable. But with Production Designer Becky Casey's set decoration, the trucks have become true reflections of the characters.
Production Designer Becky Casey at work on Grisha's truck. Photo: D Loeb.
After lunch we attack our final and most complicated scene: the Domino Game. The scene takes place during "golden hour," the warm light of late afternoon, but we know we won’t have enough time to get all our coverage in one afternoon. Director of Photography Alexandre Naufel and I have planned to shoot this scene on two afternoons, working on close-ups (which we can light) until the natural light is ideal, and then grabbing the wide shots.
One detail: we are under the flight path of the Santa Monica airport on their busiest day. Sound Mixer Kurt Peterson listens, and we wait...and wait and wait. Nobody seems to think about sound until it’s a problem. The big shows can fix it in post-production: dialogue is re-recorded in the studio during the mix, an expensive solution. If you have Harrison Ford standing by and you’re losing the light, it may be the only way out.
But I don’t have Harrison Ford today, and if I did he’d be donating his time like everyone else. Also, I have so little money for post that I haven’t even done a budget. We press on, and when the light is gone and we throw in the towel, we have managed to get quite a bit of the Domino Game, although we are behind schedule.
DAY 3 OF 6
Monday, July 24th, 2000
I wake up with chills. My teeth are chattering. Have coffee but can't eat. A hot shower helps a bit. I wonder if this is the part of the memoirs that you’re supposed to leave out.
Dylan Rush tries not to panic. Photo: D Loeb.
Today I get to drive the ice cream truck with the door open, standing without the seat: the camera is rigged to capture the driver’s point-of-view. Much later I have a vision of my body being launched into the street, sending the truck out of control with the camera crew on board.
We return to the Domino Game. Mercifully, the airport noise issues are minimal today. Thanks to our Gaffer Raman Rao, Key Grip Russell Steen, and Best Boy David Loeb, "golden hour" lasts from noon until dark. We make our day!
I get home late and pick up the phone messages: we have a bad negative report from day two. The worst part is that the lab called in the morning, but left a message at my home instead of calling my cameraman on his mobile. Lesson: make sure the lab knows how to reach you immediately, and call in for your negative report each morning.
The report says edge fogging into the picture area on one roll. I feel that I should panic, but I don’t have the energy. I just want to sleep.
Instead, I help Cynthia prepare tomorrow's lunch.
DAY 4 OF 6
Tuesday, July 25 2000
Alex has talked to the lab. We're not sure how bad the damage is, but we know what scenes are affected.
We know that the shot of the kids rushing the ice cream truck is unusable, so we re-shoot this. Other coverage is in question, but we don't have all the elements to pick it up, or even the time. If none of the footage on the roll is usable, I'll have to cut around what I don’t have.
We do our SteadiCam work with Geoff Shotz. Don't be fooled into believing that SteadiCam saves time. Plan on everything taking at least three times as long. Blocking, rehearsing, re-loading film all become exponentially complicated. If you have a second camera (we don’t) for the SteadiCam rig, it will help.
SteadiCam Operator Geoff Shotz, DP Alexandre Naufel & Boom Operator Rocky Quiroz.
The sun goes down and we are in pretty good shape. We are done with the main location and the bulk of the work. I look forward to tomorrow: our day off.
A HARD DAY'S REST
Wednesday, July 26th, 2000
I awake early with an incredible sense of relief. Although it's our day off, we will return our electrical generator and its tow vehicle, then pick up our negative at FotoKem and deliver it to NT Audio Video Film Labs for telecine. At least we're not shooting.
David Alan Graf as GRISHA: first day on the job.
Alex heads off to Horvath in the San Fernando Valley with the generator in tow. He gets off the freeway and is stopped in traffic when a guy pulls up next to him and says, "Hey buddy, your generator's on fire." Alex looks in his rear-view mirror and sees huge clouds of smoke: the axle has cracked and the tire is spinning at a 45-degree angle, rubbing on the chassis. Horvath is quick on the scene and Alex is on his way, but later we ponder what might have happened if the axle had gone out on the freeway. It turned out that the generator had been dragged around off-road on a previous job, and although Horvath had carefully inspected the axle for damage, a hairline crack in a weld eventually failed. They later put the plant on a double-axle trailer.
