I learned quite a bit in the 12 hours I worked on the movie. Those lessons can then be applied to future endeavors, where more mistakes can be made and more lessons learned. And now that Number One is done, the process of making a movie doesn’t seem nearly as scary and insurmountable as it once did. I can’t wait until I can start on the next one.

If you get better at your art through repetition (and certainly repetition isn’t the only requirement), then this movie was simply the first iteration. That’s why I see it more as a sketch. It is not Citizen Kane. And knowing that makes everything else all the easier to handle.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I judge movies. In this particular instance–how I judge some of the smaller movies from local filmmakers that played at this year’s deadCENTER Film Festival. I have this nagging feeling that I may have been a bit too negative. Perhaps I was expecting too much. But, that begs the question–what should you expect, if anything, out of a low-budget, local film? Which imperfections can be easily excused and which cannot? And is it possible that negative criticism should be refrained when it comes to local and/or amateur filmmakers? Do films submitted to a regional film festival deserve a critical pass?

If I have negative criticism for a big, Hollywood movie, it is rarely tinged with any regret. But when I say something negative about a lower-budget movie made by local filmmakers, then regret becomes a very real possibility. As I’ve been mulling all this over, I came to the feeling that I may have been too negative in my recaps of a pair of Oklahoma films that screened at this year’s deadCENTER. The two films in question were Adam Davis Beatty’s The Rounder Comes to Town and Singletree Productions’ Simmons on Vinyl. Here’s what I wrote:

The Rounder Comes to Town was highly anticipated. It was perhaps a little too indulgently Tarantino-ish and lacked an assured tone. I wasn’t quite sure how funny or campy it was genuinely going for. Perhaps I was taken aback knowing the actor who spouted the oddest lines (something like: I like kitty cats. Kitties in the morning, day and night. Kitties for brunch. Mimosas and kitties. Except he wasn’t talking about kittens.) Still, it showed a bunch of promise. A few changes here and there and it could’ve easily been my favorite of the festival.

and…

Then onto Simmons on Vinyl, by Mark Potts and his Singletree crew. I really liked their short film (Hit Boys II Men) and their festival promos (Hard Justice) from last year. So, I was excited about seeing this one. I have to say that I didn’t care all that much for it. It was just too scattered. These guys look like three good friends having fun making a movie. But I’m afraid that in this one, three good friends having fun making a movie doesn’t also provide somebody who can or will rein them in when necessary. That being said, the filmmakers admitted their budget was only like $300 and that they spent very little time writing. So, there’s no real loss here. I’ve spent that much and had much less to show for it after a half-dozen trips to McNellies. And, I can’t say whether or not it deserved its festival award. I say if the filmmakers had fun then it was worth it. For me as a viewer, I would have preferred something that had been developed some more. Of course, I may have just not been in the right “frame of mind” for it. I still want to check out their previous feature, The Stanton Family Grave Robbery, to see if a little more development time led to a better product.

I can see now that I was somewhat cautious when I wrote both items. In the first instance, I tried to mitigate the negative criticism with the statement that “a few changes here and there and it could’ve easily been my favorite of the festival.” In the second, I praised previous work and then suggested that I might’ve “not been in the right ‘frame of mind’” for it. Now, I wasn’t brutal with either movie. And neither case could fairly be called film criticism; they’re just a few sentences among a longer recap post. Nevertheless, something of what I wrote has affected me and led me here.

I stand behind what I wrote about The Rounder Comes to Town, aside from the “too indulgently Tarantino-ish” comment. I’m not even sure what that means. All art is indulgent to some degree, and this movie was not overly so. And I haven’t seen enough of those films that influenced Tarantino to be able to say with much confidence that which is derivative of him and that which is derivative of his influences. Otherwise, I liked the film. A very impressive first feature. The uncertainty of the tone was really the only thing that kept this impressive deadCENTER entry from being a favorite deadCENTER entry.

About Simmons on Vinyl, I wrote that it looked like “three good friends having fun making a movie…[without] somebody who can or will rein them in when necessary” and that I would have “preferred something that had been developed some more.” On one hand, you can excuse a lot when you know that the budget for this was $300. On the other hand, that doesn’t make every no-budget movie worthwhile.

