Good Day

My main task today was editing director's Tanya Steele short film and dropping Maria off at the airport to go back to Germany. Both jobs went well.. Tanya seemed pleased with the progress on her film, and I found a new route to the airport using the backroads while dropping off Maria.

There were several positive developments for my short film as well. I got director Andre Morton to sign on as a grip/gaffer for the shoot and I also identified several studios that could provide casting and rehearsal space. I of course am still not cast, but I made a few more inquiries today too. It's nowhere near panic time, but I do think I need to have some solid leads by tomorrow evening.

back to filmmaking

It was nice to get back to film work after four days of fun but intense baby preparations. I am still no where near cast or crewed up and probably way behind schedule, but I know it will all work out. I reached out to more people about actors today and found an online resource with just good ole headshots in case I can't go off of some recommendations. I also put a free ad on mandy for crew positions... let's see how many resumes I get... the problem is always trying to find the good from a sea of people who you just don't know and always have much less experience than their resumes boast.

I might be fooling myself, but my plan is to have a couple of hours of auditions sometime this week, probably saturday and cast two actors out of the lot that show up. I think I only need to meet with them three times after that.. once to rehearse on Wednesday or Thursday, once on Saturday for final thoughts and then on the shoot day- even that could be overkill.

Who am I trying to fool. It's never that easy...besides I also have to finish editing Tanya's short as well as start editing for cash again next week. I must prepare myself for extreme hardship.

Baby Shower

The baby shower was fabulous. Sorry for not updating as the event progressed, but there was just too much going on. There were of course some minor hiccups, but all of those occurred on Friday. The florist failed to do their job properly and promised to fix everything the morning of. He said he was going to be at the house at 8am. Of course, the florist rolled in around 9:30, but the flowers were beautiful.

The event itself was great. The funny thing is that the preparation is always more than the actual event. Before we knew it, people were leaving, and the event seemed to end as quickly as it began. We received many many wonderful gifts from all of my mother-in-law's friends. Believe me, we need all the help we can get.

We are now back in Brooklyn, but only after driving through the entire storm on Highway 80 that is responsible for all the snow in the tri-state area. I have less than two weeks until I shoot my short, and I am still not crewed up or cast.

Baby Shower update

Allison, Maria, and I are now in Pittsburgh for the baby shower on Saturday. We brought Gabru, our dog, but left the cats behind in Brooklyn. It snowed off and on during the drive, but the drive was very smooth, except that Maria and Allison spent 15 minutes in Fatburger waiting for a chocolate milkshake.

There is a lot of snow on the ground here which I really like. My in-laws house is in full pre-shower mode. Two big platters of cookies arrived during dinner. Tomorrow, we have been asked to limit our time in the house which basically means leave at 11:30 and don't come back till you really have to. Further updates await.

Romance and Birth

When I got to the OBGYN's office my wife was already in the exam room. I checked my watch, but I was still five minutes early. I thought I could walk straight through the door and hallway that led to the exam rooms but was promptly reprimanded by one of the secretaries and had to wait an extra five minutes before a nurse finally escorted me into the back. Of course, we had to wait another fifteen minutes before the Dr. knocked on the door.

When we told the Dr. that we had a lot of questions, she said let me examine you first, and then ask questions. The exam was minor and the baby is doing great and in perfect health. My wife pulled out her list of notes, three pages of them, and the doctor answered every question, though she did look at her watch as if to say "not again" after the first question. In the end, our doctor is very liberal and will support us in our effort for natural birth. Basically, natural birth is the easiest thing for any doctor. There is no thought involved except for catching the baby. It's when things don't go naturally that the Dr. will have to inform us of what she thinks and then we have to proceed from there. She left us with the following thought...

"Most people think there is something romantic about babies and birth. Let me tell you.. there is nothing romantic at all".

I'm still thinking about what she said.

Happy Sauce Script V1

This is the first draft in script form of HAPPY SAUCE, the 3 minute film I am making March 11th. It was interesting to see how the script changed from story to script form once I had to visualize the action. I know it will change even more.

HAPPY SAUCE
Written by
Rohan Sen

INT. BAR - DAY

Montage... close ups of tiny cubes of ice as a glass is filled... a bottle of Maker’s Mark... the long pour... high angle shot of ingredients being added to the glass...

SOUND FX: COLLISION AT DOOR.

Swish pan: A man stumbles through the door, his packages of baby formula, bottles, and clothes now strewn across the floor.

INSERT TITLE: HAPPY SAUCE

INT. BAR - DAY

FIVE BABY BOTTLES scatter across the bar counter. A man’s hand frantically stacks the bottles in a line on the counter.

GABRU (O.S.)
Please, you got to help me.. I need you to run these through the dishwasher...

