Making Movies in Flyover Country

Neglecting the Blog

2009-12-17T07:42:00.001-08:00

This semester, I must admit, has been my toughest since I started teaching. I remember feeling overwhelmed my first semester on the tenure track; that was primarily because I was starting more or less from scratch in terms of building all my classes, course materials, lectures, etc.

This fall was completely different. I managed to be doing all of the following this semester:

-Going up for tenure (which involves a lot of preparation of documents, writing the most important letter of my career (so far) to the university tenure committee (it turned into a 12-page magnum opus review of my career as a filmmaker and professor at Baylor); and various and sundry other tasks;

-finishing a major film project; you may have heard me mention a little film called Endings? Yes, well, I'm still trying to wrap the thing up, but we worked on the final cut, the animated sequences, and sound editing and mixing all semester;

-taking over as Director of the Film & Digital Media division within the Department of Communication Studies. I thought this wouldn't be that difficult. Ha. It was more or less like starting a whole new job, with all the concomitant learning curves on new responsibilities;

-finishing the edit on a book project; I'm editing a book of critical essays about the British sci-fi show Doctor Who.

So, yeah, this was a crazy-busy semester. It made teaching my classes an additional challenge, because I couldn't give them nearly as much time as I traditionally have. And if I've neglected my relationship with you, I apologize...

I'm glad the Christmas break has arrived so that my brain can get a little rest, though now I still have to finish the film and the book (they didn't get done before the holiday in spite of my attempts), and I have to make plans to travel to the Sundance Film Festival in January... the adventure continues...

The ENDINGS Poster

2009-11-21T21:44:00.000-08:00

Here it is - the final poster design for ENDINGS:

Documentary Seminar

2009-10-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

So, in the spring semester, I'm teaching a graduate seminar in documentary film. I was thinking about the course today because I had reached the deadline for selecting texts for the class.

The challenge for this particular seminar is the audience. It will likely be a mix of production-oriented grad students and those who have no production experience and are interested in documentary from a theoretical and analytical point of view.

I want to the class to be useful to both groups, and I think there are elements of both theory that are important to the production students and ideas about the actual practice of making a documentary film that will be interesting and useful to the non-production students.

But, of course, the non-production students will not have enough expertise (or interest) to support an entire course focused on the filmmaker aspects, and the production students should have the opportunity to practice the craft.

In light of all that, I'm thinking about ways to make the course useful for both audiences.

I plan to have the production students make short projects in a variety of documentary genres, and I was thinking of having the non-production students work with them on both the conceptualizing of the films and the actual shooting. And, assuming the films are any good, I was thinking the non-production students could engage in analysis and critique of the production students' efforts.

But - I want to go further than that. So, I'm not sure who all is reading my blog, but I'd be very interested in hearing any ideas my readers have about ways I can engage and teach both audiences in a cohesive and coherent manner.

Festivals and more Festivals

2009-10-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

I spent a good chunk of my early afternoon processing a bunch more festival entries for Endings. I had hoped to have it completely done by now -- but the sound and music processes are not yet complete, so I'm still sending out the "temp sound mix and some temp music" copies.

Festival entries have gotten easier in the age of Withoutabox (an online service that allows you to fill out ONE entry form and then send it out with payment via credit card to all subscribing festivals). But even with that, it's still a hassle and one of my least favorite parts of the process (PR is my other least favorite part, but I'll tackle that in another post).

There is some degree of satisfaction from just knowing a festival has your package in hand -- something that Withoutabox confirms for you via its Submission Status page:

But really, unless you get asked to screen, nothing else matters. In the wake of my first rejection for Endings, which arrived in my inbox earlier this week, I'm reminded of the emotional roller coaster that the festival circuit is. Here's to trying not to let every reaction to the film control my daily mood...

Out to Festivals

2009-09-17T19:13:00.000-07:00

Endings is finally out to festivals. I never imagined it would take this long. We began production in June 2008, and got a festival copy done on September 16, 2009. Longest post on any film I've done, and we're still not done (we have to finish some music and the sound mix).

I really wanted to be completely finished with the film by the Sundance deadline, but it just wasn't going to happen; there was too much to get done, but I'm really happy that the picture cut is done and that most of the music is complete.

