Category Archives: Still (The Human Statue)
[STILL] Post-Production Begins
First things first, at about 11:30 p.m., which was approximately 15 and a half hours into our shoot, we somehow managed to come up with a name to replace the sort-of-awful THE HUMAN STATUE. So, from here on out, I’ll be referring to this little creative endeavor as STILL, which we thought was pretty clever since it’s a series of stills, and it’s about a human statue who must remain, you know, still. That was the logic when we were all about to drop, but I think it holds up now, too.
As for where things are now, a couple of weeks ago I finished sorting through all the images from our shoot, doing a broad “edit” of the shots I thought I might want to use for the film. We ended up with close to 1200 images, and I sorted them into scene- and content-related categories.
I got the proofs for about half the scenes yesterday, so this morning I set to narrowing them down the shots that will actually go into the film along with the order.
Here’s that process:
- Write image number corresponding to file names on backs of photos.
- Lay all photos face up.
- Freak out a little because you have no idea where to begin.
- Remember you have storyboards; get them.
- Remember you have a shooting script; get that, too.
- Use storyboards and script to pick and order photos into what will someday be a scene.
- Flip photos over & write down the numbers so you know which ones to use later.
- Celebrate!
- Remember there are still many scenes more to go.
- Sigh.
- Get back to work. (Or write a blog post instead.)
So that’s how the next couple weeks of my life will go.
Despite the still-long road ahead, it is pretty exciting to see it starting to come together into something that might someday resemble a film.
[STILL] With a Little Help From My Friends
As I enter into production weekend, I’m reminded how lucky I am to have the support system I do. Having to use little effort to convince someone to stand around in silver paint all day not moving. Having an incredibly amazing photographer jump at the request to lend her talents (for free) to my creative endeavor. Coercing my family into lending me time and resources. Having a friend offer up her wedding dress for her own costume (and also being willing to stand around in paint all day). And then there are the folks on the sidelines, encouraging and rooting for me, and writing me e-mails like this one (shared with permission):
Hey Ditty,
I wanted to wish you good luck for your shoot tomorrow. I don’t know if that in itself is bad luck, or if “break a leg” only counts for acting and not directing. But whatever, I’m not going to suggest you break your legs, even under the guise of superstition. And anyway, you don’t need luck. Luck is for people who don’t know what they’re doing.
I’m sure you’re having sleepless nights and grumble-belly days thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Oh, that pesky Universe! But here’s the thing. I have no doubt that you’ve planned and scribbled and sketched, and have everything under control, so most likely, almost definitely, everything is going to run smooth as you like, but, let’s not pretend moments don’t sometimes happen. Outside forces you can’t control, or forgetting to carry the 1 in your formula of greatness; sometimes, occasionally, something will go a little outside of the plan. And when it does, there’ll be that crazy beat of panic where you feel like you’ve just swallowed the whole sky.
But say that does happen, you know what? You’ll make it work. Smart, creative people always do. And you’re one of the smartest, most creative people I know. I mean, when do artistic things ever really totally fall apart? Almost never, right? Talented, creative people use those moments, like a frog on a pond getting a leaf blown into his face – just cling on to the leaf and steer it home. You still get where you were headed, it’s just, sometimes you have to take an unexpected detour down a road that’s strewn with only happy accidents. It might be hairy at the time, but if making art is easy, you’re doing it wrong.
I hope that hasn’t put ideas in your head about things going wrong. I sought only to highlight these things to prove how powerless they are to those with the skills to weld them like weapons. And anyway, it’s all going to go great. So, sleep soundly tonight, knowing that you’re Elizabeth Fucking Ditty, and that tomorrow, you’re going to tip some of that magic that lives inside your head out into the world, and that’s all there is to it.
And instead of good luck, I’m going to say – have fun. Among all the stress, rush and panic, try to find moments of enjoyment. Revel in the situation you find yourself in – a situation of your making. Art out of nothing. A situation, people, moments; all out of nothing, because you dreamed it up, and because you made it happen.
And hurry up and get it on Youtube so I can watch it.
–Stuart
In the midst of what is admittedly a bit of a rough season of life (I guess they must come around from time to time), I really can’t properly say how grateful I am for the encouragement and support of all kinds.
To my family & friends helping out this weekend, THANK YOU.
