Posted on 01 July 2008 by Paul
The other night I was at MATCH in North Hollywood, having drinks with client, friend, and Xanderhouse Productions Producer Cheri Waterhouse, discussing a project. While we were there I ran into an old collaborator, Shawn Michael Patrick, the star of Not Afraid!’s Viet Nam war drama, GLAZED.
I hadn’t seen Shawn in a few years and we had the quick opportunity to catch up. He had just finished his second to last sell-out performance of LADY, written and directed by Dirty Sexy Money creator Craig Wright. Shawn and the play have received good reviews from StageScene LA:
“Shawn Michael Patrick as Dyson and Matt Kirkwood as Kenny both give absolutely sensational performances. Patrick is dynamite with a burning fuse, and charisma which masks the damage that his repeated infidelity is causing his family.”
As well as Daily Variety. Not to mention the sell out crowds speak for themselves.
Shawn was a joy to work with on GLAZED, and since then his career has really flourished with parts on CSI, Entourage, Weeds, Brothers & Sisters, and most recently a recurring role on Dirty Sexy Money.
Congratulations Shawn, we applaud your work and wish you continued success.
Posted on 07 August 2006 by Paul
I just finished reading the latest post on John August’s blog, “Test Screening The Movie.” It gave me pause to see that such and accomplished and prolific storyteller has the same stresses, anxieties, and problems my collaborators and I are facing on my latest project.Viewing your film with friends, family, and colleagues is great, and it will help you to make your story better. It’ll get you, and I’ll be generous, maybe 60, 70% there, but as he mentions, whether they believe it or not, they are biased. They are your friends, your family, and your colleagues. They WANT to like what you’ve done. They think you’re talented, and have hopes and aspirations for your story or they wouldn’t take the time to watch. So with that bias, how can you ever truly get an honest response? You can’t. That’s why you need, as John August puts it, the trustworthy stranger. This person has no bias. No agenda. Nothing but (hopefully) a purely visceral and honest response to the story and imagery you put before him/her. They become your anonymous collaborator, and they will make your story better.
Sharing your story and your passion with complete strangers, when it’s a work-in-progress is a scary thing and a risky proposition if you’re trying to break new ground, but it can also be the key that makes a good story great. As digital storytellers, how can we get these un-biased screenings? How can we put our work out there for constructive criticism without it being what people perceive to be a completed project? You can’t viably use a service like
YouTube, as you can’t control who sees it and how they are judging it. But you can use internet forums like DVInfo.net, or DVXuser.com. You can explain that what you’re posting is a work in progress and you need honest feedback. You’ll probably get more than you bargained for. I’d love to hear any other trailblazing solutions people might have. Be my new collaborator and help me find a test screening solution.
Posted on 02 June 2006 by Paul
Keeping going with my collaboration theme today, I’d be remiss if I didn’t spend a little time to talk about the Loach. Co-writer and director of GLAZED, producer of INHERITANCE, and co-founder of NOT AFRAID!
Jeff Loach and I were writing and producing partners since 1998 when we formed Not Afraid! As true collaborators we practiced the art of “ego-less arguing.” (I think we borrowed that term from another pair of writers, Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio and their excellent website wordplayer.com but I digress…) Each of us would constantly shoot holes in each others ideas and nary an ego was bruised, because we both understood it was never personal. It was about the idea. The best ideas can stand up to that scrutiny and all others should go by the wayside. That was how to make it great. That’s what makes collaboration work.
Alas, Jeff as great a collaborator as he is, felt another calling. His true calling was not to entertain, but to serve, to put his own life at risk for others. He was to be a firefighter. At an age where most people would say it’s too late, Jeff persevered. He followed that dream with a fervor and tenacity of film-maker searching for funding, and he has made that dream come true.Later this week, Jeff will begin his life as a professional fire-fighter in Fairfax County Virginia, and I couldn’t be more proud. Though I miss his energy in our writing room, even with him 3,000 miles away I can hear him arguing his point, and I smile.
Be safe, Mr. Loach.
Paul
Posted on 02 June 2006 by Paul
Speaking of collaboration, I just wanted to give a shout out to one of my frequent collaborators, Doug Delaney. He shot both Inheritance, and Glazed, as well as my new project which for now will remain nameless. Doug still manages to find the time to collaborate with me, even while moving up the Hollywood ladder working as a DI Colorist on the ICE HARVEST and THE MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS and additional color timing for THE ITALIAN JOB, THE MATRIX: RELOADED, JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, SPY KIDS, VANILLA SKY, ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, AMERICAN BEAUTY, KUNDUN and ARMAGEDDON, among many others.He’s recently moved to Post Logic Studios (see the article here. )
Doug is also featured in the Dear DI Colorist feature in this Month’s Post Magazine. (Sorry, no link yet…)
Congratulations Doug. Beers are on me.
Paul
