Not a To-Do List, a Does-Do List, or a Should-Do-List...

When the sun has gone down, or you're sitting in your cube at work, or standing in your apartment realizing that you are totally alone, or you get bored with Everything, and start thinking about going out for drinks, getting stoned, or watching television. Basically, becoming entirely unproductive...

So, I've started this list of things that I should do when I am faced with any of these thoughts. This is basically an admission that I am an animal, and have no control over my desires- I will run to the most fun, easiest, tastiest, and ultimately worst options when faced with any serious decision.

SHOULD DO LIST

PHYSICAL
- Workout (situps, pushups, jog, jump rope)
- Yoga
- Jujitsu Practice

MENTAL
- Write (48 blog, movie projects- Promise - 48 Hour - Sketches - New Projects)

GET OUT
- Comedy Connection???
- Take a Class? (Writing, Project Management, Acting - Improv Boston)

HOUSE PROJECTS
- Plaque
- Lamp
- Apartment Organization

HOUSE
- Clean room (fold clothes, sweep, organize)
- Clean Kitchen (dishes/dishwasher, counters, floor)
- Clean bathroom (floor, toilet, sink & shower)

Presenting to Tough Cookies

- Or, Never Go to Bed Angry

Wow. I just got off a "wicked tough" call.

We don't do your garden variety conference calls around here - this IS WebEx, so everything is a video call. Now, it's a Friday, which means- oh, yeah - casual Friday! So, here I sit with my Pink Floyd t-shirt as the rep du jur launches us into a session with some gents from Boston (our office is just outside of Boston, but keep in mind that I'm from Maine, I'm not a Bostonian, I don't have the accent). The purpose of the meeting is to talk tech with the customer- which is my job here, I'm the SE - and the rep lets them know what we'll do and where we'll go.

I start off with my standard presentation, covering what makes WebEx different than our competition - 1) the MediaTone, 2) our SAAS method & customer-success orientation, 3) our Integrated Telephony, and 4) our Centers/Features. So I launch into some basics about #2, just to preface what's coming next- and almost immediately one of the gents on the line yells into the speakerphone "STOP talking about SERVICE, You're Going To Lose Mr. X! Start Talking Tech!!!"

Whew! Okay. It's really really rare that anyone raises their voice at me on a call, I work hard to stay on target and cover the topics that people want (as well as work to build a business case for "Why WebEx" - that's my job, after all!).  That being said, here are some of those precautionary measures...  


Josh's Precautions to Take to Keep People Cool

1. Stay on Topic
2. DONT talk over anyone else. EVER. It's rude.
3. LISTEN to your customer/attendee - the Lost Art of Selling is simply "to listen"
4. 3 slide/5 minute rule - every 3/5, ask if everything makes sense.  Check for questions.
5. Show Video! - it's a familiarity thing, but people will usually get MUCH more engaged with you if they SEE you. There are subsets of this one, like - LOOK AT THE CAMERA, and SMILE ALOT, BE ENTERTAINING, or Have a "clean" background (think of it like a "set" in movies & commercials)...  I'll cover them in another post!

Obviously, I messed up on #1. Bad Josh. Bad bad bad.

But, and this comes from my martial arts training - and I am sure that most any athlete who's competed in something has felt/created the same mental space as this... The best thing that you can do when someone gets upset or gets hot with you, is to CREATE SOME SPACE. Breathe. Get calm. Starting thinking about what your options are... You could rush in/through, you could run away, (those are fight or flight...) or you could ORGANIZE. Naturally, unless you're a brute (in this case, a Bill Gates-esque brilliant Engineer, which I wish I was, sometimes) you're going to have to learn how to organize and compose yourself. Therefore, we're choosing to FIGHT, but MINDFULLY.


