Two Guys in a Garage - A Production Blog

A blog by two filmmakers about the making of the documentary film; "Michael Pilato: Mural Canyon"

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Production Update


Michael will be in State College for most of this week so it will be a great time to catch up on some of the "pre-production" that we are behind on, like finalizing the fundraising "Mastermind Team" and our ongoing search for both an entertainment attorney and a local non-profit.

We have decided to have Steve take a larger role as the on-site producer, that way I can focus more on Ex. Prod. functions. Bernadette Jones (Dir., Prod. on
WSO spots) will also be assisting Steve produce.

The right attorney is crucial for a production like ours. We not only need a person that is passionate about law and film, but who is also a comrade and a friend. They also have to be licenced in NY, PA, and CA. That takes time. Good news though, I've had a couple of great chats with attorneys in NYC and Philadelphia this week, so that means--road trip on 5/31 and 6/1! Pics to follow, and yes, we will be vlogging soon.

The non-profit issue is more straight forward though. Their mission must link well with ours or else we run the risk of having IRS problems, so we want to get off on the right foot and find a strong match. Once we do, we can start fundraising.

Sad day today with the passing of Ismail Merchant, of Merchant-Ivory Films. The craft of his films and his company model are examples of what I'd like to fashion our company after; excellence--but people first--at all cost.

Remains of the Day and Howards End are must see films. Ismail, rest in peace and Godspeed.

Carlos



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Friday, May 20, 2005

In Better Company


Quick, winner for Best Picture 1977? The Goodbye Girl?... Nope... Star Wars!!?... Nope—Annie Hall... Sheesh!

What where they thinking?? Earlier this week there came a squeaky
noise from Woody Allen reflecting on his preferred mode of remuneration. If I was an Academy member, you would have had to pay me off with a paper bag the size of a large Christmas parcel, for my vote for Annie Hall over The Goodbye Girl, much less Star Wars.


Here comes the good part...

Star Wars All-time USA Boxoffice Gross: $460,935,665

Annie Hall All-time USA Boxoffice Gross: $ 38,300,000


Hands down the best Best Picture debate ever. What do you think?

Carlos

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Thursday, May 19, 2005

Our Boys of Summer...


Saturday, five of our crew members graduated PCT: Asa Kelley, Jean Chargois, Michael Blakesley, Brian Kehoe, and Dan McKim. I attended the afternoon commencement and I couldn’t help thinking about the fortune I had to meet them and have them on our crew. They represent not only some of the best that Penn College has to offer but the best walking representation of what America’s future looks like.

A little background... in early Sept 2004, I approached PCT with a project to co-produce
5 commercials for the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra. The WSO asked me to consider doing these spots pro-bono and I thought it would be a great opportunity to involve the PCT students in the Media Media Communications Program. This gave them production experience, some reel that got airtime, and I got a physical (equipment) production partner. It was a win-win all around. Other great PCT folks like Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle, Veronica M. Muzic, Nick Vitterite, Bruce Huffman, and the great Chris Legarski made it happen from their end. Kudos to the college, they’re under-appreciated.

To a man, not one of the students had any commercial production experience, much less were they prepared to be on a set that basically mirrored a union set. As the A.D., I worked them as if they where on a pro set so the next guy’s set that they're on, no matter what happened, their heads would be above water. Not once did they falter. For example, on the
first commercial, we did three days worth of work--north of 50 set-ups, with an inexperienced crew and limited equipment... in 12 hours!. The one skill that got them through my lunacy was their attitude. For producers and production managers out there, I can’t stress this enough: make sure that the human components are in place before you pull the trigger on personnel. The old rule of “measure twice and hire once” saves a lot of heartache and provides great ‘set culture’, especially on a low budget set. When you hire great attitude, you can teach them anything.

We will continue to work with Jean and Asa who will stay in town, but the other boys will be in VA., MD., and York, PA. It was a distinctive pleasure--thank you for your faithful service--Onward and Godspeed.

Carlos



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Sunday, May 15, 2005

Welcome to Our Blog


This is us... Steve and Carlos



This is an experiment. It's a mix between a video blog (vlog) and Project Greenlight. We're going to tell you the story of the making of the documentary film "The Big Story", hopefully filmmakers and artists will find it a useful how-to. Thank you to all of our supporters, you know who you are.

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