This is an assignment for editing class. I shot all my students on the first day with the 5Dmk2 and my Steadicam JR. They then have to transcode the clips to an editing codec, use markers in Final Cut Pro’s timeline to mark the beats of a soundtrack, and finally edit to the makers. After that, motion FX, freeze frames and titles- much more fun than tutorial footage. Sorry about the bars and tone, but they have to learn professional formats. Just skip past it!
I’ve been listening to indie rock music all my life. This is why I was bumming when Indie 103.1 in L.A. shut down a couple of years ago. It was a place where you could leave the dial on all day. But anyone who has gotten drunk on a rainy night listening to My Bloody Valentine, or driven down the streets of Tulsa listening to an EP by The Jam knows this feeling all too well. When your tastes don’t mesh with the local Houligans, you always manage to find some great small college station, or now a cool podcast…only to see it close down the next year. And so you search again…
But after living in Korea it is hard for me to feel bad for myself or anyone in the U.S. because here, there is almost no rock scene at all. It is ignored for all the K-pop boy/girl bands that you either love or…well get used to. But for rockers here, they play the smallest fifty-seat venues, coffee shops and on the campuses. I managed to get out from behind my computer one night to see a band Loros play in a tiny venue. They were amazing, with a fat rich rock-operatic sound that seemed impossible in this tiny club. Currently they are disbanded, the female keyboardist going to California and the guys in the band headed for their stint in the military; damn shame.
So when my student Hugo Chetelat sent me a link to the LaVia Show, I was happy to see dysfunctional rockers just hanging out wherever doing impromptu performances. These guys embody the spirit of the film God Is D_ad, misfits in the K-pop world, drawn together for a common purpose and finding connection. It’s just amazing to see what seems to be everyday ordinary office people burst into song. That’s what always makes the outsider more interesting; you know there’s something building up in there. Anyway I’ll shut up and let you check it out.
.Lyon, Berlin, Seoul, Autralia, Beijing and Taipei…just a few of the places where the new filmmakers I have met are from. Join them here as we share our stories and films. The toughest thing coming out of film school is what to do next. The answer should be obvious; keep making films. But that’s easy to say, not so easy to do. I know that everyone expects to get a deal with a production company and make their way to the first big feature and a few do. But those few are getting even fewer, so what are you prepared to do?
In this new era of filmmaking, directors armed with original ideas and DSLR’s can do plenty. But they still need help honing their craft and hopefully getting some people to see or buy their films. So here we start with this simple basic idea; a place where students and indies can get together, show their work and build an infrastructure of support around the world. International is the only way to think now, as each country’s domestic markets seek to expand their reach. But these are big box companies and you are nimble risk-taking passionate storytellers, right? If you think that’s a stretch remember Microsoft and Apple were built in garages not companies. Brick by brick, man…