Josh's Process to save the call- and yourself

1. Get mad - Sure, this is an emotional response, but it's unavoidable. We all get mad, because something like this hurts- it is uncomfortable to have someone take you to task so publicly and in such a straightforward manner. But, if I was really bothered, I'd be in some other line of work. The key is to take the negative feeling, and "let it turn." So step QUICKLY over this, it's never worthwhile to get mad at someone in a professional environment. Getting mad is like torture in international politics- WE need to set the example of how to behave, of professionalism, so that everyone else understands the baseline of civility. IE Don't TORTURE. Getting mad will give you the Fire to Get Going- it's an Instant Sense of Urgency.
2. Re-orient - The wheels start turning - what do we do now?! This is where what you've learned- your TECHNIQUE - comes into play. This is why we train, so that when we're in this kind of situation, we're ready to respond correctly.
3. Don't Panic - Hey, it's on that little book I carry around, it MUST be worth something! Remember, YOU CAN DO IT. If you can't, you should be in another field of work, because the stress here may kill you.
4. Get back on TRACK - Hmm, sounds familiar... This is when being prepared, trained and having LISTENED to your customer makes a HUGE difference. Pick the thread of information that the customer wants to mine, and just GET TO IT.
5. Keep Your Sense of Humor - If you haven't got one, GET ONE. Go to comedy shows, get some friends, pray to God, go to Laughing meditations, drink alot. Whatever it takes, find your inner Laughing Person. And keep it real!


So, keep your cool, have fun, and go to the mat only when absolutely necessary. Remember, it's all part of the game, and we can have a LOT of fun with this kind of thing- just don't EVER take anything too personally.

Oh, and always remember to synch up with your colleagues afterwards to have a good, releasing laugh, and finish it off on a positive note- never leave an interaction unresolved. It's like the old saying about marriage- never go to bed angry; treat your customers as such - they're getting into a serious relationship with your company, and need to know that they will be listened to and that their needs will be met.

Always remember, customers are the lifeblood of the company.

the Dark Knight

First off, the new Batman movie was baaaaad. Too long, lack of story, really bad writing- lots of silly expositions from different characters, bad sound in parts (mumbled lines, overpowering soundtrack music), and shitty editing.

Heath Ledger was amazing as the Joker, but even so, it seemed that someone took every single take that the guy was in, and made a rough cut out of them. For instance, his "why so serious" stories- two different stories, explaining how he got his face cut, that just made little or no sense- is one true and not the other? Is there some really gory story that's actually accurate? Or, did they take the best take from each scene, and he just happened to be telling different versions?

It was just kind of a mess.

Full Version of Salvation Inc- Finally.

Setting Sites

With the exception of a brief interruption for the purchase of a new/used motorcycle, I've been working on what comes next.

- Ideas & Brainstorming
I'm working with Tom and Eric on a 5-minute short that's aimed at being done by August 1. We've been meeting intermittently and are in the idea phase- each bringing a few concepts to share and see what grabs us.
- Planning
Communicating with Ben and Patrick to keep the fires warm for Portland. Took some great location scouting shots this last weekend of a possible site. Got to think about SOUND with that one- how to isolate an actor's audio...
- Research
Watching some different flicks, seeing a few shorts, looking at different shot, composition and techniques to help bring something together as far as "voice."
- Practice
Still shooting for Mark at BMAC - the first round of footage looked great; we shot last night, and I think that this latest footage will blow the first set away. Can't wait to hear what Renato has to say about it...

I wanna make a cult film.

(images from this weekend)








Some good ideas about taking pictures...

Info on the Prospective Boston 48 Winner...

So I talked about that unfuckingbelievable short, “Composition” by Bait & Tackle… The team leader is listed as Chad Carlberg – and a quick Googling begets this:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0137313/ and this:

So, he's got his own production company/agency... Makes sense...

SHOWING the 48

Our film showed last night at the Kendall- I’m posting a link to the showing here, so that you can see for yourself what this was like. At this stage in our moviemaking, it’s not that having the short up on the screen is important- it’s not- it’s that getting the audience’s reaction, seeing what beats hit and what were missed, is valuable to gauge what and how to do next.

