troublecreek

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX4UlhSo8dA

Whattya Ligotti? with Waldo the Worm

also on Vimeo:

https://vimeo.com/kylefowler/waldo

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A Garden Might Help - Post

Preparing A Garden Might Help for screening this Tuesday has been a new kind of fresh hell. I thought the worst of my worries would be in production, and maybe they were, but post certainly isn’t giving up the honor without a fight. 

Producer/Colorist Jake grading the film

Garden was a four page script that decided to disobey the laws of the screenplay and wind up as a 13 1/2 minute first cut. 

https://vimeo.com/160869766

The cut screened well, and while I got plenty of good suggestions, ideas on how to cut it down to the 8 minute runtime required for screening were slim. More editing brought about an 11 1/2 and then a 9 1/2 minute cut, at which point most of what was left to cut was pretty crucial to the story (to say nothing of the film’s style and mood, which have become a fantasy at this point). 

Finally, after many nights of cutting both alone and with co-editor Ran Ro, there is an 8 minute version of the film for screening. With the amount of time it took to bring about this cut, I had to forego the sound mix by a RECA mixer that I had planned on and do a patchup mix myself right in avid media composer.

Timeline for the final screening cut

We had a color grading session that brought a bit more sparkle and depth to the visuals, but after reviewing the film in the screening space it’s become apparent that it’s an inconsistent grading that’s not quite on-the-money for more than a few shots.

All in all, it’s been a lot of obsession, worrying, and hours for some pretty shabby results. I’m not looking forward to watching this mess and claiming responsibility at the final screening on Tuesday, but it’s been a learning experience. 

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A Garden Might Help - That’s a Wrap

Well, that’s it. Over a year since writing the first draft of the script, and after months of planning, the 3 days of shooting ‘A Garden Might Help’ are over. And it was definitely a learning experience! One thing I learned that we all already know but know we’re going to learn again is planning. PLANNING PLANNING PLANNING.

We did a lot of pre-production work on this film, planned out the shots at the locations, etc. but there was still plenty we could have done for a smoother, more efficient production. 

My lack of decisiveness on the spot, as well as some creative differences between the director of photography and myself, also slowed us down a good bit and probably kept us from getting the best footage we could have.

There are plenty of images I would reframe, a few shots I would have added for coverage, and many more takes I would have done for performance had there been more time. 

Some of the most important shots were rushed the most because we of poor planning and communication during pre-production, as well as the elusive sun. If anything, I’m proud of my self for sticking with my original vision and monitoring for black and white despite everybody else’s warnings; as production went along, it became clearer and clearer that it was what the project needed. 

Me Trying desperately to make that damn concept art picture a reality

Hopefully what we have will still cut into something worth watching (fingers crossed), but I have plenty of new wisdom to take with me next time I jump into a production. 

In the end, all the stress and scrambling and last minute location changes feel like a whole lot for this little film of questionable quality, but now I know I CAN handle this stuff. It might not be pretty, but I can, and that makes me all the more enthusiastic to try something new. 

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A Garden Might Help

A world-weary man in a tired marriage does cult worship behind his wife’s back in an attempt to feel alive.

A piece of rudimentary concept art 

Hello there to anyone who’s reading! I’m currently developing A Garden Might Help, a film project that I’ll be shooting this March as part of my film education at Loyola Marymount University. The main theme in A Garden Might Help is the struggle to feel alive in spite of life. But nothing is ever as simple as a main theme, and I’d like to approach this story in a way that allows for some breath and nuance, interpretation and ambiguity, not just streamlined story beats.

As such, I’m planning a visual style that is stark and a bit dreary, with characters somewhat ghostlike and hollow, moving through still environments that are indifferent to their presence. The film will be shot in black and white, with shots that linger, probably in a 2.35 aspect ratio to make interesting use of negative space.

A shot from “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” that has a lot of my hopeful stylistic qualities

While it’s common for black and white films, especially nowadays, to really emphasize contrast and adopt a noiresque feel, I’m looking for something a little softer and more drab. Through this style and controlled sound design, I want to capture the flavor of consciousness that’s bland and tired but still has a strange dull burn, like coffee in your stomach.  There’s a scene of costumed cult worship that involves a sort-of dance and serves as one of the only moments of true passion and connection between characters. This scene will be more dynamic, playing out almost like a music video with an ethereal vibrancy and flow, contrasting sharply with the rest of the film. In the end, though, it’s a spark that needs wood to catch fire, and our lead character only has damp wood.  I’m very much looking forward to collaborating with a talented group of people to bring alive a hopefully unique look at relationships, experience, existence, time, and how they all overlap and screw each other up. 

I’ll keep posting throughout the pre-production, production, and post-production process. Cheers!

These shots from “Nebraska” that fit the bill

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Let David Lynch and Mark Frost brew damn good coffee for Twin Peaks together. Showtime, please #SaveTwinPeaks! http://thndr.it/1aZT6V2

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A nude model gets an erection while posing...

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F is for Fear