To the people (like Danny Stack, who’s just debuted the final episode of his fun little webseries, Liquid Lunch) who have taken on these sorts of creative challenges and are so generous in sharing what they’ve learned along the way, THANK YOU.
To my friends (like Matt, who writes fiction as well as insightful, humorous and sometimes infuriating things about movies, and Stuart, who writes books
You all are awesome. Really.
[STILL] A Human Statue Prepares
Statue or member of The Adjustment Bureau?
In the makeup chair.
Glasses on.
Concentration.
Teamwork.
"Crotch shot. Literally."
Sibling Rivalry.
Silver hands.
[STILL] Waders, Wedding Dresses & Ditty Freaking Out (aka, Gearing Up for a Short Film)
I’m about two and a half weeks out from my next venture into short filmmaking, which means my brain will be shooting near constant levels of stress hormones into my body until about 5 a.m. on Sunday, June 26th.
I’m still working on casting, and at the end of the week I’m sending out the big invite to get as many people to show up for an as huge-as-possible crowd sequence on Saturday afternoon. This is perhaps the most stress-inducing bit, as it’s the most important shot of the entire film, and it will not work if I only have six people.
So, if you’re going to be in Kansas City on Saturday, June 25th, mark off your afternoon and come help a girl out, will you? I will even let you in on a little secret: THERE WILL BE COOKIES and COLD DRINKS.
On Wednesday I’m heading out to the JC Nichols Fountain with my director of photography so we can scout out the location and figure out the logistics for the shoot. I have a feeling we’re going to need to get her a pair of those big boots people wear for fishing in streams.
Filmmaking is so glamorous. See?
I’m also the reason for this:
Because I am the sort of friend who asks people to wear heavy clothes and thick make-up and stand very still in the heat of Kansas City’s late June. (It was 102ºF here yesterday, if that’s any indication as to the sacrifice.) I don’t know what that says about me, but I know what it says about my friends: they’re fantastic and slightly masochistic people.
So, for the next two and half weeks, here’s my to-do list:
- Convince one more person to don hot clothes & make-up to play the Groom to Meg’s Gorgeous & Starving Bride.
- Convince at least several dozens of folks to trade their Saturday afternoon on June 25th to for a cookie & me shouting at them (but in a kindly way!) through a bullhorn (if I can procure one) or cupped hands (if I cannot).
- Find costumes for the all-important Human Statue and for the almost-as-important Groom.
- Figure out how to do Human Statue make-up, in both silver and white.
- Teach someone how to do Human Statue make-up, in both silver and white.
- Have him or her do a make-up trial of Human Statue make-up, in both silver and white.
- Procure whatever we need for the logistics of the shoot (e.g., waders and a ladder).
- Secure craft services for the folks who will be there for long portions of the day.
- Finish casting the smaller, non-human-statue parts.
- Draft and then finalize (as much as one can finalize) a shooting script and schedule.
- Avoid complete nervous breakdown until 5 a.m. Sunday, June 26th.
The worst part of that list is I know I’m forgetting probably half of what needs done. Wish me luck and sanity. (And if you’d like to help out, leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail at izzi dot ditty at gmail dot com. There may even be extra cookies available. And hugs. Just FYI.)
[STILL] Stories and Storyboards
Happy Monday, everyone. I hope you are better slept than I am, and I hope that if you are as critically underslept it is for reasons as delightful as mine.
I found out Friday I made the Top 100 + Ties and advanced to Round 2 of Creative Screenwriting’s Cyberspace Open, which is pretty fun (you can see my entry here, if you’re interested), and gives me another screenwriting task to tackle immediately after my current one ends — I’m hauling arse this week to finish my script for resubmission to BlueCat’s Fellini Competition. The deadline is Friday, which happens to be the day we’re all meant to receive our premise for Round 2. I’ve also got freelance work that weekend, as it turns out. Sometimes I feel like living proof of the old adage, “When it rains, it pours.” Thankfully, it’s pouring good things at the moment.
On Saturday, Matt & I recorded another No-Name Movie Podcast, and we’d love for you to give it a listen if you have 
the time and inclination.
Also on Saturday, I bribed my sister with Chipotle and had her come over and sketch some storyboards for the short film. She’s a talented kid, and it was really exciting to see the words on the page turn into something visual.