We had a pretty good turn out, with many of our actors and actresses (to whom I am deeply sorry) showing up to watch, and of course Sara, Tom, and myself there as well. It was Tom’s first time seeing the short, and I (foolishly) tried to set his expectations low by telling him that it wasn’t perfect, and that I hoped he’d be okay with it.

I think that he was a touch suspicious then, to see how badly we might have butchered his script…

They played the films in worst-to-best order, with the first couple being hilariously campy efforts by college kids and what seemed to be a group of stoned 30-ish’s। Our film, oddly enough, was smack in the middle of the pack, which is maybe a “feel good” comment on it- and it really served as the beacon or turning point between what was generally mediocre or bad, and what was pretty good to unfuckingbelievable.

Let me stop here and comment- the film “Composition” by Bait & Tackle was the best short I think that I’ve ever seen, anyplace. They obviously had a serious crew, and some God-given talent (nice to see that they’re not a bunch of 20 year olds!). I really have to give it to them- not important, as someone much more important than I certainly will. They’re raised the bar beyond what I could expect, and will more than likely take the whole competition this year. I really look forward to seeing the Best of, because if they have competition, it’s going to make for some other great flicks.

All of that said, when it came time and our piece played, people did laugh at some key parts (like when Tristan mouthed “what the FUCK” as the crazy lady offered a cookie), and they seemed to “get it” generally, which is more than I expected. The bad part came at the last scene, as Tristan delivered his final line, the punch line, and the audio dropped out entirely- we watched him give the line in silence, and the audience sat in some amount of confusion. I was stunned, but not entirely caught off-guard; these things happen.



It still sucked.

After the showing, Tom and I got up to be part of the filmmaker’s Q&A panel, and we each answered a few questions based on our experiences- I was concerned that he’d want to hide after seeing the result of our work, but he took it like a champ and still seems cool about it.

Expectations

We hit the expectations that I had- that we could make a short in 48 (again) that was better than the last one technically, and in such a way that our team would have fun doing it while having a good experience in the process.
Which means that I didn’t set expectations for the quality of the film itself. It’s my failing, my weakness, that I focused more on the experience; something that it was necessary to do in order that any momentum we built with this would not be lost and that we could progress further. I thought (and still think) that it was necessary to make a safe culture, a good place, for us to work in order that we could build and grow. Therefore, I should say that I had no expectations about the quality of the final piece, just of the quality of the production itself.

Next time will be a bit different. There are a few positions that we need to flesh out to gear up for the next level.

Location Sound Specialist
Editor – Tristan ?
Post-Production Music Assistant
Effects & Titles Artist – Sara?

Shooting at BMAC

We filmed Mark and some of the senior students on Monday. This is a very different sort of shoot as it’s instructional, and there are no real “takes” – the people on camera just do their techniques a few times over, occasionally from different angles, and we capture.

Renato brought 2 Panasonic DVX-100’s and I my XL-1s. The XL we put on a high tripod to act as a sort of master shot, and the DVX’s were eye-level, one in the center getting more of a straight-on shot and the other I used “handheld” using a tripod as steadycam. The DVX footage is beautiful through the viewfinder- I tried to use the flip-out LCD and it was just too distracting; due to the nature of this cam’s build, its meant to be held out 12-18” from the shooter’s face – like a PD150. The cannon is shoulder-mounted with no LCD, which I think gives much more stability in your shot, and allows you to keep both eyes open while shooting – which means that you can see what else is going on in the bigger picture, see if there is something you’re missing or that you want to watch out for in the shot. I’m definitely partial to shoulder-mounting. It’s much easier to get a stable shot, and your arms don’t get tired holding the cam up (which keeps the camera from shaking).

Additionally, the DVX’s feel cheap- the barrel of the camera, the lens itself, and the zoom & focus rings are very nice, very solid (I especially liked the nub on the zoom ring- it makes finding a point to operate from really convenient) – but the rest, the LCD, the controls under the LCD, the deck, all feel really chintzy. If you shake the camera, it seems like something might fall or break off- not what I’d expect in a camera in this price range.

