Learning the Ropes, Unofficially - Weather and Filming

One lesson I continue to learn as I teach myself directing  is that there are just some things that cannot be controlled. I’m not referring to an actor’s lack of commitment or a crewmember’s frustrated rant. What I’m talking about is the weather, at least for filming outdoors.  If Mother Natures decides not to cooperate with your filming schedule, there’s not much you can do, especially if you’re on a limited budget. In my case, on a recent shooting days the Sun was not bright enough due to clouds (and no generator to light up the scene) or it was raining. I had already pushed back filming several weeks due to the cloud cover and rain (in Arizona  of all places!).  Needless to say I was getting frustrated. I was getting to the point where I wanted to scream and throw a Christian Bale rant.  


Then I read a few interviews by some directors that I truly admire.  Their advice is that regardless of the weather, you can still film.  Don’t let the weather dictate that to you.  They went ahead and filmed. Chris Nolan says to always shoot, regardless of the weather.  The weather affected several of his projects but he went ahead and filmed without the equipment that was needed to make the weather work for them and guess what?  It worked out anyway and he received numerous compliments on how it worked for the scene.  John Favreau (nice meeting you at Comic Con by the way) had a scene to film in Iron Man.  The day of filming, a sand storm came rolling in. He filmed anyway, and it worked out great for the scene.  He even mentioned that trying to recreate it would have cost more into the production. Now he had it for free. It was a blessing. 


Don’t feel defeated if the weather is not cooperating with you.
Make it work with you, for you.  It will add an ambience to the scene.  Who wants to watch a movie where the weather is always perfect? There’s no mood, it’s not real. So from here on out – clouds and all, I’m filming. 


Thanks for reading my ramblings.


Cheers!
Fernando

Eat The Wolves

In 2005, I went to a re-release viewing of Braveheart, one of my favorite movies.  In attendance for a Q & A session was screenwriter Randall Wallace.  I had the opportunity to have a one on one with him prior to the screening.  He is a very genuine person and I greatly appreciated the advice he bestowed upon me.

One of the many things I took away from our conversation was the benefit of taking risks.  As he pointed out, I took a risk when I introduced myself to him.  I didn’t know how he was going to respond. “  His reaction could have been, “Oh great, another wannabe that plans to hand me a script.”

Regardless, I took the risk to approach him.  He took the risk of moving to LA to write screenplays, something he never studied.  If I didn’t take risks, I probably would never have gone to Fry’s Electronics and bought the cheapest (in budget) screenwriting software to begin my journey.  It was time to finally take the chance, the risk of doing something I’ve always wanted to do as a kid.

So I got home, loaded the software, and dug out my notes on a story I had written in college XX number of years ago.  I taped a sign next to my computer monitor reminding me of something Randall Wallace said, “EAT THE WOLVES” (more on that later). I read scripts, and books, and watched to writer/director commentaries on DVD’s.  I immersed myself in my forgotten passion.  I wrote and wrote and wrote.  Sometimes shorts, most of the time working on that old story of mine.  I would read parts, CRAP!  I would re-write those parts – CRAP, CRAP! I needed to take a few steps back and gather my thoughts.  I was getting upset that the story was too long and read like a cheap Penthouse forum letter  (not that I have read or written any – and not that there is anything wrong with that).

This is when I remembered what Randall had told me.  “Don’t get discouraged if your work gets rejected.  It’s all part of the process. Great works have been rejected prior.  You can’t let it get you down.  You have to think of the path you want to take.  There’s the path that goes nowhere. There’s the path where the wolves eat you. Or you can take the path where you eat the wolves.  I say eat the wolves Fernando.  You’ll never regret taking that path.”

To this day, I never have.

Thanks for reading my ramblings.

Paying Your Dues....

We hear the stories all the time -- what one person went through or did prior to making it big.  Drew Carey was working at Denny’s.  Edward Burns was living out of his car.  Academy Award winning screenwriter Paul Haggis wrote for Saturday morning cartoons.  Everyone, unless you already have great contacts, has to pay their dues.  it is a business, after all.  

You will always begin at the bottom of the food chain in the beginning.  Even wannabe talent agents have to start out in the mailroom, regardless of their college or law degree.

Regardless of where you start out, it’s a start.  You have to be professional in order for others in the business to take you seriously.  A young George Clooney wanted to be an actor and took roles that let him work on his craft.  People didn’t take his work as serious acting, but it was a job.  Now, Oscar winner George Clooney can look back at “Attack of the KIller Tomatoes” and his 44 failed television pilots with a smile.

This is all part of paying your dues.  I think no matter how small the role the actor has, it’s a job. No matter how horrible the story idea, for a staff writer, it’s a job.  The best thing to do is stay positive, stay professional.  Be happy you have an opportunity to show your talent.  Others are waiting for you to fail so they can take your place.  The fruits of your hard work, skill, and determination will pay off.

In a conversation with our producer, Suzy, had with my 10 year old daughter, Suzy jokingly stated she had only one line in the scene.  My daughter’s reply was simple yet to the point, “It’s better than no lines”. Wisdom can come from unexpected sources.

Stronghold Episode 1

Hey Fernando Here - Filmmaker @ heart

Hello to everyone,
     This is the first blog, at least I think it is, on the site.  I am part of a small up start production company that is currently producing webisodes and shorts.  This whole thing is a new process for us but we are not afriad to look ahaed.  Our passion for screenwriting and film will always drive us forward and to move ahead.  You can only fail up, as we were once told. Some of our stuff will be great, others...eh not so much.  It doesn't mean we are not committed to improving and learning.  This is what makes us Indepedents.  So jump on board and join us on our jounrey on film making and screenwriting.  You can check out our very first webisode episode @ Entity Eye Entertainment / Stronghold.

thanks for listening - be back soon

Cheers!

Fernando