"MODEL / PHOTOGRAPHER" - an ELOQUENT GRAFFITI prelude – a film by SABI

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Despite those fears alluded to earlier, tonight is the first night I felt like I have earned the honor to call myself a filmmaker. As you know, Heart of Now was the first film i directed. IFHY was the second, and EQ will be my third. On the first two, I often felt like my inexperience with actors was working against me. that i was fighting my lack of experience in speaking their language. And I struggled with being able to provide just the right adjustments and guidance to help them find their way to an authentic, compelling performance.

But tonight, I don't know, it was different. We had our share of roadblocks and I finally had the experience of knowing what to say and how to say it. We worked each beat and refined it on camera, keeping it fresh and spontaneous and above all, real. Feeling very good about this one.

That being said, I don't know how well it's going to be received. Although I've abandoned the wildly searching handheld camera that earned most of IFHY's criticism, this film will be even more minimalist in plot than IFHY. A lot of info is left for the viewer to contemplate and fill in on their own. it will be a highly subjective experience and depend greatly on whether or not you personally relate to these characters and if that resonates with you in a meaningful way. This is short-short fiction along the lines of Raymond Carver -- a very brief glimpse into a shared moment between two damaged people. it's safe to say the 6 minute limit will not be an issue at all.

Anyway, this short would likely not exist if it weren't for LossFest and the knowledge that, yeah, I just may know what I'm doing, has made for a very fulfilling experience. I can't wait to share Mary Elise and John's amazing performances with you.
 
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Grabs look good! Composition and colors very nice.

Some of the closeups look a little soft. Did you add "grain" ?

Re. Fear of Failure... That's something most of us share. It is a great excuse to procrastinate, and accomplish nothing. Sabi gets films done.

Look forward to seeing the finished film.
 
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Matty_g said:
Zak is stealing my job
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sorry, man. I know i keep saying I'll call you but nothing I've shot so far has required the presence of a DP. I'm working entirely in existing light. And you know how i like to operate the camera myself.

if you want to swing by this weekend, I'll be at Sabi as Jamie cuts this short. do you still have my fluorescents?
 
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Incredible Zak. Love the grabs, love the premise. These raw stories that are more about characters and their interaction than plot twists really do something for me. I'll never forget the first time I saw IFHY and was like "that bastard made a movie about me!" but of course you made me more attractive and gave me some musical talent. Looking forward to this.
 
Zak Forsman said:
Despite those fears alluded to earlier, tonight is the first night I felt like I have earned the honor to call myself a filmmaker. As you know, Heart of Now was the first film i directed. IFHY was the second, and EQ will be my third. On the first two, I often felt like my inexperience with actors was working against me. that i was fighting my lack of experience in speaking their language. And I struggled with being able to provide just the right adjustments and guidance to help them find their way to an authentic, compelling performance.

But tonight, I don't know, it was different. We had our share of roadblocks and I finally had the experience of knowing what to say and how to say it. We worked each beat and refined it on camera, keeping it fresh and spontaneous and above all, real. Feeling very good about this one.
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Good stuff. I know what you mean too. This has been the biggest arch of learning for me over the past two years as well. Even though I have a background in acting, it wasn't until this film that I felt like I had a consistently re-usable technique for getting what I need out of actors.

Very excited to see this!!!!
 
Zak, I have become a real fan of IFHY (all of my friends get sick of my trying to push the DVD on them), and of Sabi in general. I quite literally can't wait to see all of the projects that you have in the pipeline and I wish you the best going forward.

Despite any inadequacies or fear that you might feel, you do good work and there are people out here inspired by it even if we don't say a lot on the boards. Those grabs look fantastic, and you latest description of Eloquent Graffiti make me want to see it even more.

Chris
 
thanks guys, have to acknowledge of course the people other than myself that helped make this happen. Eloquent Graffiti's producer/co-writer Kevin K. Shah, editor (and sound) Jamie Cobb and our co-producer/co-writer and last night's A.D. Daniel Carmody.
 
Hey Zak,

Dan showed me a BTS picture of you and Jamie shooting!! I loved it! You guys are really defining the new breed of nano-budget filmmakers. The picture was so inspiring that it makes me realize more and more that minimal is often the strongest tactic a filmmaker can have when shooting a film. I wish I could help on EG...even though I don't think you would need it :)
 
model/photographer, an eleoquent graffiti prelude?

Just how many films are you releasing? Regardless, it's pretty stunning to see so much work coming from one group at one time. My hat's off to you. :beer:
 
Lawsuit_Boy said:
model/photographer, an eleoquent graffiti prelude?

Just how many films are you releasing? Regardless, it's pretty stunning to see so much work coming from one group at one time. My hat's off to you. :beer:
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still the same project. I put in a request with JDS for thread title change. but yeah, i'm as stunned as you are that the SABI filmmakers have three shorts in lossfest.
 
Zak Forsman said:
still the same project. I put in a request with JDS for thread title change. but yeah, i'm as stunned as you are that the SABI filmmakers have three shorts in lossfest.
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Ah, I see. So, if I may ask, how is the SABI production structured? Who's affiliated? It all feels like some big mystery to me (I need to come back to this forum more often).
 
I've started uploading some raw behind the scenes footage from friday night's shoot on the roof. four are up, there will be six in all. If you're bored check them out. they are short and just show how stripped down this production is. You'll be rewarded with another keyword for wanderlust.to (buried in one of the clips).

http://www.youtube.com/EloquentGraffitiMob

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The raw bts are great! It makes me really miss all you guys! especially when watching you, jamie, kevin, and dan at sabi! and I love watching bts raw three. If Jamie gets cold in LA then just remind her that erik is shooting in below zero temp in Sweden! :) this should make her feel warmer.

just kidding.

Zak, I love watching all of these! thank you for putting them up!
 
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