Aside from the physical quality, the images are pretty damn nice- even though I have yet to see them on a screen outside of the cameras themselves. White balancing is done by color temp vs situation, which is interesting, and the menus are quite detailed. I did not like the controller/joystick for accessing the menus, this also felt like it would break with minimal pressure.

48 Hour Wrap Up I

So many pieces to look at, so much information to tell.

Based on the aforementioned project management piece that I’d looked at, I put together an overview of who the key constituencies or stakeholders were for this project.

Creative Team
Crew
Actors
Friends & Family
The General Public
the Boston Producers of the 48HFP
Boston 48HFP Judges

I drew myself a map showing the size of each of these constituencies, and made a list for explaining what elements would determine project success. This was a huge help in starting to set realistic goals and expectations for the whole project, and it really helped me prioritize activities- for instance, one of the first things that I did was to go out Friday morning and buy a bunch of food to stock the apartment with. This took a ton of pressure off, knowing that there were plenty of apples, oranges and juices for the team to consume. Not to mention taking away the need to jump in the car, or to eat a bunch of fast food made a great difference in the time that we could stay on-target. I tried to make this kind of “human” concern topmost priority when dealing with the crew, and feel that the strategy worked – everyone said that they had the best shooting experience with us that they had had on any production so far- instead of leaving with a few (or any) grumblers on Sunday night, we left with people saying they wanted to do something again, and soon. Tristan even called me (!) once he’d gotten home to say thanks for bringing him on board.

Something else that was different this time was that we stayed closer in the first four or six hours as a creative team- we holed up at the apartment together while the writer wrote, the editor organized his files and project, and I called actors and locations. At some point, probably around nine or ten, we set out storyboarding most all of our shots- this was a great time saver and I would attest that this might have been the most productive thing that we did. I owe it to Ben for getting me in gear on this, stopping all the phone calls and getting me to concentrate on the scenes and shots themselves. If we had not done this, we would not have gotten as far along as we did.

Which leads me to where I personally failed this time around- our script was too long – very ambitious, for sure, but it numbered at over ten pages in the first version, ultimately pared down to nine in the final. It is a great script, it really is – but there were a few scenes that required more time, more tightening, more action and more nuance to make the whole story really work. It was up to me, in the role of producer/director, to make the call that changes should be made- to be able to recognize that we could not realistically accomplish what was set out before us. I did not do this, I did not slow the rolling juggernaught of creative thought that was our writer, Tom, and my failure is the now the team’s. No, I’m not upset about this, but I do recognize that I could have given us a better shot by making the call to revise and downsize. This is one way to learn- go after something that’s bigger and harder than you can reasonably expect to pull off, and do everything that you can to do it. It isn’t typically a great strategy for winning, though.

If I had three days to shoot this script, I could make a great 8 minute movie. As it is, we have a technically good 6:53 minute piece that we passed in on time- and we didn’t kill or piss each other off in the making of it. This time, this team, has the most cohesiveness post-production of any group that we’ve put together. This is critical in the feeling of momentum, that not only do I personally feel that I’ve accomplished something, but that I can feel that the rest of the crew and cast have the same residual sense of accomplishment.

We did have the technical piece 90% solved- the only way that we can improve is to have a dedicated audio person, someone to be as aware of the sound as Ben is of the image and light. That being said, there is one shot in our short that has weak lighting– it’s an interior shot with three actors sitting in a café, large windows in the background that let in the outside light. We can leave the blow-by-blow for a director’s cut commentary…

At this point, no one other than the core crew have seen the resulting short- it plays tomorrow night at the Kendall theater in Cambridge. I’m looking forward to seeing the reaction of the crowd, to see what passes on correctly, and if they respond… I’ve definitely been surprised before, so here goes…

NUMBER 2

The 48 2008

After reading a really excellent post on project management, I’ve gone and made a booklet to keep track of my 48 Hour project out of scrap 11 x 17 paper and staples. Why not just go buy a fancy Moleskin (claimed to have been used by Hemingway) or a slick, creamy-papered sketchbook? I find that getting something new for the explicit purpose of recording or creating one project or purpose sets up too many preconceived notions for me to concentrate- I get too worried about the historical perspective, what’s being recorded, who would look at it in the future, and what they might see.