If I have any genuine criticism regarding Simmons on Vinyl it isn’t with the movie, it’s with the festival’s awarding of the Grand Jury prize. If I were handing out that award, I would’ve likely given it to another film. But that’s one man’s opinion. The Grand Jury Narrative Feature award has its own criteria for selecting a winner, just like every other contest that takes place on this fine Earth. And that’s perfectly fine. Not liking a movie isn’t the same as the movie being bad.

That being said, the movie is way better than any movie I’ve ever made. And with just about every movie, saying that it could have been “developed some more” is simply stating the obvious. It’s like saying that I really wish they’d spent $375 on this movie. Also, I don’t really remember the movie too much at this point. Too much Stella, I think.

Also having made my first movie, albeit a 4-minute piece of crap, I can now better appreciate both the hunger and struggle of making movies. There is something very lovely and admirable about it. Along with Rounder, I genuinely look forward to seeing Simmons again. I also look forward to whatever Beatty and Singletree Productions create in the future. Sometimes early iterations can show the promise of great things to come in the future.

I do think local filmmakers do deserve all the praise and support that they can get. As for myself, I plan on being both more positive and more open-minded when it comes to the output of local filmmakers. It’s not that I don’t care about being genuine, I just think that emerging filmmakers need all the help they can get. Without it, the fight to make an even better movie down the road will be even more difficult.

I also think that these types of films need to be judged with the knowledge that they’re created outside of “the industry” with very little money by filmmakers who must create their own opportunities. These aren’t full-time, studio-financed filmmakers. These are scrappy Okie artists. To some degree, you must judge their films based on their promise. A great artist, I believe, can push through the limitations of budget and access. I look forward to seeing what they can do. I also can’t wait to throw my own hat into the ring.

Okie Noodling- Brad Beesley’s film about a unique type of fishing involving diving underwater and wiggling your fingers until a huge fish with sharp teeth bites down on your hand. These people are a unique breed, that’s for sure. I just don’t get it. Everything about noodling is directly opposed to my way of life. I’m Okie born, but I’m still very much a city boy. Like cockfighting until very recently, I kind of think noodling just makes Oklahoma look even more backward than we already are.

Super cool.

Remember…anything is possible.

The Flaming Lips encourage you to create your own happiness.

Indeed.

I strongly believe that it is death that gives life meaning. Without the gnawing, ever-present knowledge that one day it will all end, I find it a little harder to truly enjoy life, and a lot easier to take it for granted. I think this is why I like the Impending End of the World scenario so much. It puts everything into perspective. It reminds me to feel everything more deeply. I appreciate Dwight more, and savor the little moments. Same thing with my family. My friends. My dogs. The thought of death forces me to focus on what I love, and to avoid getting worked up about the things that in, the end, really don’t matter all that much. I don’t want to waste a single minute. I want to live my life so that when the end finally comes, I have as few regrets as possible. I want to do, and see, and experience, as much as I can.

I feel the exact same way. Precisely because life has such a finality to it is what makes it so precious and wonderful. So with that floating around in my mind, I read this afternoon in The Oklahoman something that seemed to strangely echo that sentiment. Wayne Coyne described the “Flaming Lips philosophy”:

Maybe it’s proclaiming that there is a kind of cosmic mercy that happens when we feel like, despite our best efforts, we really are defeated. … Happiness can await us despite our worst failures. But it’s a happiness we must create. And since everything we believed in is destroyed, we have to create this happiness out of nothing.

I like that. It’s a psychedelic echo of what Sarah had to say, I think. And consider me a follower of Coyne’s philosophy. There’s a decent playlist of FLips songs that plays in my head whenever I need guidance or inspiration or comfort or any of these.

With that, I can’t wait to finally check out Coyne’s labor of love, Christmas on Mars. It screens at deadCENTER 11:55pm Friday night and 2:00am Saturday morning at the Rocktown Gym. This will mark the third Flaming Lips film I’ve seen first at deadCENTER (The Fearless Freaks & U.F.O.’s at the Zoo, previously).