David Alan Graf ad George Haycraft with Director of Photograpky Alexandre Naufel. Photo: D Loeb.
We meet at NT Audio. The footage looks good and I'm happy, although we don't yet have sound.
I'm advised to synchronize the sound in my computer at home and not in the telecine. This has partly to do with the Final Cut Pro editing software, but also will also drastically shorten the costly telecine time. Our colorist Milton Rudge asks if I need a telecine log. I have no idea so I say yes. We telecine with a 1.85 matte set to a framing chart that we shot to match our camera’s optics. The original negative key numbers and the telecine timecode are visually added during the transfer to video with a burn-in.
The roll with the edge-fogging is bad. The exteriors are unusable. The shots made inside the ice cream truck are on the edge of acceptability: a pulsing red glow on the edge of the frame gives a peculiar fire-light effect. Near the end of the roll it's barely perceptible. Some shots we’ve already picked up, but the wider coverage of Malik ordering ice cream is a big concern.
Picking this up would require many elements: the kids, the domino players, the last location, Grisha’s truck, and Malik. Much of this we no longer have scheduled; either way I doubt we have the resources to make it happen over the next two days. On a feature we would normally have enough schedule left to juggle and work things out. On a short, it’s all over in the blink of an eye. I decide to focus on the next day’s work and deal with any missing footage in the editing room.
DAY 5 OF 6
Thursday, July 27th, 2000
We open up at the beach under a leaden sky. We need a sunny Venice Beach for the Chess Player scene and decide to wait and hope for the marine layer to burn off. We shoot inserts inside the truck: feet on pedals, Grisha’s tape deck, etcetera. Our Chess Players Paul Wagar and Paul Shively wait patiently. Kurt Peterson records wild sound of the ocean and seagulls.
Paul Wagar and Paul Shively as the CHESS PLAYERS.
The sky finally clears at noon. Beach-goers populate our background and the Pauls finally get to work. Even though it's in the storyboards I still manage to miss Grisha's reverse, but I won’t realize this until I’m in the editing room.
We shoot the first scene in the film: Grisha's arrival in America. Camera Operator Roman Jakobi practices his human pretzel operating skills with the Weaver-Steadman head on the Pee-Wee dolly, which would be a TechnoCrane on a big show.
DAY 6 OF 6
Friday, July 28th, 2000
A partial crew meets at my place for breakfast and then loads into Grisha's ice cream truck. We head for the barrio and film Grisha walking in the neighborhood, using the ice cream truck for a camera platform.
David Alan Graf as Grisha
After an early lunch, we head over to the Ice Cream Company location, where Kuryatin introduces Grisha to his truck. We film on Narcissus Court in Venice, behind the Bay Cities Laundry property. I had originally hoped to film on the property but was refused, so I pulled permits for Narcissus and filmed on the sidewalk, using Bay Cities for background. Later I find that the property was pending sale for live/work “artist’s lofts” that no artist could possibly afford, a sad byproduct of the gentrification of Venice. Ours is undoubtedly the last footage of the laundry in operation.
We shoot more truck inserts, and under cranked shots of Grisha selling ice cream for use in the musical montage portion of the film. Producer Cynthia Carlomagno and Production Designer Beck Casey fill in as the hands of the kids seen through the window of the truck.
Eugene Alpert as KURYATIN and David Alan Graf as GRISHA.
Eugene Alper shines as Kuryatin, introducing Grisha to his new career. We finish with a "magic hour" dolly shot around the truck, to be used for the end of Grisha’s first day on the job.
WRAP IT UP
Saturday, July 29th, 2000
I return the Production van, a 3-ton package donated by Rod Spencer Lighting. Other people return other stuff. We discuss picking up inserts of the domino game Sunday. Monday the camera package will be returned, so the plan is to pick up any inserts and then grab traveling POV's of the neighborhood for the music montage.
