DIRECTORS VLOGS FROM PRODUCTION COMING

I really wanted to capture as much as I could on my IPHONE of the experience of making THE RED ROBIN.  I wanted to do it for me, my wife and children(when they are older and want to see what I was doing when they were just tater tots), and for anyone who was remotely interested in seeing behind the curtain and watching how a movie--our little blue train--makes it from beginning to end.

What's so great about camera phones is that you can really capture any moment...without being "that annoying person with a camera" I caught A LOT of real  verite moments from preproduction rehearsals, table reads, to actual interactions between myself and the cast/crew.  None of this would be as interesting as, say, watching Peter Jackson's blog on LOTR or THE HOBBIT(something I love to do because I can't wait to see the next installment and I love watching Peter soak in his passion) but whether you have epic set pieces or something modest like a low budget indie thriller taking place in one house in one night, the same rules of filmmaking apply.  Lessons can be learned from the smallest productions and knowledge gleaned.  

I haven't had much time to get all of the VLOGS uploaded until now...and thankfully they are in order...I think I may even go back as far as last April when I was raising some money on Kickstarter!  Just interesting to see the evolution of my face--from having a jawline and chin to having 2 extra chins, a face full of hair and a crop of messed up hair...that's what film does to you...on the outside!

Anyway, I will try and give a linear sense of the making of the film as seen through my IPHONE....and hopefully it will convey, if nothing else, how much I really enjoyed watching my third child leave the comforts (and confines) of my imagination and go out into the real world and be treated so lovingly by all these incredible creative people who worked on the film.

3 from Lumet and coming close with Post!

We just brought onboard Tom Swartwout, who edited Sidney Lumet's last 4 films.  Call it coincidence, timing or that intangible force I call the "Film God," but that means that "The Red Robin" has the distinction of having 3 key talents who have worked with Mr. Lumet: our first AD, Mike Meador, Joseph Lyle Taylor(plays Leonard) starred in Lumet's short-lived tv series "100 Center Street," and now Tom.  I am a big fan of Lumet's work.  This wasn't intentional.  It just so happened that these people gravitated towards the project or we came into their orbit at the right time.  For me, it's kind of a nice omen to have some inspiration from one of my favorite American directors.   As Mr. Lumet would say I'm sure, use it now to continue your creative self-deception in the edit, but don't be married to it. '  Or at least that's what I can hear his very practical and sensible self saying.

We have had a few small delays but nothing that's out of the ordinary.  We needed to re-transcode all of our raw red epic files for MFX avid files.  What we originally transcoded are too large for avid and tcp and would trip up even the most powerful OS.  So our DP loaned us his red rocket and we are retranscoding then grouping all at the same time.  I am watching the initial Pro res on my Macbook and starting to make selects, though I wish I had a bigger monitor than 15 inches to watch these on.  In a few weeks, Tom and I will sit down for 7 days in our dailies bunker, watch everything together and start talking voluminously about each scene.  Once I feel like he's got what he needs and understands the emotion, the pacing, the point-of-view I'm aiming for with each scene, I'm sending him off to work remotely and we will be ichatting everyday through the rough cut.  Though I was initially planning on being in the room every day for the rough cut, I trust that this working style will serve the project best. Had we had the money and planning beforehand, Tom would've been editing while I was shooting. So while I'm not just throwing him the rushes and saying "have at it," I am giving him creative space to edit unencumbered by my absolute lack of objectivity and his absolute total objectivity.  Every day he will send me what he's done and I will certainly give notes, but I don't want to obstruct the first pass.  I'd rather let the editor have the space to create and when we get to the fine cut, then we start really building the house, resettling the foundation, redoing the walls and reworking everything that needs attention.
As a director, there's always a strong desire to maintain control over everything and I agree, it's your film at the end of the day.  Each frame is the result of your decisions.  That being said, I believe you have hired some very creative people who have their own perspective and getting the best work out of them doesn't mean breathing over their shoulder every second.  Give them a very specific plan, no doubt, give them the mold, the feeling, the 'what's it about' and 'what do we need to focus on here' but don't do their job.  You want to inspire them to find something that you may never have expected either in writing/directing.  That's the ultimate goal.  That each stage of post-production adds a layer...makes the broth even richer
I want my editor to be a storyteller as well, not just someone who is good at following orders because that's their job.  That's not my idea of filmmaking.  Never has been.  To be the director of a project means hiring the right people and getting them to elevate the words on the page or the frames of film(red).  In my humble opinion, that means hiring the right people and inspiring them to do their best work that will in the end do what's most important--serve to tell the best story in the best way possible.