Two films from OU graduate Royce Sharp will be shown, The Breakup of a Happy Marriage and Deus Ex Machina (w/ Walker Robins). In an article in the Norman Transcript, Sharp describes the former as a “funeral for my right testicle. The latter is described as a “comedy about a guy and his moustache.” Okay. Testicles don’t often play a huge role in the films that I like…but if it’s personal and/or honest, then why not. Now, the moustache movie…I don’t know about. Last year there was a funny Okie short that screened called Man With a Moustache. Hopefully, Sharp and Robins’ film brings some originality to the facial hair genre.

OU art professor Robert Dohrmann will show his Rebus Riot! which he describes in the Transcript article as “not really a story like most of the other films at deadCENTER. It’s really more concept-based.” While just about anybody is likely to be confounded by some of the shorts that get screened at deadCENTER, I honestly think that having read Film Art will give me a newfound perspective with which to appreciate what some of the more “experimental” films are trying to do.

The Breakup of a Happy Marriage will be shown as part of the Okie Shorts program at 7:00pm, Friday the 13th, at Kerr Auditorium.

Deus Ex Machina and Rebus Riot! will be shown as part of the Midnight Shorts program at 11:55pm, Friday the 13th, at the IAO Gallery.

I’m not the target audience and I know that. I have no objection to it, either.

Well, those are Jim Emerson’s words in regards to the Sex and the City movie. But, they also apply in my case in regards to science fiction conventions. I like sci-fi and horror and all that, but deep down I’m not really a genre guy at heart.

Anyways…there are a couple of “Sci-Fi” conventions coming up in the area with attendant film screenings. This weekend brings SoonerCon to the OKC Metro. They’ll have two days of movies as part of their SoonerCon/Bare Bones Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Film Festival.

Then in late July, Conestoga 12 arrives in Tulsa. They’ve got a short film contest going on as part of The Conestoga International Film Festival. They are still taking short film submissions until July 1st. Then at the convention, the winners in various categories will be awarded and screened.

In both cases, the film screenings are perhaps not worth the full cost of convention admission if that’s all your going for. Still, I’m curious about these sorts of conventions if only in a sociological sort of way. I see that SoonerCon has a session entitled “Is Blogging Helping or Hurting your Career?” What career? There is another session called “Creating Believeable Aliens.” Is “believable” really the appropriate word to be used here? Really? In any case, I’d like to know what sort of consensus they achieve. Which characteristics differ between a believable alien and one that just requires too much suspension of disbelief? Which brings me to perhaps the most fascinating session which takes place Sunday morning–”Morning Worship Service.” After digesting the wealth of material you’ve learned in a previous session about how to create believable aliens, you’re going to wake up on Sunday for a little worship. How nice. And, who or what will they be worshiping exactly? And, furthermore, is this deity more or less believable than the alien? Oh, how I wish I were a fly on the wall. Hmmm, I wonder if there’s a session on achieving believable human-to-fly metamorphosis…

Check out the trailer:

This reminds me that I need to get over to deadCENTER’s b-side site and figure out what to watch for the festival. Oooh, I can’t wait. And, now I guess I might have to figure out how to fit in Unsolved.

Not sure what sort of horror “celebrities” will be there besides Charles Band himself. As Sarah mentioned, any event that includes hot chicks in cages among its draws is probably an event meant to appeal to others besides ourselves. Still, I think you go to something like this as much for people watching as for the actual show/merchandise.

Sarah and I attended the first Full Moon Horror Convention & Film Festival in Little Rock last year.  Night Frights had a booth at the convention (where Sarah writes factoids). We unfortunately missed out on the Zombie Walk and spent more time with the Film Festival than the Convention but still had a lot of fun. No word yet on the 2008 version of the Convention/Film Festival.

To that end, here’s one possibility for this weekend:

This is the 11th year that IAO has invited filmmakers to screen their short films of 15 minutes or less. As the Film and Video Committees largest and longest running event, it always includes a diverse range of stories, techniques and styles.

At this year’s event, winners of the 24 Hour Video Race (sponsored earlier this year by IAO, Living Arts of Tulsa, and the Philbrook Museum) will be screened.  At the conclusion of the screening, both an Audience Choice Award and Committee Choice Award will be presented. Also, the Linda Jaeger Honorarium awarded to a graduating high school senior planning to study film and video in college is announced that evening.

The fun begins at 7pm.