Director Dylan Rush and Producer Cynthia Carlomagno discuss the shot. Photo: D Loeb.
Everybody is really, really tired.
DAY 7 OF 6: PICKUPS
Sunday, July 30th, 2000
Why are we still shooting? We cover the domino game inserts with David Alan Graf, Lucy Kawai, and Stefan Umstead at the home of the extremely patient Judy-benay Naufel.
Tiles in motion.
Alex and I return to the barrio for the traveling shots. I operate hand-held from the back of his truck while Alex drives. This was supposed to be done with a SteadiCam rig which unfortunately became unavailable. I try many approaches but I don’t feel like I’m getting anything usable. Many people in the barrio do not care to be photographed; some pull their T-shirts up over their faces.
Travelling in the 'Hood.
We roll out our last 400 feet of film and principal photography is wrapped.
IT'S OVER
Monday, July 31st, 2000
The camera package is returned to Bill Hale at Rocky Mountain Motion Pictures. He is the one came through with a 35mm camera package when our connection at Panavision in Woodland Hills came up empty handed. Without this we might have had to shoot on 16mm or not at all.
Dylan Rush & Key Grip Russell Steen
Was it worth shooting on 35mm? Absolutely. DV is great new medium, but it still can’t compare to the look of 35mm. 16mm is good, but the cost savings is not that great for a short, especially if you need to finish on 35mm. However, if I was making a feature and couldn’t afford 35mm, I would definitely go with 16mm or DV before giving up the project.
The ice cream trucks go back to Tropical Ice Cream in Pomona. The trucks, which are not street-legal and barely run, have to be transported on a flatbed truck. Producer Cynthia Carlomagno manages to get both trucks towed round-trip on my Auto Club card at no cost!
Tropical Ice Cream: the Mecca of ice cream trucks.
I thought I was tired last Wednesday...I feel like I’m wearing a lead jumpsuit. We screen the balance of the dailies on VHS: The Ice Cream Man is in the can!
OPENING THE CAN
Thursday, August 10th, 2000
I am beginning to understand how the timecode protocol drives the editing process, and it’s driving me a little insane. Timecode is the conduit between the physical world of film and the electronic world on non-linear editing: this lets you cut a movie on your Macintosh.
When I decided to cut The Ice Cream Man on a Mac, it seemed like good timing. Apple’s new G4 machine and their Final Cut Pro non-linear editing program promised to bring editing to the people, much in the in the way that publishing had been brought to the home desktop. Compared with the price of an entry-level Avid Media Composer, it seemed a bargain: for the cost of off-line rental, I could own my own system.
Camera Operator Roman Jakobi & DP Alexandre Naufel. Photo: D Loeb.
The Ice Cream Man originated on 35mm film, with the audio mixed to DAT, just like a feature. I will finish on 35mm for theatrical projection. My plan is to dub my DigiBeta picture track and my DAT audio track to separate DV tapes (the audio track tapes will have no picture). Next I will capture the DV picture and audio tracks to individual source clips on an external Firewire hard drive, and finally synchronize the picture and audio in Final Cut Pro with the smart slate used during filming.
From here I can edit the project at my leisure and output a VHS viewing tapes as needed for festival submission or anything else. When I am done and have a locked picture, I will generate a cut list on paper for my Negative Cutter.
What does this have to do with timecode? Well, the picture tracks from the telecine have timecode information that references the original negative key numbers. The Negative Cutter needs the key numbers to know where to cut and splice. The sound has its own original timecode, which the Sound Editor will need in the form of an Audio EDL to mix the final master track.
David Alan Graf: the actor prepares. Photo: D Loeb.
Unfortunately, the DV video format has no provision for key numbers or original DAT timecode information. It’s really designed for home movies. And Final Cut Pro, while a great tool, isn't really designed to pick up DV’s slack. In other words, cutting a film project in the summer of 2000 on Final Cut Pro is pretty much uncharted territory.
