Barry Green plug from Rick Schmidt in MovieMaker Magazine!!

David G. Smith

David G. Smith

Steak Knife Member
You go Barry!!! You go Barry!!!

Just got this months issue of MovieMaker magazine and what, to my surprise, did I find? A big plug, from micro-cinema guru Rick Schmidt, for Barry Green and the DVX book. It was in Rick's column, "Extreme Indie". Wow, Barry, I did not know that you were in one of Rick's Feature Workshops. How was the experience?



BTW, this months MM is very cool. Has Werner Herzog interview, an article about micro-cinema movies, a cool article on Jean Reno ("La Femme Nakita, The Professional), an overview of shooting in Richmond Va (where I have shot a couple of times) and has a hilarious SAG indie ad. I highly recommend picking one up.
:thumbsup:
 
Hey, that's pretty cool, I didn't know he put that in there.

Actually I've made two pictures with Rick. One where we hired him as a consulting producer (on our first "student" film ever), and one where we helped him make one of his Las Vegas-based workshops. I then invited him to be one of the headline speakers at the Independent Cinema Expo that I hosted in March 2003.

Rick is, without a doubt, one of the funniest individuals I've ever met. His sense of humor, deadpan delivery, and timing are just incredible. He is a pure delight to work with.

As for the workshop -- it's a unique experience, because the type of pictures he makes are very different from Hollywood-style pictures. Rick's films are more seat-of-the-pants, develop-the-story-as-it-goes. He's a very intuitive, very spiritual-type filmmaker. For those who are on the same wavelength, it can be an incredible experience. For those who are expecting structured Hollywood-style filmmaking, with storyboards and breakdown sheets and such, you just have to be aware that that's not the type of film he makes, and that's not how the Feature Workshops go. I mean, they conceive, write, pre-produce, and shoot in the first week -- it's really quite an undertaking.

I count Rick as one of my friends, and I appreciate him mentioning the book. I first met him through his landmark book, "Feature Filmmaking At Used Car Prices" -- highly recommended reading!
 
Absolutly, "Feature Filmmaking at Used Car Prices" is a watershed. I've been through two copies of the first edition and have the updated one. I just saw his "Extreme DV" book and will probably get it in a couple of days (I love haveing all the references I can).

Let me ask you,Barry, were you down with the intuitive filmmaking or were you into the structured "Hollywood" style when you hooked up with him?
 
I was, am, and will always be, a structured type of guy. Outlines, script, storyboards, and a stripboard with breakdown sheets for every scene. But on the pic we did as a workshop, I didn't really occupy the same slot as a "participant", per se -- I viewed my participation more as facilitation, camera lending, and editing. So I'm content to sit back and let him do what he does.

And, truth be told, his pictures have grown since we did that one (which was back in 1998, I think). The one he showed at the ICExpo was the best I'd seen of all his work, and I think many of the people who participated in that workshop had previously done a workshop with him, so it seems like they were all a compatible crowd. I haven't seen any of his pics since then...
 
Rick Schmidt and Barry Green. I have to say that those two people, whom I've never met of course, are responsible for my very recent filmmaking pursuits. I picked up Rick's Extreme DV at a bookstore one day because I was thinking about starting a new video project to try to show in art galleries. His book helped me lose my severe inhibitions about actually trying to make features instead of the less-ambitious video projects I've made as "art pieces" for galleries. Barry's book gave me the confidence that I would know what I was doing with the swanky new camera I bought given that my only prior experience was with consumer cams mostly in auto modes. Less than ten days after receiving my cam, I was shooting second cam on a commercial and will be shooting two more in the next two months. I never would have accepted that gig if I didn't have Barry's book to cram over. The producer actually liked my shots better than the DP's, who was running first camera with an XL-1s! Now, the DVX is responsible for that as opposed to my abilities, but without Barry's book I never would have learned how to use the DVX's strengths in such a short time.

Rick and Barry working together is karma in action. Two guys that are obviously generous in their goals of helping and encouraging others. Makes me smile to know you guys are friends. Thanks to both of you!
 
Yessir! I saw it too (but I wasnt going to say anything :thumbsup:).....and I would agree with his deapan delivery. I had dinner with Rick one evening and we were talking about his business structure. I commented to him that he wasn't marketing himself as efficiently as he could and he immediately slammed his hand on the table and asked if I was his wife in disguise!

Here's what he wrote in my copy of Extreme DV (Highly recommended....absolutely NOT a rehash of Feature Filmmaking At Used Car Prices). As I told Barry before, I'm a 31 year old man with a wife and son...but when it comes to Rick...I'm such a fanboy! He changed my life completely.

RickAutograph.jpg
 
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