Sunday, January 22, 2012

"It's The Little Things That Drive A Man Mad ..."

Two weeks from now, I'll be logging in all the rest of the 'DAD' tapes, after an unintentional, drawn out waiting period.

I was first thwarted in Febuary/March. This period found me working 40 hours a week, packing my San Francisco apartment, and being offered a table at Wondercon, which meant putting together items to sell at my table while continuing to mail copies of 'Help Wanted' off to the film fests. All of this ate both my time and my (little) money. To make ends meet, I sold off some of my toy collection on e-bay, and offered to draw portraits of friends and family. Finding a moment to log in the shots at this juncture was simply not an option. The plan at this time, was to rent a camera or deck once I had found a day job in L.A



Within weeks of arriving in Los Angeles, I started my job hunt. Confident at first, I quickly realized how hard it has become to get a damn job, even something as menial as making sandwiches at Subway. At my lowest moment, I sheepishly asked if the Hot Dog On A Stick located in the local mall were looking for help. I can't say I was saddened to hear they were not. As the weeks turned into months, I realized I was not going to be renting a camera (or paying rent, for that matter!)any time soon.

Then, in August, I met filmmaker Bradley C. Jones and his partner in crime Christopher Gray.
Bradley, it turned out, needed some storyboards done, and was willing to work for trade (not what you think.) I mentioned the dusty tapes that needed logging, and so a deal was struck; I would crank out some storyboards for him, and he would get my footage logged in.



Problems arose again due to the technical nature of the tapes, some of which contained older footage that the 'DAD' doc had been shot over, as a money saving necessity. As my prior camera had permanently dirty heads (which is why she has since been retired)these tapes had time code problems, which dashed Bradley's only logging option, which was to batch capture. Foiled again!!

Researching cheap camera's that could be rented, I stumbled across one at a Los Angeles equipment facility for $250 a day. Still unemployed, and getting by on the odd storyboard job, I had the idea that perhaps a fundraiser could help.

Editing together the little bit of footage that had been logged in before moving, I uploaded a clip to youtube, and then sent out a mass E-mail, with a link to the clip, and an offer for a producer credit and some free swag if anyone wished to contribute to the project.

I was very surprised when I received a reply from Pauline Evena, who had played one of the dead hookers in 'Help Wanted'. She and her husband sent in $50 bucks apiece, a really wonderful gesture from somebody who had to prance about in their skivvies, covered in blood, for no money a few years back!



A hundred bucks closer to getting this thing done, I made headway again in November, when I nabbed a well paying animatic job with a fellow who has the phenomenal name of Viktor Von Drakk. He has written a truly strange script that's been thrilling to illustrate. Calculating that this money combined to make the elusive logging a reality, I called the rental company - only to be informed that the camera in question was no longer available.

I decided that the only option left was to use the money I had raised for a trip to the Bay Area. In the closet of Mike Edwards, friend and co-producer, was the camera the film had been shot on. I could stay at his apartment for a few days, log in the shots, then jump on a bus, be home and done with it. My girlfriend pointed out that the trip would have to be ridiculously short, being as I would have no money for food or cigarettes, but faced with the prospect of never getting this film done, I phoned Michael to pitch my plan.

Mike, luckily, had a much better idea; turns out he'd been planning a trip down to LA anyway, and had anticipated staying at our apartment. He'd just bring his camera down with him, and the two of us could get all the footage logged in then. With a combination of the money donated from Paulina and my own cash from the animatic, I could fully fund his trip. An arrangement was struck, and he's coming down on the 24th.




An exercise in patience, or a warning that I should never assume simplicity in life? Who knows, but I'm very pleased to be moving forward. I've also been able to land a job, so maybe I'll be able to pay some back rent this year.

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