So I sent it out to Sundance, Slamdance, Cinequest, Atlanta, Dallas International, and several more. The waiting game begins -- and postproduction continues.

Maybe I should start thinking about the next film at some point. But I think I might have to focus first on the whole "going up for tenure this semester" thing...

Endings - the screener DVD

2009-09-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

After a lot of work and a particularly grueling weekend for those working on the film (and a really lousy Monday for the editor), the screener DVD is finally on its way to me.

This weekend, we were trying to wrap up a temp sound mix and all the animated shots in order to put the whole thing together and get a copy of the film done that would be adequate to send to festivals (there's a deadline coming up for a little festival you may have heard of, something called "Sundance"). One can send a rough cut of the film to many festivals, but let's face facts here -- even though a festival is willing to take a look at your rough cut, there's no getting around the notion that an unfinished work still looks unfinished, even to people who know what that looks like.

I really wanted to be completely done by now so that we could send the final cut with completed sound mix, but we just weren't there yet, so Kelley Baker, my excellent sound designer, and Wayne Woods, our excellent mixer, put together a temporary mix of the entire film. This had the benefit, in addition to enabling me to enter fests with a reasonably complete product, of revealing problem areas in the soundscape of the film. We still have quite a bit of work to do to get the film sounding professional and to eliminate noise. And while most of the music in what I'm calling the "festival cut" is original and complete, we did have to throw a few temporary pieces in there because it just wasn't all done yet (composers have to sleep on occasion, I'm told).

Wayne, who mixes sound for Sonic Media in Portland, was working all weekend to get the temp mix done, and was uploading these large sound files for me. Of course, this process is fraught with complications. Wayne had to put together all the original sound, add effects, add music, and get everything just right lest the director come back at him with venom for ruining his film. Okay, that never happened, but when you're mixing a film without the director present to comment on things and without time to make changes for little things like a misplaced music cue, there are bound to be revisions. We didn't have time for much of that, so I just had to look for emergency level stuff to fix in the first half of the film. My theory (and Wayne's and Kelley's) is that the first half of the film better sound great, because festival screening personnel will find a reason not to finish watching, and crappy sound in the first half of the film is a pretty easy reason (in large part because it's all too common in the indie film world).

Simon Tondeur, the film's editor, then had the task of assembling the mix and all the animated shots into the edit. This is where the weekend's fun really began. Simon really didn't want to work on Sunday, his birthday, but that plan got scuttled pretty quickly when the sound mixing went well into Sunday afternoon. Then Simon had to track and fix some sync problems -- when you're working with sound and picture in different places, if one thing gets changed ever so slightly, the whole thing goes out of sync.

Then Simon had to make a few fixes that I pleaded for -- i.e., a piece of music that occurs at a really critical juncture of the film was left out, and I just couldn't send the film out with no music over the climax. So Simon agreed to do some temp mixing on top of the temp mixing.

Then he left the film to export from his editing system in order to burn to a DVD on Monday morning, with plans to Fed Ex it to me.

But technology had other plans. The system had crashed for some unknown reason overnight, and Simon spent the next nine hours on Monday morning and into the afternoon re-exporting and trying to figure out what was causing the problem.

Late in the day, he found the issue: an animated clip toward the end of the film had become corrupted and caused the export to fail every time.

So - problem solved, and Simon could now complete the export and DVD-burning process.

Or, at least, that's the hope. I haven't heard anything positive or negative since last night, so I'm posting this in an attempt to reassure myself that I'll have the screener DVD in my hot little hands only one day later than expected.

And I'll try very very hard to forget this part of the process when I start planning my next film...

Update: Simon has confirmed - the DVD is on its way today!

Soooooo close...

2009-09-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to spend much time blogging lately. Life has gotten busy since I took over as Director of the Film & Digital Media program, not to mention I also go up for tenure this semester, and, hmmm... I think I was also working on a little film project, wasn't I?

Oh yes, that behemoth that is known as Endings... As the title of this post implies, we are quite close to completion on the film. So close that I'm actually starting to do things like make a list of festivals in deadline order...