SO THAT'S WHAT THE SLATE IS FOR
Monday, August 21st, 2000
I have all my picture and sound on DV and I am ready to capture to my hard drive. I capture the picture and sound separately as individual clips: one picture clip and one audio clip for each take of each scene.
Audio timecode on the slate: handy.
After a few hours of experimentation, I develop a routine that approximates the traditional film process and also seems to preserve the original audio timecode for the Audio EDL:
1. Create a new "Sequence" in Final Cut Pro. This is my electronic sync-block.
2. Open the picture track and add a marker on the first frame where the slate is closed. Insert this into the Sequence.
3. Based on the timecode readout on the slate, locate and open the dialogue track, listen for the slate, add a marker, and drag it into the Sequence.
4. Drag either clip in the Sequence until the markers line up; "Link" the clips.
5. Drag the clips back to a new bin in the "Browser." The original clips may be deleted later, when this step is complete.
Note: Before capturing the audio, capture all the picture clips. The timecode on the smart slate and the clip duration can be used to build an audio capture log.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat. How many times do I need to do this? It all depends on how many source clips I want have available. Fortunately it's a short film!
FILMLOGIC
Wednesday, August 11th, 2001
Just as video carries timecode, film carries key numbers, a latent edge-number on the film that is referenced by the Negative Cutter. Sadly, neither DV nor Final Cut Pro accommodate this information. Happily, there is a solution.
Stephan Umstead as MALIK reads offscreen lines. Photo: D Loeb.
FilmLogic is a program that works in conjunction with Final Cut Pro, maintaining a database that tracks the relationship between the original telecine timecode of the source clips in your editing Sequence the actual key numbers on your negative. As long as the original timecode is intact, FilmLogic can output a list that tells your Negative Cutter where to cut the negative. Of course, this is your irreplaceable camera original, so it’s important that this information is accurate. If you can afford to print dailies, it’s a good idea to cut a workprint first. This will let you watch the film projected before you commit.
The starting point for the FilmLogic database will be your telecine log. It is tempting to forego this step to save expensive telecine time, but this is money well spent. At the very least, have the colorist make a log entry for each camera roll.
My edit is well underway by the time I acquire FilmLogic and learn about the telecine log. To build the FilmLogic database I must now recapture the picture from DV using the telecine log. I must also re-sync all my sound. I find that Final Cut Pro 2 refuses to accurately capture non-drop-frame timecode from my DSR-20 deck; this forces me to manually check and modify the source timecode on each and every clip; fortunately I have the burn-in as a reference. Finally, I get to rebuild my entire edit with the newly captured clips.
Lucy Kawai as MYUNG-HEE.
Ultimately I realize that I could have used my existing clips and built the FilmLogic database from scratch, but this also would have been an enormous task.
FilmLogic first, Final Cut Pro second (note: as of September of 2003 FilmLogic is Cinema Tools, a component of Final Cut Pro 4; I have not yet worked with it).
CUTTING THE NEGATIVE
Monday, September 24th, 2001
Video gives you the freedom to re-use source media and use a variety of transition effects. Not so with the corporeal world of film. Unless you want to pay for optical work you will do your dissolves and fades as A-B roll, and avoid re-using material. FilmLogic will warn you if you are reusing source materiel; if you know you will use something twice, shoot it twice in the first place.
Back to the stone age.
A-B Roll dissolves come in fixed lengths; check with your lab. There are only dissolves and fades in or out. Adjust the lengths so that they correspond to the appropriate film length, i.e. 20 video frames for 16 film frames. There are other rules; for example, no dissolve may begin or end within 16 film frames of any cut. Talk to your negative cutter and your lab.
