I F***ING HATE YOU -- a film by SABI -- the extended 9-minute cut

Zak Forsman

Zak Forsman

Major Contributor
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Now that LoveFest has come to an end, I'm proud to announce IFHY as it was intended to be seen -- in a cut over 3 minutes longer that better establishes the relationship between Ron and Carol.

NEW WEB SITE!

REVIEWS:

"...an entertaining glimpse at breaking up, clinging to
memories, and the unusual bond two people can share..."

- Felix Vasquez, Jr., Cinema Crazed



"Sabi, clearly, has a magician’s touch when it comes to
capturing light and frames his shots impeccably."

- Todd Brown, Twitch



"...there’s a great chemistry between the two actors who
provide but a footnote in a possible turbulent situation that
may or may not be over when Carol sinks into a stairwell."

- Felix Vasquez, Jr., Cinema Crazed



"...mining some fairly serious and potentially tragic ground -
it does so with a charmingly awkward, absurd sense of humor."

- Todd Brown, Twitch
 
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SYNOPSIS
"I F*CKING HATE YOU" is the raw, whimsical glimpse of a young man's ill-conceived scheme to redeem himself in the eyes of his ex-girlfriend.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
This story was developed by Marion Kerr, John T. Woods and myself, Zak Forsman, by combining elements of two "half-ideas" into a unified whole. character was explored and discussed until the story emerged. no actual screenplay was written, no storyboards drawn up -- the experiment was to see what would happen if we instilled "radical collaboration" to the extent that the actors, director, sound and camera were mindfully attentive to the present moment; improvising to serve the story, allowing the scenes to evolve organically and following them to their natural conclusion.

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SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!!
I F*CKING HATE BEHIND THE SCENES

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SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!!
I F*CKING HATE BEHIND THE SCENES

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WHAT IS 'A FILM BY SABI'?
Sabi by itself means "the bloom of time". It connotes natural progression -- tarnish, hoariness, rust -- the extinguished gloss of that which once sparkled. It's the understanding that beauty is fleeting. The word's meaning has changed over time, from its ancient definition, "to be desolate," to the more neutral "to grow old." By the thirteenth century, sabi's meaning had evolved into taking pleasure in things that were old and faded. A proverb emerged: "Time is kind to things, but unkind to man."

Sabi things carry the burden of their years with dignity and grace: the chilly mottled surface of an oxidized silver bowl, the yielding gray of weathered wood, the elegant withering of a bereft autumn bough. An old car left in a field to rust, as it transforms from an eyesore into a part of the landscape, could be considered America's contribution to the evolution of sabi. An abandoned barn, as it collapses in on itself, holds this mystique.

There's an aching poetry in things that carry this patina, and it transcends the Japanese. We Americans are ineffably drawn to old European towns with their crooked cobblestone streets and chipping plaster, to places battle scarred with history much deeper than our own. We seek sabi in antiques and even try to manufacture it in distressed furnishings. True sabi cannot be acquired, however. It is a gift of time.

Consider for a moment that perhaps Sabi can also be a cinematic aesthetic. Not a fixed set of principles or a rigid system of rules, but rather a creative flow -- part of the constant search and need for the natural expressive form of sound and images (to present themselves during the process of making the film). Sabi changes with time. It is an ever-evolving, whole-view approach to catalyzing, nurturing and capturing moments that are truthful in their own beauty, simplicity, structure and emotion, regardless of the complexities of production on an independent film. Sabi is an approach that seeks to create, capture and uncover transcendent moments in life that happen spontaneously and unplanned -- fleeting glimpses into something greater -- resulting in those hard-to-describe, perception-altering experiences as universal as art, music, emotion, poetry, cinema and life itself. If one was to consider this as an approach to making and experiencing cinema, then you would perhaps be encountering "a film by SABI".