The bartender reaches out and grabs a bottle.

BARTENDER
Sure, buddy, whatever. What are you drinking?

The cell phone rings before GABRU can respond. The bartender grabs the baby bottles and walks away.

GABRU
Hey.. I’m here.. oh no, I forgot those.. I’m sorry, I know I know, I will be right there... okay, I will.. yes I’m sorry..

CUT TO:

INT. BAR - CONTINUOUS

The bartender looks towards GABRU as he puts the last baby bottle in the speed washer. Gabru paces back and forth, answering phone call after phone call.

SOUND FX: The short but sharp ring from the dishwasher pierces the air.

CUT TO:

INT. BAR - MOMENTS LATER
Close up on sanitized baby bottles as the bartender stacks them in front of GABRU.

GABRU
(offscreen)
Wait, that’s only four.

Gabru’s eyes grow wide, but the bartender interrupts Gabru swiftly.

BARTENDER
It’s okay, brother. I got your bottle right here.

The bartender looks down at a baby bottle that he is drying in a towel. He looks at Gabru.

BARTENDER (CONT'D)
This one is for you.

The bartender reaches out and holds it for Gabru to take. Gabru hesitates and reaches for the bottle filled with a brownish liquid. He looks at it, sniffs the top, and squirts a few drops into his mouth. He immediately bolts upright in his seat, energized and exuberant.

GABRU
Tutti Frutti! Root, toot, toot.

Gabru stands up, glowing with joy. He picks up a newborn baby outfit and dances in a circle.

GABRU (CONT'D)
Wow.. what was that?

BARTENDER
Oh, I just like to call it my happy sauce.

GABRU
You’re happy sauce, huh?... Well here’s to it. To Happy Sauce. Happy Happy Happy Sauce...

Gabru continues to dance sucking ferociously on the baby bottle. He picks up his bags and dances out of the bar.

CUT TO:

INT. BAR - CONTINUOUS

The bartender smiles as he watches Gabru leave the bar. He thinks for a moment before bending under the bar. He emerges holding a baby bottle filled with brown liquid. He puts it in his mouth and sucks away.

FADE TO BLACK.

baby thoughts

My wife really wants to have birth naturally, without any modern chemicals or drugs to help ease the pain or speed up the labor. We always planned to go the hospital, but as we read more and more, we are discovering that today's medicine is drugs, drugs, and more drugs. Often times, the hospital wants to treat the mother in slow labor with pitocin to speed things up, then you need an epidural due to the more intense contractions the pitocin causes, then a routine episiotomy. With the epidural, you are on your back, laying down, in stark contrast to giving birth in a more natural position. Once you start one drug, the other drugs follow, and they do have side effects for the baby.

It has gotten my wife so concerned she has wondered whether a birthing center might be more comfortable and accommodating for natural birth. They have showers and bath tubs to spend quality time in during labor. We would have to switch to a mid-wife instead of the traditional medical doctor and make sure the birthing center is close or attached to a hospital in case of emergency.

But before we jump our guns, we have a check-up with Allison's OBGYN, this afternoon. We never had any doubts about her before today, but she is a medical doctor attached to a hospital that likes to give out drugs. We never really had too many questions for the Dr. either, but today is grill away day. We have lists and lists of questions regarding hospital procedure, the Dr.'s ratio of epidural's, cesareans, her feelings about giving birth standing up, etc. etc.

I can't wait. It's going to be so much fun.

Screening for KING, (Sundance 2007) directed by Caran Hartsfield

I edited the short film KING for director Caran Hartsfield. KING premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and will be screening at NYU's Cantor Film Center on Friday February 23rd as part of the NYU film department's celebration of Black History Month.

Friday, 2.23 at 6pm at the NYU Cantor Film Center, (8th street just off University Place- two blocks west of Broadway). Reception to follow at Tisch Building (721 Broadway). Both are open door... feel free to invite anyone you like.

Maria is here!

My wife's name is Allison. Her best friend Maria flew in from Hamburg this afternoon to attend the baby shower that my in-laws are throwing in Pittsburgh this Saturday. Fifty eight people are attending. That's right. 58. I know my in-laws are going to throw a fantastic party, but that still is a lot of people.

And a lot of presents too.

Goals: Revisited

I guess I did rather poorly. I only sent a cut of the film to Tanya for her first impressions. It went over well, but I did not shoot the southwest commercial or finish the script. i did, however, receive an unexpected call from my accountant who said that tomorrow night will be tax night, so after pulling out every receipt in my shoe box for the past 5 hours, at least 90% of my taxes are done.