Therefore, the cheap and recycled route just feels better! I don’t have that performance pressure associated with a $20 diary or that gorgeous $100 fountain pen that I just had to have… Instead, this can look like a child’s scratchings, and the worst thing that I could do would be to just toss it when it’s all over. Certainly, it’s my own problem, but anything that is conducive to easy working helps.

Meetings

Tomorrow I’ve got the team meeting up at a local bar, Bukowski’s in Iman Square, Cambridge. We’ve got the three of us from the Creative Team (only two can attend, Ben is in Maine and can’t get clearance from his wife), around nine or ten of our Talent, and an additional three or four random Crew. The intent for this meeting is just a meet-and-greet for those we don’t know that well, plus an opportunity for everyone to see their roles (Crew) and to sign releases- better now than the day-of.

There are a some things that I am involved in, that I need to keep record of.

I am not a huge fan of blogs-as-diaries, so hopefully this will not be just that. The intent is that this will be a chronicling of general pursuit into different activities by the writer- which are subject to change at a moment’s whim, or due to unavoidable circumstance or even opportunity.

Keeping a public chronicle may prove useful from a feedback perspective, and by putting it all here, it might keep me keeping up with content…

Activity One: digital film-making
Activity Two: martial art
Activity Three: work


Activity One: the Boston 48 Hour Film Project, 2008

but Josh, this is the 3rd 48 that you’ve done- what are you looking for in this one?
This is a hard question. In the past, I was looking for a reason to shoot something, a condensed (almost chaperoned) experience of making a short. Now that we’ve done that a few times, and been through the ups and downs of this whole process- learning that a lot of this is NOT fun, that a lot of this is work – there is a more serious tinge to this question. It begs the question-

what are you looking for in all of these pursuits? why spend time and effort trying to make video?
1. First, I’m trying to create a portfolio, a beginner’s body of work. I’m practicing, or training, to do more. Admittedly, I’m a little old to be practicing still, but this is what it is. A portfolio of work helps you find more people to work with, and establishes that “this is what you do” when you’re an outsider coming in- and I’m not quitting my job to PA or to more directly follow this interest right now.
2. I want to create – but I need to develop my voice and perspective, to get my sea legs. This is important, it’s like learning a language, and then learning how to get up and speak in front of an audience. You’ve got to expose all of your issues: colloquialisms, ah’s and um’s, talking to fast, mumbling, looking down at your notes, nervousness, fidgeting and everything else, and change them one by one. It’s hard, but it’s possible to do- you’ve just got to be willing to be and feel embarrassed by the “stupid stuff” that you make at first. (as example, look at everything that I’ve done so far!)

48 hour boston further topics
- people drop out at the last minute
- organization
- locations
- the big question is: what am I missing? (as always)


Activity Two: Changing Training, Video Project

- working on a video
- changing how we train

Our instructor is adjusting the way that we train. He wants to concentrate on the basics, and focus on more real-world application- not that we weren’t so much before, but we really worked a lot of the kata and the kyu system information, and less “fighting.”

Mark says now that “this is my school, and we’re going to start doing what I like,” which is fighting, using the technique for self-defense.

On of my budokas and I are working on a video to cover the “new basics” – a video that will take the essentials from the first three grades, and display them in a fashion that other schools can see how we are working the material. We’re going to interview our instructor and then have him demonstrate each technique; instead of making these walkthroughs, the intent is to be more flowing, more moving from technique to technique.