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SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!!
I F*CKING HATE BEHIND THE SCENES

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STORYFORMING
Long before Heart of Now was shot, I had intended to craft a screenplay sans dialogue. That changed after a few key discussions. So here, we had the opportunity to take some of my ever-evolving principles and experiment with them. Myself, Marion and John met on two occasions. They came with an idea, a very specific scene. I came with an idea that helped put their scene (which became our ending) within a context. The pairing of the two half-ideas formed a structured whole. During our second story meeting John and Marion worked through possible motivation and objectives for their characters. I sat back and listened, taking note of what aspects of this story and their characters were the most compelling and appealing to them.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
This short was shot with two Canon HV20s with non-flipped 35mm adapters. To unify the form of this piece with its improvised content, I needed the camerawork to read as being just as spontaneous as the actors' performances -- as though the camera operators were in a struggle to keep up with the unfolding story. A key technique to infuse a "searching for the shot" quality was to monitor each camera without adjusting for the flipped image. This gave us a unique visual aesthetic that i'm sure will drive most people nuts, but it resulted in the momentary misframings and "panicked" corrections we were looking for. During pre-pro, I had considered shooting for B&W, but on set, inspiration took over and we made use of existing and supplemented color palettes to contrast the appearance of each character's world -- Carol's being more balanced but lacking in intensity, and Ron's being completely out of balanced and over the top.



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SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!!
I F*CKING HATE BEHIND THE SCENES

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CHARACTER NAMES
i'm not going to say much more than, this isn't an accident...

RON: means "song, joy" in Hebrew
CAROL: means "song" or "hymn"

SPECIAL THANKS
I want to thank Bruce Allen and Zach Seivers for donating equipment for a day.

BUDGET
this film was made with available resources, plus $40 for some indian food.

THINGS I LEARNED
1. that I really like the "reach" you get from a Sennheiser 416
2. my girlfriend and co-producer and editor (on Heart of Now), Jamie Cobb, discovered she has a knack for location sound work on IFHY. she received half a day of training from a friend of mine who is a sound designer that loaned us his Sennheiser 416, a boompole and his Sound Devices 702T. i was amazed. she worked the axis just right and often the sound is better here than in some scenes in Heart of Now where we hired a pro. she's pretty much the girlfriend every filmmaker should have.


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SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!!
I F*CKING HATE BEHIND THE SCENES

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SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!!
I F*CKING HATE BEHIND THE SCENES

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ABOUT THE CAST
Marion Kerr and John T. Woods are two cherished and talented collaborators. They are passionate about acting and storytelling, and come to the work "SUPERCHARGED". Both are infinitely compelling, with their unique cadences and manners of expression. they are smart, witty, vulnerable, empathetic, they draw you in AND... I'm fortunate enough to call them my friends.

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MARION KERR as Carol​

BIOGRAPHY

I was born and raised in Sacramento, CA

My father was born in Paris, France and my mother was born in Washington DC

I have one sister, Vivian, who is also an actor. She's my best friend.

I love traveling and have been to France, Switzerland, Italy, China, Hong Kong, The Bahamas and parts of Eastern Europe. I also lived in London for a summer.

I love soccer and have played all my life.

I graduated from UC Irvine with a B.A. in theatre, a minor political science and a mix of dread and determination to meet the "real world".

My car died the day I moved to Los Angeles. I was towed into my new life here.

My grandparents were journalists and if I wasn't an actor, that's probably what I'd be doing.

I am a huge fan of Katherine Hepburn and own about two dozen biographies on her. My favorite film is "The Philadelphia Story".

Until about two years ago, I was quite convinced that most modern music, post British Invasion, sucked! I have since been proven otherwise. However, Billie Holiday is still my favorite.

If my life could be any movie genre, I'd pick "Adventure Serial". Like those 1940's Dick Tracy serials or Indiana Jones. Sound like fun.

GOLDEN EARRINGS -- written and directed by Marion Kerr


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JOHN T. WOODS as Ron​


BIOGRAPHY

I grew up in Aloha, Oregon.

After high school, I went to Portland State University.

I majored in computer science, archeology and finally, theatre.

After two years at PSU, I did some traveling.

Went all over the place, eventually ending up in Las Vegas, wghere I decided to finish up school at UNLV.

At UNLV, I worked wioth some very talented filmmakers, named JT Gurzi, Chris McInroy and Roger Erik Tinch, who I would end up working with many times in the future.

After I got my degree, I moved to Los Angeles.

I slept in my car a lot.

Then, after some hard work and patience, things started working out.