So there's my corny wisdom this week.  If you're reading this, remember, these are all opinions. Every creative person has their own way that works best for them.  Many would disagree with me.  Maybe I'll disagree with myself a few pictures down the road.  No, wait, I'm a filmmaker, not a politician. Peace out.

Mike Wechsler Resolution #1, #2, and #3

I rarely have done resolutions but this year seems like I would be foolish not to. There's too much at stake for my career which of course is wrapped up in the success of THE RED ROBIN and my new production company Rowish Entertainment.   So here are a few of my resolutions if you even feel like knowing...

#1:  MAKE "THE RED ROBIN" A HOUSEHOLD WORD. 

I figure if I can do this, it will be because I got this film properly seen, marketed, distributed and sold to a world-wide audience.  The next 12 months I am going to be comitted to making this a reality.  It's a lot of work but if the last 6 years of trying to make this movie has taught me anything, nothing is more important than patience, a plan and a strong product.   Without a strong product, the other 2 don't really matter.  Without patience, you will go out of your mind before getting to the finish line.  And without a plan, well you'll be sloppy and chasing your tail. 

#2:  GET NEXT 2 PROJECTS IN PREPRODUCTION BY SUMMER 2012

I am finishing a draft of a new psychological thriller as a follow up to THE RED ROBIN and this will hopefully go into production after RR has made its debut and gotten some degree of attention for me as a writer/director.  I really love the idea of shooting in one or a very few locations and being able to focus intimately on characters and their lives.  You're never distracted by 100 locations when you have 1...you really are able to know the characters the same way or even better than when they are on a stage.

I also have another script which I cowrote with comedy writing partner and I'm hoping to get this off the ground and running shortly after RR as well.  I've been writing comedy for many years and it was always my goal to be hired to write/rewrite comedy screenplays in the industry(for my writing work)  For my own labors of love, I would like to write much edgier, darker material which I would then direct(like Red Robin)   I scoff at the notion that creative people be typecast whether they are actors, writers or directors.  I think that's insane and an easy way for the money people to categorize and simplify their financial decisions.  But any creative person knows that there are different shades within each of us and that we aren't simply what we did today that defines our ability.  Perhaps leapfrogging genres is ballsy but though the tone may be dramatically 180 degrees away, the themes are always the same.  Look at anything serious or comedic I've written and there's always an underlying psychological underpinning that is driving the narrative.  (Not sure what that says about me!)  SO the next project is a romantic comedy and we are going to be hunting for an up and coming SNL or Second City star. 

#3:  FAST FROM THE NEWS FOR A BIT

The world economy has been on the brink, a new election promises more Bachmann-Gingrich-Paul freakazoids, 2011 feature film box-office is at a historic low, and 2012 is when the Mayans said it all ends.  Or was that Mel Gibson?  Seriously, I have been out of touch with world news for the last few months and though it's not being a responsible citizen to be completely out of the loop when it comes to the happenings of your country, I do recommend taking a diet(for a few months) from the news.   The minute I got plugged back in, I re-realized that news is 99.9% negative and that's what keeps the machine functioning.  Here's what I have to say to the newsmakers and "Foxbricators" of the world--you're the drug dealers of society, keeping the masses addicted to a steady supply of negativity, gloom and doom, and anti-everything.  You are the reason a lot of our population is on medication(not because those prozak commercials are sexy) Take a break or consider changing your backward ways and make news what it used to be and what it still is on McNeil/Leher report--striaghtforward, unspectacular, unbiased reporting. And sure most news isn't good news but how about making us feel that life isn't one cataclysm after another and leaven it with something optimistic.  Nobody wants to see good news?  Then why the hell are some of the most popular downloads on YOUTUBE "Babies laughing?"  Because people want to smile and laugh and be relieved of the weight of life.    Now that I'm back from production and going back to my regular routine, I am actually going to be make it more priority to unplug more often.   

ALMOST A WEEK SINCE WE WRAPPED

Recovery from a film shoot I would imagine is a bit like returning to your home after being in an exotic land that resembles nothing like the landscape you're used to.  Those things that were once commonplace are seemingly out-of-place...but the real truth is that you're out-of-place. You're what has "changed"  (at least for a period of time)  You also realize that the pace of things you became used to on the film was much faster and adrenalized than what you were accustomed to BF(before filmmaking).  All this made the perfect storm for me to feel emotionally and physically exhausted when I returned from wrapping THE RED ROBIN last week, Dec. 23, 2011.