Here's where things stand, in case people are interested:

The music is almost done. The composer might disagree with me on the phrasing here, of course, but my perception is that we lack only a few pieces of music, and there are a few others that we still have to tweak.
The animation is almost done. There are three shots left to animate. When you can count the remaining items on one hand, that's a good thing. Of course, two of those three are among the more important animated shots in the entire film, but I don't want to quibble about details.
The sound designer and mixer are already hard at work trying to get a "festival mix" done (that is, it won't be the complete and final sound mix, but it will be done enough for festival submission).

And that is it. Those are the last remaining steps.

Well, we do have to get all those things merged together. Animator has to send fully rendered high resolution clips to editor (they are both in L.A.) to put on the film timeline, replacing the temporary non-animated shots. Composer has to upload mastered tracks to me, which I then upload to sound designer and mixer with specific location and mix instructions.

They have to get the final mix (or the temp mix, in this case) to the editor to put on the timeline, replacing the original sound (which has not been 'cleaned up' and which has very few sound effects added).

Editor then has to take all of that and export a high quality video file and slap it on a DVD. (I say that as though it happens quickly; it does not. Exporting out 97 minute DVD-quality video file is a long process, as is burning a DVD made with that file).

Then editor will Fed Ex the DVD to me for approval. I will approve it (one hopes).

I will then make dubs of the DVD before sending it out to festivals.

Specifically to Sundance, whose deadline is fast approaching.

Can you tell I'm having a stressful week. Maybe I shouldn't have written all this out. It's stressing me out more.

Ups and Downs, or What Does a Burning Oracle Really Look Like?

2009-08-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

Endings is lurching toward the finish line. After weeks of very little happening (coinciding with the weeks when I was out of town), things are starting to move along now. The composer, Joseph Leggett, is churning out some really interesting pieces that nicely complement the film, and Kelley Baker and the sound crew are hard at work cleaning up dialogue and adding sounds (backgrounds, atmosphere, effects, etc.)

The process has its ups and downs. I have been very frustrated as of late, feeling like the film wasn't coming together fast enough or, well, good enough. That's not to place blame on any of the artists collaborating on it with me; I simply wasn't feeling like the film was working.

Of course, those ups and downs are a normal part of any artistic endeavor. Sometimes you're feeling it, and sometimes you're not. I wasn't feeling it, and some of that was probably connected to personnel difficulties with animation, technical difficulties with sound, and the slow movement of all the parts coming together.

At the forefront of my mind lately has been animation. As I may have mentioned previously, the several animated sequences play a key role in the finished film, and we've just begun getting to work on those. Our animator, Tom Whaley, is doing terrific work already.

Collaboration is always interesting. I can, for example, describe the fact that Emmy (the little girl in the film) sees a character "as though he is a burning oracle, on fire but not consumed by it" -- but that leaves a lot of room for interpretation, doesn't it? I mean, one man's burning oracle might be another man's nonsensical scribbles. So Tom's job is very creative here -- he has to interpret my words visually, but he also has to add in his own creative flair.

So far, he's doing a great job at it. I don't want to give away anything, but here's a little taste of what's to come in the film:

In Memoriam: John Hughes

2009-08-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

I am almost at a loss to explain why the death of filmmaker John Hughes has hit me somewhat hard, but it has. He was not one of my chief artistic influences, nor is he a filmmaker that I cite in my classes often when I am showing great examples of cinematic storytelling (though this might change).

But when I heard about his death, a rush of memories flooded in this week. I was reminded of how a number of his films had touched me or caused me to laugh riotously. Or both.

Many people point to The Breakfast Club, a seminal 80s teen angst film. And it's one of his best, and a favorite of mine as well. It's a brilliant attempt to show how the stereotypes we all know so well are a product of conformity and fear. Yes, I probably saw a little of myself in the nerd played by Anthony Michael Hall, but more than that, I saw a little of myself in every one of the well-drawn and well-acted characters.

Pretty in Pink is another one that worked well for me. Its story of a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who finds love with a rich classmate might have a trite ending (and the wrong one, a fact that was rectified when Hughes told essentially the same story, with the gender roles reversed, in Some Kind of Wonderful), but the character played by Molly Ringwald was wonderful for her strength of character. She thrived on being different and didn't necessarily feel alienated by it. This film is close to my heart, too, because one of my closest friends in high school was so much like Molly Ringwald's character that I can't think of the film without thinking of her (wait, does that make my Ducky? I hope not...)