FilmLogic will generate your cut list. Your negative cutter will also need a viewing copy with the telecine burn-ins of the key numbers; my cutter, Debbie McAfee, asks for 3/4" video. I make an extra copy for her with cuts only, removing the dissolves, so that she may more accurately read the burn-in information. It goes without saying that accuracy is important at this stage. After the negative is cut, Debbie tells me that the cut list had only a few errors which she caught by watching the 3/4” video. Only a few....
What the cutter sees.
A couple weeks ago, while I was feverishly working on deadline to finish my edit and get my negative to Debbie, a few guys blew up the World Trade Center. Nothing seems unchanged. It’s hard to worry about my negative.
TITLES
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2001
Film is a collaborative medium: I cannot stress too much the importance of listening. My composer, Bud Thompson, has suggested a head title sequence that integrates stills; something to give the audience some background on Grisha. I see that this could be advantageous. Alex, David, and I slip down to the airport and shoot black and white stills of Grisha's arrival in America.
Using Final Cut Pro and Photoshop I assemble a head title sequence and an end credit scroll that I'm pretty happy with. The problem is, it exists only in the video realm. That's fine for festival entries on VHS, but useless for a film print. Dan Winthrop at Melrose Titles agrees to make me a special price if I do the paste-up for the end scroll myself. I bring various file formats so that I can just cut and paste the credits that I have already proofread. This ends up being done fairly easily in Quark. If you can get your title house to e-mail you a template, even better. I have high-resolution prints made of the stills that have edited in Photoshop, and these go to Dan as well.
A Film By...a whole lot of folks.
Credits are very important, and I have many people to thank. I suggest giving screen credit to everyone on your cast and crew, even if they worked only half a day. Thank all who helped you along the way. Don’t forget post-production credits, i.e. your Color Timer and Negative Cutter. Credit the lab and other vendors, but credit the individuals, too. Put your credit list up on your web site and let your cast and crew know it's there. Give them time to check spelling and make suggestions. My final print runs 14:33, with almost two minutes of credits. In the end, there will always be someone who joins the project after the credits have been shot; in my case this is Lidia Rollband, the wonderful Russian voice in my head title sequence.
COMPOSING THE MUSIC
Sunday, October 21st, 2001
I was extremely fortunate to find a wonderful musician and professional in Bud Thompson. Of course, he's also quite busy, and if you manage to find someone of this caliber, they will be busy, too.
Start looking for a composer early: before photography would be ideal, although that's usually impractical.
Once you bring someone in, listen to what they say. The composer is your collaborator, every bit as much as your director of photography, production designer, producer, editor, and writer (more than one of these may be the same person). Your composer will have an invaluable fresh eye.
Bud woks on our score in his spare time while working on a paying project for a major studio. I haven’t heard anything yet, although I’ve heard him play. The date of my final mix is less than a week away. Bud records the score to MiniDisc. He leaves the disc at the office overnight; in the morning it will be dubbed to CD.
On location: Dylan Rush & David Alan Graf. Photo: C Carlomagno.
Bud arrives to work to find the post-production building behind a yellow police line. Several employees have been rushed to the hospital with sudden flu symptoms; anthrax is suspect. Hollywood considers itself a terrorist target already, and security on the studio lots has intensified astronomically in conjunction with the Hollywood ego. Over the next few days no one is allowed in the building while the air conditioning is completely dismantled. Every day Bud is told: tomorrow. Ultimately the culprit is discovered: bacteria in stagnant water, trapped in the system.
Now it is Sunday, and tomorrow is the first day of my sound mix. I can’t start without the score, and it’s too late to postpone. Bud is finally allowed in, and gets to my place at 9:00 pm. The only way I can get the score into my computer is via an analogue transfer from MiniDisc to DV. I capture from the DV, drop the music in, and export all the audio tracks from Final Cut Pro to an OMF. I burn the 400MB file to CD.
MIXING THE SOUNDTRACK
Monday, October 23rd, 2001
As soon as picture is locked and my cutter has the negative, it's time for the sound. This part of post-production is like production: many things are happening at once, and they are all contingent on each other.