She came up with some really neat ideas, and I think they’ll give Amy (my DP) and myself a great jumping-off point for expansion prior to the shoot itself.
I also got a firm commitment from my Human Statue himself, Mike Burgess, so, along with Amy, my two biggest puzzle pieces are now in place. Here he is with his gorgeous wife, Danielle (photo by Fantasma Imagery).
He’s got the right amount of stillness and energy I need for my Human Statue (plus I know he can pull off weird costumes), so I’m stoked (if you’ll allow the old-school terminology) that he’s committed. Mike & Danielle served as production assistant and script supervisor, respectively, and also had cameos in LiaE, plus they’re just a delight to have around, so I’m very pleased to be working with them again.
Bits and Bobs
THE BITS:
I finished my rewrite/polish of ‘TIL DEATH PARTS US, but I’m going to give it one more gander before I call it done. But that’ll have to wait ’til I’m 
done with my current task, which is a mad dash to make some pretty significant but entirely necessary changes to MONSIEUR VALENTINE in the next 20 days. I received my BlueCat feedback earlier than expected, which means I have the opportunity to resubmit (which is great) by April 1 (which sort of makes me want to tear my hair out).
This is my Jenga script, meaning I change one thing & it all comes tumbling down, so I’m a little stressed by the short timeline, but I’m convinced I’ll find a way to manage. Sometimes this sort of crazy timeline is the kick in the arse I need to do my best work.
THE BOBS:
The ball is now officially rolling on my next short film, known for now as THE HUMAN STATUE. I’m super excited to be working with my official director of photography, the ridiculously talented Amy Elrod. You can see some of her work here. She’s got the perfect mix of photojournalistic realism and artistic hyper-realism that I want for my film, and we seemed to be right in line creatively speaking during our first meeting. Plus she’s just a really cool girl, so I’m very much looking forward to collaborating with her.
I’ve also cast my all-important main Human Statue. Technically, he hasn’t said for sure he’s committed, so I may be jumping the gun just a little, but I’m about 87 percent sure he’s in. So that’s pretty cool, too. The DP and the main Human Statue are the two most important pieces of the puzzle, so getting those locked in lets me start focusing on details — and believe me, there are plenty.
I’ve got a first draft of the script done, and I’ll be tweaking and finessing it between now and the shoot in June. I’ll be starting the storyboard process as soon as I have a spare moment. This time I’m coercing my sister Kate the Artiste with the promise of gelato to help out with storyboards since the film will rely so heavily on visual imagery that stick figure storyboards won’t really cut it. Hopefully getting into that process will help me settle on costume design, too.
I’ve also got to start doing producery-type things, like scouting the location, setting a budget, finding a make-up artist, and thinking about permits and craft service and how to recruit a few boatloads of extras for one scene. Lots to do, but I’m still in the phase where it all sounds very exciting rather than incredibly exhausting.
So, that’s me for now. Have a good weekend, and feel free to send me some caffeinated and/or creative-mojo-filled vibes, k? Ta.
The No-Name Movie Blog and Other Happenings
For those of you who enjoyed the Inaugural No-Name Movie Podcast, Matt and I did back in December, we’ve set up a new home for it over at The No-Name Movie Blog. Matt and I will both be doing some film-related posts over there, so, if you’re interested, hop on over and check it out. Of possible note:
In other news-ish type things, I’ve started working on my next short film, which is significantly more ambitious (as most “next short films” probably should be) and also, well, darker than LiaE. It’s based on a short story idea I had whilst in London, and it involves a human statue. That’s all I can reveal for now, as it’s still very, very, very early in the process, but I’m pretty excited about the possibilities for this one.
Also on the agenda for the next couple of weeks is doing one more pass on ‘TIL DEATH PARTS US to incorporate some stellar feedback from Lucy V, David and Stuart, and then it’ll be time to start [gasp!] querying. Scary stuff, but it’s doing no one any good sitting in a drawer — at least not me anyway.
So, that’s me in a nutshell at the moment. I’m planning on doing a full write-up of my Oscar picks, but can I just say how sad I am that TANGLED didn’t get nominated? Don’t get me wrong — I loved TOY STORY 3 and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, and I’ve heard lovely things about THE ILLUSIONIST, but come on! Boo. That’s what I have to say about that. How about you all? Any surprises, shocks or disappointments? Anything you want to see now that you didn’t before?