I was only 18 when She's Having a Baby came out, but I liked the film nonetheless, and as I've rewatched it over the years, it has resonated more and more with me as a picture of the journey many married couples take from the intense infatuation of youth to the maturity. It is probably my favorite John Hughes film and is, in my opinion, an underrated gem.

And I can't write this without mentioning Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, the first film I ever saw that made me literally laugh until I cried.

I don't really know what to write about John Hughes. This post clearly doesn't have a lot to say. But I do know that many of his films touched me deeply, and that few filmmakers had or have his gift for depicting what young people really think about, even if his characters are far more erudite and articulate than the average teenager.

Thank you, Mr. Hughes, for your fine work. And my condolences to his family.

Clean Freak - translated

2009-07-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

Well, Clean Freak has popped up on an illegal download site. I have no idea if they are really streaming my film, and I'm not going to pay the site's registration fee to find out, but I love the synopsis they put up. It's clearly a translation of my own original synopsis. It apparently went into another language and back again, and came out like this:

Chris Hansen be a filmmaker, but he's also a neurotic brush freak. Here, he turn the camera next to himself, preparatory to see how his kinfolk see him, later to check the roots of his issues, and contained by the drawn out gallop to want rehabilitation.

Here's the original synopsis, in case you want to compare:

Chris Hansen is a filmmaker, but he's also a neurotic clean freak. Here, he turns the camera on himself, first to see how his family sees him, then to explore the roots of his issues, and finally to seek treatment. Clean Freak is a comedic documentary that straddles the line between fact and fiction.

Color Correction Comparison

2009-06-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

So, I was thinking more about my last post and how color correction changes the intent and meaning of a scene. And I thought a visual example might help here. Below I've posted a side-by-side comparison between the original footage and the color corrected version (keep in mind that these are taken from a low-res copy of the film, as the editor has been sending them to me; since he's based in L.A. and I'm in Texas, he's been sending me files via sendspace.com). Anyway, see the image below:

So, you'll notice that the footage on the left is significantly more colorful than the one on the left. Now, I will say that we're in the process of 'dialing back' the effect you see on the right, which is sort of a bleach-bypass look (not familiar with that term? Read about it here - though keep in mind that the link refers to the traditional way of doing it, on film). I think we just went a little too far with it.

Anyway, it was always my intention that this segment of the film would have this look, in part to keep it separate from other parts of the film, and in part because of the bleak nature of the character's outlook. What's interesting to me is how hard it is for me to let go of the original footage. It's too pretty for the character and the story -- but because it's so pretty, so pristine, it's kind of hard to let go of it. The color corrected version is more raw and, well, "ugly" isn't the right word, but it ain't pretty.

However, "not pretty" is right for the film. Sometimes you have to go through "pretty" to get there.

Color Correcting ENDINGS

2009-06-14T18:44:00.001-07:00

The editor, Simon Tondeur, is color correcting Endings at the moment, so I've been reviewing the film from that perspective this weekend. It's quite strange, in a way, because I'm so used to seeing the film the way it was shot (in terms of color). Color correcting via non-linear editing systems like Final Cut Pro is pretty powerful stuff -- if you have a clean image, you can pretty much do anything you want with it (there are some limitations, at least at my budget level).

So I'm trying to re-orient myself to see the film through new eyes, to determine if the color corrected version, with various filters applied and with contrast increased in a lot of scenes, will serve its purpose.

Just another step in the process...

When will Hansen lock picture on Endings? When?!

2009-05-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

I imagine you're probably getting tired of boring postproduction updates on Endings. There hasn't been too much to update about lately. We got the picture cut to a point that I was pretty happy with it, then I took a break from it. Actually, I thought about showing it to people and trying to see what's working... but I got so busy with a summer class I'm teaching that I never made a decision as to who I should ask to watch it.

So I let a couple of weeks slide by, and then today I decided I finally had to make some decisions on my own, without relying on any (more) input. Trusting your own instincts is always difficult.