In spite of my best efforts to maintain the original audio timecode from the DAT, I am unable to export an audio EDL (Edit Decision List) from Final Cut Pro. After much frustration, I learn from the smart folks at Juniper Post that I can export my cut Sequence as an OMF (Open Music File) that can be opened in ProTools. It works! This file contains all the source audio in my edit.
A telecine is made of the first answer print to verify that the sound will be in sync. It's eight seconds off, because I didn't know that the lab adds eight seconds to the head of the print. This is called the Academy Leader; just add 8 seconds of slug to the head of your Final Cut Pro Sequence before you export your OMF if you want the 2-pop to sync.
Keep your audio organized on separate tracks; check with your post sound house:
- One dialogue (Dx) track for each character.
- An ambiance track (Ax).
- A sound effects track (Fx).
- At least one stereo pair for music (Mx), more for mixes.
Made on a Mac.
The beauty of digital sound: the original DAT was dubbed to DV via serial digital protocol, which was then captured to my hard drive via FireWire. The OMF export is digital, which means that when it is brought into the ProTools session, the audio tracks aren't just a good copy of the originals...they are the originals. Still trying to track the original DAT timecode for an EDL? Forget about it! By the way, you want a surround mix, and Ultra Stereo is the same as Dolby SR.
Day two of the mix. I rush home for props to use for the Foley: dominos and the tape recorder in the truck. I'm glad I still have all this stuff, a year later. I'd like to spend all day on the Foley stage. So will you. You can't always "fix it in post," but it sure is fun to try.
TIMING THE PRINT
Tuesday, January 8th, 2002
Our man at Deluxe Labs, Bill Mochon, has been timing films for 35 years. Bill times our film to stand up next to any studio picture. He chastises us for using short ends and re-cans, and then gets it perfect anyway. Film batches are more consistent than they used to be, but batches age at different rates, and film of different batches and ages will lead to varying results. Kodak will tell you it's no problem; they're not worried. But now my eyes are open. Of course, we could never have afforded factory-fresh stock.
We did our telecine with a 1.85 matte so I wouldn’t have to look at dolly track and microphones during my edit. However, anything right on the edge of 1.85 is risky. If you telecine at full aperture and notice a boom (or whatever) on the edge of frame, you might consider an alternate shot. Theatrical projector mattes are not as precise as they could be. Believe it.
Keep out of frame.
Film dissolves don't look like video dissolves. I think they look better. In any case, film dissolves seem to me to go 1-1/2 to 2 times faster than video. Also, avoid a dissolve between a high-contrast shot and a low-contrast one unless you want the high-contrast shot to appear to "hang" over the other shot and then "pop" out (or in). Cuts seem faster, too; perhaps because the brain has more visual information to process on the big screen. This is usually good, but watch out.
What it all boils down to: the A and B rolls.
Line up your timer and talk to him or her before you lock picture. Find someone with a lot more experience than you and let them do their job (if it's Bill, you won't have a choice).
FESTIVAL SUBMISSION
Sunday, January 20th, 2002
I'm developing a theory for festival submission: submit early. The earlier they get your tape, the more people will have a chance to see it, and the less burned out they will be on the process. Of course, this is in direct opposition to the last-minute rush method, which seems to drive most creative types. Don't rush for a festival; make a good movie first.
Stefan Umstead as MALIK: who wants to play the king?
All the festivals have different requirements; however, if you build a thorough press kit, you will be ready for anything. Print nice postcards and think about giveaways for when you do get into a festival. Be ready to print posters. Keep your movie's identity simple and consistent. Read Chris Gore's The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide.
SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL
ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, March 9th, 2002
We’re in a festival! The day before the screening I check in to the festival with our Producer Cynthia Carlomagno. Christian and Rocco at the Guest Services Office make us feel quite at home. We see films and go to a club but can't find anyone from the festival. We don't get to sleep until two: a long day starting at five in the morning.
The next day Cynthia and I meet up with David Alan Graf (Grisha), Lucy Kawai (Myung-Hee), and our cinematographer Alexandre Naufel. I am stressing out for no reason but can't quite get over it. I realize that I'm just a passenger at this point, but I still have butterflies.
