Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Whirligig Farm

Duration: 08:00 minutes to 15:00 minutes
Subject: Local Urban (Rural) Legend Confrontation

Story Version One: two minutes to three

Audio: of Legend version 1, run under images of Acid Park, bright day, light background audio, also included will be short audio discussion by director narrating location of park and first experience

Images run: Images captured during bright light conditions, sunny, very little or no
Whirligig movement, images will start bright then continue to dark as dusk
approaches, also included will be 35 mm photo files, and color super 8 mm
(kodachrome) and modern color super 8 mm.

Story Version Two: two minutes to three

Audio: of Legend version 2, run under images of Acid Park, rainy day, med. background audio, also included will be short discussion narrative concerning legend’s story

Images run: Images captured during dreary overcast day, more whirligig movement
to fast daylight, 16 mm footage included, also included will be digital SLR photos
modified using photoshop, images also modified using FCP and After Effects

Story Version Three: two minutes to three

Audio of Legend version 3 or alternate story, run under images of Acid Park, Nighttime, heavy background audio, sound effects, and short narrative describing summary of legend themes

Images run: Images captured during storm at night, heavy and frenetic whirligig
movement, focus on alien and otherworldly views, building suspense, also
included will be re-projected and modified footage from super 8

The Real Story of Acid Park: Vollis Simpson: two minutes to three

Sound and image together of interview with the creator of Acid Park, Vollis Simpson.
Topics discussed: the origin of the name acid park, the actual origin ofmain
Legend surrounding daughter’s death, reveal and insight to legend’s spread.
Also included will be location audio sound and narrative summary of topic
including expressive thoughts. Throughout Vollis’ interview will be very
stylized and artistic photography and footage, with stress being on thebeauty
of the art inside of Acid Park



End Credits: Original music composed by bluegrass band and/or guitarist songwriter


Grocery List of Needed Elements for Post:

Four More Interviews to be grabbed using the Morantz and Shot gun Microphone, these have already been confirmed and are in Wilmington so no travel necessary.

Photos and Footage to be modified using Photoshop and After Effects

Already shot footage to be sent off for development. (2 rolls of 16 mm, 6 rolls of Super 8) Remaining three cartridges (modern color, B&W, and Kodachrome) to be shot (waiting for big storm) and also mailed for development.

Developed footage to be projected and re-photographed and modified

More Audio exploration, incl. sound effects and location grab (Big Storm again)

Contact Local Bluegrass Band (Located nearby in Southeastern North Carolina) and Guitarist/Songwriter (also Local). Present them with footage and legends to create original soundtrack and song(s) to accompany film
Opening night of Cucalorus

The crowd at Jengo's was very excited and lots of background noise were included. rumblings and mumblings exuded as i walked into the darkened theater. i grabbed the first seat i could get as i came in as the intro shorts finished. The first film was "West Bank Story" and was a spoof comedy musical surrounding love, jihadism, racial tension, but most importantly: Love. Very funny at parts this film seemed overly produced for this genre, but amused the audience greatly. This film was too long and could have been edited shorter and included too many unnecessary shots. the next film was the feature doc:The Film Class. this film was very appealing in its Cinema Verite style. The subject matter was intense and interesting and time passed quickly. i felt this film, although assembled by amateurs, included way too many shaky shots. i saw tripods in this film i think they should have used them more. the important theme in the film was the message and i do think that that was clear in its presentation. if the subject matter was not as serious and if the filmmakers did not have so many obstacles to conquer to get this film shown, i feel it would not have been festival worthy just by production value alone, they get a pass living in a third world country and other obvious hardships befalling them. i decided to stay for the shorts that mrs. silva programmed and found 2 of them to be inspiring, the first film (which i cannot remember the title) and the film "elephant music" "elephant music" was dark and somber and gave off feelings of despair and solace. Quite extraordinary actually. The session wrapped with one of the filmmakers Q&A (Penny Lane) and was quite a good time. I learned that without the help of film cooperatives and foundations experimentals would not be as good and possibly non existent. it seemed the better experimental shorts had quite a deal of backing indicated by the lengthy credits. this could be a pro for someone with that kind of access and a con for those without. i really enjoyed "film class" and "elephant music" but could do without west bank story (seemed like a waste of resources, i cant believe it was shot on panavision!) i learned that i need to be there earlier (traffic was kind of bad) and advice i would give would be to research the films you go to see, because you could be stuck paying for a bum film. Not necessarily at this screening, but feedback with other students indicated there were a couple of real stinkers in this years lineup. i'm glad i missed them.

jm
hello visitors:here is a list of prospective festivals that would seem to be a good fit for this film as far as style and content are concerned, included are a list of fees, to get a better idea of festival plan cost:

these are arranged in chronological order nearest to farthest:

May 31, 2008- NextFrame Touring Festival(For Students only) - Earlybird $20, Regular $25

November 15, 2008- Gasparilla Film Festival - Earlybird $30, Regular $40

November 20, 2008- Black Maria Film and Video - $35 Deadline

November 30, 2008- Full Frame Documentary Film Festival - Regular $35, Standard $55

December 15, 2008- RiverRun Film Festival - Earlybird $20, Regular $25, Late $35, Extended $40, Student $15

January 1, 2009- Drive-In Film Festival - Earlybird $15, Regular $20, Late $25, Extended $40

January 11, 2009- SilverDocs - Earlybird $25, Regular $30, Late $40, Extended $45

February 9, 2009- Rural Route Film Festival - Earlybird $10, Regular $20

February 2009- Cannes - Free

The dates listed are the absolute late day they will accept the films