But I think we're there. Simon, the editor, is making a few minor changes that I want, and then I believe we'll lock picture this weekend. Of course, visual effects work still needs to be done, and sound. But we're on our way...

As for sound, Sound Designer Kelley Baker has come aboard to supervise the postproduction sound work. Kelley, also known as 'the angry filmmaker,' is an indie filmmaker in his own right, but he also had a long history as a Hollywood sound designer on such films as Good Will Hunting, Psycho (the remake), Finding Forrester,and Far From Heaven. I'm thrilled to have him doing sound on my film, needless to say.

Kelley actually came aboard a while back -- but since his work hasn't really begun until now, I failed to mention it.

The Bathwater Scene: Getting to the Picture Lock

2009-05-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

The rough cut of Endings is down to a total running time of 96 minutes, which both pleases and amazes me, especially considering the fact that my mockumentary comedy American Messiah was 95 minutes long.

I'm pleased to be able to keep a challenging indie drama like Endings to a shorter running time, but I'm also pondering whether or not certain elements work, if it's paced too quickly now.

I don't really think there are pacing problems (or, at least, none that can be fixed based on what was shot) -- but when you're faced with locking picture soon, you start questioning everything. I'm a perfectionist and a realist at the same time. I want to get it right, even if it means going through every take to check what else we've got; but I also want to get it done. Finding the middle ground between these two extremes is, I suppose, what an indie filmmaker does.

Also, the editor of the film likely won't stick around if I started reviewing every cut. I'm nitpicking things enough as it is right now, and he and I are haggling back and forth over one scene that he has affectionately dubbed "the Bathwater scene" -- so named because he believes it holds more bathwater than baby and should just be thrown out.

I'm not sure I agree -- and therein lies the process. We're tweaking this one scene every which way, to emphasize various things, to avoid cheesiness, to trim bad acting, and to try to find a way to transition to the next scene (something I should have planned for better when we shot these two scenes)...

I just took a blog break to answer an email from the editor with his latest suggestion for transitioning. Today has mostly been dedicated to watching the film and working on these little details.

But sometimes I worry that I'm losing the bigger picture while we work on these details. On the other hand, I think I lost the big picture when I started shooting. I really can't see Endings in the way an audience member can, because I'm too close to it and too aware of all the details (of the story, of the shooting, of the post process).

It's kind of a sad thing, in a way. You're trying to create something transcendent, but you yourself can't experience that transcendence, because you created the thing and can only experience it with all your memories of its creation intact. The hard part is determining if other people can experience it as a transcendent experience, something that's hard to judge if you will never see it that way yourself.

I'm trying to determine at what point I'll ask some people unfamiliar with the story to watch it and comment. That's a nerve-wracking process, for me anyway...

In any case, the picture will likely be locked in the next couple of weeks. After that, color correction, visual effects, and sound work all need to be done. But picture lock always feels like the biggest step to me. That's not to diminish the others; the work involved in all of them is critical. But getting the picture cut itself right is critical in setting the stage for all those other steps.

The End of Spring

2009-04-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

Classes are ending here at Baylor on Monday, May 4th, though for me they end today (I don't have any MWF classes this term). It's always an interesting time. Spring fever has set in for students and for faculty, and everyone is exhausted. So it's not an unwelcome ending, but commencement means saying goodbye to some students who have been a more-or-less daily part of your life for several years. It can be strange. Their lives will change in new and exciting ways, and we remain here at their alma mater (that's not a complaint about my job; I love what I do).

My reflection on this event has been muted this year because the semester took a very busy turn when I was officially appointed director of the division. And since I'm teaching a mini-mester course that begins immediately after graduation, I'll barely have time to finish grading before I have to begin prepping lectures and figuring out how to cram a semester's worth of screenings and discussion into a three-week period...