I collapsed and probably could've done a Rip Van Winkle but I'm a dad with young boys which means time for rest is a thing of the past.   My first few days back to reality I was in a perpetual half-awake state which meant I bumped into walls and whenever i sat down I basically snored myself into a stupor.  All this was my bodies way of saying "You don't get to go to such highs without paying for it!"  It's almost a week since we wrapped and I finally feel re-adjusted, if not completely ready to return to the land AF(After filmmaking).

The next chapter is one of my favorites because I'm an editor by trade.  For me, movies have always been made in the edit.  You can make a bad film tolerable, a good film great, or a good film horrible.  That's a lot of power and to understand that is important if you're going to be a filmmaker.  I highly recommend that every aspiring director learns how to edit or at least immerses themselves in the process.  Not only is it where you really learn the ingredients that go into making scenes work and storytelling thrive, it's where you will gain your most confidence as a director(the next time you shoot a film).   People ask me why I'm so calm during shoots.  My first answer is because I am doing what I always did since I was 8 years old and enjoyed more than anything in the world.  Why wouldn't I be calm and composed?  I'm where I have always wanted to be.  The second answer is really because I've been in the editing room for many years.  I've edited features, documentaries and shorts and one thing I have discovered is that when you start thinking like an editor(on the set as a director) you don't go hog wild overshooting and getting things from every conceivable angle, 100 takes.  You have a greater security in your choices hopefully and have a stronger idea when you have a scene in the can.  I have always prided myself on being a conservative shooter(I don't mix politics and filmmaking). I don't agree with burning negative or hours of time with innumerable takes and countless angles.  Filmmaking is hard enough shooting moderate amount of coverage, I just don't feel like most movies require shooting till your DP has lost vision out of one of hs eyes and your actors have been reduced to robots reciting lines.  I attribute my leaner style to my experience in the edit.  Also, I hate working past 12 hours as I will turn into a monster the next day should that happen.

So, editing is on deck.  I'm watching dailies on my macpowerbook and I'm reliving every shot we did in December.  So far I am enthusiastic to the point of bordering on immodest.  I know when i start seeing scenes cut, it will be a reality check.  Certain scenes may under deliver, others may not work as intended, but I know that the sculpting process is one where things will evolve.  Editing is the final chapter of screenwriting and it takes drafts to get things where you want.  Therefore, patience is essential.  I am about to bring on an editor and post will begin the around January 5 for 3 months.  The goal is for us to be done with a locked cut by May/June.  That will allow us time to find the necessary representation and sales team to help bring the project to the festivals and marketplace.   As we're putting the film together in the edit, I will occasionally blog the experience.  Occasionally because I think it will be far more interesting  when the film is done and people can watch then learn about the construction.  Right now, I can't give too much of the story away because it's a thriller/mystery so anything I would talk about in detail would sail above readers heads or be too spoilerish!

My entries from this point forward will relate more back to the making of the film.  We still have 5 days to shoot in january and we're hoping this warm winter turns frigid so we don't have to matte icicles in post.  Thanks for taking an interest and definitely check in over the next few weeks when I start adding VLOGS from the first shoot.

MW

2 DAYS LEFT TILL WRAP!!!!

Oh my...Where did the days go? How has this incredible experience gone by so quickly? And more importantly, how do I stop time?

We are very close to wrapping my second feature and to say that I am already getting separation anxiety is a colossal understatement. What's so great about moviemaking is that you are this tightly-knit family for a very short period of time and you all have one thing in common that most people in company environments rarely have(at the same time): you're all working hard and enjoying what you do passionately. It is truly a transformed environment to be in and one that I'm keenly aware is not something to be taken for granted. I instinctively feel this will be the launch of our company and one of many films to come...yet there's always a distinct feeling in the back of my head "What happens if this is it?" My response is that if I don't have the opportunity come around again, I will still feel so blessed to have made it to this point with such a great team of creative people supporting the project.

We have averaged 5-6 pages a day and the coverage has been minimal for the first 2/3 but now, with the pace stepping up in the last 1/3 of the movie and the story covering more psychological terrain, we are doing MORE shots....so things are a bit more hectic...but hectic is just right for the nature of these scenes...there's a frantic urgency to the second half of the story that builds right up to where we are right now.

I am nervous about missing a shot...I know that I will get to the edit and wish I had done this or that but truly we have gotten so much done in such a short period of time. Nonetheless, I'm sure there will be a few moments I wish I had captured but as long as I can still make my scenes work with what I have...such is the lot of filmmaking.

Anyway, will spend more time avidly updating this blog once we wrap. Then I will have more time and energy and focus to talk about the shoot and discuss the workings of THE RED ROBIN.

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