Lucy Kawai as Myung-Hee.
I meet Sean Shodahl, who will be hosting the filmmakers for the Q&A. I meet Nobu Adilman, a highly talented director of two shorts in our program who has come all the way from Toronto.
During the screening of The Ice Cream Man people laugh in unexpected places; it's pretty cool. A real audience.
I stumble down to the front with Nobu and S. Casper Wong for the Q&A. I am dazed and confused and even now can only recall clearly one question: why make the characters a Russian and a Korean? All I can think of is that I thought it was funny, but I'm afraid that's not an answer.
We go for a drink at the "King of Balls" lounge in the Miyako Hotel. Our cars are very nearly locked in the garage at the Kabuki. We have resigned ourselves to taking a taxi when we find an open door and beg security to let us out. The roll-up door is closing behind us as we drive up the ramp.
Sunday we are too late for the "Filmmaker's Brunch," but we do get to see the Japanese feature "Harmful Insect." Keep an eye out for it if it ever gets to the US. We go to a party hosted by the festival and I finally get a chance to tell the festival director Chi-Hui Yang how much fun we are having. Another late night.
Aoi Miyazaki is Sachiko in Akihiko Shiota's "Harmful Insect"
Monday we are supposed to leave early, but end up back at the festival for the documentary "Obachan's Garden." I want to stay all week.
Lessons learned: find a place to stay as close to the festival as possible and be there as much as you can. Go to parties and brunches. Don't expect to get much sleep.
SANTA CRUZ FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, May 11th, 2002
Julian Soler sits on the selection committee for the Mill Valley Film Festival and gives The Ice Cream Man high marks. Mill Valley passes, but Julian moves on the first Santa Cruz Film Festival and extends an official invitation to The Ice Cream Man. I am honoured.
I work Friday. Saturday I am up early for the long drive from Los Angeles to Santa Cruz; the film screens at 2:00pm. I barely make it and am again in a complete haze for the Q&A. I have dinner with my Producer Cynthia and her boyfriend and go to the closing gala at a local gallery. It’s all very funky and lovely and I wish I was here for it.
The next morning I have a great breakast with Cynthia, Julian, and few of the other filmmakers. I head for LA and a 6:00 am Monday call.
SAN FRANCISCO EXPLORATORIUM
SUMMER FILM SERIES
Saturday, July 27th, 2002
I get a call from Liz Keim at the Exploratorium. Liz is curating a summer film series and they’d like to include The Ice Cream Man. I’m delighted; I used to go to the Exploratorium on school field trips when I was a kid! I can’t make it to the screening, but I’m there in spirit.
LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL
SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
Friday, October 18th, 2002
The biggest short film festival in the world! Over 400 films! Wait...is that why we got in?
Anyway it’s a blast; our Los Angeles première, and a chance for all involved to see the film in a theatre. The place is packed.
Alexia Haidos of double A PR & Marketing coordinates everything beautifully, and brings in Dr. Bob’s Ice Cream as a sponsor. We serve ice cream in the lobby and nobody cares that the movie starts an hour late. The next day a festival staffer tells me that we had an “excellent buzz.”
That ice cream was good.
It all fits into one small package.
WOODS HOLE FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, August 2nd, 2003
Another official invitation, this time thanks to a media lead from Alexia Haidos and double A. A DVD of the film is sent to a journalist at NPR, who forwards it to Judy Laster, the Executive Director of the Woods Hole festival.
SILVER LAKE FILM FESTIVAL
Tuesday, September 16th, 2003
Another local fest! Alexia Haidos and double A coordinate a real-life ice cream truck and a school group for the screening.
Attendees from the Marlborough School enjoy ice cream at the festival. Photo: Paul Redmond
The print looks great in the historic 400-seat Vista Theatre. I have T-shirts printed to commemorate our first six festivals and they go like hotcakes.