American Mess Theatre Listing

2009-04-22T13:56:00.001-07:00

I just got a hold of the listing of theatres which will be showing my first feature, The Proper Care & Feeding of an American Mess, starting May 29th. Here it is:

Nova at Hartford
Hartford, Illinois

Hartford at Moline
Moline, Illinois

Nova Georgia
340 Tanger Drive
Commerce, Georgia 30529

Studio 10 Cinemas
1624 E. State Highway 44
Shelbyville, Indiana 46176
Movieline: 398-FLIX(3549)

Georgetown 14 Cinemas
3898 Lafayette Road
Indianapolis, Indiana 46254
(317) 291-3456

Nova 10
4353 Merle Hay Road
Des Moines, Iowa 50310

Theatres of Georgetown
401 Outlet Center Drive
Georgetown, Kentucky 40324

Branson Meadows Theatres
4740 Gretna Road
Branson, Missouri 65616
Branson Meadows Outlet Mall
Phone: 417-332-0464
Movie Hotline: 417-332-2884

The Amp Oxford Mississippi
206 Commonwealth Boulevard
Oxford, Mississippi 38655
Movie Hotline: 662-236-4080

Portsmouth Cinemas
1623 Chillicothe Street
Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
Movieline: 355-FILM(3456)

Lake Geneva 4
244 Broad Street
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin 53147

News on the Academic Front

2009-04-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

I'm watching the new cut of Endings today -- or trying to, between meetings and other interruptions -- but wanted to pause for a moment to relay some news. I was officially appointed Director of the Film & Digital Media program here at Baylor University today.

Well, the appointment is effective June 1, but the official notification came today.

Anyway, this is a big moment for me personally, and I hope it will mean big things for the future of the program here, as I look to expand upon the already great work that has been done to bring it to this point.

Voice Over Artists

2009-04-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Well, my two oldest daughters become voice over artists last week. The local NPR affiliate, KWBU, broadcasts from about 20 feet from my office door, and the station manager, Brodie Bashaw, asked several people if their kids would be able to read some copy (or just repeat it back) for a promo she was recording. My oldest, Emma (who also stars in my new film, Endings, recorded one all by herself, and the other features several children edited together (Emma is on there as well, and Anna, my eight year old, is the one who says, "The Waco Cultural Arts Fest will be September 19th and 20th").

Download the promo mp3 files to hear my kids promote the Waco Cultural Arts Fest on KWBU:

KWBU Promo - Emma

KWBU Promo - Emma, Anna, and others

Doctor Who extravaganza

2009-04-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well, the deadline for the "call for proposals" for my edited volume about Doctor Who is today. Which means that I got a ton of proposals yesterday, and I'm expecting more to trickle in today.

I should have guessed that would happen. So now I'll be wading through a sea of Doctor Who scholarship over the next couple of weeks.

Twitter

2009-03-30T11:39:00.001-07:00

Okay, I caved and decided to start Twittering: www.twitter.com/Prof_Hansen.

ENDINGS - the first trailer

2009-03-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

Here it is, folks. The very first extended look at my new film, ENDINGS. Post-production continues, but we managed to get a promotional trailer done.

I should note -- editing is by B.K. Garceau, and original music is by Joseph Leggett.

I suggest watching this on a larger window than the one presented by my blog. Click over to vimeo directly to watch it there.

ENDINGS - first trailer from Chris Hansen on Vimeo.

ENDINGS Post-Production Update

2009-03-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

Another Endings post-production update: There hasn't been much progress of late, due in part to various levels of indecision on my part, but I have hired a new editor to take it from here, and I feel pretty good about that decision. There is a little bit of waiting now, while the new editor goes to work. And while I'm anxious, I feel a little relaxed now about the process now because I think the film is in good hands.

American Mess release plans

2009-03-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

I don't have full information yet, but it appears that a release date for The Proper Care & Feeding of an American Mess has been set. It's May 29th.

You can see that info here: Monogram Releasing.

I'm sure more complete info will be available eventually.

Just FYI...

2009-02-26T16:19:00.001-08:00

Created by Train Horn

ChizFilm Award for CLEAN FREAK

2009-02-26T10:36:00.001-08:00

Jonathan Chisdes over at ChizFilm has been an ardent supporter of my work since seeing my first feature at the Virginia Film Festival, and he has used his annual ChizFilm Awards to honor another film. He named Clean Freak his "Best Short" of 2008.

Thanks to Jonathan and ChizFilm for your continued support of my work.