Tomorrow's a brand new day, but I am already behind. I have to finish the script for the short film and begin casting and finding crew for the shoot. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Goals for the Day

Time is always a factor for me, so I have 3 goals to complete today.

1. Finish a pass on the short film I am editing for director Tanya Steele.
2. Complete a script version of the bar short film and send to folks for feedback.
3. Shoot and edit a 20 second commercial for a contest by Southwest Airlines. The deadline for this project is February 20th.

Let's see how I do.

Short Film Story

This is my first real draft of the bar short. I am writing it in story form. Some of the details may change, but this is the idea for the film.

A man stumbles into a dark bar, his packages of baby formula, bottles, clothes and other sundries strewn across the floor. He reaches into a bag and pulls out five empty baby bottles. He tells the bartender he needs all the bottles properly sanitized in the dishwasher. While the bar has no dishwasher, the bartender is sympathetic and offers to clean them anyways.

While the bartender is away, the man's phone rings incessantly. The bartender returns, but with only 4 bottles. Frantic, the man begins checking his bags again when the bartender reaches out and grabs the man's shoulder. "Brother, you need this one for yourself." The bartender holds up the 5th baby bottle and hands it to the man. The man studies the concoction and squirts a few drops into his mouth. "Maker's Mark Ginger?" The bartender's smile is all the man needs to see. He smiles and walks out of the bar, sucking on his baby bottle.

The bartender looks at the man, reminiscent of his days when he too was a new father. He reaches into the fridge, pulls out his own baby bottle and fills it with Maker's Mark. He leans against the bar and sucks his baby bottle.

THE END

Short Film

There are basically two ways to make a 2-3 minute short film in a bar about a man and his wife who is, or thinks she might be entering premature labor. Either the film is about the threat of early labor and how the man, in a bar, recounts/reenacts/muses about it, or the wife really is in premature labor and the husband stumbles in the bar and trips over his bags of diapers, clothes, bottles, and newborn accessories in his final moments as a free man. I guess the answer is obvious.

There might be a couple of other ways to do it, but there are some rules attached to the film which surely affected my thoughts. They are:

One shooting day. Directors will provide their own equipment. Shot entirely inside the bar, Blue Owl. (Folks can shoot through the windows, but the camera must be inside the venue.

No music. Films will be 2-4 minutes including credits. No more than 3 speaking characters. No nudity. No profanity. No B&W. Shoot dates will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. Directors must request a shoot date by 12noon Feb. 9, 2007. At least one character must be drinking. Makers Mark bourbon must be seen or mentioned.

Films will be delivered to me on mini-dv tape no later than the 15th day after your shoot (by noon). Late films will be cut from the project. No exceptions. None. Directors are responsible for feeding their cast and crew. This includes coffee, water, bourbon, etc.

I will provide releases for the actors and liability releases for crew and cast and directors. These must be signed and delivered to me no later than the day prior to the shoot. I will not accept this paperwork on the day of the shoot! If I don't have this paperwork by the day prior, the shoot will be cancelled.

More rules may be added.

Stick to your guns

I tossed around a number of ideas for this short film I am making. Most of my thoughts were garbage, but then it happened. Last weekend, my wife had a brief anxiety attack, fearing that premature labor at 30 weeks was upon us. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, but I knew that "holy sh*t, is this really happening" feeling was the right subject matter for my film. Of course, I didn't have a chance to finish my thought and write the scipt, and the period of self-doubt began. How would you end it? This isn't interesting. Make a real film. One that people will like.

And then it happened again. This morning. My wife was getting in the shower when she said, "Babe, I'm worried.. I'm having a lot of contractions"...

We have several books on childbirth lying about the house. I finally picked one up and began scanning. Frantically.

It's still a good idea for a short film.

brand new day

a brand new day and I still have not come up with the script for the short I am shooting in just 3 weeks. i guess i always expect to wake up and the have the next ET or Star Wars typing itself out in my brain. but that never really works. I am going to be using my wife's uncle as my D.P. It's still just a 2-3 minute short, but time is definitely becoming a factor.

The wife is also slowly becoming more and more immobile. The park is currently a sheet of ice that is not too friendly towards a pregster. Mental note: you'll be walking the dog more..

THE BEGINNING

So this is going to be the start of something new.. a chance to voice my thoughts about directing, editing, life, and of course the baby girl that my wife and I are expecting on April 18th. At the moment, I am editing a short film and also planning to shoot a short as part of the Blue Owl film series on March 11th. And I am supposed to be working six days a week the month of March and April. Let's hope for the best.

considering that today yesterday was friday, I really got a lot done.
Sent in a submission to a new reality series for filmmakers, started a blog, and even edited a bit.
still at a loss for a solid script for the Blue Owl shoot I am to shoot.