I got my first role, and consequently, my SAG card in "The Cutter", a Chuck Norris movie that was shot up in Spokane Washington. I played a cop. I got to shoot a Russian and arrest Chuck Norris. Not a bad gig.

I have since been working in tv/film for the last five years in Los Angeles.

I run my own DVD duplication/conversion company at www.archetypedvd.com.

I'm managed by Neil Hassman and William J. Edwards at Hassman Entertainment.

Rant n Rave - Unbelievable
The Totally Awesome Adventures of God and Satan
 
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THE COLLABORATORS

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Marion Kerr - actor and story

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John T. Woods - actor, story and music

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Zak Forsman - producer, story and director

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Jamie Cobb - co-producer and sound mixer

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Matt Garrett - cinematographer

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Addison Brock III - cinematographer and colorist

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Renée Day - editor and sound designer

SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!! SPOILER WARNING!!!
I F*CKING HATE BEHIND THE SCENES

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Zak Forsman, Marion Kerr and a handheld Canon HV20 w/ SGpro 35mm adapter

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Matt Garrett smokes Jesus in a race

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I f***ing love the longer cut! Put this bad boy into some festivals.

My only gripe is with some of the focus/out of focus shots. I really do like that you do it throughout... but some of them seem unjustified.

The acting is really great in this! Seriously.
This version is really awesome. Having the extra time to develop the characters paid off in spades. Well done!

Edit: One note. My download seemed to stop a little short. Not sure if that's a problem on my end or not.

Mike
 
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Zak, this was amazing. I really liked the fest version, but this one is SOOOO much better. Your actors are terrific, and I now feel way more connected to them with the longer intro.

The focusing was something I had issue with as well, but with the longer cut, it somehow doesn't bother me anymore. It feels right.

The film flows so nicely. It is definitely festival ready.
 
thanks guys, its already been submitted to over half a dozen festivals. I won't start hearing if it was accepted until a month or so from now. Gives me plenty of time to keep tweaking it.
 
so far i have submitted to the shorts program of the following festivals... cost roughly $300 in submission fees... it will be 1 to 6 months before I hear whether or not we were accepted...

Avignon Film Festival
Woodstock Film Festival
Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIFF)
Moondance International Film Festival
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
Starz Denver Film Festival
HollyShorts Film Festival
Sacramento Film and Music Festival
3rd Annual Now Film Festival (Partnered w/ MySpace & YouTube)
 
wow, i liked the extra cut a lot better!

and im not even sure why, although it must be because you gave me a larger look into their lives and their "worlds".

First off their acting is amazing, really, they rocked. the guy especially. he had some awkward ass lines to say and he did it really well. this could have fallen into cheese city really quickly, it didn't, and not just because you gave it some edge with "f*ck " in the title or the song. and not just because of the edgy camera or the color. I think it was because he really was very consistent, he was very believable to me when he said, " ... yeah, i didn't do such a good job of hiding the mug." yeah, that was obviously there before too, but somehow not in the same way.

knowing they were broken up for sometime makes this better. with the beginning in play the rest has so much more to live off of, it's not just out of nowhere. and i also got to get a much better feel to your style, its like as if i got to get used to it by the time they got to the guy's apartment. and yeah, you told me i'd see the orange blue contrast even more with the extra minutes, and yeah, you were most obviously right, i liked going to "orange" instead of starting there.

and i do think your style is way cool, and as i stated earlier, i still think without the guy's acting this story in any color ain't going too far, but your style definately makes it a lot more interesting and cool. you got a great eye for making a lot of something out of nothing , case in point - the sunglasses on the guy's head, and the hallway at the end when the girl leaves, simple rooms and items but used in strong cool ways as to make me want to see more of what you will point the camera at, and in turn as to what the two of them might do in the future.

congrats! and best of luck with the fests you are entering.
 
I love this flik and yeah this 9 minute cut definitely brings more to the table but the story was still strong in the 6 minute cut. I really love the look you got on this film, was it all in post?
 
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well f*cking a-i'm ten times rocking you!

the prelude to the apartment scene adds a lot. carol seems to have a lot more of a character arc...makes her seem a lot less contemptuous but the dude steals the show.

good luck in the fest circuit.
 
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